Internet Computer Addiction Among Teens

A growing trend is internet computer addiction among teens. It is not a positive trend, unfortunately, but negative. This kind of addiction among teens is very often destructive and one that could have a major impact on not only the computer addict, but on his or her family and friends also.

Teenagers of today find that the internet and computers are a necessity if they are going through high school. They need the internet and computers to do research for their assignments. If you don't have a computer you will get left behind in this information age. Internet addiction among teens is not specifically targetted towards the teens themselves, even children in lower grades will require a computer to research their assignments, but it all leads to one thing - computer dependency.

If a parent needs to combat internet computer addiction among teems, how are are they going to do it without confiscating the computer and depriving their children of it? It is not going to be possible to stop their teens from going anywhere near a computer. Computers are at schools, internet cafes and with friends. These are just some of the challenges faced by the parents of teens who are suffering from computer and internet addiction.

So, what sort of signs do parents of teens addicted to the computer have to look out for? Internet computer addiction among teens ranges from being addicted to games to spending hours and hours in chat rooms. Either way, the teenager is living out a fantasy life. The internet and computer is often an escape from reality for teenagers who feel they do not fit in with the real world. Either in chat rooms or with games, the teenager can be whomever they choose to be. All it takes is a click of the mouse and they are in their fantasy world living out their dream life, either in the form of a hero in a game to being somebody they are not in a chat room.

It is unfortunate that for a minority of teenagers, role playing of this kind turns into a full-on addiction. Internet computer addiction among teens is very often the cause of family arguments because the teen will forgo social and family events preferring to use their computer instead. Very often an internet addict will stay up all night playing games or using a chat room. In the worst cases, teens will quit school or college favoring their computer and internet addiction.

Internet computer addiction among teens is very similar to other teenage addictions, such as alcohol or tobacco. Symptoms can include mood changes, they can become withdrawn, bursts of anger and a huge impact on their social relationships.

To prevent, and end, internet computer addiction among teens is somewhat a challenge. A parent of a teenager suffering from internet and computer addiction should act upon it as soon as they see the symptoms by trying to limit the amount of hours the teenager spends on the computer. Encouraging the child to take up other pastimes or hobbies can in most cases turn their attention away from the computer.

An organization specifically set up to combat internet computer addiction among teens, and has helped many thousands of teens and indeed, people of all ages, with their computer and internet addiction. The organization is called The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery and can be found online at http://www.netaddiction.com.

http://www.computeraddictionanswers.com provides information on everything related to Computer Addiction. If you stop by our site you will get some education in different forms of computer addiction. Be sure to check out our page on internet computer addiction among teens.

Internet Addiction - What Are the Signs?

What Is It?

Internet Addiction Disorder or IAD is an impulse control disorder which does not involve use an intoxicating drug and is similar to pathological gambling in many ways. It is online-related compulsive behavior that disrupts and causes stress on relationships with family, friends and colleagues.

Addiction versus spending too much online can be differentiated by asking the question: "Do you control the Internet, or does the Internet control you?" Internet addiction can come to dominate a person's life and become more important than family, friends and work. To an addict, life without the internet is not life at all and will jeopardize real life relationships and successes to maintain their unhealthy behavior.

Internet Addiction is commonly broken down into various types including: online pornography, gambling, gaming, and online shopping addiction. The internet started as a convenient electronic network for academics and the military to share information, but has exploded into much more than that. Many people spend time on the internet and many more people spend too much time on the internet, but internet use becomes problematic and an addiction when people feel like they need to use it and it becomes a compulsion instead of just a way to procrastinate or reach a service online.

Although IAD has not yet been recognized as a clinical diagnosis, it is gaining momentum and recognition as a destructive addiction that can be especially detrimental to people with other co-occurring problems and issues. Internet Addiction is not determined by the time spent online, but rather a person's inability to control themselves when it comes to its use.

Symptoms of Addiction

- Always thinking about the Internet and what you did or will do

- Finding that you need to be online longer and longer to feel satisfied.

