Working from Home

Working from home is what I've been doing for the past 3 years. I've worked in a telecommunications company before but I knew that the corporate set-up would not suit me. And I was right. I was happy with my job and with my colleagues but I was not happy with the rigidness of a corporate set-up. But most of all, I was not happy that I missed out on some of my family's activities.

I knew I had to choose. And so I resigned. When I did quit, I was excited that I had so much plenty of time, that I can enjoy the day with my young kids while the older ones are at school, that I do not have to dress-up and worry about the reports I have to submit, that I can watch the late morning TV programs that I would normally miss and so much more. I was ecstatic!... at least for the first 2 months.

After a while, I became restless. I knew I wanted to do something, something that could make me feel occupied and at the same time earn extra income. Besides, it is liberating to know that I earn my own money.

So I started a home based business and been doing some freelance writing on the side. This enabled me to dictate my own time and decide my work load. It is a perfect set-up on the outside but working at home also has its setbacks.

You see, it is twice as hard to get things done when you work at home. The enemy mainly is distraction. With writing, it is difficult to be distracted because there would be instances wherein nothing comes out and there would also be instances wherein ideas are racing out of my mind and I am typing very fast. So, you could just imagine how impatient I would get when I am suddenly stopped from my work.

Since I work at home, a lot of things could distract me like my kids, the telephone, the TV, the mailman etc. You really have to be disciplined and allot a time to really just work and shut yourself up from all the things going on around the house. It would also mean training the kids to respect your time when you are working.

But, nothing could be more perfect for me than this present set-up that I have. Despite it's disadvantages, I love it and I wouldn't exchange it for anything else.

Earn Extra Income

Lately, I have been dabbling with Google Adsense and how to earn from it. I've known about this for some time but it is just now that I really took the time to read on how I can wisely add it in my blog. Google pays $20 cents per click. Not much especially for somebody who's starting like me. Doesn't matter, I said to myself. This is extra income for my part and I enjoy writing in my blog.

There is much more to Google Adsense than what I thought. Below are some of the things I've learned when using Adsense:

1. Your ads need to have the right combination of colors and size. It has to be attractive but at the same time it has to blend in your blog or website. This is important so as the reader would assume that it is part of your blog.
2. You have to update your blog regularly. Everyday if possible. This would encourage crawlers to go through your blog.
3. Write quality articles. Not too short and full of pictures.
4. Write something that ordinary people can relate to.
5. If possible, target your readers. Personally, this is something I find it hard to do because I write based on what inspires me at the moment and based on my experiences. Knowing your readers would mean writing articles constantly about a specific topic. This would be an advantage when it comes to your ads.

Google Adsense, given the right focus, can serve as an extra income for working moms like me. It gives me the chance to do what I enjoy doing and at the same time earn extra from it.

De-cluttering

I spent the whole day of Saturday at home. I didn't feel like going out, thanks to the gloomy weather. And so, sitting in front of my laptop, I gave my work desk a good stare. My, what clutter. Tsk, tsk.... So I decided to de-clutter my desk and throw away all the unnecessary papers, receipts, pens not working anymore, unopened letters from advertisers and file paid bills. After about an hour, my desk was clean again. It feels good to have an organized workspace.

Going back to clutter, it is odd that we accumulate so much unnecessary things in our life. We buy things, use it for a while then after some time, it sits already in the dark accumulating dust. The funny thing is we never get the chance to throw it away thinking that we might be able to use it someday. But that someday never comes.

It is hard for a person to throw things but often, practicality should be above sentimentality. I make it a personal rule to discard things that I haven't used for 1 year. Last June, I held a garage sale wherein I sold our old clothes and beddings. The price ranged from Php10.00 to Php100.00. It was a big hit! I decongested our cabinets and at the same time made some money to buy new rubber shoes for my son.

In some countries like New Zealand and Australia, the government provides a schedule wherein rubbish like old or broken appliances, furnitures can be disposed of by the residents. It encourages its citizens to give away or throw things that they don't need. As the saying goes, "Somebody's garbage can be another man's treasure."

Come to think of it. It does make sense.

Toshiba projector TV....an owner's headache

Our Toshiba projector TV has been damaged again for the 2nd time by the same culprits. It's mice! We bought this over a year ago and still in its warranty period when the motherboard was affected by the pee of a mouse. Yes, that's right... shake your head in disbelief that our house has those pests. Well, we did all we can to eliminate these through baits, traps & poison. Hey, my husband even bought that apparatus that claims to get rid of rats through radio waves. What a joke! The only thing that minimized the pests was when got ourselves a cat. Yes, that good ol' reliable cat. The only problem is the cat became cats that we had no place anymore for all of them and my youngest son got an allergy from it. He would have a whooping cough every night. So after eliminating all possible causes of allergens, the cats had to be given away.

Now back to the Toshiba TV.

So our projector TV was pulled out for close to a month. They finally informed us that the motherboard got corroded and that this will not be covered by the warranty. I said, What?! I argued and reasoned out that we did not in any way tamper the TV and this is still covered by the warranty. After weeks of endless follow-ups, sending out emails to department heads and being irate, they finally gave in and charged us a much lower amount. We requested that all possible entrances of the supposed to be culprit should be covered. They said yes, they have covered all areas.

