Blog Awards Thingy

My wifey requested me before that I put her blog award here. I was really busy back then withwork so I wasn't able to grant her wish. But I'm posting it now because she gave me some new awards again, passed on from other bloggers. So here they are:

I Love This Blog Award - This one is really cute and "pinky"... haha!

Elite Blog Artist Award - originally from Gee and passed to me by my wife.

The Best Follower Award - mommy, I would certainly receive this award even if I don't blog because I am really your best follower. :D. Again, originally from Gee.

Thanks for these blog awards, mommy! Really appreciated it!

Transformers 2, MJ and A Contest for My Wifey

We watched Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen over the weekend at MOA and we were quite disappointed because we didn't make it to the IMAX screening. All seats were reserved already until last Monday and we don't have the luxury of time to go back this week so we settled for a regular screening. What can I say; some people loved it, some people didn't. For me it was a good movie - I like the adrenaline-pumping sequences and the snippets of humor tinted in the storyline. I haven't watched a movie this good for a while, the last thing I watched were some vampires with sparkling skin, haha!

News broke out that Michael Jackson (katukayo ko) died, well, I wasn't really a fan. Its just now that I began to appreciate his music (and his crazy crotch-slicing dance moves). Even the Cebu Inmates gained popularity because of him. Long live his music:

"Thriller" by the Cebu Inmates
Contest Alert: Frances of Beauty For a Living has a contest for her loyal readers (like my wifey). And I decided to join so she would have 2x the chances of winning the random draw. She's giving away FREE Gift Certificates for Face and Body Treatments at Aesthetic Science WORTH 10K PHP! That's a lot of pampering for my wife (although my pampering would cetainly worth more than that, haha, plus a lot more freebies)! So if you also want a shot at getting the fabulous giveaway, just head over to her blog at www.beautyforaliving.com.

AH1N1 in Calamba?

This is the recent "gossip" around: that someone infected with Influenza AH1N1 is currently quarantined in a hospital here in Calamba. But it is not confirmed yet. Nonetheless, it has caused quite a stir to some who are afraid they might get infected. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Some precautions that we do in the household is basically washing up when we get home. Also, we go out less often now and avoid very crowded places.

AH1N1 is now a pandemic, and hopefully the Philippine Dept. of Health know what to do in case a major breakout happens. Let's just hope it doesn't get much worse.

Working From Home? But...

I don't know if others can relate, but some people (like family members, perhaps) have "stereotyped" college grads to be just for corporate or office work. That's what I feel too. Sometimes my parents ask why I won't try opportunities outside from companies in the metro, or offer me job vacancies where I can apply. I understand that they want me to have a stable job with all the benefits and stuff, but I've made a lot of considerations too why I choose to work from home in front of my own computer.

I started my home-based "career" when I was still in college. I needed a job while I am studying, and my wife tried to apply me to a job online as a programmer. They were looking for experienced people, and I don't even have any work experiences yet, just some fancy school programming projects. But I got hired, surprisingly. And up to now, I still get all my jobs online. I tried applying for jobs in Makati when the "dry season" came, but I still pursued job hunting for online work.

Working from home is the better option for me, and I don't pursue everyone to do the same. I can see a lot of advantage from my home-based job. Like...

• I save the hassle of commuting everyday and spending 1-2 hours stuck in traffic
• Health benefits: no smoke pollution, away from viruses (H1N1!), eat healthy because I know where my food is coming from, away from road accidents
  
• No annoying officemates to mingle with
• No taxes automatically deducted from your salary
• More family time: when I'm on a break, I eat along with my kid and wife, and after work, I can spend the time already to my family instead of commuting if I was in a corporate job
• Even if it there's a signal #4 typhoon, as long as there's internet connection and electircity, I can work.
• I learned a lot more money-making skills through self-study vs. specific task trainings with companies
  
• If you're thinking about benefits like SSS, PhilHealt, etc., we can fix those on our spare time.
• Social life? Facebook is always there to connect with friends and family. Although I seldom use FB now because of other priorities.
  
• Lastly, more time to earn online!

Working from home is not for everybody. If you feel you can be more successful in a company or on a work-from-home job, its your choice. Just a word of advice for those who want to start out working from home freelancing for jobs online: you can do it! If you're not confident enough of your work experience or you don't have any, then get some experience online. A lot of opportunities are available all over the net from foreign companies outsourcing their works here in the Philippines. Find job opportunities that welcome "starters", and you might just land your first job online.

But I want to emphasize again that this is my OWN opinion, don't start working from home if you don't feel it. Its a choice. This might work for some, and this worked for me that's why I favor working from home as a freelancer.

Finally, Web Design Rework Complete!

Before and After pics of my blog

After weeks and weeks of painstaking tweaking with the design of this site, I finished the work today with the revamped look of the site. Although the graphics are quite big in size and takes some time to load on the browser, I am happy with the results. I have been planning on this design for a long time, and I wanted to get it done today. I think it reflects more of myself now; funkier, colorful, sexier, jazzed up, and complicated (lol)!

Some things I added were Project Wonderful ads at the bottom, and also trimmed out some fat from the sidebar. Also, got back my Nuffnang ad at the right (hopefully some ads would start popping!). I also removed "Continue reading This Post Title..." links on the homepage to speed up some loading time.

I was inspired to finish the redesign today because of Nuffnang's recent contest for Goldilocks. If I wanted to join then I'd need to fix my blog first. Do check it out!