nick-maricel

I don't know a thing about those two sites. I HAVE used this one before, to buy my fiance' a cell-phone. It's an American guy with pinay wife, and they came through as they said they would....

http://www.wowphilippines.com/catalog/

thanks for all the reply but when i looked at their products in wowphilippines.com, they don't have Spa Gift Cert so i guess i'll just use the pinasgift.com as greg and lyn have tried it already thanks!

Hi guys, uhm I just wanna know your opinions and suggestions.. I'm planning to surprise my sister on her birthday (May 08) and my mom on Mother's Day (May 10) and I'm gonna inLude my dad also so he will not be jealous. I want to order on line Spa Gift Certificates that will be sent directly to them.. I have a friend who recommended these sites, www.pinasgift.com and www.filgifts.com

Just wanna know if you guys have used these websites and which is the most reliable?

Thanks for the suggestions, highly appreciated

goodluck!

welcome to vj!

Visa Journey and America Rocks!!

what shots did you had in the Phils or what's on your vaccine report that were marked as completed? As for my vaccine report, the TDAP and MMR were marked as completed and i had VH history and other vaccines are still not age appropriate. I had these shots last aug 2008. We just went to the civil surgeon to have my vaccine report from PI be transfered to form I-693 and we paid $45 for it, some jv members paid less.

I will terribly miss her when she works and me travelling alone but I love my wife and there is nothing in this world I wouldn't do to make her happy. If she will be happy working, then be it. Her future earnings is OURS, and will be saved for our future travels and retirement. In our relationship there is no hers and mine, it is always OURS.

very well said... MARRIAGE is YOU + ME = US

homesick and being alone:

whew!!... i just finished reading this topic and all the replies, there's so much about it. Well, Everybody who came here in the US gets homesick, it's natural and I think even if you've been here for how many years already, you will still feel it, it's just a matter of how you handle it and also with the help of your husband. It was really a big adjustment for me, I'm a very outgoing person, never sleeps, always out, having fun and working in the morning and work even on weekends, always busy - it's like I don't own my time - and my husband knew me that way from the start) I remember how I sad I was last nov and dec (I arrived here Oct 2008), I don't have friends here in my area, I was crying every now and then, pitied myself of just always staying at home and doing nothing. Natauhan ako nun umiyak ang asawa ko sa harap ko at tinanong nya ko kung hindi ba ako masaya na kasama sya, na nagsisisi ba ako sa naging desisyon ko na maging asawa nya, na ginagawa nman nya lahat pra pasayahin ako, I didn't know that I hurt him for that, I became so insensitive while he, is trying his hard to make me happy even if he's tired from work and always busy, I forgot to appreciate the things he did for me because I was busy of crying and feeling miserable, I forgot that I should be grateful that finally after waiting for the visa and all that, we're together now. Everybody is right, it's really hard at first, but you have all the time now, I always call my family in PI, I get myself busy, I offered to do all the AOS stuff instead of hiring a lawyer again and since my husband is always busy, I never stop on searching friends on my area on the internet, never stop smiling and saying hi to people that looks like Filipino who Ive seen at the mall, resto and store, I'm proud that because of my husband, I know now how to cook, I re-decorated our house and plan to do some re-paintings and renovations, uh! I've got so much stuff on my "to do list now" I don't even know what to start sa dami but I'm so much happier now and I discovered that there's a lot of Pinays here in my area, I'm now making friends with them

working or plain housewife:

it's still your life and have the right to be treated as a woman and as a human, for me, being married doesn't give each other the right to own the other, it's two lives sharing together. it's also a matter of having a good communication. don't be afraid to express how you feel since we are in a liberated country. my husband asked me what do i want to do and I said I want to work and drive, I dont want to always rely on him whenever I want to buy something for myself, for him or for our house. And try to think of it, even if you are in the PI and let's say you have a Pinoy husband instead of a foreigner, you will still work, do the household chores and take care of the house and the kids, and much worse, your Pinoy husband will just cheat on you and will not appreciate you and sometimes they don't have jobs but still manage to go out with friends and drink (ooppss! I'm not referring to all guys in PI ha, hehe) My husband always tells me how much I make him happy and how much he appreciates me even if I don't make him lunch (it's hard for me to wake up early hehe..) I said sorry for that and he said it's ok, he's been doing that eversince and it's just easy to make and besides I'm doing all the other household chores. If your husband wants you to just stay at home but you want to work, try to tell him that you want to try and should not be worried because you will still take care of the house and him and still be a good wife. If you can't handle it properly then stop working, it's your choice. It's also your choice and it's in your hands of how your husband will treat you. WORKING OR JUST BEING A PLAIN HOUSEWIFE IS EVERY COUPLE'S CHOICE AND IT DEPENDS ON EVERY COUPLE'S SITUATIONS, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO DO WITH WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

