This week has been really stressful. What with being the last week of the month for wrapping up blogging duties and due bills to pay. It was a little difficult to breathe as I was also neck deep in house and mommy chores.
At last it’s Saturday and I can rest for 2 whole days. When Monday comes, it’s going to be a totally different story. ;) Then the week after that is Raine’s first quarter exam.
What is it that you do?… REALLY??!!!
It rained blogging duties since May. And I’m having a blast. A little tired of course, but at the end of each month (when I get the blog p$y)…it is always worth it.
Recently, somebody in Raine’s school sorta ‘interviewed’ me. Well I joined her direct selling store/company that’s why she had to ask some personal questions.Then we ended up chatting for 2.5 hours! He he. Can you imagine?
She got curios when i entered in the registration form - under occupation - Professional Blogger. She said…’what is that’? Really a comment I always get when some people (non-bloggers, non-internet savvy folks) ask what it is exactly that I do. So I explained. In lowest terms.The moment I mentioned ‘ sort of a writer but online, on web logs’… her next question (of course!) was: what topics??
Honestly? I lost count already. All I know is that they span a huge range of blog topics: from Chicago Search Engine Optimization to Korean Cooking, from salads and granolas to laptops and smartphones, from women’s health to cloud computing, from the iPad to home mortgages. Isn’t that great??!!!! I told you it’s huge. 
Ha ha ha.
During the summer season I was commuting from the barrio to the city on a daily basis in order to work online. On the average, I was just working 8 am to 2 pm days, with the hope of accomplishing more during school days. It’s been two weeks now that classes are going on and my days have gone really crazy.
I have already mentioned that a cousin is staying with us here in the city to help me with chores and with sometimes with Raine. However, he is also a college student (whom I am sort of helping out financially) and unlike last semester, he’s got a crazy class schedule this time.
Therefore I am mostly alone here… favorable to the fact that I need some peace and quiet while working. However, a disadvantage at times because - like any parent with school kids - my mornings can get really hectic. And so I have recently been starting my day at 4 am just to get a head start on stuff.
However, after a few days of waking up too early…it has taken a toll on me…that by Wednesday I am already snoozing during the 7 pm news, leaving Raine to close-up the house, practically. It’s good to sleep early right? It’s just that when I sleep too early in the evenings, I’ll be up and about by midnight.
So instead of staring in the ceiling and tossing and turning in bed, I’ll be working instead. And you know how that goes…I’ll be online through dawn! Worse, I just have to be up by 6 am to take care of my school kid. You get the picture… Ill be a zombie the whole day!
in my mind: the perfect work-at-home scenario
The downside to working at home is you get cooped up inside your house, in front of your computer all the time. Even breathing can get difficult at times. Air inside can get stale you know. Your electric fan blowing hot air in the summer heat. A/C is still too expensive.
With my meager blog pay, the fan and the computer alone brings my electric bill to a sky-high level. Electric power is just too expensive around here…not to mention the crappiest service that these electric coops provide us with…
I wonder when Smart Bro/Wi-max/Whatever-DSL or something else (Satellite internet? 50+K PHP for the unit alone! On second thought, that’s just 1+K USD! He he.) will ever reach my barrio?
Hmmmmmmmmm… online business…online business…shopping cart system..not to sell used books ha! Secret muna.
Oh well…in my mind there’s a perfect scenario I’m dreaming about. In my conversation with A over YM just now, this is what went on:
Me: u know.. times like these? i should be outside in our yard
kahit small table and beach umbrella lang
laptop ko andun
may internet!
that would be THE life!
open air,
crickets in concert
cool wind caressing the leaves
the branches swaying with the wind.
maybe a moon in the sky
starry skies
tapos mag yo yosi ka
tahimik! ahahha
SARAP!
A: this is not negative, how about mosquitos?
baka ma-dengue
Me: may electric mosquito killer naman
yung may UV light!
A: ok
Me: a cocktail in the other hand
A: take it easy
Me: ang mga mahal mo sleeping soundly sa loob ng bahay
A: yeah u want them sleeping kasi pasaway
Me: exactly!
hahaha
I’ve decided to add 2 new categories to this blog that hopefully will take this blog to a new direction.
1) Letters To Raine (LTR)
It won’t be long that Raine is going to discover and read this blog to the letter. While he is mainly in 99% of the archives, I want to write blog entries that speaks directly to him. After all, he was the main reason this blog was created in 2004.
Letters to Raine will range from the mundane of stuff to life lessons I wanna document for him. I guess it would be nice that aside from talking a lot all the time to Raine, I have something in black in white to show him.
2) Glo’s Life Goals (GLG)
For somebody who has not been into resolutions and checklists, I wan’t to create a list of sorts for myself. Something I can tick off as I accomplish them. There’s just too much thoughts going through my head enough to keep me awake at night that I want to write them all (if possible!) before I forget about them in the mornings.
So there…I hope you’ll watch out for it.
Happy weekend everyone!
