I poked Sexy Mom via Google Talk early this morning to start using her Twitter. You’ve probably seen a few of my trivial Twitter Updates (using the wordpress plugin, twitter tools) and my Twitter badge on the right sidebar of this blog. Twitter is an update service or similar to a social networking site that lets you ““micro-blog” or write short (140 characters) quips on what you’re currently doing. It’s a nifty tool for people like me who work most of the time on the internet. All twitter.com does is ask: “What are you doing?” What I like about Twitter is that I can write the most irrelevant and mundane things without worrying if it’s blog-worthy or not. In short, Twitter is a mini-blogging tool. JAngelo wrote that someone said it can replace full-fledged blogging.
When there was only one computer in the house , shared by all of the family members, the computer virus eluded us. That’s because I am such an obsessive compulsive over any files invading my computer. The last time I encountered a computer virus was in 1993 (1994) due to my husband’s files from the law office. The kids know that a virus can crash the PC so at an early age, they learned to be careful. A crashed computer means no computer.
Now I don’t know why M of all people brought in a virus from the UP Psych lab. She’s quite fastidious when it comes to her computer. At first, she complained that the wifi in her dad’s laptop kept shutting down. Then when she brought her PC from the dorm , the black box exhibited the same symptons as the IBM thinkpad,
*ding ding* my mind raced. “It’s a virus”
“Mom can you fix it?”
Downloading the latest AVG proved futile. The explorer crashes as you click it. Even using online virus check crashes the browser. Any word with AVG or virus causes the computer to crash. Strange virus indeed. She can’t even view her blog entry on that weird virus.
What does being broke mean? Does it mean being down to the last million peso? or down to the last 100,000 pesos or the last 1,000 pesos? There was a time, we only had 1,000 pesos in our savings/checking account way below the minimum bank requirement. We even had a negative balance due to a service fee charge for dropping below the minimum. Our saving grace was Lauren who had savings which we borrowed to keep us afloat. In the strictest sense of the word, our financial situation was not entirely hopeless. We were not bankrupt but we were not liquid either. Though we had other assets, it took time to convert them to cash. Though in the red, we didn’t incur credit card debts, renege on our mortagage or borrowed from the bank. These financial challenges a few years ago inspired me to be more responsive to income opportunities. I grew up in financially secure family because my father was hardworking with an astute sense of financial responsibility. We were blessed with a family bakery business and a father who invested his earnings wisely . Despite his illness,and unable to work since his stroke at the age of 55 years old, dad had enough money to last him till his death at age 71.
Not that my husband and I were financially incompetent. With a thriving law office , the financial future looked great. Butch brought in most of the income while I stayed at home and puttered on my hobbies. I felt like a queen being pampered by my King. In the past, I often turned down a lot of projects or refused commissions because I wanted the other party to benefit more than I did. I felt guilty over my earnings. Then the financial crisis hit us like a rock. Stress and hopelessness in our life drove us to be a bit more complacent. We lost focus on our financial affairs. Too bad my king faltered. I had to wake up from my queenly slumber and grab opportunities as they came before we went totally bankrupt.
The past certainly brought me lessons:
- It was okay to profit.
- It was alright to make an honest living.
- It was good to save up enough for a rainy day.
- I need not feel guilty if I earn.
- It’s great to offer quality services at affordable prices.
- It is wise to diversify sources of income.
- Set Goals.
- Do my best ,today, to take responsibility for my finances.
- Believe you deserve the best, financially.
- Believe God cares about your finances.
- Let go of your fear and TRUST.
- Let go of money and concentrate on Living.
So what does my entry “[tag]Cheap Travel Fares Online[/tag]” have to do with all these? I sound like one of those crazy spam words.
You will have to surf through the comments in Yuga’s entry Blogging is a privilege, not a right to understand why this blogger by the name of Blogie of (ittalks.robilloblog.com) starts to judge my spirituality because of a “sarcastic” comment I supposedly made. It’s funny that I am “condemned” like this on a Good Friday. Now I know how poor Jomar felt when his stand on the invocation was ripped to pieces. Here is what the offended Blogie posted:
Before you even try to argue what bourgeoisie or the concept of bourgeoise is with me, I suggest you look them up in the dictionary first. I will engage in a debate with people only when both parties are on the same intellectual plane.
