A Girl’s Notebook :)

Well not in the Philippines. Although, the country us experiencing terrible hot weather lately, there are many states in the US which are experiencing winter storm. People must have been using different electric blanket to keep themselves warm. At work, I have been receiving calls with regard to delayed shipments due to the bad weather conditions in there. I just hope that sooner or later they will have a pretty fine weather already.

 Ciao!

While I am waiting for my friend Judy, I scrubbed my outlook and check for emails that needs to be deleted. I found an email sent by my dear tl and this is really interesting that I couldn’t help myself but share with you. It is possible that you have read this before, but for the benefit of those who haven’t seen or read this yet, this one’s for you.

Have a history teacher explain this—– if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy.
Kennedy’s Secretary was named Lincoln .

Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln , was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln , was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named ‘Ford.’
Kennedy was shot in a car called ‘ Lincoln ‘ made by ‘Ford.’

Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse.
Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here’s the kicker…

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe , Maryland
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

Creepy huh? Hey, this is one history lesson most people probably will not mind reading!

INCREDIBLE

1) Fold a $20 bill in half…

2) Fold again, taking care to fold it exactly as below

3) Fold the other end, exactly as before

4) Now, simply turn it over…

What a coincidence! A simple geometric fold creates a catastrophic premonition printed on all $20 bills!!!
COINCIDENCE? YOU DECIDE.

As if that wasn’t enough. Here is what you’ve seen…

First: The Pentagon on fire…

Then The Twin Towers.

..And now .. look at this!

What can I say? Let us all pray for everybody and for world peace. Amen.

Ciao!

In the midst of the happy seasons that we have right now, it’s so sad to think that our fellow Filipino who lives near Mayon Volcano will be spending their Christmas in different evacuation centers. As of this writing, alert level number 4 has been raised with regard to Mayon Volcano. It means that any moment, Mayon Volcano will erupt. It’s good to know that Albay’s local government are working pretty hard to obtain zero casualty. Being an animal lover, I am glad to hear that even the animals, which are within the 10-km danger zone, are moved to a safer place.

Mayon Volcano

Aerial view of Mayon Volcano

I know that that this is a natural calamity that only Bro can stop. But, in case that the eruption push through, let us pray together that it will only cause minimal damage.

I pray for the people who lives in that area to be strong. That in spite of the this life’s challenge, they would remain faithful to God and let His light be their hope, our hope and guide.

Ciao!

It has been a pride to the Filipino people that CNN’s Hero of the year is a Filipino. He is none other than, Efren Peñaflorida. He was born on March 5, 1981. He is a young teacher and social worker.
He is the founder and head of the Dynamic Teen Company. It offers Filipino youth an alternative to street gangs through education. They hold classes and school recreation in unconventional locations such as cemeteries and trash dumps.

Last March 2009, he was featured as a CNN Hero as part of the news network’s program to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to help others. Then, on November 22, 2009, he was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2009. (Source: Wikipedia) I am really getting goosebumps every time I read about his story. He is really a true hero that deserves a hero’s welcome. Someone who will inspire the youth of today.

Congratulations Efren! The Filipino people are proud of you!

Efren in action!

Ciao!

I asked my cousin to download an instrumental for the songs that I will be singing for my friend’s wedding this coming December. She was able to download the songs I need. In addition to the songs I asked her to download, I found a song which happened to be ABS-CBN channel 2’s Christmas station ID. It was the first time I have heard and seen the full video of it. I cried as I watch the video.

It is true that our country has suffered a lot of problems. But we should not forget that Jesus is our hope and He will light and direct our way. We should not forget that we have Christmas because of Him.

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United Nation’s Day is celebrated every 24th of the October. I remember when I was in elementary and highschool, whenever United Nation’s Day is approaching, we were asked by our teachers to make a flag of a country that is a member of United Nation Organization. I often choose to make my own country’s flag, the Philippines. Aside from being nationalistic, it is easier for me to make my own flag. Some of the most famous flags being made by students are Japan, Libya, France and Indonesia.

Students find those flags easy to make!

United Nations was established in 1945. Currently, United Nations has 192 members. Their headquarters is located in Manhattan, New York City. It has 6 official languages which are used used in intergovernmental meetings and documents. These languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The Secretariat uses two working languages, English and French.

