Creative Thoughts

Archive for April, 2008

Photo Courtesy of Even ArthurRichman

* the joy of seeing my dearest 8 month old daughter chuckle and laugh when her father plays with her

* being able to buy softdrinks every lunch (hehe)

* feeling relieved of regaining my health after experiencing acute gastroenterities last tuesday night

* contentment from my job as a call center agent

* creating my lists of my goals and aspirations in life

* seeing my loved ones are healthy and okay

* going to work accompanied by my husband

* posting and blogging for my readers

* being able to express my emotions: anger, sadness, happiness

* passion to improve myself everyday and to keep on growing

* acquiring wisdom as I age

* getting hugs from loved ones everytime I need one

* feeling loved and secured

* celebrating another month with my husband today (we are now 1 year and 8 months)

A person can have a stroke, or a disturbance of blood flow to the brain, without even realizing it. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. It is the third leading cause of death in the US and the UK and causes 10% of deaths worldwide. It is important that you know how to recognize one, especially if you spend time with someone who has the risk factors associated with stroke. Treatment is available for to minimize the damage caused by stroke, but the person must reach a hospital for evaluation and treatment within 60 minutes of the symptoms’ appearance.

To know the steps on how to identify if a person has a stroke, CLICK HERE, it might just help you out.

BE GRATEFUL


“I’m grateful for everything. I walk down the street and think, I’m not dizzy, my legs are working right, I can see straight and smell and hear clearly. It’s a nice day. I have a family that loves me and friends who will be there no matter what.”– Tennis player James Blake on what life is like after healing from a broken back.

I wish everyone will adopt this kind of thinking. Perhaps, if everyone will do, the world will be a better place and people will not try to chase after the success of others to try to be at par with them, people will be more contented, people will be happier and will have less sickness. I believe, most of the difficulties in life, attributes to the way we think. We should guard our thoughts all the time and we should try our best to harbor only positive thoughts that will keep us hopeful and happy, not bitter and discontented. Sometimes, we fail to see what we have because we are too much focused on what we don’t have and what others have.
Most people also, only see what they have and get to appreciate it once its gone. There are people in our loves that we tend to neglect everyday, and we only see them once they are gone. Time cannot be taken back. Once its gone, its gone. If we don’t embrace our life everyday as what we are supposed to do, we will miss life and we will have lots of regrets in life. Appreciate what you have, no matter how simple it is. In the end, its not what you have that matters. Not the things you possess, nor the beauty that you have, or the achievement you accomplished, but its the more valuable things that cannot be exchanged for anything. Love, yes…love. Love can come in any form. Open your eyes, and then you will see it. It’s just around the corner. It’s the best source of satisfaction in life, along with a good relationship with God. Let us start living now, and forget all the hurts and grudges we have for anyone. Let’s set ourselves free and learn to forgive.

Have you tried making your own chocolate? I never. I’d like to try but it seems to be a little bit difficult and needs resources. I know you love chocolates and I’m sure you would like to know how it is being processed. Well, perhaps making it from big companies requires a lot of methods and preparations, but you can actually make your own chocolate. Yes, that’s right.
But I have to warn you though, it takes a lot of effort, time and dedication to every detail so that you can make it successful.

Here are the steps as published on WIKIHOW.

1. Roast the cocoa beans – the requirement for this is 5-35 minutes at temperatures between 120-163 degrees C (250-325 F). You have to start it out in a high temperature, then you can then slowly decrease the temperature level then if you can see that the cocoa beans are now starting to crack, you can stop roasting it, make sure its not burned though. hehe!

2. Crack and winnow the beans – whew, this is a pretty difficult task as you have to crack the beans into bits and winnow it, so that the husks (chaff) are taken out. You can use a hammer to crak and remove husks. To winnow the nibs, stir them gently with your hands/spoon while you are blowing on them with a hair dryer until the husks are blown away.

3. Grind the nibs into a cocoa liqueur – you can use any general food processor equipment, vita-mix, coffee grinders, meat grinders, mortar and pestles (which takes a lot of effort). its up to you, to choose what works best, usually depending on the size of what you want to produce.

4. Conch and refine the chocolate – conching is said to affect the taste, smell and texture of the chocolate while refining it will reduze the size of the cocoa solids, just like how sugar is refined. You can do both of these if you use a wet grinder.

