Articles, posted notes, clippings and notable quotes
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| Bulletin Board Articles, posted notes, clippings and notable quotes Click on title to open |
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| Title | Description | Author/Posted By | Date Posted |
| Apple Tree | A story of a boy and the apple tree | Joel & Raquel | August 23, 2007 |
| Wedding Test | A love story | Authpr -Unknown | June 27, 2006 |
| The Biggest Little Words | Words that strenthen our interpersonnal realtionships."Click page to advance" | Ador Laus | December 25, 2006 |
| Lawyer's Advice | A corporate lawyer's advice on cheques and credit cards | Ador Laus | June 13, 2006 |
| Moments in Life | Some good word of wisdom | Ador Laus | January 9, 2006 |
| Filipino US President | Top 10 Reasons Why There Couldn't Be a Filipino-American US President | David Letterman | October 20,2005 |
| Growing Old | An old woman's view on getting old | Leland De Las Alas | November 22, 2004 |
| English History | Origin of some Engilsh words | Author - Anonymous | March 1,2004 |
| Uniquely Filipino | A foreigner's overview of the Filipino eway of life | Matthew Sutherland | January 30, 2004 |
| Mathematically Speaking | Someone's mathematical viewpoint of success | Author - Unknown | January 13,2004 |
| The Emperor's Seed | A lesson on honesty | Leland De Las Alas | December 6, 2003 |
| 'Think You Know Everything | Some facts that you don't know | Author - Anonymous | September 29,2003 |
| A Glass Of Water | A lesson on how to rest and relax | Tony Magallanes | December 10, 2002 |
| How Life Is Really Measured | A story worth sharing - A Lesson in life | Bani de las Alas | September 10,2000 |
| Pinoy Pride | Famous Filipinos and characters that make us proud | Jay Antonio | December 7, 2001 |
| Truths of Life | Great truths about life that we learned as we grow older | Rosette Husbands | December 2, 2001 |
| Mga Salawikain at Pilosopiya | Mga tinipung salawikain at pilosopiya sa buhay | Reuben De Las Alas | May 18, 2001 |
| Words To Live By | Phrases and Quotes that would guide us to a good life. | Zayda Encarnacion | October 22, 2001 |
| Safe Driving Aid-Side Mirror Adjustment | Tips on adjusting your car's side mirrors for optimum safety | Darius De Las Alas | October 8, 2001 |
| Shake It Off | How to get out of troubles in our lives. | Elma De Las Alas | Oct. 2, 2001 |
| The Meaning of Life | Some good thoughts to live a good life | Ethel Rina De Las Alas | Aug. 26, 2001 |
| The Origin of Barong Tagalog | History of the origin of the Filipino national suit | Adriel & Merce De Las Alas | August 19, 2001 |
| 50 Ways To Love Your Partner | Tips for a good marriage | Joel & Raquel De Las Alas | Aug.5, 2001 |
| The Gift of Life | The origin of man | Ethel Rina De Las Alas | July 26, 2001 |
| All About Friendship | The story of a good samaritan | Adriel & Merce De Las Alas | July 22, 2001 |
| Paradox | Insight of the new generation | Leland De Las Alas | July 16, 2001 |
| Big Rocks | What are the big rocks in your life? | Leland De Las Alas | July 8, 2001 |
| Eric & His Friend | A touching short story | Leland De Las Alas | July 2, 2001 |
| Cultural Lesson | Origin of some customs and sayings | Leland De Las Alas | June 23, 2001 |
| Interesting Tidbits | Some facts in the 20th century | Leland De Las Alas | June 17, 2001 |
| True Love | A short love story | Leland De Las Alas | June 9, 2001 |
| Fast Facts | Things that you may not know. Results of scientific studies | Leland De Las Alas | May 26, 2001 |
| The World As I See It | Compilation of quotes, phrases and slogans | Leland De Las Alas | May 5, 2001 |
| Words of Wisdom | Compilation of peoples' rules in life | Unknown | May 5, 2001 |
By: Leland De Las Alas
January & February 1999
The following slogans and phrases are my beliefs, experiences and the facts
of life. I wrote them for my love ones, so that they may see things through
my eyes, learn from them and avoid mistakes in life.
1. I believe in God, the father, the almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
2. Do not do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you.
3. Early bird gets the worms. This applies to everything you do – from applying for a job, getting in line for the bus or going to a movie theater.
4. If there’s pain, there’s gain. This applies to working hard to achieve success or to exercise diligently to keep your body in shape.
5. You are judge not by the quantity of your work, but for the quality of your work.
6. You become successful in your career not for being good to the company you work for, but for being good to your boss. If you make your boss look good, then he/she will make you look good.
7. I believe that Evolution theory is only half right. Evolution holds true only within each species due to the environmental change. Therefore, the theory that humans evolved from the apes is Darwin’s pigment of imagination. For years, archeologists and anthropologists searched and debated for the missing link but to no avail.
8. In spite of the big odds that humans are not alone in the universe, the absence of signs that life exists somewhere else in all these years proved that that we are in fact alone in the universe.
9. Do not put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Because something more urgent may come up tomorrow and prevent you from doing what you planned to do.
10. Make a habit of planning your activities everyday before you start the day. It will keep you focus and help you do only important things and not wasting time.
11. It is not how much money you make, but how good you mange your money.
12. Do not spend more than you make.
13. Do not buy what you don’t need and do not need what you can’t buy.
14. Save up the money before you buy things you like. Because you pay a lot more than you think if you borrow money to pay for it. It’s not only the interest you pay for the loan, but you miss the interest that you would have made while saving the money- you lost twice. If you must borrow, pay for it right away.
15. The earth rotates from west to east or counterclockwise looking from the top (north).
16. Normally, weather patterns move from west to east (direction of earth’s rotation), unless there is a disturbance that changes it.
17. Commercial Jet planes normally fly at a cruising speed of about 500 miles per hour at an altitude of about 35,000 feet (way above the clouds).
18. Blood is thicker than water. No matter how bad a member of your family or your relative is to you, deep down you still love him/her more than your friends.
