By Blue Rose on Wednesday, 3 of August , 2011 at 10:23 pm
On July 1 the government made it even more expensive and difficult for couples with one Dane and one non-EU partner to live together in Denmark.
Among other changes, the fee for the famously tough family reunification application was raised to 7,775 kroner – a 30 percent hike – while the compulsory four-year cash guarantee was raised from 63,000 to 100,000 kroner.
Information newspaper calculated that all told the cost of family reunification – once fees, tests, and cash securities are tallied – is now 168,131 kroner per couple, plus or minus a krone.
For young international couples, it is even tougher to stay together in Denmark, because current family reunification rules also stipulate that both partners must be at least 24 years old.
Katrine Villumsen and Jessie Villarreal are one young, international couple who have had to come up with creative solutions to be able to stay together.
Villumsen, a journalism student from the Funen town of Faaborg, was taking a year abroad to study in Santa Barbara, California, when she met Villarreal, a young opera singer from Riverside, California. They were both just 19.
They fell in love and after six months moved in together. In their second year together, they began thinking about a more permanent solution for their residency issues as an international couple. To complicate matters, marriage was not a solution for the lesbian couple, as US immigration laws do not recognise same-sex relationships.
“I think it would be easier for a Somalian to immigrate to the US than to Denmark, but in our case, it’s easier for me to immigrate to Denmark than for Katrine to immigrate to the US,” Villarreal told The Copenhagen Post.
So two years ago the couple decided they had a better future in Denmark, where their relationship is at least recognised by law, and where – someday when they are old enough – they can apply for family reunification as a couple.
“My desire to live in Denmark is greater than my desire to live in the US and I feel safer here. Danish people are more apathetic about being gay,” Villarreal said. “In the US people either love you or hate you for being gay.”
As both women were just 21 years old in 2009 – still too young to apply for family reunification – it was now Villarreal’s turn to use a student visa to stay with her partner.
With foreign student tuition and no eligibility for the national student stipend, the decision came at a high cost. Since both are still students, they don’t earn much. But together they managed to get by, working part-time, scrimping, saving and taking out loans.
But last month when Villarreal got a tuition bill of 100,000 kroner for her final year of studies at The Royal Academy of Music – with 50,000 kroner due in just two weeks and 50,000 more in September, they had no idea what to do.
Their life together depended upon her student visa. If she could not pay, she would have to leave the country. Without any expectation of success she decided to post a blog asking for loans or donations to raise the money.
“[It was] a desperate plea. I felt pathetic writing it. But the responses were amazing.” Villarreal said.
Some 14,000 kroner in donations from strangers and friends poured in. Villarreal’s colleagues at The Cockney Pub in Århus arranged two “Save Jessie’s Arse” concerts that raised another 4,000 kroner. Another colleague she barely knew offered her a no-questions-asked, interest-free loan of 20,000 kroner.
An even bigger loan of 50,000 kroner was offered by an international couple who knew first-hand the difficulties of getting family reunification in Denmark: Katrine’s Danish cousin and his Polish wife. They met as students in Norway and had to borrow money from his parents for their family reunification. Years later they were in the position to pass along the favour to a younger international pair struggling with immigration issues.
Villarreal and Villumsen both said they could not help but contrast the outpouring of generosity and trust from strangers and acquaintances eager to help with the tone of suspicion and distrust for immigrants in the political debate and family reunification rules.
“There must be somebody supporting all these immigration rules, but it’s not the people we’re surrounded by,” Villumsen said.
The governing Liberal Party’s immigration spokesperson Karsten Lauritzen defended the tougher immigration rules, including the higher costs and so-called ‘points system’ by which foreign partners earn ‘points’ to qualify to stay in Denmark through university degrees and other benchmarks.
“When we get better applicants, we also bring in people who are better prepared to become integrated,” Lauritzen told Politiken newspaper earlier this month.
Villumsen sees things a different way.
“In Denmark we have Jante Law, where everyone is supposed to be equal and nobody is better than anybody else,” she said. “But now it’s turning into the situation where if you have a better education, then you get to go first in line. We need people doing all types of work and it shouldn’t matter if you come from India, the US, or wherever.”
