Teaching right

Lim: Teaching right
By Melanie T. Lim

I often feel that a lot of our children’s time in school is wasted learning things that really have no practical application in everyday life.

Let’s take science, for example. It seems ironical that our children can be so well versed about the solar system, the laws of physics and the different systems going on inside the human body yet when they walk into a supermarket, they can hardly identify the vegetables lying on the supermarket shelves.

Certainly, I would not want my child to be ignorant about the solar system, the laws of physics or the human body but I cannot help thinking that there are more important things our kids should be learning that is not being incorporated into the educational system.

Dr. Josette T. Biyo, Grand Winner of the 2002 Intel Excellence in Teaching Award, struck a chord in me when she related some of her early teaching experiences.

One day, as she was about to start her class in high school science, she opened the science book in front of her and then looked up and saw the hungry faces staring back at her. She closed the book and moved her classroom outside. She started their lesson by identifying all the leaves in the school backyard.

Dr. Biyo realized she had to devise a means to get her students to become interested in class. Eighty percent of them came from very poor families—she had to make it worth their while. Later, she taught her students how to make soap, shampoo and other products they could use at home from the plants found in their school backyard. If her students didn’t see the application of what they were learning, what motivation would they have to go back to school?

Why can’t we take a page from Dr. Biyo’s teaching methodologies? We may teach in a different school and to a different lot—a much more privileged one in many cases but the problem remains the same—how do we get the students’ interested?

How do we engage the attention of kids who have been pampered all their lives? How do we motivate kids to do more when all their lives they’ve never had to lift a finger to get what they want? In the plethora of competing attractions and distractions, how do we get our kids to choose to pay attention to us? I say, let’s teach them about real life.

I’m not saying that our kids are not learning anything useful in school. But, do our children really need to memorize the kinds of rhymes, feet and stanza forms in poetry? Is it not more than enough that they can write poetry from the passion of their young hearts?

If kids do not pay attention, it’s probably because we’re not teaching them anything useful or applicable to their lives. Kids are smart, they always ask, “Why do I have to learn this?” And as their teacher, it is our duty to make them see the light.

I always tell my niece, if you are the only one who passed your test in the entire class, there is nothing wrong with the rest of the class but there is something very wrong with your teacher. It is not always the student who fails. Sometimes, it is the system that fails the student.

(sunstarcebucolumnist@yahoo.com)

Why less is better

Lim: Why less is better
By Melanie T. Lim

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand that less kids is better than more.

Despite what others say that our burgeoning population has nothing to do with our increasing poverty, I still contend that even with other factors contributing to the problem, less is still better than more.

Less kids means less expenses, less problems, less stress. It’s simple Math.

Mr. A earns P6,000 a month and has a wife and child to support. Mr. B earns P6,000 a month and has a wife and five children to support. Whose life do you think will be better?

Of course, you could be netting P500,000 a month and be a lousy parent to your one child while your driver who earns P5,000 a month can quite possibly be a much better parent to his three children. Great parenting, after all, has nothing to do with the amount of money you have in your bank account.

Still, all things being equal, the one with less kids would more likely be a better parent by being able to provide a better life for his wife and children.

Most people always think of ways to increase their income and that’s not necessarily wrong. But sometimes, increasing your income is not feasible. In such case, you might want to change your perspective of things. You might want to think instead of decreasing your expenditures.

And having more children is NOT the way to do this. Of course, if you already have children, I don’t propose you give some of your children away or worse get rid of them in some other expedient manner. But you could think of putting an END to having MORE children in the future.

This is the reason why planning for the size of your family is important. While planning, you might want to be firm on one thing: the sex ratio of your kids. I cannot count the number of stories I’ve heard about how a wife came to be with six kids because she had five daughters in a row and she and her husband had been waiting for a son all along. This insanity of having a “perfect family” needs to be stopped. Besides, perfection has nothing to do with having X number of sons and daughters who may all turn out to be bums and nuts.

