Life, Love, and Me

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noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 02:51:00 +0000

http://charmstrucklife.blogspot.com/

Belly Dance (Raks Sharki)

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:54:00 +0000

I got bored this afternoon with nothing much to do so I decided to try out something new. I had several things in mind early today but I ended up fascinated with the idea of belly dancing. To cut the story short, there I was, dropping my hips, circling it, rolling it and shaking my thing like I've never done before. Funny, I thought -- I didn't realize I'd enjoy it that much.

Raks Sharki, which is commonly called belly dancing, is a form of dance that is becoming quite popular these days. Many are familiar with it yet few understand the effects it has on the human body. It is based on movements that come naturally to the female form. Though it is called belly dance, I realized that it involves much more than the belly. I was really sweating the whole time. It was a complete form of exercise that can truly benefit many parts of the body. Furthermore, studies show that belly dancing has the following benefits:

It can improve one's posture and muscle toning.
It can also serve as a healthy way to lose weight since we can burn up to 300 calories per hour.
It also helps in preparation for child birth
Aids stress reduction, and a whole lot more.

With all the things mentioned, I guess Belly Dancing or Raks sharki is truly a fun and healthy way to exercise...

Stress Management

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:04:00 +0000

Most of the time it appears to us that there is nothing much that we can do with the stressors that we encounter in life. Everyday, we are bombarded with different scenarios or stimuli that might threaten and disrupt our smooth sailing lives. Problems with family, career, and finances won't simply stop coming and may even become too demanding of us. Human as we are, it is normal to feel tensed, anxious, angry, exasperated, and the like when faced with difficult situations. However, despite every negative effect these things have on us, we should not fail to realize that we have a lot more control of these things than we really think. Realizing that there is something that we can do to alter these unwanted circumstances is the first step of managing stress.

Stress management is being able to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands. With this, many people would resort to different strategies and techniques to cope up with stress. Taking time to relax for example is one of the things we can do to save ourselves from a very stressful incident. Meditation and deep breathing exercises have also proven to help clear the mind of disturbing thoughts. In addition, taking a short trip or a vacation would also allow us to escape our routinary lives. Getting enough sleep can also be considered another management strategy since the lack of it would only aggravate stress.

Moreover, being able to accept and realize a stressful event and how we got ourselves into it is a powerful technique in gaining control over stress. In this way we are removing the blame from any external factor and would therefor allow ourselves to realize that we are responsible for the things that happen to us. Realizing this fact would then lead us to take action of the situation and think of ways to get ourselves out of it. Lastly, changing our thoughts would surely help us evade and transform a negative event to a positive one. The more we think in negative ways the deeper our suffering becomes. In contrast, if we view a failure as a challenge, not only did it make the rejecting incident a good stressor but also directed us to take action and manage the situation.

Life Lessons...

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:49:00 +0000

Here are a couple of life lessons that you might want to read. I have been feeling down lately for reasons that I don't even know why. It seems that there are some things that I need to do, yet I still can't figure out what these things are. As I was surfing the web, I came across this site. I'm reposting it here just in case it might help anybody to make sense of his/her life.

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned that no matter how much I care some people just don't care back.

I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but whom you have in your life that counts.

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And, just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I’ve learned that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt, and you will hurt in the process.

I've learned that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I've learned that heroes are people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned that you can keep going long after you can’t.

source: http://www.westhartfordcounselingcenter.com/lessons.htm

When Nature Strikes!

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 06:05:00 +0000

Life is a precious gift from God that’s why we must make the most of it all the time and live each day as if it were our last. However, natural calamities and other catastrophic events, can easily take away god’s gift of life to mankind.

Just recently, the rest of the world witnessed a frightening earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 followed by a deadly 23 foot tsunami hit Tokyo Japan on the 11^th of March. It was a tragic incident which caused many people’s world to come crumbling down and left many dreams shattered, families broken, and taken innocent lives of many. Video footage showed giant waves sweeping away cars, homes, people, and buildings, leaving a path of death and desolation. Sadly, we will never really know what the future holds for all of us and a single life may perish in just a blink of an eye.

