What's your musical instrument?

Years ago I watched this video from TED about how playing a musical instrument benefits our brain.  So from that time on, I have been contemplating on what instrument I want to master.

How to put your signature in your blog posts

Signatures are cute to look at the end of your blog posts. It also reinforces your brand and gives personal touch to your posts.

Here's how I did mine :) It's in two parts: Part 1 | Part 2

Review: The Face Shop Green Tea Waterfull Emulsion

I think I have found my holy grail of moisturizers.

Daily Photo Challenge: Day 5

I'm still grasping the concept of aperture. I still mix up the higher/ lower aperture and its effect on the shot. So in these 2 photo I took the same shot but using manual settings and autofocus

This one is taken with the manual setting. It's appears brighter...

Daily Photo Challenge: Day 4

I figured, Im buying things for my camera, I should also get some skin care items to pamper myself. So today I got The Face Shop Green Tea Waterfull Emulsion and Pond's Flawless White BB+ Cream in beige.

Daily Photo Challenge: Day 3- Haze and Graves

Some days ago I noticed how the Davao skies seem misty/ smoggy. I know my beloved city has clear and bright skies. I though I was the only one who noticed. Apparently the haze from the Indonesia forest fire reached all the way here. The forest fires are said to be caused by "slash-and-burn" method of clearing forests to make way for agricultural areas. Indonesia has a lot of carbon-rich peat forests- which is a very dense fuel source that aggravates the fire (further explanation here) .

Prolonged exposure to this haze will probably have a negative health effect in the long term. I hope this will be a wake up call for us to be more sensitive with how we treat the environment. Even the smallest actions can make great impacts. If we won't do anything, the place in the photo below will certainly become crowded.

Daily Photo Challenge: Day 1 (and 2)

I took this the night before Day 1 began (so does this photo make it Day 1) 

Daily Photo Challenge

I realised that I have to have a creative outlet. I really want to improve on photography so here's a guide.

From: http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

How I got my Postal ID

The Postal ID is the quickest valid ID you can get. You'll need it for bank and other official transactions. If you work online like me, then definitely you'll need it for money transfers.

4 ways to avoid insurance salespeople

image from /www.boston-discovery-guide.com

You're walking around the mall and suddenly a wild insurance salesperson appears! You know how annoying they can be especially when they block your way and shove their papers and items down your throat.

[Review] Executive Cafe and Wine Galore

It was coworking day for me and (fortunately) 2 of my workmates who also live in Davao. We agreed to meet up once in a while and explore coffee shops and cafes around the metro.

I suggested that we try Executive Cafe and Wine Galore. It's located along Quirino Street (in front of Davao Doctor's Hospital, above BPI Quirino Branch)

When I pass by this area I would always look up and resolve to check the place out. From the outside the place really looked classy. Since it said 'wine' I had the impression this place is where yuppies would go and hang out after a long day at work.

I was surprised to find the place tiny. 

I was really confused the way this cafe is setup. Maybe I haven't been to a cafe that serves cocktails? Probably they should make up their mind if they want to be a cafe or a bar. A lot of students where there catching up on school work and studying. Maybe this would be a good place for them, though I could just imagine yuppies to be disappointed when they see the place full of students and their laptops.

Don't get me started on their menu. This chicken sandwich costs P75. Really? There's nothing special in it! Obviously it's just bread and some chicken spread they bought at the grocery. No plating. No presentation. 

'Wine Galore'? I didn't even see one wine bottle on their list!

Their menu is quite pricey too.

hot drinks (P50-P115), smoothies (P150-P160), sandwiches (P70-P90), cocktails (P120-P150). 

They have frozen margarita, frozen blue margarita, frozen daiquri, kamikaze, executive mojito, executive, mudslide, zombie, executive illusion, executive pinacolada. I can't imagine a group having drinks and the next table is full of students studying.

And oh! You'll have to pay P30 for charging your laptops.

Overall, I'm quite disappointed with my visit. Probably won't go back again.

5 reasons why working from home is awesome

My workspace

Since the second week of September I have started a home-based career. I still have a fixed working hours (9am-6pm). Before this, I have mixed feelings about working from home. I thought that it wouldn't be stable and staying at home will eventually get to you. On the other hand, I knew there was this kind of freedom where you aren't bound by the 4 walls of your office.

I'm also very blessed to have found a company with a great working attitude. So I thank God for that :)

So yeah, here are some perks of home-work that I'm enjoying so far:

1. NO COMMUTE!
Don't you just hate that feeling where you have to rush and your heart beats wildly because you know you'll be late? Yeah, that feeling is out of the window. No heavy traffic, no squeezing in public vehicles. I can wake up at 8:45 am, take a quick bath (or take my bath at noon, it doesn't matter) make myself a cup of hot choco milk, go to my work space and my work day begins.

2. LESSER EXPENSES
Not having to commute to work means lesser daily expenses. Along with that, I don't have to buy my lunch and snacks (since everything is in the kitchen anyway)

Though I must state that I still get my stash from my mom's grocery shopping and she pays for the Internet connection (which, by the way, is the lifeblood of home-working). So I'm really just fortunate that I don't have to spend for these things.

3. NO NEED TO IMPRESS WORKMATES
I realised that most of our expenses stems from this need to impress the people around us. So if you're working in an office, obviously you want to impress your workmates. It may come in the form of having pretty outfits, expensive gadgets, or pricey meals. Maybe because you want to assert yourself of just want to show off. I mean, seriously, why do you think you need to have the latest gadget when the one you have now is working just fine?

Ever since I started home- working, I felt this burden lifted. This was really one of the benefits I truly enjoy. When you don't have anyone to impress, you're more comfortable with the things you have. And yes, I can wear my pambahay without anyone caring.

4. YOU CAN TAKE YOUR WORK ANYWHERE
Though I've been using the term 'home- working', my work doesn't limit me to just stay at home. Working from home is just more practical because there will be lesser expenses. But if I choose to, I can stay at another city (or country) and continue working (I just have to make sure I have stable Internet connection). This is the perk that digital nomads truly enjoy.

5.  (CABLE) TV!
When lunch break comes, I let my laptop sleep, grab my meal, and catch up on My Fair Wedding with David Tutera or watch flicks on HBO or Fox.

In other words, you can enjoy the things that you do when you're at home and can't imagine doing in your office.


So far, working from home is great! It just shows that we have a lot of option nowadays and you can choose not to be trapped in an office.