eleothegreat

Thanks. And I sure hope I don't lose that good head at some point. I studied psyhcology and one major subject was on developmental and child psychology. Of course that would be stupid of me not to apply what I have learned when it comes to discipline (err..conditioning..hahaha) But still - I have a long way to go. So again, wish me luck. LOL.

If the taste and the odor would change then that would be an entirely different fruit! Haha. Do you know that they pay durian farmers more than regular fruit farmers? hahah

Hahaha oh yes. Or cover your mouth with a hankerchief when you speak. haha Do try them. I like the whitening paint better. It's easier to use, and not as painful or as irritating to the gums as the strips are. There's a new teeth whitening by Kim Kardashian (if you don't know her, she's that starlet who catapulted into celebrity-dom the usual way, through a sex video and a reality tv show after..and oh, not to mention her humongous butttt!!). I don't know if they're just endorsers or if it's their product, but it's called IDOL WHITE. Works like teeth paint as well. The site gives a free sample kit (you only have to pay for the shipping and handling), but since we live in Asia, the shipping and handling costs might be hefty. I think you can get it locally from your local ebay or online marketplaces as well as online sellers in your vicinity. Will give you an update soon because I plan to try it!

That's a huge number. Even with the right pre natal care, pregnancy still poses its own risks. That's why I don't wanna give birth again. EVER. I'd rather adopt. Plenty of parent less children to take care of. Hoo hoo.

You you under arrest?!

I think hitting/spanking children for discipline is a common practice in plenty of Asian countries. As children, my brother and I were usually spanked by my mother because of our incessant fighting. My mother would give us time out first by making us face the wall - but then if things got really bad, she'd get a plastic clothes hanger, or a broom handle or a belt and gave us a good spanking. At least we were never punched or hit on the head or hit on any parts of our bodies except our butts. My father was the balancing factor because he never hit us at all and would just speak to us when we did something wrong. My mom was the iron hand. And we all turned out well - I think we've grown up to be very respectful and responsible adults. Lucky for us that was all we got. Some children here get more - are made to sit on the air for twenty minutes, made to do push ups (I had a high school teacher who made us do such! he was an ass and finally got kicked out of school!). I've heard stories of kids made to kneel on salt or monggo beans, or worse, put inside rice or flour sacks and the sacks were hanged on trees (terrible!). I also taught English to Korean exchange students here in the Philippines. Their corporal punishment is worse. Kids who got test scores of 80% and below where caned, made to do push ups, their hands were smacked and all. And to think these were eight to twelve year old little kids. When I was around 12 years old, an aunt of mine who lived all her life in Canada visited the Philippines with her 3 year old daughter. She gave the kid time outs whenever the kid threw tantrums - and they seemed to work. The kid would apoligize and my aunt would explain why what the little girl did was bad and all. So, fast forward to the future: I have a 12 month old daughter now. As she grows older each day she develops her own personality, which can be quite annoying sometimes because she learns to resist things. SOmetimes because of frustration I really want to spank her - but I'm working against those urges because she's little and she wouldn't understand anything at all. At the same time, as she grows up, I wouldn't want spanking to be part of my discipline process. I hope to be able to instill the values of respect and obedience in her without resorting to hitting. GOOD LUCK TO ME!!!!!

In my country we have the same thing. It's called "habal habal", but you can't see it in the city, it's usually in the mountains or in the provinces. i tried riding on one when I went on a vacation - and I kept closing my eyes the whole time. There were five of use on the motorcyle The driver, my cousin, my two friends and I - and we each had a backpack full of clothes! I've even seen some motrocycles with wooden planks placed on them. The motorcycle would look like it had wings - extensions, as they call it - around two more people could sit down on the extensions. Some even sit in between the driver and the motorcycles handles!

I don't like Papaya as well. When I recently gave birth, the doctor told me to load up on papayas so as to avoid constipation. I had my husband go out and buy prunes, but they still forced me to eat papaya, so I had it chilled, and I topped it with some condensed milk. But still, I REALLY DONT like papaya. Unless its the canned or pickled type. Fresh papaya - yuck. Worse than durian. Hahaha. We have durian in the refrigerator now (hahaha! my grandfather has a durian farm and they recently harvested ripe durians) I love the small variety, it's much more sweeter than the bigger ones. We had around three durian fruits peeled, the edible parts placed inside an air tight container in the fridge. You can't smell a thing. I suppose fruit salad would be horrendous if it had durian in it. LOL

A couple of days after Ketsana, another typhoon - Parma - hit the Philippines as well. Luckily it didn't hit the Manila metropolis (of which 80% was flooded during Ketsana), but headed north. I think the government learned from Ketsana and evacuated people before the typhoon hit. Which brings us to the question - why do we have to wait for death and destruction before we take precautionary measures?

