October 2002 Vol. 2 Issue 17
An Internet Newsletter publication of the American Society of CIM Alumni, Inc.
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October 2002 Vol. 2 Issue 17 |
An Internet Newsletter publication of the American Society of CIM Alumni, Inc. | |
THE ASOCIMAI OFFICERS: Dominador Ong, M.D. Board Members: Horace Cabasares, M.D. CME Coordinator: Ways and Means Committee BRAIN WAVES STAFF: Editorial Board: Maida Antigua, M.D. Editor: Staff Correspondents: Guest Correspondents: Send news, articles, pictures, announcement, obituary, etc., to:clems3ra@adelphia.net
| Editor's Column"What is this life, full of care,We have no time to stand and stare?" --William Henry Davies BEAUTY(Part 1) In the modern days, women capitalize on their beauty as a tool to earn millions of dollars in acting, modeling and advertisements, and a rich husband as a bonus. Woe to the men who get entangled with a messy divorce. As Robin Williams said: "Divorce is having your genitals torn off through your wallet." But not only women use beauty as a tool to achieve what they want, men too. Some men take advantage of their beauty to prey on vulnerable women both for money and sexual exploits. One of the European tales says that the rose was made white by God, but since Adam looked at it while it was half open, it was ashamed and blushed. Such is the beauty of a young innocent woman that leaves men speechless as if she is sacred. A woman who is beautiful is also often lovable. But not all beauties arouse love, and some that charm the eye do not win the heart. Perhaps due to natural sexual attraction, men often have the weakness of noticing a woman's physical charms more than her intellectual strengths and cunning. Thus behind the success and downfall of many great men was a beautiful woman. Indeed beauty can be a powerful tool, but it is sharp on both ends. It can put the human race in harmony with its destiny, but it can also destroy the human race and its destiny. We read about Helen of Troy, Samson and Delilah, Bill and Monica, etc. In the movie The Three Musketeers, Aramis said to D'Artagnan: "Women are created for our downfall, and all our miseries come from them." Women, please no offense. I'm just quoting.
Women and Beauty Yet many of those who had undergone few to several enhancing procedures to maintain youthful looks don't have much success in defying the ravages of time. They continue to age like everyone else. If you look at them after a certain number of years like the way you look at an artist's portrait, you can still see vague traces of beauty left in them, like clues to what once was, but those procedures had overlaid their past with a harsh brush. Sophie Tucker once said: "From birth to age eighteen, a girl needs good parents. From eighteen to thirty-five, she needs good looks. From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs good personality. From fifty-five on, she needs good cash." But those women of beauty who have fully accepted the normal biological process of life with the graciousness and gracefulness of a ballerina or a ballet dancer, seem to grow more beautiful with time. Their face seems to have always a kind of refined beauty that is somehow made more appealing by the detectable intelligence that lay beneath. They possess both types of beauty - style and rhythm. They move with fluidity, pose with confidence, and their attitude reflects the love of life. Their mood is sweet, personality pleasant, and good cash or no cash, the process of aging has no effect in their self-esteem and self-respect. Their smile even becomes more enchanting and more radiant like the rising sun itself, glowing and glorious. Such smile could easily disarm the angel of Last Judgment. Age doesn't seem to dull their glory. Their charm still magnetizes, their inner strength continues to shine through, and the intensity of their eyes could still melt your cold, cold heart. Beauty, the Healer |
Beauty and the Uncertain Future
Frank Lloyd Wright warned, "If you ignore beauty, your life will be impoverished." While many of us enjoy a spectacular sunset or a majestic landscape, there is a lot of beauty around that never penetrates our awareness. One reason is that in our profession, many of us lead a life of fast-forward, like one of those space rockets that has to go a certain speed to break free of the earth's gravity. Or, we are like playing football and we have only two minutes with no more timeout left to score a touchdown or otherwise we lose. And it's almost like that every day for many of us until we are forced to slow down because our muscles have started to ache, our hips have started to squeak and our knees have started to creak. We are always in a hurry to get over our routine daily activities only to have extra time with nothing else to do but watch TV or pre-occupy the mind with either the excess baggage of the past or the anticipation of the future.
