Spoiling a kid

My friend has a teenage kid of high-school age, or nearly college-age, turning out to be a spoiled kid, I’m afraid. He has a know-it-all attitude that irritates me (any person who has this attitude irritates me no end); and tends to be boastful, especially to his classmates, of the material things (like tech gadgets, properties) that his family has. My friend has a high-paying job that requires her/him to travel a lot. (I’m not saying if my friend is a she or he so that she/he will not know too much that I’m talking about her/him if ever she/he gets to read this blog, LOL). Anyway, my friend misses her/his family much when she/he is away, and her/his family misses her/him much, too, especially this kid. I guess my friend tries to make up for her/his absences from home, which last from several days to a week or even more, by getting or buying almost anything that the kid wants to have. Sometimes, my friend tries to warn the kid that he is already asking too much. But it is just that, a warning, a warning with no teeth. Because next thing I know, my friend has already given the kid his latest wish. When this kid makes a mistake or throws a tantrum, my friend and her/his spouse tell off the kid with a stern voice. But usually, and most of the time, this really does not scare off the kid because he will just be doing the same “bad” thing next time around.

I wonder sometimes if the kid is, on the other hand, just trying to get the attention of the often-absent parent, my friend, that is why he is acting spoiled and a know-it-all when my friend is around to get her/his attention (although I think the kid is also like this even if my friend is in one of her/his business trips). But then, when my friend is not around at home, her/his spouse is, although wife/hubby is also an office-worker during the day. And maybe since wife/hubby is only at home usually at night during weekdays, and I do not know how often she/he is at home with the kid during weekends, her/his caring for the kid is still not enough. Maybe this spouse of my friend is actually kind of influencing the kid to be a braggart because she/he himself is sometimes, too. She/he is earning lesser than my friend, and she/he certainly is enjoying a lot of things from the earnings of my friend. And from what I have heard, the spouse of my friends brings to the office many things to give away after almost each trip of my friend, even sometimes without her/his consent.

Oh, well, I hope my friend and her/his spouse wake up soon enough to the fact that their kid is growing up to be a spoiled brat. Money is not everything, especially when it comes to bringing up a child who should have good manners and right conduct that will help carry him through to adulthood.

worst time

Been a while since I last posted on this blog. I've been in a lot of pressure. I've been writing a project, and I just can't concentrate on doing it. The moment I sit on my chair, facing the computer screen, I start yawning, hahah. It's not really that I'm bored with the subject of what I've been trying to write about. But, I'm just tired. My mind is racing ahead of my body to go somewhere else, like a beach, a mountain. Anywhere but in front of my PC. My fault, really. I should've insisted on that vacation that I planned to take before I took on this project. I should've rested my mind, my spirit, my body first.

Oh, well, I hope to do THAT after this project is over and done with. I just hope my client will still like the quality of my output after all this is over and done with. I'm praying for that to happen, even as I'm also working for that right now, even as i keep on yawning :D

I really don't know about other cultures or countries, but I think Filipinos (people who are from the Philippines) are too obsessed with beauty. And that's beauty defined usually as being fair-skinned, tall, having a "high nose," with long black hair (for women, though men are sometimes wearing their hair long, too), slim, being seen as "sexy" (and sexy connotes many other descriptions, too). In short, you're not beautiful (and sexy) if you're fat, dark-skinned, flat-nosed, has short even curly hair, has greying hair, etc., etc.. And i just hate it when people judge other people on the basis of how they look. "She's not beautiful, anyway." "He's not really that handsome." But what is beauty? There's a saying that goes like "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." What's beautiful to one person may not be beautiful to another. Okay, that's democracy, I guess. But what bothers me so is that all this having "standards" for what is beautiful or sexy or good-looking tends to discriminate against people who don't "fit the standard" of beauty. And I don't think that's fair. Who says fat women can't be sexy? Who says that bald men can't be handsome? Why do we laugh when we say a fat woman? Why do we giggle when we see flat-nosed man? Now, I think media and advertising has to take a lot of blame for this mindset about beauty that has developed in a lot of people. Just take a look at how we are bombarded day in and day out by "beauty" contests; ads about whitening creams, silky black hair, vitamins that can make you tall, etc. etc. I'll say what's more important in people is not their "outer beauty" but their "inner beauty." And i'll say that if a person has a good heart, then that person is very beautiful.

