economic renaissance

that's what the philippines is experiencing right now, according to gloria macapagal-arroyo, who is in new york for the opening of the 62nd u.n. general assembly.

i covered her twice yesterday - first at the clinton global initiative opening where she was part of the morning plenary and the after-dinner coffee for community leaders in the east coast at the waldorf astoria.

she touted the country's unprecedented growth - the bullish stock market (which have reached record heights, she says), the strong peso (sorry na lang sa inyo, she says. yes, that what she really said. sorry na lang sa inyo. haha), and local and foreign investments amounting to billions and bilions of dollars. my goodness, that was dizzying!

outside the waldorf, a small group of protesters gathered. they denounced gloria's human rights violation record in the country, among other issues (corruption, killing of journalists, and the list goes on). their chants were drowned by the incessant blare of police cars sirens. there were a lot of street closures in midtown manhattan, and traffic was just crazy.

the highlight of my day?

gloria arroyo. not.

at the clinton global initiative, i got the opportunity to hear bill clinton speak. desmond tutu, yes, that bishop desmond tutu sounded very inspirational and funny. president hamid karzai had his funny moments too. al gore's still passionate about the environment. had he won - oh wait, he did win, the world would have been different. oh well, i guess we should all thank florida.

okay, the highlight/s, aside from seeing clinton. shakira! yes, she's here too, and she was part of the panel about teenage concerns. had a chance to talk a bit with petra nemcova (google it, just a little bit) without realizing who she was. brad pitt talked about how their foundation is helping new orleans.

for the longest time, i had been terribly unfair to her. i've been very supportive of her so-called nemesis (go team aniston!) but yesterday, i had a chance to hear her speak. i was mesmerized. i was charmed. i was lost. and now i'm found. haha.

she caught my gaze and returned it with a smile. i'm swooning.

last night i tendered my resignation as a member of team aniston (sorry jen!) and today, i'm a proud card-carrying member of team jolie! angelina jolie rocks!

she's beautiful, no question about it. i was two feet away from her and i was just in awe looking at her. then she opened her mouth, and outright i saw, i felt the sincerity in her efforts to help the children where there were conflicts before. she talked passionately about the need to help nine million children displaced by war.

she inspired me. and now i'm a fan.