•are you a carrot? an egg? or a coffee bean?

in our study improvement session, still at dost summer orientation and enrichment program, we are asked first if how well do we know ourselves. and then, she asked everyone else if fate favors us to be a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean, what would we be and why?

then she showed up a presentation. we read it and i’ll share with you what have i learned from the session.

a young girl asked her father what’s the difference between people. her father had her at the table then he pick a casserole and put it on fire. he then pour a boiling water into the casserole and one by one lay into it the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean. he told her daughter to cover the casserole and be back after sixty minutes.

twenty minutes had passed and the daughter asked her father what does it means. the father replied – haven’t you noticed the changes? these three will characterize the difference between people. they were all put into the same instance, same adversity, same temperature and same boiling water. the carrot turned squashy and spongy. the egg seemed to break its shell and became a hard-boiled egg. the coffee bean vanished but it is still there, the aroma, the color and it turned the boiling water into a coffee.

the young girl was curious and retorted – so? does that makes people differ father? i mean, what would the carrot and the egg and the coffee bean have to do with people? is it what they eat most? or what they prefer to it?

the father reacted – no, dear. the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean are the people. life comes at us rushing from out of the darkness and when it does, we struggle to find the courage to face it. it is when we are in test we discover truly who are we and find out who can we be.

are you a carrot?

- the ones who seemed to be so strong, well-built and sturdy but once tested and put into life’s difficulty will drastically turned into yielding ones. these are the ones who pretend to be enormous, as if no one could ever defeat them and put them down but they are just dead serious fooling their selves knowing that they are just pretending. they are easily worn out and let the challenges make them weak.

are you an egg?

-the ones who seemed to be on their comfort zone, the weaklings and the soft-hearted but when examined into massive harsh conditions would find out that they can be as strong as anyone else and come up beyond their shells. these are the fragile ones, they are always put into test. people look at them as scrawny and unable to fight for their selves. but when you reach their boiling point, they will suddenly evolve into someone afar from every expectation. they learn to fight back when they have to.

or are you a coffee bean?

-the kind of persons that would change the adversity as something that could be a part of them, that would be positive and look every difficulty as a form of ordeal to make them stunning. these are the ones who are capable of changing the world. they have the solutions to make things better when they are tested. they don’t fight back, they just let the disputation pass by and be who they are until such disputation become its strength.

if i’ll ask you now, what would you be – a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

•why do you exist?

i was very anxious of what am i going to answer in this question after it was asked on our English class in dost. i told everyone that i exist because i think. i think of God and so i exist because He wants me to exist and He wants me to think of Him. i sat down and tossed down a couple of air. i was into my ceiling and i just conversed of what i’m thinking of as of that moment. i was vague of my own existence and i guess that is totally right – not that i don’t exist because God wants me to, but there is really something wrong about how i look at my existence. i was a bit hysterical, confused and hazy later on that day until i realized things i should have mentioned that day.

i exist because i want to exist, aside from the fact that God wants me to. i exist because that would only be the greatest thing i could ever do for everyone – to be there when they suddenly realize that they need me right then. i really don’t have any idea why do i have to exist but all i know is i want to exist.

i fear that someday i would be asked by the same question and i’ll have to put a question mark on my hand and spank it to my head. i am uncertain of what lies ahead. the future is skewed, it changes as seconds pass by. who knows that i exist to assassinate someone? it’s a bit too early, i guess, to tell that i exist for this definite reason. i don’t want to be embarrassed someday in front of all eyes in the judgment day and looking back to the day i answered the issue of why do i exist, i’ll have to ask myself – what the fcuk have i done to myself?

all i know is i want to exist for me to find out what my existence is bound for.

i missed the old days. ;[

so today is may 11, 2009. and you might have forgotten me for a while. but that’s a good thing though, seeing you happy, almost perfect, less problematic of our situation. well, what do i have to say? uhm. i know this day would be great if you’ll just let me out of your mind for a while. so can i ask you a favor? please get me out of your head.

that sounds rude, right. as if i’m very confident. but i know that i’ve been freaking out lately. i’ve been so callous and irresistible about the two of us. it’s just that i don’t want you to miss me more, for you to ask me to be at your side everytime you need me or want to talk to me. coz if you keep on being that, hell, i’ll cross the seas and skies just to be there. i don’t want you to suffer coz that makes twice the impair for me. i don’t want you to solely rely on the two of us for the mean time. i love to hear those words – that you miss me, on how you wish i could be there today, and i love to say that i miss you too and how i badly want to be there too. but that’s the saddest part of all, those words that we love much just impair us, just make us weak, just make us bear the ache. and i don’t want that to happen. i don’t want to spoil every moment of our lives. i want to make you happy coz seeing you that makes me happy too, even if it would mean that i should sacrifice a part of what i really want – you. it’s like that the more you are in contact with the one you love, the more it becomes concealed.

