1. Some of the guests didn’t bring a gift, but brought extra-uninvited kids.
2. When the cake says Happy Birthday Totoy instead of the child’s real name.
3. The party is at Chuck E. Cheese but they brought their own food and cake.
4. It’s a child’s party but there are more grown-ups than children.
5. It’s Totoy’s 1st Birthday and the party food is pansit, lumpia,puto, and 10 cases of beer.
6. For entertainment, instead of playing pin the tail on the donkey, there is usually a televised baseball, football game, or a live fight.
7. They don’t sing Happy Birthday; instead everyone is playing mahjong.
8. The party was over at 5:00, it’s 10:00 and the party is just starting.
9. You find out from Tito Boy that Uncle Nonong is taking viagra.
10. The host calls someone who’s on their way and tells them to stop and get some ice.
11. The guests start arriving and the hostess disappears to get ready.
12. You hear someone go up to the birthday child and say “Totoy, ang laki mo! I’m going to have to get you something next week when I get paid.”
13. The party is Saturday, and you get a call from the hostess Friday night saying, I’m giving Totoy a birthday party tomorrow at 3:00.
14. Some guests bring gifts that are still in the store bag unwrapped.
15. There always seems to be more family than friends at the party.
16. You have the party over at your brothers because he just bought a new house and he has a pool.
17. The cake didn’t come from the store; it came from the mother of the comadre of your friend’s sister who makes really good cakes.
18. You are told you have to save your plate and fork you ate your food with, so you can eat your cake.
19. Someone calls and says they can’t make it, but asks that you save them some cake.
20. Guests are wrapping up cake to take to Tatay, Chading, Girlie, Tita, and Neneng.
21. The party music is coming from a small boom box.
22. The birthday child is dressed from head to toe in Tommy/Polo.
23. It’s Totoy’s party but since his cousin Jinky is there and her birthday is in a few days, it becomes Totoy’s and Jinky’s Party.
Archive for August, 2008
You know You’re At A Filipino Birthday Party When:
26 killed as MILF flee Lanao Norte towns–military
An Army lieutenant colonel was among 26 persons — 23 civilians and three soldiers — killed in fighting triggered by attacks by fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Lanao del Norte province on Monday, officials said.
Two other soldiers were wounded.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said some 7,000 individuals in the province were displaced and are now in various evacuation centers.
Lieutenant Colonel Angel Benitez was shot in the head when his convoy was ambushed by MILF fighters in front of an elementary school in Kolambugan town at 5:45 a.m., said Lieutenant Colonel Agane Adriatico, spokesman of the 1st Infantry Division.
He is the highest-ranked Army official to die in combat with Moro rebels in recent years, said Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr.
“We grieve the loss of a very good officer. I know him personally. He is very competent. Nakakapanghinayang [It is a pity] for somebody to die at such an early age,” Army chief Lieutenant General Victor Ibrado said in a phone interview.
Ibrado said there have been no reported skirmishes since the rebels pulled out of Kolambugan town at around noon Monday.
“We can’t say that [the fighting] is over. Our troops are there, ready to secure the towns, and the coastal areas. We have instructions to pursue them,” he said.
The civilian casualties, mostly in Kolambugan town, were shot by the rebels as they retreated, said Brigadier General Hilario Atendido, chief of the counterterrorism unit Task Force Tabak operating in Central Mindanao.
“They [MILF] were using them [civilians] as human shields. They killed them on their way out. The description was they were killed like chickens. That’s the report from the civilians,” Atendido said in a phone interview.
The rebels suffered an undetermined number of casualties, he said.
The MILF has since retreated.
Earlier, Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesman, said 21 people — 11 of them unidentified civilians, seven of them farmers, two more civilians identified as Ricardo Gil and Ricky Salidad, the rest either soldiers or government militiamen — had been killed in MILF raids in Lanao del Norte and in Saranggani province.
The Moro rebels, under the leadership of Commanders Bravo and Pangalian of the 102nd and 103rd brigade commands respectively, staged ambuscades in several towns in the two provinces, a week after the military flushed out their comrades under the command of Umbra Kato in North Cotabato province.
The MILF attacked five towns in Lanao del Norte province before dawn Monday, and occupied one of the five, Kolambugan.
“As early as 1 a.m. today [Monday], Maasim, Saranggani was attacked by armed elements of MILF followed by ambuscades in Lanao Norte municipalities,” Bartolome said in a press conference at Camp Crame national police headquarters.
The attacks prompted the military to launch offensives to drive back the rebels.
The rebels also killed two bus passengers and Police Officer 1 Dexter Salvacion.
In Kolambugan, the rebels burned a police patrol car and attacked the municipal police station and other government offices there, but were later flushed out during military operations, prompting the rebels to take 25 civilians and use them as human shields.
But Bartolome said that as of posting time, only 10 MILF hostages remained.
“The PNP [and] Armed Forces are doing our best to secure other areas in Lanao as well as other provinces affected by these movements by MILF personnel,” he said.
He said the Moro rebels left Kolambugan about noon, taking with them male hostages.
The rebels released their women and children hostages as they left, said Atendido.
“They left the area, that is the report from our ground troops,” Atendido said in a phone interview.
