TDD

Moving forward is easier said than done when you face the daily agony living in this sometimes harsh, reality called “life.” When you are constantly confronted to meet the expectations of the people around you—the incessant pressure at work, and the nagging demands of your partner, family, friends, and society—it’s really hard to keep your balance, to say the least. When you are regularly bombarded with crises, it’s a real challenge to keep yourself sane, moreover, have the time to evaluate the path you are taking. If you continually find yourself succumbing to the old challenges, stagnant and not challenging your present condition, you are not growing as an individual. And, not growing is not moving forward in life. You aren’t supposed to be a victim of your circumstances, your present reality. It’s just that you have let yourself be victimized by your inability to protest and call into question your decisions. You need to acknowledge the fact that you are a capable individua

Scoring two impressive children’s literature awards, this historical novel is without poverty of thought. Catherine, Called Birdy , written in diary format by Karen Cushman , bagged the Newbery Honor Book award in 1994 and also won the Golden Kite award in 1995. (Just a quick trivia, a Newbery award is considered one of the most prestigious awards for children’s literature in the US. While a Golden Kite award is being given annually to recognize excellence in children’s literature.) The author, Karen Cushman, is a historical fiction writer whose other novel, The Midwife’s Apprentice , also won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature. Karen Cushman has a bachelor’s degree in Greek and English; and a master’s degree in Human Behavior and Museum Studies. This isn't a newly published book though, in fact it was first released way back in 1994. So, you might ask: why am I so fascinated with this old book and a children’s book in particular? Well, this type of book was

For the past five years of my freelancing career I received more than a handful of questions about it from several professionals. Questions about how to do it, what things to consider, and if it's actually worth the risk. Currently, I can say that it turned out just what I wanted it to be. It's awesome being my own boss, and being able to choose what I want to work on. I'm able to pay my bills, worked on flexible schedules, etcetera. I have no regrets taking the leap from the corporate world to being a nomadic freelancer. But where I am now, as a freelancer, is the result of the prices I've paid because honestly, freelancing is not all about backpacking and chasing sunsets. Every (successful) freelancer has a story to tell about handwork, perseverance, determination, and sticking around despite of all the detours along the way. So, here are some questions you may want to consider asking yourself before jumping in. What is your why? Sorry to pop your bubble

"Don't let the good things in life rob you of the best things."  -Buster Rothman How many times have we let ourselves be trapped on the dilemma in choosing between two or more good alternatives? I'm definite we all had those times. Although interestingly, there were those who have mastered the art of choosing what’s best. But what is the best? If it had been choosing between the good and the bad, obviously the answer will be somehow easy. Nevertheless, often that is not the case. Even if we’re to make even the simplest tasks, we are confronted and forced to make compromise time and again. Most of the time we are confronted with either two or more alternatives that were not essentially bad, yet it can hinder us from doing what we're supposed to be doing instead! How are we to deal in choosing what’s best when everything seems to be a good choice? Or how are we to arrange when deadlock with our commitments to our family, friends and bosses? Thus,

You MUST take a break. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, an employee, a freelancer or business owner, science says you should leisurely take a break if you want to increase your productivity and improve your health which will ultimately bring you more success in your work. Stop working during lunch breaks, stop thinking about your work during these times. Abandon the need to constantly check your emails. Just take your time, leisurely, having your break. You may think you are being productive, yet sorry to burst your bubble, the fact is that the opposite is true. When you keep working during your break-time you are candidly exercising the liberty to clutter your mind. It is scientifically proven that taking a break from work will help you be more productive and allow you more room for creativity resulting in better performance. Aside from that, it’s also good for your health or at least prevent you from worsening your conditions. Dear you, studies show that your mind

Forgive the low quality of my photos here, I took it using my cellular phone. This was year 2007, when we call it cellular phone, not smartphone, mobile, cellphone or phone. I was using a Sony Ericson W700 with just 2MP camera, I hope that explains it. And I guess this is a legit throwback post. Just recently, I found out that the place is now more commonly called Crystal beach, mainly because of the popular beach resort located here which specifically has the name Crystal Beach Resort. And this same resort was where we stayed during our visit, but it's somewhat far from what it looked like before. It looks so serene and remote a decade ago; now it's still beautiful, but modernized. I'm not sure what's the best, but I think I'll still pick how it looked and felt ten years ago. By then, we just knew it by the name La Paz beach. So the story goes this way... There was no plan. My sister and I together with some friends embarked on a road-trip without a

