I miss blogging terribly not only because of the freedom I have with regards to my schedule but also because of the different people I’ve met and gained knowledge from. With my current line of work, I’m learning many things too but I am not meeting a wide range of people that I get to do when I am living online.

Having a stable offline work is good in terms of monetary rewards. I can count on receiving a salary every 10th and 25th of the month and I will be able to receive from benefits when I reach my 3rd month there. However I’m feeling really stressed out in my job right now. My head hurts a lot these days and I don’t have the energy I had back when I still worked online. I also have less time to spend with the people I love and seeing my old friends. Since I started working, my whole life has changed and though I met lots of great people who I consider as my family already in that company, I don’t feel happy anymore. I think of the job as a burden now. I get nightmares at night (or morning) when I get home to sleep and when I wake up I still worry about my job. I don’t think the money I am getting from it can compensate for the stress I am experiencing daily. In fact I don’t look forward going to work. I have been dreading the time that I have to leave our home and ride the shuttle to work. I know in my heart that I am not happy anymore.

Though if I leave, I would not have a steady income that I can rely on. I would need to work double time on my blogs again (plus maybe sell some baked goodies) so I can be assured that I can make ends meet. Its so frustrating that what makes me happy can’t sustain my needs at the moment. I want to resign but I can’t resign just yet. Life is so annoying at times.

]]> http://www.bloggingpinay.com/2008/10/06/real-work-can-be-a-pain/feed/ http://www.bloggingpinay.com/2008/10/06/real-work-can-be-a-pain/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BloggingPinay/~3/345789689/ http://www.bloggingpinay.com/2008/07/26/neobux-get-paid-by-clicking-seriously/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:08:20 +0000 Nika Catbagan http://www.bloggingpinay.com/?p=52

I started trying out paid to click (PTC) websites a long time ago and I never really got interested in them. One of the sites I did invest in first was Bux.to and I was actually losing faith in it back then because I had been waiting for my cash out for 6 months already. I finally received it a few days ago in my AlertPay account so I am quite contented because I finally got back my initial investment there. Everything I will get there from now own would be pure profit. Just before I received the payment notification in my email, I was able to join Neobux which is another paid to click website that tickled my interest. It wasn’t like the usual PTC where you just click get premium and referrals and forget about it. This PTC makes you active in their site and it actually gets you hooked because their business model simply works.

In Neobux, the members are active clickers because they simply can’t buy referrals and leave their referrals to do the job for them. You have to do your clicking part because you get credited based on your clicks. So if you don’t click yesterday, you don’t get credited with your referrals click today. Also you don’t simply pay and purchase your referrals one time, because you only rent them monthly. You have the option to extend your rented referrals before the month runs out so you can keep those good clickers under your wing. Its a good business model because with this option, you have to reinvest in the business and in turn you keep the company running. Great for you and the company.

Also what makes people love Neobux a lot would be their instant payments. You can easily get your cash outs from them as long as you meet the minimum payout amount and it gets credited to your AlertPay account instantly. Neobux’s business model is different. Its members have to actually put in a significant amount of work and time to actually earn and they can’t just get hundreds of referrals immediately and get rich that way.

I invested in Neobux part of the payment I received from Bux.to and used it to rent myself 100 referrals to help me get started. I couldn’t get it out of AlertPay immediately anyway since banks here in the Philippines don’t work yet with AlertPay (but AP did mention that they are working on setting up their services to work with Philippine banks) and withdrawing the funds through check (to be mailed to my home) would take a long time simply because our country’s postal service is really slow, so I decided to make the money work by investing it in Neobux. Hopefully my referrals and I could earn $30 before this week ends so I can get another 100 referrals next week to help me raise my income there. There are even members with only 1-2 referrals who have been able to accumulate the minimum payouts so if you don’t have funds to invest to the site yet, just a little of your time daily would work well enough.