It would not be surprising if some of us spend most of our free time planning and calculating the future like our retirement in relation to our health, to our funds and investments, lifestyle, etc. For that's what the so-called experts advised us to do. Don't get me wrong. Of course, there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, plans and preparation are often the key to success and security later in life. But if they constantly occupy our mind in the form of either worry or anxiety, or to the point that we put off living or are basically living in the future, then we need to realize that the future is always uncertain. Nobody can predict the future. The further you look into the future, the more uncertain it's going to be. The Beauty that got away When our sights are glued to the future, we seldom grasp the full joy of living. The life of the present has its rights and it should not be bound to sacrifice itself continually to the future. The quality of beauty is measured by the quality of imagination. If our imagination is constantly utilized toward the future, we won't even notice, let alone appreciate the so many beautiful things that surround us in the present. Our retirement portfolio may be badly mauled by the bear, but we are alive and being alive is beauty in itself. It is more than enough to be happy with and grateful for. The past is gone. It's no longer human to be sinking with the ugly past. Misery always makes an offer, but we have the power to accept or reject it. Money and material things cannot make us really happy. Only a loving heart and a clear conscience can. For with them, we can make the best of whatever we've got. We can look at ourselves in the mirror and, despite the contrary to what we would have liked to see, we would simply just smile back.(First of Two Parts) Southern Hospitality The Rooms with the View Terror in the Future If you had missed or now want to read that issue or edition, click on Home at the bottom of this page, then on CIM Brain Waves and then on Third Edition under the month of December 2001. It is in the Editorial Column under a paragraph entitled Terror in the Future. Believe me. You'd be surprised what you had missed. And you'd be amazed of the waves that Brain Waves had shaken and stirred. Now for not an encouraging assessment; if there is a war against Iraq, there is a good likelihood that it will become a religious war. And as most if not all of us know, since the beginning of time, in any religious war, there is no hope for resolution because it is a war between their God and our God. There are no winners, only losers; no victors, only victims. So the future is becoming more uncertain and terrifying. My suggestion: Learn to live and enjoy life with less, than wait till you have more. More is an illusion. The more you want it, the more illusive it becomes. Also, start attending our alumni reunion, for reason that.....you know..... Reminder And for what it's worth, my son has been selling and buying things through eBay. My camera, not just my computer, is busy when he is home because he takes pictures of the things he wants to sell. He sold his old guitars, guitar pedals, Amp, etc., and bought new ones or new used ones. Fortunately, he didn't have to ask me for money although I sometimes have to drive to UPS because he has no time, and pay the shipping, but he does the packing. What he gets from working at Arby's restaurant and from what he sold at eBay are apparently enough for what he buys. Good kid. Proud of him. Lastly, the one year anniversary issue of Brain Waves will be in November. We'd appreciate any message you can send. "Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even." -- Muhammad Ali "I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate." -- George Burns "Don't ask for a light load, but rather ask for a strong back." -- Unknown "To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes "If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed down hill." -- Unknown "To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else." -- Bernadette Devlin "When the right thing is understood, but one slackens his performance; then his attention will become commanded by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things. When these things come to dominate one's interest, his performance of the more important spiritual insights will fail. Belief without performance will never produce desired results. It is like planting seeds in your garden, watering the garden until they sprout, then failing to continue to water and weed thereafter. Likewise, a person caught by procrastination in the stony and thorny ground of mere belief, will never reap the fruits of his ideals." -- Loyd J. Ericson A woman in her fifties went to see a plastic surgeon. "What can you do for me?" she asked. A woman was walking along the street when a parrot in a pet shop window squawked: "Hey, lady, you're ugly." The woman tried to ignore the insult and hurried on her way. A man suffered a serious heart attack and had open heart bypass surgery. He awakened from the surgery to find himself in the care of nuns at a
Catholic hospital. As he was recovering, a nun asked him questions regarding how he was
going to pay for the services. An elderly man and a Baptist minister were sitting next to each other on a plane. Since the flight had been delayed, the pilot announced that once they were airborne, free drinks would be brought round to the passengers by way of apology. (NOTE: This information was sent by a friend and I believe it should be shared with everyone.)