people leave. they leave for one day they’ll have to come back. i don’t want to leave you coz it tears me up inside. but i have to. i want you to be strong coz you’re my strength after all. just keep the faith burning. i’ve had the whiff of you in my head, and i guess it will probably be there forever. but like the aromas of every perfumes, it grows fainter as time goes by unless you have it once again. i’ve grown incredibly and startlingly desensitized, and if i’m away from you for a jiffy, i’ll have to let pass the scent. that will be harder. love never fades, it’s the complications that ruins the whole story. but if you’ll look at it anyway, love is still the way it was. Shakespeare wrote that love is not love which alters when it finds alteration. it’s constant. i hope we are, too.

maybe, i’m just too scared to admit that i don’t want to lose you. i don’t want you to grow tired of loving me but i don’t want you also to suffer the consequences of loving me. let’s stop bothering about tomorrow, let’s enjoy and make the best out of what we have today. i can wait forever. and i’ll have to do my best for you to stay.

hmp. it’s been so yesterday. yesterday, we both held each other’s hand. yesterday, we kept on talking about how good the life God has given us. yesterday, we shared our problems and worries, comfort each other, cry on the phone, and laugh at it. it seems to be yesterday, when i first and lastly kissed your cheeks; when i cried because i wasn’t your first dance at my last acquaintance party; when i was happy seeing you dancing on your first and my last prom; when we showed off that jack shirt on the recent high school day; when we first talked about our status, my third year rejoicing intramurals; when you recorded a song which used to be my ring tone; when you cried for gastric ulcer when we’re in kidapawan city and how much i want to help you but i can’t; when we last cuddled each other’s presence. all seems to be just the day before today.

and in all of those days, i forget to ask myself, who are you?

it sucked that the only thing i know is i love you.

on this day onward, i’ll have to little by little figure out everything about you, aside from the fact that you really like green, that you love to see white flowers (natural and not artificial like soap flowers ;]), that you’re into photography, that you sleep at research bio or environmental science class and wake up when sir valdez asks you to, that you hate people tease you that you speak like a child even if that’s quite true, that you love mr. bean and had memorized all the scenes – live or animated series, that you’re into secondhand serenade’s awake and your call, that you want a crocs, that you want a lens for your digital camera, that you love to play guitar, that you had a great crush with piolo pascual and now with john lloyd cruz, that your favorite subject is values because you’re good at it, that you love dancing but you’re afraid to admit it, that you had a great singing talent like your sister, that you are more beautiful with straight hair, green skinny jeans and tee shirts, that you can’t sleep at night because you love to sleep at daytime, that you hate the SBO governor s.y 2008-2009, that you like Korean, that you loved spring waltz (i don’t know if you still love it), that you love to share chocolates with your friends, that you love to fool me and anyone else, that you’re not allowed to have a boyfriend, that you’re hard-headed because you disobey your parents for that rule, that you can’t cross four-lane streets without someone to help you, that you hate being alone, that you had a good penmanship like an architect, that you love bags courtesy of hmmn inc., that you love your green bag, that you hate math, that you see a mirror everytime you want to cry just to avoid it, that your phone billed more than 3k these late months, and what else? that you love me. lolx.

there’s a lot to be discovered and it will take me years to finally complete your puzzled personality. you’re a mystery and that’s much for me to contain.

on this day, i wish you all the best that you could probably ever have – good relationship with God, your family and to everyone else. i want you to take good care of yourself, don’t skip meals even though you feel like you’re full. i wish that you’ll be a successful individual someday, that you’ll soar up high and people would be proud of you. i want you to make good of your grades on your final year, and at the same time enjoy the company of your friends. i want you to be happy and live your life to the fullest – grab every opportunity that would make you better and give your best like it would be the last. i wish that may all of your dreams be granted.


i love you and that’s the way it is. i love you and i guess i will always. no matter what i say, what i believe, and what i do, i’m bankrupt without love for only three things continue forever – faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love. loving you always leaves a legacy.

there are no shortcuts to maturity. everything takes time.





ps. pakikuha na lang kay hani ang simple gift ko. it speaks a lot bout who you are. i hope you’ll like it. i’m sorry i have to give it via courier. i wish i could personally greet you a happy natal day. mwuah. ;[

Victor Hugo wrote in Les Miserables – “He who does not weep, does not see.”

