Audemars Piguet Watches

Ignorant me.  I have not heard of Audemars Piguet watches.  And they say these are essential watches of Beverly Hills.  These watches must be very expensive but not essential as in needed.   They cannot be indispensable because life can go on without these costly accessories, or life can go on with only a cheap watch to use.

I find it funny really that the rich spend that much money on accessories like watches, bags, trinkets, etc.  But it’s their money and of course, what business do I have of people buying these overpriced valuable possessions?

I just thought that it would be better if money will be spent for charities and worthy causes.  I mean, if one doesn’t know where to spend his money, then he has extra and if it’s extra then it is not necessarily a need to be fulfilled.

Meditation equals Relaxation

Someone said, “I noticed that every time I relax, meditate, or pray, I feel balanced and my life seems steady.  Then after days, or months,  meditation and prayer are forgotten.  Then gradually, life becomes stressful again.  I will go back to meditation and prayer once more.  My life eventually becomes beautiful again.”

Most of us experience these episodes, particularly the working people – businessmen, lawyers, writers and teachers.  The precept behind is find time to relax even if it seems impossible.  Relaxation is gratifying and gives us peace and the benefit of attracting beautiful people in our lives.

If our life is peaceful, we attract other people who are peaceful, too.  We generally attract peace.  The hostile ones look at the peaceful ones as weird but they look at them as examples to follow that eventually they are transformed to being peaceful people, too.

Here are a few tips on meditation and relaxation:

• This is a daily activity.  Do it everyday at the same time you first scheduled your meditation.  The earliest time of the day is suggested because nobody will disturb and you will have the luxury of preparing for the day.
• Sit when you meditate.  If you do it reclining, you will fall asleep.
• Force yourself to allot time everyday, at least twenty minutes, if you think you do not have the luxury of time.

Spaghetti Sauce and Copper Core Cookware

Every time it rains, thinking of good food cannot be helped.  Suddenly, I thought of spaghetti sauce.  I’m quite good at preparing this sauce.  The children loved it not because I’m their mother.  It’s because I cook delicious spaghetti sauce.  😀

Even without an all clad copper core sauce pan, my spaghetti will be appetizing.   It’s not the cookware which is the secret, of course.  It is how one prepares a particular food.

I will not be listing a recipe here but I will mention that one of the reasons why food is delicious is the natural ingredients you put in it.  There are already preserved tomatoes in can but I still choose to buy fresh tomatoes, and onions, and garlic, and mince them.  The natural aroma from them is incomparable to the instantly available ones in cans as they are sauteed.

Pepper also is one of the necessary ingredients.  A considerable amount enhances the other flavors in a dish or a sauce.  I prefer the finely ground pepper.  Do not forget, salt with it but it should not be too much.  Just enough to add flavor.

The ground beef (which I prefer over ground pork) should be sauteed thirty minutes or until they look brown.  It is to my experience when you cook them in a lesser time, a queer taste will linger.   I also prefer to cook the mushrooms with the ground beef.

So there.  I have to have a cup of coffee.  And go to the supermarket afterwards.  I feel like cooking spaghetti.

How Efren Sells His Life Insurance Plans

If you are wondering who Efren is, he is the guy I was talking about in this post.

He has two agents in his network in the company.  The more sales they bring, the more earnings Efren gets.  It truly is networking.  Actually, it’s my first time to hear that even insurance agencies are into networking.

Back to Efren, I just witnessed how Efren sells his plans.  He does not miss opportunities.  In one of our auditing activities, in the middle of discussing how to protect one’s self by logging in and out when doing OB (official business) outside the plant, he suddenly mentioned the term life insurance quotes to the auditee.  As in from nowhere, he thought of selling a plan.  But unfortunately, the guy already has a plan from the same insurance company.

Efren was not able to sell but it was the ability and the effort that impressed me.  He has that skill of making the most out of every opportunity.  A true-bloodied salesman.  It is no wonder he earned his position and went up the ladder.

The Nice Things about Having Friends

I am not the self-important friend that others seem to be.  I am a people-pleaser most of the time.  That is different from a crowd-pleaser, I think.  Maybe that is why I have friends, not plenty, but I have friends.

One of the nice things about having a friend or friends is that you have one or two you can vent your anger or exasperation towards a hateful person, for example.  You have one or two you can run to when you urgently need money because your pocket doesn’t have a penny.  One of them will even crack open their piggy bank and lend you the money.  Don’t you think I have enough reason to think it is nice to have friends?  😀

And you have someone who gives you or finds food for you when you are hungry.  A piece of biscuit can really save the day, you know.  😀  You also have one or two who occasionally enjoys talking about raunchy or gross topics.  😀  Note:  occasional.  That can be subjective.

