Feed Your Mind

One of our relatives went to visit us last weekend to offer something interesting. She’s asking us if we want to avail the vacant lot near her house. She’s actually encouraging us to start a business since her house is located near a university and the new school year just got started a week ago. This is a perfect opportunity for us indeed. We’ve been aiming to start a business because we hardly believe that it is a great investment. Although i know for the fact that it is such a risky thing to do because we do not know how well or how worst will be the outcome is.

I am not getting any younger and having an investment is something that i really need to secure myself in the future. I’ve been reading books about it, hoping that i could learn something more effective than starting a business. I came across an article before stating that buying us gold coins and bullion is by far the most common yet the most effective investment to date. I’m sure that I have to spend a lot from this form of investment but i guess it’s truly worthy.

“Saying NO is mostly hard”. How many times did you turn down an invitation? How many times did you agreed for a request… How many times did you say “no” compared to saying “yes”. For us, Filipinos, Saying a hard no is really hard to do cause we are not like Americans who are direct to the point. We often say “yes”to others because we want to please them. We feel guilty whenever we say “no”. So, how to say no? Is it hard to say no?I watched a television talk show before talking about this topic. Some of their tips on how to say no are listed below: Minimize, or stop, pleasing others. Be honest to yourself and to that person. If you want to say “no”, say it. Remember, you can’t please everyone and you have a right to say no.Understand first what is being asked before you respond. Ask yourself twice or thrice if you should turn down or not. Reply shortly and honestly. Stick to your plan, if you have any. If he persists, stick your position. Be polite in saying no. Any thoughts?

Ever wonder how huge my cousin collection of musical instrument is? Well, lemme show you the picture and as you can see, he got a bunch of instruments here and I am really so impressed how talented he was. I can barely play a rhythm guitar and look how broad his musical skills are! He can play almost everything, bass, rhythm, lead, electric and even a piano. He can also play a harmonica and he used to visit the nearest studio to play drums from time to time. Now, that’s what i called a talent more than a skill because not everyone can play different instruments. I am really impressed with his collection and I have heard that he’s aiming to buy his own drum set soon.

I actually owe him a lot because he used to teach me on how to play guitar for free. I learned a lot and it was such a shame that I can’t apply any of those for my own. It’s not his birthday yet but i am aiming to give him something but I think i have to start saving my money now. I find this highly fascinating skb cases from musicians friend and i think he will love this for sure. He can use it effectively whenever he and his band will have a gig somewhere. Having such case feels like a pro haha.

I still remember the crucial time when I was working in Makati City which is miles away from my place. Since I do not have a car , I had to commute for almost three hours in which i have to transfer from one terminal station to another. In addition to that, I have to walk for a few kilometers to reach my working place. It is indeed a sacrifice for me and I just have to bear it, otherwise, if i get too tardy, I’m going to lose my job. I remember the time where i get blisters on my feet everyday. I even came to a point where I’m crying because of the painful feeling whenever I walk. Believe me! That is one of the worst experience I ever had.

I am not sure if i get those blisters because of the improper way of walking or because of my flat foot but I remember being advised to buy an extra arch support to lessen the friction inside my shoes. It does make sense indeed but unfortunately I never tried that for myself. Now, I realized that I really have a sensitive skin because after went for a mountain hiking, I went home with painful blisters on my feet again. This made me realize too that maybe I should have bought  an arch support before going into such extreme activity. Some of my friends were recommending me buy a spenco arch support to prevent myself from getting blisters again and I definitely will.

How about you, have you ever experience this before? How did you managed to cure it and prevent it from having again? Feel free to share your thoughts!

If there’s one Filipino sweet delicacy that is perfect for this hot weather, it is definitely the refreshing Halo Halo. Halo-halo(which literally means “Mix”) is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served in a tall glass or bowl. Ingredients include boiled kidney beans, garbanzos, sugar palm fruit (kaong), coconut sport (macapuno), and plantains caramelized in sugar, jackfruit (langkâ), gulaman, tapioca, nata de coco, sweet potato (kamote), pounded crushed young rice (pinipig). It is indeed a perfect dessert for summer.

