Random musings about life

What makes life exciting is that we don't know what's going to happen next. It is the mystery of the uncertain and unknown things that we expect a new day with anticipation, hoping that the sun will shine brighter the next day.

If we look back into the yesteryears, to those moments our visual "video and audio player" mind can recall, we smile, regret, ponder, sometimes squirm, get angry or react defensively to the stream of memory that flash back and forth from our subconscious mind to conscious mind and vice versa.

There are some things, some events and decisions we hoped and feel we should have behaved, thought, acted, or reacted differently, but we realize that as our own life history unfolds, there is no turning back, no undo's, no rewinds. We can only think back and move ahead. We leave the past and live the present...

But we don't have to worry about tomorrow either because God knows his plans. I've read this beautiful prose from this site, and although I've posted it without permission, I acknowledge that I do not own and did not write this. Nevertheless, here it goes:

YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry.
Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares,
Its faults and blunders, Its aches and pains.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed.
We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow.
With its possible adversities, Its burdens,
Its large promise and poor performance.
Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's Sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds,
but it will rise.
Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.
This just leaves only one day . . . Today.
Any person can fight the battles of just one day.
It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternity's -
yesterday and tomorrow that we break down.
It is not the experience of today that drives people mad.
It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday
and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Let us therefore live but one day at a time.

~ Author Unknown ~

Source: Roger Knapp's site: http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/yesterdaytomorrow.htm
Photo: taken by me (Camiguin, Philippines on August 21, 2004)

Treasuring Online Friendships

I've been tagged! I'm sorry Vicy and Jemade, it took me such a long time to do this tag. Anyway, thank you so much. I'm so glad to have met you, friends are so dear to behold. I am sorry but I think I kind of destroyed the tag because I will merge two tags in one. But they mean the same thing so just allow me to do it, OK? Thanks ^_^

~Start Copy Here~

1. Copy from start to finish

2. This letter should be pass on to your closest friends online.

3. Add your name and URL blog HERE!! .

1. Wheng
2. Hazel
3. Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey
4. Denz Recreational
5. Cecile’s life is good and beautiful
6. Anneberly’s Beyond the Rave Reality
7. Rock’s God’s Best Gift
8. Shimumsy
9. Swittooth
10. Texas Babe
11. Dette’s Muthahood Crib
12. Mommyallehs
13. Pchi’s Opinions

4. Get back to Me [Pchi] and leave a comment once you’ve passed on the letter. Will then visit your site to make sure your links are complete and proper.

5. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, UPDATE your list regularly!

It’s true I have never seen you

and we have never met,

Never shaken hands or

even truly hugged and yet!

I know for sure you care for

me by the kindness that you give.

And our keyboards keep us

together doesn’t matter where we live.

So I give you this gift to

put a smile on your face

and to let you know in my

heart you have a special place.

~End Copy Here~

Now I'd like to pass this on all my friends

college blogger friends:

Dessie, Glenn, Dave

and all my friends from all over the world: I hope I've listed everyone here.... *worried* It's nice to meet you. Here's a salute! *Smiley*

Adie, Alf, Amor, Anak, Andrew, Anig, Arachesostufo, Arjuese, Arvind, Bandiras, Bibe, Carlota, CC, Cesar, Chef Dede, Darlyn, Dienn, Enday, Eula, Garf, Fe, Ferzam, Fiammaveneta, Hussein, Isah Marie, Jannesse, Jarvil, Jean, Jemade, JM, Joy, Joy, JK and Nancy, KateLove, Ken,
Kool, Laurencia, Lei, Lissa, Lispeth, Lou, Louie, Lybunlin, Macmac, Malou, Maricel, Marie, Marky, Malyn, Marvz, Meiyah, Myk, Mykts, Nanay Belen, Nice, Noni, Nyka, Reana Claire, Retchel, Rose, Rose, Rosilie, Ruthi, Silverfox, Sharz, Shimumsy, Story, Sultan, Sweet Angel, Tatay Pepe, Venue 87, Vhiel, Vicy, Vida, Vikki, Virgie, Warrior in Scrubs, Winter, Yenzz, Yudix,

If you already have received this tag from somebody, consider it a bonus that you receive it again. HEHE. I am not obliging you to post it anyway. Your choice =))

Reproductive Health bill: Is it the answer to the ballooning population of the Philippines?

If we look at the data, most countries which have the highest birthrates are also the poorest countries while first world nations including the G8 like Germany, Japan and Italy hit the bottom of the list [data obtained from here]

It seems ironic because rich countries have more capacity to ensure that each baby born will have a food to eat, avail social and medical services, be provided with housing and good education, yet their citizens don't seem to be interested in having big families.

But poor countries like Niger and Mali ranked top spots at 49.62, and 49.38 respectively. The Philippines, at position 76 has a birth rate of 24.o7 % births per 1000 population and an average of 3.5 births per Filipino woman [source].

I believe manpower is wealth and that a baby is always a blessing. Population is crucial in determining a country's economic development. Each person is capable of contributing something to his family, to his city, or nation. If each citizen grows well, contributes even just small things towards the national stability then the country prospers.

The Philippines is a growing country, literally. Each day, babies are born [I tried to look for the statistics but couldn't find one] but the babies have no security or whatsoever of the world they will face.

I have nothing against bearing children. I, for one wants to have mine too [in the future when I am ready]. The population increases as the inflation skyrockets, and it is getting more difficult to provide for ourselves and our families.

I have written a post previously entitled "Pilipino, anong magagawa mo para sa bayan mo?" [translation: Filipino, what can you do to help your country?] and I have pointed out that planning our families is very important.

• Firstly, we need to assure ourselves that we are capable of doing these:
• provide our families with the basic human needs like food, shelter and clothing
• to help our children develop their maximum potential, we have to let them grow socially, emotionally, mentally and spiritually
  
• allocate them sufficient time to feel loved, appreciated and whole
  
• as an investment to their future, we need to educate them
  

• Consecutive pregnancies creates higher risks for the mother. The womb takes at least two years to heal and prepare itself again to support a new life
  

• I know there are other more reasons but maybe I don't know yet. If you can give inputs, that would be greatly appreciated.
  

