Make Your Own Havaianas 2009

This year, my boyfriend and I got two pairs each of these customized Havaianas flipflops.  Some people may think that it’s crazy and unreasonable to buy these things but what the heck!  This even only happens once a year and a personalized pair or two won’t hurt.  Without further ado, here are our goodies.

What a Busy Month That Was

I wasn’t able to blog as much this month because I’ve been very busy working on multiple projects (thesis not yet included). Guess what? Next week is late registration week. Plus, tons of things to do at work. I also needed to complete my Annual Physical Exam (APE). I also have a little tête-à-tête with someone somewhere at Jupiter Street. It’s been a crazy month of:

• crash course in VB programming
• learning stuff about project management (the hard way)
• writing about loans and mortgages
• transferring from one survey tool to another

Hopefully, June won’t be as busy as this month. I really need to take a week-long break but I am just trying to figure out how. Hope the month of May was awesome for you.

Join Form Function & Class!

I’m fairly new to blogging, especially on the design aspect so being able to attend seminars would actually help.  That’s why a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I will attend Form Function & Class on July 10, 2009 at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).  Tickets are for P1,000 but students (ahem) get 50% discount!

Sign up for Form Function Class: Web Design Conference

Speakers include:

• Rico Sta. Cruz – Creative Director, U.S. Auto Parts Philippines
• Nap Lara – Software Developer, Friendster
• Regnard Raquedan – Web & Usability Consultant
• Jojo Esposa – Founder, Philippine Web Accessibility Group
• Marco Palinar – User Interface/Web Design Consultant
• Gail dela Cruz-Villanueva – Creative Director, Sheero Media
• Luis Buenaventura II – Co-founder and Social Software Architect, Syndeo Labs Director of Engineering, Exist Global

This event is brought to you by

I really encourage you guys to attend since this conference doesn’t really cost much and the knowledge you will gain out of it would really help.

Life’s Lessons from the Humble Computer Keyboard

God has a funny way of teaching me life’s lessons.  He must have known about Generational Diversity and figured out that I am a Millenial (i.e., I heart the web and computers). Here are some of the lessons in life I have learned from the humble computer keyboard.

• CTRL + Z – Unfortunately, in real life, I can’t just Undo anything I have already said and done. This means, I have to be very careful on what to say or do.
• Backspace – And if I have done something wrong (which I couldn’t CTRL-Z away), I have to remember that there’s no Backspace key to hit.  I cannot erase my mistakes or how I made people feel (whether it’s good or bad, of course).
• Del – Same with Backspace, there’s no Delete button in real life.  Once done, it’s done.  But I can’t just stop in the acceptance phase, because it means I also have to forgive and learn from it.
• Function keys – Reminds me that help is always available (F1) especially if I learn how to search (F3) for the solutions, and that I also need times of refreshing (F5).
• ALT + TAB – In life, one needs to learn how to multitask.  Especially if you have two or more tasks at hand of equal priority. But if you can’t handle it, you always have an option to…
• CTRL + ALT + DEL – (Task Manager) Re-prioritize and end those tasks that you cannot manage right away.
• CTRL + S – Only God can save us from sin and from pain and sufferings.
• ALT – F4 – They say, quitters are losers.  That’s not entirely true.  Winners quit the right things (bad habits, poor attitude, etc.). And last but not the least…
• Esc – “I kept on pressing escape, but I am still here. Help!” The truth is, when things go out of control, the best escape is to God. I tend to search for God more when things go wrong.  But when things are doing well, I tend to forget Him.  Lesson learned: Always escape to God.  No matter how difficult the situation is; even if I’m not having a Kobayashi maru moment (got this term from my Trekkie friend, Tris).

Please feel free to share what you think or if you want to add anything or comment.  Funny how some alone time and tweeting with @olympicnw helped me realize these things.

How to Juggle Your Full Time Work and Your Freelancing Career

How do I stay sane and happy while working two jobs? Here’s what I do.

1. Define your time availability. When a client asks how many hours I can commit, I tell them the truth. I can usually commit about 20 hours each week. But don’t just stop there. Be sure to tell them when you are most available. For example 2 hours every morning on weekdays and as much as 5 hours over the weekend. Not only that, let them know how much output you can produce, say, in a time frame of 24 hours.  And finally, if you have a full time job, do not forget to tell them about it.  Why am I giving you this tip?  By defining your time availability, you are setting clear limits and at the same time, you are also setting the right expectations with the client.

2. Pick your projects and freelance clients wisely. Never ever pick the projects that you cannot do and don’t bid on too many projects.  Why?  Because it will ruin three things: your schedule, the quality of your work, and last but not the least, your reputation.  As for choosing clients, it pays to take the time to go for an interview.  What does the client want done?  What are his expectations?  Are his expectations and timelines realistic?  It’s also recommended to do a little bit of research.  Find out if there was ever a time that they have not paid someone on time or if there was anybody who wasn’t paid at all.  By becoming selective about your projects and clients, you don’t end up wasting your time and you’re also saving yourself from stress.

