Merry christmas and Happy New year to you! Sorry I'm not updating recently (for 3 months now I guess...very bad!) I've been so busy with my work and everything, I cant even finish two drawing assignments (*sobs*) But I promise I'll finish after all my work reports then I'll visit everyone's page again and hopefully be able to leave comments.

hmmm so what have i been doing lately aside from work?

1. watched Twilight on its first week, fell inlove with the story and so I bought all four books, I even downloaded the 5th book, midnight Sun (drafts only). Now that I have read and seen all, I dont want to see any twilight related merchandise or video, I got sick with all the popularity (gawked). But I still like it of course
2. practiced making videos on windows movie maker. I still have lots to learn
3. 2 weeks of Christmas vacation here in the Philippines is somehow not doing me any good. I still have to work at home to finish all dues this January. (geeezzz sometimes I wish I have an easier job )

Thats all for now. take care everyone and enjoy the holidays!

I was reading my inbox and thought of posting good ones here in my journal. Here is the first one, I'll be posting more later


**********************************************************

For the married ones, soon to get married and also looking for a person to marry.

TEN SIGNS YOU MARRY THE WRONG PERSON
By Dov Heller


With the divorce rate over 50%, too many are apparently making a serious mistake in deciding whom to spend the rest of their life with. To avoid becoming a "statistic," try to internalize 10 insights.

1. You pick the wrong person because you expect him/her to change after you're married.
The classic mistake! NEVER MARRY POTENTIAL!! The Golden Rule is, if you can't be happy with the person the way he or she is now, don't get married. As a colleague of mine so wisely put it, "You actually can expect people to change after their married...for the worst!" So when it comes to the other person's spirituality, character, personal hygiene, communication skills, and personal habits, make sure you can live with these as they are now.

2. You pick the wrong person because you focus more on chemistry than their character.
Chemistry ignites the fire, but good character keeps it burning. Beware of the "I'm in love" syndrome. "I'm in love" often means, "I'm in lust." Attraction is there, but have you carefully checked out this person's character?
Here are four characteristics to definitely check for:
* Humility: -Does this person believe that "doing the right thing" is more important than personal comfort?
* Kindness: - Does this person enjoy giving pleasure to other people?
* How does s/he treat people s/he doesn't have to be nice to?
* Does s/he do volunteer work? Give to charity?
* Responsibility: -Can I depend on this person to do what s/he says s/he is going to do?
* Happiness: -Does this person like himself? Does s/he enjoy life?
- Is s/he emotionally stable?
Ask yourself:
Do I want to be more like this person?
Do I want to have a child with this person?
Would I like my child to turn out like him or her?

3. You choose the wrong person because you do not share a common life goal and priorities.
There are three basic ways we connect with another person:
a) Chemistry and compatibility
b) Share common interests
c) Share common life goal.
Make sure you share a deeper level of connection that sharing life goals provide. After marriage, the two of you will either grow together or grow apart. To avoid growing apart, you must figure out what you're living for while you are single-and then find someone who has come to the same conclusion as you. This is the true definition of a soul mate. A soul mate is a goal mate... two people who ultimately share the same understanding of life's purpose and therefore share the same priorities, values and goals.

4. You pick the wrong person because you do not have deeper emotional connection.
To evaluate whether you have a deeper emotional connection or not, ask: "Do I respect and admire this person?" This does not mean, "Am I impressed by this person?" We are impressed by a Mercedes. We do not respect someone because they own a Mercedes. Yes, you should be impressed by qualities of creativity, loyalty, determination, etc., but do you actually respect and admire this person who possesses these qualities?
Also ask: "Do I trust this person?" This also means, "Is he/she emotionally stable? Do I feel I can rely on him/her?

5. You pick the wrong person because you choose someone with whom you don't feel emotionally safe.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I feel calm, peaceful and relaxed with this person?
- Can I fully be myself and express myself with this person? Does this person make me feel good about myself?
- Do you have a really close friend who does make you feel this way?
Make sure the person you marry makes you feel the same way! Are you afraid of this person in any way? You should not feel you need to monitor what you say because you are afraid of how the other person will view it. If you're afraid to express your feelings and opinions openly, there's a problem with the relationship. Another aspect of feeling safe is that you don't feel the other person is trying to control you. Controlling behaviors are a sign of an abusive person. Be on the look out for someone who is always trying to change you. There is a big difference between "controlling" and "making suggestions. " A suggestion is made for your benefit; a control statement is made for their benefit.

6. You pick the wrong person because you don't put everything on the table.
Anything that bothers you about the relationship must be brought up for discussion. Bringing up the uncomfortable stuff is the only way to evaluate how well the two of you communicate, negotiate, and work together. Over the course of a lifetime, difficulties will inevitably arise. You need to know now, before making a commitment: Can you resolve your differences and find compromises that work for both of you? Never be afraid to let the person know what bothers you. This is also a way for you to test how vulnerable you can be with this person. If you can't be vulnerable, you can't be intimate. The two go hand in hand.

7. You pick the wrong person because you use the relationship to escape from personal problems and unhappiness.
If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married, too. Marriage does not fix personal, psychological and emotional problems. If anything, marriage will exacerbate them. If you are not happy with yourself and your life, take responsibility to fix it now while you are single. You'll feel better and your future spouse will thank you.

