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Sunday, February 26, 2006
This blog is now open to paid advertising. Thank you for your interest in advertising on The Composed Gentleman.
The Composed Gentleman is visited by thousands of people worldwide each month and keeps on growing each day. Recently, the blog has logged in the 1,000,000th visitor after only more than a year of professional blogging.
Brief Statistics
• Unique visitors: 2500+ daily
• Unique visitors: 75,000+ monthly
• Page Views: 95,000+ monthly (sometimes it reaches over 100,000)
• AlexaRank: 154,483 (One of Alexa's Top 50 Philippine Blogs as of June 2008)
• RSS: 600+ daily RSS readers
• Blog Age: since January 2006
Visitors/traffic come from these countries (from Alexa):
United States - 32.4%
India - 12.6%
Philippines - 6.7%
Canada - 6.4%
United Kingdom - 4.5%
Pakistan - 4.5%
Indonesia - 3.7%
Iran - 2.2%
Australia - 1.8%
Saudi Arabia - 1.6%
Egypt - 0.9%
Spain - 0.7%
Malaysia - 0.6%
Other countries - 21.6%
Graphic from sitemeter.com:
Advertising Options
125×125 button
• Price: $30/month
• Position: Your 125×125 button will be displayed on top of the sidebar (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $300 instead of $360 for a year.
468×60 banner
• Price: $50/month
• Position: Your 468×60 banner will be displayed on top of the post (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $500 instead of $600 for a year.
Text Link Ad
• Price: $15/month
• Position: Text Links appear under 125×125 button section (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $150 instead of $180 for a year.
Please contact me using the form below if you are interested. Thank you. Your privacy is taken very seriously. All information is kept 100% confidential.
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
The Composed Gentleman is visited by thousands of people worldwide each month and keeps on growing each day. Recently, the blog has logged in the 1,000,000th visitor after only more than a year of professional blogging.
Brief Statistics
• Unique visitors: 2500+ daily
• Unique visitors: 75,000+ monthly
• Page Views: 95,000+ monthly (sometimes it reaches over 100,000)
• AlexaRank: 154,483 (One of Alexa's Top 50 Philippine Blogs as of June 2008)
• RSS: 600+ daily RSS readers
• Blog Age: since January 2006
Visitors/traffic come from these countries (from Alexa):
United States - 32.4%
India - 12.6%
Philippines - 6.7%
Canada - 6.4%
United Kingdom - 4.5%
Pakistan - 4.5%
Indonesia - 3.7%
Iran - 2.2%
Australia - 1.8%
Saudi Arabia - 1.6%
Egypt - 0.9%
Spain - 0.7%
Malaysia - 0.6%
Other countries - 21.6%
Graphic from sitemeter.com:
Advertising Options
125×125 button
• Price: $30/month
• Position: Your 125×125 button will be displayed on top of the sidebar (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $300 instead of $360 for a year.
468×60 banner
• Price: $50/month
• Position: Your 468×60 banner will be displayed on top of the post (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $500 instead of $600 for a year.
Text Link Ad
• Price: $15/month
• Position: Text Links appear under 125×125 button section (site-wide).
• Payment Mode: PayPal
• Discount: You only have to pay for 10 months if you advertise and pay for the whole year. That is $150 instead of $180 for a year.
Please contact me using the form below if you are interested. Thank you. Your privacy is taken very seriously. All information is kept 100% confidential.
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in advertising on The Composed Gentleman blog. You will get a reply within 24 hours. Normally, I reply as soon as I get the email.
Cheers!
Eric (a.k.a. Talksmart/Composed Gentleman)
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Cheers!
Eric (a.k.a. Talksmart/Composed Gentleman)
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
EDSA Revolution, I remember
filed under: inspirational article, public office
This article on EDSA comes a day late. To begin with, I never thought I would even chat about it here. It is overkill. Yesterday, the dailies didn’t know anything but to cover each viewpoint that could possibly be disputed and sold to public taste. However, TV stations, even at this time of writing, are broadcasting with loads of clips from street protests, Philippine Marine crisis and political power struggle. How can I escape the situation when I am a TV addict? Hence, here is my share of the matter.
Yesterday, I took time to read testimonies from people who had unforgettable experiences of the first EDSA revolution. While I enjoyed their line of reasoning, I cannot help but to recall and bring myself back to that day on February 25, 1986.
Where was I? I was at home in Argao, cultivating an herbal garden I personally had possession of at the backyard. I was still very young that time – in my elementary days. I cannot exactly remember what day of the week was that. Probably a weekend since my mom and dad and siblings were all at home monitoring a loud radio broadcast. It was so loud that I heard every detail of the story and news happening at the Epefanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
My mom shouted in surprise when finally Marcos and his family fled the country. That I cannot forget, especially when I see on TV how millions of Filipinos rally on the streets calling for Pres. Ferdinand Marcos to step down and then rejoicing when Marcos flew off to Hawaii for refuge. It was a triumph everyone celebrated even those who were not at EDSA. My family was glued at the TV set. We watched all the events unfolding from the religious sector holding hands marching on the street, to soldiers in full combat suit receiving flowers, bibles and rosaries from protesters, to big banners flapping in the air and to how the media played a major role in carrying out a People Power Revolution in a non-violent way.
People Power at EDSA. Everything was yellow, Cory Aquino’s color. It was a gun-less revolution to stop a 20-year dictatorship. That was when one would see a crowd from all walks of life fighting for democracy and social equity though unity and prayers. It was not a noise of revolution from a gunfire that occurred but voices from cohesive citizens willing to sacrifice for the country’s sake through peaceful means.
No one thought EDSA would be possible. The victory was admired by so many countries abroad. True, what the song said, "Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo, mapayapang paraang pagbabago".
It was indeed a historic moment for every Filipino. I believe it happened because we willed it and we thought it was “tama na, sobra na, palitan na”.
What could we get from EDSA? People power was not about changing the regime, as one analyst mentioned. It was about a genuine social revolution telling the government to reach out to the so many poor Philippine communities and empower them through good education.
So where were you that time?
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
This article on EDSA comes a day late. To begin with, I never thought I would even chat about it here. It is overkill. Yesterday, the dailies didn’t know anything but to cover each viewpoint that could possibly be disputed and sold to public taste. However, TV stations, even at this time of writing, are broadcasting with loads of clips from street protests, Philippine Marine crisis and political power struggle. How can I escape the situation when I am a TV addict? Hence, here is my share of the matter.
Yesterday, I took time to read testimonies from people who had unforgettable experiences of the first EDSA revolution. While I enjoyed their line of reasoning, I cannot help but to recall and bring myself back to that day on February 25, 1986.
Where was I? I was at home in Argao, cultivating an herbal garden I personally had possession of at the backyard. I was still very young that time – in my elementary days. I cannot exactly remember what day of the week was that. Probably a weekend since my mom and dad and siblings were all at home monitoring a loud radio broadcast. It was so loud that I heard every detail of the story and news happening at the Epefanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
My mom shouted in surprise when finally Marcos and his family fled the country. That I cannot forget, especially when I see on TV how millions of Filipinos rally on the streets calling for Pres. Ferdinand Marcos to step down and then rejoicing when Marcos flew off to Hawaii for refuge. It was a triumph everyone celebrated even those who were not at EDSA. My family was glued at the TV set. We watched all the events unfolding from the religious sector holding hands marching on the street, to soldiers in full combat suit receiving flowers, bibles and rosaries from protesters, to big banners flapping in the air and to how the media played a major role in carrying out a People Power Revolution in a non-violent way.
People Power at EDSA. Everything was yellow, Cory Aquino’s color. It was a gun-less revolution to stop a 20-year dictatorship. That was when one would see a crowd from all walks of life fighting for democracy and social equity though unity and prayers. It was not a noise of revolution from a gunfire that occurred but voices from cohesive citizens willing to sacrifice for the country’s sake through peaceful means.
No one thought EDSA would be possible. The victory was admired by so many countries abroad. True, what the song said, "Handog ng Pilipino sa mundo, mapayapang paraang pagbabago".
It was indeed a historic moment for every Filipino. I believe it happened because we willed it and we thought it was “tama na, sobra na, palitan na”.
What could we get from EDSA? People power was not about changing the regime, as one analyst mentioned. It was about a genuine social revolution telling the government to reach out to the so many poor Philippine communities and empower them through good education.
So where were you that time?
Labels: Personal Essays, Phillippine News
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Movie: Rumor has it!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Rumor has it. I had the time to watch it last night with my Dutch friend Judith. I like the way love has to be twisted hard and still discovered in the end that it could find its own place at the right moment. The ever-gorgeous Jennifer Aniston played her role well.
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston) is in a fog. She’s finally agreed to marry her boyfriend Jeff (Mark Ruffalo), but isn’t at all sure that marriage is what she really wants. Now she’s on her way home to attend her sister’s wedding, which means spending a lot of time with the tennis-obsessed Pasadena family that she’s never felt quite a part of. It isn’t until Sarah stumbles into a well-kept family secret that she starts to question her roots and sets off in search of the man who may have the answers she’s looking for (Kevin Costner).
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Lost Hopes - woes in failing
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
filed under: inspirational article
Before I deal with the main topic of this blog, I would like to ask for an apology. To whom? To few whom I missed out in my previous post. I received two objections (so far). Your name may not be in my mind when I wrote it; rest assured you are in my heart. I am only human. Just as Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could commit lapses, I, too, could.
Now, moving on...
How would you feel if, one time in your life, you gave your very best and end up being beaten? Or offered everything for the very first time and losing it all?
These past days, I get to hear lots of woes from graduating students, who, for strenuously trying to reach a passing mark, openly shared with me bits and pieces of their struggles. As an educator, more often than not, it saddens me each time I listen to stories of how their parents laboriously produced a large sum of money for tuition fees. The stories also centered in realities like, getting over their lives when failures start to bump into.
Indeed, a grade of 5.0 for "failure" punctures the heart particularly if you think you have bestowed everything in order to pass a subject. More painful even if you know you do not deserve failure at all. Though the experience is not unique in oneself, still failure brings you indescribable distress and a tragic reminder that you pray would not last long.
Failing a subject, however, must not be rationalized as something like you were taking it for granted. No matter how much effort you did, it just didn’t reach certain standards. As they say, the best was not enough.
