Gadgets & Gizmos Aplenty? ..but who cares no big deal, we want more!

Guiyu, China -- This is where all our electronic waste is going back to, right where it came from. "The city of Guiyu is home to 5,500 businesses devoted to processing discarded electronics, known as e-waste. According to local websites, the region dismantles 1.5 million pounds of junked computers, cell phones and other devices a year. " (Time Magazine, January 2009).

Although rehashing electronic gadgetry is a thriving business in this part of China, it is also the reason why Giuyu has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world. In my opinion, it is okay to accumulate gadgets to satisfy a need, after all, technology upgrade is a must. But if it is just so we can keep up with Joneses, pulease!

Here's how we can help:

1. Bring back old TV sets and components to Sony, Samsung & LG. They take them back for free.
2. Sell your antiquated mobile phone to Greenphone.com.
3. Donate old computers. Dell can recycle for you.
4. Hold back on buying new gadgets too soon. My grandparents did not even have a microwave back in the days, but they survived just fine.

www.time.com/ewaste

Fast Tense

I didn't know that I could make it, but I did. I survived a 7-day fast (sans mood swings and faint episodes)! Our church recently called for a corporate fast to start the year petitioning for breakthroughs and miracles, and I eagerly joined in. I believe it is the only way to inform God how serious I am in laying down all my heart's desires. Jesus gave me His Word, "You can pray for anything, and if you've believed that you received it, it will be yours." So holding on to that promise, I committed myself to forego of the things that keep me from having more time with Him: eating 3 meals (or more) a day, blogging, FB-ing, and sleeping (too much) for one week.

I went on one day at a time, fighting the temptation to eat more than one meal a day. I guess one motivation for me was knowing that Jesus fasted for 40 days and I was only doing it for 7 days. How shameful!

I also went to the one-hour prayer meetings after office. The place was quite a distance from where I live and the fact that I wouldn't be able to eat when I got back home gave me a somber spirit as I took the dreadedly loooong mrt ride in one of those nights.

I sat on one of the train chairs and rested my head on the cold divider ready to close my eyes, when all of a sudden a baby boy started screaming. I looked to see what was happening. His mother was pulling her up but he wanted to stand on his own. She lifted him to carry him against her chest as the train moved along. But the crying child wanted to be free. He was shrieking as he tried to pull away from his mother's grasp.

Right then, I wanted to scream back. I was hungry, tired, and irritated. The last thing I wanted was a noisy baby throwing tantrums in front of me. Right then, I so wanted to tell the kid that his mom was pulling him in because she knew he would surely fall. He couldn't stand perfectly on his own yet, especially with the moving wheels beneath his feet. I thought to myself, if only he knew then he wouldn't scream, shriek, and struggle. Aaaaargh!

Suddenly, something tugged within me. Watching that scene was like watching my life and other people's. I realized that we are the same kid who shriek, yank, and struggle. God wants to pull us in for safety, but we couldn't understand - yet. If only we knew...

The Day the Earth Stood Still

This is really not a movie review. I don't want to rave about it, because I believe that it could have been done better, especially with such a good theme and visual effects. And what movie would have gone wrong with uber-gorgeous Keanu on board? Tell me!

I just want to blog about it because having been born 3 decades after its 1951 original release (and thus, did not have the opportunity to view it), I want to remember the book/film's wake-up call through this version.

"At the precipice, things begin to change." -Professor Barnhardt (John Cleese)

Only when we humans are on the brink of defeat or total destruction, do we think of turning back from our evil ways. Only when we are in utter powerlessness do we consider righteous surrender. Very true, isn't it?

In the movie, Keanu (Klaatu) is sent to oversee the salvation of the earth from its ultimate enemy - humans. However, as Helen Benson's (Jennifer Connelly) kind and selfless spirit begins to unfold, he starts to feel compassion and is compelled to change the doomed fate of mankind.

This story is so familiar to me. If I'm not mistaken it happened around 2000 years ago...

"Change His [decision] not by reason but by what you are."
-Professor Barnhardt saying to Helen as he urges her to convince Klaatu to stop the destruction of humans