The High Cost of Being Fat

Note: Sorry guys, I've been bombarded with lots of things to be done these past few days... Will try to have some posts later... Please bear with me... Just enjoy reading some articles I'm posting here, they may be interesting to you.... Ciao!

[Taken from Get Rich Slowly]

I am fat.

I am fat, but I am not obese. I do not pause to catch my breath when climbing stairs. I do not avoid hikes or sports for fear of failure. But — no mistake — I am fat. I am far above my normal weight. I carry 205 pounds on a frame built for someone forty pounds lighter. [PDF: Body mass index and health, from the USDA.]

How does this relate to personal finance? Your health is your most important asset. Not your house. Not your car. Not your job. Not your retirement account. These are secondary. Your health is your most important asset. Even someone as young as I am (37) can face serious financial repercussions from being overweight.

According to the USDA, “overweight or obese people are more likely than those at normal weight to have medical problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.” Furthermore:

According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, in 2003-2004, an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults were overweight or obese, along with 17 percent of children and adolescents. The total annual cost of obesity was an estimated $117 billion in 2000.

Another USDA publication [PDF: “Health Insurance, Obesity, and Its Economic Costs”], breaks down the individual cost of being fat:

The lifetime medical costs related to diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and stroke among the obese are $10,000 higher than among the non-obese. Among the overweight, lifetime medical costs can be reduced by $2,200 to $5,300 following a 10-percent reduction in body weight.

Being fat costs money. It costs time. (Overweight people have shorter lifespans.) And it costs mental capital, too. I have experienced these costs in my own life.

• Four years ago, I destroyed the ACL in my right knee while playing city-league soccer. I was out of shape and overweight, and my body betrayed me. I spent six months hobbling around, unaware of the injury’s extent. Ultimately, after several doctor’s visits, I had an MRI, surgery, and physical therapy. Even with insurance, this was expensive, especially considering I hadn’t yet wised-up financially. (Cost: roughly $2,000, and a loss of mobility in my right knee.)
• Like many who are overweight, I suffer from sleep apnea. Last summer, I spent two nights in a sleep lab. I was given a prescription for a C-PAP machine. (Cost: $734.54, and that damned mask strapped to my face every night for the past year.)
• When overweight, I suffer from mild depression. It afflicts my self-esteem and saps my will. (Cost: more mental than financial, thus far.)
• Whenever I get heavy, I always join a gym. I pay for a year in advance, go for a couple weeks, and then gradually lose interest. Soon the guilt of having paid hundreds of dollars for a service I am not using becomes overwhelming, which makes matters worse. (Cost: Nothing out-of-pocket — paid by employer. I used to pay $300-$500/year.)
• As I get bigger, I’m forced to buy new clothes. My wardrobe increases as I do. I tell myself that I’ll have lots of clothes when I lose the weight, but so far I’m only buying new. (Cost: about $200/year.)
• Ultimately I spend more on food to subsidize my fat than I do when I eat healthfully. I’ve never examined the actual costs, but I’m sure all the candy and chips and soda are a steady drain on my funds.

In the past four years, I have paid $4500 because I am fat. And that doesn’t include food.

This post is not a pity party. It is a rallying cry for anyone who is out of shape, who has allowed their physical fitness to lapse. I know many adults who are at a healthy weight but who do not exercise. Just half an hour of exercise every day promotes better fitness. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of cancer and improves self-esteem. Just do it!

If you would like to pursue a course of fitness, here are some helpful tools.

• Joe’s Goals, a free online goal tracker.
• FitDay, a free web-based diet and weight loss journal. I’ve used this on-and-off for several years. I recommend it.
• The book that helped me defeat the fat in 1997 is Realities of Nutrition. It’s fantastic. It doesn’t try to convince you one diet is better than another. It lays out the facts about nutrition. It describes what carbohydrates are, what fat is, what protein is, and explains how they work in concert to give the body energy.
• The 29 healthiest foods on the planet
• The world’s healthiest foods

When I stood on the scales on the evening of 07 May 1997, I was horrified. I weighed 200 pounds. I was 28 years old. How had I grown so heavy? I steeled my mind. Over the course of the next six months, I dedicated myself to eating healthy and exercising daily. I lost 42 pounds before falling off the wagon on Halloween night. Despite continued battles with food, for two years I remained fit. But then the weight came back.

