well, i am compelled to write one review... AFTER THAT LENGTHY SPEECH IN THAT PREVIOUS POST!
hmmmm... now, let's see...
the last two movies i saw (on the big screen) were Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.
who's michael buble?
and who won the super bowl?
i guess you get the idea by now. what am i going to review? ahhh, yes, the books. i've been reading!
well, the last book i read was... The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
i have one word for T5PYMIH: CREEPY!
imagine dead people talking to each other! recounting some incidents while they were alive!
my advice: DON'T READ THE BOOK AT NIGHT!!!! or you'll end up like me, still wide awake at 2:24 in the morning!
i had to skip "part three" and "part four" of the book. i learned that, it was just a story as simple as a sandwich!
all you need to make a sandwich are two buns and something in between. in the case of T5PYMIH, the buns were as plain and simple as white bread, but in between, there's something like tuna with a whole lotta pickles and tomatoes. in other words, a lot of vitamins, and a lot of healthy stuff!
and yeah, as with all specially made sandwiches, you know, the type your mom prepares in front of you, there's always a story to tell that goes beyond the sandwich. while your momma's making your hamburger, she's probably telling you stories about how she used to cannot afford to eat burgers!
so that's about it. i could try to make a sandwich of my own, because the formula's pretty obvious, but wether it will be as good a sandwich as mitch albom's... bah, i'll just buy sandwich. why punish myself with making one?
so... all reviewers have some sort of rating system. others have five stars for really good stuff, others just either give a thumbs up or down sign, others---well they just want to always say the really bad thing about the book. pessimists. i'd rather be calling them pestimists!
anyhowsers, i give this book, a rating of five. because it has the number five in its title! harhar. that wasn't funny. but i'm serious. for the five bucks or so you pay for this mother, it's worth it.
GO BUY THIS SANDWICH! it's good for the bones!
yahoo! i'm done with my first review!
p.s. and have i mentioned that part of the story takes place in the philippines? but soldier is not "sundalong", mr. albom. unless that kid is under three years old.
Sunday, February 8, 2004
who is coach potato?
coach potato is the typical couch potato,
who has nothing better to do but eat potato chips,
and shout at the coaches on t.v., as if being the better coach.
prior to this post, this is my definition of CPC (coach potato's corner):
Thoughts of Coach Potato about basketball, and other sports--professional, developmental, amateur, or otherwise.
i figured, between now and the last post (September 2003), it has been almost five whole months. and there hasn't been any action on the corner. well, thank goodness for a really busy work (and school) schedule, and to the fact that the BIG CABLE COMPANY has exclusive rights to premium sports channels showing NBA and NFL games and that, well, my humble little cable company is the david in the cable tv arena... and of course, the PBA had its off-season starting in mid-december until mid-february... thus, here is coach potato, left with nothing to critique.
today, i have redefined CPC. it's more about reviews of different types of media: books, movies, CDs, magazines, articles, gadgets, people, t.v., radio, videos, sounds, etc. whatever could be reviewed.
let met get one thing straight though. i am not coach potato! coach potato.... is a creation. he's a fictional character. he can take on many faces. he could have many moods... he's a real critic. closer perhaps to being hypocritical? that shall be for you to judge. ;-)
ENJOY!
[sub-labels: CPC general]
who has nothing better to do but eat potato chips,
and shout at the coaches on t.v., as if being the better coach.
prior to this post, this is my definition of CPC (coach potato's corner):
Thoughts of Coach Potato about basketball, and other sports--professional, developmental, amateur, or otherwise.
i figured, between now and the last post (September 2003), it has been almost five whole months. and there hasn't been any action on the corner. well, thank goodness for a really busy work (and school) schedule, and to the fact that the BIG CABLE COMPANY has exclusive rights to premium sports channels showing NBA and NFL games and that, well, my humble little cable company is the david in the cable tv arena... and of course, the PBA had its off-season starting in mid-december until mid-february... thus, here is coach potato, left with nothing to critique.
today, i have redefined CPC. it's more about reviews of different types of media: books, movies, CDs, magazines, articles, gadgets, people, t.v., radio, videos, sounds, etc. whatever could be reviewed.
let met get one thing straight though. i am not coach potato! coach potato.... is a creation. he's a fictional character. he can take on many faces. he could have many moods... he's a real critic. closer perhaps to being hypocritical? that shall be for you to judge. ;-)
ENJOY!