Most especially, you have one or two to laugh with even when you are faced with hopelessness.  The nice things about having friends is that you have a cushion, you have a support.

I cannot be too cozy with them, by the way, because, you know, familiarity breeds contempt.  I cannot afford not to be without them.  That is more like it.

Brought Back Memories

I saw this picture of my high school classmates in my FB friend’s account. It brought back memories.  Especially with Didi (the one in black and with still an angelic face that does not require even a whit of Acneticin) and with Gemma (the one in a flowery blouse).

I missed this one actually.  It was a bad time because hypertension prevented me from going.  The group is not large but it could have been a very nice time to catch up and do some chit chat.

I was wondering – how would you converse with a high school classmate who had previously hurt you or did not treat you right, when you see each other in a gathering such as this?

Dreaming of Cars

My recent experience with our car must be in my subconscious that was why I dreamed of these powerful cars.

I first dreamed of a porsche boxster, one of those roadsters that only famous and very rich men own. Funny, but in reality, I do not like two-door convertibles. Even if it is a super sleek, fashionable car, I will always go for the spacious ones.  This porsche boxster in my dream looks like this one.  Beautiful, isn’t it?

And speaking of a spacious car, I think this red bmw 1 series is perfect.  You know how dreams magnify what one feels.   And boy, the ecstatic joy owning a car like this one is incomparable.

Then there is this saab 9-5 that does not only look sleek, spacious but also sturdy.  I felt floating among the clouds in my dream when I was ushered into this car.

But what really gave me a complete feeling, a grand one, is owning this mercury milan in my dreams.  I was jumping with joy and it felt like it was really true!  The car was very shiny, perfectly spacious and sturdy looking with its shining black color.  The front of it speaks about elegance.  Who would not love it?

But like all dreams, it has to end.  And this kind will sure give you a dejected feeling.  It just didn’t seem right.  😦

Bombarded Part 2

Talk about being in the middle of it all.  And so, as the saying goes again, when it rains, it pours.  And just as I am in the middle of trying to figure out how to deal with the difficulties of life, the car bogged down.  The carburetor gave in.  What would you expect from an old car?  Well, yes, it is not yet a vintage car, but it is more than a decade now that it had been in service.  It doesn’t even have a cheap auto insurance.

A day after, the car overheated.  Papsie was able to reach home late between stops.  I was petrified when he said it must be the water pump.  It wasn’t.  It was only a punctured hose.  Thank God, I said to myself.

Don’t tell me to buy a new car.  That is not a good idea at this time.  😦

Anything But Not a Pair of Tuxedo Shoes

It’s Father’s Day.

At Amazon.com, there are shoes that would attract Papsie’s attention:

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubpages075b-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B001MV77RU&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrhttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubpages075b-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002FGUMAU&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrhttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubpages075b-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0014JIFNA&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifrhttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=hubpages075b-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B002FGUM4Q&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr

But not a pair of tuxedo shoes. He will be disappointed. That would not definitely not delight him. What use would a pair of tuxedo shoes have for him?

The point is it is important to specifically know what the ‘dads’ of this world truly want for a Father’s day.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PAPA, DAD, DADDY, TATAY, ITAY OF THIS WORLD!!!

Hair Loss Cure for the President?

Kris Aquino announced last year that she tried to convince President-elect Noynoy Aquino for a hair loss cure, which is the mesoscalp treatment (as suggested by the Belo Medical Clinic).  This was declined by Mr. Aquino.

That was the first time I admired Mr. Aquino’s determination.  He cannot be dictated even by his sister.  This is witnessed in many instances during the campaign and until present, he cannot be dictated.  I saw lately how he remarked on the unsolicited advice of Fidel Ramos.  That was straightforward and honest contrary to what the media says it’s snobbish.

I did not vote for Noynoy but each day I am beginning to admire the person in him.  I hope everything will work out fine in his quest for a truly free and progressive Philippines.  I hope everybody will work hand in hand with him.

Are Boots for Pinoys?

How pretty it is to look at girls and women in mini dresses and boots.  But are boots for pinoys?

They are not for pinoys (or pinays).  With the humid and dry season we mostly experience, it is not fitting to wear boots.  Though I had seen some fashionistas in some places here in the country wearing boots and they carry them very well, I find it awkward to see them wearing this pair of foot wear under the glaring heat of the sun, and in the Philippines!

However, use of boots are pardonable during rainy season.   There are also working boots that are used in working areas.  As said, one could understand why they are being used.  These boots fall under the category personal protective equipment.

