How can people be so mean?

My Twitter and Facebook feeds are still mostly about donations, relief operations and other related updates regarding the Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). Everybody is made aware of the situation and how each one of us can help. Everybody is showing concern, care and love towards others. Everybody is helping and reaching out. So it is utterly heartbreaking to be a concerned Filipino citizen who has been badly affected by a typhoon that other people would be posting Facebook statuses and Twitter messages belittling our country and telling the world wide web how we, Filipinos deserve this tragedy and that they hope it would rain more and drown us all to death.

For my fellow Filipino readers and visitors, you may have already read about Jacque Bermejo and her "controversial" Facebook status that circulated our news feed. If it haven't reached your attention, her message goes like this:

"buti n lng m hir n dubai!maybe so many sinners bak der!so yeah deserving wat hapend!"

Conveniently, this person has claimed that her Facebook account was hacked and it wasn't her who posted the message. Yeah. Right.

It's bad enough that a Filipina who is in Dubai wished us bad, but then there are 2 others who are posting derogatory remarks about the Philippines and they are not even from here! Maybe they want to be "known" or they simply just want to "voice out" their opinions but I think it is very rude, cruel, racist and plain evil to be posting such things on the world wide web about a country who is isuffering from a terrible calamity. Sure there is freedom of speech. Sure we are allowed our own opinions. But really? To post it on Twitter? And to repeat the same message a number of times? I can't stomach re-posting her Tweets on my beautiful blog so I'll just leave the reading to you guys.

Sneak peak:

"Rain rain don't go away, keep pouring till you wash the poor filipino monkeys away :-D"
"Now you're choking and suffocating like a 3rd world monkey fool! Now the world's a better place, minus a 3rd world filipino like u ;-)"

Here is her COMPLETE EVIL COMMENTS.

It may be a fake account of some Korean "celebrity" but it certainly is still a "person" who are looking down at us.

There is also another one who posted:

"Who cares about the Philippines!"

Apparently, her account OfficialDeLayna is not existing anymore.

Now, some of you might disagree with me but my point is if you don't have anything nice and helpful to say then don't just say anything. It goes with everything in life I guess. I am not completely affected about these things but it's amusing how some people can be so downright mean and laugh AT people who are suffering. Oh well, that's their lives anyway. Maybe they find their own little happiness by doing that and it helps "boost" their self-esteem or something. I am a believer of Karma. So yes. Karma will take care of them. They may or may not have meant what they said, it's their conscience.

On a much lighter and very helpful note, I will be out tomorrow to go grocery shopping and drop off donations for the typhoon victims. I'm thinking of toiletries and gallons of water. I don't have any used clothes to donate since I regularly give away my old clothes and there are already a lot of people donating canned goods and instant noodles that they are forgetting other necessities such as medicines, vitamins, water, sanitary napkins, alcohol, toilet paper, etc. I am also counting on my friend to accompany me for the day or the afternoon. I'm waiting for her reply. But whether she reply or not, my donations will be dropped off tomorrow. That's a promise that I made for myself. No more delays. If I have a volunteer group to go with, I might go help re-packing the goods and maybe help out in the distributing too. I really want to make good use of my very abundant spare time.

Speaking of volunteering, classes are suspended until Saturday in ALL levels in the affected areas (NCR, region 4-a), classes will resume on Monday, October 5.

I hope everyone will take part in volunteering and spreading out details. :)

For my international friends, there are details posted in my earlier post below on how you could donate.

Thank you a lot!

Typhoon Ondoy Aftermath.

* scroll down to the 2 earlier posts for photos and details.

So everybody is still stunned on what happened during the weekends. Us Filipinos are still in shock and are still trying to recover from the devastating typhoon that hit us. Everyone wants to help and reach out to those who were badly affected and in serious need of rescuing, shelter, food, clothing, and medicines. My Twitter and Facebook are still flooded with updates on hotline numbers, donation drop-off locations and other details on how to volunteer in the relief operations of the typhoon's victims and for the first time... I don't care about my timeline and my wall being flooded with numerous re-tweets and re-posts of "help" and "donation" messages. The more people re-tweet and re-post, the more people we can ask for help, the more people can actually help us.

I was watching the news earlier and I was teary-eyed all throughout. Dead bodies were being carried out of the muddy water that they were trapped in. Children feeling helpless. Parents mourning over the loss of their children. Years of hard earned hundreds of millions worth of properties (furnitures, cars, houses, etc.) all trashed and ruined just within 24 hours. It was... heartbreaking. I cannot even find the right adjective to describe the feeling that I had while watching the news.

