sHeNzEe's wOrLd

New 7 Wonders of Nature

>> Tuesday, May 6

These are the top 10 (as of May 6, 2008):

1. Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes.

2. Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Cox's Bazar is a fishing port and district headquarter in Bangladesh. It is claimed to be the world's longest natural sandy sea beach (120 km) including mud flats.

3. Ganges River, India/Bangladesh

The 2510 km long Ganges is a major river in the Indian subcontinent flowing east through the eponymous plains of northern India into Bangladesh. The river and its tributaries drain a large and fertile basin with an area of about one million square kilometers that supports one of the world's highest density human populations.

4. Amazon River, South

The South American Amazon is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon. (Image is taken from a NASA satellite.)

5. Mount Everest, Nepal

Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma or Qomolangma, is the highest mountain on Earth with the summit 8848 meters above sea level. Part of the Himalaya range, it is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China.

6. Mount Fuji, Japan

Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan. It is also the highest mountain in Japan at 3776 meters. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707 is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

7. Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Cocos Island is located off the shore of Costa Rica. A national park that measures 23,85 square km. Surrounded by deep waters with counter currents, Cocos Island has many hammerhead sharks, rays, dolphins and other large marine species.

8. Tubbataha Reef, Philippines

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea that belongs to the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park. The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. Over one thousand species, including many that are endangered, can be found at on the reef. These include manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks.

9. Chocolate Hills, Philippines

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation in Bohol, Philippines. It is composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills, all about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 sq km The hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving them the name ''Chocolate Hills.''

10. Colca Canyon, Peru

It is a canyon of the Colca River, Peru. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States, but is not as steep.

Vote now! Visit new7wonders.com.

(Sources: wikipedia.org and new7wonders.com)

Building bridges

>> Sunday, May 4

It's hard to make a relationship work, but it 's much harder if you put miles and miles and even oceans (in my case seas) in between you two. There will always be questions, anxieties, and sometimes jealousy that could add to the difficulties. If you ask me does long distance relationships work? I would say no, but here I am trying to make this one work. :)

Here are some bits and pieces of tips I came across while web hopping:

1. Ask the important questions at the onset, to make sure you are both clear on the parameters of the relationship. These can be difficult and awkward questions to ask, but will save you great heartache and misunderstanding down the line. Example: "Are you open to the possibility of relocating if the relationship should become more serious?"

2. Communicate in some way every day, more than once if possible. Since you won't be seeing each other, it's important to establish and maintain an emotional connection. These don't have to be long, in-depth conversations (though those should occur sometimes). Tell each other about your little triumphs and tragedies. Ask for advice. Use an instant messenger program or VoIP for real-time chat, or web cams for that visual connection, but while instant messaging and e-mails play a large role in long distance relationships, remember that they can in no way replace verbal communication. E-mail is great so make sure you use it, especially if long-distance phone calls put a strain on your budget (we're using suncellular so it's not too costly..). Write love letters. Send small gifts or flowers for no reason. In this case, quantity is as important as quality. You may discover an advantage over others whose partner is close at hand - you don't take communication for granted!

3. Take advantage of the benefits a long distance relationship offers: more time with friends and/or family, no small arguments like where to go, the pleasure of seeing your sweetheart again after a long absence, time to mull your options (rather than snapping at your partner impulsively) before you respond to that email s/he wrote that seemed so rude the first time you read it, etc. Most important, being far apart gives you a chance to maintain your individuality - something that can get lost in the shuffle when couples spend all their free time together.

4. Pursue common interests, even if it means pursuing them apart. If there's a movie you're both interested in seeing, watch it individually and then call each other afterward and talk about it. Read a certain book at the same time. Stargaze while on you're on the phone. Set your watches to go off at the same time every day, and synchronize your alarm with that of your partner. Make it a point to think of each other when your watch goes off, and revel in the fact that he or she is thinking about you, too. Find creative ways to bond.

5. Avoid the temptation to be controlling. People have free will and no one can or should control another person. As long as you are both interested in being in the relationship, you will stick with it and distance will not make a difference. As soon as one of you decides the other is not a good match - or someone else is a better match - your relationship ends, whether you live 3000 miles apart, two streets over, or share the same bed with your wedding picture on the wall. You are going to have to trust each other completely if this relationship is going to work.

6. Talk about your future together. Assuming that ultimately you'd want to live together, discussing how you're going to get to that point will help you prove to each other that the relationship is going somewhere and that your efforts and frustrations are not in vain.

7. Know when to say good-bye. While this is tough in any relationship, this can be especially hard over long distances. When communication becomes one-sided or sparse for too long and for no apparent reason, when arguments (yes, you'll have them) become too frequent, when the whole thing just seems like more trouble than it's worth, it's time to re-evaluate the relationship. Either you'll decide to go your separate ways, or you'll get closer for having overcome another obstacle to your happiness together.

8. Remember things will get better with time, and even the relationship will become better. Have hope.