Important health info for women and men, too. I hope you all take the time to read this and pass it on to all you can. Share this with the women in your life that you care about. Years ago, Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer. Her symptoms were inconclusive, and she was treated for everything under the sun until it was too late. This blood test finally identified her illness but alas, too late. She wrote a book to heighten awareness. Gene Wilder is her widower. I have Primary Peritoneal Cancer. This cancer has only recently been identified as its OWN type of cancer, but it is essentially Ovarian Cancer. Both types of cancer are diagnosed in the same way, with the "tumor marker" CA-125 BLOOD TEST, and they are treated in the same way - surgery to remove the primary tumor and then chemotherapy with Taxol and Carboplatin. Having gone through this ordeal, I want to save others from the same fate. That is why I am sharing this message with you and I hope you will share it with everybody you know. One thing I have learned is that each of us must take TOTAL responsibility for our own health care. I thought I had done that because I always had an annual physical and PAP smear, did a monthly Self-Breast Exam, went to the dentist at least twice a year, etc. I even insisted on a sigmoidoscopy and a bone density test last year. When I had a total hysterectomy in 1993, I thought that I did not have to worry about getting any of the female reproductive organ cancers. LITTLE DID I KNOW. I didn’t have ovaries (and they were HEALTHY when they were removed), but I have what is essentially ovarian cancer. Strange, isn’t it? These are just SOME of the things our Doctors never tell us: ONE out of every 55 women will get OVARIAN or PRIMARY PERITONEAL CANCER. The "CLASSIC" symptoms are an ABDOMEN that rather SUDDENLY ENLARGES and CONSTIPATION and/or DIARRHEA. I had these classic symptoms and went to the doctor. Because these symptoms seemed to be "abdominal", I went to a gastroenterologist. He ran tests that were designed to determine whether there was a bacterial infection; these tests were negative, and I was diagnosed with "Irritable Bowel Syndrome". I guess I would have accepted this diagnosis had it not been for my enlarged abdomen. I swear to you, it looked like I was 4-5 months pregnant! I therefore insisted on more tests. They took an X-ray of my abdomen; it was negative. I was again assured that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and was encouraged to go on my scheduled month-long trip to Europe. I couldn’t wear any of my slacks or shorts because I couldn’t get them buttoned, and I KNEW something was radically wrong. I INSISTED on more tests, and they (reluctantly) scheduled me for a CT-Scan (just to shut me up, I think). This is what I mean by "taking charge of our own health care." The CT-Scan showed a lot of fluid in my abdomen (NOT normal). Needless to say, I had to cancel my trip and have FIVE POUNDS of fluid drained off at the hospital (not a pleasant procedure, I assure you), but NOTHING compared to what was ahead of me. Tests revealed cancer cells in the fluid. Finally, finally, finally, the doctor ran a CA-125 blood test, and I was properly diagnosed. I HAD THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS FOR OVARIAN CANCER, AND YET THIS SIMPLE CA-125 BLOOD TEST HAD NEVER BEEN RUN ON ME, not as part of my annual physical exam and not when I was symptomatic. This is an inexpensive and simple blood test! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE TELL ALL YOUR FEMALE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO INSIST ON A CA-125 BLOOD TEST EVERY YEAR AS PART OF THEIR ANNUAL PHYSICAL EXAMS. Be forewarned that their doctors might try to talk them out of it, saying, "IT ISN’T NECESSARY." Believe me, had I known then what I know now, we would have caught my cancer much earlier (before it was a stage 3 cancer). Insist on the CA-125 BLOOD TEST; DO NOT take "NO" for an answer! The normal range for a CA-125 BLOOD TEST IS between zero and 35. MINE WAS 754 ……(That’s right, 754!). If the number is slightly above 35, you can have another done in three or six months and keep a close eye on it, just like women do when they have fibroid tumors or when men have s slightly elevated PSA (Prostatic Specific Antigens) test that helps diagnose prostate cancer. Having the CA-125 test done annually can alert you early, and that’s the goal in diagnosing any type of cancer – catching it early. Do you know 55 women? If so, at least one of them will have this VERY AGGRESSIVE cancer. Please, go to your doctor and insist on a CA-125 test and have one EVERY YEAR for the rest of your life. Well, after reading this, I made some calls. I found that the CA-125 test is an ovarian screening test equivalent to a man’s PSA test prostate screen (which the doctor automatically gives in his physical each year and insurance pays for it). I called the general practitioner’s office about having the test done. The nurse had never heard of it. She told me that she doubted that insurance would pay for it. So I called Prudential Insurance Co., and go the same response. Never heard of it – it won’t be covered. I explained that it was the same as the PSA test they had paid for my husband for years. After conferring with whomever they confer with, she told me that the CA-125 would be covered. It was $75 in a GP’s office and $125 at the GYN’s. This is a screening test that should be required just like a PAP smear (a PAP smear cannot detect problems with your ovaries). And you must insist that your insurance company pay for it. Gene Wilder and Pierce Brosnan (his wife had it, too) are lobbying for women’s health issues, saying that this test should be required in our physicals, just like the PAP and the mammogram. PLEASE NOTE: As an editor of CIM Brain Waves, I rarely publish e-mail forwarded information unless I believe that it's very important and until I am sure that such information is authentic. This is authentic and very important particularly to our women readers. So please take a moment to tell those you know of, either man or woman, that we have this kind of information in our newsletter. I was born in 1939 as the eldest daughter of 10 children in Panay Island. My parents separated when I was 11 years old. . My mother took the 4 youngest children and went to work in a sugar plantation in Cadiz. The rest of us stayed with my father. Although my mother worked for 12 hours in this hacienda, her income was not enough to feed my 4 youngest sisters and brothers.
