Season's Greetings from KENJIYA!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Season's Greetings from Me and My Family!

Christmas Traditions: A Wreath of Flowers

(Photo courtesy of 1800flowers.com)

This is the start of a new series of topics delving into various Christmas traditions from around the world. Since we are in the midst of the Autumn months, it is but proper to discuss the age-old tradition of the hanging colorful harvest wreaths of Christmas flowers on walls and doors. 

SOME WEIRD FACTS FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY

You might be interested in this.

Have a history teacher explain this ----- if they can.

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.

John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Both
wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

A Philippine Independence Day Message from Peter Allan Mariano

(Photo courtesy of @LarryPConcepcion)

He stood along the shores of Kawit, looking across the calm waters of Manila Bay towards the capital, eagerly waiting for the torches of Luneta to go off. That would be his signal from Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo that the uprisings have started, and he in turn shall initiate the same action here in Cavite. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo waited overnight for the signal. It never came.

Something must have gone wrong.

Children Suffer Most When Justice is Denied

(photo courtesy of @LarryPConcepcion)

Beth was a docile and submissive child. She lived in fear of her dominating father and he was addicted to buying the dirt cheap child pornography CDs that are widely available in the Philippines. It was perhaps inevitable that he would rape her and he did several times over two years ago in the province of Bataan not far from Manila. When she was rescued and brought safe in the Preda Children's Home, she recovered and was soon strong and brave enough to tell her story to a lawyer.

Great Gift Ideas You Can Give Mom on Mother's Day

(Mothers Day Flowers from 1800Flowers.com)

Here are a few great gift ideas for that special mother in your life on Mother’s Day.

Weekend Getaway
Mom is probably tired and weary from all the caring she gives you and the rest of her family. Still, she enjoys doing it and maintains that loving smile on here face. Give her a chance to unwind during the weekend by treating her a to a ski lodge retreat to rest and unwind.

Happy Mother's Month at Han Wok Blue Wave

Mom should not cook on Mother's Day. Treat her to a fabulous Han Wok Chinese Cuisine dinner on her special day!

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!!

Every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for the Month of May, we will be giving away a bottle of wine for every P2500 food purchase at Han Wok Blue Wave. A glass of wine for the mothers will be given for every food purchase of P1500.

For more info you can contact:

HAN WOK BLUE WAVE
http://www.wonggroup.com.ph/hanwokbluewave/
http://hanwokchinesecuisine.synthasite.com/

Blue Wave Commercial Complex
D.Macapagal Ave cor EDSA, Pasay City (just in front of Mall of Asia)

Telephone Numbers:
(632)830-0205 to 07
(632)556-6858 / (632)7103900
http://www.wonggroup.com.ph/hanwokbluewave/
http://hanwokchinesecuisine.synthasite.com/

======

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWBL1242 4-5pm Mon-Fri

The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos

Links2Prosperity - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design

Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

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Two Minute Management Course

Lesson One

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.
A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I
also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit
sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a
sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson

To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Blonde and Blue Eyes

(SAGIP kids at Gawad Kalinga Sison in Muntinlupa, Philippines)


This is the winning speech delivered by Patricia Evangelista, a Mass Communication sophomore at the University of the Philippines (UP) and a member of the UP debating team, at the 2004 International English Speaking Competition conducted by the English Speaking Union (ESU) in London last Friday, May 14. 2004. This is a bit outdated by I just want to share it with you, particularly in the wake of this global crisis sweeping across the world.

The competition had 60 contestants representing English speaking countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Patricia received her award in November 2004 at Buckingham Palace from His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and president of the ESU. The board of judges' decision was unanimous, according to contest chairman Brian Hanharan of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).

--------------------------------------------------------------


BLONDE AND BLUE EYES

When I was little, I wanted what many Filipino children all over the country wanted. I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed, and white. I thought -- if I just wished hard enough and was good enough, I'd wake up on Christmas morning with snow outside my window and freckles across my nose!

More than four centuries under western domination does that to you. I have sixteen cousins. In a couple of years, there will just be five of us left in the Philippines; the rest will have gone abroad in search of "greener pastures." It's not just an anomaly; it's a trend; the Filipino Diaspora. Today, about eight million Filipinos are scattered around the world.

There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose to leave. I used to. Maybe this is a natural reaction of someone who was left behind, smiling for family pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year. Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has perpetually fought for the freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against the Spanish, the Japanese, and the Americans. To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount to spitting on that sacrifice.

Or is it? I don't think so, not anymore. True, there is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once the other side of the world is now a twelve-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless world, where no individual can claim to be purely from where he is now. My mother is of Chinese descent, my father is a quarter Spanish, and I call myself a pure Filipino - a hybrid of sorts resulting from a combination of cultures.

Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of people of different ethnicities, with national identities and individual personalities. Because of this, each square mile is already a microcosm of the world. In as much as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so is my neighbourhood back home. Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of dispersal of populations, is not as ominous as so many claim. It must be understood. I come from a Third World country, one that is still trying mightily to get back on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall make it, given more time. Especially now, when we have thousands of eager young minds who graduate from college every year. They have skills. They need jobs. We cannot absorb them all.