19. Anything that can happen will happen (Murphy’s Law). You prepare for it.
20. It is not good to be pessimistic, but always prepare for the worse.
21. You are what you eat. It’s not so much what you eat, but what’s eating you that affects your health.
22. Keep your mind open to any suggestion, whoever the person is giving the suggestion.
23. More heads are better than one, if they are of the same level of intelligence.
24. Do not do a job half-done. If you have to spend time to do something, you might as well do a good job and finish it, or don’t do it at all.
25. You have to trust people. But if you are responsible for somebody else’s work, you make sure you know what he/she is doing.
26. What goes up must come down, unless you are in outer space.
27. “Deadline” means what it says and must be taken seriously. If it takes all night to finish a job for the next day, do it.
28. A good car driver is a defensive driver. It does not matter who is right or who is wrong . What matters is to arrive safely at your destination.
29. Practice makes perfect.
30. Think before you talk, or you’ll be sorry for some of the comments you may make.
31. People appreciate conversation about their interest, not yours.
32. Read or listen to the news everyday. You will look smart and on top of things if you can talk about current events with other people.
33. Do not attend any meeting or gathering unprepared. Anticipate what subjects to be discussed and participate. People will respect you for it.
34. Do not put bubble gum under the table. People will curse you if you do.
35. Seeing is believing but don’t forget what Jesus Christ said to doubting Thomas: Lucky are those who could not see me and yet believe.
36. Computer is a tool and not a solution to a problem. Garbage in, garbage out is true if computer is not used properly.
37. Know your past, it will lead you to your future.
38. It is better to give than to receive if you can afford it.
39. Know your relatives, they are portraits of yourself and your ancestors.
40. Do not be afraid to learn anything. If other people can do it, why can’t you.
41. Experience is a good education, but there is no substitute to a good education. Be in school.
42. Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.
43. Learn from the mistakes of others.
44. Be cool. Remember “Anger is only one letter short of danger”.
45. The tongue weighs practically nothing, but so few people can hold it.
46. If someone betrays you once, it’s his fault. But if he betrays you twice , it’s your fault.
47. Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.
48. Trust in God, but lock your car.
49. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
50. Be gentle with earth.
51. Share your knowledge, it’s a way to achieve immortality.
52. Don’t just listen to what someone is saying, listen to why he is saying it too.
53. In disagreement with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
54. Read more books. Television & radios are no substitute.
55. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
56. Spend some time alone, it’s good for you.
57. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
58. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. It may save you reputation or your soul.
59. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.
60. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
61. Say “ Bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
62. Teach yourself to speak slowly, but think quickly.
63. Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dream don’t have much.
64. Don’t smoke. Smoking kills people. It attacks your lungs, your heart and your pocket book
65. There is no speed limit on the road to perfection.
WORDS OF WISDOM
Compilation: Authors-Unknown
1. One person can make a difference and every person should try.
2. Has worrying about tomorrow ever changed it?
3. I believe that all people are born with half a heart, and when you find
a true love, you find the other half.
4. Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every
time we fall.
5. Be who you are and say what you feel cause people who mind don't matter,
and people who matter don't mind.
6. To love is one thing, to be loved is something and to have both is everything.
7. You know it's love when you can't fall asleep because reality is better
than your dreams.
8. Tell me, I will forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me, and I will
understand.
9. A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks
that others throw at him.
10. Life is too short for a full time job.
11. What consumes your mind, controls your life
12. If someone tells you that you cannot do something and you believe it,
they are right.
13. A true friend is one who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere
else.
14. Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
15. The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
16. Don't let what other people think decide who you are.
17. Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
18. Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
19. You laugh at me because I'm different, and I laugh at you because you're
all the same.
20. Someone once asked me "why do you always insist on taking the hard road?"
and I replied "why do you assume I see two roads"?
21. They say true love is worth fighting for..but if it's true love, why
should we have to fight for it?
22. The past is history. The future, a mystery. The here and now is a gift.
That is why it's called the present.
23. A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with
the same person.
24. To succeed, you must first improve, to improve, you must first practice,
to practice, you must first learn, to learn, you must first fail.
25. Minds are like parachutes. They only function properly when open.
26. To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you
are.
27. Always remember today was the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday!
28. Men are like stars, there are a million out there, but only one can
make your dreams come true
29. "Don't try to see God, but act in such a way that God will want to see
you."
30. Why is it that those who have something to say can't say it, while those
who have nothing to say keep saying it?
31. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people
always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become
great.
32. Being rich is having money; being wealthy is having time.
33. Life is half spent before one knows what it is.
34. Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the
future.
35. Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him, and
then choose that way with all his strength.
36. You can't leave footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on
your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
37. You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make
it true. You may have to work for it, however
38. First say to yourself what you would be, then do what you have to do.
39. Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain--and most do.
40. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out
41. Ideas without action are worthless.
42. You don't always win your battles, but it's good to know you fought.
43. The death of fear is in doing what you fear to do.
44. If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.
45. Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.
46. Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much.
47. The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
48. Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character.
Sow a character and you reap a destiny.
49. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which
you really stop to look fear in the face.
50. If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take
any chances.
Tinipun ni Reuben De Las Alas
Dear everybody,
The Words of Wisdom compiled by Manong Leland gave me an inspiration to put
together these Filipino famous sayings and philosophies. Sana ay natatandaan
pa ninyo ito:
1. Huwag mong bilhin ang hindi mo kailangan, huwag mong kailanganin ang hindi
mo mabibili - Tatay Pito
2. Ang mga hayop ay may isip at damdamin din - Tatay
3. Huwag kang sumakay sa kabayo kung ayaw mong mahulog - Mamang Kiko (tungkol sa mga pamahiin)
4. Huwag mong pagtakhan kung makagat mo ang iyong dila, ang pagtakhan mo ay kung makagat mo ang iyong taynga - Mamay Mael Herrera
5. Sikapin mong makamit ang kapayapaan sa pakikitungo mo sa iyong sarili, sa iyong kapwa, at higit sa lahat, sa Diyos - Reuben De Las Alas
6. Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan - Jose Rizal
7. Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay masahol pa sa malansang isda - Jose Rizal
8. O pag-ibig na makapangyarihan, pag pumasok sa puso nino man, Hahamakin ang lahat, masunod ka lamang - Francisco Balagtas
9. Ang nagwawagi ay di umaayaw, ang umaayaw ay di nagwawagi - Manuel Uy
10. Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.
