NetBlot

65th Palanca Awards Calling for Entries

2015-02-22T11:15:00.000+08:00

For a wannabee writer like me, I have fantasized to make my mark on Philippine Literature.

That's why finding out via Rappler about the 65th Palanca Awards calling for entries, elicited my past wetdreams of literary grandeur.

Image via Rappler.com Article

Oh, well. Enough of this pangagarap ng gising.

But for those writers seriously considering submitting an entry, you may not want to passed up this chance for recognition.

Unfortunately, details in the article are incomplete. Worse the official website of Palanca Awards are currently being upgraded.

Interested participants may submit only one entry per category. Contest rules and forms are available at any of the Palanca Foundation offices listed below, or may be downloaded from the official CPMA website at palancaawards.com.ph.

Entries may be submitted through any of the following means: (1) through the official CPMA website, (2) by mail, or (3) directly to the Palanca Foundation offices, either at Unit 603, 6th Floor Park Trade Centre Bldg., 1716 Investment Drive, Madrigal Business Park, Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City or at Unit 3G, OPL Bldg., 100 C. Palanca St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Winners will be awarded at a special ceremony to be held on 1 September 2015. Participants may contact the CPMA Administrator Mrs. Leslie Layoso through the website or at (632) 511-0003; +639108878552, or +639255560457 for assistance.

via Rappler.com

BREATHING IN... BREATHING OUT...

2014-11-26T09:05:00.000+08:00

It is so early in the day but I feel quite overwhelmed. It feels like there is this internal chaos that I could hardly breathe. Duncan Sheik's famous song comes to mind.

I feel bottled up.

Then I remembered one of the early famous bloggers, Leo Babauta who became famous for writing about simple living. I am glad I did because that led me to his Zen Habits blog and his The Beginner’s Guide to Zen Habits: A Guided Tour.

Leo's first recommendation was to BREATHE. So, yeah. I breathed in. Breathed out. And I instantly felt better. Greatly aided by this simple but effective quote he shared:

‘Smile, breathe and go slowly.’ ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Feeling better and thinking a bit more clearly, I also heeded his advice to put the word "BREATHE" as my screensaver or desktop pic.

I downloaded wallpapers showing green natures, put the word "BREATHE" on them and made a slideshow of them as my desktop background. I also made a note to self, to just see my laptop's desktop slideshow whenever I feel anxious or negative or something.

The only caveat was that I am using Windows Home Basic on my laptop which does not support slideshow.

Normally, such snags encountered will shove to a funk. But I remembered to BREATHE.

I was able to find a come around. John's Background Switcher was heaven sent. Hat tip to John!

I DID IT! My Insurance & Investment Policy from Pru Life UK

2014-11-11T19:09:00.000+08:00

I did it!

Finally, I received the copy of my insurance & investment policy last night.

I am really glad that I have taken a concrete step towards a more favorable future when I grow old or some consolation to those I will leave behind when I die.

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

- Benjamin Franklin

After ample consultations with friends whom I consider good with their finances, I availed of a variable universal life insurance (VUL) plan from Pru Life UK. Basically, it is an insurance plan with investment. In a VUL, your money does not only pay for the insurance premium but also get invested.

I preferred VUL over life insurance because I figured that if I suddenly die, I have no clear beneficiaries since both of my parents already passed away and I have yet to get married.

Good thing for me, a friend is an authorized financial adviser of Pru Life UK. He was able to offer me a VUL policy customized to my financial capability.

For a monthly premium of Php 2, 716.33, payable in 10 years, I have a permanent disability/accidental death coverage of Php 900, 000. The policy also offers Php 1,000 hospital allowance per day.

But what I am really excited about is that the money I pay is invested by Pru Life UK to their equite fund and it can grow up to as much as Php 1.4 Million. Although that is looking much farther down the road, I think that amount is more than enough to take care of a 65 year old me.

I also registered my policy to Pru Life UK's online facility so that I can track it anywhere.

My next step to financial freedom is to get a health insurance.

Torn Between Two Flavors

2014-11-11T16:13:00.000+08:00

Cadbury Dairy Milk has introduced two new flavors - French Vanilla and Chocolate Mousse - which has thrown me into a sweet confusion!

If only dilemma's in life can be this sweet? I will go for either one myself but my dilemma is which one to give to my girlfriend as a pasalubong when I visit?

Is it French Vanilla?

Or should it be Chocolate Mousse?

I say I go with #TeamFrenchVanilla! Make her happy and perhaps get rewarded with some french kissing, eh? Bonne Chance!

