Monday, May 31, 2010

What's in a "Red Neck" Name

I am so lucky to have friends from all walks of life and from different races. When I first arrived in the US, my husband's close circle of friends were "white". Everyday, I get to know each of his friends and their family. At work, his friends entwined with different races. It never became a hindrance as to the working relationship and I get to know most of them as a real person. There were "blacks" from Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica and St. Thomas who were really our close friends. We have Spanish speaking friends from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Equador too. But, I never heard them saying anything bad if someone proudly announced the "redneck" word.

In my workplace at present, I am the only asian and everyone is American. I can sense the anger when my caucasian co-employee announced that she is a Redneck. My black co-employees were mad! Let us check the meaning of a redneck then:

is a derogatory slang term to refer to poor white Southern farmers in the United States

So, it has nothing to do with white or black right? If you live in a country, you are a redneck. Oh well, not true actually! But, even Sarah Palin says she is redneck! When I eat using my hand and set aside my utensils, my husband would tease me saying that I am a redneck! A term that is equal to "probinsyana" meaning those who live in the province. There is nothing wrong with the word redneck, or was it? But, it was a big deal to my black friends! One guy told me that he was mad because two of the women in our epartment says it loudly. As if bragging and telling him (the black man) to back off. He says that rednecks were the descendants of KKK and persecuted the blacks after the civil war. What is your point of view on this? As for me, I guess there is a misunderstanding with this case. The women did not know that they offended our friend. I tried to convince him that what they meant was that they are poor country girl and they are proud of it. The lesson to this story: Think before you talk. Words can strike like an arrow. Also, do not live in the past. Be realistic and adapt the real world we live in. If each one of us would do something like this, we will have a brighter tomorrow!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Sayings to Ponder

I was browsing to my friend's social media account while she and her co-teacher's were having a blast in their summer vacation in Manila, Philippines. I made some comments on her posted pictures when I noticed these two pictures she downloaded about famous quotes. with Deep and Profound meaning

Indeed! Benigno Aquino, the slain senator and an opposition leader to Marcos administration said this famous line. He returned home despite of death warnings. He was determined to fight for the Filipino people.

Contact Lenses

I am a big procrastinator of so many things and I admit it! I have a migraine at least once every month and I kept telling myself that I should see an optometrist. I truly believed that part of the reason why I had migraine is because of my vision problem. Anyway, if the doctor will prescribe an eyeglass, I will prefer to wear contact lenses. There are affordable contact lenses available these days such as o2 optix. It would be a hassle for me to wear eyeglasses especially at work. Wearing contacts would be a comfort in my daily activities. I will not use it if it is not prescribe though. Others wear contacts due to cosmetic purposes. They love to enhance the appearance of their eye. Having different colors of their eyes made them feel good.

I respect their choice but for me, I rather wear it if the purpose is to correct my vision. It would be hard for me to adjust but, I would use contacts when I am at work. Wearing eye glasses would be uncomfortable for me. Contact lenses are the best thing to use because eye glasses will make me look older. I would look funny too well, I tried to put the eyeglasses of my mother's and I look awful. Well, it really vary to the individuals preference. Some are comfortable with eyeglasses and I for one, would prefer the contacts.

Vinyl Banners

I was looking at the advertising banners at the mall today and can't help but noticed some of those attractive informations. The quality of the materials they used differ according to where they put up their banners. Along the highway though, some used cheap banners and others used billboards with "high tech" material that just flashes on the screen. Are you planning to order banners for your business? There are banners which are made from durable vinyl that is resistant to weather. If you plan to advertise for outdoor location, vinyl banners are good and can endure outdoor conditions.

Your banner will get wet eventually when it is raining but, using vinyl materials for your banners, it will not be ruined. This material is good for your advertising purposes either image or printed information. By using vinyl materials, the banner can be printed in any color and it will last a long time. If you spend big amount of budget for your advertising, use the materials that can last longer. It will surely save money for your company and the message will be spread accordingly. Of course, vinyl products are durable materials which are good in making banners. Advertising, birthdays and other activities, choose this material for your banners.

CISDAC 8th Anniversary at Covina

I got lucky to attend the CISDAC 8th Year Anniversary at Covina, California. I am not a member of any Seventh Day Adventist church but, my friend invited me to attend their celebration. I arrived Thursday and on the evening, we had a dance practice right away. It was a Filipiniana dance presentation which will be presented on the weekend. One time practice and the final is the actual presentation. Was it a whirlwind schedule?LOL!
The picture above is the group I was with. The most applauded, I may say (what do you expect if you had a one time practice? )LOL! The event was fun and I got to met a lot of FILIPINOS. The place has a Filipino community which I longed for two years. The weekend event had been a good activity that opened my eyes for so many things. Everyone missed the Philippines!
Saturday evening was a Cultural Night celebration where those who are lucky to be chosen to present will be unlucky on the stage...hahahaa! Not really! The man above is my favorite performer in a solo contest. He sang Yoyoy Villame's song MAGELLAN, a hilarious performance and he won! LOL! I still have the greatest laugh if I remember that performance! He really sang like Yoyoy and they call him Yoyoy too. What a great talent!
In one of the corners of the venue, here we are... anxious for our presentation.
Another contestant of the solo contest who showed great talent. He was so hilarious and by singing one song to another...he lost! He forgot the lyrics LOL! The event was not about memorizing the lyrics or singing the song perfectly. That night is all about promoting Filipino Culture amongst us who live a thousand miles away from HOME! The Pakikisama or being united with the group is what matters on this night. The weekend experience was Fun and I had a wonderful time meeting Filipinos and eating for FREE FOOD....ahhh, truly a wonderful experience.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Night in Walk of Fame Area

