again

Fisherman A is out AGAIN to fish on the net of fisherman B.

Fisherman B told him,"Why are you here AGAIN fishing inside my net?"

Fisherman A replied,"Because I have a better net."

 Fisherman B ended,"No matter how new and strong or sturdy your net is,these are my fish.They're on the net already and you have no right to catch them. You trespass in my territory. Go and fish on the other side of the sea."

ben

my way or no way

One holiday morning, I headed up north to experience the culture and lifestyle of the province. I lodged in a mediocre hotel and stayed there for 2 nights.   In my short stop there, one significant thing caught up my attention . The entire area forbade smoking. As I entered into a guys toilet, my nose began to smell the strong cigarette smoke. It was really worse. I held my breath and almost did not sniff for a few seconds. As I look onto the wall, a sign was posted: "NO SMOKING."

"It's either my way, or no way." This is a common saying from people who are stubborn. They just think of themselves, thus, they don't mind the welfare of others. As long as it's good on their part even if it risks others, they still push through and enjoy it.

Stubbornness originates from insensitivity. Insensitivity comes from lack of understanding. Lack of understanding evolves from stupidity.    

no cellphone

I had to experience living without voice communication through phone for almost  2 weeks when my mobile phone got blocked and was unusable. The night I knew that my phone couldn't be used anymore, I never  irked nor got angry at someone who played with and accidentally blocked it. I told myself to have it fixed in the customer service center near my home. So, the morning after, I immediately proceeded to the center to have it repaired.

The clerk told me to wait for 10 days before it's going to be fixed. At first, my forehead got creases but I had no choice than to let them fix it. And for 10 long straight days, a mobile phone had been nowhere to find.

In this generation where technology has been becoming a necessity, people grumble if they don't have or get to use a cellular phone. Without it,  it seems like their days aren't complete anymore. Whether for business sake or for personal use, a mobile phone has been a cardinal thing on their pockets. Conspicuously, it has appeared larger than life.

Can you live without your mobile phone?  Have you ever tried not using a cellular phone for a week or two? Test your patience. 

the buck stops with me

"I was not the one who suggested it," a woman shouted in a meeting.

"Neither was I; my bet was the one which was voted out," another woman remarked  while in a meeting.

"It was Ethel's idea. It was only hers, not us," the last person yelled blaming Ethel as the only one responsible for the fall out.

The buck stopped with Ethel.

When something bad happens in a group or team, it is most prominent to expect that no one would like to take the blame. It may happen that someone would pinpoint another as the one responsible for a failure. Or maybe some would likely adjudge someone for not doing good in a circle. Failure is like a ball of hot fire that no one would like to hold so everyone passes it from one to another.

As I turned on the TV, I heard this news about two politicians maligning each other because they were accused of pocketing millions of money intended for a lucrative project in their areas of responsibility. One man pointed out that the other was really the mastermind of the laundering. The other man emphasized that the former took all the money and he got none. They mudsling each other, yet, both were held liable for the wrongdoing.

Would you also tell that it was Ethel's or someone's idea why a project failed in your group? Would you pass the blame to others just to wash your hands from an act you were held responsible?  

wooden peg

I remember a man in my 'barrio' who died of having a lump on his foot.

I was a kid when I got to know this man who enjoyed life in his earlier days. His house was next to my family's and I had some close encounters with this guy. But only one incident shattered his dreams which resulted into his tragic ending.

He went to a field to bathe his buffalo. As he got down from the buffalo from washing its back, he stepped into a small wooden peg. At that moment, it hurt a bit and he thought it was not really something serious. After a week, his sole got hurt again but still he ignored the pain. Months after months, his pains had grown stronger and stronger. He took pain killers to alleviate the pains. But after 2 years of getting some attacks of pain from his foot, he got the shock of his life.

Only after a couple of years he went to see a doctor. Only then he knew that he had a bone cancer. The doctor advised him to have his foot cut and it was removed immediately after. Complications on his foot already spread on to his leg so the pain went up reaching its back which led to the loss of his entire leg. But the cancer cell was so stubborn that it hit his entire body. He was given another two years of medication but the disease was not good to him leading  to his early demise. As he was on his deathbed, he exclaimed this to his mother, "Neglect killed me. It is because of neglect why I turned out like this. I am sorry."

self-worth and self-confidence

ben

The agony of being unemployed is so excruciating.