Well, this is not about sobbing for having bumbling homesick right now. Neither that I need extra money or any requirements in school, that’s why I happened to be so blogging in this jiffy. I presuppose that you almost forget what the day today is, or what’s the hurry to celebrate, or else you might be reading this tomorrow (Monday on your office if your internet connection is not sabotaged). I mean, seeing you in your office, sinking in ledgers, or drowned to keeping cash not belonging to either the two of us or even the family, or just seeing your nerves and veins as you reprimand them (since i’m here, i’m guaranteed to be excempted) on their wrong deeds and act, would you still bother to look at your calendar anyway?

Mkay. Today is the day for the superwoman – oops! I forgot that you don’t wear undies outside your clothes like wonderwoman or darna, so that won’t make you superman anyway. LOL :] (laughing out loud yan.). But though you can’t qualify for the superhero mom/nanay thing, you’ll surely be my wondermom and the best nanay that i could ever have. Saying this includes the package deal – the nagging moments, alarm clock voice first hour in the morning and unreasonable litanies. But nanay would always be like you, just caring though it seems to be hovering. Like any other nanay, you always look after the best of what we could ever be and the best that we could ever have. But unlike them, aside having you own friendster account, you always try to see to it that we are on the proper positions to look after ourselves. Independence, after all, is the greatest thing for us teens but it stills means nothing without you. And i’m quite sure that you never lacked proverbs and quotations for us to be better individuals. Sometimes, you feel like we don’t really care or listen at all to what you’re saying, but i tell you, i’ve even memorized your lines. I’m on my own right know but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need you and tatay. If fate favors me one day to have a single day with another nanay, I would never ever have a second-thought of declining the offer, coz you will always be the best nanay ever, by hook or by crook, for better or for worse.

So at this point, I want you to hear (I mean, read) 8 letters. 8 letters and this would be over.

First, t-h-a-n-k-y-o-u, for everything you did for people to see me this good, and I’m proud to say that I have the better view of the world for I am standing in the shoulders of the giants (that’s you, tatay and God). This word is too short to contain all I’m about to say but just allow me to gratify all your sacrifices and hardworks, for providing us our daily needs though the world seems to be playful of that, because they deserve a worthy thank you.

Second, i-a-m-s-o-r-r-y. I just want to apologize for my shortcomings, back fighting, and answering in an improper way, for causing you too much pain and too much disturbance. Aside from that, I know I’ve committed lots of mistakes that failed your expectations, but there you are again, right there when i needed you the most and when the world turns their crying shoulders.

Last is i-l-o-v-e-y-o-u. Though it took so long for you to hear (read nga pala.) this phrase, this would always be the best word for the best nanay. I might not be vocal about this but I’m not insensitive about it.

Life is too short, you should enjoy it. Think as much as you can of yourself for thinking now is not thinking always.

BTW (that’s by the way.) you’re doing great with your son named ‘edwin’. ^^

Happy mother’s day!

cuddles and smooches,
eduardo latino.

ps: codename ko na nay. basi isipon mo nga drama lang ni. pero tuod guid ni ya. pati lang baya. halong lang kamo dira kay ginapray taman kamu diri. God bless our family.

ps-to the second power: keep this letter to yourself.♥

[now playing: i’ll never go by erik santos; time check, 31 minutes passed the hour of 4.; this post is brought to you by kristine’s laptop; and this is your dj eduardo latino saying that life is very boring. erg.]

long distance relationship? not a good topic.

that’s the main reason why 90% of distant couples never last [or if they still in good terms, had a fight-and-kiss-and-make-up kinda thing]. no one takes the issue seriously. it’s like most of them believe that if they are not meant to be, then be it. but come on. love is a choice and not a feeling anymore. people disregard the fact that love should be sustained in a way both parties ought to have. they say that love is joined at the hip by distance. but who knows? who can tell? love and life is a long journey, it might be too early to judge how you’ll gonna end up the story. [point of order – almost out of the topic.].

so, back to the LDR, third parties or lack of trust? which comes first? well, for me, when you lack reliance and conviction to your partner, you start to doubt her/his love. this doubt will little by little eat you until such time you’ll be blind to what’s really the truth behind these uncertainties. and when you let yourself believe these qualms, third parties comes into the scene. mkay, example. you begin to suspect that she/he is in someone else’s arm. that could be probably a falsity but then, since you had reservations, you only trust your instincts. you disregard the situation and the genuine. you heave away her/his explanation. and because of that, a certain proverb applies – ‘if others can do, why can’t i?’. and without further verification that she/he is cheating on you, you’ll start to put in mind that you’ll have to start cheating on her/him too. the making-him/her-jealous move.