“I just think it’s a shame that you can’t be with the person you love in the country you come from, just because it comes down to nationality,” she added.
When Villarreal finishes her Bachelor’s degree next year she will lose her student visa and the couple’s immigration worries will start all over again. But by then, they both will be 24 years old and will have lived together in Denmark for three years. They plan to form a civil union in September.
Then they will be eligible to apply for family reunification – as long as they can put 100,000 kroner in the bank.
Source: ScandAsia.com
By Blue Rose on Monday, 14 of March , 2011 at 6:04 pm
It’s not only house, body or car you have to do a make-over. You will ask, Family makeover? What is that? Well it’s all about how to deal with your family, how can you control them and not you whose being controlled by them. Sounds complicated, yes it is, you must practice it now or else you will lose on the battle between them.
A. The most complicated of all is the Money matters. You are having problems in your family most of the time when it comes to money, agree? Well I experienced it before. Specially if your the bread winner, giving you so much head ache. End of the month, your head is going to explode when your looking at your paycheck and thinking of your family, oh gosh…
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Make a list of all the expenses, disegnate an amount for all of it, just enough no more, no less, no additional.
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If your working or living in the other country, make sure that you monitor all the necessary expenses in your house, it sounds like you don’t trust them or your paranoid, but it will pay off soon, tell them to scan all the reciept and bills and send it to you.
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They will ask you to send some amount for example additional school payment, medicine,or check up, make sure to have a strong question and interrogate them deeply, soon it will end up they will tell you what it is for, it is for unnecessary things.
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Relatives, auncle, aunties, cousins, they will contact you and ask if you can send them money, because of some reasons, these and that, you have to remember they are not your responsibilities, I can understand if its for your brother or sister, gifts once a year is enough, but everytime they will ask you for help and you will also send, nahhh..not acceptable.
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Your brother or sister will ask, send me some money because I will buy cellphone or it’s my birthday I will have a party, think so many times before you do it, look at your own cellphone, remember your birthday, look at your paycheck every month, then ask your self. Did I had a nice party on my birthday, did I bought new cellphone, will my salary can cover all this expenses? Then you will know the answer, sometimes they are just doing it for showing off that they have somebody working or living in the other country.
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Sometimes you get to know that they have very high bills and consume alot, what the heck?? Don’t be afraid to ask, why?how?what did you all do?Then be strong and be a stone, tell them ”I will not pay that, this month and next month, I will just send enough for food, you people have to learn and look for alternative how to pay that”, ” I am not just lying here and money is just coming, learn how to be thrifty in everything”.
B. When you have seen all those things, you have to evaluate now thier feelings or your feelings. It’s all about preparing thier feelings now. When you do all in letter A., surely they will feel hurt, but explain to them that you are not just picking up money on the street, you are not doing some extravagant living where ever you are, you are not rich to cover all of thier needs, if you can help you will do it, but not everytime.
When I was working before, my mother always call everyweek, many reasons that are not really important and true, I end up having nothing every end of the month, even my salary next month is gone, shibal!
So what I did one time,when my mom call, I jump up on the bus heading home and surprise them, that’s the time I found out that everything is a lie, and I am so fool believing it, bills and debts are everywhere, haven’t payed even if I send money for paying those…sh…….!!!
When I start to live in Norway, I talked to my parents that my father will be the one to recieve the money and do all the budgetting. Eversince that day my mom did not talked to me, I don’t care I said, it’s for our own good, and sooner she also realized it, it’s not my fault, then we get good relationship between us.
Before I send money, I will call my father, how much for the electric bill, water bill, internet bill, I already know how much is for my daughters nanny, and so I calculate everything. I end up sending enough money, already budgeted and designated, including food for monthly consuming and I extra amount for both my parents that is not big like 500php each. I will give you an example of how much I send every month. I send 2000nok every month, in pesos it 15,000.
electric bill – 1,500php
water bill – 500php
internet – 1000 php
nanny - 2500php
mom – 500php
dad - 500php
my daughter - 1,500php – milk,playing in SM,jollibee,things she like
———————–
total - 8,000php
- 15,000php
———————–
7,000php — remaining for thier food
I don’t send money for birthdays or things they like to buy that is just for thier own happiness. I send money to my relatives if it’s borrow and they will pay it, if it’s for free, sorry nothing is free in this world anymore, sounds drastic and bad, but you have to learn how to be like that or else you will end up nothing. I also manage to give my brothers some amount like 500php, not every month, only if I remember and it’s not for them, it’s for my nieces and nephew, I usually tell my father to buy food for the kids for thier snacks in school, I don’t give cash because it will just cause conflicts and I know it will not end up on food.
