by: Nerbie

I feel nervous every time I leave home for work. The recent bombing incidents have made me think of how dangerous things are nowadays. Imagine, I ride the top three forms of public transportation in the metropolis: the Jeepney, the Bus and the MRT. With the recent bombing of the Bus in Balintawak, Quezon City, I sometimes think that the public utility vehicle where I’m riding might be the next target. Well, I can’t do anything about it because I still need to go to work and feed my family.

I don’t get why these terrorists are doing such evil acts. Killing innocent lives in one blow is not a joke. Millions of Filipinos still believe that life is precious and why the hell these terrorists think otherwise boggles the mind. I’m sure they have their own families also. If one of their family member, let say, dies don’t they mourn? Of course they do unless if they don’t have a heart at all. Don’t they realize that the victims of their bombings have families too, waiting for them at home?

Nobody’s is perfect in this world. I admit, I sometimes commit mistakes but then I’m just human but then killing innocent people is just too much. I just hope and pray that one day God will enlighten their minds and stop these fruitless actions.

by : Russet

asl?
19/f/phil u?
22/m/usa … ctc?
ok, np
lol

Looks familiar?

For those who are now reading this article, I’m sure that at one time or another, you have entered the world inside the chat room.. Hey, don’t deny it because I, too, am guilty of spending long hours in front of my PC chatting with.. uhmm.. WHOEVER…

The Internet has truly made the world a lot smaller. For the more serious ones, the worldwide web, has helped business transactions less complicated and information dissemination easier.

On the lighter side, it has also provided an avenue to communicate and interact with anyone, help friendships flourish.. and to the fortunate species out there.. for relationships to blossom… and yes, I am referring to the world inside the chat room!

But the value of the chatting, whether through the MIRC, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, depends on how you use it.

It can keep you company when you cannot sleep, cut your telephone bill but still remain updated with old friends elsewhere. And for those away from home or who need to work in other countries, chatting has become a therapy against homesickness. It makes them feel a lot closer to home and family. The new friends they meet in the chat room create a sense of belonging in those times of loneliness. And with people from different places inside the channel, it is definite that whatever time of the day you log on, you will surely find someone to talk to.

However, chatting has also its “negative” side. Chats can expose you to a lot of unpleasant behavior. Talking inside chat rooms can be a bit wild with a great deal of sex talks, sleaze and garbage. Sexual proposals made inside the chat room are not far-fetched (heard of those SEBs?). No offense meant to those who are into it because it is really a matter of choice whether to accept or refuse offers of this nature.

Talking to fellow chatters seems to transport you to another world that you tend to forget time and the other things that you have to attend to. The excitement of meeting different people will leave you wanting for more, until such time that you can never let a day pass without entering what has become your favorite chat room.

I started chatting quite a bit late.. if my memory serves me right, probably around January of 2001.. though a lot of my buddies have told me the fun they derive out of it..

At first, I cannot seem to understand why people would spend long hours just to “chat”. I also didn’t find the idea of EBs interesting.. I was definitely contended with the set of friends that I have…. so I thought…then…

But curiosity led me to the IRC.. and before I knew it, I got.. well… hooked!!.. and to this day, I am proud to say that I have been a regular of the MIRC (#pobres-park at Dalnet… hehehe.. plugging!)

Surprisingly, while at first you really do not know the person you are “chatting” with, you tend to get interested with that person… know their interests.. their views.. and when the conversation gets deeper, you find giving a part of yourself to that person.. you share your dreams, goals and even frustrations and heartaches…

Chatters have their share of stories to tell.. experiences to share.. I have met several couples who started their relationships inside the chat room.. some may have parted ways but a greater number have continued to hold on to their relationships and in fact, have considered sharing their lives together…

And though I was not spared of those unpleasant instances and have been offered those sexual proposals, these would not prevent to continue chatting.. for I have definitely found good friends inside the chat room… and I can say that the friendships that we share go beyond the world inside the chat room….

For whatever its worth, what is important is that you have fun inside the chat room. It is definitely a whole new world of experience. Click on and enjoy! Happy Chatting!

by: Karla Vanessa Redor

A classmate of mine in my second year college introduced me to the world of forums. I started out with the very popular PinoyExchange. Then I joined other forums like PinoyForum, ad Barrio Alimasag. After which, I accidentally discovered Rebelde.Com and has become a member of it. Now, I’m an active member Grabeh.Com and I’m one of the Grabeh Yayas taking care of the Grabeh Babies.

I found joy in posting in the forums and reading what others have to say. In posting, I am able to express myself to the Online Community. I am able to say what my opinions, beliefs are. In addition to that, I’m able to give advices to others. Being of help to other people makes me happy. But then, I sometimes question myself that “Hey, am I forgetting myself?” From reading posts of other members, I am able to learn something. With that, I am able to connect through them since I know what they ought to say and likewise they know what I ought to say.

