Life goes on
Author: phwriter11
I am an artist. My kind of art is Photography, Theater Arts and Communication, Fashion and Design, Digital / Multimedia and Writing. My husband and I travel to Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East. Imagine the hustle and bustle of catching flights and adjusting bioclocks. My blog is the only thing I can keep on one timezone.
How to Describe Coding Language
TheWriter, Grandma Glasses, the Overseas Swedish Wifey, Charmaine the Bageri girl, Freyja the lifestyle chic, Drake the K9 Alpha and Sven the coffeeboy all gathered At The Crafter’s Table except for the I.T consultant and the Swedish Chef who are away on vacation.
“Oh I need something heavy to keep my brain busy. I should continue my exploration of W3C. The last time I was coding was when I just came home from the desert,” said Grandma Glasses.
“I feel like I am a detective trying to figure out where, what and how these things work on my screen,” she said to everyone in the room.
“Silverlight,CSS, Html, Java, CS6, VisualStudio sounds more like coffee flavors to me,” said Sven.
“Not until you see the codes and strings you will ask, Where does this all end?” called out the Writer from her corner.
“Do not be like me, I get intimidated by CSS Html and JavaScript. jQuery Node.js and Ruby are not designer clothes. Mind you, their zippers are not like H&M, DKNY, YSL and D&G,” said the Overseas Swedish Wifey.
“Oh I miss my powermachines and AdobeToys in the desert. Those are valuable things that will help me stay in today’s IoT race,” with a heavy sigh Grandma Glasses looked away.
“They say a laptop or computer maximum lifepan is somewhere between three to five years before needing to be replaced. Let’s just hope your laptop keeps up with you. This one is as old as your xmas tree,” Freyja was quick to remind her.
“One is never too old to learn a new language. Just stay focused and you will not get lost in the strings,” theWriter was quick to encourage everyone.
“Is it similar in some ways to reading a recipe? I’m confused about this thing you call coding. How can other people understand and speak the same language as you do, when you learned it from your old computer? ” asked Charmaine who only blends and mixes using modern kitchen equipments.
“Uhm Charmaine, it’s a bit complicated because this time your memory is measured in gigabytes and not with a measuring cup,” chortled Sven.
“ I just hope Grandma Glasses don’t encounter errors. The I.T. department in the Clouds requires a password,” he sighed before walking away with a cup in his hand.
“Oh look how late it is!” Drake circled around them and wagged his tail for attention.
“How about taking a break. I know a universal code for all of us. It’s so simple and easy to remember ,” and they all turned to Drake in surprise.
D-I-A-L P-I-Z-Z-A
“And on that code , we end this discussion,” with a head-tilt Drake concludes another winning day.
Ode to Christmas Past
The Pink Troll
Writing Thoughts _Oct23_002 _ A journal in progress
THE PINK TROLL
Blazing like the desert sun
His stealth is undetected
With only a faint tremble
In silence he moved
Lurking to blur the eyesight
Of those who work so late
Until the night falls
Before eaves start to break
He will be gone
The pink troll
behind the blue lamp
Phwriter11_23.10.2018
World Environment Day #Beat Plastic Pollution
In celebration of World Environment Day and the Philippine Environment Month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) and GREENducation conducted a FREE Upcycling seminar-workshop on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. The said event focused on upcycling of plastics as a way to contribute to the reduction of solid wastes. It was attended by participants coming from different highschools and colleges in Metro Manila namely, University of the Philippines, Philippine Science High School, Pasig HighSchool, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, University of Rizal System – Tanay and selected students taking up courses in BS Environmental Science and Sustainability Management, GREENducators, and young professionals, environmental advocates and EMB staff.
National Youth Commissioner Paul Anthony M. Pangilinan addressed the participants and reminded the youth and young leaders that “all of us can help in protecting the world we are living in. We must remember that we are all responsible in taking care of the environment.”
Currently, Asec. Paul Pangilinan chairs the NYC Committees on Global Mobility and Environment. As an active youth advocate, he envisions to empower the Filipino youth by developing their capacity, addressing their needs and by inspiring them to make “Larger Dreams and Larger Change” in our country.
In line with the Celebration of World Environment Day, EMB Assistant Director Engr. Vizminda A. Osorio warmly welcomed the participants to the workshop. Asst Dir. Osorio further encouraged the participants to Upcycle “because you can turn trash into something beautiful and help reduce waste,” she said.
