08 August 2015

Immorality: Which One Really Is Immoral?

~via wholelifemagazine.com~
Once upon a time, there was a situation when I have to question what immorality truly means. 
For most people, especially those who follow Christianity (being a Christian doesn't mean one has the characteristics of Christ for I see the big difference between the two), they concentrate its meaning base on sex (intercourse, pre-marital sex in particular) and they couldn't see anything else. I am not that sure about the views on this from other religious sects but I believe they share the same. 
Anyway, I see immorality differently.
This once upon a time happened when a woman employee was kicked out of her job because she got pregnant out of wedlock. What? Yes! The management specified the following: get married and you get to keep your job otherwise, you have to resign! Why, if you ask? Because according to some company policy (this company particularly), pregnancy out of wedlock will ruin its image, its reputation! 
As simple as that! 

You might agree with what the policy entails but it is wrong and heartless!
Sex out of marriage is not an act of immorality, and definitely, a woman is not immoral if she gets pregnant with a runaway father!
When a single woman employee gets pregnant and the boyfriend refuses to marry her, does she need to lose her job? Kindly also tell me whether the company is "not" immoral when it denied its employee the job she needed the most, denying her child the comfort her salary can give?
Sex is private - between two people - and as long as the employee is doing her job properly and efficiently, the company has no right to interfere with her personal life. It's a personal choice. 
Sex becomes immoral only if one is against in doing it or if one is forced to do it.
Do you know what's more immoral than having sex out of marriage?
  • Throwing garbage anywhere is immoral. It simply puts yourselves at the center of the world because for you, getting rid of your waste is more important than anything/anyone else thereby forgetting your waste could bring harm to others!
  • Killing animals for food or simply being the reason for these animals to be butchered so you'll eat is immoral and inhumane. It, again, puts yourselves in the center, for you don't value any other live beings apart from yourselves forgetting that they, too, are creations of god (if you believe so) that have rights to share the earth as much as you do.
  • Cutting trees, bulldozing the earth for the so-called development is immoral. This, again, makes you forget that by doing so you make all the birds and other animals that depend on them homeless.
Is it moral to dip innocent beings in boiled water?
He or She didn't harm you in any way!

Examples could go on and on but one thing is clear, immorality does happen most of the times and that we should be ready to discuss many things about it other than claiming that sex is immoral. And that we should never agree to one thing and condemn another thing just because it doesn't apply to our liking.
But if having pre-marital sex is immoral, is getting married after doing it makes you moral? How about the man who got his girlfriend pregnant but refused to marry her, is he immoral? What if it's the mane employee got his girlfriend pregnant and refused to marry her? Will he lose his job, too?
I don't think there is a valid justification for firing an employee because the company believes that pregnancy out of wedlock is immoral.
The irony of this situation is that the company is into providing livelihood projects to communities, helping men or women, married or single become self-sufficient. How hypocrites and blind can the people in this company be when they could not even provide a decent livelihood to their own employees, and yet they talk about immorality? They better take care of their own first rather than showing some things to others and do different things on the other side.
~chopped trees as if no one lives on them;
as if it's so easy to grow one single tree;
as if felling has no consequences~

I saw how merciless the said policy is so I questioned it, not because the person concerned is a neighbor or a friend or a family member. I just refused to stay silent. That part of me just couldn't tolerate it anymore. I don't expect that after I brought their attention to this I could change them. No! Far from that. Because for change to happen it has to start from understanding what is right and what is wrong.
This case is just one of the many injustices, inequalities on earth that need change and change is difficult, even harder having people with such kind of mentality!

06 August 2015

Lace-Inspired Crocheted Top: In Blue, Orange, Green & White Combination

Inspired by this pattern, which is free, I decided to make one of my own.
At first, I wanted all white to match with my flowery pants.
Later on I decided to make it in 4 colors since I have 4 yanks of white yarns, 2 yanks each of dark blue, orange, and green. Then again, while doing the project many ideas came to my mind and I ended up having an opening in the front (instead of the back) with crocheted buttons, as you can see in the picture. You can have it as a design or really an opening for easy fitting in.

The pattern is somewhat confusing at first. It took me a while to figure out how to start.
Since I have done it, I'll try to guide you through this design for you to follow the pattern with ease.

Click the link above for the pattern.
But you can follow mine if you find it easier to follow.


