Citizen's Vigilance: A Key to Counter Terrorism

Days after a bomb exploded inside a passenger bus along EDSA which killed at least 5 people, police forces are now on red alert ... tight security are being implemented on crowded places like malls, transport terminals and the like.

I appreciate the efforts being made by the police forces to protect the citizens against any acts of terrorism but I think depending only on them is not enough.  We, the people are the ones directly affected by these acts.  Anytime, anywhere, we can be a victim so we should do our part to counter terrorism.  Be alert, be observant, always look out for any unusual activities going on around us and report it to proper authorities.  We should be the extended eyes and ears of our police forces.

It is great to live in a peaceful and safe environment and we can only achieve this if we work hand in hand with the proper authorities.  Above all, let us not forget to pray and ask for God's protection. 

The effects of coffee on me

I am not a coffee drinker but there are times when I crave for a cup of coffee and whenever my craving hit me, I just go for an instant coffee and usually it's a 3-in-1 type.  I love the smell and taste of brewed coffee but my system just can't take its strength.  My hands just kept on shaking every time I consume brewed coffee.

The only time that I find coffee useful is when I have my period and I have stomach cramps,  I drink instant coffee without sugar and cream and somehow I am relieved of the discomfort brought about by the pain of stomach cramps.

Last night after dinner, my husband wanted a cup of coffee and since it's still early in the evening, about 6:30, I also asked him to prepare another cup for me.  The coffee was really good and the aroma ... it's just so inviting.

Sleeping time came and I found it hard to sleep.  My eyes are closed but my mind was really active.  A lot of thoughts just kept on popping on my mind.  I went out of bed at around midnight and I drank a glass of cold milk but it didn't help so I just opened my computer and surfed the net.  I went back to bed at 3:00 o'clock in the morning and still I had a hard time getting myself to sleep.

The result, I woke up at 5:00 o'clock in the morning feeling tired and awful so I decided to stay in bed and just call the office that I'll be on leave today. 

Bring Your Own Bag/Bayong "BYOB" Campaign in Muntinlupa City




My re-usable and handy shopping bags

 

It's the 18th of January and it's the first day of the implementation of Muntinlupa City's municipal ordinance which prohibits the use of plastic bags in all establishments located in this city. They have this campaign called BYOB (Bring your own bag/bayong).  I saw the announcements posted at Alabang Public Market but I never really paid attention to it.

Today, after office hours, I stopped by Starmall at Alabang to buy some grocery items at Robinson's Supermarket and I was surprised that it's not a payday and yet the queue at the cashier's counters were long and slow and most of the shoppers included a re-usable bag in their shopping basket/cart.  I then realized that the "BYOB" campaign was implemented.

Instead of plastic bags, items were placed in brown paper bags then placed on the re-usable bags brought by the shoppers.  This makes the baggers a little slow in packing the items thus causing the long lines at the cashier's counters.  Anyway this is just the first day of the "BYOB" campaign and hopefully the baggers and the shoppers will get used to this new system and everything will return to normal once again.

I totally support this campaign and I hope this won't just last for a few days but instead become a habit of every shopper so that little by little, the use of plastic bags will be eliminated.  Hopefully manufacturers will also take the steps to minimize the use of plastic products in their packaging.

Plastic bags/products is the number one culprit in clogging our drainage system which causes flood in most areas and minimizing the use of these plastic bags will reduce the possibilities of irresponsible disposal of these items.

Let's all do our share in taking care our beloved Mother Earth.  Support this campaign, always bring your own re-usable bag when shopping.

Happy Birthday Christine

Happy Birthday my little girl!  Although you're a big girl now and wanted to do things your way, here in my heart and in your papa's heart, you will always be our little girl, our little baby.

We always thank God for giving you to us and we pray that He will continue to light our path so we can guide you to become a responsible individual, living a life pleasing to the eyes of our Lord.

We love you baby and we will always be here for you.

How to Deal with Gossip

Have you been a victim of gossip?  How did you deal with the situation?

Wow, it’s the first week of the year and my topic seems to be not a good one to start the year right but I just can’t help it, I just learned that I’d been a topic of gossip among household helpers in our place and the author is our very own household helper.  I know a lot of working moms with stay-in household helper can relate to this topic in one way or another.

I’m not angry with what I learned, I even laughed when I received the text message from our neighbor.  The story is fabricated and it’s just absurd.   I’m a person who just mind my own business and I’m not fond of joining conversations which discusses the life of others especially if that person is not around and the topic is not good, so I’m surprised to learn that I became a topic in one of the chit chats of household helpers in our place.

We live in a 4-story condominium building where the laundry area of all units is located at the roof deck so naturally it became the meeting place of all household helpers, although it’s not allowed as per the condominium’s code but these people just know how to play hide and seek with the roving security guards.

I don’t generalize all household helpers but most of them are really fond of talking about the lives of others … their employer’s lives included.   Whenever I visit the laundry area, I often see household helpers in group and even if I don’t have the intention to eavesdrop on their conversation, you can just hear them talking about someone.  This situation is just normal with them and the gossips are just contained around their circle unless something happens to their “friendship”.  I think this is what happened to my household helper and her friends that’s why the gossip now reached me.

My plan for now is to talk with my helper and tell her about all the stories I received about her, this way she can defend herself and of course I won’t be dealing with gossips here anymore because I will be relaying the stories to the concerned person and she will be given the chance to clear herself.     

I’ll make a separate post of the outcome of my confrontation with our household helper which I’m planning to make this coming weekend.  This is the best time to do the confrontation when I’m at the best of my mood so I hope I can make the conversation as peaceful as possible.   I’m not really good at this confrontation thing but I think I have to do it so everything will be cleared.

It's My Special Day Today

Treating the children at a mini zoo on my birthday

 Today is my birthday and another year has been added to my age ... wow, I'm already 41 years old.  I can't believe it, I still feel like I'm just 25 years old ... LOL.


Actually, age doesn't really matter to me.  As others say, age is just a number ... that's right, it's just a number that keeps on adding yearly.  As long as I'm happy and contented with my life, age will never be much of an issue for me.  In fact, it's a blessing and something I have to thank God for.