So check out Neobux and the PTC innovation it offers. A few cents saved overtime can become a substantial amount in the future. I know most everyone would love to have some extra funds once in a while.

1. NBI Clearance
2. SSS Number

I know there would still be other requirements since I am still an undergraduate so I will probably be asked to get a copy of my school transcript as well as other common requirements such as an authenticated copy of my birth certificate and maybe a medical certificate from my doctor stating that I am well and able to work . Getting those is easier and less of a hassle because I don’t need other documents to get them. The NBI Clearance and SSS Number, I need a few documents to get them. I decided to go and get these requirements today since I will be having my written exams and another interview this coming Monday.

So off we (my Mom was such a darling to accompany me) went and the following is a shortened version of what we went through today.

11:00am
Went to the Barangay Hall to get a Barangay Clearance from the Barangay Captain. Paid P50.

11:15am
Went to the Municipal Hall to get my sedula (Community Tax Certificate). It cost P23 but I only got P26 change from my P50 because they had no coins left.

11:25am
Got the sedula and barangay clearance photocopied. Paid P5 for two pages. Yikes. P2.50 per page now? Ugh.

11:30am
Went to the Police Station to get my Police Clearance, but was told to go back to the Municipal Office first because I have to pay P20 there for a police clearance receipt, before I can fall in line there at the station to pay another P80 to get my Police Clearance.

11:40am
Went to the cashier in the Municipal Office to pay for the P20 police clearance receipt, but left my sedula (which is needed) so Mom had to follow me there, so we finished there around 11:50am.

11:55am (Yay! I made it before their Lunch Break)
Gave them the photocopy of my Barangay Clearance, showed them my sedula, and paid the P80 to get my application processed. I was then told to go to the “photo booth” made up of a simple plywood as a background then using a webcam they took my mug beautiful shot where I looked like a wilted piece of dried pulp.

12:10pm
The guy behind the picture/claiming window was having trouble fitting my name into the computer because they only register 15 characters for first names and mine is already 17 characters long, not including the space needed to separate it.

12:20pm
Finally got my Police Clearance, so off we went to ride a tricycle to get to the bus/jeepney stop so we can go to Lipa City’s Municipal Hall where I would be getting my NBI Clearance before heading off to the SSS Building to get my SSS number.

12:50pm
I receive a text message. “You left your wallet at the city hall’s treasury. Please come back and retrieve it.” *boink* Mom say’s, “What?”, I frantically open my bag and tada, I did leave it behind. So we tell the jeepney driver that we have to go down, so crossing the street we went back to the municipal hall where the only window open was the one with the kind man was waiting for me to claim my wallet. I was just walking to the window when he immediately put out my wallet and said, “Here.” So I ran back to Mom who was in a tricycle and instead of getting back to the jeepney stop, we decided to head back home to go eat some lunch.

1:30pm
Mom was pestering me to get up from my bed because I got engrossed in watching “The Soup” in Velvet. The topic was “People who won’t go away.” Freaky. So we end up leaving around 1:45pm.

2:15pm
We get to Lipa’s Municipal Hall and we fall in line at the NBI Clearance, Step 1 Window. There was a huge note plastered on the Window that said, “No sando or sleeveless tops allowed.” The woman in front of me was wearing a sleeveless top. When her turn came up, the guy behind the window kept on tapping the sign above to make his point. She then left and he asked me for my documents. I showed a copy of my Postal ID and my Police Clearance. He asks if it was for local or travel, I say local, and he asks if I am married or single, then see’s the single in my postal ID and says ok. I pay him P115. Then he motions me to the next window where the lady behind the glass took my picture before I even had the chance to fix my facial expression. Another mugshot there. I fill up the NBI form and ends up writing wrong information at the wrong lines. I didn’t have a husband yet I had an address for him, and I wrote my Dad’s birthplace as the same place my Mom’s was. Since I don’t carry correction tape around, I just cross it out.

