How can I describe it?

A variety. Unfocused.

See these:

• Julie and Julia and how, when blogging, we should create a niche and differentiate our style;
• Philippine politics, i.e. the way we vote and why I'm going for Noynoy in 2012;
• On Saudi: How Saudis bury their dead;
• Cooking pasta 'ala Nebz;
• A tribute to a teacher who passed away;
• My tips on how OFWs can (and must) save.
  

Unfocused and a variety gone awry. If I were to make a painting out of my November posts, it will be as undecipherable as an abstract.

But you know what, I'm a bit relieved. Because I did it. I tested my discipline and although I didn't come out victorious (with the quality of my posts), I survived 30 days writing 30 posts, and boy it was not easy! (I'm tapping my own shoulders now).

Two realizations here:

1. Planning your posts way in advance is good because it gives you time to mull about what you wrote. Once or twice, I revisit the articles for a last minute correction.

2. There's so much we could write about. Because I tasked myself to write an everyday post, I became sensitive to what's around me. Some of my posts came from a conversation with friends; others from real life experiences. One post was inspired by a Granta article; another post was from a New Yorker cartoon; another idea was from an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer. The latest was from a funny advert someone sent me through email.

Thank you for being with me the whole of November.

In December, I promise to show more but talk less.

I've no excuse. I've ran out of ideas this Eid. Or maybe because I'm too occupied by fruitless activities today and my mind is totally blanked out.

Please accept my apologies.

I leave you with this graphics that I did some weeks ago.

Flower 1



Flower 2


Pray tell because I honestly don't know: During those moments when my mind is blank, or while I'm in a phone conversation, why do I always draw flowers?

The website says: Don't take life sitting down...because life's greatest adventure shouldn't be finding a bathroom.

The product? A female urination device called GoGirl.

This is how it looks like:



I LOL'd great time after someone sent the website to me. After some reading though, I realized that it's a very sensible product: medically tested, portable (it fits in a woman's purse), reusable (even a thousand times, the website claims), and 'easily the best' (by what standard I will never have a firsthand experience in).

By the way, Gogirl is used standing. All you have to do is "open your fly". (Doesn't this sound feminist?)

I wonder what would Filipina women really think about this?

He is Bert; she is Nita.
Both were young when they ventured Manila.
He's from Carles, Iloilo; she's from Anao, Tarlac.
Both came from poor families,
He took some vocational courses in electricity;
She dreamt of being a midwife.
But because they have no means to continue their education,
both ended up working in a cotton factory in Makati.
There they met; there they fell in love.
After a long courtship, they wed in Loreto Church in Sampaloc.
I asked my mom why her gown was 'bitin';
She said: "I was on slippers when the sewer measured me;
She forgot that I'd be wearing high heeled shoes."
It sounds funny now, but I realized how my mother must have been upset
That her gown was 'bitin'.
Yet in her wedding photos, she never showed her desperation.
She was aglow and beaming. So does my father. Handsome in his 60's look.

I thought we were well off because we
didn't rent our house in Mandaluyong. We owned it.
Only later did I realize how difficult it was
for them -- although both employed -- to keep both ends meet.

When the factory they were working in transfered operation
in Antipolo; we too went along with the factory.
Three times did we change houses.
I used to wonder why everytime we transfer house,
it was always at night and we leave some of our belongings.
'We'll return for them tomorrow', my father used to say.
I realized later that we transferred house only at night
because we can no longer pay the rent;
and we leave some of our belongings as payment to our debts.

They taught us well.
We called everybody 'tito' and 'tita', and always used 'po' and 'opo'.
We were always bathed cleanly and our clothes, although hands-me-down from relatives,
were always freshly-laundered.
Until high school, my father was the one cutting my hair.
I thought he dreamt of being a barber;
I realized later that although he has money to buy us food,
he really had none to pay for my haircut.

Life's been kind for both of them.
He is double seven now; she seventy-three.
And I'm certain there'll be more years to come to both of them.

Oh there's so much to tell about them.
And I'm sure they too have lots of stories to tell too.
I promise when I get home again, I'll listen.

To the two people from whom I owe
everything that I have,
and all that I am, thank you.
You are the reason why I survive this life.

I've read that it's not good and it's purely for entertainment. I had a preview last night and I agree with the comments of RJ and Jo. I say: 2012 is purely an escapist movie, filled with jaw-dropping effects but bereft of a sensible storyline. The script is so awful, so out of synch with reality that I honestly wished all the adult characters would die in a single swoop of a tornado. Perhaps 2012 would have been better if only the kids were left alive midway in the movie. (I'm bad, ain't I?).

But this I admit: their movie website is impressive. They even have a survival sweepstakes for those who wanted to be saved when December 21, 2012 comes. Of course both the sweepstakes and 2012 doomsday are not real; purely imaginative inventions of the movie publicists.

Know this: we are being manipulated, people! Think: If the world is ending on December 21, 2012 then we should move PEBA04's awarding at an earlier date like September, for example. Just kidding.

Out of curiousity, I played the Survive 2012 Game. It's a multiple choice Q/A type of game where everytime you click the right answer, you get to move closer to Tibet, where the rescue facility is.



The questions (and the answers) are interesting (and sometimes comical), but may prove to be useful during real life situations.

1. If you're exposed to extreme cold, and you have a choice whether to eat a heavy meal, drink from a bottle of whiskey or drink a hot choco, choose the chocolate because it has calories which the body needs to re-warm.

2. When hiking and you find yourself caught near a wildfire, immediately go downhill (instead of run uphill) as fire travels uphill.

3. If your plane crashes over a lake and water starts rushing in, when are you supposed to inflate your life vest -- before or after the exit door? Answer: after. An inflated lifevest may trap you inside the plane.

