MY TRAVEL QUESTS

Taking Off To Singapore …

From the sleek skyscrapers of the central business district to some of the Asia’s best shopping with the malls on Orchard Road. From the lazy drift of Singapore River’s traditional bumboats to the wild adventure of the Singapore Zoo’s night Safari. From the teashops of Chinatown to the kebab grills of Arab Street to the curry houses of Little India.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL
CHANGI AIRPORT



flight delayed!!!… what do I do now??
it's gonna be a longgggggg wait ugghhhh!!!




I asked the saleslady if I could
have one picture with her, she stared
at me and said, in a mild voice,
“… sorry, not allowed …”!!!



…. boring… boringgg…
borrrriiiinnnnggggg…
it’s another three hours of waiting …
aaahhhhh… !!!


SKYSCRAPERS CITY



A visit to Singapore guarantees to be an exciting experience. The city of skyscrapers, five-star hotels, cable cars, beach resorts, and the famous hospitality and smile. The city is a blend of modernity, sophistication, and antiquity. A culmination of old and modern co-existence. The present Singapore is alive and vibrant, full of life and vigor, and a continuous dream of a more prosperous tomorrow.

Singapore is a dynamic, modern Asian city, where culture and color tantalize the senses from the minute you touch down. A place where the melting pot of cultures delivers an ancient traditions, arts and architecture. This irresistibly lively metropolis represents a fine synergy of east and west.

Full of life and vitality—the city has so many places to explore; Singapore Zoo, one of the most beautiful zoos in the world, the Jurung Bird Park, home of over 600 species of colorful birds, or visit the surrounding islands.


SINGAPORE ZOO

ORCHIDARIUM

Some of the most exciting bandas
at Singapore Orchidarium

CHINESE GARDEN

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

SENTOSA ISLAND

Right on Singapore’s doorstep lies the nature-lover’s paradise that is Sentosa Island. Take the nature walk up the Dragon Trail through lush secondary rainforest and soak in the scenic views at the summit of of Mt. Imbiah, overlooking picturesque neighboring islands.

SPIRITUALITY AND FAMILY

How do we go about promoting and enhancing spirituality in our family?

To develop a stronger family, we must build our foundation that can withstand the test of times. If our body is strengthened by exercise, then our spirit is strengthened by working for God. As we grow spiritually and learn more of His Words, then the Lord will give us more opportunities and responsibilities in His work.

Spirituality is a very powerful and important source of strength in strong families. Family members share belief in something greater than themselves and agree what is right and wrong and what is really important to them. Shared values and beliefs provide families with purpose and meaning and look to these beliefs for guidelines to live by.

Prayer, meditation, scripture study, faith coupled with work, fellowship with others, faith in humanity, moral behavior, and unity with all living things are some of the ways to make our spirituality grow more stronger. Others refer to overcoming fault and developing virtues like honesty, integrity, and kindness. Some families enhance spirituality by holding regular devotionals and discussing how to can apply what they have read to everyday situations and challenges.

IT'S A SANDSTORMY DAY

Today, it’s cream to light orange everywhere. There is a big sandstorm in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. It’s choking out there. The visibility is almost zero. The wind is coming from the north.

Sandstorm is a common natural disaster that happens very often at the onset of the long summer. Usually, sandstorms come with a warning. A dark brownish color cloud means there is possibly going to be a sandstorm. Sandstorms when strong are very destructive. They are unpredictable, they can appear out nowhere or from behind sand dunes. Sandstorms cause visibility to be reduced one hundred meters. When the sandstorm is over, everything is a mess.

Sandstorms can get winds picking up sand to the very high speed of 85 km/h to 130 km/h. When the winds reach the speed of 60-85 km/h, the sand gets pick up with it. The wind is carrying the sand and is throwing sand away in high speeds so that it is strong enough to distract something like signs on the roads or anything that is likely to be knocked over by winds reaching over 85 km/h.

