where the moon shines

Over lunch this afternoon, Alfred and I were discussing earning opportunities that did not involve the Internet or any of my blogs.

For the past two to three weeks, one of my colleagues at work has been trying to tell me about an opportunity to make money on the side. Being the skeptic that I am, and having an even more skeptic boyfriend, I didn’t make time to learn more about what we thought was going to be another networking scam. Last week though, I got excited when he mentioned that involved Internet marketing. Those were the key words to get me jumping. So I trooped to their office in Makati and listened intently.

First off, I was impressed at their offices. It’s at the heart of the business district, at a reputable building, had nice furnishings and a wonderful view of distant Manila Bay. When I saw the company logo on the glass doors – it was familiar! I had seen this before, in fact, I had tried to get into this opportunity when I saw it online sometime before. That got me even more interested!

When my office mate’s brother started describing the company and the opportunities it had to offer, I really got interested. This time, I was more interested in the products than the earning potential.

I’m already convinced that I would like to sign up. I can see the benefits of being an associate, whether I treat it as a business or I just continue as a consumer or retail to friends and relatives. I’m not ready to reveal what this is exactly, but it has everything to do with health and wellness. Health is wealth!

The boyfriend, on the other hand, had a different idea today. We both agreed in the end that it isn’t suitable for us even if his friend at work is already raking in a lot of money from the venture. It’s a micro-lending business but I do not like it one bit because it abuses the vulnerability of other people. Sure, lend them money, but charge 10 percent interest monthly? That’s abusive!

I can’t make myself do anything like this – because I know how it feels to be stifled with paying interest for money you owe. I have credit card debt (not too much though!) and I feel bad about the finance charges on it. I have a cousin and an agent who owe money-lenders like Alfred’s friend. Their ATMs are held hostage until they are fully paid. I don’t want to ever be the cause of that.

On the other hand, I have a cousin who is in the lending business too. And she’s not an evil person. I guess it’s just to each his/her own.

Whatever happens though, wish us luck in our upcoming ventures. Cheers to success!

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Over lunch in the office a few days ago, we got to talk about Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Project at New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. This came into the picture because we were discussing about presidentiables and how the recent crises with disasters and the lack of services all boil down to a lack in political will. Surely, it’s not just money that allows Brad Pitt to accomplish so much with his projects, there’s the genuine will to help and make a difference too. That’s what’s missing here. There is funding for maintenance of the floodways from the various dams and reservoirs, but were they used properly?

Anyhoo, we said that it would be wonderful if the technology their using to rebuild homes in New Orleans would be brought to the Philippines. That would be amazing if we rebuild homes in Baguio, Pangasinan, Marikina and everywhere else with those green homes. Daryl mentioned that we have similar technology here already, manufactured homes that have green roofs and walls or something like it. I have yet to see one. But that would really be awesome.

(Read the first part of this series on our Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife experience here)

Apart from being a park where families can go to relax, unwind, have a picnic and enjoy nature in the middle of a bustling city, the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife is also a Nature Center.  What this means is that rescued animals are nursed here until they can be set free again.  For those who can no longer be brought back to their natural habitat, they stay in the center and those are the animals that people like us can visit.

I have memories of entering an aviary as a young girl.  A big one where you can see the birds flying around you.  I still can’t be quite sure if this is a memory from a trip to the Wildlife or to Nayong Pilipino ( is there an aviary there?).  I don’t know how many species of birds can be found at the Wildlife, I can’t even name the birds that we were able to see.  The cages are not properly labeled you see.  

I was quite frustrated though that the cages completely ruin your chances of a good shot.  The animals are in cages, then there are railings that keep you more than an arm’s length away from the cage itself.  For a frustrated photographer like me, there’s just too many challenges to think of. Haha Nevertheless, blogging about our day at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife will not be complete without showing photos of the animals we were there to see.

Sheesh please do not ask me what these birds are called. I’d just tell you that they look like African lovebirds to me. You don’t agree? Well here they are kissing!

There you go, kissing scandal at Cage 27.  See, no labels at all to tell you what you’re looking at!  So even if I wanted to educate Esban on what birds these are, I couldn’t!

According to the boyfriend (who wanted to become a veterinarian, if not for his fear of blood), the birds on this next set are sea hawks.  The last one I’m sure is a hornbill. Or something.