I don't know what the provisions are in the Reproductive Health Bill so I cannot make a position on the issue. However, this is where I stand:

• I am not in favor of abortion. Life starts from the time the sperm joins to fertilize the egg, and we need to protect that delicate and innocent life. The unborn fetus has a right too, and we need to uphold it . I can imagine the fetus telling his/her mother who's contemplating abortion: "A LACK OF PLANNING ON YOUR PART DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MY PART". Some people might contend, "what if the life of the mother is at risk?" Well, I don't know that sure is a dilemma.
  

• I am amenable to contraceptives and other methods other than the natural ones endorsed by the Catholic church. You can't kill a baby that hasn't been formed yet. If ever, I will submit myself to whatever choice is viable and not disadvantageous to my health. I think in the future, we will have more options.
  

• I discourage teenagers from engaging in premarital sex [well at least the "all the way"] and although the society has been more permissive about it, please hear out my reasons.

Check my related post:

Love, sex and relationship: a personal account

Fighting a Battle with Emotional Fluctuations

There are weird things about my behavior that I cannot explain.

There's a certain period in a month when I feel extremely lazy, bored, and utterly depressed. Currently, I am swinging through unusual fluctuations in my emotions.

I don't know if I am the only person who feels this way. But I get lonely, whimsical and very sensitive when my menstruation is coming, a week or two before my period. I get hurt and cry easily, sometimes unreasonable and selfish, without my realizing it. Although now, I am more aware and conscious of this behavior, so I have somehow adjusted myself that it's just another day in a month and it will pass quickly. Maybe this is what they call premenstrual syndrome, or whatever the doctors call it.

Men would never really fully understand it. They can't experience it firsthand. Some women don't have this problem, and maybe some others do. There are simple cases, like headache, pimple breakout for a while, but there are also severe situations which medical health professionals categorize as premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Somehow, knowing who or what your enemy is helps a lot, but sometimes this isn't enough. Even though I am aware of this, I still can't help it. This affects me every month without fail: bouts of depression, insecurity, crying spells without any reason... but it usually disappears after the period commences or ends.

Sometimes though, it affects my performance. When I need to study or do my programming stuff, I get lazy... then I oversleep. There was one time, I was depressed (for no reason at all) while taking the Civil Service Pen and Paper Test for Professional Eligibility. Good thing I was still able to answer the examination, otherwise I could have failed. Anyway, the Math part was easier because I can compute but the Language-related questions were really long and I had difficulty concentrating.

Most of the time, I get upset with my boyfriend for the littlest reason there is... and on yet other occasions, I just don't not want to see him. We only see each other once a week because he works afar. But I miss him, so I ask him to come over our house but I remain silent so he also doesn't say a word. I always want him to ask me "what's the matter?" but he just says, "let's have a walk outside". I get angry and ask for a break-up and although he still remains calm, he could only mutter, "You know I love you but I don't know just what to do with you right now anymore... "

This scenario happens almost every month for almost two years. LOL. I am just so blessed with the patience and persistence of my boyfriend.

But he's been busy these past few days and I get jealous of the free time he did not spend with me because his family always came first. When I start getting emotional and cry, I condition myself to take control of my feelings or let go and let God do it. It's a struggle but I don't want to lose again.

The Domino Tag

Domino Tag: Thanks Jannesse for this tag!


Rule: Copy the entire list and add your name at the bottom. And tag at least 5 friends. (But you can tag as many as you like).

Note: Please link the blog where you posted the tag We appreciate you linking all your blogs but make sure you post the tag in the blogs too.

Mommy Talks Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps All Kinds of Me Stuff The Salad Caper Winding Creek Circle Anorexic Queen Apple of Yan Ple YanPle Howell and Abie My Planet Purple WomenXplore Princess Bela My Happy Place I am Dzoi Cliktrik 100% Kelly My Colorful World Ramdom Thoughts Scribbles of My Life In This Game of Life The Shopaholic in Me Mommyhood and Me My Charmed Life My Joys Sassy Finds Celebrating Life Life is Peachy Belly, Baby and Beyond {BloggerHappy} Fun.Fierce.Fab Ozzy’s Mom Me,Myself+2 Shopaholic Ties the Knot, The Wifey Diaries - jannesse, Issues and Opinions in A Filipino's Perspective - Pchi

Tagging.... hmmm ^_^ You!

Helping toddlers learn English and more

Been blog hopping today and I can say that there are a lot of mommy bloggers around the world. In fact, at least 50% of my online buddies as in (ka-blog) are Filipino bloggers who happen to be mommies.

Allow me to help you out mommies and you (if you aren't one *wink), 'cause you might have nieces and nephews to tutor.

I have compiled a list of sites that offer free English stories and English related learning sites that your kids will enjoy. Some have animations and some don't. As a rule, we need to regulate what stories the children are reading so to make sure the material is appropriate for them. Have fun reading them yourself. I hope you enjoy it...

• Aesop's Fables
• Apples for the Teacher
  
• BBC
  
• British Council, British Council Short Stories
  
• Enchanted Learning
• Fairy Tale Land
• Folk Tales
  
• Grimm Fairy Tales
• Kids R Cool
  
• Language Guide
  
• Magic Keys
• Picture Books
• Rong Chang
  
• School Express
  
• Story Arts - Aesop's Fables
  
• Story Place
• Story about Bremen town musicians
• Stufun
  

Well, these sites are not for children but they are good reads...

• Alana's Site
  
• Food for Thought
• Funny Stories
  
• Jokes in English
• Indian Child
  
• Inspiration Peak
• Reader's Digest
  
• Roger Knapp's site - check for inspiration and jokes
• Short Funny Stories

If you have questions in your life and problems about something, this is a good place to go:

• Joyce Meyer's

Daily reading

• Every Day with Jesus
• Harold Sala's
  
• Keys for Kids of all Ages
  

I'll be updating this post from time to time. This isn't a sponsored post. ^_^

Kadamo Award

Thanks MoMMy Lissa for this AWARD

Dahil ikaw ay isang sertipikadong blogger,
itinuturing kitang matalik kong “KADAMO”
Maraming salamat… Mga Kadamo;

1.)Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey
2.) My Precious Niche
3.) Just Me.. Eds
4.) Eds Mommy Life
5.) ISL Family
6.) In Depth
7.) The Sweet Life

8. Issues and Opinions in a Filipino's Perspective

Your time to shine...