- Feeling restless, moody, depressed or irritable when trying to cut down on using the internet

- Significant relationships, your job, educational or career opportunities becoming endangered because of your internet use

- Finding that you lie to your family, friends and colleagues about how long or often you use the internet.

- Using the internet to avoid feeling negative emotions such as hopelessness, guilt and depression.

Treatment

IAD is a compulsive-impulsive disorder, and those affected generally require therapy to get better. As it is hardly realistic to expect people to eliminate technology from their lives, most therapies teach controlled use, and behavioral modification.

5 Ways to Curb Internet Addiction

Ah, the internet! I love the internet! There's always some exciting site to see, waiting for me to discover it (thank you, StumbleUpon!) But an internet addiction is a scary vice that can grip you, and sometimes you have to seriously curb back your online usage so the clamps let go.

For instance, take the time span of half an hour. Half an hour doesn't seem like much - it's only 30 minutes. But half an hour a day for one week is equal to 210 minutes, or 3 1/2 hours. Most of us idly spend 30 minutes at the computer a day, but we don't realize how quickly it can add up. What could you do in 3 1/2 hours instead of sitting online? You could start a new exercise routine, learn how to successfully cook a new meal, or spend some time catching up with old friends on the phone.

In this article, 5 ways of curbing an internet addiction, you will find five simple steps that I've found to be effective in immensely slashing my time online.

1. Go through your RSS subscriptions and cut down on the blogs you read. We all love blogs! How many of those blogs do you really love to read, though? Is it necessary to really subscribe to 1,000 different blogs? Cut out all of the useless junk, and only stick to the blogs you adore. Let everything else fall through the cracks.

2. Set time limits. By setting yourself a crystal clear time limit for online usage - for example, 30 minutes to two hours - you'll only go to the websites that you absolutely must go to, and get some real work done online. If you tell yourself you only have 15 minutes to check and answer all e-mails before you shut off the computer, you'll zip through those e-mails as fast as lightning.

3. Be clear why you're online. We all know this familiar story - you get online to *only* check your e-mail... but somehow that leads to looking at gossip websites, which leads to having to share the gossip with other people. Eventually two hours pass, and you only got three e-mails checked. (But hey! At least you got all of the latest celebrity gossip under your belt!) If you are totally clear on why you are online, succumbing to the lures of time wasters won't trap you.

4. Track your internet usage for a few days. Log how much time you're spending online each day. Don't just do a half-assed job about it either, even if you go online for exactly 43 seconds, write it down. After two to three days, look back at your log. How much time were you really wasting? What could you shuffle around so that your internet time is less?

5. Replace internet time with something else. Take a half an hour of time thrown at the internet, and channel it into something else. Why not exercise? Learn how to cook? Play the piano? Read a book? There are a million things you can do that don't require the internet. You might pick up on some valuable skills in the process.

But hey - above all, enjoy the time you do spend on the internet each and every day!

10 Random Things About Me

Here's the rule for this tag:

Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts, habits, or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. Don't forget to leave them a comment ("You're it") and ask them to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you.

Now, here's my list:

1. I am a work-at-home mom now, doing three roles everyday: freelancer, nanny, housekeeper

2. I always love to be busy, especially if it gives me more "moolah", lolz!

3. I have a sweet tooth...name it, and I'll surely bite them all! yummy!

4. My heart is for the unfortunate ones so I feel like helping whenever I have much for myself.

5. I am a detail-oriented person, so expect me to have my documents and stuffs organized, even important conversation saved in a file. (ebidenxa!)

6. I am friendly, but B-E-W-A-R-E! When I get hurt, I won't let it pass until I get even (An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) Sorry...

7. I am a dreamer...I want to be a CPA, Interior Designer, Web Designer, Lawyer and NBI agent, but my ultimate dream is to become R-I-C-H!!!

8. I got pregnant at the age of 20 to a cute and smart 'lil boy. I love you my prince!

9. I am uber meticulous when it comes to the tiniest detail at home. I want everything to be organized, arranged in a way that satisfies my eyes, even curtains should flow into place, etc.

