Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Time stands still
Bells Of Gold - Anniversary Invitations by Invitation Consultants....
$1.01 - invitationconsultants.com
$1.01 - invitationconsultants.com
Monday, June 27, 2011
to be read in the very near future
Random thoughts and themes on how i came up with my list:
Be transported to a place like no other: a tiny, man-made island in the bay of Nagasaki, for two hundred years the sole gateway between Japan and the West. Here, in the dying days of the 18th-century, a young Dutch clerk arrives to make his fortune. Instead he loses his heart.
Step onto the streets of Dejima and mingle with scheming traders, spies, interpreters, servants and concubines as two cultures converge. In a tale of integrity and corruption, passion and power, the key is control - of riches and minds, and over death itself.
- 18th century
- dystopian
- destruction
- revolution
- japan
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| The Thousand Autumns of Jacoc de Zoet |
Step onto the streets of Dejima and mingle with scheming traders, spies, interpreters, servants and concubines as two cultures converge. In a tale of integrity and corruption, passion and power, the key is control - of riches and minds, and over death itself.
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| A Visit from the Goon Squad |
Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.
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| Brave New World |
The astonishing novel Brave New World, originally published in 1932, presents Aldous Huxley's legendary vision of a world of tomorrow utterly transformed. In Huxley's darkly satiric yet chillingly prescient imagining of a "utopian" future, humans are genetically designed and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded and as a thought-provoking yet satisfying entertainment.
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| A Tale of Two Cities |
As the the bicentennary of the French Revolution draws near, Dickens' historical novel serves as a timely reminder of nineteenth-century reactions to that great upheaval. Set between 1757 and 1793, A Tale of Two Cities views the causes and effects of the Revolution from an essentially private point of view, showing how private experience relates to public history. Dickens' characters are fictional, and their political activity is minimal, yet all are drawn towards the Paris of the Terror, and all become caught up in its web of human suffering and human sacrifice. This edition includes extensive explanatory notes giving crucial background information about the Revolution and Dickens' sources
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Touching Lives
I joined a non-profit organization called Hands on Manila that centers on volunteer opportunities/services in Metro Manila, Philippines. The organization has a variety of programs to choose from:
To be a part of Hands on Manila (HOM) one must attend their orientation given every last Thursday of the month. Location of the orientation varies. My friends and I had our orientation at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Building in Pasong Tamo, Makati. There is a registration fee that includes all the necessary things you needed for the program (volunteer passport, newsletter, volunteer project listings.) The orientation takes about an hour or so, after that you are officially part of HOM! :)
There is a calendar of volunteer projects inside the newsletter and there you can see all the schedule of all the volunteer activities that you can choose from. When you like a certain program, make sure to contact first the person assigned to the program so that you'll know what to do or if there are certain changes to be made on schedule etc.
The very first program we have attended is the Breakfast Club held at Philippine Daily Inquirer Building where you get to interact with kids and eat together with them. Besides that, you get to meet a lot of new and cool people! There are magic tricks and games that the kids surely enjoy. The kids get to show their talents such as singing, rapping and drawing. One of the kids named Ramona gave me her drawing of a dress. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer one day. We had KFC for lunch. My friends and I brought candy goodies for them. Later did we know that some of the kids can't go to school because they can't afford the tuiton fee. :( We collected money from everyone and hopefully the sum is enough to send these kids to school.
As we bid our goodbyes, I am still hoping that I would get to see those kids again. I hope that they can enroll in the coming school year and may their hopes and dreams become reality. My first volunteer work is quite an experience because I learned how to share my blessings and and to give love and attention to the needy. Meeting all of them is truly a great honor!
