On being a ticketing agent...

I sell airline tickets and book hotels for extra income. I've been doing this for 4 years now and over the years  I have my share of loyal customers -- loyal, as long as I give a cheaper rate compared to other ticketing agencies and share of bad and good ticket agents.

I started with this job as a means to help my relatives and friends in booking their homebound/Thailand bound tickets. I booked with Nesia at that time. At first I was not marking-up the price since it's for friends. Later on, friends of friends and other people I don't seem to know started calling me and asking for ticket prices. That's when I started to put a 100-baht mark up to every ticket issued.

Unfortunately, Nesia turned out to be a crook..she scammed most of her clients and agents by asking for the payment even if the tickets were never issued. I was also a victim, with my sister's ticket already paid...I did not get the ticket. Luckily, the amount is only 3,000 plus baht. Not to much but still...a loss..loss of money and loss of a friend. I heard Nesia was caught and imprisoned here in Thailand but I have no recent updates as to her whereabouts.

Oh by the way, Nesia worked with Thai Sky Ntt. She was replaced by Mary Cristy 'Kreeze' Sienna. We had a long working relationship...around 3 years probably. This ticketing staff was very accommodating, easy to talk to and issued tickets quite fast, very unlike Nesia. With her good performance, she was pirated by Nancy Aviation (later changed the name to Tadee Metal). Probably offered with higher salary, she moved to Nancy. After about 1 or 2 years...she turned out to be Nesia number 2! Although, I might say, she's the wiser version of Nesia because she was not caught and fled out of Thailand after borrowing 300,000 Baht from her Thai boss, after borrowing almost 500,000 worth of money from her agents (me, included!) and after taking away the ticket payments supposedly issued. We, her sub-agents got a major headache trying to appease our customers that their tickets are okay or will be okay. Kreeze borrowed 40,000 Baht from me (in cold cash!) and 5 of my tickets were not paid so I had to pay an extra 55,000 Baht. I'm just a bit lucky because at least Tadee reimbursed 35,000 for the tickets. (I learned that with other agents, there were no reimbursements made). And so, Kreeze and Ramil (her Filipino boss) are on the run to never never land. Bad karma to them!

With all my misfortunes, I found a gold mine. As of now, I get tickets from Aom, who gives me good discounts therefore I can give better deals with my clients. She is also a confidant. I just saw her once, during Sean's 2nd birthday but we talk almost everyday by phone. She's very kind and generous though she feels a little stressed from her work due to a small salary yet hard work (overtime with no pay).

She even helps me with customer problems as well as hotel booking problems with Nok (it's another story).

What I really want to say is, she's heaven-sent. Very warm and nice. I thank God for her.

So you see, dear reader (if ever there is one, lol!) a lot of people nowadays will go to lengths just for money. Even doing something unthinkable for the sake of having a lot of money. The love and greediness of money is the root of all evil. With Nesia and Kreeze's misdoings, I believe they have all their lives to pay for all their sins..for all their lies and cunning ways. I believe in karma..it's biblical. What you do to others will also happen to you. That's why I don't lose hope, even if there are liars there are also the good ones..though small in numbers. But I thank God for the likes of Aom. God bless her heart.

Just to Update this blog...

Pictures of our Ho Chi Minh trip is not yet uploaded in this blogsite, sorry for that. My husband, who's here on vacation has been updating our laptop and desktop at home that's why I don't want to interfere with his work yet. While he was away at work, computer viruses flooded our PC's, much to my dismay that's why I refrained from plugging external disks to it.

Anyway, I just want to update this blog.  With my husband in town, I feel like a queen :) Sleeping through 6:30 or 7 am whereas before, I usually wake up at 6 am to cook breakfast. He's practically doing every household chore and taking care of Sean. Lucky me!

I am wearing eyeglasses now...as much as I hate it, I don't have a choice unless I want to go blind. I have to rest my eyes from contact lenses because after arriving from Vietnam, my left eye got irritated and became reddish ( I switched from the brand Duna to Bausch and Laumb). So now, I look like 10 years older according to my colleagues but it's way better than being blind.

Oh by the way, it's October already! Lol! Tomorrow is my sister's 30th birthday or 31st? I am not sure...

On Being a Spendthrift..

I grew up in a simple family with a low-income earning parents. Middle class, probably..but still life was hard back in the Philippines. I watched as my mom has to borrow money or fresh goods just for us to have a meal the following day..my mom is a teacher (with one year before retirement) and my dad a retired Adventist pastor. However, with that setup I grew up and became a spendthrift, not because I had a choice but because I had to. If I don't cut costs, I'll end up in hunger.