Perhaps, the best was not enough for a few groups of students who failed in their Project study defense this week. Whether they are graduating this semester or not, the failure left them so desperate and in pain. The pain could become more excruciating especially to those who had declared too early, to the last offshoot of their kinsmen that they'd march on the platform by semester end.
I say, overconfidence could lead you to feeling so morose eventually.
But in the grand finale, you must stand triumphant. You might have been deprived of some bliss or rejected in a way; nevertheless, it could just be a signal to discover other skills you possess. And please stop the recurring why thoughts---why me, why I took this, etc.
Forget people's reaction to your failure. You can never recover from pain if you delve too much of what others think. Rise from the wobble and get out from the pit of defeat. Remember, you can never turn back the time to heal your wounded existence.
A priest had this remark about failure: "Do not worry, when you reach the gates of heaven, God will never ask you if you graduated on time or not. When you have done your best, with all honesty and with your heart: that is the most essential thing".
It is so simple a remark yet it gives you big hopes.
------------
SALAS HOME
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Before I deal with the main topic of this blog, I would like to ask for an apology. To whom? To few whom I missed out in my previous post. I received two objections (so far). Your name may not be in my mind when I wrote it; rest assured you are in my heart. I am only human. Just as Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could commit lapses, I, too, could.
Now, moving on...
How would you feel if, one time in your life, you gave your very best and end up being beaten? Or offered everything for the very first time and losing it all?
These past days, I get to hear lots of woes from graduating students, who, for strenuously trying to reach a passing mark, openly shared with me bits and pieces of their struggles. As an educator, more often than not, it saddens me each time I listen to stories of how their parents laboriously produced a large sum of money for tuition fees. The stories also centered in realities like, getting over their lives when failures start to bump into.
Indeed, a grade of 5.0 for "failure" punctures the heart particularly if you think you have bestowed everything in order to pass a subject. More painful even if you know you do not deserve failure at all. Though the experience is not unique in oneself, still failure brings you indescribable distress and a tragic reminder that you pray would not last long.
Failing a subject, however, must not be rationalized as something like you were taking it for granted. No matter how much effort you did, it just didn’t reach certain standards. As they say, the best was not enough.
Perhaps, the best was not enough for a few groups of students who failed in their Project study defense this week. Whether they are graduating this semester or not, the failure left them so desperate and in pain. The pain could become more excruciating especially to those who had declared too early, to the last offshoot of their kinsmen that they'd march on the platform by semester end.
I say, overconfidence could lead you to feeling so morose eventually.
But in the grand finale, you must stand triumphant. You might have been deprived of some bliss or rejected in a way; nevertheless, it could just be a signal to discover other skills you possess. And please stop the recurring why thoughts---why me, why I took this, etc.
Forget people's reaction to your failure. You can never recover from pain if you delve too much of what others think. Rise from the wobble and get out from the pit of defeat. Remember, you can never turn back the time to heal your wounded existence.
A priest had this remark about failure: "Do not worry, when you reach the gates of heaven, God will never ask you if you graduated on time or not. When you have done your best, with all honesty and with your heart: that is the most essential thing".
It is so simple a remark yet it gives you big hopes.
------------
SALAS HOME
Labels: Personal Essays
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
This passion for music, when would it end?
Sunday, February 19, 2006
filed under: inspirational article, fun, lifestyle
Where the love I have in singing is the issue, I would never be satisfied with what I have written so far. Where I thought I had bluntly expressed everything in an article or two, I find myself wedged in front of the PC to give way to this feeling of obsession to singing. Why so? Isn't it that there's a point of contentment to anything that when you're there, you begin to despise any word related to it? Or even utterance of such makes you cover your ears in defiance?
Who says I have no other activities to do? There is that reading for example.
My previous post was evidence to it. The volume though keeps on heaping up. There are few good titles that I have left scattered on shelve tops for months. Then there is that watching a movie. The last film release I saw was Narnia – when was that? It seems I have deprived myself of a decent break from the increasingly prison-like bedroom I have.
I had one aim when I wrote my first article about singing. It was to fly my own kite for friends to know the skill and that it wasn't merely a tingle of my brain. When I read it again I sensed the pointlessness of it all. The article was only a confirmation of what I am capable of. No need to even write about it.
True, my mom exposed me to the talent, being a singer herself. Little did I know it would create a space in my psyche that no filling up with just about anything could ever saturate. No regrets of the childhood training. No shame of the childhood misadventures. With many years gone by after the last rostrum exposure, this liking to singing and the writing that goes with it, I am afraid, would continue.
In odd moments I am in my room, with sunshine sifting through the curtain telling me it is morning or moonlight glistening the window glasses saying goodnight, I hunched back resting on my seat, again, hoping to get the same message across.
There could perhaps be one agreeable inference to reach somewhere. At this moment I can only think of this: that it is not my specialty being in touch with myself. That I can never find that part in me to give me clarity on the singing addiction. That I still have to continue searching and writing about it ad infinitum.
And oh, that my mom would still continue singing and loving it and encouraging us more to embrace the same.
-----
SALAS HOME
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Where the love I have in singing is the issue, I would never be satisfied with what I have written so far. Where I thought I had bluntly expressed everything in an article or two, I find myself wedged in front of the PC to give way to this feeling of obsession to singing. Why so? Isn't it that there's a point of contentment to anything that when you're there, you begin to despise any word related to it? Or even utterance of such makes you cover your ears in defiance?
Who says I have no other activities to do? There is that reading for example.
My previous post was evidence to it. The volume though keeps on heaping up. There are few good titles that I have left scattered on shelve tops for months. Then there is that watching a movie. The last film release I saw was Narnia – when was that? It seems I have deprived myself of a decent break from the increasingly prison-like bedroom I have.I had one aim when I wrote my first article about singing. It was to fly my own kite for friends to know the skill and that it wasn't merely a tingle of my brain. When I read it again I sensed the pointlessness of it all. The article was only a confirmation of what I am capable of. No need to even write about it.
True, my mom exposed me to the talent, being a singer herself. Little did I know it would create a space in my psyche that no filling up with just about anything could ever saturate. No regrets of the childhood training. No shame of the childhood misadventures. With many years gone by after the last rostrum exposure, this liking to singing and the writing that goes with it, I am afraid, would continue.
In odd moments I am in my room, with sunshine sifting through the curtain telling me it is morning or moonlight glistening the window glasses saying goodnight, I hunched back resting on my seat, again, hoping to get the same message across.
There could perhaps be one agreeable inference to reach somewhere. At this moment I can only think of this: that it is not my specialty being in touch with myself. That I can never find that part in me to give me clarity on the singing addiction. That I still have to continue searching and writing about it ad infinitum.
And oh, that my mom would still continue singing and loving it and encouraging us more to embrace the same.
-----
SALAS HOME
Labels: Personal Essays
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
For a brother's love
Friday, February 17, 2006
filed under: inspirational article, love
It was my little brother's birthday yesterday - his first celebration away from home. Right now, he is in Manila working. I remember I treated him and his friends to a dinner last year. But I suppose this year he'd look into the possibility of doing the favor back to me as, I heard, he is compensated well. LOL
He likes surprises and he never fails to surprise me and the family. For instance, he told us one time that he'd be appearing on TV the next day and that he'd be singing live. For me the information came too late as there was a need to arrange my schedules and not miss his TV performance. It came too late as well for mom who'd forever be the most enthusiastic of all fans - mom has this certain mechanism to ensure people in Argao would be glued on their TV sets to watch her son sings R&B. Oh Mothers...
Jeffrey or Dipdip has high dreams when it comes to his singing career and I, as a big brother, am just happy to see his dreams mostly coming true. He had appeared in Star in a Million, met lots of his singing idols, performed in many local and national TV shows and won numerous singing awards. What else is there to ask for?
For his birthday I say, "Don't let go of the dream. Big opportunities appear like a little puddle in the meadow yet small creatures delight in it." Enjoy bro!
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
It was my little brother's birthday yesterday - his first celebration away from home. Right now, he is in Manila working. I remember I treated him and his friends to a dinner last year. But I suppose this year he'd look into the possibility of doing the favor back to me as, I heard, he is compensated well. LOL
He likes surprises and he never fails to surprise me and the family. For instance, he told us one time that he'd be appearing on TV the next day and that he'd be singing live. For me the information came too late as there was a need to arrange my schedules and not miss his TV performance. It came too late as well for mom who'd forever be the most enthusiastic of all fans - mom has this certain mechanism to ensure people in Argao would be glued on their TV sets to watch her son sings R&B. Oh Mothers...
Jeffrey or Dipdip has high dreams when it comes to his singing career and I, as a big brother, am just happy to see his dreams mostly coming true. He had appeared in Star in a Million, met lots of his singing idols, performed in many local and national TV shows and won numerous singing awards. What else is there to ask for?For his birthday I say, "Don't let go of the dream. Big opportunities appear like a little puddle in the meadow yet small creatures delight in it." Enjoy bro!
Labels: Personal Essays
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
all the girls I loved before
filed under: inspirational article, love
As promised, I will continue writing about love this week. Two more days my friends and I will stop ranting on it. But before the week ends, this blogger came up with a silly idea and that is to compose a short expose of all the girls I loved before (not necessarily someone I had intimate relationship with). For you ladies I say:
To you, the girl I've loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before
To protect the identity and probably the stable life these girls might have been enjoying right now with their boyfriends or spouses, this expose will only reveal codes that perhaps only those who have the skills of Robert Langdon could sort through the bizarre riddles. The names are not in chronological order to render an added twist.
1.) J_ _ S_ _ _ _ (she knew how to carry a red dress)
2.) F_ _ _ _ _ _ _ S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (her smile, purely captivating)
3.) C_ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ (what happened during the CAT training?)
4.) C_ _ _ _ L_ _ _ _ _ (I made her cry, I was so sorry)
5.) A_ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (my sweetheart)
6.) R _ _ _ _ M_ _ _ _ _ _ (too short a time to really knew her)
7.) K_ _ C_ _ _ _ _ (so faithful and true)
8.) K_ _ _ V_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (an everyday inspiration)
9.) D_ _ _ _ _ _D_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (I gave too much, she gave too less)
10.) G_ _ _ B_ _ _ _ (she gave too much, I wasn’t ready to receive)
To you, the girl I once caressed
And may I say I've held the best
For helping me to grow
I owe a lot I know
To you, the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl who shared my life
Who now is someone else's wife
I'm glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl who cared for me
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
You live within my heart
I'll always be a part
Of the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl I’ve loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I am so glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before….