I have met a lot of friends in the forums especially in the Rebelde and Grabeh community. We may not be seeing each other that often but I am close to some of the members and you know who you are. I even get to chitchat with them through SMS, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, and send them e-mails as well. I have shared with them my problems and I’m glad that they are there to listen and comfort me. I never thought that I would find such friends here since I have had once the perception that many people online are just joking around.

To the creator of the forums… thank you for making a significant change in my life.

by: Alejandra Rodriguez

I have done it. I have mastered the art of “Tambay”. Most people would say that this accomplished mastery of doing nothing is really useless. I just shrug these comments off like the fly that perennially floats around my shoulder. I believe that those who look down on the art of Tambay are just envious of those who practice it. Take this case in point. I am naturally bright, I read a lot and I know a lot. But then, I am classified as an underachiever. I aim low despite the fact that I can aim as far as any dean’s lister around. I don’t study, I just loaf around in school and yet I always pass my subjects with average grades to boot. In class, I can stump my professors with questions that make them feel as small as ants. But I’m not that cruel, my power to embarrass Ph. D’s are only used when a fellow classmate is being oppressed or when I get castigated for being eternally late for my classes. Now lets view case no. 2 which may represent the reader of this article or if not, almost everyone you know. Hmmm, lets call him Ed. Ed goes to school diligently, he attends classes on time and he prefers to hang out in the school library. Ed is also a dean’s lister and a class act pro establishment kind of guy. He sits in front of class and he will never question the professor even if the latter tells him that the Pythagorean theorem was named after a god or that Shakespeare actually wrote the Canterbury Tales. Ed represents blatant apathy; I represent the same except that mine is more righteous. I go to the canteen with my friends to hang around discussing the rudiments of Java as a language while Jim goes to the school library to get ready for a Philosophy test that he will surely ace. I make tambay to enjoy life in slow motion, Jim and most of the people in school live on the fast lane that is headed to a place where I already stay: Nowhere.

But then I fear for myself. Sure I can hang with my friends for four hours as we talk about any topic under the sun, but where does all this lead: a less stressful life and a butt that aches from too much sitting around. Maybe the solution lies with a slight change of environment. Maybe we should spend our Tambay time outside the school where we can smoke and play Pusoy Dos. But then again, why move to another Tambayan. Nakakatamad eh. Dito na lang kung saan relax.

by: Karla Vanessa Redor

A few days left before the most awaited day for the lovers and the not-so-singles pass by. The day of reckoning will soon come. It will be a day of spreading the Munching Cash Plague where lovers of the world join hand in hand to buy precious gifts for their loved ones. The soon-to-be victims of the said plague will have symptoms of paleness, continuous walking back and forth from one place to another, and eyes that looked shock. Beware of this plague. Most doctors prescribe the would-be-possible patients would have to put a special cream at the palm of their hand for the unusual allergies that leads to the said plague. Another prescription would be is for the patient to stay away from places that are expensive-looking.

This is also the day of the Loneliness Syndrome Advanced Level. The future patients of this disease most likely exhibit the following symptoms like type 1 malfunction of lachrymal glands (continuous crying in layman’s terms), state of shock, paleness, red nose, eating disorder, and insomnia. Doctors prescribe that the probable patients would watch mushy cartoon fairy tale stuff and romantic comedies every 5 hours. Likewise, it is best that they attend love relationship seminar or if anything else fails, contact Dr. Love for counseling.

If there is a Loneliness Syndrome Advanced Level, there is what we call as the Anti-mushiness Fever. It is really known as the Loneliness Syndrome Moderate Level. The symptoms of this disease are high blood pressure, number of heartbeats is lower than the usual one, type 2 malfunction of lachrymal glands (no single tear comes out), and the I-Hate-You-All attitude. Although this disease is the moderate level, curing this disease is much harder especially that patients with this disease have attitude problems. It is best that they attend an Interaction Program sponsored by the Lonely Hearts Club and it is recommended by 9 out of 10 doctors. Actually, the Interaction Program is a Heart Therapy designed for people with this disease.