Yesterday, I had the longest day ever! It was really crazy… Because I slept early the other night while putting Raine to sleep, I was wide awake really early the following morning - at 3 am! So I decided to go ahead with my online stuff, thinking that I’ll be able to accomplish way much before it’s time to prepare Raine for school at 6 am.
So when 6 am came, I took care of Raine, helped him prepare, brought him to school and I got back excited to get back to writing. However, less than an hour into it…I ended up voice-and-video chatting with a long-lost friend of mine. Before I knew it, it was already time to get ready for Raine’s lunch break.
After lunch, my brother was buzzing my computer when I got back here. He wanted to chat too. So we did. For more than 2 hours! I told you…yesterday was indeed chika day! He he. Anyways, I was able to insert some more blog entries after chatting with my brother. Then it was again time to pick up Raine at school by 4 pm. When we went home together, I still had to take care of Raine first for various things. After which, I cooked/prepared dinner while hand-washing the laundry. Talk about multi-tasking, right?
You know what happens when you accidentally fall asleep early in the evening while putting your kid to bed? You get up like 3 am! Ha ha ha!
Instead of tossing and turning in bed I decided to get up and go online. Thank God the internet connection is so much faster at this hour. I love it when the house is dark and I’m the only one up pounding on the keyboard.
The PC monitor solely illuminating my work table. Except for the nasty humming of my good, old electric fan (it is still too hot these days!), it’s pretty quiet around here.
And I love it!
Now that American Idol season 9 is over, I just lost 2 opportunities to unwind each week. It feels weird not rushing home on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting next week. But then classes will soon start, so I’ll have more things to be busy about. I just have a huge need to unwind these days as I’m being swamped with more and more blog assignments.
But then maybe it’s good that I have once again more opportunities to earn in blogging so I can afford a real vacation with Raine this year. (A quick trip to Singapore is a lot cheaper than Branson vacations!) So you know which one I’m going to pick. Besides, we have this long-standing invitation to visit. I really hope we’ll be able to make it this year.
(Updated 29 June 2010)
At Creative Weblogging, I am updating all of the English blogs and I have just been named Network Editor.
Also, I must be crazy to take on more blogs, but I did. Check out the English blogs in the following networks (all Creative Weblogging-related):
I am updating them all as well!
Maybe the U.S. economy is really picking up…as the blogging business starts to pick up as well.
At the moment, I am providing content for the following blogs:
Also, I contribute entries to the following blogs:
Hopefully…there’ll be LOTS more to come.
These days, I am busy blogging not just about weight loss products but also about practically any topic under the sun. I just have no choice, there’s a need to be a ‘general expert’.
On the other hand, there’s 3 more weeks of Raine’s summer class. So he comes with me to the city on a daily basis for his half hour in school. The downside is that, I need to get up at 5 am again. Summer is supposed to be vacation time right? Anyways…3 more weeks and we’re off to a real vacation. I can’t wait.
Last night I can’t sleep…the last time I looked at the clock, it was 230 am. Then I fell asleep eventually. Then my alarm was ringing at 530 am, today is Raine’s first day of summer class! Gosh.
Times like last night, it’s a bad thing that my work station is in the city. Normally I go online on sleepless nights. My eyes get tired easily than wasting time watching TV just so I’ll get sleepy. The only thing I get from watching too much TV is a huge headache.
Anyways…real jobs (not even Philadelphia jobs) are still out of my reach. In the meantime, I have more blog assignments. Maybe that’s one way of fate saying that I should stick to blogging? Either way, I’m still not complaining. As long as the $$$ come my way in blogging, I’ll be just fine. He he he.
It’s Friday and the end of the work week for me too. But unlike those with 8-5 jobs, I’ll be going home in a few minutes. Yey! I’ve been here since around 8 am and thank God there’s no heavy workload today. Now I can look forward to a weekend of eating and sleeping (help…weight loss drink!).
Monday is going to be a different routine for us.It’s the start of Raine’s summer class that will go on for weeks. Classes will be half-days only but I got to stay on after lunch to work some more. I just hope I can convince Raine to stay in the city for a few more hours daily…
…just drowning in more blog assignments.
kelangan lang humataw kasi malapit na ang pasukan, daming gastos na naman.
freelancers don’t get a holy week holiday
This is the second week that I’ve been coming back to the city to work since Raine went on vacation. While I enjoy not getting up really early in the mornings, I envy the rest of the people around me. Everyone seems to be on vacation mode, especially today because of the holy week.
Everyone is going somewhere. The beach has gotten really crowded. Typical at this time of year.
When I was still residing in LB, holy week is the only holiday in the year that I don’t go home. Just because I hate the crowd in buses and bus terminals. In those days, passengers are getting inside bus windows just to get a seat. It was just horrible. Stressful too!
Then makakuha ka pa ng kaaway sa bus. I remember flagging down a 50ish guy smoking inside an air-conditioned bus. The only reason I took the bicol-bound aircon buses then was to avoid the guys smoking inside the ordinary bus. Otherwise, I’ll be fine without the aircon.
