Goddess, I Am.

I always make it a point to stay up half the night to follow Apple events because, well, that’s what fan girls do. I was too exhausted to wait for last night’s Back to the Mac event, though. And I was too scared to face a potentially hot new Macbook Air with a husband still waiting for his long-overdue Macbook Pro.

But it was impossible to escape the news of the new Macbook Air, especially with Chin emailing me first thing, asking me what I thought of it. So with great trepidation, I hurriedly read about it . . . and was not blown away, for once. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The 11-incher is absolutely stunning; the graphics, very impressive. The flash storage would’ve been great, too, if only it wasn’t so measly. That processor, however, is about as exciting as herpes simplex – probably less to some people. I’ve never been one to lambast Apple, but this new Macbook Air really is one big, gigantic anti-climax for me. I’m disappointed.

I suppose it’s not a bad system for folks who sit in Starbucks playing Facebook games and what not, but it’s definitely not good enough for hard-core users like myself. (By hard core, I mean running 2 OS’s simultaneously using VMWare Fusion 3; Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS4 for photo editing; and dozens of open browsers, spreadsheets, documents, and FTP transfers all the freakin’ time.) The saddest part is it would’ve been very acceptable if it wasn’t priced like the more powerful entry-level Macbook and Macbook Pro. It defies practicality and logic – for me, at least.

But moving on, I absolutely cannot wait for Mac OS X Lion. My Snow Leopard has served me well, but as someone who runs a gazillion apps simultaneously from the moment I start up Octavian, I definitely NEED the new Mission Control feature. The Launchpad is pretty nifty, too, but I’m absolutely terrified of the Mac App Store.

Honestly, though, I’m actually quite relieved that the new Macbook Air turned out to be a disappointment. My Mac lust is hereby shelved – at least, for a few more months. When they start putting i7 processors in the 13-inch Macbook Pros, well, that’s another story!

Okay, not really a slave. More like an assistant.

The Perks:

- You get to work from home. Or from Starbucks. Or by the beach. Whatever floats your boat.

- You get to learn SEO from an industry expert whose campaigns are consistently at the top of search engine results pages (SERPS).

- You get to work at your own time and pace. That is, as long as you DO the work.

- This is a full-time job. And if I’m happy with your work, it’s also potentially long-term.

- You will be very well paid. Again, if I’m happy with your work after 3 months, I’ll give you a raise.

The Catch:

- Your schedule is flexible, yes, but don’t think that you can bunk off work. We’ve got deadlines to meet, and you have to meet those deadlines one way or the other. This is extremely important. This pretty much means that if you skip work one day, you’ll have to make up for it the next . . . even if you don’t sleep doing so.

- This job isn’t a walk in the park. There’s much to learn and even more to do, so you need to have an excellent coping mechanism to do so.

- Apart from the good pay, there are no other benefits.

- You need to think fast and work fast. I will teach you a lot of things, but I will NOT be around to hold your hand at all times. You have to be able to take the initiative when needed.

- If you’re whiny, this isn’t for you. Nothing pisses me off more than someone who complains about work because I never do. This is an opportunity that a lot of people will kill for, so you have to be able to appreciate that.

- No slacking! I’ve been in this business long enough to know a lame excuse when I see one. I’m a considerate boss, believe it or not, but only if you deserve it.

- Although we’re not doing highly technical work, there’s still a bit of techie stuff involved. I need someone who can learn whatever I teach lightning-fast and who can follow instructions. I don’t like repeating myself.

- As I said, this is a potentially long-term, full-time job. If you are working elsewhere, this isn’t for you (unless, of course, you’re quitting, anyway). I will NOT have anyone resigning from their jobs on my account. This is ideal for those who are currently unemployed, or freelancing full time.

The Requirements:

- You can write. And by write, I do NOT mean type. You need to have near-perfect grammar and spelling, which meet my standards.

- You own a computer; preferably a laptop, in case I need to meet you somewhere to discuss something. Also, said computer must not belong in a museum and must work 99.9% of the time.

- You have stable Internet connection. Internet problems as excuses are a dime a dozen, and I will only accept such an excuse SOMETIMES (read: hardly ever). You should know by now if your ISP is crap or not so there’s no reason not to switch . . . like, NOW.

- You have a cellphone and/or a landline that I can bug you on. And be warned, if you’re not good or if you miss deadlines, I WILL bug you!

- You have to be computer-savvy. I have no time to teach you the basics. A bit of HTML know-how is preferred.

- I prefer someone who lives in Cebu City, so we can meet for trainings and stuff. But if you’re from out of town and you think you can do the job, we’ll talk about it.