~front~
Because we don't usually find the exact materials that are recommended for a project, we need to try whether the size fits our size or not. It requires addition, multiplication, and sometimes subtraction to get the proper measurement for our body size. Since this project was finished quite a long time ago, I struggle to recall how I made the entire thing. But because the pattern is available for free, what I will do is guide you through the confusing parts of this project.

Looking at the pattern (I suggest you to copy and paste it where you can access it anytime), here'swhat you should do: 

Notes:
  • I used 4-ply acrylic and 4mm crochet hook (3 yanks white, 1 yank each dark blue, orange, & green); 3 old semi-flat buttons; sewing needle and thread
  • yo - yarn over the hook
  • Sc2tog: Draw up a lp in each of the next 2 sts, yo and draw through all lps on hook.
  • 3-dc cluster: (yo, insert hook in st, yo and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook) 3 times in specified st, yo and draw through all loops on hook.

PETAL PATTERN
Foundation chain of 52. (Your first petal pattern)Hdc (half double crochet) in 3rd chain from hook, (loop on hook counts as 1st). Hdc across. Ch2 (counts as 1st hdc of next row). Turn.
  • Skip row 1, and continue working on row 2. Maintain that 51 sts
  • Row 1.  Sk first dc, *hdc in next ch-1 sp, hdc in next dc; rep from * across. Ch 2, turn.
  • Row 2. Skip first hdc, then hdc in each hdc across. Ch3 (counts as 1st dc of next row). Turn.
  • Row 3: Sk first hdc, *work 3-dc cluster in next hdc, ch 3, work 3-dc cluster in top of cluster just made (see pictures below), sk next 2 hdc; rep from * across, end 3-dc cluster in next hdc, dc in last hdc -- 17 vertical cluster, 16 horizontal cluster. Ch 3, turn.
                                                                                                                         


                                                                                                             


                                                                                                                                      
  • Row 4: Sk first dc, work 3-dc cluster in top of first cluster, *ch 2, sk next horizontal cluster, 3-dc cluster in next cluster; rep from * across, end dc in 3rd ch of turning ch -- 17 cluster, 16 ch-2 sps. Ch 2, turn. 
  • Row 5: Sk first dc, hdc in first cluster *work 2 hdc in next ch-2 sp, hdc in next cluster; rep from * across, end hdc in 3rd ch of turning ch-3. Ch 2, turn. 
  • Row 6: Work as for Row 2, except work ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch-1 at beg of next row) to turn at end of row. 
  • Row 7: Sk first 2 hdc, *dc in next hdc, ch 1, sk next hdc; rep from * across, end dc in turning ch-2--25 ch-1 sps. Ch 4, turn. 
  • Row 8: Sk first dc and ch-1 sp, *dc in next dc, ch 1; rep from * across to last sp, end sk next ch, dc in next ch. Ch 2, turn. (This last ch 2 must be of different color, if you are making this pattern with varied colors. To do that, on the last ch of the last dc -one highlighted in row 8, instead of drawing the same color, draw a yarn of different color, then tie both yarn ends together as tight as possible to avoid your work from getting unfastened later on).
  • Repeat rows 1-8 for Petal Pattern. Make 14 repeats of this Petal Pattern. I only made 11 in mine, enough to have a wrap around from waist to middle thigh.
Next.
  • With WS (wrong side) together, connect foundation ch edge and last row of the last Petal Pattern by working sl st in each st across, working through both pieces at once (looks like a tube and the back seam is formed).


Now, for DRAWSTRING BAND, you can follow the original pattern. In my project, instead of sc in row 2 and 5, I did dhc. Read below.
  • Round 1: With RS (Right Side) facing, join thread of your choice (if doing in multi-colored) with sl st at back seam on one end of Torso tube; work 14 sc along each 8-row repeat of Petal pattern as follows; 2 sc along Rows 1-2; 5 sc along Rows 3-4; 2 sc along Rows 5-6; 5 sc along Rows 7-8; join with sl st to first sc. (14 sc X 11 repeats of Petal pat=154 sts)
  • Round 2: Ch 1, hdc in each sc, and at the same time dec 4sc evenly spaced by working hdc2tog, join with sl st to first hdc. (150 sts or multiples of 5)
  • Round 3: Ch 3 (counts as first dc); dc in next hdc; ch 2; sk next 2sc, *dc in each of the next 2 hdc, ch 3, sk next 2 sc; rep from * around, join with sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-3.
  • Round 4: Ch 1, work sc in each dc and 2 sc in each ch-2 sp, join with sl st to first sc.
  • Round 5: Ch 1, hdc in each sc and at the same time dec (sc2tog) 9 sc evenly spaced around, join with sl st to first hdc. (141 sts or multiples of 7 + 1)
Next. 
SCALLOP PATTERN (needs multiple of 7 + 1)

