This Boy's Life

People Like Her

Try to ask a Filipino what they think of government service, and most probably the reply that they would give you is not a good one. Yep, I have worked for the government (the University of the Philippines is under the government) and I can tell you that I have seen (or on some occasions, experienced), just how saddening the status of government service there is.

Although this may be the general case, I still believe that there are several government employees who are able to give quality service. Like I said, what I said earlier was a general case.

Earlier this morning, I met a government employee, who I can say, is very different from others.

I had to go to the Department of Health earlier to do some research. One of the requirements for my Development Communication class is to cite a program that used social mobilization as part of its framework. However, the focus should be on the communication aspect. I chose the field of health communications, since I was somehow exposed to the health sector for about three years, because of my work with Pahinungod. I also feel that public health is definitely one field which would utilize the social mobilization strategy to promote health.

It was also easier to go to the Department of Health, since it is quite near my house. It would just take me about a ten minute ride.

So today, at nine in the morning, I found myself walking inside the huge compound that houses the Department. My first stop was the library. The Department had a very small library but at least, it was airconditioned and they had several publications that I found useful. The librarian and her assistant were both helpful in looking for the materials that I needed.

After writing down the references that I could use, I went to the National Center for Health Promotion. That division would most probably have a list of programs that I can look into.

When I reached the division, I was referred to one of the health educators. Her name was Au. (I think it was short for Aurora.) I told her what I needed and immediately, she provided me with useful information. She was very nice, explaining to me the components of a project she handled. When I asked her if there was any way I could review the materials (read: borrow and take them home) so I would know what questions to ask, she simply offered to lend me the project report, without any hesitations whatsoever. She even gave me additional informational material.

I had to admit I was a bit surprised. When you've been used to talking to a cranky government employee, meeting a person who's actually customer-oriented will be surprising.

But it is also meeting people like Au that gives the government a good image, and the Filipino people can actually be optimistic that there is still a chance for the government to be of better service to the people.

Thank you, Ms. Au! You just made my day.

Late Night Work

I slept at two thirty in the morning.

Before attending my class at the College of Education, Prof. Betsy sent me a text message, asking me to drop by the College of Mass Communications.

"Uh oh!", I thought. This definitely had something to do with the review for Eating Out. I probably needed to do some revisions again. True enough, that was the reason why Prof. Betsy wanted to see me. There were some parts of the article that she was questioning.

For example, what was my purpose for saying "surprisingly" on this sentence? Or what do I mean by "imminent" on this other sentence? And then she told me that I had to define each type of homosexual that I mentioned. Oh great! How many types did I mention? Five, six types.

To top everything, I had to submit the revised article later this afternoon. With the new set of revisions that I had to make and the fact that I had a clas to attend, I panicked for about two minutes on where and how I would do research for the required revisions?

Then I thought, I have the Internet. Surely, I can get something substantial from the Internet. Since I had a class, I asked Hunski to do some initial research again(!!!). (Thank you super, Hunski!) When I read Hunski's research, I was just so relieved because somehow, the research that I had to do was lessened.

As soon as I got home, I ate dinner, took a bath, changed into fresh clothes, and armed with an unlimited Internet card and a pile of paper, I turned on the computer and began working on the article.

The most enjoyable part that night was so many friends I hardly see were online. My friends from the old company I worked for. Bruce was online. Hunski was online. In fact, I got to introduce Hunski to Bruce and while I worked on my article, the two of them just chatted. That was so great!

Also, I got to chat with a college buddy, Dulce. I haven't seen her for the longest time nor have I heard from her. I think the last time we talked was December last year. Yes, it has been that long. Chatting with her brought great news. She's now in San Francisco. And apparently, she got married, and is now seven months pregnant! Wow! So many things can happen in between a short period of time, eh.

So much for the chatting.