10. I may be merciful, but not to arrogant peeps! As long as I am RIGHT, I won't allow you to step on me, ever!

Fashionable Eyeglasses

Now is your chance to bloom amidst wearing of the eyeglasses. Believe it or not but I found something for you and even for myself. It’s no other than but the famous and Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni. You can have all you time to choose from a wide variety of Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses. So why not begin your search by reading on the Zenni Optical was on FOX news!.

Tax or No Tax

Cyber Relationship

HammeRuler - The Commercial

SEO Techniques for Web Designers

1. Try to focus on plain websites. It loads quickly and easily crawl by search engines.

2. Choose page name relevant to the page content and should be human-friendly. If a page provides seo tips for webdesigners then it should be webdesigners-seo-tips.html not 16.html or webdesigners55.html. Also avoid underscore, use hyphen between the words.

3. The page should be content rich and keep the content inside the P tag.

4. Avoid use of table. If possible replace the table using div.

5. Optimize the images used on the website. It will help to increase the loading speed of images.

6. Add alt tags to the images and it should be relevant to the images.

7. Avoid use of javascript. The javascript creates problem in crawling the pages by search engines. Use external javascript file.

8. For better navigation, use bread crumbs. For example Home >> Tips >> Web Designer Tips.

9. Create sitemap for a website. It help robots to go to any page from this page.

10. Donot add CSS in the web pages. It will make a web page heavy. Use external CSS file.

11. Remove useless text from the page like comments text.

12. Avoid use of frame.

13. Use text navigation instead of image navigation. Text navigation will help users and search engines to navigate easily and it will help to increase ranking of the page in the search engines by a particular keyword used as anchor text.

14. Keep the page size not more than 30-50 kb.

15. Use heading tags for the target keyword of the page and also for the heading of the page.

Cisco Certification

Becoming successful is every person’s ultimate dream. I for one considers myself a dreamer who take pride of myself up to the point that I always want to be optimistic in everything I do, which I know is the only best way to help me achieve my dreams in life. Yes, I am a dreamer and no one can take that away from me. Dreaming is free, but I make it a point that I live up to my set goals so as not to get destructed of what I do, what I am thinking, and anything that is related to my dreams.

There are times that I feel low and hopeless. I wanted to scream, but optimism has always been my armor, helping me fight the negative vibes that are trying to attack me bit by bit. I make sure that in everything I do, I always give it my best shot. It keeps me standing still, encouraging myself to work for my future, reach for my goals.

I may be talking in riddles at this point in time. But I guess, the gist of my wit is outspoken enough to be understood. No matter how far-reaching my dreams are, I know that time will come that I will finally achieve it. Never stop dreaming that’s what I’ve been telling myself for several times since. I am just grateful enough that I didn’t give up or else I won’t be able to learn more about the Cisco Systems.

I heard a lot of success stories referring to the training programs that these people had grabbed from Cisco. They hand their trainees a Cisco certification that certifies them as professionally trained by Cisco and that these successful trainees were able to gain the best knowledge which they can use to go on with their dreams, reach for it and be on top of their dreams.

Eyejot

Eyejot is a comprehensive, client-free, video-messaging platform which enables people to easily send and receive video messages from within their existing internet browsing environment, without the need to download or install any additional software.

Commonloop

A free service that extracts the "what, where, and when" from event-related email and web pages and puts the info on your desktop calendar, lets you invite others, and makes your CommonLoop calendar accessible from any web-enabled device.

billQ

billQ is a new web-based application that gives you an easy way to keep track of your bills. With billQ, you always know exactly what you have to pay, and when you have to pay it.

Still Free Anti-Virus: AVG

AVG recently moved from version 7.5 to version 8.0. As with previous versions, AVG has a paid version with extra perks and a basic version that is free.

Unfortunately, when you get the notice to upgrade, if you just follow the prompts without carefully reading the text, you will be taken to the version that will cost you more than $50. Here's how they try to "trick" you.

