Ripley's Believe It or Not!

ON HIS FIRST DAY OF VACATION, A MAN SPENDS $10 IN THE MORNING, THEN SPENDS HALF HIS REMAINING MONEY DURING THE DAY, AND FINALLY SPENDS ANOTHER $10 IN THE EVENING. IF HE REPEATS THIS PATTERN FOR THE NEXT 2 DAYS AND SPENDS HIS LAST $10 ON THE EVENING OF DAY 3, HOW MUCH MONEY DID HE START WITH?

THE TOURIST STARTED WITH $210!
DAY1 : (210)-10=200-100-10
DAY 2: (90)-10=80-40-10
DAY 3: (30)-10=20-10-10 = 0

HEDVIGA GOLIK of Zagreb, Croatia, DIED IN BED IN THE EARLY 1970S AND REMAINED THERE UNTIL SOMEONE DISCOVERED HER BODY IN MAY 2008!

THE ATLANTIC ENTRANCE TO THE PANAMA CANAL ACTUALLY LIES TO THE WEST OF THE PACIFIC ENTRANCE!

Taken from The Philippine Star

Rewarding Herself

Judy Ann Santos is something of a perfectionist who is never satisfied with what she does. She remembers feeling this way the first time she saw herself on TV. "Tulala ako. Parang hindi ako bumilib sa ginawa ko. Hanggang ngayon naman, ganoon pa rin ako sa sarili ko. Whatever movies I make, whatever soaps I do, mapanood ko man siya at sabihin ng mga tao, 'Okay, maganda, congratulations, naiyak ako', hindi ko napi-please ang sarili ko. Hindi ako nagagalingan."

For someone who has done top-rating soaps like Sa Puso Ko, Iingatan Ka (with Piolo Pascual) and Basta't Kasama Kita (with Robin Padilla), the idea that she's never satisfied with her work is something that is hard to connect with who Judy Ann is. But this is the same girl who likes to reward herself for her efforts. The concept of rewarding herself is something that goes back to her childhood, when she first discovered she had an entrepreneurial streak. She was about eight or nine years old. Judy Ann would make little sweet treats like pulboron and yema, and sell them to her Mommy Carol's friends. She would also sell little packets of gawgaw (starch) from the family's supermarket stocks for P1 each to her friends. At the end of all that, she'd buy her mother something--usually her favorite cigarettes--but she'd always reserve something for herself. "May reward lang ako na lagi sa akin, every Friday, meron akong Bubblers. Bubblers ang pangalan ng softdrink na cola na may root beer. Uupo ako sa puno--may puno ng bayabas sa tabi [ng bahay] namin na ume-extend sa bubong--tapos dun lang ako, at iinom ako ng Bubblers. Reward ko 'yon kasi nagta-trabaho na ako noon."

When she started working for real, she was able to afford things more expensive than a bottle of cola. But the first real reward that she bought herself was a pair of shoes after she got kicked in the face filming a TV commercial for a certain brand of toothpaste. Her co-stars were Isabel Granada and Chuckie Dreyfus. The idea was that they were playing luksong-tinik; Judy Ann was one of the children who would hold up their hands for Isabel and Chuckie to jump over. Judy Ann laughs as she recalls the moment: "Bilang talent na bata, siyempre bawal gumalaw kasi nag-a-adjust ng camera. Tapos sila (Isabel and Chuckie) practice ng practice, talon ng talon, hanggang sa pag-roll namin, bigla akong natadyakan sa face, at nakuha ng camera. Swak na swak, may tatak ako ng Mighty Kid [sa mukha]!"

When she got paid for the commercial, she handed Ate Binay, her yaya, the money and asked only for one thing: a pair of Mighty Kid shoes. "At least meron akong brand na natadyakan ako sa mukha. Meron akong pag-aari. 'Yun ang unang gift ko sa sarili ko, Mighty Kid."

