The D Spot

Yesterday marked the opening of classes for millions of Filipino children.

The start of classes once again marks an opportunity for change, and at the same time a recap of the same old story of previous years. The same problems keep arising, year after year, but year after year, it remains largely unsolved and swept under the rug – lack of teachers, lack of classrooms, etc. Parents are interviewed on the news complaining about hidden fees, TV cameras show poorly equipped classrooms and dirty toilets while the school principal bemoans on the poor condition of the school.

Continue reading "Back to School (Year in and Year out, Here We Go Again!)" »

Was at Cardinal Santos Hospital ‘s ER last night. I had a bad cold, dry cough and for the 1st time in my life could not sleep.

Oh well, at my age, I should not leave things to luck. There are things in life that I must consult to professionals. And at my age, somehow, there will be health issues.

While on the hospital bed, I was hooked to an  electronic blood pressure apparatus that was reading automatically every 15 mins or so (something like this), with matching warnings toot! toot! toot!:

166/109
177/110
165/100
etc.
188/110

Continue reading "The night my blood pressure read “188/110″" »

Summer is fast ending, and what best way to mark the start of the school year than with a family dinner and night out at the movies? The D Spot, in cooperation with Globe My Family Super Circle and Sumo Sam, is running a photo contest that celebrates family connectedness.

Here’s the first entry: Lumayno Conference Call by Pinky Lumayno

If you’re interested to join, the mechanics are simple:

• Take a wacky or funny photo showing you and your family members doing interesting things just to get in touch.
• Post a link to the photo in the comments page.
• You can host the photo on any publicly-accessible photo sharing site or social network. Just make sure to link to this blog post in the caption.
• You may also send your photo by email:  bracoma@gmail.com.
• If you’re submitting your photo through Twitter, mention @sexymom. If you’re submitting via Facebook, tag Dine Racoma. Don’t forget to link here (URL shortening services are okay).
• I will choose 10 finalists from the entries, and will raffle the prize from among these 10 entries.
• The contest runs from today until midnight of Wednesday, June 15 (extended from June 10). We will make an announcement of the winners by June 18.

Continue reading "The Globe My Family Super Circle Photo Contest" »

Ever heard of the fable of the boy who cried wolf? That’s what PAGASA or the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration seems to be.

The weather bureau tasked with predicting the weather systems in the country has once again made the worst case scenario prediction, instilling much fear and apprehension to the nation, only to be spared from what should have been super typhoon Chedeng.

Continue reading "PAGASA: A case of the boy who cried wolf" »

Happy birthday, Pauline! dearest Pau!

It seems like only a few years ago when she was born. Unlike with all her 6 siblings, it was only with Pau that I experienced leaving my tiny baby in the hospital for a few days. She developed complications, she had fever from birth, and all I could do aside from praying was visit her in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, until she got well. Thank God since then she has been in the pink of health, aside from the usual muscle pains one develops from the rigid training in pep squad and gymnastics when she …

Continue reading "Happy Birthday, Pauline! and thank you for your GIFT!" »

PRESS RELEASE

Mother’s Day is done and Father’s Day is fast approaching. But family days are celebrated every single day with My Super Circle Plan, the first and only unlimited and fully customizable group plan to keep your family ties strong and secure.

My Super Circle Plan keeps you connected not just to your nearest and dearest, with a brand-new bundle of three postpaid lines that you can get for only P 1,499 a month. For that price, you also get your choice of unlimited services: Try SuperUNLI for free-for-all calling and texting to family and friends on Globe and TM, or SuperDUO for all-you-can unlimited calls to Globe landlines and Globe and TM phones, or SuperTxtALL, the mother of all texting offers that will keep you in touch with virtually 84 million mobile users across all networks in the country.  Or you can try them all, one at a time, because with My Super Circle Plan, you can change your unlimited services every month.

Continue reading "Bring The Family Closer with My Super Circle Plan from Globe" »

The one year moratorium on appointing election losers is about to be up and everyone wants to know what Pres. Aquino will do with his former running mate Mar Roxas.

(ANC’s Strictly Politics cited this blogpost in its May 10 edition).

There’s talk that he will be an executive secretary. Some are saying former Mr. Palengke will be appointed a top ranking cabinet position. President Aquino is still vague on the matter, although he has said that Roxas’ position will besimilar to a chief of staff position. P-Noy envisions Roxas going to meetings on his behalf so that he is simply left with the decision making process.