Buying less and saving more became a habit and I'm thankful that we were not well-off back those days (oh, even until now ). However, when I got married...I was tied to a person who loves to shop! So...unlike me! I therefore found out that shopaholics are contagious. I began buying things I really don't need and sometimes forgot to save. But then I'm thankful to the internet who opened my eyes again into saving and investing.

I'm toying on the idea of investing in stocks and mutual funds and according to Robert Kiyosaki, we have to pay ourselves first. Pay for saving or investing because without discipline, we will never be out of the rat race.

Here's what I plan to do with my monthly income:

• After receiving salary, allot a 10% for your tithe and give back to God what is due to Him.
• A 10-20% (or higher, if possible) will be set aside for savings and invest in time deposits, mutual funds or stock investing / trading.

Saving tips when you're in Thailand:

1. For first timers in Thailand, buy sim cards (Dtac, True or AIS) from 7-eleven shops, not from the airport. 
2. On transportation -- take the ordinary bus...way cheaper and sometimes free (the red bus with the blue sign)
3. Shop in Tesco Lotus - products are  slightly cheaper than other grocery stores plus they have cash back every 3 months as well as discount coupons.
4. If you will take the skytrain often, ask the BTS staff as to which travel card will help you save more.
5. Get discount vouchers from  group buying websites like ensogo.co.th or dealdidi.com or the likes.
6. If you're a health buff, buy your food supplements online like here, cheaper than most local drugstores and shipping is not that expensive.
7. There are a lot more but my brain is failing me now...so next time, okay?

Another Rant...

Oh well, here's another rant, before we left for Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, I bought a pair of Bausch and Laumb's contact lens. The eye wear was okay so far until yesterday, my left eye turned red and this morning it started to irritate. Geez...I'm used to wearing Duna lenses but that particular day I opted to buy from another optical shop (unfortunately!). So then today, during lunch break, I went a little farther for lunch just to buy a pair of Duna lens from Top Charoen Optical in Soi Onnut. After I paid and wore the new pair, I seem to have a blurry right eye...for goodness sake, I walked back to the office wishing it'll be gone soon and my eyes are just adjusting to the new lens. As soon as I arrived in the office, I removed the contact lens and guess what, there were TWO lenses on my right eye and that caused the uneasiness I felt. 

Relief. At least I won't buy a new pair again and I won't opt to wearing eyeglasses. 

Water Fun!

Sean loves water. He anticipates bath times. Whenever I say, it's bath time, he runs ahead of me to the bathroom and splashes water everywhere (to my exhaustion!) But it thrills me to think that he's not afraid of being clean and being able to play during baths.

Simple joys of a toddler

Sean loves to play with his numbers/alphabet cups.

He fills the empty bottle and pours it to the other cups.

On Mutual Funds and Stock Investing

A newbie. Beginner. Kindergartner.

That's who I am in these kind of investing. With mutual fund, I had the experience of buying a few hundred units for several months but then was forced to withdraw 98% of my investment due to my wedding that time(2010). We needed the money. The return from the fund was really good. The initial investment was 10,000 baht and I added 5,000 baht every month. I was able to save around 70,000 baht that time. Not a bad investment at all. Yesterday, I asked my mutual fund agent if my account is still active, he replied and said it's still active and after 2 years, the return has been a whopping 158%..whoa! If I kept those 70 thousand, it probably would've have reached a little less than 200 thousand Baht. Oh well...I guess starting again is not a bad idea.

According to Bo Sanchez, comes payday...the 1st two things to be paid are:

1.  God -- through tithing, a 10% of your salary should be given back to God. It's His, He has all the right to ask you for it. So be diligent in giving Tithe.

2. Yourself -- through savings or investment... a 10% of your income is a starter but if you can save much higher, then better.

Before paying electric or credit card bills, learn to pay yourself..because in discipline, you will be able to save much for you or your family's future.

I think it's a good idea, so then I will start saving at least 10-25% of my income monthly by investing in mutual funds. With regards to stock investing / trading, I am a newbie. I don't know how it works but I'm on the learning process. I love watching every night the episodes of Pesos and Sense where that show educates the Filipino people in investing in stocks and mutual funds. 

It takes discipline and motivation to save. So help me God.

How to Quickly Lose a Friend (and Money)

In my quest to financial freedom, I invested with the wrong people. I lent them money in a promise of returning it one day (some with interest while others just a simple thank you). But was I successful, were my investments returned with a good income? A big NO. Some people I invested to, like Ms. Annie Pelayo and Pastor Rogelio Undan (he's one of our pastors, mind you) promised a good return to my investment. Time passed yet the income did not come...so then my husband went to their homes to collect what was mine. Some of the capital returned but never the income. 

