NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS and Personalities of the Month

Batchmates Update

Aida is back home from her long sojourn in England.

Emma had just had her cataract operation. She and fellow retiree, Fely, had been recently farewelled by their school colleagues.

Siony is soon off to join her husband in Dubai and will be away till the end of the year.

Josie has not been heard from for nearly two months now. We are all hoping she is well.

How to Argue and Improve your Health

Is being nice bad for your health?

A recent study in the July report of Psychosomatic Medicine found that married women who bottled up their feelings after an argument were four times as likely to experience declining health as women who expressed their feelings openly.

This reluctance to express emotions and communicate openly is referred to as "self-silencing," and it has a devastating effect on our physical and emotional health. In fact, self-silencing has been linked to depression, eating disorders, and heart disease.

Despite these negative side effects, many couples still refrain from communicating honestly with their partner -- particularly if the needed communication is anything less than pleasant. Couples may fear expressing anger or sadness to their loved ones, as it may come across as criticism or judgment. However, without this crucial candor, relationships suffer and emotions fester.

So how can you communicate with your partner in a way that is kind but effective?

Be Authentic. When couples argue, they tend to get caught up in the "who, what, when, and why" of the argument, rather than truly expressing what the argument really makes them feel. Instead, couples should be more descriptive of their feelings, because that's the crux of the issue. For instance, rather than "I can't believe you were late for dinner and didn't call me! This is just like last month when you [insert past indiscretion here]." A better way to truly express your real feelings about your partner's lack of punctuality would be to say, "It makes me sad when you are late and I don't know where you are. I get worried and feel sick to my stomach."

Fight to Love, Not to Win. If you get into an argument with your spouse with the intention of proving how "right" you are, the argument will never be resolved. Instead, make love your goal during the dust-up. All couples fight, but there is a way to fight with harmony in mind. Insulting your partner, bringing up past fights, giving the silent treatment, or pretending like nothing is wrong are ineffective ways to solve an argument and merely add fuel to the fire.

Keep It Sweet. Utah researchers found that marital arguing style has a correlation to couples' heart health. Couples who argued with hostility (Think remarks like, "Don't you know anything, you idiot?") were more likely to experience poor cardiac health than couples who argued with kindness (Think remarks like, "What you said just now hurt me. Can we talk about it?"). This type of composure during an argument is certainly easier said than done, so have a few safety mechanisms in place ahead of time. For instance, agree to take a breather for 30 minutes when arguments start to spiral out of control, or use a safety word (perhaps a funny reference to your favorite comedy) to defuse the situation.

End each argument or cold spell with your spouse with affection and gratitude. It is easy to forget appreciation and love when you are in the middle of a fight with your partner, which is why it is so important to express these emotions after the issue is resolved.

(Excerpts from Dr.Laura Berman's article,"The Art of Intimacy"


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Have You Been to ISDAAN?

On the way up to Baguio City, and looking for somewhere to have brunch (breakfast and lunch) we chanced upon this exquisitely beautiful place in Tarlac. If you are in the area, do visit this "kainan". It serves yummy authentic Filipino dishes, provides great filipiniana entertainment, and a breathtakingly beautiful setting ( floating kubo over fish ponds teeming with fish, sculptures of animals etc, Zen-type landscaping, punong saging etc). We liked it so much we stopped there again on the way back. A plate of tuyo, sinangag, corned beef, mangga/saging, fried egg and a bottle of Sars costs less than the cheapest (USA or Aussie) McDonalds meal but there are plenty of mouth-watering choices. It is sooo relaxing there. If the beautiful setting and the "murang" cost of food are not enough to calm your nerves, you are allowed release/relief by way of breaking plates Greek style.

For more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jriorionbatch1963/

As Friends Cross your Path

As friends cross your path,
They turn your gloom into smiles.
The sun changes darkness into light.
Friends lighten your darkest way.


You get the feeling of nature's renewing cycle.
Friends renew your hope for everlasting love.
Friends that stand behind you,
Assure you that it's impossible to be alone.


Nature's wondrous way of entertainment,
Gives you insight into nature's excitement.
Friends entertain you with their caring,
They allow you the insight for love.


As with nature and all it has to offer,
You will always have something to hold close.
The friendships you build and let grow,
Give you everlasting hope for the future.


Thank you for being my guiding light,
my comfort, my friend.



(This piece about friends is from an unknown author and dedicated to all who value friends)

AMBROSIO PEREZ

Garlic

This is also mentioned in the book of Bernard Ward: "Healing Foods from the Bible." It's glorious garlic! It is one of the world's oldest healing foods. It was being used both as a favorite food and as a powerful medicine centuries before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness.

Garlic and its cousin onion were regarded highly for both health-giving and magical qualities in ancient cultures. Garlic was one of the first foods to be deliberately cultivated, although wild varieties grew in abudance. Evidence of its healing powers is detailed in 4,000 -year- old records from the ancient kingdom of Sumeria. Depictions of garlic bulbs have been discovered on the walls of Egyptian tombs that back to 3200 B.C.- centuries before Joseph and his brothers settled in Egypt.

During the same period, ancient records reveal that garlic was the principal ingredient in many remedies that Egyptian healers prescribed as cures for headaches, sore throats and other complaints. Research suggests that garlic may help protect against heart disease and stroke by lowering blood pressure. It contains allylic sulfides, which may neutralize carcinogens. In fact, garlic has been linked to lower rates of stomach cancer too.

Japanese scientists have distilled an antibiotic medication called Kyolic from raw garlic. Because it was used so commonly as an antibiotic by Russian army medics during World War II, it became known throughout all of Europe as the "Russian penicillin." An astonishing 500 tons of garlic were trucked into Moscow to combat one influenza epidemic in the 1950s. European doctors still prescribed garlic to ward off colds, pneumonia, whooping cough and a wide array of intestinal disorders.

Whether cooked, raw or in extract form, garlic may be one of the most potent natural healing foods we have. The ancient people of the Bible knew that basic fact of life while some of our scientists are just rediscovering it.