what you reap is what you sow : life of Henry Sy

It is often said that what we make of our life now will be our future. Does this ring a bell to you? This is a story of a man's life, woven into an entirely inspiring and life changing future. Henry Sy was born to a poor family in Xiamen, China. Starting from scratch, he managed to start up a simple shoe store. He started out selling overrun shoes in Tondo and from there, he went all the way to the top. In 1958, Sy established a small shoe store in Quiapo, Manila that marked the establishment of SM Prime Holdings. In November 1972, the small shoe store became SM Quiapo, SM's first standalone department store. On December 25, 1985, he established his first SM Supermall, SM City North EDSA. He was named "Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club in 1999. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged and promising young Filipinos. Starting with only little amount of resources, he never ceased to keep producing. A Chinese Filipino with lots of zest for life is what he is, getting involved with different kinds of fields such as interests in retailing, real estate, hospitality, banking, mining, education including healthcare services. There was never a question of why he is doing such things to help his family, and eventually Filipinos live a more meaningful and convenient life. Now, his small shoe store is now being expanded across the Philippines. His life started out simple and now, he is enjoying the fruits of his labor while helping out people in the process. Now that is a great harvest!

catching dreams (dream catcher)

intro:

Ever wondered how your dreams can be filtered? What do you call an object that can capture your unwanted and most feared nightmares? Where do dreams come from? Dreams are memories or subconscious thoughts that are visually manifested while we are sleeping. Dream are snap shots of images that pass through our minds. They usually come from experiences that we have had or things that we have seen while we were awake. What we see as images in our sleep are dreams and sometimes could be nightmares, or the scenes similar to your favorite horror tableau. Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web, and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them. Woven by old Ojibwa people in the ancient times, dream catchers are made of twigs, sinew, and feathers. Good dreams are clear and know the way to the dreamer, descending through the feathers. The slightest movement of the feathers indicated the passage of yet another beautiful dream. Bad dreams, however, are confused and confusing. They cannot find their way through the web and are trapped there until the sun rises and evaporates them like the morning dew. Real or not, dream catchers are meant to give out a positive notion to people who have been having tremendous problems sleeping because of nightmares. Vocabulary Enhancement: 1. filtered: to sort out the good from anything bad 2. notion: a general understanding; imperfect concept or idea of something 3. tremendous: extraordinarily great in size 4. glide down: to move smoothly and continuously along 5. fascinating: attractive; holds natural charm 6. tableau: a picturesque grouping of persons or objects; a striking scene. perspective exchange: 1. Have you ever had nightmares? What were they like? 2. DO you agree that a web can capture nightmares? 3. What were the best dreams that you had? 4. What were the worst dreams that you had? 5. Where do you think dreams come from?

Love zombie (under unique stories)

COnstantly checking your e-mails, phone and your favorite social networking site up to the point of going paranoid over and over? You know it's three in the morning and your hands just won't get off your phone even just for a minute. The object of your affections, your lovey dovey You might be bitten by the love zombie.

YOur lover might be waiting on the other side of the world or city far from you. YOu get the itch to meet him, but certain circumstances seem to block you from meeting up. Obsessive love is a state in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess another person toward whom they feel a strong attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection. Although not categorized specifically under any specific mental diagnosis by the DSM IV, many people argue that obsessive love is considered to be a mental illness similar to "attachment disorder, borderline personality disorder, and erotomania. Obsessive lovers may feel entirely unable to restrain themselves from extreme behaviors such as acts of violence toward themselves. They may be entirely convinced that their feelings are love. The "Obsessive Love Wheel" (OLW) is a hypothetical sphere originally described by Dr. John D. Moore in his book, Confusing Love with Obsession. The wheel illustrates the four stages of Obsessive Relational Progression as part of Relational Dependency (RD). Moore suggests that for people who are afflicted with relational dependency (love addiction, codependency, etc.) their relationships often follow the pattern of the wheel. It is currently unknown if the same principles apply for a sudden attraction to anyone who bears a friendship, but can be speculated that this is something different entirely. Vocabulary Enhancement: 1. zombie love- like puppy love, this type of love is an undying passion and love of any one person or thing in which you cannot get thinking about them out of your head because of how much you just can't live without them. 2. lovey dovey- your sweet heart, the object of your love. 3. "get the itch" - a sudden urge to do something, immediately. 4.

Narcissistic tendencies

Have you ever been caught up staring in the mirror for a long time? Thinking it's the only way you'll feel confident, cheerful and sure about your day's success and positive outcome? Vanity is a huge word nowadays that even the most simple acts of it seems to boost a person's self confidence at first. Even worst, people have plastic surgery to appease their own insecurity. Apparently, physical appearance is a factor for a person's personal development, be it in the workplace, within a group of friends or society as a whole. Let's site an example. Most celebrities have had "a little work done" over the course of their careers, going for the usual nip here or tuck there to improve their appearance and keep themselves looking youthful enough to keep landing the big roles; and then there are the few dozen who have taken cosmetic surgery procedures to their most extreme. SOme even end up having these procedures done resulting in even more painful and ruthless outcome or mistakes in operation. What causes people to overdo their grooming? This tends to stem from a psychological need for approval or in simpler terms, insecurity. When we become insecure, vanity is sure to follow as an act of cover up. Vocabulary Enhancement: 1. plastic surgery- Surgery concerned with therapeutic or cosmetic reformation of tissue 2. "a little work done"- have undergone a procedure to fix something. 3. nip- to sever or remove by pinching. 4. tuck- to make several folds in. 5. extreme- of greatest possible degree or manner 6. "landing the big roles"- able to be in a position of higher rank Perspective exchange 1. If you could change anything about yourself (physically), what would it be? 2. Why would you like to have it changed? 3. Do you think getting plastic surgery is proper? 4. What do you think about people who has undergone cosmetic surgery? 5. Is plastic surgery common in your country? 6. Do you consider yourself a narcissist?

Corner cutting: a terrible disease

Have you ever tried putting soap on the dishes and ended up washing it with water only halfway through? Then you get so irritated seeing small particles of soap once they're dry. It is these things that make you wish you should've been more patient. COrner cutting, or taking shortcuts is what keeps people thinking they've done a pretty quick and easy task, realizing in the end that it caused more trouble than ease. This is a short story about a girl who doesn't like to take necessary steps, but instead, took the easy way out to reach her goal. Lara, a thirteen year old once had a dream of becoming a professional athlete, preferably a runner. She trained herself for a few weeks by running in the park several hours a day. Little did she know that there are a few more techniques to be learned and it would take tips from professionals to become one. So she ended up joining marathons. The first marathon she joined, she had sprained her ankle. End of story. When we cut corners, it is an evidence of being lazy, no matter what angle we try to look at it. We can say, cutting corners is a terrible disease. Vocabulary enhancement: 1. halfway through: not involving the whole process. 2. little did she know: not knowing all the facts yet 3. taking the easy way out: skipping on necessary actions to do, resulting in unfinished tasks or projects Perspective exchange: 1. Have you ever cut corners? If so, what was it like? 2. When you cut corners, what would the results be? 3. IS laziness an issue for you? In what aspect of your life? 4. What could help remove the attitude of "taking the easy way out?" 5. In what area of your life do you usually take shortcuts?

nature's creatures worth the freight (under unique stories)