Feel free to grab this tag Mommy Alf,
Eula, Nyka, Jemade

Feeling low? Think of these

If the usual things bore you
and the daily routines annoy you
If waking up in the morning makes you weak
And each time you feel sick
We’ll at least you’ve got one day to live
Otherwise you’re family’s weeping now to grieve

Common grammar slips we commit when using English

I've been an English tutor for a while now and these are the usual grammar lapses I observe from my students. Sometimes, I do commit them myself when I am not careful.

Do or does

We use does when the subject (noun or pronoun) is in third person singular and do when it's first person or second person plural. Pronouns "I" and "you" use do.

For example:

She does carpentry.
Maria doesn't like pets.
I do love you.
We don't care.

has/have

The same rule in does/do applies to has/have. Has is used to refer to third person and have to refer to ourselves or persons we are talking to. If referring to animals or things, has is used with singular subjects and have to plural.

Example

She has a nice face.
Betty has a beautiful car.
I have been living here since I was born.
You have broken my heart.
It has a colorful design.
The birds have wings.

few/little and many/much

We use few and many with count nouns. Count nouns are those which can be counted. Example of count nouns are the obvious things that have 's or es as ending.

i.e: potatoes, shoes, slippers

However, for collective or non-count nouns, we shall use little or much. Non count noun examples are: rice, salt, vinegar, soy sauce, cheese, milk, money


We only have a few oranges.
Please put just a little pepper.
I have so many friends.
I don't have much money.

Prepositions of time

at, in, on

Prepositions of place

at, in, on

Articles

a,an,the

Related articles:

Common grammar slips we commit when using English Part II
Helping toddlers learn English

7 Facts about Me

Thank you to sis Vicy for this tag.


Here’s the rules:

A. List these rules on your blog.
B. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
C. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

You’ll have to read on for my 7 facts and see who I tagged.

1. I have digestion problems.
2. I love eating a lot.
3. I hate wearing skirts, I am slightly boyish.
4. I enjoy cooking.
5. I am a Sunday School teacher for kids ages 2-10 at our local church.
6. I believe you should hear out the other person's side before making comments and even if the other person may have made a mistake but we don't have the right to judge, after all, who isn't without fault?
7. I am a night owl. I am most productive during the dead of the night.

I'm tagging
Rose, Enday Lei, Marie, Fe, Mykts, Jean

It's Baby Germane! My sister's mini-she. She was actually one month premature but look at her, she doesn't look like one. HAHA. I was her part-time caretaker for a while from birth to five months old. She's in Germany now with her parents. They are graduate students there. Anyway, she's 10 months old now and this video was taken a month ago. My sister sent it to me through Yahoo Messenger in AVI format, but I converted it to WMV to save file size, thanks to Alive Video converter. (Only 60% could be converted though).

Well, it's just that I miss her :-)

Let's exchange PM's but where?

Serious thoughts filled this blog for quite a while, now it's time to switch to lighter articles.

Love chatting? I think most of us do. I text my college buddies and other friends through Chikka, have video conference with my sisters in other parts of the world with YM, and teach on-line to Japanese people using Skype.

In UP Mindanao where I studied, Linux - FreeBSD was the OS (Operating System) that we used, so my classmates used Kopete. I don't know maybe it's part of the kernel package. However, I actually preferred Meebo over it, or sometimes I also used KoolIM.

Today, there are a lot of messenger services to mention. I have Goggle Talk too, but I don't have contacts, except for my boss, so I rarely utilize that.

Yet I never used MIRC, AIM, ICQ and MSN.

What's the fuss? Well, I was thinking of comparing these messengers' services (hopefully for your benefit). If you are well-versed with all these, so just skip this post and maybe correct me if you notice that I made a mistake.

Yahoo Messenger's good points:

• lots of contacts - almost everyone has a yahoomail (I assume in the Philippines particularly *wink) which translates to same yahoo messenger ID.
  
• file transfer - availability of file transfer in a conversation box, I am not sure of the maximum size that can be delivered but my sister sent me two 256mb videos at the same time and I was able to download it one and a half hour later (hehe)
• photo-sharing - one can upload pictures to the chat box without requiring the party to download the images
• free PC to PC calls
  
• voice/chat/video conference - i don't know if there is a limit to the number of users who can talk to each other in a shared chat box though
  
• IMVironments - if you want to attach some virtual environments to the conversation, for example if you are in-love, you can use the "Falling Hearts" IM environment
  
• doodle - I love drawing and this is very useful tool when my nephew Ken talks to his other aunts, uncles and cousins online. He asks them draw what he likes them to draw. Good drawing skill is not necessary.
• audibles also attracts children if you need to talk to them over the internet and keep them still on their seats. It's also convenient to use for greetings with adults too!
  
• games - are handy when you are bored and need something to keep you awake, this is what we used to do with my male pals in college... they like the competitiveness of the games... especially Pools, Word Racer, Literati and Toki Toki Boom. The games can only be played one-by-one though (Java installed is required to both parties).
  