I am ready to lose it again.

When Machismo Turns Lethal

Note: This is a commentary authored by Michael Tan of the Cebu Daily News, which the blogger finds interesting, ironically brought by the fact that he isn't affiliated with any fraternity nor any organization or society that promotes "more than the usual" brotherhood...

There’s no lack of research to show that Filipinos have a high need for affiliation and that we get this mainly from smaller groups and organizations. As the organizations grow and build their hierarchies, power struggles emerge and splits occur.

A college freshman comes in and is dazzled by the alphabet soup of organizations, with something from everyone. The organizations work hard at recruitment with each new school year, sometimes with excessive zeal. Many freshmen do sign up with one or several organizations. Beyond social affiliation, the organizations are seen as a key to survival in big universities.

At University of the Philippines Diliman, frats have declined in popularity among upper-class Filipinos, but are still able to ride on past glory, mainly counting the rich, the powerful, the famous and infamous among their alumni: Ferdinand Marcos for Upsilon Sigma Phi, for example, or Juan Ponce Enrile for Sigma Rho. These are alpha male achievers held up to emulate, and for students from the underclass, they represent a world that could be theirs as well.

This is where machismo comes in. Frats represent a testosterone-driven culture that can be appealing to young males from more traditional backgrounds. The frat rituals are actually part of machismo allure; some of these students come from public high schools and communities with very brutal hazing as well.

Machismo turns lethal when combined with class. The wealthier fratmen are not about to beat some neophyte from their own class. And as the neophytes get beaten up, they’re picking up the frat’s sacred tradition: deep in their subconscious, they know they can get back the following year, by beating up new lower-class neophytes.
The frats represent an extreme in local organizational culture, with a feudal core that emphasizes conformity with organizational mates and obedience to “superiors” and that can be someone just a year ahead of you.

“Walang iwanan” is a phrase often heard. On the surface, it sounds noble, with its sense of solidarity and not leaving anyone behind. In reality, it smacks of a dangerous herd instinct. Throw in some Machiavellian student leaders, maybe even faculty members advising the organization, and you have a cult in the making.

The pragmatism and survival instincts are there, certainly, and some are smarter than others at maneuvering their way through the organizational minefields, but much more needs to be done by administrators and teaching staff.

In this age of the Filipino diaspora, we need to better prepare our students for the world out there. These will be young Filipinos who can build lifelong loyalties and friendships, who will be remembered not just for an infectious sense of humor and conviviality, but also for fierce independence of mind and of spirit.

Guilty

Erap guilty of plunder
(ABS-CBN News)

Former president Joseph Estrada is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of plunder and was sentenced to life imprisonment, the Sandiganbayan Special Division ruled Wednesday.

At the same time, the anti-graft court found the former president's son, Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and lawyer Edwardo Serapio innocent of the charges.

Estrada is charged with plunder, made up of four counts of corruption, involving diversion of funds amounting to about P4 billion ($85 million). He was also charged with perjury.

The charges include taking commissions in the purchase of shares by government insurance funds, payoffs from gambling lords, diverting tobacco taxes for personal use and maintaining a bank account under a false name. The perjury charge relates to misrepresentation on earned income.

Estrada, hero of the downtrodden during years as a matinee idol, has called the charges trumped up and says he was hounded out of office by a coalition of the elite, including senior army officers, corporate leaders and Catholic bishops.

Born Joseph Ejercito to a well-to-do Manila family he dropped out of school in his teens, was thrown out of home by his father and took the name Estrada from a telephone book.

He shot to movie stardom at 24 and in 1998 was elected president by a record margin.

His win was viewed as a turning point in national politics because Estrada was not a member of one of the traditional political dynasties.

But his term in office was marked by reports of policy decisions taken after late-night drinking bouts, millions of pesos won or lost in gambling sessions and innumerable tales of mistresses and their lavish lifestyles.

Estrada has never denied that he was fond of wine or women, but has said that was part of his movie star life, and that he gave it all up when he became president.

