Do You Believe in Doppelganger?

image credit to firsttoknow.com

     

     Maybe one of us has seen one or many times a person close to us or has some connection with us in two different places at the same time. You might be thinking you are being fooled by that person or your own eyes. But how could be that possible? I have come to know some bizarre things about doppelgangers from a Philippine movie, The Healing. Bizarre as it was, the movie depicted the doppelganger as a sign that someone with that image is nearing death and that the real person and his doppelganger should not meet face to face or else that person will die. But where does the word doppelganger come from? It was a coined word by the German writer Johann Paul Richter, Doppel meaning double, and ganger meaning goer, which refers to specters or ghosts. Doppelganger is then a double of a living person which brings bad luck, or some call it, the apparition of a living person.

     But what made me write this topic at once? I don't really know if I have to believe this. I have researched and read stories about doppelganger encounters. The reason? Some people close to me have seen maybe my doppelganger, and my daughter has seen her brother. In my first instance, when I was asked by an ex if I had been to a mall, he followed it but seems lost in the elevator. At that time the mall is too far from where I am staying and never went out that time because of chronic migraine. In the second instance, I called the school I'm teaching so that I cannot report for work, even crying due to a severe headache. Then, the next day one of my co-teacher swear she saw me and met me near the school's gate but our guidance counselor refutes that I was really absent that day. The third instance, was when my daughter saw her brother, (my eldest) standing near the kitchen. But at that time, my son was in Bulacan for a swimming getaway. Then later that afternoon, he texted me and told me he was nearly drowned and someone had just got his hand to help him.

     We have passed on it as mere doppelganger jokes, relating it to what we have watched in a movie but then found myself reading stories about it. I found out that most people who have someone's doppelganger mean that the real one is undergoing sickness or depression or extreme sadness, But I also found out that it's a myth as depicted in Ancient Egypt, Norse, and Breton mythology.

        So believing in it or not is up to you, on how you perceive things, how you understand what's beneath, and how your faith can take you into its realm.

Articles I have read:

http://paranormal.about.com/od/Doppelgangers/a/doppelgangers.htm

http://listverse.com/2013/08/30/10-disturbing-tales-of-doppelgangers/

http://www.thecontroversialfiles.net/2015/04/true-stories-of-doppelgangers.html

Try this quiz for fun about your doppelganger:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hattiesoykan/where-does-your-doppelganger-live?utm_term=.qj698ZyWj#.bxJ2WD0pj

#doppelganger #ghost #double #mythology #bizarre #paranormal #encounter

Philippines' DepEd K-12 and SHS Program

     It is actually read as K to 12, Kindergarten to Grade 12. The Philippines was among the three (3) countries and the only one in Asia that offered the 10-year education cycle before entering college. The Philippines before had six (6) years of primary (grade 1-3) and intermediate school level (grade 4-6); four (4) years of high school labeled as 1st-year high=freshman, 2nd-year high=sophomore, 3rd-year high=junior, and 4th year=senior. Kindergarten then is not compulsory, yet schools are offering three levels for Kindergarten, hence, nursery > kinder > preparatory, or nursery > kinder 1> kinder 2, depending on the school rules and policies. 

     Until 2012, Republic Act 10157, known as the Kindergarten Education Act ratified by Congress and signed by President Benigno C. Aquino Jr., compulsory education for five (5) years old before they enter formal schooling, as is considered the developmental years to ascertain their formal school readiness. Likewise, the Republic 10533 - Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 was signed and approved last May 2013, yet implemented a year before for those who have enrolled in grade 7.

     Questions and disagreement have been posed by some parents and students, however, the 1st batch of K-12 Grade 11, Senior High School is currently taking the different tracks the DepEd (Department of Education) is offering. This year's 1st batch is expected to complete the K-12 in 2018. 

image credit to DepEd website

The following information about K-12 and Senior High School (SHS) are enumerated below:

• K-12 is an educational mandatory for parents and school agencies to start education for the children at the age of five (5) through Kindergarten to ascertain the readiness of children for formal schooling. Primary education begins from grade 1 to 6, then four (4) years of Junior High School, and another two (2) years of Senior High School.
• A student who has finished K-10 but does not want to continue in Senior High School may do so but he/she will miss the opportunity of earning a high school diploma, thus, he/she will be called a Grade 10 Completer.
• It does not cost anything to enroll in Senior High School in Public/Government Schools. Tuition fees in private schools are also paid by DepEd thru its voucher program, however, they can top it up with some miscellaneous expenses which students will have to pay separately.
• All Grade 10 Completers from public/government schools get a Voucher for enrolling in a Private or Non-DepEd Senior High School. However, payment of tuition fees is coursed from Government to School Agencies.
• All Grade 10 Completers from private schools who are ESC (Education Service Contracting)* Grantees also get a Voucher for enrolling in a Private or Non-DepEd Senior High School.
• After finishing Senior High School, graduates can apply for employment, be an entrepreneur, pursue higher education (college) or middle skills development (short courses/TESDA)
• Senior High School offers four (4) Tracks from which Grade 10 Completers can choose depending on their interest:

1. Academic Track
2. Technical-Vocational & livelihood Track (TVL)
3. Arts & Design Tracks, and
4. Sports Track. 

• If students will have to choose Academic Track, they have four (4) strands to choose from [1] Accountancy, Business and Management Strand (ABM), [2] Humanities & Social Sciences Strand (HUMSS), [3] Science, Technology, Engineering,& Mathematics Strand (STEM), and [4] General Academic Strand (GAS).
• If students choose Technical-Vocational & Livelihood Track (TVL), they also have four (4) strands to choose from Agri-Fishery Arts Strand, Home Economics Strand, Industrial Arts Strand, and Information & Communication Technology Strand. Each strand has its specialization** depending on what the school agency has to offer.
• Arts and Design Track has six (6) strands: Music, Dance, Film/Media/IT, Visual Arts, Indigenous Arts, and Theater Arts.
• Sports Track includes subjects such as Safety & First Aid, Understanding Human Movement, General Coaching course, Sports Officiating, Fitness Leadership, Sports/Recreation/Fitness Management, Student-Athlete Enhancement & Formation, Fitness Testing * Exercise Prescription, and Recreation Leadership. However, there is a particular sports specialization and fitness to choose from depending on what a particular school has to offer.