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
As promised, I will continue writing about love this week. Two more days my friends and I will stop ranting on it. But before the week ends, this blogger came up with a silly idea and that is to compose a short expose of all the girls I loved before (not necessarily someone I had intimate relationship with). For you ladies I say:
To you, the girl I've loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before
To protect the identity and probably the stable life these girls might have been enjoying right now with their boyfriends or spouses, this expose will only reveal codes that perhaps only those who have the skills of Robert Langdon could sort through the bizarre riddles. The names are not in chronological order to render an added twist.
1.) J_ _ S_ _ _ _ (she knew how to carry a red dress)
2.) F_ _ _ _ _ _ _ S_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (her smile, purely captivating)
3.) C_ _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ (what happened during the CAT training?)
4.) C_ _ _ _ L_ _ _ _ _ (I made her cry, I was so sorry)
5.) A_ _ _ _ _ _ B_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (my sweetheart)
6.) R _ _ _ _ M_ _ _ _ _ _ (too short a time to really knew her)
7.) K_ _ C_ _ _ _ _ (so faithful and true)
8.) K_ _ _ V_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (an everyday inspiration)
9.) D_ _ _ _ _ _D_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (I gave too much, she gave too less)
10.) G_ _ _ B_ _ _ _ (she gave too much, I wasn’t ready to receive)
To you, the girl I once caressed
And may I say I've held the best
For helping me to grow
I owe a lot I know
To you, the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl who shared my life
Who now is someone else's wife
I'm glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl who cared for me
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
You live within my heart
I'll always be a part
Of the girl I've loved before
To you, the girl I’ve loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I am so glad you came along
I dedicate this blog
To you, the girl I've loved before….
Labels: Personal Essays
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Love Will Find A Way
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
filed under: inspirational article, love
It is not a straightforward story of one being out of town. Or not seen for a week. She is in Dubai. He is in a place a thousand miles away. They haven’t seen each other for almost two years already.
I have always questioned the efficiency and value of a long-distance relationship. Even before I experienced it myself way back, I knew, with the things that could probably play in your mind, it will never work. Imagine the pain it could possibly create in you and your partner in all sorts of ways. Communication is the essential ingredient in the love concoction and being a great distance apart can surely injure that.
However, there are stories that defy the belief -- belief that love won’t work. The partners hang to the thought that love works in a mysterious way and when confronted with such situation all there is to do is to trust. If there is truth to the principle that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then it could greatly help make long-distance relationship last.
How would you survive lonely days? Here is a to-do list.
1. Keep busy! Read my daily blogs.
2. Write letters via snail mail. The excitement of when it will reach its destination and land safely on the hand of the recipient is enough to make you alive.
3. Share pains through emails and phone calls. Acknowledge you are hurt as much as he/she is.
4. Get yourself a sense of humor especially when calling him/her. Do not wail like you won’t see the other person anymore.
5. Smell the scent of his/her cologne or touch anything he/she has left behind.
6. Call and ask his/her friend to do little favors for you, like, to leave a note on his/her bed saying “I Love You”. Don’t do this often. He/she might suspect you are up to his/her friend.
7. Give a surprise visit. It is costly but he/she would see the effort!
8. If there is a chance for both of you to meet up at least one day in a year, then make that day extremely magical.
9. Write a song. Sing in the shower.
10. Be tough. Keep friends and family around you.
11. Focus on your job and do not put your life on hold just because he/she is not around.
12. Stay active. Go the gym. Jog with your best friend!
13. Chat with a web cam.
14. Call your dog or cat by his/her name. Just to make sure you won’t forget your partner’s name after 10 years of being apart.
15. Find a place, e.g. park, beach where you could be at peace with yourself.
16. Develop a website for both of you! If you won’t end up together, there is always a delete button.
17. Remind each other how much you love one another.
18. Go to the nearest beach and send a message in the bottle. Fate can sometimes work on your side.
19. Pray. Pray genuinely.
20. Email Eric Salas. He has more to say.
Love conquers things, so be positive. Being so far away from each other maybe a very stressful business, but what you might endure today would make the future so much more priceless for both of you.
***********
F I N D M E.
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It is not a straightforward story of one being out of town. Or not seen for a week. She is in Dubai. He is in a place a thousand miles away. They haven’t seen each other for almost two years already.
I have always questioned the efficiency and value of a long-distance relationship. Even before I experienced it myself way back, I knew, with the things that could probably play in your mind, it will never work. Imagine the pain it could possibly create in you and your partner in all sorts of ways. Communication is the essential ingredient in the love concoction and being a great distance apart can surely injure that.
However, there are stories that defy the belief -- belief that love won’t work. The partners hang to the thought that love works in a mysterious way and when confronted with such situation all there is to do is to trust. If there is truth to the principle that absence makes the heart grow fonder, then it could greatly help make long-distance relationship last.
How would you survive lonely days? Here is a to-do list.
1. Keep busy! Read my daily blogs.
2. Write letters via snail mail. The excitement of when it will reach its destination and land safely on the hand of the recipient is enough to make you alive.
3. Share pains through emails and phone calls. Acknowledge you are hurt as much as he/she is.
4. Get yourself a sense of humor especially when calling him/her. Do not wail like you won’t see the other person anymore.
5. Smell the scent of his/her cologne or touch anything he/she has left behind.
6. Call and ask his/her friend to do little favors for you, like, to leave a note on his/her bed saying “I Love You”. Don’t do this often. He/she might suspect you are up to his/her friend.
7. Give a surprise visit. It is costly but he/she would see the effort!
8. If there is a chance for both of you to meet up at least one day in a year, then make that day extremely magical.
9. Write a song. Sing in the shower.
10. Be tough. Keep friends and family around you.
11. Focus on your job and do not put your life on hold just because he/she is not around.
12. Stay active. Go the gym. Jog with your best friend!
13. Chat with a web cam.
14. Call your dog or cat by his/her name. Just to make sure you won’t forget your partner’s name after 10 years of being apart.
15. Find a place, e.g. park, beach where you could be at peace with yourself.
16. Develop a website for both of you! If you won’t end up together, there is always a delete button.
17. Remind each other how much you love one another.
18. Go to the nearest beach and send a message in the bottle. Fate can sometimes work on your side.
19. Pray. Pray genuinely.
20. Email Eric Salas. He has more to say.
Love conquers things, so be positive. Being so far away from each other maybe a very stressful business, but what you might endure today would make the future so much more priceless for both of you.
***********
F I N D M E.
Labels: Personal Essays
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Art Of The Devil 2: Full-length Movie
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Art of the Devil 2 (Thai: ลองของ or Long khong) is a 2005 Thai horror film directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, Art Thamthrakul, Yosapong Polsap, Putipong Saisikaew, Isara Nadee, Pasith Buranajan and Seree Pongniti (known collectively as the "Ronin Team"). It was released by Five Star Production.
A sequel in name only to a 2004 film (Khon len khong), Art of the Devil 2 is about a teacher, portrayed by Napakpapha Nakprasitte, who has a cruel prank played on her by some students. She then turns to black magic to exact revenge.
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A sequel in name only to a 2004 film (Khon len khong), Art of the Devil 2 is about a teacher, portrayed by Napakpapha Nakprasitte, who has a cruel prank played on her by some students. She then turns to black magic to exact revenge.
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Be My 'Anonymous' Valentine
Monday, February 13, 2006
filed under: inspirational article
First, this week, since it’s the week of love, love will be the theme for all my blog entries. Second, I won’t change a particular perception in my previous entry about Valentine’s day solely because some were so critical of the way I attempted to wrangle over the topic. I maintain the same stand, however you understood it :-) Now, I am posting the comments generated from my previous entry because I am convinced these anonymous people cannot just be put at the back of the stage when in fact their verdicts deserve a little exposition in front. They all have a point, somehow.
Anonymous no.1: Some points in your blog are factual because they're historical in a sense but the way you interpret these historical facts and drawing ideas as to how Valentine's Day is supposed to be observed/celebrated somehow is not making any sense at all…put some logic there please.
I answered back: Your suggestion is appreciated...but that is how I want Valentine's Day to be celebrated. I am not against people who see it as a tradition of expressing love to someone dear and therefore are obliged to follow it. I just don't like the concept of them doing it only on the 14th when they could equally execute such for the rest of the 364 days. And having no one special to celebrate it with is not frightful at all. I want everyone to know that Valentine's day is for you and me and for every other single soul attached or unattached -- and the day can still become perfect even if you are alone.
Anonymous no. 2: I agree with Ms/Mr Anonymous. The original meaning of Valentine's Day may have been different. But what it has become, either due to tradition or commercialism, is something that each and everyone of us should respect. Yes, it has become a day for celebration of love - mostly romantic love. Even if you don't have a special someone, it is just nice to know that a day has been reserved for lovers. It has been that for years and its positive impact in strengthening bonds and adding spice to every relationship can never be understated. I also agree that Valentine's Day is a day for friendship. Isn't it that friendship is the very foundation of every romantic relationship? Anyway, every day of the year should be a celebration of friendship and love. But it still feels good that every 14th of February has been earmarked for that special someone... and for those who are unattached, maybe it is something good to look forward to…
Dens said: haha..reaction kaau si bosi.you guys may be true in your own words about Valentine's day. i wont argue. you can just ignore or enjoy the day as much as you like but getting logics in this blog item. ug kun naa may logic (naa ba bosi?), unsa na man nya?so bosi pangandam kay ma-firing squad ka sigurado.