Eversince I intrusted the money to my father, everything goes very very well, bills are payed, no debts, they also get to save some small amounts in the bank. When I go home, I ask my father where are the bills and I evaluate them one by one, ask them if I had seen a faulty on this or that, ask them how much is this, how much is that? Why is this high? What happen? Then we will have a family conference, hehehe, yeah seriuosly I do that, I tell them what I feel and what is not important and what should they do. It works very well, we don’t have misunderstanding when it comes to money matters and family matters.
If you don’t have anybody that will manage the money, just do what I did, write the expenses and send just enough. They will end up learning how to manage how much they get and be responsible for it.
If you are working having 30,000php salary every month, you can save alot and put in a bank. I had known alot of people working here that end up nothing when the contract is finished, because they send everything at home, they don’t even think of thier own future or what will it be when the job is done. They will go back home, the people thier are hoping he/she has a lot of money, but they don’t also that nothing has left because they alwasy asking and asking. They will even ask you, What??why??What did you do??Maybe you did so many extravagant things there?? They will start to accuse you not knowing or evaluating what they had done too. bu*******t!!!
Then you will feel the pressure again, pressured when you are still working because left and right you hear ”we need money,I need money”, then you get home hoping you will feel happy that at last I get to see my family, but again pressured. Poor you.
Be strong, learn how to be harsh and stone sometimes, we are so soft when it comes to our family, but remember you also have your own life, and if they will not learn they will still be like that even when you already have your own family and that will cause a big problem between you and your husband or wife, it’s not a theory, that’s the truth, most have that kind of problem.
I hate dependent people, we grew up like that but we must stand on our own feet or else we will be like that forever.
Don’t hate me,we have different opinions yes I know, but what I just want to say is ‘‘OPEN YOUR EYES”.
By Blue Rose on Monday, 7 of March , 2011 at 8:05 pm
When I was a child, I have a dream that is just simple as the others, have a family and live in a simple and happy way and to become a teacher.
I grew up in a religious and respectable family, lots of norms, lots of does and don’ts, maybe it’s all the same for a Filipino family. We have so many supersticious beliefs ever you can imagine, but i know living with it and following it is not really a big help in our everyday living.
My father was away working and ussual as other family, the mother is the one taking care of the house, we were taught how to do house hold choirs in early ages, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, even selling food in houses every afternoon, we are not rich if you may think of that, we are just middle class people living in a simple way as we can.
Bad things happen, my father doesn’t have work anymore, he had a serious problem with his people in the construction company were he was working, instead of fighting he just went home without anything. We have to fix everything or else we will starve, my father is a very good cook, so he started cooking food every afternoon, me and my mom walk in every door step knocking, and sell our food, we do this everyday, luckily all food was sold in no time.
We were in elementary that time, my siblings and I have to study harder as we can to get a very good grades, in return for all the sacrifices that our parents did for us. Hard work are payed, every end of school year my brother and I always had an award, our parents are always very happy going up on the stage with us tieng the ribbon or putting the medal.
Things become much harder when we went to high school, there are times that we really don’t have anything to eat, I walk around at my grandmothers backyard and look for vegetables or rootcrops and cook them. Our grandparents has bigger house than us, they don’t starve, they don’t have problems with food, I remember my brother tried to borrow a cup of rice before, but what does he got, a bad and harsh words from our grandparents. From that moment, we become stronger, we realize that even our relatives are turning thier backs on us when we don’t have anything, but when we were not in that situation they are always smiling and asking for help.
