Trinoma Scare

This warning landed in my email ... let us all be wary and be safe.

==============================

This is a message worth forwarding.

It's another mall incident we should be aware of.
I don't know how true it is but it could happen.
This is not about Trinoma but about how evil people prey on our
children.
It's good to share this with your kids so they will be more careful.

Subject
Fw: [HRPhilippines] Trinoma Incident

---

Always pray to our
Lord that our children our safe.

Dear All,

Most often our urgent prayers regarding our children are
for their protection. It is hard to think about other
aspects of their lives if we are worried sick over their
personal safety. Having to raise my children on my own I
had every reason to fear for their safety. So I pray for
the Lord's protection on a daily basis. I pray for their
protection from violence, molestation, kidnapping and
accidents. "Hide them under the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who oppress them and from the deadly enemies who
surround
them."

Though my children have had their share of minor injuries
including a couple that required an emergency room and
stitches. Nothing ever happened to them that came close to being
kidnapped, held against their will or even victims of a hold-up until my
son Renzo was involved in one.

Monday afternoon, August 18 Renzo and 3 of his classmates
were going to practice at our home. Their meeting place was
Trinoma Mall at 1pm . Renzo was accompanied by his elder
brother till the time that Renzo was with his classmates.
Renzo already with 2 classmates, Ram and Aaron waited for Richard 3rd
classmate at Olympic Village 4th floor. While waiting they went thru
soccer balls and boxing gloves. Soon
after they received a text message from 3rd classmate
Richard who was now waiting for them at Seattle's Best,
1st floor. They proceeding to meet Richard and as soon as
they were complete they headed for our home but then a man approached
them
and identified himself as an employee of Olympic Village and even
flashed
an ID to the boys. The man
informed them that they damaged an item and that they should
follow him back to the store. The man narrated every move
the boys made and true enough one of them accidentally
dropped a soccer ball. Before leaving Seattle 's Best,
Richard the last classmate to arrive was told to stay behind
and wait for their return.

The man then brought the 3 boys to the 4th floor Cinema
Area. Ram and Aaron were told to give Renzo all their
belongings (3 cell phones including Renzo's, an IPOD, a
PSP and 2 wallets) and were ordered by the man to go to the restroom to
wash their hands before the investigation. The boys followed as ordered.
When they returned Renzo and the man was no longer there. Fearing for
Renzo's safety and their other friend they headed back to Seattle 's
Best.

Richard was still there but Renzo was no where to be found.
All three went back to Olympic Village and informed them of
the man who introduced himself as an employee and that Renzo
was missing. They were brought to the Trinoma Security
Office also at the 4th floor and reported the incident.

2:45pm at home, I received a phone call that every parent
feared, "M'am, this is Ram, Renzo's classmate, M'am
si Renzo po is missing. . . ." I couldn't believe what I
was hearing I asked them where they were, what happened and who was this
man they were talking about. I quickly headed
to Trinoma to meet with them. I was scared, thoughts ran
through my mind, all the what ifs and all I could think of
was Renzo's safety. I called on the Lord, my dad and my
mother-in-law to please keep my son safe. When I arrived at the Security
office, my prayers were answered, there was
Renzo, scared, pale, shaken-up and in-tears but most
importantly safe and unharmed.

Having been convinced that they indeed damaged an item at Olympic
Village,
Renzo was told by this man that he is
bringing him to the main office of Olympic Village. So they
both walked all the way to West Avenue until they reached
the building beside Caltex. The man told Renzo to stay
outside the building and wait for his return. An hour had
passed no sign of this man, Renzo approached the building
security guard and asked if he had seen the man he was with enter their
building and the guard said that no one entered their building at that
time. Upon realizing what had just happened, Renzo hurriedly returned to
Trinoma scared of thinking that the man might have returned for his
friends
and that something might have happened to them.

Little did Renzo know that from the time the Trinoma
Security office was informed of the incident Renzo was
already being paged constantly. The in-house detective of
Trinoma decided to wait for Renzo at Seattle 's Best
thinking that he would return there. True enough Renzo did
return and upon seeing this scared boy the detective
approached Renzo introduced himself and brought him safely to the
Security
Office.

Renzo and his classmate Ram was able to identify the man who was with
them
through the Security Camera of Olympic Village.. This man was following
them from the time they entered Olympic Village up to the time they went
to Seattle's Best. He watched every move they made and made sure that
the
boys had no accompanying adults with them.