But it was buying her Road Trek van that gave Judy Ann the ultimate high. It wasn't her first vehicle; her first was a Blue Mazda van that her manager Alfie Lorenzo bought and gave to her. But the Road Trek--which Judy Ann later sold--was her dream car. It was a sign that she had become a success and a confirmation that show business had stopped being a job; it had become her life. To think, says Judy Ann, she once thought that she would quit the business and join her Mommy Carol in Canada when the latter went abroad to work. "Nung bata naman ako, hindi ko naman iniisip na aabot ako ng ganito katagal. Ang iniisip ko kasi, magiging immigrant ako, na kung hindi mag-click ang Mara Clara, pupunta na lang ako sa Canada, samahan ko na lang si Mommy. Eh after ng Mara Clara, dere-derecho na ang trabaho.

"Nalulula ako, na-o-overwhelm," confesses the actress when asked for her take on her stardom. She became famous at age 10 and has carefully nurtured that fame for two decades now. Ironically, Judai does not seem to fully grasp the scope of her accomplishments. "Nung bata ako, gusto ko lang talaga makita 'yung sarili ko sa TV," she shares. "Never naman pumasok sa isip ko na tatagal ako sa business na ito. Alam ko namang hindi college degree ang pag-aartista."

That dream brought her forward, but it is her passion for acting that has sustained her. "At 'yun pa rin siguro ang reason kung bakit nandito pa rin ako hanggang ngayon," she explains.

Taken from Starstudio magazine: Judy Ann Santos special issue

From Child Star to Award-Winning Actress

Judy Ann got her first taste of television drama in the hands of veteran character actress Bella Flores. And then she wanted to quit.

Imagine the irony: Judai was eight years old, doing her very first on-cam acting scene, where she played a street urchin tormented by Flores' character. She still remembers that night: "First scene ko, kay Bella Flores. Sinabunutan niya ako at sinampal-sampal kasi 'yun ang eksena. Sinampal-sampal niya ako, sinabunutan niya ako. Nanginginig ako talaga! Tumakbo ako sa cabinet at nagtago. Ayoko na sa sobrang takot."

Eventually, she got over the trauma. Slapping scenes were all in a day's work. She had the chance to work with Bella Flores again as an adult actress. "Ngayon, natatawa na lang ako. Hindi ko naman dinala sa pagtanda ko yung takot ko sa kanya. Natatawa ako at sinasabi ko, 'Ikaw, ang laki-laki ng parte mo sa kabataan ko!'"

Judy Ann built on these small successes. She took it step by step. She started with small parts and worked her way up. The hardships and humiliation she had to go through from Ula to Mara Clara, they were all investments in a career that would pay off much later in life. It was only then that she would discover acting was her passion. The little girl who got dragged to an audition had been transformed. "Napagdaanan ko lahat, from being an extra to this, tinahi ko siya lahat. For the longest time, acting has been my life. Whatever I do, I do it for myself. I satisfy my passion."

To make it work, she had to start by adjusting her attitude, learning to put up with the long hours and hard work. During the early days, while shooting a movie or taping a TV show, she would sometimes feel that what she'd done was enough and say she wanted to go home. That had to stop. "May mga ganon ako kunwari, hindi ko feel masyado, or gusto ko lang maitawid. Then mare-realize ko na mali 'yon. Bad attitude. Kasi may mga ganoon din naman ang artista na 'Ayoko na, pack up na tayo.' Pero hindi puwede 'yon--kailangan mo talagang araruhin."

After fifteen years in the business, Judai hungered to reinvent her image and grow as a real actress. Throughout most of her career, she played the typical young star roles until she landed the lead part in Sabel in 2004.

Her character in the film was "a big leap". Judai portrayed a liberated woman who had a lesbian affair, and it was in Sabel, scripted by Ricky Lee and directed by Joel Lamangan, that she had her first-ever rape scene. Judy Ann was motivated to break down her own boundaries. but the motivation was coming from a personal pain. "Suntok sa buwan 'yung ginawa ko. Pero it was a decision I had to make because gusto ko nang mag-mature 'yung mga roles na ginagampanan ko. I wanted to prove to people na kaya ko. Kahit malaki ako, hindi naman nakukuha ang kaseksihan sa pagkapayat lang. Puwede mong iarte. At kaya kong gumawa ng isang pelikulang hindi n'yo iisiping gagawin ko."

The role gave Judy Ann her first best actress trophy in the prestigious Gawad Urian and also in the Golden Screen Awards of the Entertainment Press Society (ENPRESS).

Filming Ploning was another leap. This time, she was not just the lead actress, she was also the producer. She put a lot of pressure on herself. It was hard for Judy Ann, because the movie was shot in a remote location. She had to be away from family and friends, and could not go home and put her feet up at the end of a long day on the set. So she learned to adjust in other ways. During the filming, she and Ploning director Dante Nico "Ga" Garcia -- with whom she'd been friends since she was 14 years old -- signed a contract stating that if Judy Ann felt she couldn't go on, they would pack up the shooting by mutual agreement. "Hindi naman dahil naghihitad lang ako, kundi dahil pagod na ako," she says. "May isang eksena dun, yung esposada na nagsasayawkami na ang haba. Monologue yung linya ko nun, eh ang dami na naming pinanggalingan, tapos nung gabi ko na lang nalaman yung eksena na 'yun ang gagawin. Nakaset-up na, tapos sinabi ko sa kanya (Ga), kinausap ko siya, hindi ko magagawa ito. Magagawa ko, pero hindi ako magiging happy. Kaya pinak-up na niya."

It was the one and only time that filming was packed up the whole time they were shooting Ploning. Judy Ann felt a sense of responsibility. "Nasi-stress ako, tapos nape-pressure ako na ang daming negatibong kakainin, tapos lahat ng tao, ume-effort sa eksena, pero ako, hindi ako maka-effort dahil hindi ko maramdaman yung ginagawa ko. Nakakahiya sa mga tao."

After many years in a business full of hardships and challenges, Judai is at a point in her life now where she has learned to manage stress. "Guiding principle ko lang ngayon sa buhay is to have fun and be happy," she discloses. "Ayoko na ng stress sa buhay ko."

Establishing an amicable working relationship with people in front of, or behind the camera, makes her work stress-free. "I value the people I work with. As much as possible, I'd like to have a good working relationship with them. Hindi ko sila pina-plastic," the actress explains.

But the symbiotic relationship she has established with them is something she worked hard for. "Siguro I earned the respect of these people. It's a give-and-take relationship. 'Bigay ko 'yung kailangan nila, pero kailangan ko rin ng ilang araw na pahinga." It is on these days, Judai says, that she tries her hand at other things she wants to do.

She admits getting stressed by people who are quick to judge her. "Na-si-stress ako kapag nakakarinig ako ng nagsasabi ng 'Ang suplada pala niya,'" she shares. "After a hard day's work, and I hear that, I feel bad, at gusto kong sabihin, 'hindi n'yo alam ang pinagdaanan ko buong araw.'"

But she tries to address this by reaching out some more. "Isa sa mga rason kung bakit gusto kong nakikipag-usap, at gusto kong lumalapit sa tao ay dahil mahiyain ako. I try to open myself up to people na parang pare-pareho lang tayo, nagkataon lang na iba-iba tayo ng trabaho."

Taken from Starstudio magazine: Judy Ann Santos special issue

DRIVING EVERYONE CRAZY

Remember these tips on your first day behind the wheel.

By Susan Quinn

Fasten your seat belts, everyone. Today's the day.

It's your first day behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. Exciting, yes, but not the easiest thing you've ever done.

When I learned to drive it was a pitiful experience at first. My early attempts were a source of laughter to friends and family alike. Even the neighbors got into the act with jokes and anxious looks as I backed out of the driveway.

I'm not sure if it's possible to learn to drive a car without some of these experiences. But to help you get safely on the road to driving success, I have put together a few points that I hope will make your first days of driving at least a little more humorous than painful.

When you practice in an empty parking lot, make sure it is absolutely, completely empty.

When I drove for the first time, I used the parking lot at my high school. It had seemingly miles of open space with nothing for me to hit, smash, maim or mutilate. Ideal conditions.

Learning to drive a car can be exciting, challenging--and humorous!

What a thrill it was to drive for the first time! And I was doing well at it, too, until I decided to try going in reverse. What happened then defies all mathematical odds but is completely in line with Murphy's Law of Driving in Empty Parking Lots: If there is even one small object in an empty parking lot, you will find and hit it, and in the process put several dents in your car.

Our parking lot had small movable signposts for marking off no parking zones. When I shifted into reverse gear, I backed into the only signpost in the entire lot. It fell back. But I went so far over it that the concrete base got stuck under the car. When I stopped and pulled forward again, the sign came with me, crashing down onto the truck where it bounced several times, leaving several nice dents.