Try to realize that you're not the only, it's not the end of the world, it's just the beginning of everything, new chapter of our lives. just take one step at a time and be patient. we're all the same whether we have a very sweet and expressive husbands or not, we all feel homesick. But thanks to the internet and telephone and to VJ of course..

Cheer up! Be an independent woman/wife!

you have to go to your nearest local civil surgeon

here's the locator link:

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of...office_type=CIV

oh and by the way, we have the same wedding date

goodluck

with the above, then the medical/vaccination requirement is the same for both (age appropriate)

yes that's right.. and i didn't undergo for another vaccines here in the u.s. i just went to the uscis civil surgeon to had my vaccine form from PI transfered to form I-693 and they put it in a sealed envelope. i only had TDAP and MMR marked as completed and others were marked as not age appropriate. we paid $45 for the form.

Friday, January 09, 2009

FEATURE

Black Nazarene: Machismo vs. devotion

Is the feast of the Black Nazarene more about macho bragging rights than spiritual devotion? This rough-and-tumble religious procession held every 9th of January in Manila is not for the fainthearted.

Despite a heavy police and medical emergency services presence, last year’s feast led to the death of two people and injured 50, attracted more than a million people and took nearly seven hours to complete its 4.7-kilometer procession.

It is an event much like a rock concert mosh pit—thousands jostling as a heaving and groaning sweaty mass of muscle. All this just for chance to be a pingga—those who push the carriage of the Black Nazarene—or to be a salang—those who pull on one of the three ropes that form the symbolical reins of the carriage. All come barefoot to avoid aggravating the pain of one’s feet inevitably trampling and being trampled upon by fellow devotees.

Like any rowdy nightclub, this street event has its bouncers—enforcers garbed in maroon called mamamasan—who push the carriage as well as push back the sea of men to prevent them from being crushed by the carriages’ wheels. And like any many event it has its top dogs—men in yellow shirts who ride atop the carriage called hijos de nazarenos—who direct the mamamasan from on high.

Television journalist Julius Babao recalls his experience as one of those holding the carriage handles: “They kept on telling me, ‘No matter what happens don’t let go.’ The moment the gates of Quiapo Church are open, hundreds of people come swarming at you, it kind of reminded me of a scene from the movie 300 when the Persian troops crashed into Leonidas.’ People literally started climbing on my shoulders just to get up the carriage and touch the image. I even saw some people that I had just talked to a few moments ago stumble on the floor and get trampled.”

Fernando Carpio, parochial vicar of the Minor Basilica of Quiapo, said, “Sometimes it’s just a bragging right for men who participate in the festival. The sad thing is that it stops there and doesn’t have any lasting effect on their lives.”

Not just for men

Policeman Silvano Modo of the Quiapo police substation explained that the Feast of the Black Nazarene is not an all-male event. He attests that a handful of women do brave the event, but added, “They don’t last long, as soon as they’ve touched the caroza, they’re out of it.”

He said that, despite the religious nature of the event, “Pickpockets are commonly on the loose during the feast considering the thickness of the crowd.” Nonetheless, he commends the good nature of the devotees despite the event’s physicality and attests, “I don’t remember any fights erupting among the devotees.”

Babao defends the spirituality of Black Nazarene devotees. “I don’t think it’s a macho thing at all. Who would want to risk their lives by joining a parade like this if not for faith? I am convinced that it is sincere devotion that keeps them coming back to Quiapo.”

Felipe Jocano Jr., professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, explained: “You’ll have to look into the concept of panata. A vow or panata is undertaken for any of many reasons, but it means that a special relationship has been established with the object of the panata. There is a reciprocal relationship established, with a clear expectation on both sides as to the nature of the relationship will entail. The risks are simply part of the equation.”

