My Movie Review #1: Train to Busan 2016

I just decided to start writing some movie reviews and this will be my first time in my several years of writing online.

Why did I come up with this idea? It is because I recently started to watch movies to break my usual routine of working online so, why not make/get the most out of it. 😊

The very first movie that I would like to review is the Train to Busan movie which was on the cinemas last year. Recently, South Korean movies and dramas (and the actors as well) were most of the times turning out to be box office hits with their increasing popularity. In this movie, we can see why lots of movie goers are really willing to see this kind of films.

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My very reason why I watched this movie is because I like horror films and zombie type of movies is something really interesting for me. The movie started with showing how busy life can be to the main character and for me it implies how time can be mostly taken for granted. Also on how we usually neglect and spend less attention to those who really matter in our lives.
The start of zombie outbreak in the movie which was when there was a certain leak in a plant and a deer that was hit by a car eventually become alive again can also shows that those experiments or chemicals brought by technology and advancement could lead to deadly outbreaks.
The movie also shown for me that no matter what is your status in life, it will not matter in the end in situations like this. All will be equally fighting to live and found ways to survive. Their situation on being trapped in a train adds more suspense on the story. The element of Drama which is South Korea is good on making their viewers feel what the characters feel was achieved on this movie in my opinion. Specially in the end where the main character sacrifices for her daughter.

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Various moral lessons were present in this movie which is I think made it special and something worth watching aside from the thrills of seeing them being chased by lots of zombies. 😊

My Homesteading Bucket List

When I was a child, I enjoyed playing under the fruit bearing trees that grandma planted such as the mango and Java plum trees. We used to have a hammock too tied in between our tamarind trees and enjoyed picking jack fruits. Missed all those and I missed grandma more.
Sadly that they needed to sell that portion of our land and those trees were cut down. But grandma did not stopped gardening as she started planting some vegetables in our vacant lot such as bitter gourd, sponge gourd and spinach greens. But later all spaces were cemented and vegetables were removed.

Just recently, we started to plant squash and chili pepper, and I was able to grow some lemon seedlings posted here Future Lemon Tree in the Pot, Squash and Chili Pepper. Starting gardening again brings back happy memories and hope of being able to eat fresh produce again.

My Homesteading Bucket List 😊

Lot

• Definitely what I needed the most right now is more space. I would like to have my own farm in a province someday. Right now living in the city, having additional space for gardening would be really great. So that I could plant more vegetables and small type of trees that do not require lots of space and soil.

Pots

• This will be the easiest to fulfill in my bucket list for now. I am actually planning to buy some pots these coming days for my future lemon tree and for additional vegetables just like onions, garlic and tomato fruit. We have used/recycled some paint containers and broken pales as pots already for our other plants like for the aloe vera and fortune plant.

Fish Pond

• I always like to have my own fish pond. I used to stay late in our grade school's pond just to watch the fishes there and the dragonflies over some lilies. It was so relaxing and give the sense of feeling happy seeing a natural sight like that.

Free Ranged Native Chickens

• It will be great to have some fresh native eggs for breakfast or anytime of the day for various dishes. Rather than buying the commercialized eggs in the market. It is also a nice sight for me to see the chickens roaming freely and feeding them.

Gardening Essentials/Tools

• We currently have a soil shovel and improvised sprinkler. Might be needing some gloves, bigger shovel, natural fertilizers like wood shavings and more soil for the pots.

These will be my homesteading/gardening bucket list for now. 😊
Images from Pixabay

Future Lemon Tree in the Pot, Squash and Chili Pepper

In my previous post Things You Need to Know About Lemons, I have mentioned that I started buying lemons more often recently. Instead of just throwing away the seeds, I keep it and let it dried for days.
Then, I placed some of the seeds on a pot. Some seeds were buried quite deep and some were just tossed on the top of the soil. Just like to see if lemon seeds can be easily grown in both manners. Not sure when I exactly saw it starting to grow, maybe around after a week when I started noticing it.
Now there are more than five seedlings in the pot. I will let those seedlings grow a bit more until I could transfer those one by one in another pots. We have a limited space for gardening and I think it is also better to just grow the future lemon tree in the pot so that I could easily move it to another place if ever that will be necessary.
Right now, we also have a squash in the vacant lot in front of our house. It have not bear flowers yet cause it was also just newly planted, more or less a month old. It will be great if it will be starting to have flowers the soonest possible and we could start seeing squash on it to be harvested in the future. 😊
We also have a lone chili pepper plant. Hoping that it will survive and start producing some chili peppers for us the soonest as well. 😊
I am thinking of growing more vegetables that we could have these coming days as it would be really nice to have your own fresh produce. 😊

Things You Need to Know About Lemons

Lemon fruit is becoming more popular nowadays as more people are becoming aware of its benefits. The lots of posts and information about this fruit made it one of the most in demand fruit in the market today, in my own opinion. I can easily saw lemons being sold in the streets today compared to the previous years.
I actually started buying lemons more often to make fresh juice from it. I enjoyed it with just plain room temperature water. Freshly squeezed lemons is definitely good for our health just like the other fresh fruits we could add in our diet. 😊
Being aware of its benefits can encourage us to have more of it or at least have this fruit in our diet often. Some health problems that can be treated by consuming lemons are below:

