Cymplicity...
Posted at 09:18 PM in something shared

Message: Simplicity
By Bo Sanchez

My parents breathed simplicity. Oxygen too, but that's pretty obvious. Dad was an assistant vice president for a humongous company,yet I didn't "feel" like I was a rich man's kid because my parents made it a rule to live below their means.

A millionaire's son rode a sleek Benz; I rode our sixteen-year old Toyota that sounded more like a drum and bugle band, with its cacophony of bangs, rattles, and whams.

An heir of the moneyed class was chauffeured to school, but as early as Grade III, I was taking the public jeepney-- sitting, standing, or swinging from its handrails like a flapping flag.

The wealthy dined on gourmet meals every day. But the culinary highlight of my whole week was when Mom bought Coke for our Sunday lunch-- the only time we tasted the stuff. I'm not kidding.

Rich kids wore outfits from America, England, and Paris. I wore clothes
from Avenida, Escolta, and Pasay.

The mansions of the rich and famous are veritable furniture showcases,complete with sixteen Egyptian jars from the Nephertiti era. I learned that one of those monstrous flower vases was equal to the price of our entire house. But naturally, we too, had our own flower vases. If my archeological knowledge serves me right, they
came from the Nescafe era.

Their estates have playrooms with life-size Barbie's and Power Rangers.But the way I played with expensive toys was admiring them from the store shelf and using my imagination to the hilt. That way, I owned all the toys in the world.

You'll be shocked by what I'm going to tell you, but through all this,I recall never feeling deprived in any way.

Let me tell you why.

I remember my father coming home every night and we'd go jogging together--around our old car parked in the garage. (Dad says he wasn't vying for the Olympics anyway.) Then I'd sit on his lap and we'd talk
about how to solve the problems of the universe.

After dinner, we'd read the comic pages together. Tarzan was my favorite, until I reached puberty. From then on, it became Jane.

Almost every Saturday afternoon, it was father and son time. We'd walk to the shopping center and Dad would buy me a hotdog. Then we'd walk back home, bringing a little something for Mom, usually a chocolate bar. To add sentimental value to our token, I forced myself to take a few bites from it.

I guess being with Dad and Mom was all that my little boy's heart ever wanted. And I got it, every single day. I believe that God chose to write the "map of happiness" on the ordinary parchment of simplicity-- like a treasure map written on recycled brown paper.

Consequently, many people ignore that map, and are attracted instead to the more glossy, loud, shiny maps around. But when they follow these others maps, they end up tired as a dog chasing its own tail.

I have a radical suggestion........Simplify.

Simplify because you want to discover the depths of your soul.

Simplify because you want to start living deliberately.

Simplify because you want to love from an uncluttered heart.

Remember that simplicity is only the first step of the journey.

Holding the treasure map, memorizing it, photocopying it a thousand times, and keeping it safe in a vault won't make you claim the gold. You actually need to sail through oceans, climb peaks, cross
valleys, and explore caves.

Simplicity will point to you where and what and who the gold is in your
life.

Once you know your gold, the game has just begun. Will you treasure your gold?

My parents knew their gold:

1. Each other,
2. Their six children, and
3. Their faith.

They tried to live uncluttered lives so that they could have time for what was most important.

They didn't busy themselves buying a bigger house, because that would mean working harder to pay the monthly amortization, doing overtime work or taking a second job. Who would then go jogging with little Bo every night? Who would read Tarzan for him? They didn't burden themselves buying a BMW because that would mean laboring and worrying about installment bills.

Besides, walking to the shopping center every Saturday afternoon with his son gave my dad his needed exercise, and made little Bo feel special.

One of the delights of my heart was seeing Dad and Mom in their bedroom at night, after our nightly family prayer. The lights were turned off, and I'd see the silhouette of my father seated on his old chair and mom standing behind him, gently massaging his shoulders. I'd hear them talk about what transpired during the day. Even as a child, I sensed their quiet pleasure at being together.

My question today: Could they have done this rich ritual each night and
nourished their marriage if they had been busy paying for designer outfits for themselves or their kids, or if they had been worrying about monthly bills for new hi-tech appliances?

I don't think so.

And I've made the choice: I don't want that kind of life either.

joke!
Posted at 09:38 PM

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual, later discovered to
be a public school teacher, was arrested trying to board a flight while in
possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set-square, a slide rule, and a
calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney-General John
Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said. "They desire average
solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and
'y'and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong  to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer, Isosceles, used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes".

for girls..
Posted at 07:42 PM in something shared

 If a man   wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you,
  nothing  can  make  him  stay.  Stop  making excuses for a man and his
  behavior.
 
  Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
 
  Stop  trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to
  be.  Slower  is better. Never live your life for a man before you find
  what makes you truly happy.
 
  If  a  relationship  ends  because the man was not treating you as you
  deserve  then  heck  no,  you  can't  "be  friends". A friend wouldn't
  mistreat a friend. Don't settle.
 
  If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is. Don't
  stay because you think "it will get better." You'll be mad at yourself
  a  year  later for staying when things are not better. The only person
  you can control in a relationship is you.
 
