They are Why We’re Here

I just chatted with my friend a few minutes ago. She says they're celebrating her grandmother's birthday. My friend's grandma is now amazingly aged 90 years old. And even at that age, she still travels with her daughter, from the Philippines to California, and vice versa, every year. Sadly though, there are moments when she couldn't remember some people around her. I guess it comes with the age.

Unlike our usual practice here in Pinas, people in the States often admit their elderly loved ones in caring facilities who employ trusted caregivers to assist them in their daily routines. My friend is moving from California to San Francisco and so of course, they also plan to transfer her grandma to a center near their new home. I told my friend to make sure they check out nursing home ratings first so they'd be guided well in choosing the right home.

I think it's really important that we take good care of our elderly. They are, after all, a big reason why we exist in this world right now. They are why we're here. Even if we aren't with them every single day, I think it's very reassuring  if we know they are in good hands.

It’s a Lady Thing

I've seen this shampoo commercial wherein during the first part shows a model who brushes her hair and finds several strands tangled in it. I could so relate. I often see get those strands tangled in my brush too. It kinda worries me sometimes. The thought of sudden hairloss freaks me out. Poof!

Well, the web is a bucket of information. I sure will be able to find means to provide more effective solutions for this little hair dillema. It is, after all, every lady's most important assets. And taking good care of it is fundamentally an obvious thing we, ladies, must always do.

Showbiz Time

Most people get their showbiz updates while being on the couch. I, on the other hand, who is busy with college life and loaded with a schedule who steals away my time for primetime TV, update myself via an even wider means which is, of course, the Internet.

I was once employed in an online tutorial company and I had this officemate who despised show business to the highest level. She's a Chinay who looked much more of a Chi than a nay. Because of this and because of the fact that she gets irritated at matters of showbiz , everyone teased her to be this now-famous Chinese-Cebuana who seems to have kept the public's attention for quite some time now. And well, as expected, she gets super duper irritated each time she was teased. You wouldn't find her browsing celebrity gossip blogs or websites of such nature.

I, however, do not mind being teased as being a look-alike of any of the pretty celebs around. Lol! Nah, I'm not that into showbiz. It's just that I enjoy watching lives of these glam people and learn from them in even the littlest of ways.

The Ever Evolving World

Being one of the millions of spectators of the showbiz industry, I have always found it amazing how the list of celebrities who has undergone rhinoplasty and other cosmetic surgery procedures shoot up over the years. I've seen the procedure done even on celebrities who didn't need such beautiful transformation. Has this become a trend of some sort in the world of show business?

After months of hiatus from being on the couch, I watched the local TV last Sunday and noticed some transformation on Sunday noontime show stars on the two biggest channels here in Pinas. There's no question on the reason for that. They thank Belo or Calayan almost every single chance they get, after all.

Well, this really is an evolving world with evolving people who doesn't only have evolving minds but evolving faces as well. Hmm…..nothing wrong with that….I guess.

After a Month

Last time I posted something here, it was the stil the 1st of June. Now, more than a month has passed by and so many things has gone on. I've been awfully busy with school, I now have a new set of eyeglasses, I've met new people, and the not-so-good part, I've gained weight. Hehe! Most people around me might not notice but yeah, I think my pants these days have been a little tighter than they were before.

I think it's because I've been hopping from one Cafe and restaurant to another during my free time at school, having food trips while doing some school stuff in my lappie. Well, that shouldn't be surprising. Food trips have always been something I am into. And speaking of food trips, I've been surfing the web looking for restaurants, recipes, anything at all about food. (Geez, I should be a little careful with this…I wouldn't wanna be back to my chubby days..lol!).

 In this huge bucket of food websites, I came across one which showcased San Diego restaurants and found them interesting. I found lots of interesting stuff like this place which served food for optimal nutrition. All the good food minus the unwanted calories. Really cool! My cousin actually just moved to San Diego with her husband and kids and I sure will tell her about this.

The First of June

It's amazing how time sped off like a racing car during summer '07.