In fact, The dessert was praised by Anthony Bourdain a few days ago in his very own travel show CNN’s Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown. It was actually the Halo Halo served by the Jollibee while the picture above is the one offered by Chowking. Interestingly, Jollibee doesn’t offer a Halo Halo dish in our country.

Anyway, here’s another set of tempting shots LOL

I remember posting about my recent vacation  in our province. We rarely visit the place and usually it happens during the lent season because we used to grab that long weekend to spend some time with our relatives. I love hitting the province especially my late grandma’s house. They used to have this huge farm where they harvest various crops and raise different poultry animals. My Auntie used to tour around  to show the entire farm and i was really fascinated by their business. I am not sure how well they earn from it and how the process is being done but I am so eager to try it someday. In fact, they are encouraging me to follow my grandpa’s footsteps and make their farming business grow.

Among all their activities in the farm,  raising poultry fascinates me the most. Managing a Poultry business has never been an easy task and i never thought that it would be so demanding. Among all these poultry animals, raising chickens is the most interesting. Most farmers keep chickens primarily as source of food, consuming both meat and eggs and they even served us a freshly roasted chicken the moment we arrived there.

I have learned a lot of things about chickens during my tour. I’ve learned that not all chickens are laying eggs. He have hens which lay eggs and broiler chickens that provides meat. Broiler chickens usually last for six weeks before they reached their so called “slaughter size”. Hens, on the other hand will naturally live for more than 6 years as long as they can still lay eggs.

They toured me inside the barn where the incubators are being placed. They told me that chicken eggs are being incubated for 21 days until they hatch. Interestingly, these incubators are improvised which really amazed me. We stayed in the province for a week and I really had so much fun exploring my grandparent’s farm. I am really eager to start a business of my own. I may not have a huge lot to start with but I am considering to avail mail order poultry services to import some well bred chickens. It is great start for my poultry business indeed.

I used to have this online banking feature of my bank which is truly a big help because I no longer need to drop by at their branch just to check my account. Interestingly, I discovered a wonderful information last night which gave me a great idea. I am registered in this bank after applying for their Debit Card but I do not have a Savings Accounts from them. I have been looking for a new bank actually because I want to see if there are other banks out there that offers a much more satisfying deal. I am not really into these stuff but I need it so bad because I should start saving my money and start investing for my future. Last night, I discovered that I can also earn interest from my debit card as long as I have a minimum of Php10,000 ADB per day. It is indeed a great way to start my investment. I am not sure if this is going to be a productive one but it is a great milestone for me. I great step to begin indeed!

Another thing that took my interest is the other form of investment in which people buy gold bullions or those US silver dollar coins. I am not really sure how exactly this form of investment works but upon doing some research, they said that gold and silver coin investors store these highly valuable items for their future financial needs. The value of golds and silvers are increasing constantly and thus, storing them is a great way to earn more.

How about you guys, do you have anything to advise?

Ever tried the Chowking Special Sausage? This special meal offered by Chowking (fast food restaurant)  is being offered in a very affordable price and if you are a frugal guy like me, having this meal is definitely a must but allow me to give my honest review about their so called “Chow Pao”. The meal is basically worth Php30 which is not bad at all but you might wish to have those add on veggies to make it more appetizing. Honestly , Chinese Sausage Special is not that special at all. It’s more like a combination of “Longganisa” and hotdog. Most of my Malaysian friends noted that it doesn’t look like a Chinese Sausage at all. Perhaps, Chowking is trying to change it in a more Filipino way. What i love about this meal is the soft bun with a cute CK logo on top

I went over to their site and discovered that apart from the Chinese Sausage Chow Pao, they are also offering Chunky Beef Chow Pao, and Braised Chicken Chow Pao.