During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare &serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Most importantly. "Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."

Touching? I say, life-changing. (:

Today was okay. But it's definitely boring. Gah. The vacation was extended for a week! I miss school. I miss my friends. I miss everyone. Ha.

This was said in the news:

MANILA - The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said Tuesday that classes at the tertiary level in Metro Manila and other areas placed under a state of calamity will remain suspended until Saturday.

CHED Chairman Manuel Angeles made the announcement during Tuesday's briefing of the National Disaster Coordinating Council in Camp Aguinaldo with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Angeles said classes in colleges and universities will be suspended in the National Capital Region, Southern Tagalog Region (Regions 4A & B) and parts of Central Luzon.

Angeles also announced that nursing students and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets would be asked to report to help in government’s clean up and relief operations in devastated areas.

He said colleges and universities should organize rescue and disaster teams to help victims of tropical storm Ondoy.

Colleges and universities are being encouraged to become centers that will receive aid and donations "to help our kababayans," Angeles said.

Asked if all students will be required to help, Angeles said the call is for voluntary service.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus earlier announced that elementary and highschool classes in public and private schools in Metro Manila will remain suspended until Friday due to the devastating effects of tropical storm Ondoy.

He said several elementary and secondary schools in Metro Manila were still being used as shelters for residents affected by storm. At least 170 schools under the Department of Education's supervision in the metro are housing more than 10,000 families, he added.

Lapus said the government is giving local government and school officials the discretion of suspending classes beyond Wednesday.

"Depending on local conditions in other areas, local government and school authorities may exercise judgment to suspend classes," Lapus said.

Marikina City Mayor Marides Fernando has announced that classes in all levels in the calamity-stricken city will remain suspended until Friday.

Classes in Rizal, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite have also been suspended by local authorities.

At the NDCC meeting, Frisco Nilo of PAGASA said another tropical disturbance may enter the Philippine area of responsibility by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning and make landfall in Northern Luzon or Central Luzon early next week.

Frisco, meanwhile, calmed fears over the coming storm that will be named “Peping.”

He said the incoming storm will not bring rains as heavy as Ondoy.

He added that the storm may also miss the country and change its course to Taiwan.

Ooo. And this video that I'm going to show you is kinda gross and at the same time, heart-aching. Please don't hesitate to watch this. Please spread so that people would know the crime Chinese people are doing. *not discriminating here*



OMG. Babies are actually eaten in China! Imagine eating your baby for real? Poor babies.
If you have a heart, please help spread this horrible truth.

* The video has been removed due to violation. Sorry for those who didn't manage to watch this. Just search another video on YouTube. Thanks!

T'was the first ever flood that I've seen in my life. It was right before my eyes.

It was 7 am then when I woke up this morning. It was already raining cats and dogs by that time. Not to mention that the whole Metro Manila was under the state of calamity. Signal #1. What more if it was signal #4? I could not even imagine it.

My dad and brother were out to Saint Luke's hospital to stay there with my uncle who is sick. Sister went out for choir practice. Who was left? Me, and my younger twin brothers. What else could I do? I have to take care of them. What could a mere 12 year old do? Crap. And my slightly-retarded maid was my own hope. We have no lunch. The only thing left to do is to buy food outside. We took the tricycle to get to the fastfood restaurant. Traffic was everywhere. We were in the middle of the road when the driver told us that we cannot carry on. The water was above person. The dry field before had become an ocean. *I'm not exaggerating here. This is for real.* There was even a truck stucked in the middle of that "ocean". When I stepped out of the vehicle, my right slipper was carried away by the overflowing water. Good thing we managed to get it before it reaches the canal. If so, I would be dead by now if my sister would know because those was hers. In the end, we decided to just buy from a carinderia nearby.

So now, every headline in the news is all about that typhoon. Thank you for destroying the whole town and finishing the lives of many good people.

The sun revealed a foreign landscape.

This typhoon has been declared as the most destructive calamity in the Philippines.