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Christmas Spirit --- The Spirit in Christ's Manger

Today is the day when God became physically visible to mankind, became the Son of Man named Jesus.  And we call this day Christmas Day. Last night, at the Holy Mass of Christmas Eve, our parish priest shared his experience of seeing the actual manger in Israel where Jesus was born.  His sharing was so sincere that when he said that it made him cry seeing that manger, it almost made me cry too.  Can you imagine having your child born in a stinking place where horses rest and eat?  How would you feel having your most loved person give birth there, if you are a husband?  How should one feel having a God who is the creator of all the entire universe and yet chose to become human and be born in a manger? Makes you think, right? A stone manger in Israel.  This was used to put animal feed for the farm animals.  This may have been the kind of manger that Jesus was put in as an infant.  Scripture: Luke 2:7-16.   Made me think.  I've always known the manger to be that humble.  But

Philippines Overpopulation or City Overconcentration?

I wanted to write about this perfectly. I was thinking of posting this to challenge the various intellects of our government: those overly-cocky with their knowledge on the matter, those who are secretly confused but making a stand outloud just for political reasons, and those who realized late what are factually correct but are embarrassed to change sides. So I tried first to research how the world defines these words: overpopulation and over-concentration. I had to stop after few minutes. I realized that the definitions of the world just don't matter. I don't want to be like those leaders getting lost in the definitions of it all that they miss the very simple practical meanings of the words to a common ordinary person like me. I know the meaning of the words by heart. I have experienced the meanings myself. I grew up in the city. Have moved from the capital to its adjacent cities too from time to time, as work dictated. I know what's in it. Rare are

Miracles and Faith

I should have made an entry on this blog 2 days ago, right on the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  But I guess the Blessed Lady would like me to experience again a  little miracle first before posting this. Two weeks ago, my computer broke down.  For some seemingly simple mistake, it broke down.  I tried fixing it myself using standard solutions, you know, stuff you see from internet, suggestions from various techies and all that.  Nothing worked. So I had to send it to a computer technician.  Took him 2 weeks to have it returned back to me, unfixed.  The first week he had it, I was already realizing he's having difficulty finding the solution.  Asked me to give him until next Friday.  Another week of me hardly breathing. A day before that 'next Friday' came.  I was fearing that my computer really won't get fixed anymore and I literally cried that night.  But then I started thinking, it's the Feast of Mother Mary.  She's not gonna deny my request for he

THE FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

The body of our Lord transcended into tiny pieces of bread...   ...consumed and contained by and in these tiny vessels of Christ. "He remains among us until the end of the world.  He dwells on so many altars, though so often offended and profaned."                                                       - St. Maximilian Kolbe

STEVE JOBS, a Great Work iCON

Appreciating THE GENIUS. Getting inspired with such love and passion for work. “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” “Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

SIBLINGS

I just saw The Lost Kennedy Home Movies last night on History Channel. And once again, my adoration for love among siblings sparked. Siblings are clearly blessings from God. They are your 'stand-by' friends whether you like it or not. Forged by blood. You get to do treat them the way you treat your own chosen friends but at the same time, you get to meddle in their lives without being reprimanded. You get to show them love in anyway you please without being dictated, argue without having the door shut on your face, show your worst monster in you and still get treated for some fun after. There was one line in The Kennedys Mini Series that sort of keep playing in my head, that one line said by Joe Kennedy to Bobby when John became President (or I think when he was about to run for presidency): "Jack needs someone he can trust and I need you to keep an eye on Jack." It's like saying "Your brother needs someone who can be trusted more than ev

NBI Clearance Processing and Fixers

Recently, the local news have been talking about slow processing of clearance at NBI.  There were lots of mentioning about already-computerized system, big funding and stuff and yet still inefficient output.  And I started thinking, these officials think so big all the time that the simplest possible means to help better the system is sometimes overlooked. There is a cheaper way of expediting government papers that does not even have to sound complicated.  It does not always have to require big funding if they really want to help the common filipino lining up early in the morning in government premises for clearance applications.  And that goes for other branches like SSS, BIR, etc. I, myself, was able to come up with a very simple design that does not even necessitate a special software just to expedite a bit the application step for a clearance, which consequently helps also in the elimination of fixers.   The idea simply involves the utilization of internet, downloading of ap