Good year has arrived, our parents got a job at the same time, they earning quite enough for us to have good food and for other things we need. We started to have a black and white television, before we are just watching television at our grandparents house. We started to have extra money in going to school, before we just pack our lunch boxes and that’s it, no snacks during recess time, we just drink water and waited until lunch, eat our lunch that consist of rice and dried fish, or vegetables, sometimes when we really don’t have dried fish we just put rice and sugar or rice with soya sauce. We don’t feel regret in it at all, together with my classmates we walk from school to home and vice versa, rain and shine, storm and wind, we always say all things have a reason why it’s happening and good things will come in return.
Another year arrived, things going much better, we change our black and white television with colored, we can buy new clothes, we can have parties now during our birthdays, I remember I only had one birthday party from elementary to high school. I don’t really like parties, it’s just a waste of money, but I like the gifts, sure everybody does.
We were still doing very good in school, still consistent honor students and active in school organization. I still do sell some snacks or nuts at school, sometimes ice candies, milked flour, I do this everyday, for my extra allowance and projects, so I don’t need to ask from my parents. I became more independent and stronger, my dreams became more clearer. I want to succeed in life. I want to have a better future for my family and for my future family. I don’t want to be like this forever, I am determined to change my future, never again we will be mocked and hear bad words from anybody, I will never let sad things happen again, I will stand out and fight.
” Everything has a reason, in every darkness there is always a ray of light, just have faith and strength to find it and let it shine”
Next chapter will come soon…
By Blue Rose on Saturday, 5 of March , 2011 at 6:00 am
In Numbeo’s survey (http://www.numbeo.com/), New York is used as the base city for the index and scores 100 points, with all cities compared against New York and currency movements measured against the US Dollar and EURO. Sydney (Australia) scored 113.14 points, making it nearly three times as costly as La Paz (Bolivia) with an index score of 39.00.
At the beginning of 2011, the most expensive cities (excluding rent) are:
- Oslo, Norway (CPI 149.26)
- Stavanger, Norway (145.65)
- Zurich, Switzerland (143.93)
- Geneva, Switzerland (143.71)
- Bergen, Norway (142.46)
- Basel, Switzerland (141.12)
- Lausanne, Switzerland (136.41)
- Lucerne, Switzerland (133.04)
- Perth, Australia (130.15)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (123.87)
The least expensive cities in 2011 are Indian cities: Coimbatore, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad, followed by Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan.
Rent is the most expensive in New York, followed by San Francisco (USA), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and Lucerne (Switzerland).
Cities with the lowest rent are Changchun (China) and Karachi (Pakistan).
On the country level, the most expensive countries in 2011 are Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The least expensive countries in 2011 are India, Pakistan, Bolivia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Macedonia.
By Blue Rose on Friday, 4 of March , 2011 at 6:00 am
On the invitation of Philippine Ambassador to Sweden Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, the Swedish Minister for Integration Erik Ullenhag recently met with Filipino community representatives.
Present during the meeting were Fr. Gabriel Baldostamon (Saint Nicolai Parish in Linköping), Mr. Noli Buhay (Ugnayang Pilipino), Ms. Lendsy Theodorsson (Bayanihan), Ms. Hanna Stenbacka (Filipino-Swedish Youth), Ms. Karol Jennel and Ms. Vangie Jorquia (ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau correspondent).
Also present during the meeting were Ambassadors from the Association from Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and some members of the ASEAN community in Stockholm.
An initiative of Ambassador Collinson, the meeting was aimed at raising the profile of the growing Filipino community in Sweden by focusing on their successes in assimilating to Swedish life and culture.
Filipino community members actively engaged Minister Ullenhag on their proposals to strengthen the Swedish Government’s language program for immigrants, particularly in terms of enabling quicker employment.
They also asked the Minister on the administration’s response to the seemingly anti-immigrant sentiment, following the terrorist bomb attacks in Stockholm December of last year and the influence of the right-wing Sweden Democrats in the Swedish Parliament.
Minister Ullenhag enthusiastically received the ideas of the Filipino community representatives and acknowledged the important role the 13,000 strong Filipino community has played in contributing to the progress of Sweden.
He assured that his office would remain open to the Filipino community and to the community’s suggestions for a more effective policy for integration.
The Minister also reaffirmed the Swedish Government’s commitment to safeguard and promote the country’s open and tolerant views.