But amidst the calamity that our country suffered, our spirit is still intact. We are still hopeful that we can all get through this as one and we with our bayanihan spirit are now united to give help to those in need. Every Filipino, mostly those who were spared from the flash floods, are now actively volunteering in every relief operations that the country has. There are numerous ways to reach out and extend a hand. We can all donate. One local celebrity posted a compilation for volunteers and donations on her blog. There are also several universities who are also gathering donations and pledges, there is Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, and other provincial schools. This is nationwide and worldwide. There were Hollywood celebrities and personalities who posted about our situation on Twitter too.


I really, really, really want to go out there and donate. I have never felt this greatly affected towards a tragedy and I want to do something good because I know I can and there are a lot of ways for me to do it. I know some drop-off places are quite far from where I live but McDonald's branches and Petron gas stations are also accepting donations and I can go there instead since there are one or two of those establishements near my place. Hopefully tomorrow or on Wednesday I could go out and buy some food and toiletries to give out. Some of my friends have already gone to the schools and volunteering places mentioned and other have dropped off their donations too. So far, I have only done the Red Cross text donation thing and I am still not contented with it. I can do better than just text and I am going to do it.

If you want to help out too, in-kind or monetary donations of any amount would be greatly appreciated, you could check out Philippine Red Cross or for a more complete list go to Bianca's blog.

Thank you very much!

Typhoon Ondoy Updates.

Sunshine greeted me good morning as I woke up earlier, now the gray storm clouds have taken over the sky and rain is starting to pour again. There are still a lot of families and individuals waiting to be rescued on their rooftops. Some have been saved just hours ago. Dead bodies have been found and some are still missing. Cars that were left submerged under water yesterday are now being "rescued" by their owners. Relief goods donations are on-going NATIONWIDE through ABS-CBN Foundation and other private sectors and WORLDWIDE through our kababayans abroad. Celebrities and known personalities also helped in the rescue operations together with the NDCC, Red Cross, local governments, Philippine soldiers (Air Force, PNP, etc.) and regular volunteers.

Here are some of the Tweets I have been getting as of this hour, Julius Babao's tweets and re-tweets give me goosebumps:

Tony Slick Sam: If anyone still needs help (stranded on top of their roofs or on bridges)call or text them for rescue: 0917.814.0655 (ask for Lydia Ragasa)
: if you have family in the US that want to helpRT @chercalvin relief in the Philippines donate thru the American Red Cross. Call 800-435-7669
: RT @momtintinbabao: deposit to : BDO acct # 56300-020111 ACCOUNT NAME : ABSCBN FOUNDATION .ur cash donations! Will go a long way. tnx
: DZMM: Classes suspended in all levels of NCR & parts of Rizal, through an Executive Order issued by palace.

Julius Babao: Angel Locsin donates P 500,000 to victims of Ondoy! KUDOS Angel!
: In this hour of darkness let us show the world that this is our shining moment as Filipinos.
: There are hundreds of unknown people who have displayed heroism and continue to do so in this time of need. I salute all of u.
: Actor/ Host Cesar Montano and Bayani Agbayani braved the floods to save people in QC. KUDOS GUYS!
: Jericho Rosales rescues group of kids using his surfboard. KUDOS ECHO!
: RT @mlq3: RT @beatrixpg: Wow (I'm in tears)... Philippine Dragon Boat team lending their dragon boats for rescue & relief ops . KUDOS GUYS!
: RT @martinladores: @juliusbabao Once again, our bayanihan makes me proud to be Filipino! We see a united Filipino just when we need it most!

Miriam Quiambao: PLEASE RETWEET: International donations through Paypal please read: http://www.txtpower.org/2009/09/philippines-help-typhoon-victims-in-luzon-philippines/

My Tweet RT: typhoon victims in Philippines in dire need of food/clothng. Call the American Red Cross to help. 18004357669

Facebook Status Updates:

For people who need assistance: National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Emergency Numbers: 912-5668, 911-1406, 912-2665, 911-5061; Help hotlines: 734-2118, 734-2120. Please repost!

Hello, 1.6 million Philippine Facebook users. Donate 100 pesos each and we'll raise 160 million for Red Cross rescue and relief! Red Cross donation through SMS: text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart).

A calamity like this strengthens the bonds of the Filipino people. You would see and feel those who genuinely cares for their fellow citizens. In times like this, Filipinos bayanihan spirit always rule among others.