Dear EXPATS / OFWs and Families,

I grew up from a family of expats.  Two generations now.   I  know how they feel when they're away working for their families.  And I also know how it feels to be at the other end, to be left countless times all for love.  I know what they exactly mean when they say "I miss you" and I think they are the most believable people in saying those three words. If there's one thing I've learned that I want to share to others experiencing the same kind of set-up, it is this:  Time is fleeting and before you know it, you are growing gray hairs while your children are becoming parents themselves and your parents are close to forgetting even their names.  You've got to seize each and every opportunity to share moments with them, no matter how trivial it may seem, however which way you can do it.  You just got to take that vacant space in their hearts, that space that is meant to be filled with memories of just you and them, not their friends, not their significant

Do you care enough?

Let's do our best each day to live with our CONVICTION OF THE HEART......

The Laws of Physics

Life is no exemption to physics.  Love is energy.  Love, being an energy, can neither be created nor destroyed.  It can only be passed around.  Since it cannot be created, you have to receive some before you can share some.  No human can create energy.  It is just out there flowing, from one person to another, from one form to another.  God is the Source.  If you aren't getting much from the people around you, get some from Him.  And, you cannot destroy love just as energy cannot be destroyed.  It can only be passed around. Never assume not to be opposed.  It is to be expected: an equal and opposite reaction.  And when you think you are not opposed by anything, think again.  Because the Law of Physics never fails. Getting outbalanced in life does happen, sometimes. Don't you just hate it when you unintelligently invite forces outside your system that seem to be bigger than you and overpowers you and worst, throws your comfortable life into chaos? i simply love

Casey Anthony Verdict: Worst than Death

She may seem to have gotten scotfree, but in a bigger scale, its gonna be even worst than getting a death penalty. TORTURE BY SLOW DEATH. What's it gonna be like after she has served her term for the Falsification Charge? How is it gonna be when she joins back the society? Obviously, the stigma will be there with her forever. Guilty or not, she will be psychologically tortured by the society till her last day here on earth. It's bothering to hear and see people crave for somebody's death, criminal or not. But it is equally bothering not to have Casey Anthony punished for having something to do with the death of her 2-year old girl Calee. How do you explain a mother knowing that her kid is dead for 30 days and within that 30 days goes partying? Having a tatoo that says Bella Vida (beautiful life)? One does not have to be a graduate of Law to realize that there's something wrong with that. An angel just got suffocated with duct tapes, thrown in a mudd

MEN AND WOMEN OF RH BILL: The Hypocrite and the Dumb.

You support RH but do not live it. Can you look at the mirror and say, "Honest to goodness, I really really would like to use condom each and every time I do my girl"? CAN YOU? WILL YOU? Bullshit. You like blow jobs. YOU FREAKING DO. And you just hate interrupting the spontaneity of the activity when you have to think of the rubber that needs to be put on your dick. Do you have that discipline enough to stop during the peak of your activity with your girl, stop, pause, grab for the rubber? You hardly have the discipline to stop dating somebody else's chick, and you think you can have this liiiiiiiiitle bit of discipline needed on the bed for a safer sex? And you who has no fear fooling behind your wife, checking to motels countless times with different willful girls hungry for acceptance and appreciation, do you honestly fear of impregnating this hot girl you just wanna f**k and f**ck and f**k as opportunities permit? I know you don't, dude. Get rea

No can do, RH Bill. Jail Bill, Pwede?