• mail alert - when a new message comes to your email, YM gives new message alerts
  
• avatar/picture - you can personalize an avatar for fun that matches your mood and personality or you can upload a picture
  
• logging in as invisible - if you don't want to be seen when you come online, you can select the "sign in as invisible" check box
  
• stealth settings - you can remain forever invisible to somebody in your list unless you change the configuration
• webcam - you can broadcast your live video from your web cam so the other parties you are chatting to can see you
  
• now available even in yahoomail browser - given that OS and browser are compatible with the required
• emoticons - express your thoughs in cute smileys and emotion icons. Some hidden emoticons you can use can be found here
• status - you can personalize your status or YM sets it for you whether your free as in available, busy, away or idle
  
• connectivity to MSN messenger - you can add an MSN user as a contact in your YM
• connectivity to some telecommunication networks - in the Philippines, one can send an SMS to some networks (not very reliable though) and you can sign in to YM using your mobile device
  

Skype

• voice/chat/video conference
• file transfer
• smileys and emoticons
• free PC to PC calls
• mute your microphone - this is very convenient especially is you suddenly find yourself about to sneeze, cough or yawn
  
• play games similar to YM's games but both parties need to install the third party plug-ins
  
• call and message forwarding to mobile phone - when you buy Skype credit, you can enable the call forwarding feature. This allows anybody from your contacts to call you for free
• send SMS using skype - sometimes my boss sends SMS to my mobile phone (you need credit to do that)
  
• birthday alerts - notifies you when one of your contacts is celebrating his or her birthday
• call recording - if you download the Pamela Call Recorder add-in, you can save atleast 15-minutes of your call and store it in your PC forever (free version) and unlimited call time if you register and pay a certain fee
• enable video - limited to one on one calls and conferences because you cannot share your video if you are not using voice calls
• message archiving - messages are stored as cookies in your PC, you can retrieve them anytime
  
• take snapshots from the other person's video stream
• profile - you can add a profile that your contacts can see
  

Google Talk

• file transfer
• gmail notifications - you can browse all your new google mail - including the title, sender and date sent and is better when compared to YM mail alert
• free PC to PC calls
• available in Gmail
  

Oh well, I haven't finished even half of the comparison. I didn't realize it was so exhaustive topic. I've only tackled Yahoo Messenger basically but I need to rest 'cause I'm sleepy. Hehe. After all, sleep is important for a sharper mind for a new day. Take a look at this news.

This isn't a sponsored post. But I'll be happy if the sites I have mentioned will give a bonus (haha ;)) lol How about you, what do you think is the most convenient IM service provider?

Pilipino: Anong magagawa mo para sa bayan mo?

Matagal nang panahon na nakalubog ang Pilipinas sa utang, di mabayad-mabayang utang sa world bank. Marami sa ating mga kababayan, tapos man sa pag-aaral, di naman makahanap ng disenteng trabaho sa bansa. Kaya nagbabaka-sakali sila sa ibang bayan. Marami namang sinuwerte, naku... at marami din po ang sinawing palad. Nakakalungkot nga isipin na marami sa ating mga kakabayan kailangan pang manilbihan sa ibang bansa para mabuhay ang kanilang mga pamilya. Mapait nga lang kasi malayo at malungkot ang mamuhay ng mag-isa. Kung minsan pa nga, ang pamilyang pilit na tinataguyod ay nasisira pa. Kung sabagay, mas maswerte pa naman sila kaysa sa mga kapus-palad naming mga kababayang hindi na nga nakakapag-aral, gutom, walang laman ang sikmura, o kaya'y palaboy laboy lang sa lansangan dahil sa walang matinong tirahan.

Napansin mo ba ang mga ito sa iyong kapaligiran, o sadyang nagpakabulag-bulagan ka dahil hindi ka naman apektado. Oo nga naman, mariwasa ang buhay mo kaysa higit na mga Pilipino, may koneksyon ka pa nga ng internet. Magkano ba ang bayad mo niyan buwan-buwan? Yung akin, di bababa sa isang libo't dalawang daang piso... (masakit nga sa bulsa eh, di naman kasi kami mayaman, pero kailangan naman). Malamang nakapag-aral ka rin sapagkat nababasa mo itong mga walang kakwenta-kwentang sinasabi ko.

Maswerte ka! Oo, maswerte ka. Ngunit kontento ka ba? Hindi. Ako rin naman. Gusto ko ng mas magandang buhay, marangya kung maaari. Gusto kong makabili ng sariling kotse para mas masaya (mahal na pala ang gaas ngayon no, bisikleta na lang), may bahay at lupa at masayang pamilya, may magandang trabaho at kumikita ng malaki.

Tila nakakalimutan natin ang mga tao sa paligid natin. Basta ba masaya tayo eh, ano nga ba ang pakialam natin sa kanila, buhay nila yan. Malamang nagpabaya sila kaya sila nagkakaganyan. Marahil tama ka nga, pero isipin mo, kung ikaw kaya ang nasa kalagayan nila, ano kaya?


Problema na ng gobyerno yan, iniisip ko ang maaari mo sabihin. E pano ba naman kasi, mahirap na nga sa daga si Juan dela Cruz, kinakwartahan pa ng mga balasubas na pulitiko. Yung buwis na dapat para sa taong bayan, napupunta sa dati namang mayayaman na nilang mga bulsa. Pero ako ha, naniniwala ako sa karma. Ang sabi pa nga, aanihin mo ang iyong tinanim. Ang lahat ng mga kabulastugan mo balang araw ay babalik din sa iyo. Kaya, nakakainis mang isipin parang wala na nga tayong magagawa laban sa mga abusadong mga nakaupo diyan. Subalit naniniwala din naman ako na may mga taong tapat sa tungkulin, wag naman nating lahatin... Yung nga lang, ang hirap paghiwalayin ang itim sa puti, at yung mga abo.

Kahit nga sa mga baranggay may korapsyon ng nagaganap. Ultimo mga opisyalis ng Sangguniang Kabataan marunong nang mandugas. At hindi barya-barya ang sinasabi ko, libu-libong pera! Paano na kaya yung mas malawak ang kapangyarihan? E di mas malaki ang kupit nila doon. Hay naman. Kailan pa uunlad ang Pilipinas kung walang humpay ang nakawan sa kaban ng bayan!

Ngayon ang mga ordinaryong mamamayang tulad ko ay nahihirapan na sa taas ng mga pangunahing bilihin: bigas, gatas, mantika, asukal, flour at kung anu-ano pa. Ano na lang ba ang hindi tumataas, e di ba ang halaga ng piso na lang? Buti tayo may trabaho, kahit paano mairaraos natin kahit hirap na hirap tayo sa pagbabadyet. Paano na kaya yung mga kapwa natin Pilipinong wala man lang tirahan, walang damit, walang pagkain? Ano na ang mangyayari sa kanila?

