First World

Industrialized Countries, within the Western European and US' Sphere of Influence.
NATO Member States during the Cold War

Belgium
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany (West)
Greece
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain (since 1982)
Turkey
United Kingdom
USA

US Aligned States
Israel
Japan
Korea (South)

Former British Colonies
Australia
New Zealand

Neutral and more or less industrialized capitalist countries
Austria
Ireland
Sweden


Top 10: First World Countries in terms of their Gross National Income
The GNI based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita in int'l Dollars.

1 Luxembourg Western Europe 66 821
2 Norway Northern Europe 41 941
3 United States North America 41 557
4 Ireland Northern Europe 40 003
5 Bermuda (overseas territory of the UK) North America *36 000
6 Iceland Northern Europe 35 686
7 Denmark Northern Europe 34 718
8 San Marino Southern Europe *34 600
9 Canada North America 34 444
10 Switzerland Western Europe 33 168

Top Ten: First World Countries in Terms of their Human Development

1 Norway
2 Sweden
3 Australia
4 Canada
5 Netherlands
6 Belgium
7 Iceland
8 USA
9 Japan
10 Ireland

Source: UN Human Development Report 2004
IMF -- International Monetary Fund
www.nationsonline.org

I guess they made the right decision in choosing Norway for the next stop, besides it's the UK with 21.3% (largest) export partner of Norway and with 7.2% in imports.

Let's see each other in Kongeriket Norge!
Lykke til!

25 Haphazard Things

Since my sizzies knew this site, ate Ian asked me to...
"write 25 random things about you! that's the usual stuff in the blogs, right?" I replied "why 25? why not 10 or 5 or 3 and why do I have to?"

"nangengealam ka? gusto ko 25 eh, yun ang uso! 25 random things about you that no one knows except you. like trivia or something. ganun! wag ka na magblog, hindi ka pala marunong." *exits*

1. I always believe that hospital is my second home, school will just fall on third.

2. The only concert that I would love to watch with super interest is Beyonce's. For more info, she's going to perform here in Birm UK on May 23 at National Indoor Arena (NIA).

3. I'm a private person and hideously shy.

4. I don't adore superheroes because when I was a kid, dad says they're just a product of someone's mind. In short, forever fiction. Haha.

5. Can't sleep with lights off.

6. I still dream of having an igloo somewhere near home. Haha.

7. I love to drink cranberry juice but don't eat cranberries. But Ate Ian is in the habit of buying cranberries every fall (cranberries are only harvested in the fall). She thinks that I would love to see and eat those. Now, revealing this will make you say "OMG!" again. Hahaha. And it will cause you a huge question, who ate those cranberries you bought last year? Hahaha. Obviously, NOT ME, I swear.

8. I can't allow to be called as a fan of any basketball stars, but there's always an exemption, for Steve Nash... I'm proud to say that I'm his biggest fan.

9. Never thought that I would run after girls. It happened once and I still wonder how the hell did I do that.

10. Perfectionist... still, in denial. I'm striving for perfection but settling for exellence. (Mr. Ford? Haha.)

11. Three most influential people in my life- Grandpa, Dad & Sir Winston Churchill.

12. First poem that I've memorized and still on my mind... the all time favorite- Trees by Joyce Kilmer.

13. Frustrated doctor and a political leader with literary career. Soon, I will be. Now, I'm like grandpa, by the following years I will be like dad and soon to be like Sir W. Churchill. Wow! Dream for it's free. Haha.

14. The number that considered as my lucky number (just according to me haha).
In mathematics, 14 is the 3rd discrete biprime ( 2 . 7 ) and the 3rd member of the (2.q) discrete biprime family. The number following 14—15 is itself a discrete biprime and this is the first such pair of discrete biprimes. Act like you understand and...

The next example is the pair commencing 21.

See? It reached 21 in such a way like that. How I love it. Hahaha.

15. Grandma is the most beautiful woman in the world. Followed by mom and followed by my future daughter. My sisters aren't included on my list though they're also pretty of course.

16. I'm not in to sweets. I will violate the law of redundancy for I am already sweet. Who wants to be diabetic squared? Hahaha.

17. I am not allowed to go anywhere outside without bringing my inhaler.

18. My dream for Neil is to be an astronaut someday. And for Nadine, is to be a good girl like her mom not like her dad (definitely kuya is not a girl, he's not also good though. hahaha.)

19. The real reason why "sorry" isn't so powerful and not so effective for me:
-It will just tolerate you for having more mistakes.
-It's the least thing you can do, then do more.
-I am struggling to avoid saying that word thus I don't want to hear it.

20. I love airsoft. Partly because it's a gun thing and wholly 'coz that's our usual bonding with my brothers.

21. I don't just give personal letter to anyone, if you receive one... you have the right to manipulate me.

22. The most important, useful and the only stuff in WWW that will receive so much praises from me, is the Yahoo Messenger.

23. If I'm given a chance to choose for citizenship, no doubt- Pinoy sana. That thing freaks me out. Hmf! For me, I am still Pinoy.

24. Deeply devout. It's not me that's so talented, it's Him for I have just borrowed everything.

25. When I was 2, I was diagnosed with the condition disturbing perceptions and relationships: a disturbance in psychological development in which use of language, reaction to stimuli, interpretation of the world, and the formation of relationships are not fully established and follow unusual patterns. In short- autism.

Look at me now, who is the real autistic between the two of us?

1st Month

Ronald Weasley

Parang ang taba ni Ron diyan no? Pero hindi talaga sa personal. Hahaha...

Tools

Bond paper (obviously)
Mongol pencil #3
Eraser
Brav's camera phone and
Imagination only
yabang! haha...

Hahaha. Pasensiya na sa Ron ko kasi hindi ko alam kung ano ba talagang itsura ni Rupert Grint kasi gusto ko sana yung own version ko, kaya ayan ang pangit. Hahaha. Besides nasa office ako nung ginagawa ko 'yan kaya ayun, mongol pencil lang ng ate ko yung nagamit ko tska yung eraser dun. Walang effects, walang kulay, hindi ko napaganda, ginawa ko na lang black and white sa adobe. Para naman kunwari nagcharcoal ako. Haha. Yan lang eh, sorry wala akong time. Hindi ko masyadong naayos.

What matters most is the effort. Kung hindi mo man naappreciate yan, ok lang. Haha. Hindi naman kasi maayos para mappreciate eh, hahaha.

Hindi ko na patatagalin 'tong entry ko kasi marami pa akong aasikasuhin ang malas talaga nasakto pa sa araw na 'to ang pag-alis namin. Kahit naman nasan pa ako, you have my heart.



One month na!!! Happy monthsary, mine. Naku naiispeakless ako, haha. This is just the beginning. Nagsisimula pa lang tayo hopefully magtuloy-tuloy pa di ba? Hehe. Kasi hindi ko kaya kapag iniwan mo ako. :( Naku wala akong masabi. I'm very thankful that you gave me a chance to share what I have and for giving an opportunity. Siyempre kung hindi ka pumayag, kawawa naman ako. Hehe. Hindi ko masyadong sasabihin dito mine, imemessage ko na lang sa 'yo kasi kung sino-sino na nakakabasa dito. Hahaha. Pati mga kapatid ko, shy na tuloy ako haha.

But of course, hindi ako magsasawang ulit-ulitin na sabihing mahal na mahal na mahal... ... ... kita. sabi ko naman sa 'yo ako lang ang pinagsasawaan eh. Hehe. As much as possible, iinform mo ko kung nagsasawa ka na ha? Para naman kahit papaano ma-ready ako.



Hindi ko na patatagalin ha? Kailangan ko pang mag-ayos ng budget para dun, haha. Gusto ko lang malaman mo na ikaw ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko ngayon. Salamat ng marami.

And sorry kung minsan alam mo na, basta ayoko sana ng umiiyak ka ha? Sorry dun.


Mahal na mahal kita at wala na akong mahihiling pa hanggat nandiyan ka.
Happy monthsary, i love you so much.

Re: Super Sisters

There's an error on my last post, Super Sisters. I mistakenly typed "here" instead of "hear." Haha. I was totally out of my mind that time... I was answering auditing problems while posting, so didn't notice. Yex just called to inform me about the simple error who only needs common sense of a reader. Obviously, I don't own a phone... he called ate R's number and laladidada, he told the whole story.

He even gave my url to her and tadaaahhh... I saw my sister reading that post. And surprise!!!!! she cried. Touched, perhaps.

After an hour, she texted ate Ian to inform and say what's up with my one and only outlet. So there you go... ate Ian called at home and blabber blabber.

"Anong drama naman meron sa blog mo? Yan pala yung nakikita kong pinagkakaabalahan mo."
Speechless.
"Oi! bakit hindi ka nagsasalita diyan?"
Speechless. Say hi to my severe shyness syndrome.
"Haha. nahihiya ka no? nahihiya ka sa kalokohan mo... 'wag ka ng maarte. I love you too, bro. yikee... sweet ko talaga."

Finally I answered "wwwrrrr stop it! I'm not asking for a feedback."
"ang arte mo! but seriously, you didn't fail as a brother. proud kaya ako sa 'yo... yihee iiyak na 'ko nito. haha..."
Speechless again.

"honestly na-touch ako, kami ni Reich... naiyak nga si Reich eh."
"saw her"
"really? oh tignan mo, ganun ka namin ka love..." she stopped for a while.

"hey! why did you stop?"
No reply
"you're crying too.... aren't you? kayo tong maarte! sige na tama na... babye na nga."

"No." she answered "wag mo ibaba, kokotongan kita..." her voice's shaking "naiiyak ako eh bakit ba? eh totoo naman kasi eh, hindi ka naman nag-fail no. you really don't have to say sorry... *cry cry* "


I was so speechless. I waited for her words.

" *sigh* sige na, sorry... sorry talaga kung feeling mo failure ka that's so absurd for someone like you. sige na, babye na."

Then I answered " 'wag ka na umiyak. babye!"

*phone shuts*

Super Sisters

I thought it's just an ordinary occurrence to have a sister or a girl in the family except for the mom since I have two sisters, I don't really think that there is something special... so what? My buddy, Jeremy used to envy me for having two sisters for they were all boys. He keeps on saying "how I wish we have one" so I inured to oppose "there's nothing really good for having one. They will just ask you for everything out of their businesses."

True enough. They will not leave you without saying a word.

Sometimes they will ask if you want something or anything you need. I don't know if that was just their strategy so that we could talk for them to know some tiny chismis about what's new to me, regarding girls in particular. At first, it was so irritating to the extent of locking my door whenever I hear their footsteps and hit my music player to the full volume intended not to hear them.

Talking to my sisters isn't one of my habits and for me it's not really healthy- not a big help. I always thought they wouldn't understand because they're also a girl, they'll just remain on girls' side. I'm not saying that my brothers were such a big help... well maybe, for giving me such amount... so I can go anywhere and have fun, why not a big help?

But for something that's so deep and you can't burst it to anyone because you think/know that they'll just look at you and say "it's ok, all is fine" that's the time you need your sister/s.

I've never thought how lucky I am to have my two little noisy angels since last December incident. Now I pretty much understand Jeremy for envying me. Before, I was so thankful to have them for the helps, now... I really couldn't ask for more. I cannot envisage that this time would come and it feels so comfortable to see them around... eavesdropping- whenever I have calls, peeking- when I'm in front of my lappy, dialing my friends' digits (since I don't have cp) if it's 10:00 pm and I'm still outside not informing them.

You see, I thought the only woman that would care for me like that, unconditionally is my mom... so now I stand corrected.

Last time, I had to stay at the office 'til 11:00 pm due to mmmaaannnyyy unfinished works so I didn't bother to call at home for I'm in a safe place. The result?

Matt received 2 phone calls from Ate I, Ate R.
Pau received 3 phone calls from Mom, Ate R, Ate I.
MJ received 4 phone calls from Mom, Ate R, Ate R again, Ate I.

All with the same questions.... "are you with him?"

Fortunately, the three of them knew where to find me. I got mom's call and then after 3 minutes, Ate I's call and another 3 minutes for Ate R's call. Mom reminded me to take a break and rest and she could ask Brav to help me but I insisted. Just a normal conversation for mom but these two perky sisters of mine were so oa.