The Secretary-General of UN is Ban Ki-moon. He took over Kofi Annan’s position in 2007.

I know that United Nations will continue to help different countries and will help maintain peace in conflicting countries as the next century unfolds. God bless UN!

Ciao!

Another famous mystery is the Bermuda Triangle. This area in the Atlantic ocean has been called, Bermuda Triangle, because it is located between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. If you draw a line from Florida then to Bermuda then to Puerto Rico then back to Florida, it will form a triangle.

What so mysterious about this area? In December, 1945, a squadron of US planes set out from a Florida Naval air station on a routine mission. Hours later, a radio tower picked up a signal from pilots saying that they were lost. There had been attempts to guide them back to base, but the pilots could not pinpoint their location and eventually lost contact forever! Oh my, I always have goosebumps whenever I read or tell stories about Bermuda Triangle.

Another account about this happened on December 30, 1976. It was when an enormous oil tanker called the Grand Zenith reported bad weather conditions in the Atlantic. Soon afterwards, all contact with the ship was lost. Search vessels and aircraft were sent out to assist her, but the ship was nowhere to be seen. It was a huge tanker carrying over thirty million liters of oil had completely vanished.

These strange disappearances of aircrafts and ships in the Western Atlantic had made stories long ago. There was an account when Christopher Columbus while sailing through the Sargasso Sea in 1492, his compass needle pointed northwest instead of north. In 1918, the USS Cyclops completely disappeared, along with its entire crew, in a calm water while en route to Baltimore from Barbados. During that time, it was the largest ship in the US Navy to disappear without a trace.

Like the Loch Ness monster mystery, there had been a lot of attempts to solve the mystery in Bermuda Triangle. Several theories have been presented but the most popular are perhaps the most likely. Some scientists believe that a significant magnetic anomaly in that region distorts the navigational equipment of airplanes and ship. That, combined with the strong Gulf Stream currents and bad weather conditions has made this part of the Atlantic a treacherous place.

Storm at Sea

Is the mystery solved?

Actually, not all ships and airplanes that passes this area of the Altantic ended up missing or just disappeared. There were quite a few lucky voyagers who get through that strong magnetic field in the Atlantic. For me the mystery around Bermuda Triangle is resolved. Though, we know that the disappearances of many ships and planes that pass over the said area has been resolved, I do not want to take any chance of being near that place!

Ciao!

There are a lot of mysteries in this world. Some have been resolved. Some are to yet to be discovered. But there are quite a few which are left to be mysteries as the next century unfolds. I have read a lot of stories about world’s mysteries, and Nessie the Lochness monster is one of my favorites. Let me tell you something about it and share my own beliefs and opinions.

Loch Ness is a deep lake in Scotland. It holds three times more water than any other lake in Great Britain. Maybe deep enough to hide an enormous monster. There are six rivers that flow into Loch Ness, but only one flows out. That’s the river Ness. The lock is 36 km long, and over one third of it is deeper than 200 meters. It is more than twice the depth of the North Sea.

The tale about the monster started in AD 563. It was when St. Columba, the abbot of Iona supposedly saves a monk called Lugne from being devoured by the beast. It has been said that Nessie has already mauled one victim. Then, St. Columba demanded, in the name of God, that the beast retreat into the deep water and leave the monk alone. And, so the monster did and the monk was saved.

I have watched about this in one of National Geographic Specials episode. There had been a lot of sightings about Nessie. Many blurred black and white photographs have been offered up as evidence. A man standing in the grounds of a nearby castle took the first colored photograph in 1977.

In 1934, naval officer Rupert Gould published the first book about Nessie. In his books, he proposed that large sea animals, such as plesiosaurs (was a marine reptile of the Mesozoic Era), arrived in Loch Ness thousands of years ago when the lock was joined to the sea. As the coastline changed, they became cut off from the sea, and the loch became their permanent home.

However, over years of research and expeditions done to find Nessie or the loch’s monster, to this date, there is still no solid proof that the mysterious beast does exist. If you have seen the movie, The Water Horse, it is actually a movie attributed to Loch Ness monster.

