I walked down the aisle again :)

But of course not in my own wedding. I don't think Ane will marry me again right away (I don't think he has recovered from all the expenses in our wedding less than two years ago heheh). It was a good friend's church wedding on Friday, the 26th. My Ate Hilda (church friend) married Kuya Nelson and was blessed by Mons B. at the Manila Cathedral. Reception was at Villa Immaculada. I was a Bridesmaid :) We had a bridal shower for her the weekend before the wedding. I will share the shower story when I have the pictures already. Pictures from the wedding (Ane wasn't in the mood to take shots, hhhmmmmmm):

Mom and I while waiting for the ceremony to start. She was a Ninang.

My partner and I during the procession. Hehe. Forgot his name.

SNL with Mons.

The newlyweds.


The bride as my background, hehe.


One of the many group shots.

Photo ops with the newlyweds.

With the tarp. Guess who made it?

Hehe nasapawan ko yata yung bride!

It was really nice to be almost complete again (two of our boys are overseas). By the way, during the reception, I took off my shoes and wore a pair of this:

**Havaianas Top Crystal pictures from Shoes.com

Hehehe, I "convinced" Ane that I need a pair for the wedding so I won't hurt my feet too much. Finally got it after having to look around and waiting for stocks to arrive. Pretty!

Be vigilant.

In few hours, we are again exercising our right to vote. The Baranggay elections have become a serious subject especially in our community since some "upper forces" are working their way to eliminate the chances of winning of those who truly deserve to win. I do not understand why some people need to corrupt the minds, even of those who serve in the church. Why do they even try?!? This isn't about who's more popular but who is more qualified to serve the families/constituents. Please, this isn't the student council elections. You win by vote-buying and you will never deserve winning at all.

Voters! Open your minds and your eyes! Huwag magpadala sa pandaraya!

Anyway, we are behind one candidate only because we believe in what this person can do (not to mention that the person is a close family friend and business partner). Our area is being offered for their group's meetings and briefings of the volunteers. The past week has been a crazy one, feeding these people, and assigning tasks. We let them use our kitchen for their cooking and our office stuff (PC's, microphone, utility cart).

Before I went home tonight, I joined with them in prayer. They all plan to stay up all night and hold vigil. Hoping ang praying that we wil be given clean and fair elections.

PR

I was browsing my feeds just after lunch today and observed that a lot have posted about how their page ranks improved so I checked this blog's PR and got this:

That makes me happy since I've been a two/ten for some time and then it became an N/A which I seriously didn't know why. :)

This one is for the muscle builders...

Working out in the gym four hours a day, six times a week? Working out too much, carrying the weights more than you should? An upcoming cmpetition and you feel you are not ready, at least not yet? Or not getting the results you have always wanted? Perhaps gaining more fats and having a hard time losing it altogether? Maybe you need some nutritional supplements to help you. There are a wide variety of these supplements over at sportsnutrition. Find them and order online or try calling if you need help from experts so you'll know exactly what you need.

Never trust the husband with the map.

On Wednesday, Ane and I were out all day for errands. One of the things we should do is buy a new RAM for our desktop (spankin' 2gb upgrade from our existing 1gb) because the existing one has a buyer already. My dear husband knew the store's name and even realized that the store is just a few meters away from the brothers' apartment. The owner texted him that the store will close at 7pm. By the time we were ready to go there it was almost 6pm. We looked for the store along the supposed street and didn't find it. So we went back to the apartment to check the address and the phone number on the internet. I stayed in the truck while he checked and then came back saying..."Nasa tapat ng 7-Eleven! (it's in front of 7-11)". So we parked and didn't see any sign of the store in the area, not even the establishments around knew the store. He tried calling the mobile of the owner but could not reach him. We had another appointment at 7pm so we decided to go to Gilmore. Ane didn't find the exact brand so luckily, he was able to contact the original seller a bit later and asked for directions. We went back and found the store in a huff!