pep.ph--a site that makes people angry with one another

i think my title for this posting says it all...www.pep.ph is a website that makes people angry with each other. Weird huh. For a site that brings news--or the latest gossip, depending on how the surfer handles or sees the contents-- about the entertainment world in the Philippines, the comments section of this website has for the most part succeeded, i think, in making many of its surfers quick to say degrading comments against other surfers. And many of these surfers are regulars in the site, considering that they have to be registered in the site before they can log in and post comments. Looking through all the comments written by surfers in each and every news item in the site, you'd think that Filipinos have nothing more important to do other than ogling stars and making these stars' problems their own problems. Filipinos (natives of my country, the Philippines) are the usual surfers of this site, considering that most of the articles are written in Pilipino (the national language), then some in Taglish (combination of the native language and English), and in pure English (a small percentage of the articles). So, most of the surfers of the pep dot ph site would expectedly be Filipinos or those who undertand the native language, plus of course the fact that the site features Philippine actors. (By the way, even Filipinos living abroad, hungry for news back home, also frequent the site.)

What makes this website less entertaining that it's topic of "entertainment" is the fact that the commentators often spew spicy language against one another in defense of their idols, or even more, in defense of their favorite tv networks, especially when the article is about the latest tv ratings. The commentators just rant and rant against one another. The site has some moderators but that doesn't solve the problem. I think mainly because the moderators are really busy professionals who can't really "moderate" discussions. But then again, reading all those spicy comments made by my fellow Filipinos makes me wonder if we as a race are really like that. Hiding behind aliases, we suddenly gain the strength and find the words to slur one another, all in the name of our favorite actors, tv shows, tv networks, films. But what makes me a bit afraid is those who are spewing angry and foul words on this site are already imbibing what they are onscreen to what they are in real day-to-day living--becoming also rude and disrespectful of other people and 9f their opionions.

(NOTE: suddenly i realize i am also using an alias on this blog, hahaha!)
(NOTE2: i'm pretty sure there are websites where commentators or posters argue. but what makes me cringe at pep.ph is the fact that it's my fellow Filipinos bickering and that it's done mostly in our language. thus, the intensity of the arguing is higher)

waahhh

am now doing a project for my client...researching and writing about getting people into business. it's just so hard to get my groove on starting it cuz it's kinda a rush job and my whole being just feels so tired after doing a long project for this client just before this new project. sometimes i could just regret accepting this new work, but well, also my fault cuz i did find the topic interesting when it was offered to me and, well, i just couldn't say no to my client cuz there was really no one else to do it for them. but i promised to myself that i'll really take a longish break after this project is over and done with...ok...that's it for now (so much for ranting, but i really shouldn't right? cuz at least i've got work to do. other people don't have work or have trouble finding one) :)

forgot my password, hahah!!

Took me a while to open this blog again...simply because i forgot my password hahahah!!!! Had to go to the blogspot process of resetting and getting a new password. Hmmm..i don't consider myself that old. But maybe a lot of things lately have been occupying my mind. As in, a lot of things--work, things i have to do for the family. I know! I have to relax! Get that vacation that I've been long wishing for! But i might not have the budget for a long grand vacation. Maybe breaks during the weekend will do for the meantime. Even just a trip to the mall or nearby park. The trip out-of-town will have to wait for a while. And i really do have to practice time management. And listen to more music!

But one mantra i've been teaching myself lately to remember and practice: It's ok to be tense (gets the adrenalin up), but don't be stressed!!...Because God will always be helping me in whatever situation I find myself in. I just have to patient in praying, and believe that He will answer my prayer. And God answers prayers in many ways. :) (and don't forget to ask for the intercession of Mother Mary, St. Joseph, and the Saints!!!)