There are those who say that more children bring more joy. That may be true. But they bring more misery too. The fact of the matter is that the greater the number of people living in one house, the greater the possibility of conflict. This is why when you live alone—-other than those of the teleseryes you watch, there are no conflicts.

But when you live with an entire clan, you can be sure there will be word wars and fist fights—-because more people means more personalities who will take different positions on every issue from the war in Iraq to how much sugar you should put in your coffee.

I’m not saying, don’t have kids. I’m saying, have less rather than more. It’s not just about the number of mouths to feed, it’s also about the number of hearts to heal. I can see the old folks raise their eyebrows and click their tongues, saying, “I had six children. They’re all perfectly fine.” Well—-that’s what you think.

Now, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out.

The problem with English

Roperos: The problem with English
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics Also

It’s possible that hardly five percent of students in the elementary and secondary schools of the country can speak the English language well, with the rest exasperatingly, if not shamelessly, uttering distorted grammar or English that is not understandable at all.

How can this be possible in a country that used to be the first and only English-speaking people in Southeast Asia? Your answer to the question may be better than mine.

But lately, I have listened to pupils in elementary schools and in public high schools struggle with the English language, jolting us with their ungrammatical sentences, and yet continuing to strive hard to communicate with it.

I am not sure where the fault lies, or how they were able to reach the grades they are in now with hardly the capability to communicate in English, and even the skill to speak in the national language.

What seems to be happening with our system of education is that we are pushing our youth to ride on two language horses, hoping that they will be able to ride efficiently in both of them. Unfortunately, the result is not what we expected, or hoped to achieve.

I am not sure though about the Tagalog-speaking Filipino young on whose native tongue 90 percent of Filipino or the so-called national language is based.

In the early ‘50s, when Pilipino was being formulated in Manila before it became Filipino, the ideological rationale the “formulators” held was that it would make Filipinos more nationalistic and conscious of a national identity.

I know because I was with the University of the Philippines and circulated with the group of so-called nationalists that claim a strong fervor for the Philippines. English was blamed for our lack of patriotism, and the so-called “split” identity.

None thought that a Filipino could be as patriotic and nationalistic speaking in Pilipino as he would speaking in English. But most students from the Visayas and Mindanao were able to communicate in English better than in Tagalog or “Pilipino” in and outside the classroom and they were not, for the life of me, less nationalistic or less patriotic than those from Luzon. In those days, there were about 40 percent Cebuano-Visayan speaking Filipinos compared to the 24 percent Tagalogs.

But that is not really the point I wish to drive at. Right now, when the most lucrative and attractive employment young Cebuanos could aspire for is a job in a call center, only about five applicants, I was told, can be taken out of a 100 simply because none of them could speak English well.

True, there are aliens, especially South Koreans, who are in Cebu to be tutored in English but it does not mean we have better English speakers now. It merely highlights the fact that there are still a few among our educated young who can make a living tutoring aliens how to speak English. Besides, one of the reasons South Koreans come to Cebu for the purpose is that it is cheaper here than in Manila, or even much cheaper than being in the United States.

But really, Cebuanos would have been able to speak better English had they not been confused with what is more important means of communication for them in order to survive—English or Filipino? Will they love their country less if they speak better English?

On this count, I challenge those who pushed for the so-called national language to prove it.

Paranoia

Maxey: Paranoia
By Ram Maxey
Bar None

WHEN British police unearthed a plan by terrorists to blow up 10-passenger jets from England to the United States over the Atlantic Ocean, all on the same day, the stunning news reverberated around the world and people asked, "What will they think of next?"

Good question. The very idea of ten planes loaded with more than 3,000 people of various nationalities blowing up in mid-air alerted the world to what extent extremists will go in thinking up hitherto unheard of ways of mayhem to advance their agenda of hate, even if it means killing innocent men, women and children in the process. Including even, who knows, their own countrymen who happen to be aboard.

Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo


Had this latest caper pushed through, it would have rivaled the spectacular destruction some years back in New York City of the World Trade Center whose twin-towers were rammed by two passenger jets, which had been taken over by suicidal terrorists, killing thousands. It reveals one more diabolical method by which terrorists intend to commit mass murder.

Powerful chemicals disguised as cosmetics carried inside handbags, and which could be triggered to explode by mobile phone while the planes were over the Atlantic, shows how sophisticated terrorists have become. The fact that the sinister plot was discovered in the nick of time also shows that the terrorists have met more than their match in the form of intelligence agencies working around the clock to match wits with the enemy. That was a close shave.

What if the plot was not discovered in time?

Look what it has done to air travel. Passengers are advised to check in at the airport hours before their flight because it now takes that long to check baggage and luggage for those telltale vials or tubes of cosmetics.

That's speaking of planes and air travel. Nearer to home, what is to stop a terrorist from wrecking havoc in our hotels, malls and such crowded places by means of liquid explosives hidden in cosmetics stuff? Compared to airtight security at airports, these places are more porous where a damn clever terrorist could do his thing and get away with it.

This world is getting to be a dangerous place to live in, don't you think? Soon, people will become too paranoid about this phenomenon called terrorism. To avoid suspicion and troublesome inspection by security guards, the day may come when we may have to go around town wearing the scantiest clothing (probably the see-through type, mind you) so there will be no need for frisking.

Worse, God forbid, we may have to leave at home our precious, hitherto inseparable, little mobile phones. This magical little gadget, which has become so indispensable to our lives have overnight assumed the notoriety that comes with being an accessory to mass annihilation.

We can almost hear 25 million (?) mobile phone-crazy Pinoys screaming, "Death to all terrorists!" Hell hath no fury...

‘I am their boss...’

Seares: ‘I am their boss...’
By Pachico A. Seares
News Sense

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña blew his top again. Not unusual actually. There's hardly a week he doesn't get publicly "pissed" over something.

Those keeping count see a common cause of outburst: Other people don't do it or don't think it his way, the Tomas way.

The other day, the mayor fumed that the City Council "has not taken a stand" on the land swap proposal with the Capitol.

Talks bogged down over the plan to exchange Capitol lots occupied by city residents with properties at the reclamation area.

Earlier, Vice Mayor Mike Rama was blamed for stalling, though he just wanted to find out if the city's interest was being protected. "Modawat og limpyo" wasn't meant to wound.

Insulted, Gov. Gwen Garcia and the Provincial Board scuttled the plan.

Who decide

What must infuriate Tomas is seeing hundreds of families evicted from Capitol land as City Council drags its feet.

But hey, it's no longer a matter of what the City Council does but what Gwen and Capitol will decide.

Taking over Capitol prime lots to turn into thriving commercial sites is new trail to blaze, which can make the Province the most dynamic and the richest in history. I can see mouths water.

Taking charge

Tomas said, "(The councilors) are not my boss, I am their boss." Bosses act, not just whine. Shouldn't he have taken charge of the deal a long time ago, tweaking ears and kicking ass?

Who needs college?

Carvajal: Who needs college?
By Orlando P. Carvajal

It is quite ironic that in this country one needs to have a college education to get a decent job. Yet very few parents can afford to send their children to college. Worse still, many college graduates are unemployable because they do not speak, read, write or compute like college graduates.

If I ask myself what part of my education I could have done without, it would be my college and post-graduate studies. On hindsight, I could have managed to get a college level education even without enrolling in a school for the purpose.

The reason is simple. There was nothing my teachers taught me in college that I could not have picked up by just reading and researching on my own. I feel I could have acquired a solid college level education given the fact that my elementary and high school teachers made me proficient in reading and writing Cebuano, Pilipino, English, Spanish and Latin. The last two were bonuses from going to a special high school, the old Seminario Menor de San Carlos now Pope John XIII Minor Seminary.

Since I could speak, read, and write English after high school, I feel I could have read my way into a college education. Of course, a good school would be a great help. Still, if you are proficient in English, that ability opens a wide panorama of near endless educational possibilities. When you master English, you can access a vast store of knowledge found in books and practically educate yourself.

