I Think

Hahaha! I love Alanis Morissette! She made (or generated) this song for me. Cool. Try nyo! "Go on! Get Miserable!"

"I Think"

I Think feet are really a huge problem
I Think hair are too much on my mind
I Think fur! have got a lot to do with why the world sucks
But what can you do?

Like a red rain, beating down on me
Like a Lora line, which won't let go of my brain
Like nell's ass, it is in my head

Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!

I Think stripes are gonna drive us all crazy
And deadly sting make me feel like a child
I Think black will eventually be the downfall of civilization
But what can you do? I said what can you do?

Like a red rain, beating down on me
Like a Lora line, which won't let go of my brain
Like nell's ass, it is in my head

Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!

Like a red rain, beating down on me
Like nell's smile, cruel and cold
Like Lora's ass, it is in my head

Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!
Blame it on spiders!

Travelling Politicians

Got this in the email and thought it was funny.

Note: I don't know if any or all of these are true; but they make an interesting and funny reading articles though.

A friend has been a travel agent for 30 years. She says, of her 30 years of  taking reservation requests from government officials, we are all in  trouble.  Here are a few choice reservation questions from these bright people:

Senator Tessie Oreta asked for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

I got a call from ex-Mayor Joey Marquez, who wanted to go to Capetown.  Explaining the length of the flight and passport information, he interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in  Massachusetts." Without trying to make him look like the stupid one, I calmly explained,  "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." His response  ..(click).

Congressman Mark Lapid called, furious about a Florida package we did for  him and tv star Kris Aquino.   I asked what was wrong with the vacation in  Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to Explain that was  not possible since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't  lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (so he  expected to see the ocean on both sides of the hotel?!)

Sen Ralph Recto's wife asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I  said, "No."  She said, "But they look so close on the map."

Senator Lito Lapid asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. I noticed he had  only an hour lay-over in Dallas. When asked why he wanted to rent a car, he  said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive  between the gates to save time."

Senator Jinggoy Estrada called last week. He needed to know how it was  possible that his flight from Detroit left at 8:20 a.m. and got into Chicago at  8:33 a.m. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but  he could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told him the  plane went very fast, and he bought that!

Congressman Ronaldo Zamora asked, "Do airlines put your physical description  on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" He replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a  tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight. I think that is very  rude!"  I looked into it and explained the city code for Fresno, California is  (FAT), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage.

Former presidentiable now tv star Eddie Gil inquired about a trip package to  Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, he asked, "Would it be cheaper  to fly to California and take the train to Hawaii?"

I just got off the phone with Senator Bong Revilla who asked, "How do I  know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he  replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have  numbers on them." VP Noli De Castro asked, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, FL. Do I have to get  on one of those twin engine planes?" I asked if he meant fly to Pensacola, FL on a commuter plane. He said, "Yeah, whatever!"

Congressman Dilangalen called and had a question about the documents needed  to fly to China. I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been  to China many times and never had to have one of those."  I double checked  and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this, he said,  "Look, I've been to China four times and everytime they accepted my American  Express!"

Senator Miriam Defensor called to make reservations, "I want to go from  Chicago to Rhino, New York." The agent said, "Are you sure that's the name of the  town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some  searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport  code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted,  "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent  scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean  Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal," she said.

Now you know why  the Phil Government is in the shape that it's in."

Piolo, Piolo I love you....

Pinahiram ako ng ka-opisina ko ng Otso-Otso at Spaghetti ... CD. Paulit-ulit kong pine-play sa boombox ko sa opis kasi nakakagana magtrabaho kapag mabilis ang tono ng kanta. Napapasayaw tuloy ako saka minsan hindi ko namamalayan naha-hum ko na pala siya. Kahit sa kotse ay dala dala ko itong mga CD kasi ito ring panganay ko, sobrang lab ang otso-otso, as in umiiyak pag itinitigil namin ang pagpapatugtog hehehe. Anyway, ingat lang ako sa pagkanta ng otso-otso at spaghetti lalo na sa elevator kasi meron palang na-reprimand na government employee sa pagkanta nito, grabe.