We were looking at the opposite side earlier. Ane was apparently reading the map upside down. Ugh!

Remembering Bangkok

The Glorietta blast on Friday had us thinking of the past negative incidents that happened in the the same shopping area. The Oakwood mutiny obviously came up. The time it happened in 2003, I was in Bangkok with one of mom's friend who imports wholesale clothing. I seriously thought our flights will be cancelled and we won't be able to go home for a while. That scared the h**l out of me. I was just too glad that it didn't last that long.

While on the subject, the four days that I spent in the Thai country was memorable. Although I would have love to explore the city more, we were limited to what my mom's friend wanted to do (hehehe shopping only). We had some authentic Thai massage sessions at the Wat Pho temple, phot ops at the Baiyouke Building (spell check!), experienced Thai street food, riding the Tuktuk and watching the famous Phat Pong "show".

You bet I'm gonna ask hubby to plan a vacation with Bangkok (and a side trip to Phuket, perhaps) when we're able :)

My blogging story

The other day, I received this comment on one of my posts:

"spunkovision has left a new comment on your post "Remember the days?": I'm not gonna comment about the content of your blogs. Just wanna say I got here coz of M****** from J******* who is a member of our RADIO- group. She mentioned something about you trying to increase traffic coz you need the revenue. This got me curious. I am compiling a list of sites (we already posted a partial list) in which Filipinos online can avail of any revenue or royalty-earning programs that some of them run. Do you know of any? And can you post something about the economic aspect of what you do (blogging) and how you started. It would help if you can give us a tutorial on how to start and how to enrol in such a program. Our thanks in advance. Any contribution to our efforts will be duly attributed to you and your link included in future writings related to this issue. Posted by spunkovision to Piece o' Kaje at 18 October, 2007 09:55"

I was bugging my friends some weeks ago to put my link in their blogs coz they knew I am into blogging-for-money. So when M was sick and stayed home, she decided to tell her e-group about what I do. Hence, the message from Mr. Spunk :)

I started blogging in April 2004 via Xanga. At that time, I wasn't really an internet junkie. I was a fresh Friendster-joinee when my brother said I can sign up in another community building site (Xanga). My hubby (then boyfriend) had a friend who wrote her thoughts and experiences in her website. I never knew that what she did and what I was getting into was actually called "blogging". I was that clueless. But realizing that I have found the right medium to practice my writing (or lack thereof), I was content.

Less than a year later, I transferred to Blogger because I just could not get around Xanga's limitations. Blogger has been my home since then (even putting up a wedding blog in the same platform, and this used to be my photoblog that I converted to my regular blog). But I do have a relatively new Wordpress blog with it's own domain (link found on the side). It is a totally different blog than this one.

During the times that I was also blogging for my wedding, I came across an e-group that helps Filipina Brides to prepare for the big day. This is also where I learned to Scrap digitally and found a Filipino Forum intended to help newbies become better at the craft. Almost all of the ladies from this forum had their own blogs (of course, to display their work!).

I don't remember how it happened but I slowly realized that some of their blog entries had links to websites I've never heard of. Checking out the forum, some shared the joy of making money while enjoying what they do best, blog! One of them shared that she earned about $3,000 in the first three months she was doing paid blogging and even told us that she was earning more from blogging than her regular job.

I was hesitant to try it as I have always been weary of internet stuff, too afraid to get scammed. But as the number of paid-bloggers (at least in my cyber-community) grew, I was assured of the authenticity of these schemes. The next few weeks, I found myself researching the net and following links so I could learn more. The following are the general criteria to have your blog approved (one must read the FAQs because each company is different):

1. Blog must be at least 90 days old.
2. Blog must have at least 30 posts (no posts more than 30 days apart).
3. Content must be in English.
4. Content must not contain adult material (porn, gambling etc. etc)
5. Must have Paypal to receive payments.

