Krissy's Digest...

Pros and Cons of the 2 Best Jobs I had

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 07:55:00 +0000

In the 34 years of my existence, I have already worked in a lot of companies. I remember my first job. I was an Internet attendant, helping customers who don’t know how to use the Internet and the computer during that time. I have come a long way since then. I became an SEO specialist (website rank builder), call center agent, restaurant manager and so on and so forth. But I would like to compare the two most recent jobs that I have had, Massage Therapist on the cruise ships and Nurse Assistant at the hospital. I would like to compare the two professions with the following key points; salary, education/training, and the lifestyle.

These two jobs require a different amount of time needed to train or study. Nursing Aide is focused more on classroom lessons with hands-on learning, while a massage therapist requires more hands on training. To be able to work for the cruise lines, a person should be a licensed massage therapist. That involves 9 to 12 months of massage school, in depth knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the musculoskeletal system and a natural ability to communicate to people. After schooling you have to take a massage therapy board examinations then, he or she should complete the safety of life at sea training for seafarers. This consists of basic firefighting, basic life support and the proficiency in survival craft and rescue boat. This training will take another 2 to 3 months. After that, you get your seaman’s book and get a passport before you can apply to the cruise ship manning agencies. The main employer for spas in cruise lines is Steiner LTD. They are a London based company that contracts almost the entire cruise ships spa at seas.

According to the American Massage Therapy Association, there are more than 360 accredited massage schools here in the US alone; massage therapist have an average of 642 hours of initial training. The vast majority of massage therapists (92 percent) have taken continuing education classes. Massage therapists take an average of 21 hours of continuing education per year. 2012 Massage Therapy Industry Fact Sheet — American Massage Therapy Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amtamassage.org/articles/2/PressRelease/detail/2545

To become a Nurse Aide, on the other hand, you need to be trained at an accredited training center or school for Nursing Assistants. The course lasts around 2 to 3 months. It consists of training on how to work at a hospital setting, basic care of patients, dementia care, sanitation, aseptic technique and a lot more. They should be able to take the state board examinations for Nursing Assistants after they have completed their training. Upon passing the Nurse Assistant State test, that is the time that they could apply either on the hospital setting, nursing home or private in home care facility. Applying for a Nursing Aide position in Louisville depends on where you want to be employed. If you are thinking of applying to a hospital, it will take some time and also some connections to be able to land that job. Working for a nursing home or private home care will be the easiest to apply to. They are in constant need to quality Nurse Assistants or care givers. In 2004, there were 1.4 million nurses assistants employed in the US. Nurse assistants and CNAs are employed in a variety of facilities including
hospitals, clinics, and home care.
The job growth for Nurse Assistants is faster than average, with an expected growth of 20% or more by 2020. A total of more than 300,000 additional employees will be needed. There are excellent employment opportunities for Nurse Assistants across the nation. Nurse Assistant Training & Caregiving Classes | NAT, CNA | American Red Cross. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/program-highlights/nurse-assistant-training

The salary is also the biggest factor in choosing a job. Both jobs have huge differences in salaries. Nurse Aide jobs have fixed income while working with the cruise ships as a massage therapist your salary is up to the services you do in a day, tips you receive and the commissions from the services and products you sell to the guests.

Being a massage therapist on board a cruise liner is probably one of the highest paid jobs there is. A bad massage therapist would probably earn from $200-$500 per week while a good massage therapist can earn as much as $1400 per week. Of course, it would also depend on a few factors like the length of the cruise, where the ship would sail and the demographics. Shorter cruises, could earn you more money than a longer cruise. There are a lot of perks in working on a cruise ship. One of them is free travel. You can visit different places around the world for free. You pay no rent and utilities. Food is free, and it is available 24/7. There is a crew hospital in case you get sick. The downside is, there is no health insurance, 403 retirement benefits, disability pay or even life insurance. Once you are done, you are officially done. So when you are thinking of quitting this job, you better have a lot of savings in the bank to do other things aside from massage therapy.

Being a Nurse Aide, on the other hand, is more rewarding. The salary is not as big as what you could earn while working as a massage therapist on a cruise ship, but it is constant and recurring. You know what you would get every payday. The good thing about working a land-based job, in a hospital in particular, are the benefits. You would be paid for your overtime, holiday pay, sick pay and paid time off. There are also a lot of benefits like health insurance for you and your family, 403k retirement savings, education benefits, life insurance and a lot more. The Nurse Aide that works at a hospital has a base salary of $12, and if you work nights, there is a differential pay. Working on a cruise ship as a massage therapist would earn you a lot of money but it is not permanent, and they won’t offer you the benefits as what you would get if you work at a hospital being a Nurse Aide.

