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Bring it On, 2010!

02 Jan 2010 | By Iris

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I do, however, make it a point to figure out my goals for the year. What's the difference? I find resolutions more fleeting - insincere, even. Goals, on the other hand, are more concrete, serious, and often realistic, so I find myself more driven, more inspired, and more determined to achieve them. But that's just me.

All in all, 2009 was quite a great year for me. No, I did not manage to achieve ALL my goals, but I did accomplish a great deal - some of which were totally unplanned and therefore, pleasantly unexpected! It only makes perfect sense that this year's goals should be just a tad loftier. In fact, it seems like an insult to the year that passed to regress!

So enough babble. Here are some of the things that I'm hoping to accomplish this year, in no particular order:

1. Get my government paperwork FINALLY sorted out, so I can start processing the PAG-IBIG loan, which, in turn, will . . .

2. Start the house construction, and hopefully, let us . . .

3. Buy a car - nothing fancy, but something that works. I want a Suzuki Swift. The Husband wants a Honda Jazz, or a secondhand two-door Pajero. Whatever it's going to be, it'll most likely be secondhand for the rest of the list to come into fruition. (Read on, do!)

4. Have about a million (pesos) squirreled away. How we're going to do that is beyond me, but it'll happen, I tell you! And no, robbing a bank isn't part of the plan.

This year, I hope to do away with unnecessary purchases - meaning, no more gadgets (unless necessary), weekly online shopping sprees for clothes, expensive dinners (do you hear me, T.G.I.Friday's?), and two-way cab rides (one-way will do).

5. Build Innuendo, especially now that I own 50% of it (yey!). The company was fairly successful in 2009, and it gave us an idea exactly how huge its potential really is. We're hoping to hit the ground running this year, what with Chris & Berns at Ayala Center's The Maze now carrying our swimsuits and another bazaar in I.T. Park coming up on January 11 to 24 (I'll see you there, yes?).

Progress is a bit slow on the Innuendo website, however. I've got so much work to do that I haven't had a chance to sort out the ecommerce fulfillment and even the site design. Plus, we haven't had a chance to shoot the new collection, so I don't have photos to post. BUT all these will be sorted out before January ends, AND I'll be doing a little giveaway on this site, so I hope you'll watch out for the launch.

6. Travel, travel, travel. The fact that we traveled very little in 2009 was probably the year's biggest disappointment, but we are determined to remedy that this year. We're off to Donsol, Sorsogon for my birthday to swim with the migrating butandings (whale sharks), so hopefully the inevitable Mt. Mayon eruption won't be too serious, considering that we have to fly to Legaspi City to get to Donsol. We're also off to a 6-day Hongkong trip come June, yey!

7. Still on the subject of travel, another reason why I have to sort out my government and financial papers is that I'll need them to apply for a Schengen visa this year, if we are to tour Rome (!!!) and the rest of Europe in 2011. I'm hoping the process won't be too painful, considering that I am married to a British citizen, after all!

8. Invest. The thing about working online is that you never know when it's going to end. You could be working on a project that you've been on for years, yet find yourself unemployed the next day. That's reality. So though I know that my bosses intend to stick around for a long, long, LONG time (fingers crossed!), I still want to invest in something tangible. Presently, I'm considering a laundry franchise. (Just imagine: Iris, Goddess of Laundry.)

9. Get in better shape. Last year saw my weight going up and down like a freakin' yoyo - literally. I was 102 lbs. at my thinnest, but I have now ballooned to 112 lbs. after the holidays. I intend to stay within the 100 to 105 lbs. bracket throughout the year. And. This. Starts. NOW.

10. Lastly, I intend to be more productive and better organized this year. Although I've worked extremely hard and gotten more things done in 2009 than I initially expected, I still have a tendency to slack, sometimes for days on end. I intend to do away with slacking for good. This means I will sleep earlier and wake up earlier to get more things done during the day. I will also learn to delegate more effectively, so I don't end up climbing the walls in panic whenever I've got deadlines coming up.

So am I likely to achieve all my goals for 2010? The year is young, so we shall see. But if 2009 was anything to go by, I daresay, it'll be a cinch!

Category: Married Woman, Me Likey!, Perspectives, Worker Bee Tags: Ayala Center, bank, Donsol, ecommerce fulfillment, Europe, Honda, Honda Jazz, Hongkong, I.T. Park, Legaspi City, Mt. Mayon, New Year's Day, online shopping sprees, Pajero, Rome, Sorsogon, Suzuki, Suzuki Swift One Comment

Tech Speak

06 Apr 2009 | By Iris

I've never really understood how The Fiance can spend hours upon hours poring over amplifier specs and the merits of certain tv stands. I couldn't see why he couldn't just pick the cheapest model, or the one that ships fastest, or even the prettiest.