First you get an upgrade notice saying that the Free upgrade will be available only until a certain date - urging you to immediate action. The Window that pops up looks like this:

You click on the large red and blue rectangle to get to the next screen, as shown by the red arrow. The next screen looks like this:

The natural tendency now is to click on the identical red and blue rectangle to get to the next screen, as shown by the green circle. But when you do that you are given a link to the paid version and asked for your credit card. To get to the free version, you need to click on the "Click Here" at the bottom of the screen, as shown by the red arrow.

When you click on that "Click Here" link, you will be taken to another page (shown below) where you have the choice of choosing the free version or one of the paid versions. Click on the download link shown by the red arrow to download the free version.

While the paid versions of AVG are very good and has anit-spyware and technical support included, if you are a home user looking for just an anti-virus program, the free version will still suit your well.

To access the free AVG 8.0 without following the prompts, just click on this AVG link to get to the download page shown above.

NOTE TO AVG:

I love your products and have been recommending them for years. I know that you are in business to make money, but trying to trick people into purchasing a product when they just want to upgrade their free version is BAD BUSINESS!!

Google Toolbar in Demand

From the inception of the Google Toolbar and the new version 3.0 has made this tool even more useful. Version 3.0 has a pop-up ad eliminator, a form filler, a spell checker for online web forms, a word translator, the ability to turn street addresses into links to online maps,

the ability to restrict your search to pages located in a specific country, and the ability to link a weblog to the page you’re visiting. While the last two new features aren’t on the top of my list of useful attributes, the others get my unequivocal Compu-KISS seal of approval.

The Google toolbar is available free of charge. Just surf to http://toolbar.google.com, download a small program, and you are ready for some easy searching. The toolbar works with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP or 2003 Server. You must also have Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or greater installed. There is also a similar version available for Firefox users. Unfortunately, there is no Mac version, but Apple's Safari Web browser offers a Google search box, enabling Google searches directly from the address bar.

After installation, the Google toolbar will appear under the Internet Explorer or Firefox toolbar. If it doesn't appear automatically, just click on View, Toolbars, and then click Google to turn it on. Those who know me, know that I hate to give up any of my precious screen space, but I have acquiesced for this product since I find it very useful.

The toolbar allows you to access Google's search technology from any Web page. Google claims their search index contains over one billion URL’s (Internet addresses). Whether Google's success is due to the size of their index or the method of indexing, in most cases I've found that Google simply lists Web pages that are more relevant.

The first thing that you see on the Google toolbar is the place to enter the item or phrase to search for. Once you enter that phrase, you can search the entire Web or the particular Web site that you are visiting. This is one of the toolbar's most impressive features. I have visited many Web sites that either have no search capabilities or whose search engines are almost completely useless. This is where the Google Toolbar comes in handy. Google also gives you the ability to highlight the search words wherever they are found in the text by clicking on the Highlighting pen on the toolbar. This makes it easier to find your search criteria on a Web page.

The toolbar includes a small visual bar that gives you an idea of the Web site's PageRank. Google's unique way of ranking Web sites relies on the Web's link structure as an indicator of the value of an individual page. Google assumes the more times a page is linked to other pages, the more popular it is. There is also a somewhat complicated method that gives more credence to the importance of Web page links. Google supposedly combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. While I am not convinced of the significance of this type of "scoring," Google seems to do a pretty good job of finding pertinent matches.

The PageRank button is only enabled if you choose the advanced functionality option when you install the toolbar. If you choose the advanced options, the Google Toolbar automatically sends URL's of the sites you visit to Google. The Toolbar Privacy Policy explains the type of information that Google is collecting. This function can be enabled or disabled at anytime. If you have any privacy concerns, you can easily skip the advanced functionality without losing other important features.

The Google toolbar includes a "Page Info" button that offers access to more information about a page such as similar pages and pages that link back to that page. One very nice feature is the cached snapshot of the Web page in question. Google takes a snapshot of each page examined as it crawls the Web. Google then saves or caches these pages as a back up in case the original page is unavailable. When you click on the "Cached" link, you will see the Web page as it looked when Google indexed it. This feature can be very useful. Nothing is more disappointing than to return to a Web site and find that it has changed and the old information is no longer available. Sometimes the saved Google copy will have the information that you need.