What am I leading up to? I believe that for the Filipino to get out of the bondage of ignorance, superstition and poverty, he must have a solid no-nonsense elementary and high school education. We need to make it a point that when a Filipino student comes out of elementary and high school, he has the tools, namely reading, writing and arithmetic, to face life whether or not he decides to go to college.

Since many Filipino parents cannot afford to send their children to college, it is imperative that the government should prioritize the provision of free elementary and high school education for all citizens. Next in priority should be the training of high quality elementary and high school teachers.

We should design our elementary and high school education in such a way that nobody should have to have an expensive college education to do well in life. In turn, we should design our college education in such a way that it does not waste the parents’ hard-earned money.

As practiced by the Americans, popular education means a solid elementary and high school education for all. Nobody should have to have to go to college to be literate. Anyway, as it stands now we produce so many illiterate college graduates. So, who needs college anyway?

How to deal with negative people

LIVING ALIVE By Dero Pedero
The Philippine STAR 08/15/2006

At one time or another, we’ve all had a brush with negative people. These are people who dampen your enthusiasm, send clouds on your sunshine, make you miserable and boil in disgust. Negative people can cause you undue stress and endanger your health. The worst of these are those who dominate and try very hard to star in their own ludicrous drama.

Negative people whine, complain, demand, mock, and ridicule. They are demanding and bossy, and think they know it all. They are bitchy with sarcasm and pomposity, and would make every effort to put you down. What’s more, they believe they are always right and purposely force their ideas on you.

Negative people prevent you from being your best by criticizing and discouraging you, dismissing your dreams and beliefs. Most of these people are actually losers who are bitter and frustrated about their own lives so they make life miserable for everybody else. They are envious when someone is happy and successful so they always dish out negative comments to equalize their "loser" feelings.
What To Do
How do you deal with detestable, negative people?

Avoid them like the plague. If you can’t (even your family members, your special someone, and your boss can be negative!), simply play along. Pretend to listen but follow your heart. Remember that you are the master of your fate, and no bitching and criticizing should ever bring you down.

Try to be positive at all times and hope that your enthusiasm would rub off on people and kill some of their negativism. Be the best that you can be so that when you are finally successful, they won’t be able to push you around.

Everyone is guilty of being negative once in a while. Don’t be a negative person to others! When you catch yourself criticizing someone, put on the breaks and say something positive. Encourage instead of discourage, praise instead of criticize.

There will be people in your life who are hopelessly negative. If you can’t do anything about them, live well and let them eat their hearts out in envy!

Here’s my favorite forwarded anecdote that I think about whenever I am faced with annoying negative people. Remember it and laugh next time someone tries to make your life miserable. Sometimes, all negative people need is a dose of their own medicine.
The Negative Hairdresser
A New York woman was at her hairdresser’s on Park Avenue getting her hair styled prior to a trip to Rome with her boyfriend.

She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded, "Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It’s crowded, dirty, and full of Italians. You’re crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?"

"We’re taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"

"Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That’s a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are rude and ugly, and they’re always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?"

"We’ll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome’s left bank called Parad..."

"Don’t go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it’s gonna be something special and exclusive, but it’s really a dump, the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is terrible, and they’re overpriced. So, whatcha doing when you get there?"

"We’re going to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope."

"Yeah, right," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He’ll look the size of an ant. Wow, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You’re going to need it."

A month later, the woman came in again for a hairdo. Naturally, the hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.

"It was wonderful!" gushed the woman. "Not only were we on time in one of Continental’s brand-new planes, but it was overbooked so they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were delicious and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.

"And the hotel – it was fabulous! They’d just finished a $5-million remodeling job and now it’s a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, but they apologized and gave us their owner’s suite at no extra charge!"

"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that’s all well and good, but I know you didn’t get to see the Pope."