4. There is a terrible earthquake at the beach and your boat is docked nearby, don't stay in the boat. Run as fast as you away from the beach as earthquakes cause tsunamis.

5. During a mountain hike, you get a terrible toothache and can't continue to the next village for assistance, put an aspirin on the gum above the tooth to stop the pain. It should temporarily stop the throbbing of the nerve until you reach a medical facility.

6. While making a campfire you burn your hand, and your choice is between a canteen of water or butter, choose the cold water. Butter does nothing to the burn.

7. You are in the trunk of a kidnapper's car. You have worked your blindfold but you have to get your hands untied (I honestly don't know how can we can free our blindfold without freeing our hands first), spit on your wrist which should make it easier for you to slip off the rope. "A slippery wrist is your best bet. Pulling hard may the rope make make it tighter." (I wonder though how you'd spit at the rope if your hands are tied behind you).

8. You are in a field when a bee stings you (you are allergic to stings), should you scrape the stinger or squeeze it? Scrape it with a flat rock or a small branch. Pressing it might release more venom into your blood stream.

9. When a mountain lion crosses your path while you are backpacking, should you be quiet or make noise? Answer: Mountain lions don't like confrontation. The more assertive and frightening you are, the better. Inversely, if it's a bull, stay calm because an agitated bull charges.

10. You are on a shore of a river when a crocodile rears its head in front of you, should you grab a stone and hit the crocodile in the snout? Apparently, no. You should run as fast as you can to escape.

11. As you open your front door, an assailant shoves you inside and slams the door and holds a gun on you, should you spit in his face, scream or do as you're told? This is funny but apparently, you should spit on the assailant's face to distract him, strike him in the head and then escape.

12. Fire is raging through your apartment building and you hear someone screaming from behind a locked door, don't charge at the door using your shoulders. Instead, front kick it near where the lock is. Your foot is less vulnerable to injury than your shoulder.

13. If you're traveling through the desert by car and you have to stop and rest, don't take a nap inside your car while the A/C is on. Leave the car and find a shaded area to sleep. Why? The car temperature will be about 110-115 degrees fahrenheit within 15 minutes. The last thing you wanted in that situation is for your battery to run out.

14. There's a flash flood and you race to your car but you accidentally drop your keys down a storm drain, the best way is to hotwire your car than to try to retrieve your keys. (This I honestly realized from playing the 2012 game: we should all know how to hotwire cars).

15. You get caught indoors during a volcano, should you get outside to escape the lava or lock yourself up? Answer: Never outrun a lava and mud once a volcano erupts.

16. You're driving on a busy street and your power steering fails, the best thing to do, instead of slamming on the brake or accelerating to see if it will unlock the steering column, is to take your foot off the gas and move tot he side of the road and stop the car.

17. If you're in a commercial flight and a panicking passenger storms the cockpit to force the pilot to land, the best thing to do is to confront the passenger instead of wait for something to happen. Do your best to delay him until others can subdue him.

18. There's a fire in the building and you are caught inside the elevator, instead of waiting for help, try to see if you can pry the doors open wide enough to crawl out.

19. After a thunderstorm, you notice that the air has a sharp smell to it and that the sky has a greenish tinge. It's unlikely a storm nor a gas leak, my friend. These are the signs of an approaching tornado. Hurry inside your home to prepare for cover.

20. You are driving fast on a twisty road at night when your headlights pick up an animal standing in your lane, should you stay in or change your lane? Apparently, it's better to stay in your lane and try, if possible, to hit the animal at an angle rather than hit another car on the road. (Hope PETA would say okay with this).

If you are interested in finding more survival preparedness information, feel free to read the following sites:

• Knowledge Hound lists a variety of sites related to emergency preparedness and disaster response procedures
• Jess of Lifemoto lists the survival things you may need during calamities
• Urbachletter offers a downloadable disaster survival guide
• Flood Emergency Preparation

Today is the start of our six-day long Eid Al Adha holiday in Saudi Arabia. This is the second of the two Eids among Muslims, the first being Eid Al Fitr.

The story of Eid Al Adha is very familiar even to non-Muslims. In translation, this Eid means Festival of Sacrifice to commemorate the sacrifices of Abraham particularly his willingness to kill his son as a sacrifice to God. (While the Holy Bible narrates in Genesis 22 that the son was Isaac, Muslims believe the sacrificial son to be Ishmael).

During this period, Muslims slaughter a sheep or a goat and divides the meat in three to give to the family, friends and the poor.

Long leave, lotsa plans.

I have no plans to travel far this holiday, but I'm hoping to:

• Thoroughly, in my mom's fashion, clean my room (by in my mom's fashion, I mean dust and mop those hard-to-reach nook and crannies of my room);
• Overhaul my blog (but won't implement it until after PEBA);
• Photoshoot Alkhobar (for my December posts);
• Gather with friends (who I never get to see although we only live a few blocks away from each other);
• Install and decorate our Christmas tree (yey, it's Christmas!);
• Watch all those movies that I'm yearning to see.

Lots of plans which I hope I could really implement. This is the last of our long holidays in Saudi. (We don't have any Christmas break and we even have work during Christmasses and New Year. Not this year though because the December 25th and 1st January fell on a Friday -- our normal day off in Saudi).

Happy Eid, everyone!

I leave you with this Rembrandt painting of The Sacrifice of Abraham. Let us contemplate what the photo means to us.

These are not merely graphics of hands. They actually spell out a phrase.

Tenen.

(I personally pronounce it as 'itnain').

Talatha.

Arabic trivia: The bolded headers are one, two and three in Arabic, respectively. Four to ten are arbaa, khamsa, sita, saba, thamania, tizaa, ashara. Arabic words are written and read from right to left; numbers, from left to right.