Well…not that I knew what summer '07 actually felt like..but..lolz!

It's just amazing. Mean heck…it's the 1st of June. *shakes head* First of June, man! Time flew real fast.

This day marks the end of summer(for most). And in a few days, it'll be the start of another school year, of course.

Haha! I'm a student pa pala. With all the real world thingy I had going on during the whole summer(as in from day one), I almost forgot that I still have a year to finish in college. Poof!

Anyway…I'm excited to go back to school. I missed the pressure…the stress.

There's one thing I've proven this summer. The pressure in school…it's far too different from the kind of pressure you get when you work. That much I know. Both may be parallel, yes. But similar…hardly.

I've got one more year to enjoy (yes…enjoy) school life. I sure will miss it soon.

My So-Called Summer Break

After more than a month of hiatus from the blogging world, I've finally found time to inscribe my latest endeavors in this virtual domicile of mine. *grin*

Gawd, I've missed blogging soooo much. I've been online day and night since my last post but where I'm having my practicum at and in my nighttime job, blogging and accessing of sites which aren't related to work is…well…prohibited. Tsk. It is, after all…work. Poof!

If you check on my twitter box at this blog's sidebar, getting a glimpse of the real world is what's being published. Yes, indeed, the last few weeks for me have been about learning what it's like to be in the real world.

Here's how my days have been like ever since summer commenced…

My day starts at 6:30 am. Yep. 6:30 AM. Uh…I'm not talking about waking time, here. That's actually the time I arrive at Link2Support, the company where I'm having my practicum at. We work as agents catering to customers with technical problems on the devices they've purchased from a certain Networking company. My shift at the aforementioned call center would end at 3:00 PM.

Ive been enjoying my stay there so far. The people. The management. The place. The company. Everything's been great! It's such a privilege for me to be able to have my on-the-job-training there.

Anyway…

After 3, I go straight home. And what do I do?….Sleep. Hehe. But don't let this milead you. My day doesn't end at three. The first part of my day does end at that time. But the second part is yet to come. That's why I get some sleep — to charge up for the second part of my summer day.

Last time I blogged here, my room was being spruced up and the plan of getting my PC back in shape was premeditated. Also, I mentioned something about a job interview…implicitly so.

About a month and a half later, my room is still spruced up. My PC is far from being brought back to shape. And I'm being kept occupied at night by tutoring English to Koreans of various ages via video conferencing. Yes…the job interview I had during the day I wrote my previous post was actually for the parttime job I'm blessed to have now.

When the clock strikes 6:30 pm, I'm poised at another office station where I get ready for a series of English classes come 7pm. Right now, my students range from around 12-17 years old. All of them getting online at a certain schedule every night for a 30-minute session of feeding their English skills. It's another thing that I'm so happy about, this job. I didn't know it was this fulfilling to be able to share what you know.

At 11:00 pm, I log off and go home. That's when my day would end. I get some sleep and get up a few hours later to get ready for yet another busy day.

I have Saturday mornings and Sundays to take my break. (I have classes on Saturday afternoons.) During those days I try to unwind as much as I can so I could sort of recharge my body's battery which has been consumed during the weekdays.

So you see, my summer break isn't really the ideal vacation that others may deem to have. Nevertheless, I am having a great time! At first it was kinda tough adjusting to such jam-packed schedule. It took me about two weeks to adjust fully. Before that, my Saturday mornings were unusually groggy and I felt like I were under the ocean all week, swimming my way to the surface. Hehe! After the adjustment period, everything sailed smoothly.

This summer 2007 I'm not just getting a glimpse of the real world. I'm having loads of fun too. =)

Sprucin’ Up

Aside from awfully-lengthy intervals of moviehouse trips, there's one more thing I get each time it's class months — piles of varied, unorganized documents generated out of months of printouts from school projects and papers. Ha!

That's what I dealt with the whole afternoon. And I was overwhelemed with the amount of papers gathered and mixed-up in my cabinet. I just collated all those for scratch and kept the ones for filing. Haha! It's a great feeling to know that it's now easier for me to retrieve documents in the future. (Mmm…I'm starting to sound like I'm trying to build an archive library in my place..haha! Why not? Lol!)

