Christmas consumerism

The 2007 holidays has ended and 2008 is less than 48 hours.
The comics below show the general feeling that I have every christmas.
[click comic to enlarge]
Calvin and Hobbes


Stone Soup

Jumpstart

Frazz

Foxtrot

Is my life at its Best? ۩

I am never religious and never will be, but in times of slumps and depression and pressure, its a good thing that there are email senders that send in some enlightening and conscience-tingling stories like the excerpt below.  Things at the personal level are not what it seems, I think.....

Excerpt from Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential 

[from an email]

A few years back, I woke up one morning and I had a real strong concern and compassion for an old friend of mine. I hadn’t seen him in years, and hadn’t talked to him for at least fifteen years, but he was one of my best friends growing up. We played a lot of sports and spent a lot of time together.

All day long, I kept thinking about him, for no apparent reason. I was just hoping that he was doing okay. It finally dawned on me that maybe God was speaking to me, and I needed to take action. I decided to give my old buddy a call to say hello and see how he was doing. I had no idea how to get in touch with him. But I finally tracked him down and called him.

My friend answered the phone, and I said, “Hey, man, this is Joel Osteen. I’ve been thinking about you all day long. How have you been doing?”

The phone went completely silent. Not a word. I thought, This is very odd. I didn’t know what was going on, but I stayed on the line. After about fifteen or twenty seconds, I noticed that my buddy was all broken up on the other end of the line. I could tell that he was weeping. This fellow was one of the toughest athletes around as we were growing up. I had never seen him shed a tear. But he was now. 

When he finally composed himself, he said, “Joel, my wife just recently left me. And I’ve been so depressed and discouraged.” 

He said, “I’m not a religious person, but I prayed, ‘God, if You’re still out there, if You really love me, if You’re connected at all, just give me some kind of sign.’ And then the phone rang and it was you.”

God knows what He’s doing. He knows who’s hurting. He knows who’s at the end of their rope. If you will follow the flow of love and compassion wherever it leads, you may be the answer to a desperate, lonely person’s prayer. You may not fully realize the impact one brief phone call can have. 

You may not realize the significance of what it means to a hurting, lonely person to hear the words “I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve been concerned about you. I love you. I believe in you. I want to be praying for you. I’m going to stand with you.” You may have forgotten how powerful and life-changing those simple words of hope can be. Let love lead you through life. Don’t ever ignore that feeling of compassion inside you. Learn to follow the flow of God’s divine love. He will direct your paths and show where and how to express it.

ang mga sagot sa mga katanungan sa buhay

[somebody emailed these questions in my egroup; and someone was 'serious' enough to answer them]

1. Pwede bang uminom ng softdrink kapag coffee break?

Pwede ngunit kailangan itong lagyan ng asukal at kopimeyt. Kopimeyt dapat, huwag gatas. (milk in my cereal, kopimeyt in my pepsi.)

2. Pwede bang gamitin ang A.M. (not F.M.) radio pag gabi na?

Maari lamang gamitin ang A.M. radio kapag gabi kung ang iyong pakikinggan ay O.P.M.

3. Ang fire exit ba ay labasan ng apoy?

Ang fire exit ay ginagamit lamang bilang labasan ng apoy kapag may sunog. Ito ang kanilang daan upang sila'y makatakas o ang tinatawag na "fire escape".

4. Ang uod ba pag namatay ay inuuod din?

Ang tao kapag namatay ay hindi tinatao. Malamang ang uod ay hindi rin inuuod. Kung ang tao ay inuuod kapag nalagutan ng hininga, siguro ang uod kapag namatay ay tinatao.

5. Totoo bang ang mga manok na pinatay sa Jollibee ay masasaya kaya sila tinawag na chicken joy?

Oo, sila ay masaya kung kaya't sila'y tinawag na chicken joy. Ngunit hindi kinakailangang sa Jollibee patayin ang manok upang ito ay maging masaya. Ang mga manok ay nagiging masaya kapag sila ay may kasama sa buhay. Kapag ito ay nag-iisa lamang, ito ay hindi chicken joy kundi ....mcchicken singles.