Anonymous no. 3: I love valentines day because those who are truly in love with their love ones can once again renew their commitment of love on this special day in any way they can limited only by their creativity. Those who wanting to have one also can takeadvantage of the love atmosphere this occasion brings aron makascore hehehe. Good points though by bosing Eric this blog illustrates how pissed he is when someone persecute him on Valentines day hahaha! If you happen to meet him on Valentines day just greet him happy Valentines and please don't ask where is your date? hehehe! As for me i love Valentines days because it brings me lots of memories of my past lovelife. Anyway let's enjoy Valentines day in our own personal way whether we have a date or not. Lastly if you persecute me on Valentines day deadma lang ako…
Anonymous no. 4: If February 14 is really that inconsequential to you, then why bother blogging about it? hahaha Admit it boy, you would have wanted a romantic Valentine's day, but apparently that's not what you're dealt with. Pero, I know it's by choice nga single pa ka.
These people may or may not have a Valentine’s date. But that won’t have a bearing on me. I wish them all a Happy Valentines Day, whoever they’re with!
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
First, this week, since it’s the week of love, love will be the theme for all my blog entries. Second, I won’t change a particular perception in my previous entry about Valentine’s day solely because some were so critical of the way I attempted to wrangle over the topic. I maintain the same stand, however you understood it :-) Now, I am posting the comments generated from my previous entry because I am convinced these anonymous people cannot just be put at the back of the stage when in fact their verdicts deserve a little exposition in front. They all have a point, somehow.
Anonymous no.1: Some points in your blog are factual because they're historical in a sense but the way you interpret these historical facts and drawing ideas as to how Valentine's Day is supposed to be observed/celebrated somehow is not making any sense at all…put some logic there please.
I answered back: Your suggestion is appreciated...but that is how I want Valentine's Day to be celebrated. I am not against people who see it as a tradition of expressing love to someone dear and therefore are obliged to follow it. I just don't like the concept of them doing it only on the 14th when they could equally execute such for the rest of the 364 days. And having no one special to celebrate it with is not frightful at all. I want everyone to know that Valentine's day is for you and me and for every other single soul attached or unattached -- and the day can still become perfect even if you are alone.
Anonymous no. 2: I agree with Ms/Mr Anonymous. The original meaning of Valentine's Day may have been different. But what it has become, either due to tradition or commercialism, is something that each and everyone of us should respect. Yes, it has become a day for celebration of love - mostly romantic love. Even if you don't have a special someone, it is just nice to know that a day has been reserved for lovers. It has been that for years and its positive impact in strengthening bonds and adding spice to every relationship can never be understated. I also agree that Valentine's Day is a day for friendship. Isn't it that friendship is the very foundation of every romantic relationship? Anyway, every day of the year should be a celebration of friendship and love. But it still feels good that every 14th of February has been earmarked for that special someone... and for those who are unattached, maybe it is something good to look forward to…
Dens said: haha..reaction kaau si bosi.you guys may be true in your own words about Valentine's day. i wont argue. you can just ignore or enjoy the day as much as you like but getting logics in this blog item. ug kun naa may logic (naa ba bosi?), unsa na man nya?so bosi pangandam kay ma-firing squad ka sigurado.
Anonymous no. 3: I love valentines day because those who are truly in love with their love ones can once again renew their commitment of love on this special day in any way they can limited only by their creativity. Those who wanting to have one also can takeadvantage of the love atmosphere this occasion brings aron makascore hehehe. Good points though by bosing Eric this blog illustrates how pissed he is when someone persecute him on Valentines day hahaha! If you happen to meet him on Valentines day just greet him happy Valentines and please don't ask where is your date? hehehe! As for me i love Valentines days because it brings me lots of memories of my past lovelife. Anyway let's enjoy Valentines day in our own personal way whether we have a date or not. Lastly if you persecute me on Valentines day deadma lang ako…
Anonymous no. 4: If February 14 is really that inconsequential to you, then why bother blogging about it? hahaha Admit it boy, you would have wanted a romantic Valentine's day, but apparently that's not what you're dealt with. Pero, I know it's by choice nga single pa ka.
These people may or may not have a Valentine’s date. But that won’t have a bearing on me. I wish them all a Happy Valentines Day, whoever they’re with!
Labels: Personal Essays
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Persecute Me Not on Valentine's Day
Saturday, February 11, 2006
filed under: inspirational article, love
Who needs a date on Valentine’s Day? No, I do not need one. Without beating around the bush, I hate the day. When St. Valentine sent the first ‘Valentine’ greeting ‘From your Valentine’ during the third century, I have this thought he wasn’t after for an intimate love. The greeting was for the daughter of a prison guard who constantly visited him in his prison cell after he was caught for not obeying or supporting the Emperor’s law on marriages. On the day he was sentenced to death, he left the note thanking the girl for FRIENDSHIP and loyalty.
The note, my friends, was about friendship. Valentine was a good priest and I deem he cannot allow himself to fall in love with a girl and abandon his holy vows. He was after for friendship alone.
So why do some people have to wear red or anything of that shade to attract potential partners on February 14, when during this day of Valentine’s death he simply conveyed the message of us appreciating our friends? I do not understand, really. The lack of a girlfriend or a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day seems to be a curse in this day and age. If you do not have a ‘date’ on the 14th, you are a sure target of the ‘firing squad’. Therefore you are tortured for sharing with Valentine’s feelings and believing that it is a day of friendship. Afraid (or tired could be the superlative word) to answer queries why you are alone, you take cover behind your office cubicle and pretend you have loads of work to do. This way you evade irritating officemates who obviously need a lecture on the History of Valentine’s Day.
If you are alone [thesaurus: unattached, uncommitted, single, unmarried] this Feb. 14, don’t fret. Dial an unattached, uncommitted, single, unmarried friend and explain to him/her what exactly the day is all about. Odd maybe, but your friend will believe you, trust me. Besides, he/she is in the same situation as yours. Hence, enjoy the day still!
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Who needs a date on Valentine’s Day? No, I do not need one. Without beating around the bush, I hate the day. When St. Valentine sent the first ‘Valentine’ greeting ‘From your Valentine’ during the third century, I have this thought he wasn’t after for an intimate love. The greeting was for the daughter of a prison guard who constantly visited him in his prison cell after he was caught for not obeying or supporting the Emperor’s law on marriages. On the day he was sentenced to death, he left the note thanking the girl for FRIENDSHIP and loyalty.
The note, my friends, was about friendship. Valentine was a good priest and I deem he cannot allow himself to fall in love with a girl and abandon his holy vows. He was after for friendship alone.
So why do some people have to wear red or anything of that shade to attract potential partners on February 14, when during this day of Valentine’s death he simply conveyed the message of us appreciating our friends? I do not understand, really. The lack of a girlfriend or a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day seems to be a curse in this day and age. If you do not have a ‘date’ on the 14th, you are a sure target of the ‘firing squad’. Therefore you are tortured for sharing with Valentine’s feelings and believing that it is a day of friendship. Afraid (or tired could be the superlative word) to answer queries why you are alone, you take cover behind your office cubicle and pretend you have loads of work to do. This way you evade irritating officemates who obviously need a lecture on the History of Valentine’s Day.
If you are alone [thesaurus: unattached, uncommitted, single, unmarried] this Feb. 14, don’t fret. Dial an unattached, uncommitted, single, unmarried friend and explain to him/her what exactly the day is all about. Odd maybe, but your friend will believe you, trust me. Besides, he/she is in the same situation as yours. Hence, enjoy the day still!
Labels: Personal Essays
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Timezone Ayala Cebu
The Hills Have Eyes: Full Movie: Watch Online Free
Friday, February 10, 2006
The Hills Have Eyes -2005 - Watch Full Movie Online for free
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Labels: Movies
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I'm Sorry I Cheated
filed under: inspirational article
Say ‘aye’ those who have not cheated ever in any exam (this includes those you’ve taken in kindergarten). Do I hear a single soul chirping quietly somewhere? Com’on, there should be at least one out there. Let me help you recall. Have you ever lied to or acted fraudulently on purpose while taking an exam, be it a minor or major exam? Have you ever behaved as a conscious examinee looking from side to side, probably up and down as well, between the teacher and your paper while trying to tuck something in your palm, shirt, shoe, arm, leg, hip, thigh, fingers (maybe you’ve tried it) and all other body parts the teacher would least suspect you’d deposit it there? If you had performed a few, if not several, of the above, no mistaking it – you cheated!
I felt insulted this week when someone in my class cheated in the exam. But he wasn’t an expert of the trade after all. He was easily singled out from the rest owing to the body movements unusual for a guy who never even struggled to move his head during typical lecture days. Poor little fellow, I caught him red-handed. But I didn’t confiscate his paper nor humiliate him in front of his friends. Instead, I instructed him to keep the ‘list’ away.
When I had the checked papers returned the following meeting, he saw he passed the exam, though just narrowly, without a point deducted from it. After the class, he came to me teary-eyed and asked sorry for the deed he accepted was wrong. With fright in his voice and seriousness in his look, I could tell he was true to his words of remorse. Without even asking, he explained how much he needed to score higher in the exam to counterweigh previous tests he had gotten all almost zero.
I am not the kind of professor who lectures a student how evil a habit cheating is. Having reached college level, I deduce, students must have fully understood the truth and consequences of making difficult things easy through deceit. My strategy revolves on making them realize the dishonest exploits on their own and mourn as if the bad side of them just died. I sometimes mentioned some realities about cheating though, but never too much.
The point I would want each and every student of mine to know is that, cheating doesn’t bring them anywhere. “Cheaters always fail”, is true. Cheaters cheat themselves in a way. Ah, when you see a cheater wins, it is only temporary. The happiness of winning is passing. Those who never cheat are the true champs – champs for themselves and for the rest of the people watching (or not), because they win evenhanded.
Those who were tempted to cheat but never acted on their emotions, bravo! Those who cheated and felt so bad they would never do it again, hooray! Those who were caught on the act and finally came to a decision it wasn’t worth it, good for you! Those who can’t stop cheating, God bless you!
So have you ever cheated? If not, tell me…so I could ready my reward for you.
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Say ‘aye’ those who have not cheated ever in any exam (this includes those you’ve taken in kindergarten). Do I hear a single soul chirping quietly somewhere? Com’on, there should be at least one out there. Let me help you recall. Have you ever lied to or acted fraudulently on purpose while taking an exam, be it a minor or major exam? Have you ever behaved as a conscious examinee looking from side to side, probably up and down as well, between the teacher and your paper while trying to tuck something in your palm, shirt, shoe, arm, leg, hip, thigh, fingers (maybe you’ve tried it) and all other body parts the teacher would least suspect you’d deposit it there? If you had performed a few, if not several, of the above, no mistaking it – you cheated!