Ang galing galing ng mga composer ng mga songs sa album na yan. Minsan nga naiisip ko, paano kaya nila nako-compose yun, nakakatawa ang mga lyrics. Sabi naman ng aking husbandry, binibili daw nila ang mga lyrics na yan sa iba't-ibang tao na may talent mag-compose pero hindi naman kilala. Minsan yata nasobrahan ako sa pakikinig ng CD na yan eh, yung kanta ni Mahal at Mura ang kinakanta ko.. yun bang "Wala ng mura sa panahon ngayon... lahat na ay mahal..." saka yung "Ayoko na sa'yo, ayoko na sa'yo... Break na tayo, Yan ang gusto ko ... Ayoko na sa'yo, may balitang ... Lalaki ang type mo!" "Piolo, Piolo, I love you, Aga,Aga I like you, Jimboy, Jimboy, I hate you... Eh kasi naman... niloloko mo ako.." Ano nga pala balita kay Jimboy at Mahal... sila pa ba or break na sila...? Hehe just wond'rin' 'no. Wala kasing TFC sa bahay. Mahal magpakabit. Sana kung $10-15.00 lang yan, nagpakabit na kami. Kasi naman kailangan mo pang mag subscribe sa isang buong cable provider, let's say, Direct TV, $49 tapos plus $10 pa para maka-access ka naman sa Filipino Channel. Tapos naman kung magsu-subscribe naman ako sa TFC... eh di Filipino Channel lang ang mapapanood ko for $35 sabi nila. Which is cheaper ba? Siguro manghihiram na lang muna ako ng tapes.

Handbook for Parenting

Got this excerpt in my e-mail box and I thought I'd share this with you.  This is not only for parents but for everyone wishing to understand the "why" of a human being.

Points of the Compass: Advice from Experienced Parent Leaders  If you asked successful parent-leaders what standards they've tried  to live by, and what they'd pass on as helpful advice to younger  parents, this is what they would say....

(1) Don't look for recipes or formulas for raising children; there are none. And don't expect perfection from your spouse, your children, or yourself. Instead, set a realistic ideal for your children as adults, and then strive to work with your spouse in unified parental leadership. Ask each other from time to time: "What do you need from me to be more effective, to feel more lovingly supported, and to have greater peace of mind?"

(2) Be confident of your rightful authority, and insist that your children respect it.

(3) Remind yourself often: you're raising adults, not children.

(4) Give your children time, not money.

(5) When you think of your children's futures, picture their character, not just their careers.

(6) Teach the great character strengths as the points of your compass: sound judgment, a sense of responsibility, courageous perseverance, self-mastery, faith, hope, and charity.

(7) Teach your children the four great pillars of civilized dealings with others: "please," "thank you," "I'm sorry," and "I give my word...."

(8) Remember, the whole of moral development means moving from self to others. Your  c hildren will not grow up when they can take care of themselves; they will grow up only when they can take care of others, and want to.

(9) Teach them what real love means: sacrifice--including risk-taking--for the welfare of others.

(10) Raise your children to be producers, not just consumers. Let them put their powers up against problems to solve them, and thus grow in self-confidence. We humans are born to serve, not to shop. Show them that real happiness comes from doing good, not feeling good.

(11) Direct, but don't manage, your older children's work; don't do their work for them unless and until they've tried their best. Push for personal best effort, not just results.

(12) Make your children wait for something they want, and if possible make them earn it.

(13) Make your kids feel needed and appreciated; make praise as specific as blame.

(14) Teach your children the meaning of the word "integrity." Integrity means unity of intention, word, and action--that we mean what we say, we say what we mean, and we keep our word.

(15) Trust their integrity, even if you must sometimes mistrust their judgment.

(16) Show them how to recognize materialism when they see it, and to shun it. Materialism is not merely the pursuit of things. It means putting things ahead of people. It leads to seeing and treating other people as things.

(17) Keep the media--your rivals--under your discerning control. Permit nothing in your home that offends God, undermines your lessons of right and wrong, and treats other people as mere objects.

(18) Lead them to practice charity. Charity does not mean giving away old clothes; it means mostly compassionate understanding. In family life, insist on apologies and forgiveness. Make your kids let others off the hook, forgive and forget.