Lay-Shu si Inday

Sosyal si inday jokes are spreading through text messages nowadays. Nung bago pa lang sya, nakakatawa pa. Pero now, medyo nakakainis na... Hehehe! Pero adik pa rin si Juan, Pinagtyagaang i-blog ang mga forwarded 'sosyal si inday' jokes. So here you go. Enjoy!

The consistency was fine. But you see, it seems that the increased amount of sodium chloride affected the taste drastically and those actions are irreversible. I do apologize.

-nag-eexplain si inday kung bakit maalat ang ulam.

"Nurture others with positive truthful words, not words that hurt. It doesn't cost anything to do so. But mean what you say, and say what you mean. Do it everyday. This is one of the most obvious qualities of the most beloved people. If you cannot be generous financially, at least be generous with your words."

-sagot ni inday sa amo nya na di xa pinautang at minura-mura pa!

"Ipomea aquatica has become the constant ingredient to this Filipino delicacy which is very helpful in the digestion during the peristaltic process of the food we intake. Due to the continuous rain and floods, the harvest of the said vegetable has lessen the production in the market"

- sagot ni inday samin kung bakit walang KangKong sa nilutong sinigang

I am solitary. I find it hard to succumb into slumber. Though the downpour of rain should've made it easy. This exuberent emotional glue i have for you,cannot be
simply washed away. The multiplicity of what i feel for you is inevitable. This isn't platonic. It's real, true romance

- INDAY, nag eemote sa may bintana, habang iniisip si dodong,ang bf nia..

"potatoes, wen consumed n der raw state, r rapidly converted 2 glucose dat raises insulin leve;s bcoz of its simple sugar...wen cooked in high temperature lyk french fries, dey produce large amoun of free radicals n d body causing aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer, w8 gai... 1 french fry is worse dan 1 cigarette

- inday (sagot nya sa amo nung tanungin xa kung bakit di sya nagluto ng french fries)nuritionist din pala si inday

" I stay awake in the coldness of the darkened sky contemplating why, for some reasons, has my emptinessmade itself manifests, extending to that niche where i wasgiven life and growth, that because of austerity i was made seperated from...."

-INDAY habang ndi makatulog dahil na-ho-homesick . d=D

Heavy fire exerted by the stimulus affected the best conductor of heat which is the steel,causing the Oriza Sativa to change it's state of color,smell as well as the taste."

-sagot ni inday ng tanungin siya ng amo kung bakit nasunog ang sinaing.

Listening to the nonsense talk about someone's life is a pathetic way of entertainment..it doesn't contribute to the good of society..i hate character assassinators!..

- reklamo ni inday nang natsismis siya ng kapitbahay.

You'll never know wat u have til it's gone... And once u loose it, u can never get it back....

-si Inday na isnatchan sa quiapo!!!

Dear Mom,

Had i not been able to smell the salt, i must have collapsed moments ago. Junior has become a little monster to me. Remember the head accident he had? As if it wasn't enough, he was summoned by the principal of hil shabilly runned academe. Oh, such an erudite bunch of baboons! I never though being a governess can be such strenuous employ!

Your daughter,Inday

Dear Inday,

Walanghiya ka! Magpadala ka ng pera! Nasa ospital ang nanay mo, dumugo ang ilong pagkabasa ng pesteng sulat mo!

--TATAY

Drunken shrimp and blue lobster meat with caviar served with milagrosa rice (red variety) and apricot sauce..

Vegetables in balsamic vinegar splashed with extra virgin olive oil ..

Lychee and peach salad with sour cream and cream cheese topped with lemon zests..

---mga baon ni junjun sa daycare na inihanda ni Inday. SOSYAL!!!

Ich bin jetzt berühmt geworden dürch diesen Pexer.Mach weiter so,das gefällt mir!!!

(naging sikat ako ngayon gawa ng pexer,pagpatuloy ninyo gusto ko yan)

Si Inday marunong din pala maggerman!!

I believe that my trained skills and expertise in management with the use of standard tools, and my discipline and experience will contribute significantly to the value of the work that you want, my creativity, productivity and work-efficiency and the high quality of outcomes I can offer will boost the work progress.

- sagot ni Inday sa interview ng bago niyang amo!

Compromising safety with useless aesthetics, the not-so-well engineered architectural design of our kitchen lavatory affected the boy's cranium with a slight boil at the left temple near the auditory organ.

- sagot ni Inday nang tanungin ng amo kung bakit may bukol si Junior.

The consistency was fine. But you see, it seems that the increased amount of sodium chloride (NaCl) affected the taste drastically and those actions are irreversible. I do apologize.

- nag-explain si Inday kung bakit maalat ang ulam.

Donya: Bakit tuwing paguwi ko, nadadatnan kitang nanunuod ng tv?!

Inday: Because I don't want you to see me doing absolutely nothing.

"It's absurd! It was never a fact that he will inflict a fight. I can only imagine how you handle schizophrenic kids on this educational institution. Revise your policies because they suck!"

- Inday, kasama si Junior sa principal's office.

Amo: Inday, bakit nagkalat ang basura sa likod ng bahay?!

Inday: A change in the weather patterns might have occurred wrecking havoc to the surroundings. The way the debris are scattered indicates that the gust of wind was going northeast causing damage to the path it was heading for.

Amo: (nosebleed)

Stop your raucous behavior. It is bound to result in property damages and if that happens there will be corresponding punishment to be inflicted upon you!

- si Inday, pinagbabawalan ang mga bata na maglikot.

Sometimes, people choose to leave not because of selfish reasons but because they just know that things will get worse if they'll stay. Leaving can be a tough act, and it's harder when people can't understand you for doing so.

- sagot ni Inday kung bakit umalis si Angel Locsin sa GMA 7.

"To forrestall further hopes of acquaintance, my unfathomable statement to the denial of your request. Petition denied."

- reply ni Inday nang i-text ni dodong kung pwede sya maging txtmate.

Amo: Inday bumili ka nga ng mga isda, ay oo nga pala, inglesera ka na ngayon, would you please buy many fishes for this week's meals?

Inday: Judging by your statement, I believe you meant a variety of fish. The term fishes though rarely used, connotes a plethora of different kinds of the said gilled aquatic creatures. But the most pressing question before I go to the wet market would be: what type of fish? Fillet or not? Frozen or fresh? (pauses) Ahh…given the meager budget afforded by this household's quasi-peasant class taste, I assume I shall source the staple "galewng-gong". Yes?

Amo: Eh kung mag-empake ka na kaya?!

A Different Ballgame

For carrying on “a different ballgame” outside his marriage, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Atty. Jose Emmanuel “Noli” M. Eala was disbarred by the Supreme Court.

According to the statement of facts in this case [click here for the full text], Guevarra first met Eala when his then-fiancee Irene Moje introduced Eala to him sometime in January 0f 2000. Eala was then married to another woman with whom he has 3 children. After Guevarra and Irene got married, he noticed that Irene frequently received phone calls from Eala, as well as messages some of which read “I love you” or “I miss you.”

Irene began to go home late at night or early in the morning of the following day. When asked for the reason, she would mention that she stayed the night in her parents’ house or she was just busy with work. They would have constant arguments, resulting in Irene abandoning the conjugal home.

On April 22, 2001, Guevarra went uninvited to Irene’s birthday party. He saw Irene celebrating her birthday with Eala, her family and friends. Guevarra angrily left the venue. Upon arriving home, he went through her belongings and found a love letter which reads:

My everdearest Irene,

By the time you open this, you’ll be moments away from walking down the aisle. I will say a prayer for you that you may find meaning in what you’re about to do.

Sometimes I wonder why we ever met. Is it only for me to find fleeting happiness but experience eternal pain? Is it only for us to find a true love but then lose it again? Or is it because there’s a bigger plan for the two of us?

I hope that you have experienced true happiness with me. I have done everything humanly possible to love you. And today, as you make your vows . . . I make my own vow to YOU!

I will love you for the rest of my life. I loved you from the first time I laid eyes on you, to the time we spent together, up to the final moments of your single life. But more importantly, I will love you until the life in me is gone and until we are together again.

Do not worry about me! I will be happy for you. I have enough memories of us to last me a lifetime. Always remember though that in my heart, in my mind and in my soul, YOU WILL ALWAYS

. . . AND THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU DO!

BE MINE . . . . AND MINE ALONE, and I WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS AND YOURS ALONE!

