Have questions on relationships, love affair, sex, your PC or just wanna talk.  Guess what... he has something to say  :)  Send Ninong an  now. 

January 17, 1999

HI THERE. SO SORRY HA, AT PURO ANG E-MAIL KO SA INYO. I'M JUST REALLY INTERESTED IN THE MABUHAY HP. SIGURO, YOU CAN BLAME IT IN ON MY MAJOR IN COLLEGE. I MAJORED IN PUBLIC RELATIONS. THROUGHOUT THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, I HAVE MANAGED TO DO SEVERAL - 7 IN FACT- MEDIA ADVISORIES. YES, I USE TO WORK FOR ONE OF THE BIGGEST ADVERTISING FIRM'S HERE IN THE US, AND NOW I'M WORKING FOR LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES/BELL LABS INNOVATIONS.

SO HERE IT GOES...CAN I MAKE A SUGGESTION? HOW ABOUT CREATING A "DEAR MR. EDITOR" OR "DEAR DR. OBJECT?" LOL COLUMN. IT WOULD BE COLUMN THAT ADDICTED CHATTERS WITH INTERNET LOVE AFFAIR PROBLEMS CAN WRITE TO. OF COURSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO SAY THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BUT IT WOULD BE ALMOST LIKE AN ADVISE COLUMN. WHAT DO YOU THINK? I AM VOLUNTEERING MY EXPERTISE IN THE MATTER...IF YOU NEED A GIRL'S OPINION OF COURSE. OR YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO IS CREATE A "HE SAID-SHE SAID" COLUMN. THAT WAY THERE CAN BE AN ADVISE/OPINION FOR THOSE THAT ARE TROUBLED THAT COMES FROM BOTH A MAN AND A WOMAN. THIS IS JUST A SUGGESTION OF COURSE. BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD WAY OF ADVERTISING, AND WOULD BE LOTS OF FUN TOO. MAYBE..JUST MAYBE... MAKATULONG PA TAYO....

SINCERELY,
MICHELLE
OBJECT OF YOUR AFFECTION/OBJECT_74

PS: SINONG BANG SINUSULATAN KO DITO?!! LOL AND HEY, IF YOU DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA, I WON'T GET INSULTED.  JUST LET ME KNOW ANYWAYS, OK? GOD SPEED TO MABUHAY HP.

Hi Michelle,

No need to sorry iha. Salamat sa suggestion at interest mo, I like it. Medyo di ko nasagot kaagad itong mail mo dahil I was pondering my thoughts on how will I name the column. I thought of initially calling it a "DEAR NINONG" column. So, I will expect your opinion on matters that needs a woman's point of view. Few mabuhay chatters will also share their opinions especially on matters that they are expert on their own field.

Yours truly

NINONG

Thursday, February 11, 1999 08:36 AM

Subject: y2k

dear ninong, hi! kamusta na?/ sana hindi ka pagod para sumagot ng mga sulat.. eniweyzzz... meron akong tanong sayo... anong reaksyon tungkol sa milenyum bug??? sa palagay mo ba maapektuhan ang ating mga chat room and internet?/ do you think mag kakaroon ng solution..or are we about to face the end of the world if this millenium bug will not be solved..... yon lang ang question ko.. thank you

                                                              Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Hmmm medyo matagal ang response ko. Tambak na mails ko hehehehe. Anywiz here is my say about the issue Y2K.

Millenium Bug or popularly known as Y2K bug. ( Y2K = year 2000 and beyond ). The Y2K bug is simply a DATE ERROR occurring in a computer, either in the hardware or the software perhaps both. Date Error, meaning the computer (hardware/software) cannot recognize correctly the Year 2000 date value or 2000 and beyond dates.

On the hardware side, based on what INTEL claims, all Pentium PCs are Y2K ready or compliant, it is programmed to recognize date values up to year 3999. This would also mean that all PCs below Pentium are not Y2K ready.

On the software side. Most computer programs displays and interpret dates at six digits only. For example dBase III+, COBOL, RPG, etc. However, other software's are also 8 digit date format ready like the Windows 95/98.

When will Y2K bug occur? Who will be affected? What is the magnitude of the effect or damage?

The bug will occur when the computer or a program cannot recognize the year 2000 or beyond date value. For example if you enter date like 02-14-01, it will be interpreted as February 14, 1901. Just imagine how will an amortization schedule look like if assuming a loan is payable in 25 years granted today. Or children who will be born on 2001 will be interpreted as born on 1901?

Who will be affected. Mostly large databases. Like security system files, pension programs, health care, civil registry any databases which uses date. That is, if they were computerized. Manually recorded files, this is not even in their vocabulary.

The magnitude of the problem depends on two circumstances. The deeper is the magnitude, the larger is the cost required to correct the error. First, it depends on what software is being used. COBOL, RPG, IBM based programs like AS400 are definitely candidates of this problem. However, on the side of IBM, considerable efforts were already done to combat this problem before year 2000 comes. The second is how widespread is the application. For example an FBI file, distributed throughout 52 states of USA. Multiply that to number of access points per State. You get my point already.

The millenium bug is simple and the solution is easy. What is hard is the Political bug and the willingness of those who will be affected to move and solve the problem.

                                                               As Always,

                                                               NINONG

Feb. 26, 1999  11:04 AM

Dear Ninong,

malungkot ko po sa inyong ipinapaalam na ako po ay isang addik. Opo isa po akong karumaldumal na addik. Eto po ang aking kasaysayan.

Nagsimula po ito nung taong 1997. Hindi ko po alam kung paano ito nagsimulang lumala. Mayroon po akong mga kaibigan nagtulak sa akin na sumubok. Ang sarap daw, nakakaaliw, magbabago ang aking paningin sa buhay. Ayun, sige, bago pala, masubukan nga. Noong una, mahirap, ang daming busisi. Pasubok-subok dito, walang alam. May tumulong sa akin, ganito daw iyon. Unti-unti natuto rin. Dati pag may libreng oras lang. Nung tumagal, pagkauwi kaagad sa bahay. Ang sarap, Ninong, maraming bagong makikita, bagong experyensa. Ang daming magagandang lugar, tama ang mga kaibigan ko, magbabago ang paningin ko sa buhay. Di nagtagal tuluyan na akong nalulun sa bisyong ito. Tuluyan na akong na-addik.

Ang mahal pala, lakas kumain ng oras, pera, kalusugan... Hayan halos oras, oras nakatutuk sa iskreen, sa kompyuter. Wala ng makatawag sa amin. Puro internet na lang daw.

Opo, Ninong, isa po akong addik, addik sa internet. Ako po ba ay matutulungan nyo?

Maraming salamat sa inyong pagtangkilik sa sulat na ito

Sumasainyo

Addik sa Internet

Dear Addik sa Internet

Diosme ka, kung ako sa iyo maghanap ka muna ng trabaho para may pambayad ka sa ISP at telephone bill mo. At saka instead na oras oras ka nakatutuk sa iskreen, gawin mong sa off hours na para naman may makatawag naman sa inyo bata ka. Sino bang Tatay mo, makausap nga. @ LOL.

Addik rin,

NINONG

Sunday, February 28, 1999 10:58 PM

Dear Ninong:

Ako po ay isang lalaking super na nagmamahal sa isang chatter na mukang mahirap pung abutin.  Na-meet ko po siya ng umuwi sya dito sa Pilipinas nung makaraang linggo at nakipag-eb sa amin sa Chatterbox nung nakaraang valentines day weekend.