A DREAM OF PROGRESS

Progress has the effect of uniting people. The momentum of progress tends to draw everyone to a single direction. But progress would not have a chance if the people do not give it a push.

Energy and dreams alone are not the stuff that performs the miracle of progress. It is that willingness to dream and to support that dream with action that makes progress possible.

CAN YOU NAME THESE?

The Greek onoma and onyma mean name. They belong on the tree of knowledge for a name is something by which a person or thing is known.

In the column on the left are eight English words containing a Greek root meaning name. On the right are the meanings of the prefixes or other roots in these words. Using all eight words, complete the sentences below the lists.

Anonymous---Not
Antonym---Against
Homonym---Same
Onomatopoeia---Making
Paronomasia---Beside
Patronymic---Father
Pseudonym---False
Synonym---Together

1. Words like bare and bear that sound the same but are spelled differently are called …… nyms.
2. Words like black and white that are opposites are called …. Nyms.
3. The unnamed author to whom most anecdotes are attributed is ……….
4. Names like McDonald and Johnson are called ……onymics because they indicate that the sons are named after the father.
5. Different words like sharp and keen that have similar meanings are called…. Onyms.
6. Another name for punning is ….. onomasia.
7. Words like buzz and hiss made by imitating sounds are examples of ……
8. William Sydney Porter is better known by his …….. onym of O. Henry.

Deep Are the Roots

OFFICE AUTOMATION

Keeping people in mind means having a heart!

Data and people, these two, sometimes contradictory things, are key elements in human resources writing. Often when writing human resources letters, memos, circulars, and announcement we will consult “data” before writing. These data might include time keeping records, end of service entitlements, professional development training program records, activity reports, employment contracts details, length of service, work policies. Data is what makes human resources writing credible. We cannot write without it. At the same time, human resources letters and memos are written for real people who have families and feelings. It does need to express concern and caring for employees.

Our company is no exception. Modern technology has introduced us into the sophisticated world of electronic record keeping making it a lot easier to access important records, especially when the need has a sense of urgency. Records are created, received, maintained, or stored on any computing equipment or storage device, such as electronic messages, including those created using e-mail, and other emerging electronic communication technologies, like hand held devices, voicemail, and instant messaging, word processing document and spreadsheets, databases, legal documents, accounting records, and auditing records. Departments are encouraged, when possible and appropriate, to use all available electronic technologies that increase efficiency, reduce expenses or improve the methods to process, handle, retrieve, transmit and retain records and information.

That ‘s the wonder of office automation!

INVESTING IN STOCK MARKET

I learned the theories behind stock and stock investment in college, but never got the chance to put them into practice. As part of the work team in one of the biggest financing and investment companies in the middle east, I realize that there are so many significant developments taking place in the stock market investing. New terminologies, concepts, principles, techniques, and strategies.

Here are some valuable advices from our friendly network: Individuals who are considering stock market investing should seek sound and wise advice form an expert or professional in the field. When stock investing, it is important to gain access to sound financial advice from experts in the field. Having a long range understanding of this process can often mean the difference between making a sizable profit and losing a great deal of money. As with any financial decisions, this requires careful and wise consideration and planning. Jumping into something like the stock market too quickly can be financially devastating for an individual that is not well informed on how this process works.

With stock market harvesting, a fluctuating market is the result of supply and demand. The individual who is stock investing should understand that the process is much like an auction. Traders and buyers sell shares of companies, allowing prices to go up to or down. The prices will be determined by supply and demand and this may result in fluctuating markets.

RANI MARRI and RINA MARRI

We welcome the first twins in the family --

RANI MARRI and RINA MARRI

Aren’t they super cute and adorable!

I wish to get to know them better.

It’s really hard to distinguish who is who!!!

OPERA, ANYONE! Part 2

My deep appreciation to Mr. Stefan Zucker of Opera Fanatic Magazine for including a very interesting, rave review on Mado Robin, a French coloratura soprano, who is listed in some editions of Guinness Book of World Records on account of her B flat above high C, heard in the Lucia “mad scene”.

