Category: Blogging

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Blog Action Day: Recyclers Unite!!!!

Today, October 15, is BLOG ACTION DAY!

I know that over here in the Philippines, the day is about to end. But over in North America, the day is not quite half over yet so I am sure there is time to get this thing spreading.

On this day, bloggers from all over the world will blog about — the ENVIRONMENT!

It is really about time we all do our share to protect Mother Nature. The recent spate of very strong earthquakes, devastating typhoons, floods, etc. all point to the urgent, urgent need to protect our planet.

A blogger by the name of Elaine posted some dates of Waste Markets in Metro Manila. While her post was dated January 2007, most of the information on locations and dates of the waste markets are still relevant as well as some telephone numbers of the agencies behind these moves.

Here are some examples of recyclables from her post:

Non-traditional wastes

 

  • Used acid-lead batteries and rechargeable lamps
  • Junk electronic and electrical equipment and appliances

    • * CPU (complete/incomplet e/case) and monitors
    * Printers, scanners, fax, etc
    * Motherboards, PC/telecom cards, printer/med grade boards, hard disk, power/ monitor boards
    * old/obsolete/ broken Betamax, VHS, DVD players
    * Microwave ovens, toasters
    * Electric fans
    * other office and household equipment and appliances

  • Empty ink/toner printer cartridges, dot matrix ribbon cartridges
  • Damaged CDs, VCDs, VHS, betamax and radio cassette tapes
  • Busted tiboli (Christmas) lights
  • Used oil (for registration – do not bring to the area)
  • Styrofoam (polystyrene) and other packaging materials (for donation)
  • Cellphone and cellphone batteries (for donation only)

    • Traditional Waste

  • Used paper and cartons (newspapers, komiks, notebooks, reports, old test papers, phone directories, etc)
  • damaged/broken plastic furniture, containers, bottles, etc. (anything plastic!)
  • Aluminum and tin cans (soda/food cans)

    • You can also exchange these traditional waste items to new products! Used paper/cartons for double-ply tissues, plastics or aluminum cans for plastic hangers…

    If we just look around our homes, we will really find a lot of junk and gunk which can be brought to these waste markets and exchanged for cash. I think we would be surprised at how much cash we can generate from stuff lying around. At the same time, we know these would be recycled into reusable products.

    Let’s do our share to protect our planet!

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    Free Burma


    Free Burma!

    I first got wind of this through Noemi’s post.

    This picture of monks walking down the streets of Burma, protesting its military junta, and joining the civilian protesters, gave me the shivers.

    I recalled the Philippines’ EDSA I Revolution (People Power) in the 80s when, in protest of the Marcos dictatorship and in support for the rebels, millions of Filipinos came out into the street (nuns and priests included).

    But there was a difference….

    There was no bloodshed; there were no incarcerations; it all ended peacefully with the departure of Marcos and the return of democracy.

    I am now a horrified observer of the goings-on in Burma through international TV stations and wonder what happened to all the monks we initially saw. Why are the streets and temples empty of them? How true is it that there are round-ups every night of citizens?

    Being a member of ASEAN, the Philippines can do something to right the wrongs their member-country is foisting on its own citizenry. The international community has began taking active steps as well.

    As a citizen who loves freedom, democracy and human rights, what can you do? Here are some ways you can help:

    Continue reading “Free Burma”

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    Hi Mom! I’m in the Other Room! LOL!

    I came across this article at ABS-CBN News Online’s site:

    Shock! Teenagers and parents are talking: report

    Reuters

    LONDON – The family meal may be threatened with extinction but “High-Tech” parents are now communicating much better with their teenagers and giving them more freedom, says child psychologist Richard Woolfson.

    Long gone are the days when parents were much more dictatorial and children were to be seen, not heard.

    “The consultation, negotiation and mutual respect that goes on between parents and teenagers in families today would probably shock the mums and dads of 50 years ago,” Woolfson said in a study of how family communication has evolved.

    Sitting round the table together for a meal was once the bedrock of family life. It is now becoming a thing of the past but Woolfson stressed that was not the end of the world.

    “Now we have today’s high-tech family where family communication takes place by email, internet, webcam and mobile phone as well as face-to-face of course,” he said.

    That has another beneficial side-effect, Woolfson said in his survey for the T-Mobile phone company.

    Parents are now able to contact their kids much more easily and children have become more confident and communicative.

    “This means that parents are less worried about their children’s safety because they feel reassured,” Woolfson said.

    And the generation gap is not suffering.

    “Even grandma and grandpa have entered the world of cyber space to keep close contact with their children and grandchildren, all of which can only be good news for everyone,” Woolfson concluded.

    Timely enough that this article came out because I was indeed thinking about this just recently.

    The advent of technology has indeed changed somewhat the way my kids and I communicate. Ours is a wi-fi home. Anywhere in the house, one has internet access. And when home, my kids are almost always on the internet — playing games, emailing, YM-ing their friends or doing homework.

    When I leave for work, I often sign on to Yahoo Messenger’s SMS service and when I get to work, sign onto my email with chat enabled.

    It’s been really convenient and gives me peace of mind since I know I can almost always reach my kids. I can tell the moment M1 and M2 are home as their chat status changes to ONLINE. These are times when I can connect with them by saying hi and asking how their day went. Of course, it is also their chance to tell me things such as “Mom, I need a 1/4 illustration board by tomorrow. Can you buy on the way home?” Sometimes, I have to arbitrate an argument online. Once, i got chat messages that went like this.

    C2 (YM-ing me): Mom, Achi …..(went on to describe her argument with sister)

    C1 (YM-ing from another computer): Mom, don’t listen to C2…(and goes on to narrate her side)

    I am glad for technology since it brings me closer to them, in a sense, as I connect with them the way they are used to communicating. Kids nowadays feel more comfortable with computers than we ever were. No wonder despite there being a landline in the house, they almost never choose to use this, thanks to internet chatting and webcams. But, wary of dangers on the net too, one thing I do is make sure their computers are located in very visible areas. And that means (house rule) — NO LOCKING OF DOORS! There are other house rules related to safety on the internet which I have discussed with them but somehow we have to find a balance now that most people discuss their lives on social networking sites like Facebook, Friendster or MySpace.

    Reminds me of one time when I was working in my room, waiting for C1 to come home from school. Knowing that she sometimes surfs the internet even while in the car (using wi-fi hotspots), I decided to check and true enough she was online. So, I sent off a YM to her asking where she was and she promptly replied:

    “Hi, Mom! I’m in the other room! LOL!”

    How does technology help you connect with your own kids? Do you have any qualms about it? Let me know!

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    The Boon and Bane of a Back-To-Work Mom

    After a LONG hiatus from work, an opportunity cropped up to join a company as a consultant. It is just my second day back at work but already, the boons and banes of coming out of hibernation and rejoining the work force are so stark.

    Here are a few:

    (-) Good-bye, beauty sleep. My wakeup call of 9:30 or 10AM is now down to 7 or 8AM

    (+/-) Denims and casual tops are out. The “corporate look” is in (high heels, dark skirt or pants, more formal blouses, blazer when necessary. Is that a good thing or not? I don’t know. I love the freedom of denims but feel good in business attire.

    (+) I sweated it out at home trying to conserve energy and wore the thinnest, sleeveless tops I had. Now, the aircon blasting in the office reminds me I need to buy more blazers!

    (-) Much, much less blogging! 🙁

    (+) Lunch used to be whatever was left over from dinner the night before. Now, I have a choice of Oliver’s Super Sandwich or the various food outlets at the swanky Food Park of the building. And hey, they have Starbucks, Tea Republic, and Watson’s there to boot!

    Continue reading “The Boon and Bane of a Back-To-Work Mom”

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    Are You Addicted to Blogging?

    If you want to test how addicted you are to blogging, go visit this link:

    As for me, the results speak for themselves:

    I also came across this article to check just how high your blogging addiction is.

    10 Signs That You May Be a Blog Addict

    1. Bloglines, Google Reader or some other RSS reader is constantly open on your computer’s desktop. (hmmm. I am about to subscribe to RSS reader since I lose track of whose blog posts I have not read yet…sa dami)
    2. You tell customers that you missed a project deadline because “some things” came up but in reality, you were blogging. (not yet. will I ever? abangan…)
    3. You periodically dream that you are blogging. (di pa naman)
    4. You get inspiration for new blog posts at the strangest times – in the Jacuzzi, sitting on the toilet, during marital activities (cough, cough)… you get the picture. (ahhh…secret!)
    5. Before blogs, you used to tuck the kids into bed at night. Now you check for unapproved blog comments before heading to bed yourself. (guilty!)
    6. In order for your family to keep up with what’s going on in your life, they have to read your blog. Furthermore, if they want to communicate with you, they have to comment on your blog. (my kids read my blogs and v.v. and we love commenting on each other’s blogs. and we YM across our rooms.)
    7. You have actually considered setting up a blog for your pet of which you would post the entries pretending you are your pet (weirdo). (i have seen a dog and cat blog but I am not that weird yet, hahaha)
    8. You can’t remember dates for your wedding anniversary, kids birthdays, etc., but you know what your Technorati rank is. (di pa ako ganun ka senile. I still remember those events but of course, I also know my Technorati rank, hah!)
    9. You blog about anything and everything including bad meals, your pets, getting your car stuck in snow, conversations you have in the bathroom, etc. (yup!)
    10. Keeping a blog is no longer enough but you now have to record your every move onTwitter. (Guilty again! Follow me on my Twitter!)

    How did you do? Let me know….

    🙂