Snakes, tigers, bears, spiders: which of these spine-shilling and eerie creatures do you fear the most? Here are two most intimidating creatures you probably won't want to stand close to: (warning: may contain sentennot appropriate for the faint hearted) Box jellyfish pack a deadly sting Anders Garm The box jellyfish is squishy, with 24 eyes and a tangle of tentacles, each equipped with about 5,000 stinging cells. The creatures pack a special type of venom — the most deadly in the animal kingdom — that is activated by contact with certain chemicals found in fish, shellfish and humans. The venom can cause cardiac arrest, cripple the nervous system, and eat away skin. Several victims stung at sea die before they reach shore. Saltwater crocodiles eat people Greg Wood / AFP - Getty Images Saltwater crocodiles are aggressive and territorial. They regularly eat people. They live in saltwater estuaries, and freshwater rivers and swamps, ranging from Australia north to Southeast Asia. The biggest males weigh in excess of 2,200 pounds and measure 20 feet from toothy snout to scaly tail, making them the world's largest reptiles. Though they mostly dine on smaller prey such as fish and shorebirds, adults will occasionally tackle larger animals, including careless people. Tourists lure this croc out of the water with a chunk of meat. Mosquitoes kill millions every year USDA The mosquito. In some parts of the world, these pesky, bloodsucking insects spread diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and West Nile Virus that kill nearly 3 million people a year. Many of the malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where scientists and international aid organizations are busy developing strategies to stop the disease's lethal spread. Now you're scared. vocabulary enhancement: eerie, spine-chilling- scary cardiac: of or relating to the heart cripple: make useless or worthless perspective exchange: 1. What are the types of animals you fear the most? 2. What eerie creatures have you encountered already? 3. Do you get scared of spiders? If so, how do you react upon seeing them? 4. How would you react upon seeing a snake? 5. When you fear something, do you show it, or cover up those fears?

Shocking habits (unique stories)

Are you suffering from a bad habit? Habits, bad or good can either make or break a person. Here are top ten weird habits from Chaddy, an online blogger. 1. I like to eat icecream ONLY when it's melted. I guess I like it to be cold, but not freezing cold. I do however only ever drink my Tea piping hot! 2. I will always try to navigate my way around the house at night without turning on the lights. I like to think I have 20-20 night vision, but the reality is I always end up bumping into something, even though I am pretty good at walking in the dark. 3. Watch a movie over 2-5 days. I don't get a lot of time off, so I'll watch 20 mins of a DVD, then stop it, and then resume watching on a nother day. This used to infuriate my ex-girlfriend who would just watch films without me, which would then annoy me, but I know this is my bad! 4. Read several books at once, but only finish a handful. I don't like to read one book from beginning to end as I can never concentrate for that long on just one thing. 5. I always have a bath or shower before going to sleep, no matter how tired I am. I don't like to be 'dirty' when I slide between the sheets, so I'll sleep on the floor before I go to bed without bathing or showering first! 6. I don't like to reply to texts. I'll always try to phone the sender, even if it means they get a call from me two days later. My friends have got used to me now, so they usually just call me until they get through to me. 7. I will only ever eat steak and toast if it is cremated. I tend to scrape the carbon off it first, as it is not good for you and can cause cancer. 8. I will not wear an item of clothing more than once a day (except shoes, coats), and that includes jeans, jumpers and hats. That makes for a lot of washing and ironing, but is part of the reason why I tend to buy clothes you don't have to iron, and hats that you can pop into the washing machine too. 9. I have a special jar for all the pennies I find. I have found some silver and some notes before, but that jar just holds pennies, nothing else. 10. I have to write a postcard to myself, my family and my best friend wherever I go to on holiday, although lately I've not been anywhere, so I've not had to write any! There you have it. There are a million habits that people acquire and more often than not, they seem to stem from a subconscious need to fill something. A typical person has an ability to do what he or she wants when bored, sad, depressed or even angry. It's human nature. It is up to the person if he/she would like to further let the habit take control. Vocabulary enhancement: 1.Habits: (or wonts) routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously. 2. piping hot: use of extreme heat (super hot) 3. handful: measurement which means the amount that one hand can carry. 4. cremated: reduce to ashes 5. navigate: direct carefully and safely. Perspective Exchange: 1. Do you have any habits? If so, what are they? 2. Can you easily identify a habit when it occurs? How? 3. Do you have any habits that interfere with the normal flow of your daily life? 4. Which bad habits would you like to be lessened or removed? 5. How do you think you should overcome those bad habits?