I will try to post some videos and more photos from Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) a little later. For now, I have sent my donation to Red Cross through SMS and I will go and sleep some more. I really don't feel good, I have taken in my med, lots of water and now rest is all that's left for me to do.

Thank you for the prayers and donations are very much appreciated. Please refer to the hotline numbers and the link for international donations that I have posted above.

Typhoon, typhoon please go away.

It has been raining nonstop here in Manila since late last night. PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) already announced as early as Thursday night that the country is expecting a typhoon to hit today, Saturday. That should have been enough warning and pre-caution but it wasn't. Since the rain started to pour down last night it hasn't stopped. I guess most of us expected it to be just the "typical" typhoon that has been hitting us for years; flooded areas several places like in Espana, Taft, landslides in the provinces, traffic, people being stranded in their workplace, school and even in their own homes and not to mention flood entering houses. Nobody, not even the PAGASA and local governments anticipated and prepared for a typhoon as strong as this one, Ondoy, it has been said that today's nonstop rain can be amounted to a 30-day rainy day period.

I'm personally used to this kind of weather and news of stranded people being rescued, evacuated, schools being suspended in mid-day, and then the post typhoon donations for food, clothing and what have you. It happens every time the rain pours down hard and nonstop even without typhoons. Manila would be affected, floods and all but not as close to how the rain affects people in the provinces. Today however, is way lot different than the other hard rainy days and typhoons that have passed, today I actually felt scared and worried and sad. Today, Manila actually suffered more. Greater parts of Manila almost sunk in to the flood; Marikina, Makati, Quezon City, Cainta, Mandaluyong, Taft, Paranaque, Pasig, Metro Manila. People's houses were also flooded, everyone evacuated to their second floors, third floors and some unlucky ones went up to their roofs! Cars were left stranded on the streets almost floating. Flood depth varies from knee-high, waist-high, chest-high and even neck-high.

These people are not just random Filipinos, some are my friends and some are even celebrities. All of my friends are Tweeting and Facebook-ing about it which makes the emotion feel a lot serious. Everyone are posting Emergency Numbers of rescuers such as Red Cross, NDCC, NCRPO, Bureau of Fire and Protection, television network ABS-CBN, there are also Senators such as Sen. Villar, Sen. Roxas, Sen. Aquino who put up a hotline for donations for rubber boats to be used for rescuing, clothes, food, etc. Everyone is scared and worried and wants to extend help to those in need but the most that we (the safe and dry people) could do is collect and donate and pray for them. There are already people who died, people still missing and people still on top of their roofs waiting to be rescued and it's already dark and cold.

Celebrities, Politicians, TV reporters and even my personal friends that I am following on Twitter are all very active today updating phone numbers and hotlines to call, news about the rescue operation, details on where the evacuation centers would be and asking everyone to please, please pray for these people and the rescuers for their safety.

For visuals, here are some flood photos I have gathered from friends:

Asia Pacific College

Taft

Ayala Underpass

Katipunan

CSB AKIC Bldg.

Araneta

Yes, this thing is actually happening. Cars drown too. People can swim even on highways. Water can enter the first level of your house and you're lucky if you have a second floor to "evacuate" to. Unbelievable but true. I hope this calamity serves as an eye-opener and a lesson learned to all of us. Global warming and climate change, we may not be able to completely stop it but we can surely do something to prevent it from totally ruining our lives and our planet. Recycle. Do not and I repeat, do NOT throw trash anywhere but the trash cans. Candy wrappers and cigarette butts count as actual trash. Please avoid using plastic. Plastic grocery bags, plastic straws, etc. We can do something other than to wait for a miracle from God and blaming everything on the government. Let us do our duties as citizens of the EARTH. Please.

Here are some Tweets of concerned and very worried Filipinos, from celebrities to ordinary people, everyone IS worried:

Tim Yap: PLS SEND YOUR DONATIONS FOR CANNED GOODS, CLOTHES, MEDICAL&OTHER EMERGENCY SUPPLIES TO MANOR SUPERCLUB, Eastwood (10AM- 9PM)Starting tom sun.

Julius Babao: PGMA now in Marikina supervising rescue operations.
: RT @joevtan: Pls rescue: koy banal holding on to a tree (per his wife Minel) near entrance to Golden Meadows Subd along Marcos Hwy.
: Gibo Teodoro appeals 4 understanding. Rescuers are having a hard time penetrating affected areas in Marikina, Pasig, Cainta, and others.