11. Tuso man ang matsin, napaglalangan din.
12. Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo.
13. Kung di ukol ay di bubukol.
14. Kahoy mang nakababad sa tubig ay naglalaab din.
15. Mag may itinanim, may aanihin. Pag may isinuksok, may huhugutin.
16. Iba na ang may pinagsamahan.
17. Matimbang ang dugo kaysa tubig.
18. Ang kalusugan ay kayamanan.
19. Ang panahon ay mabilis sa mga nagmamadali, matagal sa mga naghihintay, subalit kapos sa mga umiibig.
20. Walang matimtimang birhen sa matiyagang manalangin.
21. Lumaban ka na sa lasing, huwag lang sa bagong gising.
22. Bato-bato sa langit, tamaan ay huwag magagalit.
23. Huwag bilangin ang mga sisiw habang di pa napipisa ang mga itlog.
24. Pag buhay ang inutang, buhay din ang kabayaran.
25. Kung ano ang di mo gusto, huwag gawin sa iba.
26. Sa alabok ka nagmula, sa alabok ka babalik.
27. Mag pakahaba-haba man ang prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy.
28. Ang kasipagan ay kapatid ng kayamanan.
29. Ang Diyos ay di natutulog.
30. Bago mo linisin ang dungis ng iyong kapwa, hugasan muna ang putik sa iyong mukha.
31. Walang malaking nakapupuwing, walang maliit na nakakahiring.
32. Ang pinakamahirap gisingin ay ang taong gising.
33. Ang buhay ay parang gulong, minsan ay nasa itaas, minsan ay nasa ibaba.
34. Buhay alamang, pag lukso ay patay.
35. Mahiwaga ang buhay ng tao, ang bukas ay di natin piho.
36. Ang tapat na kaibigan ay siyang maaasahan sa oras ng pangangailangan.
The Ultimate Test
John Blanchard stood up from the bench straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station, N.Y.C. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.
His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City.
He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.
When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:
A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably, I made one step closer to herr, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.
The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, should tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"
It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will ll you who you are."
AS YOU LOOK BACK ON THE 20th CENTURY, YOU WILL WONDER HOW YOU EVER GOT ALONG WITHOUT KNOWING THE FOLLOWING TID-BITS:
1. Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.
2. Pearls melt in vinegar.
3. It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's
supply of footballs.
4. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are
already married.
5. The 3 most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser,
in that order.
6. It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
7. Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of
their hands.
8. Ten percent of the Russian government's income comes from the sale of
vodka.
9. The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every
letter in the alphabet. (Developed by Western Union to Test telex/two communications)
10. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter
is uncopyrightable.
11. Stewardesses is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
12. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or
purple.
13. "I am" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
14. Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.
15.A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
16. The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of Yore
when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground
floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
17. The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie." Thus the name
of the Don McLean song.)
18. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history.
Spades - King David;
Clubs - Alexander the Great;
Hearts - Charlemagne;
Diamonds - Julius Caesar.
19. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =3D 12,345,678,987,654,321
20. Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without
killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get
fired."
20. Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th,
John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but
the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
21. Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them
looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
22. An ostrich's eye is bigger that it's brain.
23. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.
24. The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General
Purpose" vehicle, G.P.
25. The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in
Colorado.
26. Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
27. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19.
You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make
change for a dollar.
28. No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won
a Superbowl.
29. The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports
games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major
League All-Star Game.
30. Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
31. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original "Halloween" was actually
a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
32. If you put a raisin in a glass of champagne, it will keep floating to
the top and sinking to the bottom.
33. Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating
34. Actor Tommy Lee Jones and vice-president Al Gore were freshman roommates
at Harvard
35. The fingerprints of koala bears are virtually indistinguishable from
those of humans, so much so that they could be confused at a crime scene.
36. Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."
37. James Doohan, who plays Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott on Star Trek,
is missing the entire middle finger of his right hand.
38. The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five
must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times
of war or other emergencies.
39. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
40. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
Life in the 1500's This is really interesting (and TRUE!!)
1. Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and were still smelling pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.
2. Baths equaled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".
3. Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets...dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs."
4. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. So, they found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top, it addressed that problem. Hence those beautiful, big 4 poster beds with canopies.
5. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor."
6. The wealthy had slate floors which would get slippery in the winter when wet. So they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the entry way, hence a "threshold".
7. They cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They mostly ate vegetables and didn't get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight, and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been in there for a month. Hence the rhyme: peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
8. Sometimes they could obtain pork and would feel really special when that happened. When company came over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a man "could really bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."
9 .Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food. This happened most often with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes...for 400 years.
10. Most people didn't have pewter plates, but had trenchers - a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Trenchers were never washed and a lot of times worms got into the wood. After eating off wormy trenchers, they would get "trench mouth."
11. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the "upper crust".
12. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake".
13. England is old and small, and they started running out of places to
bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to
a house and re-use the grave. In reopening these coffins, one out of 25
coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized
they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string
on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the ground
and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all
night to listen for the bell.
Hence on the "graveyard shift" they would know that someone was "saved by
the bell" or he was a "dead ringer".
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said "Hi there". He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment.
It was a man with a tattered rag of a coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His pants
were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would be shoes.
His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were
to short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a
road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His
hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy,
I see ya, buster'" the man said to Eric. My husband and I exchanged looks, "What
do we do?" Erik continued to laugh and answer, "hi, hi there."
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The
old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and
the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya Know patty cake? Do you
know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo." Nobody thought the old man
was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate
in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for
the admiring kid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him and avoid any air he might be breathing.
As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor gently, so gently, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck.
The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby." Somehow I managed, "I will"," from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he was in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift." I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.
With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, My God, Forgive me." I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, "Are you willing to share your son for a moment?", when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, "To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children"
BIG ROCKS IN YOUR LIFE
The busier you are, the more important it is to stop and read this story. One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." He then pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more. "Is this jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question. "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again, he said, "Good!". Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.
