My Inspiration-- My Family

My family is definitely the ideal family we see in movies with happily-ever-after endings. It’s not perfect, but I daresay that I’m really contented and pretty much very satisfied with it.
Like most people, I have my mom and dad, an elder sister and two younger brothers. My mom’s a headteacher and my dad is a civil engineer. Both of them manage a small family business. My elder sister is currently studying law after getting her college degree. She finished a Bachelor's degree in Political Science.  I have a brother who is now taking up medicine as his second course after finishing his bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science in General Biology), and the youngest among us is still in pre-school. Having a little kid for a brother at my age is really awesome, don’t you think?

My mom is some kind of a disciplinarian mother; she’s like the school principal of the family. She’s really busy, and she always brings sweets or fruits or some food delicacy for us when she comes home. It’s kind of traditional in Filipino families for the mother to bring home some stuffs like that. She’s really kind, but she could be a nagger too. I guess that’s a common trait that most moms share. :)

But if my mom is the school principal, then my dad is the school administrator, or the dean of the college. He’s really easy-going most of the times, but when he issues a command we all have to follow it. We adore our dad because he’s like a really close pal. It’s like we don’t have any generation gap because when we talk he usually just listen and laugh with us as we share with him our experiences and little adventures.

My family is pretty much an ordinary one, but we probably have a closer relationship than some families have. We do have our own share of troubles and problems; we sometimes get into fights and squabbles but it always smooths out in the end.

Being a family means being strongly bonded by blood and affection, the kind of bond that can never be severed. That’s the reason why my family story doesn’t end in happy ever after. That’s because I never want it to end.:)

Being A Girl Scout...

Nobody wants to be in a state where disaster happens yet we can’t seem to do anything to help ourselves because we didn’t expect to come upon such misfortunes. It’s not every day that we come upon a deluge, or a fire or earthquake, but as they say, it’s always better to be prepared than to find yourself helpless against the strike of calamity or accidents. Moreover, there’s no such thing as being too prepared if you’re talking about saving your life and that of your loved ones from disaster. That’s why you’ll have to arrange a disaster preparedness plan.

But preparing the plan can be overwhelming. How do you prepare for the unexpected? Here are a few suggestions you might want to consider.

Firstly, check out what you and your family basically need. When I say basic, I mean the “food-shelter-clothing” categorization. You don’t need to worry too much on the “shelter”, since you will surely be under safe roofs if there will ever be a need for you to evacuate. To be more organized, create a checklist. Then start organizing the necessities included in the checklist, and set aside a budget for it so that you can purchase these things.

For your food, select those which are canned or dehydrated—you will need those that won’t perish or expire soon, so check the expiration date and don’t pick those which would wither and rot. Don’t worry so much about the contents of the canned or processed goods; remember that you would only have to endure it for as long as you can’t drive to the nearest grocery store because of the flood or other calamity. Anyway, there are now a lot of processed foods that are still nutritious and healthy.

For the clothing, choose the light and comfortable clothes you have. Include blankets that are warm yet not so heavy. Seriously, you’d have to carry a lot of other heavy materials so you must take particular consideration on the weight of your load.

Don’t forget to prepare a container of water, a first aid kit, a rope, firewood, a box of match or lighter, flashlights with batteries and a few spares, an emergency knife and all other things that you think you would need in case of emergency. A Swiss knife is best for emergency so you might want to have one. Make sure that everything is the most necessary tools for survival.

Disasters can strike when you least expect it, so it would be much better if you can keep safe until the calamity subsides or until rescue comes. You can’t always count on luck to spare you from the blow. So always be prepared.

--- This relates to what had happen in Japan recently and what is happening in our world now.

Managing Frustration

More often than we are willing to admit, frustrations can get the better of us. During these moments of displeasure, my inner voice’s favorite lines would be “I don’t deserve this. It shouldn’t have happened to me!” And most of us would usually balk off to our room in self-pity, and cry endlessly as if it’s the end of the world.

This is not what we can call frustration management. As what I’ve read in an article written by a successful businessman, we need to manage our frustration so that we could avoid being “DUMB”, an acronym for Disapproval, Uncooperation, Miscommunication, and Bad vibrations from and with our peers and the society. He further adds that it’s not what others do to us or the circumstances that we are in that should matter. What matters most is how we respond to these aspects of life.

So, now is the perfect time to manage frustration before it manages us. The big question is how?

The first major thing to do is to change our perspective upon things. It’s time that we see the challenges as they are—challenges. Yes, this has been repeated over and over again by quotes of the wisest, but taking the first step can be very difficult—even almost impossible. To make it more possible, keep a personal mantra to remind yourself constantly that you are changing the way you see things. This especially works for me. My first mantra was from a line from Stoicism philosophy, “Whatever is beyond the control of my will is nothing to me.” That sounded a little negative, so I changed it to “I cannot change what has already happened, but I can still prevent it from happening again.” It actually did give me the strength to persevere.

To really embed it in the mind, print out the words, or write it decoratively in a beautiful and catching piece of paper, and stick it somewhere that you would always be able to see it. I saw a friend of mine tack his signs in the ceiling of his room, on the doors and on his refrigerator, but that was a bit exaggerated. You can post yours in your room or above the mirror so that whenever you see yourself in the mirror you’d read your mantra.

And of course, if the frustration hits you again, always remind yourself that after it wears off, you still have a life to live. But don’t ignore the lessons that your failure and the whole situation wants to teach you. Everything you’ve been through would be wasted on nothing if you don’t recognize what happened wrong. Then take a fresh step forward, armed with the knowledge of your past mistake that you would never do it again.

The habit has been formed ever since we were young, so changing it would take a lot of focus and effort. But it would really be worth it. After everything, you must realize that you can only live once, so it’s no use wasting a huge part of it crying over one setback.

A Very “Claus-sy” Question: Are Santa’s Reindeers All Females?

It’s already winter and Christmas is coming! Santa will be on his way to town to drop off the gifts to girls and boys who have been nice all year, with his sleigh dragged by his faithful reindeers led by not other than Rudolf’s red shiny nose. I guess Rudolf’s got a great sense of direction, with all the towns Santa has got to visit.
Of all Santa’s reindeer, Rudolf has been the most popular—the favorite and the one with a song that’s all about him. Not that Santa’s reindeers are not very interesting, actually they are. From the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, we were introduced to Dancer, Dasher, Blitzen, Vixen, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, and Donner. Rudolf was not actually on the list at first, maybe because he missed that night’s adventure being busy shining that red nose.
There might be stories about each reindeer, but what arouses a lot of curiosity is the question of their gender. It is a popular belief that they are all bulls, with masculine names such as Rudolf, or Donner, plus normally only male deer can grow antlers. After all Santa is not so light, not to mention the huge bag of gifts in the sleigh. So, imagine the paradox when there’s a big possibility based on physiological evidence that the sturdy reindeers who carry all the weight of the Jolly Ol’ Santa and all the gifts might be females. There is a joke spreading on based on this irony.
Reindeers are the only deer with both male, female, and calves are able to grow antlers. They shed their antlers annually, and only females can retain theirs past the winter season. It’s not ordinary for males to retain their antler until the night that Santa would rove the town. With the popular image of the reindeers having their majestic antlers still on them while Santa’s driving the sleigh, the reindeers must be females—even Rudolf.
Yes, that is the case if we are taking only the ordinary circumstances. But if we take into consideration the possibilities that are beyond ordinary, there’s no need to insist that Rudolf is not a “guy” reindeer. The site of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game could be right to note that Santa Claus’ reindeers might not belong to the ordinary species. It is possible that they belong to the some other kinds of reindeers that do not shed their antlers—different or even magical. We know they can fly, which already transcends reality; being able to keep their antlers on might not be too hard to believe.

Saving Up for A Halloween Costume

Christmas is only a few months away and you can already hear the cheerful sound in the air, but before we go into the details on how our Christmas trees will look like, you’d still have to worry over your Halloween costume. Will you pull on that old white blanket to look like Casper’s naughty buddies, or will you finally get that glittering fairy costume that is sure to make everyone ask you for fairy dust?

But the more important question would be, how much would you spend for this day—or should I say night?

Apparently, the largest part of the cost for Halloween is the costumes. Yes, aside from masquerade balls or other costume parties (which are often kiddie parties), Halloween is the one time where you can choose to either envelope your shyness and still look stunning as you don the mask of Zorro, or you can wear something as flashing as Wonder Woman’s sexy outfit. This is the time when you only have to worry that you’ll look like an idiot of you wear your common jeans and shirt (hey, even with that, if you put on your hair like Son Goku or Bulma or some other anime character, you’d still be in!). And of course, all of this is just for one night only. So, are you going to splurge all your savings for “The Ultimate Halloween Outfit”?

It is very much wiser if you don’t, to save yourself from financial regret later on. Actually, you can save a lot from spending your bucks over costumes if you design and create them yourself. With just a few materials and your vast imaginative mind, you can still look like Halloween’s fashion goddess. Rummage through your old stuff, get that old but still cute looking cheerleading skirt you got, and then pair it with a collared blouse with a blue ribbon at the collar. Artistically spread some fake gems on a headband, and viola! You have a Sailormoon outfit. For a guy, you can use granny’s old dark blanket as a cape if you want to look like the gorgeous blood-sucking Count Dracula. Or you can spread the evil laugh around by dressing up as Joker, with that wide lipstick smudge on the face.

Really, all it takes is just a creative inspiration, and then you’re ready to a terrifyingly fun Halloween.

Repairing Your Own Appliances

It is an undeniable fact that home and office electric appliances and electronic devices have eased up our everyday routine. Where we used to have to manually grind and brew our coffee, we now have the coffeemaker. Where we used to diligently write and wait a long time for the postman, now we have the computer (and the internet) that made all that possible in just minutes. Because of our fast technological advancement, we are now living more efficiently—we do things faster and better without too much of a strain with the help of appropriate electrical and electronic appliances.
Apparently, we now depend highly on our appliances that it would cause us much trouble without them. This is why we need to take care of our devices. But sooner or later these things would need repairs, or even meet their demise. It would be very harmful and just so inconvenient to use them when they are malfunctioning and broken.
If your appliance needs to be repaired and the task is not beyond you, you might want do it yourself then, and save yourself the money it would cost if you send it to the repair shop. As long as you ensure your own safety first, then there really is no need to fear in confronting the trouble that bedevils your electric device.
Tackle on the repair yourself if you think you got enough knowledge for it. Not only do you get to save money, but you also get a chance to put to use your knowledge on repairs to keep your skills from rusting.
Some broken appliances might be beyond repair though. If this happens, keep from using it again to avoid any dangers of being electrocuted, or worse start any accident. After all, the purpose why you have your appliances is to live a good life, and the purpose would be defeated if that life would end because you abused your devices.

-----Haha, I don’t know what comes up on my mind upon writing this but one thing is for sure. It is not easy to repair your own appliances. Specially if you are alone in your house, no parents who will take care of this matters. You need to stand all by yourself. You need to take responsibility of all the things. You need to grow up and then there you will realize that it is not that easy to be alone and that adult life is not that easy.

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