15 Funny Thoughts on Marriage

Heck, about 4 months from now and I'm getting married. What do you think is marriage? Here are some humorous thoughts to blow your mind away!

1. Marriage is not a word. It's a sentence (a life sentence).

2. Marriage is love. Love is blind. Therefore marriage is an institution for the blind.

3. Marriage is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring and suffering.

4. Getting married is very much like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, and when you see what the other person has, you wish you had ordered that instead.

5. Son: "How much does it cost to get married, Dad?" Father: "I don't know son, I'm still paying for it!"

6. Love is one long sweet dream. Marriage is the alarm clock.

7. They say that when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, it's love; after marriage, it's self-defense.

8. There was this lover who said that he would go through hell for her. They got married, and now he is going through HELL.

9. When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge that to let him keep her.

10. Marriage is man and woman becoming one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

11. "I married Ms Right. I just didn't know that her first name is 'Always'! "

12. A man was complaining to a friend: "I had it all - money, a beautiful house, the love of a beautiful woman, then pow! It was all gone!" " What happened," asked his friend. He says, "My wife found out!"

13. At a cocktail party, one woman said to another: "Aren't up you wearing your ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes, I am. I married the wrong man!"

14. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job; he still ends up with the same BOSS!

15. When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing - either the car is new or the wife is.


So how about it? Don't forget to Bookmark or Share this to your friends and family, or subscribe to The Blue Speckled Diary by Email for free updates, leave a your thoughts on what you think marriage is!

First Recipient of the Twilight Ebooks!

Congratulations to you. Hope you enjoy them, and continue reading The Blue Speckled Diary!

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My Own List of Blogging Tools

Every blogger now is a-buzzing regarding lists and posts and tools and widgets... And of course, I won't be an outcast. Here's my very own list of those too.

1. My Journal/Planner. This is the planner I got from a marketing stint here in the Philippines wherein the publisher itself gave out these stylish planners October of last year.

2. Laptop. Well, actually, my laptop's really old and just about ready to retire. I not only use this for blogging, but also for my day job as an internal auditor. This laptop has served me well, and maybe, just maybe any kind soul working in Sony or HP, Dell or Asus, can wholeheartedly give me a freebie. I'll blog about it for the rest of the year, I promise!

3. Next, My pens and thumb drives - of course for taking down notes and copying files from everywhere. Most of the contents of my thumb drives are ebooks, pictures, music files and word documents.

4. Glasses. Don't get me wrong, I can blog without my glasses, but there are just certain times of the day or week that I can't see clearly! They're really not that thick, they were just prescribed to alleviate headaches I get with too much reading. If I remember correctly, they're for astigmatism, and they're pretty old too. I got them when I was still in college, about 4 or 5 years ago. Yeah, I can't "afford" to get a new pair.

5. Tumbler. For coffee or water, whichever I like at the moment, whether hot or cold, it doesn't really matter 'coz this can hold it quite conveniently.

6. Camera phone. I own this cool Sony Ericsson W760 from another project, but I still don't have a post to brag about that yet due to a disclosure agreement. Lol! Anyway, this phone's currently my favorite 'coz I can immediately post pictures I took directly to this blog. The camera is also nice because it's already at 3.2 megapixel capacity. And did I mention it's a Walkman phone already? Cool speakers. ;)

7. Blogger.com, Twitter, Tweetgrid and other sites. Pretty self explanatory, with all the other blogs available in the net. But to sum it all up:

• Blogger.com is of course the blog platform I'm hosting The Blue Speckled Diary in. It's free, so no fuss.
• Twitter, the micro-blogging platform where you can post links, updates and news in a 140 character space ONLY.
• Tweetgrid is the site I use to update my twitter. It has cool features like an in-depth,built-in search mechanism which basically works like google or yahoo. You can easily re-tweet, reply and DM using tweetgrid too; and by clicking at the icon/picture of the user, you can easily go through his/her profile and follow!

So there, got my tools and tips posted. Now, any offers? *wink*


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Weird Tasting Pasta

From yesterday's lunch.

What Would Judas Do?

2000 years ago, Jesus Christ became human, got crucified and was resurrected, all due to the contribution of a Judas, who betrayed Him. Nowadays, no company has yet succeeded in ridding itself of its own Judas.

Our company has of course its own thorn in the flesh - there's always at least one in each property (we use the term property instead of branch).

Here in the mothership, as we term it, we have this annoying Judas we'll just hide under the name of Judas-A (convenient, eh?). Judas-A has been plaguing the company with nonsense decisions made half-heartedly. The most recent incident is when an old lady accidentally tripped over the staircase step and rolled all the way down about 3-4 steps more to the landing. Fortunately for her, her husband is a lawyer - they went after our company for the hospital bills. As of latest tally, we have already paid about $2,300 if converted to USD. Judas-A, in my opinion, didn't actually think about the company before he got convinced that we should be paying for the bills. It wasn't really our fault that she tripped and I'm not saying also that it was purely her fault (although it could be, if Judas-A just initiated a formal and thorough investigation of the incident), it was just that she was still inside the premises. And Judas-A was just "concerned" enough about the lady's "health" instead of the company's financial position and actual legal liability that he said yes right after a few verbal threats of getting sued or getting a bad rep.

Our other property also has Judas-B. Judas-B, on the other hand, has a stranger principle in life - thinking right, but doing it all wrong. He thinks the company should not get items from suppliers with high prices and/or low quality products - which is good, great if you come to think of it - right? But what if he deliberately disobeys company policy and commits noncompliance with SOP because he says "We don't want that, it's too high /quality's not satisfactory?" and at the same time, not taking note of the supplier and the quoted prices on his canvassing sheet?* Darn weird eh?

*Note that procedures say that there should at least be three canvassed suppliers, all noted in the canvassing sheet, whether or not the purchase will be awarded to any one of them.

That's just two of our Judas-es. If we include the others, and if this company would have been Jesus, He would have been crucified a thousand times. Over and over again, everyday, for the rest of the life of this planet.


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2,433 New Criminologists Announced!

2,433 out of 7,702 passed the Criminologist Licensure Examination, PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) announced Friday, April 24, 2009...

The complete list of all passers can be viewed ---> HERE <---- CONGRATULATIONS!



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161 Pass the Chemical Engineering Board Exams of 2009

161 out of 369 pass the Chemical Engineering Board Exam, PRC (Professional Regulation Commission)announced Friday, April 24, 2009...

(Complete List in Alphabetical Order can be viewed ---> HERE... <--- ) CONGRATULATIONS!



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Reminiscing my BATIK Childhood

It's been a long time since I last heard the term "batik".

Batik is, for those who haven't heard of it since birth, a method of dyeing a fabric by which the parts of the fabric not intended to be dyed are covered with removable wax, a design that is created by this method or in other words the fabric dyed using this method (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/).

The first time I heard the word "batik" was when I was about 3 years old, Dad just came back from Zamboanga and brought home a box of goodies. Among the loot were lots of chocolates (for me, of course!) and silk bathrobes, umbrellas, and this funny looking cloth with lots of colorful patterns printed on it. Mom said that was batik, and would have cost a lot if bought in the metro area. Among the batik items where sun dresses, malongs (cylindrical cloths sometimes used as traveller's blankets or even costumes in native dances!), and shawls - now the most common accessory available in the market. If I remember correctly, there were also bags, purses, and pouches in that box!

But now, we're all old and still immature (lol!), the batik industry has blossomed to incorporate the current trends and designs. They are not exclusively distributed in barter trades anymore, but also online. I even recently heard of this store, KrafOnline, that sells lovely bed covers regal enough for a princess, men's shirts which are absolutely classy, even elegant scarves for women! Maybe I'll even look around and try something on; or maybe a bag or two! :)

Anyway, it was fun reminiscing some favorite memories of my childhood, especially of those sweet chocolates and silken robes. And batik of course!

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other photo credits - thank you!
http://blog.baliwww.com
http://www.filipino-music.com

8 Things to Do When YOU are BORED.

When you're feeling blue...

All you have to do is read my blog! Or not. Nonetheless, if you're bored and have nothing else to do and you happen to stumble upon The Blue Speckled Diary and into this very post, I suggest you go ahead and read the 8 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU'RE BORED.