As soon as Olympic Village releases the picture of this man to us I will
post it and make known to everyone the identity of this man who
momentarily created fear in our lives.

Angry? Yes I am angry; I want to knock-off this man should I see him.
I am
angry at myself for trusting my son will be
safe on his own. I am disappointed that after all the
serious talks I've had with my son on not talking to
stranger's still he did not obey. As a parent no matter
how much you want to protect your children, no matter how
tight we pull the strings on them, our children will still
continue to experience pain and still be careless at times.

The good news though was that my son, our sons, were spared and for
that I
am grateful to the Lord. I know I will have this constant fear over
their
personal safety; we can't be everywhere, we can't see everything, we
can't
know
everything but the Lord can and sure enough my prayers were answered.

Please pass this on to everyone you know who has teenage children daring
to explore on their own. Never mind if they get angry for not being
allowed to be on their own but at least you are sparing them from this
trauma. Also please do not allow your children to bring gadgets
outside of
their home as these serve as baits for hold-up.

Olympics Closing

Pray For Tara

Roots and Wings
By Cathy S. Babao Guballa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:59:00 08/16/2008

MANILA, Philippines - It was a surreal moment. As my husband Hector and I sat across Larry and Anne Santelices, it was like looking at ourselves 10 years ago. Only this time, it wasn’t our son Migi in coma but their daughter, 23-year-old Tara.

When I first told Hector that I wanted to visit Tara’s folks at the ICU waiting area of The Medical City, he wondered aloud if it was the same Santelices he had gone to school with as a young boy in Naga. True enough, it was. No coincidences in God’s plan.

When we arrived, Joee Mejias, Tara’s close friend from high school, was there. She talked about that harrowing night on Aug. 6 when Tara was shot in the head by a .38 cal revolver. The alleged assailant, a burly looking man in his 40s, remains at large.

I was impressed by the calm and collected manner Joee narrated the events. They were waiting for a ride home to Cainta [for Tara] and Antipolo [for Joee] a little before midnight. It was the eve of Tara’s 23rd birthday.

Inside the jeepney, Tara was sitting beside Joee when somewhere in the area of Karangalan village, a dark stretch of road in Cainta, the man pulled out his gun and ordered the two girls to give their bags. Tara’s instinct was to take hold of her things and according to Joee a struggle ensued. It was then that the gunman pulled the trigger, shooting Tara on the forehead.

The man then jumped off the jeepney, leaving Tara slumped on her seat and Joee in shock. “She had blood spurting like crazy from her forehead and we were both all bloodied but she managed to tell me she was okay. So I knew she was still conscious,” Joee recalls.

She then asked the driver to take them to the nearest clinic which was some 20 minutes away. Joee says they could probably have gotten there faster had the driver not made several stops to let the three other passengers off.

Unfortunately, the clinic where they were dropped off was ill-equipped to handle the emergency. Joee pleaded for help from her co-passengers but she says that only a woman named Abigail helped them get a cab that took them to Amang Rodriguez hospital. At the hospital, Joee was met by her mother whom she had called earlier that evening to say that Tara had just been shot.

“We arrived at Amang Rodriquez at around 1:30 a.m. and by then she was already unconscious and had lost so much blood.” Tara was “stabilized” at 4 a.m. on Aug. 6, as dawn’s first light broke on her 23rd birthday.

Larry and Anne Santelices decided to move their eldest daughter to The Medical City that same morning and she arrived at the hospital at around 9 a.m. While there, tests showed that the bullet was lodged in the left side of her head close to the left temporal lobe. Shot at close range, the bullet did not exit. It was a “hollow-point” bullet, one that fragments upon impact.

The Santelices couple were advised of only a 10-percent chance of survival if Tara was to be operated on. But, if she were to survive, she would no longer be the Tara that everyone knew and loved.

Peace-loving

Tara is highly artistic and very peace-loving. An AB Political Science graduate of the Ateneo de Manila, she has dreams of one day working for the United Nations. At the time of her accident, she was working for a nongovernment organization called Upland Marketing.

Tara loves music and was the lead guitarist of an all-girl band called Saffron and together with Joee was part of a duo called Storm.

Many questions beg to be asked. Why have no witnesses shown up? Where is the jeepney driver and the taxi driver that brought the bloodied Tara to the clinic and the hospital?

The lone witness, Abigail, according to Joee, now refuses to be interviewed. Tara spent the entire day at home and only asked permission from Anne to leave at 7 p.m. so she could meet up with Joee. In the time that lapsed, was she already being watched by her assailant from afar?