Kamakailan lang, lumabas ang resulta ng surbey hinggil sa pinakamasayang bansa sa mundo. Marami sa mga bansa sa Asya lumagpak. Ang bansang Japan, mayaman na nga nasa ika-90 pwesto naman. Ang Pilipinas, di ko mawari kung saang pwesto. Ang mga nilathala lang kasi yung mga nanalo at bumagsak. Gusto mong malaman kung anu-anong bansa ang mga nanalo? Tingnan mo ito.

Sa tingin ko, masayahin naman tayong mga Pilipino bilang isang lahi. Mahilig tayong kumanta at marami tayong paraan upang maibsan ang ating mga problema. Palakaibigan naman tayo kaya marami tayong mapaghihingahan ng sama ng loob.

Ngunit balik tayo sa tanong ko : Paano ka nga ba makatutulong sa iyong bayan, Pilipino? Sapat na bang magpadala ka ng salapi buwan-buwan mula sa sahod mo sa pagtatrabaho mo sa ibang bayan? O ang pagtulong sa mga charity works ng mga foundations?

Ako ay simpleng tao. Hindi mayaman, hindi din naman mahirap. Pero ako man ay iisa lamang, sa tingin ko mayroon naman akong magagawa kahit paano sa ating bansa at mga kababayan. Eto ang ilan sa aking mga mungkahi. Mas mabuti kung makadaragdag ka ng iyong opinyon. Ikaw, ako, kung marami tayo, magkakaroon ng pagbabago!

1. Iwasan ang pagkutya ang mga kababayang hindi gaanong nakakariwasa sa buhay o mga tingin nating "beneath our level". Ang galing nating mamuna sa kapwa. Di porke maayos ang kalagayan mo mayabang ka na. Kung maganda o gwapo, mayaman o matalino ka man, igalang ang pagkatao ng iba. Kung iisipan naman kahit anong oras pwedeng mawala sa iyo ang lahat ng pag-aari, kagandahan o dunong mo. Isang aksidente, sakit, sunog, o kalamidad maaaring isang araw maging kasing baba mo rin sila. Magpakumbaba ka. Sa halip magpasalamat sa Diyos na ikaw ay makakapamuhay ng maayos.
   
2. Kung maaari naman, maghatid ng tulong pinansyal sa mga nangangailangan. Hindi importante kung magkano o paano. Halimbawa, ang mga kababayan natin na nasalanta sa nakaraang bagyo, kung mayroon namang extrang halaga, kung maaari magbigay. Mas mabuti na ang ikaw ang tumutulong kaysa sa dumating ang araw, na ikaw naman ang inaabutan ng tulong.
   
3. Pero hindi ako pabor sa pagbibigay ng pera sa mga namamalimos, lalo na yung mga pwede namang magtrabaho. Kung minsan nga lang, masakit talagang pagmasdan. Ang ginagawa ko, bumibili ako ng pagkain sa halip na pera. Minsan kasi, may mga rumaraket na sindikato diyan sa mga limos-limos na yan.
4. Eto ha, nakakainis. Super inis na inis talaga ako. Pinoy, pangalagaan mo naman ang kapaligiran mo! Huwag yung kung saan-saan ka lang nagtatapon ng basura mo. Sige ka, babalik din yan sa iyo, pati kami damay pa, hay naku.
5. Aba naman, hinay-hinay naman sa pag-aanak. Kung di naman kayang tustusan, wag namang gawa ng gawa ng bata. Kung hindi pa handa sa pananagutan, huwag munang makipagtalik sa kasintahan (lalo na kung nag-aaral pa). Lumulubo na ang populasyon ng bansa eh, maliit naman ang ating lupa. Upang hindi mahirapan, bilang ng pamilya ay pahalagahan.
6. Bago gumawa ng anumang hakbang, isipin ang ibang tao. May nasasaktan ka ba, may naaapakan para lang umangat? Tigilan na yang crab mentality na yan. Maging matapat sa lahat ng mga transaksyon.
7. Tigilan ang pagkutya sa gobyerno. Wala naman yang maidudulot na mabuti. Oo ako, guilty ako. Nung mga unang taon ko sa unibersidad, minsan nakakasali ako sa mga rally. Pero napagtantya ko, sayang ang oras. Kung inaral ko nalang yun, mapapakinabangan pa ng bayan ang handog kong serbisyo pagdating ng panahon. Hindi naman sa sinasabi kong walang halaga ang ipanaglalaban ang ating mga kapatid na militante. Kung iisipan nga, isa sila sa nagpapamulat ng ating mga mata sa mga maling ginagawa ng ating mga pulitiko o iba pa. Pero ako naman, kung may mabigat na dahilan, handa rin naman akong mag-alsa sa kalsada. Ngunit hanggang may iba pa akong magagawa, may ibang paraan, dun ako

Uy, ang haba na pala. Pasensiya ka na. Hindi ko na itutuloy, baka abutan tayo ng apat-napu't walong taon. Nadala kasi ako ng aking damdamin. Kung umabot ka hanggang dito, saludo na ako sa iyo. Kung may maimumungkahi ka pa, mag-comment ka. Bukas naman ang aking pananaw. Maaari mong tuligsain o sang-ayunan ang aking mga sinabi. Kahit ano, huwag ka lang manahimik.

To English readers: Sorry but I cannot translate this in English. This post is for my fellow Filipinos. It is a political satire, criticism providing suggestions on how one can help our country despite the crises and tragedies that has befallen us, as well as to help improve the economic, political and cultural situation of the Philippines.

Musings about life

Life is complicated isn’t it?

Trying really hard, I could never explain.

The word echoes and I could imagine every nerve cell in the hollows of my reservoir of information racing so fast, sending electro-magnetic signals in every direction, scanning for the keyword. "There were no items that much your query, try existence instead." Searching for existence, it read, "to be, reality, life".