Hind ko maintindihan ang sarili ko sapagkat simula ng kami ay magkakilala ng sa chat pa lamang, ay talagang parati ko na syang nasa isip.  Ng sabihin niya sa akin na uuwi na sya, dalawang buwan pa lang ay nagpapagwapo na ako at nagiisip ng kung anong sasabihin ko at gagawin pag dumating siya dito.  Sa wakas, dumating din ang araw, at tama ako!   Ang ganda ganda pala niya at muka namang mabait.  Na-intimidate lang ako kasi may nakapagkwento na super yaman pala sya at hindi gaya gaya nating pang ordinaryo lamang.   Nakakailang araw na syang nakakaalis ng pilipinas at araw araw ay hanap ko sya sa mabuhay pilipinas chatroom, pero hindi kami nagkikita.  Muka yatang inlove na inlove na ako sa kanya.  Gwapo naman ako (sabi ng nanay ko), may pinagaralan (UP diliman graduate po ito), kaya lamang ay wala po kaming gaanong pera at pagaarian.   Nagpapaaral po ako ng mga kapatid at tumutulong sa aking ina sa aming araw araw na kabuhayan.  Paano po ba ang gagawin ko?  Ligawan ko man sya at sagutin ako....diyos ko sana naman po!!...mukang hindi po pang pilipinas ang ganda niya!  at kung ako po naman ang pupunta doon, pano po kaya?  at tsaka, baka po isipin lang niya, naghahanap lang ako ng green card! 

Nauubusan na po ako ng tulog.  Hindi na po ako makakain.  Pati po sa trabaho, baka po ako masisante na sa pangangarap sa kanya at ng muli naming pagkikita, maski hanggang chat na lang ulit. 

Paano po ba aabutin ang pagkataas taas na babae.  Tama po sila (ang aking mga mabuhay chatter friends)...ibang klaseng babae si ano....next time na lang....maganda na, sexy pa, matalino, mayaman....sayang po at mukang hindi namin sya na-entertain masyado ng umuwi sya dito....sandali lang sya nag stay ng nag-eb kami.  lahat po kami ay natamameme sa kanya.  Kakaiba talaga sya sa lahat ng nakilala namin. 

Tulungan niyo po ako bago po ako maubusan ng dugo ninong!!

Naghihintay sa kanyang pagbalik

Dear Naghihintay,

Parang gusto ko nang maniwala sa mga sabisabi na kung ang tao ay ma "in-love" ang buong paligid mo ay liliwanag, sumasaya ka, parang nag-estrelya ang iyong mga paningin at kung anu-ano pa na puro kagandahan ang iyong napananaw. Sa kabilang daku naman, sa likod ng iyong isipan, ay doon nakatago ang mga pangamba, takot sa kung ano na di mo maintindihan, minsan maiilang ka at di ka mapakali.

Madaling sabihin na sa pag-ibig, hindi pera o katayuan sa sosyidad ang batayan, hindi rin sa propisyon o kaalaman, lalong hindi rin sa ating itsura - gwapo o maganda o f.. ngit man. Ang importante daw ay ang tunay na pag-iibigan sa dalawa na handang tanggapin ang buong pagkatao ng bawat isa. Marami ng mga pelikula at novela  ang nagawala tungkol dito.

Sa kabila ng lahat, may mga realidad at praktikalidad pa rin na di maiwasan. May mga balakid na di pwedeng talikuran. May mga dadarating sa ating buhay na di mo pa alam. Dapat handa ka sa mga ito, handa sa pagharap. Ang ibig kong sabihin ay kung, sa iyong pagtingin tunay ang nasa iyong puso, isulong mo. Tanggaping mong may takot ka - natural lang yun, tanggaping mong may kakulangan ka - wala namang perpekto dito sa mundo. Higit sa lahat, na sa englis pa "if worst comes to worst" handa kang tumanggap sa iyong pagkatalo, masaktan ka okey, lilipas din yun sa pagdaan ng mga panahon.

Masarap makamtan ang tagumpay lalo na't ang nadaanan mo ay hirap, ngunit kung talo ka man, tanggapin mo at bumangon ka muli habang may buhay pa.

Inyong Lingkod,

NINONG PO LAMANG

Sunday, February 28, 1999 11:17 PM

Dear Ninong,

I'm a 27 year old Filipino/American looking for somebody special in the Mabuhay chat room.   I don't have any filipino friends nor do I even know of enough filipino women.   I think I'm finally getting to that age of wanting to settle down, but I'm looking for that special filipina.  I'm a good looking guy, 5'11" tall, and 170 lbs.   I work out everyday and have a good job as a broker in NYC.  I've gone through so many women in my past -- all caucasians, but I'm done playing the field.  If you know of anyone who might be looking for some that have the following traits:  smart, beautiful, tall, speaks english well (I don't speak tagalog well, but can definitely understand), educated, and funny, please let me know.  I know that's a really long list to give you, but I'm looking for a permanent partner.