  Avoid  men  who've  got  a  bunch  of children by a bunch of different
  women.  He  didn't  marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he
  treat you any differently?
 
  Always  have  your  own  set  of  friends  separate from his. Maintain
  boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.
 
  Never let a man know everything.* He will use it against you later.
 
  You cannot change a man's behaviour.* Change comes from within.
 
  Don't  EVER make him feel he is more important than you are... even if
  he  has  more  education  or  in  a better job. Do not make him into a
  quasi-god. He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
 
  Never  let  a man define who you are. Never borrow someone else's man.
  If  he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you. A man will only treat you
  the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
 
  All men are NOT dogs.
 
  You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is two way
  street.
 
  You  need  time  to heal between relationships...there is nothing cute
  about  baggage...  deal  with  your  issues  before  pursuing  a  new
  relationship
 
  You  should  never  look  for someone to COMPLETE you...a relationship
  consists of two WHOLE individuals...look for someone
  complimentary...not supplementary.
 
  Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
 
  Make  him  miss  you sometimes...when a man always know where you are,
  and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted.
 
  Never move into his mother's house. Never co-sign for a man.
 
  Don't  fully  commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you
  need. Keep him in your radar but get to know others.
 
  Share this with other women and men (just so they know)...
  You'll make someone smile, another rethink her choices, and another
  woman prepare.
 
  They  say  it  takes  a  minute  to  find a special person, an hour to
  appreciate them, a day to love them and an entire lifetime to forget
  them.

Be alert! Be warned!
Posted at 06:37 PM

It pays to read this especially sa mga mahilig umuwi ng late. Read through...
> > >
> > >
Finally, I am able to get over my initial shock, and write about my experience. The other Tuesday, Aug. 24, after the fellowship following our regular club meeting, I was on my way home to Filinvest I.
> > >
Around 12 midnight, my car (a late model Accord), was cut by another car with blinkers, and four men armed with armalites aimed their guns at me, and told me to open my door. First I thought they were policemen in civvies who had mistaken me for someone else, or whatever. But when they commanded me to board their car and demanded my wallet and valuables, I knew they were robbers and carjackers. To make a long story short, I was dropped at Macapagal Avenue at around 3 a.m. of Wednesday, but not before cleaning my ATM account, inflicting harm on my person, threatening to kill me, and firing at me (with the intent of scaring me). (And of course, taking my Accord earlier).
Classmates, the following day (actually around 9 am of the same day, Wednesday) I reported the incident to the Central Police District. And lo and behold, I learned that so many incidents (about a dozen or more since the beginning of the year) like what I went through (remember, we are talking here of carjacking or taking your car at gunpoint, not just simple carnapping!) had been taking place in and around the following areas:
> > >
1. Quezon Avenue underpass, crossing EDSA
2. Dark streets in the areas around Morato and around the West Triangle
3. Some areas in the Teacher's village, etc.
4. Commonwealth -- although I understand that my case was the first one on top of the overpass over Tandang Sora.
5. Some parts of EDSA - also in Q.C.
> > >
Another, and I just learned this later from non-police sources, is the flyover from Libis, going to Katipunan, and also the underpass tunnel connected to the flyover. (Here, as in the Quezon underpass, the favorite maneuver is to sandwich the victim's car between two cars, one in front and the other behind.) Other carjackings have also taken place in other parts of Metro Manila, especially Pasig, but Q.C. is the epicenter of these incidents.
> > >
Favorite time of carjackers (as distinct from carnappers who take vehicles while they are parked) is between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. although some carjackings are known to have taken place even earlier.
> > >
The day after I was victimized, another similar incident took place (probably by the same gang), with a 26 year old woman, the daughter of an executive judge of Zambales, as the victim. She tried to parry an armalite aimed at her and apparently, the gun went off, hitting her on the thigh, shattering her femur. Let's pray that she will recover soon, and that she will not lose her leg.
> > >
Before me, it has been rumored that the son of a high official of the PNP was almost victimized, but for the fact that his driver, a policeman himself, told the robbers he was a policeman, and that his passenger is the son of this high official of PNP. (The robbers had the temerity to ask for IDs of the two before letting them go.)
Other victims: a priest, a money changer, a couple with a daughter, another couple, etc.
> > >
According to the police, even kidnappings are rising. Let's be careful but not fearful. Let's inform our children about what's taking place. And maybe suggest to them that, rather than go home during those unholy hours (11 p.m. to 3 a.m.) better if they just stay where they are or stay with a friend at his or her place, rather than go through the no-man's land that is Q.C. (or parts of it anyway!).
> > >
Note: If you or your children have to really drive during those hours, better to take the Commonwealth / Tandang Sora crossing at street level, where there are many vehicles, people and a police outpost.
> > >
Take care, my friends! You don't want to go through what I have gone through.

Lonely...
Posted at 12:06 AM

...but never alone.

These are the times I feel lonely, seems I exist for no apparent reason, like I am not significant to anyone. Even the ones I love do not care. But of course, it is more challenging to love the unlovable. *sigh* But loving is sometimes exhausting... Always thinking of ways to show how much you love a person but he/she does not seem to reciprocate the intention. What am I here for? Love should be the reason for my being. I do not know anymore...