Sigh.

Life, even Mr. Webster cannot exactly define it, he however lists the characteristics that give rise to life: cellular structure, growth and metabolism, response, reproduction, adaptation and evolution. Life has been an enigma. Life has a far richer tone than we commonly attach to the word. The word itself is a great puzzle. Life therefore, cannot be contained in the contexts of words, for in itself life is larger than life.

Life, as my favorite author (Selwyn Hughes) writes, "is a stream attached to an infinite source." The source he was talking of was God because life is God-breathed and in aligning ourselves to the "heartbeat of the universe, we do not merely exists but lives."

There are three ways to perceive life. Traditionally, during the earlier civilizations they viewed life both in philosophical and scientific contexts. However, there is a theory about the three answers toward the meaning of life.

First, is looking at it theistically. This belief states that a God creates man. For if there is no God, as an author puts it, man’s life would be absurd. Without God and immortality, life has no meaning.

Another way of looking at life is atheistically. Imagine this: “You and everything in this world are accidental by product of nature, a result of matter plus chance.” And this is the way most scientist answers the question. If this was the case, there is no reason for my existence. Where do I go from here?

Lastly, man sometimes regard the question and approach it in such a way that the question sees the meaningfulness of the question itself. By the way I did not understand that…

However, life is in my perspective, loomed larger when we have associated ourselves with God. Without man, God is still God but without God, man is nothing. I do not know how these views about prokaryotic cells evolving into multicellular organism as complex as man emerged, but one thing for sure, I remain indignant in the faith that I profess. I think these intelligentsia stuffs were only to smokescreen the God-vacuum in the hearts of these scientists. How complex is it for my human brain to understand that this world that I live is from a cosmological explosion. Absurd, it really is to me. To think that scientist have not known the source of such the force, it must be something beyond our grasp! Something that even the most genius creature cannot even fathom!

Therefore, the cliche that says life is simple is an understatement. What more can I say than what had already been expressed by Mahatma Ghandi, “there is more to life that increasing it’s speed.” The way we live should be slowed down for as the song goes, “life is too short.” To add, I quote Fr. Jerry M. Orbos when he said, “In the end, only three things matter most; how you lived, how deeply you were loved and how carefully you let go of the things not meant for you.

Nationalistic Series: Is Rizal still relevant to Filipinos today?

Was Rizal devalued along with the deprecation of peso in these modern times?

I say not much. I think Jose Rizal is still very relevant today, if not he could have been displaced long ago as national hero and PI 100 should have been abolished. Part of the efforts of the government is to influence the collective behavior of the Filipinos in making Rizal a pertinent figure in the History of the Filipino, simply because he left a seal of patriotism that they want us to emulate. He was indeed a hero, in his own right and context.

Despite the large part of students filing up nursing schools, in a hope of good future on overseas, the increasing number of our skilled workers and even professionals, and the exponentially growing trend of migration on most Filipino families, I still believe that the immortal seed of having a “pusong Pinoy” never ceases to beat, so long as we live.

Rizal, being the National hero for sometime now, has been an inseparable entity of the national consciousness. Even during our lower years of instruction were filled with lessons about Rizal, Bonifacio and their contributions to our enjoyment of liberty. Rizal has been a source of pride for the Filipinos, because of his prolific skills and seemingly prophetic visions, that certain group of people exalted him and raised him to the level of the gods. Many public schools have been named after him, even matchboxes and other products. We know that Rizal has been and will always be an integral part of the country’s identity. National hero.

I believe that Rizal contributed solutions to problems the country used to have. He did not remain silent. He might not have approved of the violent revolution, but he coined the possibility of having one. His writings were definitely noteworthy in the arousal of the collective national consciousness, which mirrored and criticized the many defects of the politics, economics, and religion under the Spanish regime. These defects, like graft and corrupt practices, agrarian controversies, neglect of the primary need of the people are still very relevant today. Most of the problems he identified more than a century ago where the same and almost identical in nature with the dilemmas we have today.

Rizal showed us the world beyond what we see, beyond our comfort zones. Even to this day, the characters of his novels can be spotted and identified at once. We live in same they backward progress as they did. In fact, except that we have been detached physically from colonizers, and for the education or mis-education of the people, we haven’t changed much.

So where is Rizal in these issues? I believe that being critical in his evaluation of the history and present condition on his time, we are able to examine now, where do we come from, what are we, where are we going.

Rizal has certainly made his mark, seal and rights too. But a better question should have been: do we still care about Rizal and his life, works, and writings? He may be relevant, but the worsening condition of the state would dictate otherwise. Man needs to provide himself first with his basic needs before he learns to appreciate everything else.

Lessons I learned I need to do in life...

These are just some bittersweet minces of meaningful insights I learned I need to do in life:

Sound track plzz…

15. HARD WORK

"Nothing in life is easy"

14. ACCEPTANCE

"Always choose to see the good, bright, and beautiful side of people"

13. OPTIMISM

"Maintain a positive perspective even when plan fails"

12. BALANCE

"Schedule and manage your time effectively"

11. NEGOTIATION

"There is no conflict that can’t be resolved by effective communication"

10. PATIENCE

"Allow more room for people’s mistakes."

9. PERSISTENCE

"Persevere even when things go uncertain"

8. COMPOSURE

"Keep your anger under control"

7. ENCOURAGEMENT

"Prove that you believe in the person"

6. FORGETFULNESS
"Forget anything behind that’s heavy to carry"

5. CONFIDENCE

"Trust and be confident of yourself"

4. PRAYER

"Ask God to help you in everything you do"

3. COMMITMENT

"Give your love ones your most precious gift: your time"

2. HOPE

"There are always second chances"

1. CONTENTMENT
"You'll never be truly happy unless you learn to be content"

Special thanks to my soul twin for encouraging me to always see the bright beautiful side of life. Your optimism influenced me positively. *HUGS*

This can also be seen in my other site.

Some hygienic products can be potentially hazardous to our health, research claims

I know wanting to be flawlessly beautiful can be toxic sometimes, but who doesn’t want to be perfect?