While on vacation, I started prepping my blog and fixed my Paypal. I signed up with Payu2blog, Smorty, Payperpost, Blogitive, Bloggerwave and Sponsoredreviews (add dot com and you will be led to the websites). These didn't happen all at the same time as I had to wait about a week or two before one application is approved before I moved on to the next. I started writing paid posts in June. The instruction is simple. The company will provide the blogger with the anchor links from the advertiser, they will say how many links and how many words are required. A little research would be helpful too. It doesn't matter how the entry is written as long as the tone is positive (or if it cannot be helped, not too negative). It could be a direct advertisement or the anchor text will just be mentioned. The advertisers pay the company and the company collects the payment in behalf of the blogger. Payouts are usually two weeks to a month from the time of the post.

The tricky part is this: the assignments and the amount of payout do come based on how popular your blog is (read: Page rank, etc). That one who earned $3000 in three months had a pretty popular blog having been known in the wedding blog circles as well as the digiscrapping world. People do visit her and a lot do put her link in their blogs. As for me, I only have a handful who check me out and very few friends who actually blog themselves. Assigments are scarce (oh I love Payu2blog, they never run out of assignments for me! And they also give the chance to send out $100 weekly to bloggers who put a Payu2blog logo in their sites). I haven't earned as much as my cyberfriend (only a tenth!) but I am happy to say that what I get, I can spend on myself. And besides, I do not plan to do this and turn this into my main source of income.

So there. I hope I satisfied Mr. Spunkovision's query :) I actually had fun writing this entry :)

Extra

The owner of the vacant lot beside our garden (where the coffee and pizza shop is located) is building a three-story house. Not only we are worried about the foundation of such construction (might collapse anytime because we are not too sure whether the foundation is strong enough for such a building), we are also thinking that the house is blocking the wind that keeps our area breezy. See, it is something our guests enjoy – an open area to laze around while enjoying good food and good company. If budget permits, we might go on with our plan of installing high fiber glass roofs and ceiling fans or misting fans just to keep the ambience. Sigh. That would be an unexpected cost on us since the plan of putting up the roofs should have come up in five years (we needed to save for that first!).

Happy Birthday!

It's my brother R's birthday today! I wish him happiness and everything his heart desires. God bless you! Kuya M and I love you, bro!

It is 140am and gotta go to bed now. Am quite sure we'll have a long day later (just like yesterday, at least for me. deserves another post). So,

TTFN!

I love coffee.

I am actually addicted to caffeine, I think. I do not go for the instant ones (well, I give in during those times that we need to save or if it is too late to grab some from Starbucks). I'd rather have coffee freshly dripped from freshly ground beans. And it is best if I get to have a dose from espresso machines. I simply love the aroma. And I get headaches everytime I miss my daily dose (or maybe it's just in the mind?!?) My mom and I share this love for coffee. Proof is the coffee shop we opened in our garden. Our place is situated in a sub-urban community, the residents of which are not really exposed to some things. We served a coffee latte to an elder and commented why his coffee had froth. Hehe. My point is, the machine is kinda expensive (we had to pay for it in installments) and the people don't really buy our coffee but I am loving every minute that I get to smell freshly ground beans. Heavenness! :)

Last 10 days in bullets

Only because I cannot compose a better entry and I don't wanna forget...