I have a VHS copy of Mado Robin Live! Her voice is unbelievable, awesome, magnificent. It’s a pity she had to die at the peak of her career. To borrow Mr. Zucker’s phrase, “… you will get a kick…” of her remarkable voice range for many reasons.

I’ll never get tired watching her rare recordings. Many thanks to Bel Canto Society for preserving this magnificent voice! Hope it gets digitalized soon

MANAGING BOSSES

A local daily published an article about ways to manage your boss.

Are there really proven ways to improve work relationship with toxic supervisors. There are many kinds of bosses in the workplace, but the toxic bosses are the ones causing more harm than good to the organization. They can reduce valuable production time and increase cost.

It’s a bad thing that there are many toxic bosses in our workplace. They need to be lectured about professionalism. They need to understand the true meaning of teamwork, positive organization, trust building, values, ethics, and involvement. Most of the time rank and file employees do not get the chance to get back to them because of their positions and for fear of reprisals.

The writer said, once management identifies these toxic bosses, it has to decide on the best way to deal with them. How are you going to deal with toxic bosses whose understanding of human relationship is almost "nil".

HANDS IN PRAYER

Why do we fold our hands to pray?

We fold our hands to pray out of respect and honor to God. There are those times when I am in a circle of friends that we will join our hands to pray.

Many people fold their hands to pray to keep their hands from distracting their minds from the things of God. I fidget when I pray, and I know that if my hands were not folded or holding another’s hands, I would be moving them. That may not be distractive to me, but it might distract someone sitting next to me.

We fold our hands to pray, because hands are important. Hands are used in service to others. He used His hands to heal, help, instruct, comfort, and bless. Ultimately, His hands were nailed to the cross for our sins. We fold our hands out of respect for His sacrifice.

It is important to remember that God doesn’t care how we pray -- just that we pray. He doesn’t care if we are standing, sitting, lying down, or kneeling. The method we use and the posture we have is not important. The most important thing we can do everyday is to pray -- talk to God, tell Him our troubles, and share our gratitude.

Prayer works.

ONCHONG, LOVE NA LOVE KITA!

I woke up this morning a bit lazy to get up and go to work. Not only am I still in the recovery period from a bout of influenza, which made me felt pretty bad the last few days, but also I felt so weary and downtrodden. The thought of the many urgent recruitment documents that I need to dispatch today prompted me to keep moving.

At the office, I still felt so sad and glum. I decided to phone my super, lovable, adorable grandson, Onchong, and everything went rainbow …. rainbow …. rainbow …. ‘coz he was the one who picked up the phone. The mere sound of his voice turned my joyless spirit vibrant and alive.

He immediately bragged that he knows how to swim now, that he could float, this….. that….. thing in the swimming pool. So I joked with him and said, that in my next vacation we would go swimming and that he should teach me how to do it! Rather innocently, he blurted out, “……Lolo…. lolung-lolo ka na di ka pa marunong magswimming ……” (“….. Grandpa, you are very, very old now and you still don’t know how to swim…..”).

I couldn't help laughing at his very innocent remarks …….. and from then on … everything went well. I made a quick work of dispatching all the pending recruitment documents and was humming my way through the day … yes, everything went smoothly the rest of the day.

Onchong, you will always be my pride and joy!

Love na love kita (I love you very much!),

Lolo

I SIGNED UP FOR PPP

Almost instantly, my interest to join the blogging world has reached a certain level that ever since I learned the trade secret, I am glued and hooked!

I was introduced to PayPerPost by my colleagues, Bro Joel and Sis Anna, husband and wife blogging tandem, who have been into this very interesting internet activities for years now, but only came to know of the vast opportunities awaiting them three months ago. Registering to PayPerPost was quick and easy because they have already established a long list of followers and bloggermates.