Ate Reich's on the line...

Ate R: hey it's too late... you still have plenty of time tomorrow. Go home now.
Me: As soon as I'm done
Ate R: just continue that tomorrow and go home now, please? I beg you.
Me: alright.
Ate R: I'll wait for you, babye!

Ate Ian's on the line...

Ate I: what time is it?
Me: 11:20
Ate I: bravo! anong feeling mo nasa pinas ka na? umuwi ka na!
Me: i'll just fin---
Ate I: uwi na sabi eh gugulpihin kita kapag hindi ka pa umuwi, ngayon na.
Me: you're so violent, ok in 30 mins.
Ate I: kokotongan kita Geo ah, sinabing ngayon na.
Me: sige na, sige na
Ate I: anong sige na, sige na... hanggat di mo sinasabing uuwi ka na, hindi ko 'to ibababa.
Me: uuwi na 'ko.
*phone shuts*


So I did go home. I'm afraid to both of them because I don't want to see them angry especially Ate Ian. She's soooo like kuya Rob. Female version of kuya Rob's attitude. You think nothing happened because of her over silent mouth and you cannot hear any sermons. But her silence will kill you and it takes a lot of time to reconcile. So no to indecisiveness, I packed up and drove fast.


I still have many things to share but this post is long enough for saying...
I LOVE MY SISTERS A LOT.

..and sorry for failing as a good brother sometimes.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish and Irish at Heart in big cities and small towns alike with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Its a time for fun. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green!

How ironic is it that Ireland's patron saint wasn't even born on the island? St. Patrick was born with the given name Macwyn Succat around A.D. 385 in Scotland. It wasn't until he was kidnapped and enslaved by Irish bandits that he was brought to Ireland.

Popular myth speculates that St. Patrick chased all of the snakes from Ireland. In reality, there were never any snakes on the island. This myth is considered a metaphor for converting pagans and Druids to Catholicism and "chasing" them from Ireland.

Shamrock, or just sham? It's been told that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to represent the Trinity (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit). This was never found in his writings, so is unsubstantiated.

Even though he is a Catholic saint, Patrick was actually born to a Roman Christian family. After six years in captivity, Patrick was said to have had religious dreams that told him to escape his captors and convert the people of Ireland to Catholicism.

Well now St. Patrick's Day wouldn't exist if not for the man himself! But how much do we know about him? Did you know that he spent six years of slavery in Ireland until he escaped and undertook religious training abroad?

Now you know.

St Patrick's Day is for thinking about our Saint as well as the time to think of loved ones across the water.

So, here's a St. Patrick's poem inspired by greetings from St. Patrick's Day.
For mine...

I could search Ireland from shore to shore
And find no one else is so adore
From the Aran isles in Galway Bay
To the Eastern Coast and the town of Bray
In Tara Hill, Kanturk or Mountbellew
Not a soul around can compare to you
You're my love and that's no blarney
Just thinking of you makes me happy.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day :)

(I hope Yex saw that 'DRINK RESPONSIBLY' there.)

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

May all of you have the blessings from St.Patrick.

Swim

People care. You can only sense it if you grant them a chance.

You have friends, best friends (notably they're just there waiting for you to share), family and most especially The One Up There. A person possessing such blessings like that has no reason to feel neglected, as long as you don't give yourself perverse reasons. If you do, there's no ground for you to say that you are neglected.

Because the problem is in you.


Talking and doctoring yourself for quite sometime might help a lot for the reason that it's only you who knows what you want and need. Asking His guidance is excellent.

All things are easy for those who seek for easy things.

As Mang Joe (a farmer from Tarlac) once said: "What you sow is what you reap." He told that to CJ way back high school days. Haha.

It depends on how you handle your life. So, that's how you deal with it. The question now is... are you happy? Are you going to be happy? If yes, then I won't stop you from drowning yourself.

But there is just one thing I would like you to remember...

you don't know how to swim.

You don't have to drown yourself, sinking will stream automatically. And it's unfair for you because you'll just lose without fighting. If you willn't swim, you'll stay there forever. You have to care about yourself. Well if you don't, we do.

We know how to swim just shout a help.