By two thirty, I was already done with putting in the revisions. I just checked my email. Read some blogs. After that, I turned off the computer and headed upstairs to my bed. I had to get some sleep because today, I had to wake up early to meet with up Hunski and to review the revisions I did. Just to make sure that I typed in everything correctly.

Anyway, sleeping at two thirty in the morning has got to be latest time that I went to bed since I don't remember when. Staying up that late is a bit tiring but I'm glad I also got to stay up late, because at least I got to chat with several good friends.

I'm still wondering when I can chat again with Patrick, and when I can actually chat with Wayne.

This Week's Pinoy Trivia:
 

Image via UP College of Educ

Okay guys, since my class today is an Education class. I thought I'd share some trivia about the college, okay? This is actually a good thing for me because I get to know more about the college. I visited the website and here's what I got from the site.

The College of Education was originally a unit of the College of Liberal Arts. This was in 1913. (If I'm not mistaken, the College of Liberal Arts is now the College of Arts and Sciences.) Back then, it was called the School of Education, and it was only headed by a Director. Students who intend to attend the School of Education had to go through a preparatory course at the College of Liberal Arts.

The Director of the School of Education from 1913 - 1918 was a man named Francisco Benitez. He was a graduate of Columbia University and was one who really pushed for the development of the School into a College.

On March 8, 1918, the Board of Regents and upon the recommendation of then UP President Ignacio approved the reorganization of the School of Education into a College of Education, effective July 1, 1918. This development was a huge thing for the School, making teacher education one of the distinct functions of the University of the Philippines.

Today, the building housing the College of Education is called the Benitez Hall, named from the first Director of the School. Each year, the college graduates hundreds of the best educators in the country. (And I'm not saying this, because I'm being  biased. Hehe!)

So far, I'm enjoying my stay in the college and I actually plan to take about three more courses offered by the college.

Watch Out, Manila



Something huge is on its way. Just hang on to your seats.

The Schedule

With the amount of work that I have to do, I had to subject myself to a schedule for the next couple of days. The idea of creating a schedule is not an alien concept to me and it is something that I happen to enjoy doing. Yes, I can be such an O.C. at times

In college, a good friend of mine taught me how to follow a schedule. It is easy to create a schedule but to follow it is a whole different thing. Somehow, I was able to do both tasks and eventually, I got used to it.

So creating a schedule for me for the next couple of days would be easy. The first thing I needed to do was write down all the tasks that I had to do for each subject:

Comm 241: read article on Diffusion in Health Promotion Innovation for today's report, prepare report guide, type handouts, borrow materials from old office, go to UP Manila College of Public Health to research;

Comm Res 202: read on measures of central tendency and measures of variability (whew! It's good that this subject doesn't have to many requirements...for the mean time);

Educ Found 241 - read article on Ordinary Language Philosophizing for report on Tuesday, read it again, read it again, read it again (believe me! I had to do this to understand the thing.), prepare outline of report, meet with Ms. LC, my report partner, to discuss report assignment and critique of the article;

Paper for Academic Journal - research on film theories, go to the Mass Comm library to research on film theories and gay/lesbian studies (if there are any!), write the paper, revise the paper, email to Prof. Betsy on Monday.

Now that I have an idea on the things that I have to do, all I need to do is plot it out on my calendar. Which are the most immediate deadlines? Which deadlines need immediate research? Which day would be the most appropriate day for each specific activity?

After considering these things, plot it out and the most important of all, FOLLOW IT!

It seems that I have a good battleplan and so far, I'm still on track. If I get through next Tuesday in one piece, you'll know if I publish a blog entry.

Wish me luck, boys and girls!

I'm Toxic!

Even before Britney began using the word "toxic" for one of her songs, I remember that this was one of the words that was introduced to us on my first day of classes in the University, eight years ago (Wow! It has been that long, eh?).

Given that the University is in a health services setting, doctors, hospital personnel, and the health sciences students were often heard to use the word. Eventually, the word became widely used in the University.

It is quite common to hear the word in conversations among students, almost everyone, actually.