The pop-up eliminator works quite well. Instead of seeing those aggravating pop-ups, you hear a small beep and see that the number of pop-ups that have been blocked increases. Although there is no way to see the ads individually, you can allow a pop-up to appear by holding the CTRL or Shift key while clicking the link that generates the pop-up. If you visit a site often and wish to see the pop-ups on that site you can add the site to a special whitelist.

The form filler lets you add the information that you want to share with other Web sites eliminating the need to retype that information over and over again. When Google sees that there is a form to be filled out, it can help you enter your information quickly and easily.

After you install the Google Toolbar, be sure to click on the Options button where you can set up the toolbar to your liking. There is even a “Vote” button which allows you to express your approval or disapproval for any Web site. Be sure to click on the happy face approval button when you visit www.compukiss.com and other valuable Web sites.

The new Word Find button lets you type any word into the GoogleToolbar search box and press the Word Find icon to find each occurrence of the word on the current web page. Or you can fill the word and press the Highlight icon (look like a highlighting pen), then scroll down the webpage you are on. Every instance of the text you filled in will be highlighted. Very useful!

The Google toolbar can also be customized with several other features. You will want to spend some time to investigate its many useful tools. With Google and the Google toolbar, finding information on the Internet has just gotten easier.

Headlines

Who's Fit?

Should Hillary concede?

PC vs. Mac

Buying Real Estate in Santa Fe

It’s just now that I learned from my hubby that his aunt has been searching for a real estate company months ago to provide her with great land offers. She’s looking for a land where she can put a business for the whole family, a farm-resort for that matter. I heard that finding for the best land and location is a tough one. And it’s just a good thing that she was able to find a big farm to start the business, aside from the houses to be built for everyone in the family.

Should she or anyone whom I know would wish to find a real estate again, especially in New Mexico, I would definitely suggest that they look into the Santa Fe NM land. Why Santa Fe New Mexico MLS? Well, it’s where great lands are can be found.

More than anything else, Buying real estate in Santa Fe is hassle-free as long as you know the right real estate company to count on. Yes, it’s only here so you might want to check it so soon.

Refinance Your Mortgage

It’s been a while since we moved to another rented house. I must admit that doing such is coupled of concerns, which of course, includes the monthly rent which we need to pay. Although this issue has been normal to us, we are still looking for something to help us deal with it. We are searching for a second mortgage or even a refinance second mortgage.

Should time come that we got an idea on where to get one, I might as well grab the chance the soonest time possible. Economic expenditures have been rapidly increasing and we need to take immediate actions on this. As I was busy with all these thoughts, I stumbled upon the refinance california mortgage which I told myself to be the answer to one of my wishes.

You might be wondering why. Well, as soon as you visit the site, you can grab the chance of availing their free mortgage quotes so you’ll know how much you’ll be only spending in the future. And there’s more than just that. It will also allow you to lock in a low rate mortgage today. So if you have the same concern as mine, this is what you need. Check it out in no time, just what I did a while ago.

Hubby Had to Leave for 3 Days

Hubby woke me up early this morning to prepare for his trip. He'll be attending a meeting with his boss, coordinator and his co-auditors all over Luzon. He was told days ago about the meeting and all the while we thought that the meeting will only take a day. But just this morning when his boss texted him to bring clothes for a 2-day meeting. Sigh! I'll miss him as much as Bendyk will miss him. He'll meet my bro. at Philtranco, Cubao tonight. Hope they can have some clean fun hahaha!

How we wish we could come with him, stroll around the malls in Metro Manila, especially the newest tourist spot, Manila Ocean Park. But because of our tight budget, we just have to wait for his next trip to Manila. Hayyzzz! I miss Manila, the huge malls, the heavy traffic, gigantic buildings especially the sweat-free elevators, the busy street vendors, and the like.

Soon, I'll be coming home, Manila, Manila...hahaha! napakanta na, lolz! Anyway, I hope and pray that hubby may have a safe trip to and fro Manila. While Bendyk and I are left here but tonight and the following night, hubby's cousin will be staying here with us.

We'll miss you hubby! See yah soon...mwah!

Not Feeling Well, sniff! sniff!

I can finally get in touch with my techie-buddy again. I can't live without this hahaha! Exaj! Anyway, this will just be a quick post 'cause I'm not feeling well today. You see, yesterday until midnight I was busy packing and unpacking our stuffs. As what I have mentioned in my previous post, we had our "lipat-bahay" scene again, arrrgghhh! Yea, t'was tiring. And during times like that, I needed my techie-buddy to back me up, soothe my fingers and vision to help me get back into my normal state. Whew! Relocation, relocation, relocation would mean another set of expenditures. And I just hate it especially when I already paid for my internet broadband connection and yet I still have to pay for the relocation fee.

Oh man! What's going on here?! Alright let's just forget all the troubles of life these days. The important thing is, I am settling everything one step at a time. So there, I went to Smart Wireless Centre although it was raining, paid for the relocation fee, and woooaaahh! I just hate it when I get too excited, and upon learning that I had to wait for 3 days to 1 week for them to set everything up...What are you talking about miss?! I dragged myself in that wireless center amidst the rain and you were telling me that I had to wait that long?! Pa*sy*t!

Well, God still loves me. Kuya, the tech support of Smart Wireless Centre who came over here early in the morning got back to help me out of this trouble. I hate waiting for days just to restore my broadband connection. So at last! I finally have with me my techie-buddy's internet! Yipee! Need to cuddle my pillow now. I badly needed a nap 'cause my head is aching and in just a while I think I'll be suffering from colds and flu. Sniff! Sniff! Blame it to the rain! Sigh!

Searching for a House for Rent

The whole day was spent searching for a house for rent. Yea I know, I know, public transportation is on strike today and will end til midnight. But the eagerness to find a new haven for us makes me hard-headed again. Well, we've been searching for a studio-type to rent for almost 2 days already. A studio-type home because it'll only be Bendyk, hubby and me who will be staying there. We're not that big to occupy the entire space at home so it'll be more practical to choose a not-so-big home.

But we didn't find any at Barriada so even if it's raining, hubby and I walked straight to Our Lady's Village, wishing to finally find a studio-type home. You see, we have to leave this house even though it's so big and fully furnished for us. There are just some people who are so "makakapal" to stay here even if they are not welcome anymore. These two people do wear thick faces to stick and stay here despite the fact that I am sending them away of this house since they aren't actually renting here and the fact that the woman is supposed to be with her kids whom she left at her mom's custody which I just knew days ago. And worst, mom is the one feeding them since the man has no more job. D'oh! Well, mom can't send them away 'cause she's always the hospitable woman I know. Arrrggghhh! It's a different story! So better get out of this house before I blow fire again! I am trying to hold my temper, but staying here for a few more days would certainly provoke me to give them a new set of hit! Darn! Uber sa kapal!

How I wish we could have our home which we can call our own. Sigh! When will riches knock on us? I just wish hubby can already have his promised house and lot from her aunt. Well, it'll take two more years I guess and it'll be in a faraway land, right within the vicinity of their farm-resort in Silang, Cavite. Waaah! Super layo naman nun sa kabihasnan. ==> : (

But we need a home now. And I mean it ASAP. Luckily, as we walked through Our Lady's Village today, we found that "House 4 Rent" posted on the tree. And good thing, the landlord as well as his family is hospitable to let us rent the house. It wasn't actually a big one as compared to this house we currently stay in. I guess it's only half of the size of this house. But it's already good for us. It has 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining space, and comfort room. We also have our own small gate and the windows have screens and grills. And the monthly rent, which is 2,500php is not that expensive so it'll be easy on our pocket. Practicality has to be with us these days especially that the prices of products and even services are gradually increasing to our dismay.

So tomorrow will be another "lipat-bahay" scene. Hayyyzz!

Happy 24th Birthday Hubby!!!