Reputedly miraculous

The Black Nazarene is reputedly miraculous. “There is a saving power in touch,” said Rt. Rev. Msgr. Josefino Ramirez, V.G. Sister Zeny Cauntay, Catholic charismatic preacher, cites biblical passages such as how the mere touch of Christ’s tunic healed a hemorrhagic woman.

The Vatican has encouraged devotion through it. In the 17th century, Pope Innocent X established the Confraternity of the Most Holy Black Christ Nazarene. In the 19th century Pope Pius VII granted indulgences to those who pray before the Black Nazarene of Quiapo.

Curiously, it is a replica that attracts so many devotees hoping for a wish-fulfilling touch. The procession uses the original body with a replica head. The original head is attached onto a replica body placed permanently behind the basilica’s main altar.

Over the years

The original Nazarene bears a gunshot wound from an incident in the late 1990s. It has survived calamities that destroyed Quiapo Church several times over: earthquakes in 1645 and 1863, fires in 1791 and 1929 and the American carpet-bombing of Manila in 1945.

The hijos de nazarenos and the mamamasan were first organized in 1976 to prevent the feast from degenerating into anarchy. Despite the further lengthening of the carriage’s three ropes every year, it is never long enough to accommodate all those who wish to be a salang.

This year, the procession begins at Luneta (Rizal Park) and ends in the Quiapo Basilica. The Black Nazarene replica has been moved to San Agustin’s Cathedral in Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao. The number of people drawn to the Black Nazarene can only get larger.

-- Rome Jorge, Perry Gil S. Mallari And Johanna Sampan

Friday, January 09, 2009

EDITORIAL

Quiapo’s Black Nazarene

now a national patron

Today is the grand fiesta of the Quiapo district of the City of Manila. It marks the end of the novena to Jesus the Black Nazarene that always starts on New Year’s Day. But unlike previous years—but like 2006, when the nation celebrated the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the life-size Black Nazarene sculpture in wood of Jesus Christ in the costume of a royal personage bearing the cross of Calvary and wearing a crown of thorns—the procession in honor of Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (Our Father Jesus Nazarene) starts at the Luneta. It leaves the Luneta right after the 8 a.m. High Mass celebrated by Archbishop of Manila Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales.

Public safety drove Manila’s Church and police authorities to change the venue of the High Mass and procession from Quiapo church itself to the Luneta. The average participation has grown in the past decade to 80,000, which according to news reports quoting police officials, poses extraordinary hazards to the public.

A most spectacular religious event

The feast of the Black Nazarene is viewed by Manilans—and now people of many other cities that have also mounted High Masses and the Black Nazarene procession on January 9, making it a national feast day—as one of the most spectacular and deeply pious religious events in our country.

Here is the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s description of the procession, written in 1979 for Mr. and Ms. Publications’ Almanac for Manileños:

“To Quiapo’s fiesta procession speed wave on wave and horde upon horde of all Manila’s maledom: kanto boy and matón, jeep driver and stevedore, the siga and the sikat—all in the classic get-up of the Quiapo panata: towel round the neck, rolled-up trousers, bare feet, and white T-shirt printed with the face of Christ and the text Hijos del Nazareno. And all, from 13 years and up, have come to prove themselves macho in the roughest, rowdiest, ruggedest procession in the city’s year. And what a spectacle it is: that rumbling sea of heads in the midst of which, now sinking and now rising, now tottering and now falling, now rushing and now lagging, suddenly appears uplifted over the tumult, dark and dazzling, terrible and triumphant: the Lord of Downtown.”

There was a legend—maybe it was true—that the most wanted gangsters were immune from arrest on the day of the Quiapo fiesta as long as they wore the devotees’ standard costume and penitently suffered with the rest in pulling and bearing the carriage of the Black Nazarene.

Quiapo was known as “the worker district” which it may no longer be. Before the 1980s, in the pre- and post-World War II years, when there was still a true sense of community in Manila and environs (that area now knowns as Metro Manila or National Capital Region), everyone went to Quiapo church the way everyone now goes to the Baclaran Mother of Perpetual Help shrine. And most had friends and relatives living in Quiapo. They visited them for the fiesta—partook of the meal and went away full and feeling blessed by the miraculous Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno.