[svgallery name="sea hawk"]

Now this majestic peacock was kind enough to hold his pose for me.  But what caught our attention more than his magnificent stance and the beauty of his feathers, was the fact that he shares his cage with turtles.  Ya don’t believe me? Well see for yourself! We even photographed one turtle struggling to get out of his water bath

[svgallery name="turtles"]

Didja see it?

Stay tuned for Part 3

It was a fun day, but I would have been a happier trooper had it not been soooo hot! Even with the dense trees protecting us from the direct heat of the sun, I was still sweating like a pig!  I was frustrated by many of my photos too, I just couldn’t make it work.  Alfred says it’s because I lacked sleep (I came straight from work, and with only two hours of sleep from the night before because that was the day after the BDP class) and was already irritable.  I think he was just trying not to make me feel bad.

We started later than we had planned so we decided to have Liempo Boy for lunch first, before finally heading to our final destination for the afternoon.

Waiting for lunch to be served@Liempo Boy

Upon entering the park grounds, we were welcomed by this rubber tree.  We told Esban what it was, and encouraged him to go ahead and pose in front of it.  Little did I know that this tree’s brothers and sisters were going to have an even bigger role for the day!

Can you see him? Right there in the middle… Here’s a closer look at his wacky face:

Still can't see his face? Click on the image for a larger view

Okay, I’m testing the WP-SV Gallery Plugin that I just installed. The previews are smaller than what I want them to be, but please go ahead and click on the link at the bottom of the box to see a larger view of the pictures in each gallery. 

[svgallery name="Rubber tree very pretty"]

I’ve always been fascinated by root systems, so these did not escape me:

Now, Alfred told E that Lastikman got his powers from a rubber tree .  Now, I preferred the alien version myself, but Esban’s imagination was definitely stirred by what he was hearing.  Here he was looking for a cozy nook to simulate how Lastikman must have been trapped inside a rubber tree!

[svgallery name="Esbantree"]

Fine, he doesn’t look trapped, he’s really just enjoying himself.  But you know what he really wanted to try?  Swing from tree to tree a la Tarzan!  We were laughing so hard the whole time. We were sweating, not because it was hot, but because we were having so much fun already!

[svgallery name="Like Tarzan"]

He enjoyed swinging so much that he refused to go home without stopping by another tree and have another go at it. Problem was, we couldn’t find the one that had vines that would suit his purpose!  In the end, he agreed to leave because he was tired, and he had somewhere else that he needed to be at. 

We took photos of the birds and monkeys too. I’ll share those at a later post, this took way loooonger than I had anticipated. Thanks for sticking it out till the end

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It’s day 1 of our 15 day trial with Sky Broadband. It’s hi-speed Internet cable. I was subscribed to this maybe two years ago but we decided to switch to PLDT DSL because of the savings we’d get for it (since it’s bundled with the phone service).  But their service has been so disappointing, so in two weeks or less we’ll make a decision to finally get rid of it or else just endure the inconsistent service we’ve received.

So far – I love it! My downloads are done in two or three minutes at a time. Sweet!

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I thought I’d be at the mall today, shopping for slippers and some supplies for our Baler trip.  I guess it’s a blessing too that we didn’t go, or else I would have had to practice a lot of self restraint while passing through the section for women’s shoes.  I certainly do not need a new pair, but when I see beautiful comfy footwear, I just can’t help it sometimes

Every week it’s all the same.  I wake up on a Tuesday morning and think about the many reasons why I don’t want to go to work.  Work isn’t until tonight, but my mind is filled with things I’d rather do than sleep in the afternoon to wake up in the evening and report for my first day at work for the week. Ugh. 

I am so tired of complaining. So tired of just going through the motions.  Yet every week (or is it everyday?), I complain.  Yet every week I also resolve to stop complaining, and to give my job my very best.  I do give my 98% to the job, but I still can’t help complaining about a regular job keeping my away from other things I’d rather do.  I know everyone has those kind of days, but for me it’s an everyday thing. A constant struggle.  And it’s just not healthy.

And today, Alfred isn’t around to cheer me up. He isn’t here to tell me why I should go to work.  Or, why I shouldn’t.  

Yesterday, while reading PS I Love You, I remembered something that Alfred said awhile back.  He doesn’t want to grow old.  He’s not afraid of getting old, he just doesn’t want to reach the stage where someone will have to take care of him full time.  He doesn’t want to grow old enough to be needing incontinence supplies, if you know what I mean.  

