We're in the Deadliest Time of the Year! (Typhoons in the Philippines)

Dr. Romulo A. Virola, the Secretary-General of the National Statistics Coordination Board has published a witty article with regards to his statistical analysis of typhoon occurence in the country from 1947 up to 2007.

Alarmingly, his analysis revealed that the fourth quarter of the year (October - December) may not have been the most visited months of the year in terms of typhoons, (it's the third quarter, July, August, September that's most visited) but it's the period when the DEADLIEST ones occur and make landfall in the Philippine shores.

The five deadliest and strongest typhoons that made landfall in the country actually crossed the Bicol area, going north westward to CALABARZON-REGION 3 area toward the NCR before successfully drifting to the South-China Sea.

His analysis further revealed a dramatic increase of typhoon activity beginning last decade, the 90s up until today. Coupled with the high number of typhoons, the typhoons with the highest recorded winds as well as those which are classified as most destructive, deadliest and costliest typhoons occured from 1990 to the present. Could this be the result of the radical change in global weather? Is this the outcome of global warming?

Hence, its the high time for us to brace ourselves with stronger and deadlier typhoons in the future - those which are far more than what we might expect and those which would break all the records of disaster in the world and in history of mankind.

Try seeing his article yourself in this website: http://www.nscb.gov.ph/headlines/StatsSpeak/2008/081108_rav_typhoons.asp

My Idea of a Perfect Girl

I have always wanted to write about an article which discusses the type of girl who would best suit to be my better-half or otherwise my permanent partner in life not that I'm publicly announcing it for someone to bid for the position, which, I doubt any well-bread woman would do but only for the sole purpose of reflecting on the specific criteria which I need to set for me to be assured whether she's the right one for me or not.

I believe many men, if not all, have their own standards of an ideal girl apart mostly from the most obvious one which is more of a physical judgment with women (one that has a "coke-like body," one who's mestiza, with long black shiny hair, etc, etc. etc..). Of course, I can't deny that women having such qualities are sexually appealing for all Adams and I would regard it to be even nicer and a great blessing if my "soul mate" would possess such qualities as well as a similar degree of beauty within.

Nevertheless, I see it not a very good choice as I would surely need to share her beauty to some other men who are very much attracted to the physical attributes of a woman, all because I'm certain that she would be the object of desire of those freaks.

I have observed this many times when I'm at the mall or some other public place. You see, whenever I go to the mall, I always bring my sisters with me - both of them are truly blessed with a rare kind of beauty. Honestly, I couldn't take the way other men stare at them to the point that I become so angry and disgusted. I'm afraid I might do something crazy if that happens when I'm with my girlfriend because as I assess myself, I truly am very possessive. If other people find it as something to be proud of, well, it's the other way around in my case. So, I guess, having a goddess-like girlfriend in terms of her countenance is not a very good option. And besides, we are all aware that physical beauty is not permanent. All of us will have to face the truth that the greatest thing that humans could have in this world is the beauty that never fades - the so-called "inner beauty" manifested in our actions.

Once again, I say that we, the son's of Adam, have our individual and personal definitions of true beauty. What is attractive for one may not be so with another. If you ask me, the physical qualities of a lady is quite secondary or probably the last among all of my criteria of an ideal woman.

My foremost requirement (if that's the right term) is her ability to go beyond the boundaries of the natural understanding that a human could have. You see, I'm a busy person who generally prioritizes things which would give me long-term benefits. Thus, she should be the first person who would not bother me too much when I'm working out with something unless it's some matter which would truly need my earnest attention. She should be someone who would constantly encourage me to focus on what I'm doing because she understands that she is a good source of inspiration for the success of my work and that at the end of the day, we would still be together to celebrate our strong bond.

I don't really need an "accessory" type of a girlfriend (one who men only courts for the purpose of bragging about her appeal among his friends and peers). As all humans have their individual flaws, she should be honest to show who she is and not being pretentious about who she should be in front of my friends and family. She should, however, know how to control herself at a certain degree. She should also be knowledgeable about the proper etiquette of a woman because in the near future, she would carry my name upon marriage.

I do prefer someone who listens to what I want to happen or do but she should also know how and when to insist and to divert to follow her heart. She should know how to give her intelligent judgements because when we are already together, especially since we are living in an egalitarian society, family matters are best settled with two heads compared with one.

As it should be true in any relationships, she should accept my imperfections while trying to bridge certain gaps that might arise along the way. She should be a solution-maker rather than a fault-finder. When things get tough, she should better know that it could be best solve through a calm dialogue on the table rather than an unfriendly exchange of curse-words.

In any kind of relationships, money is believed to play a large part in its success. But in my case, I would like a girl who does not always expect a free breakfast, lunch, dinner, jeepney fare and some other things which would require me to spend for her. She should understand that she commited into a relationship not to have a milking cow but to have someone to share life's greatest moments with through thick and thin.

Likewise, she should know that she committed into a relationship not to have an instant manservant who would cook for her, clean for her, carry her things around for her or do some errand in my expense. No, definitely not. Although sometimes, she could do so through a nice request.

One reason why most relationships don't work is because one party keeps on nagging the other in the form of a phone call, text message or the like which could sometimes be really irritating. Therefore, the kind of girl I want should know how to limit her "hello's" and "I miss you's" because she should be aware that I also have to give time for my personal needs and works as much as she does. Furthermore, she should not always expect that we will be together, everyday, every hour, minutes and seconds of the day. She should know it perfectly well that there are matters that we both need to attend to if we want a better future.

Lastly, there is a saying that goes like - if you want to win the heart of a woman, you have to be better than her father. The same goes for me. I would be very glad if the woman I like is similar, if not better, to the qualities my mother possesses.