The lifestyle of both jobs is hugely different from one another. Working on a cruise ship would be like the most amazing time of your life while working as a Nurse Aide would be a more rewarding experience.

Working on a cruise ship is like a dream come true. It has its own nightmares, but it also has its best moments. Spa managers onboard would push their therapist to retail products, and that makes the stress level of the therapist very high. The guest is mostly nice because most of them are educated and rich, although you could occasionally get the snobbish guests from time to time. After work is non stop partying. You can go out and explore the ports of call in the Caribbean like Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica and also see beautiful sceneries in ports of call in Alaska, Canada, Europe, Asia and a lot more. Life in the ship is like a close-knit family. You will have your own set of friends and they will be like your family for the whole 9-month contract. Everybody knows everybody so that makes the bond closer. It could be a bit of a sad experience when some of your friends contract would finish and you would be staying for a few more months. The crew bar is where the crew socializes and they sometimes held cabin parties, engine parties just about any party to ease the feeling of being homesick. On the positive note, you could send money to your loved ones back home and also save a lot as long as you don’t spend too much money while you are onboard the ship.

Being a Nurse Aide, on the other hand, is a more serious job. You need to have a lot of patience because the people you take care of are sick and not feeling well. At times because of their sickness, they can be mean and angry. It is a very rewarding career. You have the satisfaction every day because you have helped a lot of people who needs you. Your job is to make them laugh, comfort them, make them feel better and somehow make them forget that they are sick. Being a Nurse Aide is also an excellent job if you want to venture into Registered Nursing because you already are hands on, and you could see what the Nurses do for the patients.

Cruise ship jobs particularly being a massage therapist onboard is more like an adventure. Working with different nationalities like the British, Irish, German, Romanians, Croatians and many more is like having the United Nations at sea. Visiting different countries is fun and exciting. Money is good, but you also tend to spend a lot in shopping at different ports, partying every night plainly to have a good time and socialize.

Being a Nurse Aide is more serious. It brings more meaning to your life and going on towards the road to maturity. To be able to help other people in need. Becoming a Nurse Aide is a very humbling experience. There will be times of being overly happy because every patient appreciates your work, but then only one patient can crush you and make you cry. Both professions have their own pros and cons, but it would probably depend on the persons priorities in life. In the cruise ships, you’ll be gone from your families for months some even years. Working on land, you still have the opportunity to better your life. It would depend on how hard you work and how successful you want to be.

Balbacua - A Visayan Dish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 20:10:00 +0000

Back when we are still living in the Philippines, I often cook for my family and friends. That's why, we all got in the heavy side. Now that my family lives here in America, we crave the food from our native country.

Luckily, there are lots of Asian groceries around our area here in Louisville and there are no shortage of ingredients of what food I decide to cook. Today, since it is snowing outside, I cooked something that I would like to eat when it's cold.

I found a recipe from daily rantings blog and I immediately started shopping for ingredients at our local asian grocery.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo sliced ox tail
1/2 kilo ox feet (he used beef skin in his original recipe)
1 small can of pork and beans
3 pieces ripe saba banana (sliced)
1 small bottle of creamy peanut butter
minced spring onions
2 onions, medium sized
ground black pepper
chopped ginger
water
salt

prepare the ox tail, ox feet, onions, ginger and water in a pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker you can just use a regular saucepan. Pressure cooker makes it more tender quicker. Season your ox tail and ox feet with salt and pepper generously then put everything in the pressure cooker. Cook for about 40 - 60 minutes.

Carefully open the pressure cooker. Make sure all the steam is gone before opening it. The put the remaining ingredients. The meat should be really tender and the skin should be jelly like. Put the remaining ingredients, banana, peanut butter and pork and beans. Stir to mix the peanut butter and pork in beans and then simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Garnish with the spring onions and serve while hot...

Flappy Bird Replacement- City Bird- Flappy Flyer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 19:37:00 +0000

I tried playing Flappy Bird in my brothers phone just last week because of the buzz around it. I found it really addicting but, I put off downloading it to my phone. When I went to the App Store this morning, it was no longer available.

The developer of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen, officially removed the app from the App Store and google play. I read about his reason to remove the app in this article from Forbes.

So, I tried to look for a game that I can play that is like Flappy Bird and I found, City Bird.

It is basically like Flappy bird, except the background is in the city and instead of tunnels, the developer made it into buildings. It is still annoying like Flappy Bird, cause I can't seem to move past 9 which is my best score.

The developer of the app is Markku Vietnen. It probably is a new app cause not many people have downloaded it yet. But if you want to download Flappy Bird, you can download City Bird-Flappy Flyer instead as a replacement. You can view the app City Bird- Flappy Flyer and download it through the app store. It is compatible with iphone and ipad.

Hibachi Sushi Buffet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 01:43:00 +0000

My family loves to eat out and we normally go to food buffets. We have probably tried every major buffet restaurants here in Louisville. Today we decided to try Hibachi Sushi Buffet by Bardstown Rd. near Ryans Buffet Restaurant.

We we're amazed to see the warm atmosphere inside and the food selections were great. Aside from the variety, there is so much for you to choose from. It is at the same price for most chinese buffet at $ 10 per person. We never went to this place before because my family doesn't eat sushi and they thought it was only a sushi buffet but it is not. It is like any chinese buffet restaurant but also with a lot of other food choices and of course sushi...

We will held our valentines celebration here on the 11th, so I will take more pictures then... I am still stuffed until now. I definitely recommend it...

Virtual Student Account By PNC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 00:55:00 +0000

I just received my Virtual Wallet Card from PNC Bank today. I am so excited to use the features of the account. As a working student, I have to make track of my spending habits and PNC's Virtual Wallet is a great tool to have for that.

I have another checking account from another bank and I can't save a dime. I just keep on swiping my debit card and doing withdrawals on the ATM machine and then once you check on your balance, its all gone. Now, I have to take charge of my spending and actually save for the rainy day.

PNC's Virtual Wallet Account is great for students. Student accounts doesn't have any maintaining balance, no opening account fee and it earns interest depending on how much money is in your growth account. It has 3 accounts, the spending account(where you put all the money you wish to spend on your checking), the reserve account (for short term savings goals), and the growth account(this is where you put your money for savings). College students can avail of opening this account and you can have it for 6 years. After 6 years it will transfer as a traditional Virtual Wallet Account. It has no age limit as long as you are studying in college or in high school you can apply.

What I did was split my salary in half. The other half goes to my other bank for the bills and the other half I asked to be put on my PNC growth account. This was, I can save money and just leave it there to earn interest. Eventually when my salary increases, I will also increase the money I put into the account.

I researched online for a great student account and I think PNC's Virtual Student Account is the best I can find.

Working in America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 00:08:00 +0000

So, I am now working in the land of opportunities. I have only been in the US for a month when I felt restless and missing my old career working for the cruise ships. A lot of my friends offered words of wisdom and a lot of advices. They said, I am now here, make the best out of it, cruise ship jobs wont be as secured as working on land, you are just starting your life in America it will eventually be better and a lot more. So I guess I just sucked it in and applied to any where I could be accepted.

Fast forward 7 months later, I now work at one of the biggest hospitals in my state. I am a Certified Nurse Assistant(a very different career than massage therapy). Before that I worked for 2 months for UPS then studied to become a Nurse Assistant. I took the board exams and passed it.

Applying for the hospital position wasn't easy. Normally, most nurse assistants end up working at a nursing home and I thought I was also going to that path. In God's grace, we got help from an insider in the hospital(who was a nurse ). She talked to the Nurse Manager to set up an interview for me and everything else is history.

I have been working at the hospital for 3 months now. I went back to college to finish my Nursing degree. Now I am a full time student and a part time Nurse Assistant.

Now, I think my life here is starting to shape up. I can't wait for what God has in store for me and my family for the following months...

Looking for Work At Home Work Opportunities

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:14:00 +0000

Okay, so the internet is the biggest thing that ever happened in the 20th century(I think) and a lot of people are making use of it for personal or business. Whether it is shopping online, making advertisement, watching the news or making money it is all good...

But looking for work at home opportunities seems to be filled with a lot of scams. You click a website that says work at home and all it gives you are packages of things you would buy to be able to work at home. It is getting kinda old...

I am in the process of looking for some work that I could do at home, and I will post here my progress...

Lets see if there really is gold in the internet... :)

New Country To Call Home

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 05:28:00 +0000

Hello Everyone, I am now embarking in a new adventure. I have temporarily left my cruise job and settled here in my new home, country... There's so many things to do like familiarize the place, try to grasp the culture, make some friends and most importantly is to find a job.

There's so many job opportunities available here. Working with hospitals, caregiver, computers and a lot more. I am still going to stick to my plan to finish my studies while working. So, I think my plate is full.

In the next few days I am going to write about my experience working in a cruise ship, haven't done that sooner because I have gotten so busy with a lot of stuff. Now I have lots of time in my hand...

So, until my next post... See you all...

Kris

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 10:45:00 +0000

Hello everyone. It's been a while. A lot of things have happened over the years, that prompted me to temporarily leave the blogsphere. Now I am back, hopefully with a lot of things to share to everyone. First of all, I want to tell you some things I have been up to. I worked on a cruise ship as a Spa Therapist. Visited a lot of places, met a lot of interesting people.

I have a lot of things to share... Definitely coming from my cluttered mind. I am also thinking of upgrading my blog and refining it. I think, I left it for a few years and now I have forgotten the basics of HTML, So, I better study a bit.

I hope you'll still be interested reading my blog. It's nice to be back...

Krissy

Tropical Storm Ondoy/Ketana's Aftermath Philippines

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Tropical storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) have devastated the whole nation. Images and videos of people stucked in the roofs of their houses, children swimming in muddy waters, cars thrown upside down and the death toll of 141 with 37 (as of this moment) reported cases of people missing. The search and rescue team are still looking for people stranded in their homes.

With this tragedy , the Filipino people are once again tested. Many have donated relief goods, food, clothes and money, thanks to the continues efforts of the celebrities, news anchors, private citizens and some politicians.

The rain came pouring last saturday. People in the Philippines are used to storms, but they have not anticipated whats to come. People just saw the danger when the flood came in their homes and later swept cars, shanty houses and the height of the water went up to 20 ft.

With the water coming flooding , some people went up to the roof and waited there to be rescued, while other braved the waters and went with the raging flash flood.

Women, Children, Babies, Old people are the most vulnerable and a lot of them were stranded for 2 days, as of this moment the search still continues as reports of other people stucked in their houses continue to pour.

The rescued are all placed in evacuation centers, schools, basketball courts and churches. They badly need food, clothes, mattress and medicine.

A lot of the victims, lost everything. Their house and their things that took years to accumulate. All is fair with the victims, both rich or poor have been affected.

Philippine Ex- President Corazon Aquino Dead at 76

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:45:00 +0000

President Corazon C. Aquino died of Cardiac Respiratory Arrest at the age of 76, from complications due to her Colon Cancer at the Makati Medical Center, August 1,2009, 3:18am.

Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a President of the Philippines and a world-renowned advocate of democracy, peace, women's empowerment, and religious piety. She served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the first female president of the Philippines and was Asia's first female president.

I was barely 6 years old when she became president. All I remember was my dad always plays this video of the Edsa Revolution and what sparked it all. As a young girl, I knew that She was the wife of the slain Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. . The one man who stood against the Marcos regime and paid a huge price.

We lived at Pasay City during this time and I remember the tense situation where there were fighter planes always circling around and you can see tanks outside. When I grew up, I understood the vital role that Mrs. Aquino played in the history of our country. If it weren't for her, our country would still be under Marcos regime, under dictatorship and martial law.

Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was the key element into destroying decades of the Marcos regime. And with his wife as the President, democracy prevailed. She was hailed as a modern day hero and the most admirable president so far. She was uncorrupt. She opted not to run for presidency the second time around, and instead wanted a peaceful transfer of government to the next President.

She always follows the rules and have been a great example for her constituents. She never abused her power as the President, not even using her traffic privileges as president.

I admire her strength and devotion to her country, most of all her love of God is legendary.

Children from the new generation should know how great a woman she is. They should know how lucky they are that a President like her ever came to office. And I am sure for years to come, her works will be remembered and also her legacy will remain forever...

We love you Mrs. President. God bless and May you Rest In Peace...

She is survived by her children, Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, Senator Benigno Aquino III, and Kristina Bernadette Cojuanco Aquino-Yap who is a television personality.

Michael Jackson's Funeral

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:36:00 +0000

The King of Pop's funeral service took place at Staple's Center. Jackson's family held a private vigil at the Forest Lawn Cemetery last Monday( Tuesday local time).

The funeral at Staples were flocked by millions of fans who just stayed outside Staples Center. Only a few of the fans got the chance to be inside through the ticket drawing. Michael's Funeral, is so heart wrenching, but I am glad because people will finally see the true man behind the successful facade.

Close family members and friends have painted the real picture of the pop star, a loving father, loyal friend, humanitarian, and a good brother, making the loss even more painful for them to bear.

"I just wanted to say ... ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him — so much," said Jackson's 11-year-old daughter, Paris-Michael, before dissolving into tears and falling into the embrace of her aunt Janet.

Magic Johnson have shared a funny memory with Jackson, when he visited him at his home to discuss a music video they were doing. Magic, ordered grilled chicken but when the chef came, he bought a bucket of KFC for Michael and the grilled chicken for Magic...

Mariah Carey performed the Jackson 5's hit " I'll be there". I cried when I saw Usher's rendition of "Gone too soon" which was originally intended for the child who died of AIDS. His brother Jermaine sang " Smile", also brought tears to the crowd.

Several other performers paid tribute and performed at the funeral, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Brooke Sheilds, Magic Johnson and others.

Queen Latifah also gave a a message...

Some who couldn't come simply sent representatives to read their message for the king of pop.
Nelson Mandela wrote a very touching condolence letter.
All in all it was a funeral fit for the King of Pop...

Here are the first 5 parts of the funeral, hosted at Youtube by AreYouConcerned...

Understanding Michael Jackson...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:43:00 +0000

This past week, I have done nothing but view different videos about Michael Jackson. Seen most of the interviews, documentaries, news articles about him. I just feel so bad that people judge him and make false accusations against him, when all he wanted was to relive his childhood over again.

He started working when he was 6 years old and never got to live the same childhood that most normal kids have. In one interview I saw online, he was asked, What he wants to say to his fans? About all the accusations and if they really knew him. He simply replied that in order for them to know him more, they should listen to a song he composed. He said it was the most truthful song he did and it basically explains who he is. The song is titled " Childhood"...

I have posted the video of the song here and also the lyrics. For you people who still criticize him up to this moment, this is for you... Michael Jackson, reaching out, explaining himself... Rest in peace, Michael Jackson...

Childhood lyrics
Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'Cause I've been looking around
In the lost and found of my heart...
No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities...
'Cause I keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay
'Cause I love such elementary things...
It's been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood
I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams,
Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?

People say I'm strange that way
'Cause I love such elementary things,
It's been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
The dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.
The painful youth I've had

Have you seen my Childhood...

Please understand him more...

Farrah Fawcett Succombs To Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:34:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

The Star of the hit series Charlie's Angels had passed away. Farah succumbed to her long battle with anal cancer at Saint John's hospital in Santa Monica announced by her longtime companion, actor, Ryan O'neal.

Fawcett was married to Lee Majors, star of TV's The Six Million Dollar Man, from 1973–1982, though the couple separated in 1979. During her marriage, she was known and credited in her roles as Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

From 1982 until her death, Fawcett was involved romantically with actor Ryan O'Neal. The relationship produced a son, Redmond O'Neal, born in 1985.

Fawcett agreed to marry O'neal just a few days before she passed away. They were just waiting for her to be in good shaped...

Condolence to her family and friends... She will always be an angel for everyone who knew her...

Michael Jackson, King of Pop, Dead...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:39:00 +0000

Michael Jackson via last.fm

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, 50, died in UCLA Medical Center of Cardiac Arrest. The Pop star was staging a string of comeback concerts in London. I was shocked when I heard about this. Fans from all over the world mourns the King of Pop, who made the hits like, Billy Jean, Thriller and Beat it.

Michael Jackson was also once married to Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley's daughter. They were together for 2 years and then got divorced. After Lisa Marie, he married, Deborah Jeanne Rowe, a dermatologist nurse. With Rowe, he fathered 2 children, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (also known as "Prince"), and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. After the couple divorced in 1999, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the children to Jackson, they remained friends. He also had a third child, by a surrogate mother, through artificial insemination, Prince Michael Jackson II (also known as Blanket) was born in 2002.

Michael, is very famous around the world. His troubles began when he was accused of molesting children in his Neverland Ranch. He became a recluse and faded into the spotlight. News about him occasionally crop out. Like when he is in Dubai, staying with wealthy friends and the news about dangling his child Blanket at the balcony of his room...

He had been addicted with a lot of medications for stress and pain... His health began to deteriorate and he was also diagnosed with vitiligo, that caused his skin to whiten...

Although a lot of media hype had caused Jackson's fall to fame, he is still well respected and very much loved by his fans. Fans flooded his website with messages of condolences and grief causing it to crash at 9:00am... Radio stations have been playing his songs and people are blogging about him.

It is such a shame that he wasn't able to do his comeback... Tickets have been sold like hotcakes... It would have been his last comeback...

As a child, I grew up to his songs, fell in love with his ballads and adored his dance moves. I hope he finds the peace that he had been longing for all his life...

Great Artwork by aTeenager

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Just received an email from my hubby... He is so fond of sending me great forwarded messages. I just want to share this one to you guys...

There is a huge rock near a gravel pit on Hwy. 25 in rural Iowa. For generations, kids have painted slogans, names,

and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. A few months back, the rock received its latest

paint job, and since then it has been left completely undisturbed.It's quite an impressive sight. Be sure to scroll

down and check out the multiple photos.(all angles) of the rock.I thought the flag was draped over the rock,

but it's not. It's actually painted on the rock too.

This is the guy who did the painting... Ray"Bubba" Sorensen

Such a great artist... We should pass this on...:)

Alec Baldwin's Comment Angered Philippine Senator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:54:00 +0000

A comment made by Actor Alec Baldwin had angered Philippine Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. . The actor had commented that he would just get a mail order bride from the Philippines or Russia. The Philippines is known for many interracial marriages, particularly men from the US.