Anyway…

I saw an ad on the papers yesterday about a short course on baking in one of the culinary schools here.  I forgot to read up on it yesterday so I just did today.  My heart fell when I saw the tag price – 38000 pesos.  I don’t have that money and I don’t want to ask for a loan from my parents because I have an outstanding loan with my brother for the condo improvements.  A loan that I have currently no means to pay for.  Ugh.  I hope they schedule another batch for that class a few months from now.  Maybe by then I’d be able to put together some money.

Speaking of money…

I’ve noticed that money’s been tight for me lately.  It doesn’t have anything to do with the financial crunch that the whole world is experiencing.  At work, team managers receive an incentive based on their team performance and we look forward to this every month.  Since I moved accounts though, it’s like I’ve been robbed of that incentive.  With my former account, I always get it and it was more than enough to reward my top agents and cover the payment for my housing loan.  Now, it’s barely enough to buy treats for my team.  That sucks.  If I was still getting that incentive every month, I’d be so confident to ask my dad to loan me the money for the baking class and to promise to pay it back within the year.  But I don’t.

Okay, this has really turned out to be a very negative post so let me end with something different…

Earth Hour is happening again on March 28th, 8:30 PM local time.

I’ll make sure we do this at home.  And I’ll talk to my cousins and my grandpa so they’ll switch off their lights too.

I just don’t know how feasible this is going to be at work.  Our peak hours are at night, and I am not sure management will agree to switch off the main floor lights even for just an hour.  Our PC monitors will still be running anyway, and that generates enough light for me. Haha.

I also uploaded some pictures at DigitalMe, go check ‘em out I wonder when I’ll be able to catch up posting for my Project 365 at the rate I’m going. haha

Be sure to read parts one and two of our Bohol vacation before proceeding to read this post 

Seventh Stop: The Loboc River Cruise

I have been on this cruise twice before but there were some new things on this visit.

1 – The Tourism Complex is new and was constructed, if I remember hearing from Janny correctly, two years ago. The rafts dock on the opposite side of the river and it looks better now too. There are also souvenir shops in the complex, and a children’s center. I didn’t get to see what was in the children’s center/hall though.

2 – We noticed flood lights and lampposts lining the length of the river. Those were definitely not there four years ago. Apparently, there are cruises at night too. Next time I’d love to check that out. It must be beautiful.

3 – There are at least two rafts along the river where locals sing and dance for tourists. They don’t ask for a fee but they do welcome donations. There are a lot of women there, ranging from highschool girls to mothers and even gradmothers. There are some men too. One of the rafts I think showcase the women playing banduria. Those seem to be fundraising projects by their barangays (local government unit).

The river cruise and all-you-can-eat lunch costs 300 pesos per person. I particularly liked the steamed fish that they served. A musician goes on board too, his repertoire includes folk songs, oldies and pop. Towards the end of the cruise, on the way back, a hat would be passed around for the singer.

The water, the color of chocolate during our visit, is normally of a lovely blue green color. It rained hard the night before and it stirred the mud at the bottom of the river, turning it to this color. It was still lovely nonetheless.

The wind blew ever so lightly that day and it was soothing, and calming too.

The photo above is a view of the Loboc Church, the second oldest in the island, from across the dock. The photo next to it is of the same church. Notice the bridge this time? This unfinished bridge has been a fixture in Loboc for some time already. It was a government project foolishly executed because the bridge was constructed where it would hit the church itself. The people refused to have this part of the church taken down to make way for this bridge. It is said that it was constructed as a ruse to have the front of the church excavated to look for the hidden treasure said to be there.

Today there is a much smaller bridge a few meters away that serves the purpose that this big one was supposedly intended for.

There’s a museum in the church but we didn’t visit anymore. We did go inside the church to pray a bit though. Since this is the hometown of the famed Loboc Children’s Choir, I wanted to check if I could get their CD here, but I didn’t get to do that. The Choir performed for us during the conference we had in Tagbilaran four years ago. They were very good.

Here are other shots of the cruise:

The last two photos were of the rafts I mentioned earlier. There’s two of them but we only stopped for this one. There was a boy from our cruise who went down and happily danced with the performers. My camera phone wasn’t powerful enough to capture his happy dance though. Here’s another boy who was generous with his donation, he actually came back to give more:

Oops, I am going to be late for work. Sorry to cut this short. I hope you enjoyed the cruise with us!