2:30pm
I go line up at Step 4 to get my fingerprints printed onto the form and some guy cuts in. The man who handles the fingerprinting finishes with previous applicant and the “guy” goes in. The man tells him, she got in first, so he puts him in the corner and get my prints first. After everything is done, I pay him P5 for the wet tissue pack that is used to get all of the ink off my hands.

2:45pm
I get called in the last window where the clearances were being given out. I get told I have to go back on August 8th to claim it. I was confused. Mom then asked her again if she had the right person, and the staff said yes. Mom asked why can’t we get my NBI clearance now like the other new applicants? She then says there is a conflict since there was another person with the same name. I was like, “WTF?!?” You see my name is very very weird and sort of unique and my surname is quite rare. Even my middle name is rare. So I am just bothered right now as to why another person was registered in the records with same name as mine.

3:00pm
We get to the SSS building. Asked the guard for information, I was given a small form to fill-up. He told us I needed to submit a photocopy of my authenticated birth certificate (luckily I have one). Got my thumb prints on the form, then off we went to the line. The woman asked for a copy of my authenticated birth certificate, she punched in my name, it got cut-off again because my name was too long and then we paid P45 (I think). That was fast. We only stayed there 10 minutes. Wooohoo!

3:15pm
We arrive at SM Lipa, we look around then we head up to the second floor. I got a diamond face peel (I needed to de-stress) charged it onto Dad’s card (hopefully I get enough funds next month to pay for that one).

5:30pm
Grabbed a Cheeseburger deluxe so Mom would feel nauseaus and I bought her one tablet of SERC at Watsons.

6:30pm
Arrived home safely. Though still worried about my same name situation.

Are you an avid viewer of AXN Asia’s new channel AXN Beyond? The channel that brings the best of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and suspense shows in Asia that will take you beyond the realms of imagination, or so they say. If you like “out-of-the-ordinary” story lines and themes, AXN BEYOND has come up with a programme line-up that includes several movies, drama and reality series which run across genres such as sci-fi and fantasy, horror and suspense, paranormal and supernatural.

They’re having an exclusive party this coming August 1 at the Embassy Club.

Quoting from their site, AXN BEYOND:

AXN Beyond offers a blend of the best thought-provoking entertainment that will stretch your imagination and transport you to a mystical world. With a strong programme line-up of drama series, movies and animations that have great mass appeal and yet have a niche of its own, it is the destination channel for entertainment that is truly “out-of-the ordinary”!

* Beyond the Ordinary - get immersed in the alternate reality where supernatural powers and unseen forces blur the line between “reel” and “real” world, in top-rated global hits like Lost and Supernatural.
* Beyond Reality - be transported to the parallel universe with these sci-fi and mystery/fantasy series, where your imagination is the only limit e.g. Pushing Daisies and classic favourites like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
* Beyond Imagination - witness the unbelievable to the unexplainable with shows that never fail to thrill and captivate, and leave viewers gasping in amazement and disbelief e.g. all-time favourite TV series The X-Files.

Now I do like these kind of shows. I like getting the chills and getting my imagination run wild with mysterious stuff so I enjoy their line up. Though I am not into parties so I wouldn’t be lining up for their exclusive party. If you’re the kind who enjoys parties you might be interested to join their Out of This World Party.

AXN Beyond Out of This World Exclusive Party Details:
Be the first 100 to come dressed in your most out-of-this-world outfit, be it fantasy, sci-fi, the supernatural or horror, or even your favorite character from any of the series shown exclusively on AXN Beyond to Embassy Club at 7pm on August 1.

And get free entry into Embassy Club for the exclusive AXN Beyond party and free entry into Embassy Club for the next three Saturdays, plus and exclusive AXN Beyond goodie bag.

Log on to www.axnbeyond-asia.com for more details.

Calling out all bloggers and web graphic designers who might be interested to join the upcoming WordCamp Philippines this coming September 6, 2008 at the Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater located at the 5th Floor of the Mutien Building of De La Salle - College of St. Benilde (DLSU-CSB) in Taft Avenue, Manila. Registration has been opened and one of the nice things about it is that its for FREE.