I consider myself an apolitical person. As much as possible, I do not wish to indulge into political conversations -- in person and in my blog -- basically because my knowledge of and interest in politics (especially Philippine politics) are almost nil.

My being apolitical is a choice. Trapos (traditional politicals) aghast me. Political prostitutes give me creeps. And no matter how much I think about it, I cannot comprehend why people who are evidently rich enter politics to steal some more. I cannot comprehend why politicians think themselves as mighty and powerful when in fact, we're the ones who put them into power, and therefore we, the voting Filipinos, should be -- and in fact, are -- more powerful than them.

The thought is both depressing and discouraging.

My being political is limited to Philippine elections. Proudly, I never missed a single presidential election (although none of those I voted actually won!). The last I voted was in Saudi Arabia (during the 2004 elections).

My stand is simple: I vote for that someone who I think will best serve the interest of the Filipino majority. And by majority, I mean the poor, the jobless, the children, etc. I also don't listen to (nor believe in) surveys and political pundits. (I voted for the late Raul Roco in the last two presidential elections although I know he has no chance of winning).


Until Noynoy, I thought the 2010 elections will not excite me anymore because all those in the running are of the same color. (I thought Bayani Fernando is my candidate. But he joined Celebrity Duets -- so showbiz!. Then Noynoy came. And then Gibo was chosen as Lakas candidate. And then Ondoy devastated us. And Bayani's true color finally appeared; he actually dimmed after those episodes.)

Why Noynoy? Because I believe he's the only one who can bring back my trust in our government. I don't trust anyone who enters the Philippine politics. For me, they are all motivated by greed and power. Noynoy isn't that. In running for 2010, he in fact stands to lose more: his privacy, most importantly.

I am for Noynoy because I see someone who can drive Filipinos to be better. I don't see him giving us a country free from greed, economic injustices, bureaucracy and ineptitude. I don't see him bringing us a country filled with hope, unity and honest heroism. Alone, Noynoy cannot do that. It can only be done if Filipinos are challenged to rise above their bureaucratic, corrupt selves. Through Noynoy, I believe people will take up the challenge to be better.

I am, evidently, voting for Noynoy.

Visit his site to learn about Noynoy's activities and how you can volunteer or contribute to his cause.

He's 20 and he's from Marikina. He calls himself Jerico and his blog is Giallo Antico.

He is the first Pinoy I saw being featured in Blogger's Blogs of Note. (Or maybe he is the latest Pinoy as I've yet to read the others who've been featured in Blogger's BON).


It's a big deal for me because being featured in Blogger's Blog of Notes means your blog is exemplary and notable. Jerico's Giallo is indeed that!

I feel really proud of this kabayan!

Photos are uploaded online using Imagehosting.

(Tomorrow, I'm posting about Noynoy Aquino on why I'm voting for him in 2010!).

This post you're reading now is the 202nd! Whew! (Based from that counter widget in my sidebar).

Bottomline: I've blah-blah-ed too much than necessary.

The truth is it's less than 202; only 199 (excluding my blogroll, archive and featured blogs which are posts but must not be counted as posts because they are meant to be navigation pages blah-blah-blah).

Fifteen months ago, I started writing about myself (who else?), my thoughts, my opinion, my angsts. There are some moments when, after clicking 'publish', I feel an urge to delete the post because I'm not happy of what I wrote. Yet, there are also some posts which I'm really proud of having written, that I constantly re-visit to re-read (that's how narcissistic I can become!).

Apart from my PEBA entry which I'm really very proud of, these are the five of my personal favorite posts:

1. Age does matter: Popular assumptions on and about job-searching forty-something.

2. And what if I'm a miser who packs his lunches!: Saving tips from someone (I, who else?) who buys, cooks and packs his lunches

3. Towards things negative: About our negativity bias

4. Spam's funny pitches promising to upsize men: My funny take on receiving 100 spams a day.

5. Sad plights of migrant workers highlighted in Arabic ads: The ads, which I seldomly see on tv now, are both touching, brave and enlightening.

The funny thing is that some of these posts are not well-commented.

Humble Nebz says: Never mind that they're not well-read. The most important thing is that you wrote something that you can really be proud of.

Narcissistic Nebz says: Thus, I'm highlighting these posts now so can visit them and leave your comments.

(By the way, here's the source of codes if you want to put post and comment counters in your blog. Courtesy of Solid Blogger.)

There is a current drive by Charlie of Dungeon Lord for a one-minute smile on December 8, 2009 at exactly 8pm, Philippine time (that's 3pm, Saudi time). Click the graphics and it will take you to the history of the drive.


Let us join forces and give our sweetest smile on December 8.

I'm giving you five reasons why:
1. December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Concepcion;
2. December 8 is fiesta in Antipolo!;
3. On December 8, Kim Basinger turns 56;
4. Twenty nine years ago on December 8, John Lennon was shot dead, but his songs remain alive up to this day -- well-loved and appreciated like his memories;
3. December 8 is merely 17 days away before Christmas and 18 days before PEBA Awarding.

If the above reasons are not enough to make you smile for a minute, then listen to this: "Women (and I suppose men, too) who displayed more positive emotion were more likely to be married by 27, less likely to have remained single into middle adulthood and more likely to have satisfying marriages 30 years later." Read the full article here...

In fact, let us join forces and give our smile no matter what the day is.

Sub-title: I am Colayco's son. (Grins).

As best as I can, I keep myself from borrowing money.

(Although last week, I borrowed money from a friend but returned it to him after three days).

You see, for me, it is never okay to borrow money -- whether from a friend or the bank or worse, a usurper. Before you say I'm too flippant in claiming this, wait till you hear what Shakespeare said: Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

And PDI (Philippine Daily Inquirer), too.

And finally the Proverbs: The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

There is only one valid reason why I would agree to a long-term loan: For a business where loan payment will be taken out of the business earnings.

