Today, people around the world celebrates Mother’s Day. A celebration honoring mothers,motherhood and the influence of Mothers in the society . Five years ago I made a video ( above)  for my video blog “TheSIdestrip”  to say Thank you to my mothers and to my family as well.

I remember in the Philippines where I grow up , Mother is called “the light of the household” (Ang ilaw ng Tahanan)  around  which all activities resolve. During this time, I perform most chores that my Grandmother routinely handles and I pamper my Grandmother, treat her out with a dinner date with my Grandpa.

I really missed them both. I’m very lucky that I have a Grandparents,  who nurtured me and take care of me I wish they see me now and the achievement I made despite the obstacles they endured in raising me to be a Good Man.

I would like to Thank you to all the Mother’s , to my wife Iyam, I know its not easy to be a Mother. I salute you all. Thank you very much.

It’s Friday night. I was walking along Smith Street going to Daly Street when I saw this Man holding a big poster saying “Need  Job”. Then, I realized how lucky I am, I have good job sometimes you encounter billigerent  associate.  But still I have a good manager, who understand her employees. Love your Job.

I approached the man and introduced myself. I started asking him some questions such as “Why he is doing this?”. He answered me ” I love to travel around the World”. His name is Lucu Rohrer from Switzerland have been in Darwin for almost 8 weeks now and currently staying at Melauca on Mitchell. While  I’m interviewing  Mr Rohrer , Mr. Joshua Foti, a managing director of yourlocalatm approached us and  offered Mr. Rohrer a Job  and handed a business card to him to give Mr Foti a call as soon as possible.

All I can says , God works in mysterious  way and even  you don’t knowing it. This is a good lesson to me and everyone else. Stop complaining on everything. Love your job. I remember Anna Kupka  who wrote an article in Forbes Magazines  entitled “Why you need to Love you job”.

“Loving ones job is not only a “rare-to-find-nice-to-have”, no, it is essential for our entire society and for our overall well-being. The workplace is the place where we spend most our waking time and people hating their jobs is throughout the world one of the main reasons for economic downturns. If we would all use our unique talents to serve humanity (and we all have these talents!), there would be no unemployment and no stress-related illnesses.” She said .

I wish you Good Luck Mr. Rohrer   

]]> http://micosantos.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/be-humble-good-things-happens/feed/ 0 New Image1 micosantos New Image1 With Mr Foti Along Daly Street http://micosantos.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/pursuit-of-happiness/ http://micosantos.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/pursuit-of-happiness/#comments Sat, 04 May 2013 00:33:31 +0000 micosantos http://micosantos.wordpress.com/?p=4029 Continue reading »]]>

(This is media release from RedBalloon )

Is it really that bad?
Yeah I don’t think it’s really that bad
If you only think of things that you haven’t got
You could have it all and still never have enough
So don’t worry (don’t worry), be happy (be happy)

This is part of a  song by musician Bobby McFerrin, released in September 1988 telling us even something horrible, Don’t worry, Be Happy. I remember the 2006 movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” starring Will Smith. A biographical dram film based on Chris Gardner’s nearly one-year struggle with homelessness and find Happiness when won the coveted full-time position despite his situation.

What is Happiness for you?

Our friends from RedBalloon made a new survey has found 87 per cent of respondents are happy with life overall, and when it comes to what makes us smile we need to get back to basics.

Regardless of age, gender, where we live, how much we earn or how happy we are with life overall, the one thing that united all 2489 respondents*, and was guaranteed to put a smile on their faces, was spending time with family and friends.
It was the number one activity leading to happiness in every category of the survey, including:

• Age – from under 18 to over 60 years of age, this activity received 44 per cent of the vote. It spiked for the under 18 group with 69 per cent of the vote, and the over 60s at 53 per cent.
• Gender – 41 per cent of men and 44 per cent of women say time with their loved ones is the key to putting a smile on their dial.
• Income – no matter their combined household income, from $50,000 to $150,000 a year plus, 44 per cent of respondents enjoy time with those dearest to them.
• Location – Western Australia is the happiest state, followed by NSW, Victoria, South Australia then Queensland. But overall it doesn’t matter where respondents live, spending time with family and friends gathered 44 per cent of the vote.
• Happiness with life overall – regardless of their level of happiness (ranking from “extremely unhappy” to “very happy”), 46 per cent just want quality time with their loved ones.

According to RedBalloon CEO Kristie Buchanan, the findings indicate a desire for the simple things in life, like more time to create memories with our loved ones.

“RedBalloon is in the business of creating happiness, so we wanted to find out what gives people joy,” Ms Buchanan said.\\“We asked what would put a smile on their face, and most people – regardless of age, gender, financial situation or any of that other cosmetic stuff – just want to spend time with those dear to them.

“What a great message to see on International Happiness Day.”

To celebrate International Happiness Day, RedBalloon, a brand synonymous with fun, embarked on finding out what makes us happy. The other key findings were:

• Happiness levels in the different areas of life are:
• Home life – 89 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy
• Where we live – 77 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy
• Social life – 75 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy
• Health – 70 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy
• Work life – 67 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy
• Finances – 48 per cent are “mostly” or “very” happy. This was the most unhappy category overall.
• Only 8 per cent of respondents ranked themselves as “very happy” when it came to their personal appearance, with 62 per cent saying they would be happier if they were slimmer. 20 per cent are satisfied just as they are.
• 88 per cent of women and 85 per cent of men are “mostly” or “very” happy with life overall
• To be happier at work, 34 per cent of respondents want more money and 18 per cent want more recognition.
• When ranking which aspect of life they put the greatest importance on in terms of happiness, the average ranking was:
  1.    Home life
  2.    Health
  3.    Financial situation
  4.    Work
  5.    Social life
  6.    Personal appearance

* The survey was conducted with 2489 respondents via an online survey between 28 February and 14 March 2013.

