(Photo is from dentnews.net)

I have been very busy with my work these past few months that I have no time to update this blog. My previous entry was uploaded last Christmas season. It¡¦s already summer. That¡¦s how long this blog has been inactive.

However, it seems that I am not the only one busy with something else. Clicking on the names of my blogmates (the list on the left side of this page) would reveal that most bloggers I know have neglected blogging, too. Only Colleen and Ycej Eiram still update their blog regularly. Ana Banana recently updated her blog just to say that she¡¦s on Tumblr. Surprisingly though, JC¡¦s blog came back to life. I remember visiting his blog one day only to read that he is closing it down. Welcome back, bro!

I have always been proud of myself for being one of the few people who started blogging way before ¡§blogging¡¨ became a household term. Now, a red crooked line no longer appears below the word ¡§blog¡¨ when I type it in MS Word 2007. Before, when I told people that I blog, they would give me a weird look because they had no idea what I was talking about. Now, if I tell people that I blog, they will still give me the same look but say, ¡§You¡¦re still blogging?!¡¨

Yes, I know people still blog nowadays. However, most blogs that are thriving now are those that exist to earn money, either through ads, sponsorship, or the number of clicks that visitors do. Only a few people blog to express what is on their mind. What¡¦s on their mind may be nonsensical, but at least it¡¦s personal, which I like.

I do not know what people¡¦s reasons are for not blogging anymore (except for being busy, probably), but I know a possible culprit: Facebook! Yes, that social networking site, as well as other micro-blogging sites, has laid Friendster to rest. It did the same thing to blogging!

Checking on my previous entries would show that I like sharing photos and videos that I think others would like. Now, I just have to post them on my Facebook wall for others to see. I also like sharing quotes or witty lines I heard from others, but having a new blog entry just to say a sentence that is not even mine is inconvenient. In Facebook, that is the trend. Also, I remember inviting my non-blogger friends to check my blog and read my new entries, but even If I begged them and told them that clicking on the link I gave would only take a while, they would not. Only bloggers appreciate other bloggers. Now, on Facebook, everything I post on my wall is seen by all of my friends, whether they like it or not (unless they click on "Hide"), and surprisingly, some of them like it. Thanks to Mr. Zuckerberg or whoever came up with the idea of having a "Like" button.

With all the conveniences of having a Facebook account, who will still blog? No one likes to read very long passages anyway. I bet some will not even finish reading his entry. People¡¦s attention span gets shorter as technology gets better. Thus, posting short messages called ¡§Status Updates¡¨ on Facebook has become popular.

I miss the good ol' days when I would write a very long entry, but only a few would read it. It makes me feel insignificant, but I would rather believe that it makes me the most popular guy in my own universe.

T H E E N D thanks for listen the essay <-- inside joke

(Walang ginagawa si Karlo sa opisina kaya nakasulat ng 600 word blog entry. This blog will be inactive again as soon as the massive workload starts coming.)

Christmas is just a few days away. If you have not bought presents for your loved ones yet, these gift ideas can help you. (Note: The images are not mine. Obviously, I got them from engrish.com)

For babies

A ball house...

...that will make them talk gibberish.

For boys

A toy robot...

...that will make them religious.

A toy monster truck...

...that will make their dream come true.

A ball


For little girls

A doll

What’s with “convulsion”?

You can make them feminists by giving this one:


A toy cell phone...

...with the image of the most famous doll

A new shirt...

...with a cute image of a teddy bear

Something that requires physical activity


Not sure if the child is a boy or a girl? Why not give something that either will enjoy?

Whether the child wants to be a carpenter or a hairdresser, he or she will surely enjoy this.

Make sure that the toys you given them are safe. Look for this on toy products:


For your brother

A new headgear...

...or why not a new head?

A cell phone, which you can buy from this store:


For your sister

Bags with images of famous cartoon characters



New shirts



For your dad

A CD of his favorite singer


If he’s into hunting, he will love these:


For your mom

Gift certificates so she can shop at either of these stores:



Beauty products


(in case she realizes that she does need her eyes and nails)

Make sure she uses them properly.

Christmas is truly the season of giving. So what are you waiting for? Go to China immediately to buy the products you see here! Your loved ones will surely enjoy them. :-)

If you watched last night’s episode of GMA 7’s Imbestigador, you might have seen one of the program’s exposé where a maid was allegedly employed for 15 years without being paid. I happen to know the maid and her employer because they used to be my neighbors (our house was in front of their house). I was even a playmate of the employer’s two sons, and her daughter was a student at the school where I used to teach. (My family and I now live two blocks away from them.)

I realized, after watching the show, how exaggerated programs such as Imbestigador are. Mike Enriquez’s (the show’s host) rhetoric made it look like our old neighbor, Aling Ruth, was a really bad person who treated the maid like a slave. Though there is truth to the allegations made by the maid’s sister (she was the one who sought Imbestigador’s help), they are, as I said, exaggerated:

Sister’s allegation: The maid (codenamed ‘Hilda’) was not paid a single centavo for her services for the past 15 years.
In reality: Hilda herself said that she was being paid, but only at least twice a year.

Sister’s allegation: Hilda was not allowed to go back to her hometown, and could not be located because Aling Ruth’s family was moving from one house to another.

In reality: My mother (yes, my mother) said the maid was able to come to her hometown at least once, but she still returned to her employer’s house afterwards. It was true also that the family was moving from one house to another, but they were in the same area, Bacood, our hometown. Bacood is a really small place, so I am sure the maid’s sister can find Hilda if she had asked around.

My mother once asked the maid why she cannot leave the family she serves. Here response was this: “Naaawa ako sa mga bata.” She loves the children so much that she could not bear to leave, even if she was not being compensated properly.