I've visited families in the Philippines who eat dinner using only spoons. I've never been a fan of just using the spoon - gives me a hard time, especially if the plate's shallow, but I think a lot of people find it easier. And oh, we also use our hands from time to time. I saw a mom feeding her six month old baby with using her bare hands. I have a year old child and I've been very particular about cleanliness and food - so I never feed her using my hands except when I'm holding finger foods (which means that I only hold a part of the food and not necessarily stuff my fingers into her mouth), and I've always been particular about cleanliness when it comes to feeding her - so that sight really freaked me out.

Perfectly said! (applause)

Do you mean the tray based whitening strips, strips or paints? So far, I've only used Colgate Simply White. I think they've discontinued this product, but I loved it. It did away with those messy strips and hard to use trays. It was very easy to use, and affordable to - all I had to do was dip the tiny brush into the solution and paint it on my teeth. I'd leave it there for thirty minutes (no eating, smoking or drinking at all) and then after thirty minutes I'd brush my teeth. I only tried it for a month but it did whiten my teeth - A BIT. I have seen the effects of cosmetic teeth whitening, the results aren't that quite drastic. But it was okay for me since my teeth weren't exactly that yellow. I suppose if I had used it even longer, I would have had whiter teeth.

I suppose it's not just paying/showing respect to elders that's necessary - I think what's important is teaching kids (and everyone else) to be respectful to everyone regardless of stature. And I don't mean doormat respectful - I mean dealing with people in appropriate manners and speaking in appropriate tones and the like.

yes, aside from scam artists, there are some other lowlifes taking advantage of the situation, stores and individuals selling cans of sardines and packs of noodles (the usual staple that evacuees can afford to buy and eat in times of crisis) at three to four times the price. Of course people are forced to buy even if the prices sky rocket since they're all homeless and hungry! Tsk tsk.

does that mean that if he jumped head first he would have avoided the accident? suppose the accident would still have happened regardless of whether he jumped head or feet first - he was lucky to have not followed instructions because jumping in head first in that accident would probably have made a vegetable out of him.. which brings me to another thing - i don't want to bungee jump - ever.

Oh please don't forget making students kneel on salt or small mung beans. For ten minutes. While making them pray the rosary. Try kneeling on salt just to see how it feels!

I pray it does not cause havoc and destruction like it did to my country, the Philippines. It hit last Saturday, and it's almost been a week and the death toll is still rising as more bodies are being found (280 as of last night's count). The number of displaced has now also ballooned to more than 700,000 people. I pray to the heavens that it does not cause anymore death and destruction. I believe Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were also hit, but the fatalities and damage were not as much. By the way, if you want to help those that have been affected in the Philippines and other countries, please visit this site: http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx International donations are very much welcome.

Speaking of Corruption. Here's a wake up call for all countries. The other day, my country - the Philippines was devastated by Bagyong (Typhoon) Ondoy. And for a country where the government can spend thousands of dollars (millions of pesos) on Presidential dinners abroad, where politicians can spend millions of pesos in political campaigns, mansions, jets, cars and even zoo animals, where the government can spend billions to pay for foreign trips, where each local government can spend millions and millions of pesos for other projects - they were only able to produce two life boats to help rescue almost thousands of residents that were trapped in a flooded village. Now, we have to deal with the aftermath - and that includes waiting for the floodwaters to go down, cleaning up of debri, drying out of stuff, giving and recieving of relief goods - and identifying those who have been casualties of this horrendous event. Some of these things we could have easily prevented. The last one, most especially. Death could have been prevented if the government had proper rescue plans and equipment. But no, there weren't any. Last Sunday, I watched the news as they played an amateur video of a family riding on the roof of their house as it was being washed away by the raging river. As they passed under the bridge, the roof they were on and the house was totaled - causing them to be swept away by the strong currents. People on the bridge were throwing ropes to those who were in the water - and you could see those men swimming for their lives trying to reach the ropes that were held out to them. At first glance, it looked hilarious because they looked like they were surfing on the river. Not only did the event sink in eventually the next day when they showed a footage of the same bridge. The water had already subsided, and on the river bank right under the bridge - there lay two bodies, that of a six to eight year old girl and a young teenage boy. The next day, on a nation-wide noontime show called Wowowee, a survivor of the said ordeal came to the show. They interviewed him. He was one of those who were on the roof, riding and holding on for dear life. He says his wife, his six year old daughter and his three year old son (who's birthday is today), are still missing. They were all on that roof with him as they were carried away by the raging waters. They lived near the river, and on the day of the flood, they stayed on top of their house because they could no longer get to safety. The man's six cousins came with ropes in order to help them. The ropes, however, were too short. The waters came in and carried away his house. The man's family are not the only casualties - there are scores more. 73 have died and more than 300,000 have lost their homes or have been displaced - and the number is still growing. Suppose rescue teams came early? Suppose local villages were provided with equipments so that they can easily and quickly rescue neighbors and villagers. Suppose local governments provided mass education and mass evacuation drills to everyone in order to teach them what to do in times of calamities. It may all seem idealistic. All these efforts cannot ultimately stop a typhoon or any other natural disaster from happening - but these can at least help prevent further loss of lives. If we don't do anything - there's only one thing for certain, chaos and death. I believe this is high time for the government to take action. And In the next few days, we get to see how the government deals with this. I hope that they take this as a lesson for the future - and I hope the world does, too. People from around the world can also help victims of Bagyong Ondoy by visiting this site: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/27/09/tropical-storm-ondoy-how-you-can-help You can also donate through paypal: http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20090927-227196/Help-Ondoy-victims-via-Paypal

Ooookay..LOL. I just read this somewhere, and it just stated that "some women believe so". Which I presume does not have to be proven statistically because that's waht they think - not necessarily the facts. But thanks for the info, though! Shall we leave them to their own beliefs?

True. I have a nokia I got for 1200 php, roughly less than 1000 BAHT, I suppose? I can call, recieve text messages - and since there are no bells and whistles and all, it doesn't log, or spend time loading like computer phones or high end phones. It does its job quickly, and I also don't have to worry if it gets stolen. (well, I would, but it wouldn't break my heart that much)

Is it because of the quality of the motorbikes, or the style of driving? Or because of the roads?

While Thailand is quickly becoming superficially Western, there are still plenty of Thai habits and culture that are practiced by its people. As a foreign traveler, you may find it quite difficult to go through the many cultural norms in Thailand, but you need not worry. Thais are very forgiving, and tolerant of cultural faux pas, especially if they are well intentioned. The also appreciate foreigners and their earnest attempts to pay respect to their culture. Here are some common do's and don'ts that you can use as guide on your next trip to the country. REMEMBER TO SMILE Smiling is a cultural habit that most Westerners never get. But Thais smile under almost any kind of situation. So if you want to do as the locals do, smile - as often as you can. DON'T LOSE YOUR TEMPER For Thais, only people with poor upbringing and fools lose their tempers and raise their voices in public. Trash talking and loud voices usually don't get you what you want in Thailand. So try to keep face and, as the first point goes, remember to smile. REMEMBER THE BODY PARTS The Thais regard the head as the most sacred body part - so never touch the head at all times. The feet, which is the lowest, is also the filthiest. I suppose you wouldn't touch anyone using your feet as well, or you wouldn't want anyone to touch you using their feet. Don't point at anything using your feet as well. LEAVE YOUR SHOES OUTSIDE Leaving your shoes outside before entering a house of an office is a sign of politeness. PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION Remember that Thais are modest people, and public displays of affection are not encouraged. THE WAI Instead of shaking peoples hands, Thais wai to each other in order to greet people, and is a way of showing respect. A Wai is a short bow that is done with both hands held close together to the chest and chin. While this can be easy to do, there are some things that you need to take note of. The depth of your wai depends on the status of the person that you are greeting. NEVER OFFEND THEIR RELIGION Buddhism is the main religion of Thailand, so take extra care so as not to offend their religious beliefs. If you are to visit a temple, do so by wearing appropriate clothes. Try to learn basic religious courtesies and rules so you don't offend them. SHOW RESPECT FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY Thais place the royal family in high regard, and have deep respect for them. So even the friendliest jest about their monarchs will not be appreciated. Remember that respect for the King and his family isn't just about being polite - it's about following the law. I'm sure there are plenty more tips that you can give to the first time traveler, so post away!

The huge baby has two tiny older brothers. Haha! If you've seen the photos, the child looks he's a year old. Heck, my daughter (who's eleven months) weighs just as much! Imagine the pain if she had to give birth normally!

then we'd start worrying about what to do if the flying pig shits while flying. i've been shat on the head by a bird once. imagine if it were a flying pig. haha

I was reading about Thailand and I came across another Win A Trip To Thailand Contest. It's sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and they're sending five teams of two to an all-expenses-paid trip to a certain tourist destination in Thailand where they will narrate and blog about their ultimate Thai experience. Those who want to join should send in a video clip stating why their team should be selected, where they want to go (there are five destinations - Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya, Koh Samui or Chiang Mai), and how they plan to narrate their adventures. From all the videos, the TAT will select five teams. Deadline of entry submission is on October 15, 2009. The world will then watch as the five teams go along with their adventure. Voters from all over the world will then vote as to which team would win the grand prize. If you've submitted a video, but weren't chosen among the five teams, you still have a chance of winning. By voting, you can still get your own chance to win a trip to Thailand. Who knows, you might just increase your chances of winning a trip to Thailand by joining this contest as well.