It’s horrible, isn’t it? May we take time to ponder on these things. May we always let the people we care about how much we love them for we may never have the chance or opportunity to tell them anymore. Let’s show them how important they are in our own simple ways. Let us learn to let go of our pride, reconcile with ourselves, and with the people whom we have come in conflict with in the past. Let us keep in mind that life is too short to spend it hating others and making them miserable.

saying I LOVE YOU...

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:24:00 +0000

Saying I love you is the best way to express your love to your friends, families, and to your romantic partners. It is amazing how these simple three words could change one's life. So, be careful in using this line to woe somebody. Never ever say it when you don't really mean it.

Here's how to say I Love You in 100 languages:

English - I love you
Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief
Albanian - Te dua
Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)
Armenian - Yes kez sirumen
Bambara - M'bi fe
Bangla - Aamee tuma ke bhalo aashi
Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu
Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo
Bulgarian - Obicham te
Cambodian - Soro lahn nhee ah
Cantonese Chinese - Ngo oiy ney a
Catalan - T'estimo
Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse
Chichewa - Ndimakukonda
Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)
Creol - Mi aime jou
Croatian - Volim te
Czech - Miluji te
Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig
Dutch - Ik hou van jou
Esperanto - Mi amas vin
Estonian - Ma armastan sind
Ethiopian - Afgreki'
Faroese - Eg elski teg
Farsi - Doset daram
Filipino - Mahal kita
Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua
French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore
Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort
Georgian - Mikvarhar
German - Ich liebe dich
Greek - S'agapo
Gujarati - Hoo thunay prem karoo choo
Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw
Hawaiian - Aloha wau ia oi
Hebrew - Ani ohev otah (to female)
Hebrew - Ani ohev et otha (to male)
Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw
Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae
Hmong - Kuv hlub koj
Hopi - Nu' umi unangwa'ta
Hungarian - Szeretlek
Icelandic - Eg elska tig
Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw
Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu
Inuit - Negligevapse
Irish - Taim i' ngra leat
Italian - Ti amo
Japanese - Aishiteru
Kannada - Naanu ninna preetisuttene
Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka
Kiswahili - Nakupenda
Konkani - Tu magel moga cho
Korean - Sarang Heyo
Latin - Te amo
Latvian - Es tevi miilu
Lebanese - Bahibak
Lithuanian - Tave myliu
Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu
Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu
Mandarin Chinese - Wo ai ni
Marathi - Me tula prem karto
Mohawk - Kanbhik
Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik
Nahuatl - Ni mits neki
Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni
Norwegian - Jeg Elsker Deg
Pandacan - Syota na kita!!
Pangasinan - Inaru Taka
Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo
Persian - Doo-set daaram
Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay
Polish - Kocham Ciebie
Portuguese - Eu te amo
Romanian - Te iubesc
Russian - Ya tebya liubliu
Scot Gaelic - Tha gra'dh agam ort
Serbian - Volim te
Setswana - Ke a go rata
Sign Language - ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing'I Love You')
Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan
Sioux - Techihhila
Slovak - Lu`bim ta
Slovenian - Ljubim te
Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo
Swahili - Ninapenda wewe
Swedish - Jag alskar dig
Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di
Tagalog - Mahal kita
Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li
Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe
Tamil - Nan unnai kathalikaraen
Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
Thai - Chan rak khun (to male)
Thai - Phom rak khun (to female)
Turkish - Seni Seviyorum
Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu
Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
Vietnamese - Anh ye^u em (to female)
Vietnamese - Em ye^u anh (to male)
Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu
Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh
Yoruba - Mo ni fe

Sleep Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:07:00 +0000

Sleeping is essential to humanity. Every body needs to have enough sleep to allow our bodies to rejuvenate and regain the energy that we have lost from our day to day activities. It is said that we need to have at least 7-8 hours of sleep a day to achieve the optimum benefits of sleeping as well as for health reasons. However, there are a lot of restricting factors that may hinder this. Stimulants, stressors, sleeping habits, lifestyle, and even our nature of work can disrupt our sleeping patterns thus, causing some people to develop certain sleep disorders. I have listed some of these interesting disorders below:

Primary Insomnia – this is a common or familiar disorder. Oftentimes, it is described as the difficulty of initiating or maintaining sleep. People with insomnia usually report difficulty falling asleep for hours and intermittent wakefulness during the night. The longer they lie in bed unable to go to sleep, the more distressed and aroused they become which makes it even more difficult for them to fall asleep. To be diagnosed with primary insomnia, you must have the symptoms for at least one month, and the sleep disturbance should not be related to a mental disorder, medical condition, or to substance use.
Primary Hypersomnia – this is another disorder which is basically the opposite of insomnia. People with this condition are chronically sleeps and may sleep 12 hours or more at a stretch and still wake up sleepy. They can easily fall asleep wherever they are especially if the environment is not that stimulating.
Narcolepsy – is another interesting disorder that involves irresistible sleep attacks. To be diagnosed with this disturbance, one must experience the sleep attacks for at least 3 months. A person who has this condition may suddenly fall asleep while doing something like eating, walking, driving, or even in the middle of a conversation. These sleep episodes generally lasts 10-20 minutes up to an hour.
Sleep Apnea – this is another common breathing-related sleep disorder. Those who have sleep apnea typically snores loudly. They would then go silent and do not breathe for several seconds at a time, and then gasps for air. Apnea is generally common to overweight people, middle-aged men, and pre-pubertal children with large tonsils.
Sleep Walking – this is a parasomnia described as the repeated episodes of rising from the bed during sleep and walking about. On awakening, the person has amnesia for the episode and would probably experience a short period of confusion and disorientation.

Note:

Sleep disorders, particularly insomnia can actually be treated with a variety of drugs or through behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral therapies that change sleep related behavior and thinking patterns.

Rest Day . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 03:27:00 +0000

All work and no play will make Jack a dull boy. This is a simple proverb which simply implies that we also need to take a break or a time off from our duties and responsibilities. Working our asses off the whole time is not going to be beneficial to our welfare nor the other way around. As they say, the key to everything is moderation. Therefore, there has to be balance in everything that we do.

I religiously go to work from Mondays to Fridays and I always try to lavishly enjoy my rest days on Saturdays and Sundays – and yesterday was just one of those days. I started the day a bit stressed out from work. It was a good thing that my loving partner and “bestest” best friend in the world was there to cheer me up. It was 9 o’clock in the morning when he declared his month long birthday celebration which he officially started yesterday. Funny, I thought. But I was convinced so we headed straight to the mall (SM) and shared a hearty breakfast together. We then decided on what movie to watch. As always, I won and got him into watching “Unknown” with me which starred Liam Neeson. The film was great. I love the storyline, the twist, and everything about it. We then gave ourselves another treat to satisfy our cravings for triple cheese superfries and spudle ice cream roll. When we finished eating, I still wanted to go on karaoke with him but I know he still needs to go somewhere else. I know he was tired, and so am I so we needed to go. I was probably exhausted then coz when I got home, I climbed to bed and slept the night till morning without even having dinner. It was really fun, thanks to my ever loyal partner.

Today is another Sunday morning, only it is not that sunny. When I woke up, the sky has been dark and cloudy with raindrops continuously falling on the rooftops. We’ll probably go to mass later when it stops raining that’s why I’m stuck here writing this blog. Anyway, the day has just started I just hope we will also get to enjoy the most of it despite the rain and the not so good weather.

Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:43:00 +0000

I have just finished watching Mean Girls 2 today and pondered about it for quite awhile. I admit it was kind of mediocre compared to the first Mean Girls movie which starred Lindsay Lohan. The Plastics were not that pretty, and the clothes were not that fancy and stunning as I have expected. But there was something about the movie that I really like -- that is, the classic lesson that true friendship is not bought. I know its cheesy but it truly is something that you cannot just buy, you need to plant it.