"Actually, we were quite lucky. As we toured the Vatican, a Swiss guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors and if I’d be so kind as to step into a private room to wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I was in awe so I knelt down in respect and wouldn’t you know it, he spoke a few words to me."

"Oh, really?!" remarked shocked hairdresser, "What did he say?"

"He said, ‘Where’d you get the shitty hairdo?’"
* * *
For your comments, e-mail deroseminar@yahoo.com. Should you forward this article, please acknowledge the author and The Philippine Star, and include this paragraph in full.

How to live to a healthy 100

AN APPLE A DAY By Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D.
The Philippine STAR 08/15/2006

Forget about Generation X and Generation Y. Today, the most intriguing demographic is Generation C. That stands for centenarians – folks age 100 and over. Indeed, living to the ripe old age of 100 – and being aware of it – is a monumental achievement that, in the past, few have achieved.

But today, in advanced countries like the United States, the number of people reaching 100 has become the fastest growing segment of the population. Thanks in part to advanced medical technology and a greater awareness of healthy lifestyles. In fact, the number of centenarians in the US doubled in the 1980s and did so again in the 1990s. The total now exceeds 70,000. By 2050, according to midrange projections, there could be over 800,000 Americans who will celebrate the century mark. Studies show the same trend in other industrialized countries and, recently, in China. Indeed, demographers are now counting the number of supercentenarians, people age 110 and over.

The swelling population of people age 100 and over has given researchers an opportunity to answer some of the most fundamental questions about human health and longevity: What does it take to live a long life? How much do diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors matter compared with "good" genes? And, perhaps most importantly, what is the quality of life among the "old old"? Does getting older invariably mean getting sicker, or can people remain productive, social, and independent on their 100th birthday and beyond?
Centenarian Studies
There are a dozen or so centenarian studies. A health-advice book has been published based on findings from the centenarian study in Okinawa, where the average life expectancy, 81.2 years, is the highest in the world. There are active centenarian studies in Italy, Sweden, and Denmark. For the most part, results from these studies belie the myth that the oldest old are doddering and dependent. Some harsh demographic selection may come into play. Frail individuals die sooner, leaving only a relatively robust group still alive. In fact, one of the rewards of living a long life is that, for the most part, the "extra" years are healthy years.

Physical activity is a recurring theme: The people in these studies are walkers, bikers, and golfers. In Okinawa, centenarians do tai chi and karate. People, who live to 100 and beyond, exercise their brains, too, by reading, painting, and playing musical instruments. Some continue to work, an indication that our love affair with retirement may be a mixed blessing.
The Gender Gap
Female centenarians outnumber males by a 9:1 ratio. The longest documented life was that of a French woman, Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at age 122. And throughout most of the world, women, on average, live longer than men. Some researchers say it is estrogen that gives women the longevity edge. Others theorize that menstruation and systems related to childbirth better equip women to rid their bodies of toxins. Women also tend to be more social than men, and social connections are believed to be critical to weathering old age.

Yet the men who reach their 100th birthday are, on the whole, healthier than women. They are far less likely to have dementia or other serious medical problems. Thomas Perls, head of the New England Centenarian Study, calls these men "aging superstars."

Longevity statistics favoring women suggest that there may be some protective genes lurking on the X chromosome, the sex chromosome that women have two copies of and men only one. Another possibility: Genetics is relatively neutral, but social conditions favor long life for women. But healthy, odds-defying 100-year-old gentlemen hint of healthy aging genes somewhere else in the genome.
Good Genes
> Traits that run in families though are not necessarily genetic. After all, families often share the same eating habits, activity levels, and other so-called environmental factors that influence health. Still, similarities within families are often a good clue of a strong genetic influence, and longevity does seem to run in families. The New England Centenarian Study, for example, has found that its subjects were four times more likely to have a sibling who lived past 90 than people with an average life span.

Now, the search is on for genetic attributes. Researchers have previously identified some forms of a gene called apolipoprotein E that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have shown that those dangerous variants are rare among centenarians. Scientists have had success building long life into some animals. They’ve genetically engineered worms to live six times longer. Certain mice’s genes have been mutated so the animals live 30 percent longer than normal.