Well, now I know.

The past few days have seen my obsession for a Macbook growing like a canker sore until I can do little else but trawl through eBay and Multiply to find the best deal possible. I did find a couple of rather inviting prospects, both of them secondhand. But because I do have wedding expenses to think about and because I just can't bear the thought of getting some stranger's hand-me-down, I decided to hold out until I can get me a brand-new model. I'm expecting to do just that by the end of June, barring any unforeseen expenses. One thing's for sure, though: I'm getting one before this year ends - or die trying!

My first choice is, of course, the beautiful 13-inch Macbook with the Aluminum unibody, but I am actually leaning towards the 13-inch white one. They almost have the exact same specs with negligible differences on the hard drive size and memory, but the latter only retails at a considerable P16,000 less than the former, and is definitely pretty enough.

With such a disparity, I can hardly justify going for the more expensive model, can't I? I wouldn't even know all that if I just gave in to my whims without doing any research.

From now on, I will do my best never to bug The Fiance for reading up endlessly on Blu-ray players and speakers and what-have-yous ever again. In fact, I'll do him one better and throw in a couple of ooohs and aaahs from time to time. Who knows? With this new gadgetary (is there such a word?) kinship, I might be able to persuade him into robbing a bank with me one of these days.

Category: Me Likey!, Playing House Tags: bank, can't I, canker sore, eBay, expensive model, Koss P16 Consumer Headphones Leave a Comment

Writer, I Am.

01 Jul 2008 | By Iris

I remember my last year of high school. While everyone else talked nonstop about the courses they were going to take and the universities they were going to attend, I did nothing. Oh, it wasn't because I was a lazy slacker who couldn't care less if I ended up selling my body on the streets. It was mostly because, short of becoming a porn star (seriously), I didn't know what I wanted to be.

So I ended up heeding my mum's advice and taking up accountancy, the same degree that she has. I lasted a full year before I conceded that I didn't have a head for numbers. Because I needed a good excuse to transfer to my best friend's university, I chose a course that was offered there but not in my then-university - journalism. I transferred too late, however, so I ended up taking a few unimportant minor subjects that first semester.

By the time the second semester rolled in, my family had already convinced me that I couldn't possibly have a future in journalism. The future was in computers, they told me; hence, why I ended up taking up IT. Three very long and very excruciating years later, I finished the course and couldn't be bothered to turn up for my graduation. I was just relieved to be rid of school forever.

Off to the job market I went, and because I spoke English with a passable American accent, I ended up working for a call center. This was the start of my love/hate affair with call centers. For 3 years, I ended up working for 2 of the big centers in my city and one "publishing" company that refused to be dubbed as such - a call center, that is. I also worked in a bank, at some point. The pay was crap and the work bored me to tears, so I eventually ended up taking calls again. I dabbled in technical support, sales, and customer service. Eventually, I worked myself up to quality assurance.

Somewhere along the way, I got it into my head that I wanted to be a teacher. I applied for various training jobs, but always got turned down. I even went back to school for a spell to get a teaching degree, but ended up quitting in the middle of the term because juggling work and school was too exhausting for me. I eventually ended up in Thailand in some obscure coordinator job, and eventually to teach English where I was unceremoniously fired after my first week.

So where does writing fit in all this? I would say it was when I started blogging, but looking back, I think it was far longer than that. I kept diaries as a teenager. Eventually, the diaries became blogs. Back in high school, my best friends and I started an underground newspaper that everyone loved - everyone except our English teacher, that is, who promptly outlawed it. We also wrote a bunch of silly 'novels' to rival the Sweet Valley series in grubby, old notebooks that are now gathering dust under my best friend's bed.

For the longest time, I've been having my love affair with words, and I just didn't know about it because, to me, it was always just a hobby, something that came as naturally as breathing, and it was never really nurtured or encouraged. I didn't even think that I was actually a good writer until a blogger friend of mine, who I was (and am) a huge fan of and who I respect most, told me that she enjoyed my writing. It was only then that I even considered writing freelance for a living. And even then, I could only do it part-time because I, like all and sundry, didn't think it was a real job.

If I never left the security of the call centers, if I never had delusions of being a teacher, if I never got fired from a job that I hated every single day that I was doing it, I wouldn't have had the courage to pursue what I love most. I wouldn't be writing for a living, and I probably wouldn't be happy. Indeed, I probably wouldn't know who - and what - I really am.

Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn that kept me from my ultimate destiny. But I found my way back, and I'm here now. I'm now where I'm supposed to be, something that a lot of people can't say about themselves. And really, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay.