It’s almost the eve of Christmas.

I can hear the sound of fireworks outside. Heck they still do this even if it’s not yet New Year.

There are those who are busy wrapping presents. And there are some, still outside, buying for Christmas presents. An extremely late Christmas shopping and one hell of a long line towards the cashier.

Others are busy preparing food for this year’s Noche Buena (Christmas Eve feast) which usually includes; lechón, pancit, fried chicken, lumpia, rice, adobo, among others for the main course; desserts include halo-halo, rice cakes, puto bumbong, ice cream, pastries and cakes; drinks include soda, wine, beer, juice.

Carolers can still be heard singing outside the gates of our neighbors. I just hope and pray that they don’t hurt by those who are throwing firecrackers on the sidewalk.

Text messages, instant messages, and emails that came from friends and acquaintances are flooding the air with messages. Networks are usually clogged by the stroke of midnight tonight, so they are sending their messages early before it’s caught up in air traffic.

Websites, specially blogs, are storming the web with various “Merry Christmas” greetings in over a hundred languages, this blog is no exception. But in my case, I’m going to post that later.

Catholic devotees attended this night’s final Simbang Gabi (es. Misa de Gallo, en. Rooster’s Mass). Well, they say, completing all the nine masses will grant one’s wish. I will never know the truth behind that since I don’t go to the church anymore.

As for me…

I’m here at home.

We (my mom and I), didn’t bother to decorate the house. So in short, we don’t have those fancy Christmas lights and no Christmas trees. It’s not that we can’t afford to have one, its just that there are only two of us here in our house and it really doesn’t matter if we have decorations or not. And to say, I never did like to celebrate holidays, whether if it is Christmas, New Year, or Halloween. Heck, I also never did like to celebrate my birthday. But we will still have our own Noche Buena later tonight.

Filipinos, yes us and our countrymen, even if in the face of poverty, we still have time to celebrate special occasions like this. You see even if we know that there are more less fortunate people here in our country, we still hold on to age old tradition that keeps the family together. And Christmas is the time when you should be with your family, whether you’re outside or at home.

And what the hell I’m doing watching horror movies at this time of the year.