* http://www.pnjkis.edu.ph/educational-service-contracting-esc-program

** http://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/curriculum-guides/Technical-Vocational-Track

The Choices We Make

     In this life, we dreaded things we usually do. We hate the things that cause us pain, trouble, hassle, and difficulty. But the irony of it all, we are what we choose, we are the cause of our choices. 

      We are bothered by floods and landslides, yet we are the ones cutting the trees, digging the land, and throwing out garbage around without thinking. We are worried that our seas and natural resources are losing their grandeur, yet we are the ones destroying them, polluting them, and creating chaos with the balance of nature. We encountered nuisance people, yet we forget to discipline our children, listen to the elders, and even give out a smile. The choices we make are ours but the effect of these choices is for everyone to either be blessed or suffer. 

*credit image to GettyImages

    When things go wrong we tend to blame other people or God for our mishap, yet we never think for a moment that our choices made it. We tend to do things by following other people, going with the flow just because the majority of people are doing it, yet what we have to lose is our dignity and character. We have made the choice of not standing up to what is right, instead, we made a choice of doing something to make it right. There is a big difference between doing the right thing and enabling something to make the wrong things right. For all the mistakes, for all the choices we made, we sometimes have the option to make it right, but this is not always the case, one wrong choice leads to another.

  The choices we make lest we know, one should remember to think twice..think through..think wisely..think about these things.. is it right? is it the truth? who will be affected? what are the consequences of choosing it?..picture it..imagine it..and best of all seek HIS guidance.

The ALDUB Magic

      It has been a year since the ALDUB is a byword not only in the entertainment world and our homes but even as well in the cyber world through social media. The ALDUB phenomenal love team is Alden Richard and Maine Mendoza, the power couple that spans the world, and created noise through different social media, especially Twitter. Celebrities even outside the Philippines began to ask curious what is ALDUB.

     The power couple has so far received ten (10) awards, aside from the solo awards they
each has received since last year. They are also the most sought brand endorser, as a couple and solo garnering thirty (30) commercial ads from different companies in just one year. Bigger companies such as Mcdonald's, Coca-Cola, Bear Brand Adult Plus, Mitsubishi, and Cadbury are among those whom they have endorsed. Successful as it is, they have been on the cover of various magazines from local to international such as Reader's Digest and Forbes magazines. Just recently, in time for its 1st anniversary, the power couple ALDUB, also known as MaiDen or MaiChard leads the YES! Magazine 100 Most Beautiful Artists of the Year. ALDUB is also recognized by Guinness World Records as the Most Used HashTag in 24 hours on Twitter, for its #AlDubEBTamangPanahon (AlDub at the right time) with 40,706,392 tweets in October last year.

     The ALDUB Magic continues .. the power couple celebrated its 1st anniversary, (July 16) on its home tv station and program, GMA Channel 7 & Eat! Bulaga is the number 1 noontime variety show in the Philippines. For the record, Twitter created customized social media emoji for ALDUB for every tweet with its hashtag #ALDUB1stAnniversary, the 1st in Asia. Twitter only does this for NBA FInals, Game of Thrones, and Marvel Movies. And weeks before the anniversary, ALDUB shoots their first solo movie in Como, Italy for their anniversary offering to their fans, the ALDUB Nation. "Imagine You & Me" garnered Php 21 million (almost $ 500,000) on its 1st day of opening.

* The hashtag #ALDUB1stAnniversary garnered 6.6 million tweets in 24 hours on July 16. Real magic!


WATCH: ALDUB 1st Anniversary

English 101: The Perfect Tenses of the Verb (series 1.C4)

     After detailing the Simple Tense of the verb, we now go to perfect tenses. Perfect Tense is another set of verb tenses. Perfect tenses are actions already completed. As the word implies, perfect means  "completely done" or "made complete". So what's the difference between simple and perfect tenses? The perfect tense is used when the time of an action is not specified, while the Simple tense is used when the details of the time or place of action are given. For perfect tenses, we have the Present Perfect Tense, Past Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect Tense.

It is important to know the regular and irregular verbs with their equivalent past participle in constructing a sentence with perfect tense.

Present Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the present. It is used to express an action that has just or already happened, how often the action has happened, or to emphasize a past action's result or consequence.

Forms: he /she /it /singular subject noun = has + past participle of the verb ;
            I /you /we /they /plural subject noun = have + past participle of the verb

Examples:
          1) She has blown her hair already.
          2) It has happened twice.
          3) Pete has discussed a new lesson.
          4) I have just bought a new cellphone.
          5) We have gone here many times.
          6) The basketball players have shown their best in that game.


Past Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the past. It is used to show an action that has happened before another action happened in the past.

Forms: subject(s) = had + past participle of the verb

Examples:
     1) They had won the game when he fell.
     2) He had studied the layout before he arrived at the meeting.
     3) The children were sad since she had left the convent.
     4) The men build this dam because the plants had been dying from drought.

* the italicized words are the actions in the past, while the underlined words are the actions completely done in the past before another action.
* conjunctions such as when, before, and since, because are also used to show action in the past perfect tense.


Future Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the future. It is used to show that an action will have been completed at some time in the future.

Forms: subject(s) = will /shall + have + past participle of the verb

Examples:
     1) You shall have arrived by 5:00 in the morning.
     2) He will have been here for three weeks to finish the work.
     3) Joy and Kate will have known each other this coming week.
     4) Won't they have stayed here tomorrow night?

*won't = will not

Trauma

*image credit to realitysandwich

     Every person has their own fears. These fears came out of unforgettable and fearful experiences one had encountered. It only differs on how its fear has been taken, to what degree the experience was, and to what extent the fear itself. A deeply disturbing experience. Once you have seen the same scenario from other people, or almost the same situation, the fear comes back. The trauma that paralyzes you at that very moment...the trauma that could make you hysterical...the trauma that could even lead to a nervous breakdown. I am speaking not only for myself but for others as well, to those who have that traumatic experience.. one that hits like a dagger, inability to move, a sudden recoiled of that event. Sometimes you have that uncontrollable sudden burst of emotions like crying, anger, fear...the experiences you never wanted to share, the fear that you are afraid to show, the weakness you keep hiding even to yourself..anger toward the person who has hurt you throughout. Trauma is a wound so deep..that when you thought it's already healed but it's not .. who can understand the pain? the fear? the memories?.. and why I am writing this?.. only someone who had been or had gone the same experience can understand...and it has no place, I think, in the world of others who has not...

Celebrate Life

    Did you ever see how important? that.. every.. single.. moment..  when you see a person alive or not in pain?.. Did you ever feel how life can be happier if you see someone sick in bed but was able to stand and go on with your life?.. Did you ever think that lying in bed because it is already night and taking a rest for tomorrow's task is such bliss, instead of being in bed with sickness? The moment  I open my eyes without the pain, I am glad I can eat my favorite dish I have cooked yesterday, I can hear the crunch of my favorite mixed nuts "Ding-dong", and I can savor the sweetness of my favorite coconut "Hany".

     Succumb to an unknown chronic pain that could stop my world for a time, I cherish every moment that I can touch and hold hands with my kids, especially my youngest...Faith. Stand and go out looking at the greens, smell the breeze at the beach, eat my favorite foods, working on my laptop to write what I was thinking. Pain can make one surrender life itself. So much throbbing pain every minute wet my eyes to tears. Pain that lasts, it seems to no end. Every pain I dreaded to feel. Worries came in when I feel its onset. 

     Life is wonderful..why end it?.. Everything on earth is amazing.. why destroyed it?.. Some people fight for its life to stand, walk, run, speak, eat normally, to see things the way they were. God is wonderful to make me see things as they were and were they not, to think deeply of all things He has created for what it is. I'm thanking Him for every time that I can open my eyes and see the light of the day, hence, hoping for what the day would bring. Oh, yes, God. thank you I'm still alive! I'm celebrating my life!

What We Need To Know About El Niño & La Niña

With the ending phase of El Niño and the coming of La Niña, everyone seems to be bothered about what it would cause to the environment and the food supply in a certain country as well as its economy. El Niño is a Spanish word that means "The Little Boy" or "The Christ Child", and was used since the occurrence emerge of Christmas. Whereas, La Niña (also called"El Viejo") is the counterpart of El Niño meaning "The Little Girl", this is the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) cold phase or event. El Niño occurs every 3 to 5 years and is almost always followed by La Niña.

      *oscillation > movement from one position to another.  

   

What is El Niño?

     El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), it is characterized by warm ocean temperatures that develop in the equatorial Pacific.

What causes the El Niño?

     It is caused by the warmer waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Why the waters are warmer?

     As the trade winds lessen or reverse their direction, winds from the west push the warm surface of waters to the east in the direction of South America, such that there are lesser cold waters pulled up from below due to increase in warmer waters.

Watch this >> Animated Video on El Niño

What are the effects of El Niño?

Changes in weather patterns

• temperature changes
• precipitation changes
• storm track changes
• changes in currents and ocean temperature

These changes lead to other consequences such as:

fires, drought, flooding, economic changes, price of heating and food, a crash of fisheries, famines, plagues, insect population explosion, and crop failure.

However, there are also positive effects  brought by El Niño such as,

fewer hurricanes and other tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic, milder winters in southern Canada and the northern continental United States, replenishment of water supplies in the southwestern United States, and less disease in some areas due to drier weather like malaria in southeastern Africa.

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

What is La Niña?

     La Niña is the cold phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), it is characterized by cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

What causes the La Niña?

     It is caused by the build-up of cooler-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific, the west coast of South America.

Why the waters are cooler?

     The unusually easterly trade winds and ocean currents bring these cold waters to the surface, known as the process of upwelling.

Watch this >> Animated Video on La Niña

What are the effects of La Niña?

• drops in the ocean temperature
• cold currents rise up along the coast
• extended rains
• higher than average rainfall
• hurricanes and cyclones
• flooding

These effects can also have consequences on the agriculture and food supply of countries, as well as on private and insurance costs for crops.

There are also positive effects such as enhanced growth of fish populations and marine life due to the nutrients brought about by upwelling cold currents, thus fishermen get a good catch.

Click to watch more >> Observing El Niño

Presidential, Parliamentary, & Federal - What Are They?

     The Philippine National Election on May 9 has shown that people are becoming excited about who would win the election and the changes that might occur once the popular becomes the president. People are clamoring for changes and sensitivity that they wanted from someone in authority who would overturn the increasing crime, yet approachable that can be easily reached and mindful of the people's plight. Questions as to "would he stand by his promise, when is he going to do it, and how he would do it" are being asked by people. What could be his first task at hand?