Then the expert in time-management looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager Beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it." "No", the speaker replied, "That's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? Your children. Your spouse. Your loved ones. Your friendships. Your education. Your dreams. A worthy cause. Teaching or mentoring others. Doing things that you love. Time for yourself. Your health. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you'll never get them in at all. "If you sweat the little stuff (i.e. gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you will never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life? Then put those in your jar first.
We think our younger generation never notices anything, but in truth,
they notice more than we as adults do,
and they notice and understand more than what we want to admit they do.
A Columbine student wrote this very compelling essay, so appropriate on
the first anniversary of their tragedy:
"The paradox of our time in history is that
we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;
Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints;
We spend more, but have less;
We buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgment;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicine, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;
We've added years to life, but not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the
street to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals;
We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men and short character;
Steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;
More leisure, but less fun; More kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce;
Of fancier houses, but broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom;
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings.
An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father
of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. I want to repay you," said the nobleman.
"You saved my son's life." No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish
farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came
to the door of the family hovel. Is that your son?" the nobleman asked? "Yes,"
the farmer replied proudly.
"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my son
will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be
a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.
Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin..
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin . . .
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
On the very first day, God created the cow. He said to the cow, "Today I have created you! As a cow, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long. You will work all day under the sun! I will give you a life span of 50 years." The cow objected, "What? This kind of tough life you want me to live for 50 years? Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I'll give back to you." So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the dog. God said to the dog, "What you are supposed to do is to sit all day by the door of your house. Any people that come in, you will have to bark at them! I'll give a life span of 20 years." The dog objected, "What? All day long to sit by the door? No way! I give you back my other 10 years of life!" So God agreed.
On the third day, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey, "Monkeys have to entertain people.You've got to make them laugh and do monkey tricks. I'll give you 20 years life span. " The monkey objected. "What? Make them laugh? Do monkey faces and tricks? Ten years will do,and the other 10 years I'll give you back." So God agreed.
On the fourth day, God created man and said to him, "Your job is to sleep, eat, and play.You will enjoy very much in your life. All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing. This kind of life, I'll give you a 20 year life span." The man objected. "What? Such a good life! Eat, play, sleep, do nothing? Enjoy the best and you expect me to live only for 20 years? No way, man.why don't we make a deal? Since the cow gave you back 30 years, the dog gave you back 10 years, the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will take them from you! That makes my life span 70 years, right?" So God agreed.
AND THAT'S WHY.... In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer and get to support the family.For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks. And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people!
1. Love yourself first.
2. Start each day with a hug.
3. Serve breakfast in bed.
4. Say "I love you" every time you part ways.
5. Compliment freely and often.
6. Appreciate - and celebrate - your differences.
7. Live each day as if it's your last.
8. Write unexpected love letters.
9. Plant a seed together and nurture it to maturity.
10. Go on a date once every week.
11. Send flowers for no reason.
12. Accept and love each other's family and friends.
13. Make little signs that say "I love you" and post them all over the house.
14. Stop and smell the roses.
15. Kiss unexpectedly.
16. Seek out beautiful sunsets together.
17. Apologize sincerely.
18. Be forgiving.
19. Remember the day you fell in love - and recreate it.
20. Hold hands.
21. Say "I love you" with your eyes.
22. Let her cry in your arms.
23. Tell him you understand.
24. Drink toasts of love and commitment.
25. Do something arousing.
26. Let her give you directions when you're lost.
27. Laugh at his jokes.
28. Appreciate her inner beauty.
29. Do the other person's chores for a day.
30. Encourage wonderful dreams.
31. Commit a public display of affection.
32. Give loving massages with no strings attached.
33. Start a love journal and record your special moments.
34. Calm each other's fears.
35. Walk barefoot on the beach together.
36. Ask her to marry you again.
37. Say yes.
38. Respect each other.
39. Be your partner's biggest fan.
40. Give the love your partner wants to receive.
41. Give the love you want to receive.
42. Show interest in the other's work.
43. Work on a project together.
44. Build a fort with blankets.
45. Swing as high as you can on a swingset by moonlight.
46. Have a picnic indoors on a rainy day.
47. Never go to bed mad.
48. Put your partner first in your prayers.
49. Kiss each other goodnight.
50. Sleep like spoons.
Nobody ever told us why the barong is the national Dress of the Philippines. So a research was made, just in case people are not aware of it.
During the Spanish occupation of the Philippines over 300 years from1561-1889) the barong tagalog was required by the Spanish government for Filipinos indios) to be worn at most times to show the difference between the rich and the poor. He said that the poor who serve the rich must always be in uniform. Take their chauffeurs, maids, and employees as examples. They are in uniform to immediately distinguish them from the employers.
When the Spaniards colonized the Filipinos, they had to make it abundantly clear who the boss was through the imposition of a dress code. Men were not allowed to tuck their shirttails in. That was the mark of his inferior status. Second, the cloth material should be transparent so that he could not conceal any weapon that could be used against the masters. Third, as a precaution on thievery, pockets are not allowed on the shirt.
By the turn of the century a new middle class began to emerge among the Filipinos. These were known as the principalia. They have mastered Spanish laws and were able to obtain title to lands. They became successful in business and agriculture and sent their sons to be educated abroad. They were privileged to build their houses in the poblacion around the plaza near the seats of power.
Only a member of the principalia could be addressed by the title DON, and only they were allowed to vote. They had all the trappings of power and status, but for one undeniable fact: they still had to wear their shirttails out, if only to remind them that they were still Indios.
What the Spanish authorities did not smother out was the Filipino's will power and determination to psychologically conquer their colonial masters, through improvisation and reinterpretation. The Filipino's stylistic bongga (flashy dresser) was a Reaction against the overt discrimination and insensitive oppression of the Spaniards.
For example, Filipinos were forbidden to use imported silk and fabrics for their Barong, so they ingeniously used pineapple leaves to weave the pinya jusi cloth of the barong, turning the outfit into such delicate material, of luminous silky rich mixture much finer than silk. And to add insult to injury, they hand embroidered the front with such exquisite abandon: Calado and hand work all over.