I felt insulted this week when someone in my class cheated in the exam. But he wasn’t an expert of the trade after all. He was easily singled out from the rest owing to the body movements unusual for a guy who never even struggled to move his head during typical lecture days. Poor little fellow, I caught him red-handed. But I didn’t confiscate his paper nor humiliate him in front of his friends. Instead, I instructed him to keep the ‘list’ away.
When I had the checked papers returned the following meeting, he saw he passed the exam, though just narrowly, without a point deducted from it. After the class, he came to me teary-eyed and asked sorry for the deed he accepted was wrong. With fright in his voice and seriousness in his look, I could tell he was true to his words of remorse. Without even asking, he explained how much he needed to score higher in the exam to counterweigh previous tests he had gotten all almost zero.
I am not the kind of professor who lectures a student how evil a habit cheating is. Having reached college level, I deduce, students must have fully understood the truth and consequences of making difficult things easy through deceit. My strategy revolves on making them realize the dishonest exploits on their own and mourn as if the bad side of them just died. I sometimes mentioned some realities about cheating though, but never too much.
The point I would want each and every student of mine to know is that, cheating doesn’t bring them anywhere. “Cheaters always fail”, is true. Cheaters cheat themselves in a way. Ah, when you see a cheater wins, it is only temporary. The happiness of winning is passing. Those who never cheat are the true champs – champs for themselves and for the rest of the people watching (or not), because they win evenhanded.
Those who were tempted to cheat but never acted on their emotions, bravo! Those who cheated and felt so bad they would never do it again, hooray! Those who were caught on the act and finally came to a decision it wasn’t worth it, good for you! Those who can’t stop cheating, God bless you!
So have you ever cheated? If not, tell me…so I could ready my reward for you.
Labels: Personal Essays
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Ayala Coffee Shop
Thursday, February 09, 2006
filed under: inspirational article
Ayala Coffee Shop --- February 9, 2006
Labels: Photos
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River Tale: a Spring, a Well and a Sigh
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Note: This piece won the Grand Prize in the Water Remind Essay Writing Contest last March 2005. I have so many things to thank God for -- this included. I might write soon something about success. Enjoy reading. filed under: inspirational article
********
Would I sigh for more?
“Mi pozo parece agua lluvia (My well water tastes like rain water)”, remarked grandma who had her artesian well on our backyard dug when I was still 6. February 11, 1980, that was. As a child in the 80’s, I had countless sweet memories of the well. Take for instance grandma who arduously took time to tip pail after pail of water over my head as she bathed me every morning. Coming from a sea swim, she would tenderly sprinkle a little water on my feet to give caution of the coldness the well water would probably bring on me. There were moments that I did not stop bathing with friends, until grandma hollered at us that it was suppertime. Joyful memories cut, I sighed…
On hot summer days, grandma would tempt me to join her on a trip to a distant riverside spring, situated beneath green slopes, concealed under a lush shade of a mango tree that had existed long before grandma was born. Rocks were piled around; flat ones made as seats; the bumpy ones for drying. White pebbles populated a large man-made hole where, in the midst, fresh water wobbles out from underground.
Grandma had her place reserved at the spring. Along with neighbors, she would wash clothes that had mounted over the week, while I exhausted myself on the riverside running after a paper boat, or catching small fishes trapped in river weeds, or gathering “special seeds” which I so much loved to watch exploding when thrown into water, like timed bomb detonating at push button. When there was hardly ever to do, I just climbed and enjoyed the branches of the mango tree – over grandma washing, over our neighbors chatting, over the river flowing, over the spring.
Above that tree, looking at the thriving green meadows and mountain slopes ahead, I reflected on the magic of the river, its origin, its life. “Agua abundante!” grandma would declare every instance I asked in great perplexity why she had to always wash in the spring on summertime. The declaration came always with a sweet smile on her face. In a town that had yet to be swayed by civilization and advancement, or exploitation perhaps, she and the rest of our neighbors did not fret of the water supply being cut off due to an unpaid bill. In the spring, “agua abundante!” Water in abundance, that is!
In my recent visit, grandma had stopped going to the spring after she lost her footing while drying clothes on the rocks and injured her arm. What was surprising of my hometown was not the truth that childhood friends had moved out, but the plain reality of the physical changes of the place I used to call habitat. February 11, 2005, I saw, I sighed…
The supposedly perennial river has run dry and now only saturates its bed when rains pour heavily. Only then local farmers could bring in their carabaos for a swim or a good bath. The vicinity where I had fun sailing paper boats had metamorphosed into a filthy scenery of sludge patches even frogs could hardly get pleasure from. No more fishes to catch for my little aquarium at home. The “timed bomb” seeds were nowhere in sight; for certain they had transferred and grown somewhere else where interested children could see them explode in water. The mango tree offered no shade any longer. Locals cut down its branches and dried them for firewood. The spring, oh the spring! It is now a fraction of a past memory. The gods may have condemned the destruction of the site; the spring discontinued its flow. I came, I sighed…
Alongside the river a picture of sadness triumphed. Birds could not sing. Butterflies hungered for wild flowers that used to abound. Gone were the greens. Mountain slopes close by were almost bare due to inappropriate farming. It was nothing more than a deserted house devoid of the owner’s keeping!
Huge bulldozers were quarrying sand downstream. Lines of trucks were waiting for them to be transported to a nearby depot, piled, sieved to different grain sizes, and sold for commerce. No more big flat rocks that used to be grandma’s seat. They had been crushed for construction use. I came, I saw, I sighed…
Grandma did not utter anything at all about how the well water tasted like rain water. Not anymore. After 20 years or so of supplying drinking water for her and a couple of households in the neighborhood, one day, without warning it just stopped providing water for them. Local experts checked its system for problems and no solution was found. They were told to extend the pipe and dig deeper. Truth was, the artesian well has yellowed with age. There was no way it could be restored from its old form, rust has lingered the system and devoured whatever shimmering metal there were. Forever gone, adieu. A water pipe system now operates. For the last five years it has supplied water in every nook and cranny of the town.
February 11, 2030. Yet again, I trek the road, past the barren mountains that leads to the once happy moments with grandma at the riverside spring. It has changed a lot. Like mushrooms, houses populate the river banks. Upstream is a concrete dam built by the local government to store up water for the all-too-often occurrence of dry periods. The irrigation system however brings in water to the rice fields in the lowlands, though most of the days it is empty. Vacant areas are cemented for drying rice grains after harvest.
It is a perfect picture of progress working. Everything around is altered like the land and atmosphere collide at that moment. What used to be a joyful river bouncing has become a quiet swamp in a deserted territory. I sigh deepest…for the lost artesian well and the spring which used to be my playground. For the parched bed where the river used to run. For dreams of more springs, more verdant mango tree, clearer water for the fish, greener countryside.
“Mundo maravilloso”. Would I sigh for more? Children of today, please help me restore my home. Rally with me for a greener town. Whatever is there to do and save, we do it, we save it…now! Resuscitate the ailing river and let the waters flow in abundance again, not for our children alone but for our children’s children.
Would I sigh for more? Assist me to revive my habitat. No government unit or private agency could make a worthwhile job or contribution to the ailing river and water problems without our binding efforts. Reveal superior ideas; come up with comprehensive, integrated approach to solving the dilemma. Share expertise to locals, travel to far-flung barangays and disseminate information. Conduct workshops; educate people, about their livelihoods on mountain slopes, about the river, about the consequences of being indifferent.
Would I sigh for more? We need green mountains for the river to survive. Let us craft our thoughts for realizing mountains and hills all green and forest lustrous. Reforest the slopes. Imagine: a tree planted saves the mountain; saves the river; saves many generations to come. Let us devise concrete scientific programs that explain how to restore the mountains and streamside forests and how to use the proper technology to eliminate pollution from the river. Together we will build a strong network of community-based activities. Let us all have watchful eyes to stop spoilers from tearing our slopes down. What we need is not a piecemeal tactic but an expansive view of the entire basin.
We will let the world know we care. We must realize that nobody from outside is going to save us from bad conditions unless we make a firm stand. We will take the mountains into our custody and then watch the river, our heritage, going, growing and glowing again!
I want my grandchildren to experience rivers’ bounty. I want them to watch their paper boats sail in clear rapids while in some days catching fishes trapped in river weeds. I would tell them of grandma’s tale of a trail to the spring and the coldness of the well on our backyard. I would share the chronicle of how I was momentarily saddened and sighed many times, however proudly recuperated in the end. For I would want my grandchildren to know that even how hopeless a situation can be, like a fairytale, a happily-ever-after ending for the rivers is possible.
“Mundo maravilloso”. Would I sigh for more? I definitely will. Hopefully, a loud sigh of RELIEF – for the mountain, the river, the spring and the well fully recovered, for the hope and the dream of a marvelous world! February 11, 2055, I happily sigh.
**************
I have other published articles posted online. Check them out!
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
********
Would I sigh for more?
“Mi pozo parece agua lluvia (My well water tastes like rain water)”, remarked grandma who had her artesian well on our backyard dug when I was still 6. February 11, 1980, that was. As a child in the 80’s, I had countless sweet memories of the well. Take for instance grandma who arduously took time to tip pail after pail of water over my head as she bathed me every morning. Coming from a sea swim, she would tenderly sprinkle a little water on my feet to give caution of the coldness the well water would probably bring on me. There were moments that I did not stop bathing with friends, until grandma hollered at us that it was suppertime. Joyful memories cut, I sighed…
On hot summer days, grandma would tempt me to join her on a trip to a distant riverside spring, situated beneath green slopes, concealed under a lush shade of a mango tree that had existed long before grandma was born. Rocks were piled around; flat ones made as seats; the bumpy ones for drying. White pebbles populated a large man-made hole where, in the midst, fresh water wobbles out from underground.
Grandma had her place reserved at the spring. Along with neighbors, she would wash clothes that had mounted over the week, while I exhausted myself on the riverside running after a paper boat, or catching small fishes trapped in river weeds, or gathering “special seeds” which I so much loved to watch exploding when thrown into water, like timed bomb detonating at push button. When there was hardly ever to do, I just climbed and enjoyed the branches of the mango tree – over grandma washing, over our neighbors chatting, over the river flowing, over the spring.