Ms. Nelie A. Dimer, an Environmental Management Specialist of the EMB-SWMB conducted a very lively discussion regarding Solid Waste Management, and further enlightened everyone about RA 9003. As an overview of current status of Solid Waste Management in their respective areas, the participants provided both positive and negative feedback of Solid waste management in their locality during said discussion.
Ms. Nelie A. Dimer is an Environmental Management Specialist of the EMB-SWMD. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and has undergone training on community organizing, SWM for LGUs, and Capability Building on Landfill Gas Monitoring and Management. Ms. Dimer is a passionate lecturer on Ecological Solid Waste Management, Composting, Waste Characterization study, Community Organizing, Climate Change, and Gender and Development. She is also the MRF Operation Manager of the EMB-DENR.
Ms Ma. Adavieve Mella, or Teacher Ada, is an educator-Upcycler- entrepreneur-social media administrator of Upcycle This Philippines and AmoreCrafts. She showcased her upcycled projects and also demonstrated how to upcycle an old tshirt into yarn which can be used for other craft projects.
Ms.Ada also defined Upcycling and explained the waste reduction hierarchy. “Upcycling is never an excuse to acquire too many things. And for hoarders, donating is also not an excuse.” True enough, a person will not have to declutter if one practices minimalism.
From the TheUpcyclingFashionista blog, Upcycling is defined as the opposite of downcycling. Downcycling involves converting converting valuable products into low-value raw materials. For example creating recycled papers from paper or creating rags from clothing. Although downcycling helps the planet because it keeps things out of landfills (for a time at least) many times it will eventually end up there.
When you upcycle, you reuse and make something of better quality from its original form. Upcycling has a more positive impact on the environment because we creatively think of other ways to reuse, refashion, repurpose an object instead of throwing it to the landfill.
Alyssa Marie Nacpil and John Patrick Purugganan, Project Directors of Ecobricks MNL, showed the group the proper way of making their own ecobricks using scraps and pieces of nonbiodegradable materials.
Ecobricks MNL Co-Project Director Alyssa Marie Nacpil is responsible for coordinating with zero-waste groups, and also keeps track of the collection system of ecobricks. Aside from academics, Ms. Nacpil is also active in extra-curricular activities. Currently, she is an active member of DeLaSalle University (DLSU)-UNICEF. In 2017, she was a Member-Advocate of the Philippine Chapter of the 2030 Youth Force, an organization that inspires young people to engage in the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
Workshop organizer and Youth Adviser of GREENducation Mr. Vermon Timbas and Ecobrick Co-Project Director Alysa Marie Nacpil showing how to make ecobricks
Mr. Ludwig O. Federigan shared his insights on plastic pollution with an inspirational message, citing his timely article from Manila Times Do you want to live in a world of plastic?
In line with World Environment Day theme #Beat Plastic Pollution and National Geographic June 2018 cover “Planet or Plastic” he delivered his message with utmost urgency for everyone to take action .
Quite surprising to hear from Mr. Federigan, that Pasig River is the 8th worst contributor of plastic into the ocean, based on a study “River Plastics Emissions to the World’s Oceans” published in Nature Communications in April 2017. He concluded his message with a challenge for the participants to do a small act and pledge to reduce single-use plastic.
Mr. Ludwig O. Federigan is the Executive Director of the Young Environmental Forum and part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps of The Climate Reality Project; a 2017 Yale Sustainability Leadership Fellow, and a recipient of the Miguel R. Magalang Individual Climate Leadership Memorial Award by The Climate Reality Project Philippines.
Engr. Jesus Reyes, Nestle Philippines Vice President for Corporate Affairs and CSV Pillar Lead for Environment and Water, discussed the company’s initiative called Creating Shared Value (CSV), a strategy that allows Nestlé to grow its business while contributing to the advancement of the society where it operates. It aims to strive for zero environmental impact in their operations recognizing the importance of reducing waste along the whole value chain and its commitment to eliminating waste at every level of its operations. And in August 2016, Nestlé Philippines achieved zero waste to landfill across all its factories, and continues to promote better solid waste management programs across the life cycle of its products.
Another solid waste management initiative from Nestle, in partnership with local government units and GreenAntz Builders Inc. is the Laminates for Ecobricks Hub Project.
The Eco-bricks are composed of wet cement and shredded plastic laminates (sachets). The sachets are obtained from industrial and commercial wastes and turned into bricks.
They gather and use barter system for used coffee sachet. A single eco-brick requires 100 pieces of sachets. Some of Nestle Eco-brick hubs are located in Cagayan de Oro, Cavite, Plaridel Bulacan and Cebu.