(19) When you comment about people outside the family, especially in public life (in government or the media), give example of charity. Distinguish between the individuals and their faults, even grievous  m oral flaws. We strive to "hate the sin but love the sinner." That is, we deplore people's wrongdoing but bear them no personal ill will.

 (20) Lead kids to learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others.

(21) Lead them to be savvy about people's values--that is, people's priorities in life.

(22) Use literature, t.v., and movies to teach about people's ideals, achievements, and mistakes.

(23) Teach your children to manage time--that is, to control themselves.

(24) Teach them courtesy and "class": to have eyes for the needs of those around them.

(25) Cultivate family honor, the spirit of "We..."  

(26) Let your kids know what's expected of them. Make standards and consequences clear.

(27) Listen to your children. That's listen, not obey. Let kids contribute "input" to family life--but in weighty issues, you make  the decisions.

(28) Where appropriate, give your children "loving denial"--for "no" is as much a loving word as "yes." If kids don't hear "no" from their parents, they cannot say "no" to themselves. The power of self-control is built from the outside in.

(29) Practice "affectionate assertiveness" in disciplining your children. Correct the fault, not the person; hate the sin, love the sinner. Show your children you love them too much to let them grow up with their faults uncorrected.

(30) Treat punishment as "memorable correction"--action needed now to avert later troubles and sorrow.

(31) Take corrective action without showing disrespect. Respect your children's rights as people.

(32) Explain, but don't argue.

(33) Don't let your ego come ahead of truth or justice; when you've done wrong or gone too far, apologize.

 ( 34) Don't let them infringe on the rights of others. Remember, the way they treat their  s iblings is an apprenticeship for the way they'll treat spouse, children, colleagues, and others in their lives.

(35) Appeal to the children's sense of fairness and capacity to forgive. Make them apologize, and accept apologies.

(36) Make dinner a sacred time: no arguing or squabbling. Start dinner with a prayer.

(37) Encourage a reasonable level of athletic involvement; use athletics to teach sportsmanship and exerting best effort as well as staying in shape. But put first things first. Don't let organized
sports and outside activities conflict with dinnertime or otherwise wreak havoc in family life. Frantic running around steals time and peace of mind. Sports should energize family members, not exhaust them. If you sense that things are getting out of hand, cut back.

(38) Remind yourself: Busyness is not a virtue. Kids (like adults) occasionally need silence and time to think. They need stretches of time to chat and play and daydream together with brothers and sisters--to know and love each other better as they grow up together.

(39) Don't let them drive a car until they've really grown up. See maturity as growth in responsibility--that is, active concern for the rights and feelings of others.

(40) Teach them indifference to being "different."

(41) Teach them that beer is not a kind of soft drink with a buzz. Alcohol is a drug, drunkenness is a grave sin, and intemperance often  leads to other grave sins, even tragedies.

(42) Teach kids to cope with reasonable adversity, not to escape.  
  
(43) Lead your children to treat the opposite sex with respect.

(44) Have faith in later results; see your sacrifices as investment.

(45) Keep your priorities straight: when you're vexed with a problem, ask yourself: "How important will this be a year from now, five years from now, or even next month?"

(46) Beware the temptation to fret overmuch about your children's flaws and shortcomings. Since children's defects and backsliding are so annoying, they cause us to exaggerate and overreact, that is, to stress the negative. So, take time occasionally to appreciate what's good in your children, the qualities they were born with and the virtues you see growing inside them. Remember, people's greatest need, at all ages, is to be appreciated.

 ( 47) Be affectionate with your children. Do this frequently and on  p urpose. Listen with your eyes. Make the time to have fun with them; let them see how much you enjoy just being with them. When they're teens, actively seek out chances to talk and laugh with them as "best friends"--late-night talk sessions, lingering over dinner, swapping jokes and reminiscences, going to games and shows with them. All their lives, your children's hearts will return home, to the place where they knew affection.

(48) Remember that your children may forget most of the details of what you teach them, but they will remember what was important to you. For most of us, the lifelong voice of conscience is the voice of our parents--God speaking to us through the memory of what our parents lovingly taught us.

(49) When your children leave home for college or work, tell them: Don't forget that God is watching over you with love, as He has since your childhood. Do not offend Him, and do nothing that would betray what you learned in our family. We will pray for you every day. Remember that God commands all of us, "Honor your father and mother." And the way we honor our parents is this: we adopt their values as our own, live by them all our lives, and then pass them on to our own children as our family's sacred heritage.

(50) Treat your children the way God treats all of us: with high standards, loving protection, great hopes for the future, affectionate understanding, readiness to forgive, and never-failing
love.  

 
Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this material for private use. It is taken from the Website of James B. Stenson, educational consultant: ParentLeadership.com.

Bored, I am

I am at work and very bored. So I check on Sister Rosetta whose advices I've always wondered if were all true. She's simply hilarious (at least that's what I think). Nevertheless, I am still bored. It's Friday and I want to go home ... NOW!

Grrrrr....!@#$%^&*()

I am mad as hell today! I just learned that my email account in eudoramail has been migrated to a new provider which is lycos. Well, I'm ok with that, the thing is, my address book was completely gone! *sipa!* Eudoramail kept telling me ... "we will be migrating your email to a new provider, blah, blah, blah" and didnt even mention about the address book! Now I've lost a list of my contacts. For the nth time I am going to change my email address... tsk, tsk! >:( (why did I ever signed up with them? - got blinded by their 5mb capacity. now, yahoo is the one for me.)

Paksiw na Lechon atbp.

Ilang araw ko ng baon baon for lunch ang paksiw na lechon. I think after the 4th day that I've been having it for lunch, I want to swear the thing off my list of favorite viands. We still have 1 1/2 tray to finish and I don't think I can bear to even give it a look. Bakit ang dami naman, you will ask. Well, when my son was baptized, we had lechon as a main dish and it was barely finished after the occasion. My m-i-l's (mom-in-law) suggestion was to turn it into paksiw, and so she did. We've already given it out as "pabalot" but still it was just a lot, lot, lot! If you want some, tell me and I'll email to you the direction to our house :D Really now....

/

Yesterday, I was giving my daughter a bath, and I don't know how our topic landed on spanking. She just suddenly quipped in her gibberish way "idi lalu elas." And I was like, "huh?" "Idi lalu elas" means Ely spanked me with a slipper. I kept asking her if she's telling the truth and she kept saying "eee-yeah" Hmmm.... our babysitter is very well-known in the neighborhood for years as a good bs, but why would a toddler (2-y.o. only) say she was hit by a slipper by her. At first I didnt want to believe because I might just have misunderstood her or she's just making it up. Do you think toddlers who can barely make complete sentences could possibly lie already about something that really has not happened at all? Moms out there, help me!

/

My brother will kill me when he learns about this. Sorry, talagang gusto ko lang matawa! We were talking on the phone about buying an mp3 player for my sister. I told him to look for something with a GB or gigabyte capacity. He saw one but he said it was only about 64 MB and then he said... "Ano ba yung MB? milli-byte?" (ROTFL!!!!!) I nearly fell of my chair when I heard it! Hehehe hindi ka naman nila kilala kaya okay lang na sinulat ko to.

Victory!

God's done it again! HE is still in control and that's what I know, have proven, and will always believe. The email I got from the American Center for Law and Justice proves it.


Dear Lora,

By now you may have heard that the Supreme Court of the United States has DISMISSED the Pledge case - and REMOVED a lower court's decision that declared the phrase "under God" unconstitutional.

This is a important victory!

And you have helped us stay involved in this case since the beginning....

The ACLJ filed a major brief on behalf of 68 members of Congress and more than 260,300 Americans like you - including approximately 2,600 school-age children, many of whom attend public schools and desire to recite the Pledge.

In our brief, we contended that Michael Newdow, a California atheist who filed suit challenging the Pledge, LACKED LEGAL STANDING in the case and did not have the right to control her education.

The high court did not address the merits of the case. But it is clear that the Pledge of Allegiance and the words "under God" can continue to be recited by students across America.

By dismissing this case and removing the appeals court decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has removed a dark cloud that has been hanging over one of the nation's MOST IMPORTANT AND CHERISHED TRADITIONS:

The ability of students across the nation to acknowledge the fact that our freedoms in this country come from God, not government.

THANK YOU AGAIN for your prayers and support in this important legal battle!

American Center for Law and Justice
P.O. Box 64429
Virginia Beach, VA 23467
Phone: (757) 226-2489
Fax: (757) 226-2836
www.aclj.org

Padala Galing Pinas

Sa mga kababayan kong nasa Pinas, I don't know how true is this, but it doesn't hurt to heed this kind of reminders, diba? Somebody forwarded this message to me and I was like "goodness gracious! ang dami ko pa namang binilin sa kapatid kong mga CDs para ipakidala sa kaibigan kong papunta dito!" Now I have to think a cheaper way to get those CDs... hmmm. Any suggestions? I don't want to jeopardize my friend's trip, if ever.


Just a friendly reminder: if you have plans of going to the U.S., please take precautionary measures on all "padalas" especially those containing fake/pirated compact discs/DVDs. US Embassy employees have been given an advisory that "as US Gov't employees, we should abide by the U.S. laws, including Intellectual Property Rights (anti-piracy) laws. As an additional incentive, the Consular Section recently received a report that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) searched the bag of a Filipino entering the U.S. on NW 72 in Detroit. During the search, 70-80 compact discs,30-40 empty DVD jackets and 10-20 DVDs were found. Since the travelers were not American Citizens, their visas were canceled and they returned to the Philippines. If they had been Americans, they could have been subjected to arrest and criminal prosecution in addition to civil fines and penalties."

Please remember even ONE pirated item can jeopardize your trip. Also, the fingerprinting system has successfully been instituted in all port of entries. I suggest you bring extra identification cards in addition to your passport to facilitate your entry in the US Immigration.

However, not only pirated VCD/DVD are on the hot list. Please be informed that the American Association of Publishers (AAP) has also alerted the American customs officers to check out for pirated books. This information was given to me by Paricia Judd of the AAP. Please warn all nursing graduates who plan to take the NCLEX and CGF exams in the states not to bring in these pirated books because there will be a penalty of automatic deportation as violation of intellectual property rights.

I hope this is helpful to you. Thanks and regards.

Thess Q. Sula
U.S. Commercial Service
American Embassy Manila

Why Drinking & Driving Don't Mix

This is rather late, but I don't think it hurts to remind everybody every now and then that driving and drinking really can not go together. This is The Jaqueline Saburido Story which you have probably seen and heard about a hundred times or perhaps haven't heard at all.



She was only 20 when she got hit by a drunk driver back in 1999. The rest is history. Complete story here .

"TxDOT also has set up a special Web site for parents who want pointers on how to talk to their kids about drunk driving or about the new television commercials. The Web address is http://www.texasdwi.org/" (quote unquote from Texas Hard-Hitting Anti-DWI Campaign )

How was your 4th?

Last night I watched the movie "ALL MY LIFE" that starred Aga Mulach & Kristine Hermosa by the recommendation of my sis-in-law. I'd say, the movie was okay, but I'd rather watch "Otso-Otso" and laugh all day. The movie was not a happy ending because Aga passed away, and all he left was a son with Kristine. In my opinion, the plot was not that extra-ordinary. I noticed, too, that Aga is rather getting old. His face shows it, although he still looks "hanSAM" (that's the name of the yatch he was renting out in the movie). Maybe if the movie was based on a true-to-life story, I would like it more. I like documentary movies like I love non-fiction books. If you've seen the movie MILAN by Piolo & Claudine -- that's more like it because it portrays a true account of the life of Filipinos in Italy.

Another movie that I saw was "Beauty & the Beast" thru the recommendation of my daughter :-) She's only 2, but she looks like 4 (tall girl). Her mind is that of a 4-year old, too, or so I think. She insisted that we see the old movie by Disney for a couple times.

I know I didn't mention about going to 4th of July sale at Macy's or JC Penny or the outlets for that matter. Our house rule is "Do not buy something on sale just because it is on sale. You have to have a need for it before you buy it." Tough, eh? Kailangan eh. We ended up going to Costco to buy milk and pampers for the kids, and oo nga pala, IKEA to buy some stuff we "need." They went on tax-free that weekend which was a good marketing strategy. They must have grossed hundreds of thousands on Saturday alone, probably millions pa nga.

Anyhow, that was all about it. Today's back to normal.