Sis Anna was so delighted to break the news that both of them are making good money out of writing short articles, “blogging” as she termed it, a very, very new term for me. They get paid to blog, this is awesome! She said, I was the first person that came into her mind about the paid blogging business because she knew of my creativity and ability to express myself in writing: articles, narratives, short stories, poems, dramas, and others.

A thought popped out of the blue, and everything went green, rainbow colors kept flashing my mind. Rare opportunities like these come once in our lifetime. Why not make the most out of my free time and crush it with some figure paydays. Well, I can write, never forget my grammar and composition rules; why not give it a try. Inch by inch the procedures were followed to the letter. Presto, I am a blogger, and little while thereafter, registered with PayPerPost, also through their help. My joy was immense when I got the approval notice. I am a registered paid blogger, yyyeeehhheeeyyy ….. What a break!

Many, many thanks to PayPerPost for offering unlimited opportunities to amateur bloggers/writers like me and get paid to blog. I have encouraged my brother, who is also a very good teacher and writer, and my Dubai-based niece, Ria, she is very fond of writing, too, to follow suit as quickly as they could, and which they did. They are now registered bloggers and awaiting PayPerPost approvals.

It runs in the blood, you know! Our objective now is to establish a blogging community, get as many backlinks as possible, get high rankings, share the generous offer and assistance of PayPerPost to friends and others, who may wish to be assisted the entire process of adding money in their pockets through PayPerPost blogging.

Well, I really don’t know what to say about the earnings, but there goes the saying, “… do not count the chicks until the eggs hatched….” May be, I have to stick to this noble virtue and save every blog earning for retirement”.

Saludo!

A Sympathy Note

This morning, I received the sad news that Nanay Andrea, the dearly beloved mother of my very good friend, Willie Abella, passed away last Thursday, 3 April 2008.

Nanay Andeng, as we fondly addressed her, had lived a long, full life. Her passing is an irreparable one, a sad milestone for all of her loved ones and dear friends. It is hard to find exactly the right words to describe how Willie and his dear ones are taking the recent loss, but I like them to know that they have many friends, who are praying for the pain to end. Our compassion means a great deal at this trying time.

There are many heartfelt ways to convey sympathy to bereaved family and friends, as well as honoring the deceased, and it is comforting indeed to those working through their loneliness and grief to receive words of encouragement from concerned friends!

We don’t need to be closed to the bereaved to show how we feel, but we can acknowledge the loss and express interest by sharing the pain in prayers.

To our very dear friend, Willie and family, we offer our most sincere condolences for the loss you are experiencing at this moment. It gives much comfort and assurance to know that we are thinking of you at this time of sadness.

We pray!

FAMILY STRENGTH

"A strong family notice and share positive aspects of each other"

This is very stressful time for my sister's family, my family, too. The members of her household are facing difficult strains in their relationships, time, money, and emotions.

My sister has not recovered from her bereavement. My brother-in-law's passing has a tremendous impact on her well-being. Time has not healed the wounds, she is still mourning and in pain, she is worn out and angry. I wish I could do something to help her.

How will I be able to get through her confused mind and heart? How I can tell her that she needs to move on? How will I be able to impart to her that in spite of her predicaments there are ways to remain strong, happy, and keep her family together.

What makes some families strong? How can we nurture a wholesome relationship among the family members? How can we create our own unique, healthy family? We have to consider many aspects in our lives, look into different angles and decide where to start the healing process. We have to determine which areas of family are already strong and identify other areas where we want to be stronger.

Even strong families have conflicts. Members may get angry, criticize or reprimand each other. But strong families are able to deal with conflicts without bickering or destroying each other or family well-being. Families get stronger by expression of caring and appreciation, commitment, spending time together, encouragement, communication, spirituality, community and family ties. Members of strong families find ways to encourage and support each other. Love and respect are freely given and extended, not as a way to buy family members' love.

These all together make family foundation sturdier and able to withstand time.

Sis, we are with you at this trying time! We want you to know that we all care and love you!