When interviewed by GMA 7, Anne was despondent and admonished all parents to make sure their children would be home early “even if they are young adults like Tara. The streets are no longer safe.”

Tara’s parents and siblings are in anguish over the fate of their loved one. There now exists so much anger and violence in our communities that it has become a difficult time to be a parent.

A criminal continues to be free. If justice will not be served, I know that Divine justice will. We continue to pray for a lead and for God’s hand to manifest itself in the days ahead.

E-mail the author at cathybabao @gmail.com

Hoax Email Nuisance

Received an email with this message:

WARNING

You should be alert during the next days: Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called "invitation", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept. SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

===================================

Checked the veracity of the email since i would not want to alert my friends over a hoax email, and true enough i was able to get this results:

Status:
False

Update:
A new version of the hoax email falsely claims that the information in the message has been verified by Hoax-Slayer.com and Snopes.com (details below).

Update:
February 2008 - Yet another version claims that an email with an attachment entitled "POSTCARD" will destroy the hard drive of the infected computer.

Commentary:
This "warning" message claims that an email with an attached file named "Invitation" contains a virus that will destroy the hard drive of the infected computer. According to the message, the attachment opens an "Olympic Torch, which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer". However, the claims in the message are untrue. The message is simply a rehashed version of the long running Virtual Card for You virus hoax (see example below) and should not be taken seriously.

An examination of the two messages reveals that they share very similar wording and attempt to perpetrate the same falsehoods. Both hoaxes claim that the information has been announced by CNN, which is untrue. There is nothing on the CNN website about a virus like the one described in the message. Both also claim that the virus has been classified by Microsoft as "the most destructive virus ever" and that the virus "destroys the Zero Sector" of the infected hard drive. These claims are unfounded.

There is no mention of such a virus on any of the major anti-virus company websites other than articles debunking the "warning". McAfee, the company named in the message, dismisses the warning as a hoax.

If you receive this hoax message, please do not forward it to others. Virus hoaxes such as this one do nothing more than clutter inboxes and spread misinformation. If you receive a virus warning via email, always take the time to check the veracity of the message on a reputable anti-virus or anti-hoax website.
===================================

So there, no cause for alarm and for humiliation from spreading a hoax email and cluttering inboxes of your friends. But like i always say with the power of the internet anything is possible ...but let us be wary of the things we forward as well.

Out Of The Closets

Love Transcends Gender

After the California Supreme Court ruled in May that homosexuals can marry, Ellen DeGeneres announced on her talk show that she and Portia de Rossi would wed. People magazine reported the couple was married in an intimate ceremony at their home, which is in Beverly Hills. DeGeneres said she will share more photos and videos during season 6 of her show, which starts on Sept. 8.The couple have been together for nearly four years

Justice For Tara Santelices

I just signed this petition to make our streets safer, secured and sympathetic.

Do sign it too and be counted ... we can make a difference.

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JUSTICE FOR TARA SANTELICES: Better Crime Prevention

Tara Santelices, 23 years old graduate of the Ateneo de Manila was shot in a robbery-hold up incident inside a passenger jeep along Felix Ave. Cainta, Rizal. She was on her way home past midnight (August 6, 2008, about 12:30 AM) with a friend coming from a night out on the eve of her 23rd birthday.

Somewhere along a dark stretch of Felix Ave. near Karangalan Village, a man posing as a passenger, pulled a gun and announced a hold-up. The man grabbed Tara's bag. Instinctively, Tara held on to her bag and in the ensuing struggle, the man shot Tara and hit her on the left side of her forehead. After getting the bag of the others, the man jumped off the passenger jeep. Tara's companion, who has never been in that situation asked for help from the other passengers, and told the driver to bring them to the nearest hospital, as blood was already spurting out of Tara's head. But instead of driving speedily to the nearest medical facility, the driver drove as if it was one of his regular trips, even stopping three times to unload a passenger. Of the five or six other passengers, only one bothered to help Tara's friend carry her. The rest just went about their business as if nothing serious happened. In fact some of the passengers even opted to stop the vehicle for them to get off, wasting precious time for medical attention. The driver eventually took them to a small clinic. But even as Tara's companion was talking to a medical personnel in that small clinic, the driver drove-off leaving them to look for a taxi to bring Tara to a better equipped hospital. Tara was given the appropriate medical attention only about four hours later. The police went to the hospital to talk to the witness (Tara's friend) only a day later.

