Of dogs and blood

Dreamblog 10May2010 Of dogs and blood

Thick red liquid dripped down from my head to my face as I placed down the old steel bucket previously filled with blood.  I was one of the prisoners thrown into this dimly lit sadistic pit surrounded by pitch black metal gates with undersized torches on each side. 

The air was stiff and had a dusty feel paired with a foul smell.  There wasn’t even a window to the outside world.  The cave’s ceiling was the sky and just below it echoes the mad cheering of disturbed creatures who had old sack cloths over their head, tainted with blood. 

“Am I about to share the same fate?”

The gate to my right opened and a large figured man appeared.  He also had a sack cloth over his head and with him came the most unsettling of growls. 

So he wasn’t alone.

His hands were wounded from the leash burns.  With him was a full grown pit bull, ready to strike at me, struggling to free itself and at the same time barking madly.

“I don’t want to be bitten to death….”

“Not this way…”

The man stopped a few steps away from me.   My heart really felt pierced with eaten up by fear.  I couldn’t help myself but to pray silently for me to escape this brutal fate.

Alas the dog’s leash ripped and the tiny beast madly charged at me

I closed my eyes, helpless.

“This is it, so let it be”

As I feel the creature drawing near, the pain from my heart went up to my throat as I anticipate the pain of tearing flesh.  I could feel something in my head wanting to burst and hopefully I would faint for me to escape the agonizing pain of being mauled

I felt its breath on my feet.  My eyes remained closed until the once mad-sounded room now echoed with surprised gasps.  The pit bull I so feared sat down, now silent in front of me.  Different thoughts passed by me, still panicked.

“Is it just playing with me until I grow crazy from this waiting-game?”

 “When is it going to strike”

“What should I do now?”

The crowd screamed their disapproval.  More guards came.  About 20 more mad pit bulls surrounded me waiting to be unleashed.

All 20 of them charged then surprisingly stopped and sat down, silent.

I was allowed to walk away.

The scene now changes into something familiar, my home.  I opened up a cabinet and inside of it was a really malnourished puppy.  It had a Thin and wrinkled face with its big black eyes staring at me.  It bit my finger when I tried to reach out to it so I could carry it out.

I woke up.

Symbolisms from Dreammoods.com

Dog 
To see a dog in your dream, symbolizes intuition, loyalty, generosity, protection, and fidelity. The dream suggests that your strong values and good intentions will enable you to go forward in the world and bring you success. Alternatively, it indicates a skill that you have ignored or forgotten. If the dog is vicious and/or growling, then it signifies some inner conflict within yourself. It may indicate betrayal and untrustworthiness.�If the dog is dead or dying, then it indicates a loss of a good friend. Alternatively, it represents a deterioration of your instincts. Also consider common notions associated with the word dog, such as loyalty ("man's best friend") and to be "treated like a dog".

To see a happily barking dog in your dream, symbolizes pleasures and much social activity. If the dog is barking ferociously, then it represents your habit of unnecessary barking at people and the situations around you. It could also mean unfriendly companions. To dream that a dog bites your on the leg, suggests that you have lost your ability to balance aspects of your life. You may be hesitant in approaching a new situation or have no desire to move forward with your goals. Alternatively, it symbolizes disloyalty.

To dream that you are buying a dog, indicates your tendency to buy your friends or buy compliments and favors. Alternatively, it suggest a need for you to find companionship. If you are being guided by a dog, suggests that you are having difficulties in navigating out of a situation or problem.

To dream that you are dressing up your dog, signifies your attempts to cover up your own character flaws and habits.**See The Dream Bank: "The Bunny Dog" & "Dogs In The Bathroom"

Mad Dog 
To see a mad dog in your dream, denotes that you and your friends will be the verbally assaulted by your lowly rivals..

To dream that you kill a mad dog, signifies that you will overcome the adverse opinions of others and rise to prosperity.

Chromed!

