Sydney Has Arrived!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53326337@N00/1429257429

wrote this last March 29, 2010.

For two weeks now, I have been setting quality time with Sydney.

One might say that my current song is “Getting to Know Each Other,” because that’s what has been really going on. I am getting to know Sydney, day by day (or should I say, night by night).

I have read through his quick and easy guides, both in soft and hard files. I have been exploring his programs, and how cute he is. He has also solidified my love of color red, because that is his color. I find myself silly now that I am touching his keyboard and the letters are jumping, thanks to his multi-gesture touch pad that accidentally gets tapped by my travelling fingers. Sometimes, I just can’t help but stare at him – he’s just so, small.

I have even shared Sydney’s “mysterious” character in Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and Google Buzz.

Sydney, for those who are curious to know, is an Acer Aspire One notebook. He was a gift by one of my “lost but found” godmothers. Until now, I could not believe that she gave me a notebook as a gift for my 29th birthday. And to show my appreciation to the gift she gave, I named the notebook Sydney, after the place where she is currently residing.

And boy, what a gift Sydney was!

Ever since Sydney arrived, my night life was never the same. And it should be.

For one, Sydney was a dream that I never thought would come into my life. It’s true that I posted a picture of a laptop in my dream board. But I never imagined it would jump out of my board – literally. In fact, Sydney’s better looking than the one that I posted in my board.

Now that Sydney has arrived, I have to more seriously focus on the reason why I dreamed and wanted him. I posted in my dream board that my laptop will be an instrument for earning passive income and communicating with friends. Moreover, he will encourage me to open him and type any idea that pops out my brain.

Syd (his nick name) will help me achieve these two big dreams and to rekindle my love for writing. That’s not all – Syd will also help my brother expand his creativity, aside from my parents knowing the basics of e-mail and keeping in touch with people dearest to them (one of them is of course my generous godmother).

It’s not going to be easy, for I have a bigger responsibility now. It would mean more time to teach my parents. It could also mean I will be delayed in typing my thoughts because my brother might spend time with Syd for some days. It would also mean more trips to the malls to avail of the free Wi-fi (or bigger prepaid costs if I access the Internet in the house). But it is a responsibility that I have to take. I know he’s God’s gift to me, but Sydney will just be an instrument – I still have a bigger part to play.

I can’t wait how Sydney will help me transform into a more responsible person. I can’t wait for him to bring out the best in me. I will see it unfold; and I’m excited about the new me.

Sydney has arrived.

My life will never be the same.

Hyperlink to False Promises

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53611153@N00/316668966

wrote this last March 9, 2010.

 I have wanted to access a hyperlink that discussed online placements. According to the news that superceded that link, it promised more income earning than the eight to five job. I saw the hyperlink from a friend’s Facebook status.

For months, I kept on reading the news article that I copied and pasted in MS Word. For one, the man on the street interviewed was a Filipina from Iloilo. Based on the interview, she was just like any of us – trying to make ends meet, especially now that we are still experiencing the after effects of the global financial crisis. When she found out about the possibility of having an online job (or work at home placements), she grabbed the chance and is now earning U$ 5,000 per month.

“U$ 5,000 a month? Ka-ching!” the cashier inside me said. That is roughly Php 230,000, presuming that the peso-dollar exchange rate is Php 46 to U$1. In a year, I could be Php 27.6 million richer than any of my alter-egos and relatives.

And so I tried to click the hyperlink. Bad move – the hyperlink is blocked by the office Internet. I frowned in disappointment. I promised myself that if I get tot read what’s in the hyperlink and be successful, I would quit this day job and I will never return. Never!

Months passed and due to workload, I forgot the existence of the hyperlink. If I do get the chance to read the article again, I would find myself staring at the hyperlink. I felt that I am not given the opportunity to earn more because I can’t access it.

Then, I resigned and moved to another job. I again happened to read the article and saw the hyperlink. The cashier inside me said, “Maybe it could be opened here.” I placed the cursor at the hyperlink and pressed the left click of the mouse. And then, the unthinkable happened – another window opened. This is it! Pathway to richness, here I come!

It was a long marketing speech of how easy the job will be, and with commitment and persistence, earning money will also be easy. Training for the job will also just take a few hours, and one can start working. You know what the job position is? Auction Listing Agent for E-bay. Sounds interesting and looks good in resume.

As I continued to scroll down, I found out there was a catch: I need to pay almost U$ 200 to get access to the training certification program. Sure I could get it immediately once I started the job, but U$200? Where will I get that? I thought this was another hindrance to my opportunity to earn more.

While I was pondering on this thought, I saw that online marketing mentor, Jomar Hilario (www.jomarhilario.com), was available to chat. I took courage to greet him and told him everything about the hyperlink.

“Hahaha. Did you pay your employer for you to get hired?” he replied. Honestly speaking, it was like a cold water poured in my head. I immediately replied, “No.” He said, “Ask your friend if he or she really earned. If not, then it’s a hack. You don’t even know them!”

From then on, I removed the news article file that I saved in MS Word. I erased with it the hyperlink that I used to stare on, with hope that it would help me earn more. I can’t imagine how fast technology could keep up even with “easy money” scams.

Be careful of hyperlinks that give false promises.

Car Races

I suddenly realized I'm into cars these past few days. It has something to do with an event in the company, with car racing as theme.

I have seen some pics in Google.com (just type car racing pictures or wallpapers and they will all pop out) about cars and races. Some cool, some odd, some I'd wish I have now.

The one question I need to ask myself: will I ever get to drive, at least?

UPS car with its drivers

It's all about the race

Victoria's Secret Angels and a Lamborghini

Getting Physical

wrote this last April 26, 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42834622@N00/4488221416

I saw myself Googling for the nearest Fitness First branch in my place so that I could go back to doing aerobics. It’s been two years since I have gone to an aerobics class.
Weeks before searching in Google, a friend was happy to inform me that he is now joining marathons. In fact, he timed twenty-four minutes in the five-kilometer category he signed in. And he was encouraging me to join him and our other friends as well.

Without battling an eyelash, I said yes to him. But then I asked myself: am I really willing to join the marathon? Can I really run and finish five kilometers?

Then I started to question myself: why did I say yes? Of course I did aerobics before, but running is more strenuous. Now that I was diagnosed with osteopenia, I don’t know how I will fare. What if while running, my bones will start to untangle and get loose?

And why am I checking for aerobics classes again? I only touch our yoga ball twice a week, and use it for only five minutes. If I do get to enrol, it would take me a lot of preparation before going to the aerobics class (the Fitness First branch nearest to us is in SM Southmall, which is around forty-five minutes to one hour away). What difference will it make? Will I be more motivated to attend and get fit?

Since I was a kid, I never had the habit of doing exercise (I only do stretching). I never saw my dad doing high impact exercises because he has asthma. My mom, whom I see dances every now and then even if she has two left feet (that’s according to her); never gets fat but is healthy.

I tried doing some interventions every now and then, like, if I see my tummy bulging. I tried doing sit ups for that. But then I gave up because it’s better to eat than look at my tummy. I saw that my shoulders are getting big, and so I did some workouts for it. Guess what, I stopped after some people have noticed that my shoulders look good. Ultimately, I lost interest in exercising when I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. This thyroid problem will not make me fat as long as I have it. You could give me all the food that I love to eat and I won’t have a care in the world. So why exercise?

I think this is more than procrastination on my part. Like what preacher Bo Sanchez said, habits are stronger than our beliefs. I think that my inner self believes that whatever disorders that I have will never be gone. I also think that whatever I do, I will never achieve something.

I know I’m nuts. I do tell myself that I will look like Kylie Minogue or Eva Longoria-Parker by the time I reach the age of forty. I tell that to myself while watching them in E! News as I sit on our sofa eating chocolate.

I think my body is ready for some aerobics again. A marathon, I think, will also do my bones well. But until I overhaul my inner beliefs, I will just continue to imagine myself physically fit.