Today, May 8, 2008 is my hubby's birthday! Yipee! He's now 24 years old. Tumatanda ka na hubby nyahaha! So what's for today? Well, I was actually planing days before his birthday that we'll be having a simple pool party. It was actually a surprise gift from me. But since I've already talked to his cousins about the plan, they forgot to zip their mouth when hubby came home, arrrggghhh! I knew it from the start that he won't like it. He hate spending too much for himself, even if it's for his birthday. Sigh!

Anyway, I just gave him a new Puma sneakers as my gift. I hate his fave Chuck Taylor sneakers. Well, he likes my gift so no need to argue, lolz!

Mah gift for his 24th birthday...

So today, we'll just go out for a date (kiligar hahaha!) We decided to watch a movie at the theater, a 'lil shopping and dine out. I'll also buy him a cake so he can make a wish and blow his candle...Yey! And oh, a cake would be a good "pulutan" for tonight. Yes! We're going to celebrate here (yes, right here)...2 pairs of beer bottles will do, a lampshade on and with background music. Oh how romantic! I know he'll love it...

So till here for now peeps...I'll be having my date with hubby (kiligar nyahahaha!)
ciao!

A Lesson for a Lifetime

Le'mme share this very inspiring story with you peeps...

When I arrived at 6 a.m. in the large hospital kitchen, Rose was already checking name tags on the trays against the patient roster. Stainless steel shelves held rows of breakfast trays which we would soon be serving.

"Hi, I'm Janet." I tried to sound cheerful, although I already knew Rose's reputation for being impossible to work with. "I'm scheduled to work with you this week."

Rose, a middle-aged woman with graying hair, stopped what she was doing and peered over her reading glasses. I could tell from her expression she wasn't pleased to see a student worker.

"What do you want me to do? Start the coffee?"

Rose sullenly nodded and went back to checking name tags.

I filled the 40-cup pot with cold water and began making the coffee when Rose gruffly snapped, "That's not the way to make coffee." She stepped in and took over.

"I was just doing it the way our supervisor showed us to do it," I said in astonishment.

"The patients like the coffee better the way I do it," she replied curtly.

Nothing I did pleased her. All morning her eagle eyes missed nothing and her sharp words stung. She literally trailed me around the kitchen.

Later, after breakfast had been served and the dishes had been washed, I set up my share of trays for the next meal. Then I busied myself cleaning the sink. Certainly Rose couldn't criticize the way I did that.

When I turned around, there stood Rose, rearranging all of the trays I had just set up!

Totally exhausted, I trudged the six blocks home from the University of Minnesota Hospital late that June afternoon. As a third year university student working my way through school, I had never before encountered anyone like Rose.

Fighting back tears, I wrestled with my dilemma alone in my room. "Lord, what do you want me to do? I can't take much more of Rose."

I turned the possibilities over in my mind. Should I see if my supervisor would switch me to work with someone else? Scheduling was fairly flexible. On the other hand, I didn't want to be a quitter. I knew my older co-workers were watching to see if my actions matched my words.

The answer to my prayer caught me completely by surprise -- I needed to love Rose.

Love her? No way! Tolerate, yes, but loving her was impossible.

"Lord, I can't love Rose. You'll have to do it through me."

Working with Rose the next morning, I ignored the barbs thrown in my direction and did things Rose's way as much as possible to avoid friction. As I worked, I silently began to surround Rose with a warm blanket of prayers. "Lord, help me love Rose. Lord, bless Rose."

Over the next few days an amazing thing began to happen. As I prayed for this irritating woman, my focus shifted from what she was doing to me, and I started seeing Rose as the hurting person she was. The icy tension began to melt away.

Throughout the rest of the summer, we had numerous opportunities to work together. Each time she seemed genuinely happy to see me. As I worked with this lonely woman, I listened to her--something no one else had done.

I learned that she was burdened by elderly parents who needed her care, her own health problems, and an alcoholic husband she was thinking of leaving.

The days slipped by quickly as I finished the last several weeks of my summer job. Leaves were starting to turn yellow and red, and there was a cool, crispness in the air. I soon would be returning as a full-time university student.

One day, while I was working alone in one of the hospital kitchens, Rose entered the room. Instead of her blue uniform, she was wearing street clothes.

I looked at her in surprise. "Aren't you working today?"