Sassy Torrijos: Send SMS of full address of those who are stranded to RED CROSS: 0917-899-7898 and 0938-442697. Please spread.

Mariel Rodriguez: I'm sad because so many people are affected because of this bad weather!!! I wish there was something more we can do.for now...prayers!

Sen. Aquino: People are calling Clare and Jana to be rescued. Please call Red Cross 143, MMDA 136, NDCC 9115061 & Coast Guard 5276136 for rescue.

Maita Baello: Help people in Provident already! My heart is breakingggg.

KC Concepcion: ang bigaaaaaat ng puso ko dahil jan sa ONDOY na yan!! stranded in Singapore, didn't get to fly out to Manila. watching TV PATROL on TFC now.

I hope, as I am sure others do, that tomorrow would be a much better day for everyone. Hopefully no more downpour so that the evacuees and the rescuers would have a more safer time to cope up and others who are still stuck can be rescued too and those who are still missing can be found. I feel bad but I admit this is the first time that I actually felt this worried about other people and I want to help them in any way.

Right now all I can do is to donate to Red Cross through SMS and pray for these families and individuals who are terribly affected and are suffering because of today's situation. Several provinces, including Manila has been declared under the State of Calamity. It is that serious a problem. So please, please, include not just the victims but the entire country in your prayers. If you want to donate anything at all just call the hotlines or ask me.

I will keep you guys updated tomorrow. Time for me to go to bed. I feel sick, like I am going to catch the cold and flu again.

Take a look at my looks in Looklet.

I have found another fun past time while going about the tweets of some adorable local celebrities that I am following on Twitter. (click HERE to follow me) I know myself, I don't really follow what's hip and trendy right away especially when:

1. I don't feel comfortable with it,

2. it's not within the range of my interests,

3. and everybody's on it already.

Most of the time, I let the hype subside or other times I don't go with the flow.. at all.

Now, this fun past time that I am talking about has nothing to do with blogging or Facebook games (which both by the way mostly eats up my day). It also doesn't include my usual favorite things or routines to do in my everyday life (well, not really).

I am talking about... Looklet. I am not sure if you guys are familiar with it or already has an account there. If I am the first one to introduce it to you then let me share a little about what and what-not Looklet is about . If you are a person who:

1. loves fashion,

2. enjoys "mix and match"-ing clothes, shoes and accessories,

3. spends time getting dressed wanting to look good,

4. grew up with Barbie dolls or any dolls that need dressing up for that matter,

5. dreams of becoming a fashion designer or be in anything fashion-related,

6. drools over clothes, shoes and accessories,

7. wants to own a closet full of the above mentioned

8. practice dressing up for occasions, and most importantly

9. wouldn't mind creating looks, choosing from a lot of clothes, bags, etc that is not going to end up in your own closet afterwards...

then Looklet might be interesting and enjoyable to you.

If you are:

1. looking for extra income,

2. wants freebies, and

3. easily distracted

I wouldn't recommend Looklet to you.

The site is free to join. You wouldn't be earning money from the designs or the "looks" that you make. You would however, have a fabulous time going through a very wide variety of clothes, bags, shoes, and other accessories and would be very motivated to work hard, earn big and then buy those fancy clothing there is. Kidding. Well, half-kidding. ;) The looks you can create over at Looklet can be an image of you or something you would want to wear but is not advisable given the climate in your country (that's me).

The looks that I created are still ME. MY own style, they just have the clothes. I am still practicing creating something more "visionary", a certain style that is not all me, something new but still has a bit of Mara in it. Oh, so fun.

Here are my favorite looks that I created since I first joined Looklet 2 days ago:

Look Name: Fab Working Outfit.

Look Name: Bootleg.

I think I found my other "calling" in life! Ooh. I thought of doing RTW (ready-to-wear) business in the future months ago but I still need to save up for a capital so I really have no choice but to get a temporary real life day job and earn a decent amount for a business start up capital.

Anyway, for more of MaraDG's looks and styles, you can go over at Looklet and search for MaraDG or better yet just click HERE. Now, now, now, I only have 5 looks created and believe me it was not that easy to style one model at a time with all the clothes available. How I wish I have a closet like that. Hate me for being such a girl but a girl can dream, right? And we better dream BIG. If by any chance you like one or all of my creations then you can "like" it by clicking the heart.

I spent almost an hour in each model. It is addicting and for me who spends her time in the internet for extra income, that addiction is not really good so I am cutting down on the hours and just create looks after my "work" here in the blogging industry is done. Yes, I just called blogging an "industry".