Above that tree, looking at the thriving green meadows and mountain slopes ahead, I reflected on the magic of the river, its origin, its life. “Agua abundante!” grandma would declare every instance I asked in great perplexity why she had to always wash in the spring on summertime. The declaration came always with a sweet smile on her face. In a town that had yet to be swayed by civilization and advancement, or exploitation perhaps, she and the rest of our neighbors did not fret of the water supply being cut off due to an unpaid bill. In the spring, “agua abundante!” Water in abundance, that is!
In my recent visit, grandma had stopped going to the spring after she lost her footing while drying clothes on the rocks and injured her arm. What was surprising of my hometown was not the truth that childhood friends had moved out, but the plain reality of the physical changes of the place I used to call habitat. February 11, 2005, I saw, I sighed…
The supposedly perennial river has run dry and now only saturates its bed when rains pour heavily. Only then local farmers could bring in their carabaos for a swim or a good bath. The vicinity where I had fun sailing paper boats had metamorphosed into a filthy scenery of sludge patches even frogs could hardly get pleasure from. No more fishes to catch for my little aquarium at home. The “timed bomb” seeds were nowhere in sight; for certain they had transferred and grown somewhere else where interested children could see them explode in water. The mango tree offered no shade any longer. Locals cut down its branches and dried them for firewood. The spring, oh the spring! It is now a fraction of a past memory. The gods may have condemned the destruction of the site; the spring discontinued its flow. I came, I sighed…
Alongside the river a picture of sadness triumphed. Birds could not sing. Butterflies hungered for wild flowers that used to abound. Gone were the greens. Mountain slopes close by were almost bare due to inappropriate farming. It was nothing more than a deserted house devoid of the owner’s keeping!
Huge bulldozers were quarrying sand downstream. Lines of trucks were waiting for them to be transported to a nearby depot, piled, sieved to different grain sizes, and sold for commerce. No more big flat rocks that used to be grandma’s seat. They had been crushed for construction use. I came, I saw, I sighed…
Grandma did not utter anything at all about how the well water tasted like rain water. Not anymore. After 20 years or so of supplying drinking water for her and a couple of households in the neighborhood, one day, without warning it just stopped providing water for them. Local experts checked its system for problems and no solution was found. They were told to extend the pipe and dig deeper. Truth was, the artesian well has yellowed with age. There was no way it could be restored from its old form, rust has lingered the system and devoured whatever shimmering metal there were. Forever gone, adieu. A water pipe system now operates. For the last five years it has supplied water in every nook and cranny of the town.
February 11, 2030. Yet again, I trek the road, past the barren mountains that leads to the once happy moments with grandma at the riverside spring. It has changed a lot. Like mushrooms, houses populate the river banks. Upstream is a concrete dam built by the local government to store up water for the all-too-often occurrence of dry periods. The irrigation system however brings in water to the rice fields in the lowlands, though most of the days it is empty. Vacant areas are cemented for drying rice grains after harvest.
It is a perfect picture of progress working. Everything around is altered like the land and atmosphere collide at that moment. What used to be a joyful river bouncing has become a quiet swamp in a deserted territory. I sigh deepest…for the lost artesian well and the spring which used to be my playground. For the parched bed where the river used to run. For dreams of more springs, more verdant mango tree, clearer water for the fish, greener countryside.
“Mundo maravilloso”. Would I sigh for more? Children of today, please help me restore my home. Rally with me for a greener town. Whatever is there to do and save, we do it, we save it…now! Resuscitate the ailing river and let the waters flow in abundance again, not for our children alone but for our children’s children.
Would I sigh for more? Assist me to revive my habitat. No government unit or private agency could make a worthwhile job or contribution to the ailing river and water problems without our binding efforts. Reveal superior ideas; come up with comprehensive, integrated approach to solving the dilemma. Share expertise to locals, travel to far-flung barangays and disseminate information. Conduct workshops; educate people, about their livelihoods on mountain slopes, about the river, about the consequences of being indifferent.
Would I sigh for more? We need green mountains for the river to survive. Let us craft our thoughts for realizing mountains and hills all green and forest lustrous. Reforest the slopes. Imagine: a tree planted saves the mountain; saves the river; saves many generations to come. Let us devise concrete scientific programs that explain how to restore the mountains and streamside forests and how to use the proper technology to eliminate pollution from the river. Together we will build a strong network of community-based activities. Let us all have watchful eyes to stop spoilers from tearing our slopes down. What we need is not a piecemeal tactic but an expansive view of the entire basin.
We will let the world know we care. We must realize that nobody from outside is going to save us from bad conditions unless we make a firm stand. We will take the mountains into our custody and then watch the river, our heritage, going, growing and glowing again!
I want my grandchildren to experience rivers’ bounty. I want them to watch their paper boats sail in clear rapids while in some days catching fishes trapped in river weeds. I would tell them of grandma’s tale of a trail to the spring and the coldness of the well on our backyard. I would share the chronicle of how I was momentarily saddened and sighed many times, however proudly recuperated in the end. For I would want my grandchildren to know that even how hopeless a situation can be, like a fairytale, a happily-ever-after ending for the rivers is possible.
“Mundo maravilloso”. Would I sigh for more? I definitely will. Hopefully, a loud sigh of RELIEF – for the mountain, the river, the spring and the well fully recovered, for the hope and the dream of a marvelous world! February 11, 2055, I happily sigh.
**************
I have other published articles posted online. Check them out!
Labels: Personal Essays
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Friends Etched in Ours Hearts
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
filed under: inspirational article
People who isolate themselves socially are less healthy than those who surround themselves with friends. I read about it somewhere and you have probably known it already. I reiterate, it is true. Those who have strong friendship ties suffer less depression and easily get over a harsh situation. We do not need a therapist to tell us why. We know that friendship is a sort of support system. We need friends to encourage us, tell us what best to do, cheer us up when we are emotionally immobile, laugh with us when we win, and cry with us when we fail.
When we come home after having been away for years, we look for our friends and delightfully gather them to talk about the years and to share few laughs, or even more. When I arrived from the Netherlands, and after meeting family members, I seek out for lost friends. I found a few – those who have loved and lodged their loyalty in my beloved Cebu so much that getting out of the province could somehow become an offense. I looked for them since there are myriad stories I could tell to friends that mom and dad shouldn’t know.
Truth be told, the old CM center was the place I could attach my fondest memories to. There, I gained friends exponentially. For example, I met someone who attended a prayer meeting one Friday night. We smiled and chatted. The following week she brought friends with her, introduced them to me – we smiled and chatted. You see, it was an easy interchange. Had there been Friendster Online that time, I could have easily filled my list to the brim.
Those were the times. Nowadays, my CM friends could only gather together when we could find ample time (or when Roselyn, the Singaporean or Mark Hapon, the Canadian comes home). But no matter how seldom the assembly happens, the friendship remains. We communicate via our online group and support each one emotionally and spiritually (no, never financially..haha). We still laugh and joke like we never grew old. Others may have looked a little challenged while trimming weights and holding on to the last few wisps of hair, even so, we bond like we never became professionals.
Childish attitude? No. It is what we label as wisdom among friends that good times can never be waned by the mere flipping of the calendar. It is also wisdom that while many people pass our lives each day, dear friends are unforgettable, because we intentionally etched their names in our hearts.
People who isolate themselves socially are less healthy than those who surround themselves with friends. I read about it somewhere and you have probably known it already. I reiterate, it is true. Those who have strong friendship ties suffer less depression and easily get over a harsh situation. We do not need a therapist to tell us why. We know that friendship is a sort of support system. We need friends to encourage us, tell us what best to do, cheer us up when we are emotionally immobile, laugh with us when we win, and cry with us when we fail.
When we come home after having been away for years, we look for our friends and delightfully gather them to talk about the years and to share few laughs, or even more. When I arrived from the Netherlands, and after meeting family members, I seek out for lost friends. I found a few – those who have loved and lodged their loyalty in my beloved Cebu so much that getting out of the province could somehow become an offense. I looked for them since there are myriad stories I could tell to friends that mom and dad shouldn’t know.Truth be told, the old CM center was the place I could attach my fondest memories to. There, I gained friends exponentially. For example, I met someone who attended a prayer meeting one Friday night. We smiled and chatted. The following week she brought friends with her, introduced them to me – we smiled and chatted. You see, it was an easy interchange. Had there been Friendster Online that time, I could have easily filled my list to the brim.
Those were the times. Nowadays, my CM friends could only gather together when we could find ample time (or when Roselyn, the Singaporean or Mark Hapon, the Canadian comes home). But no matter how seldom the assembly happens, the friendship remains. We communicate via our online group and support each one emotionally and spiritually (no, never financially..haha). We still laugh and joke like we never grew old. Others may have looked a little challenged while trimming weights and holding on to the last few wisps of hair, even so, we bond like we never became professionals.Childish attitude? No. It is what we label as wisdom among friends that good times can never be waned by the mere flipping of the calendar. It is also wisdom that while many people pass our lives each day, dear friends are unforgettable, because we intentionally etched their names in our hearts.
***************
More of me H E R E.
Labels: Personal Essays
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Living Life abroad!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Life Abroad
filed under: inspirational article
If given the chance to travel abroad or live the rest of your life away from your motherland, would you take it?
My answer: YES. My motives are very varied. First, I want to alleviate my financial status. It is not meant to say that I am getting hungry with the salary I am getting at the moment. It is not just enough to carry out so many dreams I have. Second, I want to finish a PhD study abroad that might be in line with my current profession. Didn’t I tell you I want to plunk as many degrees to my name as I can? Third, I want to see friends I haven’t seen for more than a decade already. With good stories I hear from them, who doesn’t want to follow where they are right now? Fourth, I want to be away from home. This isn’t treason. Neither this is relinquishing my citizenship. My being a Filipino will stay as it is, wherever I go. Fifth, I want to see more of the world. Although there are still lots to find out in the Philippines, but I think, that can wait in later years.