It is the height of apathy and indifference that our fellowmen show no concern about each other specially in such emergency situation as that involving Tara. It is revolting to know that transport drivers whom our lives and safety are actually under their responsibility as paying passengers, do not know what to do or even try to avoid responsibility under such situations. It is also contemptible that the police had to act so late and only after follow-ups by friends were made with higher authorities.

Tara has been in a coma for about a week now, her skull shattered by a bullet. Her dream of doing humanitarian work with the United Nations has been shattered as well. Chances of her recovery is almost nil. And the family remains tortured and pained seeing their precious child in that condition every day, feeling helpless. They, however, remain strong in their belief that Tara's fate is in the hands of The Lord Almighty and continues to pray for a miracle.

But we are not entirely helpless if we help ourselves. Even as we continue to storm the heavens with our petitions for Tara's recovery, we can storm those here on earth who have the responsibility and the means to stop this kind of violence, to prevent it from ever occurring again, or from happening to us and our loved ones.

Instead of dismissing this incident as one of those that routinely happens in our streets and thinking about immigrating abroad to escape the situation, we can do something more positive and more concrete.

Let us sign the petition below and join the effort to do battle to combat our own apathy, and to exact responsibility from those who took an oath to serve us - the Public.

Petition:

We, the undersigned, petition for:

1. The Philippine Congress to enact a law that will legally obligate all drivers, conductors, managers, owners, operators, of all forms of public transport, including three-wheeled vehicles to; a) have available at all times in their vehicle, emergency or first aid kit, b) information about the vehicle's plate number, name of driver, name of company or owner, be displayed prominently and conspicuously inside their vehicle, and c) that in any criminal incident involving their vehicle, the driver must, as a matter of legal obligation, immediately and without any form of delay, bring or cause to be brought to the nearest and appropriate medical facility, the victim or victims of such criminal incident, except only if he himself is a victim and physically unable to do so, and that should he fail to comply or respond satisfactorily, he will accordingly be held liable, criminally or otherwise, for neglect or abandonment or avoiding such responsibility in connection with the crime committed.

2. The Local Government Units, to each have an emergency communication hotline and a dedicated office where any citizen, who is either a victim or witness to a crime, can seek and be provided with prompt police, legal and other appropriate assistance, for them to formulate specific ordinances that will ensure prompt attention and continuous monitoring of the actions taken by the local police force and that such information be made available to the victim or victims and their family or authorized representatives.

3. For the media, to devote a section or portion of their publication, telecast or broadcast, in cooperation with the police and other enforcement agencies, that will follow-up developments and inform the public of crimes under every police district jurisdiction. And specially for radio stations, to have a 24-hour link with police and enforcement officers to facilitate crime reporting and dragnet operations.

4. For crime-crusade oriented NGOs to spearhead, launch, and sustain a public awareness campaign to educate the citizens, including all medical personnel in all medical facilities, whether big or small, on what to do in case victims of life-threatening and emergency cases arising out of criminal activities, i.e. first aid to be administered, numbers to call, location of hospitals and police stations or satellite units.

6. For all citizens to do their own self-education on such matters as what to do in case one becomes a victim or a witness to a crime; who to get in touch with; number and location of police stations and satellites, hospitals near and around one's usual route; including taking down of plate numbers or details of the vehicles involved (in case the crime involves a vehicle), etc.

=============================

Please Sign:
Online petition - JUSTICE FOR TARA SANTELICES: Better Crime Prevention

Stand Out

Out of place? ... not!!

Brillante Weblog

Gracie and Rocks sent me this award .. thanks!

The above recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers.Here are the rules for passing on the award:

l. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Passing of this award to seven special bloggers ... will leave a message in your cbox

Mystery Solved

It has been a common sight to see the olympic swimmers go directly to the showers (which is uncovered) after they compete and get out of the pool. There were funny speculations that is done to get the chlorine, spit from other swimmers (eewww!) from their hair to the swimers just want to have fun .. hahaha!


Most often than not the swimmers hear their scores WHILE they are taking the mysterious shower. Well ... mystery solved ... the reason why the swimmers head straight to the showers is to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub.

So now we know. Makes me want to shower off right away and not get the towel everytime we take a dive.

Spanish Player Apologises

NEW YORK/MARDID, Aug 13 (Reuters) -Spain's leading player Pau Gasol apologised on behalf of his team on Wednesday after widespread criticism of slit-eyed gestures by the world champions at the Beijing Olympics.

Published pictures show the Spanish team dressed in Olympic kit standing on a basketball court marked with a Chinese dragon. All the players are pulling the skin back at the side of their eyes.