     One declaration that elected President Rodrigo Duterte had stated during his campaign, is to change the present form of the Philippine government. There are as numerous as a public classroom students list varied forms of government in the different parts of the world. We mostly hear the anarchy, oligarchy, communist, socialist, Marxist, imperialist, parliamentary, and federal, to name a few. Actually, the different systems or forms of government are being taught as early as grade 4 or 5.

     At present, the Philippines is a republic with a Presidential form of government. Under the Presidential form, our country is divided into three (3) branches with equal powers but separate from each other, as illustrated below.

1) Legislative Division is responsible for making laws and altering or repealing them. The Senate and the House of Representatives or Congress are under this division. Elected by people.

2) Executive Division is responsible for executing and implementing the laws. The President and his Vice President, along with the mayoralty are under this division and elected by the people. The President, however, appoints his own cabinet members (department secretaries) as granted by the Constitution.

3) Judiciary Division is responsible for settling controversies that are legally demandable and enforceable. The Supreme Court and Lower Court are under this division. It has also the power as granted by the Constitution to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or unconstitutional regulation. Appointments are made by the President based on a list submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Parliamentary on the other hand consists of two organizing bodies that are closely related and dependent upon each other. The two organizing body share their powers. See the illustration below:

1) Legislature may either be called an assembly, congress, or legislators. It is the law-making body of a government that has the power to amend and repeal public policy; observes and steers governing actions in a government system. Depending on certain countries or states, it may be in the form of unicameral or bicameral.
2) Executive consists of the head of state, it may be a President or Monarchy. As the case may be, they are the head of state but not the head of the government. The majority party that wins the election for Legislature is appointed Prime Minister, also called Premier or Chancellor. The Prime Minister possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. The President or Monarchy appointed Cabinet Ministers with the advice of the Prime Minister. However, the Cabinet of Ministers is responsible to the legislature for all its activities and policies. The President is elected while a Monarchy is inherited.

A federal system of government is a division of power between a central national government and local governments that are connected by one another by the central national government. See the illustration below to have a clear grasp of how federalism works.

     There are powers designated to the Central/National government and powers reserved for the Regional/State government, but there is also the same shared power depending on what the constitution states. Each regional/state government elected a governor aside from its mayoralty. And just like in the presidential system, the central national government has Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary divisions with separate powers. The idea behind Federalism is to better suit the needs of each area in the country. The smaller branches of government from each region/state could deal with true things that need to be changed.

** images are created by Emily for April Brews, send a message for permission to use.

LINKS for more info:

http://www.bloomp.net/articles/benefits_federalism.htm

http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/

http://www.importantindia.com/12408/features-of-parliamentary-form-of-government/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism_in_the_Philippines

The Gift of Giving

       I have come across a story that seems like a fairy tale but truly happened in the early 90s during the Bosnian war. It would remind you of an old fairy tale about a golden fish caught by a poor fisherman who begged to free him since he was actually a prince. When the wife of the poor fisherman was told of his experience, she asked her husband to return and make a wish to the golden fish for them to be free from poverty. Though a disaster happened later in the fairy tale, the true story I have read is in a way different since the blessings given to the family are intact.

      This true story began in the northwestern village of Jezero, before the outbreak of the Bosnian War. A father named Smajo Malkoc returned from a trip in Austria bringing with him a gift of an aquarium with two goldfish for his two teenage sons. Two years later, women and children fled but the men stayed back to resist the attack of Bosnian Serb forces. Smajo Malkoc was killed and his wife, Fehima, sneaked into the destroyed village, secretly buried his husband, and took whatever remains she could get off their belongings. Fehima took pity on the fish in the aquarium and she let them out in the nearby lake saying to herself, "This way, they might be more fortunate than us."

      Later in 1995, Fehima returned with his two sons to their home. Looking toward the lake, she glimpsed something strange on the lake and walked over to the shore to find out. She found out that the whole lake was full of shining golden fish. From then on, they started caring for and selling the goldfish, and 3 years after, the Malkoc house is one of the biggest in their village. The Malkoc family said they have enough money to quit worrying about the future. According to one of the sons, it was a special kind of gift from their father. 

       The father took the initiative of giving the gift of goldfish to his two sons, then the mother follows by giving the gift of freedom and life to the two goldfish by letting them to the lake during the war, thus, life underwater flourished and the gift of hope and new life had come to the Malkoc family after the war. Homes, stores, and coffee shops all over the region had their aquariums with goldfish from Jezero. This story is a good example of giving and receiving that the gift of love or an act of kindness, no matter how small or insignificant it may be, God blesses and uses it to accomplish and fulfill great things. "Give, and it will be given unto you" (Luke 6:38). We should not doubt that God can take whatever we offer Him and turn it into something magnificent. Amid chaos and trouble, God's grace is relentless, and his kingdom is flourishing even though life on the surface is full of trouble and strife. 

English 101: Simple Tenses of The Verb (series 1.C3)

     Verbs should be studied thoroughly along with subject nouns for they are the basic foundation in constructing a grammatically correct sentence. The time constraints involved in accomplishing the "action word" should be checked if it agrees with the time the action has or had been done. The verb should also agree with the subject noun in a sentence. Tenses tell us about the time when a certain action has been made or happened. The confusion of some students lies in identifying when to add 's' to a verb and what are the regular and irregular verbs. The best strategy for the latter is to memorize all of them, that's why I provided a link where to find this list of regular/irregular verbs. But first, let's start by identifying the Basic Tenses - Present, Past, and Future.

A) Present tense expresses the following actions or conditions:
          -action happening at the present moment
          -an action that happens habitually
          -a present condition
       
* we usually take the base form of a verb when we refer to the plural subject; if the subject is singular, we add "s" to the base form of the verb.
* the am, is, are linking verbs are used when referring to a present condition.

Examples:
     1) The alarms simultaneously ring every morning.
            (plural subject=alarms; verb=ring;
                    every morning=time referred to as habitual)
               
     2) The boys run towards the gate.