Over the weekend, I went to a local market to buy some ingredient for my “ “Pakbet”, a popular Ilocano (Filipino) dish. Honestly, I’m not a good cook but my wife is better than me in the Kitchen.

For the first time, I was able to cook this famous dish and thanks to Youtube and Kitchen Essential Blog as my reference .  Here are the ingredients :

¼ kg. pork with fat
¼ of small squash (peeled and sliced thinly)
5 pcs. okra (cut crosswise)
5 native bitter melons (cut into quarters)
5 native eggplants (cut to quarters)
6 pcs. string beans (cut into 2 inches long)
2 pcs. tomatoes (sliced thinly)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (sliced thinly)
small piece of ginger (sliced thinly)
2 tbsps. shrimp paste
cooking oil
3/4 cup water

Procedure:

In a pan fry , heat oil then fry the pork until crunchy and then remove pork set aside. Use the same pan, saute onion, garlic, ginger until golden brown . Add tomatoes and Shrimp paste. Then add in all the vegetables and water . Cook until vegetables are done. Remember not to overcook the veggies. Add Salt and pepper to taste and the pork.

This is probably most important national occasion for Australia and New Zealand . It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

Crowds gather at an ANZAC Day dawn service at Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory in Australia.

The service started at exactly 6am with a an introduction, hymn and Wreathlaying from different dignitaries, singing the National Anthem of Australia and New Zealand and prayer from Military chaplain. During the Dawn Service the atmosphere was very solemn and I felt something different and realize how lucky we are today. Because of their sacrifice, we have democracy and freedom to cherish.

ANZAC Parade along Knuckey St.

After the service, I went to Smith Mall to wait for the Annual ANZAC Day Parade. Despite the burning heat, kids, young and old line up along Knuckey Street to witness the Parade .

To recall, The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders.

What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships.

For my weekly food trip, I went to Parap Village Markets over the weekend to have a look to this unique shopping oasis tucked away in one of Darwin’s trendiest suburbs.

The Market runs every Saturday from 8 am to 2pm all year round. The Market was house a diverse gathering of stallholders who set up under shady trees and umbrellas.

Browse the diverse range of fresh produce available at market prices and enjoy locally grown vegetables, herbs, Asian greens and exotic fruit the likes you’ve never seen, or select from a range of stunning tropical flowers to warm your home.

Aside from that, I was able to taste exotic and local dishes from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia with a backdrop ambient live music.

I wander through the markets and I discover a precious collection of Territory crafts including clothing, jewellery and gems, artworks, beauty products, decor, specialist crafts, souvenirs, potted plants and cut flowers, massage techniques from around the world, tarot.

The Market are located within the Parap Village Shopping Centre (itself a local treasure!), Parap Road, just five minutes from the CBD. Just take Public Bus Route number 4, delivering you right to the markets.

Many kids in hospital face a hard time. Clown Doctors address the psychosocial needs of the child in hospital in a unique way. By parodying the hospital routine, the Clown Doctors help children feel less traumatised by medical procedures. Oversized medical equipment, ‘red-nose’ transplants, ‘cat’ scans, humour checks and funny bone examinations are all part of the fun. By exaggerating intimidating jargon and procedures, fear and anxiety are reduced..

‘Clown Rounds’ are conducted through all wards including intensive care and oncology, and most clinics including emergency and burns. Children can forget their illness for a moment and return to a world of fantasy and play. It is hard to keep a sad face when the Clown Doctors come in! It is not only laughter that is important. A smile, or a glimmer in the eye, is also a special moment.

The Clown doctors is a project of the Humour Foundation. The foundation is an Australian charity dedicated to promoting and delivering the health benefits of humour.

It was the vision of a performer who wanted to use his talents to give something back to the community and a general practitioner. They had often talked about the ‘art of medicine’.

They were inspired by meeting Dr Patch Adams, by research findings on the benefits of humour, and the work of Swiss-based Theodora Foundation and the Big Apple Clown Care Unit in New York.

Support them to achieve their goals. DONATE NOW

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,400 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Last Monday, I’m wearing a Black polo shirt from M clothing   with Grey Blue Harbour Stormwear by Marks and Spencer to attend a 3 hour Darwin Harbour Cruise Christmas party of Crowne Plaza Darwin.

It fits me perfectly ,it’s easy to wear and comfortable. As M and S says “Comfy, casual pieces to build your seasonal style ,with essential outerwear for that understated look “.

Check out their online store at  Marks and Spencer

The free event  was held at The Marae , Museum of New Zealand Te papa Museum in the late afternoon. The children  in Munting tinig (small voice) sings traditional Filipino song, old-time English favourites, Māori waiata, and Christmas songs in English and Filipino.

The concert was successful and visitors from Te Papa was enjoyed the free concert and of course the kids loved  it.  The whole event was so festive, warm, accepting and loving. If you missed out check out their video from youtube and Thanks to Alan Raga for the photos. Also check the munting tinig Facebook page for any upcoming gigs.

This ukulele group and choir is for Filipino children aged 5–12. Its aim is to teach them the Filipino language in a fun and entertaining way, and maintain the Filipino culture and language in New Zealand