The statue was brought to Manila by the first group of Augustinian Recollect friars on May 31, 1606. The image was then housed in the first Recollect church in Bagumbayan (where Jose Rizal was executed) which was inaugurated on September 10, 1606, and placed under the patronage of San Juan Bautista/ Saint John the Baptist.

In 1608, the image of the Nazareno was transferred to the second, bigger Recollect church which was dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino. The Recollect Fathers zealously promoted devotion to the Suffering of Our Lord Jesus Christ represented by the Black Nazarene. Under their guidance, the Cofradia de Santo Cristo Jesús Nazareno was established on April 21, 1621. The confraternity obtained Pope John Innocent X’s approval on April 20, 1650.

In 1787, then Archbishop of Manila, Basilio Sancho de Santas Junta y Rufina, ordered the image of the Black Nazarene moved to the Quiapo church, which was then as now under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist. Today, Quiapo church also holds the title Minor Basilica of St. John the Baptist. The image has survived the great fires that destroyed Quiapo church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the bombing of Manila in 1945.

When the statue was brought to Manila in 1606, the ship caught fire, scorching the image black, and which is how it came to be known as the Black Nazarene. The people preserved and honored Jesus Christ in the image of the Black Nazarene which has, through the centuries, proved to be the worker of cures, conversions and the return of lost souls to the Catholic Faith.

Miracles of conversion and cures

Miracles are believed to be given to those who touch the image. That is why devotees who share in the duty of bearing the gilded carriage that bears the image have a towel wrapped around their necks. The towels are thrown to the marshals aboard the carriage who wipe the Black Nazarene with them and then throw them back to the devotees.

Today, as centuries before, the sea of devotees will yell “Viva Señor” from the Luneta to Quiapo. The statue of regal suffering Nuestro Señor Jesus Nazareno standing with the large cross in the gilded carriage moves through the effort of the barefoot devotees pulling the long ropes.

Catholics devoted to Jesus as the Black Nazarene not only petition God for personal miracles. They also pray for peace and harmony among families, long life and good health for the entire Filipino nation and its deliverance from all calamities and disasters, as well as prosperity, joy and love among all the people of the earth.

FAVORITE PETS

DOGS

CATS

MORE!!

SISIG

BICOL EXPRESS & LAING

TAPSILOG

KILAWING ISDA

MORE!!

HALAYANG UBE & LECHE FLAN

BIBINGKA

PUTO BUNGBONG

SPEAKING OF PINOY FOOD, here's some pix, pra magutom kayo at ako, LOL

wag n kayo away, it's Christmas, time for Loving, forgiving, sharing, and EATING!

HANDA

CHICKEN ADOBO

LECHON BABOY

CRISPY PATA

KARE-KARE

SINIGANG

MENUDO

LECHON MANOK

PALABOK

RELYENONG BANGUS

My husband also used xoom when I was in the PI and since I already had an ATM there which is Metrobank (it's my payroll ATM) so we just used it, it's fast, reliable and cheaper. Xoom never failed us too and Metrobank even notified me that the money was already deposited in my account - this is for $1000 above. But If she doesn't have any atm and you have to send the money asap then you can just use WU, whichever is convenient for you and for her especially.

Goodluck and congratulations

Speaking of....is there anywhere one can purchase a Filipino parol in the US? Would want to hang one on the porch.

maybe we could make one, even just an old style parol I'm trying to remember how to make that star made of kawayan then wrap it in yellow plastic (hehe i forgot how you call it) uhm then put japanese paper on it (we made that as a xmas project when i was in elementary).. hhmm i think i'm inspired to do it and it's gonna be fun

OMG! i love hotdogs but I will never ever eat that..never ever.. I'm a dachshund lover waahh!!

(but that's cute just for photography only and not for eating..)

MY BABIES WHO ARE LEFT IN THE PHILIPPINES, miss them so much...

