Mar 28th 2009greenbucksCurrent Events & Thoughts
So, someone asked, whatever happened to my application for a teaching position in the land of milk and honey?
Well, it is on hold for several reasons.
But I have to say the excitement in waiting is waning.
Hah, and to think I was already looking at Wilmington NC real estate for ideas on where to stay. Talk about counting the chicks before the eggs are hatched 😀
Well, I love my work, traffic jam and all.
Mar 3rd 2009greenbucksCurrent Events & For Information & Philippines & Thoughts
March and April are months when graduations happen where we are. My eldest daughter is graduating from elementary school as she is in her 7th grade. We opted to not go to high school even if she passed the entrance test she took last year which means she can skip grade seven.
At first she doesn’t want to go to grade 7 because that would mean additional expenses for year. But we decided to just go ahead to enable her to prepare herself better for the challenges in high school and to further hone her leadership abilities.
To those graduating students, I salute you for all the hard work you have done (wishful thinking for some, lol).
Dec 18th 2008greenbucksCurrent Events & Thoughts & World Watch
With Christmas just a few days away, we only have a few days left to savor the year 2008.
What have you done or not done so far?
How have you been?
Were the visions and dreams when the year started became realities?
Did the positive weighed more than the negatives?
Nov 11th 2008greenbucksCurrent Events & For Information & Philippines & World Watch
There are probably millions (documented and otherwise) Filipinos working overseas. In fact, its bound to happen that someone knows somebody who has a family member, whether one or both parents, siblings, cousins and other relatives working abroad.
One can find them almost anywhere, from the crew of vacation cruises going to the Bahamas to those who work in the hotel kitchens and restaurants in the different countries. They take care of the children of families they work for or take care of the aging people needing assisted care. There are those who work for las vegas hotel reservations while others work as nurses, doctors and therapists in hospitals all over the world.They sail big commercial ships while other teach the children in other countries.
These hardworking people send home billion dollars worth of remittances that help keep the economy afloat. Yes, the families back here whose members are working overseas have purchasing powers.
But…
Due to the economic woes all over the world, there is of course, a significant dip in the money being sent home. Purchasing powers are cut, and (drastic) measures of saving for the rainy days are being practiced.
Not bad to cut on the purchases since one can never know how long the jobs can be kept knowing the vulnerability of the world economy is.
Jul 23rd 2008greenbucksBusiness & Current Events & Money Watch & World Watch
A lot of people aim for “The American Dream”.
What is exactly the American Dream?
Living in the suburbs, having one or two cars, vacation, shopping sprees, credit cards and other luxurious and comfortable ways to live. These are good to do as long as one can afford to pay for all of this. What if one can’t pay for all of these?
But this scenario is changing.
They are losing their homes and their cars. The American government even gave out tax rebates. Fannie Mae, the largest mortgage buyer and Freddy Mac, the second largest mortgage buyer were given emergency rescue plans.
Women who used to be in the workforce are not working anymore. Banks are reporting billions of losses.
This is being forecasted as the “death” of the middle class.
Americans as well as the British are deep in debts and there is more to this than meets the eye.
Why does this happen? It is because they are spending more than they can afford, courtesy of the lending companies.
So what do they do? Get another credit to pay for a credit.
So who is to blame? The credit availability or the mindset of getting things that can’t be paid for in cash but through credits?
Read what happened to Diane McLeod in a NYTimes article entitled “Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt”.
May this serve as a lesson to everyone who loves charging their purchases to credit cards.
Jun 5th 2008greenbucksBlogging101 & Current Events & Thoughts & World Watch
Yes, I know I am a day late (Pacific time) with my post but I believe that peace transcends all time and situations, if only we will allow it to happen.
Peace is not the absence of violence but also has the presence of justice, according to Mahatma Gandhi.
Peace is a rare commodity.Its a commodity because it is expensive. Billions are spent to curtail war, to stop terrorism, to have peace. But with all the families broken, the souls destroyed, antiquities forever gone, do we even say that peace has been achieved? Are we even happy with the way things turned out? Can we truly say that we feel safe and secured? Can we really say that justice has been served or is being served or will be served to those who truly deserve it?
I do not understand why people have to fight over territories, why people have to prove who reigns supreme. Maybe I do not want to really understand for if I do, I would believe that this is the right way and therefore would promote the fighting. Why can’t people learn to live with each other, accept each others’ uniqueness and eccentricities and maybe, we would have peace. But this is hard, for everyone has his own agenda, his own reasons for the actions being done, and his own righteous beliefs?
Oppression. Killing. Famine. War. Terrorism. Environmental destruction. Natural disaster. Even family matters that seem trivial, all these and more, cause disturbance of peace.
Through it all, maybe peace is a mindset, a lifestyle and a kind of wishful thinking. With all the negative things happening, can one really have a peaceful mindset? I do not know if I am even making any sense here, I feel like I am rambling.
The Bible says that: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:6).
Thank you, Mimi, for starting this Blog Blast for Peace where bloggers can stand up as one voice and express our feelings about this matter. Here is Mimi’s Blog Blast for Peace Revolution of Words post.
Dona Nobis Pacem