I’ve seen your blog  how can you purport to write about God and spirituality when you can be as sarcastic as you are in your last comment?? Sarcasm, Noemi, has no other purpose but to hurt. Sarcasm has no place in intellectual exchange because it leads to nowhere. If you aim to have a meaningful discussion with me, stick to sober language.
Must have hit a raw nerve on this blogger.
I am so not in the same intellectual plane as he is. So bless me for my feeble mind, dear readers…and allow me to rant about it here as I am not worthy to be in a meaningful discussion. This is my space after all.
Anyway, I replied to Blogie’s comment that sarcasm can be compared to a glass which is half-empty or half-full.
But see, this person doesn’t know me so he judges me on the surface of one or two entries. So let’s give him some slack.
I have seen comments in many blogs about the Philippine Blog Awards. I didn’t realize how a situation can be overblown or overreacted.
Let’s count the ways again…
Now that the 2007 Philippine Blog Awards are over, let’s not forget that there is another bloggers’ event called iBlog3: the 3rd Philippine Blogging Summit . It will be held at the School of Economics Auditorium, in UP Diliman, Quezon City this April 13 and 14, 2007. This event is organized by the University of the Philippines – Internet Society Program. Register Here. It’s FREE!
Don’t miss it, okay? Lauren and I are one of the 25 speakers in this event where we will talk on a wide range of topic ranging from the Blogging for Newbies , Professional blogging to Increasing blog popularity and whole lot more. It’s also another venue to meet up , right?
The program :
I am not talking of the blood-sucking monstrous vampires or human living vampires that exhibit vampiric characteristics or the need, compulsion, or involuntary tendency to “feed” upon some substance or some kind of energy produced by other living things, primarily other people. I’m talking about one facet of vampires which is the repulsion to strong light. On the first morning in our new home, L came running to my room complaining that her room was too bright. I went to her room and noted a stream of sunlight on her writing table. What a bright and sunny day, just perfect mood to start the day.
But noo…L wanted to sleep in.
“Vampire?” (knowing L’s fascination for vampires during her teen years)
“No, I just hate the light. I want to sleep in.” L groaned.
“That’s not too bad. The sunlight is not hitting your bed” I teased. On the floor , our two cats squirmed for a spot under the dark corners of L’s bed. For about a week, I heard the same complaint all day long. M could not stand the afternoon sun hitting on her bedroom. She had massive migraines during the first week.
It got me thinking that so our old home seemed encased in a tomb. . The design of our old home is narrow where certain parts of the rooms barely received the sunlight. The walls that partitioned sections of the home prevented the flow of sunlight. I noticed I always turned on the fluorescent lights in the family den and the dining room. The only room that received sunlight was the living room during the mornings and the kitchen in the late afternoons. The rest of the rooms screamed of darkness and gloom. Is it one reason I felt so despondent in that house? With blinds to shield any meager source of sunlight, their rooms were a virtual nightscape. It’s no wonder that L oversleeps and wakes up at 1:00 PM when she has no school. One time, I even slept in L’s room and woke up at 10:00 AM to my utter disbelief.
I love the light. Maybe my vision is a bit impaired which makes me yearn for better lighting system. Our new home is situated in a corner lot with ample and huge windows which means more sunlight streaming in all directions.
I love it.
The chorus of the family members “WE NEED CURTAINS NOW”
My feet are killing me! For 2 hours, I walked the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium lobby to cajole guests to eat cocktails and be merry. Well, what a day! I got a surprise! I received a special award from Globe Broadband : the Family Blog Award which is meant to honor family-oriented blogging. It’s indeed an honor to receive the Family Blog Award as it helps promote my blog’s advocacy. Of course, I never imagined myself to be a recipient of any award for tonight’s [tag]Philippine Blog Awards[/tag] since I chaired the Venue and Food Committee. I learned that Globe Broadband/Innove guys thought of this idea and selected their winners based on their own criteria. What an innovative way to promote brand name recall and recognition to a very special niche. It’s a good thing that my Globelines Broadband Internet is working well so far or else I would not have been happy to receive this award.