Gasol, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, told the New York Times that, at the time, some of the players had felt uncomfortable shooting the advertisement for sponsors Seur, a Spanish courier company. Seur was unavailable for comment.

“To me it was little clownish for our part to be doing that. The sponsor insisted and insisted. They pushed because they’re the people that pay the money. It was just a bad idea to do that. It was never intended to be offensive or racist against anybody,” the New York Times quoted him as saying on its website (www.nytimes.com).

“If anyone feels offended by it, we totally apologise for it.”

However the New York Times said Spain coach Aito Garcia Reneses, did not apologise for the picture and said the intention was a joke and not offensive.

Gasol’s team mate Jose Calderon said the gestures had not been racist.

CONDEMNATION

“I want to say that we have a great respect for the Orient and their peoples. Some of my best friends in Toronto are of Chinese origin,” Calderon, who plays for Canada's NBA Toronto Raptors team, said in a message posted on his website (www.josemauelcalderon.com).

“Whoever interprets something else from the photos has taken it completely the wrong way,” he added.

Spanish newspapers also rejected suggestions that the pictures were racist, saying the team had donated money to charities helping the poor in Africa.

“To try and convert an affectionate gesture of a model group of sportsmen and women into racism is repugnant,” said Jose Luis Martinez, columnist for the Marca sports newspaper in which the pictures first appeared.

But condemnation in Gasol’s adopted home of Los Angeles seemed unanimous.

“The sheer stupidity of the Spanish team photo does make me just shake my head,” said one contributor to the LA Times’ Lakers blog. “Being Asian and seeing this however, I do want to shake my fist.”

Underestimating The Internet

Here is a picture of Spain's basketball team for an advertisment they did, for a Spanish courier company (before setting off to the Beijing Olympics), and it appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.



This picture evidently shows the entire basketball team holding the sides of their eyes to make their eyes slant like that of the Chinese. It seems they have underestimated the power of the internet and thought the picture only would appear in Spain.

As of the moment, Spain has not issued any apolologies for the said pose, but defending their players and it has been upseting a lot of Chinese people. Their basketball game was booed loudly by the Chinese crowd to show their disgust over a racist picture.

Fickle Me

I changed my template after i installed all the widgets and links ... blogging suicide?!

Yeah, i think i just committed it .. guilty as charged!

So here i am adding all the links back (masochist?) all over again.

If you don't find your link here after i notified you that i added you already ... do not worry ... my links will be up again before the day ends (wishful thinking)

Will have lunch first, then dive in again.

Yesterday and Today

Tagged by Jean Marie, thanks!


Here are the Rules:

1. List 6 things that describe yourself today and yesterday.
2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs.
3. Tag other online friends you know.

Yesterday
1. Accomplished - met up with two of my clients
2. Fulfilled - brought the kids to the playground and they enjoyed themselves
3. Rejuvenated - had a relaxing facial before we went home

Today
1. Satisfied - just finished eating my breakfast
2. Creative - have a lot of ideas for my new book layouts
3. Tranquil - Vin (my 4 year old) is still sleeping .. lol!

Participants : GailAdi / Momeen / Emmyrose / Dennis / Dette / Jirl / Janny / Nanay Belen / Carol / Something Purple’s cucina / Vanity Kit / Mind Bubbles / Stripe&Yellow / Something Purple / Em’s Detour / Spin180 / Wisdom City / MY Happy Place / IamDzoi / ClikTrik / I Love the Thirties / Ozzy’s Mom / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / Fun|Fierce|Fabulous / Blogger Happy / Berry Scrappy / Everyday CHI / My Colorful World / Explore Manila / Random Thoughts / When SAHM-one Speaks / Deranged Insanity / Mighty in Spirit / Straight from the Heart / Simple Delights / Motherhood in a Nutshell / Love Is / Wonderful Things in Life / My Life's Adventur" / Photographic Memories / The Joy Of Life Forever / The Fountain Of Happiness / A Message From My Heart / The Adventurous and Sporty Side of Miah / MeiYah's Blog / MeiYah's PhotoBlog / MeiYah's World / MeiYah's Sweet Nothings / Sheng's Simple Thoughts //Eds Mommy Life/ Just Me.. Eds/ My Precious Niche / My Wonderful Life / Jean's Live it up... /Melisse Domain / Seize The Day / Snippets of my Mind / Your blog here/

Tagging some special people in their cbox :)

Amazing

These pictures are for real ...