Wilson, a childhood friend, is now happily living in the US with his wife and two kids. In the few instances we chatted, he seemed to be contented with his life as an accountant traveling from one state to another. He misses home. I can sense it in the way he elatedly asked me questions of how life is faring in Cebu. There were times he remembered how we used to have short talks on Sundays during our ROTC formations at the Talamban Campus. That was long time ago. It is different now.
Many of my former students are also working abroad. Majority of them are in the Middle East, running big projects as Civil Engineers. Although there are a few who accepted jobs too far from their professions, it isn’t a big deal for them anymore. What counts is the remuneration they are receiving that triples the amount they’d get working here in the Philippines.
It cannot be denied that the comfort one gets working abroad is tremendous. Exactly that is the rationale why Giovanni and Alain left their teaching jobs in the university and tried to find their niche in a far away land. I am suspecting there will be some more in the civil engineering department joining them sooner. Even our former chairman is currently on leave, studying in Japan, and again, I suspect, he will never come back.
Why do we want to leave the country? I have already mentioned my reasons above. What are yours?
***********
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Labels: Personal Essays
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I won one million!
I Won a Million Pesos!
filed under: inspirational articleI am just imagining, friends.
In the second season of Pinoy Big Brother (PBB), one of the reality shows on TV offering cash prizes amounting to millions of pesos, I cannot help but contemplate how lucky the contestants, or called housemates in the case of PBB, of the show are. Imagine, after surviving some challenges (which I think are not truly that tough), the solace is a whopping set of rewards! But what would I do to a million peso if I, let me just dream, become a big winner?
1. I’ll give some to the parish church.
2. Buy a small house I can call my own.
3. Purchase lots of books that will last me a lifetime.
4. Bring my parents to a first-rate place within the country far from home.
5. Get that phone I’m dying to own.
6. Buy DVDs and collect all the movies I love.
7. Change my PC monitor to a flat screen.
8. Treat my friends to a whole day (just one whole day people) of fun, probably eating most of the time, in a far south beach resort.
9. Save an amount for my studies – whatever that be.
10. Save an amount for my future children – whoever they are.
11. Satisfy my siblings’ small needs in life.
12. Start a small art business.
13. Get my mom a place for her RTW store.
14. Probably, buy a wife somewhere.
15. Set up a recording studio where I can produce a music album in my name.
16. Buy tulips for my wife (if ever I’d be successful in number 14).
17. Support a project for the restoration of the environment.
18. Donate an amount to pave a stretch of dirt road in my hometown.
19. Join a music band. I have money, I can entice them.
20. Procure a water bed.
21. Raise a dozen of dogs.
22. Sponsor a child’s education – from elementary to high school to college.
23. Give big tips to waiters.
24. Go to expensive restaurants and realize no. 23.
25. Convert one small room of my small house in no. 2 to a workout room.
26. Get a badminton racket.
27. Take Spanish lessons.
28. Learn French if I’d become conscious Spanish is hard.
29. Write a book of my life and have it published. If it won’t sell, it won’t matter.
30. Enroll myself back in Law school.
If I continue listing each little thing, I will fill a week of blog space. And if I have to accomplice all through spending the million pesos, then I’ll be poor in weeks. So after all, a million peso could only satisfy my list of 30, or even less.
Of course this is only a flight of my imagination; you know that castle in the sky.
***********
More of me H E R E.
Labels: Personal Essays
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Her Pleasure Points
I'm into my usual sex tips again.
Here are 14 foreplay and sex tips and tricks to pleasing your woman. Don't use them all up in one night!
1. Try this great warmup
The precoital massage: As a warmup to the main event, start by massaging the length of her legs, from her upper thighs down to her ankles. Then focus on the feet, kneading her heels and all other points beneath. Then zero in on the toes and stretch them individually. Of course, if her impeccable hygiene encourages you to suck her toes, you'll have her in ecstasy.
2. Ask what turns her on
Come right out and ask what she likes during sex. "Most women appreciate men who want to make sure they're satisfied," says Barbara Bartlik, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Cornell University. "If she notices you're working hard to please her, she'll be more likely to return the favor." And tell us: Is there a better place to develop your work ethic?
3. Boost your foreplay quotient
Improve the quality of foreplay and she'll never again bug you about the quantity. "If you act as if you're just going through the motions to get to the sex, she's going to notice, and it will take longer for her to get excited," says Michael Perry, Ph.D., a sex therapist in Encino, California. So do what you want to do. If you like how her calves feel, stroke them. If you like her butt, kiss it. "When a man is loving what he's doing, it's going to show through and turn her on, too," says Perry.
4. Go easy
Yes, the clitoris is the obvious place to focus your attention. Still, many men do wrong by it. "Direct stimulation of the clitoris can actually be painful," says Cathy Winks, author of The Good Vibrations Guide to the G-spot. "It's much better to rub the clitoral hood [where the tops of the labia meet] or to rub along the side of the clitoris than it is to go straight for the head of it." When playing with the clitoris during oral sex, Birch's advice is to "focus on the clitoris, then don't focus on the clitoris. The clitoris reacts best to being teased, so you want to lick it and suck on it a little, build a little tension, then back off on it a bit before going at it again."
5. Drive her wild with the 'figure 8' technique
The figure-8 tongue technique: When you're at her service down below, work the supersensitive area around her clitoris in a figure-8 pattern. Arouse her with gentle sucking until the little button swells, then carefully expose the area with your fingers. Use the slippery underside of your tongue to circle it to the left and then to the right. With the rougher top side of the tongue, flick from right to left and then up and down. Finally work up to figure 8s, alternating between your tongue's smooth underside and firmer tip. Constantly vary the degrees of pressure you use.
6. Expand your repertoire
Expand your repertoire of oral sex with this method: You lie perpendicular to her body, which allows you to stroke her clitoris with your tongue in a crosswise motion, rather than up and down. She'll appreciate the change in stimulation -- hopefully, enough to return the reward.
7. A Body Part You Shouldn't Neglect
Oft overlooked as mere roadblocks to the vagina, the labia are packed with nerve endings and are not to be ignored. Hold each one between your thumb and forefinger and massage it, working your way up and down. Or, using all of your fingers and your palm, "smoosh" the labia together, almost like you're (gently!) kneading dough.
8. Best position for hitting the G-spot
Most experts say that G-spot stimulation works best when you do it by hand, since it allows for more subtle manipulation. But that means less fun for you. To get at her G-spot during intercourse, enter her doggy-style from the rear. "It's the best angle for hitting the G-spot," says Cathy Winks, author of The Good Vibrations Guide to the G-spot. Keep your hands on her hips and pull her towards you each time you thrust forward.
9. Get down and give me the sexual push up
There's a reason girls swoon when they see a six pack. They know a man with strong abs is going to be great in the sack. Sexual push-ups are a great way to flex your abs for her: Assume the standard push-up position you'd use if you were working out. Then have your partner slide underneath you. This variation on the man-on-top position works extremely well for guys with flat stomachs, says sex expert Michael Perry, Ph.D. "You should have your arms down along her sides, and thrust with your shoulders as well as your abdominals," he says.
10. Try the 'X' position
Women like a guy with strong arms. Emphasize yours by using the "X" position. Sit facing your partner, legs apart. As you enter her, have her straddle your hips with her legs. Both you and your partner should then reach backward with your arms, placing them about shoulder width apart. Keep your arms straight, and lean back onto them, so that you arch your back and slightly raise your pelvis (together, your bodies will form the shape of an X). Once you're in position, lean back on your arms and rock your pelvis to create a strong, thrusting motion.
11. A trick for lasting longer
If you're worried about getting off too early, try become more aware of your pre-orgasmic sensations. Most men only recognize that last, no-turning-back feeling, that occurs just before ejaculation, says David Copeland, of the How to Succeed with Women website. By then it's too late to do anything about it. Try to become familiar with the two or three more subtle sensations that precede that one, so that you can slow down at the right time.
12. Kissing keeps her going
You're close, really close, but you're forgetting what got you here in the first place. "Women get their greatest erotic pleasure from frequent, passionate kissing," says Britton. "If you get the sense that she's starting to lose interest, kissing is always the best way to bring her back into it." Just remember that passionate kissing doesn't always mean frantically swabbing out her tonsils. Try to mix up your tongue play with the occasional closed-mouth kiss on her nose, eyes, and forehead.
13. Another good trick for lasting longer
To her, 14 minutes feels like "been there, done that." Time to be the man of the hour. Rock and roll. Before you get too close to the 14-minute mark, penetrate her as deeply as you can and then stop thrusting. Now press your pelvic bone against hers and start shifting up and down in a kind of rocking motion. "It won't be as stimulating for you, so you'll last longer, and it may be more stimulating for her," says Jed Kaminetsky, M.D., a professor of urology at New York University.
14. Reward her bravery
When she initiates the action, make an extra effort to please her sexually and to let her know how much you approve. Tell her you loved her initiation. Sometimes women wonder if you're going to perceive initiation as negative or if it might make you uncomfortable.
Visit other articles here. Great site for men's health.
Here are 14 foreplay and sex tips and tricks to pleasing your woman. Don't use them all up in one night!
1. Try this great warmup
The precoital massage: As a warmup to the main event, start by massaging the length of her legs, from her upper thighs down to her ankles. Then focus on the feet, kneading her heels and all other points beneath. Then zero in on the toes and stretch them individually. Of course, if her impeccable hygiene encourages you to suck her toes, you'll have her in ecstasy.
2. Ask what turns her on
Come right out and ask what she likes during sex. "Most women appreciate men who want to make sure they're satisfied," says Barbara Bartlik, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Cornell University. "If she notices you're working hard to please her, she'll be more likely to return the favor." And tell us: Is there a better place to develop your work ethic?
3. Boost your foreplay quotient
Improve the quality of foreplay and she'll never again bug you about the quantity. "If you act as if you're just going through the motions to get to the sex, she's going to notice, and it will take longer for her to get excited," says Michael Perry, Ph.D., a sex therapist in Encino, California. So do what you want to do. If you like how her calves feel, stroke them. If you like her butt, kiss it. "When a man is loving what he's doing, it's going to show through and turn her on, too," says Perry.