Somebody I know gave birth to 4 kids from different men. She's not ignorant, she has a functioning brain, she has the capacity to make her own money. She is aware of contraceptives, being a health personnel herself. But she just keeps getting pregnant. And to top it all, the kids get distributed to their own dads. Do you think RH Bill will be able to help her stop making babies??? Do you think women like her or soon-to-be-like-her can be helped by sexual education of RH Bill? You know the answer much as I do. The thing is, people like her deserves some form of tough discipline. Women who keep creating kids without anything to feed them should be disciplined; number of kids should be in proportion to income. AND. Not Or. AND, Baby makers who don't give a damn on the psychological damage they create for their kids should be punished. Because they just won't stop. They won't care. The moment they feel the body heat of their men, they just won't c

Being Single

A personal choice? By providence? Or, by default? Let's take the first one, personally choosing to be single. This ain't for cowards. Definitely not. Choosing to be single forever could mean incessant questioning of people around you about your choice as if you have no idea what to imagine happening to you in your aged years. Something that can get annoying but cannot be avoided---some of them asking just out of curiosity on your choice, some wrongly equating singleness with being a hermit or close to being anti-social thus really finding it wrong, some feeling perfect in their married life-- now thinking that marriage is and must be the only option there is for EVERYONE, and some others question you just for the sake of having a say on it. But why do some people choose to be single even if there is the option not to be? Maybe this can be best answered with another question: Why do people choose to enter and stay in a relationship even if its not bearing any g

That Place Called "Adoration"

There's just more than magic in that place. Adoration. Years ago, there was a girl who challenged me to do something she thought would be challenging for me, knowing that I'm such a headstrong and daredevil and the couldn't-care-less type of soul. Her challenge: Go to the Adoration, stare on the only thing that is actually in that place, a tiny white round unleavened bread that actually does not look like bread, and believe that it is the actual body of the Lord Jesus. Daring that I am, I simply said "Sure." Secretly though, there's one second of doubt that crossed my mind, the thought telling me "hmmm, that doesn't sound easy...staring at something like an object and believing that is somebody? Much more, uhhhm...the Lord Himself?" So I asked, "Where is that place anyways?" And I was embarrassed when I was told that it is just at the Church! Me being a regular Sunday Mass attendee! That tiny secluded place beside the

TUITION FEES IN THE PHILIPPINES

As of School Year 2010-2011, per unit costs from 75Pesos up to 2000+. Some of the colleges have applied for an increase this coming school year and must have been approved as of this writing. Below is the list of college schools accredited by Commission on Higher Education (CHED), taken from CHED's website , with their corresponding basic tuition fee per unit; some, along with courses offerred. The basic tuition fees here are from schools themselves replying to inquiry through their email addresses as published here. Those tuition fees in red, however, were taken from an already-existing published info . If your tuition is not reflected here and you'd like to share it, POST IT ON THE COMMENT and I'll gladly add it up in the database. Also, the schools were color-coded according to their classification as per CHED: green and orange for STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES, respectively; maroon and yellow for PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES, respectively. KNOWIN

CHILDREN CHASTITY EDUCATION: Protection against Pedophiles and Homosexual Predators

(I actually am referring to chastity education when I say there is a need for sex education.  Sex education emphasizes on sex and in a way, promotes it on children which I am opposed to. Chastity Education is what I actually am referring to when this entry was written.)   In an impersonal view on sex education, one might not care for it if the kids involved are 7,8,9,10 or 11 years old. After all, there's no way they can contribute yet to the population explosion. But if one would view it in a very personal level, one would definitely find sex education for kids extremely important. It is the best weapon of kids against disguising demons: pedophiles and homosexual perverts who prey on kids . The failure of our past was the limiting of the context of sex education to the birds, bees and flowers story by our elders. It was so constrained in scope so much so that the only purpose it served and is still serving is education on procreation. We should correct it. In this

Church Annulment: Void from the Start

There are so many discouraging advices you will get from people around you when considering church annulment. Most of the time, they will tell you to go for civil annulment first, then after it is granted, go for the church annulment. If you fall for this trick, you will most likely to cross out the church annulment totally afterwards. Your call. Below is the almost-entire content of the 'Marriage "ANNULMENT" What? How?" by G.F. REYES, JCD, including the GROUNDS FOR ANNULMENT, that is freely given by the Archdiocese of Manila Office just for the asking.  Some of it can be found also at the Archdiocese of Manila website: http://www.rcam.org/offices/tribunal.htm . The only missing part here is the "How to Make the Case History". ==================================================================================== (Marriage "ANNULMENT" What? How?" by G.F. REYES, JCD) Dear Friends, The ending of a marital relationship,