The Birds And The Bees In The News

News of a sex scandal has rocked this country for over a week now. The scandal arose from the sex videos that were taken by a popular cosmetic surgeon/actor during his sexual trysts with unsuspecting women/girlfriends, some of whom are well known celebrities like him. He admits to owning at least 40 of such videos but claims innocence in distributing and spreading them in the internet and the DVD circuit.

So when you see this kind of controversy every night on primetime tv news, how do you explain it to your pre-teen and teenage kids? Do you tell them to stop watching the news? Or do you awkwardly attempt to explain how the birds and the bees found their way in videos and the news?

We can’t be with our kids all the time. Eventually they will have to face the world on their own. It’s not easy to let go but if we have armed them with the right ammunition to fight their future battles, we can sit back later and trust their judgment.

This scandal gave me the best opportunity to discuss with my girls about the most dreaded topic for parents, that is, sex.

In a country like ours that is ruled by old beliefs and traditional values, sex before marriage is totally unacceptable. NOT that it’s not happening here. We just don’t talk about it. Having come from a more open-minded generation, I am quite aware of what reality is.

I gave a long lecture on finishing their studies first to broaden their options. Along the way, they would be able to define the kind of man that they would want to spend the rest of their lives with. The higher they go, the higher their standards would be. But they will lose this chance if they trust the wrong person early on. By “trusting”, I meant having a boyfriend. Lol! Now isn’t that a subtle way of brainwashing?

As I always tell them, they can do something really stupid only once and that can ruin their lives forever. That includes putting their trust on the wrong person. In this world of technology, a simple kiss taken on video could mean the end of one’s future, career, relationship or marriage.

That also includes the wrong choice of friends. Friends can either make or break them. Friends can also lead them to drugs. See, isn’t that a convenient segue? That’s hitting two birds- sex and drugs- with one stone.

It’s still a long road ahead of me. After becoming a single parent, I have learned to discuss the most sensitive topics with my kids like I’m talking about the latest craze in town. I am left with no choice. If I talk in riddles, how would it get the message across? I do hope that this opportunity has not been wasted. But it will take years for me to know how they will fight their personal battles. I just hope that when that time comes, they are already fully armed with the life lessons I have instilled in them.

Blessings to all,

A Personality Test That Blew Me Away

"The happiest of people don't necessarily
have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything
that comes along their way."

I came across this meme in one of my friends' notes. No, she (Ki Kai) did not tag me but it sounded interesting so I stole it and played along. When the results came out, it blew me away.

It is a personality test called "Get To Know Yourself Better" and, oh boy, it surely did say a lot about me. Everything in it defined, in simple words, who I really am.

This is not your usual nonsense personality test in (some of which appear to be humorous for "murdering" the English language). It is so simple and only takes 5 minutes to finish it. Believe me, all the questions and the corresponding results here truly make sense.

The rules are:

1. Open this website : http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

2. Take the Personality Quiz (it's VERY short and easy, really)

3. Copy Paste the result to your blog.

4. Tag as many friends as you can and link to the friend who tagged you. (copied from Ki Kai's notes in ♥)


After answering all 9 questions, I was assessed this way:

1. Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

- This is so true. I always go for a win-win solution. Well, as much as possible.

2. The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

- Awww, I am and have always been a sucker for romance. I never stopped believing.

3. Your readiness to commit to a relationship:You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

- I know I have hurt a few people along the way. For that, I am truly sorry. But I promised myself a long, long time ago that I am never going to repeat the mistakes of my youth. A lifetime of mistake is hell on earth.

4. The seriousness of your love: You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

- Life is short after all. The sun is now shining brightly in my life and I have never felt so happy and contented. Believe me, everything falls into place when you find the right sunshine. :)

5. Your views on education: Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

- My father used to remind me that education is the best and only legacy he could leave me. The best news is, it can't be taken away from me by anyone.

6. The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

- I have chosen Motherhood. Everything else comes second. If you lose someone you love, you always wonder who would go next. It's always a fear at the back of my mind. I never thought that being a "real hands-on mother" would be this fulfilling. I always thought that my career should come first. I was proven wrong.

7. How do you view success: You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

- Yes, it was late in life when I discovered I have a greater role to play. But it's never too late, is it?

