Yield

Just for an Hour

2009-03-26T21:44:00.004+08:00

I will not watch TV or turn on the stereo. No lights powered by electricity. Not any electrical appliances will be used. Just for an hour, I will be one among a bilion people who will be part of the Earth Hour 2009.

Do your share, register at http://www.earthhour.org/home/ and show that you care. As another step to my statement, I will not drive my car or motorcycle from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM on 28 March 2009.

A Drive to the Wake

2009-02-28T18:21:00.001+08:00

I was driving towards G Araneta Avenue (Sta. Mesa area) to attend the wake of a distant relative when I got into this dimly lit side street. Even at speed less than 10 kph, I felt that my sedan still posed a danger to this small children (probably no older than six) playing on the street.

Their houses occcupied the sidewalk which makes the road literally a couple of paces from their door steps. What is scary is the possibility of running over a child since some are barely taller than the hood of my car. I have to leave there fast but I can't speed up. This is no place for sleepy or drank drivers. It's good I took a cup of Tongkat-ali coffee before left home, it kept me alert the whole time.

Motolite Saves the Day

2009-02-19T21:34:00.003+08:00

Thought I drop by Robinsons Grocery along the West Service Road to get some ice cream for the wife (pre-valentine surprise together with a red rose). Oh, so many flavors to choose from. And so many brands. Well? I can't go wrong with cookies and cream, can I?

When I get back to the car, clicked the ignition but it won't start! And I'm six kilometers away from home. It's 8:40 PM and there is no car repair shop in the vicinity. Wait. I remember, there was this TV ad where the husband is supposed to bring the wife (pregnant) to the hospital for the baby is due. The car did not start up too. He called up a number and behold, a motorcycle delivery guy with a fresh battery came to the rescue.

Could this work for me too? I turned on my notebook. Surfed and found the motolite website. I called up the number and the man from the other end said that help would be here in 40 minutes.

Yehey! True enough. The motorcycle riding delivery man arrived. He installed the new battery and in just one click my car's engine jerked again with energy. It is better to wait for an hour and a half than to push my car all by myself. I even paid it using my credit card. Car battery sales has gone a long way.

High blood pressure and driving

2009-01-28T15:40:00.007+08:00

I normally don't drive when my blood pressure (BP) is high. I was once prescribed to take aspirin to make my blood "thin". It took about three months for me to develop hyper-acidity. Immediately my doctor advised me to stop it.

To replace aspirin, I took gingko biloba upon the approval of my cardiologist, with a warning not to take it before meals. Its been over a year now and my BP is within the normal limits. Even my annual physical exam (APE) on November 2008 showed no irregularities.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) may have any combination of the following symptoms:

Recurring headaches

Dizziness

Bluzzy vision

Drowsiness

Nausea

Palpitation

Shortness of breath

The experience having three of the mentioned symptoms prompted me to see a doctor. Now, I monitor my BP every morning. "Prevention is better than cure", to this I agree.

About Yield

2009-01-25T14:30:00.003+08:00

Yield is about experiences and insights as we go back and forth into the necessities of life. It is at the same time an advocacy to a healthy, fair and safe sharing of the roads.

Basically, there are three things to prioritize before starting up; life, property, and time. These should be in this respective order. They are the factors that will guide us in our decisions whether to speed up or slow down, to stop or go, to yield or not.

The life (property and time) we save may not always be our own. It could be someone dear to us.