RIP Senator Juan Flavier and Thank You

2014-10-31T08:16:00.001+08:00

Rappler reported that the good Senator Juan Flavier had passed away yesterday.

Screengrab from the Rappler report.

I believe the he was among the few who gave his best while serving in the government. He was effective as a Secretary of Health. I would say that Filipinos would remember him more than the other who served as secretaries.

As a senator, he gained a reputation for being competent and more importantly with no taint of corruption.

I came to know of his column in Manila Bulletin during my job hunting days after graduation.

Thank you for your service, good Senator.

DECLUTTERING

2014-09-11T09:11:00.003+08:00

DECLUTTERING...

So much going on... I must DO THIS.

As I was going home last night, I felt so exhausted. Not just physically but I felt so heavy in my mind.

That's why I vowed to lessen the clutter, lesson the chaos and prioritize those that matter.

One of the first things that I did today is to unsubscribe to different sites and marketing gurus. Are you in the same boat? Is your first act in the office is to check your e-mail and get consumed checking a lot of e-mail subscriptions? Perhaps you ought to declutter your online habits, too?

Then I remembered Leo Babauta's name who became known for blogging about simple living. I must read more about him and less of the numerous subscriptions I made.

Just that, I felt I have cleared space for breathing, literally.

Insurance & Investment To Consider

2014-08-30T09:19:00.001+08:00

As planned, I met my friend who is a licensed financial adviser as my first step to financial literacy.

Image from downloadjpeg.com

Here's what transpired and my corresponding thoughts...

Prior to our meeting, I shared to him that I may be able to save 3000 per month based on my current salary and expenditures. So, he discussed with me an insurance & investment plan based on the amount I said I was capable of.

The benefits of the insurance policy he offered included if I die by accident or if I get permanent disability and hospitalization.

But what I was really interested to was when he explained that if I will be able to save and invest Php 3000 per month from 37 until I was 60 years old (totalling to Php 828,000), I will be able to receive a little more than 1.5 million in return. This was only a projection, considering 10% interest per annum and compounded continuously of the money I've invested.

Wow! To me that would be a lot. The most cash I have seen in my entire life is Php 350,000. What a nice retirement bonus! If I'll have my way, when I reach 60, I would just be blogging and if physically possible play badminton. My mind was in overdrive on how I can come up with the money to invest consistently.

Of course, the bubble burst immediately. In life, nothing is certain but taxes and death. So, inquired if I miss to pay for the monthly investment. He said that I will be given 30 days to pay up which means I have to pay double in the next month. And when worse comes to worst, I will be able to withdraw the money I invested with some deductions.

There's a good chance that I will sign up for this insurance and investment policy.

One Small Step to Financial Literacy Hopefully Will be A Great Leap Towards My Financial Freedom

2014-08-25T13:37:00.001+08:00

I have an important appointment today with a licensed financial advisor, who fortunately came from the same high school. I am hoping this could be the Apollo-11 moment of my life.

Image from desktopwalls.net

After being amused by the passionate discussion about the cons of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Schemes in Facebook, I've realized one important aspect of my life that I've given less attention to - Financial.

I know of the importance of savings and monitoring your expenses. I have some savings (but that is for getting married and starting a family of my own) and I have monitored my expenses daily since 2008.

But after that, I have no idea on how I can better prepare myself for my future and that of my future family.

As if by good coincidence, financial literacy has been a buzz word in our alumni org's website.

I took that to mean that the universe is telling me that the time is now for me to start my financial literacy and work towards financial freedom.

I am looking forward to my meeting later. Hopefully, I do not get nosebleed from discussions on investments, insurance and whatnots.

A Surge of Realization: I CAN & SHOULD Pursue My Blogging Passion

2014-08-18T12:38:00.003+08:00

Energized by an eventful and productive weekend, I decided to utilize my lunch break by blogging.

And as if the universe is conspiring, I got to read this wonderful article from Lifehacker that provided me a surge in realization - that I CAN & SHOULD pursue my passion for Blogging.

As I checked my favorite websites via feedly.com, I read Lifehacker's article that seemed practically appropriate for my current state in life. As if it was written exactly for me to read it today.

Your Day Job Isn't an Excuse to Not Pursue Your Passion

by Patrick Allan

Most creative minds in history did not have the pleasure of sitting around only working on what they wanted. They had day jobs—just like you—because they still had to put food on the table, but that didn't stop them.
....
Look for the moments, the brief periods of time you have to do what you like and exploit them. Instead of taking that time to think about how tired, busy, or unhappy you are, use it to move forward with what you love. It takes time to do great things. Earnestly look for time to work on what you want, but be patient. Don't quit your day job, just take advantage of it.