• Throat infections
• Indigestion/constipation
• Dental problems
• Fever
• Internal bleeding
• Rheumatism
• Obesity as it aids in weight loss
• Respiratory problems
• High Blood Pressure

Lemon is also said to be a food for healthier skin and hair. Also known to have therapeutic property and can strengthen our immune system and can cleanse the stomach or detoxifies. Useful in treating kidney stones and helps lower the body temperature
There are also some claims that drinking lemon juice can help in curing cancers or reduce the chances of acquiring these disease.
It is good to know all these benefits that one can acquire from consuming lemons in a regular basis. Specially now that we can easily buy some of these amazing fruits in the market and enjoy its refreshing taste. 😊

Lanzones: Delicious Seasonal Fruit

Majority of us love to eat various kinds of fruits, not just because it is delicious and can ease your hunger, but also because of the healthy benefits of eating these fruits. Each of us preferred various fruits and we have some favorites. As for me, the fruit that I am always fond of eating is my all time favorite lanzones.


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Even when I was younger, I used to eat lots of lanzones. Even on a cinema, instead of pop corns or some junk foods, I prefer eating lanzones specially if we can see a lanzones vendor just near the vicinity of the cinema. Some might not like the fruit due to its bitter sap on it, that you will definitely taste when you taste your lips, while eating and after eating the fruit. I am not bothered with that after taste or sap for I really like eating lanzones. The quite sad thing or fact for lanzones lover like me is that this fruit is not very much available the whole year. It is because it is a seasonal fruit, usually from July to November you can see a lot of these fruit on any market and in much lower price compared to the months that there is so little production of the fruit.
That is why I really enjoy the "ber" months because you can find lanzones in every markets and streets during those months. Also the price becomes more affordable when the supply of the fruit is abundant. When I went out yesterday, I started seeing several lanzones vendors and their number will surely be increased for the next few days. 😊


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In the Philippines, it is commonly found or cultivated in Laguna areas and in some other part of Mindanao. Camiquin's one pride is their sweetest and most delicious lanzones that they even made a fiesta for it once a year to celebrate their harvests. The lanzones fruit is colored light yellow and the meat is white to opaque white color. It can tastes so sweet which depends on the variety of the tree or if its ripened enough. Some of these fruit variety can also taste sour and the seed is bitter when bitten. There are some variety that are also almost seedless.


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Lanzones is also rich with various types of nutritional contents just like phosphorus, protein, calcium, vitamin A, fiber, thiamine, vitamin C and anti-oxidants substances. It is also said that lanzones is good to prevent diarrhea and some other gastro intestinal diseases specially if it will be consumed in a regular basis.

The Day Considered as Yesterday

   
Will I able to accomplish the task that was assigned?
For there are always hindrances along the pebbled way
Will I consider this day as a failure?
And let it just the missing part of the day

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Can I mind the sighs and the requests that passed?
It was when I run over the fields of dream memoirs
Can I reopen the eyes shut by the pains it saw?
That when I wake up I can hear the birds sing again

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Is this the way we lost the track of time?
By simple telling that it was all gone
Is it human to believe in confession?
For once committed again, we barely merry go round

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Will I let myself wake up in the same scenario?
That made me feel distorted in all aspects
Will I fall in disgrace that mold me to someone I don't know?
For I would not let myself sleep with the grief of tomorrow

Learning More About Stress

Stress seemed to be a common word now that a lot of things become fast paced and too many things around to get busy with. How do we define stress?

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Stress can be defined as a high level of mental and body tension which exceeds someone's capacity to cope that can cause distress or illness. We do response to the stress such as physical responses, psychological responses and behavioral responses.
Physical Responses: These responses can include rapid pulse, fast heartbeat, perspiration, tightened muscles, shortness of breath, gritted teeth, tense arms, inability to stand still and clenched jaw.
Psychological Responses: These can include difficulty in making decisions on simple things, hard to concentrate, loss of self-esteem, frequent anger, panicking, irrational fear and frequent anger.
Behavioral Responses: These responses can include being absent minded, smoking, increase of medication use, becoming accident prone, hair pulling, sleeping disorders, excessive drinking of alcohol and using illegal drugs.


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It is really hard to totally remove stress in our daily lives. More for those who are multi tasking like single moms/dads and with stressful professions like teachers and laborers. But we can learn how to at least manage it or cope with it. Below are some of the ways.

• Take a break from the things that are stressing you. If possible, take a vacation to change your environment even for a while and have a relaxation. Or just simply go out and have a walk as walking can help relieve stress. Do things that could make you feel relaxed or happy such as going to the salon for a massage, eating your favorite foods, singing in a karaoke or watching a movie.
• Do some exercises. It will help us be healthier not only the body, but the mind as well. Exercising can help in clearing the mind as it was studied that physical activities can stimulate various brain chemicals which may make you feel happier and relaxed. After exercising, one can also feel better about their appearances which can boost self esteem or self confidence.
• Becoming more social like having good conversation with family and friends. Having a social support can help a person manage stress as she or he will feel that someone is there to help or at least listen. Having happy bonding moments could ease tension and can make the burden lighter. There are also some support groups that are organized in handling stress that offers stress management programs.
• Try to meditate. Meditation can relieve stress as it can improves your concentration. Can increase self confidence as well. Generally it is considered as a healthy practice and can make someone feel happy.