[sub-labels: CPC general]
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
On being "mabait": A quote from Benjamin Franklin
I read this from "If I really wanted to SIMPLIFY MY LIFE I would..." from Lighthouse Books. It's a great simple little book! =)
"When you do for a man what he can and should do for himself, you do him a disservice." - Benjamin Franklin
Though I am going to expound on this topic (being "mabait") in a later post, can I say this: Teachers, you're not doing service to your students if you give them a passing grade that they do not deserve!
"When you do for a man what he can and should do for himself, you do him a disservice." - Benjamin Franklin
Though I am going to expound on this topic (being "mabait") in a later post, can I say this: Teachers, you're not doing service to your students if you give them a passing grade that they do not deserve!
disclaimer!
i've posted this link to "a blogger's disclaimer." basically it applies to you, me, and all of eternity. if you haven't read one before, check this link out! =)
[disclaimer]
[disclaimer]
Saturday, January 24, 2004
On Depression: A Letter To A Friend
Working so hard, giving 100% of your time and effort, sacrificing personal life but not getting appreciated to the point of feeling inexistent? Been there, done that! Getting a lot of backstabbing from the people you least expect to do that? Oh I've been there, and I've done that! From, even during my fragile, less-mature days while in high school and during college... to just last year, when things went one way when I was almost absolutely sure it would go another way.
Hey! Being depressed, or feeling "down na down", and very disappointed is not good for your health!
I've been there before... I myself have even considered suicide. Thank God, but somehow, I was brought up to have just a little more faith in my system that was enough to bring me here to where I am right now. But I am not yet complete when it comes to faith. There are still these things about me, things I do or think, that show that I myself have a lot to improve on. But, over the course of time, I have learned one important lesson.
To have more trust and faith in the LORD. After all, after a time of trials comes a time for joy.
To do that, we'll have to be ready for change! We've heard of the answer before: we can't change others, only ourselves.
We could change our attitude towards things and others, and that goes first. It doesn't seem easy, and it takes a lot of mental strength. [(Filipino) women are somehow better than most (Filipino) men!] So, while for you, it might be hard, for me and a lot of other people, men and even women alike, it will be much harder! It's not impossible... :-)
Also, it's always healthy to think and act positively! And it's always a good medicine for depression. It requires quite a lot of change in our systems. It's not easy! So we'll also need friends or our immediate community, who know and share the same goals, ideals, and principles as us, to support us and/or guide us!
And prayers---they are always good! You might be one of millions who offered your prayers and your big and simple sacrifices to Him through the feast of the Black Nazarene, held at Quiapo early this year. That's great! It's one step in the right direction! We can also talk to Him in the comfort of our own home, and in the comfort of our own time, like during lunch break, perhaps, or during our trip to the restroom...
So what if you are, like someone I know, "trapped" inside a job or place or environment from which you just can't grow, because there's no more space to grow (like you don't have time for other "healthier" things, and people around you most of the time are your greatest critics)? Get out of that trap! The universe is huge, there are many more places to go!
Yes, by now, you could probably predict what I'm about to say: I've been there, done that. How did I do it? Well, in simple terms, I thought that... If I'm in a situation that's really bad and yet somehow I needed to be there, could it become worse if I did something else? If I choose Option B instead of sticking to Option A, may be I wouldn't get the same things that I used to get out of Option A, but may be I would feel better and more productive if I choose Option B! I would have to change my attitude though, towards those things I needed that Option A provided. Maybe I didn't really need them at all. I mean, if my apartment rental costs me half my whole months' salary, maybe I didn't need to stay in that apartment!
