Simple Happiness

I am watching right now the video live streaming of the funeral of the late former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino at http://www.gmanews.tv/livestreaming.html.

Former President of the Philippines Corazon C. Aquino died at 76 on August 01, 2009. She was diagnosed of colon cancer last year and had undergone chemotherapy. She had surgery this year and parts of her colon were removed but despite the chemotherapy and surgery she became ill and passed away eventually.

The late former Philippine President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino was a catalyst to democracy and freedom from oppression during the despotic reign of the late former Philippine President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos. Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino was the wife of the late former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. who was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport) upon arrival from exile in the United States. The late former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. was the opposition leader during the presidency of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino was the one who replaced the late Ferdinand E. Marcos as President of the Philippines after Marcos was toppled down in February 1986 because of the “People Power”. That year 1986, Time Magazine named the late former President of the Philippines Corazon C. Aquino its Woman of the Year.

To Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino, may your soul rest in peace! May God bless you and your family!

Below are the videos of the former Philippine President Cory Aquino’s historic speech before the U.S. Congress on September 18, 1986, months after she became the President of the Philippines, in fact the first woman President in the Philippines and in Asia.

I have mentioned before the three things that I just love to do, one of them is playing golf. I have been playing golf for several years already and I have won several prizes from playing golf. One other thing that I like about golf is, it does not matter how good or not good you are at playing golf, one way or another, you will win something along the way during the golf tournaments whether you have a high handicap or low handicap.

For more than 3 years, I have not really been playing my handicap but I was still able to win something despite that. Winning a prize in golf tournaments does not mean that you have to be the champion as there is always a prize for second and third placers. There are other categories too that you can win like nearest to the pin or the longest drive on the fairway.

In September last year, I again started playing my handicap. I even won a UVEX anti-fog sunglasses for winning the second prize Brutto Ladies during the Supporters Tournament (supporting Juniors) and Golf 99 5er Series on September 28, 2008. I was so happy that I blurted out to my husband that I was back.

Yes, I am back. 🙂 This year, since we started playing golf, for the 5 golf tournaments that I joined, I won a few things in 3 golf tournaments. If you like to view the tabulated results, go to Swiss Golf Network Website and look for Golf Source Du Rhone.

I won an Adidas golf shoes bag with 3 Taylor Made golf balls and 3 pairs of Adidas socks for winning the third prize (officially fourth) Netto Handicap Pro to 21.9 during the Driving Range Bitsch Cup on June 13, 2009.

I won a 28cm/4.7kg Bio-Bergkaeserie GOMS cheese together with 3 other golfers as a team for winning the first prize Netto Handicap Pro to PR during the Partner Hotels Opening Tournament on June 27, 2009.

I won a gift certificate worth 120 Swiss Francs for Ruppen Golf Shop at Golf Source du Rhone for winning the first prize (officially second) Netto Handicap Pro to 20.9 during the President’s and Captain’s Prize on July 04, 2009.

I somehow was able to correct my swing. I noticed that I drive longer than before and even strike longer using irons. It is not a big deal to others but it is quite a big deal to me. Before, I would use an iron 7 for 100 meters but now a days I can reach 100 meters using iron 9 only. For me, that is quite an improvement on my part.

Playing golf is very challenging and it is not about winning. Winning a prize is just a perk for motivation. It is to encourage you to play better. In effect it teaches you to control yourself from anger especially at the golf course when playing the game as it needs a lot of concentration. It teaches you to have patience and discipline. It is not about competing with others but it is about competing with yourself.

With that, do not wonder now why I love playing golf. If you feel like learning how to play golf, I encourage you to go for it.

Two great popular hollywood celebrities passed away on Thursday on June 25, 2009.

Farrah Fawcett died at 62 after a long time battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. She passed away in a Santa Monica California hospital shortly before 9:30AM. A few days ago, Ryan O’Neal, her long time love, asked Farrah Fawcett to marry him, again, and she agreed. Unfortunately she passed away early.

I remember Farrah Fawcett as one of the Charlie’s Angels together with Jacklyn Smith and Kate Jackson. I was fond of watching the hit television show Charlie’s Angels then. I remember her being married to Lee Majors of Six Million Dollar Man which I also used to watch when I was still young.

Michael Jackson died at 50 after being rushed unconscious and not breathing to a Los Angeles hospital. It was reported that he passed away at 3:15PM. The cause of his death is still unknown as of this time although there were multiple reports that he had gone into cardiac arrest.

Michael Jackson was known as the legendary “King of Pop”. He was a great singer and entertainer but he also lived a very controversial life. His album “Thriller” was the biggest-selling album in the music industry. “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” were hits but the song that I really like among his songs were “Earth Song”, “You are not alone”, and “Heal the world”.

Join me in my prayers for Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Let us bow our heads for a few minutes and just say a prayer.

May their souls rest in peace! May God bless them and their families!

I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau.

But before I write about the details of our vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau, I will try to finish first what I started about our Scotland Golf Vacation last year in July 2008. I know it is long overdue but I would like to write about Inverness, Oban, and Hawick in Scotland as well as about Colchester and Leeds Castle in England. Then I might as well write about our trip in Salzburg, Austria in September 2008.

Anyway, I also mentioned at the title of this blog entry that I received a gift from Google. I was really surprised and I did not at all expect to receive any gift from Google despite receiving Christmas gift certificates in 2007 and 2008. Come to think of it, it is not even Christmas yet.

So, if you receive any, what would you do if you receive a gift from Google?

In my case, I just wrote a blog entry about it at Pro Blog it. You can read the details and see the photos of the Surprise Gift from Google at ProBlogit.com.