• Books read -- Stardust by Neil Gaiman; and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (review to follow)
• Movie watched -- Stardust (very timely when I finished the book)...review to follow, but let me just say that I loved both the movie and the book because there are details found in book that are not in the movie and there are things in the movie that made it, well, cinematic (for lack of better term)...and is Clare Dane's nose really that big (just that I only noticed this in the movie heheh)?
• Restaurants we ate in -- Max's because I was too lazy to prepare lunch; Haf Chang (spell check) along West Ave with MIL after we checked out the pick-up truck; Ysidro's in Guiguinto (yummy and cheap!) for dinner on Wednesday coz we wanted to listen to the new performers; Dampa Libis with the E's on Thursday night coz I was craving some chili crab and they were just to glad to meet-up; and then Lunch at Burgoo Promenade on Saturday.
• Purchases -- I am now a proud owner of Havaianas Alert, the model that almost never had my size (next target if the Silver Top Crystal!); some dibedi's from Metrowalk; computer ergonomic chair (a wheel of which is still unattached as of this time hehe).
• Disappointments -- Digital Scrapbooking Oct-Nov ish running out of stock even if I am subscribed.
• Health concerns -- terrible cramps during badminton games on Saturday (I was crying in pain when both of my butt muscles started to cramp after a bad fall) and Ane wasn't there to hug me. Early signs of colds that is now full-blown.

Frustrated HR Practitioner

The number one path that I planned to follow after I earned my two bachelor's degrees is the one that leads to the Human Resources. Sadly, I was not able to attain that goal. I was already depressed not finding a job after 11months of graduating (who said it's easy for us who came from that Uni in Taft?! Especially that I wasn't an A-list student) that I grabbed the opportunity to work in that Telecoms company. I was hoping to get transferred laterally to the HR after some time spent in CMG, the idea was openly discussed with my bosses. There was no opening during my entire stay, until I quit. I should have accepted another opportunity but time had other plans for me, and considering that HR positions during that time were only open to those with experience. And looking back, I should have continued reading stuff about HR and not find myself clueless when asked what succession planning is.

But am not complaining anymore. Because recently, I realized what I really wanted to do with my life...that is to learn as much as I can about digital stuff. I'm working on it. :)

Bomb?

If not for the delivery of my new mobile unit (for the retention program) I would have been in Glorietta at this time looking for a new pair of Havaianas and a gift for HP.

Just before 2pm today, there was an explosion at Glorietta 2 leaving four dead and about forty-five people injured.

Shivers down my spine.

We are currently watching the breaking news and the damage is so big I cannot say that the explosion was caused by an LPG leak. But investigations are still ongoing. An escalator actually collapsed and a ceiling gave way as well.

Scary. Devastating.

To change or not to change.

My Ivy is almost two years old and I have no plans of letting her go, at least not yet. With it's memory upgraded (and I plan to upgrade further) and a new spankin' monitor (changed while under warranty), I am quite happy and proud to be it's owner. It is small yet functional, perfect for my needs. Over the weekend, we were looking around for a notebook computer for my brother. There are zero-interest schemes available nowadays, specially that Christmas is just around the corner. And I saw this pink one that caught my attention...girly stuff huh? I had to stop myself from drooling and realized that what I have now is so much better in terms of specifications (not to mention that the brand is relatively new in the market). And besides, a DLSR is what I really want at this point. Hehe.

Here now and sick

Wasn't able to blog for more than week. I'm kinda under the weather today. The past week was busy, busy, busy...been staying up late cramming things and just letting myself get lost in the many blog entries and freebies I stumbled upon (It doesn't help that the internet connection in the office was gone for a week only to find out this afternoon, when the repairman came by, that it's just a cable that wasn't working. So when I got home on the nights we didn't have net at the office, I stayed longer infront of Ivy than I should). And then waking up early to do errands. So the other night just before 2am, I decided to take a shower (bad move!) before hitting the sack. The heater wasn't working because the water pressure was too low. Since I was all too sleepy but couldn't possibly lie on the bed without cleaning up, I braved the cold water and dried myself right away.

Yesterday, I was able to stay in bed until lunch time. I got up and felt this heaviness in my head. I knew I was getting the colds. I was sneezing the other day which I thought was caused by some allergies. I was getting ready for work when I decided to lie beside Ane, who was taking a nap. I fell asleep. I would have loved to stay in bed but I had to go to the work. At 630pm, I was already at the garden, with my ngongo voice. I went home later at 10pm with a runny nose.