Other awards given out by Globe Broadband were
1. Blog Achievement Award” The Mommy Journals
2. Pinoy Ako Blog Award: ederic@cyberspace
3. Blogirl Award: Well Whatever
4. Deliblog Award: Dessert Comes First
The best thing about receiving the Family Blog award is that my whole family attended the Awards Night with me. They enjoyed the food (thanks Josiah’s Catering), the bloggers and just being there with me. All my family members maintain a blog except that Butch and M chose to keep a private url. So it was quite an exciting adventure for them to see/meet the person behind the blog that they have been reading for ages.
(Photo courtesy of Anton)
The night flew so fast…In just one hour and half, winners were announced.
The winners of the 16 categories are:
Read More →
It was 10:00 PM and quite dark at the Xavier Hall grounds in the Ateneo Campus. Lauren left the Blue Rose festivities earlier than the rest of her friends. I directed her to meet me at the Flagpole. She glanced over me from a distance and ignored me, or so I thought.
I yelled “Laauureeennnn”
She looked surprised to see me wave at her.
“Oh mom I didn’t recognize you. You ‘re so slim”
oohhh…Music to my ears
“It’s just my tight fitting shirt!” I hugged Lauren with glee.
I don’t think I lost much weight the past weeks. It’s just that some clothes I own make me look slimmer. Losing the last 10 pounds is not an easy goal. My daily routine consists of 2 hours at the gym leaving me with approximately 6 hours of work. I often tell myself “what good will my income be if I am unhealthy?” as I huff and puff on the treadmill.
“Health is wealth” is my mantra as I continue to exercise.
“Mom, I really like it that you’re anal”, M, my psychology major daughter told me the other night.
The word “anal” sounds deregatory but I’m pretty used to my family teasing me with my neat freak attitude. Haha, I just laughed.
“And that’s a compliment!” they chirped..
I was touched.
I never thought I’d hear the day my daughters and husband would appreciate the effort I put into my household.
So I asked my 2 daughters “Why do you now appreciate my being anal?”
The two girls then narrated to me that their dormmates have even messier rooms than their own. Often the thoughts running through their minds are “If only mom can see this mess”. The girls can’t stand disorder in their own rooms but still I raise my eyebrows whenever I pass by their rooms. I just give a one-liner like “You have a lovely bed that cost me $___. Too bad it’s messy” or “studies are not an excuse for being sloppy” or “you have so many drawers . Use them to organize your things”
Whenever I drop by the dorm, I never step into their rooms simply because I want to avoid lecturing them on neatness. One time, I had no choice but drop some important items inside their rooms. Know what I did? I closed my eyes , opened the door and dropped the bag on side of the door.
(Read my Review of Globe Broadband, PLDT Mydsl, Smart Bro and Smart 3g)
The house is clean and sanitized, the air smells of paint, the pocket garden looks refreshing as I am sitting here beside my antique writing table, trying to catch up with my backlog in work . Thanks to the [tag]Philippines Cable Internet Providers[/tag], installation was fast . I always imagined that installation would take months. I remember moving in to Pasig in 1980 and I got my landline in 1984. But take a look at this. If you move to a new home (well at least in Pasig City where I am moving), you can have an internet connection the following day after payment. This is my experience.
1. Smart Bro– I paid 999 pesos for a 384 kpbs connection on March 2. An hour later, they called me to schedule the installation the following day. That’s pretty quick, huh? Smart Bro has this ongoing promotion where you get free installation for new applications if you apply within the month of March. It didn’t make sense to continue with my existing contract because I would have to pay 1600 pesos for the transfer. Might as well get locked in for a one year period. Besides, my cousins in my new neighborhood swear that Smart Bro connection is pretty reliable.
2. Globelines Broadband Budget Bundles – I called Globelines to send me an application form to my house. Since I wasn’t there yet, she dropped it with the caretaker. After I signed the form , the agent came back and processed my application form. A week later, I got my phone line and my 1 MBPS internet connection which came with a prolink modem and wi-fi bundle. So here I am enjoying a 1 MBPS wifi connection goodness. This budget bundle costs only 1450 pesos a month. I don’t know how long the free landline use lasts.