"I got me another job and won't be working here no more," she said as she walked over and gave me a quick hug. "I just came to say good-bye." Then she turned abruptly and walked out the door.

Although I never saw Rose again, I still remember her vividly. That summer I learned a lesson I've never forgotten. The world is full of people like Rose--irritating, demanding, unlovable - yet hurting inside. I've found that love is the best way to turn an enemy into a friend.

"Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked."
Luke 6:35 NLT

Super Tiring Day But Had Fun...

Got bored after lunch. Hubby was still in Daet so I have no one to talk to the whole afternoon. Bendyk was busy in front of the TV so I can't even disturb him. My bosses are sleeping during the afternoon so I still have no one to converse with. I must admit that I'd rather want to be alone doing my own things, but there are still times when I just can't help it but look for some ways to unwind. And yes, an alternative to my techie-buddy is the mall. I dunno why my feet are itching to go to the mall most of the time.

So before I changed my mind, I called Bendyk to change his clothes and it was my turn after I put his "paraphernalias". In 30 minutes, we reached Mama's house (hubby's granny) to pay her a visit and at the same time asked hubby's 15-year old cousin if she wants to come with us. You see, I can't handle my little prince alone. He's too heavy for my skinny body to carry him the whole afternoon. It's just a good thing that Sweetie excitedly come with us. She's been spending her summer school-break at home so she is also getting bored.

Well, the truth is, we planned to watch for the most awaited heart-throb Sam Milby. We heard that he's coming at 6:00 p.m. this afternoon. And since we still had so much time to stroll around, we let Bendyk played his fave game, basketball and also had his rides. But it seems that he won't take a "no" for an answer when he insisted to ride in that push-car. Oh my, he's getting hard-headed lately. As what most people say, "like mother, like son" seems to be true, lolz!

So there he had it, a push-car for an hour. Whew! Money wasted once again...

I had an eye on that colorful cotton candies near the WOF so I went there and bought two cones, pink and blue. I just dunno why it says in their jar that the pink one is a bubble gum flavor. Hmmm...it didn't taste like one. Well, maybe it was just a part of their marketing strategy.

We also went to the Castle Playhouse but we didn't let Bendyk come inside. He's below the 3-year old bracket and according to their rule, the kid must be accompanied by guardians only if both are wearing socks. Well, I don't wear sneakers nowadays so it'll really be impossible for me to wear one. I know Bendyk wants to play inside the Castle but I told him to wait until he turned 3 this coming November.

After an hour, I asked Bendyk if it would be okay for him if we return the push-car since one hour had already lapsed. He agreed but on one condition, we have to eat at Jabee. Whew!

Afterwards, we went upstairs to buy a flash drive. I got the 2 GB so I can store a lot of my files, particularly pictures and digiscrapped images.

And then we headed to Landco Plaza where Sam had sung 3 songs. He is really good in singing and mind you, he looks so charming and sweet. He's not so maarte like the other celebrities who would hesitate to shake hands and even dare not to go down the stage near the audience. He's really a nice guy aside from the handsome face and body he has. I was actually taking photos and videos of him using my phone, but sad to say the light coming from the stage was really irritating. I don't see Sam on the photos taken. I could have just brought my digicam only if I knew that I am going to see Sam in person.

Sam Milby left at 8:00 p.m. so we just waited for hubby at Mama's house. And after an hour we went home and forgot that I've not yet taken my dinner. Maybe I was overwhelmed of Sam hahaha! Hubby had taken his dinner in Naga City so he thought that we already had eaten at the mall before we went home. It's late at night so stores are already closed. It was just a good thing that I bought earlier 3 Chuckies, Chiz Curls and of course, my fave Snickers. Yea, you got it right. These serve as my dinner for tonight except for 1 chuckie which Bendyk took away from my 'office desk' huhuhu!

Me vs. Junky-Healthy meal

It was already past 11:00 p.m. tonight, munching and sipping my instant dinner.

I'm actually multi-tasking at this hour, chatting with Shammy, having my instant dinner and at the same time chatting with mah boss.