8. You choose the wrong person because you get involved sexually too quickly.
This can be a big problem because it often precludes a fully honest exploration of important issues. Sexual involvement tends to cloud one's mind and a clouded mind is not inclined to make good decisions. It is not necessary to "test d rive" in order to find out if a couple are sexually compatible. If you do your homework and make sure you are intellectually and emotionally compatible, you don't have to worry about sexual compatibility. Of all the studies on divorce, sexual incompatibility is never cited as a main reason why people divorce.

9. You pick the wrong person because the man doesn't understand what a woman needs most.
Men and women have unique emotional needs and more often than not, it is the man who just doesn't get it. The unique need of a woman is to be loved. -To feel that she is the most important person in her husband's life. The husband needs to give her consistent, quality attention. Sexual intimacy is always on the woman's terms. Men are goal oriented especially when it comes to this area. As a wise woman once pointed out, "Men have two speeds: on and off." Women are experience oriented. When a man is able to switch gears and become more experience-oriented , he will discover what makes his wife very happy. When the man forgets about his own needs and focuses on giving his wife pleasure, amazing things will happen.

10. You pick the wrong person because he/she is involved in a triangle.
To be "triangulated" means a person is emotionally dependent on someone or something else while trying to develop another relationship. A person who hasn't separated from his or her parents is a classic example of triangulation. People can also be triangulated with things as well, such as work, drugs, Internet, hobbies, sports or money. Be careful that you and your partner are free of triangles. The person caught in triangle cannot be fully emotionally available to you. You'll not be their number one priority. And that's not basis for a marriage.



Ability is what you're capable of doing...... ......
Motivation determines what you do.......... .........
Attitude determines how well you do it!

JOKE TIME!

LAWYERS


Break time ・.at least read the last one at the end of the e-mail・
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
________________________________
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTOR NEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you
forgot?
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Duh.............
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
____________________________________________
And the best for last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

First of all i dont know what to write in my journal...except that I'm looking forward for September (my bf is coming home hurraahh! )and I'm currently busy watching two dramas, one Korean and one Japanese.

The Korean one is called Daljia, about a 34(?) year old lady who doesnt have a boyfriend because she spent her life loving her career and her apartment. :d I was only able to watch 2 episodes so I dont know much yet...except that it is funny

The 2nd drama is called Honey and Clover, based on a manga/anime of the same title. I'm not a fan of the story, I bought this because of my favorite Japanese actor Ikuta Toma After watching 4 episodes, I think the story is nice. Its not as funny as the previous ones I watched but this one is more realistic. to know what the story is, just check out the net. My brain is not working too well, I cant get my head to think up of a summary hehehe


Member of:

At long last! I've finished watching Nodame Cantabile and Proposal Daisakusen after a month! Each is 11 episodes long (1 hour each), and I can proudly say that I love these two series very much!

Now I have three Japanese series that I will highly recommend:

1. Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (or Hanakimi for short - starring Oguri Shun,Horikita Maki and Ikuta Toma)

This is about a Japanese girl living in US who has a crush on a Japanese high jumper. After the news got to her that her crush is no longer doing high jump, she immediately cut her hair short, went back to Japan, transferred to the guy's exclusive for boys' school, and there she made history This is a very funny and touching series, all thumbs up.

2. Nodame Cantabile - uhhh..cant remember who are the actors here, but they did a good job portraying their manga and anime counterparts

The story is about Chiaki, a guy who has been influenced by classical music eversince he was young, and now studying in a music college under Piano major. He has secret wish of being a conductor. The girl is called Nodame, a complete opposite of Chiaki who I think is the messiest girl you'll ever find on tv (in real life too I guess if you happen to see one like her hehehe). She is a piano major, has fallen in love with Chiaki and constantly chases him around (to his dismay ). She is a telented pianist and has secret wish of being a Kindergarten teacher. This is series is really funny too especially when she gets bullied by Chiaki haha!

3. Proposal Daisakusen - I think this is my most favorite romance-comedy story so far The actors are Yamashita Tomohisa (my fave! ) and...who's the girl again? Anyway I find her really cute

The story starts off with the girl (Rei) getting married to another guy much to the main character's (Ken) dismay. While he is regretting the past (where he used to ignore the girl) he watched the bride's picture slideshow and suddenly, an old man appeared, claiming that he's a fairy . Pitying Ken, he sends him back to the past in order to win the girl he loves.

This show is really funny too but at the same time heart warming and has lots of lessons. Well I think the moral lesson of the story is dont waste time expressing your love to someone. Dont wait for tomorrow if you can do it today, because when they're gone that's when you'll only know how important they are to you. As one of the character says, people who wait until tomorrow are just plain stupid

I hope you could watch these shows. if DVD is not available in your area you can watch them at [link]

Happy watching!

After much contemplating whether we should go or not, I finally agreed to take my family to a trip to Manila Oceanarium. (awww too expensive...400 pesos per person and I paid for all 6 of us...but it was fun anyway )

This Oceanarium is says to be the biggest in Asia, I think the area is around 8000 sqm. The fishes are all from the Philippine waters (and yes they are all edible )

The place is nice but I think it would have been better if I visit it next year because there are still work going on for hotel and restaurants. I hope they make the water tunnel bigger and longer too

Here are the pictures too if you are interested

[link]

They were taken by my cel cam because I was busy taking videos with my digicam. Too bad I cant upload it online (dont know how )