In life, you will get to meet a lot of people. Many of them would just come and go, while only a chosen few would greatly play a significant part in your life. Many would say choose your friends wisely for they will reflect who you are, with which I totally disagree. Genuine friendship is not just all about the similarities between you and your friends. You'll know when its true if it does not discriminate despite the obvious differences. It accepts the person for simply being who they are without attempting to change him or her to become one of them.

Through the years, I am blessed to have found wonderful people who showed me what friendship really is all about. In spite of our opposing views and personalities, we managed to remain friends all this time. We may not see each other that often yet we never fail to make time for each other. They say friendship is like the wind, you may not always see it, but you sure can feel it!

Valentines Day

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:49:00 +0000

February is the time of the year when we get to see more beautiful flowers, chocolates, and other yummy treats wherever we may go. It has been a tradition all over the world to celebrate and express our love for one another on this special love month. Valentine's day which is an annual celebration is held specifically on the 14th of this month. Lovers would showcase their love in the form of romantic dinner dates and quite expensive presents.

However, did you ever wonder how it all began? Well, I did. Who would have thought that this can be traced back to the early medieval period. This romantic and intimate celebration turned out to have started to be religious in nature. St. Valentine was believed to be a priest who was martyred back in Rome. Historical facts reveal that there was no romantic element present in his early biographies to start with. The question of how his name was associated with romantic love might still be a mystery until now. Some sources would say that at one point when marriage was somewhat prohibited, St. Valentine would secretly perform marriage ceremonies which caused his imprisonment. Before he was beheaded, they said he himself made the very first valentine card addressed to a young woman whom he loved.

At present, though we may not have enough facts to rely on how this special day really started, I am just thankful they actually came up with this special occasion that is meant for love and for love alone.

Happy Heart's Day everyone!

Life Is How You Paint It

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:47:00 +0000

Life. You can define it, describe it in many ways, and even compare it to a lot of things. Others would say its like a roller coaster. Sometimes you are on top while at times it brings you down to the bottom. Some people say it is cruel, while some would say it is paradise. But no matter how you look at it, life is a matter of how you picture it to be. The way we feel towards a certain circumstance or event highly depends on the way you paint it in your head.

I know there can be really rough times but that does not mean it is bound to be that way. Human as we are, we have the gift of free will to change whatever it is that is unfolding right before us. Life indeed is what we make it to be. If you think that you are born poor and that you will die poor, then probably that's going to happen to you. If you believe you are weak and incompetent, unconsciously, you will also try to do things that would prove you right of what you believe about yourself. For example, if you think you are dumb, most likely you will not bother to study for the exam because you are already expecting to fail thinking that studying won't help because you are not intelligent to start with. However, if you believe that you are good and life is great, then you will try to do things that would make your predictions come true in a positive light. If you believe you are smart on the other hand, then you would surely study and get good grades because you see yourself that way and failing the exam would ruin that schema about who you are. In Psychology, this is what we call self fulfilling prophecy in which a person unconsciously alters his or her actions to fulfill his or her views and beliefs about things and about life in general.

You may not be aware of it, but you may also have your own predictions or self fulfilling prophecies as these are unconscious gestures that build up within.

JANUARY 22 - My big day!

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:52:00 +0000

A birthday is a day or anniversary of the particular month and day on which a person was born. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders (e.g., Buddha's Birthday), Christmas - which is celebrated widely by Christians and non-Christians alike - is the most prominent example. In contrast, certain religious groups express principled opposition to the very idea of celebrating birthdays.^{[citation needed]}