Palgrave, the ethnographer noted, "The capitan's shirt was the native barong, of fine and delicate fiber, embroidered and frilled; it was light and cool and not tucked in the trousers." (Corpuz, 74)
The Barong Tagalog gained it power, prestige, and status when President Quezon, the first Filipino president, declared it the National dress. The status of the lowly inferior Barong thus became another symbol of Filipinos' resistance to colonization.
After World War II, Philippine presidents began wearing the Barong Tagalog at their installation into office and on every formal state occasion.
In contemporary times the Barong Tagalog is the power dress. As an abogado de campanilla, you cannot afford not to wear the Barong Tagalog when arguing a case in Philippine courts.
Today, every visitor and foreign dignitary invited to a Malacanang Palace state function must, by necessity, and dictated by protocol, be dressed to the nines in a Barong Tagalog. The invitations specifically say come in "Barong" instead of the traditional "Coat and Tie".
Thus, every one invited to dinner at the Presidential Palace and in many Filipino homes will unknowingly and Unwittingly have to experience directly, what it feels to Have to wear his shirttails out, to suffer the indignity of having the material of his barong transparent so that he can not conceal any weapon; and horrors, to be accused directly of incipient thievery by having no pockets in his barong to put the silver.
So, when El Senor Spanish Ambassador is invited to a state dinner, you can say, "Ah, what sweet revenge!" -
1. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.
2. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.
3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
4. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.
5. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.
6. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
7. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.
8. There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!
9. Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
10.May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy.
11.Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
12.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
13.Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
14.Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear.
15.The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go your past failures and heartaches.
16.When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmers' neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
So friends, always look for the rainbow at the end of a storm, life is full of ups and downs but there would always be a better tomorrow.
Excerpts from National Safety Council on Safe Driving.
Some of the most serious preventable accidents occur because of blind spots while driving! Now there is a remarkable simple solution discovered by an engineer named George Platter. He presented his method at the prestigious Society of Automotive Engineers.
The National Safety Council tested his theory and discovered, to their amazement, that it works! The method has been fully endorsed by the National Safety Council as described in their September/October issue of Traffic Safety. Here's how it works.
First, forget how we learned to adjust our outside mirrors by plopping behind the steering wheel and turning the mirrors so that we just saw the side of our car looking back at us in the mirrors. Instead, adjust the driver's side mirror by resting your head against the driver's side window and then turning the mirror so that you just see the side of your car.
Once this is set, move to the center of the vehicle and turn the passenger side mirror so that you can just see the side of your car from the center of the vehicle.
That's it. You won't see your own car in either mirror, yet what you will see is far better. Cars behind you show up as usual in the inside rear-view mirror above the dash, but the instant the car leaves your field of vision from the rear-view mirror the outside mirror picks it up. No blind spot; no delays; no wondering where that car about to pass you has disappeared to, and no waiting a few seconds for the car that you just saw in your rear-view mirror to show up in your outside mirrors.
All three mirrors work in harmony with one another, and the blind spot has been eliminated!
1.Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.
2.You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over
the future.
3.Love ... and you shall be loved.
4.God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.
5.All people smile in the same language.
6.A hug is a great gift ... one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion
and it's easy to exchange.
7.Everyone needs to be loved...especially when they do not deserve it.
8.The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.
9.Laughter is God's sunshine.
10.Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.
11.It's important for parents to live the same things they teach.
12.Thank God for what you have, Trust God for what you need.
13.If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow,
you have no today to be thankful for.
14.Happy memories never wear out ... relive them as often as you want.
15.Home is the place where we grumble the most, but are often treated the
best.
16.Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks within.
17.The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow.
18.Take time to laugh for it is the music of the soul.
19.If anyone speaks badly of you, live so no one can believe it.
20.Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping
your gears.
21.Love is strengthened by working through conflicts together.
22.The best thing parents can do for their children is to love each other.
23.Harsh words break no bones but they do break hearts.
24.To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it.
25.We take for granted the things that we should be giving thanks for.
26.Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished.
27.Happiness is enhanced by others but does not depend upon others.
28.You are richer today if you have laughed, given, or forgiven.
29.For every minute you are angry with someone, you lose 60 seconds of happiness
that you can never get back.
30.Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are.
31.The best gifts to give:
To your friend ---------------- loyalty;
To your enemy -------------- forgiveness;
To your boss ----------------- service;
To a child --------------------- a good example;
To your parents ------------- gratitude & devotion;
To your mate ---------------- love and faithfulness;
To all men and women ---- charity;
To your God ----------------- your life.
Interesting Thoughts.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE , THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE , THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the joy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.
In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to the English language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans.
What is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking nation, next to the USA and the UK? The Philippines.
The USA bought the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain in 1898.
The Filipino-American Independence War from 1898 to 1902 ensued, killing
4,234 Americans and how many Filipinos? 16,000 were killed in action and 200,000 died from famine and pestilence. (The Philippines lost and was colonized until 1946.)
Los Angeles, California was co-founded in 1781 by a Filipino named Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, along with 43 Latinos from Mexico sent by the Spanish government.
What antibiotic did Filipino doctor Abelardo Aguilar co-discover? Hint: Brand is Ilosone, named after Iloilo. Erythromycin.
The one-chip video camera was first made by Marc Loinaz, a Filipino inventor from New Jersey.
The first ever international Grandmaster from Asia was Eugenio Torre who
won at the Chess Olympiad in Nice, France in 1974.
This son of two Filipino physicians scored over 700 on the verbal portion of the Standardized Achievement Test (SAT) before age 13 - Kiwi Danao Camara of Punahou School, Hawaii... Edward Sanchez, a Mensa member, bagged the grand prize in the first Philippine Search for Product Excellence in Information Technology.
Who was the Filipino-American dancer who scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT? Joyce Monteverde of California.
Who invented the fluorescent lamp? Thomas Edison discovered the electric light and the fluorescent lighting was thought up by Nikola Tesla. But the fluorescent lamp we use today was invented by Agapito Flores (a Cebu man named enigno Flores of Bantayan Island, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer), a Filipino scientist.