That brought my first driving lesson to a quick end.

Avoid driving with an overcautious parent.

Many parents get worried when teaching their teenagers to drive. Folks who under ordinary circumstances react in a fairly normal manner suddenly begin to do strange things.

You have surely seen your parents ride in cars before, sitting relaxed, perhaps talking or listening to the radio. But the first time you are the one operating the car, be prepared for a radical challenge.

A friend of mine described her normally calm father teaching her to drive. Heading down a deserted country road, during an otherwise quiet and uneventful drive, Dad suddenly yelled "WATCH OUT!!!" She slammed on the brakes immediately, nearly sending her father head first through the windshield.

"What's wrong?" she asked in surprise. Her father explained, "There's a little child right there! Didn't you see him? You might have hit him!"

She looked around in confusion. "I'm sorry, Dad, but I just don't see a child here."

Practicing driving with a parent can make both of you nervous wrecks. Remember to keep your cool because your parents are having nightmares like these.

"Well, he's right there on the porch of that farmhouse, plain as day," was the reply.

When she looked closer, she saw that indeed a child was on the porch of a house well back from the road. "Oh, you mean that little boy there, holding his mother's hand?"

She conceded that it was possible she might have hit the child, but only if she had run off the road about 50 feet (15 meters) and driven directly onto the porch.

Her father, who had nearly suffered whiplash, after some consideration saw the extreme unlikelihood of this event and let her drive on.

So beware. Even the most calm parents can become overcautious when their teenagers are driving. But give them time. They'll probably grow out of it.

Don't use other motorists as an example of how to drive.

A couple of weeks into my driving lessons, my mother thought it was time I learned how to put gasoline in the car, and in the process I could have the experience of driving through the gas station car wash.

Knowing my driving abilities better than my mother did, I was a bit apprehensive. But, with a great show of bravery, I went ahead and filled the car, spilling only a small amount on my shoes. That was the easy part.

I then drove toward the car wash, where several cars were waiting. My mother was confident. "This is going to be really easy," she said. "Just watch the people in front of you carefully, and do exactly what they do."

So I watched carefully, noting exactly how the driver in front of me positioned his car. Then the unbelievable happened. I watched as he completely missed the conveyor belt, his wheels going over the metal bars that were supposed to guide them directly into the car wash. The car ended up in a flower bed.

As if this wasn't enough, he had to back up and try again, this time heading in the opposite direction and going over a concrete island back toward the gas pumps. Finally the station attendant came out to help.

I looked at my mother. "Just do what the people in front of you do? Right." It was several weeks before I ventured near a car wash again.

Keep this in mind next time you try to use the example of other drivers. There are some strange people out there.

Don't practice in a truck with an open tailgate while your brother is sitting in the back.

Most of you will never be in this exact situation, but I'll relate the story so you'll know to avoid it.

A friend told me about his sister's driving practice sessions. They lived in a neighborhood where there was a communal garbage dump everyone had to take his or her trash to. My friend's sister used these "garbage runs" as a time to practice her newly acquired driving skills. As her brother sat in the back of the truck near the open tailgate, making sure the garbage stayed inside, she would drive through the neighborhood, heedless of bumps and potholes.

One day as she sped over a particularly large bump, her brother lost his grip and flew out the back of the truck, landing in the middle of the road.

When his sister arrived at the dump site, she called to him to unload the trash. She went around to the back only to find that the garbage was there and her brother was not.

"I knew it! It's just like him to skip out at the last minute and leave me to unload the trash by myself." She emptied the trash bags, annoyed at her brother and plotting revenge.

Halfway home she realized her mistake when she saw him limping beside the road. When she stopped, he carefully got in the front seat and securely fastened his seat belt, glaring angrily the whole time.

So unless you feel like injuring your little brother (which I realize may be a tempting idea at times), avoid this mistake.

Seriously, though, driving is a lot of fun, but a real responsibility too. Enjoy yourself, but don't get carried away. If you are able to avoid the things I have mentioned here, maybe your first driving experiences will turn out a little better than mine. I sure hope so.

If not, at least you'll have plenty of funny stories to tell your kids. (Just remember to go easy on them when it's your turn to teach!)

Taken from Youth 90 magazine