but it could be the opposite. it’s like you hate to admit that you’re about to fall for someone. and by that you start to tell her lies – that you still love her and that would never fade. let’s think the way bob ong thinks – ‘kung dalawa ang mahal mo, piliin mo ang pangalawa, kasi di ka magmamahal ng pangalawa kung mahal mo talaga ang nauna’ [that’s not the real text but the thought are almost the same].that’s the breach of trust and will eventually result to willful abandonment of relationship. either way you lose. you still have to hurt two parties. but i tell you, in a distant relationship, your feeling is more likely a superficial feeling. that’s unfair. you are in contact almost everyday with that someone else and so your emotions are subject to change upon isolation. i mean, you think that you’re in love but that’s a thought. yet, who can tell which is which? to whom do you offer that phony desires? to whom do you truly give your heart and soul?

long-distance relationship is a trivial and one-dimensional thing to talk about. but the bottomline is, love will last as long as you know how to commit to someone you think is the right for you.

project in english.
by edwin john alido.

THE EVOLUTION OF TERRORISM

“The public's perception of personal risk, however, often does not fit together with the observable dimensions of the terrorist threat. “

Terrorism has occurred throughout history for a variety of reasons. Its causes can be historical, cultural, political, social, psychological, economic, or religious—or any combination of these. Some countries have proven to be particularly susceptible to terrorism at certain times. Terrorist violence escalated precipitously in those two countries for a decade before declining equally dramatically. Other countries have proven to be more resistant, and have experienced only a few isolated terrorist incidents.

In general, democratic countries have provided more fertile ground for terrorism because of the open nature of their societies. In such societies citizens have fundamental rights, civil liberties are legally protected, and government control and constant surveillance of its citizens and their activities is absent. In broad terms the causes that have commonly compelled people to engage in terrorism are grievances borne of political oppression, cultural domination, economic exploitation, ethnic discrimination, and religious persecution. Perceived inequities in the distribution of wealth and political power have led some terrorists to attempt to overthrow democratically elected governments. To achieve a fairer society, they would replace these governments with socialist or communist regimes. Finally, some terrorists are motivated by very specific issues, such as opposition to legalized abortion or nuclear energy, or the championing of environmental concerns and animal rights. They hope to pressure both the public and its representatives in government to enact legislation directly reflecting their particular concern.

At the same time, for every terrorist success, there are the countless failures. Terrorism is designed to threaten the personal safety of its target audience. It can tear apart the social fabric of a country by destroying business and cultural life and the mutual trust upon which society is based. Uncertainty about where and when the next terrorist attack will occur generates a fear that terrorism experts call “vicarious victimization.” A common response to this fear is the refusal to visit shopping malls; attend sporting events; go to the theater, movies, or concerts; or travel, either abroad or within one’s own country.

THE ALARMING RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES

The rate of unemployment in the country rises around .2% each year and currently having 9.8% for this year. This is alarming because it implies that other economic indicators were less favorable. A population growth rate of 3.5 percent nullified most of the gain in economic growth. Cost of consumer goods went up, though the government tried to hold the line on the prices of rice, corn, sardines, corned beef, and milk. Wages lagged behind prices. A rice shortage kept the public in a state of uneasiness. Unemployment remained a problem, and the poor were in need of low-cost housing. The success of decontrol measures created optimism among businessmen, but they worried about the future. They were uneasy about tariff, tax, and investment policies.

Unemployment, enforced idleness of wage earners who are able and willing to work but cannot find jobs. In societies in which most people can earn a living only by working for others, being unable to find a job is a serious problem. Because of its human costs in deprivation and a feeling of rejection and personal failure, the extent of unemployment is widely used as a measure of workers' welfare. The proportion of workers unemployed also shows how well a nation's human resources are used and serves as an index of economic activity. The economic position of the Philippines may be said to have gradually deteriorated. Import controls were not sufficiently effective and it was doubly difficult to enforce them in an election year. Imports continued to exceed exports, sometimes at a ratio of almost two to one, and reserves were seriously depleted.

Building continued at a boom level but the entire economic structure was inflationary. Wage increases did not keep pace with rising living costs and there was some unemployment. The influx of foreign capital did not come up to expectations. Industrialization continued to be an emphasized goal, but in many cases projects had to rely upon imports of machinery and even raw materials to get under way. This situation actually hurt the trade balance position.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: THE SOLUTION TO MAN’S PROBLEM

Indeed, the concept that science provides the ideas for technological innovations and that pure research is therefore essential for any significant advancement in industrial civilization is essentially a myth. Most of the greatest changes in industrial civilization cannot be traced to the laboratory. Fundamental tools and processes in the fields of mechanics, chemistry, astronomy, metallurgy, and hydraulics were developed before the laws governing their functions were discovered. The steam engine, for example, was commonplace before the science of thermodynamics elucidated the physical principles underlying its operations.