So months passed or exactly just as our TV turned 1 year old, the colors started to get funny again. I said oh,oh. Not again. I noticed that this happens when we have been out of the house for a long time and the TV is not being used. So again I called their authorized service center. They pulled it out and after 2 weeks, they gave me a ring. As I was picking up the phone, I said to myself that I should get ready to hear something that I do not want to hear. True enough, they told me that it was again the motherboard and it would cost us roughly Php 30,000 to have it replaced. The person on the other line consoled me by saying that if you will have it fixed, the check-up fee of Php 2,000 will not be charged anymore. As if saying that would make me feel better.

I was so shocked with total disbelief. Not with the price they quoted because I was expecting it already having to go through it the second time. I was shocked with disbelief that this is happening to us! That we made a bad choice by buying Toshiba over other brands. Even the service center that handled our TV told us that most of the repairs they handled are of the same reason... MICE. The person we talked to hunched that there might be something in the material of the TV that was used that makes it attractive to mice. Since the projector TV's inside is big and warm, it makes it a more comfy environment for rats to cuddle up and do their thing there.

Out of pure hopelessness, my husband wrote to Toshiba Hong Kong informing them of our disgust over their product. We didn't bother writing to Toshiba Philippines because our previous experience was so stressful. Yes, they gave in to our request but only after shaking hell and heaven did they finally listen. So hubby sent the email to their Hong Kong counterpart not expecting any response at all.

But guess what?

Two days ago, he received a call from Toshiba Philippines verifying the information that they got from Toshiba HK. Obviously, Toshiba HK acted on our email by endorsing our problem to the Philippine branch. And since this endorsement came from HK, it surely got the attention of our country's branch manager. Well, they said they will probe into our problem and assured us that they would call back. They didn't call back but the manager of the authorized service center called us saying that Toshiba Philippines called him inquiring about our TV and its problem. They told him that they would assist us.

Now I do not know what the word assist means. And I don't want to assume anything but it sure made my day.

I'll just wait for the developments.

Truly Rich

The book by Bo Sanchez "8 Secrets on How to be Truly Rich" was enlightening. It was written with an exact dose of humor, reality, practicality and spirituality. Unlike other self help books wherein the focus is just all about making money, this one mixes it with the essence of being a good Christian.... of how you can be a blessing to others. It inspired me to work harder in achieving not only my financial goals but to be truly rich in all aspects of my life. A book definitely worth your time.

Thirty what?

For those of you who are thirty something, let me ask you,

"How does it feel to be in your thirties?"

Thirties huh? Sounds ancient if you're going to ask a teenager. A lot of us may cringe at the thought of getting old. But if you ask me, I would say Great!

I am thirty six years old and never felt this good. Stepping into your thirties makes you feel more confident about things that matter in life like work, family and yes... sex included. It means you know what you want and where you are going. It means you are more assertive and people can not push you around anymore. You have more experience but not yet an expert on life.

Looking back in my 36 years, I have been through the many ups and downs of life. I was a daughter, a teenager, a student, somebody's friend, now an entrepreneur, a wife and a mother. Some decisions I made in life were good, some were bad, some were so so, but through it all, I have managed to survive. But I believe, I still have a lot to learn from what life may have to offer.

I wonder what the 40s will be?

Good Friends

Last Sunday, me and my friends from my previous work saw each other for a quick reunion. One of my friends decided to "drop" by from Singapore and so the reason for this dinner get-together. It has been a while since we last saw each other. The last time was I think 1 to 2 years ago. Due to the demands of our own lives, a conflict of schedule was always the reason behind our inability to remain in touch as often as we would like to.

It was good to see them once again. We may not have seen each other for so long but I could sense that the friendship is still there despite the long physical absence. In a span of 3 hours or so, we were able to update each other with what's going on in each of our lives. The evening ended with promises of doing it more often.

Die Hard 4.0

Watching Die Hard 4.0 was exhausting. It was tiring to watch Bruce Willis single handedly assault and beat the bad guys. As the movie transpires in front of you, one would surmise that this guy never runs out of luck. Well, what can I say, anything goes when it comes to movies such as this. Too much heroism for my taste. For action fanatics, there are a lot of car crashes, explosions, kicking and all sorts of action packed adventure.

But you see, I am a guilty critic. I have watched all Die Hard episodes and will probably watch Die Hard 5 should there be any despite my comments above. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's because Bruce Willis or maybe because I will not get disappointed in feeding my desire for an action flick or maybe because I just want to be entertained.

Hot soup.... anyone?

The month of July started with me feeling sick. The late nights and the frequent travel brought its toll on me. I now have colds & cough. My nose is red and runny & I am teary eyed. Ugh, hate the feeling! I remember my mom would make me take some hot soup and miraculously, it would make me feel better. Now, I'm gulping vitamin C, lots of water & some cold medicines to alleviate the sickness. I try to be productive and do some writing... with this post although I have a feeling I'm not making much sense. So for those reading this, sorry for this. I just want to keep busy. I'm tired of watching TV the whole afternoon and I hate going back to bed again.

I hope tomorrow would be better.