Almost all forms of media are saturated by advertisements on products that promise us to have that unrealistically good looking body, blemish-free skin, beautifully flowing straight hair, and healthy/ fit bodies if we buy their products. Modeling seems to be a very good business too as TV, billboards, magazines, newspapers and even the Internet are always flooded with commercial advertisements. These ads make us realize how much we need to cope to measure up with their unrealistic standards.

Maybe it’s because of the culture: most of the people are very unforgiving and very critical about people especially social status and appearance. It shouldn’t be the case but that’s how it has always been and that’s another story. Most jobs today require one to have pleasing personality (note: pleasing personality equates to good looks). If one isn’t very presentable physically, chances are people would look down on him/her. That’s why cosmetics is an all-time good business like food. The targets once pawned are hooked and they are mostly women (why? that’s yet another story).

Liposuction, breast augmentation, facial treatments and other cosmetic procedures is a very lucrative business to mention. I don’t know if my mind will change in the future but as of now, I think it’s grossly vain to undergo so* Though, I must admit I am very tempted to imagine how it will be like if I have like this, or that, or if ever I had this altered, or that removed. Now, better than before I’ve learned to be content with just the way I am, however blemished, flawed or imperfect I may be. If I have some zits, others have cysts. Other people have cleft palate, goiter, or deformities. If I have allergies and blotches, others have tumors. See, these physical blemishes look awful but they often heal and they are neither dangerous nor fatal.

But, I also acknowledge that I too am concerned with my appearance. Not very much, but I am a little bit vain too! In fact, I have been a loyal customer to some beauty products in which I discovered recently could have potential health hazards because of some of their active ingredients. Actually most of them are categorically over-the-counter hygienic items like bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste, mouth wash, conditioner. And some not very needed items like facial wash, moisturizers, body scrub, make-up, lipstick, etc.

I was surprised that some of the trusted products that I use are labeled alarmingly high hazard (7-10) and some moderate (3-6) by the researchers at the environmental working group when I searched the skin deep cosmetic database. Some of the products that I used before that when I searched gave positive results meaning high and moderate hazard score were:

• Nivea (lotions, moisturizers, deodorants, sunblock)
• Unilever’s Pond’s (facial wash, scrub and cream)
• St. Ives (body scrub and cleanser)
• Unilever’s Suave (shampoo and conditioner)
• Unilever’s Vaseline (shampoo, petroleum jelly)
• Proctor and Gamble’s Safeguard (bath soap)
• Proctor and Gamble’s Pantene (shampoo, conditioner)
• Avon’s Skin-so-soft (lotion/moisturizer)
• Avon’s lip gloss, lipstick, pressed powder, blush on
• Johnson & Johnson’s Clean and Clear (cleanser, powder — I discontinued use after one try because I’m allergic to these)
• Johnson & Johnson’s baby lotion, baby shampoo, baby bath (for my nephew and niece)
• Johnson & Johnson’s milk lotion, milk bath, baby oil, baby cologne
• Off! (insect repellant lotion)
• Aquafresh/Colgate/Close-up/Sensodyne toothpaste
• Body Shop (perfume)
• Coppertone (sunblock)
• Listerine (mouthwash)

Other famous products that I havent used before but marked high in similar study were:

• Olay (moistorizer, cream, cleanser)
• L’oreal/Clarins/Revlon hair color, hair spray, mousse,
• Axe (body spray)

Well, it seems like the list is exhaustive so you can check the database yourself and see the products you use. I don’t know if the companies can sue me for writing their names here but I am only referring to the scientific reports I read from this site.This blog entry is just to support the campaign for safer consumer product use. I think I’ll still use the products myself, but at least with caution. Especially lipstick with large enough amounts of lead.

If you think the name of a specific product should be deleted from the list, then feel free to contact me using my email address.

***No offense meant to people who had it, with all due respect.

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Note: A cross post in my other blog site.

Blogging and making friends

Ironically I have posted the importance of sleeping especially before midnight when I couldn't possibly do that, not unless I decided to have a day off on my part time work as an ESL teacher to Japanese people. My working shift usually end at midnight.

These days, I've been busy blog hopping and making friends with people around the world, linking them up in my blogroll, leaving a message on their shout boxes, dropping my entrecard (EC) on the sites I visited, or if I was interested enough, put a comment on their posts. Well, in the few weeks that I've been doing this, I started last June 20, I have been sleeping really early... early in the morning, that is!

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It isn't really my intention to make money out of blogging. I'm in love with writing, and if you are happy with what you are doing, you do that even without compensation. I was the editor of the high school student paper in high school and am a frustrated journalist. I got smitten by numbers, so I exchanged my love of writing to programming. Those years I spent studying abstract things, harnessed my logical reasoning abilities, were the years I haven't really written. What I did for that period was compute, master calculus, discrete math and all those things I need to learn how the computer operates functionally. And now I am redeeming the time I have lost and trying to learn again my way into words. The Internet provided a very convenient venue to express my thoughts and opinions.

I am very happy to my fellow bloggers who are making money with their blogs. I don't know if I will change my mind in the future, but I am quite contented with my blog as it is. My goal is to provide as much insight and information I can give in the best of my ability to make the world a better place (haha, lol).

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I am sorry for being an idealist here, but I am kind of upset with the procedure (not the people of course). We exchange links with people because it can improve our traffic, and yes, I did that too! (GUILTY) But I have observed we make friends because we can benefit from them. It's not bad I think. This is very similar to how we do business in the real world anyway, so I shouldn't be surprised. But well at least, I'd like to offer sincere friendship. If you aren't really interested in reading my thoughts, then why do we have to exchange links. I'll keep my friends to a minimum now, so I can still manage to visit them once in a while in my busy schedule and really read and understand what they are saying.

If you would like to have genuine friendship, let's exchange links. If not, well never mind. I am quite happy with just few friends anyway. And there's always a bigger real world if I fail here in the virtual community.

