BIG MOVE!

Today (OCTOBER 20, 2010) ....errr....I mean tonight I officially registered mogulinpajamas.com. It's a big leap for me in my quest to find financial freedom through online endeavors. I have yet to find me some hosting but I already narrowed it down to mabuhayhosting.com and a premium hosting account provided by my present company. I have used mabuhayhosting in the past and I can say that the uptime is pretty reliable and its pretty cheap compared to other webhosting services available out there.

http://mogulinpajamas.blogspot.com/ will still exist here. That diva in my header is not going anywhere (AND ME, MYSELF and I just plain refused to GO! so I have no choice :p) , but I really wanted to create a website whose main function is to earn me money, hence the existence of www. mogulinpajamas.com.

What to expect from mogulinpajamas.com

 * Articles on how to earn money online
*  Tips on how to avoid being scammed
*  Links to websites offering free lessons on affiliate marketing
*  Articles and Tips on how to earn on  Ebay and other online marketplaces
*  Paid wholesale listing versus free lists sources
*  Money saving tips
* other earning opportunities that I think are worth trying

 WISH ME LUCK!!!
 

Grabbing the opportunity!!!

When I started this blog, I was serious in my intention to monetize it. That time I wanted nothing more but to earn my keep with my online business and blogs. A year has passed and my online business is at a standstill and I have yet to earn a cent from my blogs. The only consolation I have is that I am employed as a homebased researcher (a job that I love very much!). That and the fact that I now have access to loads of learning materials on how to go about building an online business. The more I learn the more I realize its no walk in the park. But at least I know what I am getting into... before I actually jump in. AND BESIDES I GET GET THE LESSON FOR FREE :D!

A Realization Not To Late in Coming (hopefully)

All it took was changing the way I search our database and I found myself neck deep in unprocessed supplier applications that need to be taken of ASAP. Around 2,902 of new supplier applications, 75$ of which I think are going to be China based companies.

This made me realize something, China, despite being a socialist country may one day be one of the richest country in the world and not because they might someday discover that they are sitting on a an oceanful of black gold. Nope, China's greatest asset are its people, all one billion of them. Majority of whom thinks entrepreneurship is the way out of poverty.

If you come to think about it, when a Chinese immigrate to another country, they work hard so that they could one day own their own business. But when Filipinos, travel to another country, they also work hard, but that's the end of it. Few strive to put up their own business. The dream ends in buying a house and sending the kids to good schools so that they too will one day find good jobs so that they could buy their own house and send their kids to good schools, and so the cycle continues!

Very few strive to go beyond that, what's worst is that children today are being raised and educated to be just like that, a good employee. Excellence are based on how good you are at memorizing your lessons, doing your homework and reciting in class. Gone are the days when you graduate from high school with real tangible skills you can utilize to your advantage if your one of the many who can't afford college. Very few parents encourage entrepreneurship, all think that selling wares on the street is a lowly job. I tell them....excuse me, but I know a street vendor who earns around 800-1,000 a day (this is net income) selling fishballs, buko juice and qwek-qwek. He works Monday-Friday from 3pm to 7pm. How many clerks and call center agents make that much? working less than 8 hours a day with weekends off and very little overhead? Yes its hard work, specially during the typhoon season when he is exposed to the elements. But last I heard, he has fully paid for a brand new motorcycle he uses for his business and his almost finish paying off his house mortgage. If he were a minimum wage worker, even if he works 7 days a week, it would still take him years before he could afford a down payment for a low cost house.

So what am I saying here, the Filipinos are by nature entrepreneural, just look at how Multiply.com was forced to finally change their business from a social networking site to a social networking site and online marketplace. The year round bazaars are also a testament to that, not to mention every manongs and manangs out on the street peddling everything from ice cold mineral water, candies, mani and chicharon....and yes, how I forget the balut and penoy and tahoooo!!!

I think for us to go from being a third world country to becoming a first world country, we should stop thinking of creating workers and start thinking of creating entrepreneurs! How we think about poverty alleviation must change. Its time we start teaching kids, that no matter what you do for a living you could be an entrepreneurs. Farmers are not just farmers, their entrepreneurs engaged in the manufacture of food.

Just look at the Chinese, many of the most successful Taipans today started out on the street selling their wares. But they refused to stop at just merely earning a decent living. They strive hard and worked harder to grow their business. They value hard work, is not ashamed to sweat it out and are proud of their roots. And when they go overseas, they don't just aim to earn a decent wage, they aim to conquer the world and turn the tables around by being the master instead of being the slave!