No one has found such mutation in people. But several years ago, scientists believed they got closer by identifying a section of chromosome 4 that may predispose people to long life. They made their discovery by scanning the genes of 137 sets of very old siblings. The siblings shared this distinctive section of chromosome 4.
Health Conditions
But genes aren’t the whole story. Public health advances like sanitation and routine vaccination have greatly improved the odds for long life. Indeed, it may be the intersection of genes with ever-changing health conditions that really determines how long we live. Today’s centenarians may have survived so long partly because they had genes that protected them against infectious diseases prevalent in the early 20th century. Tomorrow’s centenarians may need to have a different kind of genetic advantage attuned to 21st century circumstances.

Medical interventions are starting to make a demographic difference, particularly with respect to mortality from cardiovascular disease. Most centenarians still die of heart disease, but they might have died much sooner without the medications we now have to control cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes.
Diet And Other Choices
Diet and other health habits play a role, too. Okinawans lose their actuarial edge when they move to Western countries and, presumably, adopt a more Western lifestyle. In his 1999 book, Living to 100, Perls argues that we can make choices that can help us live longer. Some of the important lessons learned from the way the centenarians lived include the following:

• They don’t smoke or drink heavily.

• Those who had smoked didn’t do so for long.

• They gained little or no weight during adulthood. Being overweight makes people more vulnerable to many life-threatening illnesses, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.

• They don’t overeat. Okinawan centenarians consume 10 to 20 percent fewer calories per day than typical Americans. And in animal studies, calorie-restricted diets have consistently increased the life span. The old Okinawans consume less fat, too.

• They eat many fruits and vegetables. The Okinawans have an average of seven servings a day.

• They get regular physical activity for as long as they are able.

• They challenge their minds. Stimulating mental activity may help prevent age-related thinking and memory problems by stimulating communication between brain cells.

• They have a positive outlook. Perls says centenarians seem to have personalities that shed stress easily.

• They are friendly and maintain close ties with family and friends.

Many researchers think that people could add up to a decade to their lives if they emulate the centenarians. And, from what we know so far, they aren’t doing anything mysterious. They’re simply following the standard health commandments: Don’t smoke, keep trim, get exercise, manage stress, and avoid social isolation.

Learn from crayons

Mercado: Learn from crayons
By Juan Mercado

(Airlines were in the news this week as British police foiled a terrorist plot to blow up jets over the Atlantic. Thus, a friend sent an "adapted" version of "Fasten Your Seatbelts” spoofs on safety spiels. These were followed by one-liners, jokes from different professions. Enjoy. -- Juan L. Mercado)

Flight Stewardess: “Thank you fly ing with us. Smoking in the lavatories is prohibited. If you do that in mid-flight, you’ll be asked to leave the plane. We do have a smoking section. If you wish to smoke, a member of the flight crew will be happy to escort you to this airplane’s wing.”

Steward: "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this airplane. In an emergency water landing, your seat cushions can be used for flotation. Please take them with our compliments."

Co-pilot: “We've left the turbulence area folks. So, I’m switching off the seat belt sign. Feel free to move about. But please stay inside the plane till we land. It's a bit cold outside. And if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern.”

Pilot: “We've reached our cruising altitude now. You may use your laptops and similar electronic devices. If there's anything we can do to make your flight more comfortable, aside from ‘fly faster,’ please let us know.”

Flight Steward: "We’re now on our final approach. Please return your tray tables and seat backs into their full upright and most uncomfortable position."

Stewardess: "Thank you for flying with us and giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride. If your flight proved pleasant, my name is Bernadette and this is Cebu Pacific Airlines. If it was rough, then my name is Liza. And this is Philippine Air Lines."

This item came from a physician-friend: A middle-aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. On the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked: "Is my time up?" “No,” God replied. “You have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.”