Money lost...sadly, even the friendship was gone.

So now I swear to myself that as soon as I have money for investment, I'll invest it with  more secure means like stocks, mutual funds or government funds. This way, I am more confident I can get it back as soon as I want to. The income would not be as high as investing in other people but at least the risk is way lower than investing with them. Plus, I will not lose a friend. (Oh well, I guess I'm better off with those so-called 'friends' anyways)

I have got to use my BRAIN! I'm a business management graduate, am I not? Or probably I need a refresher course. 

However, I need to keep going.. these failures will not stop me from investing. I just need to learn more about financial literacy.

On Being A Fool....Again!

I do not know who to talk to so I will blurt this all out here in my blog.

I am so down right now because I felt I have been cheated, lied to and fooled once again. Yes, not the first time..this is the 3rd major time that I have lent a big amount of money and that borrower fled to nowhere. 

First was with Kreeze, the lady who I bought tickets from for more than 5 years. Whoever would have thought a lady like her is a smart ass, she ran off with a big stash of money not only from her sub agents but from her boss as well. She ran off with my 46,000 Baht cash and left some of my tickets unissued. Dang...who does that? A whole lot of them, I realize now. She is as cunning as a fox.

For everyone's awareness, her name is Mary Cristy Siena and she has a son named DJ. So, beware..you might be her next victim.

Second time was with my highschool friend classmate, her name is Chime Joy Romo (I don't know her last name now that she is married). A few months back she asked me to lend her 10,000 pesos to cover for her ovarian surgery as prescribed by her OB-GYNE and told me not to tell anyone even her mom because she doesn't want to worry her. Yeah right!!! Well, I do not know if the surgery was true or not but until now she has not paid my money yet and my mom has been asking for it from her from day 1 and all she told were lies.

Liars, do they really go to hell? I'm sure they do...

Third and hopefully the final one (please, I got to stop being a fool!), Ms. Cherry Oribiana Mansalapus asked me to fund her ink business because she has an order worth 65,000 pesos with 25% mark up and the investment will be back after one day. I had 'many' second thoughts, so to speak. I even prayed about it, asked for two signs which did happen. So the next day(that was Friday, August 31, 2012) I was confident and transferred the amount of 31,200 Baht (40,000 pesos) to her. I was even in a hurry to transfer the money for her to deliver the ink on time. That was Friday and today is Friday, a week later. A week is the new one day now? When did that happen?  Her brother said that she is confined right now at the hospital. After my countless sms and calls, she is asking for two more days. Two days for her to redeem herself. That remains to be seen.. Oh well, at least she's making a promise. I hope this time it won't be broken.

What  the hell is my problem? Not once, not twice but thrice...

Can't believe that I'm the fool again..this song has been ringing in my head right now. Is tenderheartedness a no-no nowadays? Is cheating the new trend? I still believe there are good people on this earth but I hope that FINALLY  I have learned my lesson...

NEVER LEND MONEY TO ANYONE. capital N-E-V-E-R!

on Royale Business Club...

I'm diverting from this blog's name... oh well, it is still about learning although not only for my child but learning for me as well.

Last July 29, 2012, after much internet reading about MLM (Multi Level Marketing) I joined Royale Business Club, a networking company on going to their 6th year. My upline is my cousin, kuya Dave who's staying in Japan. He's doing big there now...and hopefully, we will follow. 

But I need to learn...

I need to learn how to plan and implement marketing strategies. How..Where? Internet? Which site? I've been trying to find but most of the sites are selling something..or probably that's how they teach?

With regards to the company, the things I learned are mostly based on my internet readings, conversation with my upline as well as testimonials from users. I have been a user of their soap, Kojic Acid Soap for a month now and I can say that the product is good..it effectively and immediately dries up pimples and it softens the skin after every wash. I love the soap and because I have proven its effect, I find it easier to sell. Hey, that's marketing lesson number 1: Be your product's model...lol!

I hope many people will find Royale's products effective to alleviate their health, wealth and beauty. Who does not want those things, eh?

So I guess, all I need is to continue what I started, be consistent and I'll be there...winners never quit!

A proud Royalista, here!

It's the BER months...already?!?!

I believe TIME has wings...because they fly so fast! It's the 3rd day of September and Christmas songs are now being played in my home country.

Big event for this month:          Travel to Saigon City!!!

