Life, Day by Day

I do not know if the advocates of hormonal contraceptives for birth control have their information wrong or they just refuse to accept the fact that there have been many documented adverse reactions resulting from contraceptive use, the latest of which is The Lancet study that reported that there is a strong link between HIV transmission and the use of hormonal contraceptives, particularly injectable hormones such as Depo-Provera aka "the shot". In September 26, 2011, the US FDA has expressed "concern over the potential increased risk of blood clots” associated with the use of one of the most popular types of birth control pills. The pills in question contain the progestin drospirenone , and have in recent years been marketed to young women under such trade names as Yaz , Angeliq and Yasmin in the Philippines. There is also an increased incidence in breast cancer and increased risk of cervical cancer due to contraceptive use as reported by the National Cancer...

Retrieved from http://www.savagechickens.com/2007/06/youre-fired.htm Last October 14, 2011, I received the arbitrary decision of dismissal without forfeiture of benefits after 29 years and  8 months of government service. Now I know how it feels to be intimidated, coerced and terrorized with trumped up administrative charges that is meant to dismiss, even though I have done nothing to deserve it. My conscience is clear.  So, I won't belabor this fact...except to say, I will of course fight for my rights.  Ok, what next? How does one deal with sudden termination? I did not get angry although many people who know me were.  But I felt it was such a useless emotion because nothing that I did or did not do would change the outcome...I now realize that it was already a given from the start. Besides, like I said my conscience is clear.  I think what I felt was more like disappointment because I thought better of the committee members assigned to hear m...

Last October 10, I was supposed to attend the Brillante Mendoza Film Festival at SM City Bacolod but it rained so heavily and I couldn't get out of my car. I then decided to go to another event I was invited to by a friend at the Business Inn. I was able to park at the basement and my friend was quite happy to see me, as there were only a few guests when I got there.  After I greeted her a happy birthday and some introductions, I was told that this event was about a new direct selling beauty company called Revere Beauty .  Their products are made of absolutely no heat cold processed virgin coconut oil (ANH-VCO) and selected essential oils and oil extracts from fruits and plants. Revere products are ABSOLUTELY FREE of harmful chemicals. They currently offer  the following: Herbal shampoo, Natural hair cream, Coco cleansing bar, Coco body scrub, Feminine wash, Lightening body lotion,  and Whitening deodorant.  After the product presentation, they announced tha...

After years of indifference, I decided to attend the 2011 Masskara Festival.  I have experienced only 2 Masskara festivities since this started in the 80's...the first time in the mid-80's when I was taking my MBA and classmates convinced me to join the fun in the Bacolod Plaza (at that time, that was the only venue) and last year, when my son dragged me for help with a project to Lacson St.  where it was raining on and off the whole evening. This year, I joined my fellow Negros Bloggers in attending some of the events we were invited to. First stop was the Electric Masskara which is now on it's 5th year.  My friends, and I braved the crowd and pushed our way in to get a good look at the floats. I have no idea which barangay is which but it was great to see the dancers and their beautiful costumes up close. There were still several floats to see but as the crowd was moving, we had no choice but to move along and eventually found ourselves in front of t...

There are many suggested methods on how to tell a child about his adoption.  Based on others and our own family experiences, it is a proven fact that not telling a child about his adoption brought about dire consequences for everyone involved especially if the truth is found out from people other than parents. In the case of my aunt, she found out when she was already 10 years old  from well-intentioned relatives who wanted to help her parents resolve her habitual lying when she got caught doing something she shouldn't, like playing hookey from school, for example. Needless to say that was the start of her years of rebellion.  I heard other "horror" stories so when the time comes, although I never really thought about it, I knew that I will tell my child the truth.  My turn came around the time when my son was around 4 years old when out of the blue while playing in my bed, he reached out to my stomach and said..."I came from here".  My initial reaction was to ...

Two weeks ago, the Negros Bloggers got an invitation to see the operations of Merci , which not so long ago was a bakeshop but has now evolved into other businesses like a pasalubong center, a fast food restaurant, among others.  Unfortunately due to classes I can no longer reschedule, I was not able to go with the group.  However to my surprise, I got a small box of their pasalubong treats, which of course made my kids' sweet-tooth very happy.     To be honest, this is the first time I have tasted Merci's Mango Tarts, Cheese Tart and Butterscotch. My relationship with Merci is purely about loaf breads and pastries/cakes (their cake rolls are good).  Now, my family loves butterscotch but I usually buy the other brand since their outlet is near my home...so what was the final verdict?  The mango and cheese tarts were good but... The Butterscotch was really special! It was chewy, soft, with just the right sweetness. It is the best I have ever tasted ...

This is probably an old story going around the internet but this is the first time I read about it shared by a friend on Facebook. I needed some picker-upper after a meeting this afternoon, and this story is a good reminder to me that whatever happens in my life, I should endure everything with a smile and trust God with all my heart because He always makes a way for me.   The Donkey in the Well  (Facebook version) One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally lo...

I have always liked answering all sorts of questionnaires.  I used to do those found in the women's magazines of my mom and aunties. I would willingly register for free surveys and so when I came across  GlobalTestMarket , I thought this is cool...I would actually get paid doing something fun. I have been a member since 2009 and have taken 70 surveys since then.  Have I been paid?  Yes, I have!  But in case you think that doing online surveys will bring in money, think again. Still, when I received my check in the mail (a little more than Php2K), I was over the moon...I never thought I would get paid! So for those who like answering surveys, have fun ;)