  • Row 1 (RS): Sc in first st, *sk 2 sts, 5 dc in next st -- scallop made; sk 2 sts, sc in next st; rep from * across. Ch 3, turn. 
  • Row 2: Work 2 dc in first sc, *sc in center dc of next scallop, scallop in next sc; rep from * across, end sc in center dc of next scallop, 3 dc in last sc. Ch 1, turn. 
  • Row 3: Sc in first dc, *scallop in next sc, sc in center dc of next scallop; rep from * across, working last sc in 3rd ch of turning ch-3. Ch 3, turn. 
  • Repeat Rows 2 - 3 for Scallop patern 
  • Work back and forth in Scallop pattern till desired length is achieved, changing colors if preferred. Fasten off. (This opening can be a back or front opening. If back opening is preferred, I suggest to use flat buttons so it doesn't hurt when lying down or sitting against a chair or wall).
~21 rows of scallop pattern, sc and wsc for button edges~

STRAP
(Remember that I used 4mm crochet hook)
  • Foundation chain of 55. 
  • Row 1: Hdc on the 3rd ch from hook and in each across =54 hdc total. Ch2. Turn.
  • Row 2:Sk first hdc, hdc in each st across.
  • Row 3-4: Refer to Petal Pattern rows 3-4
  • Row 5: Refer to row 5 of Petal pattern. Ch 2, turn. 
  • Row 6: Sk 1st hdc, then hdc in next 10 hdc, dc in next 11 hdc, tr in next 10 hdc, dc in next 11 hdc, and hdc in last 11 hdc.
  • Row 7: Sc in first 2sts, *sk next 2 hdc, 3 dc in next hdc, then (ch 5, sl st in 5th ch from hook) 3 times to form a triple picot (see picture below); sk next hdc, 3 dc in next hdc, sk next 2 hdc*; sc in next hdc; repeat from * to *; sc in last 2sts. Fasten off.
~example of row 7* ~

LOWER BORDER
  • Round 1: Refer to row 1 of Drawstring Band except that instead of sc, work in hdc= 154 sts
  • Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as first hdc); sk first hdc, hdc in each hdc around, join with sl st to top of beginning ch-2.
  • Round 3: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch-1 sp); sk first 2 hdc, *dc in next hdc, ch 1, sk next hdc; repeat from * around, join with sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4.
  • Round 4: Ch 4, sk first dc, *dc in next dc, ch 1; repeat from * around, join with sl st to 3rd ch of beg ch-4. 
  • Rounds 5-7: Refer to round 4. 
~lower border~
  • Round 8: Ch 2 (counts as first hdc); sk first dc, hdc in each ch-1 sp and dc around, skipping 2 hdc evenly spaced around; join with sl st to 2nd ch of beg ch-2. (=152 sts).
  • Round 9: Ch 1, sc in first hdc, *sk next 2 hdc, 3 dc in next hdc, (ch 5, sl st in 5th ch from hook) 3 times -- triple picot formed; sk next hdc, 3 dc in next hdc, sk next 2 hdc**, sc in next hdc; rep from * around; join with sl st in first sc. Fasten off.

EDGING FOR FRONT OPENING
  • For upper side where button holes are made, I did sc evenly for 1st row.
  • For 2nd row, I did a wsc or wrapped single crochet (click the link for a video tutorial) with chaining 3 in right places where I intended to place the buttons. Depending on how big your button, you can chain 4 or 5.
  • For the underside, sc evenly  in 1st row; then wsc for as many rows you like to have an extra layer (mine has 3 rows of wsc). Sew in buttons in place to correspond to button holes. Just sew in the extra edge of wsc layer made.
~back side of the top~

Notes:
~You need a lining for inside or any plain sleeveless top.
~You can insert a ribbon as drawstring or a single crocheted band.
~Try the garment on before sewing the strap to get the proper place where to attach the edge to the tube.
~For crocheted buttons, I got the idea from this site.
~For any clarification, just leave a message. I'll try to answer them as possible as I can.

