confess I am not a fan of Manny Pacquiao. Just because I do not like to watch violent sports such as boxing. But as a Filipino, I cannot help but take pride of this man whose diminutive  frame, and lack of academic education had propelled his own country to make a mark in the international scene. Last November 4, he guested in the American TV talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where he talked about his dog, his kids, his movie and his forthcoming fight on November 14. When you watch this clip, you would  be amused of his candor whenever he answers Jimmy's questions. Despite his   read more

Right now, I am making my Christmas list. There are only 48 days before Christmas. I've been wracking my head about what to give to my mother-in-law. Usually, I get stumped when it comes what to give her. You see, she has fine and elegant taste. But on a tight budget, my husband and I could not afford to buy designer brand goods or high-end products that are  priced way above our means. However, I got this idea online. I found out that a Photo Blanket Photo Blanket is usually appreciated and well-received by anyone regardless of taste. I'd submit a photo of her and her cat, and the   read more

If you are a blogger or a website owner/author, chances are, you want your blog to gain presence among millions of websites online. Search engines do help when you properly apply popular keywords in your site which in turn elevates page ranking. But most of the time, a user wants to search for something based on category, and that is why website directories are more useful. Search engines and web directories are related. However, search engines have automated spiders crawling the content of your website, while web directories do not. Instead,  search engines crawl upon links listed on those   read more

Probably, everyone of us knows what tipping is. Tipping  or granting gratuity for services rendered by workers who are "trained" and "conditioned&qu ot; to sweet-talk and the almost Tupperware-plastic&# 0160;smile-and-grin at their customers while mumbling expletives at their customer's backs. It is also is practiced almost all developed and developing countries in the world. In the Philippines, tipping is accepted although not a general rule because as a poor, starving nation, people are penny-pinching, and trying to get exactly back  the amount of money they actually own is   read more

Years ago, I tried that E-bay thingie. You know, just for curiosity sake as I had heard a lot about it. They said that they snagged great deals of used, slightly used and even brand-new items and goods. My husband also tried it. I thought it was good but what I did not like is that I had to wait for a couple of days to find out if my bid had won. Other disadvantages of buying from Ebay is the high rate of fraud and scams. Many Ebay buyers had ranted about how they were phished and scammed by unscrupulous sellers. This is because Ebay, by its nature is a very large, international marketplace which   read more

As  Christians (but not Catholic), we do not celebrate Halloween in our family or household . Although this day is attributed to catering fun  and pleasure to kids, its origins are deeply rooted in paganism, practice of witchcraft and sorcery, and closely connected with the worship of the Enemy of the World (Satan). It is a holiday that mostly glorifies the "dark things of the world" rather than the Light of the World (Jesus Christ). However, America celebrates this ancient holiday still, and with its popularity, the reality of occultism, witchcraft, neo-paganism, spiritism and satanism   read more

Yesterday, one of my Facebook friends, posted new photos of her recent trip to Paris, Zurich and Barcelona. The photos captured her spending cherished moments with her husband. The couple always take frequent travels around the world and the great thing about their journeys is that they're mostly spontaneous.I just talked to my friend on the phone about 5 days ago and she did not even mention she was flying to Europe for a mini vacation. Well, I figured  because she earns the privilege of grabbing the best flight discounts any time she wants it as she is a flight reservations executive of   read more

Last week, the weather was dreadful, more like frightful. A sudden deluge of rain, thunderstorm and hail bombarded the northeast. I could not believe it myself that I have to turn up the heat to high because  as early as last week for days because the weather was icky, yucky, and crappy. It was more like January in October. I wanted to go home. You know, most of my  regular readers here  know that I absolutely detest the winter season. Coming from the 7,100 tropical islands of the Philippines where the weather is summer all year round, I'm still not used to the chill here in this   read more

This year's summer passed by quickly. In the wink of an eye, it sped and ended. Autumn came last month, but instead of 3 months of enjoying the coolness as it preludes to winter, winter came unexpectedly. Last week, the northeast of America felt a sudden drop of temperatures which makes October more like January. Instead of enjoying fall, we found ourselves griping about the sudden drop of temperatures, along with the deluge of rain, thunderstorm, and hail. Days like these make me depressed and sullen. At the same time, this yucky weather makes me crave for a vacation somewhere in a tropical   read more

Before I got married to my American darling, I asked him if he ever dated an Asian. He said he did briefly date a Chinese woman who was born and raised in New York. She was  not  only America-nized, but a natural born American. I asked  him also if he had been around with Filipinos before. He told me that there was no occasion or chance  he could remember.Lately, I am blown by surprise when I discovered that  he could decipher a Filipino everywhere----in the mall, on the streets, and on TV. He said it's easy. I guess taking him to every Filipino gathering I know and sometimes   read more