Upon recovery, the woman stayed in the hospital, had “the works”: a facelift, liposuction, a tummy tuck, etc. She even had her hair dyed another color. “Since I have more time, might as well make the most of it,” she figured.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, a speeding firetruck hit her. Arriving in front of God, she protested: “Didn’t you say I had another 40 years? Then, why didn't you jerk me from out of that fire engine’s path?”

And God replied (You'll love this!): "I didn't recognize you."

Harvard School of Medicine, the doctor added, did a study of why women like Chinese food so much. The study found this is because Won Ton, when spelled backward, reads: Not Now.

Then there was this physician who gave a man six months to live. But the patient couldn't pay his bill. So, the doctor gave him another six months.

“Mrs. Lagdameo,” the irritated doctor said. “Your check came back.” And Mrs. Lagdameo answered: "So did my arthritis!"
Doctor: "You'll live to be 60!" Patient: "But I am 60!" Doctor: "See! What did I tell you?"

Now, this surgeon pressed a stethoscope to a man's chest, then shook his head. The worried patient asked: "Doc, how do I stand?" The doctor replies: "That's what puzzles me!"

Patient: "I have a ringing in my ears." Doctor: "Don't answer!"

And this item came from a professor explaining “stress management.” He raised a glass of water and asked: "How heavy is this?" Answers from students ranged from 20g to 500g.

"The absolute weight doesn't matter," he replied. “It depends on how long you hold it. A minute? No problem. What about an hour? By then, your arm will be on fire. But a whole day? Call the ambulance.

“Yet, in each case, it's the same weight. But the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

"So with stress management,” he continued. “If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, it becomes increasingly heavy. We can’t carry on. As with the glass of water, you must put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

"So, before you leave tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. Pick it up tomorrow, after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!

“How do you do that? Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. Always keep your words soft and sweet. Sometimes, you have to eat them.

“Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker. And when everything's coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane.

“If you lend someone 20 bucks and never see them again, it was probably worth it. And a truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

“And learn from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors. But they all have to live in the same box.”

(juan_mercado@pacific.net.ph)

What’s in a name

Sunstar Essay: What’s in a name
By Erma M. Cuizon
Sun.star essay

That which we call a rose will smell as sweet. You get used to it.

Take the local term “habal-habal.” Chances are, through the years, the meaning of the word will change with its use in another context, say, as a public motorcycle ride. Even now, anyone living in the mountain barangays in the city uses the word with a straight face.

In just a few years more, the word’s original insinuation of intercourse between dogs will be gone and your great grandchildren will take habal-habal to mean a thrilling motorcycle ride. Then there will be a sports game called Cebu Habal-habal Open. Or an enterprising business would come up with second-hand motorcycles and call them “Habal-habal at affordable prices.”

That is how a word gets another edge in terms of use and, completely, the original word or its meaning will be lost forever.

Like the name of most barangays out of 81. When an old name is changed because say, a politician, has died and now deserves a barrio named after him, or for slight reason, then the story of the barangay’s origin is gone forever.

The original names have stories that have endeared themselves to the people and acquired a life of their own not identified with contemporary politics. There must be an area in the city that should keep the old names so that the origins do not go with the changing lifestyle.

Perhaps there was a time in the old Sugbu when most shoemakers lived in that barrio that now is called Zapatera district. This is not the origin of the name of this barangay, or it’s not said, but the truth may be close to it.

Or this could inspire serious research work.

You can imagine the stories behind the barangays called Busay (waterfalls) or Sapangdaku (big river). But one could surmise the stories behind other city barangays---Pit-os (narrow path), Basak (rice fields), Pulangbato (red rock). And you get intrigued with what the other names mean-–Binaliw (like mad?), Malubog (dirty water?), Pung-ol (trim?), Day-as, Banawa, Budla-an.

There are many stories to names of places relevant to where or how they were first discovered by roving natives of long ago---a place with coconuts flourishing (Kalubihan) or maguey (Kamagayan).

