First Post for 2010

Ayun! 2010 na pala. Akalain mo yun?

English Translation: There you go! It's 2010 already. Would you believe it? (hehe bat parang mas mahaba yung English Translation ko. LOL. yaan nyo na. blog ko to. ^^)

Nyahaha! Pasensya na medyo masaya lang talaga ako. Kung bakit, secret na yun. ^^

Ambilis ng panahon ano? Iisang post lang ata nagawa ko sa buwan ng Disyembre. Isang mabilisang tanong lang, napapansin nyo din ba na parang mas mabilis ang takbo ng panahon ngayon kesa dati? Ibig sabihin ba nun mas mabilis na umikot ang mundo?

Anyways, how was my year 2009? I don't know about you but I am happy to leave 2009 behind. Hmm... Let me create a list about the year that was. Gaya-gaya na naman ako key (CF Rhona):

1. January. Year 2009 will always be a significant year to me. Cuz it's the year when I found the blogosphere and blogger friends. Technically, I started blogging in Dec 2008 but I found blogger friends in year 2009. Personal favorite post for January is Untiring Love: Lizard love story

2. February. It's the time of the year when almost everyone is in love. Personally, I don't celebrate Valentines but here's my favorite pic for that month.
Personal favorite blog posts:
* Why Do I Blog?
* The One that Got Away: It was an article written by Mark Macapagal of Manila Times. It's about that person with whom almost everything was great, almost everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong. There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn't fall the right way.

3. March. I started promoting the Love Emo Shirt Design by ZeroBriant.
* Does You Handwriting Tell a Story? It's a tagged-post or a post for a tag (whatever! ^^) The main goal of that tag game is for the blogger to show off his handwriting by taking a picture of it and posting it on his blog. And I think I did well. Nyay! ^_^

4. April. We went to Olanggo Islands for Island Hopping as our Last Team Building.

It was a lot of fun. Swimming slash snorkeling was my favorite part of the day. When you go to Cebu, you should try Island Hopping. Just lemme know, I'll go with you, basta ba sagot mo yung gastos. LOL ^_^



5. May. Sumali ako sa Santacruzan. Kris Allen won American Idol. ^^ hehe feeling close. Manny Pacquaio won against Ricky Hatton by TKO on the 2nd round. On work-related stuff, this was the time when we heard about the bad news that the account will be dissolved and we will be transferred to a different account. That was sad, but we got over it.

6. June. We started our training at a new account but the same company. That's the time I was introduced to a somehow cool phone called Palm Pre. On blogging stuff, I joined three blogging contests:
* Rhona's Pa-kontest
* Otep's Libre Lang Mangarap Shirt
* OrphicPixel's Domain Contest

7. July. Started taking calls at the new Account. For someone who got so used to do chat support or email support, I was a little bit having a hard time talking to Americans on the phone but eventually got used to it. On blogging stuff, I launched my very first self-hosted All-About-Emo-Love-Article-Writing contest. Thank you so much to the sponsors. Congrats to Winkie, TSI, Jason, Ax, Lovely and Alvin! My apologies to Edz, Shattershards and Bluguy. Their prizes are still on its way. Actually I still have the shirts here. Di ko pa din na-papadala through LBC. I'm really sorry for the delay, I promise to send it within this month. I keep losing your addresses kasi. Calling Edz and Shattershards, please leave your addresses or simply message me on Facebook. Thanks. To Bluguy, pano ko naman ipapadala tu sa Roma? :(

8. August. Miss Winkie won my pa-kontest. I casted my vote for Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2009 (Updated!)

9. September. I moved from my previous call center company to a new one.
10. October. I was introduced to the latest and coolest operating system developed by Microsoft, the Windows 7. I got trained for one month. Everyone was saddened by the Ondoy tragedy.

11. November. I was totally absent from the blogosphere. Not even a single blog post.

12. December. I joined the real estate business. On the call center-work-related stuff, I got a good news that I will be transferred to the Chat Support Team. And that's very awesome because I won't get to hear the voices of the irate and frustrated customers.

