"Dial M" For a Not So Funny Joke.

How can we take these people seriously when they don't even take
themselves seriously? How can a former government official go on
national TV, lambast known politicians on air, in the midst of a
grueling campaign season and then say that the whole darn thing is one
big fat joke, when pushed against the wall by a senatorial hearing. His
talk show is a comedy show after all.

FYI, no one is laughing at your "joke", everyone is laughing at you.

Cosmo's Hongkong Summer Spectacular

MECHANICS

1. This promo is open to all Cosmo.ph and Cosmopolitan Magazine readers in Metro Manila, aged 18-30 with a valid passport that is valid until February 2012 and is available to fly to Hong Kong from August 29 to September 1, 2011.

2. To join, Cosmo.ph and Cosmopolitan Magazine readers must do the following on the ‘Visa go HK Super Shopper Promo’ on Cosmo.ph
Answer the question: “What's your fashion-forward style tip for Hong Kong visitors this summer?”
Include a link to a photo of themselves in their most "fashion forward in HK" style with a June AND July 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine.
Please make sure that your photo is viewable. Either paste the link after right-clicking the 'Copy link location' or give the 'download' link.

Missing My Mom's Handwriting

I remember my mom's handwriting vividly. She had beautiful handwriting.
It's a gift she failed to pass down to both my sister and me. It was
lovely and charming. Girly yet powerful. Mostly I remember her writing
when she made excuse letters for me when I got sick and had to miss
school. I remember how I loved the way she wrote my name...(Please
excuse Karen from being absent...) her capital K was so feminine yet
strong... I never liked my name. I always thought it was so short and
simple. I felt it wasn't special enough. But not when my mom wrote it, I
felt she scrawled my name with all the warmth and love in the world. I
felt special.

I also remember her staying at our kitchen table writing long letters to
my dad who was working overseas. This was way before the age of emails
and chats. It was during a time when only a privileged few had the honor
of owning telephones in their homes. Writing was their only way of
communicating with each other. I never thought of my parents as sappy
and romantic, but in their own way I guess they were.

She would write on her thick yellow pad using an old metal fountain pen.
Its ink bottle, still in its original box all blotched with ink stains,
always ready by the side, in case she needed to refill. She wrote in
beautiful and seamless longhand. I always admired how she wrote her long
letters, and believe me they were long... She kept our father up to date
with the daily humdrum of our household, the quizzes we had and how we
did, who got sick with what and even the latest scandal in showbiz and
the local news.

I guess miss my mom's handwriting because it mostly reminds me of my
youth. I miss how things were.

Mostly I just really miss my mom.