In a span of 23 days, I came up with 12 posts to various blogs. The posts were not pulitzer-prize winning piece or something. But a tiny sense of accomplishment fills me up to have come up with those.

A Not So Blog Friendly Saturday

2014-08-02T22:19:00.002+08:00

When the day started, I've already had plans how to comply with my self-imposed must-blog Saturday. Work got in the way and it became downhill from there.

It's Saturday, therefore, it should be my day of blogging.

Usually this day at the office offers minimal work. I never expected it to be otherwise especially since I was able to accomplish the hard tasks yesterday.My plan was to do the few paperworks to be passed on Monday then spent the remaining hours for my blogging.

I was able to do the paperworks just fine. But then, I needed to closed out testing, coordinate site preparedness for another different testing and contact persons involved.

Then, it was lunch time.

Drawings needed to be reviewed, concerns need to addressed. All my blogging inspiration and ideas taken away.

Finally, I need to go get out of the office because it's my special one's birthday today. At least, that's something to make this day better.

Must-Blog Saturdays

2014-07-26T12:19:00.000+08:00

After this post and 242 days, I finally updated this blog with the promise of regularly blogging here and designating Saturdays as my scheduled blogging day.

Ever since I was employed in the construction industry, I found little time and little inspiration to blog. Every once in a while I come up with post or two, which to put it politely, were pilit (strained).

Two years and a half working in this industry, I can fairly say that I have accustomed to its time demands. I still have to report to work on Saturdays, but mostly, workload is light.

Barring any hitches, I look forward to updating any of my blogs every Saturdays.

God-willing, I will be updating this blog again next week. :)

Relief for People Affected by Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda via Nuffnang

2013-11-26T15:13:00.001+08:00

More than prayers and sympathy, I would like to participate in providing relief to people affected by super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

I am sharing the little earnings I got via Nuffang.

And I urge my fellow nuffnangers, to do the same. I am reposting the e-mail I received today.

Dear Nuffnangers,

Just like you, we at Nuffnang are deeply saddened by the events of last week, when the devastating Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines last week killed and injured thousands, and left millions without their homes, water, food or medicine.

In the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in recent history, we are organizing a regional donation drive, and urgently appeal to all of you in our wonderful Nuffnang community to step up, and come together to help those in need.

From now till 22 December 2013, you can do your part and contribute to our fund either by donating a portion of your Nuffnang earnings, or by donating via Paypal – all it takes is a few minutes. We thank you in advance for your generosity in contributing towards this worthy cause!

Method 1: Donate through Nuffnang

Method 2: Donate through Paypal (For nuffnangers who do not have sufficient earnings yet, you may make your donation via paypal.)

Clearly, my fellow nuffnangers, we can help in our own little way. :)

OneRepublic Live in Manila - A Perfect Anniversary Date for Us

2013-10-21T16:08:00.000+08:00

Four years ago, I met a special lady that I have envisioned to be by my side when I open my eyes and greet every morning of the rest of my life. Come November 6, it will be the fourth year since that fateful meeting.

I hope I can make that day more special by bringer her to OneRepublic's Native Concert Tour at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Metro Manila.

We have never been to a musical concert by a foreign artist before. If I can bring her to this concert, then, it will be among the list of firsts times that we will share for the rest of our lives.

For the past year or so, we are doing our best to save for that very special day when we will finally formalize before god and men our union. And at times, we focus more on the event alone rather than its purpose and more important meaning.

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,
Said no more counting dollars
We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting stars

Perhaps, hearing OneRepublic sing that lines, will help us refocus and work on making that day as special as it can be.

Other songs of One Republic that I really like are:

Secrets
If I Lose Myself
Something I Need
Apologize

Congratulations to Ranel, Best of Luck to ProITeam

2013-10-19T12:45:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to my best buddy - Ranel on his new freelance IT group - ProITeam.

Ranel gave me a call some two weeks ago, inviting me to join him in a meeting with his friends who are all IT practitioners. They created a freelance IT group for customized IT solutions. He was inviting me then due to my online marketing background.

In fact, he said that they already have a client. The said client also asked them about SEO and online marketing. But my regular job, prevented me from accepting such responsibility. Although, I was initially enticed to join them for the added income.