So, if you want to relax and have a distraction like no other then come and try Looklet. It's the next best thing to window- shopping without the walking around and unexpected expenses.

Happy Birthday, Cathy!

I cannot believe it has been 3 or 4 years straight that I was with her to celebrate her birthday. So happy! Since we started being friends back in college, we both never missed each other's celebrations and I am lucky to have found a friend like her (plus her boyfriend too).

Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday Cathy!

12 Midnight: The sweet boyfriend with the girlfriend's birthday cake.

The always present girls. Excuse my eyes, I was intoxicated way before 12MN struck.

It was just a small, intimate "salubong" of her birthday. A few close friends and the boyfriend.

I just noticed I have quite a number of friends who are September celebrants, there's Ate Nin, Anna, EJ, Michelle, and Cathy. Hmmm. Maybe I should have a "Happy Birthday" portion in this blog too? It's not a bad idea cos I am almost always present in every friends' birthday celebrations (when they one) and I love blogging about them too. So, let's see.

In the meantime, Happy, happy, happy, happy birthday Cathy!

Follow me on Twitter if you guys haven't yet. I put up a button on the right side of this blog for easier "following". :)

I had a crazy Saturday night.

Last night was my good friend, Cathy's birthday celebration just a few blocks away from my house. I wasn't supposed to attend since I only got a P100 with me and I wasn't in the mood to socialize with my friends who are all employed and working (and who I also haven't seen for so long). I thought it would just make me feel a whole lot depressed about my situation.

When the birthday celebrant called and asked me to come over because she's all alone, I said "Okay. I'll be there in an hour, I'll walk.". I wished I really did walk instead of taking a cab. I was just in the middle of my place and my friend's when my cab driver started honking because the car in front almost hit the bumper of the cab. I guess the driver was in reverse or something, or the car was manual/stick. Worried, the cab driver tried to talk to the driver of the car (we were on a stop) and then the driver got out and started shouting and before the driver and I knew it, she left her car and ran to the nearest police station!

Freaky!

The police had to take our statements and blah and I had to call my friend to pick me up because it seemed the police wouldn't let me go anytime soon. After an hour at the police station, my friend and I finally left and went to her hotel room for dinner. FINALLY! I lost my appetite though. It wasn't until more than an hour later, around 10PM that I was able to start eating and drinking again. When 12 midnight struck and it was officially Cathy's birthday, I already consumed 6 glasses of Vodka, 2 slices of Pepperoni pizza, 1 Chicken wing, 1 slice of cake and half a box of Mojos and dip and the celebration was still on-going with shots of tequila, another glass of Alize and another glass of vodka, I was down in the bed for 15 minutes before finally heading home at 2:30AM. I had a goodnight's sleep by the way. :)

I woke up to a very slow and lazy Sunday afternoon. I had late lunch, checked my Facebook and Twitter and watched college basketball and before I knew it, it's already nightfall. I am currently YM-ing with Riel for my new template and we're tinkering with it as I'm typing this so please bear with me if my ads and EC are not yet up. My page elements won't re-arrange and I have to manually add the gadgets in order. *sigh*

Hopefully I will be done in a few hours. Let me know what you think of it. Should I change the black to its original blue color?

Happy Birthday, Bruhita!

Today is my friend, Anna's birthday and I'm greeting her here to make up (in advance) to her because I will be missing her birthday celebration tomorrow night and her birthday dinner at her office tonight.

Happy, happy, happy Birthday, Bruhita!

Thanks for everything... and you know what I mean by everything.

I am so sorry that I won't be able to celebrate with you. We still have a lot of time. We can always see each other anyway. I'll make it up to you when I'm emotionally and mentally okay and when I give IT back to you before the second week of October.

I hope you have an enjoyable and fun birthday today and a much more happy birthday on your celebration tomorrow. :) I'll see you soon!

Greet her too, guys!!!

Mara's Personal Bubble's New Theme.

I am still not using it. I would do the changes during the weekend but for now, I would like to know what you guys think of it. An online friend gave it to me as a birthday gift months ago and I don't know why but I guess I was too preoccupied then to set it as my new template. I personally think it's pretty cute, it shouts "happy and lively" all around. ;) And we all know how much good and positive vibes I need during these days. I was thinking of having some colors changed or just the black background but... I have yet to talk with Riel about it. I would also do some "cleaning up" on my ads and other affiliate links I have on this blog.