Seriously.

All you have to do after registering is make a little post in your blog if your a blogger to get your camp badge and kit, if  you are not a blogger you don’t have to do this step. Isn’t that easy?

If you’re new to blogging but have been making websites before and is interested to learn more about Wordpress and its capabilities then the WordCamp is one event you would definitely be interested in attending. Wordpress is used by many individuals and institutions not just as for their blogging needs but also for their content management systems. Wordpress has a vast array of plugins and themes available that enables users to fully customize their websites, even to the point of it not resembling the default Wordpress install in the outside.

Theme designers have revolutionized the way default blogs look through their innovative themes that not only showcase wonderful and creative designs but also enables Wordpress to act as a full content management system. These wonderful theme designers have helped many Wordpress users achieve great blogs and websites because of their theme’s great functionality and usability. One of the best things about Wordpress aside from the multitude of free and paid themes available is the vast amount of plugins that exist for Wordpress users. Each week tons of plugins pop-up all over the internet which enable users to further enhance their blogs/sites. Its easy to say that you wouldn’t get bored easily with Wordpress because there’s so much you can do.

Give Wordpress a try and then you’ll understand what I mean. I’m running several blogs and I use Wordpress for it. Its easy to use, its free and most of all, its fun.

So please check out the main site for the upcoming WordCamp Philippines 2008 to learn more about the event. If you want to head straight to registration, click here. Also, there’s a good chance that Matt Mullenweg would be there to speak as well so I am definitely going. He’s just too cute. Before I get derailed from the topic, I’d like to thank the Mindanao Bloggers who organized the event. Thank you so much for your initiative and hard work in getting the WordCamp here in our country.

So in case you attend, maybe we can meet each other and get some pictures together. Hopefully many members of Wordpress Pinoys would attend so I wouldn’t feel all shy and scared. I registered in the WordCamp using my personal blog so you’d be seeing me there as the girl of Clay Pots and Wooden Spoons.

See you there!

My little sister who has a penchant for watching animes (aside from the common ones that fill our televisions and local cable cartoon networks these days) told me that she had a new movie that she liked.  My curiousity was piqued since her tastes are quite good for her age. I decided to go take a look at this movie she has been raving about to which she said, “I really liked it, I can’t stop thinking about it even when I’m in school.” Turning on the DVD player, she motioned me to play, “Spirited Away“.

Spirited Away is a story of a girl named Chihiro who is quite a bit whiny child. She, along with her Mom and Dad, would be moving to a new town and while taking a shortcut, they end up towards a mysterious tunnel which it turns out was an abandoned theme park with restaurants that are oddly filled with many foods. Her parents start eating up and they get turned into pigs. Then Chihiro who was quite overwhelmed with everything started telling herself that it was all a dream and that she wanted to dissapear. Oddly enough, she started to fade, luckily she meets this boy Haku (called Master Haku by most of the mysterious and  bit weird inhabitants of the realm they were in which is a spirit world) who saves her from vanishing and smuggles her into the bath house ran by Yababa, an “evil” sorceress. Haku is her apprentice and he does many jobs for her.

Chihiro’s name is changed into Sen, because that was the way Yababa binds her captives to her. Once her captives forget their name they can never leave the spirit world so Haku makes a note to remind Sen of her real name. While working in the bath house, Sen (Chihiro) meets many characters which helped turn her into an individual that cares for those around her despite the unfortunate circumstances that she seems to be in all of the time. Those characters were Haku, the River God, No Face, Zeniba, Boh and even Yababa herself. Sen started to mature and change for she has learned how to have compassion for others. The events that took place in the spirit world helped transform her from a self-centered individual into a hard-working and compassionate person. Though in the end she was seperated from Haku, who finally lost Yababa’s bind to him when Chihiro remembered his real name which was Kohaku because of the river’s name where she fell into when she was a little girl, Haku promised Chihiro that they will meet again someday.