Does Nessie existed/exists?

My opinion about this is Nessie could have existed but it is not existing anymore. I believe that during the older times, there could have been an enormous beast living in the loch. It is also possible that there was more than one monster existed in there. But today, it is possible that whatever kind of animals lived or was seen long ago in the loch has all been gone. The loch may be deep enough to hide a monster, but one way or another, those would still come out in the open to search for food or to gasp fresh air. They could be breathing under water but even blue whales and vast sea creatures came out of the waters. Another thing, if the monster exists ‘til today, it could be very very old! Aside from that, it is possible that it did not live alone. It could have a family that lived and died in the loch.

Well, someday, I hope I would be able to visit the Loch Ness.

Ciao!

While I was on my break yesterday, I checked on the site of Philippines Weather Bureau, PAGASA, and found a new low-pressure area, being built up somewhere in Palawan. The said LPA will actually bring occasional rain showers to the Southern part of Luzon and might be experienced in Metro Manila, too.

The other night, I was watching the news, and according the PHILVOLCS, or the country’s volcanology and seismology department, an intensity 7 earthquake will hit the metro. I forgot the name of the congressman who said that they are expecting a lot of damages and casualties.

I live in Pasig, and it is sitting beside Marikina where the called “Valley Fault Line” is located. I have heard about this earthquake when I was younger. I have experienced the 1990 killer quake; it was July 16, 1990 to be exact, which caused huge destruction especially in the northern part of Luzon, which currently hit by typhoon Pepeng. I was in grade 3 then.

While we watch that news, my mother uttered, that the said congressional representative is scaring people. Yes, he has a point to be prepared all the time but not to the extent that he will give figures of how much destruction, it would give and how many lives will be lost. In the first place, he is not a god. No one can predict when an earthquake will occur.

For me, aside from being prepared all the time, like storing enough food and water, we should never forget to pray. I believe that prayers and faith are still our greatest armor.

It is sad to think that God punishes His people this way. Our God is a loving, caring and forgiving God. I believe that if we change our ways, if we turn back to Him and if we will only learn to value His gifts for us like, Mother Nature, we will not be experiencing any calamity. I think, the recent disaster that occurred in our country and the world are also caused by people’s selfishness and lack of respect to God’s beautiful gifts.

Let us pray not only for our country’s safety but for the world, too. Let us also start renewing ourselves and please the Lord.

“It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, Lord Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.” (Psalm 92:1-2 CEV)

It is our rainy season right now, that’s why we are expected to experience heavy rains and typhoon. Last week, our country faced typhoon Ondoy which hit the Metro so badly. Last Saturday, another typhoon hit the country. I was watching the news this morning and the latest update from our weather bureau, is that typhoon Pepeng is still affecting Ilocos Norte and it is not moving away. There were gossips that typhoon Pepeng will return to the country but hopefully not. The weather bureau said that the reason why typhoon Pepeng is not moving is because, there is a high-pressure in Hongkong that prevents Pepeng to move in. There is also another typhoon called “Melor” which could landfall on the Philippines, too within the next 3 days. According to PAGASA, if Melor will landfall in the Philippines, it could interact with typhoon Pepeng or what they call as Fujiwara effect. Hopefully, this will not happen.

In my whole life, it was only recently that I have seen flood submerge many cities of Metro Manila. I believe that not only because of the heavy volume of rain caused the said flooding. Many people have the thinking that it is caused by Mother Nature.

However, if we stop for a while and think things over, we will realize that the difficulties we are experiencing today, are caused by our own lack of discipline. When the floodwater subsides, it revealed a terrifying load of garbage.

I must admit that I am guilty of improper garbage disposal sometimes, but my family is working on it. I teach my daughter the proper waste disposal and hopefully, she’ll bring it with her when she grow up.

I know many of us are still finding our way to start anew, especially those who are most hit by the recent typhoons. But, as we build our lives again, I believe that now is also the time to put in discipline into our selves.

I received a text message from one of my “nanays” the a day before Pepeng was expected to landfall. It was like a prayer brigade, which has been passing from one cp to another. I will post it hear with and let us pray for our nation.