Indeed, Nestle support initiatives that recover and recycle plastics and laminates, particularly to prevent them from contaminating natural habitats .
Nestle is a member of The Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) a multi-stakeholder partnership supported by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), and a multi-sectoral coalition composed of top corporations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
In 2017, The Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) and its eight members from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector sign an agreement to establish a P25 million recycling facility for sachets as part of a comprehensive approach to address post-consumer waste which puts a strain on the environment, particularly waterways. The recycling facility will employ clean technology that can process more than 150 metric tons of waste per year, to be converted into products such as pallets, school chairs and other high-value plastic products.
Currently Nestlé’s Laminates to Eco-bricks Hub Project and Tibayanihan’s Sachet to School Chair Upcycling Project is one of the sustainable programs supported by the The Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) a multi-stakeholder partnership supported by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), and a multi-sectoral coalition composed of top corporations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
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PHOTO GALLERY
Bingo Name card as ice breaker
DENR printed material for environment awareness
During the workshop breakout session, the participants together with their GREENducator mentors, were divided into two groups. The first group was assigned to come up with their own designs for fashion accessories using old cds. The second group was assigned to make planters, pots or gardening containers using plastic bottles.
It was fun to see everyone supporting and admiring each other’s creations. Let us encourage the youth to echo to their respective communities, school organizations, family and friends what they have learned from the workshop.
PRESENTATION OF OUTPUTS
Let us all take action and #Beat Plastic Pollution. Not just for one day, but for everyday that we are living. We only have one Earth, and what we can do today will make a big difference. Let us UPCYCLE and creatively reuse our trash. If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.
Ways to Overcome System Errors When Writing
Dear Me, this is not good. I see this as a hiccup in my journey to the Cloud.- PhWriter11
It is very important to always check your software and app updates. Maybe someone out there also experienced or struggled the same way we did. Maybe yes, maybe not. I don’t know. How many times did you attempt to be in TheWriters realm to buffer the frustration of writing? Have you ever struggled to reach for the invisible RelaxButton when things don’t seem to work as they should? Or maybe blamed the User-Infront-of the-Laptop who’s not working as they should have.
Did you know TheWriter always had bouts of writer’s block? We all have drafts and storyboards stored out in old laptops, computers or external drives. Some may even have hard copies of their scribbles and later do edits on their work. That happens. That’s normal for writers.
There are times TheWriter will even park her pen, rest her mind, look somewhere, go someplace to recharge her thoughts. It may take a day or a week or years before the next pages of her writing come about. That happens. That’s normal for writers.
Do you think customer service or the technical support can calm down TheWriter with apologies when in the middle of work comes power outage, system crash, software update or corrupted user login? It breaks the flow of thoughts. It’s like coming to the end of a beautiful river and you see mud. It’s like sniffing lavander flowers and then a pesky beetle bit your nose.
Maybe all these is wrong. Is there a reboot mode for this? Do you think TheWriter needs to do a raindance so the RainClouds will clear these technical issues? Why fix what’s not broken?
Clouds used to be nice, fluffy and like cotton candy. Now they have become harsh and unforgiving companions waiting in the shadow to snap at TheWriter when she’s writing. It’s like a dark voice of the unknown “An upgrade is pending, please grab a pen and paper to continue or go bake a cookie.”
But like any other day, just like TheWriter’s habit and regular routine, you should continue to write and ignore the challenges. At the end of the day after long hours of editing your work even with glitches and system errors, the reward is in the written words you have on your pages.
Always remember , words are mightier than the BogeyMan in the Cloud. Your best cheatsheet is your confidence to grasp inspiration and to write and express emotions.
Pen and Paper Mode in 2018
“The handwritten journal has more character than digital. No hacks, no bashers, no trolls.” – phwriter11 20Jan2018
my cluttered writings are across all my platforms
in Evernote
in OfficeWord
with Adobe
in WordPress
in Dropbox
on Notepad
to my gallery and files.. This Writer’s page has been dormant for too long
toggling windows
I noticed time ticking away
and this is how this Writer works..
Just Another Rock for the Wall
A call for change or a call for awareness? “Just another brick on the wall.. ” As Pink Floyd’s song goes, so does my writing..
Hear ye, Hear ye! This is my call for awareness. Let it not be just another rock for the wall. We might not have all the time on Earth to put it back once it crumbles and fall.