I LOVE YOU FOREVER, I LOVE YOU FOR ALWAYS. AS LONG AS I’M LIVING MY TWEETIE YOU’LL BE!”

Guevarra filed a complaint against Eala before the IBP Committee on Bar Discipline for grossly immoral conduct. Among the evidence presented was the birth certificate of Irene’s daughter, pointing to Eala as the father.

Eala for his part does not deny his relationship to Irene but argues that the relationship between them was not carried on under scandalous circumstances. The IBP Commission on Bar Discipline Investigating Commissioner found the charge against Eala sufficiently proven. This was reversed by the IBP Board of Governors, dismissing the case for lack of merit. The case was immediately brought to the Supreme Court.

Eala was found guilty of the charge and was DISBARRED for grossly immoral conduct, violation of his oath of office and of the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Eala eventually resigned as PBA Commissioner even before the PBA Board members could promulgate their decision to remove him from his position.

Incriminating Text

Moral lesson: Do not take text messages lightly as they can be used against you in court.

This was the painful lesson former Court of Appeals employee Elvira Cruz-Apao learned when the Supreme Court found her guilty of grave misconduct and dismissed her from public service for extorting P1 million in exchange for a favorable ruling from the appellate court. Apao was executive assistant II of the acting Division Clerk of Court of the CA’s 5th division.

The complainant presented to the court text messages sent by Apao by which the latter asked for P1 million in exchange for a favorable decision of Zaldy Nuez’s case with the CA (Pagcor vs Nuez) which has been pending for two years now.

According to the Supreme Court, the text messages were properly admitted by the ad hoc investigating committee created by the CA since the same are now covered by Section 1(k), Rule 2 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence which defines ephemeral electronic communication as that referring to telephone conversations, text messages . . . and other electronic forms of communication the evidence of which is not recorded or retained.

Under Section 2, Rule 11 of the Rules on Electronic Evidence, “Ephemeral electronic communications shall be proven by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same or who has personal knowledge thereof.

In this case, the SC noted that the complainant who was the recipient of said messages and therefore had personal knowledge thereof testified on their contents and import.

According to the High Tribunal, Apao herself admitted that the cellphone number reflected in complainant’s cellphone from which the messages originated was hers.

“Moreover, any doubt respondent may have had as to the admissibility of the text messages had been laid to rest when she and her counsel signed and attested to the veracity of the text messages between her and complainant. It is also well to remember that in administrative cases, technical rules of procedure and evidence are not strictly applied. We have no doubt as to the probative value of the text messages as evidence in determining the guilt or lack thereof of respondent in this case,” the Court held.

Nuez initially filed a complaint for extortion against Apao with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission–Special Projects Group (PAOCC-SPG) in Malacañang. This led to the conduct of an entrapment operation by elements of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) on Sept. 28, 2004 when the supposed hand-over of the money was going to take place.

Apao was apprehended by the PAOCTF agents prompting then CA Presiding Justice Cancio Garcia (now Supreme Court Justice) to issue an order creating an ad hoc investigating committee that will investigate the case and recommend the proper administrative sanctions against her. The committee recommended her dismissal from service.

Nuez’s case was an illegal dismissal case against Pagcor. Complainant filed an illegal dismissal case against Pagcor before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) which ordered his reinstatement but a writ of preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order was issued by the CA in favor of Pagcor, thus complainant was not reinstated to his former job pending adjudication of the case.

Since he wanted expeditious decision of his case, Nuez sought the assistance of Apao sometime in July 2004 and the latter told him that a favorable and speedy decision of his case was attainable but the person who was to draft the decision was in return asking for P1 million.

When Nuez told Apao that he did not have that kind of money since he had been jobless for a long time, respondent replied, “Eh, ganoon talaga ang lakaran dito, eh. Kung wala kang pera, pasensiya ka.” Respondent even admonished complainant with the words “Wala tayo sa palengke iho.” when the latter bargained for a lower amount.

Complainant then asked for time to determine whether or not to pay the money in exchange for the decision. Instead, in August of 2004, he sought the assistance of the television program Imbestigador which accompanied him to PAOCCF-SPG where he lodged a complaint against respondent for extortion.

Apao, in his meeting with Nuez explained that the P1 million guaranteed a favorable decision only in the CA but did not extend to the Supreme Court should the case be appealed later. When respondent was asked where the money will go, she claimed that it will go to a male researcher whose name she refused to divulge. The researcher was allegedly a lawyer in the CA 5th Division where complainant case was pending. She also claimed that she will not get any part of the money unless the researcher decides to give her some.

The SC, in its decision, stressed that by soliciting the amount P1 million from complainant, respondent committed an act of impropriety which immeasurably affects the honor and dignity of the judiciary and the people’s confidence in it.

Meanwhile, in another case, the Supreme Court ruled that computer virus is not a valid excuse for delay in the filing of a pleading.

The High Tribunal upheld on January 24, 2005 the Court of Appeals’ denial of Helen Dagdagan’s second motion for extension and dismissing her petition for review for having been filed out of time. The litigant asked for the additional extension because a computer virus had caused the deletion of the entire draft of the petition.

“Deviations from the rules cannot be tolerated. The rationale for this strict attitude is not difficult to appreciate. These rules are designed to facilitate the orderly disposition of appealed cases. In an age where courts are bedeviled by clogged dockets, these rules need to be followed by litigants with greater fidelity. Their observance cannot be left to their whims and caprices. Moreover, rules of procedure are tools designed to promote efficiency and orderliness as well as to facilitate attainment of justice, such that strict adherence thereto is required,” the court said.

The SC noted that petitioner’s reason was “not compelling” for it to be granted. It said that petitioner’s counsel would not have encountered a problem if he had been systematic in his work as he could have saved the encoded petition in a diskette and printed it.

Rule 43, sec. 4 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended provides that an appeal be taken within 15 days from notice of the award, judgment, final order, or resolution. The rule allows only one motion for reconsideration but the CA may grant an additional period of 15 days within which to file a petition for review “for the most compelling reason.”

In this case, the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources dismissed petitioner Dagdagan’s letter-protest against the townsite sales application of respondent Marani Bacolod, holding that the public land in dispute was alienable and thus available for disposition.

Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration, but it was denied. She then elevated her case to the Office of the President, but then Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora denied petitioner’s appeal and affirmed the decision of the DENR.

Consequently, petitioner’s counsel filed a motion for extension of time to file a petition for review under Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure with the CA. The CA granted petitioner a non-extendible period of 15 days within which to file her petition for review.

Petitioner’s counsel however filed an “urgent ex-parte motion for extension” of five days on the ground that his entire draft of the petition was deleted from the computer due to computer virus. The CA denied petitioner’s second motion for extension and dismissed her petition for being filed out of time.

(Source: The Philippine IT Law Journal; Article Authored by: Mary Ann Ll. Reyes)

Euro-English

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible!

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as
replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

The Four Wives

[I got this from my professor in Labor Law (thanks, Sir Judge!) via email]

The Four Wives

"In one of the Agama Sutras, the Buddha's early sermons, there is a very interesting story:

Once there was a man who had four wives. According to the social system and circumstances of ancient India, it was possible for a man to have several wives. Also, during the Heian period in Japan, about a thousand years ago, it was not unusual for a woman to have several husbands. The Indian had become ill and was about to die. At the end of his life, he felt very lonely and so asked the first wife to accompany him to the other world.

'My dear wife,' he said, 'I loved you day and night, I took care of you throughout my whole life. Now I am about to die, will you please go with me wherever I go after my death?'

He expected her to answer yes. But she answered, 'My dear husband, I know you always loved me. And you are going to die. Now it is time to separate from you. Goodbye, my dear.'

He called his second wife to his sickbed and begged her to follow him in death. He said, 'My dear second wife, you know how I loved you. Sometimes I was afraid you might leave me, but I held on to you strongly. My dear, please come with me.'

The second wife expressed herself rather coldly. 'Dear husband, your first wife refused to accompany you after your death. How can I follow you? You loved me only for your own selfish sake.'

Lying in his deathbed, he called his third wife, and asked her to follow him. The third wife replied, with tears in her eyes, 'My dear, I pity you and I feel sad for myself. Therefore I shall accompany you to the graveyard. This is my last duty to you.' The third wife thus also refused to follow him to death.