Visit Hands On Manila for more info: http://www.handsonmanila.org.ph/
~v
- Arts
- Health and Nutrition
- Sports and Recreation
- Education and Enrichment Project
- Caring for the Community and the Environment
- Caring for the Children and Elderly
- Human Solutions (skill- based volunteers)
To be a part of Hands on Manila (HOM) one must attend their orientation given every last Thursday of the month. Location of the orientation varies. My friends and I had our orientation at the Philippine Daily Inquirer Building in Pasong Tamo, Makati. There is a registration fee that includes all the necessary things you needed for the program (volunteer passport, newsletter, volunteer project listings.) The orientation takes about an hour or so, after that you are officially part of HOM! :)
There is a calendar of volunteer projects inside the newsletter and there you can see all the schedule of all the volunteer activities that you can choose from. When you like a certain program, make sure to contact first the person assigned to the program so that you'll know what to do or if there are certain changes to be made on schedule etc.
The very first program we have attended is the Breakfast Club held at Philippine Daily Inquirer Building where you get to interact with kids and eat together with them. Besides that, you get to meet a lot of new and cool people! There are magic tricks and games that the kids surely enjoy. The kids get to show their talents such as singing, rapping and drawing. One of the kids named Ramona gave me her drawing of a dress. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer one day. We had KFC for lunch. My friends and I brought candy goodies for them. Later did we know that some of the kids can't go to school because they can't afford the tuiton fee. :( We collected money from everyone and hopefully the sum is enough to send these kids to school.
As we bid our goodbyes, I am still hoping that I would get to see those kids again. I hope that they can enroll in the coming school year and may their hopes and dreams become reality. My first volunteer work is quite an experience because I learned how to share my blessings and and to give love and attention to the needy. Meeting all of them is truly a great honor!
 |
| Breakfast Club |
~v
Friday, June 10, 2011
Dog vs. Book
The dog ate my homework. The funny line that students use when they missed doing their homework. Teachers do not put up with the thought of a dog eating their homework. Well who does right?!
In my case, things are quite different. To begin with, I handle my books with utmost care and I seldom let people borrow my books. My brother borrowed my book one time and returned it to me damaged! WHY? The dog chewed on it! HOW?! Well, the book is on the bed and our dog Hermes (Yorkshire Terrier) loves to jump on beds and sleeps or plays on it. I think she is getting too comfortable and playful on my brother's bed and the result: book being chewed.
With those big round eyes and button nose and funny grin on their faces, I can't get mad to a dog! Haha! :))
My conclusion: dogs and books are bad combinations.
~v
~v
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| hermes and book |
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Helpy Hand- Child Sponsorship
One of my goals in life is to become a philanthropist. I will touch lives and make a difference. I imagine myself helping the needy through volunteering and donating money/everyday necessities. At first I do not have any idea where or how to start, so my volunteerism is put on hold until I meet my office mate (who is now my friend) Judy.
Judy is part of the Child Sponsorship Program in World Vision Philippines. She donates money for the educational needs of the child and the community as well. She is the one who encouraged me to be part of the program by signing up to World Vision Child Sponsorship Program and then you will donate P600.00 monthly to your sponsored child. I am hesitant at first to donate money to someone who I do not know and I am skeptical if the sponsored child will benefit from the donation. So I check World Vision's website to be familiar with their programs and with Judy's help I understand how the program works.
Months passed....I was in Greenbelt that Sunday ( August 30, 2009) and luckily there was a World Vision Booth. There were a lot of catalogue brochures that (I don't know what it is called) contained the kid's information and picture. They were grouped according to community. I wasn't sure who to choose. The World Vision Lady was kind enough to assist me and later she told me that one catalogue was left for a certain group. So I chose this lucky little boy who was in his 1st grade level. I filled up all the necessary information and paid for the month's donation. And that was it! I am officially a child sponsor :)
*For confidentiality purposes, pictures of the child and letters are blurred.*
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| welcome pack together with the child's information |
I wrote him a letter and gave him a toy car as a birthday gift.
He replied back thanking me for the gift and he really liked it.
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| reply letter (2010) |
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| christmas card (2010) |
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| progress report with letter on the left side and picture on the center (2010) |
From his last letter, he is now in Grade 3. He will be celebrating his birthday this July.
Change a child's life NOW.
For more info on child sponsorship visit: http://www.worldvision.org.ph/
~ v
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