Yey! ^_^ What a sweet life!

In short, the year 2009 ended pretty well for me. I lost some, but gained a lot of new ones and new things.

“There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching...”

- Anonymous.

Wishful Thinking

I wanna get to know you,
Get to see more than eyes can do.
Be drowned by your stares and smiles,
Get close to you despite the miles.
***

I know I suck at poetry. I don't have the talent. I can't even add another stanza to that "poem" above. Maybe I can but it will take another one whole week to do that. Or maybe just an hour if I get to see her smile again. Wanna know who she is? Scroll-down to the bottom.

PS:
Susunod na ang entry ko for Rhona's Pa-contest! Stay tuned! hehe

By the way, I wanna take this chance to say thank you to Jason, Ax, Eli, Dencios, Rhona at iba pang pabalik-balik sa blog ko para umabot ng 100+ yung comments ng LLM Entry ko sa pa-contest ni Otep. LOL

***

Just another Random Thought

Haha. Araw-araw may nagagawi sa blog ko nanaghahanap ng callboy! LOL

Eto oh!






Eto nga pala yung inspirasyon ko kaya nagawa ko ang napaka-ikling tula sa itaas. :)

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Interview with OFWs: On Working Abroad

I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. In fact, I was raised by a wonderful single parent yet financially-challenged lady, my mom. Ever since then, surviving in this crazy world has always been a challenge. My mom had tried working as a secretary, promo girl, dressmaker, cook and I’ll-ask-her-later-cuz-i-forgot-kind-of jobs. Now that I have come of age and my mom is not getting any younger, I feel like it is now my turn to give her a happy and fulfilling life that she deserves. Don’t ask me about my dad, he has always been out of the picture. He’s like a catch-me-if-you-can type of dad. No, I am not Leonardo DeCaprio’s son. How I wish!

Anyway, I believe that working abroad will not only widen my horizon but will also potentially improve my career life. But just like any first-timers, I have fears on what’s in store for me out there. What will be the challenges that I’m going to encounter? So I made a little interview and my interviewees were the OFW blogger-friends that I met here in the so-called blogosphere. I sincerely thank them for their cooperation. I really am grateful. So read on and learn from the veterans. ;p

Note: You will be seeing cute faces below however please be aware that this is not a dating site.^_-

Click on their names to go to their respective sites. :)


Reesie of Reesie.net, USA

Me: How long have you been working as an OFW?
Reesie: 4 long years.

Me: Wow! That’s quite long already. What’s the biggest challenge that you have encountered as an OFW?

Reesie: Communication and culture gap. Conversational english (US) is way different than the Formal English that was taught to us since kindergarten. It took me a while to learn their slang and colloquial language. Additionally, I had to listen very well to my boss and co-workers when they spoke considering that their accent was difficult to understand, at first. My bisaya accent was so prevalent back then. It took me a year to adjust, adapt, and immerse in their languange.
But one major challenge that is very hard to overcome is the loneliness. Being alone and away from your family and friends is frustrating and unbearable sometimes. The first six months were the worst ones. The only thing that can get me through each day is the taught that I am helping my family back home- that they have a decent life because of me-to say the least.



KJ of KrisJasper.com, UK

Me: How long have you been working as an OFW?
I moved here Feb 2003.


Me: What’s the biggest challenge that you have encountered as an OFW?
Hmmm.. luckily my agents had put me in a cool workplace (up to now) I was the only foreigner before so it was cool! The only challenge I guess is just becoz I have chinky eyes they always assume I can speak chinese. LOL!

If you're thinking if I miss Pinas! Oh yeah! definitely! But good that there's TFC, everytime I see these terrible politicians arguing with each other, that puts me off from "early retiring" in Pinas. lol!


Rye aka Flamindevil, Malaysia

Me: How long have you been working as an OFW?
I’ve been in KL since August 18, 2008. I’m turning 8 months old. Yippee

Me: What’s the biggest challenge that you have encountered as an OFW?
Being away from my family and friends has been the biggest challenge yet. There are only two things which can happen when you’re working abroad--- either you’ll survive or not. The first few weeks were hell. I missed my family and friends terribly. Being away from one’s comfort zone is not the easiest challenge that a person may encounter. Most of the times, I still have to prepare my food after a hard day’s work. Even if I’m dead tired, I have no choice.