--From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I thought this day is going to be another ordinary birthday for me. I woke up at 8 in the morning on my 24th birthday without having any plans for the day. I figured destiny would write my story and unfold whats going to happen to me today. I am just happy that everything went fine and smooth as they can be. I celebrated it at home with my loved ones and a few guests who were invited by my cousin who is also celebrating his special day. My mom and aunt prepared some sumptuous meal for our hearty appetite, then we watched some good movies to pass the time. It was already late in the afternoon when my boyfriend accompanied me to the Basilica del Sto. Niño to say my gratitude for all the blessings God has showered me and my family in my 24 years of existence on earth. We stayed there for quite a while and enjoyed each others company. We had one sensible conversation reminiscing all the things we've been through and reassessing the things that we really want in life. It was a really good talk reminding me of how much we love each other. We then decided to go straight to a department store and bought myself another present. This is not what he planned to give me though but I wanted it anyway. Since he has work tonight, we have decided to call it a day and headed home right after. I checked my facebook account and was overwhelmed by quite a number of greetings coming from relatives, friends and acquaintances from work and school all the way from grade school. I can't help but smile while reading every greeting posted on my wall. Exhausted, I managed to make a reply to everybody who took the time to type a simple greeting on my hatching day, as I have quoted from one of the posts. Truly, everything has been wonderful and I am much appreciative and grateful of how things turned out to be... January 22 is indeed my big day! ^_^

My Sinulog 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Sinulog is one of Cebu's biggest event where people all over the country would love to attend. It is an annual celebration in honor of sr. santo niño which is celebrated every 3rd sunday of January. Expect to have heavy traffic, busy streets, crowded places, and fully booked hotels all over the city by then. However, this year was quite different for me probably because of the non stop rain. My family joined the procession the day before the big day. It was quite a long walk which explained our sore feet when we got home. We then attended mass on sunday morning despite the heavy rain. It took us more than 30 minutes just to get inside the Basilica del Sto. Niño because of quite a number of devotees who were there to pay tribute to the patron. Indeed, it was very difficult to find your way through the thick walls of people. We then left the church and headed home right away thinking I'd be stuck there for the rest of the day since the drizzling hasn't stopped. I watched tv after lunch untill i convinced my boyfriend to take me out and join the party outside. We passed through colon st., then to sanciangko, and then to jones avenue where we witnessed adorable street dancers and beautiful floats carrying some local celebrities provoking loud yet delightful cheers from the crowd. We pushed our way through to get to robinsons's place where we dined at family's choice restaurant and had chicago white pizza at Sbarro to fill our empty stomachs. We wandered for a while at fuente osmeña circle and took some pictures as we walked along. We bumped into some old friends, had some chitchats, and luckily took a vacant jeepney going to ayala to watch the fireworks display. We arrived in ayala just before the fireworks ended and catched up with my cousin and my sister thereafter. We watched some live band playing at the parking lot and were amused by a couple of comedians from manila. We stayed there past midnight and then decided leave. It was a struggle to get a taxi then even at that time of the day. We even reached jollibee mango but there was no sign of a vacant taxi. Some of us decided to just eat for a while. Too tired, my boyfriend and i decided to go ahead. Fortunately, we managed to ride a jeepney to take us home at at 1:00 in the morning. With aching feet, sleepy eyes, and exhausted body, I climbed to bed at 2 am and fell fast asleep in just a matter of seconds. Yet, after all that we've been through that day, I'd say, that was just another fun memory to bank on.

A New Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Charmane) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:24:00 +0000

I guess this is just another point where I am inclined to start something new. Though this isn't the first time I heard about blogging nor learned about how it works, this is just something I don't usually do. People these days blog just about anything under the sun. May it be about their personal experiences from their short trips, to their favorite movies or hobbies, to the latest gadgets, food, and more. Indeed, blogging has become a special space to pour everything they could ever think of.

Today was just another ordinary day until I came across a friend's post on facebook about blogging. Intrigued, I read almost all of her blogs and then found myself entertaining the idea of creating my own where I can write whatever comes to mind. So here it is, my first ever entry. I thought it would be an easy one, yet I had difficulty with just coming up with a catchy title or blog name. Oh well, there is always a first time and I intend to become better at this. =)