Well, yes, Ho Chi Minh City not Hanoi...disappointing I know, but then I mistakenly booked for HCMC while all the while thinking of seeing Halong Bay. Geezzz! Oh well, at least I haven't been to HCMC yet, that's a consolation. My dad, my hubby, me and baby Sean are booked for September 19-21 travel and hopefully my husband will be able to get off board his ship in time for our departure to Vietnam. Otherwise, it's going to be a drag... well, you know, life is happier when you spend it with your better half, right?

Hopefully I can post pictures of our trip in this blog. (I post here in the office, you know...and uploading of pictures is a big no-no).

On DILG Secretary Robredo's Death

Death... tragic or peaceful, is still very painful.

What happened to Mr. Robredo's tragic accident that led to his death was a painful blow to me, to Naguenos, to Bicolanos and to all the Filipinos. He was an epitome of a good and honest leader, a servant leader that led Naga into a full-blown city, a DILG secretary who has started minimizing crime-rate in the country especially in Manila and has a vision of an illegal-gambling - free country.

I wept and still weeping since the day they found his body. I weep because one great servant leader, one of the FEW in the Philippine government has been lost. Not all hope has been lost, but a big part of it has..and I wish it will be back by putting someone who will be follow his footsteps and continue his reforms and visions as replacement for the position of DILG chief.

HOPE isn't all gone. We still have PNoy...

Hats off to Mr. Robredo, a life well-lived sir, a life well lived indeed!

When my Sean is Sick...

I have been so busy the last few weeks that I have not written any post here. I've been wanting to post pictures of our activities but for some reason that has been interrupted several times.

Sean is not feeling well since August 8 (my father's 61st birthday)...It really is heartbreaking to see your child finding it hard to breathe due to asthma, chilling because of high fever as well as coughing so hard because of the phlegm. Sigh. Last night, he was sleepless due to a low-grade fever, for several times he woke up crying...ahhh, really heartbreaking for a mom. I know mothers out there have the same emotion when they see their little ones suffering. 

Pray. This is my mom's powerful amulet...she told me of a story as when I was a toddler and I was sick with high fever..she prayed earnestly and wept silently during the night and daybreak came, I was fully recovered. Such faith, my mom has...

Love.A word so powerful that it can surpass anything. Love of a mom or dad to his/her child. A parent would do everything for his child.Ahhh, such love...I'm grateful to God for giving me that feeling, for giving me Sean.Thank you God, You are our exemplary Parent, please help us to at least be a bit of a parent as You.

I really don't know if what I'm blabbing about here makes sense, I guess when you worry about something and you are in front of your blog, you can just type anything. Sigh again.

Dear God,

Please, please touch my Sean with Your ever healing and powerful hands. Thank you, Jesus.

Amen.

Another Tonging Activity

I know, I know.. this is almost the same as my previous post :). Oh well, the thought just came into my mind as I saw the scattered Alphabet letters on the floor upon arrival from work. I then, picked them up and placed all in the pink tin box, got a small tong and another plastic ware to transfer the letters to. I placed everything on the table and Sean, upon seeing what's on the table knew exactly what he had to do.

Alphabet Magnetic Letters and Alphabet Tiles

It took him 10 minutes to transfer all the letters and
the small tiles and it took him a minute to scatter them
all over the floor and the table. Haha!

"I'm definitely gonna finish this" -- Sean

My busy bee...

When he was done, he read some of the letters while proudly saying its sound. Courtesy of Leapfrog (another story, read them here)

Early Reader? I Sure Hope So...

Reading is crucial for children and with that thought in mind, I want to instill the love of reading to my little Sean. However, my baby loves to watch than read books. Luckily there are educational videos available teaching babies and toddlers to read. I have read from some articles that watching television or other media is not healthy for a baby below 2 years old. I really don't know if it's true or not but it sure does help mind the baby as I do my chores and surprisingly is teaching him to read effectively.

One of the baby videos that he loves to watch is the complete set of You're Baby Can Read , he began watching the videos since 6 months old. I believe it has helped him recognize some words, as after his 1st birthday, he was able to read the word baby and ball, mind you..I did not teach him those words but he was able to read the exact words that I posted in the cabinet (without picture). I was really amazed and now I am a believer of these You're Baby Can Read videos. According to Mr. Robert Titzer, babies can recognize whole words as opposed to only learning the alphabet and Phonics. I'm not against learning Phonics first, if my son can learn both at the same time then it will be better.

You're Baby Can Read

As with Phonics, a big help is the Leapfrog DVD set, Sean loves to watch these over and over and over again! He watch these everyday and as a result he knows the sound of the Alphabet, almost all of them! How cool is that! I sing to him the Phonic song, "The A..says ___ and he answers with the 'a' sound. Really, really amazing for a toddler of less than two years old that time. I'm so proud of him.

Leapfrog DVD set