I am a Filipina, I am also married to an American. Everyone has their own opinion. I just hope, people would not generalize their judgements to every filipino people. Not everyone in the Philippines share the same values and are of different characters.

This comment made by Mr. Baldwin somehow upsets me. Although I know he was only joking, but us as Filipinos are made as the butt of the joke again.

I hope the world would see us with all the great achievements we have done, not by all the negative publicity that have been plastered all over by the media...

Again this is just my own point of view....

Updates... Busy but not gone...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Hello everyone. I know I have been out of the blogging scene for a while. Been busy with personal things. Like my mom leaving for the states and some disputes we are having at the farm...

I will also be busy with school as to I have enrolled this semester. I hope to squeeze in time for my blogging hobby. I am also so happy Manny Pacquiao won against Ricky Hatton. For you guys who don't know them, they are the best fighter at this time.

Manny had knocked out Ricky Hatton about 3 times. Twice in the first round and once in the second round. The game was over in just about 6 minutes... Quite fast... Now the pride of the Filipino people is 572 million or 12 million dollars richer, excluding the commissions he will be getting on the pay per view sales...

I am also worried and sad about the Swine flu. I hope vaccines for it would already surface. A lot of people are worried and scared that they might get this sickness...

All of you who are always traveling, be cautious. Wear masks and try not to be in close contact with people whom you suspect to have flu like symptoms. Drink plenty of water and take your vitamin c daily...

On Saturday, we will do our first circumssision. It is a community outreach prpgram in which student nurses like us are given the chance to experience and learn everything on the spot. I just hope we do well... And do it right... I am quite extatic about it. More updates next time... Ciao!!!

Metro Manila- Still the place to be...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:35:00 +0000

I haven't blogged for a few weeks already. Been busy about a lot of things. Processing papers, going to the farm and accompanying mom to where she needed to go. Just last week, I went to Manila to process my birth certificate.

The main office of the NSO ( National Statistics Office) is located in Manila and I have to fix some errors made on my birth certificate, in order for me to proceed with my visa processing. While I was there, Mom and I stayed at The Kabayan Hotel. Kabayan Hotel is a budget hotel that has very nice rooms and also great service. It is greatly patronized by Filipinos who worked abroad and lately a large percentage of the hotels guests are foreigners.

Gone were the days where the tourists stay at a very high priced five star hotels... Kabayan is jammed packed with people. Every room is full...

It is also specially great if you are on a tight budget. They offer dormitory rooms where there are 6 people in one room. Each of you have your own key and own locker. The room also has its own bathroom... Only for 600 a day... Free breakfast and at some accomodation also have free lunch...

Kabayan hotel has 2 branches, one is Cubao and the other one in Pasay Rotonda...

There are lots of changes in infrastructure one thing hasn't changed though, the traffic...:) Also the crooks are still alive and kicking, looking for innocent people to con...

Mom and I went to Divisoria on 168. She bought a lot of stuff there at a really cheap price... You can find anything from clothes, bags, accessories, house decors, electronics and many more. You can also ask for a discount... There is no such thing as a fixed price.

processing papers in government office is quite a hassle... You have to fall in line for hours. And there are a lot of fixers hounding you. Thats the only thing I don't like.

We also went to Bonifacio Global City and strolled along High street... Bought 2 books from Fully Booked and drink my coffee at Strabucks... Mom bought krispy Kreme's for pasalubong.

Will upload pictures soon... So busy...

The New Ipod Shuffle With Voice Over Features

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:51:00 +0000

The New Ipod Shuffle is another revolutionary device from apple. It is by far the smallest model of the Ipod family and full packed with features that have just been developed by Apple. Don't be fooled by its size. It is 1.8"x0.3" thin to be exact. Smaller than your average house keys. But its got 4gb of memory which stores up to 1000 songs.

Unlike the previous versions of the Ipod shuffle, the control center of this one is conveniently located at the right ear bud, which is very easy to access. Just clip it on your sleeves and you're good to go.

This Ipod shuffle also has voice over capabilities, where you could press it to know which song is playing, what's the next song and if your ipod needs to be charged. You could also create playlists so you could listen to music depending on your mood. No need for a screen to browse songs, because voice over will take care of it.

A great accessory that you'll love to carry around wherever you go. The New ipod shuffle, definitely is a stunner. It costs just $79 in the states and P4,190.00 in the Philippines. There are 2 colors available, black and white. If you buy it online, you can choose to have it personalized by having a message engraved on it. Also offers free shipping if bought on apple online stores worldwide...