"Hey there! How are classes going?"

"Toxic."

"Same here."

During finals week, the word is even used much more frequently. People would not just use the word in a conversation. Once in a while, one would see a person emerge from the pile of books he has buried himself into and just scream out loud, TOXIC!!!

Right now, that's what I needed to do. Just stop going through the pile of reading materials and yell out, TOXIC!.

Things became more toxic when I received a call from a secretary of the Graduate School chairperson. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of Eating Out and submitted it to Prof. Betsy, the Editor-in-Chief of the college's academic journal, hoping it would get published. The call I received earlier was about the article I wrote. According to the secretary, my article could be published if I could just make the recommended revision of the academic referee. (I don't have the slightest idea who this academic referee is. I don't even know if it's a he or a she. Such mystery!)

This is very important for me, because according to Prof. Betsy, works that are published in academic journals are a huge thing in the academic cirle. This would be helpful for me in case I plan to teach. And I do plan to teach (again) as a matter of fact.

In the afternoon, before I went to class I met up with Prof. Betsy. As soon as she finished explaining what I need to do, the first thing I did was to look at my watch. When I saw that it was almost five, all hell broke loose and I started to run between the library and the film department. I had to look for a book on film theory at the library. And I had to reserve the viewing room at the film department so I can hopefully watch one of the recommended films of the academic referee. And I have to do both of these before five. I had to try to get both of these things done because I didn't have time to go back to the college until Saturday. I also made Hunski's life toxic by asking him to look for a copy of another of the recommended films so we can watch it tonight. Unfortunately, the film wasn't available anywhere.

Sigh.

I was able to borrow a book though. But I wasn't able to reserve the viewing room. The people in the department do not have the word "overtime" in their vocabulary. The moment the clock strikes five, poof! They're gone.

I don't think I'll go back to the college tomorrow to reserve the viewing room. I think that the gay films that I have watched will be helpful to me in writing the revisions for the article.

I can see thhe next few days being toxic as well.

This will go on til next Tuesday.

Oh well, it's all fun. I hope.

Not Good Enough...

I wrote the short article as an entry to a competition in one of the local stores. It was difficult writing the entry because it only allows about 150 words. That's always a challenge for me. Oh well, I guess it wasn't just wasn't good enough for the judges.

That's okay. I have something coming up. I'll let you know if that article will be better.

Cheers for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To like yourself, you have to think you’re nifty. To be nifty, you have to be happy. To be happy, you have to like yourself. To like yourself…”

Twenty-five years ago, Andrew Tobias wrote this under the nom de plume John Reid, in his book “The Best Little Boy in the World”. These words that, in a way, served as his mantra also became my mantra in my day-to-day existence.

For someone who lives the so-called alternative lifestyle, the idea of letting other people know the real me is a daily interior struggle. The thought of having other people know that I’m different is foreboding. I actually find it ironic that, at a time when diversity is being celebrated, the world frowns upon the clothes one wears, the ideas one expresses, the person one loves, among other things, if they veer away from the norm.

But Andrew’s book made me realize there’s nothing to be scared of.

Through his book, I learned two crucial truths in life: First, that it's okay to be different and second, that being different can be the reason for me to also be another best little boy in the world.

Pinoy Trivia of the Week:
 

 
The jeepney is the principal mode of transportation in the country.
 
The vehicle, which was originally an American G.I. surplus jeep, was developed into a public utility vehicle in order to address the need for transportation vehicles in the country. One will also observe in the jeepney design how Filipinos bring out their creativity in everything. Colorful paintings, stickers of various colors, flags, moldings of different sorts are used to decorate the jeepney.
 
How many people can a jeep accommodate? It varies. Jeepneys can take in as few as six or eight people and it can also take in as many as twenty to thirty people. You'd really be surprised how this vehicle is fully utilized by people, especially in the provinces.
 