“Jesus, through the heart of Mary, we fervently pray for your intercession that our nation will be spared from devastating typhoon. Our suffering people have not recovered from the wrath of the recent typhoons we had. Please prevent typhoon Pepeng from coming back and avert typhoon Melor from hitting any of our islands. Embrace our country with Your protective grace and merciful blessings. Amen.”

I slept early last Saturday evening due to stress and lack of sleep. Since I worked in the evening, my stomach used to eat during the wee hours of the morning. I got up at around 3:45AM and started looking for something to eat from the fridge. Ney woke up too, when I got up from bed. Since we did not find something to eat, we decided to go to the market, which is just a block away from our place. We were surprised to see many people already up that early. But what surprised us was the traffic build up along Ortigas Avenue bound to Antipolo and there was no meat or fish to buy in the market!

Ney and I went up to the overpass overlooking the heavy traffic. One of my neighbors who joined us in that walk said that the build up happened already last night. According to the bystanders, Jenny’s and Lifehomes were not passable anymore. The water was about 5ft high already. I really felt sad about it. I knew then that many people were affected by the storm.

We ended up buying pan de sal, egg and dried fish. As I cook our breakfast, ney turned on the television and we were really saddened about what happened over night. Aside from the heavy traffic and flood, we learned that Pasig, Marikina and Cainta were submerged under water.

Houses, apartments, establishments and vehicles were plunge into the muddy water. We learned that during the heavy rains, different dams unleashed water which added to the flood. But, we knew that most of the water that caused those three towns to go under water came from the mountains of Antipolo. We also learned from the news, that there were lots of landslide incidents in different parts of San Mateo.

As we watched the news, I uttered a prayer of thanks and praises that God has protected our area. Our house, my family. I cannot hold the tears falling from my eyes about the outcome of this calamity. It was really surprising that Manila only experienced storm signal number 1 and yet, it cost a lot of lives and damages.

Ney then told me that because there are no more trees that should be holding the water from going down the mountains, this was what the people get. He makes sense there. He said that it was really hard to go against mother nature.

At home, I took advantage of the cool weather to take some sleep. I woke up at around 3PM in the afternoon. The weather didn’t change. My mother was so worried about my youngest sister who was still in school. I sent her a text message about the way she can take going home. My mother told me that she knew that my sister would have her own strategy. We could only pray for her safety, for our safety.

While Ney looked after our daughter and spent quality times together, I helped my mother in making sure that our appliances were safe if ever, our house will get affected by flood. We see to it that all the wiring and electrical cables are secure to avoid further accidents.

We stayed tuned in the televisions and watched for the updates about the typhoon. I tried contacting my sister but she cannot be reached anymore. While waiting for any news about her whereabouts, we learned that Pureza area was experiencing heavy floods already.

During the raging typhoon, we noticed water spills slowly coming inside the house. I wonder if using stainless steel tiles could prevent that from happening. Nevertheless, I helped my mother get rid of the water.

We were so thankful to God for our house did not submerge under water. There were spills but we were able to manage to keep the house clean and dry.

At around 6PM in the evening, my youngest sister, together with her three classmates, arrived dripping from head to foot. We were relieved to see them safe but we really felt bad about what happened to them. My mother asked them to take a bath right away and put on dry clothes. My sister lent some of her clothes to her friends. My mom cooked soup for them, too.

While eating, she started telling us what transpired to them in their way home. It was about 10AM when classes were suspended in the university. Their way to Pureza LRT station is flooded already. They took pedicab to get to the station. Instead of sitting inside the pedicab they were asked to seat on the roof of it. They felt relief when they get on board LRT on the way to Santolan station. Little did they know that they were to come across much trouble when they get off LRT. After getting off at Santolan station, they started walking through the flooded way towards Ligaya where they plan to get on a jeep bound to Pasig.

They needed to stop at midpoint because the flood was already at waist high. My sister said that she thought she is going to die then. She said that she was about to lose her consciousness, when she saw big a python through the flood moving towards them. She told her classmates that they need to keep going and they need to move fast. Luckily, they were able to get on one of the 10-wheeler trucks that were out to rescue stranded passengers.
It was a terrifying and traumatic experience. We knew that the non-stop rain and the its heavy volume will cause lives and lots of property damages.