caught off-guard

as i watched the latest reports on tropical storm Ondoy on TV last Saturday night, my heart wrenched at the harrowing sight of flooded streets, submerged houses and cars, drenched people, hungry and cold. i could not help but feel sorry for the children. the most i could do was pray for them.

most were caught off-guard of the flood brought about by Ondoy. Marikina city and the province of Rizal were among the places hardest-hit by the tropical storm. In fact, two of my officemates live in those places.

My family and I were among the lucky few who live in a 4-floor apartment complex here in Makati, high enough for floodwaters.

last night, i started rummaging through my closet for old, unused clothes to donate to the survivors and victims of the storm. i hope whatever little i can give will help them pull through this disaster.

and i salute those unsang heroes who died of service to their fellowmen like 18-year-old MUELMAR MAGALLANES, who saved at least 30 people, including a mother and her 6-month-old baby; Army Private First Class VENANCIO ANCHETA, who saved 20 people in Laguna; Army Cpl. ADRIANO REGUA; Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit militiamen JOEL HERNALIN, ERINEO OLAGUER, FLORENCIO DEQUINO, and PEDRO FALCON in Barangay Nanguma in Mabitac town, Laguna; and two more CAFGU militiamen who were still missing.

May they all rest in peace and God take them all to His kingdom. Let us all pray for all our fellowmen who were victims of tropical storm Ondoy, and do our part in extending help to them no matter how little they are.

i'm outta here

i'm outta here by 2012. and looking ahead into the future, i ask myself what option to take in case my friend and i won't be able to put up the business we want by 2013.

trying my luck in Singapore as an interior designer crosses my mind sometimes. but the question lies in my ability to stay away from my family for long periods of time.

i am on the process of finalizing my first business venture, just a small one, just right for somebody who is starting out. but a lot of other things can happen, though.

last week, i had a hard time deciding on what business to take on. with the help of a tool from a business site online, i was able to pick out 3 of the most viable business plans.

since i am passionate about design, i decided to choose three that are design-related. one is putting up a t-shirt design shop or store; second is a soft-furnishing company that doubles as an interior design firm; and third is a rental apartments or complex with interiors designed by me.

the last one requires at least P2 million in capital. but i opted for a million or even half to have a 10- or 5-door apartment. on the other hand, the t-shirt design shop requires a much lower startup capital. i can always start with P20,000 and tap the Internet for an online shop.

The second one might need about P300 thousand in startup capital. however, going with the second business plan would be a problem, with me still in interior design school. if i am going to push through with it, i have to wait till 2012.

so, last night, i decided to finalize everything, finish with my research and come up with the t-shirt design business plan sooner.

Christmas is just around the corner and it might be a good opportunity to test the market this coming December, not to mention the availability of funds during yearends.

i have initially thought of putting up a laundry shop but i realized it has nothing to do with my passion in design. i have thought of putting up a pharmacy in the province as well, but the required capital is too high for me. having a franchise of the popular rice in a box is more affordable at P300 thousand in startup capital, but this would mean i have to give up my present day job. it was a requirement for a franchisee to work full-time as was written in their site, so i have to cancel this as well. but i would still pursue this plan after resigning from my job in 2012.

so there. final decision is to have a t-shirt design shop and then work my way around it as a first-time entrepreneur.

i know. it won't be easy. but if others can, why can't i?

i know i can do the same :)

bad day

now that Typhoon Nando has left the country, the sun shone brightly this morning. but the first day of the week did not start right for me.

i was hoping to feel some kind of oomph with the good weather. but the day has not yet ended and already, i felt getting back to bed.

that is how i usually deal with a bad day. i sleep on it, so i'd feel different the next day.

but today was different. well, if getting a lil hitch with your mom counts, then i'd say i was dealing with a bad day.

now, i was rambling again, typing away in front of my pc so i can still work well even feeling a bit upset. sometimes i want to believe things always go in pairs.

we have two eyes, two ears, two hands, two legs and so on. and there is also what you call love and hate; joy and anger; happiness and sadness.

i remember feeling all so giddy last night. it had been the second day for my younger brother's bar exams and we were all talking about it.

and since i made a banana toffee ice box cake yesterday morning, i was so excited having a mouthful during dinner. and indeed, the cake tasted so good. and with the good feeling of eating while having a good chat with my family, i had a good night sleep. i felt real joy last night. i was happy.

but today was the opposite. i woke up to a different mood this morning. whenever i have a lil dispute with any of my family members, it leaves me in a bad shape. i could not even work so well knowing somebody was not in good terms with me.

i do wanted to avoid these kinds of disputes, especially petty ones, but i could not ignore it either. i mean, when i know i am right, i fight for it, but it usually causes friction between me and the person involved. now i dunno if i just need to shut my eyes though i find some things are wrong, or i just need to keep quiet, though i know something isn't going right.

sigh. i guess today is really a bad day. but you know what? i refuse to believe. maybe it's just a coincidence.

power hour

i don't exactly believe in superstition or even in feng shui. but i finally discovered my power hour. maybe this is what taking a lot of online quizzes does to you. nevertheless, it was a good thing. it helped me set the time when to get productive, which means writing stories during the time i feel most energized, inspired and creative.

it was a bit funny, though. about the same day last week, i found myself dozing off in my chair while reading a story. i had stopped drinking coffee last year when i started noticing heart palpitations after drinking iced tea. i suspected it had something to do with taking a drink with a lot of caffeine, so i stopped drinking coffee as well.

but last week, i had no choice but to take a cup to stay awake at work. i put a lot of water in it to avoid palpitation again and the thing i noticed, my muse kicked in.

after drinking half of it, i found my imagination in a high gear. so i had to put it down on paper, i mean on my computer. so since then, i started working on my manuscripts again, making sure i start writing at around 5 in the afternoon till 10 in the evening.

and the good news is, it's working.

i once took an online quiz from one of the websites offering different kind of quizzes, which was entitled, `what is your power hour?'

i could no longer remember what the result was, but now i remember it so well, ever since i have discovered mine.

now, i can say my power hour starts at 5 in the afternoon till 10 in the evening.

what about you? do you have your power hour? maybe it's time to discover yours, too, and make it your cue to get productive each time you feel your creative side kick in.

good luck! :)

make your cake and eat it, too

i have finally done the thing i've been putting off for a long time. and that is to make a banana toffee ice box cake.

the procedure was a bit easy. you just need to mix ingredients, heat some chocolate chips in a sauce pan, pour water in a container and bring it to boil then submerge a can of condensed milk, layer graham crackers in a pan with whipped cream, slices of banana chocolate and condensed milk in that order, put it to the fridge and voila! an easy-made banana-toffee ice box cake.

i have yet to taste my cake as i was still typing away in my keyboard while writing this. but tonight, i'd surely indulge in that mouth-watering recipe from www.wmn.ph

it's easy. you can try other recipes of your choice. just log on to the site and click on the food button. so try it now so you can make your cake and eat it, too. :)

less is more

i've decided to take down the latest blog i've created here in blogger. i found it a bit difficult switching from one blog to another for maintenance.

so i am reposting the content of the deleted blog here, including the dates they were created. happy reading!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
don't fret on something that isn't yours

try getting into something. if you fail, try again. if you fail one more time, don't get tired trying.

but if you fail the third time around, well, you need rethinking.

if doing something gets you down, it is probably not yours. try doing another thing.

``pag tinatamad ka gawin, it's not your calling.''

very well said.

knowing what you are getting into is the most important part in following path. you can never choose where you wanna be. you can only follow your heart.

there is nothing wrong with improving you your weaker areas, but focusing on your strength does the trick. specializing on what you are good at leads you to expertise, then toward excellence. it's not enough being good. it pays being the best. it is what makes you stand out. so do it now and reap the fruits of your labor later. Posted by iRis vaLera at 12:22 a.m.

Monday, June 15, 2009
catch my attention if you can

i learned a thing today. inviting readers' attention is not exactly getting a controversial issue posted on your blog for everybody to pore on. it is making an extraordinary thing out of an ordinary one. and how is that?

well-written article, or even a shoutout, won't mean a sure way of getting read by netizens and fellow bloggers. but well-thought out writing style does it. and how is that again?

styles in writing take many tones and forms: it can be funny; it can be serious; it can be satirical; can be offending; can be informative and more often than not, can be boring. what works well for bloggers is something that can lift the mood; something that makes someone smile, or even elated. better yet, it must grab attention, something that leaves others wanting more. it's not exactly a `juicy' news, but something of a mystery. a style that poses a question: either why, what, who, where and how.

in journalism, the 4ws and 1 h must always be answered in the story lead, the so-called inverted pyramid, with which the reader must capture the essence of the story with the first line or at the opening paragraph.

but in blogging or online writing, it is totally different. the lead must spark in them the desire to know something more about it. in short, it must usher them to read the entire article.

