I wanna be Billy Crawford!

I have been taken into watching You Tube and I stumbled upon Billy Crawford's video list. I know my title insuiates that I want to be a man or something. Actually, I want to be Billy Crawford in the sense that the man is one proud Filipino. And I am proud of that he is a Filipino. I am inspired to be like him in a way that he is not ashamed to let the world know that he came from a third world country or part Filipino technically. Believe me, I know some people denies their nationality due to shame or something.

I fell in love with this video and he greatly reminds me of the duels back in our Spanish time. Hope you like it.

Thou Shall Not Covet

These words are very much engraved in my head as a "rule" given by God. Thou shall not covet other people's things, Thou shall not Covet other people's wife. In short, Huwag kang inggitera! (Don't be envious!).

I have abide by the rule as much as I can. But then, I realized that we should not take God's word very literally. I believe that He created the rule as a way of saying that we should be contented for what we have and be happy for others. Envy is not really an entirely bad emotion. Too much of it does and how you use that emotion.

Personally, I have used that emotion to advance myself. To get what I want on a positive way. If its a thing, I think of ways how could I earn to buy that thing. If it is success, I politely try to learn his or her secret how did she or he did it. I always say to myself, "They did it, why can't I?"

Some may agree with me, some will don't. I fully understand that. Please do tell me what you think. It'll be quite interesting.

Father Killed His Own Daughter

Last week, a news break out about a 3 year old girl being lost on a mall while with her parents. Apparently, the girl just disappeared from the her mother's side and the mother thought she just went to her father's side. The incident was flashed on the news about three days earlier. Lost: A missing three year old girl. The screen shows a beautiful smiling three year old girl. My heart just broke. The mother exclaims, "Sana binalik na lang nila sa akin. Ba't nagkaganyan?" (They should have just returned her to me. Why did this happened?). A very sad sight. I couldn't imagine what trauma a mother could possibly endure while looking for her lost child and then finding out your precious child is already dead.

Then the tragedy didn't stop there. The father confessed. He killed his own three year old daughter.

I couldn't write anymore. I'm not yet a mother but I also believe that the man is a beast.

You could read more about the story here, here, and here.

Abbie's World

I am just another girl on the face of planet Earth.
I create my world.
I don't evolve around the world, the world evolve around me. I just think differently.
I have a genie on my mind that has unlimited wishes to grant.
What I need comes to me.
My world as a canvas or a journal to which I am the author.
I am a rock but a mallows at the same time.
I blend with time but yet still one of a kind.
I do things like everybody else with a little twist.
I like being alone but company is always welcome.
I am a dreamer by nature even when the time gets tough.
I am an eternal student, as learning is a second nature for me.
I write about what I think, some intelligently and sometimes even disturbed.
I am my father's joy.
I am Abbie.
Welcome to Abbie's world.

Are You Financially Literate?

Being a graduate of BS Accountacy, I thought I know about money. Wrong! Actually, I know I have been brainwashing myself with that lie but deep inside I know I am incompetent nincampoop! What I know is to record, analyze and think but no action. I even don't have a first hand experience with it.

Until I got my first experience in so called business big time (at least for me). We were so overwhelmed by the emotional complication of accounting for our business that we ignored accounting for it all together! Then after a few months, we found ourselves in debt. Luckily we only have debts up to our waistline.

I have thought of running away from it (bad girl!) but I thought better. In the future, I will need the credit lines I have acquired. And I have turned the experience into a learning process, an expensive one but just as well effective.

So far, I realized that I have a very poor financial quotient. I began thinking ways on how I could learn. From the MLM that we got involved, we took their best advice, "Learn from the Masters". But where I could find one?

It began on a journey for answers. I am a bookworm and actually don't have enough rich people on my COI (circle of influence). I was ready for new suggestions or ideas. I actually been praying to God to show me something. I said "God, please show me the best book I can read". Then on the shelves are books that I haven't seen open to bookstore visitors' reading but often of the best seller bookstand.

I read to my heart's content. I am broke but out of pure instinct, I know I got to own these books. I love the book because its the first time I heard about it from a fellow Filipino and the standing of getting rich on a Christian's point of view was clearly defined here. The idea is the same that I have developed through out the years but sadly, these ideas are so radical for our conservative teachings at my old Catholic School that I distanced myself from it and went on my own having only one on one relationship with God.