Take a look:

You could also visit http://hunsample.blogspot.com.

I'm excited. It's about time that I take my blogs (especially this one for that matter) to the next level: change the template, de-clutter and hopefully post more interesting things about my personal bubble with a more improved writing style. :)

You guys like it?

You are still MY NUMBER 1.

Yes, I am so upset by this major upset in the US Open last Monday. I stayed up from 4AM to 8AM knowing that my love, Roger Federer would win in the Finals and do a 6-peat. Unfortunately, during the 3rd set I sort of had a feeling that he's losing his momentum and he was definitely annoyed with del Potro's late challenges. It was like the first time I saw him like that. He was saying the "F" and the "S" word although he says it "calmly", the irritation was very obvious. Sigh. I was really hoping he'd win. This del Potro guy surely is making his way to the Grand Slams. I won't deny that he did play good. He may have had his "tantrums" during the match but he was good. BUT I still believe Federer could have won then. It was a close match after all.

So yes, that's why I only posted about the US Open Finals just now. I am still stunned. If it's the other way around, I would have updated this blog like I do with Twitter. LOL.

YOU ARE STILL MY NUMBER 1.

photo from: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

World Number One, my favorite, Roger Federer holding up his 2nd place plaque for the US Open.

He will regain his championship in the US Open next year. He better! ;) In the meantime, he still has time to practice his game in the next tournaments in time for the next grand slam event, the Australian Open '10. Woot woot!

My very own version of FUN rainy day activities.

I talked about how crazy the weather here has been in my post yesterday. Today, it only rained early in the morning and the sun was up the rest of the day. I don't know if that's good because it was extremely hot. See how crazy and weird the weather is? Extremes. It was raining nonstop yesterday and then today... the sky was clear, the sun was up and the cool air was gone.

Nonetheless, I still continued my super fun and relaxing rainy-day "activities". Okay, I am more of a boring person than a cool, spontaneous one. I like peace and quiet and alone time most of the time but like a normal person, I get crazy and silly too once in a while. Plus, I am not a sporty person. The only physical activity I have are walking and jogging. I guess I can say that I am a laid-back, homebody girl.

Want proof? Take a look at what I enjoy doing on a fine, cold, rainy day:

• Stay online: check my mail, Facebook, blog and visit other blogs while...
• I stay curled up in my soft bed with my pillows or on the comfy couch while...
• I watch a lot of TV shows or watch and do a marathon of re-runs of my favorite TV series or DVDs and
• Munch on my favorite chips, candies, juice, coffee and water and then afterwards,
• Do my indoor exercise: climb up and down the stairs for 15 minutes and do crunches, sit-ups and jumping jacks.
• Take a loooooooong good bath.

Sometimes, it also varies depending on my mood. The third bullet changes when my mood does. It can change from a movie/TV series marathon to a book reading day to researching and browsing through different articles from different websites in the internet.

Now, I know that it may seem like I could do these things even on a normal sunny day. I still do BUT, when the sun is up I have no problem getting out of the house, going to the mall, having coffee outside, window-shopping, hang out over at a friend's house and all other outdoor thingies. When that happens, my rainy-day activities (which are also applicable on a sunny weather) is cut down to just the first and fifth bullets. You cannot ask me to go out of the house when the sky is cloudy and it's raining even if you drag me, NO. I am a boring, homebody girl when it's raining and I LOVE it! :) I love that about me.

Ooh, this post is also inspired and is an entry to Ate Earth of Earthlingorgeous' Rainy Day Contest.

*crossing fingers to win*

Check it out too!

Hugs!

Random Rainy Sunday Entry.

I don't know about you guys but the weather here in the Philippines, specifically here in Manila, has been crazy for the past couple of weeks. When we have typhoon signals, the rain stops. When there is no typhoon signal, it's dark outside and the rain just won't stop. Crazy I tell you. It gets even crazier because this is the second week that we are experiencing cloudy, cold and rainy days nonstop except for last Thursday when the clouds finally cleared up and I thought that finally the weather is going to be okay again but night time came and the rain poured down... poured down hard. It hasn't stopped since. Not completely anyway. This kind of weather just makes me want to stay at home, have a huge mug of coffee, eat, watch some TV and do online stuff.