If I haven’t scared you off at this point and you’re still interested (or know someone who is), email me at iriswrites [at] gmail [dot] com with ‘FULL-TIME APPlICANT’ on the subject line. Please attach your resume along with two or three writing samples (links to blogs, portfolios, articles, etc. – whether you’re writing about noxycut or the mating habits of llamas doesn’t matter). If you hear from me, it means I’m considering you for the job. If not, don’t bug me, please. Please state your expected salary, as well.

If you can only work part-time, let me know. I do take part-time writers, too.

I grew up in a Christian sect (which shall remain nameless) that staunchly discourages the celebration of Christmas. Nevertheless, I’m a big fan of the holiday – not only now that I’ve left said sect, but even back in the days when I was quite the active member.

Because of this upbringing, however, I don’t see Christmas the way most people do. For one thing, the religious implications are completely lost on me, so I’m not going to go into that. I simply see Christmas as a time for family, friends, great food, and of course, presents.

This year’s Christmas is definitely one of the best ones – EVER. I’m thinking it’s probably because so many great things happened this year, and everyone in my family just has so many things to be thankful for. Not only that, because most of us work at home, we haven’t been obliged to go to this or that party to socialize with people we may or may not like, so our holidays have been spent with the very people we wanted to celebrate with – each other. Most of all, the coming year is going to be a big ‘un that’ll bring about a spate of huge changes that I can’t talk about right now, so I guess thinking about this time next year is making everyone want to make the most of this year’s holidays. (Plus, this year saw the return of mum’s famous “turbo chicken”, a family favorite that we haven’t had in at least 5 years!)

And then there are the presents. Everyone in the family gave the best, so we all received the best. No, I didn’t get any of the gadgets on my wish list, but I did get a lot of stuff that I wanted and needed.

First, there’s the fabulous new bed and mattress that The Husband and I decided to give ourselves as a Christmas present. The bed frame and headboard are made of a soft nubuck, which is really lovely to the touch. It’s also Queen-sized, a bit of an upgrade from our old double bed. The thick, firm foam mattress is somewhat recessed with a good half-foot nubuck border/frame around it, so I’m not likely to fall off the bed anymore.

We were actually eyeing it for months at SM’s Our Home where they had a camel-colored one on display, but when we finally decided to buy it, it was gone. I nearly burst into tears! Luckily, the salesman told us that there was a chocolate brown one still tucked away in storage, and when he showed it to us, we had it reserved right there and then. I’ve had zero insomnia since it was delivered a couple of weeks ago. In fact, I don’t think I’ve slept so well in my entire life! It’s well worth the $500 price tag!

The Husband and I decided to get the bed because we couldn’t decide what to give each other for Christmas. The idea was not to give each other presents anymore, but somehow we ended up getting wrapped presents for each other, anyway. I got him a Casio Edifice chronograph; he got me a Moleskine Daily Planner because I didn’t win the giveaway (sniffles). He couldn’t find the Moleskine Color-a-Day sort, so he just got me the plain black one because I already had a red Starbucks planner this year. I’m so happy! Moleskines are L-O-V-E.

The rest of this year’s haul was quite as impressive. Chin gave me my present earliest: a beautiful notebook made of all native and recycled materials, which is a great addition to my ever increasing notebook collection (yes, I have one!). The best thing about it is that Chin has its twin – isn’t that sweet? I wasn’t able to take a picture of it, though, because I didn’t have Caesar on me that night.

My best friend, Aileen turned up the morning of Christmas Eve with a fabulous Guess? bag – in purple! Now, I’m extremely bag-challenged. I hardly ever buy bags because I usually just take whatever my mum isn’t using (she has LOADS), and I would normally use whatever bag I’m currently using until it’s worn out beyond recognition. It’s nice to have a pretty new bag of my own, for a change.

My uber generous mother surpassed herself this year. The whole month has been a constant stream of surprises from her. I got a pair of jeweled wedges, several fancy Wacoal underwear, a fancy jewelry box, gorgeous white gold hoop earrings, and Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. The rest of the family got a ton of really cool stuff from her, too. Our mum is definitely the most awesome one in the world!

From my sister, her darling Mike, and everyone’s darling Xabier, I got an extremely cool portable laptop stand and cooler in hot pink. It’s totally ergonomic, and I’m working more comfortably now. Octavian is also kept nice and cool at all times, which I’m hoping would prevent heating problems in the future. A week without Octavian is a week too many!

From Tita Pilar, my sister’s mother-in-law, I got a beautiful pair of pearl stud earrings, which had me squealing with delight. I love, love, LOVE pearls, but I haven’t worn any in years! I gave all my pearl jewelry to mum before I left for Thailand, and I’m just so happy to be wearing pearls again.