Now if we're going to talk about the discipline of the drivers of these so-called King of the Philippine Roads, or the safety of riding one, or the huge contribution it gives to the city pollution, that would be a whole new entry. Hehehe! And I don't really want to begin my rant about it.
 
Should you be in the country, make sure you take a jeepney ride. It may be the only time you'll take it, but I'm telling you, it is such an experience.
 
Just find out for yourselves.

Stop Right There, Mr. Leno
 
That's not very funny.

This was how several Filipinos reacted when late night TV host Jay Leno quipped on the size of the Philippine contigent in Iraq, and more significantly, the decision of the Philippine government to pull them (the contigent) out, giving in to the demands of the abductors of a Filipino truck driver .

"A new world record has been set in the 100-meter dash. It was set by Filipino troops fleeing Iraq," Leno said on his late night talk show "The Tonight Show" which aired on local cable television last Thursday.
 
"Fifty-one? P. Diddy has a bigger posse than that. 'Come on, everybody in the Humvee. We're leaving."  Leno further said at the size of the contigent.
 
The President’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, reacted to the comments made by Jay Leno, saying, "Our courage has been demonstrated in [the World War II battlegrounds] Bataan and Corregidor and every other field where we have fought. All we can say is that what is first and foremost is the national interest of the Philippines."

Personally, I didn't see the show. I just read it on the front page of one of the national dailies. So I wouldn't really know the whole context of why the TV show host uttered a remark like that. 

I haven't been reading the newspaper these past couple of days so I'm not really up to date on what has been happening with the negotiations for the release of Overseas Filipino Worker, Angelo de la Cruz. From what I heard the last time, the government has already decided to pull out its very, very small contigent from Iraq, giving in to the demand of the abductors. While this move set off negative reactions from countries such as Australia and, of course, the United States, the Philippine government has its own reasons for deciding to make such move.

In fairness to Mr. Leno, he probably didn't really intend to make fun of the Philippines. He was just doing his job, making other people laugh.

Still though, there are just some matters that should not be made fun of.

Baklain

bakla =  Tagalog word for (1.)  homosexual, gay (noun) (2.) effeminate man (adj)

baklain = Contemporary Filipino gayspeak which means, to make something - a person, a place, an event, an object - appear gay.  For example: "Baklain natin ang class presentation." (Let's make our class presentation very gay).
 
"Baklain natin ang Altitude!!!" 

Tonight, this was exactly what happened to a small heterosexual bar in Tomas Morato, one of the party areas in the city. The other party places in Manila are in Makati, Libis and Malate. If I'm not mistaken though, I think Malate is the cradle of gay and lesbian party life.

In any case, you must be wondering what I was doing in a straight bar. I don't remember the last time I was in one. Anyway, one of the gang's girl friends, Mate, celebrated her birthday today and Richard was thoughtful enough to organize a surprise party for her. I'm guess Richard chose the Morato area because this is the most accessible area for everyone.

Richard informed everyone to be at the bar by nine. Hunski and I arrived at exactly nine. People were already there. We joined Richard, Richie, Suki, Richmond, Joseph. Thirty minutes later, Jofer and boyfriend  Joseph, Jeng arrived. While ordering some drinks, we began to wonder where the birthday celebrant was. By the time our drinks were served, Edel and Russell have also arrived. The birthday celebrant did not arrive til ten thirty. And she was really surprised and very happy to see us.
 
I dunno if I can speak the same for the straight crowd in the bar. Yes, they were probably surprised to see such a huge gay group in the bar. But were they happy to see us? I dunno and I really couldn't care less.
 
This is one of the good things, I think, here in the Philippines. The straight crowd of today's generation are generally tolerant and accepting. I haven't heard of any incidents of gay bashing a la Justin Taylor.
 
We had so much fun.

Almost everyone was on the dance floor.  I stood up on some occasions to dance, if you can call it dancing. It was really funny because the guys were making all this ridiculous dance steps and surely they were attracting attention from the straight crowd. I'm sure they were also entertained with the dancing of our friends. Or they just didn't care at all. We were having a good time. They were having a good time.
 