     3) We are the facilitator of the event. (are=stating present condition)

     4) Jenny goes home from Manila every summer. 
            (singular subject=Jenny; verb=goes;
                    every summer=time referred to as habitual)
   
     5) The smoke comes from the basement.

     6) She is the mother of the future king.

     7) I am the owner of this site.


B) Past tense expresses action or state-of-being that took place in the past.

* the past tense form of a verb (regular/irregular) is used (see the list)
* the past action uses the time to express past action, i.e.,
yesterday, last time, for, the actual date
* the was, were linking verbs are used to express the state-of-being in the past

Examples:
     1) The man waited for his lady for two hours.
             (take note of the verb-waited & the time-for two hours)

     2) She went to the grocery.

     3) Tom and Jerry played outside yesterday.

     4) Last night, I met my former classmate inside the mall.

     5) The President signed a peace treaty.


C) Future tense expresses an action that would take place sometime in the future. It also expresses a prediction or gives an order.

* the auxiliary verbs will or shall is added along with the base form of a verb
* actual future date or predictors can be used, i.e., soon, next, on

Examples:
    1) The Red Warriors will play against the Green Archers on Sunday.

    2) We shall have to abide by these camp rules.

    3) Will you please stop talking?

    4) The election will be on May 9.

    5) You shall not kill.

    6) Deniece and William will soon get married.

* shall is being used as a future predictor of the action in which the subject has an obligation or responsibility to do the stated action.

Also, check other topics under this category/label, just click the topic link:
Parts of Speech,  Kinds of Nouns,  Singular and Plural Nouns,  Uses of Nouns,  Kinds of Pronouns,  Kinds of Verbs, Characteristics of Verb.

#verb #verbtenses #simpletenses #presenttense #pasttense #futuretense #regular/irregularverb #English101 #grammar #sentenceconstruction

Depression During and After Pregnancy

   

    One special thing that could happen to a marriage is for a wife to bear a child. Being pregnant is a wonderful event in one's married life. However, pregnancy entails responsibility, proper care, and a ton of understanding from both the husband and the pregnant wife herself, and as much as possible from the people around and the community where the couple belongs. Nowadays, malls and public transportation provide designated areas and support signages for pregnant women. There are special provision or treatment given to pregnant women, yet, a lack or no knowledge of why is it being given still exist. 

      Yes ..physically, we all know what pregnant women feel but most people do not know the emotional and psychological aspects of being pregnant, why they feel, or why they act differently. And being misunderstood as one hormonal imbalanced woman during my pregnancy period, as well as after giving birth which is the more dangerous one than the latter, I have felt the urge to search and write about what I had been through. Depression occurs in this women's stages, aside from the pre-and post-menstrual period of a woman, pregnancy during and after enters into another stage of mood swings, also known as depression.
     During my pregnancy with my third child, though it was planned, there were days of crying, wanting my husband's attention then, worried about everything, and I slept late because I wanted to finish all the household chores-washing the clothes, mopping the floor, ironing the clothes, etc. I felt the same when I had my fourth pregnancy, I always felt tired then, and I lost interest in cleaning the house, which is the opposite of my third. The knowledge of having a baby with a congenital defect inside my womb added to my anxiety and the marital conflict I had with my husband. 

    After giving birth, I remember those times in my hospital bed when I cried and cried feeling alone, needing someone to talk to, and yet the one I am expecting to comfort me seems far away though near me. I don't know how long it lasted, I lose interest in everything, and I shut myself out from other people. But then I have to take my composure since I have a baby to care for who needs my special attention.

    Everything is history now and looking back still gives me some pain about whom to talk to and always being misunderstood. I do hope whoever reads, be patient with your pregnant neighbors or relatives, especially those who had just given birth, we may never know what they are going through. 

    And being a father-to-be for the first time, auntie or uncle, take note of these antepartum and postpartum blues, so you would know how to relate to or take care of them. For those who are pregnant feeling the same, do not be ashamed, it is not our fault and we can talk about it to our doctors and partners. Here is some information on the symptoms you might be experiencing.      

According to Mayo Clinic, some symptoms of antepartum (depression during pregnancy):

• persistent sadness
• unusual sleeping habits
• inability to concentrate
• loss of interest in the things/activities she usually enjoys
• feelings of guilt or worthlessness
• changes in eating habits
• anxiety/worry too much

These signs, however, are not exclusive or limited by themselves. A manifestation of 2 or more is an early sign of antepartum depression. 1 out of 4 pregnant women suffers from antepartum blues.

Depression after giving birth also affects 20% of women."Baby blues" is the early onset of depression after delivery which lasted up to two weeks, whereas postpartum depression lasted several weeks after giving birth. These two are commonly mistaken as the same, however, the latter is most intense and severe which requires medical intervention

Some symptoms of postpartum "baby blues" as stated by Mayo Clinic includes mood swings, anxiety, sadness, irritability, crying without apparent reasons, feeling overwhelmed, sleeping and appetite problem, and reduced concentration. Postpartum depression (PPD),  is also known as Prenatal Depression.

The PPD symptoms are as follows:

• depressed mood or severe mood swings
• severe anxiety and panic attacks
• excessive sadness
• intense irritability and anger
• excessive crying
• loss of appetite or eating more than usual
• inability to sleep or excessive sleeping
• loss of interest in things she usually enjoys
• overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy
• feeling of worthlessness and guilt
• inability to think clearly and concentrate
• difficulty bonding with her baby
• shutting out from family and friends
• thoughts of harming the baby
• fear of not being a good mother
• recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

You may click these other links for a more detailed discussion about antepartum and postpartum depression:

http://www.postpartumprogress.com/antenatal-depression-robbed-of-the-joy-of-pregnancy

http://www.postpartum.net/learn-more/depression-during-pregnancy-postpartum/
http://www.webmd.com/depression/postpartum-depression/

Dream Dreams

A big house, a luxurious car, an iPhone, gadgets..these are what many people dream of nowadays. Most of us have these big dreams but we can always start with a small dream. We can even have five or more dreams at any given time. When we have attained that small dreams, we even replace them with bigger dreams as well. Remember, dreams should be realistic, meaning, do not dream of becoming a superhero or going to Mars. Dreams usually depend on our values and personality. 