What if Option B proves to be worse? There's still Option C! What if I've come to Option Z, and it still isn't what I wanted? Uh-oh, wait a minute, I know where things could have gone wrong... It's with my attitude. Why would I want to buy a fancy car, if I would have to be extremely patient with my extremely impatient boss everyday of my life, and cause myself unneeded stress which eventually makes me go on weekly drinking sprees with my "barkada" and smoke half-a-pack a day, and which would eventually kill me at a young age, and probably leave my future wife and kids behind with... well, not much; or probably, people will just say about me, "kawawa naman" ("Such a pity.")?
I could also... change my attitude towards my boss! Well, I could choose to accept the fact that my boss is like that. Maybe instead of being affected by his impatience, I could just be an example to him. I'll smile all the time while working! And maybe if he asks me to do overtime this weekend, I do have the option to tell him that I can't! Because it's not mandatory to do overtime! If he kicks me out because I refused to do weekend overtime, let it be!
Well, the things is, we have a lot of options! We always have a choice! Well, we can't control the consequences of that choice, but again, we can choose our attitude towards those consequences!
One time, when I was really feeling "challenged" in life, I went to the Blessed Sacrament at the UP Chapel to pray and to ask for comfort from God. And then this picture came into my mind: imagine Jesus having to accept that he was going to suffer and be killed, understanding that it was God's will. Though he suffered much, having to accept his purpose (the story of The Agony in the Garden), what did he turn out to be? Oh, he just rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father! But he's just quite the perfect example, isn't he? :-)
So... Basically, we could either choose to accept where we are, make the most out of it, and act enthusiastic and think positive all the time, or take the alternate highway with less humps and potholes. If things will go wrong, they will. But after all has been said and done, let us trust and have faith that God has a purpose for all this, and it is universally a good one.
Hey! Being depressed, or feeling "down na down", and very disappointed is not good for your health!
I've been there before... I myself have even considered suicide. Thank God, but somehow, I was brought up to have just a little more faith in my system that was enough to bring me here to where I am right now. But I am not yet complete when it comes to faith. There are still these things about me, things I do or think, that show that I myself have a lot to improve on. But, over the course of time, I have learned one important lesson.
To have more trust and faith in the LORD. After all, after a time of trials comes a time for joy.
To do that, we'll have to be ready for change! We've heard of the answer before: we can't change others, only ourselves.
We could change our attitude towards things and others, and that goes first. It doesn't seem easy, and it takes a lot of mental strength. [(Filipino) women are somehow better than most (Filipino) men!] So, while for you, it might be hard, for me and a lot of other people, men and even women alike, it will be much harder! It's not impossible... :-)
Also, it's always healthy to think and act positively! And it's always a good medicine for depression. It requires quite a lot of change in our systems. It's not easy! So we'll also need friends or our immediate community, who know and share the same goals, ideals, and principles as us, to support us and/or guide us!
And prayers---they are always good! You might be one of millions who offered your prayers and your big and simple sacrifices to Him through the feast of the Black Nazarene, held at Quiapo early this year. That's great! It's one step in the right direction! We can also talk to Him in the comfort of our own home, and in the comfort of our own time, like during lunch break, perhaps, or during our trip to the restroom...
So what if you are, like someone I know, "trapped" inside a job or place or environment from which you just can't grow, because there's no more space to grow (like you don't have time for other "healthier" things, and people around you most of the time are your greatest critics)? Get out of that trap! The universe is huge, there are many more places to go!
Yes, by now, you could probably predict what I'm about to say: I've been there, done that. How did I do it? Well, in simple terms, I thought that... If I'm in a situation that's really bad and yet somehow I needed to be there, could it become worse if I did something else? If I choose Option B instead of sticking to Option A, may be I wouldn't get the same things that I used to get out of Option A, but may be I would feel better and more productive if I choose Option B! I would have to change my attitude though, towards those things I needed that Option A provided. Maybe I didn't really need them at all. I mean, if my apartment rental costs me half my whole months' salary, maybe I didn't need to stay in that apartment!