One day she called me saying that one of my brothers was very ill and was denied admittance to a hospital because of her inability to pay. A brother and I went to the bus station. Since we couldn't pay for our fare, we hid behind boxes of chicken and goats and vegetables. However, when we reached our mother, my brother had died. He died of malnourishment. Since that time, I swore to myself that none of my family should ever die of hunger.
I dropped out of school. I boarded a ship as a stowaway and went to Manila. I worked as a bus conductress for the next 15 years. My working hours were from 6.00AM to midnight, 7 days a week. My job was not easy. Many times there were fights inside the bus or we were held up by robbers. Yet, this was work for me! I worked very hard until I could send for my brothers and sisters to follow me to Manila. There was no time for romantic interests.
In 1972, I signed up with an agency to work for 5 years as domestic help in Madrid. We were promised a salary of $50.-/month. This was a lot of money for me. Later on, I found out that the agent took the other half. This family in Madrid was very rich but we, the domestic helpers, were not treated well. We worked for 16 hours a day. After several months we heard of openings in Switzerland. I ran away from this family in Madrid and travelled to Switzerland with my little savings. For 2 days I just drank coffee. I didn't want to spend my money because I did not know what was ahead of me.
I found a job to work with an ambassador in Bern. This was my most lucky break. I worked very hard. I wanted to make a good impression so I could get good recommendations. I knew that ambassadors and consuls come and go, so my job was never permanent. My hard work paid off in such a way that it was easy for me to find new employers. I have been blessed in my work. I know that many domestic helpers have it hard; some experience violence, others receive very low pay for long working hours, many run away, etc.
A domestic helper working with diplomats live from day to day. Although there are guidelines as to working conditions, it seems these are only good on paper. We can lose our jobs any time, depending on the whim of our employers. If we don't find another employment within a month, we have to leave the country. This is the reason others decide to work "underground", thus become undocumented.
Working as domestic help with diplomats is an invisible job. In Switzerland we are not included in any of the working permit categories. We do not have social security benefits, nor enjoy any of the social services and retirement plans. I pay my own medical insurance. I try to save for my retirement, but as usual many things crop up with family needs. I’m taking vitamins regularly to help me stay healthy. What happens if I get sick?
The Filipina domestic helpers ought to have their own organization. I was very impressed in Beijing seeing the strong and dedicated women's organizations. I also learned of a domestic help organization in the Caribbeans that has a membership of 50'000. That would be something for the Filipinas.
Domestic work should be integrated in the work force as a legitimate job - with due benefits and due recognition. Filipinas leaving for abroad to work should be intensively oriented and prepared for their employment. They should know their rights and have in their hands addresses of organizations and centers where they can acquire local information or take shelter when necessary. The Filipina should be given workshops in self-confidence and self-assertiveness. It is important that they leave our country prepared for what is ahead of them. To Visit the American Society of CIM, Inc., click on any of the ASOCIMAI below:
Five or so years ago, when the stock market was running with the bull, it was beautiful. Life was vibrant and problems were about to evaporate. Many people were buoyed by its beauty that they started talking about and even planning for an early retirement. They were dreaming of lying or walking on the beach, traveling, playing golf, bicycling, etc., and go home drinking beers or sipping wine while watching the football game or movies on DVDs and then go to sleep and snore. The promise of the beautiful future was within most people's grasp. Then the stock market came down to earth and as the bear started devouring it, its beauty is methodically cut into pieces and blown away like last summer leaves. Many hopes were dashed and many dreams were crashed like shattered icons. The retirement that was getting so close became so far away all of a sudden. The present has become more frustrating, and the future more uncertain.
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ASOCIMAI Potpourri
Ignacio "Sonny Boy" Moreno, M.D. of the Class 1972, recently came to the U.S. from the Philippines just to visit family, relatives, friends and classmates. He was very grateful that he was able to at least contact many of his classmates and friends, all because of our e-mail community. With such means of communication, few of our classmates of the class 1972 were able to arrange a trip for Sonny to the South to see them and for them to show Sonny their Southern hospitality. Unfortunately, that hospitality included the arrival of the hurricane Isadore. But despite being pelted and soaked with the pouring rain, Sonny had a good time. From Southern Florida, they drove as far as New Mexico but they almost had to swim in Houston, Texas. Things are always big in Texas including the rain drops. The only small thing that happened in Texas was during the time of Noah when God rained the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. A Texan man was asked about it, and he said: "Here in Texas, we'd got only half an inch of rain during that time." Before Sonny left, he stated that it was his most memorable vacation so far. The images of some of that memory are in our Class 1972 web site. If you want to see them, click on Home at the bottom of this page and then on Sonny and Cheer - ful Friends.