My active pursuit of honing my skills recently made me stumble upon a marketing and branding solutions book by Matt Haig. And I realized that this is something worth sharing here on the blog because it may prove helpful to anyone who wants to strengthen their skill or broaden their knowledge in marketing and advertising. It was a refreshing book to read, it's never dull and also full of practical insights. Also, what I like most about this book was the honest scrutiny of the failures of famous brand names. It dives deeper into the why, how, and what made these brands succeed or fail. Thus, it's a good reference book on succeeding in the marketing and advertising world and it's indeed viable to read and heed. There are so many takeaways from this book that I'd like to write all about it here. But I feel that I'd be robbing you of the thrill in indulging this insightful book once you decided to read it. I'd like to present the gist of the book instead,

It isn't just a trend, freelancing is actually here to stay. As technology keeps on progressing, business processes become sophisticated, and work advances in a more efficient manner. The idea more or less started with the SME community and start-ups looking for a way to lessen costs without sacrificing productivity and quality. Presently, a multitude of big corporations have outsourced jobs to remote freelancers and there has been a steady increase in numbers. Respectable magazines and blogs like TIME, Forbes, and Huffington Post already published several articles about the rise of the freelancing industry. Business analysts predicted that freelancing will replace the traditional employment setup. The prevalence in the U.S. alone, as they house a million-plus successful freelancers, makes it encouraging for others to model. Countries around the globe, including the Philippines, now have a pool of thousand-plus registered online freelancers. The Philippines is also rising

Whether your selling products, offering your services, or would like to make yourself known about who you are and what you do as a professional, building your social media presence is a must! Obviously, social media is competing with the television, if not, it already outshine it in terms of relevancy, time consumption, and attention. People spend more time now browsing their social media feeds than watching television or listening to the radio. It's undeniable how powerful social media have become. But what exactly is it and what is social media marketing? Why do you need it and why do you need to pay attention managing your social media sites? Here are the briefest answers to these questions: social media allows the creation of interactive moments with your customers or prospect clients. Social media marketing helps you drive traffic to your site (if you have one) and convert leads to qualified sales or the equivalent. It can single-handedly replace expensive and old mar

If there is one word that may differentiate success from failure, that would be discipline . It is a chasm that separates the achiever and non-achiever. We've read about it many times in various articles and books about career, business, and personal development; that it's almost a cliché. It’s a big word, and just like honesty, it can sometimes be considered a lonely word. Most of us struggle on implementing a certain kind of discipline in our lives, like money and time. Admittedly, many of us had times that we feel so enthusiastic executing our plans only to lose our fire in just a couple of days or weeks. We then go back to our old ways or resort to giving up.  Even though we know deep inside that we can make our dreams a reality. We aspire and hope that we can be more disciplined with our everyday choices.  Yet if we really want to achieve something, then the only way to make it, is to do something about it! Waiting for the perfect time is just pure lazine

Photo by Jolly Guy When I was planning this day trip, the highlight was supposed to be Mt. Pinagbanderahan. Spelunking and trekking to Bantakay Falls should be the side-trips. But an adventure is never complete without a drama. Consequently, it didn't go as planned. Not to mention, my companions definitely did not imagine how it's going to be, either. Unlike the famous Province of Rizal, Quezon's mountains aren't frequented by travelers coming from the Metro. And it is even though the province clock in some of the most preserved natural spectacles in Luzon. Ergo, I hope this post will somehow deviate the load of hikers visiting the popular mountains near Metro Manila; mainly because of the alarming deterioration of these landscapes. Some people throw trash everywhere, the floras and faunas are dying, the trails are eroding, and the campsites and summits are commercialized! I encourage you to please keep in mind the " Leave No Trace Seven Principles &quo