This is it for now. Me now sleepy.
 
Happy Birthday Mate! Wishing you more happy birthdays in life.

Be the Housewife

On the way home tonight, I asked Hunski again if he's going to join me tomorrow for the feeding program that Jean invited me to partake in. Jean is a friend and officemate from Pahinungod. The last time I visited the office, she told me that the nursery section of the Philippine General Hospital was in need of volunteers to help feed babies. Tomorrow, there will be a two hour training for the volunteers.

According to the doctor who made the request for volunteers, there were only about three nurses feeding about sixty babies (!!!). Yup. Apparently, the biggest government hospital in the country does not have any staff in the nursery section. If this is the case with nursery, then I believe that it is the same in other departments. It's really saddening.

But this post does not intend to describe the poor conditions of the Philippine health care system. A blog entry is just not enough for that.

So going back to Hunski and me on our way home, I was subtly subtly trying to convince him to go with me. Hunski was hesitant to join the program because he was scared he might drop the babies, eventhough there is a training.

In my attempt to persuade Hunski, I jokingly asked him, "What if we have our own baby in the future? Does this mean that I'll be the only one to carry our baby?"

"No, I'll carry him when he's around four."

"WHAAAT?! Noooo!", I replied laughing.

"I'll just work for us. You be the housewife.", Hunski said teasing me.

"WHAAAT?! Noooo!", I replied again. "What will you do? Just carry around the Kate Spade diaper bag? I don't think so.", I continued. Hehehe!

I imagine myself still in an apron having just finished cooking breakfast, walking my Hunski to the door as he goes off to work in the morning, handing him over his Louis Vuitton bag (by that time, we should have Louis Vuittons already. Hehehe!), kissing him and saying, "Have a great day, Hunski!"

During the day, I'll be with my fellow "housewives" and our kids. We'll be here or here, being attended to by sales staff who have become close friends, silently hoping that the attention and service they give us will be worth it if we make the purchase.

Hmm, being the housewife may be nice after all, I thought.

Hehehe! Funny how far our imagination can go, huh?

I wasn't able to convince Hunski to go with me. That's okay. He wasn't able to convince me to be the housewife either. Hehe!
 
He should probably try asking again after ten years.

Pinoy Trivia of the Week:
 


Lake Sebu via Mindanao Photo Gallery
 
Hi guys! I'm trying to bring back the Pinoy Trivia of the feature of my blog. Hopefully, I can make a trivia entry regularly. And if I don't, it just simply means I'm busy with school or something else.
 
In any case, here's my installment for this week.
 
The Mindanao region of the country, just like its sisters Luzon and Visayas, boasts of a wonderful cultural heritage that should be shown to the world. From the people to the places, Mindanao has a million and one things to brag about.
 
One of this is Lake Sebu.
 
Lake Sebu is located in the southern part of Koronadal City, capital of the South Cotabato province. Tagged as the Summer Capital of South Cotabato, the municipality offers a very rich wildlife and natural resources. Birds such as Philippine cockatoos, swallows, kingfishers, among others, have settled in Lake Sebu to be their home.  have made their permanent homes in the area. Sightings of the extremely rare and endangered Philippine deer and wild pig have also been reported by its residents.
 
Ah, the residents.
 
Lake Sebu is home to six indigenous groups, of which the predominant tribe is the T'boli.  Similar to other indigenous groups in the country, the T'bolis have a tradition to pride theirselves in - the tinalak (fabric made of abaca fiber). The indigenous art of T'nalak weaving has been present for several generations. However, this rich tradition is starting to disappear. Very few T'boli women are now wearing the colorful attire. Today's generations of T'boli are not even interested in learning the craft. It is really saddening.
 
It's really a great thing that several non-government organizations and cultural organizations are collaborating with the local people to save this dying tradition. It would be so unfair to the coming generations if they would only see the beauty of the T'nalak cloth and Lake Sebu on the glossy pages of a history book.
 
