Category Archives for Places
County Health Rankings – Brookings, South Dakota Tops 2010 List
Wow, the 2010 County Health Rankings report shows Brookings, South Dakota topping the list on “Health Outcomes” and third on “Health Factors”. This means the Brookings county rated high in most health specific categories:
1. Health Outcomes (how healthy a county is)
- Mortality (death proportions)
- Morbidity (health state)
Skating at the Larson Ice Center, Brookings SD
I am blessed to have the best friends in the world. I find consolation, boosting support and cheer when I am with them. Proof: they helped me the countless times I fell, cheered for me when they saw me about to quit and pushed me to the limit so I would learn how to skate on ice.
This past weekend, I had a conversation with a friend about going to the ice skating center again. She wants to learn how to skate, so I told her the story of the day I finally set foot on an ice-skating rink. Coming from a tropical country where ice is more associated with shakes, ice cream and ice candy (ice water in plastic pouches) rather than snow, ice-skating is the least likely topic of conversation among friends. Thus, my knowledge of the sport is way below amateur level.
Lady Barista: Racism via mocha and chai
I was stabbed right into the heart!
When a racist strikes, it weakens you right at that moment of attack. You lose your guard and you think of right words to say. You don’t want to talk back in hopes that the racist will realize ‘her’ mistake, unring the bell and apologize. She never did!
Inside Cottonwood.
Cottonwood Coffee is the best coffee shop in Brookings, South Dakota. No wonder I kept coming back after I tasted and loved a serving of its coffee and enjoyed its customer service. Not to mention, the owners are very friendly to their customers. If I have to list the best coffee shops I have been into so far, in all my travels, I will include Cottonwood in it. That is how I love the place and their coffee concoctions.
Colors of McCrory Gardens, Brookings 2009
The McCrory Gardens in Brookings, South Dakota offers not just a vast space for group picnics (I saw a group of ladies comfortably squatting and eating on the greens today) but a variety of colors to see and behold. I visit the park every summer and every summer there is always something new introduced to the area. This year the garden layout has changed and more colorful flowers lined the sides.
Below are few pictures I took. Enjoy the colors of McCrory Gardens 2009!
Worlds Apart – Hometown Musing
I am a Filipino. I was born in Argao. The place has yet to be swayed by civilization and advancement or exploitation perhaps.
In that southern part of Cebu, Philippines, houses are situated beneath green slopes, mostly concealed under a lush shade that seems to have existed long before my great-grandfathers. My own home lies up the field, a kilometer or so away from the town proper and across meadows.
Neighboring states happier than South Dakota
For those planning to live a “happy” life, relocating to Utah, Hawaii, or Wyoming may be the best options. Rethink if you wish to live in these states-Arkansas, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky and West Virginia. What about living in South Dakota?
According to the latest survey numbers released Wednesday last week by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans, South Dakota ranks as the 39th “happiest” state in the U.S.
Cottonwood coffee shop ‘the place to be’
I do not care about evidences of heartburn, anxiety, high blood pressure, hyperactivity and many others that caffeine, a type of drug or stimulant found in coffee beans, appears to be a causal factor. Let the medical experts and researchers keep themselves busy gathering compelling evidences of the side effects of drinking coffee, just let me have my daily dose of caffeine.
When I was still in the Philippines, there was one coffee shop that I spent most of my “coffee night” in. Bo’s coffee club was my source of a short mug of dark brewed coffee that went very well with my attempts in solving three crossword puzzles from three news dailies. Most of the time, I went home with the “across” and “down” filled to the last box. Coffee had something to do with my every crossword puzzle success.
