Having an edge with your online competitors

mumblings, tips & tricks No Comments »

Nowadays, it is not enough that you have a good website or product. Even SEO alone does not suffice. The ultimate question is, “What makes you stand out among your online competitors?”

If done properly, joining a credible cpa affiliate program can definitely help you stand out and acquire a lot of targeted customers through multiple marketing channels. By doing so, this will lead to increased engagement, brand awareness and of course, your main goal – sales.

Keep in mind also that having a properly managed online reputation is also important. In fact, it can make or break you. So if you haven’t already, make sure to claim your brand in all the major social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ and start utilizing them. Hint: Viral content creation and promotion is tacitly endorsed by search engines. In fact, they view it as a legitimate and preferred tactic for link acquisition. ;)

Not sure where to start? There are seriously a lot of resources online that could help you commence your social media efforts. GIYF – Google Is Your Friend. :) But for those who would like to share great resources on how to start promoting sites in social media, feel free to post your recommendations in here as comments.

…Music is the pen of the soul

mental fitness, mumblings, tips & tricks No Comments »

“Words are the pen of the heart, but music is the pen of the soul.” – Shneur Zalman

My friend and colleague, Carlo recently resigned to follow his dreams – become a professional DJ and own a studio with Pioneer DJ Equipment. This was triggered by a drunken talk with my boss, Phil, wherein Phil advised him to follow his dreams or he’ll end up with a lot of what ifs. Being the most talented writer I have encountered, I was quite surprised with his change of career path. Then again, aside from being an exceptional writer, I have always known that he is a great drummer. In short, music has always been a part of him.

He actually informed me offhand during one of our lunches that he is studying how to DJ. Carlo even borrowed our microphone and mic stand for one of his exercises. I just didn’t expect him to leave soon. Nevertheless, with the passion and dedication he has been showing for music, I won’t be surprised when he does succeed in that field. :) God bless you, Carlo!

What about you? Has there been something you’ve been wanting to do but kept postponing? What are you waiting for? Stop making excuses and go for it! Carpe diem! Life is just too damn short for you to be on a standstill.

Good Times

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My dad has always been very fond of music.

Ever since he was young he started starting or joining bands and practiced so hard even if they didn’t have any upcoming gigs. It was amusing, hearing my mom’s stories about how she fell in love with the man who had such an amazing singing voice.

He carried his passion for music onto my sisters and I. When I turned 13, he bought us yamaha mixers for our instruments and came up complete with a bass guitar, rhythms, a keyboard and a drumset.

That was when my family band was born.

I can say that I had a lot of good times with the family band, we were featured on a couple of TV shows, and even the newspaper. We ended up making a lot of friends throughout our performances, musicians and audience alike.

I kind of miss it, actually. Good times, indeed!

My Own Haven

environment, mumblings No Comments »

I’ve always wanted a garden of some sort in my house.

Ever since we moved to this house (which was quite an improvement and takes some time getting used to because it’s bigger than our previous homes), I couldn’t help but feel sad whenever I stare at the empty parts of the lot. The land is quite infertile, you see, and I don’t exactly have a green thumb, nor do I have the budget set aside for a landscape architecture to fix it and make it look pretty.

I’ve always wanted a place in the garden where I could sit and read my books while sniffing the morning air and feeling the sunlight glisten on my skin. It’s kind of cheesy, but I just want to experience that even at least once.

And well, I thought about buying small pergolas or a hanging bed, but then again, I’d need the land to be fertile and pretty before I do anything rash first.

Do you guys have any landscape architects or fertilizers to recommend? Haha. I’m desperate!

Cigars and Coffee

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My grandfather, Joe, was the best grandfather anyone could ever have.

I mean, sure, he had his bad sides, like he loved to smoke cheap cigars even though I was sitting in the car with him when I was four, and he sweared a lot even though my mom complained about him being a bad influence, but he showed me how to have a good time. He’d take me to the mall and sit around on a coffee shop smoking while I went out with my friends even when my mom grounded me, and he’d take me to all of these amazing restaurants because he was a foodie.

I ended up loving food as much as he did, too.

He died about two years ago, in this exact date.

I still miss him.

Is it weird that I actually miss the smell of his cigar in the car and listening to him swear at the other drivers whenever he takes me to school and shakes his fist at them while he rolls down his windows?

He’s silly, and I love him.