Then later on, nauso na ang seat reservation sa bicol-bound buses.
It’s Monday again and I’m back here in the city to do some work. Freelancers don’t have a vacation after all. Raine’s vacation officially started last Friday (right after the 4th periodical test). So we went home to the barrio right away on Thursday afternoon. I came back here in the city on Friday hoping that I can work some more. But there was a 9 to 5 brownout in the whole province. Yes, the whole province. Unbelievable but true. I had no choice but to go back home. Instead of getting angry about it, I went to sleep.
Anyways… I’m warming up in here at the moment. Surfing the web, checking emails…in no time it will be quick trim reviews. Hopefully, there’ll be other topics as well.
Have a nice day everyone!
I’ve had extra assignments writing acne product reviews and so much more, and I am once more a blogging machine. Well I need that extra moolah so I am not really complaining. In time for next enrollment, I’ll have something for the initial installment.
Last night however, I felt really drained but can’t sleep right away. I’m still blogging inside my head even though my body is already physically exhausted. Know that feeling? You want to fall asleep but your head is still racing with thoughts you might as well hit the keyboard once more. But you are just human you need to rest…so rest I did.
Anyways…since I’m not getting shortlisted in any of my job applications, I welcome all the writing opps with open arms. I just hope they keep coming for awhile.
where have all the bloggers gone?
I might as well remove my blog roll.
Blogs are either not updated for ages.
Or has totally disappeared.
Where have all the bloggers gone?
I hope they have found a better life outside of the internet.
Blogging sometimes involve the review of promotional products. You will usually get a sample of the product for your own use. I’ve had my own share of such kind of blogging (in my problogs). PR people were kind enough to send me their products even though I am not based in the USA or Canada.
Always, I made sure I gave an honest review — whether or not I find the product favorable to my taste. Besides, I am always entitled to my own honest opinion, right?
However, when you do one? They all keep coming. One day your inbox will be flooded by these PR people. So I just took the liberty of picking out the really good ones that are related to my blogs. Sometimes the items don’t arrive in the mail. Then I’ll completely forget about it. Then I’ll get a follow-up email. Crap. Ha ha ha.
Raine’s 3rd quarter exam - which starts today - is a huge sign that school will soon come to an end. Before I know it, we’ll be receiving graduation invitations in no time.
That means more than 2 months of vacation is in the horizon for us. Summer vacation anyone? 
But since I have online duties, the summer vacation will pose a slight problem. Since all my online gears (computer, own internet connection) is in the city house, I’ll probably have to come here regularly during the week.
Maybe MWF? We’ll see. That’s more than 2 months away still and here I am making plans! He he he.
Last night I finished my extra raket and submitted it all.
As of today I’ve got 6 blogs posts remaining to be done and I have until August 31.
6 blog posts in 6 days?? Good stat. Not bad at all.
Meanwhile…since Saturday evening I’ve been doing our laundry. The day’s used clothes, I wash them at night on the kitchen sink. Not heavy at all. Except for the tiny holes (courtesy of Tide detergent) on my skin…one can hardly notice I’ve been doing some extra chores.
Besides, beautiful hands are hands that work. Right?
Starting at 1130 this morning, brownout na sa barrio. A few minutes before 1 pm, I’m back here in the house in the city. I need to work. Then I got distracted browsing my FB friends’ photos!
I thought I’d blog first. My problogs are down.
What’s with today?? Mu-mu ni Ninoy?! He he he.
Right now? I gotta go home. Mommy duty calls!
2009 Emerging Influential Blog Issue Will Make Your BP Shoot-up and Your Weight Drop!
Have you ever heard of that Emerging Influential Blog something?
There are issues going on about it that you can read here and here.
Warning before reading: Those will make your blood pressure boil some more. However, who needs diet pills?
Now I’m not regretting that I don’t participate in blog awards these days.
This whole week..Barrio Siete has a tribute to President Cory.
All blog entries are about Cory.
Cory is the humblest personality I’ve ever seen in politics. She’s got crendentials under her belt but she sticked to the ‘plain housewife who became president’ label.
She is a daughter of rich parents who was sent to the US for high school and college studies as a result of her cry for personal independence.
She has a major in French and a minor in Math. She wanted to be an interpreter and a Math teacher. Then she came home to the Philippines to study law at FEU. She didn’t finish law of course, she fell in love and married Ninoy.
Since then she became a wife and a mother. She did it all with flying colors. I guess she is one proud, accomplished mom until her daughter Kris entered showbiz and got involved with one controversy after another. What a shame to the family right?!
[Kris should have at least considered her family name before getting into her messy showbiz lovelife and improving her physical appearance (liposuction, cosmetic surgery, noxycut, etc.) the showbiz way!]
Well anybody deserves a second chance right? Don’t mess-up yours Kris.
Cory is a wonderful woman that the whole world admired. Sana man lang itong Kris na laging nasa limelight eh magtino na ng todo-todo!
R.I.P. Cory. You are missed.