A Moment of Prayer

 

China Earthquake disaster.

 

 I am sure everybody have heard about this. Being the amateur writer that I am, I have no idea on how to deliver news nor do I have the power of persuading others to do something I ask them to. But I’m going to try my best. Here I go…

 

 Monday, May 12, 2008, the province of Shichuan, China had been struck by an earthquake reaching up to 7.8 in magnitude. More than 32,000 people, mostly children, had been killed, and still counting.

 

 I just browsed some captured photos of the disaster last Wednesday and Friday. I could see nothing but fallen debris of buildings, corpses covered by blankets, and fathers, mothers and relatives crying their hearts out. The worst part is that most of the corpses found were of children buried under piles and piles of wreckage.

 

 Take a look at the most heart-breaking picture I’ve seen here:

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2439/670e231f280e1070f624e40bp5.jpg

 

 Click for more pictures: http://hongdou2.gxnews.com.cn/forumview.asp?topic_id=336282

 

 Nearly a whole generation has been wiped off in one day. This is just a reminder how fragile life is in the face of nature.

 

 This is also a reminder that there are many more important things happening out there and that we shouldn’t be so wrapped up in our own things. We need to open our eyes and be aware of our surroundings, and be ready to lend a helping hand to those in need.

 

 Let’s stop thinking of our plans on meeting friends on the mall this afternoon, or what shoes are you going to wear for the party tonight. Let’s take a moment of our day to pray for those who died, that they may find peace in the afterlife together with God.

 

 Let’s also pray for those who survived this tragedy that they may have the strength to move on with new hope in their lives. It wouldn’t be easy, I am sure, for I wouldn’t have known what to do if I were in their shoes.

 

 Let’s pray and hope for those who haven’t been found yet that they may have the will and strength to stay alive

 

 Lastly, let’s pray for the rescuers who have been working nonstop that may their hope in finding survivors never diminish and that may they have the strength to continue longer.

 

 Let’s start praying now. Let’s help our brothers and sisters in China; those who have died, those who have survived, and those who have yet to be found.

 

Protected: To My Dear Friend Jhen,

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From Worst to Better

This is an excerpt from my journal dated last April 8. I just wanted to share it to you…

 

There I was, feeling very annoyed and depressed. Someone just HAD to invent “homework” and make my life complicated, huh? Why!? Why!? Why~!?! I have two essays over due, psychology homework to be submitted tonight, and I still haven’t even finished even half of lab report; and it’s due this Thursday! How am I supposed to finish that within one day!? Argh!

 

 But… something quite pleasing happened to me today at school. And frankly, it made my mood better. Right after class, after English, I was passing (almost stomping my feet) by the hallways. I noticed a piece of tissue paper on the ground on my way. I was about to pick it up, but somebody else was walking behind me. I thought to myself, “If I pick this piece of trash up, it’ll probably seem unsanitary to others. And I don’t want to get germs on me. And there are so many more important things to worry about.” So I walked past it. A few steps later, I saw a trashcan. My conscience kicked in and screamed to me “PICK UP THAT GARBAGE AND THROW IT IN THE TRASHCAN, you lazy piece of scum!” So (ignoring the scum comment) I said to myself, “Oh, what the heck. Might as well get rid of the world one less trash.” So I went back and picked the tissue (which was right beside the random guy who was walking beside me who stopped walking as soon as I started to walk back) up, walked towards the trashcan and threw it there. Feeling happy that I did something good, I started to walk away again, but then before I could get too far, the guy who was walking beside me told me, “That was nice of you.”

I smiled to him. “Thanks.”

He said something else that I didn’t catch, but who cares!? I was too busy smiling at the moment to comprehend anything around me. We separated ways the next hallway.

 

I couldn’t help but smile and smile and smile again after that. I’m glad I picked that trash up. I’ll do it again the next time I see another piece of garbage lying on the floor. It’s not that I don’t pick up garbage when I see them on the floor. My conscience is a very powerful influence to all my decisions, so every time I see something lying on the floor, I pick it up and throw it in the trash can. Next time, I’m not going to hesitate. [End of entry.]

 

Hehe, the first paragraph is kind of full of childish complaints, now that I think about it. Please ignore that.

 

The lesson here is that simple good deeds— very simple things like picking up garbage lying on the floor and throwing it in the trashcan and getting praised because of it— can make the worst day of your life, better.=)

 

Let’s start doing good things, ne?

 

Aw…I’m such a nice person, am I?

 

SmileyBunny Pink: (rolls his button eyes) Nice person, yeah right.You really gotta work on that low self-esteem, buddy.

 

What? I was just kidding, you know! And why are you not inside your wrapper!? Go back before you get those cute pink ears of yours dirty!

 

SmileyBunny Pink: (glares) …I hate you… (hops away). 

Hello, World of Blogs!

Hello! I’m Meriken and this is my blog. =)

 

I’m a newbie and am currently still blindly groping my way around this… thing, so I’ll need all the help I can get to make this blog a success.

 

Do forgive me for any grammar, spelling mistakes or lack of vocabulary. I’m not the best writer around and sometimes experience great difficulty on expressing what I have in mind. But I am trying to improve.

 

So, since this is my first post, I might as well tell you what “Bahay Kubo” is and why this blog is called just that.

 

“Bahay” is the Filipino word for house while ”Kubo” is hut, or shack, or something like that. Bahay Kubo, simply called Nipa Hut in English, is the Philippine’s national house. It is made of bamboos tied together and dried coconut leaves (I think… somebody correct me if I’m wrong) serving as the roof. It is a very simple type of house, yet cozy, and made from very inexpensive materials. Bahay Kubo’s are usually seen in provinces and countryside.

 

Here’s a picture:

 

 

Simplicity is beauty.

 

I’ve always wanted to go to live in one like this, in an old small town, far far away from the chaos of the modern world. Do some farming in the fields under the sun while singing folk songs with my fellow farmers, fetching pails of water from the river faraway then racing with each other on who gets home first, ride some carabaos or simply swing with vines and yell like Tarzan to go from one place to another, eating what healthy things I have grown in the fields and share with everyone in town, climbing on guava trees and eat guava fruits to my heart’s content…

 

Ah, such a simple life must be very rewarding, don’t you think? No stress, no sickness, no pollution…

 

…no junk foods, no sodas, no fast food chains…

 

…no cable (heck, there’s no television) no radios, no computers, no cell phones…

 

…no fluorescent lights, no running water, no washing machines, no toilets…

 

Erm, I’m going to stop now…

 

….

 

So, back to the point. Why is this blog called “Bahay Kubo?”

 

Because it represents humility, peace of mind, and family. It is simple yet warm and welcoming, just like what I hope this blog would be, too.

 

And also because I think it would be cool and good for one’s health living in one, never mind the the challenges that comes with it It is hard to imagine life without the comforts modern technology offer us; like toilets.

 

I couldn’t think of any more reasons other than those. I was actually planning to name this blog with something fancy, like “SmileyBunny Pink.” Weird, I know. But I changed my mind and looked around for something to give me an idea. I saw my sketch pad and fumbled through it for a while until I came across my own dream Bahay Kubo that I plan on building in the distant future, and so there you go!

 

Well, that’s all for now. I suddenly ran out of things to say. Lol.

 

See you later!

 =)

P.S. Don’t let anything you have be taken for granted, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem… like toilets.