Having said that, today is a very cloudy, rainy Sunday and in lieu of keeping my word of having a more productive day than usual, I took baby steps and started backing up my files and deleting a few of them afterwards. My MacBook's memory is down from it's original 160GB space to a 3.15GB and it's killing me. Yesterday, I am almost in the brink of a panic attack when my laptop's startup didn't end. It usually starts up fast even with a memory space below 20GB but yesterday, no it didn't. I had to wait for more than 10 minutes with no success, I turned it off and on and off a lot of times. Good thing it worked. I sweat droplets! So, now before it gets worse and the "folder with a question mark" appears instead of the Apple when I turn it on, I am backing up everything I got here. Better be safe than sorry, right?

What else?

Oh! My good friend, who I also call my BFF, were supposed to go out for a good food trip at KFC or McDonald's earlier tonight but yeah, since the weather is a "bed weather" we decided to stay in and just do it next week. I was already picturing KFC's hot and crispy chicken and McDonald's fries and caramel sundae. Yum! But then it's fine, at least I won't be spending on food... again! I tell you, food is my ultimate weakness hence my food blog was born. :)

Btw, while I was browsing through different blogs I stumbled upon one who posted a proof of payment from some site which they claim pays you for the traffic that you get. I read several comments from the post and decided to give it a try. It sounds too good to be true but then what's the harm in trying? It's for free anyways and it's not time consuming so I really have nothing to lose. The site is called Paid-To-Promote and they send out payments twice a month, on the 15th and 30th via Paypal. From what I understand, all you have to do is to put up their code on your site and for every visitor that you get that stays for at least 10 seconds, they will credit you for it. Told you it's very easy and too good to be true. Let's see how I'll do and I'll keep everyone posted. If anyone is interested just click HERE.

Hugs!

photo c/o: www.flickr.com

P.S.

Today (or tonight in my case) is the Men's Singles Semi Finals between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro to be followed by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. I don't know whether I should go have an eye shut first and just wake up after Nadal and del Potro's match or stay up all throughout the start. The first match starts at 12PM New York time and 12MN Manila time. Yes, that late. I'm used staying up until early in the morning but I felt my lids getting heavy just now. Hmmmmm. You guys know I am a huge Federer lover, so.... fighting off sleeping is my number one goal.

My Open Letter.

Dear visitors, readers and friends,

I would like to say to apologize if my posts have been all too whiney to anyone in the past few days. If you have been a regular visitor here, you would know how I am like with the happy and frustrating moments of my life. I share everything. This blog, Mara's Personal Bubble, was born mainly as an outlet of my emotions. I apologize if you think I am a brat and/or is too whiney but this is MY blog. My PERSONAL blog. I talk about how I feel, what I think and what my interests are. I rave and I rant. I know money is mostly the problem of almost everyone. I understand how you must be feeling reading mostly rants recently and I apologize that you feel that way. But please also understand that those problems I have are what's going on with me right now and the only place I can talk about it is here. In MY PERSONAL blog.

I am not thinking about doing blogging as a profession. At least not yet. If you guys have been reading my posts, you would know that I am actually looking and applying for real life jobs. I only get up high to interviews and I never hear from those companies again. So please do not assume that I am just sitting here at home, sulking, wallowing in self pity, whining and NOT doing anything to get a job. Trace back my entries, read them and you'll know.

I always get like this when I feel like I have hit rock bottom (an exaggeration but you know what I mean), I have to talk about it a lot and get it off my chest until I see the light of day and get back to thinking positively. That day came yesterday. I decided to focus on the things that I have control over. I would concentrate on my blogs and try other online opportunities while waiting to hear from the companies that I have applied. That is the next best thing to earn a little on the side for my personal expenses.

I have not felt like I have to explain my blog but I received a "constructive criticism" about my recent posts and I would just like to clarify things. I want to explain my side for my readers to understand. Do not take this the wrong way but if you have had enough of my whining, when you read my entry title and it seems like the rest of the entry is a huge whine for you to handle, just spare yourselves and close the window. Just my thought. And it's not like the whole of this blog has been about my financial difficulty. It's not. I am not giving the attitude here, I'm not mad or angry. I most certainly do not want any enemies here. I just want to let this out. If you understand then I'm grateful, if you don't then it's not my problem anymore. To each his own, right?

Now that I got that off my chest, I would like to thank everyone who posted such supporting, encouraging and sweet comments on my entries regarding my problem and to those who tolerated my whining. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! To those who said that all I do is whine, thank you also and I hope you could visit my other blog to avoid reading my personal raves and rants here. :) Again, this is my personal blog. This is a general blog not a niche. I talk about everything about me and my life here. My other blog on the other hand focuses on a certain topic: Food and Beverage and Dining.

