How to Save a Life?

To kill is never a choice.

Dear Mommy,

I am in Heaven now... I so wanted to be your little girl. I don't quite understand what has happened.
I was so excited when I began realizing my existance. I was in a dark, yet comfortable place.

I saw I had fingers and toes. I was pretty far along in my developing, yet not near ready to leave my surroundings. I spent most of my time thinking or sleeping. Even from my earliest days, I felt a special bonding between you and me.

Sometimes I heard you crying and I cried with you.
Sometimes you would yell or scream, then cry.

I heard Daddy yelling back. I was sad, and hoped you would be better soon.
I wondered why you cried so much. One day you cried almost all of the day. 
I hurt for you. I couldn't imagine why you were so unhappy.

That same day, the most horrible thing happened.
A very mean monster came into that warm, comfortable place I was in.
I was so scared, I began screaming, but you never once tried to help me.
Maybe you never heard me.

The monster got closer and closer as I was screaming and screaming,
"Mommy, Mommy, help me please; Mommy, help me."
Complete terror is all I felt. I screamed and 
screamed until I thought I couldn't anymore.
Then the monster started ripping my arms off. It hurt so bad; the pain I can never explain. It didn't stop.

Oh, how I begged it to stop. I screamed in horror as it ripped my leg off.
Though I was in such complete pain, I was dying.
I knew I would never see your face or hear you say how much you love me.
I wanted to make all your tears go away. I had so many plans to make you happy. Now I couldn't; all my dreams were shattered.

Though I was in utter pain and horror, I felt the pain of my heart breaking, above all. I wanted more than anything to be your daughter. No use now, for I was dying a painful death. I could only imagine the terrible things that they had done to you.

I wanted to tell you that I love you before I was gone, but I didn't know the words you could understand.
And soon, I no longer had the breath to say them; I was dead.
I felt myself rising. I was being carried by a huge angel into a big beautiful place. I was still crying, but the physical pain was gone. The angel took me away to a wonderful place... Then I was happy.

I asked the angel what was the thing was that killed me. He answered, "Abortion". I am sorry, for I know how it feels." 
I don't know what abortion is; I guess that's the name of the monster. 
I'm writing to say that I love you and to tell you how much I wanted to be your little girl.

I tried very hard to live. I wanted to live. 
I had the will, but I couldn't; the monster was too powerful.
It sucked my arms and legs off and finally got all of me. It was impossible to live.
I just wanted you to know I tried to stay with you. I didn't want to die.
Also, Mommy, please watch out for that abortion monster.
Mommy, I love you and I would hate for you to go through the kind of pain I did. Please be careful.

LOVE,
YOUR BABY GIRL

One study estimated that, despite legal restrictions, in 1994 there were 400,000 abortions performed illegally and 80,000 hospitalizations of women for abortion-related complications. 12% of all maternal deaths in 1994 were due to unsafe abortion according to the Department of Health. Two-thirds of these women who have abortions attempt to self-induce or seek solutions from those who practice folk medicine.

We cannot fool ourselves that this world is problem-free. We need to acknowledge that there should be one soul that needs to do his/her part to solve this ruthless crime. And that soul could be yours.

Yes YOU (not others) can do something:
+ Donate goods such as diapers, baby food, baby wipes, baby clothes, etc., to organizations that help support women who have decided not to have an abortion.
+ Volunteer your time with an organization.
+ If you know a woman who is pregant, let her know you are willing and able to help her out if she needs help.
+ If you are a male, volunteer to be a role model for a dad to be.
+ Speak to those entering an abortion clinic with kind words and offer support. 

Lastly, If you don't have a time, you can utter a small prayer that those who wanted to commit the act will have a change of heart. Or at least read this letter from an unborn baby girl. -CMK

(Sources: Luke181 and wikipedia)

Why don't CHA try this?

Spell Chocolate Mousse? H-e-a-v-e-n! :)

Top 10 Reasons why you should ♥ Cha Time:

1. Healthy. 

2. Available @ Makati.

3. Chocolate Mousse is the bomb!

4. Grass Jelly and Red Bean...Perfect.

5. Cream-cheese-like top on their Mousse Collection is superb.

6. Fairly priced. Compared to overrated coffee houses.

7. There's this UFO shaped Number Tag which will light upwhen your order is ready.

8. You can modify the sugar and ice content.

(Eg. 70% less sugar, 110% ice).

9. They serve coffee - should you need some caffeine shots.(Iced Coffee Smoothie is a must-try).

10. A perfect Sip whilst reading Archie Comics. -CMK

EAT. PRAY. LOVE.

One should do this more often.

EAT. PRAY. LOVE.

A quest of a 32-year old woman who seem to have-it-all-yet-found-herself-crying in a bathroom one night, Liz took a chance to have a year-long travel. 4 months each in Italy, India and Bali.