How to start dreaming our dreams? 

First, we have to make a list of our dreams. Have a note and pen and start writing down as many dreams as you can. Act now and do not delay writing your dreams. You could even have at least 20 dreams or more, later when you achieve or attain them, you can look back if you have fulfilled many of them. Later on, as you go along, you can add or delete some from the list.
Second, we have to stay focused.

We must know our dreams by heart. Create a vivid image and details of your dreams. If you are dreaming of a car, think of the type, brand, and color as well as the model. Possess your dreams as something you shall have, checking on some cars on sale or on display. Imagine that you are driving them in your mind with people important to you. Create your dream board - cut out pictures or draw pictures of your dreams on an illustration board and hang them in a place where you can see them more often, serving as inspiration and motivation to achieve those dreams.

Third, we must categorize and prioritize our dreams. According to Marlo Sanchez in his PinoyBisnes book series, we can categorize our dreams into the following categories: personal dreams, dreams for family, dreams for others, and community. Ask yourselves - Is it a personal dream that you can derive personal satisfaction over dreams for your family? Something that benefits you alone? Is it a dream for your family that would benefit your parents, spouse or children, siblings, or even friends? Is it a dream for a community or others? After categorizing each of your dreams, attach a time factor to each dream - when do you want to achieve them. Then, prioritized which dreams we wanted to achieve first, and so on, by category and time frame.
Lastly and most important, pray for these dreams. In everything that we will do, we should acknowledge Him. Pray for each dream and remember God never wanted His children to suffer, He wanted you to be successful. He knows everything about us, our desires, our own sufferings. Give it to Him and He shall lead our path to those dreams. And when the time comes for each dream to be fulfilled, never forget to give back, to acknowledge the One who made it possible and even those people who helped you through rough times. Blessings are more abundantly given than we can ever imagine.

The Pedestal

     The pedestal is like a throne that you have put someone into. A pedestal is as high as a tower that you have placed someone on top of it, the peak. Admiring a person who is someone great for you, unblemished, and uncritical is also dangerous, not only to that person but also to the one who admires. 

I once had that someone almost perfect in my sight, and yet the saying goes, nobody's perfect. I have to stop and think about it, cannot believe what this someone had done. Sometimes or most of the time, what we see is not the real thing, We cannot say a person who professes to love the Lord or has spent most of their life in a seminary or convent is free from temptation and from committing a sin. 

What I have in mind then is a glass pedestal, it slowly crumbles like shattered glass. They say everybody deserves a second chance, so I gave it. Trusting is really hard, but then repairing the tower, the pedestal, the glass..still, it had the chirp and crack. Everything goes well till then until other people would throw something at the pedestal. Once again, it crumbles down, breaks into pieces, and shattered glass all over the place. If anyone wanted a piece, it's useless, beyond repair if someone would tried to, irreparably.  

     More things learned, be ready and be on alert for temptations to pass through. Listen to your parents especially if you know that they wanted the best for you, all through your life. Everybody is not immune to temptations and sins, even priests, pastors, and ministers, open your eyes to life's realities. Never put someone on a pedestal, when it crumbles, it crumbles and shatters with you. Best of all, only One should be put on the pedestal.

English 101: Uses of Nouns (series 1.A3)

         This is my 7th writing in the series of English 101, and the 3rd writing under the Noun series. The first in a series is about the different Parts of Speech, wherein a noun is a part. 

    The second series is about different kinds of Nouns, and the third series is about Singular and Plural Nouns. 

    Due to the pre-requisites in understanding this topic, Uses of Nouns, I have to post first the different Kinds of Pronouns and the Kinds of Verbs and Characteristics of Verb.

      

This is one topic about nouns that some high school students are having a hard time with, identifying in a sentence the use of the noun. To start with, let us enumerate the seven (7) uses of nouns and how to identify each of them in a sentence. 

1) as SUBJECT. The noun is placed before the verb (action word/linking verb/helping verb).
    Examples: God cares for us.
                      Alex lived on a small island.
                      A lullaby is a song for babies.
                      Mother and I are cooking some pasta.
                      Grandfather had his boat ready for the sail.
                      The crew did nothing to save the passengers on the ship.
                       Leo should win the academy award for his performance.

*linking verbs=am, is, was, are, were
*helping verbs=do, does, did, has, have, had, shall, should, may, might, will, would, can, could, ought, must

2) as SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT. The noun is placed after the linking verb.
    Examples: The giver of any good gift is God.
                      The time setting of the movie was 1942.

3) as DIRECT OBJECT. The noun is placed after the transitive verb.
        (transitive verb=when a person or thing directs the action toward someone or something)
    Examples: We thank God for all His blessings.
('we' directs the action 'thank' to God, thus making it the direct object)
                       Let us help Gino and his family.
('us' direct the action 'help' to Gino, thus making it the direct object)

4) as INDIRECT OBJECT. The noun is placed between the transitive verb and the direct object.
    (direct object=answers the question of who or what receives the action)
    Examples:  The mother gives Laura the consent she was asking for.
    ('gives', the transitive verb, 'the consent' answers the question, what does the mother give? so Laura is
       the indirect object)
                       She asked the teacher about the contest tomorrow.
    ('asked', the transitive verb, 'the contest' answers the question, what did she ask? so the teacher is the
       indirect object)

5) as NOMINATIVE ADDRESS. The noun refers to a person or persons spoken to in a sentence.
     Examples: Gina, stop it.
                       Sheila, Andrea, go get some help!

