Friday, April 4, 2014

Odesk.com is a Freelancer’s Paradise

Anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone can freelance. You don’t have to be a megatechie who rules the cyberworld to be able to freelance from home. As long as you know how to use a computer and navigate through the internet, you can do it!
work-at-home2
I have been freelancing for more than 6 years and its been nothing less than great. No rush hours, no bosses hovering, no strict time compliance and no office bureaucracy. I found this really neat site odesk.com, it offers at least 300 freelancing jobs a day from writing to web construction. If you can’t find anything there that you can do then you seriously need to go back to school.
The site is user friendly and offers all the information you need to start freelancing. It also has an online community that lets you ask advise from other odesk freelancers or odesk officers. The best thing about odesk.com is the payment is guaranteed for hourly jobs, there is absolutely no way you won’t get paid.

Living The Sagada Dream

I know its been a while since I updated this blog. If you are my friend you probably know I’ve been balancing baking and writing for while and it’s no easy feat. I hereby make a solemn promise to update the posts and write new posts more often ;)
It’s a wonder how it took me 4 years to write about our trip to Sagada :( 4 years may have passed but it has not dimmed the brilliant memory of being in that awesome place. SAGADA…where the soul meets the sky :D Love it! I am kind of feeling melancholy because of the recent tragedy in Bontoc, you know when we were there you do get the feeling that every turn is the last turn you are ever going to make in your life. Seriously, the roads were too sagada 2narrow, the curves were very tight and the ravines deeper than I can to measure. Truly scary. When we boarded the bus there was a bunch of new plastic sando bags hanging by a metal post right beside the driver, me in all my kitty curiosity asked the driver what they were for… he said please get one if you feel like throwing up during the trip, geez. The trip was akin to a roller coaster ride not because its fast or have sudden loops but because you get that feeling of your heart being in your throat the entire trip. I’m not complaining, I believe that the dangerous ride towards this beautiful town makes the trip even more exciting and worthwhile.
sagada
When we reached Sagada it felt like I was inches away from heaven, oops my bad it was really heavy fog. I’ve never seen fog like fog in Sagada, darn even the fog here was special. It was really thick and tangible, you can actually feel tiny beads of water floating in the air. Kind of weird I know but that’s the only way to describe it. And the smell…so different, the air smelled like wet flowers, no kidding, it was like the entire place has been sprayed by a giant can of air freshener :D I’m going crazy. (to be continued….)
sagada 3

Thursday, December 5, 2013

My Two Jars

I have two jars, the good jar and the bad jar.

Whenever someone I know met their goal and I felt happy for them or if something positive came out of a really dire situation I would take a pebble and drop it into the good jar. When little things make me happy or I feel positive vibes from people around me... another pebble goes into the good jar. The size of the pebble depends on how good the situation made me feel.

The bad jar. The bad jar gets a pebble when I let someone get under my skin... or I have ill feelings for someone who has done me wrong. If I am unable to ignore a person who is deliberately irritating the hell out of me or if a false friend shows her true colors and I got really upset, the bad jar gets another pebble.

Why do I have two jars? Because its easy for us to overlook that despite our goal to do good and be positive we sometimes let other people drag us down with their negative outlook. Letting someone else influence you beyond your good sense is wrong,  it not only affects you but it also affects the people around you. It's wrong,  big or small, wrong is wrong. I wanted to make sure I am a spreading positive vibes around me. I want people to smile more and feel better whenever I am around simply because my positive energy will lift them up. Why? because I expect the same from everyone.  When life throws me lemons I want to be sure there is someone out there who will help me make some lemonade. Makes sense?
At first I noticed that both jars were filling up at about the same rate and I was not happy. I paid attention to how my day normally runs. I see that the bad things people around me were doing was making me irritable and ruining my day. I was letting too many people get the best of me. People who have nothing good to say about other people....they were driving me crazy, dragging me down with negativity. People who have nothing better to do than to pick out the bad things about everyone instead of trying to look for the good in them. My mom always told me the secret to having a good day is to find the good side of everyone you meet, she assured me that everyone has a good side.

This has got to change. I decided to focus on being positive. To always try to see the good in everything, to always find the best in everyone. I even got me a shirt that says " Always Look for the Best in Everyone". Whenever I see people who seem to have made a habit of finding negative things about other people  I greet them with a smile and say something nice, I am hoping the positive outlook will rub off on them. However, some people make it impossible for you to see anything good and no matter how hard you try to influence them to be positive they seem to enjoy being under a dark gray cloud. For these people.... I just turn my back and do my best to ignore all their negative energy.

After sometime I noticed I need another jar for "good" while "bad is gathering cobwebs... How's yours?

Road Trip to The Edge of the Earth

If there's one thing that I learned from this trip it's to always check the distance you will travel on your way to your destination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but knowing the exact time and distance does make a difference. This trip took 39 hours, 39 hours of sun, rain, sun, dust, rain and mud(not necessarily in that order), did I mention rain? Despite the extreme exposure,believe it or not, I was totally having fun.