Money driven

Dreams, hopes, a life of luxury-what drives you? In this world, people are driven by many things, be it physical, emotional or material satisfaction. Even having to work means earning a status, a living. And it all boils down to a need for security-mainly material. As human beings, we are built for survival, for an innate desire to gain a secure place in the world we live in. But what do we actually work for? Here's a check list: Food: check. Clothing: check. Unpaid bills: check. Wealth: triple check. It's almost as if money has become a major factor why people keep their noses to the grindstone, working long hours and even breaking their backs just to earn money. For most people, the saying "money makes the world go round" is plausible. It is a quotation that implies the role of money and its impact in our culture. Simply put, without money and its continuous circulation, there won't be possible progress and needed movement in this world. Many companies or manufacturers won't be able to produce goods and products without money, and same goes with the consumers. DO you agree with the saying "money makes the world go round?" vocabulary enhancement: 1. splurge: an act of excessive spending 2. plausible: truthful 3. breaking one's back: to put a lot of effort into doing something 4. keep one's nose to the grindstone: apply yourself conscientiously to your work. perspective exchange: 1. Do you pay attention to where you spend your money on? 2. Is acquiring more material security (luxury items) your top priority in life? 3. Do you find time to sort out your material needs and wants? If so, do you find it a hassle? 4. If given a chance to splurge on luxury items worth a million dollars, what would you be spending it on?

friends: stress buster?

Nowadays, hanging out with friends is becoming a priority for most people. Setting up one day a week to get together with favorite friends makes your work and family life a lot easier to handle. Day by day we face a lot of hurdles namely, missed deadlines, unavoidable traffic and worst, an arguement with a loved one or co-worker. Life, as we know it doesn't seem to stop. One thing that's keeping us from enjoying it would be the presence of expectations not met or inability to cope with problems.

Most of the time, people would try to force solving problems within their capacity, without any help at all. Where do we go from here? Let's talk about what really alleviates stress in its simplest form: no medication, therapist, or counselling needed! Friends may be the reason why many people gain enough tolerance needed to sustain our daily life. According to Wikiquote (an online site about quotations and sayings): Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more people. It can be taken to mean a supportive relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection. It may be for some that having friends who just simply listens around would really make a difference on a person's life, DO you pay attention to your friends?

Vocabulary: 1. buster- noun Informal. A person who breaks up something: "crime busters." 2. hurdle- a difficult problem to be overcome; obstacle. 3. tolerance- ability to take something undesirable 4. hang out- to frequent a particular place, especially in idling away one's free time bar. perspective exchange: 1. Do you hang out with your friends often? 2. Would you prefer having lots of friends or only few close friends? Why? 3. If you go out with friends, where would you want to meet up? 4. How would you describe your friends or buddies?

Roger's morning routine

Roger's morning routine

Hi. My name is Roger. I am twelve years old. I'm studying in Wooshoo International school in Tokyo. In my spare time, I like reading books, playing soccer and creating wonderful works of art. I'll tell you about what I do early in the morning. I don't like waking up in the morning. I just want to sleep all day but I have to get ready for school. SO my mom wakes me up at six am by knocking on my locked door. Then I reach out for my bedroom slippers under my bed. Once I stood up, stretched my sleeping body, I'd be going inside my bathroom and take a cold shower to wake my sleepy head. After, I'd be going downstairs to eat my breakfast. I usually have a piece of egg, ham and bread for breakfast. After I finish my tall glass of fresh milk, I'd be grabbing my brown paper bag of lunch prepared by mom. at about seven am, dad would be honking his horn outside waiting for me to get in the car. Then, I'll say "good bye" to Mojo, my labrador retriever. That time, we're all set to go to school! Vocabulary enhancement: spare time: a free time/ someone isn't doing anything. reach out: try to get near something to get it all set: ready