I am not bashing the show, and I am not defending Aling Ruth and her family. From what I know, they are good individuals, so I was really surprised when I saw them on TV. I am actually happy for ‘Hilda’ for she was able to come home and have 72,000php as settlement money. FYI, it was actually my mother who introduced Hilda to Aling Ruth for her to serve as a house helper, so I guess my mother is partly to be blamed for all this mess. He he. Just kidding. I love my mom. (But it’s true. She really did bring Hilda to Aling Ruth. Hilda was a 'lost soul.')

I also realized how embarrassing it would be to be on that kind of program. I often see Aling Ruth on the street. Now, when I meet her, I have to pretend that I did not see her on TV.

My favorite animated mother will be on the cover of the November issue of Playboy! According to TMZ.com, Marge Simpson will be “posing in a bunch of sexy cartoon lingerie.” Springfield must not have been spared by the economic recession. T_T Check this photo out (from TMZ, obviously).

I just want to tell you people who visit my blog (if you are still there) that I survived typhoon Ondoy! I was just too busy to blog about it. I hope all of you are safe too. :)

Make sure that you are always updated when it comes to music.

From People’s Tonight (Sept. 5, 2009): A man was stabbed to death by four men for failing to know Wonder Girls’ hook song ‘Nobody.'



This is what the news article says:

Kumakanta umano si Joseph (suspect) ng ‘Nobody,’ ang popular na kanta ng Wonder Girls, nang tanungin siya ng biktima ng, “Ano ang kinakanta mo?” Nairita umano ang isa sa mga suspek dahil ‘di alam ni Santos (victim) ang kanta kaya’t sinuntok niya ito. Nakihalo na ang tatlo pang suspek at kinuyog ang biktima.

Now, to make sure that the same fate does not happen to you, watch this video posted by birdy2209 on YouTube. You’ll be much safer if you memorize these dance steps:

We at the office were allowed by our boss to go home early because of the bad weather (and because we also had nothing much to do). And just like a college student who was ecstatic upon hearing the news about the suspension of classes, I went straight to the nearest mall just to look around. He he!

On the contrary, when I was in college, I used to go home immediately when classes were suspended (sometimes, I joined protest rallies). I didn’t enjoy hanging out at the mall. I’d rather stay at home and watch TV or sleep. Now, I realize that I’m still the same. I still don’t enjoy malling. Wait a sec, a crooked red line appeared below the word ‘malling’ (I’m typing on MS Word). So, it’s not an actual word?! But I hear people say it on TV! Wow! I learned something new this day. :-p

I still have something to say about malls, but my train of thought was interrupted by the word ‘malling.’ So, I’ll just share this video that I stumbled upon while on YouTube. It’s the literal video version of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’ I like the original song, but this version is way better. You can also check other videos from the user. Enjoy! :-p

Students will be back to school next week, and I had the chance to see some of my former students (I’m a former teacher, FYI) thru Friendster (I don’t believe in Facebook yet). Some of them are about to enter high school this school year, and they really surprised me.

I did not imagine that my once sweet, innocent pupils could turn into… I don’t even know how call them. Their Friendster page is filled with these goth/emo backgrounds (talk about poseurs) and other things that I don’t think they truly understand at their age. But what caught my attention was their “shoutouts,” you know, that box above their primary pics. Here are some of them (raw and unedited):

"It really hurtz 2 love sm1 when d credit u get after all u've done is a broken heart...:( ..And it doesnt pays off 2see 2ppol 2gther,holding, and caring,wen u knew but hs 4gottn dat he hs TAKEN U 4 GRANT3D..." (You’re only 12, girl, what do you know about being taken for granted?)

"sbi nila duwag daw ako kasi di ko raw pinaglaban yung nararamdaman ko pero ang sabi koh hindi akoh duwag kasi natangap ko na kahit ipaglaban ko sya talo pa rin akoh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (You are indeed a very courageous girl!)

"stay outta my lyf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !" (OK! You don’t have to shout at me!)

"die........!!!" (This is worse than the previous one.)

"sayasaya ko pagnakikita kita lalu ako lumalakas magbuhat....:)" (I hope you’re talking about ‘carrying books’ and not ‘hitting the gym’ because you’ll surely catch hernia if you’re referring to the latter.)

"i told you everything.opened up and let you in.you made me feel alright.for once in my life.now all that's left of me.is what i pretend to be.sewn together,but so broken up inside.cause i can't breathe.no,i can't sleep.i'm barely hanging on." (I can’t stand the drama.)

Remember that those are from children’s Friendster profiles; I believe that they do not know what they are talking about.

The pic below is not from my former students’ profile; it was from my student's friend, and I find it really alarming. Take a look at it (their faces were blurred to protect their identities):


What do you think? He he!

I dreamt of my beloved Lola who passed away a few years ago. In my dream, she was very much alive, walking on a street. I approached her and gave her a kiss and a hug. Perhaps due to her poor eyesight, she asked if I was Erick, my older brother. I said "no," but she was insisting that I was him. It turned out that she wanted to see him more than me. Ouch! So what I did was bring my brother to my Lola. Their reunion was a tear jerker; in my dream, I was crying, and I was doing the same when I woke up.

Before my Lola died, she was being taken care of by my brother. I think I was busy with my studies, so I hadn’t had the chance to be with her that time, and I regretted it. That would explain why in my dream, I was practically set aside by my Lola.

My dream made me realize how important it is to show my family how much I love them, before it’s too late. I, however, am not a showy type of person, as far as emotions are concerned, so it is really had for me to do so.

Another thing that I realized is the more I get older, the more I get emotional. And I’m not even emo.

My family had the lights in our home switched off last night to support Earth Hour. I hope you did, too.