Making Money Online

Anybody who thinks they can get rich sitting in front computer of their would kill me for my job ...ok not kill but maybe bribe :D.....but no that won't work for me!!!. I say pay the fees and do the crunch work...that's the only way it would work. As for me....the more I learn about the more I realize how hard and how much time this so called gurus put into creating their empire....it's scary. Trust me its no walk in the park. But if their claim to earnings are true....then it's all worth it. As for me..... its tempting but I am not sure I got what it takes!!!

Rainy Days

Rainy Season is officially here and I can't be happier. No news of a storm....just rain...falling on my rooftop....lolling me to sleep almost every other night. :-)

Photographs!!!

They look cute but.....it was like looking into a "Men in Black" scene!

This pic does not do the real thing justice....it was SO PRETTY!!! ( I swear if I were alone I could have spent hours inside that place just looking at this pretty...pretty jelly fishes!)

I am now officially smitten with Photography....and is more inspired to earn more money so I can get for myself a better camera that takes clearer pictures!!!!

Eleksyon 2010

Only in the Philippines........a convicted Plunderer...is now No. 2 in the partial tally for race to the Presidency!!! Buti na lang tumakbo si Noynoy. Kung hindi we will have an Erap Presidency 2.0!

It Rained last night!!!

It rained last night.....

I love the rain....even after the disaster that is Ondoy....I still love the rain. For me, rain is a gift from God....the flooding that comes with it, is the fault of man.

One week!

Come May 3, my entrance back to the rat pack is final. I will be starting on my new job. A home based, research job that would challenge my ability to find the information I need from the wild, wild world known as the WEB. This is different from my current part time job where I could only work a maximum of 30 hours a week. This one required me to work 40 hours a week. The hours are regular and so is the salary. The only drawback is that I need to file for my own taxes, SSS, Pag-Ibig and Philhealth. Because of this I will need to keep my present part time job, because this one pays all this mandatory benefits (not counting the filing of taxes). But still no complaints, there's no need to travel (yes!), no need to dress up (another yes!) and I get to save more because I don't need to eat out.

The drawback? I have no reason to be late.....saying I overslept is not acceptable , and I can't blame the weather either because I still can report to work even if its signal number 3! So long as there's electricity and internet I am good to go.

Good luck to me!!! (and to everyone who is lucky to have a job they love!)

Long Time No Post!!!

I haven't been here for a while....and I miss blogging and writing random thoughts and just well...being random!

Anyway, I've been busy with work, playing dakilang alalay to my father's Aunt. I never thought that going back to the rat race would be this nerve wracking, everyday I ask myself if I did the right thing while worrying if I have what it takes to keep this job or at least finish my contract. I am not so happy with my performance and a bit lost on how else to improve myself. But I told myself, I can do this and will do it!!!

Anyway 3 things I discovered since starting this job, sex is always a hot topic, it pays to keep your opinion to yourself, and yes.... a sense of humor is a lifesaver!

Hairy Story

I've always had longhair and only had a perm once. An aunt used me as test subject for her cosmetology class. The result was a disaster! I think its one of the reason why I stayed away from styling my hair too much. Thank goodness she did not pursue being a hairstylist as a career. Anyway, this past few days I am mulling with the idea of having a digital perm, or at least partial perm....what do you guys think? Should I do it? or is cutting my hair short a better idea since this is going to be a very long summer anyway.

First pay!!!

I receive my first pay from my first online job :D...yippee!!!

It isn't much....but for some reason I feel so proud that finally I am no longer a bum..hahaha!!!

The money would be spent for my granny's birthday this sunday...... and it isn't much, there would be nothing left by the end of this day.....(I am going out later to buy the stuff we need) and I would not have any money again till next pay day, but I don't care. I love her...and the money I spent for her birthday is the fruit of my labor!!!!!

CEBU

Ahhh...5 days ...4 nights...of SUN and SEA and FOOD!!!

Walking the streets of Cebu city is like walking the streets of Manila, except that, its a bit cleaner (yeah, even the slum area where our taxi driver drove us to avoid the traffic, doesn't look as bad as compared to their Manila counterpart!). Language isn't a problem at all because, while we can't understand their dialect, majority of them understand Tagalog :D.

We went to all the obvious tourist spots, I took pictures, we ate...took more pictures and ATE some more!!! My nephew and niece went scuba diving with their Dad (all first timers!), their instructors said the kids did better than the Dad...lol!...We went snorkeling in Galatungin (correct me if I am wrong) it's a fish sanctuary in the middle of the sea. Because of an ill fitting life jacket, I almost went under and drown (ok I panicked because I felt that I was being carried away by the current and the life jacketkeeps getting pushed upwards to my neck and head) I have to change life jacket 3x! before I found something that fits nicely enough , but still I enjoyed the swim. The water is CLEAN, I could open my eyes underwater and did not feel any stinging sensation at all!!!