What are the pros and cons being an OFW?
I learned to be independent here in KL. I believe I matured fast. I made bold decisions without consulting my parents. I learned and realized that one could really survive and make it if he wants to. ‘If I Can, I will because I’m good at it.’ However, there are still times when I get lonely as much as I dun wanna entertain the idea. It usually happens during birthdays and holidays. I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic of the times when I was in Manila . I sometimes feel deprived of familiar warmth and affection. I inevitably wish for people who could light up my need for familiar faces, familiar voices and tested bond.

Sherwin, Iraq

How long have you been working as an OFW?
Worked in Saudi Arabia for 3 years and another 3 years in Iraq.

What’s the biggest challenge that you have encountered as an OFW?

Working abroad was like searching a needle inside the dark room, clueless and totally blind. I don’t have any idea what path I’m walking through but aside from those, I have learned to stand on my own feet, making decisions without somebody’s influence and live my life everyday as exciting as riding on a bicycle for the first time. A doubtful skin is all I have (maybe it’s just the thought that I’m a Filipino) and the fact that I’m in a religious Muslim country where the perfect intensive authority is implemented. But then again, I was able to gain experience when it comes to my chosen profession.

There you have it. The very inspiring answers of our OFW blogger friends. Hmm... I'm just soo excited to work abroad.

The Reasons

Guys, pardon my lack of time to update this blog. Or maybe it’s not the time that’s lacking, it’s my lack of ideas and my lack of enthusiasm to post a new entry. In short, tinamaan ng katamaran mag-isip at magsulat. hehe.

Anyways, these past few days I was able to come up with a list of proofs or reasons why we should believe in God’s existence. Remember I had poll entitled, "Do You Believe That God Exist?" Surprisingly, there were 3 voters who said "No". Hence, I believe this is worth sharing. But hey, no offence to all atheists out there. I'm just sharing. Remember, sharing is loving. I got all these information from a magazine called Awake!

1. The universe is a masterpiece. When we look at a beautiful painting or admire a fine sculpture, we do not doubt the existence of a painter or a sculptor. Right? So when we contemplate a waterfall or gaze at a sunset, should we not be moved at least to consider the possibility that they are the work of a Great Artist or Sculptor?

"[God's] invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world's creation onward,
because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and
Godship, so that they are inexcusable."—Romans 1:20.

2. The Big Bang Theory is flawed and ridiculous.
One example of its flaw is that, a certain Big Bang Theorist named Wendy Freedman claims that the universe is still expanding. Meaning, the Big Bang process is still ongoing until now. Her theory allegedly claims that the Big Bang process started eight billion years ago. Funny thing is, most astronomers believe that the universe is 15 billion years old or so.

3. Every living thing on earth is wonderfully made. One famous line of poetry says: "Only God can make a tree." Yet, far more marvelous is the creation of a baby, which occurs without any creative direction from parents. When sperm from the father unites with an egg from the mother, plans are quickly drawn up in the DNA of the newly formed cell to produce a child. "If written out," it is said, the instructions within the DNA "would fill a thousand 600-page books." That is but the beginning. The original cell divides to make two, then four, then eight, and so on. After about 270 days, a baby made up of thousands of millions of living cells of more than 200 kinds is born. And to think that the original cell had within it the information to make all the different kinds of cells and to produce them at just the right time!

"You yourself produced my kidneys; you kept me screened off in the belly of my mother. I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made."—Psalm 139:13-16.

Those who have studied these "miracles" feel a sense of awe. Dr. James H. Hutton, past president of the Chicago and Illinois State Medical societies, said that he was filled with amazement by the cell's "magical ability to pass on to successor cells the data they wish reproduced. It is indeed wonderful that our research scientists have been able to learn about such things. But some Divine Intelligence surely must have planned these phenomena."