Smallest man .. at 18 inches!

Largest Burger ... wonder how many Big Macs would you need to equal this mouthful!

Manicure anyone?

Noon Time Show Rivalry

Philippines is never the same with the birth of the head on rivalry of the two top rating noon time game shows of two leading channels.


I often have time to watch and personally i really watch Wowowee over Eat Bulaga. I hardly change the channel once Wowowee is on, i especially like the "Wheel of Fortune" segment where there are six contestants (average people) who tell their stories ... and believe me this show can make me laugh so hard and make me cry at the same time!

Wowowee is hosted by controversial host Willie Revillame (who has been slapped with suspensions from his hosting duties) but i like the way he talks to the contestants and try t bring out the best in them .. asking them often to express their love for each other.

These are lives of real people and i learn a lot from them .. makes me appreciate small things even more .. and value family.

Sometimes my husband changes the channel to Eat Bulaga during commercial breaks of Wowowee and i do not find it interesting enough for me to stay long. I ask him to change it back to Wowowee ... hehehe!

But maybe, someday i will give it a chance, that way i can enjoy two shows at a time!

How about you? Are you a Wowowee or Eat Bulaga viewer?

The 2008 Beijing Olympics

(BEIJING, 8 August) -- China welcomed the world to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday with the roll of thunder from two thousand fou drums and a battering of fireworks across the Chinese capital -- from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square to the National Stadium.

Fourteen thousand performers offered the 91,000 people in the National Stadium, popularly known as the 'Bird's Nest,' a history lesson in China's contribution to world civilization. The spectators that packed the stadium held the first of some seven million tickets to the 2008 Beijing Games, in which nearly 11,000 athletes will jump, run, cycle, fight, swim, sail, ride and shoot their way to Olympic glory.

The Opening Ceremony began with a 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 countdown in the Beijing dusk. Then a roar of thunder came from the floor of the National Stadium where 2,008 drummers beat line after line of fou, an ancient Chinese percussion instrument. The drummers chanted as they struck the fou, "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are." This phrase comes from the work of Confucius (551 BC-479 BC), one China's most important educators and thinkers.

One World One Dream.

(Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Kids Fear/Food Factor

Tagged by Marnellie, thanks!

~~~Start Copy~~~
1.) Name something strange that your kids love to eat. Doesn’t matter how many.
2.) Post an image of him or her enjoying ‘the’ strange food liking. If none, just a photo of him having a feast.
3.) Add your kids name in the linky love with the blog where you posted this meme.
4.) Get back to Living the Healthy Life Blog by leaving a comment so your kids’ name be added to the master list.
5.) Tag as many of your friends with kids.

Kids who joined the fear food factor: ETHAN / MARTHA/ JJ/ Vin / YOUR KIDS NAME with your Blog’s URL
~~~End Copy ~~~

Weird eating? hmmm...

The only thing i can think of is Vin likes to eat anything laden with ketchup .. may it be a hotdog, french fries, cheeseburger and RICE! Eeewww!

Passing this Fear Factor to the special mommies with cute looking tots, will leave a message in your cbox :)

Chores .. smores!

Thanks Jammy for this! May mga utang pa ako na mga tags sa iyo, iisa-isahin ko din yan ..hehehe! Thanks!


~~~START COPY~~~

This meme is pretty simple.

Here are the rules:

1.) List down the household chores you hate and why. Do you think you can survive without helpers and nannies?

2.) Copy the image.

3.) Tag as many girlfriends you want, the daddies and hubbies can also join.

4.) Add your blog's link in the domesticated divas linky love. You can add all your blogs.

5.) Leave ME a comment and I'll add you up in the masterlist.

DOMESTICATED DIVAS: Living the Healthy Life / Sripe&Yellow / Vanity Kit / Mind Bubbles / Something Purple / Em's Detour / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / FunFierceFabulous / Ozzy's Mom / Insights from the Grocery Cart / Living A' La Mode / God's Best Gift / MommyAllehs Up-Close And Personal / My Precious Niche / Just Me.. Eds / Eds Mommy Life / Aggie Shoots Aggie Scraps / All Kinds of Me Stuff / The Salad Caper / Winding Creek Circle / InkBabyStudios / malditang bunso's journal / Melisse's Domain / Seize The Day / Snippets Of My Mind / YOUR BLOG HERE

~~~END COPY~~~

My domesticated answer:
I have never had nannies and maids so you could say i have to LOVE the chores to the hilt ... but i do have "not so favorite" things to do around the house. The top of the list is IRONING ... hate it! Hahahah! Ang init kasi then nakatayo ka pa, sakit sa likod. Hmmm.. sewing/mending is next, though was able to buy "sew no more" last month that is doing wonders for the little loose ends ... it's a liquid adhesive that really works and can withstand ironing and tough washing .. commercial na ito! I love washing the clothes sa washing machine ha, relaxes me and make me feel so accomplished when i see the hamper empty .. hahaha! Ang babaw .. that's domesticated bliss for you!