6) as OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT. The noun comes after the direct object to modify or
    describe it.
    Examples:  She considered Manang a member of the family.
                       He plays basketball well, my favorite sport.

7) as APPOSITIVE. The noun is placed after another noun to identify or define it.
    Examples:  My confidant, God, never lets me down.
                       Her favorite English teacher, Miss Sicuya was among her guest.  
 

#noun #directobject #complement #appositive #subject #nominative #English101 #grammar             

English 101: Characteristic of Verbs (series 1.C2)

Determining what transitive and intransitive verbs are is just one of the students' difficulties in studying English subjects. And this topic would easily enable them to understand another difficulty, identifying the active and passive voice of a verb. 

For previous topics in this series, click the link below:
Parts of Speech
A. Nouns/Kinds of Nouns
     1. Singular and Plural Nouns
B. Pronouns/Kinds of Pronouns
C. Verbs/Kinds of Verbs

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

image credit to teachers. onlineenglishexpert.com

A verb is transitive when a person or thing directs the action toward someone or something. The receiver of the action is the object of the verb.

Examples;

1) He composed an emotional song. (the action 'composed' is directed toward something which is 'song')
2) Mother bakes my birthday cake. (the action 'bakes' is directed toward something which is 'cake')
3) She helped the old man in crossing the street. (the action 'helped' is directed toward someone which is the old man)
4) The AFP send their military men to Basilan. (the action 'send' is directed toward someone which is the military men)

A verb is intransitive when the doer of the action does not direct the action toward someone or something.

Examples:

1) The sky darkened in the east.
2) Father already left from his office.
3) The glass broke.
4) Tinay fell.

CLICK HERE for Exercises

Active and Passive Voice

Voice tells whether the subject of the sentence is the doer or the receiver of the action.

The verb is in the active voice if the subject performs the action.

Examples:
1) Mother gave me a new dress. (the subject 'mother' performs the action 'gave')
2) He played the basketball game fair and square.

The verb is in the passive voice if the subject receives the action.

image credit to grammar.about.com

Examples:
1) I was given a new dress by Mother. (the action 'given' is received by the subject 'Mother')
2) The basketball game was played fair and square by the team. (the action 'played' is received by the subject 'team')
3) The messenger was sent to the office.

CLICK HERE for Exercises



            

Leonardo DiCaprio: The Actor, The Environmentalist

And the OSCAR for Best Actor goes to...Leonardo DiCaprio!

     As the winner was announced by Julianne Moore on the Oscar Awards night, friends and colleagues of  Leonardo DiCaprio and his fans all over the world screamed for joy, that finally, the long-delayed and most coveted award is already his. Though anticipated for his acting performance in the movie The Revenant, the Oscar awards had bypassed him for four performances which most of his colleagues and fans believe he deserved to be. Imagine, a highly paid actor with box-office hits and mostly recognized by other award-giving bodies but continuously snubbed by OSCAR. Thus, numerous memes emerge on social media for non-winning of the said award (he could have won an award for the most number of memes of all time).
        In 1994, he was nominated for best actor in a supporting role as a mentally challenged younger brother of Johnny Depp in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?; best performance by an actor in a leading role for the movie The Aviator in 2005; two (2) years after he was nominated again for the same category for Blood Diamond; in 2007 he has been nominated again for the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, and finally, the prestigious OSCAR award recognized his performance in his latest movie The Revenant. He was a runner-up in those (4) movies toppled by Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), Jamie Foxx (Ray); Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland); and Matthew McConaughey (Dallas' Buyers Club), respectively. He had won many awards from other award-giving bodies in his other movies as well as his latest one, The Revenant.

         I may have reacted to some of his movies for which he didn't win an award or get nominated for his acting. He is not only a good-looking actor, he can really act and gives justice to whatever role he was given with. Since his movie Titanic started his full stardom (though he had other movies back then), people noticed not only the handsome face he has been carrying but his charisma and how he reprises each role given to him. I have been able to watch most of his movies, from a doomed lover in a cruise ship to a medieval king with a twin, to an American backpack adventurer, to a con-man, to a filmmaker and aviator, to a police undercover agent, to a gunrunner and diamond smuggler, to a CIA agent hunting down a powerful terrorist leader, to an unheroic cowardly husband, to a corporate spy who uses subconscious infiltration through shared dreams, to a plantation and slave owner during 1850s, to a mysterious millionaire longing for his already married ex-girlfriend, to a Wall Street stockbroker millionaire, and recently to a crew trapper/frontiersman survivor. DiCaprio is also one of the highest-paid actors in the world and all his movies are earning well and well.
      Now, Leonardo DiCaprio on his advocacy for wildlands conservation, ecological biodiversity, ocean conservation, and climate change made him love even more by fans who admire him for his looks and movies. A fan like me who does not only support but practices what the Greenpeace Movement holds for, in its effort to make this place a better place to live in by our children's children, will really have his hands up for these undertakings from famous people. True to his words, he has solar panels installed in his home, he owns an electric Tesla Roadster, a Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, and a Toyota Prius. In 2007, he produced, co-written, and narrated a documentary film about the problems facing the earth's ecosystem. The documentary entitled The 11th Hour addresses the problem of global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the ocean's habitat. The 11th Hour documentary also proposes potential solutions to these problems. His winning moment during the OSCAR night was staged by an unusual speech to a call about global warming which catches the attention of all the celebrities, fans, and bashers alike.

"Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children's children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed." ~ DiCaprio, Oscar 2016

The many faces of Leonardo DiCaprio

Everyday Spices to Grow Indoors

     

     Lack of soil in the city, spices, and vegetables aren't getting any cheaper, the cravings for more spices and veggies push me to make research edible plants that we can grow indoors even if we don't have enough soil or none at all. I have been hearing about hydro phonics before and become interested in it. I need a thorough study on hydro phonics but then I stumbled upon some sites stating varieties of edible plants we can grow on a pot, sacks, hanging baskets, and bags.  I have made some research on the plants which we need every day in our kitchen - ginger, onion, garlic,  and. bell pepper.

In preparation, you will need these materials: a clean knife, cutting board, and starter pot with potting soil, a plastic bottle of soda or mineral water will do.

GINGER

1) Put a chunk of ginger in a container with soil. Make sure the freshest-looking buds are faced up.
2) Place the container in an area that receives indirect sunlight and wait for new growth to sprout out of the soil. Keep the soil consistently moist.
3) To harvest, pull the entire plan out of the soil.


ONIONS

1) Slice off the onion bottom with all the roots still intact, with the onion meat of 1.5 to2 inches. The more of a bottom you slice off the better.
2) Allow drying for a few hours or two days in a shaded and ventilated area, depending on how the cut portions are already dried.
3) Fill your container 10 inches in depth of the soil (for a 5-gallon bucket). Be sure the container has holes 3 inches apart. For the best result, use well-drained loamy soil with a neutral pH. Enrich the soil with compost before planting.
4) Dig in to create a cradle for each onion's bottoms to allow good contact with the soil. Depending on the diameter of the container, you can accommodate 3 to 4 onions in the container, however, 3 inches distance from each and the container's side is needed to grow them fully.
5) Cover with  1 to 2 inches of soil. Water as needed.
6) To have green onions, harvest the stalks before the bulb matures or it reaches 6-8 inches.
7) The bulb is ready to harvest when the tops begin to yellow and fall over. Bend the tops down. Once it turns brown, pull each bulb carefully.

* Onions need more water when grown in containers. Be aware that onions may look healthy even when they need water.


GARLIC

1) An 8-inches deep wider pot is needed to plant garlic. Mix soil with gardening sand with a 3 to 1 ratio of soil to sand.
2) Place garlic bulbs with the pointed end facing up, and the flat end to the soil. Push the bulb 4 to 6 inches deep into the soil. Do not cover with soil but the bulb should have (1) inch space from the top of the soil. Each bulb should be 4 inches apart from each and away from the container's side.
3) Direct sunlight for 8 hours is needed every day. Water the soil by sprinkling water evenly. The soil must be kept moist, but not very wet.
4) As the garlic begins to have left, wait for the flower to sprout. Cut the flower at its base so that the energy comes and makes the bulb bigger.
5) When the leaves begin to turn brown and fall out. Harvest the garlic by pulling them out. Hand to dry.


BELL PEPPER

1) Soak the seeds in warm water for up to 8 hours until they sink to the bottom.
2) Prepare a sterilized, loose-draining potting mix in a plastic cup. One seed for each plastic cup,
3) Poke a hole of 1/4 inch deep to bury the seed and loosely cover it with soil.
4) Place them in a warm sunny location. Keep the seeds moist by spraying water. Do not drench and allow it to dry out.
5) Once the seedlings sprouted 2 fully grown leaves, transfer to a larger pot with a loose, well-draining soil with high content of organic matter. Depending on the size of the pot you may combine multiple plants in a single pot.
6) Dig a small hole in the potting soil the same size as in the plastic cup. For multiple plants, it should be 2 inches apart.
7) Carefully cut the plastic cup on the side and place them in a hole. Pack the soil to become firm and stable.
8) Keep the plants warm and well-lit. Fluorescent light 3 inches from the top of the plant, 14 to 16 hours a day is much better.
9) Water the plants consistently. Soak them every few days and dry in between.
10) To increase yield, pollinate the plant when they flower, by using a cotton swab; rub the pollen from the anthers on a male flower and swab the pollen into a female flower called stigma.
11) Harvest them when they reach a usable size and appropriate colors by using shears leaving (1) inch stem to the plants.
* Bell pepper leaves can also be used in other dishes such as chicken and corn soup.

English 101: The VERB (series 1.C1)

     This is my 6th writing about Parts of Speech in English 101, the Verb. This is the third part of the speech that is being discussed here, after Nouns and Pronoun. A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. Action verb denotes an action word such as clap, tap, walk, dance, talk, jump, etc. The linking verb denotes a state of being such as am, is, was, are, or we. We also have what we call the helping verb used with the main verb to form verb phrases.

*credit image to tes.com lessons

Action Verbs > show either a physical or mental action.
    Examples: His plane landed at NAIA two hours ago. (physical action)
                      She always hopes for the best in us. (mental action)

Linking Verbs > used to connect the subject of a sentence with a noun or an adjective identifies or describes the noun or pronoun.

Helping verbs:  be, been                 have, has, had        
                          do, does, did         will, would
                          shall, should         can, could
                          may, might           must

* some words seem to look like an action verb but are used in a sentence as a linking verb.
        Examples:
               appear       get        remain     sound
               become     grow     seem        stay
               feel            look      smell       taste

How do distinguish action words used as linking verbs?
>> Try to replace the word with the actual linking verb, if the thought of the sentence does not lose its sense, it means it is a linking verb,

Examples:  The baby feels agitated when he arrived.
          *The baby is agitated when he arrived.
                 (the word 'feels' is a linking verb)

                   The baby feels the drop of water on his face that made him laugh.
           *The baby is the drop of water on his face that made him laugh.
                      (the word 'feels' is an action verb here since when we replace the actual linking verb, it does lose its sense)