All of us will be affected by the sudden spread of disease for V-day is the day of reckoning. The question is, what disease will inflict us.

by: Kulasisi

Sex is part of human nature. It’s not stupid. Pre-marital sex is a natural occurrence, it is also not stupid. Getting pregnant at a time when you haven’t finished school yet & when you are not ready to have one– this is stupid. My cousin is getting married soon cause she got herself pregnant. A condom costs how much?! A freaking 5 pesos. You can get 3 rubbers for 5 pesos, and you can choose your favorite flavor. A five-peso rubber would have made a difference. I can’t believe they haven’t learned anything from school! In fact, she didn’t learn anything…

Having a child is a serious commitment, something that cannot be a result of trial and error. Being young– the hormones have this rush that is so unbearable that you need to release. Lust composes 75% of your being when you are young… A touch here, a kiss there… you are willing to experiment, you heightened the feeling– getting lost into the emotion and the new feeling..Until all you can sense is the need to let it out. I have long accepted the fact that my cousins would have sex with their bf’s/gf’s, anyway.. Sex is a part of life…However, I haven’t readied myself that SHE would get pregnant. Get marry at an early age, yes.. It was predicted that she will get marry ahead of us… but that is AFTER she graduated not BEFORE. I don’t pity her cause she is young and I know that she’s aware of the consequences of her actions. I pity her dad the most– he’s been working his butt to be able to let his children attend school. To finish school and to work and help in the expenses.

Luckily, her in-laws like her. I haven’t met the Hubby yet nor the in-laws but I will soon enough. Haaaaay… I’m lucky to be educated enough when it comes to s-e-x. I got my friends.. hehehe.. they have taught me well. A new baby in the family.. Another blessing.

Practice SAFE SEX.

by: ASDF

FUNNY THINGS happen every February, every February 14 to be exact. Yep, it’s the day of lovers - otherwise known as St. Valentines’ greatest contribution to humanity. On this auspicious day, every delusional star crossed pair in school decides that it is really cool to go out on a date, whether be it on the 14th or during the days that surround the 14th. Red would be the in color of the shameless and chocolates and roses would be the generic gift of choice. All is expected to be happy in school, all except those who are loveless and this list includes my name. My friend Karen (who, due to that ever popular McDonalds Ad, is now referred to as Gina) will once again send herself flowers so as to convince people, which includes herself, that she has an anonymous lover in school. I guess this is a lame way of self-marketing among the male population of the school. It’s sad really. I told Karen this and she managed to convince me that sending flowers to myself is a good idea. I’ll get at least a dozen roses on Valentines Day, all of which will be funded by my own pocket. It’s sad really.

Then there’s my friend Cess, a beauty and brains combination with supermodel measurements. Her problem is that she’s too good for all her suitors who can rival, at best, the personality of a can of beans. Cess has everything except a boyfriend so, just for fun, even though she is beautiful and smart, Karen also convinced Cess to send herself a dozen roses on Valentines Day.

I told Karen that it would look odd if we all received Roses on the 14th so were thinking about chocolates for one of us and a box of doughnuts for the other; I hope I don’t get a box of doughnuts, people might think my imaginary suitor slash admirer is cheap or something. I believe we have to diversify our self-funded gifts so that it won’t look that obvious. Of course, our dark secret would embarrass us to death if someone discovered it.

On Feb. 14, my fellow students will celebrate the day of hearts. Commitments will be renewed, the usual load of petty quarrels will be lessened and of course, the entrepreneurial Pinoy will exploit the event with tons of Valentines Day caboodles that the public will surely gobble up. The 14th of this month will be a happy day for everyone, genuine or otherwise. My two friends, Cess and Karen, they’ll get some gifts on Valentines Day, gifts that will come from their own pocket. I know the happiness they’ll get from this will be short lived and hollow. So I thought I’d send them some carnations on the day of hearts, and maybe a romantic poem to really make their day.

I’ll sign my gifts with a short and spine tingling note: From your secret admirer.

by: Aileen Merivilles

I was on my way home last Thursday evening, the 17th of January. I took the bus from Alabang to Magallanes. Then I went up stairs to the MRT Magallanes station and, as usual, I stood in line. Most of the time the line is very long, maybe because there are only two entrances in that station. Since I have my stored value prepaid MRT card I avoided another line that leads to the cashier’s window.

I spend like 5 to 7 minutes on the line, being patient and calm. Then, when I was like two persons away from the entrance I got surprised with an old lady who came from nowhere. She immediately rushed in front of me, pretending I wasn’t there. Of course, my reaction was, “Madam may pila po sa likuran, nakakahiya sa mga ibang tao”. I even tapped her shoulder just to get her attention. The old lady didn’t mind me. So, what I did was, I uttered “Ang tanda nyo na, bulok pa rin ang systema nyo sa buhay!” I’m sure she heard what I said. Somehow she avoided making eye contact. I knew that she knew she was wrong. For some reason, I didn’t care much of confronting her since I didn’t want to argue with a nonsense citizen like her. At least I didn’t remain silent when this situation came up. I hope she would realize and correct herself next time.