Anyway, I know I its hard but I have to be strong. I began analyzing my financial position. Here some of the steps I have done.

1. Reconstruct loans - Stop using that credit card! Freeze it! I found out that my bills are higher than my monthly pay. I can't afford it. I looked for some credit cards that offer "balance transfer" which allows you to pay your bills on a much lower monthly payment with a fixed amount. From the usual credit card interest of 3.5%, you could pay your bill for fixed 1 year with only 2.5 %. A little bit high still but you have saved your self from the dreaded invisible interest expense.
2. Cut on bills - I began using my cellphone less and less. I have installed yahoo messenger on my computer ( I am online always at work) and just send important messages via YM. I also began bringing lunch boxes at work. That way, I also control my voracious appetite and stay away from certain foods by cooking healthy recipes at home.
3. Read financial literarcy books - Read people! Through Bo Sanchez's 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich, I was introduced to Larry Gamboa's Think Rich Pinoy and Grow Rich Pinoy. And I got to finally understand why I've been seeing Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is constantly on bestseller bookshelves.
   
4. Pay myself first - Its a hard thing to do especially when the bills are filing up. But if you read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you will see the better light of the concept.
5. Find the best mentors - I am still looking for the best person for this one. I have inquired so far (actually just yesterday) and so far, none have still answered so far. I have to keep looking still.
   
6. Practice what I have learned - I am still on this process. So stay tuned. :)
   

I finally acknowledged that I am a financial illiterate. But I am proud to say, I am soon on my way to become one of the best financial adviser. This is my contribution to the First World Philippines.

How about you? Are your Financially Literate?

Grateful

My story is not unusual in nature. Tragedy have struck our family when I was 12. My mother's hypertension attacked which led her to have a CV hemorrage. The entire family (my mom siblings are nine in all) are shocked and deep grief have overtaken them. You could feel "negative" emotions on everybody. Everywhere I go, I feel grief and pity for us. People around us don't know what to do. It has been more than fifteen years since a death in the family occured.

The following months were very hard. And each one of us ( my dad, me and my sister) have a different reaction to the incident. My dad turned to alcohol, I turn to food and my sister turned to television. And almost every night, we cry ourselves to sleep.

Then about four months after, I got tired of mourning. Then I decided to think and reflect on what happened. Then I realized that incident have made me grown up all of the sudden. I realized that nothing would make my mom come back. I know its painful but we have to move on, even little by little.

Then I became aware of people that surrounds me. Then I was intrigued by a classmate of mine then who've got more problems than me (I'll not elaborate the problems as its her private life, hope you understand). But whenever I look at her, she is always smiling and full of energy. She deals with her problems very well.

I was intrigued. I asked her one day (I hope I did not offend her),

"What keeps you smiling? I know you and I both have problems, how come you
could still smile inspite all of those problems?"

And like always, she said (not in exact words but the meaning is the same)

"Its because life is short. I don't want to waste my time spending my days
sad and miserable. And those problems won't go away anyway I deal with it. So I
choose to deal with my problems smiling rather than a sad or angry face. And
besides, God is always with me wherever and whatever I do. And that alone is one
thing to be thankful for. He gave me this test because He loves me and He knows
I could pass this with flying colours."

I was silent. And she made me realize the truth about what she said. Looking on the bright side of things are easy if we only knew how.

And then so, I realized that, I couldn't spend my short life being miserable. Being miserable would only worsen your feeling and won't make your problems go away.

Being grateful is one of the best ways to brighten your day. Thinking of small things to be thankful for makes one smile even in difficult times.

I learned, if the feelings on misery, emptiness, loneliness, etc. (i.e. negative feelings) won't go away, do things that you love even when don't feel like it. Keep yourself busy. It will ease the pain even by little.

I also learned that a smiling face beautifies anybody and laughing radiates the face even more so.

And time heals pain and acknowledging the pain hastes the recovery of one's wound.

I got my life back again, little by little. Its not a walk in the clouds but I am still grateful I know I am growing as person even little by little.

* * * * * * * * *

This post is part of the The Power of Positive Thinking Group Writing Project organized by Kirsten Harrell of the Positive Thinking Blog. Please do note that entries submitted by July 15th will be compiled into an ebook.

I was tagged by Toni. As the rules command, I am tagging 5 people.