Paula has been out-of-work for the longest time in her life. It's been ages that she is distributing her resume in companies or even online. She thinks that she has lost time and money looking for a job in the city. There are times at night before going to sleep that she looks at the ceiling and ask herself, "When can I get one? It's been almost a year," then tears begin to flow from her eyes.

Unemployment really brings havoc to someone and destroys self-worth and self-confidence. Someone may feel lame when unemployment strikes for a long time that it exhausts almost everything someone has. Patience is no longer found in the dictionary for a person who waits for a job.

There are two ways on how to fight eccentric feelings while you are unemployed.

First, fight your mental agitation. Having a positive outlook of life is a very necessary weapon in this matter.Battling mental agitation is not a piece of cake but with the help of people close to you would somehow ease your mind. If it gets worse, seek the help of a professional for counseling. It is never bad to ask for help.

Second, move your body. Exercise reduces anxiety and boredom. So when you feel that you are trapped mentally by being unemployed, go out and have your body do something. Make yourself busy with manual works. This is far better than to be jailing yourself inside the house or clicking on websites or social networking sites.

Are you like Paula who suffer from unemployment? Hopeless of waiting for a long time? Don't even think about it. Make yourself more productive as you wait for the right job this world can offer.

earning and spending

Earning money is as difficult as climbing the peak of Mt. Everest from its bosom. It takes time, effort, and a lot of sweat. To some people, earning money is investing time from 7 years old to the early 20s. After that, they may eventually acquire some amounts. To others, they transact into businesses investing an amount so that they can have more in months or years. Why it is so difficult to earn money? Why not just the Federal Reserve or the money making agencies in countries produce a lot of money so people don’t need to exhaust so much energy and time? Then, these agencies give the people ample amount to sustain a living for a lifetime. But with sound and logical reasons, they cannot. Even the principles of economics would negate the former idea.

Meanwhile, spending money is so easily done by people. Spend here, credit here, buy there, go there, get this, and grab that. Why is that so? Spending is fun and leisurely, more to the fact that it is addictive. Noticeably, once spending is done, it is hard to say ‘no more’ next time. Also, if money is not a fruit of blood and sweat, it is most likely easy to think and plan of how to spend it. Wage earners would somehow agree that when they were children it was easier to spend money given by their parents than to spend the money they work hard now.

Earning requires much time while spending is done in just a few days or months by many. Earning and spending money are extremely opposites.  

Notably, a good earner should also be a wise spender.  So what would you do if you had $1,000,000?

red humor and white humor

Humor heals a broken heart. It is a good panacea to an aching soul. It turns heaviness into lightness of the spirit.

Humor creates happiness. But there are some instances that we are not aware that the sources of our laughters derogate others.

I made my own categories of humor. I associate them to colors. There is a red humor and there is a white humor.

Red humors are basically disdainful in nature. These originate from criticizing people's abnormalities, physical appearances, inabilities, or anything that humiliates them. Take for example, we laugh at people who are called midgets. We laugh at a person who has Down's Syndrome or a person who is suffering from hydrocephalus. Furthermore, the ideas of sex and homosexuality  are being used also to provide fun for the people. No wonder TV or movies nowadays use the element of sex to bring humor in the public. Also, the gays are being belittled on shows just to make people happy.

White humor entails a healthy source of laughter. Remembering childhood days, reading and writing funny articles, or making some jokes not to disparage people are more preferable. Sometimes just by playing with our words can bring white humor to people. Experiences that bring back the old times are sometimes good mothers of humor. There are so plenty of ways that don't really embarrass people.

How about you? What do you laugh at? Why do you laugh?

what makes children special?

ben

Why do children ease away tiredness of people around them? Why do they serve as catalysts to pacify emotions and feelings of other people?

I met Yohan, a son of my colleague, this early evening. Whenever I see him, there is never a time that I don't get involved with him whether by playing, or anything that a child does. We run around. We babble with each other. We shout out loud. I carry him. Sometimes he cries for trivial reasons, but most of the times, we laugh a lot.

I always think how lucky and blessed it is to have children like Yohan. They help us forget the extremities of life. They give us warmth and joy incomparable to what grown-ups seldom perform. They are the sources of happiness that things on earth could not replace. They are priceless treasures.

What makes children special anyway? It is through their life without any worries that brings them into being extra distinguished.

love and mosquito

ben

A woman friend of mine told me earlier this morning, "It happened again. My friend experienced it again. Why it had to happen to most women around me?"

I answered back, "You are you. You are not them. Don't compare yourself to them because you are different from them. Don't mirror yourself at them because each has her line of destiny in love."

She retold how her friends being abandoned by the men of their lives. She even disclosed that her close relative experienced a sort of 'failed relationship.'

I advised her to open the doors of her heart out. I continued, "How could you find someone good if your heart is close? How could you look at the beauty of a scene if your eyes are shut?" I also added not to judge all men being not good. "Don't be a man-hater," I ended. 

But she further noted, "Actually, my door is open still. Only, it has some screens to protect my heart from mosquitoes. These insects are parasitic; after sucking blood from you, when they are so full, they leave you unnoticed."

In the pursuit of love, you have to risk so that in the end you can find a not 'perfect' but 'good' partner whom you could cherish life forever.

report card

A primary pupil held a report card on his palms. At first, while looking at his low grades, he felt so blue. But after some moments of silence, his face was seen with a smile as if everything turned perfect eventhough his grades were never far from the highest.

When his mother took a look at his report card, she made a lopsided grin and uttered, "Tsk...tsk....tsk..." The pupil asked her mom why she said, "Tsk...tsk...tsk..." as if something bad happened when this pupil was filled with joy painted on his face.

"Mom, why aren't you happy with my report card?"

"How would I be happy if your grades are low?" the mother replied.

"Yeah I know mom. But aren't you happy that all the grades on the left are 'A'?" the boy exclaimed.

"That's different, son."

"I know mom, my grades are low. But the marks on the left are more important than the numbers on the right. These grades pertain to my character and all of them are graded well," the boy said. "You should still be happy mom because my character boosted up," he ended.

harsh words

What will we feel when we hear these two sentences: Would you stop bothering me? It is so annoying!

Hearing these two sentences would really blow my mind and my face off. These two are somehow to-the-highest-level harsh sentences, aren't they? If I received these two, I would possibly have a meltdown and be put into shame. 

Have we said anything harsh to our friends? to our teachers? to our admirers? to our employees? to our children? to our loved ones? to our haters? Sometimes, we lose control and tell words that can't be eaten and these go deep and cut our withins. Sadly and badly, we can never take back words we already said. Only apology could lessen the pain but once said, it is already said.

Be careful of what words that come out of our mouths. Remember that maybe these would resonate or come back to us one day or another. Don't say harsh words that we don't want to hear in the future. Be vigilant of our tongues. Be careful of what lines to say.

the box

ben

She realized that it had been ages when that happened. Many years had past. Many seasons had been folded for another. But still she couldn't forgive her younger sister. Her sister was her mother's favorite. Her sister was the family's apple of their eyes. Her sister was always the best and always the brightest.

She left home until she found someone to settle with and she'd gotten a family of her own as well. But she couldn't get off of her mind her sister. When she left home, she only took a box of possession that she kept for a very long time.

"It's about time to let go of this box," she had this line on her mind one day while she was cleaning her closet. It was so difficult for her to lose this box because this box had almost all her memories with her sister and her family when she was younger. She lit some fire and watched this box turned into ashes. The edges were burned first. After some seconds, she took a last glance at the box seeing only a word which she wrote into its cover some years ago. The flaming fire slowly ate the top of the box together with the title of it called   'PRIDE'   which was written in bold red ink .

refill

ben

One morning while I was on my way to work, I stopped by a gasoline station. I needed to fill my car's tank because the night before it was emptied. So I told the boy who assisted me to have it full tanked. After opening the gasoline tank, the boy inserted the metallic hose to fill the car with gasoline. Suddenly, the boy said, "Whew!!!" with his low voice. I didn't know what happened. I went out to see if there was an untoward thing that happened to him or to my car.

I saw that there was a small spill of gasoline on the floor but I didn't mind it. It was just like a pee of a baby. I rummaged on my bag for my wallet and thumbed-indexed-picked 1000 Baht bill. When I was about to hand in the money to the boy, he quickly said, "Sir, no need to pay. Thank you anyway." I insisted to give the money but he reiterated that I did not have to pay any. After some gives-and- returns of the 1000 Baht bill, I decided to keep it.

I was glad. I said that maybe it was a promotion of their company because I always had my gas refill in there. I was proud to say that I was an avid customer of that shop not only because it was good but because the servicemen were too kind to the clients.

Some days after, I saw the boy again. I thanked him for giving me a good treat of gasoline the last time I visited there. But the boy said, "You were not really suppose to pay at that time, Sir. Your car's tank was already full when you got here. It spilled because it was full and I tried to refill it."

The next time I went to the gasoline station, I brought something for the boy as a courtesy. Not because I got a free refill of gasoline but because of his honesty not taking advantage of me, as his customer.

vexed

ben

This is its second strike. The first one was earlier this week. It tickles. It is itchy. It is annoying.

The tremor on my head keeps me so bothered. It doesn't choose any place or time. Whether I am driving or doing my work. It cunningly is getting into my nerves.

It may be the food that I ate last night. It may be a yet unknown disease coming from inside me. It can also be an effect of the changing weather in my place. The reason--I  really don't know.

We feel so irritated when we feel something strange and we don't know the source of it. But the more we feel vexed, the more we feel bad, physically and emotionally. Rather, search some possible solutions to alleviate our sufferings. Also, there are so many other things to be busy at instead of thinking of our vexations.

sex & intimacy

ben

A 14 year-old boy, Craig, had always wanted to do it with Silvia,14, also. Every time there was a good opportunity when they were together, Craig asked Silvia to do it with him. After several times of Craig touching Silvia's elbow, she finally gave in. For quite sometime, they had become so much into it.

As time went by, Craig had turned sour towards Silvia. They had been doing it, but it seemed that Craig was no longer fond of doing it with Silvia. Though Silvia had tried to bring back the state of their relationship like when the first time they met, she always failed.  No matter how Silvia wanted to save their relationship, the intimacy between them had vanished into thin air. Craig already got what he wanted and eventually got bored to death with Silvia.

After some days when Craig separated with Silvia, she had known that she was carrying their baby.

Pre-marital sex is worse nowadays. There are some cases wherein younger individuals are engaging into it. Pre-marital sex reduces intimacy. Moreover, a relationship that lacks intimacy breaks easily and quickly. Sex is good if it is done at the right time, place, and person.

2 adages

There were 2 adages from the olds when I was younger that have become significant to me nowadays:

1st Notion--A woman who steals a buffalo is better than a woman who burps or farts in the middle of a throng.

A woman who burps in front of people is disgusting and ghastly. Even a woman who farts, especially with a bad odor, in the midst of people is also disappointing and appalling. Furthermore, a woman who steals a buffalo or any other things is horrible. Both are truly hideous and disheartening.

2nd notion--A young woman should be at home when darkness falls.

There may be only 20% among teenagers are at home at  about 6pm. They may be at schools, malls, parks, cinemas, bars, roads, etc. For these reasons, no wonder there are some untoward happenings among women occur in the community nowadays because they aren't home at night.

respect is earned

When he was still a fresher in one company, during presentations, he couldn't stick his ears to the speakers. It was either he wrote or drew something on papers or played some games on his mobile phone. He couldn't pay attention to someone who spoke in front.

Now is his turn. He is promoted as a speaker in the company. His first speech was filled with noise from the panel or audience. The next times, the same noise or even greater was expected in the room as he laid down his topics. One time, he got angry, but there was one person in the room who told him these lines:

ben

"Respect is earned. When I was at your post, I never saw your face turned towards me. I never saw your eyes interested in what I was saying. Now, you're angry. Can I be angry at you first? At least now you know how to be disrespected."

couch potato

She spends much of her times in front of TV. She is hooked up with every program being shown in the different channels. She fondly waits for her favorite noontime show. In the evening, she never neglects to get a view of her most adored soap opera. She is so much into TV.

ben

She's 30 now. She can't help in the household chores because she is concentrated on TV. She owns their TV. She is stuck in front of this boob tube. She is a fanatic. She's too much for TV.

Most of her batch mates in high school and in university are now professionals. They are earning for their own families now. Some are into business and some are working abroad. But, she has never changed--a heroine in her own genre--a great couch potato, still.

speak daggers

ben

"I didn't say anything bad. I only told her that she should quit school if she continued to be delinquent," the husband explained to his wife.