Anyway…after I finished the first phase of cleaning up at around 4:30, I readied myself for an interview which was to become the first step of getting me completely preoccupied this summer. Hehe. I'm not gonna elaborate on that for now. 'Coz I'm sleepy na. *grin* Plus, I've got more sprucing up to do tomorrow. There are CD's(back-up files) to label, a three-drawer mini cabinet (filled with books, folders, homevideos, etc.) to organize, and uhm…a movie to watch afterwards. *grin*

Just wanted to drop by here before I call it a day.
Au revoir, my friends.

My Star Sign Says

I've always enjoyed reading my horoscope every now and then because it oftentimes coincidentally matches with reality. My reality, that is. And I can't help but smile either happily or otherwise, at the times when they do match.

Take this for an example…

Getting in touch with your emotions is not always as easy as it sounds — there are many distractions in your life right now, and they could make figuring out your feelings difficult. To ease the confusion, spend some time alone. Your increased impatience could be a clue that you are out of sync with the people around you — which is all the more reason to slow down and remove yourself from the world's hustle and bustle.

It really is hard to figure out things these days. *sigh* And yes, my impatience is increasing by the day…no…bv the hour(?)(.) Yeah. By the hour. Lol!

Anywayz…Yun lang. Just couldn't let this pitch black night pass without sharing this. Ciao!

Bijoke’t Kape

Earlier this evening, I went out for videoke and coffee with my classmates Roan and Ate Rina.

It wasn't premeditated, actually. I didn't actually plan on spending more of my already insufficient monthly funds. But earlier today, bout 6PM, I was on my way out of the campus and met the two. Told me they were going out for dinner and I was like…Uban ko!(Sama 'ko!). We just finished our last post-sem exam and I felt it was proper that I go out and give myself a break kahit sandali lang. And so there we were, having dinner. Afterwhich, we went out and walked a little.

Are we going home already?…I so undecidedly asked. Luckily, though, both my companions didn't feel like heading for their houses, neither. Haha! Anong trip natin?…Ro asked. Kabalo ko, gusto nimo magbijoke! And ano pa bang iba kong sasabihin kundi…Tara! Bijoke ta! Hahaha! Haven't done that for a while already. And so there we were in an hour of sha-oking our lungs out at the videoke bar.

The plan was to head straight home (assumingly so). But after all the singing we were all still hesitant to go home. Too early to be home — was what we were telling ourselves. Lol! Unsa na pud trip?…

Coffee…coffee…coffee…hahaha! What do you expect from three coffee addicts flocked together? Kaya yun…we headed for the nearest…Coffee Monster…and had another hour of chit chat at one of the coziest spot in town. Coffee was great! And yeah, it's keeping me awake 'til now. Hihi. But I have to get some sleep na. Got documents to finalize tomorrow…I mean…earlier today.

So then…ciao!

p.s.
Been a great day!
As in guraaaaayt day.
And it wasn't just because of the bijoke't kape.
Haha!

Davaoeño Bloggers’ First Get-Together

Last night, bloggers from all over Davao gathered at Netfront Coffee Shop and Internet Cafe for a occasion of fun and learning.

It was great! First time I heard about it from Raine, I was really excited. I thought it was really nice that bloggers from within the city meet and greet.

Not only was it a night of acquaintance, people from the more significant side of the blogoshpere also shared their knowledge on turning blogging into a much more relevant endeavor. Aileen Apolo, a representative from Google Philippines, was there to share about Google AdSense and AdWords. Blogging ethics was also shared by Yuga of yugatech. I learned a lot from that talk. I've been told once before that there's actually more to blogging than just expression of thoughts, mouthed or otherwise. Last night reinforced that info and I'm actually becoming motivated to explore the other arenas of blogging. There was also a presentation of DigitalFilipino Club by Janette Toral. She also spoke about iBlog 3. A blogging summit — waaaahw!