So will you please add this letter on in your dear ninong column?  I'm hoping (what a hopeless romantic i am, huh?) that somebody might just catch on to this. 

< ...succeeding lines were purposely omitted by Ninong >

Sincerely,
Sleepless in Manhattan

Dear Sleepless,

I am posting your letter as requested, hopefully some ladies out there will be interested. Oh by the way, do not rely too much in this channel or in the chat rooms. Try to find some other ways which you could see or get contact with uhu.. Filipina ladies. Well its a nice try I guess. Good luck Sleepless.

Yours truly,

NINONG

Monday, March 01, 1999 12:05 AM

Dear Ninong,

May problema po ako.  May nililigawan po akong isang chatter - na kahit kailan po ay hindi pa kami nagkikita peru mahigit isang taon na kaming magkaibigan sa chat at sa telepono lamang po.  Sa twina pong sasabihin ko sa kanyang gusto ko syang makita na, hindi po pumapayag.  Nakakatawa man po at hindi kapanipaniwala, nagmamahalan po kami.   At least, ako, alam ko na mahal ko sya.  Ang hindi ko po maintindihan eh kung bakit hindi niya kami gustong magkita ng personal.  Naisip ko po na baka nahihiya sya sa akin dahil sa kanyang looks, pero hindi naman po yun ang habol ko na.  Hindi rin naman ako gwapo - pero hindi rin pangit.  Hindi naman ako mataba, dalawa naman ang paa ko at kamay.  sampu ang daliri at dalawa ang mata. 

Ano pong maipapayo niyo?  pati po pangliligaw sa ibang "tunay" na babae ko ng nakikilala ay tinigilan ko na.sa palagay niyo po ba ay ako ay naghihintay sa wala?   ayaw ko na pong aksayahin ang oras ko sa kanya kung hindi po naman sya sincere.  

Marahil nga ay sira na ang ulo ko!  'walang hyang chat room ito!  lol

Tumatangkilik,
Nasisiraan ng ulo

Dear Nasisiraan Ng Ulo (uhu!),

People come and go sa chat, lalo na sa Mabuhay, araw-araw, oras-oras may mga bagung "handles" na lumabas. Samantala ang chat room ay isang magandang channel for communication, marami rin itong limitasyon. Kadalasan, you are left your own state of mind, to your own imaginations or to your own fantacies. Maganda naman at nagkausap kayo sa telepono, at least dinig mo yung boses niya na talagang babae siya.

Maraming paraan para malaman mo kung bakit ayaw niyang makipagkita sa iyo. Try to explore kung sino ang mga close friends niya, talk to them politely, request them to do you a favor. Tell them you are sincere. Kung ano man ang rason niya, that could be acceptable or may not be acceptable sa iyo. Paghandaan mo yan, kung masaklap man ... (sana hindi) yun ang katotohanan.

Bawat chatter ay may kanya-kanyang motibo sa chat room. Some do it for real, some do it for fun. Kung anu man yun, dapat magkasingtunog kayo. Ang ibig kung sabihin, kung para sa kanya katuwaan lang, palipas oras dapat yun din ang kontra motibo mo. Kung for real siya, ikaw for fun or vice versa, may problema yan. O baka, for friendship sake lang yung sa kanya at ikaw seryoso naman .. di ba hindi nagkatugma?

Try mong makipag-kaibigan sa iba, huwag mo'ng ibuhos ang lahat sa kanya. Idiskobre mo sa sarili mo kung tunay o fantacy lamang ang nasa puso mo. Then decide.

