Stop Being Alone in a World Full of Strangers

Stop Being Alone in a World Full of Strangers

Innovations of gadgets and gizmos

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Cellphone and computer manufacturers are now in craze as to who would be able to produce the most innovative, sleekest, slimmest, most handy pc tablet and android phones. Lately, i have observed that the only thing that differs a cellphone from a computer is its size. You can actually do now almost everything that you can do with computers, in your very own cellphone!

So much innovations had been discovered and made on these gadgets and one would have a headache just choosing which to buy. Of course we would go for those already tested and proven but then again, even with Nokia, Samsung and LG, they have so many models to choose from that your head would actually spin just by selecting which to buy. It seems everything has a feature you like and want and well, i guess, it goes for the likes of me who can't seem to decide on what i really want.

With the more advanced phones and computer tablets, we could hope that its price would be out of range of the budget for most people, like me. We could only hope that with the advent of more advanced models, these models we have today would soon fade into oblivion and lower/affordable prices.

Facing 2011 with renewed faith and enthusiasm

Image by tipiro via Flickr

A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO US ALL! How time flies indeed. It seems it was just yesterday when we all joined the countdown to the year 2010. Another year had passed and now it's a fresh beginning for all of us. As we meet the year of the rabbit, i am feeling some trepidation and excitement for what's enstore for all of us.

2010 has been quite good for me although it has its share of its downs. I can't really say if it has contributed a lot to my growth but the what's glaring is the fact that 2010 has been a real test of patience and friendships. Financially, it has been quite rewarding although a lot of responsibilities has also been added on to my shoulders.

Economically, 2010 hasn't done much to my living condition or for my family for that matter. We had been living on the edge of poverty as usual but not faring much better than before.

For this year, i am looking forward to more rewards financially and emotionally for all the efforts i gave to my work and to my life in general. I am really bent on making it better this year, for the sake of my children. I am praying for heavenly intervention and divine providence for more blessings, more peace and good health for my family, myself and for all those around who really matters.

2010 Fiesta Celebration for the Patron Saint Immaculate Conception

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I should have been deep asleep by now, considering its already 1 in the morning of the 9th of December, 2010. I went to bed at 10:30 PM, hoping to get a decent sleep despite the noise outside, in the plaza. at 12 midnight the noise escalated, and it is still blaring right now as i'm typing here. Yesterday (December 8), was the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the whole town celebrated.

This had been a week long celebrating culminating on the eve of the 8th of December, with a live band show sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, right at plaza area, fronting the town's gym. Owing to the good weather, (thankfully, it did not rain the whole day on the 8th), they were able to set up the band at the outdoor stage. The people are truly enjoying the show, much to my chagrin since i still have to work tomorrow and i can't sleep because of the blaring music. The walls of my room seems to shake due to the volume of their sounds. My house is a good 300 meters or more from the outdoor stage, yet i can still feel the vibration of the blaring music.

Right now, they're singing lively songs which i think really made those watching them out there, dance to the tunes. However, it does not alleviate my situation since i can't even sleep a wink! well, my only consolation is that it would end soon. They're not planning to last until the morning don't they?

It has truly been a one of a kind celebration and so unusual for me. I spend the whole day and night in my room, never even bothering to take a walk at the plaza to get a glimpse of the celebration. It's unusual for me since for the past several years, i always spent fiesta time in my friends' houses. Well, for a change, i stayed at home all day, just reading and writing.

The Essence of Fiesta Celebrations

In the Philippines, every town, city, barangay and the smallest sitios celebrates the feast of their Patron Saint. The Parish Church usually leads these annual celebrations which usually includes processions around towns, novenas, religious undertakings or shows which usually depicts the lives of these Patron Saints or Jesus Himself. However, as time goes by, Fiesta celebrations has gotten a new meaning in the lives of the residents of these places.

In our part of the country, fiestas are usually celebrated with different activities spearheaded by the church and with banquets to which all are invited to feast. Every family will usually prepare large banquets for their respective visitors and those whoever happens to visit your house during these days.

The atmosphere during fiestas are so festive that a visitor would not think that the town of the family he/she is visiting is dire financial difficulties. It has already been ingrained in the culture of most Filipino families to always prepare for the feast no matter what. Some families even prepares for it at the beginning of the year or right after the celebration of the current feast.