1. Eat Coffee.
- Yes my beloved readers, eat - not drink - eat coffee. Get a teaspoonful of coffee and slowly put several granules into your mouth and eat it as if it was yummy strawberry ice cream. Hmmm.

2. Measure the actual perimeter of your lot (or the lot where your apartment or condo is) by the span between the tip of your thumb to the tip of the pinkie finger with your hand spread widely. Something like that on the image to the right. We call that "dangkal" in Filipino.
- This is crucial. If you don't get it right, you have to do it all over again. Definitely beats boredom. lol.

3. Fill your toilet bowl with water.
- Without accidentally flushing all of it down. Cool.

4. Separate the ingredients of a 3-in-1 instant coffee mix.
- Separate all the granules among the three ingredients - coffee, creamer and sugar. Make sure they're easily identifiable!

5. Pluck your Eyelashes.
- Slowly, one by one. Are you still bored?

6. Pluck and then count your nosehairs.
- Eeew. But you won't get bored. Instead, you'll feel pain all throughout this activity!

7. Lock yourself inside your room an then shout "Help!"
- Of course, how do you expect yourself to get out? :)

8. Play hide and seek with yourself. If you can't find each other, send an SMS.
- Darn. You sure you really want to be bored at all?


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Ted Failon's Eulogy before Wife's Cremation

So heartbreaking.



video credits: abs-cbn.com


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Sometimes Ted Failon Looks like my Dad...

Photo Credits: inquirer.net

I was quite intently watching the interview of Ted Failon in Bandila last night when it dawned on me - he looks a lot like my dad!

Yeah. Fortunately or unfortunately, a lot of Ted Failon's features, especially on this photo and in the interview video, are similar to my dad's. Hmmmm. Were they separated at birth? Nah, I don't think so.

Anyway, isn't it tragic? The thing that happened to his wife? There a lot of speculations and a lot of fuss about it since last night. Even the rival news program has their own report, a longer and more detailed one at that!

But for those who missed a lot of the news programs last night, here's a link to the latest web buzz for your quick reference:

ABS-CBN Website - Failon Says Financial Woes behind Wife's Suicide Attempt

Inquirer.net - Ted Failon Arrested

ABS-CBN Website - Vital Signs of Ted Failon's Wife are Unstable

And just a quick update: Ted Failon's paraffin test resulted negative according to the news.


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Free Copies of the Twilight Saga Ebooks!

I've recently launched a campaign to "educate" everybody about the most talked about vampire movie in Hollywood history - Twilight! And to be able to understand what we're talking about, I'm going to give away copies of the Twilight saga in pdf format, in other words, free ebooks!

Here are the three easy steps:

STEP 1: Re-tweet this message:

RT @BrazenLass is giving away ebook copies of the Twilight Saga. Go to http://bit.ly/oD1iL find out how to get your copy!

STEP 2: Follow @BrazenLass in Twitter by clicking on the "follow" button right under my profile picture in my twitter profile page. - This is so I can see clearly who re-tweeted the message in STEP 1. lol!

STEP 3: Subscribe to The Blue Speckled Diary Email Updates, see the link just before this post ends, so you can get the updates in my diary (blog). And once you've done all three steps, it's heaven from here. I'll send all five, not four, but 5 Twilight Saga ebooks to your email (The email address you used in the Email Confirmation in the subscription verification window - the one you'll see after doing step 3)...

STEP 4: DM me (direct message) via twitter stating the email address you used to subscribe to The Blue Speckled Diary so I can match everything and start sending the ebooks!

No sweat, no tears, no payments, no fees!

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PS: For my "already subscribing" friends, don't fret, you'd still get free copies of the ebooks. Just do steps 1, 2 & 4 and I'll take care of the rest. ;)

ODesk Took my Morning Away!

I have been pretty busy with my email the whole morning - just imagine 200+ emails for the span of 4 days! (okay, so I was exaggeratedly surprised since it's really not THAT many...) Most of these were from Twitter and SocialToo.

Anyway, I noticed some intriguing emails, and the from section said it came from ODesk. I was supposedly due for an interview last April 9, but since it was the holidays, I wasn't able to send a reply. The next email that came in was still from ODesk, and it was directly from John, the buyer, saying that I have been hired already, and that I can start as soon as possible. Cool, huh?

Speaking of ODesk, or blogging of ODesk (harhar!), I have received a comment/question about it several weeks ago and I think it's about time to post an answer that, but first, here's the comment:

"Sharkbytes said...

I'm curious to hear how ODesk goes. I signed up, but haven't taken any assignements yet. "


To answer some basic questions,

WHAT IS ODESK?
ODesk is an online community where the providers, or in my case - the blogger, and the buyers or those who need bloggers/writers, meet in a secure and safe online environment, where every transaction is legal and hassle free.

WHY ODESK?
Because it's professional and formal. ODesk discourages transactions between the buyer and providers outside of the online community for the protection of both parties. The Terms and Conditions are favorable to both the buyer and provider and ensures that no one gets the better end of the deal. For additional information, you can read the policies of ODesk right here.



HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE WE GET PAID?
There is a heading right beside the job advertisement/post on whether the payment method of the service buyer is already verified by ODesk. If it's verified, then much better. Also, it has the ODesk Team Client App which ensures that all the hours spent on working on the job/assignment are properly logged and noted. You can even review your logged hours and add/delete offline hours. They also have several choices with regards to form of payment. For a more elaborate explanation, see The Lady Programmer's blog post here.

HOW MUCH CAN WE GET PAID FOR SERVICES PROVIDED?
The average offer is about $2 for a 100-250 word article, or it can go up to a whopping $5,000 for ghostwriting one bibliography!

ARE THERE QUALIFICATIONS TO JOIN ODESK?
For joining ODesk itself, there are no qualifications, anyone can sign up! But to be able to get assignments or jobs, a provider should be "ODesk Ready" and additional tests provided by the buyers for additional skills certifications are also in the ODesk site. For additional tips and elaborations on how to land your first job in ODesk, see this post right here.

WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
To be a certified ODesk service provider, you can click on this link to be taken directly to the ODesk site. Don't forget to read the terms and conditions too!

HAVE I HAD ASSIGNMENTS LATELY?
Of course, I actually just got hired to be a social media marketer, as mentioned earlier on this post, and I can earn about $2/hour. Not too heavy work, not too shabby pay. Right?

Nothing to do this summer? Why not join ODesk now and start earning! Or if you're looking for freelancers, register as a buyer and post job openings for free, just click right here and start posting or search for providers all over the globe!




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Cute Brutes at MyBrute.Com

Because of Tweetgrid, I stumbled upon Batang Yagit's tweet about his "brute" and about settling things in the arena, online "suntukan" or fistfight, I decided to follow the link...

Surprise! These cutesy little avatars appeared before me, and a word blinked arrogantly - "challenge". Hmmmm.. Let me see.

So I created my "brute" of course, I used my name cathy-laine. I didn't customize her anymore, she's cute already!

After that I fought 6 fights, and now cathy-laine's resting. But it doesn't end there! I have become a brute master by accepting pupils and you can too! How?

First, you have to challenge me to a fight. Better win, it's more fun that way.

Next, protect your brute with a password, so no one else can use your cute brute.

Finally, ENJOY and promote your brute to get pupils by the hundreds!

And oh, this is not an affiliate program of any type, it's just one heck of a cute game! :)

Again, challenge my brute first, find her here at http://cathy-laine.mybrute.com!



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Top 5 Mistakes Travelers Make

It's no surprise that during long weekends and holidays, people go on vacation - out of town or out of the country, on a plane, bus or boat. But time and time again, travelers do these Top 5 Mistakes.

• Packing too much. Many times, people who travel - like me - just brings too many things with them resulting in a back-breaking trunk that we end up despising. We bring too many clothes thinking that we need all of it, too many shoes, to match the clothes of course, and sometimes, too many unnecessary things like magazines to "pass the time" while traveling, too many accessories (why do you need to many when you're just sitting there on the plane or in the bus?).

• Packing too little. Yes. Packing too little. This results from over-thinking and generally over-reacting to number 1 up there. Here the mistake is that we brought too little shirts when we knew out trip was going to make up all sweaty and sticky; too little underwear (eeewww!) when we knew we really had to bring enough; too little food for the long long trip, or too little water when it's hot, too little tissue to wipe up off after all the food and water, or too little cash, when we actually knew that the place does not accept credit cards!

• Not Planning everything. Of course! An unplanned travel can bring disasters, wrinkles and stress instead of relaxation and rest. Too little planning or no planning at all can make your trip a living hell. Imagine, not having your car checked or tuned-up, not bringing a map or activating your GPS, not having hotel or inn reservations (what the...?), not really knowing what to do when you get there, or how much of your savings you're willing to blow off for this trip.

• Bringing the wrong people. Couldn't be emphasized more than needed - you also have to know who to bring with you. If you're married and have children and the trip is a familiy affair, then don't fuss. Of course you have to bring everybody. But if you're single and this trip was for a bonding moment for you and your clique, be careful because some friends might think you're also gonna like their friends who you'll meet for the first time ever because they thought they'd tag them along! Sometimes the crowd you're with can be the deciding factor on how to describe your holiday vacation. ;)
  

• Going to the Wrong Place. Yeah. Wrong things, wrong crowd, wrong budget, wrong place. terrible. You were thinking it was a haven for solemn and peaceful recollection, and you find out it's a crappy rathole. Hmmm. Better do some research first and also monitor from word of mouth which places match your plans and goals for the trip. Make sure it's safe too and within your budget!
  

To put it bluntly - plan, plan, plan. And talk to other friends and family who have tried traveling already, especially if you're planning on going on an adventure. Just to make sure you don't blow your top! Enjoy your vacations every one, and have a solemn and safe Holy Week.



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Kaleidoscope World

Had lunch out today and fascinatingly, when I passed by the hall going back to the Office, this song was playing in the background and a small group of people relaxing after lunch was also singing with the radio. The song? Kaleidoscope World by Francis Magalona.

For all of us who liked this song, even before he died, here are the lyrics and the MP3, so enjoy.

Kaleidoscope World - Francis Magalona

Kaleidoscope World by Francis M.

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin

Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most, yeah

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
[ Find more Lyrics on www.mp3lyrics.org/exw ]
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why

Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most, yeah

Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world


He also has one, well, neglected slow song which I also like, it's Cold Summer Nights. The lyrics can be found here, and the song file here.



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Scheduling to Move to the New House

We're now starting to pack our things and find other lose ends to knot so we can transfer to our new house worry-free.

So far, what we've finished are most of the books and other stuff from the living room, and then maybe we'll go to the bedrooms and organize everything in nifty boxes and label them of course so we won't freeze hell over just to go looking for a piece of document. Right?

I'm getting kinda hungry now, it's about noon time here in the Philippines, with much a buzz about the September 2008 Bar Exam Results just going public. Whew! Pretty stressful for some, and glorious for others.

By the way, have to go now, need to finish reviewing a report. And updating my twitter.


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September 2008 bar Exam Results Out NOW!

After several agonizing months and stressful hours of waiting outside the Supreme Court, at last! Here are the results of the September 2008 Bar Examinations where a total of 1,310 passed:

The Top 10 are as follows:

1st place	Lardizabal, Judy A.	San Sebastian College	85.70%
2nd place	Amerol-Macumbal, Mylene I.	Mindanao State University	85.65%
3rd place	Baclay, Jr., Oliver P.	Ateneo de Manila University	85.60%
4th place	Jala, Majesty Eve L.	Ateneo de Manila University	85.55%
5th place	Liceralde, Ma. Elizabeth L.	University of the Philippines	85.40%
6th place	Macapagal, Micael T.	University of the Philippines	84.15%
7th place	Dy, Denise S. Regis, April Love C.	Ateneo de Manila University Ateneo de Manila University	84.00%
8th place	Tan, Christine Joy K..	Ateneo de Manila University	83.80%
9th place	Jacob, Jihan A. Velasquez, Shirley G.	San Beda College University of the Philippines	83.75%
10th place	Raymundo, Vanessa C.	San Beda College	83.70%

for the rest of the list, you can get them from these sources:

1. Supreme Court Website: http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/
2. The Philippine Star: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=454556
3. Inquirer.net : http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/examresults/2008_BAR_EXAMS/20090403/
4. GMA News: http://www.gmanews.tv/examresults/list/39/2009-results
5. ABS-CBN News: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/03/09/complete-list-bar-passers-0
   
6. The Manila Standard: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=barexam2009