Three wives had refused to follow him after his death. Now he recalled that there was another wife, his fourth wife, for whom he didn't care very much. He had treated her like a slave and had always showed much displeasure with her. He now thought that if he asked her to follow him to death, she certainly would say no.

But his loneliness and fear were so severe that he made the effort to ask her to accompany him to the other world. The fourth wife gladly accepted her husband's request.

'My dear husband,' she said, 'I will go with you. Whatever happens, I am determined to be with you forever. I cannot be separated from you."

This is the story of 'A Man and His Four Wives.'

Gautama Buddha concluded the story as follows:
'Every man and woman has four wives or husbands. What do these wives signify?'

THE FIRST WIFE
The first 'wife' is our body. We love our body day and night. In the morning, we wash our face, put on clothing and shoes. We give food to our body. We take care of our body like the first wife in this story. But unfortunately, at the end of our life, the body, the first 'wife' cannot follow us to the next world. As it is stated in a commentary, 'When the last breath leaves our body, the healthy color of the face is transformed, and we lose the appearance of radiant life. Our loved ones may gather around and lament, but to no avail. When such an event occurs, the body is sent into an open field and cremated, leaving only the white ashes.' This is the destination of our body.

THE SECOND WIFE
What is the meaning of the second wife? The second 'wife' stands for our fortune, our material things, money, property, fame, position, and job that we worked hard to attain. We are attached to these material possessions. We are afraid to lose these material things and wish to possess much more. There is no limit. At the end of our life these things cannot follow us to death. Whatever fortune we have piled up, we must leave it. We came into this world with empty hands. During our life in this world, we have the illusion that we obtained a fortune. At death, our hands are empty. We can't hold our fortune after our death, just as the second wife told her husband: 'You hold me with your ego-centered selfishness. Now it is time to say goodbye.'

THE THIRD WIFE
What is meant by the third wife? Everyone has a third 'wife'. This is the relationship of our parents, sister and brother, all relatives, friends, and society. They will go as far as the graveyard, with tears in their eyes. They are sympathetic and saddened...

Thus, we cannot depend on our physical body, our fortune, and our society. We are born alone and we die alone. No one will accompany us after our death.

THE FOURTH WIFE
Sakyamuni Buddha mentioned the fourth wife, who would accompany her husband after his death. What does that mean? The fourth 'wife' is our mind [or Alaya consciousness]. When we deeply observe and recognize that our minds are filled with anger, greed, and dissatisfaction, we are having a good look at our lives. The anger, greed, and dissatisfaction are karma, the law of causation. We cannot be separated from our own karma. As the fourth wife told her dying husband, 'I will follow you wherever you go.'"

Happy Birthday, Mama Mary!

Today we celebrate the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Insofar as the Church fixes her conception as December 8, this would be exactly 9 months. I wonder how they came upon that date?

This celebration is important not only for the role that Mary played in the life of Jesus, but it is also significant in the Roman calendar. To my knowledge, there are only three whose nativity is celebrated: Jesus, Mary and John the Baptizer. All other saints are recalled only on their feast day[s], which usually corresponds to their earthly death/heavenly birthday.

To celebrate a nativity is a special mark, noting that these people were set aside from their birth as a dwelling of the Holy Spirit. With Jesus, God-become-Man, it goes without saying. With John, we have a scriptural reference in Luke to his indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When Elizabeth his mother heard Mary approach, John lept for joy in his mother's womb.

With Mary, we have sacred tradition. It seems fitting that we should "ponder these things in our heart" when it comes to Our Lady.

(Above text taken from The Maternal Optimist's Blog)

Let us keep in mind that while Mary is the perfect example of the fruits of Christ’s suffering and passion and also our spiritual mother given to us as such by Christ while on the cross, she is not God. She is worthy of praise and veneration, but not that worship we should only give to God. She is an intercessor at her son’s ear, but only he and his appointed minsters have the authority to forgive sins. Let's all keep this in mind.

God bless everyone!

Unforgettable Philippine TV Ads

While watching TV tonight, the new Bench commercial appeared on screen with Richard Gomez as one of the celebrity-endorsers along with his spouse Lucy, Piolo, Bruce, Kim & Gerald, et al. He's still in a familiar scene -- he's on a boat rowing, just like the old Bench commercial, I think more than a decade ago.