Reluctantly made the switch to  Google Chrome a few months ago due to my work.  Chrome's browsing speed is  indeed the fastest I've observed compared to the other browsers I've used.

The interface may not be so "eye-candy" but its simplicity, speed and organized functions such as "Inspect element" feature would surely appeal to web and IT professionals for it makes it easier to view technical details on websites.

You might be surprised why I mentioned I was reluctant for I became too comfortable with Firefox and my usual plugins until I experienced extreme cursor lags within the browsing window while working and hence made the switch.  I'm thinking Flash applications may not load very well in Firefox as Chrome does.  Also, Firefox does take longer to start up.  However one of the good things with Firefox is being able to install plugins to customize or add more features to your browser.

Two plugins I highly recommend would be

  Ad Block Plus -blocks text and image ads
and

No Script blocks/gets your permission first before loading active scripts, great for protecting your PC from sites that automatically install stuff without your knowledge or automatically loading flash ads/videos

I'm happy to recently find out that the Chrome's  developers base had grown and more extensions (equivalent to plugins in Firefox ) are now available.  I remember being frustrated when there was no way to block ads in Chrome  previously however not surprising since major revenues come from Google Ads.  I'm not sure which of these ad blocker extensions work but I do hope they work as good as what's available in Firefox.  Another thing noticeable is that installing the extensions are also fast!

There are other browsers available, some of which I've tried a long time ago were Safari and Opera.

For me, Safari's good points was that it optimizes the browser text, slightly making the text heavier for easy reading.  Text fields are also outlined with a light blue glow to easily know where to type your username and password.  Scrolling was also smooth and recently they added the "3d Apple feel" features on their browser.

 

Though I liked Safari's browsing speed, it was buggy in its initial stages and often crashed when accessing some websites and never went back to using it since then.

I came to know and have been using Opera since my secondary school days when IRC Chat was still popular for Opera was really a comprehensive and intuitive browser that had a built in Email application, IRC chat and auto-fill assistance.  It also had a button to quickly switch into browsing with text only or load in full which is very useful for dial-up users.  However I think this browser is more popular in European countries.  I wonder what other features it has now for it has been years since I used this.

And sorry, I won't bother with Internet Explorer.

My personal rankings according to the following:

Browsing Speed:

1. Chrome
2. Safari
3. Firefox
4. Opera

Eye Candy

1. Safari
2. Opera
3. Firefox
4. Chrome

Comprehensive features

1. Opera
2. Firefox
3. Chrome
4. Safari

Customizing

1. Firefox
2. Chrome
3. Opera
4. Safari

And that's it for today with my first nerdy post. Lol and currently using Chrome

Flower Power Mood Remedies

Was grabbing the newspaper from the living room when this feature from DW-TV caught my attention. It was about a product that helps improve moods such as irritability, anxiety, insomnia, and depression using various combinations of flower oils . I'm sure there are other ailments but these were the ones that interested me for I suffered from those myself.


Bach's flower Oils

Droplets of flower oils are mixed into a glass of water and taken by the patients which according to them had positive changes in their moods and ailments. However scientists declared that it may just be a placebo for they don't think ordinary flower oils combined with alcohol and water could have conclusive results. I haven't tried them personally, but it's quite interesting to see if they really work for they are probably safer than commonly prescribed western drugs.

Over time, there had been different studies in regards to depression, anxiety, and insomnia which they say are likely to be caused by Chemical imbalance, Diet, Physical health, Environment and Stress. While these reasons are mostly agreeable, the cure for it varies and drug safety concerns remain due to the side effects.

So what are your methods for easing Anxiety, Insomnia and Depression?