Americans helped then-Philippine leader Ramon Magsaysay to develop it for worldwide commerce. (Yes! Many foreigners have noted that the Filipino population has Asia's highest rates of inventors and international beauty queens.)
Two Filipina beauties, Gloria Diaz and Margie Morgan, chosen as Miss Universe in 1969 and 1973.
Pure- or part-Filipino celebrities in American showbiz include Von Flores, Tia Carrere, Paolo Montalban, Lea Salonga, Ernie Reyes Jr., Nia Peeples, Julio Iglesias Jr., Lou Diamond Phillips, Phoebe Cates and Rob Schneider.
The first Filipino act to land a top hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the 1960s was the group Rocky Fellers of Manila.
Sugar Pie deSanto (father was from the Philippines), The Artist Formerly
Known as Prince (according to the October 1984 article "Prince in Exile" by Scott Isler in the magazine Musician), Jaya, Foxy Brown and Enrique Iglesias followed.
Pure Filipinos who made success in minor charts were Jocelyn Enriquez aka Oriental Madonna, Buffy, Pinay and (Ella May)Saison.
Latina-American pop star Christina Aguilera lost to Filipina vocalist Josephine Roberto aka Banig during the International Star Search years ago.
In a mid-1999 MTV chat, she said that competing against someone of Banig's age was "not fair."
Besides gracing fashion magazine covers, this international supermodel from Manila had walked the runways since the 1970s for all the major designers, like Calvin Klein, Chanel, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Donna Karan, Gianni Versace and Yves Saint Laurent - Anna Bayle.
Who is the personal physician of United States Pres. William Clinton? Eleanor "Connie" Concepcion Mariano, a Filipina doctor who was the youngest captain in the US Navy.
The first Filipino-American in US Congress was Virginia Rep. Robert Cortez-Scott, a Harvard alumnus.
Distinguished British traveler-writer A. Henry Savage Landor, thrilled upon seeing a Bicol landmark in 1903, wrote: "Mayon is the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen, the world-renowned Fujiyama (Mt.Fuji) of Japan sinking into perfect insignificance by comparison." Mayon has the world's most perfect cone.
Filipinos had their first taste of Mexican chili and corn during the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1564-1815). In return, Mexico's people had their initial taste of tamarind, Manila mango and a Filipino banana called racatan or lakatan.
Founded in 1595 by Spaniards, the University of San Carlos in Cebu City,
Philippines is older than Harvard and is the oldest university in Asia. University of Santo Tomas in Manila, established in 1611, is Asia's second oldest.
Who's the Filipina senator popular for her colorful jargon, delivered in a mile-a-minute speed and in a weird Harvard-meets-Ilonggo accent? Atty. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
The first female president of the Philippines sworn into office in 1986 was Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Her maiden name is Chinese...
In a March 31, 1997 article, The New York Times reported that the CIA anipulated Philippine elections: "(CIA operative Col. Edward Lansdale) essentially ran the successful presidential campaign of Defense Minister
Ramon Magsaysay in the Philippines in 1953."
Who was the first Asian and/or Filipino to snatch America's Pulitzer Prize? Philippines Herald war journalist Carlos P. Romulo in 1941. (He was also the first Asian to become UN President.) The first two Filipino-Americans to garner the same award 56 years later were Seattle Times'Alex Tizon and Byron Acohido, who is part-Korean.
Filipino writer Jose Rizal could read and write at age 2, and grew up to
speak more than 20 languages, including Latin, Greek, German, French and
Chinese. What were his last words? "Consummatum est!" ("It is done!")
"What's still most impressive to me about the Philippines is the friendliness of the people, their sense of humor...," wrote Honolulu journalist John Griffin in a 1998 visit to Manila.
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.
"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are taken," the into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night." When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. "Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you." The clerk looked As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to paythem a visit.
The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue great new building there, a palace watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to man said. "I can assure you I am playing around his mouth.
The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager ofone of the world's most glamorous hotels.
The Bible says that we are not to turn our backs on those who are in need, for we might be entertaining Angels.
Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than the things you acquire...
A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.
He raised a glass of water and asked the audience,,br> "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"
The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm. "It does not matter on the absolute weight.
It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is Ok.
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an
ambulance. It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden
becoming increasingly heavier."
>p>"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again."
We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.
So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home.
You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.
Pick it up again later when you have rested....
Rest and relax.
Life is short, enjoy it!!
1. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
3. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.
4. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
5. The shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
6. There are more chickens than people in the world.
7. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.
8. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is
"screeched."
9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the
Parliament building is an American flag.
10. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.
11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange,
silver, or purple.
12. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters mt".
13. All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial
on the back of the $5 bill.
14. Almonds are a member of the peach family.
15. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
16. Maine is the only U.S. state whose name is just one syllable.
17. There are only four words in the English language which end in
"dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
18. Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina
de los Angeles de Porciuncula."
19. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
20. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
21. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur..
22. In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.
23. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
24. The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after
Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "It's a
Wonderful Life."
25. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
27. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
28. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
29. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.
30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
31. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar
tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
32. Mr. Rogers was an ordained minister.
33. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
34. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
35. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.
NOW you know everything...
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one
of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.
He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor.
I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today,
one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed.
I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story.
She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully.
Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about 3 weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds
and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. 6 months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.
Ling didn't say anything to his friends. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom
brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot but his Mother said he must be honest
about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his Mother was right.
He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths.
They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him
and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,"
said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified.
"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down.
He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed.
How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint it goes like this:
What makes 100% in life?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%...
How about achieving 103%?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
IF:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And...
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But...
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And...
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND, look how far ASS KISSING will take you...
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 127%
So, one can then conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close,
And, Attitude will get you there,
Bullshit and Ass Kissing will put you over the top!!!
The following is from a British journalist stationed in the Philippines
.. His observations are so hilarious!!!! This was written in 2000.
Matter of Taste
by Matthew Sutherland
I have now been in this country for over six years, and consider myself in most respects
well assimilated. However, there is one key step on the road to full assimilation, which I have
yet to take, and that's to eat BALUT. The day any of you sees me eating balut, please call
immigration and ask them to issue me a Filipino passport. Because at that point there will be no
turning back.