Impulsive buying

mumblings No Comments »

Last year I was able to clear all by credit card debts and I swore, from then on, to be responsible in all my spending. For several months I have kept my promise. However this month, when I got my iPhone 4s, I could not help it but buy apps. “It’s just 4.99″ until I purchased about 30 apps. Also, just this week, I purchased a great pair of ski pants at PeterGlenn.com. It was just impulse buying because I do not even ski.

So there goes my oath for responsible spending.

But who could resist such temptations. Sometimes, credit card purchases are hard to control. Even harder if you know that you have recieved a blank credit card bill statement last month. I wonder if there are rehabs for impulsive buyers. If they are, I would definitely have this addiction fixed.

Always check before taking medications

mumblings No Comments »

This morning went to the hospital to visit my aunt. She was confined due to extremely low blood pressure (it runs in the family). She fainted last night and they could not wake her up so she was rushed in an ambulance. Fortunately she is alive and kicking now.

Anyhow, as my aunt was telling me about what happened, the nurse interrupted our conversation and gave my aunt her medications. As my aunt was taking the meds, I got curious and asked the nurse about the name of the pill. When she checked, her face turned pale and quickly excused herself. Suspecting some mistake in the medication, I went to the nurses’ station and asked. It turns out that my aunt’s nurse gave her the wrong medication. When I asked about what medication they gave her, the nurse attendant would not tell. I was advised that a Physician would attend to us shortly.

Lesson learned. Nurses in nursing uniforms can make mistakes. So always be vigilant in checking medications before you take them. As for my aunt, it turned out she was given an antacid which was had no ill effects. However, if that were, for instance a BP lowering drug, my aunt could have died. So in summary, be vigilant in asking.

The Perfect Shelf

mental fitness, mumblings No Comments »

I have been seriously considering remodeling my room since I don’t exactly have space for my bookshelf. My friends lately have been giving me all of the books I’ve been saving up for and they’re slowly piling up. I can’t just leave them sitting on the floor on piles that don’t even look that aesthetically pleasing anymore, it doesn’t give them much justice!

I started looking up log bedroom furniture so I could start saving up for specifics and get ideas if I wanted to have anything custom made. So far my top priority would be a shelf for all of my beautiful books, but I haven’t really come up with a design yet since none of my books have the same size.

Do you guys have any shelf designs to recommend? Link away, so I can get ideas! I’ll post rough drafts of them in this blog soon if you guys come up with anything and I get ideas from it. Thanks a lot in advance!

On achieving that irresistibly gorgeous, tanned glow

environment, fitness advice, health & beauty, skin care No Comments »

One of the main reasons why I like going to the beach is because I like getting a nice, healthy tan. It just gives you this irresistibly, gorgeous glow that literally makes people do a double take (to the point of gawking). :D

Unfortunately, with the ozone layer’s continuous depletion, exposure to the sun, if not done properly, can be very harmful – even with a high end sun block. Not only that, while undoubtedly the sun provides us many valuable benefits, too much tanning can cause premature aging of the skin, may cause freckles and sunspots, more wrinkles, and worse, may even contribute to skin cancer. In fact, according to a study, more than 90% of all skin cancers result from too much exposure to UV radiation in the sun.

That’s why I’m very thankful for airbrush tans. With the invention of those, not only do you prevent yourself from the side effects of sun bathing, you also no longer need to go through the hassle of lying down under the sun like a barbecue being turned at a particular time (which can be time consuming btw) and you will no longer experience the occasional skin peeling when you’re skin goes back to its natural color. Plus, you still get that gorgeous tanned glow. :)

Energy conservation with LED’s

tips & tricks No Comments »

Our company recently became a part of an advocacy program to conserve energy. Inline with this, our team was designated to replace at least half of our office CF bulbs to LED lighting. Of course the first task is to procure LED bulbs which could substitute the CF bulbs. I never thought that this task would be this hard. Here’s why:

First, LED bulbs are expensive on retail. Because of the “green” hype, retailers tagged these bulbs as “eco-friendly” thus raising the prices. Second, they have only a white color. ‘Only’ I meant that they do not have the warm white color that CF bulbs have. This means I cannot replace the CF bulbs in our cafe otherwise the interior designer will kill me.

So far these were my challenges for now. However just this morning, one of my teammates was able to communicate directly to a manufacturer in China. This will significantly reduce the price of the bulbs, provided we buy wholesale of course. My plan is to buy wholesale and sell the bulbs that will not be used in the office. How? Involve the employees. By making them buy some for their homes, they get to help the company plus help the environment as well. Now if I could only find a warm-white LED bulb…