~the final look~

Do take a look at my other crochet stuffs!




Khirsu Community Health Center: A Hospital On A Hillstation

From a Primary Health Center (PHC), Khirsu Government Hospital has just recently got upgraded to Community Health Center (CHC) with 2 permanent MBBS doctor assigned; 1 dentist; and other hospital staffs: pharmacist, nurse, ANUMs, and other hospital personnel.

An ANUM training center and a hostel are also located at this hospital campus.

~hospital compound as seen from Khirsu market~
The hospital opens at 8 am to 2 pm Mondays to Saturdays in summer and 9 am to 3 pm in winter. It is an OPD service. Minor emergency cases are handled in the hospital while serious cases are referred to higher centers -Srikot, Srinagar or Pauri hospital or in Dehradun.
Delivery cases are quite less and are handled by a nurse and ANUM.

GVK-EMRI  (call 108) provides emergency response services under PPP or Public Private Partnership framework and is ready on call anytime.

Housing facilities are provided for doctors and other hospital staffs. Electricity supplies come and go, sometimes for about 5-15 minutes or 1 hour to 12 hours especially when a major repair is going on.
Water supply, on the other hand, is problematic, especially during summer days. Water tank truck which comes from Pauri supplies to areas without water.

~hospital compound as seen from Pauri-Khirsu road,
the towering building is the hospital~

Khirsu's location is situated in a very strategic point where a view of the Himalayas can be clearly visible in winter behind those cloud-covered mountains.

GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) Hotel and Restaurant is located just below the hospital.

~Chaukhamba mountains are on the right. I can't name the others.
These are the mountains visible from Khirsu
between December and early February.
This picture was taken in early February after
a night and day of rain.~
[This photograph was taken from the hospital campus]

~The view visible from Khirsu. This was taken from Khirsu hospital~


For more information regarding Khirsu CHC, just leave a comment.



05 August 2015

Empathy: The Capability To Share Another Being's Emotions And Feelings

The word empathy is one of the most common words in man's vocabulary. Though the above definition says another being, most people apply this word to HUMAN beings only and not to NON-HUMAN animals. Many fail to imagine themselves to be them, non-human animals, which somehow made me question, "is empathy exclusive to mankind only?"

Well, many people are generally kind and caring who may love their dogs or cats - their pets, in other words, but they seem to have forgotten their concern towards other animals like the plight of pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows, etc. in slaughterhouses getting ready to be sold and eventually be served on their dinner table. Can a man be this hostile?
Now let me ask you! Are you one of these people who empathize with human pains and sufferings only? Or are you different?
Will there be a chance for you to be different from now on?
In Earthlings, a documentary film about the society's treatment of animals as food, clothing, entertainment and scientific research, I couldn't help myself but say "Good!" when the elephant ran amok and injured and killed people who treated him mercilessly just for the sake of entertainment.
In the movie, The Planet of the Apes, humans are dumb just like how humans think of animals today. They are in the situation where they are hunted for sport and dissected or sliced for scientific study. Good thing apes were vegetarian, otherwise human meat would have been their favorite. 
Could this be a consolation for humans?
Just a few weeks ago, a neighbor killed a cobra because he, his family, and his other neighbors are afraid of it. They are scared that the would enter into their houses and bite them. That's all they can think of -bite them, and so he/she has to die through their hands. My husband and I tried to persuade them not to kill him/her, to just let him/her go on its way for he/she's just passing by. But no! The man still brought a big round stick and smashed him/her to death. I literally burst out into tears and walked away. I couldn't bear the hostility of man, who is supposed to be far more intelligent than any other being yet he couldn't hide the beast in him.
In another incident around here, a big cat was hunted and killed (I am referring to a different leopard, not the pictured one below) because he killed a 5-year-old kid. Many commented and said it should have not killed the kid, it should not hunt humans. It can kill dogs, sheep, goats and other animals but not humans! And so he was killed. But who would you blame? The big cat that has gone hungry for many days because his habitat has been destroyed by endless human population growth or the humans themselves who think that they can empty the forest, that these animals don't have the right to inhabit the earth like they do? 
~one innocent earthling against hundreds of men~
(visit indianexpress for the story)
Here, I confirmed how idiots humans can be because of selfishness and apathy. How can they even think that there is only but one man-eating leopard roaming around in this area? What if the one got killed was not the one they were looking for? But, oh well, they are not capable of thinking this way, aren't they?
Then, why kill the animal? There is forest department that is supposed to handle this situation the right way - tranquilize the cat and transport him to a jungle where he can thrive.
But they resorted to killing him.
~dogs for dog meat trade, via www.ed.ac.uk~
The above scenarios are just a few instances where humans have shown their hostility, selfishness, idiocy for the sake of their own benefit. No wonder man survive this long wiping out the weak along the way for them to thrive in great numbers.
I know that many cannot understand and connect these issues what I am mumbling about. I don't have control over that. But for those who are capable of putting themselves in the paws and hooves of these animals, they already know what to do, if they haven't done anything yet.

Yet again, compassion or kindness is innate in every person. But somehow, along the way it got lost, but it is something that could be lost but also can be found again.
Don't fail to put yourselves in the lives of these animals, which you considered scrumptious! It's time to evolve and become that man who is part of nature but on a different level altogether.
You can be a part of nature and choose to kill and eat your fellow earthlings. 
Not that!
Instead, be a part of nature, and at the same time, choose not to exploit animals in every possible way. Be that man! Be that man who says, empathy is for all creatures who live on this planet.
Empathy is something that is extended towards non-human animals.
I failed for 27 years but I changed my ways. I passed and still doing my best part to protect and respect them. I just don't have sympathy for them, I deeply empathize with them. I clearly see their value, not as food that fills my belly, but as beings that exist because they have every rights to share this beautiful planet with me.

I want to live my life and I know, every single animal out there wants to live his or her life, too, free from any threats from mankind.


04 August 2015

Random Thoughts of A Wandering Mind

A Child is A Miracle

 "Having a child is not a miracle. It’s biology. Not to mention the fact that humankind is going to out-breed our little planet. We are like lemmings—burdening our environment until a mass-killing is needed to equalize the overpopulation. People don’t think about how much having a child impacts the world. If you consider yourself an environmentalist, or against war, or poverty and hunger, then you would be wise to consider the impact your fertility has on the planet".....(Excerpt from this blog.

Finally, someone is bold enough to say the truth that many "experts" are scared to talk about! It is a must to discuss human population growth. 

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A Recipe for Disaster

The belief that you need someone to take care of you is a perfect recipe for disaster!

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A Twisted World

Our world is such a twisted one! The sick or ill get sick leave from work, get their hospital bills and medication reimbursed,  while the healthy-especially the ones who really want to stay that way don't get anything! They don't get extra pay for not being sick, they don't get reimbursed when they enroll themselves in gym or buy bicycles to stay fit and healthy, they don't get paid to buy fruits, vegetables and nuts to certain their well-being!

Pregnant women get paid maternity leave when they are the ones who contribute to the already over populated world. They are the ones who add to the consumption of earth's exhausted resources. They also pollute, in every possible way!

It's not our world that is twisted, actually, but the people who are on it (not all but most).


(via gallery4share.com)

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Cease to Change

It's just a sad fact to know that no matter how precautions or factual information you share with people (family, friends, acquaintances) about health and values in life, they still cease to change. 

This is the time when you have to realize yourself that there is a limit to everything. You can't continue to go on and on. You have to let them be and, yeah, you don't need to have anything to do with them.

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Chance

Everybody deserves a chance to get informed or be educated with something that is very important. But then, it's up to them whether to take that education and do something good about it!

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Criticize Idea Not The Person Who's Holding The Idea

To criticize the person instead of the values, beliefs, thoughts and ideas, or opinion he or she holds is the highest level of immaturity and the lowest form of intelligence.

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Found A Friend?

The moment you met a person whom you can talk to about the important social issues in life with open-mind, without feeling upset or attacked because you are talking about views and values that are exactly opposite to his or hers, that is the moment that you just found a friend!