There was also Davao Blog Awards wherein certain blogs were awarded under certain categories. The organizers hoped to have more awards like that the next time. And more serious ones, they said.

And speaking of the organizers — congrats for a job well done! Blogie and all the others really initiated such a meaningful activity. And as far as I know, what you guys established was actually history! The first bloggers' get-together outside Manila. Wow. Kudos!

Met a lot of fellow bloggers last night but I'm looking forward to meeting more at the next party. Can't wait to get to know more of the bloggers I only talk with in shoutboxes or comment arenas.

Anywayz…here are some of the pics. Got them from village idiot savant and Blogie.
(Davao bloggers)
(More Davao bloggers)
(Ara, me, Blogie, and Raine)
(More Davao bloggers)

Will be scouting other blogs for more pics. Hehe. Ciao for now!

Movie House Truancy

Step Up is now showing on cinemas! So is The Guardian and Open Season. Woooohoo!

*Clicking Publish Post button in three…two…one…*

Chow

Yum yum. Craving for first class dining? There’s nothing like mouth-watering(not to mention award-winning) dishes and a wine list recognized as being one of the most outstanding. Just looking at those pictures mkeme go hungry already.

 I’m actually talking about this restaurant in La Jolla, which apparently, doesn’t only offer an excellent dining experience, but also has a great, enticing website. Lolz! Do check it out, will yah. And see what I’m talking about.

Kakagutom…kain na muna ako…hihi! Chow! este…Ciao!  

Early Hair Loss

Teenage hair loss??? What the?! I never really knew people could start losing their hair as early as during their teen years. People in their forties or fifties, these are the people(at least as far as I could recall) who start saying buhbye to those strands on their head.

Anyways, now that I know that at this young age, I could start losing my hair, I know better than to not take good care of it. I think it’s better to start at knowing  the probable causes of the unwanted dilemma. That way, we could take precautions and let it never strike at all. I learned in the linked site that reasons of hairloss could be illnesses, medications, infections, stress(Oh, boy!), unbalanced diet, and others. These are all causes of temporary hairloss. According to the site, permanent hairloss could be out of imbalances of hormones.

Surgery is available for those who lose their hair. But heck, I still say it’s better to prevent it from happening at all. Surgery, and other remedies, should be last recourse.

The hair does a lot in making us look good. Heck of a reason why we should make it a point to keep from losing it.

All For A Better You

Many peepz nowadays are bent on looking good. I mean reeeally really good. They even come to the point of doing little(and sometimes, heeyoooge) modifications on their physical selves just to look the way they want to.

The magic of cosmetic surgery does it all. Don’t like your nose? Get it lifted. Wanna be rid of those wrinkles? Consider it done. Tired of being called a fat a##? Get a lipo. Hmm…yep..they all are possible with cosmetic surgery. Technology does do a lot in catering to people’s so-called wants in life.

Anyway, speaking of plastic surgery…there is this New York cosmetic surgeon named Dr.Philip Miller, ready to be at your service. These peepz are guranteed to turn you into a better, more beautiful you. Check it out, if you wish to.

Mixed Martial Arts

Elektra(Garner) in Elektra, Mei(Ziyi) in The House of Flying Daggers, Nicole James(Forlani) in The Medallion, and Blue Bird in Blade of the Rose. You might have noticed that these movie characters are really good at one common thing…self defense. As you may or may not know, I’m a huge fan of film. I especially love watching action films with female leading characters whose emanating power to defend themselves stand out. Of course I’m aware that most of those stuff are exaggerated. I don’t know, I guess I just love watching a##-kicking women in action. Lolz! They make me say I wanna learn martial arts each time I go out of the movie house.

Yeah, that’s true. I wanna learn martial arts. Ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to be very confident that if situation calls for it, I could defend myself, the man’s way, that is. Never really got the chance to learn it, sadly. My parents say I’m not strong enough for it. Hmm..don’t know bout that. (more…)

Debugging

If you think this entry’s title talks about debugging a computer program, uh uhh…you’re thinking wrong. I’m actually talking about debugging a person’s appearance. Checking for possible “errors”, and “recoding” certain parts if necessary.