BALUT, for those still blissfully ignorant non-Pinoys out there, is a fertilized duck egg.
It is commonly sold with salt in a piece of newspaper, much like English fish and chips, by street
vendors usually after dark, presumably so you can't see how gross it is. It's meant to be an aphrodisiac,
although I can't imagine anything more likely to dispel sexual desire than crunching on a partially
formed baby duck swimming in noxious fluid. The embryo in the egg comes in varying stages of development,
but basically it is not considered macho to eat one without fully discernable feathers, beak, and claws.
Some say thesecrunchy bits are the best. Others prefer just to drink the so-called 'soup', the vile,
pungent liquid that surrounds the aforementioned feathery fetus...excuse me; I have to go and throw up
now. I'll be back in a minute.
Food dominates the life of the Filipino. People here just love to eat.They eat at least eight times
a day. These eight official meals are called, in order: breakfast, snacks, lunch, merienda, pica-pica,
pulutan, dinner, and no-one-saw-me-take-that-cookie-from-the-fridge-so-it-doesn't-count. The short gaps
in between these mealtimes are spent eating Sky Flakes from the open packet that sits on every desktop.
You're never far from food in the Philippines . If you doubt this, next time you're driving home
from work, try this game. See how long you can drive without seeing food and I don't mean a distant
restaurant, or a picture of food. I mean a man on the sidewalk frying fish balls, or a man walking
through the traffic selling nuts or candy. I bet it's less than one minute.
Here are some other things I've noticed about food inthe Philippines:
Firstly, a meal is not a meal without rice - even breakfast. In the UK, I could go a whole year without
eating rice. Second, it's impossible to drink without eating. A bottle of San Miguel just isn't the same
without gambas or beef tapa. Third, no one ventures more than two paces from their house without baon
and a container of something cold to drink. You might as well ask a Filipino to leave home without his
pants on. And lastly, where I come from, you eat with a knife and fork. Here, you eat with a spoon and
fork. You try eating rice swimming in fish sauce with a knife.
One really nice thing about Filipino food culture is that people always ask you to SHARE their food.
In my office, if you catch anyone attacking their baon, they will always go, "Sir! KAIN TAYO!" ("Let's eat!").
This confused me, until I realized that they didn't actually expect me to sit down and start munching on
their boneless bangus. In fact, the polite response is something like, "No thanks, I just ate." But the
principle is sound - if you have food on your plate, you are expected to share it, however hungry you are,
with those who may be even hungrier. I think that's great. In fact, this is frequently even taken one step
further. Many Filipinos use "Have you eaten yet?" ("KUMAIN KA NA?") as a general greeting, irrespective of
time of day or location.
Some foreigners think Filipino food is fairly dull compared to other Asian cuisines. Actually lots of
it is very good: Spicy dishes like Bicol Express (strange, a dish named after a train); anything cooked
with coconut milk; anything KINILAW; and anything ADOBO. And it's hard to beat the sheer wanton, cholesterolic
frenzy of a good old-fashioned LECHON de leche feast. Dig a pit, light a fire, add 50 pounds of animal fat
on a stick, and cook until crisp. Mmm, mmm... you can actually feel your arteries constricting with each successive
mouthful.
I also share one key Pinoy trait ---a sweet tooth. I am thus the only foreigner I know who does not complain
about sweet bread, sweet burgers, sweet spaghetti, sweet banana ketchup, and so on. I am a man who likes to put
jam on his pizza. Try it!
It's the weird food you want to avoid. In addition to duck fetus in the half-shell, items to avoid in the
Philippines include pig's blood soup (DINUGUAN); bull's testicle soup, the strangely-named "SOUP NUMBER FIVE"
(I dread to think what numbers one through four are); and the ubiquitous, stinky shrimp paste, BAGOONG, and it's
equally stinky sister, PATIS. Filipinos are so addicted to these latter items that they will even risk arrest or
deportation trying to smuggle them into countries like Australia and the USA , which wisely ban the importation of
items you can smell from more than 100 paces.
Then there's the small matter of the blue ice cream. I have never been able to get my brain around eating blue food;
the ubiquitous UBE leaves me cold.
And lastly on the subject of weird food, beware: that KALDERETANG KAMBING (goat) could well be KALDERETANG ASO
(dog)...The Filipino, of course, has a well-developed sense of food. Here's a typical Pinoy food joke: "I'm on a seafood
diet."What's a seafood diet?" "When I see food, I eat it!"
Filipinos also eat strange bits of animals --- the feet, the head, the guts, etc., usually barbecued on a stick. These
have been given witty names, like "ADIDAS" (chicken's feet); "KURBATA" (either just chicken's neck, or "neck and thigh" as in
"neck-tie"); "WALKMAN" (pigs ears); "PAL" (chicken wings); "HELMET" (chicken head); "IUD" (chicken intestines), and BETAMAX"
(video-cassette-like blocks of animal blood). Yum, yum. Bon appetit.
"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" -- (Proverbs 22:1)
WHEN I arrived in the Philippines from the UK six years ago, one of the first cultural differences to strike me was names.
The subject has provided a continuing source of amazement and amusement ever since.
The first unusual thing, from an English perspective, is that everyone here has a nickname. In the state and boring United
Kingdom, we have nicknames in kindergarten, but when we move into adulthood we tend, I am glad to say, to lose them.
The second thing that struck me is that Philippine names for both girls and boys tend to be what we in the UK would regard as
overbearingly cutesy for anyone over about five. Fifty-five-year-olds colleague put it. Where I come from, a boy with a nickname
like Boy Blue or Honey Boy would be beaten to death at school by pre-adolescent bullies, and never make it to adulthood. So,
probably, would girls with names like Babes, Lovely, Precious, Peachy or Apples. Yuk, ech ech.
Here, however, no one bats an eyelid. Then I noticed how many people have what I have come to call "door-bell names". These
are nicknames that sound like -well, doorbells. There are millions of them. Bing, Bong, Ding, and Dong are some of the more common.
They can be, and frequently are, used in even more door-bell-like combinations such as Bing-Bong, Ding-Dong, Ting-Ting,and so on.
Even our newly appointed chief of police has a doorbell name Ping.
None of these doorbell names exist where I come from, and hence sound unusually amusing to my untutored foreign ear. Someone once
told me that one of the Bings, when asked why he was called Bing, replied, "because my brother is called Bong". Faultless logic.
Repeating names was another novelty to me, having never before encountered people with names like Len-Len, Let-Let, Mai-Mai,
or Ning-Ning. The secretary I inherited on my arrival had an unusual one: Leck-Leck. Such names are then frequently further refined
by using t> he "squared" symbol, as in Len2 or Mai2. This had me very confused for a while.
Then there is the trend for parents to stick to a theme when naming their children. This can be as simple as making them all begin
with the same letter, as in Jun, Jimmy, Janice, and Joy.
More imaginative parents shoot for more sophisticated forms of assonance or rhyme, as in Biboy, Boboy, Buboy, Baboy (notice the
names get worse the more kids there are-best to be born early or you could end up being a Baboy).
Even better, parents can create whole families of, say, desserts (Apple Pie, Cherry Pie, Honey Pie) or flowers (Rose, Daffodil, Tulip).
The main advantage of such combinations is that they look great painted across your trunk if you're a cab driver. That's another thing
I'd never seen before coming to Manila -- taxis with the driver's kids' names on the trunk.
Another whole eye-opening field for the foreign visitor is the phenomenon of the composite" name. This includes names like Jejomar
(for Jesus, Joseph and Mary), and the remarkable Luzviminda (for Luzon , Visayas and Mindanao, believe it or not). That's a bit like me
being called something like "Engscowani" (for England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland ). Between you and me, I'm glad I'm not.
And how could I forget to mention the fabulous concept of the randomly inserted letter 'h'. Quite what this device is supposed to
achieve, I have not yet figured out, but I think it is designed to give a touch of class to an otherwise only averagely weird name.
It results in creations like Jhun, Lhenn, Ghemma, and Jhimmy. Or how about Jhun-Jhun (Jhun2)?
How boring to come from a country like the UK full of people with names like John Smith. How wonderful to come from a country where
imagination and exoticism rule the world of names.
Even the towns here have weird names; my favorite is the unbelievably named town of Sexmoan (ironically close to Olongapo and Angeles).
Where else in the world could that really be true? Where else in the world could the head of the Church really be called Cardinal Sin?
Where else but the Philippines!
Note: The Philippines has a senator named Joker, and it is his legal name.
Interesting history .... English
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the
ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase,
"goodnight, sleep tight" came from!
The "rule of the thumb" is derived from an old English law that stated that you couldn't
beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4000 years ago that for a month after the wedding,
the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink.
Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the
"honeymoon."
In ancient England a person could not have sex unless you had the consent of the King
(unless you were in the Royal Family). When anyone wanted to have a baby, they got consent
of the King & he gave them a placard that they hung on their door while they were having sex.
The placard read F.U.C.K. (Fornication Under Consent of King).
Now you know where does that word "F_ _ _" came from. Right ?
Interesting, aint it?
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream.. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
10. The White House is not big enough for in-laws and extended relatives.
9. There is not enough parking spaces at the White House for 2 Honda Civics,
2 Toyota Land Cruisers, 3 Toyota Corollas, Mercedes Benz, BMW (Big Mean Wife),
and MPV (My Pinoy Van).
8. Dignitaries generally are intimidated by eating with fingers at State dinners.
7. There is too many dining rooms in the White House - where will they put
the Last Supper picture?
6. The White House walls is not big enough to hold a set of giant wooden spoon and fork.
5. Secret Service staff won't respond to "pssst...pssst".
4. Secret Service staff are uncomfortable driving the Presidential car with a Holy Rosary
hanging on the rear view mirror or having the statue of the Santo Nino on the dashboard.
3. No budget allocation to purchase karaoke machines in every White House room.
2. State dinners do not allow "Take Home".
AND THE NUMBER 1 REASON WHY THERE COULDN'T BE A FILIPINO-AMERICAN
US PRESIDENT IS....
1. Air Force One does not allow overweight Balikbayan boxes!
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!
When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one, which has been opened for us.
Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to
make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
Don't count the years-count the memories...........
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.
1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."
3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.
6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.
Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)
3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases,none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
My wonderful girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married.
There was only one little thing bothering me. It was her beautiful younger sister. My prospective sister-in-law was
twenty-two, wore very tight miniskirts, and generally was bra-less.
One day "little" sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived, and she
whispered to me that she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn't overcome. She told me that she wanted to make love
to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. Well, I was in total shock, and couldn't say a word.
She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want one last wild fling, just come up and get me." I was stunned and frozen in
shock as I watched her go up the stairs. When she reached the top she pulled off her panties and threw them down the stairs at me.
I stood there for a moment, then turned and made a beeline straight to the front door. I opened the door, and headed straight towards my car.
Lo and behold, my entire future family was standing outside, all clapping! With tears in his eyes, my future father-in-law
hugged me and said, we are very happy that you have passed our little test.....we couldn't ask for a better man for our daughter.
Welcome to the family."
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top,
ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by... the little boy
had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play
with me," the tree asked the boy. "I am no longer a kid, I don't play around trees anymore." The boy replied, "I want toys. I need money
to buy them." "Sorry, but I don't have money... but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money." The boy was
so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said. "I don't have time to play. I have to
work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?" "Sorry, but I don't have a house. But you can chop off my branches
to build your house." So the boy cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never
came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said. "I am sad and getting old.
I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" "Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy."
So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I don't have anything for you anymore. No more apples
for you..." the tree said. "I don't have teeth to bite" the boy replied. "No more trunk for you to climb on" "I am too old for that now"
the boy said. "I really can't give you anything ... the only thing left is my dying roots" the tree said with tears. "I don't need much now,
just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." The boy replied. "Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come,
Come sit down with me and rest." The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.......
This is a story of everyone. The tree is a representation of our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad...
When we've grown up, we left them... and only came to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what,parents
will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that's how all of us
are treating our parents.