Tagging domesticated divas carol, marnellie, peachy, jade and divine :)
Show them what you are made of!

Baby Limbo

This picture is a 12 day old japanese baby in a ward in India.

Wonder how she got there?

Her japanese parents (her father is a surgeon) both willingly hired an Indian surrogate mother after they had his wife's egg fertilized with his sperm and implanted in the the Indian woman's uterus ... all so simple ... but when the baby was born in India the Japanese couple divorced ... and they both no longer want the baby.

How sad can that be?

Since the Japanese mom (biological) is no longer interested .. maybe because it really wasn't from her for nine months (sigh) ... now the baby is still in limbo awaiting her future in India.

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Critics call the practice "wombs for rent," but surrogacy has emerged as a booming business in India.

Gujarat's Anand town -- where the baby was born -- has emerged as India's surrogacy centre after the high-profile case of a woman who gave birth to her own grandchildren on behalf of her British-based daughter in 2004.

Surrogate mothers in Anand charge about 100,000 rupees (2,500 dollars) for a pregnancy and have been approached by a number of overseas Indian and foreign couples who can have a surrogate baby at a fraction of the cost in Western countries.

Surrogate mothers are often poor women who opt to carry a stranger's baby to help pay education and housing costs for their own families.

Building Links

This new blog is still under construction and is currently building it's links. Please bear with me if you still don't see your name on my links, am working on it.

Still in the process of adding the blog to good directories and soon it will be ready to roll!

I can't wait it to go full swing!

Cloning A Good Idea?

Saw this today ... i actually have mixed feelings.

Seeing your dog again sure can give you joy, read on how much the owner had to give up to get her dead pet cloned.

Defying the law of nature?

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The loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Bernann McKinney could bear.

"It is a miracle for me because I was able to smile again, laugh again and just feel alive again," McKinney told a news conference in the South Korea capital to show off the week-old black puppies -- all of whose names include the word Booger.

They are the work of the biotech firm RNL Bio, affiliated with the South Korean lab which produced the world's first cloned dog and is staffed with former associates of disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk.

She sold her house in the United States to raise the $50,000 for RNL scientists to turn skin cells taken from Booger before he died two years ago into embryos carried by two surrogate dogs for two months until giving birth to the puppies last week.

"I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day when everyone can afford to clone their pet because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone."

After rescuing him from a shelter 12 years ago, Booger had become an indispensable part of her life, said the 57-year-old Californian.

The lab said it hoped to make its technology more commercial along with its program to clone sniffer dogs for the Korean customs service.

"As of today, we are at the stage of receiving orders from anywhere in the world," RNL CEO Ra Jeongchan said.

RNL has said it expected to clone about 100 dogs next year and for the price to drop as technology improves.

Hwang has been on trial for more than two years on charges of breaking the law on research ethics and for misusing state funds and private donations.

RNL's research staff is made up of scientists who stayed behind when Hwang left the prestigious Seoul National University after his research results were found to be fraudulent.

Dogs are considered one of the more difficult mammals to clone because their reproductive cycle includes difficult-to-predict ovulations.

Be Safe During The Rainy Season

At the onset of May to June till September we are bombarded by typhoons whicj leads to flooding and landslides .. later on to outbreaks. Here are some safety guidelines that we must keep in mind to remain in check during the rainy season.

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Water Quality

Residents who use private wells for their drinking water should be safe unless a large amount of erosion at the well head occurred, or the well head was under water for any period of time. If a change in the color or taste of the water is noted, or if the well head was covered by water, it should be boiled vigorously for 2-5 minutes to use for drinking and cooking. Additionally, the well should be sanitized.

Most wells in the valley are approximately 400 feet deep and are 8-5/8 inches diameter. Wells may be sanitized by contracting a water well professional or by pouring one gallon of household bleach into the well and turning the pump on and off two or three times to mix the bleach and water. Then faucets in the house should then be turned on until a bleach odor is detected. This should be done for each faucet in the house. Once this step is completed water must be left off for at least five hours. At the end of this time period the system should be flushed.