For this you need to:
- melt the cholate and cocoa butter in the oven to 120F.
- Combine with non-fat dry milk powder, sugar, lecithin and a vanilla pod (split and soaked in the cocoa butter 1 hour; this is an optional flavoring).
- Pour the chocolate mixture in the grinder, periodically pointing a hair dryer at it for 2-3 minutes to keep the chocolate melted during the first hour (until the friction created by grinding keeps the chocolate liquid without additional heat being needed).
- Continue refining for at least 10 hours and no more than 36 hours, until the chocolate tastes smooth and balanced, but be sure not to over-refine (or it will get gummy).
- To take a break from refining (e.g. at night while you’re sleeping, see Warnings), turn off the grinder, put the covered bowl into an oven that’s preheated to 150 F but turned off, and leave it there overnight. It shouldn’t solidify but if it does, take the cover off and turn the oven on about 150-175 until the chocolate melts (be careful not to let the bowl itself melt, though).

5. Temper the chocolate – the most difficult part. But this is needed to make sure that the chocolate will be shiny rather than being matte and soft enough to melt in your hands. It is important to remember that you don’t let any moisture in the chocolate, or it will be destroyed.

* melt your chocolate carefully. When the chocolate is melted to a temperature of around 110 or 120 degrees F, transfer it to a dry, cool bowl and stir until the chocolate temperature drops to about 100 degrees F. The chocolate in the bowl should remain at the same temperature while you work with chocolate outside of the bowl.

* Pour about one third of the contents of the bowl onto a hard, non-porous counter top or other surface (granite or marble works best). Spread the chocolate out with the spatula, and then bring it all back together.

* Continue doing this (about 10-15 minutes) until the chocolate is about 85 degrees F. By the time the chocolate cools down to that point, the chocolate should be a thick, gooey mass.

* Add some of the 100 degree F chocolate from the bowl to get the chocolate workable again. Gently work the chocolate around.

* Return the chocolate back into the bowl with the 100 degree chocolate. Stir it gently, and try not to create bubbles.
Check the chocolate’s temperature. You want it around 90 degrees F, but never over 92 degrees. Anything higher than this and you may need to temper the chocolate again.

6. Mold the Chocolate while it is still 80 degrees. When all of the chocolate has been added to the molds, you may either freeze, refrigerate, or let them harden at room temperature.

7. Remove the chocolate from the molds once the chocolate is hardened.

Tsantsara, you now have your own home made chocolate. Whew, yummy. Why don’t you try making it?

Do you know that the full moon this april is called PINK MOON. You might ask? oh, really? how come?
Northern Native Americans call April’s full moon the pink moon after a species of early blooming wildflower. In other cultures, this moon is called the sprouting grass moon, the egg moon, and the fish moon.
One of the most dramatic sights in the night sky—and inspiration for poets, artists, and lovers for millennia—full moons captivate us like nothing else.
Every month Earth’s moon goes through its phases, waning and waxing in its constant transformation from new moon to full moon and back again. Full moons occur every 29.5 days or so as the moon moves to the side of Earth directly opposite the sun, reflecting the sun’s rays off its full face and appearing as a brilliant, perfectly circular disk.For millennia, humans have used the movement of the moon to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. Ancient cultures the world over have given these full moons names based on the behavior of the plants, animals, or weather during that month.

READ FURTHER to know what are the names of full moons on other months.

Photo originally uploaded by acastellano

“Everyday… life confronts us with new problems to be solved
which force us to adjust our old programs accordingly.”
–Dr Ann Faraday

Photo uploaded by alumroot

Such a nice place to visit. This is a beach at the Cana Blanca Resort on the Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. It’s a great resting place, a place that seems to be heaven. This picture looks very soothing and relaxing, it makes me wanna go head to the beach even if summer is still approaching. Green is really good for our eyesight. Right? I just wish that places like this will be developed and nurtured, not destroyed and turned into commercial places. Let’s all do our part in protecting mother earth. Because in the end, we will be the ones who will suffer from the consequences and wrath of NATURE.

Hailey gave me this tag. I enjoyed answering this, thanks friend.

Copy here:
1. Answer the Kid’s Question by Gregory Stock, PH.D. Remember: Don’t respond as you think others want you to. Respond the way you actually feel!
2. Add your name (linked to your blog)
3. Tag everybody else!