3. Never forget to take care of yourself! Every weekend, I can still manage to get a massage or foot spa, have my nails done, and go shopping.  I never ever forget to take care of myself again because if I don’t, I’ll end up hating my job and my freelance career.  And that’s something I don’t want to ever happen.  And besides, I work to live.  What’s the point of working two jobs when I can’t even enjoy the fruits of my labor?  And oh, before I forget, get some sleep!  You can’t be as effective if you only have 4 hours of sleep everyday.  If you only have 4 -6 hours of sleep each day, you’ll end up with a cranky mood, huge eyebags, poor skin, or worse, you can get sickly, too.

4. Keep your full time job and freelancing career separate. We don’t want anybody to get fired because of doing freelance tasks during work hours.  It’s illegal and unethical.  The trick is to focus on your full time job during your designated work hours.  Start on time, leave on time.  Personally, that’s what I do.  I arrive on time, do what I’m supposed to do, and leave on the dot.  I have a schedule and I stick to it.  If I don’t, it will definitely ruin the time I’ve allocated for my freelance work.  So, use your time wisely and stay out of trouble.

5. Respect the deadlines. I don’t like missing deadlines but don’t get me wrong, I’ve missed deadlines in the past and it wasn’t very good.  Here’s what I learned, if you think you are going to miss the deadline, tell your client right away.  Right away means, while discussing the project and you think that the timeframe given to accomplish it is too tight, let your client know.  Right away doesn’t mean letting the clients know 30 minutes before the deadline. So what’s the trick?  Apply buffers.  Every task that you do, always apply time buffers.  If you finish the task early, then good for you.  Better be early than late.

To be honest, I didn’t learn this balancing act overnight.  I also had my share of mistakes and had to learn the hard way.  But as you get the hang of it, you’ll learn more and figure out what technique will work best for you.

The Best Things in Life are No Longer Free

Now that’s too bad. There came a time when you can get free stuff.  Today, you just can’t.  You have to pay for almost everything.  Let me give you a quick run down of the great things that used to be free.

1.  Cool air. I remember, if I wanted a breeze of cool air, I would just open my room’s window and there you have it, a cool breeze.  It’s way too hot nowadays.  Now, you have to buy an electric fan or an airconditioning unit if you want your cool air.

2.  Peace and quiet. I live in the city and that means I have to live in an area where there are about 5-8 kids per family who also, unfortunately, live with their extended families.  You could hear kids crying, dogs howling/barking, and drunk neighbors belting their worst version of My Way at times as early as 7AM or as late as 12MN.  If I wanted a quiet neighborhood, I have to get a condo or rent a house for as much as P18, 000 a month for some peace and quiet. Phew. I miss the province.

3.  School supplies. Back in high school, we were given free pens, notepads, notebooks, pencils, books, even bags and shoes for free.  We even get some clothing allowance.  Now, if I wanted some school supplies, I have to open my wallet and hand over my hard earned money to the cashier.

4.  Paper cups. Tell me, what kind of coffee vending machine does not dispense paper cups?  The ones in our office doesn’t.  There was a time when it did, but that was back in 2005. OK, it’s cool to save the trees from turning into paper cups.  But then, I sometimes forget to bring my own mug.  So when it gets extremely cold at work, I don’t even bother going to the vending machine.  If I wanted my hot choco in a paper cup, I have to go to Starbucks and pay P150 (which is a pretty hefty price for someone like me).

5. ATM use. Ha. The banks got ya! Whether you’re just checking your balance, paying your bills, transferring money (sending or receiving) or making a withdrawal, the bank will charge you a fee! The cost of convenience, tsk, tsk.

6. Clean water. Thanks to pollution galore, even clean drinking water is no longer free.  You have to buy bottled water or a water-filtering system to get clean water.

7. Extra gravy. Think you can get free extra gravy from McDonald’s or KFC when you order food to go?  Think again.  Or better yet, check your bill or ask the cashier.

I could go on and on but there’s one great thing that remains free — salvation.  Thank you, God.

Pacman Wins (Again!)

Manny Pacquiao kicked Hatton’s butt in 2 rounds. He sure didn’t want to waste time. All this strength thanks to Alaxan IF ARE. Hehehe. Watch it here.

OK, so the video was removed.  I know, that’s too bad.  Anyhoo, I forgot to mention, Martin Nievera really blew it.  His rendition of the Philippine national anthem was just awful.

Knock You Down

Keri Hilson is so hot and so is her new song collaboration with Kanye West and Ne-Yo. I could listen to this song all day. Enjoy.

Keri Hilson “Knock You Down” feat Kanye West & Ne-Yo

The Worst Movie I’ve Ever Heard

Yeah. You heard it right. Ever heard.

May 1st, my boyfriend and I went to SM Mall of Asia to watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was my first time to see a flick in iMax (yeah, so lame). So we bought our tickets and headed to our seats. We were enjoying ourselves when suddenly, the lady sitting beside me started blabbering about the movie. She must have seen it before and now she couldn’t keep her mouth shut! Imagine paying premium just to get a blow by blow commentary from her. I could close my eyes and just listen to her and still figure out what happened to the movie. She totally spoiled it. It was so annoying that no amount sssshhh-ing could shut her up. Sheesh. She’s so rude. So when the credits rolled, as we got up from our seats, I said, “That was the worst movie I have ever HEARD!”