What if Option B proves to be worse? There's still Option C! What if I've come to Option Z, and it still isn't what I wanted? Uh-oh, wait a minute, I know where things could have gone wrong... It's with my attitude. Why would I want to buy a fancy car, if I would have to be extremely patient with my extremely impatient boss everyday of my life, and cause myself unneeded stress which eventually makes me go on weekly drinking sprees with my "barkada" and smoke half-a-pack a day, and which would eventually kill me at a young age, and probably leave my future wife and kids behind with... well, not much; or probably, people will just say about me, "kawawa naman" ("Such a pity.")?
I could also... change my attitude towards my boss! Well, I could choose to accept the fact that my boss is like that. Maybe instead of being affected by his impatience, I could just be an example to him. I'll smile all the time while working! And maybe if he asks me to do overtime this weekend, I do have the option to tell him that I can't! Because it's not mandatory to do overtime! If he kicks me out because I refused to do weekend overtime, let it be!
Well, the things is, we have a lot of options! We always have a choice! Well, we can't control the consequences of that choice, but again, we can choose our attitude towards those consequences!
One time, when I was really feeling "challenged" in life, I went to the Blessed Sacrament at the UP Chapel to pray and to ask for comfort from God. And then this picture came into my mind: imagine Jesus having to accept that he was going to suffer and be killed, understanding that it was God's will. Though he suffered much, having to accept his purpose (the story of The Agony in the Garden), what did he turn out to be? Oh, he just rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father! But he's just quite the perfect example, isn't he? :-)
So... Basically, we could either choose to accept where we are, make the most out of it, and act enthusiastic and think positive all the time, or take the alternate highway with less humps and potholes. If things will go wrong, they will. But after all has been said and done, let us trust and have faith that God has a purpose for all this, and it is universally a good one.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
On being "mabait": Bo Sanchez' reply to an enduring wife
Do you think we should call the letter-writer (the wife) in this story, just being "mabait" to his husband? My answer is NO. Thus, I see being "mabait" more closely associated with being loving, or "mapagmahal", rather than with just simply being tolerant.
This is the January 6, 2004 issue of Kerygma Soulfood Bulletin, provided by Sheperd's Voice Communications, headed by Bo Sanchez (one of my favorite writers), and based in Metro Manila, Philippines. To subscribe to the bulletin, send an e-mail to soulfood@shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
--------- forwarded message starts here ---------
KERYGMA SOULFOOD
by Bo Sanchez
January 6, 2004
SHOULD I STICK IT OUT WITH MY HUSBAND WHO’S ON DRUGS?
Hi Bo,
I just read your last bulletin where you answered a wife's question. I have one of my own. I guess I would like to say that I really need guidance. I have two spiritual advisers, very close friends of mine, who belong to two different communities. When I told them about my marital problems, they both suggested that I stick it out with my husband. But I cannot hold on to this marriage forever.
My husband is a drug user. He and I have gotten into arguments about his habit, and it would sometimes turn into violent fights. He has violent tendencies, because he also gets into spats with his siblings. He also spanks or pinches our son very hard when the latter misbehaves. He has lost his job because he always seems to think that he is above the law (he was caught accepting bribes). Now, what he does all day is play with his PS2 games and expects me to wait on him hand and foot.
He earlier confessed to me that he was put into jail because of drug possession, and that he has since mended his ways, but I keep catching marijuana in his car.
I love him. I have prayed for him over and over again, but he is very easily swayed by his friends. I do not want to give up on him, but he seems unwilling to help himself.
Please pray for me and for my family.
Frustrated
Dear Frustrated,
Leave your husband. And don’t reunite with him until he goes into some counseling or rehab for his drug abuse and violent behavior. That’s the firm condition you’ll set.
Will leaving him make him change? There are no guarantees.
But the probability that he changes is much more if you leave him than if you stay with him. Why? Because when you stay with him, the message you’re giving him is this: "It’s okay for you to take drugs—anyway, you’ll still have a wife here beside you and life goes on normally." I don’t care how intense you nag him about his destructive habit, he won’t change. Because your actions are louder than your words.