Connecting Domain Name To Your Hosting Account

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Just 2 weeks ago, I purchased my first domain at godaddy.com . I will use it as a practice site for my blogging career. As a first timer with this situation, I had to rely on several online tutorials on how to link my domain name from godaddy.com to my hosting account in hostazar.com. In the beginning I was really freaking out because I had to learn it every step of the way.

It was confusing at first but then I understood it as I went along with the online video instructions at becomeablogger. I use a different domain registrant and hosting account, didn't use what they recommended yet because I have learned from most of the forums that godaddy.com is the best domain registrant and I used hostazar.com because they offer a monthly payment scheme in which, I could always discontinue if I don't like the services they will give me.

In linking your domain name to your hosting account, go to your domain registrars account and access your control panel. Use the username and password that you have given when you have registered. In the control panel, you coulod edit/change your personal info, like name, phone numbers, address, because all of this are accessible through whois inquiry. You wouldn't want spammers to spam your email. So be cautious in the info you put here.

Back to the original topic, look for the DNS servers. After locating this, you can go to your email and read the email sent to you by the hosting company containing the DNS servers.

The DNS servers is what "connects hosting with the domain name" and your web host will most likely provide you with a set of DNS servers, both primary and secondary.Enter the new DNS information to your domains control panel and you are set to go.

I hope this was helpful for you...

Fernando Amorsolo - Remembering The Filipino Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Amorsolo's Self Portrait

I have been assisting my daughter in doing her school project. It has something to do about Filipino Heroes and Greatest Achievers, in the process of doing this, I have recently renewed mtyinterest in some of the great Filipino people of our history and one of them is Fernando Amorsolo, The first Filipino National Artist...

Let me begin by telling something about the great painter. He was born on May 30, 1892 at Paco Manila as the 3rd in the family of 4 boys. As a young boy he had been tutored at home and was also an apprentice to his Uncle, a painter. He had painted sceneries for postcards and sold it to a local bookstore to make ends meet. He entered the School of Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines in 1909 and was one of the first graduates in 1914. He had went to study further in Spain through the sponsorship of a prominent Filipino, Don Enrique Zobel. Amorsolo have also worked as a draftsman at the Department of Public Works and had taught at his Alma mater and later became the Director of Fine Arts of University of the Philippines until his retirement.

"The Filipina" Fernando Amorsolo

His “Rice Planting” (1922) was a staple of tourist brochures and his style became most sought-after by American soldiers who wanted something uniquely Filipino to bring back home to the United States.

"Rice Planting" Amorsolo (1922)

One such client, Capt. Robert Kennedy, brought home a few Amorsolo pieces and had them framed at the Art Center Gallery in New York. The gallery owners inquired about the artist which led to Amorsolo’s first one-man show in New York. Of the 40 pieces, 24 were immediately purchased.

Amorsolo often uses his family members to pose for his paintings. Mostly his wife and his daughters. At one time, he had made his house helpers pose for him, after posing he had paid them. His daughter asked why did he have to pay them when he is already paying for their salary? He replied, "We have hired them to do housework and not to pose for me, therefore, they should be compensated for posing for my painting".

It is said that he had made over 10,000 pieces in his lifetime. Every painting reflects his mastery in the use of light and his craftsmanship evident in every stroke in his canvasses that describes day to day life of people in the Philippines.

Women are painted with such detail that one could see the love he has for his wife and daughters. His sketches are done randomly of no particular subject. He just draws what he sees. May it be Philippine scenery like the Banaue Rice Terraces and the Pagsanjan Falls, the Rice Harvests and Ladies doing laundry by the lake or the war torn country that he had agonizingly depicted in his drawings.

He had done numerous art exhibits both locally and abroad and always with such a critical acclaim. Due to his popularity, he had sold almost all of his creations and it is very expensive to own one of his works. Those who own Amorsolo pieces are the rich and famous art collectors.

One of his works, the Markang Demonyo, is still used up to this day. It is the design to one of the most popular gin in the Philippines, Ginebra San Miguel Gin.

"Markang Demonyo" Ginebra San Miguel Logo

He had died in 1972 at the age of 79. His sketches and some of his works were divided among his wife and children. He is truly one of the Philippines pride. We are proud of him...

Acer Aspire M5641 - A Really Great All Around Desktop PC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:30:00 +0000

The Aspire M5641, a new consumer desktop computer that is offered by Acer. This computer boasts of great specifications and is said to be very fast and very efficient. Having the Core 2 Quad Intel processor, 18.5 LCD widescreen monitor, a roomy 320 Gb SATA Hdd, 2 Gb DDR2 Memory, Nvidia Graphics and a very sleek design, its definitely one great PC to have.