The coastal community of Barangay San Roque, Legazpi City needs responsive mediation from non-government organizations and responsible government agencies that will address their plea to restore their environment and the health of their food source and livelihood, the ocean. Sad stories of relief and livelihood assistance not reaching the needy families made me look deeper into the inefficiency of local government agencies in the country. One may think the stories are surreal how the international and national donations for indigent and typhoon-stricken communities don’t reach their beneficiaries. Others might even think that local government agencies tasked to distribute assistance have diligently delivered. Unfortunately, not. They have devised a procedure that seems to favor only a few, when in fact all residents in said community are undoubtedly in need of assistance. From what I have seen and gathered during my short visit in the coastal village, I agree that these are real issues to be addressed.
It’s been five years since the fisherfolks of said community were able to get a good catch of fish. I remember how the villagers used to enjoy big catch of blue marlins and yellow fin tunas for their daily food and income. Today I can’t help but wonder , where have all the fishes gone? Are the big fishing vessels allowed to fish more than the local small-scale fisherfolks? These commercial structures slowly creeping along the coastal areas, will they benefit the local coastal community or just the businessmen and bureaucrats? Why use expensive concrete seawalls as coastal defense when nature-based solutions such as mangrove restoration are more sustainable? Once the commercial structures are built, will the coastal community be relocated and provided alternative livelihood? Will they be prioritized as they recuperate from their lost livelihood, or will they spend more than their meager earnings to participate?
In reality, are the small scale fishers given proper representation and participation in the governance of aquatic resources? Sustainable projects like WWF’s Partnership Project Towards Sustainable Tuna (PPTST) is a timely environmental movement that provides fishing communities awareness and knowledge towards sustainability amidst the impact of the environmental degradation which is also affecting our oceans. Knowing that the results from these projects are beneficial to the small scale fishers, how soon will the other local government units adapt the project for their own coastal areas? Sad but true, this will only be determined by the political will of elect government officials committed to address this coastal and marine issue.
I am also pondering how affected the marine life is with the influx of commercialization and urbanized landscapes in this coastal area. Those big boulders of rocks and assortment of garbage scattered on the beach is a horrific depiction of modernization threatening marine ecosystem. How often are the beaches cleaned and how involved is everyone in the the clean-up drive? Everyday the sea waves sweep these garbage back and forth into the waters. Every bit of non-biodegradable rubbish accumulates into the sea and continuously endangers the sea waters and its marine life. Has anyone noticed? The disruption of marine habitat will be difficult to reverse once damage has been done.
We only have one Earth, and it is becoming fragile through time. We should always keep in mind long -term environmental benefits. “Sustainability and resilience will be achieved much faster if the majority of the Earth’s population understand the value and needs of our increasingly fragile Earth.” (WWF Living Planet Report 2016)
I’ve seen the drastic changes that may soon affect lives of younger generation. It has already affected the local fisherfolks. Do we have to look the other way towards bright lights and high rise buildings, or to the indigent coastal areas and their residents with their plea to restore their environment and the health of their food source and livelihood, the ocean? This is my call for awareness. This is not just another rock for the wall.
Turkish Delight
Turkish delight , also called Lokum, is a popular middle eastern sweet dessert. It’s made of sugar , cornstarch and flavorings.
But what kind of magic feeling is there when you taste Turkish delight? Curious and
excited I opened the box. I see powder sugar coated cubes neatly packed inside. Although
the packaging says four diferent flavors and colors, I can’t make out the color of each. I
have to try one to know. I picked one out. It feels more dense than a marshmallow and
quite similar to gummy bear.The powder sugar dusting keeps them from sticking together. I popped one red cube right in my mouth and slowly savored the taste and feel of my first turkish delight. It is sweet and sticky with a chewy jelly consistency. I noted the heavenly rose flavor right away. The green one is mint flavored and the yellow one is lemon. Maybe the next piece I will find pistachio and almond nuts.
The box is on the dining table to tease and tempt me away from my diet. I wonder if I am going to have tummy ache or tooth ache for eating too much? My tip for eating turkish delight is to eat slowly and in moderation. One is never enough for your sweet tooth.
My little warrior dog
My little warrior dog
Your untiring playfulness
Interrupted
By untimely silence
Has come.
Your little wagging tail
Bright attentive eyes
Fluffy golden coat
Soft ticklish paws
Cold wet nose
Is forever a masterpiece
Of K9 life and happiness.
You are brave when you came
Be a lot braver when you leave
Give me a last pawshake before you go
Blast me with your last smile
Let me know you enjoyed your life
I could have given you more
I could have hugged you more
Had I known time will be brief
To be with you
My little warrior dog.
-phwriter11 01.26.2016 05:13
PhWriter11 