Flashback before me lying on a couch.
Location : Video City
DVD in Mind : Suspense/Horror

Sales lady was kind enough to say that the DVD i'm holding doesn' t have a good  plot and it is boring. For someone whose not a big fan of mushy films, I ended up handing the DVD to her, since something about the yogurt spoon tickled my fancy. Not long after, I found myself grabbing a pencil and paper, writing some quotable mantras from Liz, Ketut and other friends.

In Italy:
* "[There's a] sweetness in doing nothing.
* In speaking Italian, one must speak with their hands. [Think bellissimo!]
* "Dear God, please, please, please... help me win a lottery.
     Dear child, please, please, please... BUY A TICKET first."
* "We are living in misery because we never want change."
* "Pain and Ruin is a gift --- a road to transformation. One must be prepared for an endless wave of transformation."* "Say what you want to thank God for, TODAY."

In India:
* "If you can't master your thoughts, you're in trouble."
* "Select your thoughts like you would select your clothes."
* "If you'll just empty your mind with bad things, there'd be a vacuum, and you can now use it to think of GOOD things."
* "God dwells in you, as You."
* "Experiencing a broken (♥) means you are stronger for something."
* "I am so sick of people telling me I need a man."

In Indonesia:
* "We must take care of our family, whoever we perceive them to be."
* “In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we created in the first place.”
* "Sometimes, to lose balance for love is to have real balance in life."
* "If you are brave enough to leave the familiar, the Truth will not be withheld from you. " -CMK.

ANYONE WHO LOVES MUST KNOW HOW TO LOSE THEMSELVES AND FIND THEMSELVES AGAIN.
- By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Paolo Coelho

Florante at Laura - Kabanata 14

"Pag-ibig anaki'y aking nakilala,
'di dapat palakihin ang bata sa saya;
at sa katuwaa'y kapag namihasa,
kung lumaki'y walang hihinting ginhawa."

"Sapagkat ang mundo'y bayan ng hinagpis,
namamaya'y sukat tibayan ang dibdib;
lumaki sa tuwa'y walang pagtitiis ...
anong ilalaban sa dahas ng sakit?"

"Ang taong magawi sa ligaya't aliw,
mahina ang puso't lubhang maramdamin;
inaakala pa lamang ang hilahil
na daratni'y 'di na matutuhang bathin."

"Para ng halamang lumaki sa tubig,
daho'y malalanta munting 'di madilig;
ikinaluluoy ang sandaling init;
gayundin ang pusong sa tuwa'y maniig."

"Munting kahirapa'y mamalakhing dala,
dibdib palibhasa'y 'di gawing magbata,
ay bago sa mundo'y walang kisapmata,
ang tao'y mayroong sukat ipagdusa."

"Ang laki sa layaw karaniwa'y hubad
sa bait at muni't sa hatol ay salat;
masaklap na bunga ng maling paglingap,
habag ng magulang sa irog na anak."

 
“Munting kahirapa’y mamalakhing dala, dibdib palibhasa’y ‘di gawing magbata, ay bago sa mundo’y walang kisapmata, ang tao’y mayroong sukat ipagdusa.”

Not-so-Cheesy Lines from Who Moved My Cheese?

  

Sino ang nag-urong ng keso?

Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths. It is an amusing and enlightening story of 4 characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want in life -- whether a good job, a loving relationship, money, health, peace of mind.

And the maze is where you look for what you want -- the organization you work in, family, or community you live in.

Following are some (not-so) cheesy lines from Mr. Johnson.

* Having Cheese makes you happy.

* The more important your cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it.

* If you do not change, you can become extinct.

* What would you do if you weren't afraid?

* Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.

* Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese.

* When you stop being afraid, you feel good.

* Imagining yourself enjoying your cheese leads you to it.

* The quicker you let go of the old cheese, The sooner you find new cheese.

* It is safer to search in the maze, than remain in a cheeseless situation.

* Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese.

* When you see that you can find and Enjoy new cheese, you change your course.

* Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come.

* Move with the cheese and be grateful for it.

Enjoy eating, err.. reading. :D -CMK.

Fashion Files. They say, a girl is a girl is a girl :)

Boho Chic

 

Yellow Bag Rules

A bit of Classic

The 10 Conyo--mmandments

1. Thou shall know you know? I know right!
ex. "My bag is so bigat today, you know"
"I know, right! We have to make dala pa kasi the jumbo Physics book eh!"

2. Thou shall make kalat "noh","diba" and "eh" in your pangungusap.
ex. "I don't like to make lakad in the baha nga, no? Eh diba it's like, so eew, diba?"
"What ba: stop nga being maarte noh?"
"Eh as if you want naman also, diba?"