He was especially pleased to know that Filipinos in Sweden were peaceful and productive members of society.
Minister Ullenhag assumed his ministerial portfolio in October 2010 under the second mandate period of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s government.
He has the responsibility to ensure the speedier integration of newly arrived immigrants into Sweden’s working and social life.
ScandAsia.com
By Blue Rose on Thursday, 3 of March , 2011 at 12:48 pm
The Norwegian national and his fiancée who were accused in the kidnapping and killing of a six-year-old girl in Cebu will be freed anytime today, according to the newspaper SunStar Cebu.
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed Monday the special complex crime of kidnapping with homicide charges filed by the Cebu Provincial Police Office against Sven Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon for the murder of Ellah Joy Pique.
Esdrelon told radiodaily that they are confident from the “very start” that the case will be dismissed.
Assistant Provincial Prosecutors Marlon Atillo and Marvin dela Peña, in their joint resolution, said the complaint lacked probable cause.
According to witnesses, Ellah Joy, 6, was abducted from outside a public school in Minglanilla, Cebu past 4 p.m. on February 8. The town lies more than 15 kilometers south of this city.
The couple said it was impossible for them to kidnap the girl in the afternoon of February 8 in Calajo-an, Minglanilla because their “movement was only confined” at the Norwegian School and the Waterfront Hotel in this city when the alleged crime was committed.
Berger and Esdrelon earlier presented to authorities documents to prove their innocence.
At least 14 photographs, captured from the footage of the Waterfront Hotel’s security cameras, were submitted to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
The first two photos show the couple entering the hotel at 4:44 p.m. last February 8, bringing their bags. At 4:45 p.m., they were registering at the front desk. Each photo bears a date and time stamp.
The two also outlined in their counter-affidavit their itinerary from February 7, the day Berger arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport, until the afternoon of February 9, when they reportedly went to Esdrelon’s house in Tuburan, Cebu. They attached in their affidavits certifications from the Norwegian School and the Waterfront Hotel.
National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas Director Edward Villarta earlier said that the police were under pressure to file complaint because they could not hold the suspects beyond 36 hours without doing so.
ScandAsia.com
By Blue Rose on Sunday, 12 of September , 2010 at 2:37 pm
These men are featured in this issue, we asked them of what they think of girls.
Q1. Do men or women tend to want to speed up relationships?
Ted: ”Guys like to go with the flow and keep ur options open.”
Mike: ”Sometimes you secretly want those milestones. You just don’t want her to see it.”
Sigfred: ”If you start seeing a woman and have sex, it’s only a matter of time before she asks, ‘Where’s this going?’ but most guys don’t want that milestone to come along. We’d like the stage where we’re just having sex to last forever!”
Q2. Do guys ever ask the question, ‘So where is this going?’
Erik: ”I think asking is tempting fate. You might not like the answer.”
Ted: ”Yes, but if a girl wants to know where we’re going, i need to know where she thinks we’re going first.”
Q3. How soon after meeting a girl do you start calling her your girlfriend?
Mike: ”You’re more likely to say it to your mates first, rather than her. I’ve been burnt like taht; jumping the gun.”
Sigfred: ”I’ve had quite a few girlfriends in my time but it was usually because they forced me into a corner. I met someone and knew that I wanted to be with her after only a week.”
Q4. How long should a girl wait before she has sex with you?
Mike: ”Not until she’s established where she is with a guy. If a woman sleeps with you early on, then asks where your relationships going, you’re going to say, we’re just having sex. If a girl doesn’t want to get hurt, she should work out what kind of relationship she wants before sex.”
Q5. Do men ever want to wait?
Erik: ”Every guy would love to have sex on the first date, but if you don’t then you actually apprecaite her more. A relationship outside sex builds a stronger bond.”
Q6. How do you feel when the girl starts leaving her toothbrush at yours?
Ted: ”As long as she doesn’t take control of the TV remote, that’s fine with me.”
Mike: ”She should ask first . I had a girl who left some knickers in one of my drawers. I called her and said, ‘next time you come over, you’ve got some stuff to collect.’ it didn’t go down well.”