Names that speak of locations, as found in the old terrain behind trees or beyond a rock, at a mountainside, or in some hidden nature’s fortress reached through a narrow footpath, include Kinasang-an, Babag, Sudlon, Tabunan.

There were also origins during the Spanish times, like Carreta, which was where horses used in horse racing at the Hippodrome (Hipodromo) were kept (thus “carreta,” meaning horse quarter or cuadra).

But you’ll never know what Agsungot means; probably it comes from the word “aginod sa sungot” (climbing up the coconut tree?), but you could only guess unless you go back in time for that original tale.

We came across news of a proposal that Barangay Buot Taup is changed to “Buot” and to add “Riverside” and so, nothing much would be destroyed of the old name. This has been an effort, probably, to change insinuations of a sex joke.

Here, it would be only right to try and research on the old name.

Names of places not of the standard choices do exist. There are such towns or villages as Accident, Maryland and Angels Landing in Utah, Bird In Hand of Pennsylvania or Carefree, Arizona.

Head-Smashed-In, Buffalo has a history of Indians leading buffalos over a cliff to kill them (probably for food, in a buffalo feast?). But towns or villages called Last Chance are found in California, Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma and in the Yukon Territory.

In Oklahoma, there’s a place called Okay. Well, this is better than if you get down from a bus to Purgatory, Colorado or to a small college town called Walla Walla in Washington State.

There are city or town streets that could be named after local political leaders and historic personalities, but the names of barangays would be good left as they are.

Names of places, even towns, all over the world have very interesting origins you will miss if, for instance, you change Guba to Reyes.

When Can I Have Sex?

Lim: When can I have sex?
By Melanie T. Lim

I was once asked about pre-marital sex by a young woman very close to me—someone who was, in fact, almost like a daughter to me. I remember weighing my words carefully. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. On the other hand, I did not want her to go have sex with every Joe and John she met.

And so I told her the truth. I do not believe sex should only happen within a marriage. But I do believe sex should ideally happen between two people who have three essential elements in their relationship: love, intimacy and commitment, the key word being “relationship.” Under no circumstances do I condone casual sex.

“I am not telling you to WAIT until you get married to have sex because you could be way into your 30s when that happens or maybe it will never happen,” I told her. “But I am telling you to WAIT for as long as you can before going down that path.”

But why WAIT? Because the risks and consequences of early sexual activity are too many and serious to ignore: unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases that can cause sterility and cancer, not to mention death as well as increased likelihood of abortions, single parenthood or early and unstable marriages.

But perhaps the most compelling reason for waiting is because early initiation to sexual activity almost always sets a pattern of pre-marital behavior that will lead to multiple sexual partners. Aside from the health risks posed by multiple sexual partners, there is the equally important issue of dignity, respect and self-worth.

Will you one day regret having slept with your boyfriend when you were 15? Will you one day regret having slept with six other guys thereafter before finally meeting your lifelong partner? Will you one day regret having made the choice NOT to wait?

You can’t turn back the clock—remember that.

“And when you eventually make the decision to have sex, please remember that an affair you can forget but a child is forever.”
I firmly told her, “If you do not know about contraception then you are not old enough to have sex.” “If you want to have sex, then you must learn about contraception and practice it.”

And part of learning about contraception is knowing that contraception greatly lowers your chances of getting pregnant but it does not guarantee it. Condoms increase your protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) but they do not guarantee it. Only ABSTINENCE guarantees against pregnancies and STDs.

Television, in many cases, portrays sex as a casual activity without risk or consequences. But the reality is that aside from unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, sex carries with it many emotional consequences. When you include sex in the menu of your relationship, you open yourself to greater vulnerability and therefore, pain, when it doesn’t work out.

When your teen-agers ask, “When can I have sex?” Tell them the truth—sex does not come without risk or consequence.

Whatever decisions your teen-agers make, make sure they make it with the benefit of cold, hard facts. The young woman I counseled is now a wife and will soon become a mother. One day, she’ll be faced with some pretty tough questions too.