"But why she was so abashed like she was in the middle of cymbaling heaven and earth. She doesn't want to eat anymore. She doesn't even want to get out of her room," the wife faced the husband with a hysteric sound.

After some hours, the girl went out of her room with a pathetic face and a pale physique. She was asked again by her mother why she locked herself in her room.

"Father spoke daggers to me. I know that what he told me was for my own sake. But his tone was so horn-mad, and spoke bellowing like a bull. I was not upset by what he said, but how he said those lines made me so perturbed," the daughter deeply sobbed in front of her mother.

feet

I was struck by a statement from a friend whose name is the same as mine. He commented that the highest part of the body of a person is the feet. I said, "Huh? Feet?" Yes, he reiterated, "The feet."

ben

I learned that the feet are the highest part of someone's body. These lead us to reaching our dreams. These bring us to a place where we want to be in life. These also are the instruments that carry us to the path we are heading in life.

I learned that the feet are the highest part of someone's body. When we are sleeping, these are the highest even truest when we are resting after work or doing our own tasks all day long.

So whenever I get tired of doing things, I take a rest. I never fatigue my feet because I may not be able to tread this life again if my feet are exhausted and afflicted.

religion likewise

As I was watching a show on TV, a woman was asked if she would you change her religious principles in favor of the person she loves. She shot, "The first person I love is God...If a man wants to marry me he must also love my God." Then, a thought came into my mind.

Everyone is entitled to choose his own god. We cannot force someone to believe what or whom we believe in. Though,  we could be of good influence for them to know more of the god we choose to believe in. Religion likewise.

ben

cockroach

ben

Two facts about a cockroach:

1. A fried cultured cockroach is enjoyed as an exotic delicacy in Asia and in other parts of the world.

2. Cockroach's tissue is a good choice to fend off dangerous  bacterial infections.

Cockroaches are still people's nightmares. They are still dirty, ugly, and unpleasant animal or insect to many. 

There are some things which are ugly to others but beneficial to majority.

Jenna & Jasmin

ben

Jenna and Jasmin conceived their own babies at the same month in Spring. Jasmin is Jenna's sister-in-law. Their first quarter of pregnancy went well with just a few odd wants as they carried their own angels. They visited each other's house most often as they talked much about being a mother for the first time and what to do during the labor times before giving birth. It was on their early 4th month of carrying a baby in their wombs when an unexpected event changed their relationship. Jasmin got a miscarriage that almost took her life. It was so painful for her because it was supposed to be her first baby. Jasmin got depressed that even her best buddy in the community, Jenna, was ignored by her. For several months, there was a space between them. There was silence that took their communication apart. In a party where Jasmin and Jenna had attended a month after Jenna's successful delivery of a baby girl, Jasmin still ignored Jenna. Jenna didn't know what to do whether to greet her or to approach her.

Sometimes it is difficult to approach people who suffer, especially when we are at the peak of our happiness or careers. Sometimes we don't know how to handle things out of our control. But assuring that we love the people and friendship or relationship remains in our heart for them, nothing will change. Give them some time to recover. One day or another, when the ailing process is soon gone, things will get better.

sunglasses

Most likely, when you see some blind men whether on a road or in an indoor place, these men are in cool black shades. You know that both eyes of these blind men are impaired-- the left and the right. But you may have some thoughts in your mind asking why do they have to wear sunglasses yet their eyes can't see anyway.

ben

You may want to know why the blind wear sunglasses. So, I asked a couple of blind men  this question and here was their common answer, "Even the blinds have the right to look attractive and presentable. Though we cannot see ourselves even with our naked eyes, well, at least, we feel and think we are comfortable, confident, and pleasant looking when we use sunglasses."

the eraser

ben

The pencil worried much about what it had written on a paper. There was really something wrong. The pencil was ailed much-- second after second.  To the pencil's sight, it never imagined that an eraser was attached at its bottom. The pencil couldn't see the eraser. The pencil thought nothing was at its tail. Incognizant, the pencil thought that it was just alone. The pencil had never felt nor seen the soft thing at its end. The pencil never thought the importance of the eraser. And then, the eraser said to the pencil, "I am your back. Whenever you think you write something wrong, I am at the back waiting to be rotated and erase your mistakes."

Who is your eraser?