The only flaw I have seen in the unit is the installation of the Operating System. We installed windows vista starter edition in it. I am actually new to using windows vista and a Core 2 Quad PC unit. The guys at the computer shop almost took the whole 3 hours trying to install windows vista to the computer... Unlike the previous versions where you just put the installation disk at the drive bay and then it automatically starts. Here they went through a complex way in installing the OS. That I am afraid to even reformat the pc because I think I wouldn't know how to install the OS back to the machine again...

I think I have to study that and blog about it separately in another entry.

After the installation, tried the unit and it is so fast... You can do multi-tasking in it. Write your blog entry, listen to internet radio, watch youtube videos, download torrent files, play a favorite PC game at the same time and it won't budge... A powerhouse computer...

Will try to use it a few more days and would be back blogging more about this amazing PC... So far, it is worth the price tag of almost 35,000 Php... Definitely recommend it to other pc enthusthiasts out there.

And if you don't know a thing on how to install the operating system, better leave it to the experts. Have the computer shop technicians install it for you, or else, you'll have a real big problem installing the OS.

Paul McCartney Engaged To Wealthy Divorced Heiress...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:32:00 +0000

It is of no secret that I have been a fan of the Beatles since I was in high school. I still do follow some news about the 2 remaining Beatles namely Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. But it seems like Sir Paul McCartney is always the one who is in the hot seat as always. From losing his beloved wife Linda McCartney to breast cancer, marrying Heather Mills, who turned out to be a monster and now being engaged to his current love interest Miss Nancy Shevell, who is also divorced from her equally rich husband, lawyer Bruce Blakeman.

Sir Paul McCartney and Miss Shevell have been together since the post divorce hearings of Sir Paul to his estranged ex-wife, Heather Mills. Since then, Miss Shevell have been photographed a lot and been followed by paparazzi. The once private life she had, is not so private now, because she is with Paul McCartney.

News broke that they are also engaged, which Sir Paul brushed off as lies, all lies. There is absolutely nothing wrong if they do get married. They look so happy. And I haven't seen Paul McCartney so happy, not since his wife, Linda McCartney.

Sir Paul McCartney deserves to be happy. He is a good man with a good heart. What happened to him with Heather Mills is unfortunate which cost him $50 Million in divorced settlements. But I am glad that he got rid of her... She's not good for him... :)

Before Linda Eastman McCartney, Paul McCartney is also engaged to his long time girlfriend Jane Asher. Maybe they are not just meant to be...

What matters now is, Sir Paul is Happy.... And we will probably be waiting for some wedding bells to ring, in the future that is.... Good luck to you Sir Paul...

Be Careful of Online Fraud

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:16:00 +0000

The Internet has definitely made the world small, and so are the fraudsters. They can easily con people who are not familiar of the games they play. Just last week, a friend of a friend went online to look for a cheap memory for her computer. Her computer was way too old and there are no more ddr 1 memory chips available at computer shops where she lives. She went to join this forum where people that live close to her place are auctioning practically anything online at this particular website.

She had typed in computer memory and then the search results came. She had picked someone who was selling a ddr1 memory for half the price it was offering at a second hand shop at the mall. So she contacted the guy and made arrangements. The guy whose name is just James was in constant communication with her through Ym(Yahoo messenger) and through texts.

They met one afternoon and my friend Lizzy had welcomed this guy to their house. The guy had installed the ram into the computer and told Lizzy to call her if there would be problems with her computer. She paid the guy named James and bid goodbye.

The computer was working well for about 2 days when suddenly the monitor was acting up. So she called this guy and told her about the problem. The guy who was very friendly was easily accepted to Lizzy's house. Her mom and her siblings got somehow close to him. While all this was happening, all sorts of problems came to her computer. One day, it just went dead. The guy(James) told her she needs to replace her computer monitor because it is already dead. By this time, James is also acting weird. Saying things from one thing to another. He is not consistent on his stories and he keeps on looking around the house, like he is searching for something. Another thing that is very suspicious is when he said, that Lizzy should not let other technicians fix her computer...

Lizzy at some point got suspicious and looked for another technician to look at her computer. There she was told that her computer has missing parts. NO Memory... The hard disk was also changed. The original hard disk was a Samsung 80 gb SATA. What's in her computer now is a 10 gb Fujitsu hard disk... Screws were also lost and some cd installers.

Lesson learned... Never trust anyone you have met online... Especially if you have just known them for a few days. Do a background check. Check his id and confirm if he works for the company he states... All these and more will help you through your transactions with online services and buying something online... Be cautious... Be careful in dealing with someone online. You just don't know what they are up to...