My friend took us to Hollywood Walk of Fame last week and I must admit, I had a grand time. I only have few days visit to Los Angeles but, each day was exciting and fun. Here we are at the front of Kodak Theatre and Sephora building got engaged with what's going on around us. It was already almost 10 in the evening but, the tourists were busy taking pictures of everywhere. That is me wearing the white belt,lol. These cars on display are truly one of a kind. It's a mustang and they are awesome!
The tourists were truly amazed on these cars and everyone took a souvenir shot. I would love to drive this car if I live in Hollywood.
Here is the new mustang with all the high tech gadget inside it. Amazing!
Just love this car!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Visit to French Quarter

Our friends wanted to visit us here in Mississippi so, they were able to booked themselves in HARDROCK BILOXI for a really unbelievable price. Hardrock Hotel and Casino is one of my favorite hotels here in Biloxi, Mississippi. Anyway, three of our friends came and after seeing our place, we decided to show them French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is just less than two hours drive from Biloxi. I have been to French Quarter many times and I always have the excitement in every visit that we have.

French Quarter is known to be the oldest and famous place in New Orleans. You can obviously see the structural buildings are old and all these historic buildings are protected by law and cannot be demolished . The whole place is considered as a National Historic Landmark.Wherever you roam around French Quarter, street shows like this one is everywhere. Just prepare your dollar bills though because everytime, street performers will really asked you to donate.
If you wanted to have your picture taken with a mime, make sure you give a donation too. Even when someone on the street holding a cute sign, and you wanted to have your picture taken with it, donation is really a thing in French Quarter. To be safe, prepare plenty of your dollar bills.

A welcome sign going to French Market. Make sure that your car is park in a safe place. Do not leave any valuable things which is visible. Visit this place and Have fun!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Rantings to Disrespectful Readers

Visiting here in Los Angeles, California for the first time taught me with so many "awakenings" about life and struggles of people. I have been craving for Filipino food and one reason that I wanted to visit this place aside from seeing a long time friend of course. Back to where I live, Filipino foods are scarce but, my alternative is chinese food. Then, I experimented to cook some of the menu and substitute it according to my taste. I posted some on my other social media account. Sorry Folks, only friends are invited to see those. Reasons? Some readers of this website have different opinions. They do not like FISH, crabs or shrimp dish especially if they are vegetarian and they are straight-forward to disrespect the author's idea. My friend who lives in Los Angeles is an SDA but, she let me eat pork dish inside her home.

I neglected my blog for almost two weeks now and when I checked the comments, found one disrespectful reader commenting about the food I posted. It happened once before when I posted about SARDINES. Well, I was not offended really! It just created a grin on my face because each one of us had our own food preference. I thank that person though for visiting my blog because I am getting additional points for my Real Rank. To you, disrespectful reader, thank you for your time reading my post. Keep smilin' :-)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Fish n' Shrimp With Milk Sauce

When I am hungry, I just open the fridge and pick up foods that I wanted to eat. I asked my husband if he will treat me to Beau Rivage for lunch but since we have family coming over, he declined. My thoughts is on seafoods particular tuna fish with mushroom sauce. I am not a cook but, I cook for myself when I crave for something. So, let's experiment now. I went to the kitchen and took these ingedients:
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Sliced Tuna Fish (fillet)
  • salt to taste
  • olive oil
  • pepper to taste
  • pound of shrimp
  • milk

So, all you have to do is sautee the garlic and onions until lightly brown. Add the tuna fish, cover for 3minutes or until tuna is medium cook then, add the shrimp and milk. Let it boil until shrimp and tuna are cook. Chow!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Hacker Found Guilty

He is David Kernell, son of Democratic State Representative Mike Kernell of Memphis Tennessee. It was September 16, 2008 when he guessed the password account of then, Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. He then posted several pages of her email on the internet. This incident was prosecuted as four felony crimes punishable by up to 50 years in federal prison.

On April 30, 2010, David Kernell was found guilty on two of the four counts: the felony of obstruction of justice by destruction of records and a misdemeanor of unauthorized access to a computer. He faces a maximum 20 year prison sentence on the first charge. The jury acquitted David Kernell of the charge of wire fraud but, was deadlocked on the charge of identity theft. Kernell was given a fine of up to $500,000 for records destruction.