I really loved the way the story went since I love stories that show how much compassion there is inside people, and sometimes it takes a bit of adversity for it to finally shine through. The movie also carry a lot of themes such as maturity, greed and environmental issues which were subtly presented. Its one of the movies I’ll be sure to watch over and over again not just because of the beautiful graphics but because of its rich story and characters.

If you are interested to learn more about it, you can check out the following websites that talk about Spirited Away:

Spirited Away
Wikipedia: Spirited Away
IMDb: Spirited Away

You have probably heard of the Chinese proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” and it is rather sound and rational. If we simply gave people who are in unfortunate circumstances help in terms of material things, we are probably just helping them temporarily because these tangible items doesn’t really last forever. After these items are depleted, most of the time they unfortunately go back to their previous plight and the cycle goes on and on. However if we do help them by providing them with a means to actually stand on their own after, we achieve the purpose of helping them become self-sustained for a lifetime. One might say that is is a huge undertaking and quite hard to so given the geographical differences we have from each other but with Kiva.org taking the step to bring us closer to those in need, it doesn’t seem such a hard feat.

We can’t alleviate poverty by simply giving donations to people. We can alleviate poverty by giving people sustainable jobs and businesses so they in turn can help their fellowmen by giving them a source of income by employing them. In Kiva.org, you are able to help entrepreneurs in developing countries by lending money to their businesses. Over time, they repay back the loans you loaned them and you are free to either withdraw the funds, re-lend them to other entrepreneurs or donate it to Kiva.org to help facilitate their operating costs. By lending money to these entrepreneurs you are helping them help themselves. They are able to break free from poverty because they are not burdened by interest rates that balloon into high amounts each year, thus they are able to grow their businesses. Loan interest rates are usually the source of even more business going down in developing countries because it is hard for small businesses to stay afloat if they always incur debts to fund their businesses. Free from these loan interest rates, these entrepreneurs are able to maximize the funds they are able to borrow and focus their thoughts in growing their businesses.

You can learn more about Kiva.org by visiting their website. They have many informational pages in there website and you can find links to press news about them in their Kiva Press Center. There is also a Kiva.org discussion group over at Kiva Friends. Please do check them out if you are interested to know more.

Lastly, if you are a member of the following social networks and you are interested to link to Kiva so your friends can find out about them, go check these groups out:

LinkedIn: Kiva Group
Facebook: Kiva.org - Micro Loans that Change Lives
Friendster: Kiva Profile
Yahoo!: Kiva Yahoo! Group
MySpace: Kiva profile
Squidoo: Kiva Squidoo page

In the metro, I walk down the streets and I can still see people sleeping on pavements, dirty children running around naked, kids inhaling rugby on LRT stairs and people who have lost their sanity roaming around the streets wearing dirty soiled shorts and poking on trash piles they run into. Where is the progress in that? You see these individuals around everyday and you don’t even have to look for it. If you haven’t seen them, then maybe you’re living in a bubble where you only see the best places in the metro.

If progress really happened, why is it that only a few felt or gained advantage of it? Filipinos are not lazy and just sitting around waiting to have opportunities fall on their laps. You can see them waking early in the morning to work hard labor in factories, in the public markets and in sweatshops. Did their lifestyle become more comfortable? I think not. How can one live more comfortably when prices of goods continue to rise (against the supposedly strengthening of Peso against the US Dollar…if the Peso is really strong then why are food and expenses getting higher?) and wages continue to stay at a low rate?

If indeed the country and its currency is getting strong why is it that not many of our fellowmen actually see and experience it? Maybe Mr. Progress did get into our country, but on its way to meet the Filipino masses, some individuals went on and greeted Mr. Progress first then invited him into their coffers to lounge and rest. We can’t be both good and evil. We have to choose sides, and if you don’t choose the good one, you’re not on the good side.