We also ate at this floating restaurant, where the prices are a bit out of this world....Php 500 pesos per head + cost of drinks! and all we ate is this, (note: this a per person breakdown) a couple of sea shells (around 4 pcs. per person), 1 shrimp, 1 small crab, 1 exotic looking shell and 2 pieces medium sizes fishes to be shared by everyone and 1 cup rice. The food was good...the prices are NOT!

Another thing, when you go there expect to pay for everything, snorkeling in the fish sanctuary was Php 100/ person (we got a discount for the 2 seniors we had on board who did not swim so we only paid Php 500 pesos for 7 people), at the island where we ate at the floating restaurant we had to pay 1 peso each per person and Php 64.75 for docking fee for the boat. We were supposed to go to another island but the manong who was driving our boat told us that we need to go back soon because there was going to be a low tide, so we ditched the last island, where we were told that we need to pay Php 100 pesos per person as soon as our feet touch the sand on the beach (crazy!!!).

I will post pictures of our walking trip to the city on my next post!

Reflections....

I left the rat race at 25. I was an Administrative Assistant/ Receptionist at an up and coming Software Development company. At that time we just made the move from living in Valenzuela to our own house in Bulacan. NLEX was still being constructed. Daily commute for me is at least 2 hours in the morning and 1 to 1 1/2 hours a night. I was active in a Prayer Community, majority of my office mates are single and earning double of my take home pay. I don't know which pushed me to the brink, the lack of sleep and long commute or the fact that I was frustrated by the obvious discrepancy my office mate's salary to mine (I was a clerk they are software developers and programmers hence the discrepancy!). Before I knew it, I was sliding back on my work, is always lethargic and for some reason just want OUT. So out I went in a very dramatic manner. Thinking about it now, I should have been more cautious of my actions. Lucky for me, the management sort of let me go easily.

It was followed by a year of frustrating job hunting. The fact that I was practically living in the province didn't help at all. For some reason, I never had the urged to move out and seek greener pasture. During that period the elder sister got married and moved to the US with her husband, while the younger sister graduated from college and thereafter started job hunting. Ever the independent one, she was the only one who actually moved out and rented an apartment close to where she works. I was still in limbo, until my mother asked me what I want and I said I wanted to try my hand at having a business. She managed to cajole my elder sister into giving me start up money. It was a family project, the only thing I did was research and do the leg work.

The early years where OK, but come the fourth year, we started hitting bumps and misses that is becoming more and more difficult to recover from. Before I knew it I was deep in debt, the business was losing money and I was losing my self esteem. It didn't help that I was fighting a silent war with depression and the fact that I was close to having a verbal fight with my landlady who thinks that I am an ATM machine where she could withdraw money even though the rent is not due yet . There are weeks when she would come to me DAILY to ask for an advance in my rent and stupid me just gives in!!!

Again I found myself wanting out and OUT I WENT!!! I sold the shop and took a break.

Now I am back to square one, older but hopefully wiser. I still want to have my own business but start up money is once again a problem. I have little in terms of personal savings and after a year of not having any income at all, that too is fast disappearing. I am making tentative moves to going back to work because I know I will soon die of boredom due to inactivity. I have applied for a couple of part time home based work and I am already training for two of them and is hoping that I would be accepted to at least one. The online business are slowly being revitalized, starting with our multiply account being redone by professionals (yeah, no more free template for us there!!!) I am just waiting for the final design to be finished before start working on the write ups.

The 10 months of rest I took has done me some good I think....(the fast disappearing bank account not counted!). I have kicked DEPRESSION out the door permanently and hopefully I have kicked it strong enough that it will not find its way back to me.

What have a I learned from all of this?..... that after falling.......you just have to learn to pick up yourself...that God is there but there is nothing He could do if you yourself does not want things to happen. :-)

I'm back to square one and is RARING to BEGIN AGAIN!!!

Midnight Musings on a Friday Night!

It's 12:37 AM, January 23, 2010....and I am still awake...blogging & surfing the net. Not healthy!!! I know..... I myself don't know why I am fighting off sleep.

This days.......I feel like I am sick half the time....tomorrow I will hopefully get the medical test I should have taken a week ago. Hopefully everything will be fine....

I've also been spending the past 3 days job hunting....I know what I want is my own business...but real life has reared it's ugly head to remind me that I have needs that can't wait. I'm not giving up yet. Hopefully I will find a part time gig that will provide me the extra cash that will tide me over until I figure out the direction I want to take. A home based full time job would be nice though.

Am I being too choosy? or I am already at that point where money is already secondary to my own personal satisfaction and general well being. I guess its the latter. After what I went through with my last business, I realized that peace of mind has no price tag. Unfortunately, there are bills that needs to be paid and retirement plans that need to be made (nest egg and all!) so yeah for now am job hunting.

BTW, our multiply site is going undergo a major facelift very soon!!! I'm so excited!!!!...and the garden is doing well....and just the other day I harvested my 3rd batch of mushrooms!!!... yeah life is good.... :D

Drawbacks of living alone.....

one of the drawbacks of living alone.....when your sick.............no one is there to make you feel better.............or clean up the mess you made .............after forcing yourself to throw up...*sigh* at least I feel better now...I think its either hyper acidity or I accidentally poisoned myself!

questions, retrospection, wild dreams, sober reality

Sometimes I feel that my life is on a standstill. Waiting for something to happen. My question is WHAT? (never mind the WHY I've stopped wondering a long time ago!)

I had a "super kilig" dream yesterday. It makes me blush just thinking about it. I wish it could happen in real life. But if it does happen, I would be committing a sin....that's not something to blush about.....oh well...at least dreams are safe haven to let our fantasies go wild!

A Mushroom Story

It started last December while I was contemplating the coming of a new year and what I want to do next. At around the same time I decided to give vegetable gardening another try. Since I am a true blue computer potato (I am now adopting this nickname!!!) I spent hours doing research online before I actually picked up the spade to start tilling the soil. While I was at it (the online research) I keep on seeing articles and websites regarding mushroom farming. Before I knew it I was spending more and more time researching about it. So, finally a few days after New Year, I went to Manila and bought my very first grow bags. One of them was mature enough that it start fruiting the day after I purchased them.

Taken morning of Day 1






Taken around mid afternoon


Taken before I went to bed

Day 2

Taken in the morning


Mid afternoon


Around midnight


3rd Day

I panicked a little when I saw that my mushrooms barely grew any bigger than it was last night and the stems are turning brown so I decided....it's time...to harvest it now :D

Right after I cut it off from the grow bag. Not pretty to look at and it felt leathery to the touch.


After washing it 3 times in tap water. The browning of the stems kinda disappeared and the color changed to pasty white and its does not feel as leathery.


Cooked it in garlic and butter:


Verdict: It's hard to describe..... there's a hint of sweetness but not like the sweetness of sugar, the texture was soft but not mushy. Do I like it? ..... I LOVE IT!!!! Totally incomparable to canned and store bought mushrooms I've eaten before. It was simply divine!

What do you want to do?

I've been asked this question numerous times by both sisters. They both have thriving careers, one is married with 3 wonderful kids and the other one is married but have no kids yet. I am single and with no real plans of getting married or having kids. At some point in my life, I wanted the same, a husband, kids, a thriving business. But somewhere along the way my drive to stabilize a business that keeps spiraling out of control made me forget that ....yeah I want to get married too!!! and have kids and grow fat and old with the ONE.

I did grow old (my college friends insist I did not age a day since the day we graduated...Bless Them...lol!) and fat, not because of husband and kids but because I just stopped trying to please other people's ideal and started caring more about what I want for myself. The weight gain was due to my constant sitting in front of the computer while drinking coffee and sometimes eating cakes or pastries on the side. For this I will never apologize to anybody not even to myself. I love my coffee....and my chocolates....and the time I spent online....and I love me. My love handles will be here to stay until I decide I don't want them anymore.

But this post is not about my love handles (they will someday have a post of their own someday). It's about doing what I want and why I want to do it. You see, while both sisters has been giving me hints here and there for me to start THINKING ABOUT FINDING A REAL JOB (for those that don't know, I used to own an internet cafe which I sold last year) I was busy reading about gardening, growing mushrooms and composting. Yeah, me a computer potato (that term does not exist yet I think....and let me claim I made that one up!) who hates being under the sun, is thinking about gardening full time! The elder does not know yet, the younger one thinks its a passing hobby. I on the other hand is actually thinking of starting a new business that would have something to do with growing things, getting dirty, feeding worms and spending time under the sun. Well the "working under the sun" thing is negotiable because I still hate going out when the sun is out and shining brightly.

No I am not going to be a farmer ( a market gardener is a more apt title I think) . Something that will give me a chance to give back to the earth while doing something that makes me happy. I might need to work part time for the next few years or dabble in other business to support myself. But I think......I think for the first time in my life....I am on the right track!!!

How about you....what do you want to do?

P.S; I think I will start with the mushrooms and grow from there. Its more doable for a start up business and I have no extra hands to help me anyway. But the garden will definitely happen (I'm starting to slowly populate my sister's plot of land with organic edibles). I just don't know if I will do it as a hobby or go all the way selling organic produce. As for the other businesses I co-own now. They will stay and hopefully thrive as I slowly dip my not so dainty little feet on running a business once again.

p.s again (date edited 5/6/10) I felt so confident yesterday....but today I felt scared...what if this is another stupid mistake?

GMH

a very inspiring website to visit.: http://www.givesmehope.com/?page=20