In recent years a sharp value distinction has grown up between science and technology. Advances in science have frequently had their bitter opponents, but today many people have come to fear technology much more than science. For these people, science may be perceived as a serene, objective source for understanding the eternal laws of nature, whereas the practical manifestations of technology in the modern world now seem to them to be out of control.

Technology is classified into two – the appropriate and inappropriate. A classic example of inappropriate technology is that of tractors provided for agriculture in Africa. The necessary infrastructure and specialized skills to keep the tractors maintained were largely lacking, so that after a short period the tractors became heaps of rusting material. A second example is a project that introduced an automated factory to produce plastic sandals. The traditional sandal makers were put out of work, the raw material had to be imported, and, though economic growth according to conventional measurements occurred, poverty increased. Examples of successful appropriate technologies are small-scale hydroelectric facilities in Nepal, Wales, and Peru. Energy-efficient cooking stoves in Kenya and Sri Lanka provide employment for the producers, and save time and money for the users; food-processing courses in Bangladesh include not only the technical aspects of food processing, but the packaging and marketing of products.Today there is a fierce contest between the proponents of high technology and those who increasingly support the appropriate technology approach. Advocates of appropriate technology argue that the high-consumption way of life of the richer countries must be abandoned, and appropriate technologies must be adopted in place of those that increase unemployment and damage the environment.

FIRST STEP TO WORLD PEACE

In attempting to prevent war, peacemakers must achieve four principal goals. A climate of feeling favorable to peace must be established; the potential causes of conflict, inherent in such factors as economic competition, the quest for power, and fear of foreign domination, must be eliminated or minimized; means for the settlement of disputes must be provided, as in mediation, arbitration, and trial procedures; and, finally, ways must be found to ensure observance of the settlements that are made. Several distinctive approaches to achieving these goals have been advanced.

Many other international peace organizations also continue to exist. The greatest impetus to pacifism in modern times was the development and use of nuclear weapons at the close of World War II. Faced with the possibility of total nuclear war, many previously uncommitted individuals joined pacifists throughout the world in working for a ban against the production of nuclear weapons, for the cessation of the testing of such weapons, and for the disarmament of those nations already possessing them.

Less absolute antiviolence advocates other codes of behavior. Some pacifists bar the use of force and urge moral persuasion but also encourage passive resistance to achieve their goals. Two examples of this approach are the resistance offered to British rule in 20th-century India and the civil disobedience of American civil rights activists. Critics of this view contend that even passive resistance provokes frustration, resentment, and further oppression on the part of an aggressor.

Many peace lovers believe that peace can be maintained only by a readiness to use force in certain circumstances, usually characterized as defensive. One approach permits armed defense against attack, but not assistance to other nations being attacked. Proponents of the theory of collective security urge a defensive combination of peace-loving nations against violators of the peace. If such a policy is not to result merely in a system of rival alliances, it must be implemented by international machinery that is able not only to make settlements but to enforce them as well.

[wala lang. wala kasi akong maggawa eh. erg.]

You look so beautiful today
When you're sitting there it's hard for me to look away
So i try to find the words that i could say
I know distance doesn't matter but you feel so far away
And I cant lie
Every time I leave my heart turns gray
And I want to come back home to see your face
And I
Cause I just cant take it

Another day without you with me
Is like a blade that cuts right through me
But I can wait
I can wait forever
When you call my heart stops beating
When you're gone it wont stop bleeding
But I can wait
I can wait forever

You look so beautiful today
It's like every time I turn around I see your face
The thing I miss the most is waking up next to you
When I look into your eyes, I wish that I could stay
And I cant lie
Every time I leave my heart turns gray
And I want to come back home to see your face
And I
Cause I just cant take it

Another day without you with me
Is like a blade that cuts right through me
But I can wait
I can wait forever
When you call my heart stops beating
When you're gone it wont stop bleeding
But I can wait
I can wait forever

I know it feels like forever
I guess that's just the price I gotta pay
But when I come back home to feel your touch
Makes it better
Till that day
Theres nothing else that I can do
And I just cant take it
I just cant take it

Another day without you with me
Is like a blade that cuts right through me
But i can wait
I can wait forever (I can wait forever)
When you call my heart stops beating
When you're gone it wont stop bleeding
But I can wait
I can wait forever
I can wait forever
I can wait forever..