I am tagging the first five readers from MyBlogLog community who haven't participated in this meme before ( we will know don't we :) ) Thanks

The Other Abbie

The name Abbie is special to me. The first one who calls me Abbie was my husband. He said that he wants to be the only one to call me that. You see, Abbie is my second name. Its basically short for Abigael.

Then I have this unconditional love for our feline friends. They used to laugh at me as I wanted to pick up and hug every cat that I see. Yes, even the filthy ones (I know its scary) but of course, I wanted to pick them up so I could have them take a bath (which I know might be their worst nightmare).

Then came the time that I wanted to create a blog that perhaps will show the real me. I know this step might, only might, put me into shame but can also put me into stardom. Honestly I don't want stardom but I want awareness. Have really lots of ideas that going on in my head but sad to say, they only comes like a wind. Most of my great ideas come to me when I can't even write something on my handy notebook. Then I will loss focus. Then Capoot! There goes the idea. Hehehehe. But I know there is room for improvement.

Anyway, back to blog. I decided to go for the most obivious choice for my blogspot name, abbie.blogspot.com. But I was in for a suprise. This sassy cat had beat me on the spot! And she did so by six years ahead of time. Talk about first come first serve. :)

But I don't mind, really. She's so cute. And you can see that she had worked so hard with all typing on the computer (*grins*). Her last post was dated 01 May 2007. Apparently she's already ten years old an just had her birthday party! So to you, Abbie the Sassy Cat, Happy Birthday! Its so nice to have a namesake as cute as you.

Yes, I am a Sexy Filipina

A campaign in reshaping of the Filipina image over the internet has been launched by fellow bloggers these past few days. Finally, we are now taking a stand against the misconception about Filipinas over the internet.

It's sad that when you search for the word Sexy Filipina, Filipina women, or Pinay, you would be led to sites that promotes mail-order brides or even the sex trade. Glad that the campaign (which started by Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Expert , Marc Macalua started a Filipina and Philippines campaign as far back as 20041) did not go down the drain. ( Here's my contribution by the way, Philippines Filipina)

I remember the "eruption" was triggered due to an attack by an anonymous commenter on Tita Dine's blog, The D Spot, by saying that she should stop using the psuedonym Sexy Mom as

Author : Decent Mother
Comment:You are a disgrace to the Filipino women. We have been trying to
change the image of the Filipino women in the internet. Foreigners type
“filipina” to search for women to have sex. The same kind of people (pedophiles
and perverts) type “sexy mom” and it points to You . You are an embarassment to
our country. Stop using SEXY MOM. Filipino mothers are loving caring mothers.
Leave the SEX part in your bedroom . Mommy bloggers laugh behind your back
because of your pseudonym. Filipino women are too polite to tell you to say that
using sexy mom is killing the filipino women.

Apparently, this Filipina is have been out of this world for sometime and have not researched enough about Sexy Mom's blog all about.

The discussion about Tita Dine's reaction about that comment can be read in her blog and some other fellow pinay bloggers.

Personally, if Sexy is tita Dine, I wouldn't being being so. She is a definition of the modern sexy Filipina today. She is interesting, high appealing (just ask her kids, hubby and fellow pinays) and attractive.

Noemi Dado of Touched by An Angel also suggest a list of How to Reshape the Sexy Filipina
Image.

Here are some also of the fellow bloggers who posted about it too.

The Filipina and “Yan ang Pinay”

How to Reshape the Sexy Filipina Image

Campaign Redefines the Sexy Filipina

What Filipina Should Mean Online

Sexy Filipinas Including Sexy Filipina

A Closure, A New Beginning–Reshaping the Online and Sexy Filipina Image

Compilation of Posts of Filipina Supporters

Yes, Filipinas are sexy

Blog About Sexy Filipina Image

My Sexy Mom

I am a Sexy Filipina Mom

The Revolution: The new definition of Sexy Filipina

Time To Reclaim the Dignity of the Sexy Filipina Woman

Let’s bring sexy and Filipina back

Google Bombing Filipina

Shape the Filipina Image Campaign

Taking Back the Filipina



And may I quote Manila Mom on this as she has perfectly defined Filipina women today.

Filipinas are sexy because we are strong, intelligent, capable,
forward-thinking, courageous, confident, dignified, sincere, caring and loving.
We know ourselves and are comfortable with ourselves.

I couldn't it say it better.

Just for the record, yes, I am Sexy Filipina. I am strong, smart, beautiful and one of a kind. Just ask my husband. :D