But when you leave him, the message you give him is totally different. By leaving him, you’re telling him, "You’re destroying your life. Unless you change, you’ll lose everything. Even your family."
In other words, you need to allow a crisis to happen to his life.
By taking drugs, he’s causing the crisis—but until now, you’ve prevented it from happening.
Don’t prevent it.
Sometimes, the most loving thing to do for a loved one is to allow the bad consequences of their bad decisions to happen. So that they taste the bitter experience and learn—and mend their ways.
Let him feel what it means to lose everything, including family.
Again, I cannot give you guarantees for his change. It may be possible that for awhile, he may even become worse.
In the meantime, you live your life. Focus on the Lord, and let God build you up.
Explain to the kids that you’re doing this so that the family will be saved.
Call up our counseling center at Tel. 9950303 and our counselors will pray with you.
I remain your friend,
Bo Sanchez
--------- forwarded message ends here ---------
This is the January 6, 2004 issue of Kerygma Soulfood Bulletin, provided by Sheperd's Voice Communications, headed by Bo Sanchez (one of my favorite writers), and based in Metro Manila, Philippines. To subscribe to the bulletin, send an e-mail to soulfood@shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
--------- forwarded message starts here ---------
KERYGMA SOULFOOD
by Bo Sanchez
January 6, 2004
SHOULD I STICK IT OUT WITH MY HUSBAND WHO’S ON DRUGS?
Hi Bo,
I just read your last bulletin where you answered a wife's question. I have one of my own. I guess I would like to say that I really need guidance. I have two spiritual advisers, very close friends of mine, who belong to two different communities. When I told them about my marital problems, they both suggested that I stick it out with my husband. But I cannot hold on to this marriage forever.
My husband is a drug user. He and I have gotten into arguments about his habit, and it would sometimes turn into violent fights. He has violent tendencies, because he also gets into spats with his siblings. He also spanks or pinches our son very hard when the latter misbehaves. He has lost his job because he always seems to think that he is above the law (he was caught accepting bribes). Now, what he does all day is play with his PS2 games and expects me to wait on him hand and foot.
He earlier confessed to me that he was put into jail because of drug possession, and that he has since mended his ways, but I keep catching marijuana in his car.
I love him. I have prayed for him over and over again, but he is very easily swayed by his friends. I do not want to give up on him, but he seems unwilling to help himself.
Please pray for me and for my family.
Frustrated
Dear Frustrated,
Leave your husband. And don’t reunite with him until he goes into some counseling or rehab for his drug abuse and violent behavior. That’s the firm condition you’ll set.
Will leaving him make him change? There are no guarantees.
But the probability that he changes is much more if you leave him than if you stay with him. Why? Because when you stay with him, the message you’re giving him is this: "It’s okay for you to take drugs—anyway, you’ll still have a wife here beside you and life goes on normally." I don’t care how intense you nag him about his destructive habit, he won’t change. Because your actions are louder than your words.
But when you leave him, the message you give him is totally different. By leaving him, you’re telling him, "You’re destroying your life. Unless you change, you’ll lose everything. Even your family."
In other words, you need to allow a crisis to happen to his life.
By taking drugs, he’s causing the crisis—but until now, you’ve prevented it from happening.
Don’t prevent it.
Sometimes, the most loving thing to do for a loved one is to allow the bad consequences of their bad decisions to happen. So that they taste the bitter experience and learn—and mend their ways.
Let him feel what it means to lose everything, including family.
Again, I cannot give you guarantees for his change. It may be possible that for awhile, he may even become worse.
In the meantime, you live your life. Focus on the Lord, and let God build you up.
Explain to the kids that you’re doing this so that the family will be saved.
Call up our counseling center at Tel. 9950303 and our counselors will pray with you.
I remain your friend,
Bo Sanchez
--------- forwarded message ends here ---------
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
End of Blog {Thread}?
I should just end this blog {thread}. If you go to MatrixTheories.com, they have a lot great stuff for reading there, posted by Matrix fans like you and me. But, there must be a purpose why I thought of putting this blog up. Thus, this shall not be the end.... Yet.
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