I woke up this morning with full-blown colds. I forgot to take some VitC before leaving the house but I did take Neozep once I got here. I had to commute and I bet I inhaled some allergens along the way. And here I am blogging nonsense. I will come back with a better entry later once am done with the Rotary's weekly bulletin. Sigh, I hate being sick.

Animo!!!!!!!!!

Woot, woot!

The DLSU Green Archers are the UAAP's Season 70 Champs!!!!

It can be remembered that the team was suspended last year and they came back this season, definitely with a bang! I missed the Finals Game 1 so I made sure I get to watch the game tonight. Against the UE team, it seemed that the Archers were fighting a wall, with UE being unbeaten 14-0 throughout the entire season. It would have been a mark in history if UE won the best of three finals. But a wounded warrior never gives up and becomes stronger. The Archers did a very good job in fighting for the title. And, as Coach Franz said, maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is UE's (coached by none other than Coach Franz' brother, Dindo) first time to play in the finals while the Archers are already experienced.

Hahaha, am so happy I'm teary-eyed!

Ashop Commerce

Ashop is an award winning ecommerce software in the market today. It is an easy to use software that even the most novice businessmen choose. It is basically a shopping cart software for merchants who like to sell online. And it is cheap too, making it even more appealing to those who have limited resources. That's not all, since Ashop wanted to make things a lot easier, the software is already integrated with all banks for payment processes, including Paypal! Ashop's Tech support and Customer Service are more than just a button on the internet because they are actually available to help it's customers succeed in the business. Ultra fast web-servers?!? They have that too, to ensure that the merchant's shop is up most of the time, 24/7. And best of all, it is so easy to set-up that one can even customized the design to suit one's tastes.

It is a ready online shopping cart system, when you need it, as soon as you need it.

So I was wrong...

When I said I wasn't too confident about The Pacman winning today's bout against Barrera. He actually won. Even if he looks bloated and all (he gained 14lbs for the match after the official weighing in, the night before). He actually won. Since we watched it at Rockwell, we already knew the results even before the local channel started showing it. So imagine the annoyed peeps my spoiler mom texted, immediately after the scorecards were read. Hah! I texted my bestfriend C, and Ane, only because they asked me to.

Anyway, our man did a good job. Another thing, and I think I share the same sentiments with the rest of the country, that Barrera only fought for himself, not giving his 100% -- that because this is the last match before he retires, he would like to leave the scene by showing everyone that he ended his career without getting knocked-off. Ego-thing? We will never know. He kept on stepping back, not fighting head-on, nag-Arthro yata. Hmp!

Are you kiddin' me?

While hubby and I were waiting in line at the parking building early this evening, I asked him again what he wanted for Christmas. Without batting an eyelash, he said he'd like us to have our own house. Whoa! For the past few weeks, he would always incorporate that subject in our conversations but he was definitely joking when he said he'd like a new one by Christmas. Oh! I forgot to ask which year we were talking about! LOL! Oh well, building our own house is actually in our long term goals (is five years long enough?). Anyhow, I am excited to canvass our stuff, from contemporary bedroom furniture to the littlest details like floor tiles and door knobs! For now, all we can do is dream.

Etc. Etc.

Pardon me, but I can't seem to compose a better entry...just like for the past few days. I have so much to share yet every time I log on and try to type away, I am at a loss for words. I do not even know where to start! I miss doing a lot of things, and I haven't been bloghopping. I feel restless even if I've been having my fair share of rest hours.

~~~~~~~~~

I went to the courts this afternoon with Ane but after one game, I just sat there and didn't queue anymore. My body is just too tired and my usual playing buddies (except for mitch) weren't there. I coaxed Ane to having dinner at Mein San in Granada but unlike the first time I was there, I didn't feel as hungry and just finishing the food was a struggle (sorry, I know there are a lot of people who doesn't even have food to eat). Don't get me wrong though, I love being with my husband, but eating with friends is more fun. Always.

~~~~~~~~~~

My family and I are watching the Pacman's fight against Barrera tomorrow, rather later, in the mall. Ane won't be able to join us because he has to work. Am sorry to say that I am not too comfortable about this fight, that our man is not too ready to win this one. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hope that he will try his best to fight for our country's glory.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll just finish an assigment and will have to catch some zzzzzz's asap. I hope I get to write a better entry next time.

p.s. The other day I was surprised to hear my mom pushing me to write (like a story or a novel). Maybe she's starting to realize that I finally know what I want to do. Or is that what I wanna do?!? hehe.

Hubby gifts

Christmas equals gifts, well, at least most of the time. What do you give someone who has everything? My hubby cannot have enough gadgets but those things are way expensive. Honestly, it's not hard to give him gifts because he's always been a gracious recepient. But shirts and shoes can get pretty boring and monotonous too. He's a corporate guy but his company isn't that strict when it comes with dresscodes and he's not yet "up-there" to wear a coat at work. Too bad, even if I want to get him some cute cufflinks, like the ones found in the link, the gift will be wasted alltogether. I guess I'll have to wait for a very formal affair before I get him one of those. :)

Time Management

I really need to do something about my time management. It's one thing I suck the most, I admit. This evening, I went to an event without make-up, only because I ran out of time. I was even excited because events rarely happen and I need to practice putting on make-up. Argh! I plan and I plan and never get to finish everything that I need to do (on the side though: I think the event was a success even if the guest of honor was late for about two hours!).

There are still things in my list that I need to do. More work. Less sleep. Longer attention span. hehe...Hhhmmmmm...

What does it take...

To become a realtor? I tried to become one years ago but it just wasn't me, I realized. I learned that one must have the patience and the ability to keep up with the demands of the client, especially that buying a property or a house is a lifetime decision in itself. Plus, I wasn't up to the idea that I have to train just to be able to acquire the skills needed to become one when I was not so sure if it is the career that I wanted in the first place. Anyway, the job is better off with our agents, don't you think?

Freeloader for a day.

That's what I was yesterday. Hehe.

Ane bought me coffee and blueberry cheesecake at Coffee Bean at The Block.

Later, I had a free late lunch (and free counselling, too! hehe) from Clarice at Teriyaki Boy also in The Block.

Then, I was on my way to the garden when a previous SK colleague was also in line for the FX...and she paid for my fare as well!

Dinner was on Mommy.

How's that for a freebie day, huh?

Anyway, my few hours with Clarice was amazing. I told her it was a blessing in disguise that we texted last week and decided we should meet this week. We were supposed to see each other on Wednesday but we had to move it to Thursday. It's not true at all that when you own a business (like the two of us), we can just go anytime, and time is on our hands. That is just so not true. Wait till a client calls, hah! Of course am not gonna make wagwag the details of our conversations in this blog but let's just say that I've just spent the most relaxing afternoon after so long. ♥ Thank God for friends :)

Rollercoaster

I've been crying for the past two nights caused by some family matters AND some personal, emotional and physical troubles.

As I told my brother R, every one of us has, at some point in life or another, frustrations and failures and shortcomings. But that doesn't mean we don't deserve the love and strength from the people who matters most. I know, this too, shall pass. We just have to hold on. And accept.

Months from now, when I go back and read this entry, I'll probably forget what am ranting about here. I'm not gonna leave traces or hints of reason for even writing this. For once in my blogging life, I am not writing to remember.

I am not gonna end this entry on such a sad sad note, though. Because on Wednesday, R&R will be back home where I think they belong. Not to mention that someone made me smile yesterday, and that was Mami Carmie. She apologized for not being there on the courts coz she was having a headache. I told her to get well soon. And then she thanked me and called me "such a sweet person". I am happy to be appreciated especially on the most unexpected times when I had too much to worry about. ♥