#work from home jobs near cebu | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

n0resistance · 2 years ago

Text

Studio City

My friend would say beautiful things come out of Studio City. She grew up there and turned out to be one of the coolest humans I ever met. I remember being in traffic on the way to the Sylvan and Esso Concert at the Greek Theater as she said that. My lease was about to be up in East Hollywood and I desperately wanted to visit The Philippines with my friends and then move back to New York. I needed to save money and had to come up with a plan to have it all work out. My lease was up on February 1st; I remember that because I moved to LA on January 4th and stayed in an Airbnb until I was able to sign a lease a month later.

So my plan was to work and save until May and leave for Singapore and then The Philippines on May 7th. I asked my best friend if I could stay with her and pay some rent, utilities, so I could save enough money to leave. Thankfully she and her roommate were okay with it. When I left, I only brought a small hand-carry, backpack, and my ukulele on my trip. I left my big luggage in LA (my moving to New York luggage), so when I came back to New York I purposely had a layover in LA to say bye one last time and get all my stuff.

It all was a good plan that was working out but to be honest 3 full months of being a gypsy to save money for a month-long trip and a move back to Brooklyn was difficult. I think I’m a good roommate because I’m never around. At the time I was working 2 jobs. 1 concierge job and the other as a bar-back on weekends in West Hollywood. Every time I got paid it went to a flight, a hotel, and the trip I was about to embark on. My route was Singapore, Manila, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Manila, back to a layover in LA for 12 hours, and then home to New York.

If I wasn’t at work I was working on a project. Having 3 months left in LA to create, I was trying to get involved in everything. My projects were acting in the play Romeo and Juliet, post-production on the short film “Layla”, and my first attempt to write and perform the intro to a one-woman show. Doing that and having a bucket list of places to visit in and near LA. There’s so much to see on the West Coast outside of LA proper.

I was happy to spend the last 3 months in LA with my best friend from Jersey. Sometimes I would sleep at either one of my two other friends’ places I knew from work who lived closer to my jobs. One in West Hollywood and one in Hollywood. I was so lucky to have these girls and the best part was it was a good excuse to actually hang out with each other. LA is spread out and if you didn’t plan it, it’s easy to never see each other. Especially if you only have a bike like i did. So these sleepovers were literally just catchup before I said goodbye to my friends.

I did feel unstable not having my own place. One time I reconnected with a guy whom I met when I first moved to LA. He was performing somewhere in the valley. He toured around 30 countries and was living in Airbnbs or couch surfing as a lifestyle. What amazed me was his ambition to perform everywhere. It was pretty annoying that at every single spot we went to, even if there were already performers there, he would squeeze his way to get on the mic. One restaurant we went to in Studio City had live performers and somehow this kid got on the Mic, singing "No Diggity" and had a minor altercation with the lead singer who got paid to be there.

The lifestyle he was leading not having a consistent paycheck and being on the go that much, it altered his sense of time, space, and reality. Traveling is exhausting and even though he was pursuing his passions; everyone needs a little stability. In the end I called him my Layla, after the movie. Who’s a person who’s there for the moment and disappears with a inspiring image.

My best friend and I would go and try different vegan food in LA. They had so much to offer. My favorite was Sun Cafe in Studio City. Couldn’t believe it was vegan and the food was like crack. I cooked a lot of pasta at home; it’s the only thing I’m excellent at cooking since living in Italy. My fav times were cooking pasta and catching up with her.

I worked a lot and then had rehearsals coming up for Romeo and Juliet. I was so happy to get the roles of The Prince and Peter. At the beginning, The Prince stops the brawl. In the middle, Peter is a servant who tells Romeo about the party. I also was at the end having the last words to the dramatic scene. The play was an all-girl cast.

I had never done Shakespeare and originally auditioned for Romeo. There’s a lot of research that goes into it for me. To actually understand what I’m reading. Watching the original movie helps a lot. It’s almost a different language. We had an impressive fight choreographer for the fight scene. The kissing scene was very believable. When I promoted the show I would tell people that it was an all girl cast with women fighting and making out. It was a joke but that was really what it was. The other actors were so talented and I was thankful to be able to do it. The play even made it into LA Times as a must see.

The completion of my short film Layla worked out because of a deadline and a rigorous schedule. I would go and be in the room to edit the film with the cinematographer and editor in Santa Monica everyday after work until it was done. I felt the need to be in the room since I hadn’t done that the last two times of making a short film. Editing is really where a movie is made. That process was fun. I learned it matters who you make movies with and if you have the same goals for the process to go smoothly. I prefer to be deadline oriented and with me moving home there was a sense of urgency. This to me is important because as artists we can feel a sense of complacency without deadlines.

My go to bar in North Hollywood called Idle Hour. It's a bar that is shaped like a barrel with an actual dog house in the shape of a dog in the back. I never got to go to the jazz club I wanted to go to called The Baked Potato. Some place I’d like to try and see again if I can. I did like the tikki bar and this dive called residuals. A residual is when you do a commercial and get checks for $10 or a different amount when it airs but over the course of 10 years, they would have people’s pay stubs attached to the wall. At the end of my time at Studio City I partied, I worked, and I joined this group that met up to create dialogue for a one woman/one man show in the hotel we worked at. Before I left we were going to perform what we personally came up with in front of a small audience.

Now this group had steps every time we met. The first time we just wrote a stream of consciousness. Then we shared the entry of what we wrote to a partner. I made a friend who's from North Jersey in the class who also lost her mom. Learning that felt really connected to her and vulnerable. Then we took our stream of consciousness and told it like a narrative with an activity and a setting. I called my piece "Little Girl". The monologue was short and effective and really pierced me emotionally which impacted other people. I wrote that my mom was a dancer and my dad was a traveler who saw a lot of the world. While I was telling their story I was folding napkins because in the piece I was at my job in a restaurant with an apron on. I tell the audience that my parents don't live their passions anymore because life got in the way, having a family got in the way. So I made it a purpose to pursue my own passions. In the monologue I’ve been shut down by someone who’s close to me who says "I'm a bad actress who's never going to make it". Every time I said that line a tear came out because it was true. Or felt true, even if it was not, I believed it to be true. Even though I'm thought of in that way and don't have support, I do what I do because my parents are not able to, and maybe that experience and my own happiness is enough motivation to keep pursuing what I love.

It felt good. I screened Layla at a Tibetan boutique shop in Santa Monica and every actor, coworker, and friend who I met in LA came to the showing. Where we projected the movie onto a white sheet and had a speaker. We all sat on the floor, the space was filled, and went to the bar on the other side of town called Harvard and Stone to celebrate. I left shortly for Singapore and was really happy to change my life into the unknown.

#studiocity howtolove

0 notes

now-we-say-c0ral · 2 years ago

Text

It’s getting a bit better. I’m getting the hang of it, my new life here in the UK.

Firstly, I’ve moved out of my old flat. I never felt like I fit the place and traveling to and from work took its toll on me. Moved to a new shared flat very near to my hospital. I get to go home during lunch breaks and cook food fresh. This has really helped me a lot. I have more time to myself and I practically don’t commute anymore. No friends here though but that’s alright. Never really fancied making British friends anyways. Tired of speaking English. I’ve been sleeping better now. I’m not using sedating medicine to help me sleep then not wake up on time when I’m working the next day. I’m taking my weight loss journey more seriously now. Bought some home equipment and diet supplements, been swimming four to five times a week and my endurance has been improving, and I’ve lost five kilograms already. It’s still a long way to go but I’m slowly getting there. I’ve gotten used to the ward routine now and I don’t dread going back to work anymore. It doesn’t faze me anymore like it did before. Additionally, I’ve been offered a new job post as an operating room nurse after I’ve applied. I start this 15th of June. I’m nervous but I’m thrilled to learn and be somewhere new. Finally, I’ve booked my annual leave this August and I’m going to Boracay with my boyfriend and I’m going to Cebu with my family.

Things are turning up for the better and I know what to do when things turn bad. I’ve just got to choose myself first and foremost. Always. It’s okay to be selfish sometimes especially when you’re in somewhere foreign. Your mental health matters the most.

5 notes · View notes

annakie · 5 years ago

Text

Notes on a Blog Cleanup, Part 5

...And now I’m at Page 611. I’m in the end of 2016. So, a little under 400 pages to get through another 18ish months. Big change from the first 1000 pages being 18 months.

And this is when things go very, very wrong, for all of us, and then for me in a big way, in particular.

This is less about the blog and just more about reflecting on a time period.

And maybe my last post on this series. We’ll see.

This got real personal at the end. I’ll see if I keep it up tomorrow.

I really loved going through the last couple of years on the blog, but I was very, very much dreading getting to November, 2016. We all know why.

The second half of 2015 was pretty great. Went to NYCC a second time (though I never got around to doing recaps of that trip, which had its ups and downs but mostly ups), and then mom and I went on a Caribbean cruise, which I also didn’t do much recaps of. Because on that trip, my grandmother had a big downturn on her health. My mom nearly left the cruise early to fly back to Dallas (and the Princess Cruise people were so, so good to my mom when the front desk found out what was going on). But in the end she stayed, but getting back home was like when everything really started going wrong, and why I say that the end of one of the best times of my life stopped after that cruise.

We got back, and a week later grandma had the stroke that signaled the end, and after a little over a month of hospice care that was very difficult to watch (and my mom and aunt and even dad were so brave about), she was gone. Some good stuff happened in there, like The Force Awakens released, a fun Christmas party at work... but yeah.

I kept alluding to other bad things happening in 2016 and yet I honestly can’t remember now what was so bad, except that my oldest cat and my dog’s healths were both starting to fail. I’m sure I had other reasons, but hey, from the standpoint of 2019, I’d just about to kill to go back to one ordinary weekday of January through very early November 2016 when we had a sane president and relatively sane political climate, I still had my job with the people I loved, and Jim and Cebu were still alive.

Not that things are THAT TERRIBLE now, I just... really miss all those things.

I deleted a lot of political posts from the blog back then because, tbh, they just hurt to much to see. I was like 90% sure Hillary would win, weren’t we all? It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.

I got to one post the day the Cubs won the World Series and was like “That was the last day where things felt... hopeful and normal?” Like wow this one really cool thing happened (at least to me it was awesome) and then like two days later... the world turned upside down.

I took the next day off work to stay in bed and just... cope. When I went back to work the next day a friend of mine and I were talking and she told me that she knew how I felt but thought it wasn’t going to be that bad. That maybe I was overreacting. A year later she told me she was wrong to have told me that.

I’m counting the months until, hopefully, this is all over. If we’re lucky, sixteen months. If this impeachment thing actually yields results, much less. If we’re very not lucky... much, much more than that. I can’t even deal with the thought.

I’ve... decided to press pause on the blog cleanup, even though I have 600 pages (which is still THREE YEARS!) to go.

I got to my first post where I admitted on the blog that I knew it would be Jim’s time to go pretty soon, and at the time, thought I still had around 6 months for Cebu.

In the last few years, I have gone back and visited my posts about how my close to 17 year-old cat died on Christmas morning and then my 14+ year-old dog died three days later. It was, so far, still considered to be the worst week of my life. I had no family in town to turn to really, but they called, and friends who reached out online, and I made it through that time, but it’s three years later and it’s still hard to really think about when I’m not in the right headspace.

The entirety of the end of 2016 until... honestly, like June of 2018 was like a freight train that hit and didn’t let go. Things were actually okay when the grief cloud lifted around March of 2017 until the end of June, and then I found out my company was getting bought out, and then, well, this happened. And it was worse than what I wrote in that post, to try and not mudsling as much as I could have.

I am still finding posts I want to tag, entire gifsets I forgot to tag correctly here and there, or things that should have been tagged personal post or TAH or Mass Effect or whatever that weren’t. As time goes on, I tag better and better though, and very little needs to be deleted other than “stuff is one sale right now!” or “This is no longer relevant” posts so... it’s relatively good now.

I’ve been feeling pretty shitty the last couple of weeks. My dad’s oldest sister is dying, she’ll be gone in the next week or two. I went to Palm Springs to visit her at the beginning of the month. She was always so bright and vibrant and... classy. I hadn’t seen her at all in like a decade though. It’s weird how time gets away from you like that.

The last time I’d seen her and my uncle, my entire family including my (mom’s sister) aunt, my (mom’s mom) grandma, my brother, (pregnant at the time!) SIL, and her parents were all supposed to go on a cruise, and Mom/dad/grandma/aunt and I were to stay with that (dad’s sister) aunt and uncle for a few days over thanksgiving before getting on the ship. Grandma got sick, so I did Thanksgiving with (ds) aunt and uncle on my own. And it was really fun. I’d been so nervous at the time to be there without my parents and... nope it was a great weekend. They took me to a Christmas fair, a NA Pow-wow (public was invited!), antiquing, bought me a sweatshirt and a copper bracelet... spoiled me rotten.