3. When making describe a whatever, always say "It's SO pang-uri!"
ex. "It's so malaki, you know, and so mainit!"
"I know right? So sarap nga, eh!"
"You're making me so inggit naman.. I'll make bili nga my own burger."

4. When you are lalaki, make parang punctuation "dude", 'tsong" or "pare"
ex. "Dude, RIZAL is so hirap, pare."
"I know, tsong, I got bagsak nga in quiz one, eh"

5. Thou shall make gamit "make+pandiwa" .
ex. "Let's make pasok na to our class!"
"Wait lang! I'm making kain pa!"
"Come on na, we can't make hintay anymore! It's in Andrew pa, you know?"

6. Make gawa the plural of pangngalans like in English or Spanish.
ex. "I have so many tigyawats, oh!"

7. Like, when you can make kaya, always use like. Like, I know right?
ex. "Like, it's so init naman!"
"Yah! The aircon, it's, like sira!"

8. Make yourself feel so galing by translating the last word of your sentence, you know, your pangungusap?
ex. "Kakainis naman in the LRT! How plenty tao, you know, people?"
"It's so tight nga there, eh, you know, masikip?"

9. Make gamit the pinakamaarte voice and pronunciation you have para full effect!
ex. "I'm, like, making aral at one posshhh skewl!" and "Laveyttt!"

10. Make gamit of plenty abbreviations, you know, daglat?"
ex. "Like, OMG! It's like traffic sa LRT"
"I know right? It's so kaka!"
"Kaka?"
"Kakaasar!" -CMK.

Pad Thai Anyone?!

One Word = Yummy

Pad Thai (pd t, päd) n. A Thai dish of stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, chicken chunks, peanuts, and seasonings.

I am not really a "master" when it comes to food blogging so to bridge this incompetency, allow me to describe the food using a commoner's language and some FYI's that I myself have not known until now :p

1. Noodle = Stir Fried. Al Dente (Definition: Al dente refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta in Italian cooking. It literally means "to the tooth".) Pronunciation: All DAN Tay

2. Chicken Chunks = 75% Cooked. But I think it's safe to munch, nonetheless.

3. Sauce = Main Event. Sweet. Salty. Spicy. Nano-Nano!

4. Serving = Good for 2 (generally speaking).

5. Overall = Perfect for Food Tripping. Best Paired with Thai Iced Coffee.

After Effect : "Beks! May lakad ka today? Let's go at mag-Oodys. Nagce-crave ako sa Pad Thai. -- Text message to one of my close friends one Sunday afternoon" -CMK.

Why Factor : Part 1

He will catch me. 100% Sure.

When you come to the edge of all the light you have,
and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown,
faith is knowing one of two things will happen:
There will be something solid to stand on,
or you will be taught how to fly.
~ Patrick Overton ~

Why Factor : Part 2

Tinangay ng malakas na agos ang sapatos ng bata...

Anak : Nanay, bakit ganun? Kahit anong gawin ko hindi ko na mababalik yung pulang sapatos ko?

Nanay : Anak (sabay turo sa batang putol ang isang paa). Bakit kahit anong gawin ng batang iyon, hindi na sia makakalakad pa?

Anak : (Niyakap ng buong higpit ang Nanay) 

** May mga bagay na sadyang mahirap bigyan ng dahilan ** -CMK.

Why Factor : Part 3

Explain the Internet to Me!

Man : Can you explain, Mr. God, WHY all these bad things happen to me?! In complete details please.

GOD : My child, can you explain the mechanics of an internet to an ant?

Man : How?

GOD : Now, we have the same thing to think about...

You asked, "Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?" Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. - Book of Job

Knowing vs Being

 One Dinner Time with my Cousins:
 Trivia : This is a _____ Plant. Clue : Name ng Cigarette.
 Jay : Marlboro Plant?
 DJ : Winston Plant?
 Jay : Hope Plant?
 MM : (in a not so loud tone) Fortune Plant ate?
 Me : Tumpak! Galing!
 Jay : Hoy Memem. Yun ang gamit mo noh?
MM : Ndi kuya (sheepish look) Hehe..
Crowd : Laughs! Laughs! Laughs! Laughs! Laughs! Laughs!

We, people knew something about death. But we haven't saw or experienced it. Have we? But not experiencing death, doesn't mean we know not-a-thing about it. On the other side, not knowing how to cook doesn't discount you from experiencing good cooking.

Maybe, just maybe, the same path holds true in marriage, career, grievances and so on :) PS: MM doesn't smoke. Honest. -CMK.

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN.

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned:

* Share everything.

* Play fair.

* Don't hit people.

* Put things back where you found them.

* Clean up your own mess.

* Don't take things that aren't yours.

* Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

* Wash your hands before you eat.

* Flush.

* Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

* Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

* Take a nap every afternoon.

* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

* Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

* Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.

* And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

* Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.]