31 Days of Kindness Challenge

The last few months have been rough on most of us (at least for me). All you hear is the current recession, disasters, fighting and bickering around the world. This surely has dampened most spirits especially during this holiday.

So let us try to turn this around and end the year positively and maybe that will help us have a better outlook towards 2012. And that being said, I bring you.... 31 days of kindness challenge.

So what is 31 days of kindness? It is really simple, all you have to do is to do at least a one good deed per day for the entire month of December (hence 31 days). Now, most have a set of good deeds that you need to accomplish per day. Well, for this challenge.. you don't. Why? If you have to follow a set of deeds you have to accomplish, then you are almost forcing yourself to do it. And I don't want that. We already get to force to do things that we do not want to and I do not want to add to that.

How do you do this challenge?
Simple, just do a good deed

What am I hoping to accomplish?
I had a rough last few months and I want to end the year on a positive note. And I am hoping that this will inspire others who will then inspire more people and so on and so forth.

Let us end 2011 on a good and positive note.

Update: Oops, I forgot to add, if you want to share your random acts of kindness, you can do so by:

• Commenting on this blog post 
• Using twitter with the hashtag #31DaysofKindness
• Commenting on my Facebook Status 

Dec 01
-- Complimented someone on a great catch on an error
-- sent 39 $10 Gift cards to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward (you can also do so by going to https://feeditforward.restaurant.com/) 
Dec 02
-- Hold the door for a lady who was still 6 steps behind me
-- Gave a generous tip at both restaurants during lunch and dinner
-- sent 7 $10 Gift cards to friends + 33 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 03
-- Help a friend out
-- let a car come out of a driveway
-- sent 9 $10 Gift cards to friends + 31 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
-- help a friend understand a concept that I have not used since my college days  ^_^
Dec 04
-- Said hello to a complete stranger
-- sent 10 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 30 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 05
-- Help a colleague set up an mobile internet connection so that they could save money on their data plan
-- Gave recommendation on tablets/e-readers to a friend on what to give his wife for Christmas
-- Gave encouragements
-- Helped a friend by given pointers on how to proceed with their thesis
Dec 06
-- Aided couple of people with technology problems
-- sent 7 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 33 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 07
-- Fixed friend's laptop
-- sent 7 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 33 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 08
-- sent 9 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 31 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 09
-- gave directions to a stranger who was looking for an office
-- sent 40 $10 gift e-cards to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 10
-- sent 3 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 37 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 11
-- help a stranger find an item in the store (I do not work for the store)
-- smiled at a stranger who smiled back
-- sent 3 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 37 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 12
-- gave directions to a stranger who was looking for an office
-- gave encouragement to a friend who is going through tough times
-- sent 4 $10 gift e-cards to friends + 36 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 13
-- gave encouragement to a friend who is going through tough times
-- sent 1 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 39 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 14
-- Change the water cooler at work on a bad back.
Dec 15
--  sent 1 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 39 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 16
-- gave my chair to a stranger in a restaurant
-- sent 4 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 36 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 17
-- gave direction to someone who was a bit lost
-- sent 3 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 37 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 18
-- bought coffee for a colleague
-- smiled at a stranger
-- help a pizza delivery person locate the person who he was bringing the order
Dec 19
-- help in wrapping 100 presents for less fortunate families so that they will have a Merry Christmas =)
Dec 20
-- finished a cookbook that a colleague asked me to help to create - colleague is giving them to their kids as Christmas presents.
-- sent 5 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 35 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 21
-- help an acquaintance with some computer-related problems
Dec 22
-- help in decorating for a Holiday party
-- sent 4 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 36 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 23
-- smiled at a stranger
-- sent 17 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 23 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
Dec 24
-- sent 17 $10 gift e-cards to friend + 23 to random people courtesy of Restaurant.com's Feed it Forward
-- gave presents 
Dec 25
-- help walk my friend's dog
-- gave presents
Dec 26
-- gave a stranger bus money so that he could get to his doctor's appt.
-- treated a friend to breakfast
-- gave a friend a pass to MoMa
-- let friends use my subway pass
-- treated new friends to drinks
Dec 27
-- help a friend fix their computer
Dec 28
-- help a friend with a problem
-- gave encouragements
Dec 29
-- gave gracious tips
-- help a friend with a computer problem
Dec 30
-- offered my seat to a stranger at the coffeeshop
Dec 31
-- shared gum with strangers
-- said Happy New Year to strangers
-- help stranger get up from sitting down on the street


Well, thats the year.. 31 Days of Kindness completed, hope you had tried to do the same. Happy New Year!

Recipe: Stuffed Mushroom

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and most of us will end up with leftovers. The ingredients for this recipe are mostly coming from leftovers. What you will just need are portobello mushrooms, pick ones that are more bowl-like.