The system can be flushed by turning on the lawn irrigation system until no chlorine odor is detected. After this time faucets in the house can be flushed. Flushing in this manner will not damage a septic system.

To test for bacteria in the water contact Quest Diagnostics at (702) 733-3790. Quest will provide bottles for testing, instruction on sample collection and information on associated costs.

Food Safety

If the flood waters reach into the garage or home, or affect any food establishments, food safety can also be an issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides excellent guidelines as to what food is safe to keep and what food should be discarded.

Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with the flood water unless it is in a hermetically sealed container that can be disinfected using a bleach solution of one cup of bleach in 5 gallons of water.

Anything with a twist off or crimped lid should be discarded. Do not keep any food or formula for use by infants regardless of packaging. Infants are at a much higher risk than the general public of contracting a disease carried by flood water.

If the flooding results in a power outage, protect frozen or refrigerated food by keeping the doors to the equipment closed at all times, or seek an alternate location with power to store the food.

Do not keep food that has been at room temperature for more than two hours. The best rule of thumb with refrigerated foods is "When in doubt, throw it out."

Clean up and Personal Hygiene

Do not allow your children to play in the flood waters or with any of the rocks, mud, or debris generated by the flooding. The water may be full of filth, including raw sewage from failed lift stations, sewers, or septic systems, which can cause serious illness or injury to children.

Anyone coming into contact with the water or its contents, should apply the following good personal hygiene practices:

Wash hands with soap and warm, clean water for at least 20 seconds before preparing or eating food, after toilet use, after participating in any flood cleanup activities, and after handling articles contaminated with flood water or sewage.

Clean up should be performed as soon as possible:

• Walls, hard-surfaced floors, and many other household surfaces should be cleaned with soap and water and disinfected with a solution of 1 cup bleach to 5 gallons of water.
• Be particularly careful to thoroughly disinfect surfaces that may come in contact with food, such as counter tops, pantry shelves, refrigerators, etc.
• Areas where small children play should also be carefully cleaned.
• Wash all linens and clothing in hot water, or dry clean them.
• For items that cannot be washed or dry cleaned, such as mattresses and upholstered furniture, air dry them in the sun and then spray them thoroughly with a disinfectant.
• Steam clean all carpeting.
• If there has been a backflow of sewage into the house, wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves during cleanup.
• Remove and discard contaminated household materials that cannot be disinfected, such as wallcoverings, cloth, rugs, and drywall.

Swiftly Flowing Water

If you enter swiftly flowing water, you risk drowning – regardless of your ability to swim. Swiftly moving shallow water can be deadly, and even shallow standing water can be dangerous for small children.

Cars or other vehicles do not provide adequate protection from flood waters. Cars can be swept away or may break down in moving water.

Animals

Wild animals may be forced from their natural habitats by flooding, and many domestic animals are also without homes after the flood. Take care to avoid these animals, because some may carry rabies.

Remember, most animals are disoriented and displaced, too. Do not corner an animal. If an animal must be removed, contact your local animal control authorities.

Rodents may be a problem during and after a flood. Take care to secure all food supplies, and remove any animal carcasses in the vicinity by contacting your local animal control authorities.

If you are bitten by any animal, seek immediate medical attention. If you are bitten by a snake, first try to accurately identify the type of snake so that, if poisonous, the correct anti-venom may be administered.

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Weather in August .. Stormy

This weather news just in ... let's all be safe.

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At least three to four cyclones are due to hit the country in August, but only one is likely to be destructive, state weather forecasters said Saturday.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) head Prisco Nilo said most of the cyclones would likely pass through Northern Luzon.

"Mga tatlo o apat na bagyo ang inaasahan natin. Isa lang ang malakas na bagyo (We expect three to four cyclones to pass through, but only one will likely be destructive)," Nilo said in an interview on DZRH.

He said the cyclones would be "beneficial" as they would likely bring much-needed rains to farmlands. He added their only hope is that none of the cyclones would make a landfall.

Nilo said the cyclones normally pass through Northern Luzon, where many provinces produce rice and vegetables.

"Kailangan natin ang ulan. Makabubuti sa atin yan, ang agrikultura mabuti talaga yan (We will need the rain for the cyclones to be helpful, especially to our agriculture)," he said. - GMANews.TV

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I hope we can withstand all the weather disturbances that we are expected to have in the coming months. Always be alert and prepared for anything.