Lake Sebu is definitely one place I want to visit before it is completely assimilated by 21st culture.

Another Romantic Movie...



Have I ever written that I am such a sucker for romance movies? Ever After, Ten Things I Hate About You, The Object of My Affection, All Over the Guy, among many others, and ALL romantic movies starred in by Julia Roberts are some of the flicks that have made me smile that stupid smile in my seat.

Tonight, Hunski took me out on a date for our 25th monthsary (I know what you're thinking) and a new flick was added to that long list - The Prince and Me.

Starring Julia Stiles (who I think just may be the next Julia Roberts) and Luke Mably (whose British accent is just so sexy) star in this funny and modern millionth version of the Cinderella fairy tale.

Paige Morgan(Julia Stiles) is your straight A college student, who plans to attend medical school after college, and then volunteer in the very humanitarian Doctor without Borders program. Basically, her life as already planned, at least for the next five to ten years.

Edward Williams(Luke Mably), Your Royal Highness, is the modern day prince who refuses to accept the fact the responsibilities of being royalty and the fact that he is to be the next King of Denmark.

Edward runs off to Wisconsin where he takes on a life as "Eddie", a college student. He meets Paige at a bar where she works and after starting off on a wrong foot, it seemed that destiny had all circumstances arranged to make sure that the two fall in love.

Edward returns to Denmark with Paige and proposes to marry her. Now Paige is torn between two choices - becoming the doctor she has always wanted to be or becoming the next Queen of Denmark which she never dreamt of.

Just catch the movie to find out what happens. I'm telling you, get ready to be mushy. Hehehe!

Development Communication

I'm at the college library right now. After making this entry, I'm going to read on the assigned readings for my class this afternoon. As I have mentioned before, my Saturday course is Communications 241, which is Communications Theory and Socio-Cultural Change.

Our Professor for this class is an elderly, wise man, who can make you fall asleep with his voice and who can make you laugh with his very simple jokes.

I enjoy his class though because of the topics we discuss. I could relate to the subject because of the three years of work experience I had with Pahinungod.

From the two classes that I have attended, I would say that the course is about how communication plays a major role in creating social changes around us. Two words to describe the subject: Development Communication.

One of the requirements for the class is to present socio-developmental programs with a focus on the communication component. It wasn't hard for me to think of a program because of the exposure I got from Pahinungod.

I think I would be working on a health program that was implemented by the Department of Health, together with the UP College of Medicine. I'll let you know more about it after I get an approval for the subject from my Professor.

Enjoy your weekend!

And She Just Became President...

Just a couple of weeks after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn to Presidency, the country's national leader is already put to a severe test.

It has been confirmed that Angelo de la Cruz, an Overseas Filipino Worker working as a truck driver for a Saudi Arabian company, is currently being held hostage by Iraqis.

According to reports, the convoy of Mr. De la Cruz was attacked by a group of insurgents and he was taken as a hostage. The video footage shown by an Arabic television station identified De la Cruz.

Furthermore, what is being demanded from the Philippine government is that the Philippine troops be pulled out of Iraq within 72 hours.

Or else... we all know what's going to happen.

Right now, the Philippine government is on its feet, doing everything that they could, to save the life of one man. The government has also currently stopped the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Iraq as of the moment.

Please pray for the safe release of Angelo de la Cruz.

And The Race Begins...

One of the good things about being a bum is that you get to watch the premiere episodes of your favorite television shows. Hehehe! This morning, Hunski and I watched the 90 minute premiere of The Amazing Race 5. Studio 23 aired the premiere episode via sattelite from the US.

I got addicted to the show thanks (again!) to Hunski. Uhm, I still like the teams of TAR 4 primarily because of this fantastic couple, or I should say ex-couple. And I think the teams of TAR 4 had a more entertaining character and it seemed that the chemistry, whether it's good or bad, among all the teams can really be seen as one watched episode.