Seeing her so diminished and what she and my uncle are going through now... very difficult. My parents have been out there for over a month now, they’ll be there to the end.

I thought I’d posted about this but I guess I hadn’t? Over July 4th weekend I drove to visit my brother and sister in law and their (four!) kids. My parents were there, too (they’re RVers, they can be wherever they want in a few days) My dad’s OTHER sister and his brother flew in for a day and a half, too. I saw more family this year than I had than the past 10 years before this combined. It’s really started to make me think about the value of family, if they’re good to you, which mine are, even if you don’t agree with them about everything.

I thought I was getting sick all day, I came home from work at like 10:30 this morning, called into a meeting, slept through lunch, worked for an hour or two, had my afternoon meetings canceled by my boss then just laid in bed. I was supposed to go play D&D4e tonight, and I didn’t go. I could have. I just... realized late this afternoon, I’m not sick, I’m just... blah. I’m not sure if going through this blog was a symptom of that, or a cause.

I think the impeachment stuff is getting to me, too. It’s a part of how I feel. I can’t stop looking for news of it. I don’t want to get my hopes up. I keep telling myself to let it go. I can’t. We are all so tired of what’s going on. I’m exhausted. We all are.

I can’t get the idea of moving to where my brother lives to be near him and the SIL and the kids out of my head. I’ve been looking at real estate listings and can probably get a slightly nicer house there for what I could sell mine for here. My job is... it’s fine. But I could probably get a similar one there. There’s one thing holding me here, my friends. I keep wondering now if that’s enough. I’ve lived in Dallas literally half my life. Am I going to spend the rest of it here? I’m not as happy as I used to be, that’s for sure.

Maybe. It’s just a thought. It’s a lot of work. I don’t know. I probably won’t go anywhere.

I think I need to go get some more sleep.

#personal post tag thingy #notes on a blog cleanup

5 notes · View notes

seecourtneytravel · 6 years ago

Text

October 5th and 6th, 2018 (Friday and Saturday)

Cebu, New Friends, Excursions

When I went to bed in the hostel, I just laid down and was still in my day clothes. As mentioned before, some idiot from our 8 bed dorm turned off the AC. Maybe it was too cold but I woke up burning up inside early in the morning.

After the AC was turned back on, I kind of layed in bed for a little bit. I looked up the nearest gym available. For some reason it’s so refreshing to me to go to a gym in a different place. I found they had anytime fitness around the corner and I was pretty much jumping for joy inside because I’m a member back home.

I wasn't really interested in having breakfast first so I left with just my phone and headphones. Anytime fitness was literally around the corner in the top floor of a four story plaza.

I walked in and went to the front desk. I said to the woman working, “hi, I’m an anytime fitness member in the states and don’t have my key fob, can you look me up?” She looked pretty resistant off the hop. She immediately said “sorry, we can’t look you up here. But you can pay 500 pesos for a day or 3000 pesos for the month.” I was taken aback. I told her I am already a member and paid that in the states monthly already. I said, “I’ve gone to anytime fitness in other countries and they could look me up. This is the first time I’ve ever had issue because anytime fitness happens anywhere anytime when you’re a member.” She half ass looked me up when the flag on the search box was still showing the Philippines. It said “not found.” She then asked if I had ID. I showed her my license and passport on my phone. She said it wasn’t enough. I told her to get the manager.

The manager came out and had a disappointed look on his face as he introduced himself. I told him the story and he said “Sorry, but if you don’t have a key fob you can’t come in.” I told him I wasn’t expecting to be near an anytime fitness in the Philippines. He then went back to saying that even foreigners always have their key fob when they come and asked me why I didn’t have mine.

The argument had my blood boiling. I then showed them my bank statement that I just had money withdrawn from my bank account October 1st from the company. They said it still wasn’t proof. Then I said what if I had my dad take a picture of it. The manager said he would need to see a live video. I was thinking you gotta be kidding me.

I called my dad on Facebook messenger and it was already 11pm for him. He got up and looked in my room and found my one set of car keys. I had to inform him he had to go on the hunt for my other set that had a purple key fob on it. I felt bad, I made him look in my car, in my bombed messy room, and it took him a while before he stumbled upon them on my dresser.

I showed them the live video of my dad holding up my keys in the camera. Then they said “well what’s the number on the fob.” I asked my dad and he said needed to find a magnifying glass because the numbers were so small. He hunted all around the garage and found it with some digging. I gave them the number and the 1 hour or so ordeal was done. It was principal I went through that because I’m a paying member. They finally let me workout after all that and I killed a great workout. People probably think, “you’re in the Phillipines why are you stressing over the gym.” I’ve kind of lost my gym mojo since being here. It was like I found my home when I saw their was an air conditioned, non polluted, clean gym to go to. And I had a membership!

After the gym I went back to the hostel where they had some cheap food options. After I ordered I saw Anna. Anna was one of the girls from last night that was sitting in a different group. I asked her what her and her friend Carys were doing for excursions. Anna said she would ask Carys and come back in a few minutes while I was eating.

Anna is from Scotland and Carys is from the U.K. and they just arrived to the Philippines. They are also nomads in their 20’s. Anna’s travel stories are incredible, she has has spent five years working in and out of many countries. It makes me feel like my moments of traveling in a country for a month is the equivalence of me going from NY to Canada for a week. She can actually say she had lived in places like New Zealand and Vietnam.

They came back to the table and Carys was extremely hung over after last nights shinanigans. They both arrived earlier in the day and started drinking many hours before I arrived. Anna and I encouraged Carys to maybe put something in her stomach. She ordered an oatmeal and a smoothie but was unable to touch it. She excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she came out she was all smiles and was much perkier. She was able to take in some of her lunch.

We sat at the outdoor picnic tables for what felt like hours of just talking. Once we decided on a tour I told the front desk. I excused myself from the girls so I could walk around the area we were in and maybe find a nail salon.

After walking for a while, I couldn’t find A nail salon anywhere. I did stumble upon a massage spot. For only 250 pasos, I experienced the most painful foot massage of my life.

I got a message from Carys while I was walking back that they were going to go to a cafe bookstore called “books and brews.” I replied yes and was almost back at the hostel. When I got back they were already ready and we headed out.

We made it to the bookstore through a random restaurant alley. It felt like a New York City speakeasy. I ordered the soup and sandwich with a latte. The other girls also ordered a hot latte. It was funny because we all shared that we were normally all or nothing when it came to having drinks. I typically don’t drink alcohol much at all. It doesn’t interest me to have “one or two beers.” I’d rather have coffee or water. Depending on the crowd, my surroundings, the atmosphere, and most importantly, how conversations are going- all depend if I dip into the “I’ll have a blue moon.”

I urged the ladies I had to go back because I had to use the bathroom and the toilets there didn’t have rims. It would be okay if I just had to pee, but I couldn’t squat for like 5 minutes straight for other duties. Filipinos must have quads of steal.

Also, I was supposed to meet Kevin out later. He said there was a table that Blui reserved. We left the restaurant and I started getting ready. Kevin messaged me he was on his way to pick me up. It was the first time I was in a car in the Philippines that wasn’t a taxi!

Kevin picked me up, he was dressed really well. Made me bummed out that I had a pour selection of clothes. I had to be up and ready BY 4am for the excursion the girls and I were taking. Kevin had a 7AM flight to catch to Manila. We figured it would be a short night.

We arrived to the bar Blui and his friends were supposed to be. I guess they were on Filipino time. After a few drinks, I thought I saw a recognizable face. “Is that the mayor from ABCD beach in Guiuan?” He came out of his vehicle with a woman. Kevin had no idea he would be here and we waved him over. It’s crazy that he also came from an entirely different island and to run into the same face. He also flew out of Tacloban to Cebu.

After an appetizer was ordered, Blui and his guests finally arrive after 11pm. We were all pouring sweat in our outside table while the inside was air conditioning. Everyone was content being outside, I kept having to go inside to use the bathroom but really just to catch the cool air.

Time flew, 4 mojios later it was already 230am. Kevin dropped me off at the hostel where my head literally hit the pillow and in an hours time my alarm went off at 330 to get up for the excursion.

4am whale shark tour

I actually didn’t feel as terrible as I thought. Carys and Anna got in the back of our private transport car and I sat front seat. I wanted to sleep the three and a half hours to the whale shark tour. I have a really hard time sleeping in cars naturally but our driver made it so much worse. He constantly started conversation, and as the front seat passanger I wanted to be polite and talk to him a little.

Constantly, the driver would ask..”So Mam, in your country…” over and over again. With different questions from wages to asking me if I could get him a job as a driver. He then asked me if I knew any mechanics to help get him a job. I said flat out, “I really don’t know, literally go there and apply yourself everywhere.” I had to tell him “okay I’m gonna sleep now. My eyes are closing..” he would say “okay mam you sleep now.”

As I tried to sleep I felt like the guy was intentially speeding up to slam on his breaks. By far the worst driver ever. We were all jolted around the car unnecessarily. It was very frustrating. I would doze off and it’s like he was speed, brake, and swerve at the same time causing my head to bounce off the side door. I would look up in a slight panic and it would be a straight road in front of us. I would give him an annoyed WTF look but didn’t have the balls to say anything. If he became a driver in the states he would lose his license first week. Or run a family over.

We arrive to the whale shark tour at about 8am. It was already packed and we had to wait about 45 minutes until our numbers were called. After we waited we all jumped aboard these boats that would take us maybe 30 yards from the shore line. They had 8 whale sharks they were feeding and allowed us to get out and swim with them but not touching them. It was scary and surreal At the same time. There was a time the biggest one was coming straight at me with its mouth opening and closing like some kind of jaws. I saw him through my snorkel and panicked sloth holding on to one of the balancing bamboo beams. The boat men laughed as I screamed. Turns out, I survived. It was cool because Carys had a go pro and caught some great photos.

After the whale sharks we were able to grab lunch. The girls and I sat down and ordered some food. I noticed the driver was sitting afar not eating. When the food came out I went over and invited him to join us. I scraped half of my food onto his plate which was abou 6 shrimp and a ton of seasoned noodles. He began speaking Waray to the server and she brought out pork and rice for him as well alone with an orange soda. I was a bit confused but I guess he could have managed to order his own and I lost half of my meal for nothing. He shared some rice with me.

It came time to pay for the meal. We all dug for our last dollars and worked on configuring how to pay for the drivers additional add on meals. Afterwards he got up and said “ready?” And had no intention of paying. His meal was the most expensive one to pay for so we were all taken back that he added on to the bill. There was also no thank you in return. It was just a bit awkward.

Kawasan Falls

We then headed to the waterfalls which was another 2 hour drive. The spazzing drive was turning our stomachs. As we were just arriving, Anna said “good because I think I was going to be sick.”

We arrived and it was an obvious path the the falls. We were bombarded by locals demanding money and entrance fee in which we forwarded them to our driver. Our excursion was supposed to include our entrence fee and the driver kept asking us to pay. Our driver disappeared for about 15 minutes and then arrived again with another man. The other man was eager to take our photos and was acting as a “tour guide.” The girls and I caught on that he might expect payment at the end. They all voted me to tell him that we didn’t need a tour guide. I went up to the guy and was pretty blunt. “Hey sir. We don’t need a guide we want to be alone- thanks.” He proceeded forward without responding. We didn’t see him for a bit.

We arrived to the huge heavy flowing light blue waterfalls. It was heavily commercialized with a lot of rules and a lot of areas where you had to pay money if you wanted to do anything. You had to rent a life jacket if you wanted to swim close and had to pay 300 pesos if you wanted a table. We did our own thing and refused both. The other guy returned who started to ask if we wanted our photos taken. We blatenly ignored him and took our own photos of eachother. We kept playing around with the “throw your hair back” photos. water was freezing but amazing.

Once we left we had our tour guide take us to the hostel in Oslob where whale sharks were. We tipped the driver 300 pesos for driving us back. The hostel we arrived to was very basic but beautiful. It was called Salangers hostel. It had at least 16 dorm bunk beds in the one room with us being the only people at the moment.

The first thing that caught our eye was this adorable puppy that was half Dalmatian and half lab. It was the first dog I’ve seen that was actually a pet. What is more heartbreaking is that his name was Buddy. I had a delmation and labordoodle and the labordoodle’s name was Buddy.

The hostel owner gave us a ride to downtown Oslob which was tiny and we as dinner at a pizza shop. We don’t even eat much just craved mango juice and a salad then tricycled back.

When we returned, the Canadian from the hostel 7 in Cebu city was there. He was like “hey Courtney!” I said “Sam!” It’s crazy how I kept running into the same people all around. Sam was from Vancouver Canada and was traveling alone while he is out of work. Where he has already gone is where I’m going. We were kind of on the same path but opposite. He was easy going and comfortable to be around.

Sam sat outside and picked up this cute kitten that was meowing around him. I was so surprised he did that but also happily impressed. The animals are so unpredictable here, were finally in a spot where a puppy and kitten are easy to handle and play with like your common domestic animal in the states.

Just as we were about to head to bed a guy from the Congo came in who was also traveling alone. He spoke French but lived in China. Him and Sam planned the whale sharks the next day.

I chose a bottom bunk and put my ear plugs in and eye covering on. The beds were worse than prison beds and it felt like we were upside down.

2 notes · View notes

finewoodworking · 3 years ago

Text

NEW YEAR, NEW HOUSING FURNITURE

Welcome to our blog where we help you with day to day furniture care, discuss design ideas and latest trends, and speak about the latest design trends. We also discuss how the right decision for buying furniture can lead to an overall improvement in your lifestyle and ofcourse, make your home look beautiful. We focus on furniture for all rooms of your home from bedroom, dining room to office as well as mattresses and accents. We are sure you will enjoy reading our blog.

Although things are opening up more this year, Covid is still with us and it has changed the way we live. Many of us are still working remotely, a trend that started even before the pandemic. Spending more time at home means that comfortable surroundings are a must so we can be more productive by day, and more relaxed by night. Sometimes we face supply chain issues that drive us to plan ahead of time, and we tend to be more appreciative of our furniture.

Here are some smart New Year's resolutions to make your home a welcoming place that will accommodate your lifestyle.

Upgrade Your Desk

Just like the sofa is the focal point of your living room, home office desks are the main attraction in this space. Working at a desk can often be more productive and can help relieve stress and anxiety caused by excessive essay or assignment pressure. You can also use a desk to ensure that your bed remains a pleasant and serene environment, which will encourage you to sleep and increase the quality of your sleep. The use of a desk aids in the improvement of concentration. Studying at your own desk in a peaceful environment allows you to relax and focus entirely. A desk enables you to build an effective study setting that will help you achieve results, whether you set study time limits or push through until your job is finished.Look for a new desk that comes in a size that will easily fit into the room without making it feel overcrowded. A simple and sleek writing desk is a great choice for smaller offices, while larger executive desks work well in bigger rooms. Always pick home office desks that come with the features you need. Whether it’s a pull-out keyboard tray, a lift-top design, or lots of drawers, make sure the desk will work well for your unique needs. Visit our home office furniture store in carmen,cebu to discover a wide array of unique desks in a range of sizes, materials, and styles. This will set the foundation for the rest of the room, so make sure this new office furniture is the first thing on your list.

Some of the stands provide storage areas for your electronics, such as your TV remote. In a home, TV tip-overs are a severe hazard, especially if there are children or pets around. This difficulty is solved by mounting your TV on a stand, which gives you serenity of mind. A tried-and-true TV stand not only supports your television, but also provides storage space around and beneath it. If you have a lot of other gadgets or a large media collection, a stand will give you a place to put them all near your TV while also hiding the mess of wires that run behind it.

You have surely heard the expression "neatness counts". It was true when you were in elementary school, and it is true when it comes to making your home livable. It is a good idea to plan on tackling only what you think you can accomplish. Plan ahead and figure out if you want to set a time limit or if you want to plan on organizing one particular area, such as your closet.

We're considerably more prone to eat unhealthy junk food when we're on the go, busy, or distracted by technology. According to studies, those who dine at a table eat more nutritionally balanced meals. You're more likely to pay attention to your meal and savor what you're eating if you're sitting at a dining table. On a daily basis, sitting down to dine as a family will play a significant role in your children's growth. They'll have a better chance of picking up on important communication trends and making healthier dietary choices. If you dine together at a table, you're more likely to have closer family ties since you may use this time to check in with one other.

When you think about setting up your home for the new year, think about your lifestyle and create a space for hobbies and fun. if you love to do puzzles, keep a small table set up for your hobby. If you and the kids love movies, create a dedicated space area for a home theater with motion furniture and consoles to hold a drink. You get the idea. Plan your space so you can do what you love to do at home.

Your kitchen will run much more smoothly if you have enough cabinet space. This can make cooking a lot easier and allow you to finish your tasks much faster. If there isn't enough cupboard space in the kitchen, groceries are likely to pile up on the counters. Kitchen cabinets are frequently used to store a wide range of products. They must store baking and cooking goods, as well as gadgets, cookbooks, and a variety of other items. It would be much easier to ensure good organization in your kitchen if you have enough cabinet space. This can help you find what you're looking for more quickly and with fewer problems. Furthermore, a well-organized kitchen will keep a far nicer appearance than one that is crowded.

NAME OF THE STORE: TRIPLE V FURNITURE

LOCATION:HIGHWAY LUYANG, CARMEN,CEBU

For inquiries:09094417901/09636542641

If you are interested for more furnitures please visit this website:https://www.facebook.com/triplev.furniture

#good quality #affordable price

1 note · View note

thisisrachellanne · 4 years ago

Text

Unrequited

Patrick proposes to Ara in Sagada, recalling back memories of one year in togetherness and they made a promise when they proceeded to married life.

Ara has a convention in Cebu. Patrick has a party witth friends, when he is at home in drunkenness, Trisha surprisingly attacks his house and make sex with him.

Patrick reveals to Ara that Trisha gets pregnant and he is the father of the child. He apologizes to Ara but Ara did not accept it. She went out and go somewhere alone. The next day, she went back to Patrick's house and get her things. Days later, she tendered resignation to radio station. She decided to go back to US to mend her broken heart. When she is about to go to US, Patrick catches her but she finally say goodbye to him, for good.

After 5 years, she went back to Ph after she received an award for Newscaster of the Year. She was invited by the TV Network, counterpart to the TV Network in the US, to help them raise their ratings. She have her interviews elsewhere. She is now the "New You" as she changed alot of herself and become more sophiscated, more looked like a beauty queen. Then she made a revelation that apart from her being TV Personality, she is now the CEO of Aragon Group of Companies, which she now reveals that she is the daughter of a prominent businesswoman in the Ph, that is her mother, Ms. Conchita Aragon who is married to Mr. Montecillo, which carries her surname. Now she uses "Arabelle Aragon-Montecillo."

She got an exclusive interview at the radio station where she was previously working - Hearts Radio, which was interviewed by Joe, a Psychologist and a DJ, who replaced her. The interview involves the story of being brokenhearted and how she cope up with her and be successful in carreer. She ended herself with teary eyes, as it reminds of her past with Patrick.

In the corporate office, she was surprised that she still see Joel when she have a meeting with executives, and also Trisha, who is still a secretary of the company, but with a different boss. Ara humiliated them as they are clueless in the past about her real identity. She presented herself as successful woman today and boost herself and her achievements. Then she uttered those words "Bilog nga naman ang mundo." Then she showed her fashion sense towards Trisha.

At the corporate event, she gets surprised of seeing them together - Trisha with Patrick and Joel all by himself, inside the convention hall, near the entrance door. She make a sarcastic words and claps that it feels like a reunion in an awkward way. Then she laughs seductively with devil-like looks towards Patrick then went out with her escorts, in her shinning shimmering white sexy gown, with now her shiny black long straight hair, which she looks like a beauty queen.

Then she make a corporate speech, with a theme "Excellence and Beyond."

At the restroom, Ara and Trisha meet unexpectedly again. Ara humiliated her again, looking at the way Trisha dressed herself in red gown with boring design. Then she walked out when she saw Patrick approaching near the restroom. She whispered something to Patrick, saying he should have to take care of his wife, tapped his shoulder then walk out gracefully.

Patrick then saw Ara standing talking with the young executive guys, making a flirty gestures and gaze towards them. He's getting jealous looking at them with Ara, when Trisha interrupted him. Then Patrick saw her again with five young executive men, sitting at the table. She still have her flirty gazes towards them, when the guy executive beside her throws her a kiss on the lips. Patrick is about to go towards them when Trisha stopped him. Then he saw Joel went towards them, which he ended up being insulted by Ara "You did it great of acting like you never cheated on someone. Good job!" She tapped Joel's shoulder, then she went up to the stage, already gets tipsy, but still gracefully said the closing remarks "..... I wish it is a memorable night for you. Thanks for coming!"

The next day, she checked on the recording studio which her parents bought before she takes over, as it has a low net income. Then she decided to have all the personnel there be replaced and gets surprised that Patrick is now an employee and not anymore the owner. Then she said to herself "who cares?"

Patrick receives a notice that they are all will be replaced. He reckoned it is all because of him and he doesn't want them to lose their job just because of him. So he tries to catch up with Ara, though he might receive rejection in the end. He went to Ara's office but the secretary said that she have a lot of appointments and cannot entertain with a walk-in appointment - Ara is in the company in the morning, she is at the TV network in the afternoon, doing consulting works, and doing newscasting in the evening, and she have her guestings in Saturdays, but doesn't allow to be disturbed on Sunday.

It was Saturday night when Patrick hangs out at the Bar, alone by himself. While drinking, he saw audience yelling at someone on stage who introduced herself.

"Hi ladies and gentlemen..... in the past I never introduced myself on stage, but now, I will let you know my name. By the way, I am Arabelle Aragon-Montecillo, who is the guest singer of the Bar before. I feel so feel at home that after 5 years, I am going to perform here once again (audience clapped their hands)....." Then she sing "I Can't Make You Love Me" and other trademark songs.

Patrick feels so guilty in tears seeing his ex singing that song, sending to him a message that for her, he fails to love her truly, which is not true. To him, he deeply falls in love with her but he only fails on one thing, that he was not able to resist the temptation.

Outside the Bar, in a dim light, he approaches Ara, wearing in her sexy black fitted dress with a white blazer hanging on her shoulder, with high-heeled black stilleto, gracefully walking towards her car, when Ara pretends not recognizing he is Patrick.

"Sorry, but do I know you? By the way, wait." She gets a calling card from her wallet and said "should you need a work, just call this number. Cheer up! There is still a brighter tomorrow, Bro!" Then she taps his shoulder and walks gracefully, followed by her driver.

At the recording studio, the employees and Patrick talk about convincing the owner to let them stay. They already know beforehand that Patrick is the ex of the daughter of the owner, who is now a CEO. He assured them he will make a sacrifice for them and will try to find a way to talk to her.

Patrick went to the house written at the calling card of Ara. It was late at night on Saturday already when he arrives, the security guard gets surprised that he is a good-looking guy applying as caretaker, which he refused and said he is an employee of Aragon Group of Companies. The security guard then said he should go to the office instead not at this late night hours. Then the security guard calls the mayordoma and asked her to call Madam Arabelle.

The Mayordoma gets shocked when Ara, over the landline phone at the security guard kiosk, told her bluntly that he was her ex. The mayordoma tells the security guard that he is an ex-boyfriend of Madam, which Patrick laughs and the security guard and mayordoma make a teasing look towards him.

Patrick and Ara talks outside the house, near the swimming pool, while drinking some wine, when Patrick holds her right hand when Ara burst into tears and gets emotional confessing that after all she still love him, which Patrick also confess that he still do love her after all this time. But Ara gets too adamant to pursue her revenge towards Patrick and they agreed that Patrick will only leave the recording studio to sacrifice himself.

Ara went to Patrick's recording studio, when massive people noticed her with her driver walk towards the recording studio. The employees get surprised seeing Ara looking for Patrick, who is now starting to pack his things. Ara and Patrick talks with the manager of the recording studio. Ara apologizes to them and decided not to oust Patrick. Then Ara offered to deploy a consultant to help them boost their income. Ara then personally meet the employees there as they are only few, have a few laughing friendly talks, with Patrick also. Then Ara went out.

Ara appointed Patrick as her new manager and help him groom himself to look presentable. And help him execute his managerial responsibilities and introduce him to various companies having an arrangements with her.

Ara and Patrick frequently went out together as a talent-manager relationship and as friends. Trisha then decided to finally break up Patrick for good, which Patrick politely accepted. Being together as friends makes them bring back memories.

Ara has a guesting at Hearts Radio as DJ. Patrick gets surprised when Ara asked him to sit beside her at the radio station, while she is on air. At social media set to live, fans noticed Patrick still holding the right hand of Ara, which he normally do it before their breakup. Fans gets "kilig" seeing their chemistry together again, especially when a gay fan Richard commence the call for team patra.

After the show, Ara asked Patrick to go to the park together. It was already late at night. Then they went home, at the house of Ara, and they have sex together, showing that they still love each other, feeling like they are at home in each other's arms again.

Ara confessed to Patrick that she has a heart illness and anytime she will die especially when the extreme stress comes into her, the reason why she cannot pursue love relationship with him anymore and instead decided to at least be a friend to him.

Days later, at Ara's office, Trisha confessed to Joel that he is the real father of her child and not Patrick. Ara hears it and yells at Trisha and cries aloud, when she have her cardiac arrest. Patrick saw her hardly to breath and rescues her. Patrick warns Trisha and Joel that he will forgive them for what they are doing towards him and Ara.

At the hospital, Ara has a 50-50 chance of living. Trisha went inside the exclusive ICU room when Patrick stops her and said he cannot forgive her for the rest of his life.

While the hospital nurses and doctors rescued her to survive, she walks into an aisle all in white and see an old man at the gate going inside the heaven.

The old man said she cannot get inside, instead, she will go down. She then asked "to hell?"

The old man said "No. To your destiny's heart." Then he flashed a screen, it was Patrick who constantly prays at night wishing she will come back to his arms one day. Then she went back to her body before it's too late.

At the hospital, the doctor is about to said the time of death, when the monitor makes a sound, a wave of life, her breathing. The doctor surprising see it while looking at Patrick and Ara's mom and said that it is indeed a miracle.

Patrick and Ara gets married and already have a 5-year old boy child named Richard, which they get from their avid gay fan named Richard. Patrick is now the CEO of Aragon Group of Companies and Ara as his consultant. Ara still have her heart condition. They ended up being interviewed in the Hearts Radio, sharing their story of love, while Patrick still holding her right hand.

0 notes

phgq · 4 years ago

Text

Love is not tourism: Binational couples long to reunite

#PHnews: Love is not tourism: Binational couples long to reunite

MANILA – Long-distance binational couples have been lobbying using the hashtag #LoveIsNotTourism on social media for governments to allow them to reunite after months of being separated due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Philippines recently lifted the ban on non-essential outbound travel, which means Filipinos can leave the country to see their foreign partners abroad. But how much longer is it going to take until the ban on inbound travel is lifted as well?

Some Filipinos have started sending their visa applications or booking tickets to meet their partners abroad, while others are simply waiting for the inbound restrictions to be eased.

Below, some Filipinas share their plans of reuniting with their foreign partners in time for the holidays.

Cebu-based Bigs and her partner Mátyás, who works in Germany, have been together for nearly three years but haven’t seen each since February. The original plan was for Mátyás to spend the holidays with her family, but unless inbound travel restrictions are eased, she might have to book tickets to Germany instead.

Cebu-based Bigs and her partner Mátyás, who works in Germany, have been separated pre-pandemic but they're both looking forward to spending the holidays together. (Photo courtesy of Bigs)

“Yes, we have agreed that he will spend Christmas and New Year’s here with me in Cebu. [But] if the government won’t open the border in December, I’m planning to go to him to Germany. We both prefer if he comes here though,” she told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.

Jessa and her partner UK-based Philip matched on a dating site and have been together for seven months. They were planning to finally meet in person last September, but his trip got canceled. He booked another ticket for December with the hope that there won’t be any cancellation the second time around.

“If the country doesn’t open until the third week of November, then we will have to take the risk,” she said, despite knowing it would be easier for Philip to visit the Philippines had inbound travel been less restrictive.

Like the Philippines, Malaysia only currently allows essential travel which is why Em and her Malaysian partner Tim are planning to reunite in the same country where they first met.

“If the [government] doesn't allow inbound travel soon, then we will meet in Dubai in December,” Em said. She and her partner met in an international food exhibition in Dubai some three years ago.

Binational couples Hazel and David (top photo) and Jessa and Philip (bottom photo) long for the chance to take actual photos together instead of just screenshots from each other's video calls. (Photos from Hazel and Jessa)

Christy, who lives in Cagayan de Oro, is also hoping to get her visa approved to see her French partner Guillaume.

“It’s not easy to enter Europe. I need to process a tourist visa. If I get a visa, it would be the best gift to both of us,” she said.

‘LDR blues’

For Hazel of Rizal, poor internet services and the different time zones make it harder for her and her partner, England-based David to communicate with each other.

“We spend a lot of time on video call conversations saying ‘Can you hear me now?’. There is also a seven-hour time difference. It’s hard not being with the one you love and not to be able to hold them when you want to,” she said.

On the other hand, Neljane of Cebu said not being able to be there for each other when they’re desperately needed, when words are not enough to make things better, are the downsides of being in a long-distance relationship (LDR) with her Canadian boyfriend Bradley.

“The hardest part is you not being able to take care of him during the times he needs it the most,” she said.

Being apart from each other for so long can impact one’s mental and physical health. Both Bigs and Jessa admitted to feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed not knowing when they can see their partners again.

“It is taking a heavy toll on my health -- body and mind. I have been diagnosed with myoma. I have [also] been diagnosed with chronic migraine which I have been getting more often now. If I can’t manage it, I can have dementia. I am used to stress because of my job, but I am hanging by the thread at the moment. I can hardly focus on my work and personal life at home,” Bigs said.

When distance becomes too hard to bear, couples could even grow apart from each other in ways that a round-trip ticket just won’t fix.

“Many couples break up because they cannot live like this. They can’t wait anymore, the distance is killing us. It hurts not being with our loved ones,” Jessa said.

‘Viral movement’

In the Philippines, a petition accounting to over 10,000 signatures is making rounds online, urging Filipino top officials to make exemptions. (Screenshot from change.org)

A petition accounting to over 10,000 signatures is making rounds online, urging Filipino officials to make exemptions. (Screenshot from change.org)

When binational couples started to feel the effects of LDR, made worse knowing that travel restriction makes it impossible for them to reunite sooner, the campaign #LoveIsNotTourism took off on a global scale.

One Filipino group on Facebook dedicated solely for the movement is also nearing 2,000 in membership, just three months since its creation last August.

Ilene Kaye Patanindagat, one of the moderators of Love Is Not Tourism-Philippines group, said they do understand where the government is coming from and that the restrictions are there to ensure the safety of everyone. But they hope exemptions could be made and that partners could be considered as family too.

“We are not asking to open them (to reopen) tourism, we are only asking for exemptions and recognize them as family,” she said.

Most of the group’s members are couples about to get married but weren’t able to push through since fiancé's cannot enter the country, but there are also balikbayans who have a sick or deceased relative in the Philippines or pregnant mothers about to give birth or already gave birth and want their partners to be on their side.

“It's been eight months that we've been waiting to lift the travel ban, however, as of now, we don't know when it will be lifted and it's affecting our mental health already. A lot of us are suffering from emotional, psychological, and physical toll by being apart from our partners,” she said.

“Perhaps, what's harder than going through a crisis without your loved one by your side is not knowing when you’re going to see them again,” she added.

Benjamin Covert, Ilene Kaye Patanindagat’s partner for two years, is currently in the United States. (Photo courtesy of Ilene)

Ilene said love should not be regarded as “non-essential” and hoped that the government would soon develop guidelines for safe inbound travel.

While Filipinos can now leave the country, Ilene said not everyone has the money to book a flight and leave the Philippines.

Ilene’s partner for two years Benjamin Covert is currently in the United States. Prior to the pandemic, he was scheduled to visit her this coming November, since as a sailor, the latter part of the year is the only time he’s allowed to go on a vacation.

“I'm hoping that soon the Government will give exemptions for the Love is Not Tourism community,” she said.

“As much as we want to meet in another country, it would be costly for both of us since most states that are open for tourists require days into quarantine and the flights are too expensive. That's why we are asking for exemptions as not all Filipinos and Filipinas have the capacity to go abroad,” she added.

In an informal poll conducted within their group, Ilene said some 324 foreign partners were supposed to be in the Philippines for the next eight months.

A separate survey among 100 Love Is Not Tourism- Philippines members , likewise, showed that over a quarter are feeling the effects of separation from their partners due to the travel ban. (Screenshot from Love is Not Tourism

“Being away with your loved ones in this time of pandemic is depressing and all we want is to be with them and take care of each other,” Ilene said.

‘Wishing, waiting’

Wanting to take it one step at a time, Ilene said her only hope now is for the ban’s partial lifting before 2021.

“If the country will not open yet by that time, our chance to meet again is November next year or worse, longer than that, and that's too long for us already to meet again,” she said.

Others are highly optimistic. Jessa said she and Philip would be grateful just to spend time with her family in the Philippines should the government decide to relax restrictions.

“We aren’t planning on roaming around the city or going to some tourist attractions as it will be a big risk for everyone. We intend to follow the safety protocols so we get to meet each other while assuring the safety of our loved ones,” she said.

Similarly, Hazel said the plan to reunite with David was never just about going on a vacation but to start planning a possible marriage.

“We have waited a long time to find each other and so desperately want to be together and start our life together. We know there are so many others in the same position. We believe that couples should not be needlessly separated when adequate safety precautions can be taken. There is a clear distinction between tourism and visiting loved ones,” she said.

Though considered “non-essential” travel, Bigs said traveling to visit a loved one should be considered as the opposite.

“We are finally getting recognized. We just hope it will happen really soon. After all, we are fighting for an essential need. We are fighting for love,” she said.

‘Studying’

Manila has suspended the issuance of visas as early as March 2020 to prevent imported cases of Covid-19 in the Philippines, prohibiting the entry of foreigners.

At present, inbound travel to the Philippines is only possible if you’re a foreign investor or the spouse or child of a Filipino citizen. Unmarried partners are still barred from entering the country under existing rules.

The government has explained that travel restrictions are meant to prevent foreigners from illegally entering the country -- a policy that prevented binational couples from reuniting.

Local authorities are currently studying calls to lift non-essential inbound travel.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who is supportive of the #LoveIsNotTourism campaign, has also vowed to raise the matter before the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Love is not tourism: Binational couples long to reunite." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119621 (accessed October 25, 2020 at 09:35PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Love is not tourism: Binational couples long to reunite." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119621 (archived).

#Philippines #News #Filipino #Pinoy #Tourism #Politics #Culture #Editorial #Environment #Society #History

0 notes

goteamphilippines · 2 years ago

Text

Remote and Work From Home Jobs in Cebu: Staff Accountant - GoTeam

We’re hiring!

We are looking for a Staff Accountant who can work with one of our Australian clients and manage their accounts payable, receivable tasks, and billing reconciliations.

Earn up to 35K monthly and enjoy plenty of benefits while working remotely (work-from-home) during the day shift.

Check out the link and kickstart your application with GoTeam!

#work from home jobs near cebu #work from home jobs #Work from home jobs hiring urgently #work from home jobs philippines 2022 #remote jobs hiring immediately #remote jobs #remote jobs philippines 2022 #remote jobs online

0 notes

jnfsavellon · 5 years ago

Text

Quarantine Life, Alright.

(Selfie file photo, April 7, 2020)

April 8, 2020 - It's barely two weeks into the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City since the Mayor's declaration last March 27 but the changes were drastic which I will describe in the later paragraphs.

To name one is the near-zero traffic congestion comprising mostly of private cars, shuttle services for front liners and employees exempted from the "lockdown."

Our neighborhood here in Sitio Colveta II was peaceful. I can drive my car with ease. I'm my mother's chauffeur while I'm on paid leave - Yeah, Big Head's waiting for a reallocation because my clients won't let me work from home - my route is from home to Barangay Bulacao's Health Center and Birthing Center and back home. At times we're having stops at the grocery stores to stock up our inventory; we're not hoarding, just stocking up.

I could remember Mother spoke that such smooth traffic reminded her of the 80s to 90s roads where everyone was just walking around with lesser people and vehicles roaming around the streets. She said that traffic became worse during the 2000s, but yeah that was it.

I even told her that I could hear our parish the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque's bells ringing at 8:00 pm. The church is 600 meters away from home.

Safety and health was a top priority at this time. I've got to credit to Station 11's regular roving rounds in the neighborhood. Neighbors have been called out by police due to the former's hard-headedness because they're still going out of their respective houses at this period. The officers usually use their megaphones to call them out, but there was one time that they've had enough. One officer came out of the patrol car to warn them of their stubbornness. I share the same sentiments with the police on this part. The quarantine period is for everyone's well-being, and there are still stubborn people outside.

(File photo, April 7, 2020)

I shared a post of a former photojournalist that captured a photo of a congested Tabada Public Market. No crowd control. Just significant foot traffic that makes you itch to the bone. The good thing on the next day, the LGU and local police set up a post on the entrance/exits to ensure that people are following protocol such as wearing face masks and quarantine pass.

People just have to be aware that this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic isn't just the seasonal flu where you could just have some home treatment to get rid of it. It's a new strain that eats out your organs most especially the lungs potentially leading to pneumonia. Once you have it, you'll be isolated away from your loved ones. You'll be met with front liners in PPE spacesuits whom you can't distinguish who's who because they are covered from head to foot. These came from the words of veteran journalist Howie Severino, COVID patient #2828 and now a survivor.

PET PEEVES!!

Speaking of pet peeves, I'm just bothered with some situations whenever I'm out in public to run a few errands: citizens, whether supermarket employees or customers are wearing their face masks improperly. They're wearing it covering just the nose. Worse is that some even take it off and hang it under their chin. Clothe masks have the least protection we can have compared to the N95 counterparts. People just need to be reminded of this.

Another thing is the long lines in the groceries and the padala centers and public market. They are essential, but the inconsistent practice of social distancing is just disturbing to see. I remembered one time I was at Shopwise with my mother, and there's this customer behind me who just keeps getting closer and closer while I was trying to distance myself. I couldn't blame myself because this crap has been giving me anxiety since the disease's spread, and I'm not buying this to catch it.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Nevertheless, Mr. Severino's recovery story gives us hope that we shouldn't feel lonely during these tough times. He made sure to keep in touch with loved ones through video chatting. Do you what you gotta do to make yourself safe and productive. This was my point in Episode 08 ("Do What You Gotta Do, Citizens of Earth) of the Jump Shot Podcast.

I'm happy to be with my family at these times. I feel that there's safety here at home. I'm out of that paranoia I felt while I was traveling to work and going back home. Every time I went home, I was irritated and exhausted. During that weekend I broke down while I was on a call with Charrie, realizing that my mental well-being was shaky because of that ordeal.

But still, I figured out that I should stay at home. Then here I am writing. I still have enough funds to sustain our daily needs. I'm maximizing my time staying healthy and spending time on my pastimes.

I'm doing my home workouts together with my brother at least thrice a week. We have this exercise mat, a homemade 10-pound dumbbell, and a 20-pound barbel, and tons of health and wellness videos you can find on YouTube. It may seem nothing compared to going out to a gym or playing basketball, but something is better than nothing.

(Taco Monday!!!! April 6th)

We're continuing with our healthy diets of boiled egg, canned tuna or sardines, sometimes there's tacos and shawarma wraps filled with seasoned ground pork, cucumber, white onions, tomatoes, and a variety of sauces like sriracha, ketchup, mayonnaise, and hot sauce - our mother's best home cook meal (haha).

Also I'm focusing on some of my skills like Photoshop and audio editing. We're producing the most podcast content right now compared to December to February (haha).

Charrie is catching up with Photoshop as well. She's doing some editing as I've been tasking her to do graphics like the shirt and product designing and creating a sample logo for a possible business hopefully we can concretize it soon.

(Our second to the last coffee night out at Starbucks IT Park, March 14th)

It's been two weeks since we saw each other. We're currently in a long-distance mode right now. Yeah LDR, although Liloan is just 25 km away, the border lockdown is inevitable. So we've got to stick to online communication - it's reminding us of the humble beginnings of our relationship haha. But yeah, we've got some catching up to do after this crap.

(After the Holy Mass live streaming, March 21, 2020)

Meanwhile we've organized the parish's social media team, under Fr. Carmelo Diola's guidance, to continue serving. We're live-streaming the daily Holy Masses while increasing our reach as much as possible. We've also had catechetical-recollections. This way we can serve to have the people sustain their spiritual nourishment. It's just fulfilling to serve once again after many years as an altar server. It's good to be back in my old parish nevertheless. Check our Facebook page.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At this time there are still over 43,000 persons under monitoring (PUMs), and it's still early to call off the ECQ. I do hope Governor Gwen Garcia and Mayor Edgar Labella would consider an extension while strengthening the safety and weakening the virus' spread. I just hope there would be enough supplies for each family especially the ones who are relying on their jobs that were stopped due to implementation of the Executive Orders except for the front liners and other exempted industries.

There are complaints that there are local government units (LGUs) having delayed deliveries the relief goods from house to house especially in our barangay. Mother has had phone call duties as well, answering complaints of other citizens. The barangays lack manpower I've learned. I'm not sure what the real reason for the delays. On one side I believe that the LGUs are doing their best to deliver it - in Barangay Mambaling, there are 8,000 households. On the other people are starving as they are relying on jobs that were forced to stop as what I've mentioned.

I hope they would sort that out while we are quarantining. After all at the end of the day we just want to have peace and order. We just need some patience I guess.

Going back let me sum up my thoughts: (1) Health is a top priority; (2) SOCIAL DISTANCING please, (3) Let's pray for this pandemic to end, (4) Be a better citizen, stay disciplined, (4) Catch up with loved ones, (5) Keep busy, make your day productive.

I guess that's it for now.

Stay safe.

- James

0 notes

atomicnumber47-blog1 · 5 years ago

Text

"My Jollibee Story"

I am originally from Mindanao. My life there was poor and very sad😂 (Kiddin aside) Yes, truly. We needed money so i went to Cebu to seek for a job. Luckily, i have my two sisters already residing there. So the struggle was just how to deal with new environment. I've made so much self adjustment. To cut the story short, i was employeed at one of the biggest call center company in the Philippines. I don't know how did it happen 😂 maybe my enterviewee was just kind. (but i really prayed for it. ) The job was not easy. From "English only" work environment down to crazy work schedule , having that home sick. I feel so uninspired. Tired and all. I've always thought of quitting. Not until i met Lei, April, Lucci, Jeneil, cecilia, Grace(but we call each other "why bird"😂) and alot of people i cannot mentioned one by one. (Lazy person here ✋😂)People there actually were very kind. No one has that crab mentallity. No one does that backstabbing and all. That I certainly love cebuanos 😇 By the way, focusing on the title, me and my friends often dined at Jollibee , IT park Cebu. The ambiance is nice. Crew too. When i resigned from that job last october 2017, (because i was got hire to a government agency,)everytime i went back to Cebu, Jollibee always seemed to be our "Tagpuan" we liked to sit outside like near the lobby because we are so loud.😂.........talk of the days when we're apart while eating fries and just some drinks. 😇 And also it is the place for our goodbyes. 😢 That's the saddest part. 😢 That place somehow gave me goosebumps whenever i think of those days. 😢 it was a mix of happy moments and sad goodbyes. I'll be back. Cebu certainly my second home. I left my heart there so that i have the reason to always wanted to go back. Surely, how i miss the place, is nearly the same how i miss the people around me . That's why i guess i'm typing this nonsense drama 😂

PS: Credit to the owner of the photo. I don't have my own pic, i just got that from google 😊 what i have int he phone are all our selfies and there's no indication that it is in that Jollibee because the screen already full with our faces 😂

Thanks for spending time reading my drama today 😂 inspired by Maine Mendoza actually. I've just found the place where i can tell what's inside my heart ❤

-Silver

0 notes

makinoemii · 5 years ago

Text

Suddenly a mist fell from my eyes and I knew that this day will be a great day to start a wonderful journey. It was an exciting Saturday morning when my colleagues from my previous job invited me to go for an adventure. Our main host Laarni,brought her red Toyata Vios for the convenience of our trip. Because they consider me as a travel junkie, I am assign to choose our destination. They fetch me at my work place and bought a mcdonalds for our breakfast.

It was already late in the morning when we decided to go north since traveling in south will take time because of the traffic. Everyone is expecting for a waterfall adventure so we choose to go to Catmon and chase Tinubdan falls. This waterfall went viral last year because of its unique formation. The waterfall is not accessible for everyone. Its location is 15 kilometer from the main road. The road going there is narrow and there is an area that needs precaution.

It took more than 3hrs to reach our destination because we had our short stop @Danao City, an hour away from Catmon. When we reach the corner where we had our left turn heading to the waterfalls the road was challenging. There were several stops because we need to ask some locals where is the waterfalls.

We found a picturesque landscape to take group photos in the middle of the mountains. The concrete road was very challenging because it will only fit two vehicles. When we finally reach our destination we need to walk. It was a 15 minute hike going to the waterfalls. When we heard the stream everyone got excited. We were hungry when we finally arrive. Instead of going to the waterfalls we prepare our lunch first.

#gallery-0-9 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-0-9 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

I am on my bikini and head first to the waterfalls. My companion took some videos for me before we hang out together and have fun swimming. The waterfalls were very refreshing and relaxing. There are lots of photogenic angles to take some photos. There are some people as well having a great time together with us.

The good thing about Tinubdan falls is its location. Less crowded and the place is very clean because the owner live nearby. The tourism wanted to promote and seek for changes in the place but the owner don’t like to destroy and sell his property. I commend him for preserving the place since it is also one of the main water sources of the community.

We decided to go home around 3 in the afternoon. Everyone was pretty tired. We were able to drop by at the near beach resort which is called Km 46 and had a great time taking good photos.

We also need to rest because my friend who’s driving got tired. It was a great and exhausting adventure going out with the girls. I’m very delighted that they like our trip and we decided to do this again once everyone is available in the future. Happy travel!

youtube

How To Get There:

Applicable to those who have vehicle: we look for this intersection, specifically JM Poultry to have our left turn going to brgy Tabili. Where Tinubdan Falls is located. We kept on asking locals going to the waterfalls. You may drop at this point and look for a motorcyle (habal-habal) to reach the waterfalls. (Leave No Trace, mga laagan) 🙂

Mist Of Tinubdan Falls In Catmon Cebu Suddenly a mist fell from my eyes and I knew that this day will be a great day to start a wonderful journey.

0 notes

ferretfyre · 8 years ago

Text

The Last Bunny of Krypton - Chapter 5

Title: The Last Bunny of Krypton - Chapter 5

Rating: G

AO3 Link

Word Count: 4905

Author’s Note: Once more, thanks to my friends @bluelightningbug, anchoress, and iowaforever, who provided a simply mountainous amount of help, and without which, this chapter wouldn’t have been finished. Credit to where credit is due, after all. Sincere apologies for the absurdly long wait time, but inspiration is a fickle mistress, and life’s been cluttered. Thankfully, I managed to pull through the clutter, writers block and fickleness, and finally bring you this chapter. Originally, the chapter would have began with a slot of expository text to fill in the time skip, but whenever I tried to do that, it wound up just feeling awkward and clunky, so I decided to just let the dialogue that I had already written do the job, which felt less stiff and had a bit more flow. Hopefully it works, and hopefully the wait was worth it. And most of all, I hope the next chapter comes across faster.

Read the chapter under the line break.

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to go to Zootopia!” Judy beamed, clapping her paws together as she stood up from the bench, eagerly peering out over the train tracks, foot eagerly tapping on the concrete platform.

“Now now, Judy, the train doesn’t come for a few more minutes,” Bonnie said, placing a paw on the younger rabbit’s arm in a vain attempt to stem her excitement.

“Yeah, but still! I’m actually gonna be going somewhere new! And just anywhere, but Zootopia! Where anybody can be anything!”

“Jeez, Judy, you act like you just got out of jail.” Jennifer, Judy’s older sister, added with a touch of sarcasm. “It’s just college, calm down.”

Judy gave Jennifer a glare, turning to respond, but Bonnie held up a paw.

“Now, now, Jennifer, you can’t blame Judy for being excited. Not often a Hopps gets to go to a big city college, so she has the right to be excited.” She then turned to Judy. “Now, Judy, are you absolutely positively sure you have everything you need?” she asked, looking over Judy’s suitcase and backpack for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Judy simply nodded before looking eagerly down the railway tracks again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m pretty sure,” she answered, “If I forget anything I can just see if Lana has it. Didn’t we already go over this? It’s just college, Mom, and I’m staying with Lana. I think I’ll survive.”

“Just double checking, dear.” Bonnie said, wringing her hands slightly. “And I really don’t feel like you should have to return to the farm if you forgot your license or a change of clothes or your toothbrush or your–”

“Mom, I’ll be fine.” Judy interjected, putting a hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “If I forget anything, I’ll just run back home and get it.”

“What if someone sees you, Judy?” Jennifer, Judy’s older sister, asked, arching an eyebrow. “What then, huh?”

“Oh come on, Jen, what are they gonna see? A gray streak? I’m pretty sure I can run fast enough to get home and back without anybody noticing.”

“Well just ‘cause you can run that fast doesn’t mean you should, Judy. You can’t just be showing off your powers willy-nilly, you gotta be more controlled. Remember when you tried to make Mrs. Hodges’ her soup and just ended up melting her pot?”

“That was two years ago, Jen,” Judy answered, crossing her arms as she briefly glanced over her shoulder as the train whistle sounded in the distance. “I’ve gotten way better with all that sort of stuff. Remember when I flew Pidge O’Keefe to the hospital after she got lost in the woods? Or when I yanked the door off that car when that doe got into an accident? I’m pretty sure of myself now.”

“Judy, Jennifer has a point,” Bonnie replied, reaching out to clasp Judy’s paw. “I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks. What happened with Pidge O’Keefe and the car crash were emergency situations. I don’t want you to be making a habit of using your powers all the time. They’re something very special, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. Understand? There’s no need to show off or anything.”

“But I’m not showing off,” Judy huffed. “I mean, I was born with these, right? I mean, Jor-El said they’re a natural part of me, so why do I gotta hide them like I’m some sort of freak?”

Bonnie shook her head, clasping Judy’s paw in her own. “Nobody is saying you’re a freak, Judy. What I’m saying is that not everyone is going to be as open to the idea of you lifting trucks and cars, or running faster then most airplanes can fly, or shooting lasers from your eyes. Stuff like that–as beautifully wonderful and normal for you–aren’t normal for everyone else. So just take it easy and keep a low profile. Don’t want to attract too much attention, right? Not all attention is going to be good attention.”

Judy opened her mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the sound of the train coming to a loud, mechanical halt behind her. She closed her mouth, letting her shoulders slouch slightly.

“Well, there’s the train,” Judy sighed, raising her paws in surrender. “I’ll promise to keep a low profile, mom. No showing off.”

Bonnie smiled, standing up from the bench. “Don’t be so glum. Come here, honey.” She spread her arms, beckoning for a hug. Judy gave a lopsided smile, leaning into her mom’s embrace.

“I just want you safe, okay? Stay safe.” Bonnie whispered into Judy’s ear, tightening the hug.

Judy nodded. “Will do Mom.” she glanced over at Jennifer. “What? No hugs from you?”

Jennifer rolled her eyes, standing up from the bench and wrapping her arms around Judy and Bonnie. The embrace then broke up, and Jennifer rustled the fur on Judy’s head playfully. “Just stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Can’t promise.” Judy jibed playfully, scooping up her luggage and backpack and heading towards the train. “Goodbye!” she called over her shoulder.

Jennifer and Bonnie waved as Judy eagerly hopped aboard the train.

“Remember to call when you get there! “

Judy waved back, giving a thumbs up in reply as the train lurched forwards. “Will do!”

As she waved, the train lurched again, and began to move forward, and Judy watched with a smile on her face as the platform steadily began to move away from her.

She inhaled, letting the porter take her suitcase, and she slowly started towards her seat. Scattered across the train car was a wide array of mammals, ranging from otters to sheep to big cats. She gave a tentative wave towards some of them, most of whom merely replied with a slight nod and raising of the eyebrows. She found her seat, finding that it was, luckily, a window seat. However, between her and the window, was a buttoned down looking skunk, who was reading a book.

“Um, hello,” Judy said, giving a friendly smile. “Do you mind making room, that’s my seat.” she motioned towards the window seat. The skunk looked over to the seat, before sighing to himself and standing up. Judy bowed her head in thanks, shuffling over to her seat and sitting down. The skunk soon followed, settling down in his seat and returning to his book.

Judy glanced over to him, extending a paw. “My name’s Judy, by the way.”

The skunk looked down at her paw, decidedly unimpressed, before taking it in his own and giving it a brief, very stiff shake. “Evans.”

Judy smiled and nodded, setting her backpack at her feet. “So…” she began, glancing out the window. “It’s my first time going to Zootopia, so I’m pretty excited.”

The skunk gave Judy a slight eyebrow raise. “Wonderful.” he deadpanned. He then returned to his book, seemingly deliberately shifting to face away from Judy.

Judy’s smile dropped somewhat. Okay then… she thought, awkwardly beginning to twiddle her thumbs as the train’s motions steadily grew smoother. She glanced out the window, watching as the rolling farmland of Bunnyburrow steadily passed by.

As she watched the land race by, the full scope of the situation began to dawn on her. She was doing it. Actually doing it. For the first time, she was striking out on her own. Sure, a part of herself thought, it was only going to be for a few weeks, but that didn’t change the fact that for the first time, she’d actually be on her own, in a place she didn’t know, as an adult.

And she wasn’t just heading to any place. Oh no, she was heading to the city of dreams, the place where a nobody like her had the real opportunity to do something…to become something.

And it was an absolutely ecstatic feeling.

It was late in the evening when the train finally reached Zootopia, and as the train came to a stop, Judy eagerly peered out the window, eyes widening in awe. Sprawled before her, a glittering array of glowing neon and fluorescent lights, was the Zootopia Train Station. In a way, Judy supposed she shouldn’t be anywhere near as in awe as she was now. After all, she’d done her research. She knew full well that it was probably the largest train station in the city–if not the country.

Judy was quick to grab her bags, popping up out of her chair and trying to squeeze her way down the aisle. She was quickly overwhelmed however by the sudden river of disembarking passengers, many of whom were several times her size, all seemingly just as adamant to get off the train as she was.

As such, she didn’t so much as walk off the train as she was shoved forwards, her feet scuffling and tripping over the carpet covered floors as she tried to avoid being stepped on by a random hippopotamus or cebu.

“Watch it, bunny,” Muttered the cebu in question, looking down at her with a sharp glare. “Get a move on.”

“Sorry,” she muttered in response, quickening her pace. Deep down, she had the suspicion that if one of these larger animals somehow did manage to step on her, she’d likely be just fine. After all, she wasn’t just any bunny. She could probably lift the cebu just fine. Of course, at the same time, she didn’t want to just test that theory willy-nilly. Better safe than sorry, as her father always used to say.

Luckily though, the flow of animals managed to carry Judy out of the train car rather quickly, and soon she found herself standing on the platform, the crowd growing less compressed as each animal went his or her own way. As the crowd thinned, Judy took this opportunity to better get a grip on her surroundings, and truly take in the scope of the train station.

The sheer scope of the place set her back. Instead of a humble, unassuming structure of weathered wood tucked next to the railway tracks, like back home, this place was a behemoth, sprawling array of walkways, all leading to the bright neon lights of the bustling restaurants and stores that were on the next floor up, linked via escalators to the platform where Judy was.

Judy headed towards the escalators, taking in the sights as she went. Back home, the local train station had taken a decidedly mundane, “one size fits all” mentality. It helped that most of Bunnyburrow’s residents tended to be, well, bunny sized, or there abouts. Most of the population were mammals like badgers, beevers, weasels, otters, and, of course, rabbits. The biggest mammal in town was Miss Gretzky, the town librarian, who was a grizzly bear. Her appearance had initially caused quite the kerfuffle, but eventually, things slipped back into their doldrums, as it became apparent that there wasn’t any real need to rework the town infrastructure or anything.

In Zootopia, however, it became quite obvious that the station was built with as many different body types in mind as possible. A complex network of semi-translucent, multicolored pneumatic pipes ran along side the escalators, and inside Judy could see dozens of small rodents, busily talking amongst themselves as they raced alongside the other, much larger mammals.

The escalator, of course, eventually came to an end, opening up into a massive foyer. If Judy had thought the loading platform had been busy, it paled in comparison to the multitude of animals she saw before her. Hundreds milled this way and that, the crowd so thick that Judy could only see the large advertisements that dominated the far wall.

The first one Judy noticed was pulsing on a large, jumbotron style screen. Emblazoned in purple atop a soft, pastel green, flashed the words “For The Animals of Tomorrow…Today”, followed soon after by the word “BellCorp”, all spoken in a soft, pleasant female voice. On another screen, not quite as big as the jumbotron, was another advertisement. This one simply stated “World’s Finest” in green and purple letters.

Judy paused to read another banner, only to feel something bump into her, and next thing she knew a blur of red yelped across her field of vision and slammed to the floor with a shouted curse. Judy gave a small gasp as she was drawn back to reality, jumping back slightly to give the other some room.

Judy saw that the other in question was a red fox not much older than her. He wore an ill fitting sport coat, rough looking denim jeans, and under the sportcoat, a borderline deafening Hawaiian shirt.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” she gasped, reaching down to help the fox get back to his feet. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you there, I mean–”

“Yeah sure whatever daydreamer,” The fox replied gruffy, pawing at his sports coat, muttering under his breath. “Where the heck is my phone?”

Judy looked down at the ground, eyes darting about as she tried to find the fox’s phone. As discreetly as possible, she shifted her vision to the x-ray spectrum, and low and behold, there it was, having slid under a nearby bench not three feet away. She cleared her throat slightly, trying to catch the fox’s attention.

“Uh, mister, I found your phone.”

“Ugh, what? Where?” he grumbled, giving her a grouchy glare. Judy pointed over to the bench, and the fox merely rolled his eyes in response. “Of-friggin’-course.” he muttered, stomping over to the bench and awkwardly leaning down to try to reach under it. Several awkward seconds passed as he rummaged under the bench, before finally pulling out the phone. He looked it over, muttering some sort of complaint under his breath before putting it up to his ear.

“Perry? Perry you still there? Yeah. No I’m not dead, I dropped it. I tripped over some dumb bunny who wasn’t paying attention. Yeah, yuck it up,” he rolled his eyes, giving Judy a dirty look before starting to walk away.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna say thanks?” She called towards him. The fox cast a dismissive wave of the paw back to her.

“Yeah, whatever, bunny.”

Judy glared at the fox as he disappeared into the swirling array of mammals. She let out a huff as she discreetly checked her pockets, letting out a sigh of relief as she found that yes, she still had her wallet and various other trinkets where they belonged. She glanced back in the direction of the fox.

Well, lucky me I guess. She thought, picking up her suitcase again, this time refocusing her attention on finding Lana. As much as the concept of just randomly exploring the wide array of locations Zootopia had to offer was a tempting one, she had promised to call her parents as soon as she got settled in, and last thing she needed was a bunch of panicked phone calls pouring in.

“Judy! Hey, Judy!”

Judy’s ears pricked up, and she turned towards the sound of the voice. A big grin spread across her face as she recognized the black coated sheep.

“Lana!” she called out, running up to Lana, arms spread wide, wrapping her old friend in a hug. “Oh my gosh how are you doing?!” she asked excitedly.

“Pretty good,” Lana began, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. “What about you? I mean, I haven’t seen you in two years, something’s gotta have happened down at the farm. Or was my magnetic presence so enrapturing that everything ground to a halt after I left?”

Judy laughed. “Oh no, we’re doing just fine. I mean, the farm’s still running, Chandler, my brother, the one you had the crush on, got married–”

“He got married?! No way!” Lana gasped. “To who? Erica DePelt, right?”

Judy nodded. “Yeah, I mean, who else right?” she trailed off for a moment. “But what about you? I mean, stuff’s gotta be happening to you right?”

Lana shrugged. “Well, I got a job at the coffee shop, and an apartment. I mean, not a fancy one, but it’s better than the dorms.” she shivered melodramatically. “I tell you, if walls could talk, they’d say some awful stuff about those dorms.”

“Can’t be worse than overhearing Mary and her boyfriend, blegh.” Judy chuckled. “I tell you, Lana, I am determined not to become insufferably love struck.”

“Says the gutless romantic who always sees the best in mammals,” Lana retorted, sticking out her tongue playfully which quickly led to the pair sharing a laugh.

“So how are we gonna get to your apartment?” Judy asked, reaching down to lift up her luggage again. “You got a car or something?”

“No, actually,” Lana began, shaking her head and rubbing the back of her neck. “I kinda took the train here. Probably should’ve mentioned that over the phone. Can’t really afford a car, ya know? And city traffic is just..” she stuck out her tongue and grimaced.

Judy gave a slight shrug. “Well, it’s no skin off my nose I guess. Lead the way.”

Lana responded with a nod and a grin, and motioned for Judy to follow her through the ebb and flow of mammals, which seemed to change and shift. For one thing, it soon became apparent that there was a visible difference in mannerisms between newcomers (like Judy), and locals (like Lana). Newcomers all tended to carry with them the same, general aura of wonderment Judy had been feeling: wide eyes, eager smiles, and whispering amongst each other all sorts of tidbits and trivia.

Locals meanwhile, tended to seem more introverted and wrapped in their own little worlds, going through the motions in a casual, almost automatic way.

Eventually, the crowds thinned out, as the general glitz and highly polished aura of the central hub gave way to the more utilitarian aesthetic that seemed to signal the local lines. Instead of highly digitized, glimmering jumbotrons, there were plain and simple printed billboards. Some were newer than others, the fresh colors contrasting with the faded wear and tear on the older ones.

The pair briefly came to a halt, the walkway to the platform blocked by a small metal gate of some sort. Lana muttered under her breath as she fished around in her pockets. She pulled out an odd assortment of quarters, nickels, dimes, and penny-like coins that bore the words “Zootopia Transit Token” on them. Lana turned to Judy, plopping a token in her paw.

“You need these to get on the train,” she said, pointing at the token in Judy’s paw. “I got a bunch more at the apartment, so I’ll give you some when we get there.”

Judy nodded, watching as Lana dropped a token into the slot, which caused the gate to swing open with a wurr. The gate closed almost immediately behind Lana, and Judy followed after, popping in a token as well.

“Sometimes if I don’t have tokens, I just hop the gate, but they don’t like it when you do that.” Lana briefly motioned towards the security camera. The pair quickly made their to the platform, just as the nondescript, polished aluminium of the train came to a stop.

Over the loudspeakers, a clipped voice could be heard announcing the destination, as the doors swung open and a sputtering flow of mammals, mostly medium sized ones like sheep, gazelles and big cats, came flowing out, as the waiting mammals began flowing in.

Lana beckoned for Judy to follow after her, as they weaved their way through the flow of mammals once more, hopping inside the train.

Lana collapsed into the unadorned plastic of the train seat, her gangly legs dangling over the side of the seat. Judy meanwhile, paused as she looked up at the roof of the traincar, the overhead luggage rack conspicuously absent, and instead replaced by yet more green and purple advertisements.

“Where do I put my suitcase Lana?” she asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. Lana, who had pulled out a thermos from her backpack and was busily slurping away, glanced up above her head.

“Oh crap, I forgot they don’t have luggage racks on the local,” she muttered, facepalming before hefting her backpack onto her lap and tapping the now empty seat next to her. “Just plop it on the seat next to you, I guess.”

Judy shrugged, taking her seat next to Lana and setting the suitcase on the seat next to her. The train gave a slight lurch as it began to move, and Judy gave a glance towards the thermos in Lana’s hoof.

“What’s in the thermos?” she asked, arching an eyebrow slightly.

“Oh this? Just instant noodles,” Lana answered, before offering it to Judy. “I mean, it’s practically a feast for a college student like us. Why? You want any?” as she spoke, before slurping up one last noodle that was dangling pathetically out of the corner of her mouth.

Judy shook her head, giving Lana a polite smile. “Uh, no, I think I’m good. Thanks, Lana.”

Lana shrugged. “Okay then.” she returned to sipping her thermos, legs idly kicking back and forth as the train whooshed along.

Judy meanwhile, turned to look at out the window of the train car behind her, a pensive look on her face. The sun had finally vanished behind the horizon completely, leaving a lavender twilight in its wake, which contrasted with the bright, shimmering neons of the sprawling, eclectic cityscape. Judy’s eyes widened slightly, taking in the sheer scope of everything.

So much bigger than home. So much brighter. So much louder. So much more chaotic. It made her feel strangely small in a way she hadn’t quite expected. In a way, the feeling of smallness and humility seemed to be a strange comfort, a weird, unorthodox way to confirm that yes, this was really happening and she really was in Zootopia, and not just idly daydreaming in the barn loft.

It was really happening. When she woke up in the morning, it wouldn’t be in her familiar, poster-adorned bedroom. It would be someplace entirely new, entirely foreign, and the start of a brand new, unwritten chapter in her life.

One which, she hoped, would allow her to spread her wings in a way that Bunnyburrow never could have provided.

A sudden sharp slurp yanked Judy out of her reverie, and she caught sight of a noodle vanishing into Lana’s mouth as she glanced to Judy with raised eyebrows. “So,” Lana began, pausing briefly to swallow what was apparently leftover broth. “You still gonna go for a literature major? Or did you change your mind?”

Judy’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Of course I’m still majoring in literature,” she answered, nodding firmly. “I mean, that’s I always wanted to do. Why change my mind now?”

Lana gave an acknowledging nod. “Just wanted to be sure. Be kinda awkward for me to go get you that typewriter and then find out you suddenly wanted to start, I don’t know, calculus or something.” she answered with a friendly smirk.

“You got me a typewriter?!” Judy gasped, a brilliant grin spreading across her face. “How did you afford that?!”

Lana shrugged. “I asked my professor for his. He was having a yard sale, I saw it, and asked if I could have it.”

“You really didn’t have to do that, Lana, I mean, what about your apartment?”

“Don’t worry yourself. I work at the coffee shop, so I do have an income. I might not be filthy stinking rich, but I’m not living in a cardboard shack or anything.”

“Well, still,” Judy began, taking Lana’s free hoof in her own. “I swear I’ll try and make it up to you, okay?”

“Pa-shaw, it’s fine! Really, Judy. Anyways, at least I can use the typewriter to help with my degree as well.”

Judy gave a curious expression. “Oh? What’s yours?”

“Accounting.” Lana answered primly. Judy blinked.

“Accounting? For Lana Lamb?”

“Hey, somebody’s always gotta need money, and that means that somebody’s always gonna take care of it. Anyways, I sure as heck did better at mathematics then you did, so I figured why not? It’s unexpectedly fascinating.”

“Well, mark me down as surprised. Never would I have expected you to call something like accounting ‘unexpectedly fascinating’.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it. Anyways, once you become a famous author or something, I can handle all your money, so it works out.” she paused, scrunching her eyebrows slightly. “Say, did you ever finish that novel you wanted to do? About the radioactive ducks invading Portugull? Or did that get scrapped?”

Judy blushed slightly, biting her lip. “I can’t believe you remember that…” she groaned.

“You kidding, girl? I remember all your stories,” with a chuckle, Lana shoved her thermos back into her backpack, tucking it next to her as she turned to look at Judy straight on, the bushy wool curling around her eyes as her smile grew bigger. “I’ve missed you, you know that. I mean, I really have.” she reached down, taking Judy’s paws in her hooves. “But now we’re gonna be galpals in college! Isn’t it awesome?!”

“Well, I’m a bit overwhelmed I think, but that doesn’t make this any less awesome,” Judy grinned in return. “And I’m not just gonna study literature. I’m gonna study mythology too. I mean, you got the really old stuff like Frith and El-ahrairah, and then you got the folktales like Briar Rabbit and Jackalopes–”

“NERD ALERT!” Lana playfully interrupted, letting out a laugh. “I swear Judy, you can be such a nerd sometimes.”

“Oh come on, Lana, don’t judgemental, Misses ‘I Can Recall Every Issue of X-Hounds’ Original Run’! Myths are cool! You got good, you got evil, it’s all so epic! And come on, they’re just like the comics!”

“Well, I guess you have a point,” Lana acquiesced. “Anyways, I guess you were gonna get into those. I mean…I guess you’re kinda like a real life superhero, right?”

Judy hesitated. “Me? A superhero?” Judy laughed. “There’s nothing really ‘super’ about me besides… well, you know.”

“Yeah, but still, Judy. You gotta admit you kinda fit the role. I mean, there was the fire, the school bus…”

“I’m sure anyone else would have done the same thing in my position.” Judy counter. “I’m just… a little better at it than others.”

“Judy…lifting a bus out of a river by yourself is way more than just ‘a little better’. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Lana, I’m not exactly selling myself short..I just…don’t want it to go to my head. I mean, all I’m–I was–doing is the right thing to do. That’s it. I don’t want to be famous–at least not like that.”

Lana shrugged. “I still think you’re selling it short. I mean, I’m pretty sure if I had what you had, I’d probably be in a costume already with my signal in the sky.”

“Ugh, me? In a costume? No way…”

The first thing that struck Judy about Lana’s apartment building, was how rustic it all looked. On a faded, somewhat depressing looking sign, where the words “Grand Pangolin Apartments”, which felt especially ironic considering the building was nothing if not humble.

A weathered brownstone jammed between a dozen identical cousins, the building was as generic as one could get. Obviously made to be as close to ‘One Size Fits All’ as the cramped nature of the neighborhood allowed, it was thankfully only a block from the train station, and the sidewalk was well lit by rows of street lamps.

Overall, a presentable, if forgettable building.

Once inside, however, Judy was taken aback slightly. The first thing she noticed was the harsh, chemical smell of freshly applied paint. A lonely looking bucket in the corner confirmed those suspicions. As Lana lead Judy up the stairs, each step, wood stripped down to faded grey, creaked and squeaked, with the occasional small rodent tennant shouting up at the two as they stepped on their small enclave of an apartment.

Compared to the sprawling train station, or the glimpses of neon-drenched urban metropolis seen outside the train windows, this place felt like a dank, moldy corner. Lana however, was adamant to point out that it was sturdy, and while it wasn’t pretty, it was affordable, and had, in Lana’s words “Taken on it’s own eccentric charm”.

They reached the door of Lana’s apartment, Room #310, which Lana had to angrily jiggle the doorknob for several seconds before it popped open, revealing the interior.

“So, here we are,” Lana said as she stepped into the apartment. “I know, it isn’t much, but…” she paused, rubbing her arm self consciously.

“Well…” Judy began, looking up at the simple, popcorn ceiling and along the faded wallpaper. “You gotta start somewhere,” she said, giving Lana sympathetic smile. “Trust me, I totally understand. We can’t all just start in a mansion or a big fancy apartment. And anyways, I grew up on a farm, so it’s not like I’m gonna be judging you.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Lana sighed. “It’s really not that bad once you get used to it.” she then looked down at Judy’s suitcase. “Come on, let’s get you settled in.”

As Lana headed towards the bedroom, Judy took a moment to take things in.

Well, she thought, taking a seat on the shockingly comfortable couch. You’re here. At the beginning of a grand new adventure.

Let’s see how it goes.

#the last bunny of krypton #zootopia #fan fic #my writing #superbunny au #au #dc #superman

45 notes · View notes

annakie · 8 years ago

Text

In Cars, Part II

When last we left our person, she was unable to remember much about a Kia.

I was closing in on paying the Kia Spectra off when I got a huge bug in my brain in 2005 or so about getting a new, better car because I’d gotten a big raise at work and could afford it. I didn’t need a new car, but I wanted one. I spent a long time looking at cars when Stephen suggested that I look at the Acura RSX, as he was a mechanic at the time and really liked that car.

I fell in love instantly. This was the car I’d been looking for. Beautiful design, sleek interior, really speedy, especially in the RSX-S model, which only came in standard. I knew I had to have one.

So for months I waited for an RSX-S to go on the market, that I could afford (so, a few years old) in the color that I wanted (Pearl white with tan interior).

A couple of times I found one I could afford, in a color I could compromise on, only for it to be gone before I could get to the dealer, or contact the seller. Someone in the building that I worked in already had one (though not a -S, and in the wrong color), and every day I walked past it on my way into work, and took a moment to linger, and sigh.

I lost out on like the third near-perfect car in the last six months, and was close to giving up when mom had a brilliant idea, as she often does.

“Why don’t you look in San Antonio, and Houston, and, I don’t know, a five hundred mile radius, instead of just in Dallas?”

An hour later, I was e-mailing with a guy selling his 2003 pearl white RSX-S, with under 20k miles, and tan interior in Houston.

We settled on a price, pending inspection, I got the financing together, and bought a plane ticket on Wednesday. On Saturday, a friend drove me to the airport.

That plane ride was terrible. It was, by far, the worst turbulence I’ve ever witnessed. And there was a Southwest Photographer onboard who was supposed to take pictures for their in-flight magazine, who I doubt got anything good because a good 1/3rd of the cabin ended up using their doggie bags. The guy sitting in the middle seat next to me and I ended up making a pact.

“If you don’t barf, I won’t barf.”

He agreed. After a particularly gut-wrenching drop we clasped hands, for most of the rest of the 45-minute plane ride. When we got off the plane, we laughed, hugged and said goodbye. Sadly, he didn’t ask for my number.

But that’s ok. Acura guy, who was sad to let his RSX-S go but he and his wife were having another kid, met me at the airport, we went to the bank, I gave him money, he gave me keys and a car title, and I had a six hour drive back home, which is one of my fondest memories of many.

It had not only AC, but a tape deck and a 6-disc CD player and a sport-tuned suspension that put everything I’d ever driven in my life up to that point to shame.

That car was my baby. My precious. I named her Pearl. Not a thing did it need that I didn’t provide. I parked it in the back row of the parking lot at work where it was an unspoken but very strict rule that you always leave a space in between yourself and the next car over (there was an entire double row that was always sparsely populated ahead of us.) Every bit of scheduled maintenance was performed like clockwork.

Best memory: Aside from the initial drive home, I took several other trips in it around the state. Oh, and the several times dudes 10 years younger than me would stop me to talk about my car, and how much they wanted one, and ask to look at it, sit in it, etc. Every day I drove that car it brought me joy. It’s hard to pick just a thing or two.

I got my RSX-S in March of 2005. I paid it off by March of 2009.

If not for October 29th, 2009, I think I would have driven that car at least a full 10 years. Maybe I’d still be driving it today.

So there I was, a day like any other day, on the way to work. I was driving north up the 3-lanes each way major street near my house. At the second light, I always have a choice, to turn left or go straight. It takes roughly the same amount of time to get to the freeway I’m headed to either way. I usually split it about 50/50 with whether or not I turn, depending on what the cars in the left lane are doing, and if I’ll have to sit through the light an extra time.

That day, a lady in an old beater cut across 2 lanes, nearly hit me, and got in the left turn lane just in front of me.

I could have made the left turn if she hadn’t done that, but I was mad, and didn’t want to deal with her, and could make the light if I didn’t turn, so I didn’t. I went straight.

About a block later, a gigantic white mass appeared in front of me. A Dodge Ram. Who’s owner was talking on his cell phone, didn’t check for oncoming traffic properly, and pulled out of the residential neighborhood he’d been in, directly in front of me.

I had a split second to react, not nearly enough time, it happened really fast. I tried to head into the oncoming lane’s left turn lane, as it was clear, but the Ram couldn’t stop in time, and I ended up smashing the front-left side of my car into the driver’s side front tire area of his car.

I remember the crunch, and then white, then black, then screaming. Who’s annoying screaming is that? Oh it’s my screaming. Why am I screaming? Because pain. Also, because I don’t want to open my eyes. Because if I open my eyes, all of this becomes reality and then I have to face the damage that this idiot caused my car.

The second I opened my eyes, I knew it was a total loss. Like there was no doubt. Both the airbags had gone off. The windshield was a spider’s web. The car didn’t even have power anymore. I have pictures, it still pains me to look at them.

I still kept screaming, as the guy who hit me jumped out of his Ram (I didn’t hit his door at all) and, panicking, started asking me if I was all right.

I yelled at him that I didn’t know, furious, and also, because I just didn’t know. All I knew was I was going to be late for work and I didn’t have a car anymore.

Pearl was dead.

The ambulance arrived, and I was checked out, and after the adrenaline wore off I was not seriously hurt (except for a shoulder injury that sidelined me for a year, and still acts up.)

I’d almost always driven with the sunroof open, I loved a sunroof. Sadly, for me, as the battery was pretty much squished and kaput, my car was without power, the sunroof was open and it rained a good chunk of that day. The next day when I went to get my stuff out of my car, most of what had been left in it was ruined.

The other guy’s insurance accepted responsibility right away. I got a check for $12.5k (the adjustor said that she’d never seen such a perfect looking 6 year old car, except for you know, all the damage), and I had 7 days of rental car left.

I was in a daze, and in a lot of pain, and couldn’t find a damn RSX-S in Dallas, and was in no condition to do the fly-and-drive thing since, after trying it out in a friends car, realized I couldn’t even shift anyway with my injured shoulder.

I sobbed for a good ten minutes when I realized that I had to get an automatic.

I didn’t know what to get. I wanted to research and test drive and compare and find something I could love as much as I loved my RSX-S. But there wasn’t time.

“I love our Honda Accord,” Dad said. “It’s affordable and safe and speedy if you get the six cylinder and they have a sport model.”

In too much pain to argue or put much thought into it, I searched online for some nice Honda Accords with a V6 and a sporty look, and found a couple. I basically stumbled out of a Honda dealership with a gray 2007 Accord EX-L wth a spoiler and all the bells and whistles of that year on it.

That car was... okay. It was fine. It was whatever. I liked the V6, the leather trim. I hated the size. It felt huge. And then I’d soon realized that I got a 2 door and with my friends all in their 30′s nobody wanted to get in and out of that thing, with the seats being so low to the ground anyway. It was a huge car that only I ever rode in. I could probably count the number of times I had other people in that car with me on my fingers and toes. By far, my most frequent passenger would be Cebu. And when he started declining over the last year, it started to be a real problem for him to get in and out of, too.

All the bells and whistles in 2007 did not include Bluetooth. Nor any other way to easily connect it to say, a phone. I was OK with it, the 6-disc CD changer was fine, for awhile. And then I got really into podcasts, so in like 2014 I put in a cheapo after-market stereo system that had both a USB port for phone charging and bluetooth.

Two or three years ago, on my way home from work, a lady in a lane that was stopped / slow wanted into my much faster lane, didn’t properly check her mirrors, and sideswiped me. It was cosmetic damage, and it sucked, but wasn’t too hard to deal with.

Within a year or two after getting that Accord I started dreaming of getting rid of it and getting back into an Acura. Or at least something better, and smaller. Especially once I became unhappy with the stereo system and it started showing signs of wear. I had to put a new starter motor in it.

Every year or so, for about a month, for the last half-dozen years, I’d swear to myself it was time to get a new car. For various reasons, I never pulled the trigger, sighing and resigning myself to continue in a car who’s dark gray exterior felt like it influenced how I felt about it. Meh.

I had that car for eight years.

Since not long after I started my current job, my co-workers have been teasing me about getting a new car. Poking and prodding me about it. We work within a mile of an Acura dealership and several times they’ve joked about dropping me off there, and a couple times drove me through the parking lot. I always explained to them how financially, it wasn’t the right thing to do at the time. I had to be practical.

I wanted to be able to afford it. Especially in 2015 there was no way. I chose to travel that year. A lot.

In the last few months, my Accord has started getting worse. Making noises. rattles, suspicious groans. It also hit 100,000 miles. (It had 40k when I got it, I’ve put less than 8 on it every year.)

I’ve watched the KBB value depreciate. And several times in the last few months I’ve taken my car to the mechanic and looked at what was wrong with it.

I don’t know if I got a lemon of an Accord or what, but, tbh, the repairs were starting to stack up, both what I got fixed and what I hadn’t, plus the maintenance. I had enough.

Part three soon. I have some pictures to take.

#personal post tag thingy #cars

2 notes · View notes

cebu-realestate · 4 years ago

Text

Philippine Real Estate During COVID-19

AKIN to world crises prior to now, the present coronavirus illness 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic apparently has forged doubt on the Philippine real estate economic system’s prospects. And but, for all of the doom and gloom eventualities, one factor for certain, in line with Philippine real-estate specialists and gamers, is that this well-being emergency opens up alternatives for each the real-estate traders and builders.

With this in thoughts, they agreed that now’s the right time for the market to accumulate a bit of a property as builders want to satisfy their expectations simply after they take care of present conditions of their subject amid the unfold of the virulent, lethal virus.

“Highest and best use of Philippine property will become even more important for investors and developers. Flexibility is key. Covid-19 is indeed a crisis, but every crisis brings opportunities,” KMC Solutions Cofounder Amanda Carpo advised the BusinessMirror.

“While the pandemic has brought about many uncertainties and challenges across a broad spectrum of investors and customers, basic microeconomics principles still point out to clear advantages of investing in property.… I do believe that developers should be sincere in adapting to the different rigors and demands brought about by the new normal,” added Golden Bay Landholdings Inc. (GBLI) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jardin Brian Wong.

Philippine Real Estate is Crisis-proof

NO matter what the financial setting is, actual property, not like some industries, is resilient sufficient to offer good returns. In reality, it’s the third-safest funding subsequent to gold and certificates of deposit, per an examination by world public opinion and knowledge firm YouGov.

“Property has long been the gold standard for investment because of a plethora of reasons,” Wong famous.

Foremost of such causes, he stated, is that it’s extremely tangible funding that the consumers can see and really feel. Second can be the legacy side—these belongings will be handed out from era to era—arguably giving them a way of safety.

The third is its worth era. “Over time, Philippine real estate tends to increase in value exponentially while in comparison, actual money contracts due to a plethora of reasons like supply and demand, inflation and fiscal pressure,” Wong identified.

He was famous that property investments are thought of to be secure not like different potential income streams like shares, bonds, and different securities that have fluctuating tendencies and are extra inclined to market shocks.

Sharing the identical concept with him, Carpo views actual property as a great instrument for traders to diversify their funding portfolio. She stated: “Equities are much more volatile and carry more risk in general, and real estate can help manage volatility and risk and make your investments more efficient. More than ever, investors need to understand the effects of volatility. That is what we will be experiencing in the near future.”

Cautious transfer

ALTHOUGH property is effective funding generally, the prime mover of KMC Solutions cautioned consumers to be extra sensitive about their targets and timeframe.

In these troublesome occasions, a downward development in real-estate values is predicted. Nonetheless, it could be a great time for traders to come back into the market.

“If you are investing, you should know whether you are a safe, aggressive, opportunistic investor,” Carpo stated. “You should know your expected return and the volatility involved.”

Because excessive returns include excessive dangers, it’s pure for property seekers to search for belongings that aren’t so risky however have an honest return.

“Real estate is efficient in that sense,” she stated. “An investment in real estate is a long play and balances the volatility of a portfolio of equities, bonds, and cash. It builds wealth and helps grow wealth since you can also use it for leverage.”

For the good thing about property homeowners who must promote their belongings—given the risky markets paired with unpredictability on when the well-being disaster will finish—Carpo had this as a reminder: “If you need to liquidate, make sure that you will be able to re-invest the proceeds or use it for something essential. It may be time to tighten belts. It may be time to discard ‘sentimentality.’ Be flexible.”

For those that nonetheless have sufficient assets or money available, she admonished them in a different way. “If you have income-producing property or one that has good intrinsic value and can afford to hold on, it’s my personal preference to play the long game.”

Maximize your funding

STILL within the lockdown mode, traders can maximize their real-estate funding in two methods, Wong stated.

An adage that claims, “Our home is our sanctuary” works—practicality-wise—throughout this time that the Luzon-based enhanced group quarantine (ECQ) is carried out to assist comprise the speedy unfold of the virus.

“I believe that investing and having our own homes during a pandemic provides that extra safety and security mechanism that everyone should have,” he stated

Second can be the economical side. The COO of GBLI stated real-estate belongings is usually a lifeline to help dwindling earnings streams or to help cash-strapped stability sheets.

“Consumers can leverage these tangible assets to secure much-needed funding or aid during extraordinary emergencies like this,” he stated.

Looking past the well-being emergency, traders must leverage on the stretched fee phrases and lock in adjusted costs that builders now provide to them. Availing themselves of such drastically reduces the month-to-month publicity of every shopper.

“Most of these payment terms are over three or four years. So, hopefully, by then the world economy and global health system would be over the initial ‘shock’ to the market and would have adjusted fairly well. When everything goes back to normal, buyers might enjoy the same benefits they would get,” Wong careworn.

Catering to market demand

EXPECTING a heightened shopping for an impulse from the market throughout this pandemic, Golden Bay assures that it has an agency grasp of the promotion it operates in.

“We adapt to market conditions and try our best to bridge impending gaps between market trajectory and consumer appetite,” the COO bared.

At current, he stated initiatives underneath design improvement and development phases are being reviewed and, subsequently, strengthened to suit future market necessities.

“As a company, we always make it a priority to be nimble and reactive to the ever-changing demands of the market, and we are prepared to adapt well to these changes,” emphasized Wong.

In a bid to be delicate to prospects’ wants given their present state of affairs within the time of Covid-19, he stated the agency is within the strategy of implementing versatile and extra inexpensive fee schemes for his or her goal consumers.

AboitizLand, Cebu Landmasters

This effort is much like different gamers’ initiatives to in some way assist property seekers, particularly those that have misplaced their jobs or technique of livelihood due to the government-imposed ECQ, to manage.

In a current developer webinar sequence of Lamudi, AboitizLand Inc. offers incentives to consumers, reminiscent of reductions, to assist them in their monetary want. This reward scheme can also be given to sellers by adjusting their fee charges in recognition of their being “frontliners” within the enterprise.

“The challenge is not just in the new model of selling. The challenge [is more on the fact that] the people we’re selling to have [fewer] resources. In fact, that’s the bigger challenge. You’re talking now to people who have [fewer] resources, and not only [fewer] resources, but the uncertainty of that resource,” stated David Rafael, chief govt officer (CEO) of AboitizLand.

Regional participant Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI), however, has prolonged fee schemes for many who acquired pre-selling items. Also, the agency reassures shoppers by telling them that the costs received change.

“In the next few months, prices of construction materials will soften because a lot of the inventory was not acquired. There are possible adjustments, a review of the pricing,” CLI CEO Jose Soberano III stated.

Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. (TLDC), in the meantime, has a special strategy. Considering that it caters to the high-end market, whose widespread concern is the time of supply of the items greater than versatile fee phrases, the corporate offers very important info to maintain patrons within the loop.

TLDC CEO Tomas Lorenzo additionally shared that they’re working for the Philippine real estate rental market. He stated: “People who can’t afford to buy are going to shift to leasing. In Torre Lorenzo, we have quite a substantial portion of our projects for lease.”

New regular

THE unprecedented well-being emergency the world is now going through is altering the best way individuals work, play, eat, and stay.

“Some of these adaptations may be permanent,” stated Carpo. “Just like 9-11 where, over time we recognized we live in a world where terrorism is possible and we are used to security checks, screening, and metal detectors, this pandemic will force workplaces, homes, shops, restaurants, factories to think of health and safety measures to prevent disease.”

Apart from the necessity for properties to have correct airflow, sanitized areas, and social-distancing measures, amongst others, she stated that one other new regular can be a change in design ideas.

“We will have to rethink high-density living. We will have to, more than ever, think of our environment and the space we live in,” she famous, including that each trader and builders must turn into data-driven of their decision-making. “We are in uncertain times and we must be willing to adapt. Adapt or die.”

Golden Bay, for one, sees plenty of expertise utilization from the best way they do enterprise will emerge from the disaster.

“From an operational point of view, some jobs would be done remotely from the confines of employees’ homes. Investment in technology for sales and marketing purposes will rise significantly since developers will try to reach customers through the web. Over-the-counter payment forms will be forgone in favor of cashless transactions. On the engineering front, developers would want to review existing and future projects in the pipeline to adapt to new demands of society,” Wong stated.

“Business Mirror by Roderick Abad (May 10, 2020)”

#Coronavirus #COVID

0 notes