A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity, yet one that is not so much abandonment but an extension of identity. Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000 skilled nurses who support the UK's National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning most of the world's commercial ships. We are your software engineers in Ireland, your construction workers in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and your musical artists in London's West End.

Nationalism isn't bound by time or place. People from other nations migrate to create new nations, yet still remain essentially who they are. British society is itself an example of a multi-cultural nation, a melting pot of races, religions, arts and cultures. We are, indeed, in a borderless world!

Leaving sometimes isn't a matter of choice. It's coming back that is. The Hobbits of the shire travelled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home, richer in every sense of the word. We call people like these balikbayans or the 'returnees' -- those who followed their dream, yet choose to return and share their mature talents and good fortune.

In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever opportunities come my way. But I will come home. A borderless world doesn’t preclude the idea of a home. I'm a Filipino, and I'll always be one. It isn't about just geography; it isn't about boundaries. It's about giving back to the country that shaped me.

And that's going to be more important to me than seeing snow outside my windows on a bright Christmas morning.

Mabuhay and Thank you.




======

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWBL1242 4-5pm Mon-Fri

The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos

Links2Prosperity - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design

Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

Follow me on TWITTER:
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Quality Fireworks at the Click of a Button

(original article appeared in eBiz is aAsy )

In Boryeong City in South Korea, people watched a beautiful fireworks display after the annual Mud Festival. When asked, locals would say they could only get to enjoy such displays during festivals or lunar New Year celebrations. Fireworks are too expensive for their own private celebrations.

In the United States, anyone can buy fireworks at such magnitudes of display, but would need the proper permits from the ATFE or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Avoiding such hassles, people resign themselves to wait for New Year, 4th of July displays, concerts or go to theme parks like Disneyland to witness amazing fireworks shows.

Getting the Best Deals in a Beijing Market

©2009 Peter Mariano
Links2Prosperity


The 2008 Beijing Olympics came and concluded with a loud bang. New records were made, not only in athletic feats, but also in the grandiose architectural wonders and technical innovations created in this great city. People flocked to Beijing not only for the Olympic event itself, but also to taste some of the city’s wonders and delights. Topping these visitors lists are the markets where everyone would love to explore and sample what Beijing had to offer. For travelers who would want to return to Beijing, or will be going there for the first time, the markets are one of the places everyone is looking forward to.

For travelers who want to get the best deals in any market around the world, haggling is still the best way to do it, particularly in markets around Beijing. In order to get leverage to haggling in Beijing, it pays to have good English to Chinese translation of words that the traveler will use in achieving that great buy. The following are ways on how you could actually do that.

To get good Chinese to English translation while being engrossed in shopping, having a reliable Chinese interpreter with you will give you an advantage over other buyers. Before embarking on a journey to Beijing, the traveler should do some research on how to get the services of a Chinese translator, without being scammed. A lot of certified companies are available that provide personal tourist guides who doubles as a Chinese interpreter.

Get feedback from people who have gone to Beijing and explored these services. Great information as well as insider tips and advice can also be obtained from travel forums, particularly for previous travelers to Beijing. It would be great if you could get hold of a guide that is not only an excellent Chinese to English translator, but is also a good source of information on where to get the best bargains and deals from the Beijing market.

If your travel to Beijing is a spur-of-the-moment thing, or was an unexpected gift from a boss or a friend, and you don’t have time to prepare and get the services of a Chinese interpreter – there’s no need to worry. Alternatives abound with this sort of thing. Instead of a live Chinese translator who would accompany you in person, you could employ the services of a Chinese telephone interpreter. These services offer Chinese to English translation and vice versa, through the phone or mobile. They can even do teleconferencing, should you need a translation from English to Chinese while talking with a Chinese counterpart on the phone. The great thing here is that you could get their services from anywhere, even while you’re already in Beijing!

Of course, self-study and research always pays off, particularly for Caucasians and African-Americans. They are most vulnerable and who almost always are the targets of marketers with ridiculous mark-ups on their products. Get prepared by writing English to Chinese translation of key “haggling” words in index cards. There are a lot of sources and websites that offer free translation from English to Chinese, including proper pronunciation and characters. You could also record phrases and snippets in MP3 players which you can pull out anytime in preparation for that great buy.

So, if you’re planning to go on that once-in-lifetime journey to this wonderful, ancient city that you’ve only seen in magazines, the news and Jet Li movie reruns, be prepared in the area of communication. Make the choice as to which English to Chinese translation services you’ll need that will suit your lifestyle, and budget. Doing so would help you on the road of getting those best deals from the Beijing market, and from your vacation as a whole.


Regards,


======

Peter Allan C. Mariano

Talakayan at Kalusugan - DWBL1242 4-5pm Mon-Fri

The Big NM - Network Management for Filipinos

Links2Prosperity - Web Marketing : Web Content : Web Design

Entreplink Philippines - Moderator

Follow me on TWITTER:
Join my FACEBOOK Family: