I am guilty about a lot of things lately and I often tell myself, "ok lng yan rom... it's Christmas, anyway!"

Confession time.

1. If there's one sin I don't wanna get punished for, it's FRANTIC   SHOPPING! I lose myself and I lose my money instantly!

2. It's easy to be really generous towards your family. But it's kinda making me think twice to share for the poor people on the streets when I perfectly know they need more than my family does.

3. I'm becoming more and more O.C these days... making my Christmas list, jotting down the tasks to do before the eve of 24th, deciding on what to wear for the numerous parties to attend, thinking of the wonderful blessings God has gifted me with this year, etc.

4. It's cold... makes me wanna wish for a hug from somebody special.. hay...

5. Chocolates, coffee, pasta, cakes, roast chicken... yum! yum!

6. It's so easy for me to just sleep and spend like forever in bed. Sarap matulog!!!

8. Wishing that this coming year, no one would dare ask me to be a "ninang" na naman! haha!

9. I can't get myself to extend my office hours coz my mind flies off to doin canvassing for the gifts I'm forced to buy.

10. Pondering how self-centered and selfish I could be sometimes. This Christmas, I've realized that there's no point of being kuripot. Let's give, give, give, and give while trying not to expect something in return (easier said than done). But that's the real spirit of Christmas, sharing and loving people. Perhaps when I finally get a hold of my impulse to buy too much stuff, I'd be one with the kind people to do charity. Wish ko lang, noh? hehe! It's Christmas, anyway!

If I have just one wish

I wish to wake up everyday without trying to wonder where you are

Because you are as near as I want it to be

That I don't need to search far and wide

Because you have found your way to me

That there would be no doubts in my heart

Because the love in your eyes I see

And that despite time and change waiting was not in vain

Because after all, it's still you and me...

-anonymous-

The problem of the world is not the "what" but the "how".

I do not believe that people do not know what's right from wrong despite the popular belief that the media (or generally, this era) jumbles up our values to make the wrong seem right.

People, as thinking beings, and as creations made like the image of God, are capable of discerning what is good. In fact, we have a lot of places to run to when we need to source out some real prescription about the "right" thing to do. But why do I still insist on doing the opposite. Many times, I've heard my friends say: That won't do any good to you. And admittedly, I believe them (or make myself believe that I believe them), but I always end up resorting to the wrong thing...

My problem is in the "how". We can come up with all sorts of great advice but we can't make people follow unless we tell them exactly how to do the right thing. Sometimes it seems that I just don't have the will power to do it... na matigas lang kse ang ulo ko... but i perfectly know what I want, and I don't wanna return into this same place I again. It's really frustrating...

Am I just being hard-headed? weak? faithless? Or maybe the bad just feels good and the bitter consequences are excellent in concealing themselves for a while. Lupet tlaga...

When will doing the right thing feel good and when will I know how? sigh...

Naramdaman mo nba yun?

Gusto ko siya.

Ay mali pala....

Gustong gusto ko sha! soooooooooooooooobra!!!!

Sana hindi ko na lng sha binasted noon.

I feel very blessed this Christmas. No, it is not quantified by my cash at hand. It's just a series of realizations I've come to terms with this year.

2005 wasn't exactly a very happy year for me and I guess, for most people also. It was plagued by a lot of struggles, confusions, tears, and all. There were times when resources and opportunities were quite scarce for me and my family. But despite all these, I've finally found an answer to our tribulations in life - that hardships are meant to keep us human and dependent om God. With difficulties and shortages, we then appreciate the true value of blessings whether they come in material form or in the love of the people around us.

I'd like to share the top reasons why I feel thankful this Christmas. They come in no particular order, though.

Family. Come to think about the family that you have. I guess I'm one of those few young people in this era who has a complete and loving family to go home to. We are not perfect just like any family, but we sure love each other and support one another's growth.

Money. We always say it ain't enough. If you will figure it out, nothing's ever enough for human beings. No human desire ever quits on us. But with that little money that we have, I bet you still got something for a loved one. It may be inexpensive but trust me - it surely touched the receiver's heart.

Trials. Oh yes, sweet ol' trials. This is one thing we surely have enough of, right? haha! But like what I've mentioned, difficulties keep us human. They bring out the best in us. I credit my bad experiences for being the catalysts in my personal growth. We become better individuals everytime we  surmount a problem that once seemed to be overwhelming.

Friends. The truest of them stay with you no matter what - time, season, and inconvenience given. For me, time is the only manifestation of love. And so, I thank those true friends of mine who stood beside me when they should be somewhere else.

God. Without His protection, I would have long been caught in an accident all these time I travel to and from work. Without His guidance, I could have gone out along the wrong paths. And without His love, I could have quit on my troubles feeling ever so hopeless.

So there. Christmas isn't exactly so grand and easy, but it is a beautiful season for me. It gives me the chance to reflect on the good, and the bad that have happened, and that have gloriously blessed my days this year. It's really the season to be thankful regardless of the existing circumstances. I hope this also goes for all of us.

When I was still in college, I envy the working people. I thought it'll be so cool to be working young. You've got money, experience, and youth to back you up as you go and make your way in this crazy road called life.

But  now that I'm in it, I discovered that I have wasted quite a precious time during my college days. There goes my list of "should haves" and "what ifs". I should've spent more time on these... should've went out more... what if I took on that risk.. etc.. etc..

There's no use looking back at those (ok, I hate to say this) regrets coz I'm now in the fast lane of life. Right now, I'm enjoying what I have and the experiences that I'm encountering each and everyday. Though I'm ever so conscious of the word "budget", I'm still thankful that I have enough.

So it's true about what the old say: Cherish the time that you have in your hands coz you can never take it back.

Maybe I'm not the only one who's going through this. I'f I'd be given another chance to turn back time, I wouldn't treat this kind of living as superior from what I had then. Then was more peaceful. People in school were more friendly... and more real. Then, it was perefectly ok to cry when you flunk an exam... or nag your classmate about the terrible professor. Now's different... totally different...

I guess, the best resolution is just to feel and enjoy the benefits of the time/phase I'm into now. Regardless if the MRT is always jammed packed, or if I get quite isolated in my gloomy cubicle, or if I had to force myself to greet another day or else I won't get paid hehe.

Time is really precious... as precious as gold.

Anong naiisip ko ngayon?

Madami!

1. kelan ma que-quench ang thirst ko for shopping?

2. Gusto ko ba talagang mag-abroad?

3. Inlove ba'ko or hindi (hindi na?) ?

4. Pa'no yumaman nang hindi umaalis sa bansa? (hopeless)

5. 'Pag namatay ako, ano sasabihin nila?

6. Nagtatampo ba mga UPSCANs sakin? e mga HS batchmates?

7. What's my place in this world?

8. Bakit lagi akong na-threa-threaten, o kaya na-cha-challenge?

9. Why do I often rely on gut feel?

10. Pagbalik ko sa school, anong field of study ita-take ko?

11. Enough ba ang 2 years para mag mature at mag decide na ako?

12. Eto eternal question ko na: Anong career ako nababagay?

13. Makakapag-asawa ba'ko ng businessman (yung established ha, nde yung struggling)

14. Bakit sumobra ang entries dito? dapat 10 lang ha...

Kung meron kayong pedeng isagot sa mga katanungan at kakornihan ko sa buhay... pa-comment naman jan.

I have to speak up on this issue. No, I'm not directly affected by the cruelty being committed against the Hacienda Luisita workers. I just wish to convey an important message this Christmas season regardless if these would actually reach those who are so blessed they have the power to lift hundreds of farmer families out of poverty, but decided otherwise...

Read on.

Excerpts from: http://news.inq7.net. "Give us land now, Luisita workers tell government". Jo Martinez-Clemente, Russell Arador, Blanche S. Rivera.

"Dapat ipamahagi agad dahil tapos na ang welga at nagdesisyon na ang PARC (The government should immediately distribute the land to the farmers because the strike is over and the PARC has made its decision)," said ULWU president Rene Galang.

Galang also called on military officials to withdraw their troops from the estate, pointing out that both the workers' strike and the stock distribution issue had been resolved.

Currently, It was reported that more than 10 workers were killed during the year-long strike at the Hacienda.

Unfortunately, the spokesperson of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), announced that the farmers need to return the benefits they have been receiving from HLI for 16 years when the new resolve has been implemented. Once the government takes hold of their land, the Cojuangcos will take back the benefits they have shelled out for the farmers because there is a loss of contract.

In a report submitted to Congress last year, HLI said it had spent P3 billion in total salaries, wages and benefits for the estate's farm workers from 1989 to 2004, including the P50 million it shelled out annually for hospitalization benefits.

Salary and educational loans and rice rations given in 2003 and 2004 alone totaled P37 million, it said.

"That will have to be returned. So what will happen, will they be driven out of their homes? It's quite messy and complicated. What we're trying to avoid is yung magkagulo (that there will be violence). There's a level of uncertainty now," *Mendoza said in a mix of Filipino and English.

*HLI's spokesperson

This gives me one heck of a thought...

