Christians Blacklisted in China

I've read from a Christian magazine that some time last year the Chinese Government secretly released a document entiled, "Notice on Strict Background Check on Applicants for the Olympic Games and the Test Events." The said document includes a list of 43 types of people in 11 categories who will be barred from the Olympic Games this coming August. One of the 11 banned categories of people is "Religious extremists and religious infiltrators," which defined as:

1. Members of illegal religious organizations both in China and abroad.
2. Members who have been caught by Chinese authorities for engaging in illegal religious activities.
3. People who have given illegal sermons.
4. People who illegally distribute religious publications and video/audio materials.
5. People who have illegally established religious organizations, institutions, schools, sermon sites and other religious entities.

Some critics say that China will go to great lengths to keep out potential "troublemakers" during the games.

TROUBLEMAKERS? Christians are making lots of troubles in China according to them. But this is not a shocker at all. Things like these have been going on for so many years, even centuries. And China is not the only country that "hates" Christians.

So what are they going to do if they capture these so-called "troublemakers"? If China will go to "great lengths" to keep out "troublemakers", this must mean that those who will be captured will receive harsh punishments, right? Let me guess - house arrest, imprisonment, torture or maybe even death!

You might not hear about it in the news, but many Christian evangelists and missionaries are imprisoned in China and many other countries today for preaching the word of God.

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Fungus Eats Man's Face

A life-threatening facial fungus infection cost a man both his eyes, his nose and entire sinus cavity, plus the upper inner portion of his mouth. But despite such great ordeal, he still has a very strong spirit. I salute his wife for the unconditional love she has for him.

Source: Youtube

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The Importance Of Today

I recently visited Jen's blog and as I was reading through, one of her post caught my interest and it led me into deep thinking. She posted the following question that the author Stephen Levine asks,

"If you had an hour to live and could make only one phone call - who would you call, what would you say, and why are you waiting?"

That is such a powerful message!

Who knows what we are waiting for? Perhaps we want to believe we will live forever, or that "someday" we will get around to telling the people we love how much we love them. Whatever the reasons are, most of us just simply wait too long.

Remember 9/11? How many of those passengers do you think made their one final call to their loved ones? How many weren't able to? We don't need a tragedy like 9/11 to make us tell our loved ones how much we love them and how much we care.

Now, why are you waiting?

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A Cake For My Wonderful Hubby

Last Sunday was my wonderful husband's birthday so I decided to bake a chocolate cake for him. It was my second time baking a cake and my first time decorating it. I don't have a lot of baking and decorating utensils so I just utilized whatever I thought would work. I used a fork to create the lines on the surface. (Now, looking at the picture I actually thought it's horrendous.) Then, I realized that I put too many candles..Haha. I had to removed some of it.

A week before that, I decided to bake my very first cake. Anyway, here's a picture of it. It was a little overcooked so it wasn't as moist as I want it to be. For the recipe I used, just click the following link: Chocolate Cake

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How To Poop At Work

We've all been there but don't like to admit it. We've all kicked back in our work area and suddenly felt something brewing down below. As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORK POOP is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, the following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.

CROP DUSTING: When farting, you walk briskly around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.

FLY BY: The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping. Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER . People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

ESCAPEE: A fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen. If you are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK: When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH: The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of air time the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.

WALK OF SHAME: Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk up the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist. Can be avoided with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.

OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER: A colleague who poops at work and is damn proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under his or her arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

THE POOPING FRIENDS NETWORK (PFN): A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency pooping goes off without incident. This group can help you to monitor the whereabouts of Out Of The Closet Poopers, and identify SAFE HAVENS.

SAFE HAVENS: A seldom used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.

TURD BURGLAR: Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGH: A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert potential Turd Burglars. Very effective when used in conjunction with an ASTAIRE.

ASTAIRE: A subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear an Astaire, leave the bathroom immediately so the pooper can poop in peace.

WATERMELON: A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.

SHOE IDENTITY: No peeking at the shoes next door, unless you have a suspected DWTH (doesn't wash their hands). In this case check the shoes to avoid YUCK situations as a result of a DWTH coworker. YUCK Situations: Shaking hands with or eating chips, candy... where a DWTH coworker just grabbed a handful.

GHOST POOPIE: The kind where you feel the poopie come out, but there is no poopie in the toilet.

CLEAN POOPIE: The kind where you poopie it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper.

WET POOPIE: The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feel sunwiped, so you have to put toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you won't ruin them with stains.

SECOND WAVE POOPIE: This happens when you're done poopie-ing and you've pulled your pants up to your knees, and you realize that you have to poopie some more.

POP-A-VEIN-IN-YOUR-Head POOPIE: The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.

LINCOLN LOG POOPIE: The kind of poopie that is so huge you're afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush.

GASSY POOPIE: It's so noisy that everyone within earshot is giggling.

DRINKER'S POOPIE: The kind of poopie you have the morning after a long night of drinking. It's most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.

CORN POOPIE: Self explanatory.

"GEE-I-WISH-I-COULD-POOPIE" POOPIE: The kind where you want to poopie but all you do is sit on the toilet and fart a few times.

SPINAL TAP POOPIE: That's where it hurts so badly coming out, you'd swear it was leaving you sideways.

WET CHEEKS POOPIE (The Power Dump): The kind that comes out so fast, your butt cheeks get splashed with water.

THE DANGLING POOPIE: The poopie refuses to drop in the toilet even though you are done poopie-ing it. You just hope that a shake or two will cut it loose.

THE SURPRISE POOPIE: You're not even at the toilet because you are sure you are about to fart, but *oops*...a poopie!