Oh well, it is unfair for the teams of TAR 5 that I compare them to TAR 4 because the two teams are great in their own ways.

Moving on...

The Amazing Race 5 began at the Santa Monica Pier where (cute) host Phil Keoghan met the teams and informed them about the basic rules of the game. Like in the previous races, there will be thirteen legs, with eight elimination points. One of legs of the race (I think it's the twelfth) will be in the Philippines so you better watch out for that guys. Rumor has it that the race will be passing through Palawan, which is one of the most beautiful islands in the country, boasting of pristine beaches.

As soon as Phil gave the go signal, all the teams ran for their backpacks and headed to the airport. Their first destination: Punta Ballena, Uruguay.

The first team to be eliminated was Dennis and Erika.

So far, here are my favorite teams:


The Bowling Moms are cool. I find them cute although I wonder my mind keeps on having images of a lesbian couple, whenever I see them, instead of Mom Pals which they really are.


An old couple is always nice to watch. Eventhough the romance of the couple is just beginning to bloom, I'm interested to see how people of their age (who are supposedly wiser and more knowledgeable in relationships) will handle the hurdles that they will face in the race.


Alison and Donny are first to arrive on the pitstop. Donny looks like a Filipino. I'm not sure if he is though. Why do I like the team? Uhm, now that Dennis is eliminated from the race, there's only one cute guy left in the race. Hehehe! I hope Donny's team doesn't get eliminated immediately.


I think that the Amazing Race will get a lot of applause from several sectors of the society for including a character like Charla in the race. I think it is great that Charla displays a huge amount of faith in oneself. The fact that she does not feel limited despite having some form of dwarfism is an attitude that will definitely serve as a source of inspiration to all people, from all walks of life.


I felt bad that the couple was eliminated. Okay, okay. I feel bad partly because one of the cutest in the race got eliminated but that's not the only reason. Dennis was trying to be a nice guy by trying to buy tickets for the twins at the start of the race and by allowing another team to take the taxi ahead of them. And yet, what did he got for being such a Mr. Nice Guy? So I guess the saying, "Nice guys finish first.", is not true, huh?

At least not in the Amazing Race...

Uncle's BIG Gift

When your uncle owns one of the biggest fashion empires in the whole world, it's not really surprising that uncle's niece will get a big birthday gift. Make that a very big birthday gift.

When Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997, he bequeathed 50 percent of the company's stakes to her niece, Allegra Beck. The daughter of Donatella Versace turned eighteen on June 30 and apparently, this was one of the gifts left to the teenager. Allegra is now holding the largest stake in the company, where her mother owns only 20 percent and her uncle, Santo, owns the remaining 30 percent.

Currently, Allegra is finishing her high school in Milan and is planning to go to the US to attend New York University whe she intends to major in English Literature and Drama. Although Allegra could live the way Paris Hilton does, she chooses otherwise.

In fact, some insiders from the company say that the teenager is not at all interested in fashion or the business because she wants to be an actress.

So far, my friends, this is the biggest thing happening in the fashion world next to Tom Ford's departure from Gucci.

Now let me try to recall what was the biggest gift I got from any of my uncles...

This Funny Hunski Of Mine

Just when I have given up on love
Just when I thought it wasn’t for me
Life throws me a surprise
The best little boy in the world I meet

Putting the smile back on my sullen face
Making me believe in love again
Bringing back light into my days
Causing my heart to beat again

Beautiful man he is
An inch or two taller
With a mind never ceasing to amaze me
A voice soothing like no other

Now that he is here
I pray he would stay
Without him I fear
How I would get through each day

For I do not want to live life alone again
And bathe in misery and sadness
I do not want tears to roll down my cheeks again
Now that I have found happiness

For the short time I have known you
I have grown deeply attached to you
And though this may sound cheesy to you
I just have to say I have fallen for you

Happy Birthday Hunskibunski! :) WUV OO VEWY MOOCH!

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