Residents have dubbed these kidnappers as the “Internal Gang” for they are reported to be kidnapping children as well as adults and then taking their eyes or internal organs and placing money inside the victim. Some reports have said 30 thousand while other said 20 thousand and some were even said to be 100 thousand. Some were said to be dropped of back to where they were abducted or in front of their homes, many have died while some say there are reports of victims in hospitals who were in a 50/50 state.

Below is a forwarded text message, just one of the many messages circulating around the province:

PROVINCIAL NEWS: 30 bata sa padre garcia ang nadukot at tinanggalan ng mata at internal organs at isa ay taga-National High School na kanina lamang nangyari. Madami na din ang nabiktima sa may parteng Rosario at Batangas lalo na sa mga tapat ng paaralan. Mag-iingat po tayong lahat at huwag uuwi ng gabi, kahit ang matanda ay pinagtatangkaan na din ng internal gang na ito na naglalagay ng 100 thousand/depende, pagkatapos kunin ang lamang loob at mata.

English Translation:

PROVINCIAL NEWS: 30 children in Padre Garcia have been kidnapped whose eyes and internal organs have been taken. One of them is from the National High School which just happened earlier. Many have been victimized in Rosario and in Batangas especially those in front of their schools. Everyone is advised to take caution and to avoid going home late at night. Attempts have also been made on adults by this internal gang who places 100 thousand/depends on the victim after taking their internal organs or their eyes.

Many residents have avoided being out late and as early as 6pm, you will notice that the streets are unusually quiet. Children have already been warned by parents and one cannot see unattended children outside even on family compounds. What we all fear is that it seems like nothing have been shown on the news yet about this issue so many residents are confused whether to believe it or not. Though these reports continue to come from the grapevine since none have been shown in the media, many Batangueños have opted to practice safety since many feel and believe that is is better to be cautious and stay indoors rather than take the risk of being victimized if indeed the reports circulating are true.

Aside from the said 30 children, there have been other reports of children being abducted in Janopol (Tanauan, Batangas) and another two children from Sto. Tomas Batangas. Some news from the grapevine say that the police have been alerted but up to now, we haven’t seen any patrol officers roaming around to keep a lookout for these kidnappers.

In an ironic country where cost of goods and services continue to increase each year despite the continued appreciation of peso compared to the dollar, the internet is the closest we can get to the greener pastures without applying for a Visa in the embassies scattered around Manila. People who do not have jobs or people who have jobs but still have insufficient incomes to sustain their needs, go to the internet to find opportunities that can enable them to earn and supplement their incomes which sadly they cannot do offline.

Although the internet does offer a vast array of choices of earning income such as:

1. paid to post (joining forums and posting to earn points to exchange for $)
2. paid blog posts (writing paid posts in your blogs and getting paid $)
3. paid to click (clicking advertisements to earn $)
4. paid to surf (clicking links or sites, viewing for 10-30 seconds then earning $) and so much more,

it does not mean that each Pinoy who joins one can be assured that he has finally found the golden pot. Many of these existing sites are a rehash of previously established sites and are just copying the process, style and hype. Some of these sites unfortunately are not really able to maintain and continuously keep their site up and running, thus some end up closing unable to give the payouts its members were waiting for.

When it sounds too good to be true, sometimes it really is. One must be wary of newly established sites promising the sun and the moon. More often than not these sites are the first ones to go down and get buried amongst the huge pile of defunct paid programs in the internet. One rule of thumb to follow would be testing the waters first before jumping and paying the fees. Check first if the site really is reliable by looking at their accomplishments, growth and maintenance. If you see that the members are really paid and the site is continuously flourishing it can be a good opportunity to invest. As they say, to get more money, you need money.

However, spending funds that you don’t really have isn’t good. Investment on paid programs are never risk-free. If you end up losing all your investment you only have yourself to blame. Only invest your spare funds if possible. This way you do not end up spending your family’s food budget for the week leaving your children hungry instead.