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Help To Most People

The problem with most people is that when they need your help they expect the kind of help they want from you and get upset or angry when this expectation is not met. So, for example (among many) when you tell an obese or an overweight person to lose weight and be more active, they give you all the excuses they can think of and try to justify their health issues...and on top of that they want your sympathy when something "bad" happens to them when the reality is, the sympathy they were looking for was already presented to them only that they were too self-absorbed to even notice that help was already given.

It's like visiting a friend or a family member in a hospital who has met a terrible road accident because of reckless and fast driving to show that you care. Telling him/her over and over again to drive slow and carefully is NOT help or support when, the truth is, that is the greatest help you can ever extend to another person!

Prevention is always better than cure, because most of the times, there is no cure...other than 6 feet under ground...sooner or later!

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Ignorance, Not A Big Deal

Ignorance is not a big deal! But when you are presented with knowledge, at least, have an open-mind to accept it and change your ways.

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Intelligence

Students' intelligence these days is measured by their ability to memorize facts and retrieve these facts and apply them at a proper place at the right time! And that's basically scoring marks!
Students graduate with honors, receive awards and scholarships but are really poor in critical thinking.
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Laws Are Useless

Laws are useless!
They have not prevented bad people from committing all types of crimes. 
On the other hand, good people don't need laws. They will never be seen littering, robbing, cheating, or murdering. 
Laws are made to control!
And when people have to fight for justice, that is even worse!

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Lesson in Life that Many Choose to Fail

Murdering animals for food or clothing or using them for human benefits is one of those lessons in life that each and every one of us failed to pass earlier. This time, many are still failing not because they can't pass this basic lesson. They are failing because they refuse to pass, they choose to fail. Hence, there are still so many non-vegans out there who, deep inside them, accept that the act is wrong but still continue to include flesh on their diet.

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Money From Cruelty

To make money from cruelty is the lowest form of humanity.

Examples: 
Cockfighting, which is very common in the Philippines, every Sunday or during fiestas.
Bull fighting; selling animal goods; selling birds as pets; breeding animals for food, clothing, etc.

You are better than these people who are involved in such atrocious forms of livelihood.
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On Blood Donation

I don't understand the need for blood donation camp, actually! It seems pretty useless to me...stocking blood in case someone needs it badly. I mean the only time you need a blood donor is when you met an accident and the only way to save your "precious" life is a blood from another person. 

So what if your blood goes to a person who is already sick because he's been so neglectful about his health his body slowly deteriorates and only now he needs something, like blood, so he can keep on living? What if, after he gets blood donation he continues to do the same thing he did before he needed the blood? Does it make any sense to you?

It doesn't to me!

Rather than holding a blood donation camp, why not hold a more useful camp like educating people to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle to avoid such unnecessary activity in the first place? Encourage local community to plant their own vegetables and fruits; implement strict segregation of waste and no single biodegradable waste should go out of each house -must be composted! These, among other many things, are, for me, more important than wasting time holding a blood donation camp. And nobody takes account on how much blood goes to waste later on.

Instill personal responsibility on people! Blood donation is just like a patch...patching a hole that can totally be avoided just by being responsible for your own health.

The only question that only retains in my mind is that,  what if your blood goes to a person who doesn't deserve to be saved? (This goes to organ donation, too, which is why I like (somewhat) that movie of Will Smith, 7 Pounds).

What will you do?




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Something Not Shallow: A Poem

It is sad, I know. 
But if we give up on each other,
It's not because of something shallow.
In fact, it's because of one common fellow.
They're still on your plates whole, chopped, dry, and gravy
A necessity, you say.
Something valued traditionally.
But friends they are to me
Who I adore dearly.
So you see, it's rather easy.
It's either
I let you be
And I'll be on my way
Or together,
You and me
On a journey towards something extraordinary!

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The Dalai Lama

"The Dalai Lama eats meat because he gets sick if he doesn't" is a piece of information that is not new to me. And the first time I heard about it, "what a hypocrite", was my first remark.

So he decides to take the lives of sentient animals so he continues to live, huh! What an incredible idea!

I am a vegan myself but I am not against eating meat. It's the killing of animals for food is what I am against of. These animals have equal rights to inhabit the only home I am inhabiting free from harm, torture, and threat of untimely death because of human craving for flesh, which is actually bland and not tasty at all.

And an authority like the Dalai Lama, who is supposed to be advocating non-violence, is an offensive figure for me! 