Isang samahan at pagkakaibigan kahit magkakalayo at hindi man lubos na magkakakilala at para sa mga pusong lubos na nagmamahal at sa mga pusong nalulumbay sa pagkakalayo sa mga mahal na pamilya sa Pinas ..

salamat sa gumawa nito:

http://www.friendster.com/group/tabmain.php?gid=1387986

My husband also did everything around the house before I came here, cooking, bills, laundry etc.. at first he's the one who's cooking because I'm still adjusting to my new environment and food. He had this schedule for every dinner, like for monday, we have mexican food, tuesday-asian, wednesday-whatever, thursday-italian, friday-fish, saturday-pizza time, sunday-grill, but sometimes we go out too for dinner.. Before he didn't had rice for the tuesday-asian sched, so I suggested that I want rice for our asian, and sometimes I insisted on cooking and he eat the food though. We're now adjusted to it, maybe all you need to do is to talk with your husband since people here are straight forward, just be ready with his answers, if he's gonna tell you that he doesn't like your cooking etc.. just talk with him and tell him what you feel..

But we're done with it coz we really didnt leave the office until we get what we wanted and had it in my married name..

Done as in what? You submitted an SSN application or the application will be processed to assign the SSN and issue a card?

If you just got them to accept the application, you could possible be waiting a while for the number and card.

Your status needs to be verified before anything happens and if they were that screwed up about just accepting the application, I can see this taking a while since you applied with your married name.

I'm done with the application and it's on process now, the card will be mailed in two weeks after the application (I hope so.. ).. We didn't had a problem about gettin it with my married name, the problem at first was that they said I can't apply for it because of my K-1 status (without checkin it first on the system) they said "No you can't" my husband said "Yes she can", that's six times of exchanging same lines/words until they gave up and asked if we're already married and asked for our marriage contract, they checked it on the system and said that we're right.. They gave us proof that I applied for it:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOCIAL SECURITY

354 E FEDERAL ST

YOUNGSTOWN, OH 44503

DECEMBER 5, 2008

MY MARRIED NAME

OUR ADDRESS

This is a receipt to show that you applied for a Social Security card on Dec. 5, 2008. You should have your card in about ttwo weeks. Any documents you have submitted are being returned to you with this receipt.

You can use your Social Security card for work only if you have authorization from the Department of Homeland Security.

If you do not recieve your SS card within two weeks, please let us know. You may call, write or visit any Social Security office. If you visit an office, please bring this receipt with you.............................................................................

..

SIGNED

FIELD OFFICE MANAGER

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the my wife is obese too!! she also weigh 85 pounds

We're in Poland, OH. The card will be mailed in about two weeks

My husband and I went to SSA office yesterday here in Ohio, we brought everything, marriage license and contract, we even had hard copy of guidelines for K-1 applying for SSN etc etc.. we've been reading all about it and some possible problems that we might encounter in SSA office. The employee and even the manager said that I cannot get an SSN because I'm a K-1, we insisted that I can apply for it, so they ask for our marriage contract and then they said, "Ah ok since you're already married, you can now apply for it but if you're not and you don't have marriage contract then you're not allowed" We told them "how come some of my friends in other states who are also K-1 status was able to get one even before marriage, oh maybe it's different for every state.." hehe I made fun with them coz obviously it should be all the same right. hhmm.. It's just so funny that they really don't know their job or not familiarize with all kinds of applicants/status who can or cannot apply for SSN.. But we're done with it coz we really didnt leave the office until we get what we wanted and had it in my married name..

Thanks to VJ! and also thanks to Ann&Andrew, Jack&Anais for giving me other infos...

My husband and I went to SSA office yesterday here in Ohio, we brought everything, marriage license and contract, we even had hard copy of guidelines for K-1 applying for SSN etc etc.. we've been reading all about it and some possible problems that we might encounter in SSA office. The employee and even the manager said that I cannot get an SSN because I'm a K-1, we insisted that I can apply for it, so they ask for our marriage contract and then they said, "Ah ok since you're already married, you can now apply for it but if you're not and you don't have marriage contract then you're not allowed" We told them "how come some of my friends in other states who are also K-1 status was able to get one even before marriage, oh maybe it's different for every state.." hehe I made fun with them coz obviously it should be all the same right. hhmm.. It's just so funny that they really don't know their job or not familiarize with all kinds of applicants/status who can or cannot apply for SSN.. But we're done with it coz we really didnt leave the office until we get what we wanted and had it in my married name..

Thanks to VJ! and also thanks to Ann&Andrew, Jack&Anais for giving me other infos...