Erik: ”Girls are like animals – they come round and leave stuff, like they’re marking thier territory.”
Q7. How about her meeting your parents?
Sigfred: ”I love with my mum so I’ll tell her when i’ts a serious girlfriend that I’m bringing home. But if she doesn’t warm to her she’ll pass comment infront of her. She’ll say, ‘I don’t like her, I’ve got a feeling’. I’ll say, ‘okay, Mum, we’ll talk about it later.”
Q8. Does it mean anything when you take a girl to a work do or wedding?
Mike: ”Work dos can be risky because you may behave differently when you’re with work colleagues.”
Sigfred: ”I ‘d have to be with a girl for at least two years before taking her to a wedding.”
Ted: ”I got an invitation to my cousin’s wedding, address to me and my girlfriend. That felt official.”
Erik: ”That means it’s official!”
Q9. How do you let a girl know she’s special?
Mike: ”Doing stuff that she mentioned shows her you’re paying attention.”
Ted: ”When i was serious about my girlfriend, I took her to Paris. I never normally do anything like that, so when i did that to her, it showed I really liked her.”
Erik: ”I’d rather show her I like her than tell her, so I’ll buy her stuff to make her happy.”
Q10. What should a girl do if your birthday is within the first few months of you seeing each other?
Ted: ”Birthday sex!”
Sigfred: ”If she just got me a card, I’d be happy with that.”
Q11. How long before you’ll go on holiday together?
Mike: ”You have to be girlfriend or boyfriend before that happens. It’s a massive one.”
Erik: ”I’ve known my girlfriend for six years but we’re going away on holiday for the first time this winter.”
Q12: Does it freaks you out when a girl starts relying on you for support?
Sigfred: ”I think it can be quite empowering when you’re the only one she turns to.”
Mike: ”So long as she doesn’t put it all on your shoulders. It should be a partnership.”
And so our featured guys go on with thier life as bieng single and continuing of what they believe to be the right thing to do about girls.
By Blue Rose on Monday, 30 of August , 2010 at 1:47 am
- STDs are on the rise, especially among the young. Health authorities from the UK report a 3% rise in cases of STIs in the past two years and they believe that young adults are responsible for the upward trend.
Two-thirds of new cases of STDs were reported in women under 25. 66% of the new cases of genital warts and 88% of chlamydia were found in young women. “These latest figures show that poor sexual health is a serious problem among the UK’s young adults and men who have sex with men,” remarked a doctor from the Health Protection Agency.
- A group promoting the legalization of weed paid Facebook roughly $5,000 to run an ad that featured a picture of marijuana leaf. A week after it went up, Facebook pulled the picture, saying the image violated its policy against promoting smoking. Just Say Now, the pro-pot organization, is now accusing Facebook of censorship.
- A study out of Sweden found that binging on fast food for four weeks is—shocker!—bad for you. The effects of an energy-dense diet can stick with you for years, even after you switch to a healthier plan.
- “Tying the knot is Bad for your sex life,” the Daily Mail reports. According to researchers, six out of ten couples believe marriage ruined the excitement of having sex. The survey also found that married couples only do the nasty about once a week. But before you freak out, it seems significant to note that the poll in question was conducted by an extra-marital dating service, LovingLInks.co.uk.
- New guidelines issued by the UK National Institute for Health suggests women with high blood pressure take aspirin from the 12th week of pregnancy onward in order to help prevent complications. Risks that are linked to high blood pressure include pre-eclampsia, premature birth, still birth, and underweight infants.
- Three teenagers who were named on a hit list on Facebook have been killed in the past two weeks in a Colombian town. The hit list was posted on August 17 and told the 69 people listed that they must either leave the town of Puerto Asis or be executed. Police do not know who is behind the list or the murders.
- This Saturday, more than 100 women—all over the age of 60—will go skydiving in Wisconsin to demonstrate that “having fun in life never stops.” Good luck, ladies!
- A couple was recently caught having sex on the floor of a rural Elma home — which was not their own — when a neighbor stopped by to collect mail for the homeowner. The fornicators apparently broke into the house to film their love making, but unfortunately for them, they left the resulting tape behind. Police have identified the culprits and issued arrest warrants.