Our Destination : Balangiga Eastern Samar
Distance : Approxinately 800 Kms from our home

In the first leg of the trip we decided to split up, I take the bus while Jewell rides our Yamaha Mio aka "Wendy" to Matnog Sorsogon where we will meet and cross to Port of Allen on board a RORO, from there we plan to ride together on our scooter to infinity and beyond...

Yummy Kinalas!
We left at 4:00AM and our teenie weenie Yahama Mio made the trip from Batangas to Naga in 6 hours the bus I was on took 8 hours I was intensely bored. Finally we meet up in Naga and spend the night there. We spent the rest of the day looking for good food which was always on top of our enjoyment list. Our favorite Kinalas which was more or less like mami with white sauce was a real treat and together with puto it was a force to be reckoned with ;)

Up and running again at 4am we head out towards Sorsogon and
"Wendy" stapped in for the boat ride
the port of Matnog. We've traveled to Legaspi Albay before so that part of the trip was more or less "as expected".Then comes the exciting part, riding on unfamiliar scenery. We reached Matnog Port and it's my first time to ride a RORO. Scardy cat is what I am. I hate oceans, especially when I'm on a barge that is probably older than I am and more rickety than my grandmama's century old rocking chair. We loaded our trusted little Wendy to the barge and we went up to the upper deck and enjoy (not a word I'd use but what the hey) the 50 minute trip that will take us to the Visayas Island. The RORO surprisingly (maybe just for me) had a karaoke machine and Jewell belted a few songs to pass the time.
RORO ride from Matnog to Allen

We arrived at Allen Port around 9am and was blessed with slightly overcast skies with no rain, perfect for a motorcycle ride. No food, according to chismis (rumors) poisoning is common in this area so no street food for us. With each bay side town passing by my hopes of seeing Jolibee or any other trusted fast food dims.... after 8 hours on the road I was ready to kill for a yum burger. Jewell took pity on my and allowed me to eat skyflakes only because I was complaining louder that the motorcycle engine.

From the time we reached Allen Port the roads were noticeably smoother and virtually flawless (thank you Imelda Marcos) at least we were riding in comfort. Maharlika Hi-way had towns to the left and the sparkling sea on the right, it was a sight well worth the hunger and the throbbing rear end pain from sitting in the not so padded scooter seat for more hours than I can count. When I finally laid eyes on San Juanico bridge I was ecstatic, we were near Balangiga finally! it was almost four in the afternoon and we have been driving for close to 11 hours. Near was not near enough, it still took another 2 hours before we finally reached Balangiga.

Trying his hand at fishing :) 
I was greeted with the smell of fried Blue Marlin which I grabbed and gobbled down even before I put my bags down. The house we were staying in had its back to the sea. I was going to sleep in the room which was at the back of the house and I will be lulled to sleep by the sound of waves crashing onto the shore. Come morning I was greeted by the smell of adobong Blue Marlin, you see this fish is abundant in Balangiga in the summer and we were just at summer's end and the Marlins were cooperating really well :) I could get used to this life haha.

After 5 days of ocean breeze and sunshine its back home to the land of coconuts and tulingan :D





Monday, March 18, 2013

Rice Terraces Don’t Always Grow Rice (Bontoc, Benguet)


All my life I’ve always thought that rice terraces grew rice, well, with the name rice terraces what else can it grow? Last March 2010  my husband and I went to Sagada and we passed the scenic town of Bontoc, famous for its vegetable terraces. You read right, vegetable terraces, it grows all kinds of cool climate crops like broccoli, snap beans, cabbage etc etc.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Loving Your Kids the Right Way



----- This is a powerful message in our modern society. We seemed to have lost our bearing & sense of direction.


One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired."

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Odesk Fulfilled a Writer's Dream


When I graduated from college I wanted to be a writer but shortly after I tried writing I realized that writing is a fulfillment not a job. Finding contracts was a gargantuan feat that most writers (I know I was)get disappointed and end up getting higher paying jobs, sadly those were jobs that did not require writing :(

I became a telephone operator, a telemarketer, a sales manager, a government employee and finally a call center dudette :) Yup, so many jobs in so little time cause I was probably not happy with any of them. I did the job because I needed the money and not because it was what I wanted to do, in my heart I still wanted to write.

Writing is my lifeblood. It gives me a sense of fulfillment no other job can. It allows me to transport people to places unknown to them, enables me to transfer feelings, create a new world where I am master, conjure images without using pictures... magical, that's what words are to me.

Now, after so many years of trying to stay afloat while keeping my dream in sight I have finally found my mecca in ODesk. ODesk has given me access to a market that is a writer's paradise. A place where a writer like me can unleash my unbridled writing desires to my heart's content, be appreciated and get paid handsomely too. In ODesk the demand for writers is totally unquenched that you will have a chance to pick your topics and writing style.

ODesk is a freelancer's wonderland. A place where you can create a career for yourself, pace your advancement, develop all your skills without fear of peer pressure and best of all maximize your earning power without killing your human body.