writing succintly does the trick. precise writing or short articles don't bore readers. online readers are usually lazy and busy individuals who don't have much time and patience for long articles.

bulleted points or highlights do contribute to the readability and appeal of an article. so go on and try it at once. you'd be surprised to create traffic in your blog or site. Posted by iRis vaLera at 11:45 PM

Satuday, June 6, 2009
do your best and God will do the rest

ever heard of the magic of believing? you could hear it from everywhere, especially in the world of people who work with passion.

i remember what a superior told me back then when i was still a workforce newbie: 'Believe in yourself, 'cause if you don't, no one else will.'

this has stuck in my head ever since. though at times, my confidence backslides, i have remained my biggest fan ever. and quoting a teacher in one of my MBA classes, 'if you won't stay focused onto your dreams and goals, all you'd only see are obstacles way ahead.'

my 2nd term in interior design would be finished by end of june. i was doing well with my subjects, and even with the craft itself. however, grades in my freehand drawing class don't necessarily reflect that. i'm a full-time working professional studying part-time. that explains it well. it was one of the drawbacks of getting into school while being employed full-time.

interior design school is no different from other courses, but it eats up much more of your time compared to others. in doing a plate, for instance, it takes an average of 4 hours. and having four plates as take-home assignments would mean four days of work activity, not to mention late-night activity.

i have a day job that runs from 2 in the afternoon till 11 in the evening. sometimes, i even go home past midnight. Thursdays would always be an overtime work for a lifestyle section, which does not afford me time to work with school plates at night nor in the morning the next day or the evening the next day.

reason is, i have to get some sleep to function well during the day. and that means two days missed for the late-night school work activity. i tried cramming a day before my freehand drawing class. but this proved to be a `suicide.'

doing a plate isn't like doing an article fast. you need time to put all the details in and so i was not able to turn in two plates the next day.Twenty points were deducted from two of my plates, giving me a grade way below passing. but given enough time, i would have aced the said plates.

yeah. i believe i am a talented artist.it does not sound as a pure brag, though. you can look at my plates and see the difference from a pure brag to a fact. i have the talent and skill. i just don't have the time. i should have said this to my teacher when he got pissed over my `unorganized' way of submission.

yeah. older people get irritated way easier than we do, younger people. and that is an excuse, though i believe it shouldn't be. cause more often than not, being short-tempered makes us say words we don't even mean.what i'm trying to say here is this: that teacher who asked me in jest if i was really a [budding] interior designer made one of his worst mistakes.

reason is, i still have a long way to prove i am one. but in his case, he could no longer prove that he is right, given his age.time is going to witness my great works yet. and that is long after he is gone. who knows, i'd even end up one of the best designers of my time, right?

and he could no longer take his words back.judging people while they are starting up on something is not a wise thing to do, especially for people who have grown through time. they should stay as someone younger generation should look up to, better yet, serve as inspirations.

and so i say, if people around you don't contribute much to your dreams, especially teachers who say what they feel right on the spot, stay away from them and ignore them.stay on track toward your goal. steer your sights clear of the obstacles [like one of my teachers] and carry on with what you do.

remember what the milo slogan is? DREAM. BELIEVE. PREPARE.

so, just keep believing in yourself. don't lose sight of your dreams and do the necessary things to reach that goal.just don't stop believing in yourself and keep on trusting God and have faith.Do your best and God will do the rest. :) Posted by iRis vaLera at 11:32 PM

RU 1 of them?

i especially hold high regard for people who dare dream big and dauntlessly march out there to make it happen. two former classmates exactly did that, bolstering my resolve to push through with my dream of carving out a name to be known in the interior design industry.

it's a bit ambitious. it's no doubt a lofty dream. but people who are dauntless and driven are the ones who get the chance of seeing the limelights of success.

so, RU one of them?

i don't exactly know how to word it. but if people would ask me the same question, i'd say YES at once.

without a doubt, I AM one of THEM. :))

make it happen

make your dream a reality. you have to make it happen. it's no use keeping them all in your head. you have to go out there and make it happen.

but if things in your life seem to take longer than you would like, worry not. God is up there looking out for you. patiently wait on His timing, for He knows best when to make the right steps.

just don't lose sight of your dream. hold on to it, till the time is right to take action.

remember to take careful steps while treading the path of your dream. be sure to make it happen, but do not head off without a plan.

God always gives you what you need, so do your best and leave the rest to Him. Let God be God. :)