MOVING ON

I tried to keep away from venturing out in sharing my take about this shocking demise (as I'll be obviously riding on the current popularity of the worldwide grief now experienced over the death of an icon), but I could not help but share a thing or two about Michael Jackson. I heard the news about his death in an almost empty bus among 3 black people up there in the Bronx. Michael was very much as black as those 3 with me that time, though I figure he must have been forgiven by most black people for transforming himself into what others have described as a "white woman," an act he must have committed in order to pursue his calling as an artist, as part of coming up with a whole new package for a finicky market, as a way to depart strongly from the past (and come in terms with the present, as some will say). I suddenly remarked before the group, in my faltering accent, my observation that most media have been harsh towards Michael during the last few years of his life, as...

Copy-pasted below are dubious messages supposedly from Google, and Gmail. I just wonder what kind of pleasure do people who are into these things derive from sending out messages like these....hmmmm, the travails of having an online presence these days...well, what else can I say? from Google promotions reply-to mrg.benfield01@msn.com to date Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 7:39 AM subject Google Online Promo © 2009 mailed-by univ.trieste.it hide details 7:39 AM (3 hours ago) Reply Follow up message Dear Valued Customer, Your e-mail has emerged as a winner of £500,000.00 GBP (Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in our on-going promotion.Your Winning details are as follows: Computer Generated Profile Numbers (CGPN):7-22-71-00-66-12, Ticket number: 00869575733664, Serial numbers:/BTD/8070447706/06, Lucky numbers: 12-12-23-35-40-41(12). Contact Mr Grahams Benfield, for more details through the contact below: Mr Grahams Benfield,, Email: mrg.benfield02@gmail.com Sincerely, Mr Peter Janot. +++...

Lately, I've been getting some strange replies from people I don't really know. They were replying to emails which they thought I sent them, asking them to apply for vacancies in a fictitious company that I'm supposed to represent. Despite the malicious intent, I hope something good happens from all these......Help! I copy-pasted below the text of the emails which was sent to a number of people. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused anyone out there. I'm a real person, and you can just reply to this posting if you want to know more about these malicious emails where my email addresses have been used. I've also received some job offers from several companies that are dubious. I copy pasted one of them here. I'll be updating this email as soon as I receive letters similar to this. Thank you for taking time to read this! from Sam Judge to dyerohmeb@gmail.com date Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 7:50 PM subject Re: personal Assistant mailed-by yahoo.com hi...

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham My review rating: 5 of 5 stars My friend who's also a book reader was surprised at me reading a book as "boring" as this one. I actually bought it months after the news on the meltdown of banks and financial institutions have settled down. I wanted to review what I learned about Financial Management including "investing" from MBA school (having finished mine in 2001). I took my own sweet time reading and re-reading this, most of which time I spent while traveling to and fro the subway to my daily destinations. The time was well spent, as I got myself reviewed and even have come up with another goal on investing that's included in my annual goals, of which I'm working on now. What's wonderful about this book is that it was written by someone who knew firsthand the ups and downs of the financial market for over 50 years (am not sure now, but you can verify this as you read the book), specifically ...

Can someone tell me how to move on from the grief I've had since learning about John's death? He was found dead in his home, after cops got into his apartment when family members were worrying about unanswered phone calls, as well as unexplained absence from his work. The service held less than a week after John died was well attended by his grieving family members, loved ones, and friends. He was not there anymore, not even his body. John's body must have been cremated following his preference which I also heard from him in one of our talks when he was still around. No ashes but there were floral arrangements. I didn't ask for details about his suicide nor about other details during the service from his sisters nor his father; it was one of the most awkward way of meeting up people the first time (though I have heard a lot about certain people in the room from John himself). I read about the suicide from another posting in other blogs. His Father, whom I got to talk ...

In today's job market situation, you get to encounter a lot of ridiculous postings on Craigslist (and perhaps, other job sites as well). They make you think twice or do more pondering as to how these employers or prospective clients have sensed to figure out how to take advantage of people's desperation to get jobs...well, to tell you honestly, and from my previous experience doing HR work for nearly 20 years, you won't ever get a job because you are in a desperate situation. You get the job because you're the best fit, nothing more, nothing less. And here's more: the more you allow yourself to be taken advantaged of because you're in a desperate situation, the more you keep away from getting what you think you deserve. Of course, employers are almost always in search of those who are hungry, but they'd definitely won't deal with someone starving. Most employers are starving themselves, given the thin profit margins of most businesses nowadays (even th...