I don't even see the redeeming value of owning a credit card. Safer than cash? Then use a debit card where you incur no charges. For emergencies? Too lame an excuse.

It is my honest opinion that we should all live within -- or even at times, below -- our means. If we liked something and we can't afford it, then don't buy it. Save for it, and once you have the money, buy it.

Most of the things that we claim we need are really unnecessary. Even if we purchased it on sale!

We, OFWs, should budget our expenses and make sure that we save something -- even if it's just $100 per month. Why? Because this is the truth about our remittances: most of it get spent by our families. You're lucky if your wife manages to save a portion of what you send. With the high cost of living in the Philippines, how do you expect your missus to save your remittances -- or at least a portion of it -- (unless, of course, she's also working like you)?

There's also a tendency for OFW parents to pamper their kids with material things. A Sony Playstation or an iMAC can never replace your absence. If you so much love your children, then save money as early as you can and then start a small business back home. What was it that they normally tell us: no one gets rich by being employed! Teach your children, too, about the value of money. That's one important lesson that they'd be forever grateful of you.

I've seen how OFWs can sometimes be unnecessarily extravagant. When buying something, be a Vida Boheme* and ask: Well pumpkins, it comes down to that age-old decision: style... or... substance?

Two nights ago, I purchased a box of pasta. I saw three brands: Goody, Boutoni and Jenan; costing six, six and three riyals, respectively. I read their labels; all of them seemed to have the same ingredients. And so I bought Jenan. It thought Jenan noodles are not as brightly-colored as Goody or Boutoni, but I thought Jenan's taste is similar to costlier brands. And so I thought it was a wise buy. My friends were in debate after that. Someone said the branded noodle is better because it's firmer to the bite, while someone retorted it's not the brand but how you cook it. Using Vida's question, I say: Substance. Jehan is fine with me.

I swear by the following words: Borrowing money (and lending money too) dulls the friendship. Ka Adan, a retired OFW and an officemate once told me: Madaling kitain ang pera, mahirap kitain ang pagkatao. How many OFWs will you pertain those words to? How many OFWs have you lost faith in because they were unable to pay their debts to you? How many of them are your friends?

Okay, I will stop sounding like your mom. To conclude this post, I leave you with two words: Live simply.

Oh, I'll add three more words: Don't borrow. Save.

Will I be committing blasphemy in saying this?: If Jesus saves, mustn't we?

*From the oh-so-gay movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

I don't know about the other nationalities but we, Filipinos, are too enamored with chain letters.

I have these friends (three or four of them) who constantly barrage me with emails promising me more money, luck-filled life, a dream coming true etc with one condition: that I forward the email to seven, eight or nine people.

And if I don't, I will either die a certain death (cruelly and painfully) or I will be in misfortune for years and my wishes will not come true.

(Come to think of it, if all my wishes do come true, I'd be the most unfortunate person in the world. It's not a typo. I intentionally wrote 'unfortunate'. Just imagine if all your wishes -- silently thought or spoken loudly -- do come true...chaos! Again, that's not the subject of my post so I'll not delve into that).

I've done everything to ward off these chain emails.

I first warned them that our system filters all email, and that all chain letters are being tagged as spam, and that their network administrator automatically gets a warning saying that a spam is emanating from their own system.

It didn't work.

I again sternly warned them that I will report them directly to their company for sending such unofficial emails. Of course, no one believed me. (Who doesn't send unofficial emails using their company email account?)

Finally, I frankly told one of them that I put his address in my blocked senders list. He did stop sending me chain letters. The last I heard is that he finally migrated to the US. I refuse to think the chain letters worked for him, or maybe it did...

To the other friend who keeps sending me religious chain letters, I said: I would rather receive your stories on how Jesus touched you today or how you touched others with your faith.

I think he got me because I never received chain e-mails from him since. In fact, I never received any email from him anymore. He, too, must have migrated to another country.

Today, a friend bravely retorted to one of those chain e-mails and said: 'It's very un-Christian to circulate messages that curse a person should he fail or refuse to follow the instruction to distribute the message. Please avoid such "chain emails" or if the message is worth circulating,delete those parts that warn or scare people. Jesus, is merciful and compassionate, and came to save us, not threaten us.'

My sentiments exactly.

Today, whenever I receive chain emails, I R&D them (read & delete). Really, that's the most sensible thing to do.

Last Sunday, a full page article on Efren Penaflorida appeared in Saudi Arabia's Pinoy Xtra, a weekly Tagalog newsmagazine of Arab News.


The article was written by Edwin P Santos for Pinoy Xtra.

Last Saturday, I saw a program over at CNN highlighting the nominees for their 2009 CNN Heroes where Efren is one of the frontrunners. All the ten nominees are, in wont of words, heroic in their deeds. All of them are, in reality, victims. But instead of wallowing in self-pity and helplessness, they made use of their circumstances and experience to better the lives of others.

For championing the children:
Efren Peñaflorida is from a poor family who finished his education through other people's help; via his 'kariton klasrum', he is now helping educate poor children -- for free!

For protecting the powerless:
Betty Makoni was a rape victim and now helps rape victims in Africa to rise up from their experience.

For being a young wonder:
Jordan Thomas had an accident and his legs amputated, and is now helping out children amputees.

It is heartwarming and spiritually lifting to see and learn from the extraordinary feats of these ten ordinary people.

And to all of them, congratulations.

I hope Efren wins, but in case he doesn't, he will remain a winner -- and a hero -- to me.

Voting continues until Thursday, November 19, 2009. Announcement of winner will be shown live all over the world via CNN Channel on 26 November 2009 at 9pm (that will be 27 November at 8 in the morning, Saudi time).

I love books. I'm perennially enamoured by Isabel Allende, Garcia Gabriel Marquez and Anne Tyler. And yes, the late Rene O Villanueva (you can read his sample work here).

This is my ritual whenever there's a good book to read: I take my dinner early, wash up, pray, prepare my bed, turn off the television, turn on my bedside lamp, lie in bed with a book in my hand. Oh, I also make sure the alarm clock is within my sight because sometimes I become so engrossed with reading that I always over-read -- and by over-read, I mean two to three hours straight, without toilet break.

Heavenly. That's what a good book is for me.

As Mark Twain said: Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. So true.

But it's been months now since I last read a good book. I actually miss it.

Though not as much as Mike Stilkey does. He so much love books that he decided to turn them into art sculptures.



Saw the article from New Yorker. All images were from Mike Stilkey gallery.

I'm a tad late but it's better than never.

The National Book Development Board is celebrating the 13th Philippine Book Development Month this whole of November (in honor of National Artist Nick Joaquin), and they have lots of activities in store for Pinoy book lovers. Please visit NBDB site for more details.

While others have collections of books, I've my personal collection of favorite sites that I constantly visit: deriving inspirations from them, using them as reference materials, sometimes perjuring myself by stealing from them a line or two, or at times, just to while away time oogling at their contents.

granta, pdi, design wall, ny times and the new yorker, life magz, anonymous lawyers, art and living from washington post, outlaw design, pelfusion for background graphics and colors, fudge graphics which contains designs of various logos, best design options, film development council of the philippines (for pinoy movie posters and information), islamic finder to convert hijri dates to gregorian, kablogs, arab news, those in my blogroll.

What's yours?

I saw Julie and Julia today. I can't line it up as my favorite Meryl Streep movie but what made me so interested about the film is that it talked of (my) two passions: of cooking and blogging.

(Passion in cooking? Okay, I'm not being true about this: I do dream of becoming a Rick Stein and I do sometimes experiment in the kitchen but I don't think I would regard it as passion. Interest, perhaps, but not passion).

(In blogging? I don't know. It's a notch higher than interest, but it's not yet a passion, I think. The fire within is still flickering but I know, one day, it will soon light up into a glow. Or something to that effect).

While watching the film, I realized something: that in order to succeed in life, in whatever endeavour you choose, you need to have passion and direction (and butter!). Passion to keep you moving and direction to get you where you want to be. (And sometimes too, we need to butter ourselves up and others too!).

This mantra of passion and direction applies most aptly in what we are currently busying ourselves in: blogging.

Blogging, for me, is marketing. Whether we recognize this truth or not, whenever we hit that publish button, we are selling ourselves.

I learned from Julie and Julia, and from other blogging lits as well, that there are two ways -- and Julie did these in her blog -- to sell ourselves: Create a niche for our blog. Differentiate it, too.

Amy Adam's Julie was personal in her writing about cooking Julia Child's recipes. My favorite webdesignerwall's approach is personal but his focus is on one thing: tuts (short for tutorials) on and about web graphic design.

I have been trying to create a niche for my blog and my being an OFW and in Saudi should have been my thrust. Sadly, I just couldn't. I tend to talk about a lot of things not associated with being an OFW nor with being in Saudi. Like this post, for example.

Notice this: most successful blogs are those that focus on one thing, and on one thing only. It can be a personal blog, yes, but the focus should be on something.

The Pink Tarha is one Saudi blog which I find to be in focus. They have the vision of what their blog will be about, and as evidenced by their posts, they're doing it very, very well.

The other Saudi blog that I regard highly is Ed's The Sandbox. His Buhay Buhangin series (his comic strips of and about OFWs in Saudi) differentiates his blog from the rest of us.

On passion, there's no one I regard highly than Kenjie. His dedication to bring PEBA into fruition is beyond words. Okay, that accounts to buttering up!

I will highly regard the movie not just because of Meryl Streep's and Amy Adam's acting -- how funny they were of their characters especially Streep -- but mainly because it taught me lessons about my current passion of blogging.

All I'm looking now is a sense of direction.

It's coming.

Soon.

I hope.

It is difficult to be 100% honest. The more if you want to be saintly honest. Or honestly honest.

Once in a while I unremorsely lie especially when I feel that telling the truth will yield worse results.


3. If it's to a child.

Such are these occasions:

1. When there are other people around and I know telling the truth will embarrass you big time.

I say: Uh. (Smiles). Uh. (Smiles even more).

I silently think: You're lying to your teeth. Your Nokia E91 is second hand. You bought it from your boss for SAR 500, not brand new at SAR 1,500 as you're now claiming.


2. When telling the truth will not benefit the person; when telling a white lie will make him improve for the better.

I say: Better than your last artwork.

I silently think: Was it a decapitated bird? or someone else's turd?

I say: Don't cry. Of course there is a Santa. In fact, he'll be bringing you your wishes this Christmas. What do you ba for Christmas?

I silently think: Of course, there's a Santa. But he never gives gifts! He only appears every Christmas to become a marketing gimmick!

4. If it will create an enmity between two people.

I say: It's not true! She didn't gossip about you.

I silently think: She did talk about you and was even planning to publish your story in her Facebook had I not told her not to.

5. If truth will devastate a person's heart.

I say: No, she hasn't told me anything about breaking up with you. Take her out on a dinner and have a talk with her. I'm sure whatever problems you two have can be sorted out.

I silently think: Yes, she's breaking up with you because of your size!

I'm sad. This morning, I thought of performing a cartwheel inside our office loo.

And why am I sad you may ask?

I've five reasons.

1. I'm sickened by these gall-less trapos in Manila who constantly make papogi points for the 2010 elections. Can we please take note of those politicians and let's ensure they don't get voted next year?

2. Old news but still gives me the creeps: Because of series of quakes in Vanuatu, Samoa and Indonesia, scientists now expect a big quake to hit Manila at any time.

3. The world will soon come to an end. At least that's what 2012 is trying to say. I hate it when people/seers/movies second-guess the world's end. Regardless of the many crisis we face, life remains too good to just end in a fashion described in 2012 movie -- in total annihilation!

4. I read about Karen and Nathalie's stories and I offer them this short poem entitled "Women Unprotected":

Two days.
Two different newspapers.
Two news of women.
Two different women.
Two different ordeals;
of women unprotected.

5. Recession hit our company and we're folding up next year. By May 2010, I'd be without a job. If you know anyone who needs an efficient secretary, I'm here. I do coffee well, my telephone etiquette is exemplary (a friend once said: sana naging telepono ka na lang!), am a bit loquacious, and most importantly, I can cartwheel inside a loo. Like so.

Dialogue 1.

Kids: "Sana bigyan tayo ni Santa ng laruan tsaka pagkain..."
Erap: "Sana manalo ako sa 2010..."
Mouse: "Cheese, what else?"
Santa: "The kids will get their wishes. This Erap has been naughty and un-nice, won't. The mouse will be a nice meal for my cat."

Dialogue 2.

Boy kid: "Ate, wag mong kalimutang i-wish na magkatrabaho na si Tatay..."
Girl kid: "Oo naman no..."
Erap: "Sana manalo ako sa 2010..."
Mouse: "Cheese and an exercise wheel?"
Santa: "Nice kids, yes to wishes. Erap, you're too...ah, how do they say it? Kapalmuks? Ooopps...bad words. You can run in Luneta but please, spare the Filipinos from further suffering. Okay...you get the mouse for Christmas."

Thank you to the following sponsors of this cartoon:

The backdrop is Alex Gregory's of The New Yorker. They have an ongoing captioned cartoon contest which is super fun. The rules are simple and no drawing knowledge is required. By using the provided backdrop, characters, and props -- with a simple click and drop movement -- create your own cartoon and caption. Deadline is on 22nd November. Too bad it's only open to US residents.

The two kids were of Ada Mendoza of Flickr.

The mouse was from How to draw cartoons online website.

And finally Google Images for Erap and Santa.

The Philipine Daily Inquirer has an ongoing poll related to Philippine Elections 2010.


There are four blank lines to be completed pertaining to:

Hot topic: What 2010 Election is about.
Character trait: What your next president should be capable of.
Political hero: To whom you hope your next president will liken to.
Political scandal: That sin you hope your next president will not be capable of doing.

Says PDI: "Let's start a conversation going in the run-up to the 2010 elections. We’ve got to make a life-changing experience. Or, we’re done in. So, please share your opinions. Click to the form that will appear on the Philippine Daily Inquirer three times a week and everyday on INQUIRER.net. Monthly, the PDI Research Department will collate the results which will be published on the Inquirer and posted on the INQUIRER.net. Entries filled with good-thinking/eureka ideas/innovative approach/provocative opinion will receive surprise prizes."

I have not joined the poll yet; I will do so after writing this post.

You may have noticed it by now that all my recent posts bear an audio icon, and if you click it, you'll hear a recording of my post. Yey!

The audio of my post is courtesy of odiogo which you can all have via a free membership and a widget.

Upside.

It's the coolest of the widgets that I installed in my blog. It's a dream come true to finally convert my posts into audio files without the need to record my, ehem, well-modulated, bedroom, ala-Inday Garutay's voice. Odiogo, in a way, freed me from further embarrassing myself.

The automated voice is also crisp and clear, especially in past tense words ending in e and d, like modulated or enunciated.

Clicking the odiogo icon allows readers to, instead of reading my lengthy, boring article, just listen to the near-human voice while browsing other blogs. And the converted voice files can easily be downloaded by anyone via my RSS audio feed.

Most importantly, it brings my blog to another level. In a way, I'm not just blogging; I'm -- sort of -- podcasting! Cool, isn't it?

Downside.

Because the voice is automated, it is sort of unfeeling: no dramatic pauses; no fluctuations in voice. It also reads the post in full -- including the errors! (Why, what do I expect? A self-correcting, automated text to voice application?! Duh.)

It doesn't pause to catch breath unless there's a period, or a comma, or a colon, or a dash. I thought it reads the tagalog words well although sometimes it's almost inaudible. It reads acronyms per letter, hence instead of saying peba, it says pee E bee A. It also reads links per letter like this: H tee tee pee colon back slash back slah gee owe owe gee el E dot see oh em instead of google dot com.

Odiogo covers only the last 25 of your posts. Post 26th onwards are not recorded, and unless you save the voice file can no longer be listened to.

Recommendation.

I would still recommend odiogo for blogs that are mainly written in English. As I said, it's cool, it's hip, easy to install, it's automated, and it's totally free. Why not give it a try.

Surprise, surprise.

Last Friday, Nokia OVI honored the 'tweet' art entries of PEBA bloggers.

My Cyrano tweet won as well as Reymos' Michaelangelo.

Nokia OVI will make a shirt out of the winning entries -- (I'll of course show it to you once I receive it).

Kudos too to Azel's David and Aphrodite, George's Scream (and I thought his McArthur's tweet was also very good although I think Nokia OVI failed to see it prior to the deadline) and Minddeth's Statue of Liberty. I also thought RJ's Rizal tweet is good and truly historical.

You held my hand. You introduced me to forty other children. Mostly craned their necks out of curiosity. Some smiled. Others snorted. Mostly didn't even gaze at us. You said my name. They repeated after you. And that started our relationship.