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To Complete Me

I have been hearing and reading this phrase for a long time and it is mostly coming from women who are looking for a boyfriend or a husband material and/or from a mother who wants to have a child.

I mean, come on. You needed someone else to complete you? I mean, you yourself are not complete? But how can you ask for somebody to complete you when you are not complete yourself? 

It's like giving a half-baked cookie to someone. You are the half-baked cookie and you are looking for somebody who would take you, not cooked!

Would you like to take a half-baked cookie?

This is the same with somebody who always say "I need somebody to make me happy". Nobody can give you happiness except yourself and to ask or look for it from somebody else is, really, a perfect recipe for a disaster. 

Please, learn to love yourself. You can only give happiness if happiness is already in you.

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Veterinarians

Veterinarians: The only doctor whos eat their patients!

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What You Are

It's no longer, "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are!"
It's now, "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are!"

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What's Wrong?

What's wrong with meat, eggs, and milk?
There's nothing right about them!!!

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03 August 2015

Ginger-Garlic Fried Rice: A Quick and Simple Rice Dish for the Family


The Philippines is a rice country. Breakfast, lunch, supper...every time there is rice, including during snack time!
India, especially in South, is the opposite. 
Imagine my fate without rice...
I survived though!
I don't have that craving for rice, that feeling that I want rice. 
Zero!

My husband, on the other hand, can live without it though he eats occasionally!
And the only rice dish that he likes is fried rice or palak rice, but palak rice is only made when palak or spinach is available, which is not throughout the year unlike in cities where it is (I assume) available most of the year.
As for me, plain or with something, rice is rice and I like it.

We also like mushroom fried rice but is made only during the mushroom season. We stopped using canned mushroom because of health issues (I encourage you to avoid buying and using canned items, too, because anything that has long shelf life will definitely make your life shorter).

So we almost always end up making vegetable fried rice when we have the cravings for rice, but never plain rice.

Ginger-garlic fried rice, as usual, is my husband's idea (thinker, eh).
The first time I made it, I didn't add any vegetables.
(Carrot is nowhere no matter where I look).

Then, a kilo of locally-grown capsicum, freshly harvested from a nearby farm courtesy of Mr. Ashok, a patient of my husband, was delivered to us -for free. 
So instead of a repeat, we decided to add capsicum to ginger-garlic fried rice, our lunch the following day which was already decided the night before.
"Okay, let's try it after all capsicum is almost always there in every fried rice", I said.

So here it is, something to be shared with you because the recipe is very simple and you can add vegetable of your choice and see how it goes.




What are needed?

1. Rice, 1 cup, cooked a night before (I used brown rice this time).
2. Capsicum, 3 medium-size, chopped into small pieces
3. Garlic, plenty, minced-keep for 20 minutes before using (I used big ones up to 7 heads)
4. Ginger, 3 inches, minced (skin not removed, wash properly and remove not so good-looking parts)
5. Onions, 4, medium size, chopped into small pieces
6. Black pepper, 1 tsp.
7. Salt to taste
8. Vegetable oil ( I used sesame oil, mustard oil, olive oil -little of each)


How to do it?

1. Get all ingredients ready.
2. In a deep pan, heat oil in high flame.
3. Add in ginger and garlic together. Fry till brown while pressing once in a while. Lower the flame if necessary.
4. Pour in onions followed by salt. Fry till translucent.
5. Add capsicum. Cook for 1-2 minutes in a high flame. Don't overcook capsicum.
7. Then add rice. Mix the mixture well in a high flame for a few more seconds making sure that no lumps of rice are seen till all ingredients get mixed.
8. Sprinkle black pepper. Check the taste. It's the ginger and garlic, salt and black pepper that make this dish tastier.
9. Turn off the stove.
10. Serve hot.

~my share! we had it with fresh and immature cucumbers, locally grown~

Notes:

~ White rice was also used in this recipe.
~ Carrots can be added instead of capsicum or with capsicum.
~ Make sure to use lots of garlic and ginger, hence the name.
~ It's tastier when dry so I never use ginger-garlic paste again.
~ The rice should be cooked dry, not wettish, so don't overcook it.
~ Soya chunks might go well with this so next time I'll try it. You can also try already. Just boil soya chunks with salt. When cool, squeeze to remove excess water, then dry after adding onions.

Enjoy this very quick and simple rice recipe!