As I said yesterday, I'm out of my shell and I'm focusing... yet again on the brighter things in life. Bear with me. :) I'm just like this all the time. Extreme lows and extreme ups. Right now, I am so hopeful about everything and my number on feel-good thing to do is making lists! I started yesterday with my list of things to do for the month. Today, I started with my things to save up for. No, I am not splurging. This is just me being hopeful and relaxing. I am weird and unusual, I know. Only a few may understand me but there's no need for me to explain myself all the time. :) I'm happy, I'm fighting off bad vibes, I'm attracting as many positive energies and good vibes as I can and I won't let small, petty things bring me down again. I can get out of this alive and triumphant. Things will turn around soon and I will be on top. Cool?

Check out some of the things that I have listed on my "things to save up for" list... soon. Or later.

Hugs,

Mara

My Game Plan.

You friends know that I am sort of in a financial "crisis" right now and I am so upset, worried and frustrated about it. I have a lot of things going on right now even when in actuality, I am unemployed and mostly just at home. I feel exhausted thinking about ways to solve my problem without asking my Mom who is a thousand miles away and make her worry too. I want to spare her my problem because I know she has a lot of worries too (she pays for ALL the bills and other expenses here at home). The only help that I could give her right now is to NOT add up to her problems.

During my being on "house arrest" for about 2 weeks now, I came up with a game plan. No more worrying too much. No more thinking about the problems too much. No more too much wallowing in self pity. No more too much. I would focus MORE on the things that I can control.

I have got to do something more productive while waiting for things to turn around for me.

• Arrange my pre-employment requirements (SSS, NBI clearance, TIN #, etc.). I think it's only proper that I have them already since I graduated more than a year ago.
• Get an EON card at Union Bank for my PayPal transactions.
• "Improve" my online opportunities.
• Continue to apply for a job.
• Take things easy. Although my friends can't expect me to be as happy, spontaneous and as available as before. It's still hard not to worry about this kind of thing.

Hmm. I hope this is effective. It's the end of another week and I can start feeling better NOW. I will try my hardest.

To LEVY: No, it's not about credit card but it IS about a debt that I have.

For those willing to lend me whatever amount you can leave me a comment here.

Also, follow me on Twitter too. :)

Much thanks!

Ways to Earn from My Blogs.

In an attempt and in the hopes of making and earning more with my blogs to finance my current financial situation, I have signed up with different programs in the past week. Other than my already existing accounts in:

Adsense

Adbrite

Adgitize

PayingPost

Blogsvertise

I decided to add more since I am only earning in the first three sites (more especially on Adgitize).

Here are my additional programs:

PayPerPost v4

LinkWorth

LinkFromBlog

SponsoredReviews

The only programs I am lucky on is Adgitize. All you have to do there is what you normally do when blogging: click and visit other blogs and post blog entries. The only difference is if you are registered there, you earn points for those activities and you earn actual money. Adsense and Adbrite are already popular among bloggers. You just have to put the code on your site and hope companies advertise and visitors click on them. PayingPost, Blogsvertise,PayPerPost, LinkFromBlog and SponsoredReviews are paid-to-review sites. Advertisers will contact you and you just have to follow the instructions about the review that they want you to write. I still have no idea how LinkWorth works so I seriously need help on that one.

As of the moment, the only sites that I am actually earning money are on Adgitize which I make payout almost every month, Adsense and Adbrite even though I only earn a few cents a day. All the others, I have not received any offers/opportunities yet so I am still waiting and hoping that I get A LOT of offers soon.

"Donations" for my current situation are still very much welcome. Please contact me for my PayPal address.

Hugs!

So, I am financially challenged.

"I just need something to happen, I need a sign that things are going to change. I need a reason to go on. I need some hope! And in the abscence of hope, I need to stay in bed and feel like I'm going to die today."

-Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)

FYI, I am not suicidal or anything. I am just feeling this quote so much and it suits my sentiments exactly. Figuratively and literally, I mostly stayed in bed today feeling so down and problematic, a lot of things that I am worrying about. I just played FarmVille on Facebook and did a Sex and the City marathon the entire afternoon.

My shameless asking for donations (which I promise to pay back) still stands and no, I am not kidding. A dollar, two, five, ten, twenty, thirty, whatever amount you can lend me, I would be forever grateful and I WILL pay it back. I don't know how to put up the "donate" PayPal badge here so you can just leave a comment here or check out my profile for my e-mail (also my PayPal) address.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!