***Note: This is a forwarded message.

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Carrickfergus

I decided to change my background music today into one of my most favorite song ever. The title is "Carrickfergus" by Charlotte Church. The very first time I heard this song I fell in love with it immediately. It is such a very haunting song and it brings back special memories when me and my husband first met. We both love classical music so much. The very first time he told me that he has a collection of classical music, I was amazed as I have been collecting classical music cd's as well since high school. We made a promise that one day we will go to Ireland, the place where this song originated, and see the castle in Carrickfergus.

I wish I was in Carrickfergus

Where the castle looks out to sea.

I would swim over the deepest ocean

For my love to be with me.

But the sea is wide and I can not swim over

Nor have I the wings to fly

I wish I had a handsome boatman,

To ferry me over, my love and I.

I wish I was in the land of Eire,

Where the mountains reach the sea.

Where flowers blossom as I do remember.

Where my true love came to me.

But the sea is wide and I can not swim over.

Nor have I the wings to fly.

Ahh to be back now in Carrickfergus

To be together .. my love and I.

To be together .. my love and I.

I wish I was in Carrickfergus,

To be together my love and I.

I wish I was back home again.

***"Carrickfergus" is a typical lament of an Irish expatriate who wishes he was back in his homeland. The origins of the song are unclear, but it has been traced to an Irish language song, "The Sick Young Lover".
 

I am not Irish but I can definitely relate to the song especially during those times when me and my husband was still so many miles apart, longing for our moment of togetherness again. Although my interpretation of the song is somewhat different, it still boils down to the fact that when you're longing for something or somebody, and that somebody is so many miles away, it makes your heart grow fonder.

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Premature Baby Lands on Railroad Tracks

It can only happen in India. A young woman in India gave birth on the toilet of a moving train, with the newborn baby girl falling onto the tracks below. Toilets on Indian trains usually have just a hole that lets everything just fall down onto the tracks. In this case, the woman's relatives demanded an emergency stop and a search was then mounted. One and a half hours later the newborn was discovered on the tracks alive.

Source: Fox News

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Nasty Pop-ups

I have been informed by Poray that nasty pop-ups keeps popping up on my blog. I'm currently working on it. I know i'm not the first one who has to deal with it so I did my little research and sure enough, some of my fellow bloggers also had the same problem. I just followed what they had to do to get rid of it. I'm doing a little "trial-and-error" right now as I don't really know which one, among my "add-ons", is the culprit. I already removed some of them. I also went through my html codes and I found one that's very suspicious. Let's see what happens. Thanks for the info from Lara and Pinaysmile's blogs.

Also, I have a new domain name. Please update my link on your blog to http://www.celestialbookworm.com/ Thanks a lot.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

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Honor Student Suspended for Skittles

An eight-grade honor student in Connecticut was suspended for a day for buying a bag of Skittles in school. He was also barred from attending an honors dinner and stripped of his title as vice president in his class. The said candy violated the schools "wellness" policy.

Holy cow! Talk about school health Nazis!

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A Lesson About Time

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!

Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why its called the present.

***Note: This is a forwarded message that I decided to post here on my blog as it carries important lessons about how we should value our time.

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Living Life The Way I Should

How do I live my life? Do I live just for the sake of living? I found myself asking those questions today. So many of us do things without even thinking how it will affect our lives in the long run. Some just live without caring what will happen the next day. Still some live just for the sake of living.

Yesterday, I was really in a sour mood when I woke up. I basically woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I didn't know why at first. Then I remember saying how I hated that day. That's when it all started - one single negative thought became the breeding ground of more negative thoughts all throughout the day. All I saw were the things that I had to do. I was a mess - mentally. And the worst thing was, I hardly had anything done when the day was over. Thinking about it now, I feel sorry for my husband. But at the same time i'm also thankful 'coz everytime I think negatively he always comes back countering my pessimism with his optimistic aura. My husband is probably the most optimistic person I have ever known. I'm not saying that he doesn't get upset about things but 99.9% of the time, he handles it way better than I do...and way better than I ever can! And the thing is, he's way busier a person than I am! Now i'm ashamed of myself...

Do you know what INSANITY means? According to the dictionary, it means "extreme foolishness". But as J* puts it, insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results". It's like banging your head on the wall thinking that it's not going to hurt. Crazy, isn't it? That's actually me sometimes. But I try not to be like that as much as I could. I always try to be productive. I set my goals. To me, there's always a time for everything. But I also know that I have to be flexible as well, otherwise, I will falter.

Life is not just about making money or having everything you want. It's about relationship - with God, family, friends, neighbors...and even with people we don't know. We only have one life to live...and it's up to us to "live" it the way we should. After all, it's not the years in our life that count. It's the life in our years.

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Blogging and Me...

I finally found the time to write. I miss blogging. Unfortunately, blogging is not on my top list of priorities anymore. I'm not saying that it was. I just felt like it was. And I'm sure J* felt the same way too. I have been so busy lately, I think I'm going nuts. I need to re-learn how to be more time efficient. I feel like I'm wasting so much time doing things that doesn't really benefit me or my family. I just have to vent. For some odd reason, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Then I realize I still have lots of things to do - a property valuation report to make, important papers to scan and file, phone calls to make, transactions to enter on quicken...lots of organizations to do basically, and on top of all that, i'm still not done preparing all the paperworks I need for the removal of my conditional residency. My 90-day window has already started. But I know i'll be fine. I still have time.

The list of things-to-do goes on and on.

I guess that's the "beauty" (in a sarcastic way) of working for yourself. Managing time efficiently is a must...to which right now I feel like I'm coming short of. I'm just glad J* is there to help me. Otherwise, I'm really gonna go crazy!

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