This is actually what many peeps do nowadays with their face and/or body. They stop once in a while and look at themselves in the mirror. See if something dissatisfies them, and if something does, they do a little renovation.

Rhinoplasty, or in layman’s term, a nose job, is what’s very common with people who can afford the procedure. A lot of Hollywood stars, more particularly, undergo rhinoplasty. They’re simply fond of reinventing not only their homes but lso their faces. Hmmm…why not…they could afford it after all.

Proper Nutrition: a Bridge to a Brighter Future

If practice of improper food intake were a crime, scarcity of prison cells would be a major global problem. People at different times of life would be guilty. Those in their senior years,  the middle-aged, and most especially, the juvenile. Some of them may be oblivious and helpless to such condition, to committing their "crime", and some, totally aware. If someone is aware of what good nutrition is, he/she shouldn't be irrational enough to not practice what he knows. If someone is unaware on how to eat right, then he/she should take responsibility on being informed.

But of course, everything has to start with dissemination of proper knowledge on good nutrition. This would guide people on the do's and don'ts of being healthy. The best time to learn these do's and don'ts is when one is young. This would help develop a child into a functional citizen in his/her latter years. In effect, this makes the society full of beneficial citizens who would illuminate the present and future with their bright minds.

"Food is the only beautiful thing that nourishes", I heard that line from a movie. Yes, indeed, food is a beautiful thing which provides humans with nourishment and sustenance. However, food could have ugly effects when taken in without control and proper consumption. Effects such as diseases, unwanted weight loss or weight gain, deficient energy to carry out daily tasks, and others. Too small is not good. Too much won't make it any better. Food intake should be proper and moderate. This would entail practicing good nutrition.

Nutrition, as defined by Bremer, a clinical exercise specialist, is the quality of macronutrients namely protein, carbohydrates and fats; and micronutrients viz. vitamins and minerals, which we take in daily. Good nutrition means that we receive a balance of both macronutrients and micronutrients in our daily diet.

Nutrition comes as a great factor in the development of a child's intelligence. Studies show that children who eat properly perform better in school than those who don't. It was found out that passive consideration of proper diet at an early stage may have long-term effects in a child's functioning in later life.

"Kumain ng right para maging batang bright" is the theme for this year's nutrition month. When I first heard it, I sort of wondered why "bata" or child was stressed in this year's theme. I wondered why it sounded more like a preschool tag line than a theme for an event celebrated by people of different times of life. And then I thought of what Rizal said — "pag-asa ng bayan ay ang kabataan". That's when I thought of how important it is to feed the minds of the young on how to eat right. People should indeed think of paying attention to the basics like educating them and making them apply what they learn about proper nutrition. That way, the hope of our nation would be well-kept-up and there won't be any reason for Rizal to be turning over in his grave.

If children and everybody else are well-taught with proper food intake, they would have a healthier body that's energized enough to be functional in the society, and a sounder mind that's brilliant enough to innovate ideas for society's progress.Not only is good nutrition a healthy practice, it is also a bridge to a brighter future.

Unsolicited Euphoria

Will the ocean ever spill out of the earth and flow into space? Maybe if gravity decides to work reversely, that phenomenon could take place.

I wish I never met you at all, I sometimes think. Then I start to think of the most profound moments of my life — I realize that most of them were spent talking with you. And so I thank God for sending you to me, instead. I slap myself and think how I could ever have wished of not meeting you when you were always the sweetest blessing God ever bestowed on me.

Again I say, thank you for being a blessing.

A Work of Art: A Message

Every piece of art has a story behind it. Let that piece be a painting, a song, a poem, or a dance, it comes from and tells of a story that is — the artist, its creator’s experience.

We can think of art as an expression of man’s experiences. It could be his feelings, his thoughts, and his environment. It is through these that man is stirred to create art. Through these, man regenerates thoughts and ideas which would therefore become means to a more aesthetic and marvelous end — a piece of art.

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