Kid’s Question #1
If you were the ruler of the world and you could have anything you wanted as well as have people do anything you wanted, do you think you would get greedy and mean or would you be a good and fair ruler?

MY ANSWER: Ofcourse, I would like to be a good and fair ruler than be greedy and mean. Who else does? Even as of now, I really wish I could do something for poor people. I wanted to help them and improve the kind of life they’re living. I feel sad whenever I see a lonely, dirty and hungry person on the street, knowing there’s nothing I can’t do for them as of now, because I am also living a difficult life (in terms of financial aspect only).

Jhong, Alpha, Em, Something Purple, Bigeyedgal, Chronic Shopper, A Simple Life, Hailey’s Beats and Bits, ,Hailey’s Domain, Creative Thoughts

Awesome Graphics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

WHEN YOU BELIEVE – Mariah Carey

This is the song that keeps me hopeful in life, despite of everything. This is the song that strengthens my faith that someday I will have what I want in life. Yes, it is indeed true, when you believe, you will see a miracle. We simply need to have faith, and the impossible could become possible. Never forget to notice simple miracles that happen everyday in your life, and don’t forget the things that once was a miracle, but now have been taken for granted by you, because you simply forgot. Be happy and be thankful of that job that once appeared to be impossible to achieve, that dream house and that child in your arms. This is actually the song of my life, my most favorite song of all times.

WHEN YOU BELIEVE: Mariah Carey

Many nights we’ve prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood

Now we are not afraid
Although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

In this time of fear
When prayers so often prove in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
To swiftly flown away

Yet now I’m standing here
My heart’s so full I can’t explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I’d say

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

They don’t always happen when you ask
(Oh)
And it’s easy to give in to your fears
(Oh…Ohhhh)
But when you’re blinded by your pain
Can’t see your way straight throught the rain
Small but still, resilient voice
Says love is the relief
(Ohhh)

There can be miracles
(Miracles)
When you believe
(Lord, when you believe)
Though hope is frail
(Though hope is frail)
It’s hard to kill
(Hard to kill, Ohhh)
Who know what miracles,you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will(somehow,somehow, somehow)
somehow you will
You will when you believe

You will when you
You will when you believe
Just believe…in your heart
Just believe
You will when you believeeeeeeeeeee

Hey guys, I have good news, I made it. I passed the Level 1 Certification Test and guess what? i have achieved my goal of being a regular call center agent now. I’m really so happy. Sorry for not checking on you for those days, I was so busy studying. The exam was easy and good thing they did not made it too hard for us, because they really need people right now. I’m now getting closer and closer to my goals. Thanks to God, to my family for the inspiration and to my friends. Thank you to all those who emphatized and wished me luck, may you also succeed in all your endeavors. Thank you for visiting my site, my traffic is generally improving a lot. And that’s all because of YOU. It’s was my dream ever since to be a call center agent. Right now, I have achieved it, and I think I need to step up. Not right now, perhaps someday. Time will tell. I’ll know when it’s the right time. I don’t want to take calls forever. What I like about my job is that I get to practice English a lot. There has been a tremendous improvement and change in my speaking ability. I am happy for that. There are a lot of people who wish to be in call centers, to become customer service representatives or technical support agents, without even thinking of the hardships and challenges of the job. They don’t get information and research about the job, and they just jump into it. During training, they’re so eager, enthusiastic and willing to learn, but when they are already starting to take calls, that’s when reality sets in. They get so pressured that the option they can think of is to back away and find another job. They reasoned, they changed their mind, only to find out that they have applied in another call centers already. I encountered a lot of challenges in this job, I can’t share all of them though. All I can say is I’m proud of call centers agents, specially those who work hard for their family, sacrificing their lifestyle and social life. Yes, I’m a night shift agent and it was really hard for me to adjust. Even until now, I still feel sleepy sometimes, and my body really dropped, because I don’t have appetite due to varying eating schedules and patterns. Another hard part of being a call center agent is to be shouted, cursed and blamed by guests and callers who’s only will is to have their problem solves as soon as possible. Their not pointing the anger to you, its nothing to personal, but it still hurts. And to think that it is human tendency to fight back, it’s really not easy. I salute all call center agents out there, who are trying to make a living and to make the best of their skills. If your planning to become a call center agent, you better start learning how to type fast, how to do multitasking: talking, problem solving, typing at the same time, heck! There are still a lot of things you need to know, but the bottom line is, know what you are getting into.

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