This prompted me to browse YouTube for some oldies but goodies commercials of the Philippine TV. Thanks to the one who uploaded these vids, you made my day (and night) hehe

Some of my favorites are in this "compilation":



The last one with the "Goodbye, Carlo Hotdog Commercial" was so sikat during my elementary days... I can associate this ad with my good buddy, Kaloy. (Oi, Karl nag start na ko blogging hehe)

Truly, commercials we see today on TV have become better and better but there are those that we still love to see despite being outdated but when you play it even a hundred times, you'd never get tired of watching all over again.

Some of the more recent ads I've seen on local TV that caught my attention are the Makulay ang Buhay by Knorr:



This one is so COOL! The San Mig commercial with Jet Li and the Pambansang Kamao being surrounded by hot babes...



And who could forget this classic San Mig commercial?



Sabado nights! This has made Ina Raymundo one of the most sought-after local female celebrities during that time....

Another classic... This commercial was sikat circa 1987... I think I was still in Grade 1 that time (I was 5 years old then). We still used to have the Black & White TV with only two channels to tune in -- RPN and PTV (now NBN)... Take a look at these beauties from the 80's...



There are still lots of vids of classic ads online, just search for them at your own risk... hehe!

Hope you enjoyed this post... Don't forget to leave some comments. :-)

26K

I'm not an avid viewer of ABS-CBN & Endemol's Kapamilya Deal or No Deal but I just love the 26K... Here's a clip of their ultimate entrance... Enjoy!

The music's great and the girls are just so gorgeous....

Farewell, Maestro....

Farewell, Maestro Luciano, your voice lives on....

Fear Factor

It's the 29th wedding anniversary of my Mommy and Papang...we had a simple dinner sa labas (sa labas ng bahay, literally hehe) under the moonlit sky.

After our meals and "bonding sessions", I went home alone (temporarily I'm living separately from my parents) riding my motorbike. The road leading to my place is dark. Good timing, the light emanating from my bike struck at a scarecrow, I almost lost my balance (exag! hehe).

I fear that I may have this fear of the dark phobia or nyctophobia which is common among people who often fear that something catastrophic may happen to them in the night.

In the darkness, we can’t see very well, and for me, who is particularly very imaginative, this is somewhat frightening. A pervading sense can build that something sinister is just out of sight and arm’s reach waiting for its moment to strike.

I searched over the internet for some information about phobias and voila... I was dumbfounded by the statement of this person named Ross Menzies who is a psychologist at the University of Sydney:

People don't die of a phobia. They get rapid heart rate and they get short of breath and it can feel awful...but that's as bad as it gets, basically. And people need to learn to confront their fears - it's the avoidance of the bad feeling that maintains the fear over years or a lifetime.

Somewhat true.

I concur.

A Tribute to Pepe

As the first visitor to leave a comment, this is some sort of "tribute" hehe!

See those letters behind? Ka Pepe: Isang Pagpupunyagi... I let those students perform a dance number for Pepe... hehe!

Nah, I just saw these pics from my laptop, I remembered watching this rehearsal a few days ago.

One

One -- my very first entry for blogspot.com.

The title sounds like "Juan" -- the name that Maria Nina Teresita Salud Aseniero Dalman (yes, that's her real name! :-) ) "baptized" the blogger during their first few days as freshmen at law school, circa 2005. Since then, most of their fellas have been calling him by that name.


My first attempt at blogging is somewhat upsetting due to some glitches I encountered with my Friendster blog wherein there are certain times when I desired to post some of my thoughts online yet the link does lead me to nowhere.

Anyways, I'm back to square one here.

I just came from a birthday party where I was not invited (LOL). If only my tummy could speak, it would have told me to take a halt as the "inbox" has become "full" and there is "no space for new messages". Hehe! I know...but necessity knows no law. It there's someone or something to be blamed for this craving, it's the 3-hour midterm examination in Civil Procedure that we took earlier this evening.

Tomorrow, we will be having another examination, this time Wills & Succession, still to be administered by Judge Garcia. Yet, up to this moment (it's already 1:20 am) I'm still facing the laptop display wishing that a friend would go online and chat with me as I'm bored facing the illustration-less books of law. Haha!

Wish me luck!