4. Go easy
Yes, the clitoris is the obvious place to focus your attention. Still, many men do wrong by it. "Direct stimulation of the clitoris can actually be painful," says Cathy Winks, author of The Good Vibrations Guide to the G-spot. "It's much better to rub the clitoral hood [where the tops of the labia meet] or to rub along the side of the clitoris than it is to go straight for the head of it." When playing with the clitoris during oral sex, Birch's advice is to "focus on the clitoris, then don't focus on the clitoris. The clitoris reacts best to being teased, so you want to lick it and suck on it a little, build a little tension, then back off on it a bit before going at it again."
5. Drive her wild with the 'figure 8' technique
The figure-8 tongue technique: When you're at her service down below, work the supersensitive area around her clitoris in a figure-8 pattern. Arouse her with gentle sucking until the little button swells, then carefully expose the area with your fingers. Use the slippery underside of your tongue to circle it to the left and then to the right. With the rougher top side of the tongue, flick from right to left and then up and down. Finally work up to figure 8s, alternating between your tongue's smooth underside and firmer tip. Constantly vary the degrees of pressure you use.
6. Expand your repertoire
Expand your repertoire of oral sex with this method: You lie perpendicular to her body, which allows you to stroke her clitoris with your tongue in a crosswise motion, rather than up and down. She'll appreciate the change in stimulation -- hopefully, enough to return the reward.
7. A Body Part You Shouldn't Neglect
Oft overlooked as mere roadblocks to the vagina, the labia are packed with nerve endings and are not to be ignored. Hold each one between your thumb and forefinger and massage it, working your way up and down. Or, using all of your fingers and your palm, "smoosh" the labia together, almost like you're (gently!) kneading dough.
8. Best position for hitting the G-spot
Most experts say that G-spot stimulation works best when you do it by hand, since it allows for more subtle manipulation. But that means less fun for you. To get at her G-spot during intercourse, enter her doggy-style from the rear. "It's the best angle for hitting the G-spot," says Cathy Winks, author of The Good Vibrations Guide to the G-spot. Keep your hands on her hips and pull her towards you each time you thrust forward.
9. Get down and give me the sexual push up
There's a reason girls swoon when they see a six pack. They know a man with strong abs is going to be great in the sack. Sexual push-ups are a great way to flex your abs for her: Assume the standard push-up position you'd use if you were working out. Then have your partner slide underneath you. This variation on the man-on-top position works extremely well for guys with flat stomachs, says sex expert Michael Perry, Ph.D. "You should have your arms down along her sides, and thrust with your shoulders as well as your abdominals," he says.
10. Try the 'X' position
Women like a guy with strong arms. Emphasize yours by using the "X" position. Sit facing your partner, legs apart. As you enter her, have her straddle your hips with her legs. Both you and your partner should then reach backward with your arms, placing them about shoulder width apart. Keep your arms straight, and lean back onto them, so that you arch your back and slightly raise your pelvis (together, your bodies will form the shape of an X). Once you're in position, lean back on your arms and rock your pelvis to create a strong, thrusting motion.
11. A trick for lasting longer
If you're worried about getting off too early, try become more aware of your pre-orgasmic sensations. Most men only recognize that last, no-turning-back feeling, that occurs just before ejaculation, says David Copeland, of the How to Succeed with Women website. By then it's too late to do anything about it. Try to become familiar with the two or three more subtle sensations that precede that one, so that you can slow down at the right time.
12. Kissing keeps her going
You're close, really close, but you're forgetting what got you here in the first place. "Women get their greatest erotic pleasure from frequent, passionate kissing," says Britton. "If you get the sense that she's starting to lose interest, kissing is always the best way to bring her back into it." Just remember that passionate kissing doesn't always mean frantically swabbing out her tonsils. Try to mix up your tongue play with the occasional closed-mouth kiss on her nose, eyes, and forehead.
13. Another good trick for lasting longer
To her, 14 minutes feels like "been there, done that." Time to be the man of the hour. Rock and roll. Before you get too close to the 14-minute mark, penetrate her as deeply as you can and then stop thrusting. Now press your pelvic bone against hers and start shifting up and down in a kind of rocking motion. "It won't be as stimulating for you, so you'll last longer, and it may be more stimulating for her," says Jed Kaminetsky, M.D., a professor of urology at New York University.
14. Reward her bravery
When she initiates the action, make an extra effort to please her sexually and to let her know how much you approve. Tell her you loved her initiation. Sometimes women wonder if you're going to perceive initiation as negative or if it might make you uncomfortable.
Visit other articles here. Great site for men's health.
Labels: Adult Articles
CONTINUE to FULL TEXT ->>>
Wowowee Stampede
Saturday, February 04, 2006
A Game of "Wowowee" Chance
filed under: inspirational article
It’s in the headlines today.
I was shocked to know about it when someone texted me – as I was enjoying a shopping spree in Ayala – to pray for those who died in the stampede. I am referring to the more than 80 people who went to the Ultra Stadium to take their chance at the million-peso jackpot of the pera-o-bayong portion of the TV show “Wowowee” and unfortunately lost their lives like greased lightning.
Those interviewed said that they only wanted to win prizes even consolation ones. Coming from far-flung provinces, others traveled many miles with a sole desire to get inside the stadium and be picked as one of the contestants of the dream game of chance. They lined-up for days outside the stadium, camped like some international superstars are coming for a show. Wanting so much to win, the elderly didn’t pass by the chance, even tagging along with them children as young as 4 years old. Who knows lady luck would rest on them! Yes, who knows what would happen.
Hope. Supposedly, a day of hope. Yet nobody predicted that many lives would never see one ever again. The excitement turned disastrous hours before hope had been revealed. Early morning became an early mourning for the hopefuls.
Initial investigations showed that someone shouted “bomb”. Others could not confirm this, as they believed it was the pushing of people towards a narrow entrance of the stadium, impatient to go inside, which caused the stampede. Whatever the reason, this has to be probed by the authorities.
What is so heartbreaking is the news that majority of the fatalities were elderly women and young children who obviously were not able to escape the crowd going berserk. Trapped and with no other option, the elderly hugged their young and welcomed death lying on the cold street. They died with their eyes open, looked visibly shocked. It was a very sad moment.
It is so sad to realize how people would risk their lives just to make both ends meet and to survive the adversities of living less than a dollar a day. This is a wake-up call for all of us that many of our countrymen have nothing to eat and would do whatever it takes to provide food on the table, while many of us are wasting our hard-earned money for insignificant obsessions. Poverty is rising in this country. A little increase in percentage means millions of people going hungry. We cannot blame them to take a game of chance. Even those working individuals receiving a salary of 20K monthly are facing hard times to budget the income for the family. What can we buy nowadays that isn’t expensive? Prices of goods go up, but not the salary. Tight budgeting is the strategy. Or simply take a game of chance.
I am sure that after this incident, people will still continue to line-up for the daily Wowowee program and hope for money that would send their children to school, bring their sick nearest and dearest to hospitals, nurture a family of ten and alleviate them from the rags.
So we pray for all of us. We pray for the dead, the injured and those who have lost their family members or relatives. We pray that as we hope for a comfortable life, the steps we take will always be safe.
****
Read more of me HERE.
Labels: Personal Essays
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Reminiscing Childhood
Friday, February 03, 2006
Childlike Reminiscence
filed under: inspirational article
filed under: inspirational article
Indeed, many things in childhood years are tough to forget. Except for some unforgettable experiences like getting a wink from your first crush, conducting the flag ceremony, towing a wheel burrow the very first time, buying a vegetable soup every lunch time at Nang Silay’s modest store across the street and getting an embarrassment from a teacher for not pronouncing correctly the word “DAUGHTER” – the little short episodes of childhood days were the ones bearing the heaviest impression, even if not collectively thought of.
When I think of childhood days, I cannot help but think of the friendships I made. Not to blow my own horn, but I was a very friendly little boy and with that I made a whole lot of associates. Others were very close to me for the fact that they were rivals for a place in the honor roll (said Minang "forget it", and so I did). More so, they were playmates whom I grew up with in school.
How wonderful it is to know that the chubby ‘Nene’ has now grown to be a sexy darling every hunk pursues. I met others whom I thought before would become trying-hard politicians, but now are doing well in the business industry. Others have married and deserted the country for the much needed guarantee abroad. More others are confined to enjoying single lives and engage themselves to expanding their professional careers.
Take for instance Maricel. She hasn’t changed much since the last time I bumped into her so many, many years ago. Aside from her getting a little flabby (might not be the right word to perfectly describe her figure), she is still the usual verbose person whom would say anything she wants. Believe me she does not easily give in to anybody’s idea. She feels affection for arguments and that I think made her witty in the eyes of those who know her. She smiles charmingly and winks at me all the time... (Sorry, wipe out the last verb). Our conversation was fun, if not marvelous, when we started to contest how she has become so detached from men. Ah, she had good reasons.
She said that being single is a vocation. Completely, I agreed with her.
She said that being single is a choice. Some points I agreed. Some I doubted.
She said that getting married is not a rush. I agreed.
She further said that the man for her would come at the right time even without trying to find him. I didn’t think so. I disagreed.
She said that you have to be content with what you have. I agreed.
She said that she is looking for someone who could at least resemble her goals and they both should possess parallel wisdom. I told her that is difficult.
Maricel is a lady who loves children and hopes to nurture her own sooner. I listened when she said life is short and we have to make the most out of it. Well, we do not have to. We just have to take it a day at a time. Even if we miss some big moments somewhere along the way, for as long as we are contented with the little short episodes of every little experience, it will be more than enough to be happy for a lifetime.
I am happy for all my childhood friends and how they have been living every moment of their dreams.
Read more of me: http://salashome.tripod.com
Labels: Personal Essays
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Bewitched: Watch Full-length movie
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Bewitched: Watch Full-length movie for free.
Bewitched was an American situation comedy starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. It was the most successful of the 1960s supernatural sitcoms, which included The Munsters, The Addams Family, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (derived from a popular novel and movie), I Dream of Jeannie, Nanny and the Professor and My Favorite Martian.
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Bewitched was an American situation comedy starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. It was the most successful of the 1960s supernatural sitcoms, which included The Munsters, The Addams Family, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (derived from a popular novel and movie), I Dream of Jeannie, Nanny and the Professor and My Favorite Martian.
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