A friend of mine now lives in Paris with her British husband and their two children. No one gave her any grief or guilt about her decision to move away; in fact I suspect she’s heard more people tell her how fortunate she is to be residing right smack dab in the center of the City of Lights. Her choice to leave was not a statement against the United States nor was it meant to demonstrate the superiority of France. She moved simply for personal reasons. And that was good enough.

Unfortunately for us Filipinos who now live outside the Philippines, it’s never that simple a reason. No matter why we left, there’s always that cloud of perception hanging over us that we abandoned our country in its time of need. It’s rather confusing, you know, to be hailed by the government as heroes because of the dollar remittances we send back home — and then practically denounced as traitors by many of our fellow Filipinos (sometimes even by the same government officials) for using our talents and skills for the benefit of another nation and not our own instead.

Continue reading at GIGI GOES GAGA

i don’t want to cry anymore. today is the last straw. why should i cry for anyon who’s selfish…insensitive and who clearly disrespects me. there’s no reason to cry over someone like that.

read more @lokita

Last time, I expressed my wish for a Cebu Pacific A320. Today I present four stunning airplane models that I am seriously considering buying through credit card.

The first plane is the Herpa Cebu Pacific B757-200 (pictured above):

[Fly high at my aircraft models blog.]

I always do wrong

I am not created to perfection

I choose to be good

But being good does no good to me

From left to right, there is a negative reaction,

Reactions that would run forever and long.

I always do wrong

Don’t think I am street smart

Because in reality I am not

Blunders are part of my norms

Feeling tormented is a thing for me

Life is not wonderful and lovely

I define it best as damned and scary.

I always do wrong

Call me blasphemous and I admit that

Hello?! I am not a church brat here

Though prayer is my habit as precious as myrrh

I do bad things and those are shits

From large to small, from bytes to bits.

I always do wrong

My logic is totally terrible

You can barely call it intelligible

I don’t reason for it ushers trouble

I don’t give answers for all of them are wrong

‘Cause no one defends that all of them are right.

click here to read more

The big news yesterday in animaldom is the Komodo dragon from a British zoo in Chester, England that hatched baby Komodos without ever having been associated or never once interacted with any male Komodos. Yep, it’s the animal version of the virgin birth, and Flora, the eight-year-old Komodo virgin mom, is apparently oblivious to the much excitement caused by the fact that she is now both a mom and a dad (isn’t that such a single-parent cliche? lol). Other reptiles are known for reproducing asexually (parthenogenesis), but Flora’s virgin birth is the first record of such with Komodos. [[READ MORE HERE]]

…immediately it sunk into my gut, the loneliness of our planet, with six billion people connected, allegedly, by only six degrees of separation, which sounds strikingly close, yet isolated in a sense, in a world so reactive yet estranged as before. Language isn’t only the big barrier, but the indifferent hearts of people, just as much…

…watch this movie to know what I’m talking about. Then be prepared for stunning visuals, the babel of myriad languages, with striking juxtapositions of progress and want, celebration and suffering, plus a superbly rendered night-club scene, and the beautiful but melancholy passion of matured love…

Read more at Poppycock

The camp of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has twice beaten the Senatorial lineup of former President Joseph Estrada in 2001 and 2004. Who will win in the third round?

Read more at Mongster’s Nest

As I had once mentioned in a previous entry, Manila’s Historic Fort, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect venue for a photography workshop. And for those who live in Metro Manila or in the surrounding provinces who wish to take weekend classes in basic photography, I highly recommend this workshop offered by FPPF. Seasoned professional photographers conduct the classes, and what would usually cost P5000 is only P2750 because the program is sponsored by Fuji.

Read complete entry… 

Background: Friday Secret# 1, Friday Secret# 2

When I was very young, naive and stupid, I actually paid off a cop.

The story behind my encounter with them will forever remain buried with me until the day I die so let’s focus here. For fear of my safety (imagine? from manila’s finest?) and well-being, I gave in to what they asked.

In return for not filing any charges (don’t ask!), they were willing to accept 30,000 pesos. HELOW! I was driving my car so they probably assumed I was loaded. I wasn’t. I was a regular employee slaving away 70-hour weeks and just happened to be driving my father’s car. I said I didn’t have the money - in my very teeny weeny pleading voice. They whispered among themselves (about 5 cops) and apparently agreed to a lesser amount. One of them… the most lewd-looking one of all, approached me and said “O sige 15 thousand na lang. Yung totoo nga e 50K ang bail dyan kaso aregluhin na lang natin”.

Read…

JAZA is not only rich. He is also a gentleman. Did you ever hear about that actress who wanted that woman to get out of the elevator she wanted to use only to find out she was the owner of the building? (Read on.)

Magkaganoon man, dumating ang panahon ng opisyal na pangangampanya sa Pebrero 13, 2007 at maging opisyal na kandidato nga ang mga TV personalities at artista ay huli na sapagkat matagal na silang nakalabas sa mga TV shows at nangampanya nang di-tuwiran sa mga botanteng iniidolo sila, sinasamba sila, sinusubaybayan bawat galaw, pangyayari sa buhay ultimo pag-utot nila.