Continue reading "Mar Roxas in the Aquino Administration – Will he be Little President?" »

A pleasant surprise on Mother’s Day–one different from all the other Mother’s Day of past. And I have to thank my loving mother for that!

I was woken up by something kind of tickling my face, to see my mother right there, with a rose in her hand, greeting me, “Happy Mother’s Day!” She just came back from church, and probably picked up a rose for me. I should be the one doing this, I thought, feeling a bit guilty. She has dedicated all her life caring for us, her 3 children, the past 25 years or so caring for my family, and that includes my husband, 7 children, and my daughter-in-law and 3 grandkids when they visit. She’s tireless! Keeps house, makes home, feeds us, takes care of our needs, and many others, that I as a mother myself should have been doing.

Continue reading "A Mother’s Day Like No Other" »

by: Noreen Lopez

I confess that I’m a beauty product junkie.

If the label reads that it’s anti-ageing or anti-wrinkle, I’ll try it out. My dresser is littered with high-end department store brands, as well as drug store finds. I’ve tried organic, all natural, chemical laden and heavily advertised products all in the quest to fight the signs of ageing and dryness. I’ve read about the power of antioxidants, retinols, hydroxy acids and a whole bunch of magical and miraculous ingredients found to counter the signs of ageing. Since I’m only in my mid thirties, I know the importance of prevention since the lines haven’t shown up on my face yet. And I discovered – ARGAN Oil!

Continue reading "Argan Oil – The Latest Oil Works!" »

It’s been almost a year since President Aquino won the presidency of the Philippines in the country’s first automated elections. Much hype and support were given to him. The country was full of optimism. The President promised: “No to Wang-wang”, “Kayo ang boss ko!”

Let’s take a look and see how our boss, the president, has fared.

A year into his presidency, President Aquino’s job approval and trust rating has declined significantly. This is the first time this has happened to a President within the first year of sitting in office to such a degree.

Continue reading "President Aquino: One Year After" »

There is a growing awareness about cervical cancer, thanks to massive campaigns in the country featuring many high profile women, including Presidential sister and TV host Kris Aquino and businesswoman Cristalle Henares of the Belo Group.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in the country. Every year, about 6,000 Filipinas are diagnosed with cervical cancer. An estimated 12 Filipinas die …

Continue reading "Babae! Mahalaga Ka! Free cervical cancer screening for the month of May" »

Every mother is proud of her child, no matter how the rest of the world looks at him. In our eyes, our child is the smartest, most beautiful, most talented and simply God’s gift to the world, because that is certainly how we see him or her. Little wonder that we parents tend to show off the accomplishments of our child for all to see how amazing this spawn of our loins is?

Whether a child is mediocre or truly a child prodigy, a parent can’t but help want to show off the youngster’s talent and work. I’m sure this happened to almost all of us while we were growing. I personally remember being called downstairs to greet …

Continue reading "Parental pride or child exploitation?" »

Much has been written and said about the apparent child abuse and/or exploitation that occurred in TV5’s show Willing Willie. The animosity is mainly directed towards its host Willie Revillame. Many people are turned off by Mr. Revillame’s antics. He has divided the country once again. Mr. Revillame has a knack for polarizing the citizens of this country. He says he is pro-poor and “nagpapakatotoo lang.” He says the people “who have” do not understand the poor. He says the people “who have” really do not care – look at him, he says, he has given millions of pesos from his own pocket to the poor. He has taken time out to be with the poor, listening to them, etc., etc.

Continue reading "On Willie Revillame (Where are the puppet masters? The monster makers? The real exploiters?)" »

While having dinner at Pizza Hut in Katipunan last night, I saw my grade and high school classmate, Belinda, with her hubby and only son, a 7th grader at the Ateneo. I introduced them to my 7 kids, Angelo (graduated from UP, who now has a family of his own, a former sr. economist NEDA, now working online), Monica (a lawyer from the Ateneo Law School), BA (graduating from UP Applied Physics, and soon to be working as a researcher in UP, while taking up a masters in geology), Vince (incoming 4th yr at UP College of Business Ad who plans to go to law school after college), Angela (incoming 3rd yr at UP taking up a BS in Family and Child Development who plans to take up medicine after college), Pau (incoming 2nd year taking up Management-she is moving to UP with a course in Geology) and Alan, Jr (incoming 2nd year at the Ateneo High School). Long way to go, with 5 of them still in school.

Continue reading "‎7 Wonderful Blessings (How’d you do that? I was asked)" »

There is a global trend towards becoming more environmentally aware and proactive. In the US, arguably responsible for a large percentage of the garbage in the world, there is a huge push to recycle, reuse and cutback. There are recycling centers and programs in various communities. There is a trend to go organic to lessen the use of pesticides. There is a trend to go more natural, with various beauty products coming up that are chemical free. Various laws on carbon emissions and stricter environmental standards are being pushed.

Here in Manila, there is a slow shift towards going green. Obviously, the more educated ones are more aware of the need to recycle. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is happening. Though there is a slow shift, there is still much to be done. However, slowly but surely, this is a change in the collective consciousness that is quite desirable and will hopefully progress.

No to plastic bags. One trend that seems to be popping up with many stores is stopping or minimizing the use of plastic bags. Rustans and SM supermarkets (and Shopwise) have made the shift to use biodegradable grocery bags. At SM Megamall, Wednesdays are shopping bag free days, so your groceries will be packed in boxes instead. At the Alabang Town Center, the grocery stores have stopped using plastic bags. Though some customers can find this inconvenient, it is certainly good for the environment. In the US, consumers have the option of paper or plastic. In Bangladesh (at least in Dhaka), as far back as 2002, plastic bags have been banned in supermarkets. It was a sight to see them use jute bags for their groceries. Over here, seems like you have to force people to comply or they otherwise would not change.

Continue reading "Small Steps to Achieving a Green Manila" »

AIESEC (acronym for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) is the international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential.

AIESEC provides its members unique and exciting leadership opportunities which vary from local teams to international groups; this is in addition to our numerous projects, conferences, and activities. AIESEC also sends its members on real international work abroad experiences to further their personal and professional development. AIESEC’s integrated learning experience is its way to ensure that its members become globally competitive and fast-learning individuals who possess international work experience. AIESECers have a global mindset, an entrepreneurial outlook, socially responsible, emotionally intelligent, and proactive in learning; qualities demanded by today’s reality across all sectors.

Continue reading "The AIESEC Global Internship Program" »

I quote below what one of my daughters, Chato (or Angela) has written in her live journal. I am so touched! Thanks, Chato. It is so nice to be appreciated. I so love you.

I thank God for giving us such a cool and amazing mother. She’s not just my mom, she’s also my best friend. I have always been close to her, but I find this year even more special. I feel that as I grow up, I become closer to her. We are able to talk about more things – from school, to career, to friends, to love life, to Bejeweled (HAHA), and to anything and everything under the sun. Knowing what she has been through to get everyone of us where we are now and knowing how many lives she has affected, I look up to her and admire her even more.

Continue reading "Thank you, Chato! It’s so nice to be appreciated." »

If you want to LAUGH (HA HA HA) and not just to laugh (ha ha ha), then Star Cinema’s MMFF entry “Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To!” is the movie to watch. This is the third, and they say last, of the Ang Tanging Ina series.

It has the elements of fun and laughter, drama, friendship, and most of all family values–that of  keeping the family together through communication, respect, helping each other, and instilling peace and love in the family. In the end, love is all that matters in a large family that has been partly dysfunctional.

Yes, Ina Montecillo is no perfect mother–she has committed one mistake after another, and she knows it, human that she may be. Her family is not ideal, whose is, by the way? And her children do not have the best of character and breeding. Yet, the movie represents many of the mothers, the fathers, the children, the brothers, the sisters, the friends, etc., that do move in the Philippine society. There is even the plight of OCWs whose families expect are reaping success abroad (but in reality are naught) in the person of Ina’s eldest son (played by Marvin Agustin). It’s like in the movie, each of us is represented.

Continue reading "Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na Ito — A Movie Review" »

Good luck to all UPCAT Takers.

The 2011 UPCAT results will be posted at the Office of Admission.

You can also check the Official UPCAT online site, which states the following:

Continue reading "Online 2011 UPCAT Results" »

As the year draws to a close and as a new one dawns upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on how 2010 turned out.

2010—a year of the Tiger has certainly been a year of aggressive change. There have been many breakups and breaking news all over the country and around the world.

Overall, it seems that 2010 was marked by a feeling of hopefulness and optimism that haven’t been seen or felt in a long time. This feeling is quite uncanny because it is so unfamiliar, and yet it is certainly wonderful.

Continue reading "Saying goodbye with gratitude to 2010 and welcoming 2011 with hope and optimism" »