Bad news for those of the class 1970 who had procrastinated. All the rooms with the view in Belen Flores-Rosales' residence have now all been taken. The only space left that has no view is the crawl space. Sorry, Belen is not offering her garage. To anyone among our colleagues in San Diego, if you can offer free rooms or accommodation for your classmates during our alumni reunion next year, we can let your classmates know through our newsletter. Just let us know or send us an e-mail message. Few days for old time sake should be great for you and your classmates.
Those of you who have kept up reading Brain Waves since it started must have remembered at least a part of what was published during its third edition in December 2001. Brain Waves brought up the issue of Iraq as the more likely source of terror in the future. It mentioned about the two ruthless and brutal sons of Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qussay. At that time, nothing about them was published in the newspaper, nor mentioned in TV. Now the media, politicians and the U.S. president are talking about such terror, and a war against Iraq seems likely. This just tells you that Brain Waves is more than just an alumni newsletter. It has the ability to occasionally put world events together and come up with an analysis that gives far more advance warning than the media.
The PayPal in our ASOCIMAI web site for paying your membership fee through the Internet has been up and running smoothly the past more than a month. We, at your service, would love to see you making the transaction through our web site. For those who are still in doubt of its security, PayPal is now owned by eBay - the biggest, the safest and the most secure company of Internet auction. Up to hundreds of millions of dollars are being transacted at eBay daily. No one has ever been reported yet that has lost some money through eBay - No, not from credit card fraud. So try it and see for yourself. *****************
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"Well," said the surgeon, "it depends how much you are prepared to pay. You have bags under your eyes - I can remove those for you. And you have crow's feet around your eyes - I can tighten the skin up there."
"I want more than that."
"Well, you've got a few wrinkles on your forehead - I can pull that tight. Also, your jowls droop down - I can sort that out."
"I still want more - money is no object."
In that case, I can give you the full treatment from the neck up. I can fix your double chin. Your neck and throat are a bit baggy - I can pull that tight. As an extra, I'll put a small screw in the back of your neck beneath your hair. When your wrinkles start to reappear, all you have to do is come in and I'll tighten the screw a little. That will tighten your skin right up."
The woman had the work done and looked great. But ten months later, she called on the surgeon in a state of high anxiety. "Doctor, see these huge bags under my eyes? They've never been there before. You must do something about them!"
"Madam," replied the surgeon, "those aren't bags - they're your breasts. And if you don't stop turning the screw, you're going to end up with a goatee!" ********
The next day when she passed the pet shop, she quickened her stride in the hope that the parrot wouldn't notice her, but he did and squawked loudly: "Hey, lady, you're ugly." The woman was hugely embarrassed.
When the same thing happened for the third and fourth day, she'd had enough. She stormed into the shop and demanded to speak to the owner. She threatened to sue him and to have the parrot put down unless the abuse stopped. The owner promised faithfully that the bird wouldn't say it again.
The following day, she walked past the pet shop and the parrot called out: "Hey, lady."
The lady turned around and glared at the bird. "Yes?"
"You know…."*********************
He was asked if he had health insurance. He replied, in a raspy voice, "No health insurance."
The nun asked if he had money in the bank.
He replied, "No money in the bank." "The nun asked, "Do you have a relative who could help you?"
He said, "I only have a spinster sister who is a nun."
The nun got a little perturbed and announced loudly. "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God."
The patient replies, "Send the bill to my brother in law."********************************
Ten minutes after take-off, the pretty young flight attendant came round with the drinks trolley. The old man requested a whiskey and soda. "And what would you like?" the attendant asked the Baptist minister.
"No, no," he roared. "I would rather commit adultery than drink alcohol!"
The old man looked confused and, handing his drink back to the attendant, he said: "Sorry, I didn't know there was a choice…"*******************
General Health Information
Ovarian Cancer -
CA-125 Blood Test
KATHY’S STORY:
A NOTE FROM AN RN:
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A Life full of struggles
(a first person life story of a domestic helper of 25-years)
Lily Angelical
Babaylan Switzerland, Philippine Women's Network in Europe
reported by Anny Misa Hefti
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San Diego, CaliforniaTop
Beauty, a powerful tool