For me, these helped me cope so far:

• Identifying which type of food changes my mood and substituting a more healthier option (e.g. overdose of Sugar and Carbohydrates?) to natural, energizing foods and supplements. Varieties are available at Healthy Options stores (best and biggest branches at Trinoma, Shangri-La, and Greenbelt 5) and they have trained staff to recommend products for your needs. I love their almond granola sold by weight at P55/100 grams. There are branded packs as well by Bob's Red Mill which I have yet to try. Another nice grain snack to try would be Museli. One of the brands I know is "Simply" which is made in Africa. I'm not sure if local supermarkets still sell them.

• For females, noting if there are mood changes pre-menstrual cycle. Evening Primrose oil capsules should help.

• Daily Exercise (I find this highly challenging! lol) or you can cheat with Sauna baths :D

• Having a relaxing Massage

• Hot Herbal teas are good stress relievers and anxiety killers

• Have lots of fish and green veggies in your diet instead of red meat.

With the physical aspects taken care of, it is also important that you take care of your mental health as well.

• Having Inspirational books in handy.

• Call a friend to chat with asking how they are.

• A quiet time for prayer
• Making a decision to change your mental attitude and mindset positively. This is actually the hardest thing to do especially for someone who had suffered long term depression. Getting the motivation itself to do so is the struggle.
• Find a supportive small group to share experiences with to inspire each other and know that you are never alone with your struggles.
• With the many suggestions available, the final key to healing will always be yourself. You have to make the decision itself to take the first step in changing your experiences with awesome and happier ones.

Our minds are quite a challenge to train. So it is recommended that you inspire yourself daily just like how we take care of our physical health so when challenges or illnesses come, we have better resistance for it.

(well this is all I can think of at the moment, will add more ! or better yet, do share your consoling methods! :D)

Ironman 2

Took a risk of watching Ironman 2 on opening night last April 30 at Shangri-La Mall. Wasn't fearing the crowd much for I checked the schedules at ClickTheCity and saw that most malls had 4-5 theaters dedicated to screening Ironman 2. I arrived at around 5:30 PM hoping to catch a 9pm screening but then almost all of the seats were already booked between those times so I ended up taking the 10:30PM screening.

It was actually my first time watching at Shang. I usually prefer to watch movies at The Podium for the room's smaller (don't really like large and crowded theater rooms) and the leg space between the seats are wide. Plus the sound system's better than most of SM's malls so I don't mind adding a little extra.

If I were to rank theaters I've been to I would say..
Sound system:

1. The Promenade, Shangri-La Plaza, Greenbelt
2. The Podium, Glorietta
3. Gateway, Powerplant, Eastwood mall
4. Robinson's Galleria
5. SM (considerable but average)

Seat space, (leg space, visibility and comfort)

1. The Promenade (adjustable arm rests, wide and comfortable seats) wins hands down!
2. The Podium, Greenbelt, Eastwood mall, Powerplant
3. Shangri-La, Gateway, Robinson's, Glorietta
4. SM (very cramped seats and narrow leg space)

Unfortunately, I don't really notice the screen size much lolx. As long as it's big enough, it's good for me.

Right, well I think we got sidetracked enough. Regarding the movie itself, Ironman 2 is more hype-deserving than the overrated *Avatar. Really appreciated how the movie was directed and dialogue even though it was just a simple story. The most memorable dialogue was the court room scene where Tony Stark was defending himself from legislature requesting him to hand over Ironman. Just to show how officials can sugarcoat intentions by saying it's for the good of the people of America when in fact they just want the power for themselves. Same thing with America positioning themselves as anti-terrorists aiming for World peace and yet is the largest arms exporters. In short, shows hypocritical truths

The main actor, Robert Downy Jr deserves praise as well for really internalizing the role to life and made it interesting as well as Gwyneth Paltrow.

For those catching the movie, don't forget to catch the extra scene at the end of the credits.

And play the usual game of "Spot Stan Lee in every Marvel movie!

*And why I think Avatar is overrated.

-The story was cliche. Similar to Pocahontas however with an added touch of Scifi

-Directing was linear and it got draggy

One thing good however, was the visuals