8. What are you most afraid of: You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.

- Despite the optimism and sense of humor that I show to cover up for my frustrations, I am also guilty of freaking out and blowing my top to hide the bigger issues. When I do that, my kids would take it as "Oh okay, case is closed, end of story."

9. Who is your true self: You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

- What more can I say? This sums it all up. Since time immemorial, friends and family would wake me up at unholy hours to cry on my shoulder. I have seen pain through my own eyes and that of others.


Now, after revealing so much of myself, I want to know more about my friends:

1. Kat of Candles Crafts and Whatnots
2. Janet of Dolly's Daily Diary
3. Sandee of Comedy Plus
4. Marzie (Mariuca) of Wishing On A Falling Star
5. Bingkee of I Love/Hate America
6. Angela of Here and Now ~4 Angel~
- here's something to let you get in touch with your inner child
7. UmmeAaiman of I'm A Mom & So Life Is A Party
- after the new baby (beautiful Zahra) you do need time for yourself and go back to basics
8. Angelika of Angelika
- you have no excuse... I know you love memes.
9. Gina of Gina Alfani
- a friend who treads on the same path :)

Hey, I stole this meme from a friend. That means it's ok if YOU play even though you are not in my list. Everyone deserves a little fun. Just don't forget to share your results.



Blessings to all,

Back In Full Swing To Thank May's Top Droppers

You just have no idea how relieved I am to be back. After all, it has been a month of frustration over my SmartBro non-connection. Despite that, I am so grateful to all Entrecard members who kept my blog alive with their loyal drops.

Among them, these ten readers topped the list for May:

Some of these droppers have consistently
made it to my monthly top ten list.

Thank you for your continued support!!!

Blessings to all,

Ranting For The Last Time

After blaming my laptop ("Windows problem" they said) and two reformats later (to no avail), SmartBro has finally admitted an equipment problem on their part, whatever that means. FINALLY, they are sending their technical people to my house tomorrow to look into whatever re-configuration that needs to be done. After almost 30 days of malfunction, we MIGHT be able to FINALLY figure out why- why oh why!!!- my laptop works in all internet stations and cafes except in my own house. A week ago, we brought my unit to a friend's house which is being served by the same provider (SmartBro broadband) and - wow!- it worked there.

My no-show in this blog has caused its page rank to drop. That shouldn't really bother me because I am not into commercial blogging. But then, every blogger would know how difficult it is to achieve a google page rank and a site's rise gives one a sense of achievement or self-fulfillment.

My melancholic attacks in the past were effectively cut short by my blogging. This blog became my sanctuary... my so-called "happy pill."

I tried to get a new connection with another provider but after 2 weeks of waiting, they came back to inform us that they allegedly ran out of premium lines in my area and offered us the option of obtaining internet connection at the speed of dial up connection. Tough luck!!! Oh well, such is life.

Anyway, I don't want to waste any more of my time ranting about SmartBro's lousy service. I hope that after tomorrow, I will be back in full swing.

Blessings to all,

Lousy SmartBro Connection

Things don't always go our way. Just when we thought we have planned out everything, something goes wrong. Almost always!

I was so excited to go back to blogging after my short vacation. There was too much sunshine to share. My mind was full of happy ideas and memories to write about. I was simply ecstatic to start writing again. I even promised a special band in Manila that I will feature them in my blog after they impressed me with their music and great performance.

But soon after I set foot in my house, the anticipation was drowned by frustration. I could not connect to the internet. That was 20 days ago. Until now, the "technical problem" has not been fixed. When I called up my provider tonight, I was asked to send an email to their customer service so I could be prioritized. What??? I was there on the phone talking to their representative and she still wants me to write them??? So tell me SmartBro, what was the use of recording my telephone call then??? Is this what a loyal customer deserves? Look at my latest bill closely to see that I am way ahead in my payment.

To my brother (my "utol") in the US who has shown concern over my blogs, I want you to know that I really appreciate the nightly reminder to update. But as I have explained to you, I'm the type who writes spontaneously from my own laptop. Doing it this way - that is, writing it in my laptop, saving it and transferring the material to my son's computer to be able to publish it - needs some getting used to on my part. I type then I publish. That's it. I am a one laptop/pc-type of person. That's just the way I am (in all aspects). And I can't write at work. The only time I can blog is at night when I'm relaxing at home. That is also my way of coping with and letting go of the day's stress. Now I have been deprived of that.

Blessings to all,