Sleep and its Utmost Importance

Think of anything that doesn’t wear out. Jewelry? Houses? Clothes? Cell phones? Cars? Constant use wears out the finest products and machinery. How about our own bodies?

As we all know, we constantly face the challenges and high demands of the family life, work or academe. In fact, there are times when the demands are so overwhelming that we feel stressed-out and depressed. Now, would you like to know how we could prevent our bodies from wearing out?

Everybody can afford it. It causes no undesirable side effects, just improves your mental efficiency as well as restores energy for every organ in your body to function well! This remedy focuses on replenishment and repair of your hormones and organs that had been used during the day, at night. Yes, you guessed it right! It is sleeping, the body’s repair mechanism.

Our bodies need seven to eight hours of sleep every night. The regularity of this much time in our sleeping habits is important such that the work of building up essential nutrients for our body takes place during the hours of our sleep, says Ellen White in one of her book. And robbing nature of her hours of rest, she adds, will result irreparable loss.

In a study conducted in an eastern American university, young males were paid to go without sleeping as long as possible, to test the effects of sleeplessness. The winner went 96 straight hours without sleep – all four 24-hour days! He received his money, but as a result of sleep loss, his brain waves slowed down for more than four months. He failed his senior year and had to repeat it!

You see, we think of our brain as our “power center.” During quality rest, the “batteries” of our brain are “re-charged.” Each cell of our body has tiny granules of chemicals such as hormones and other forms of energy stores, which are exhausted during the day and take hours to be replenished. Our nervous system especially, needs a quality night’s sleep to be at its best the next day! And glands, which secrete hormones to control stress, run on cycles of work and rest. In short, our performance will be negatively affected due to long-term stress caused by sleeplessness.

Sleep is the body’s great restorer. Through the years, doctors have recommended that the best sleep is an early sleep, especially before midnight. It is because, in researches it has been found out that these hours of sleep coincide with the time our body repairs our hormones and organs depleted during the day.

The importance therefore of having regular sleep and having proper rest should not be overlooked as part of our lives. As I have already pointed out, researches have shown that sleeplessness reduces our mental efficiency and thus lowers our performance. Sometimes, we tend to physically abuse ourselves and as a consequence we face depression, headaches, among other things as diseases sets in our bodies. Our immune system will be broken down and because of the abuse; death may close the scenes of our life. Our lifework and academic achievements would then be useless.

Sleep is not a privilege; it is a necessity. Whatever we do, we must not forget to spare enough time for our body to have proper rest and quality sleep. After all, we only have one body, literally! How long would it last without sleep?

We are fortunate; our creator designed a built-in automatic charger for our bodies. If we would live this kind of regular life, our bodies would “purr” like fine engines. Take rest seriously, as a steady ingredient in successful, happy life…

Understanding Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder? Does it sound familiar? No, you might say. The terminology may not be very popular but studies have shown that Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) ranks to be the third largest mental health problem in the world, affecting seven percent of the total population. But what is this social phobia and why does it involve so many people?

Imagine this: Your friend hates eating out with you at your favorite fast food chain. She is afraid somebody will be watching and staring at her from somewhere. She just feels so conscious when she is in a public place and she sure will make a fool of herself around people. She simply cannot shake the feeling of super self consciousness.

You probably would just shrug her off, and think her idea is silly. Or, you may laugh at her and perhaps think she’s just kidding. Hold it, let me explain to you what’s going on with your hypothetical best friend.

All individuals have comparable concerns when asked to perform before an audience. The thought of having to say or of saying something inappropriate causes us to become self conscious and nervous. It is normal for people to become jittery given these circumstances. People with social phobia however; show extreme, irrational reactions and intensive anxiety that sets them apart with non-phobic. As they become more self conscious, the more their anxiety increases.

Social phobias involve a persistent fear of being in a social situation where they think people will notice something embarrassing about them, more so being humiliated and criticized. Some individuals have specific phobias such as public speaking or performing a musical instrument in front of an audience. Others, like our example, have a generalized avoidance of all social situations like falling in line in a grocery store, eating in public places or using public restrooms. These feelings do not manifest when the person is alone. It is the social aspect of the situation that brings about the anxiety even when the person is just thinking about it.

Researches show that people with social phobia tend also to have low self-esteem and underestimating their talents and areas of competence. It is therefore, clear that this disorder can impair a person’s normal emotional and social growth, even his/her occupational function. It's just something that is impossible to let go, relax, and focus on anything else except the anxiety and fear. Because the anxiety is so very painful, it's much easier just to stay away from social situations and avoid other people altogether.

Now, We can see that this disorder can be truly devastating when interferes with a person’s daily life especially his or her personal growth.

Over the years, social anxiety disorder has been the least understood psychological problem in the world. It is no joke for these persons who suffer this disorder. It is therefore my burden, to share with you this knowledge so that we can altogether help social phobic live a better lives. And help them by understanding their situations and finding means to solve their problems.

At present, there had been no single, proven, universal method to improve success rate in treating social phobia. Let us address this ourselves simply by guiding our not so social friends to be outgoing socially.

Sources:
Halgin and Whitbourne. Abnormal Psycholology (book)
Udhe, et al. Abnormal Psychology (book)
Richards, Thomas A. “What is social anxiety disorder”
Marks, Ishmael M. "What is cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder?"

malipayong adlawng natawhan kanimo, tatay!

Labaw nga bililhon ka kanako
Kaysa sa imong pagkahibalo
Dili tungod panagsa ra ko nagasulti
Mahimo kining dili tinuod
Tungod kanimo naa ko'y seguridad
Kabalo ko nga naa ra ka kanunay
Sa panahon nga kinahanglanon tika
Hangtud karon, bisan tigulang na sad ko


Salamat sa imong pag-amuma kanako
Kini akong dako nga utang kanimo
Ug hangtud sa buhi pa ko
Igasugid sa mga tawo
Proud tatay's girl gyud ko

Note: This post is for my father who turned 70 today. The picture was taken almost 20 years ago. HAHAHA. Sorry, but my father and I haven't had pictures recently. Since his hair turned gray, he doesn't like being photographed anymore.