Yes, aren’t Christmas presents lovely? Why, I love ‘em so much that I’d be quite happy getting promotional tote bags!

What about you? What did you get for Christmas?

I didn’t think I should own a planner for next year because the Starbucks ones I got in years past always ended up gathering dust. But when I saw the 2010 Moleskine Colour-a-Month Daily Planner, I changed my mind faster than you can say “fickle!” And when I saw that Avalon.ph is giving away the last one in existence (okay, I’m exaggerating – it’s actually the last one they have on stock), I just HAD to join. It would be remiss of me not to! Seriously, look how cute it is!

So what am I thankful for for the year that’s almost ending?

Golly, where do I start? It was – and still is! – a fantastic and very eventful year that saw me marry the man of my dreams, get to know my adorable nephew, bond with the family again after being gone for some time, land the job that any freelancer will kill for, buy a house that we will be moving into in two years or less, reconnect with friends, finally able to afford a Macbook Pro and bid goodbye to the computer woes that have plagued me for the past 10 years or so (Windows, duh!), learn photography, discover Ancient Rome, help my sister launch a business that I completely believe in, and finally grow up.

Yes, the list of things I’m thankful for this year could go on and on, but I think what it all boils down to is the thing that I’m most thankful for this year, the years that have passed, and the years that are yet to come: L-O-V-E.

Love made it possible for my relationship with The Husband to transition from the almost constant turmoil and drama to the joyful, blissful, and peaceful companionship we enjoy now.

Love makes it possible for me to enjoy every minute I spend with my nephew, even when I have a serious aversion to most children and can only handle them in small quantities.

Love gives me the energy to work from sunup to the next day’s sunrise practically every day, just so I can make time for The Husband, make time for the family, and meet my scary deadlines.

Love makes me indulge The Husband’s expensive Blu-ray habit, even if does make me want to weep sometimes. And I suppose it’s love that makes him look the other way, too, whenever I get a new gadget, or buy too many clothes and shoes and books.

Love keeps me supportive of Mum’s goals, even when most of them will eventually take her far away from us.

Love had me voluntarily buy the domain and the hosting for my sister’s clothing line. Not only that, it’ll be love that will make me finish and launch said site, hopefully before the year ends. It’s also love that’s made me spend the last couple of weeks in a stuffy little booth, hawking swimwear to all and sundry.

Love has me bending over backwards for my bosses, not because I have to, but because I genuinely want to. They’re great people, and I love my job even more because of them. The fact that they love me enough to pay me extremely well is a welcome bonus. And it’s awesome that I don’t have to do a job search after every project ends – a freelancer’s nightmare.

Love (or something very close to it) keeps what few friends I have still speaking to me, even when I’m a horrible correspondent.

Love for my Mac has me taking care of him like he’s my first born and a real person, and I daresay that Octavian loves me, too, because he has never let me down!

Love of life and memories got me to buy Caesar, my camera, and it’s my newfound love of the craft that has me reading photography books aplenty and taking countless pictures.

Again, I could go on and on about why I’m thankful to and for love – but then, it’s probably going to take me another year! If this doesn’t win me a Moleskine planner, I don’t know what will, tee hee.

What about you? What are you thankful for this year? Who knows? It might win you a Moleskine. (Though nasty little me hopes not!)

UPDATE: I didn’t win the planner. I hope I can find one for sale!

Since 2006, I’ve been downing copious amounts of peppermint mocha just to get the yearly Starbucks planner. This year, however, I’ve decided to break what has become tradition.

You see, I have the attention span of a gnat. All three of the planners that I’ve owned over the years all suffered the same fate of being forgotten after March or April. This means that the nearly P6,000 I’ve spent on coffee each November through January for the past 3 years is simply not justified. Besides, Octavian does practically everything for me now anyway, so another Starbucks planner is going to be as useful to me as a bell tv subscription when I live in the Philippines.

Be that as it may, The Family and I are still hell-bent on acquiring each of the 3 planners for those in our fold who actually, umm, plan. Last night, we got the first one for The Husband who fills up one notebook after another with his Blu-ray orders, tracking numbers, suppliers, and what-nots, so it’s looking like this is one planner that’s going to get plenty of mileage. We’re now halfway through getting the second (for the brother-in-law), and it’s looking like we’ll be getting it before the week ends. Yes, the team effort is getting its results, and fairly quickly, too. If we keep this up until January, we’d probably end up with half a dozen planners or so!

I must say, though, that the new planners are a hell of a lot prettier than the ones last year. And the coupons aren’t half bad, either.

How about you? Are you getting a Starbucks planner (or two, or three) this year?