Are they (farmers) really supposed to return their benefits to their employers? Bakit, kapag nagreresign ba ang isang tao sa kumpanya, kailangan nyang isoli ang mga nagamit nyang benefits??? I know that the distribution of the benefits will have to be stopped, but not returned.

Where is the spirit of Christmas in the hearts of the rich? Don't they know that they have such immense power to actually put several families of farmers deep in poverty? And at the same time they are also equally capable of helping their fellow Filipinos to uplift their depressed situation. It's just so painful that they choose to just ignore the call of charity and continue on being filthy rich when they perefectlt know that their ancestral land won't get anywhere if not for the efforts of their tenant farmers.

What's more depressing about this is that the Conjuangcos decided on taking back the farmers' benefits now that it's Christmas. Can they get any richer than this when the whole nation knows that even the coming generations of their line are assured of a comfortable life ahead of them?

Is it really so hard to give your employees their much needed benefits when all your life you've lived along the lane of luxury?

Now I know, it's more difficult to be rich than to be poor. You lose more when you're all wealthy and privileged. You lose your sense of charity. You lose a heart for Christmas. You lose the most important things in life, and you can't even bring that Hacienda Luisita in heaven.

This is not a good blog entry to read. I have nothing good to say. Why? Well, I just want to inform everyone that my Christmas 2005 just got so SPOILED! yep, you read it right. Spoiled. My favorite season of the year got spoiled. I don't wanna rant the reasons why it turned out that way. I just feel so frustrated it had to happen this time of the year when I'm supposed to be enjoying my holiday in the house. But then again, because of the untimely conflicts, I opted to just go back to work and feel the keyboard of my pc under my finger tips. I can no longer live without an internet connection, without YM, without my blog...

So there, I'm here typing away in this place I quite missed somehow. At this point in time, I'm really wishing that God did not designate me to be the eldest in the family... eldest among the cousins. Most people think it's so cool to be the eldest because you can get your way around things. I have yet to see that because as far as I know, the eldest gets armed with responsibilities since day 1 of their lives. Sure, it'll teach us that great sense of responsibility, but sometimes we also want to take the back seat and enjoy what it's like being young and earning. I know I should feel happy that I've landed a job - a good one that is. But there's a downside to that. People expect a lot from you. Great that my predicament makes me the first grandchild.

I have a very narrow view of things. I should be thankful, I know. But just this once, just once...let me complain and air my angst!

I was browsing about the predictions for the year 2006 until I chanced upon this little wacky excerpt by Swami Salami (whoever he is?!)

Prediction 2: As part of its ongoing agreement with NASA, Google will secure exclusive advertising rights to the moon, where it plans to run text ads on the lunar surface. To increase traffic, the search company will distribute free telescopes to every human on the planet.

huh??? great SEO tacti ei... giving out free telescopes to view the ads hehehe!

And then I got this more serious article about the future of SEO for the year 2006. It's written by Brad Callen. It's quite long and so I've decided to just chop off some parts and present the main meat of the SEO dish.

According to Callen, while the formula: QUANTITY + QUALITY works big time for your link building campaign, chances of high visibility/ranking still greatly depend on the basics. Here's how he puts it:

... We like things to be easy, but we also want things to work well. If
link-building is a good tactic, but not the best tactic (especially when everyone and their mother is getting a few hundred links every month to their 30-page AdSense websites), then where does it leave the rest of us?

The answer lies with what the search engines have been saying
all along – quality content, wrapped around quality, organic links.

Search engines are looking for unique and useful content –
information that is accurate and important to the people interested in that field. Search engines also look for fresh content – regular additions to your website, etc (this is why blogging became / is such a huge craze).

Yep, there goes the essence of my writing skill (ahehehehe!). I wonder how our team can further improve content creation without consuming too much time per client. You see, for one to be able to write a content that's really relevant to the topic, preliminary research should be an SOP. Aside from researching about the client's business, the industry he's in, the right keywords to propel his site, there's also the need to dig more information about the nature of his product/service.

Like for example, I handled this one client site about Amazon Rainforest energy drinks. While the site contained ample information about the chemistry of the products, I was bombarded by a lot of enzyme names and the likes. It was said there that these enzymes are the primary assets of the energy drinks, thus its selling features. It could have been great if I did write the benefits of those magical exotic enzymes only that it would consume time for one client because that would mean creating several contents to fit each energy drink product. That's the trouble with creating just one generic text for the keyword groups.

Oh well, I guess for 2006, we'll be having our rounds of meetings and process improvements for the team.

SEO's really cool, I must say. I'm learning a lot and I get to practise writing and researching (and chatting/blogging hehe). Advertising has really gone scientific and techy these modern days. I'm hopeful that things will still continue to be bright for search engine optimization for 2006.