Sa ganitong sitwasyon, sa lipunan nating mas pinaniniwalaan ang mga tsismis tungkol sa artista kaysa sa mga isyung panlipunan, mas dadami ang mga artistang makakaupo sa mga posisyon sa ating gobyerno.

Sundan dito

On the flight back to Manila from Osaka, I browsed through the combined International Herald Tribune-The Asahi Shimbun edition and chanced upon this item, written by William Pesek:

“Starbucks is up against a popular movement to toss its single outlet out of the Forbidden City. Actually, it’s more of a kiosk without the ubiquitous Starbucks sign hanging out front, and good luck finding it. Caretakers will decide by the end of June whether it can remain or be abolished… It’s ‘a symbol of low-end US food culture’ and ‘an insult to Chinese civilization,’ Rui Chenggang, an anchor of the state television broadcaster China Central Television, wrote on his personal Web log [which has] attracted hundreds of thousands of hits.”

Dang. They could only be talking of one outlet. This one:

See pic and read the complete entry here.

do you like those texturized or “etch-tone” pictures which emulates woodcut fromn old-style newspapers and engravings on certificates and currency?? this can now be done with the help of Photoshop CS2, this can now be easily done right at your own desktop…

want to know how??

» Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes you really need to think twice before doing things..Take a look at this one..

I read in on of my mailing list about a civil court case of a certain Susana Flores Molina who was sued by her old employer DBSoft Philippines, Inc. (DBSoft). Apparently, she is being sued because she transferred to a new company called CAI-STA, which is a company involved in business process outsourcing (BPO). DBSoft is claiming that she signed a Non-Compete Agreement that upon employment that stipulated that she cannot work with a competitor within two years of leaving DBSoft.

Ms. Molina claims she is very much aware that CAI-STA is not a direct competitor of DBSOft. However, the case stems from the alleged claim of DBSoft that ALL companies doing software development are considered competitors.

Read more at Standard Web Standards

work was extended and it gave me a couple more hours to think. a few text messages sent and a few minutes of travel, suddenly i’m in my seat. the “sayaw manila 3″ was about to start. maybe i just wanted to see her dance.

the lights dimmed and the national anthem played and the prayer of thanks was done in the form of a dance. from the start, i was impressed.

Read more at The Misadventures of Roni G!

hi everyone!
I’m kiss lexully raye…..
or you can just call me kiss for short…;o)

well
guyz…
i have this problem that I dont know how to find a solution on it
i am looking for some advices from my friends but stilll i dont know how and when or will it be effective..

i am a student nurse in a good and maybe one of the best nursing school in the philippines..
my problem is really nursing for me? I dont know why…
whats the problem in me or is the course i am taking up is the problem….
i dont know what to do its just beacause my parents are spending money for just to finish my studies..
i am feeling guilty if i will shift to another course that would really
fit into me…but iam trying to love and like nursing now…
i have good grades and good school performance…but its just simply beacause sometimes i think that this course is not really for me…but for the sake of my parents who have sacrificed for my better future maybe i would end up loving and will really finished this course…
well guyz…i am just hoping you can give some piece of advice for me….well thank you in advance…
God bless!
muawh!

Was very surprised to find a whole hunk of holiday ham still in the freezer and decided to make breakfast (teamed it up with organic brown rice in hopes of fooling self we’re not being a heifer) for mi wonderful family. Housemates. My dad and sister. And dogs. More dogs in here than people, I’m telling you.

Was also very surprised by hidden holiday ham cooking powers. How v.fatherly of me. I’ve always had the impression dads (or alpha male substitutes in case dead, away or broken home) had to cook the holiday ham.

Which reminds me, READ MORE

Yesterday, we had our oncology exam, hopefully our last major exam as medical students, before we go to junior clerkship, which will start on Monday. It was one of the hardest exams we have taken ever since our stay in the college. Everyone of us could just shake heads while exiting the examination room, and anxiety was apparent on our faces.

Many of us experience the so-called “exam anxiety or stress”. This is one of the problems, especially among students. I think it is just a natural occurrence because it’s man’s nature to fear failures. Sometimes, anxiety can also be our drive for excellence. We get anxious, and anxiety pressures us to do better. But as the saying goes, “too much is bad.” If you worry too much, you get mentally blocked. Mental block is not just an effect of caffeine overdose, or a sleepless night, but also anxiety over the exam per se can cause it.

Continue reading

Yes, I know it has only been two days since my last (and first) link love post, but can you stop me? No? Ok. Now we know who’s boss ’round here, I’m serving up another bunch of links. All the authors involved are tied together somehow. How? If you know them, you’ll know. If not, well, just read on. I’m sure you’ll find some clues somewhere. In any case, you might not find out the answer to the previous question, but you might have a few more blogs to add to your daily reads.

Want those links?  Follow me…