When I visited him last Tuesday, he gave me and my gf a mug bearing his group's business name.

Best of luck, Ranel. More clients to come. I will surely join you if my schedule becomes less hectic. :)

Transform Yourself with Schick

2013-05-24T16:42:00.001+08:00

We all want our world transformed to a better one. We all dream of having the power to change what we think is wrong in this world. Most boys surely have dreamed of being superman once. I am not different from them.

If I can be Superman for one week?

For me, it is easy to think of destroying all nuclear weapons. With my x-ray capable vision, I would be able to know all the location of these weapons of mass destruction and bring them all to the farthest star to burn.

Mostly, I will try to apprehend those every criminals within my reach.

Sorry, but aside from being good, I will be tempted to use such super powers on self-serving causes such as destroying China's military forces to prevent them from bullying my country in the South China Sea (he-he-he!)

Or removing all dirty politicians in my country.

Romantically speaking, I would use my powers to amaze my girlfriend. Proposing marriage at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is the first on my list.

Oh, well! Time really flies fast. At least that's one thing superman has no power over with.

Let us all just watch the upcoming superman version entitled "Man of Steel". And relive our childhood fantasy in transforming the world.Here's a way to score free movie tickets.

Per DTI-NCR Permit No.1843 Series of 2013.

POPURLS.COM, an alternative to Google Reader?

2013-05-17T19:41:00.001+08:00

I just learned today about popurls.com courtesy of Matt Cutt's blogs.

I am following Matt Cutt's blog and in one of his recent posts, he mentioned that his blog have been added to popurls.com. That had me clicking through and being taken to a minimalist site filled with links.

Here's what popurls.com has to say about itself

Here's a screenshot of Popurls About Page

I am hoping that it would soon be a better replacement when google reader ends.

Should I Accept Google AdSense's NEW Online Terms of Service ?

2013-04-24T12:03:00.000+08:00

True to the announcement at Inside Adsense Blog, Google has rolled out Adsense's NEW Terms of Service to all its publishers, including me. But should I readily accept Google Adsense NEW Online Terms of Service?

When I logged on to my adsense account this morning, I was welcomed with this page.

Screenshot - Google AdSense NEW Online Terms of Service

Initially I thought, I logged in using another account. But then I remember that a few days back, Inside Adsense Blog announced this roll out.

I scrolled down ready to click accept when item # 15 caught my attention that is not clear to me.

If you choose to implement any of the following Services on a Property, you also agree to the additional terms identified below:
AdMob: the AdMob Publisher Guidelines and Policies.
Custom Search Engine: the Custom Search Engine Terms of Service.

I searched online for someone kindhearted enough to scrutinize and explain clearly the changes in this new terms and conditions set by Google. But I think, it's just been rolled out. Maybe in a few days someone will do. Hopefully, way before the deadline set by Google. Otherwise, I don't have any choice but to accept this changes.

Thou Art, My Waterloo

2013-04-15T18:29:00.002+08:00

As per Google, today is World Art Day. My least favorite day of the year since Art is my waterloo.

I love books except coloring books. For some reason, my stroke of the Crayola exceed drawing lines. And as far as I remember, I only know the color for (yellow), mountain (brown) and leaves (green). Color for other images or drawing will be on the first touch first come basis.

I hated Art then because it is the only subject that I obtain grades in the line of 7 - 75, 76, 77, 78, 79. My mother, probably seeing my disappointment, volunteered to draw one of my art projects. It was marked with an 84. It was a drawing of a tree, a guava tree, I think.

And that was my best grade ever.

This nice sketch of a tree reminds me of that drawing.

When I took up engineering, I was so nervous of the Drawing subject. Thankfully, I have a T-square, a french curve and other drawing paraphernalia. And when it comes to worse, I am thankful of the tracing paper or a fellow student that draw for you for a minimal fee.

Sorry, Google. I can not share your celebration. But I was curious to see Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night. I know that it is the object of Don Mclean's Vincent and I correctly answered it in the only quiz contest that I won.

I can not see why the painting is so famous. But reading the details somehow made me understand.

Still, the best artwork for me is that of my mother.

This is NOT OK! Google Reader Ends by July 1, 2013

2013-03-14T08:17:00.000+08:00

My browsing habit starts with my gmail account. After which, I always proceed to check updates on my favorite sites via Google Reader. Today, I was greeted by a sad news. Google Reader will cease by July 1, 2013

The screenshot below is not ok with me.