Dr. Hutton continued: "In my own subspecialty of endocrinology, the study of endocrine functions and the disorders of these glands adds to the conviction that a Divine Power must be responsible for the marvelous complexity and function of these vital structures."

He concluded: "Contemplating these marvels seems to me compelling reason to believe that some omnipotent and omniscient power planned this universe, set it in motion and presides over it."

Sources:
Awake Magazine: Do You See More Than Your Eyes Do?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20000822a/article_01.htm
Awake Magazine: The Awesome Universe—Where Did It Come From?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/19960122/article_03.htm

Note: The list is not yet finished. I'm thinking of posting at least 10 reasons. ;)

Also, I remember that I mentioned on my previous entry that my next post would be about working abroad. I will try to do that tomorrow. Have a great day guys! Smile. ;)

On Global Warming

I first heard about “Global Warming” way back in first year high-school. Back then, I had no idea about what Global Warming really is. Back then, my limited capability of understanding things could only grasp the idea that Global Warming is just a natural phenomenon every summer. I was dead-wrong!

“Is there really something wrong with the weather?”

Well, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research says: "When we observe global weather—the extremes in precipitation, floods, droughts, storms—and note its development, we can rightly say that these extremes have quadrupled over the last 50 years."

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation is believed to be the result of an "enhanced greenhouse effect" mainly due to human-produced increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and changes in the use of land.
- source Wikipedia.com

In other words, human activities are causing this worldwide phenomenon to go amok. Yes, humans are the ones to be blamed. Our planet Earth has been abused to the point that it can’t take anymore. Although this problem sounds too massive for an individual to take on, there is still something that we can do to help in our own ways. So what can we do in our own little way to help prevent Global Warming?

* Drive less. Take bikes, walk or carpool whenever possible.

* Unplug electronics when they are not in use, because they still take up energy. At the very least, turn items off when they’re not being used.

* Run the dishwasher and clothes washer only when you have a full load, and if available, use the energy-saving setting.

* Plant a tree.

* Use nontoxic cleaning products.

* I'd like to end my list here. But we still can do a lot more. Please make a research. (",)

--

Note: The following information was originally posted by Wilfred at his blogsite.

On the 28th of March 2009, at 8:30 in the evening (local time), everyone is encouraged to participate on the first international election between the Earth and global warming, through the Earth Hour.

Let's all grab this opportunity to take part in this international movement and cast our vote for the Earth by switching our lights off for an entire hour (that's only sixty minutes or three thousand six hundred seconds). Leaving your lights on means a vote for global warming. The goal for this year is to gather one (1) billion votes for the Earth, which will be presented to the world leaders in the upcoming Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The official goverment policies to take action agaisnt global warming and the subsequent climate change that will be determined from this meeting will replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Earth Hour was initiated last 2007 in Sydney, and was participated by 2.2 million homes and businesses. A year later, in 2008, it had grown up into a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people switching their lights off.

This year, Earth Hour 2009 is being taken to a new level, where every individuals, encompassing all races, from different countries, are encouraged to VOTE EARTH. Every one is being called up to take a stand and control over the future of our planet.

Let's all vote because every vote counts.

Again, VOTE EARTH by simply switching your lights off for one hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM local time, taking part in the global movement -- the Earth Hour.

Make a single flick at that switch, that's just it!

Should you wish to join, you can register by clicking on the "VOTE EARTH" ad in the sidebar.

PS: However, we all know that we have different circumstances. It may not be wise for some to totally turn off all their lights or their appliances. In my case, since we have a total of 6 electric flourescent lights in my house, I will make sure that at that very hour, 5 of them will be turned off and I will not turn my computer on. We all can make a difference in our own little way! Think about the future.

Sources:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
Watchtower: http://www.watchtower.org/e/20030808/article_02.htm
Wilfred’s Blog: http://adiklupet.blogspot.com/2009/03/thinking-urchin-supports-earth-hour.html

By the way, thank you Jeszieboy for inviting me to join EARTHHOUR 2009.