What bothers me was that older or adult people should serve as a model to the younger generation. Some adults would even say, “iba na ang mga kabataan ngayon. Wala ng respeto sa matatanda.” My goodness! The experience I encountered last Thursday evening somehow changed a little of what I believe. It would be okay for me if she asked me if its okay for her to cut in line and tell me she is in a hurry; though she had white hair, I’m sure she was not that weak. The old lady had a backpack and she wore a pair of rubber shoes at the time. She looked like she was an active, sporty type of person. I could understand her if she was weak or one of the older citizens in our country who will have a hard time standing in line for countless minutes. But she obviously wasn’t.

by: Russet

I generally do not have a hard time sharing thoughts about something close to my heart.. something I am fond of …. or something that interests me… I always have a piece to share in every conversation I have whether it be simple chit chatting with friends (which I do most of the day!) or during a brain-storming sessions on upcoming projects at work. In fact, even on those topics which I am not familiar with, I find myself participating through the questions I ask. Well, probably because I just love to talk!

Ironically, though, there is one topic which, as I realize now, I somehow tried to refrain from sharing my views on - my family. But before you make any conclusion, I would like to make it clear that I come from a closely-knit family and I am proud of where I come from. In fact, I do love our clan! But somehow, I have this thinking that family affairs are too personal to share to just anyone…. much more to those I don’t know. I would rather keep all those family memoirs in my mind and heart for me to cherish for a lifetime.

But then, wait! Something inside me has prompted me to sit down and write this piece for me to share to anyone. Yes.. you read it right A-N-Y-O-N-E ! And it is all about my grandmother whom we fondly call Mamang.

Last year, there was one birthday celebration that we surely will never forget and will fondly recollect during family gatherings. December 10, 2001 was Mamang’s 85th Birthday. And to make this day more memorable and extra special, we decided to have a surprise birthday bash cum tribute for her, with yours truly as the charge d’ affaires.

I actually planned a birthday party for myself. But as I went on with my preparations, the idea of having Mamang’s birthday celebration suddenly popped up. So setting aside my original plan, I started get the approval of the other members of our family. Gladly, they all gave their approval and offered to help me out. It will be a surprise, we all agreed.

So as early as September, I already made the necessary downpayment for the use of the venue and had the date booked, just to make sure. My cousin Albert has volunteered to do the invitations (he works in a computer company that does all those terrific print-outs in NY).

All the while, I thought everything will be easy, since we have at least three months to prepare. Geez! It wasn’t! There are details that we need to know which only Mamang can provide - like her favorite color (for the affair’s motif and souvenirs), her favorite song (for us to sing.. ehem.. ehem..) and more importantly, for her picture (needed for the video and portrait).

At her age, Mamang is still inquisitive. She keeps on asking why we have to inquire about this and that. And mind you, it was really a challenge to make up all those stories just get the information we needed. In fact, I had to tell her that I was buying a storage box for her “merienda goodies” and asked what color that box would be just to know her preference. Having her pose infront of the camera was another. She wouldn’t want to unless we tell her why we were taking her pictures… Whew! So many white lies committed!

With the invitations sent out, we were a bit apprehensive if we could keep this affair a secret until then (though it was printed on the invites). Much more, with the excitement building up, we were not so sure if we, in fact, could keep everything low so as not to give her a hint.

We all thought everything would be fine with few days left. Well, not really…..

On the day of the affair itself, December 9 (we had to schedule it a day ahead of her birthday), the biggest problem we had to confront came - how to tell Mamang to dress up.. ugh! As expected, she asked why…. Running out of stories this time! We just explained that we were dining out to celebrate her birthday a day earlier. The invitation stated 4:30pm, and it was already 5:00pm but Mamang still wouldn’t want to ..… Pressure.. Pressure!!! With all of us in the house saying our individual prayers (and all of us already dressed for the occasion!), thank God, Mamang suddenly agreed!

Yahoo!!! She yielded to our request… at exactly 5:30 pm! What a relief!!!

I could still clearly recall how surprised Mamang was. Tears flowing on her cheeks upon seeing all relatives and friends gathered together. She even had second thoughts of embracing her daughter from NY whom she never thought would be there (especially with the September 11 incident).

But more than just a birthday party, this gathering has shown to all of us her family, that Mamang is truly loved by so many people. Most of the guests even came from our province (approximately 7 hours drive to Manila.. wow!) just to take part in this affair. This celebration of another year in Mamang’s life carries with it our continued prayer for more blissful years for us to share with her. For someone so frail (she stands less than 5 feet), she has endured the challenge of raising 7 children (most of them born during World War II) and has become successful at that. She has encouraged her grandchildren to strive better in life. Most of all, she has showered us with love and affection which only she can provide.

I don’t take the credit for having all of these planned and realized (with all honesty… believe me!!). It was a team effort. It was the work of every member of the family - from Mamang’s youngest great grandchild Justin (who was then 2 months old) to her eldest child Edna!

But if there was one thing I have learned all the more, I realized much better now that indeed FAMILY MATTERS!! I guess I should start writing more about my family!

(Postscript: As to my birthday, I celebrated it just the way I used to - several times, one with each set of friends! J)