Kim Kardashian wants you to keep up

With this…

Photo courtesy of ShowbizSpy.

I just hate reality television series most of the time.  I could not find the relevance of it all to the many.  For me, a show has to have a purpose and most of the time I could not find it all.  That is why I am not a fan of PBB and other reality television series here in the Philippines.  I could not connect.  Well, maybe it is just not my thing.

In case you do not know Kim Kardashian, or have not watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians yet, which has Ryan Seacrest as the executive producer by the way,  she is the second child of Kris Jenner.  The other Kardashians are Kourtney and Khloe.  The teevee series documented the lives of the Kardashians/Jenners.

But among the three Kardashians, I find Khloe as the most attractive and the most sensible.  Kourtney is almost like Khloe though she falls short when it comes to beauty and height.  Not that I do not find her pretty.  Actually it is how she talks that makes her attractive.

I am like doing a review I noticed.  Do not mistake this as me being a fan.  I did watch the show a couple of times to see what the series is all about and what it is like.

Would You Do it for Love?

I stumbled upon The Most Beautiful Death in StumbleUpon.  It is a letter from Letters of Note.  It is a letter by Laura, the wife of Aldous Huxley, a novelist, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1960.  Laura was asked by Aldous to administer him with LSD* while he was passing away.

I felt for Laura during the times she had witnessed her husband’s ordeal.  Who would not be bothered seeing your husband agitated with pain?

Aldous began to be so agitated, so uncomfortable, so desperate really.

He couldn’t express himself but he was feeling dreadul, nothing was right, no position was right. I tried to ask him what was occurring. He had difficulty in speaking, but he managed to say, “Just trying to tell you makes it worse.” He wanted to be moved all the time – “Move me.” “Move my legs.” “Move my arms.” “Move my bed.” I had one of those push-button beds, which moved up and down both from the head and the feet, and incessantly, at times, I would have him go up and down, up and down by pushing buttons. We did this again, and somehow it seemed to give him a little relief. but it was very, very little.

I think nobody wanted to see a loved one in pain.  We had had, Papsie and I, witnessed a lot of last minute moments with the dying, and it is such an agony.  And Laura did her best for Aldous to give him relief and peace by administering LSD and other meds.  I would like to understand she did the administering of LSD because of love.  I would like to sympathize that she would do all for Aldous.

If you will ask me if I will do it, I will, if only to ease the pain.  Because it would not matter anymore if it is right or wrong.  During the days, and hours, and minutes, when death is nearing, there would not be anything much left but give my beloved relief from pain, or any liberation from the torture.

*LSD – Lysergic acid diethylamide; a hallucinogenic drug that acts on the serotonin receptor.

Do you like basements?

Who would not want a basement which is as beautiful as this?

Photo courtesy of Daniel’s Custom Building and Renovations.

But beautiful as it is, I don’t like the idea of having basements in a house.  I don’t know, it gives me the creeps.  Yes, even if it is as perfect as it is like the picture above.  Aside from the need of a basement dehumidifier, the fear of the possibility of sewage creeping in, or a flash flood rushing into the beautiful room, lingers.  That is morbid thinking, I know, but the idea kills the vision.

Oh, well.  It still is a long time before I can be able to convert our house into one dream house.  What I am ranting about?  But it’s just a thought.  I am not really a fan of basements.  Could it be true that a lot of things could happen there?  😀

We Have a New President

Today, Benigno Aquino, Jr.  was proclaimed the Philippines’ President-elect together with Jejomar Binay as the Vice-President-elect.  As Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. said in his speech, “Hail to the Chief!”  The speech is comic but it was the best speech of all.

So, what is new?

What is new with today’s proclamation is the apparent hope that the supporters have for both Aquino and Binay.  The gallery of the Batasang Pambansa was witness to the paramount joy of celebration by everyone who’s there.  Everyone seems hopeful.

They are not the only ones who carry this hope.  Everybody who is a citizen of this beloved country we call Philippines carry this hope that it can be lifted from the quagmire of poverty, hunger, corruption, bureaucracy, illiteracy, etc, etc.  Though a bigger lot did not vote for Noynoy or Binay, they still belong to the hopeful bunch of Filipinos, that someday somehow, the ails of this country will be healed.

I carry this hope, too, though during the last minutes when I voted, I changed my mind and opted not to vote for Benigno Aquino, Jr.  I did not choose him because of fear of many things or because I felt that he was not the best candidate still.   But the citizenry spoke, and it had to be respected.

“Hail to the chief!” I say it, too, because he was able to bring the people together and show their hearts’ desire for a change.  I hope he would not disappoint the Filipino people because we had had enough of Gloria.