Ang pinakamasayang manok sa lahat ay iyong 6 pc. chicken mcnuggets o tinatawag na "o-r-g-y" sa inggles.

6. Kung ang 7-11 store ay bukas 24 hrs a day , 7 days a week, at 365 days a year, bakit may lock pa ang pinto nila?

Dalawa ang dahilan. Una, may coffee break din naman ang mga nagtatrabaho sa 7-11. Pangalawa, mayroon tayong tinatawag na leap year.

7. Bakit di mataas ang highway?

Dahil kung mataas ang highway, walang paglalagyan ng skyway.

8. Ba't alang lumilipad na sasakyan sa flyover?

Hindi lang natin nakikita ang mga nagliliparang sasakyan sapagkat hindi tayo tumutingala kapag tayo ay nasa flyover.

Ang pagsalin ng dayuhang salita na flyover sa katutubong wika ay "fly"- lipad, "over"- sa ibabaw.

Ibig sabihin ang mga kotse ay hindi lumilipad sa flyover ngunit sa ibabaw ng flyover. Ngayon kung titingala ka naman kapag ikaw ay nasa flyover ang tangi mong makikita ay ang kisame ng iyong sasakyan.

Alam kong wala sa inyong mayroong sasakyan na Miata, Boxster, Kompressor, Z3, Z8 at kung ano-ano pang kotseng pang-mayaman kaya't huwag na kayong magpumilit mamilosopo.. . ako lang ang may karapatan.

Kung idadahilan niyo naman na mayroon kayong sunroof, hanapin ninyo ang inyong tinatawag na "sense of humor". Namamatay ng maaga ang palaging seryoso.


Sana ay nasagot ang ilan sa inyong mga katanungan sa buhay. Kung mayroon pang ibang bagay na bumabagabag sa iyong isipan huwag kayong mag-atubiling ilapit sa mga kina-uukulan o kaya sarilinin nyo na lamang para di kayo pagtawanan.

At lagi rin sana nating tandaan ang dayuhang salawikain na "ask a dumb question and you'll get a dumb answer."

Maraming salamat at walang anuman.

Anatomy ♥

i showed interest.

she showed interest.

constant texting: 

hi/hellos.

bantering.

inspiring.

nagging.

soliciting.

wooing.

asking.asking.asking.asking.asking.asking.asking.asking.asking.

working.busy.working.busy.working.busy.working.busy.working.busy.

pathetic.on my part.fear.commitment.anxiousness.

my fault.

attempting to communicate.reaching out.again.and again.

please.please.please.please.please.please.please.please.please.

empty space.enveloped.

sound of silence.

and all the ideals that i'm standing for.issues....

the cynicism of love.or whatever one calls it.

moved on.

subconsciously.not.

A Proactive Happy World AIDS Day!

Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise - Leadership

The above theme is an appeal to all governments and policy makers of all natons to ensure that they meet the targets they have agreed to in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there were 37.2 million adults and 2.2 million children living with HIV at the end of 2004, and during the year 4.9 million new people became infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. 95% of the total number of people with HIV/AIDS live in the developing world. But HIV still remains a threat to people of all ages and nationalities.

For more information about the epidemiology of the disease click here.

For more information what AIDS as a disease is all about click here.

World AIDS Day Themes through the years (1988-2007)

2007 Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise - Leadership
2006 Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise - Accountability
2005 Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise
2004 Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS
2003 Stigma and Discrimination
2002 Stigma and Discrimination
2001 I care. Do you?
2000 AIDS: Men Make a Difference
1999 Listen, Learn, Live: World AIDS Campaign with Children & Young People
1998 Force for Change: World AIDS Campaign With Young People
1997 Children Living in a World with AIDS
1996 One World. One Hope
1995 Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities
1994 AIDS and the Family
1993 Act
1992 Community Commitment
1991 Sharing the Challenge
1990 Women and AIDS
1989 Youth
1988 Communication