Stuffed Mushroom

Ingredients

Portobello Mushrooms
Leftover Mashed Potato, Stuffings and Gravy
2+1 tbsp  minced Chives

Preparation
Clean the portobello mushrooms. Carefully break off stems. Finely chopped the steams. Make sure to discard the tough end of stems.
Heat up oil in skillet, place mushrooms caps hollow side down and let it saute for 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside
Heat up oil, saute mushroom stems and 2 tbsp chives. Mixed in mashed potato and stuffing and a little bit of gravy. Do not add too much or else it will become soupy. Saute for 5 minutes.
Arrange the mushrooms in a plate with hollow side up. Generously fill the mushroom caps with the mixture. Sprinkle with the rest of the chives.
Served with the rest of the gravy on the side.

Enjoy!

Movie Review: Immortals

Immortals, a 3D movie loosely based on Greek Mythology stars Henry Cavill as Theseus, a man who will lead the Athenian to battle against Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), the Heraklion King of Crete, who declared war against Olympus after the Gods fail to save his family from illness. Theseus will meet Phaedra (Freida Pinto), a virgin oracle priestess who foresee his future and Stavros (Stephen Dorff) a thief. Together,they will head to Mount Tartarus and try to stop Hyperion in using the Epirus Bow and unleash the Titans to destroy the Gods and Greece.

Immortals is a pretty interesting movie. It uses characters from Greek Mythology yet the plot and story is not based on the myth. The film's scenery, costume design and CGI was amazing. The fight sequence was choreographed well - almost taken from 300 - and with using 3D technology, you feel like you are within the film with every blood splatter and battle sequence even though some of them were almost unreal.

Most of the actors played their part really well. Henry Cavill did an excellent job acting and portraying Theseus as well as Mickey Rourke on his portrayal of Hyperion. The film's direction was easy to follow even though it was a bit slow.

So would I recommend it? If you are an action junkie and would not mind that the movie is not based on Greek Mythology even though the characters are. Then yes, you will definitely love this movie.

Immortals website

Rough weeks...can I blame her?

So ever since my ex chose work over me, I have had strings of bad luck. My phone reset itself thus losing all my messages and files. Then I lost power for five days, and when I finally got my power back, my kitchen sink decided to spew out and almost flooded my kitchen (luckily I was home). And if those weren't enough, I hurt my lower back playing ball (rarely happens) and got kneed on my thigh which is no bueno.

So can I blame her for all of this?

Hopefully no more bad things...

Things To Do During Power Outages!

Updated: November 4

Another power outage... and this time, its for the long haul. My power has been out three five days and might not get restored for another two days due to that freak snowstorm that pounded my area this weekend.

So putting a positive spin on things.. here are some tips to do during power outages

• Have a candle-lit dinner especially with your love ones. 
• If you are with a group, have one of those Dining in the Dark concept that has been popping up all over the place. You don't even need a blindfold since its so dark. And you do not have to worry about plate presentation.
• Of course if you do own an electric range, then no power means no cooking. Get some take-outs, mix and match the dishes. See what you can come up with.
• Clean out your fridge (which I will be doing soon) since most items will be spoiled after two days of no power. Remember, food is much cheaper than getting stomachache and needing to go to the emergency room. And if you are home when power goes out and know that it wont be back at least for two days, have a big food feast!
• During daylight, do some dusting around your place. Better yet, do a whole house dusting.
• Clean out your closet and dresser, donate unwanted clothes to charity. Remember the rule, if you have not worn something twice, that means you are not wearing them anymore. 
• For families, bring out the classic board games such as Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, Sorry or Scrabble. You can also bring out Pictionary but it might be harder to play it during the dark. 
• If its warm outside, bring out the lounge chair and enjoy some fresh airs. Read a book when its still light out. If it gets dark and you are afraid of getting bitten by mosquitoes, get those repellents. 
• If its warm outside, invite friends over and just chill... 
• Read a book.. light permitting.. don't want you to ruin your eyes.
• Write and when I say write, I mean with pen and paper. Time to get back to the old school way of writing. 
• Think.. yep, think of the things you want to do with your life and see if you have achieve them. If not, think of ways to help you achieve those goals. Think Think Think
• Do some bbqs weather permitting and if you are permitted to do one. Actually, you can bbq even if its cold. You are satisfying your hunger while getting warmth - Two birds in one stone.
• Memorize lyrics to a song.. or songs.. so you will be ready for your next karoake
• Learn shadow puppetry... it should be fun... be creative

I am sure there are more options but the coffee shop I am in is closing so this is the end for the tips. 
I thought of more things to do in the dark since that's all I can do for now...

• Make your own candle - with all the melted wax you will be having, you can customized your candle in various shapes and sizes. And you are saving money for reusing the melted wax instead of buying new ones.
• If you live with your partner, there is one thing that you can surely do. The three letter word - S-E-X. And if its cold, what a better way to warm up by using each other's body heat. And the darkness will just heighten your arousal. And you are using more of your touch and feel sense rather than what you see. Could we say... hot!
• Board games are fun but you can also go for other games such as Rock-Paper-Scissors and Hand Slap but this are also light permitting games. 
• Meditate or do Yoga - you don't have anything to stop you now.

I'll think of more tips since it does not look like I will get power back soon.