Asked what prompted the pullout, Atendido said: “They can’t stay there too long. They also felt the pressure from the military.”
Asked if all towns that were attacked by the MILF have been cleared, Atendido said: “As of now wala na [As of now, there's no more].”
“But clearing operations are still ongoing in Kolambugan because we have received reports that some rebels have disguised themselves as civilians,” he said.
Earlier in the day, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the leadership has ordered its men to pull out from areas that they have occupied in Lanao del Norte, as the military launched offensives against the Muslim rebels, a spokesman for the MILF said.
“The MILF leadership ordered them to pullout, get out of the area,” MILF civil military affairs chief Eid Kabalu said in a phone interview Monday.
“We did not sanction this,” Kabalu said, referring to what he described as an “occupation” of Kolambugan and Kauswagan towns.
The military said the rebels attacked Kolambugan, Kauswagan, Maigo, Linamon, and portions of Iligan City.
Data from the PNP National Operations Center showed some 400 families evacuated to the Kauswagan Central Elementary School; around 1,300 individuals at the Iligan City National High School; at least 1,350 persons at Iligan City Central school; 750 persons in Buroo High School; another 700 people at Fuentes Gym, and 587 at Tunod Central Elementary School, Director Leopoldo Bataoil, PNP director for police community relations, said.
Bataoil said they are coordinating with local governments on caring for the evacuees.
Bartolome said all regional police offices and the Special Action Force in Mindanao will remain on full alert until the situation in the Lanao provinces has stabilized.
The PNP will also asses whether they need upgrade the alert status in other parts of the country.
Kabalu said the attack on the Lanao towns showed the rebels’ frustration over the pace of the peace negotiations.
Breakfast at McDonald’s ….
Please read until the end.
This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!):
I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree.
The last class I had to take was Sociology.
The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.
Her last project of the term was called “Smile.”
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.
I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.
Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one crisp March morning.
It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.
We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.
I did not move an inch… an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.
As I turned around I smelled a horrible “dirty body” smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men.
As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was “smiling”.
His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God’s Light as he searched for acceptance.
He said, “Good day” as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.
The second man fumbled with his hands as he s tood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.
I held my tears as I stood there with them.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.
He said, “Coffee is all Miss” because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).
Then I really felt it – the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.
That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.
I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand.
He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.”
I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, “I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.”
I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, “That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope.”
We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give.
We are not church goers, but we are believers.
That day showed me the pure Light of God’s sweet love.
I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.
I turned in “my project” and the instructor read it.
Then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?”
I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.
She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS – NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.
An Angel wrote:
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head.
To handle others, use your heart.
God Gives every bird it’s food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
Keep this going.
I’ve learned that…
I have learned that…
… the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
… when you’re in love, it shows.
… just one person saying to me, “You’ve made my day!” makes my day.
… having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
… being kind is more important than being right.
… you should never say no to a gift from a child.
… I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in some other way.
… no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
… sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
… simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
… life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
… we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.
… money doesn’t buy class.
… it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
… under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
… the Lord didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
… to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
… when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
… love, not time, heals all wounds.
… the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
… everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
… there’s nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.
… no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
… life is tough, but I’m tougher.
… opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
… when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
… I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.
… one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
… a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
… I can’t choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.
… when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you’re hooked for life.
… everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.
… it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.
… the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.
Tambay
Bystander,according to dictionary.com , is a person who watches but does not take part ; a nonpartipant spectator. In tagalog we may call it “tambay” and we associate it with being jobless. An onlooker who only perceives but does not act.
In the Philippines, out of million Filipinos, I guess we have half or more whom we consider as “tambay”. For so many reasons that I no longer would want to elaborate. Are we going to point our fingers on this to the government? well could be, but not totally though. Talking about governmental issues is the most tiring , nonsense thing in the world for me. They simply suck! Anyway, I only mean that we don’t put all the blame to the government the stern poverty that we’re facing because only us can change the course of our fate. The government will just be onlookers…a by chance spectators of what we can do for them than what they can do for us.
Looking at the Philippine setting today, I wish to mourn for all Filipinos who belong to the poverty line…I am infact not an exception to that! If even employed ones would fall in line under the scorching heat of the sun only to avail the lowest variety of rice– NFA, how much more are the thousands of us who belong to being jobless and earns very little to sustain our daily and very basic needs! We produce many graduates each year and yet I guess only 15% get to be employed. The rest remains “tambay” still waiting for their own pot of gold.
If this crisis on the oil and rice hike will not be resolved. I can no longer imagine what will become of the Filipino people a year or more from now. Happy person baya ko oi, pero sa ako nakita sa ako palibot, magguol naman pud ta maghunahuna oi!
Heavy Cross
don’t miss the poem at the end….
Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine,
after the rain ….
Perhaps you may stumble,
perhaps even fall,
But God’s always ready,
To answer your call …
He knows every heartache,
sees every tear,
A word from His lips,
can calm every fear …
Your sorrows may linger,
throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish,
in dawn’s early light …
The Savior is waiting,
somewhere above,
To give you His grace,
and send you His love…
Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
“God always sends rainbows ….
after the rain … “