In this contemporary times, fiestas are often celebrated with several competitions participated in usually by the resident of the place and sometimes, from people of neighboring places. There are dancing, carousels, carnivals, small-time gamblings and lots of food during this celebration. It is so fun to watch and observed since every town or city has its own distinct way of celebrating fiestas.

It is sad to note however that due to the proliferation of drugs and the use of alcohol of young people, there are always rumbles and riots or some sort of trouble during these kind of celebrations. However, if the persons in authority are active enough to make some moves to prevent these kind of troubles amongst the participants and visitors to fiesta celebrations, these festivities would be truly festive and worth the effort to attend to.

The church for sometime had intensified their campaign for a simple yet meaningful celebration of these festivities. They happen to observed that many people had set aside the real meaning of the religious celebration and focused on the entertainment and festivity for material satisfaction aspect.

It would be nice to see people prioritize going to church on Fiesta Day to participate in the celebration than focusing all their energies on their banquet preparation for visitors who don't even really give a care about the celebration, but just being there for the banquet.

Risks: The Spices of Life

I believe in the saying that life without risks is not worth living for. I daresay, Risks are the spices of life.

In choosing our path to take, we are taking a risk for we don't really know what's that path has enstored for us. Nobody can know what tomorrow will bring and nobody could truthfully say that our decisions for tomorrow has no risks attached to it.

Just like choosing our careers, we could not really know what kind of future and opportunities it would afford us. Sure, lawyers have high pays, managers work in banks or companies, teachers in school and navy's in the ships. But we are not certain if we would be included in the list of the general, that we get to work in the place meant for our chosen careers. We are taking a risk everytime we make decisions and that what makes life exciting and worth living for. Investing our money in business is a risk and if we refrain ourselves from investing for fear of making a failure then we cannot know nor taste success. In the affairs of the heart, risk is also an imposing factor. If we learned to love somebody we are taking the risk that he/she may not love us in return. Or, if they return our feelings, the risk of losing them to somebody else is still there. Life is complex and so does the people..so does their heart.

Sharing ourselves with others in the spirit of friendship is also a risks. We could be hurt in the process for we would open ourselves to the vulnerability of rejection and betrayal.

But as we always say, life is taking risks. Its the spices that makes life worth truly living.

Living the life of an internet savvy Roxasnon

Being an Internet savvy is described as having the expertise, the ability, the competence of steering one's self in the world of internet.

WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION

Accessing the internet is an experience that most of the townspeople of Roxas may have never heard of yet, much less experience, firsthand. This holds true for its residents especially living in the hinterlands where cellphone signals are scarce or even non-existent. However, with the advent of broadband and wifi, many residents are now enjoying their first on hand experience with the internet and the loads of information it offers its users.

The internet provides us a gateway to a new dimension, a new world where you can obtain information in just a click, talk to somebody face to face who is halfway around the world, view places where you could only dream and hope to visit personally someday, meet new people you would never have met without the internet and do things which we can only dream of doing before.

Indeed, being internet savvy is a plus to everyone, not only in the career aspects( you can earn while doing things you enjoy in the internet) but also for additional information and knowledge which we can use in our day to day life and dealings with family and other people alike.

THE REALITY

Even though the town of Roxas has no landline telephones yet (government owned telephone lines are installed within the center of the town but it has limited usage), connecting to the internet while staying in the town is now possible with the installation of a wifi connection from Smart network or the plug-it smart broadband. The plug-it is very handy and you can access the internet with it, as long as you have a laptop or desktop and a cellular phone signal in the area where you will be accessing the net.

A year ago and more, you can hardly find someone living in this town in facebook, twitter or friendster. Nowadays, you can greet acquaintances, pm and chat with friends who are just from this small municipality in the internet.

THE DREAM

At present, the municipality has not yet created its own interactive website, due to less prioritization of top town officials. However, with the advent of the new management and the broadening vision of making this town one, if not the topmost developing municipality in the province, it is greatly anticipated for that Roxas would soon become map-visible in the world-wide-web, through their own town interactive website. Until then, natives of this town who are now residing in other regions of this country and those who are outside the Philippines would have to suffice themselves with mere peeps and glimpse of their native town in some of the facebook accounts and of course, here in my blog.