One day, you asked us to practice writing our names on a piece of paper. I filled my notebook with my first name. I glanced at a classmate's work next to me and I envied her. Why would her name be a paper-width long? And who on earth could have such a long name? I felt like crying because I totally envied her name. She wrote neatly, I thought. And then you came to me, pat my head and said it's okay. You took my work and after some time returned it to me. On my notebook is my full name neatly written on top of the page. I've never forgotten the day you let me discover that I own not just a single name; that I too, like my seatmate, have a full name: first, middle and last.

You were talking to someone when I approached you. You smiled and you spoke my name. I asked you if I can be excused. I wanted to use the loo. And to my surprise, you introduced me to your friend and said: this boy has the best handwriting in my class. I beamed with gladness and I showed my toothless grin. I didn't even know that my handwriting was good. Year afterwards, in a conversation with a classmate, I learned that you spoke of all of us, your wards, with fondness as having 'the best handwriting', the 'most disciplined', the 'best leader', etc. The truth is: I believed you -- that my handwriting is good, that I am special, that I can achieve something because you believed in me.

You said you think I can act and you included me in a cast of a moro-moro play -- as a Christian soldier. I, again, beamed with pride and I proudly told my playmates about it. They promised to watch and they did. We practiced for a month long and you made sure we didn't forget our lines and we didn't miss our blockings (at a much later age, I realized that a blocking is a director's instructions on where an actor should go at a certain cue). At the show proper, although I had a hard time pulling the sword from its sheath so instead I just raised my hand, I thought we all did well.

One day you just looked at me blankly when a classmate came to you crying because I hit him. I was very afraid then and I prayed hard that you will not tell my parents about it because I'm sure my father will be very mad and I will get a beating. You made me apologize in front of forty other children and you made me promise never to do it again. And then, as a punishment, you let me clean the whole room alone. The boy whom I hit that day, collared me on my way home but I didn't fight back. I went home with a bruise on my cheek but I told my mother a can hit me while playing tumbang preso. Of course she knew I were in a fight but all she lovingly said was: Whatever your reason is, never, ever be in a fistfight. I learned that day that bad deeds don't go unpunished and that anger will get me nowhere.

We were together for what, six years? I didn't even ask how many kids you have nor where your house was.

Now, so many years later, I found things about you. That you had four kids, one of them the same age as I. That you were a wife of a jeepney driver. That, throughout your career, you had a total of four thousand children under your wing. That out of those four thousand, one of them became a priest, mostly became fathers and mothers, some became OFWs, others migrated elsewhere and never returned to our town.

You taught me so many things; from you, I even learned how to cook rice -- how to wash them, how many times to wash them, when to lower the flame.

When my family transferred town, I never got the chance to see you again. Too bad, I didn't even get a chance to thank you personally. But I know that you're seeing me now and you know that I am very grateful for what you did and what you said to me and what you taught me.

But it sure is uncool that I can't take you to your last trip. You're in my prayers tonight and tomorrow night and the many nights after that.

You see, my teacher lies in a coffin tonight, thus I'm sad.

Whenever friends ask me what would be the prize in case I win in PEBA 2009, I always kiddingly say: nutriban!

Further say I: It's not the prize, dear! It's the honor! (And then they roll their eyes).

Wait then till they hear this: PEBA is giving away Nokia 5130 cellphones and a chance to stay at Jupiter Suite in Makati City, plus other giveaways!

And so, for the sake of my friends to whom I'm going to give away the shirts and other giveaways that PEBA is putting for the grabs (excuse but the cellphone and the hotel voucher are mine! hehe), I'm joining PEBA's call (as if I'm assured of winning this raffle but hey, I won't know until I try, right?) to link these three honorable PEBA sponsors:

http://www.jupitersuite.com/
http://www.nokia.com.ph/
http://www.digitalfilipino.com/

To join, simply put a text link in your sidebar for the above sponsors. For example:

Luxury for $50 a day...in the heart of Makati (for Jupiter Suite)
Here and abroad...connecting people (for Nokia)
Empowering Filipinos Globally with the Internet (for Digital Filipino)

Interested? Here are three simple steps for you:

Step 1: Visit any of the following host sites

Kablogs
Thoughtskoto
Dungeon Lord

Step 2: Look for this sidebar


Step 3: Register your name, e-mail and URL addresses.

Voila!

You will receive a confirmation e-mail from PEBA with text and links to be displayed in your blogsites. Posting these links in your website This will entitle you to a raffle ticket and a chance to win those fabulous prizes.

By the way, this is open to all bloggers. So join now!

If you're not enticed yet, then feast your eyes with these:



Those are the prizes you and I could win!

This is a tag.

Apparently, the exercise came from Facebook. I saw it from the site of Wits and Nuts and I thought it's a fun thing to do.


It actually is a lot harder than you think. But it is a fun thing to do. Do try it!

Pick Your Artist:
Sting

01. Are you male or female?
Nothing `bout Me

02. Describe yourself:
Driven To Tears

03. Describe your significant other:
Perfect Love...Gone Wrong

04. How do you feel about yourself:
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying

05. Describe where you currently live:
Island of Souls

06. If you could be anywhere, where would you be:
Consider Me Gone

07. Your favorite form of transportation:
Little Wing

08. Your best friend is:
Sister Moon

09. Your favorite color is:
Lithium Sunset

10. What’s the weather like:
Heavy Cloud No Rain, Tomorrow We`ll See

11. Favorite time of day:
Twenty Five To Midnight

12. What is life to you:
Rock Steady

13. What is the best advice you have to give:
We`ll Be Together

14. If you could change your name, what would it be:
Jeremiah Blues (but Roxanne will do)

15. Your favorite food is:
Tea in The Sahara

16. Thought for the Day:
Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot

17. How I would like to die:
I Hung My Head

18. My soul’s present condition:
Like a Beautiful Smile

19. The faults I can bear:
Why Should I Cry For You

20. My motto:
Love is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)

Postscript:

One of my most favorite of Sting's songs is Why Should I Cry For You from his Soul Cages album.