It’s time to start sending Christmas spams… wehehe…

Tags: Christmas, Noche Buena

1. Si Inay, tinuruan niya ako ng HOW TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
   “Kung kayong dalawa ay magpapatayan, doon kayo sa labas. Mga punyeta kayo, kalilinis ko lang ng bahay.”
2. Natuto ako ng RELIGION kay Itay.
   “Kapag yang mantsa di natanggal sa carpet, magdasal ka na!”
3. Si Itay, tinuruan niya kami ni Kuya kung anong ibig sabihin ng TIME TRAVEL.
   “Kung di kayo tumigil ng pagngangawa diyan, tatadyakan ko kayo ng todo hanggang umabot kayo sa isang linggo!”
4. Kay Inay ako natuto ng LOGIC.
   “Kaya ganyan, dahil sinabi ko.”
5. Kay Inay din ako natuto ng MORE LOGIC.
   “Kapag ikaw ay nalaglag diyan sa bubong, ako lang mag-isa manonood ng sine.”
6. Kay Itay naman natuto ng FORESIGHT si Kuya.
   “Siguraduhin mo na lagi kang magsusuot ng malinis na brief, para pag nakascore ka sa syota mo e di kahiya-hiya.”
7. Si Inay naman ang nagturo sa akin kung ano ang ibig sahibin ng IRONY.
   “Sige ngumalngal ka, kundi bibigyan talaga kita ng iiyakan mo!”
8. Kay Inay ako natuto ng science of OSMOSIS.
   “Punyeta, itigil mo ang kadadakdak at tapusin mong kainin ang inihanda kong hapunan para sa iyo.”
9. Si Inay ang nagpaliwanag sa akin kung ano ang CONTORTIONISM.
   “Tingnan mo nga yang dumi sa likod ng leeg mo, tignan mo!”
10. Si Itay ang nagpaliwanag sa akin kung anong ibig sabihin ng STAMINA.
    “Wag kang tatayo diyan hangga’t di mo natatapos kainin lahat yang gulay mo!”
11. At si Inay ang nagturo sa amin kung anong ibig sabihin ng WEATHER.
    “Alangya, ano ba itong kuwarto nyong magkapatid, parang dinaanan ng bagyo!”
12. Sa CIRCLE OF LIFE, ang paliwanag sa akin ni Inay ay ganito:
    “Malandi kang bata ka, iniluwal kita sa mundong ito, maaari rin kitang alisin sa mundong ito.”
13. Kay Itay ako natuto kung ano ang BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
    “Tatadyakan kita diyan, huwag ka ngang nag-uumarte diyan naparang Nanay mo!”
14. Si Inay naman ang nagpaliwanag sa amin kung anong ibig sabihin ng ENVY.
    “Maraming mga batang ulila sa magulang, di ba kayo nagpapasalamat at mayroon kayong magulang na tulad namin?”
15. Si Itay naman ang nagturo sa akin ng ANTICIPATION.
    “Tangna kang bata ka, hintayin mong makarating tayo sa bahay…!”
16. At si Itay pa rin ang nagturo kay Kuya kung ano ibig sabihin ng RECEIVING.
    “Uupakan kita pagdating natin sa bahay!”
17. Si Inay naman ang nagturo sa aking kung ano ang HUMOR.
    “Kapag naputol yang mga paa mo ng pinaglalaruan mong lawn mover, wag na wag kang tatakbo sa akin at lulumpohin kita!”
18. Kay Itay naman natuto si Kuya ng HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
    “Kung di ka matutong magbati, eh di ka nga tatangkad.”
19. Si Inay ang nagturo sa akin kung anong ibig sabihin ng GENETICS.
    “Nagmana ka nga talaga sa ama mong walanghiya.”
20. Kay Inay din ako natuto ng WISDOM.
    “Pag umabot ka na ng edad ko, saka mo pa lang maiintindihan ang lahat.”
21. At ang paborito ko sa lahat na natutunan ko kay Inay at Itay ay kung ano ang JUSTICE.
    “Isang araw magkakaroon ka rin ng anak, panalangin namin na sana’y matulad sila sayo… haliparot!”

Tags: lessons

I just have to try this one on my personal blog site…

Criticsrant.com created this nifty web page, or should I call test page, for blog readability. Simply enter your blog URL then the result will show how much ’school level’ is needed for reading your blog. They also included a ready made HTML code so you can post it in your blog or website.

Note: This tool also works on myspace profiles, livejournals, facebook, and most websites

I don’t know how how accurate the results are, but it seems to scan the first page of your website, and thus the results may vary from time to time. The image posted above is the result I got just now, while typing this entry.

[via my community blog site Tambayan.ph posted last Nov. 18, 2007]

Tags: level, read, reading, webtool

Nag-rent ng isang van ang magbabarkada para mag out-of-town. Habang nasa biyahe biglang humirit si Ethan…

Ethan: Alam niyo ba, in the Animal Kingdom, males are more dominant than females?

Di papatalo si Rosing…

Rosing: Ok lang. Studies show that women outlived men.

May pantapat si Dodong…

Dodong: Eh diba nga, men have higher IQ than women?

Di na napigilan at nagsalita na rin si Inday…

Inday: And what is your proof Dodong? Such claims concerning gender differences are empirical and they should be evaluated by evidence. Is it because there are more male scientists or mathematicians than female ones? Do you think that this translates to men having greater cognitive aptitude for science? Or males are intrinsically better at mathematical and spatial reasoning? Or that men show greater variability than women, and as a result there are more men at the extreme upper end of the ability distribution from which scientists and mathematicians are drawn?

Inday: Tell me Dodong, what’s your evidence? Don’t you know that we are endowed with core knowledge systems that emerge prior to any formal instruction which serves as a basis for mathematical thinking and these systems equally develop in males and females? I tell you, there are no differences in intrinsic aptitude between men and women. You must consider social factors involved before stating your claim. There are social forces, including overt and covert discrimination and social influences that lead men and women to develop different skills and different priorities.

Natameme na si Dodong…

Want more? Visit Inday’s blog @ www.blogniinday.com

Tags: inday