Google Reader is a content application and platform provided by Google that is an aggregator of content served by web feeds. (from wikipedia)

It allowed me to check all my favorite sites like sports sites, news sites and blogs in one tab. A lot of time is saved that would have been used to browse through all those sites one by one.

So what now? Will me and other Google Reader users rely on e-mail updates?

Live Your Style with adidas NEO

2013-03-05T20:37:00.001+08:00

Being fashionista is not my style. I just wear what's available in my closet. Mostly, just polo shirts, jeans and casual shoes for "gala" or gimmick with friends. On normal days, I'm on shorts, superhero shirts and cap. That's practically my whole wardrobe. No wonder I practically embrace having uniforms for work.

Yeah, that may sound boring and unimaginative. But I guess my style is comfy and simple. How about you?

Embrace fun, spontaneity and the unexpected twists in fashion when the adidas NEO Label Spring 2013 collection hits stores in January to March.

Living a carefree journey that lets teens make their own style, NEO will capture attention with unique and innovative fashion and design twists on Spring merchandise. Products have multiple purposes or added value.

NEO will release a fresh product offering each month, spotlighting a fashion trend interpreted in a different way. In March patterns are the highlight, featuring vibrant waves of colour, with subtle patterns that appear to be one thing but on close inspection reveal another. These will include camouflage prints and edgy takes on adidas NEO slogans with a focus on windbreakers and shirts. Sporty, street and lifestyle footwear silhouettes with strong colour and graphic links create the look.

NEO footwear is available in SM and select Robinson’s Department Stores nationwide.

Energizer and Nuffnang power my life throughout the Years

2012-06-20T12:42:00.001+08:00

Energizer and Nuffnang power my life through their reliability and creativity.

Since my childhood Energizers has proven to energize our flash lights, remote controls and other battery operated small appliances.

Nuffnang's creative way of blog contests powers me continue blogging, awakening every bit of creativity that can be extracted from my simplistic views in life.

Makers of the World’s Longest Lasting Batteries

Happy 5th Birthday NUFFNANG!

2012-02-20T22:48:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Nuffnang!

It's NOW five years and fun

let bloggers' greetings rang

on five years of Nuffnang!

(Can be sang to the tune of Happy Birthday)

Adsense Earnings Right at my Chrome Browser

2012-01-20T12:24:00.001+08:00

An Adsense toolbar for the Chrome browser was recently released. It enables adsense publishers like me to check Adsense earnings and a few other stats without going to the adsense homepage.

Get it here.

This is very welcome news to me.

I prefer the Google Chrome browser because it offers the most screen resolution of my tiny Blue H1 netbook plus it also functions as search bar.

Through the Adsense Toolbar in my Chrome, I can quickly check my adsense earnings without launching a new window or a new tab. That's one less task for me because I usually check my earnings first thing after I connect to the internet. Also, one less work for my often hanging overworked netbook.

Hat tip to problogger.net!

Thank You Adgitize For Traffic & a Few Change

2012-01-13T01:02:00.000+08:00

I was pleasantly surprised last week by an e-mail from Paypal informing of payment made by Adgitize, adding a few dollars to my paypal earnings.

Thinking it was no big deal, I moved on to other e-mails. It was only today when I noticed the adgitize widgets on one of my blogs that I understood why.

Adgitize has inded closed but the people behind this blog advertising platform were nice enough to send me a payment even if I did not reach the $10 dollar threshold.

I signed up for an adgitize account way back in 2009. It caught my interest because as I understood it, I tend to earn a little just by posting something on my blog. (More can be earned by visiting other blogs that displays adgitize ads)

I am saddened about Adgitize's closure and I admire the administrators of Adgitize for paying members like me his or her earnings. I am sure that good karma will come their way for doing such. I wish them all success in the near future.

Meantime, I need to start removing the adgitize widgets on most of my blogs. .

RIP Old Adsense Interface

2011-10-21T00:01:00.000+08:00

Goodbye to the 'ol too familiar thing that greets me first after firing up my Google chrome browser. A notification when I accessed my adsense account yesterday subtly compels me to familiarize with the new one.

Goodbye to the Old Adsense Interface. Goodbye old pal. Google will be retiring that page by mid-November.

Screenshot of the old Google Adsense Interface
Image taken from searchengineland.com

Goodbye to the best source of elation among my online browsing habits and also the best source of frustration.

Franky, I don't like the new adsense interface. Too cluttered for me. Perhaps growing in age makes us all unmalleable to most changes. I woudn't be exerting extra time just to be accustomed with it. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in my own due time. Type rest of the post here