Says an article I found on the web: "Soul Cages is dark, wintry, and by far the saddest album of music that Sting ever wrote. None of the songs on this album went on to become the iconic hits that marked Sting's earlier career, but almost every song on the album is a masterpiece. And the heartbreaking Why Should I Cry For You is no exception. It tells a tale of missed opportunities...the poetic lyrics show Sting reaching deeper than before..."

A portion of Why... is below:

Under the dog star sail
Over the reefs of moonshine
Under the skies of fall
North, north west, the stones of Faroe

Under the Arctic fire
Over the seas of silence
Hauling on frozen ropes
For all my days remaining
But would north be true?

All colors bleed to red
Asleep on the ocean's bed
Drifting in empty seas
For all my days remaining

But would north be true?
Why should I?
Why should I cry for you?
Dark angels follow me
Over a godless sea
Mountains of endless falling,
For all my days remaining.

Here are the two pages from my workbook: today's and last year's.

I was a busy body then and when you're busy, time flies oh-so fast!

The more work there is, the busier I am, the lesser is my time wastage, the more tired I am at the end of the day, the more pissed off I become and, more or less, a sounder sleep in the evening.


Today, I'm (pretending to be) a busy body, and how time flies so s-l-o-o-o-w! The lesser work there is, the more pretensious I become, the more time I get to spend whiling away time, the more wonderful sites I get to visit, the more addicting I become of blogging, the lesser I sleep at night (churning my November posts).



Which of the above episodes do you think makes me a happier being? Which of the two would make you?

I tried reading materials about time relativity but had to beg off because this particular article is way toooo long for me. I've no time to read such a lengthy article! :-(

Houseflies, tarsier and larvae.

Those were the things I used to scare the wits out of you. (If I didn't scare you at all, then I guess I'm not as twisted as I thought myself to be).

And as promised I'd stop being weird. In fact, this entry is the first in my blog.

I introduce you to Pasta de Nebz!

(Okay, the photo may look as unappetizing as yesterday's post but believe me, it is delicious and so unlike what you've tasted before!).


Ingredients:
pre-cooked pasta, 400gms
ground chicken, 1/4 kg
garlic, 1 clove, chopped
onions, 2 bulbs, chopped
celery, 1 bunch, chopped
water or chicken stock, 1/4 cup
salt
freshly-ground pepper

1. Simmer ground chicken, without oil and water.
2. Just as the ground meat emits its own oil, put garlic and onions.
3. Cover for a minute.
4. Stir occasionally.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. When ground meat is a bit brown, put pasta and celery.
7. Stir in chicken stock.
8. Cover for a minute. Let celery wilts. (The above photo was taken before Step 6).
9. Serve hot with garlic bread or pandesal.

For this recipe, I cooked the pasta without oil and salt.

Why a whole bunch of celery? I don't know. I thought I need something with strong flavor. I didn't put tomatoes because it may clash with the taste of celery.

Why am I suddenly cooking in my blog? As I said in my previous post, I do cook. And I personally do marketing. (And also pack my lunches).

But I'm never an expert cook. I am more of a hit-and-miss cook. There are actually only a handful of people who appreciate my cooking. Even my nieces sometimes don't like what I cook. Elvie's eldest once called my picadillo, pikadiri. Haha.

I don't know. I find cooking therapeutic, although sometimes the end result depresses me more :-(

Not this Pasta de Nebz. I personally thought this is even better than Rachel Ray's Aglio Olio which is one of my favorite pasta recipes. It's simply a pasta with anchovies and olive oil. Sometimes too I incorporate lime (or lemon) to get rid of the strong fish taste. Yum-o!!!

I hope you didn't find my taste weird.

...but first you should guess whose body parts I used in this graphics.

Below is your clue: I've given you the first and last letters of their names.


Promise. Tomorrow, I won't be as weird as this. Plus I'll tell you if you guessed it right.

Today in the Philippines, all feet lead to cemeteries.

Not in Saudi.

A Saudi colleague said that they never revisit the graves of the dead. I tend to believe him because I've seen a Saudi cemetery and the grounds are unmarked. (He even said that they never keep a picture of their dearly departed).

When it comes to burying the dead, Saudis have the simplest rites and the shortest mourning period. When King Fahd bin Abdel Aziz al-Saud died in 2005, his burial ceremony was very short, simple, solemn and austere (NY Times, 3 Aug 2005). So unlike the long, multi-layered Filipino Catholic's burial beliefs, rites and traditions.

While ours usually takes a week-long (or even more) mourning period, the Saudis bury their dead as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours. Only after the dead is buried that they hold their mourning period of up to three days.

For most Islam sects, embalming of the dead is not allowed unless required by the court of law. Instead, the body is washed and shaven (founded on the belief that the dead shall be buried in the same manner that he was born -- clean). Ablution is done on the body just like how they perform the washing of mouth, nostrils, face, ears, arms and feet before prayers. The right side of the body is washed first before the left side. Sometimes too they perfume the Water with camphor. The manner in washing the body can be repeated more than once but should be in odd numbers (three, five, seven, so on).

The clean body is then wrapped in white cloth called kafan.

(I tend to think Jesus Christ's body was prepared similarly before He was laid to rest).

After the cleansing and kafan rites (these rites are accompanied by prayers), the body is taken to a mosque for prayer and then to a cemetery for burial. The burial ground is unmarked and the dead is buried on his right side and his face towards Makkah. It is never allowed to put candles on the grave.

The following articles detail how the Muslims perform the Janazah, their burial ceremony for the dead:

Mission Islam: Authentic Step by Step Guide for Janazahs (burial rites for Muslims)
Islamic City: All About Janazah
About Islam: Islamic Funerals