Are you happy with your name?
I remember during my kindergarten days when I wished that my name was Sylvester after watching a Rambo flick. I even asked my mom if they could still change it. Of course, that silly idea of mine was immediately dismissed. Luckily I wasn’t scolded when I brought up the topic again after watching the first installment of Rocky.
I’m already happy with my name (I’ll keep you guessing as to what my name is :) ). It is common, but at least I don’t get teased because of it. I had a classmate named Wilbur. As you know, this name is associated with a pig. The fact that he was fat did not help his predicament. As expected, he got a lot of “oinks” from some of our boisterous classmates.
I ran a people search on him a couple of years ago and I was very surprised to see that he was a member of his college’s football team! He still sported a heavy built though, but the baby fats were definitely gone and were replaced by muscles! It was quite frightening, actually.
It is quite amazing how one’s appearance changes over time. I hardly even recognize my classmates in kindergarten and middle school. I’m happy though, that most of those who were teased because of their name or looks turned out to be gorgeous beings upon reaching college. I hope that those who mocked them before could see what they’ve become right now. I’m sure they would eat every word that they’ve said to those poor guys and girls.
It’s fun searching for old friends and classmates. It’s like looking at a “before-and-after” beauty salon project. I wonder if their character also changed. I hope not. If it did, I wish it’s for the better.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Mediterranean Cruise
Have you tried going on a cruise to the Caribbean or the Mediterranean? I haven’t tried the former but I sure did enjoy the latter.
I wasn’t able to treat my parents on my first paycheck. The first job that I got was with an insurance company in Michigan. Needless to say, I’d just be spending my whole salary for airfare alone if I went back to New York just to share my first pay with mom and dad.
I got to say thank you to them when I got my current job. I went back to New York after spending almost two years in Lansing. My present job doesn’t pay much compared to the previous one, but I’m able to save more here since I’m staying at our old house in Rego Park.
I wasn’t able to treat my parents immediately to a lovely Mediterranean cruise on my first pay check. In fact, it took me 5 months before I could save enough for that trip. It cost me a fortune, but it’s the least that I could do to show them my gratitude for their sacrifices during my college days. They even wanted me to go to law school and promised me that they’ll support me financially. Lucky for them I begged off and decided to give the corporate world a try.
We had a great time seeing Italy and Greece from our room’s balcony. Although I really wanted to stay on land longer, the brief stops were already enough to fill our photo albums to the brim (or rim).
I hope you don’t mind me reminiscing about that particular vacation of ours. I recently came across an article about two persons who fell of their room’s balcony while in a Mexican cruise. I don’t know how they could’ve fallen off from the balcony. The railings are usually high enough to prevent accidents. The report didn’t indicate if they were drunk or under the influence of prohibited drugs. I’m not comfortable leaning too heavily on the railings. I even made sure that my feet are squarely in place on the floor before losing myself at the lovely view of Italy and Greece.
I guess it’s really advisable to travel in groups or in pairs. You’re bound to be shark meal if you fall off a ship without anybody knowing that you’re a passenger thereof. Your relatives might run a people search on you thereafter, but that would already be too late.
I wasn’t able to treat my parents on my first paycheck. The first job that I got was with an insurance company in Michigan. Needless to say, I’d just be spending my whole salary for airfare alone if I went back to New York just to share my first pay with mom and dad.
I got to say thank you to them when I got my current job. I went back to New York after spending almost two years in Lansing. My present job doesn’t pay much compared to the previous one, but I’m able to save more here since I’m staying at our old house in Rego Park.
I wasn’t able to treat my parents immediately to a lovely Mediterranean cruise on my first pay check. In fact, it took me 5 months before I could save enough for that trip. It cost me a fortune, but it’s the least that I could do to show them my gratitude for their sacrifices during my college days. They even wanted me to go to law school and promised me that they’ll support me financially. Lucky for them I begged off and decided to give the corporate world a try.
We had a great time seeing Italy and Greece from our room’s balcony. Although I really wanted to stay on land longer, the brief stops were already enough to fill our photo albums to the brim (or rim).
I hope you don’t mind me reminiscing about that particular vacation of ours. I recently came across an article about two persons who fell of their room’s balcony while in a Mexican cruise. I don’t know how they could’ve fallen off from the balcony. The railings are usually high enough to prevent accidents. The report didn’t indicate if they were drunk or under the influence of prohibited drugs. I’m not comfortable leaning too heavily on the railings. I even made sure that my feet are squarely in place on the floor before losing myself at the lovely view of Italy and Greece.
I guess it’s really advisable to travel in groups or in pairs. You’re bound to be shark meal if you fall off a ship without anybody knowing that you’re a passenger thereof. Your relatives might run a people search on you thereafter, but that would already be too late.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Second Chance
I don’t know why American Presidents have a sour charisma towards the citizens of their South American neighbors. I mean, what have they done to deserve such treatment?
I guess it’s not about what they have done which earned them the ire of millions of Latin Americans. Instead, it’s more of what they haven’t done to promote the rights and welfare of those who have migrated to the United States. Latin Americans are by far the fastest growing minority in the country. It won’t be long before their number could influence things in government.
I’m one with the President in his call for a law that would regulate the entry of Latin American migrants, and protect the rights of those who already made it through American soil, whether legally or otherwise. Bush is pushing for a guest worker program that would allow migrants to acquire a limited working visa. These people would soon be granted an option to extend their visas and eventually acquire U.S. citizenship.
Majority of the members of the Senate are quite cold on the Bush’s proposal. They contend that granting illegal immigrants with working Visas is tantamount to condoning their illegal act of entering U.S. soil without going through the prescribed process.
I hope the impasse would not take years to resolve. I think they’ve already realized that penal sanctions do not and would not deter Mexicans and other Latin Americans from crossing the border with the hope of making it big in the country. I had several Latin American classmates in college who admitted that their parents crossed the border illegally to look for a better future in the United States.
I’m sure many were not as lucky as my classmates’ parents. I’ve heard stories where Mexicans tried to beat the authorities to the border, only to be caught or shot in the process. You could just imagine the shock and grief that their relatives felt after they’ve conducted a simple people search on them.
America should start drafting a comprehensive program or law which would facilitate the acceptance of immigrants from Mexico and the rest of Latin America. If the country has accommodated many similar requests for working visas from Asian and European countries, then why can’t we do the same to our closer neighbors?
I guess it’s not about what they have done which earned them the ire of millions of Latin Americans. Instead, it’s more of what they haven’t done to promote the rights and welfare of those who have migrated to the United States. Latin Americans are by far the fastest growing minority in the country. It won’t be long before their number could influence things in government.
I’m one with the President in his call for a law that would regulate the entry of Latin American migrants, and protect the rights of those who already made it through American soil, whether legally or otherwise. Bush is pushing for a guest worker program that would allow migrants to acquire a limited working visa. These people would soon be granted an option to extend their visas and eventually acquire U.S. citizenship.
Majority of the members of the Senate are quite cold on the Bush’s proposal. They contend that granting illegal immigrants with working Visas is tantamount to condoning their illegal act of entering U.S. soil without going through the prescribed process.
I hope the impasse would not take years to resolve. I think they’ve already realized that penal sanctions do not and would not deter Mexicans and other Latin Americans from crossing the border with the hope of making it big in the country. I had several Latin American classmates in college who admitted that their parents crossed the border illegally to look for a better future in the United States.
I’m sure many were not as lucky as my classmates’ parents. I’ve heard stories where Mexicans tried to beat the authorities to the border, only to be caught or shot in the process. You could just imagine the shock and grief that their relatives felt after they’ve conducted a simple people search on them.
America should start drafting a comprehensive program or law which would facilitate the acceptance of immigrants from Mexico and the rest of Latin America. If the country has accommodated many similar requests for working visas from Asian and European countries, then why can’t we do the same to our closer neighbors?
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Seeing Double
I’ve been conducting background checks and people searches for almost a decade now. I’m not exactly sure if it’s a profession. Technically speaking, a profession involves a job which requires certification from a government body. But, then again, a profession may also refer to a vocation or an activity which one habitually does for a living.
I guess I could safely say that I’m already really good at what I do. Although you may contend that doing a people search on the Internet is a no-brainer, there are some tricks that are known only to professionals that could really speed up the process.
As good as I think I am, I committed a blunder recently when a client asked me to look for a particular person in Alaska. I can’t give you the person’s name, so I’ll just concoct a fictional one. Let’s call that guy Michael Doe. Michael Doe is my client’s stepbrother. They haven’t seen each other for 22 years. They were separated by their grandparents when they were just 2 years old.
I thought that the assignment was an easy one. The population density in Alaska is so thin that I think I would be able to find him even if I’ll go there and do the search personally. Of course, that’s impractical. So the next best thing (actually the best) to do is to search for him on the Internet.
I immediately found his name on the database. However, there were two Michael Does on the list. To make the situation more complicated, the photo attached to each of the two person’s file is the same. I thought that it was just an error. I called the site’s administrator and asked if they might have inadvertently duplicated Doe’s records. The person managing the site said that the files are different and that I’m actually looking at two different persons.
The guy on the phone was right. I should’ve read the records thoroughly. They’re really two different persons. The photographs are not identical either. Hmm I guess you already have an idea on why two different persons have, ostensibly, the same photo in their respective files.
They’re twins! Silly me. I didn’t read the entire request form of the client. If I just read a few lines more, I would’ve known that Michael Doe has a twin. They bear the same names, too, albeit the first one is Michael Doe II and his brother is Michael Doe III.
Talk about being very good at what I do. That twin twist really got me. This is the first time that I got a people search request where the person to be searched has a twin. I guess I have to be more careful and attentive next time. I’m sure this is not going to be the last time that I’ll be looking for a person who has a twin brother or sister. I just read a report on Yahoo! that twins are becoming more common.
I guess I could safely say that I’m already really good at what I do. Although you may contend that doing a people search on the Internet is a no-brainer, there are some tricks that are known only to professionals that could really speed up the process.
As good as I think I am, I committed a blunder recently when a client asked me to look for a particular person in Alaska. I can’t give you the person’s name, so I’ll just concoct a fictional one. Let’s call that guy Michael Doe. Michael Doe is my client’s stepbrother. They haven’t seen each other for 22 years. They were separated by their grandparents when they were just 2 years old.
I thought that the assignment was an easy one. The population density in Alaska is so thin that I think I would be able to find him even if I’ll go there and do the search personally. Of course, that’s impractical. So the next best thing (actually the best) to do is to search for him on the Internet.
I immediately found his name on the database. However, there were two Michael Does on the list. To make the situation more complicated, the photo attached to each of the two person’s file is the same. I thought that it was just an error. I called the site’s administrator and asked if they might have inadvertently duplicated Doe’s records. The person managing the site said that the files are different and that I’m actually looking at two different persons.
The guy on the phone was right. I should’ve read the records thoroughly. They’re really two different persons. The photographs are not identical either. Hmm I guess you already have an idea on why two different persons have, ostensibly, the same photo in their respective files.
They’re twins! Silly me. I didn’t read the entire request form of the client. If I just read a few lines more, I would’ve known that Michael Doe has a twin. They bear the same names, too, albeit the first one is Michael Doe II and his brother is Michael Doe III.
Talk about being very good at what I do. That twin twist really got me. This is the first time that I got a people search request where the person to be searched has a twin. I guess I have to be more careful and attentive next time. I’m sure this is not going to be the last time that I’ll be looking for a person who has a twin brother or sister. I just read a report on Yahoo! that twins are becoming more common.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
And the Oscar Goes Too...
I’ve been receiving tons of tasks involving public records these past few days. This is quite unusual since February has always been regarded as a lean month as far as requests for court records are concerned. Many people are usually busy hiring accountants during the first quarter of the year in their bid to comfortably beat the tax deadline on April.
I haven’t had time to check my e-mails. My niece has already complained that I haven’t responded to her electronic correspondences since last week. She had just created her first e-mail account on Yahoo! Unfortunately, the only names that are listed on her address book is mine and that of her parents’.
Newspapers have piled up on my porch, too. I haven’t acquainted myself with what’s happening in the city and in the world since last Tuesday. I even missed the Oscar Awards on TV.
I heard that Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor plum. I initially thought that he was the guy in Big Momma’s House. Forgive me for the error. I was at the local bar when it was being aired, and their TV set is a poorly refurbished 14-inch Samsung unit.
I was very happy to know that Martin Scorcese finally got the honor and recognition that he deserves when he was awarded the Best Director award for the film The Departed. His movie also bagged the Best Picture trophy.
Many say that the hosting was not that spectacular. Ellen DeGeneres kept it light and funny, but it wasn’t that impressive. A number of those who presented the awards were stunning, though. Some of us at the bar didn’t utter a word when Cameron Diaz went to the stage. She was a sight to behold, especially in that fabulous white gown that she wore.
I’m sure many movie fans would be conducting people searches on the winners in order to know where they might get a glimpse of them. I’m a big movie fan, but I think I don’t have that kind of inclination. I love Cameron Diaz, but I don’t have any plan of being one of her stalkers.
I haven’t had time to check my e-mails. My niece has already complained that I haven’t responded to her electronic correspondences since last week. She had just created her first e-mail account on Yahoo! Unfortunately, the only names that are listed on her address book is mine and that of her parents’.
Newspapers have piled up on my porch, too. I haven’t acquainted myself with what’s happening in the city and in the world since last Tuesday. I even missed the Oscar Awards on TV.
I heard that Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor plum. I initially thought that he was the guy in Big Momma’s House. Forgive me for the error. I was at the local bar when it was being aired, and their TV set is a poorly refurbished 14-inch Samsung unit.
I was very happy to know that Martin Scorcese finally got the honor and recognition that he deserves when he was awarded the Best Director award for the film The Departed. His movie also bagged the Best Picture trophy.
Many say that the hosting was not that spectacular. Ellen DeGeneres kept it light and funny, but it wasn’t that impressive. A number of those who presented the awards were stunning, though. Some of us at the bar didn’t utter a word when Cameron Diaz went to the stage. She was a sight to behold, especially in that fabulous white gown that she wore.
I’m sure many movie fans would be conducting people searches on the winners in order to know where they might get a glimpse of them. I’m a big movie fan, but I think I don’t have that kind of inclination. I love Cameron Diaz, but I don’t have any plan of being one of her stalkers.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Bittersweet
I borrowed five Adam Sandler DVDs from a friend yesterday so I won’t be tempted to join Jim and some of our neighbors for a few rounds of beer. I’m not really a fan of booze since I can’t stand its taste. Unfortunately, liquor is staple (and a must-have) in all-male gatherings.
I don’t know if majority of American males detest beer because of its taste. Really now, what’s there to like in that drink as far as taste is concerned? But, then again, maybe my taste buds are just damaged or something.
I guess majority of all males in the world loves beer. I could run a people search on all guys who don’t drink and come up with nothing on the results page. This bitter drink is not absolutely bad for one’s health. In fact, it could help prevent certain heart diseases. And contrary to popular belief, it actually softens or calms your disposition IF taken moderately.
Moderation is the key, guys. Don’t go gulping yourself a keg just because many say it’s good for your health. A bottle or two would do.
I don’t know if majority of American males detest beer because of its taste. Really now, what’s there to like in that drink as far as taste is concerned? But, then again, maybe my taste buds are just damaged or something.
I guess majority of all males in the world loves beer. I could run a people search on all guys who don’t drink and come up with nothing on the results page. This bitter drink is not absolutely bad for one’s health. In fact, it could help prevent certain heart diseases. And contrary to popular belief, it actually softens or calms your disposition IF taken moderately.
Moderation is the key, guys. Don’t go gulping yourself a keg just because many say it’s good for your health. A bottle or two would do.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Rescued
I’m so glad to learn that the Mount Hood rescue mission was a success, with all three climbers who fell off the edge of the mountain being rescued.
The survival of the group was partly attributed to Velvet’s continuous care throughout the ordeal. Velvet is a 4-year-old dog which provided warmth to the climbers as they cuddled around the former while waiting for rescuers to come.
While many were elated with the news, some are saddened by the fact that accidents still continue to happen despite the precautionary measures that resort owners regularly undertake. There are a number of climbing accidents that ended up tragically. A few of these cases have not been fully resolved yet as the bodies of the climbers have yet to be recovered.
Some of the victims’ relatives are not yet giving up, though. They continuously try to convince the authorities to send another expedition to search for their missing loved ones. I’m sure they are also conducting a number of people searches on their own just to keep their hopes from fading.
The survival of the group was partly attributed to Velvet’s continuous care throughout the ordeal. Velvet is a 4-year-old dog which provided warmth to the climbers as they cuddled around the former while waiting for rescuers to come.
While many were elated with the news, some are saddened by the fact that accidents still continue to happen despite the precautionary measures that resort owners regularly undertake. There are a number of climbing accidents that ended up tragically. A few of these cases have not been fully resolved yet as the bodies of the climbers have yet to be recovered.
Some of the victims’ relatives are not yet giving up, though. They continuously try to convince the authorities to send another expedition to search for their missing loved ones. I’m sure they are also conducting a number of people searches on their own just to keep their hopes from fading.
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