Inyong Lingkod,

NINONG

Friday, March 05, 1999 12:07 AM

Dear Ninong,

First of all, I would like to introduce myself, I'm David Ruff, half irish-half filipino.  I grew up here in the Philippines but still having my family in Loiusiana, USA.  I am working and helping my father to manage our business here in Clark Air Base and  I deal on Computers and I am a Systems Analyst (graduated Com. Sci).  Now, I was the one who considered the "Mabuhay Pilipinas" chatroom, a senseless room (guess you still remember).  As you know, I have so many feedbacks regarding how the Filipinos behave in the chat room.  That night was the first time I've been on the filipino chat room.  I've learned that Filipinos knew nothing but scream and call each others names, and continue on yacking at each other.   I mean, no sensible topics were ever discussed.  Correct me, Pal, if I'm wrong but that was the scenario I witnessed (yet until now everytime I logged in, the same old room).  Is there any other way, we Filipinos can improve this?  Just a question and maybe askin' thee, can you do anything about this stuff?

Not obliging, but just a comment.  Remember, I am a Filipino too, in blood.  Gotta go, Pal.

Mr. David Ruff

Dear David,

I understand your concern and frustration about the Filipino chat room, but making a generalization and stereotyping on our Filipino chatters is uncalled for.  I would love to be able to go out there and ring out a lot of necks, but unfortunately and technically, I can't =(  There are a lot of good people out there, and from what I've gathered from your letter, you are one of them.

The goodness of our Mabuhay Chat Room, can start with just one person.   That person is YOU.  Goodness is contagious, remember that.  YOU   can make a difference in that room.  WE all can if we just tried. 

As far as finding a whole bunch of people just BS'n and talking about nonsense...if you're finding them to be too offensive, I would suggest that you hit the ignore button on them-that's what it's there for.  You will be pleasantly surprised that there are actually decent people out there.  If you take the time to get to know somebody better, you might actually just make yourself a good friend worth keeping. 

Reality is:  everyone in there puts up a front.  Sometimes it's a good front, sometimes it's not.  Sometimes they are truthful, and in other cases, full of lies.   You can leave it to your better judgment whether or not you want to take somebody seriously.  My advise is to be cautious  with every person you meet And if it's getting to the point where you can't stand the conversations flying around the room, you always have that little "x" button on the corner of your screen you can click on....=)

Have fun chatting,
Object_74

Dear David,

Well well, if I read you right, you are talking about the Filipino chat room(s), the way we behave in chat, that we seemed to be senseless and asking how to improve it. You are not alone David. In fact, I have been receiving some letters commenting more or less the same as what you .. uhu observe:-). And other letters were also rather harsh, I don't give a damn.

First regarding behavior. People come and go in chat rooms, people come in in different moods, their motivations and state of minds are varied, their is no way to control that. I believe in free speech in chat, no holds barred. Shout if you wish, cry if you feel like crying and laugh even if it is not funny or meet old and new friends as you wish or quarrel at them next day. Their is no such thing as clear cut rule how to behave in chat rooms. This is not contained to Filipino chat rooms only. However, filipino as we are, we show or display our culture by way of chat. A sub-culture I should say has emerged, different and unique from other chat rooms, a culture which is also different in real world. Speaking of Mabuhay, awayan, halakhakan, kantiyawan, tsismisan, inisan, selosan at kung ano-anu pa is what mabuhay is all about. It's our way of chatting. Otherwise, mabuhay is not buhay.

Speaking of SENSE. We have six basic senses, but only the "sense of sight" which we can use to read what are being typed in chat rooms. The rest are left to our "inner" or cognitive level of senses. Your interpretation and reactions in chat will be governed by these inner senses. These are the sense of understanding, sense of emotion, sense of responsibility, sense of humor, sense of spirituality, and common sense. In all cases, we behave in chat rooms depending on the level of "inner" sense that you are having now. For example, if you are currently sad, the tendency that you will do in chat is to find someone who can listen to you.

Speaking of CULTURE. Definitely those non-Filipinos will not understand our jargons, our jokes and even the way we talk. Sometimes I feel like saying to these people "to hell with them if they made those comments", guess what, it's not appropriate. We are simply Filipinos and they are not. I believe in improvement and innovation, I prefer to do it the Filipino way.

Yours truly,

NINONG