nanay

nanay, husband gelio's grandmother, passed away this morning...

messy world

there's so much things to be done this last quarter of the year and that's causing me stress. whats kinda frustrating about it is that it shows! vain! nah! it just shows that i have too many things at hand that i can't handle it all :(

whew! breathe in, breathe out.

since we closed the food cart business, all items are here at our humble abode. the cart, freezer, leftover stocks, etc.

some px goods are also stored here at home. me and my friends tried selling these stuff second quarter of this year. we still have leftover stocks and everything is here too.

we also have old clothes, toys, shoes, unclaimed bedsheets and comforters from the laundry shop which are for disposal. and yes, they are all here.

imagine what our house looks like now :( and sicne our house is small and we don't have a garage nor a storage area, everything is all around us. poor us.

i wish i could dispose all of it by first quarter next year. aside from garage sale and online selling, which i think i dont really have the gift for it, i don't know how else to dispose them. para na rin magign pera. hehe.

i read somewhere that if your area or workplace is messy, it means that your life is a mess. oh no! whether it's true or not, well for the moment it is true for me. :( not so good especially its the christmas season. i pray that everything will be clean soon.

franchise learnings

after just about three months in operation, we decided to finally close our food cart franchise business :'( we lost money, and staff but i am sure we did learn. we felt bad of course. the staff that we had to let go were really trustworthy and hardworking people. they did not want to go back to our laundry business. and we can't hold them right? they too need a job. and so they did look for other employers.

we also tried to look for a different location where we can place our food cart. the thing is, we can't afford yet the 3 months advance and 2 months deposit. also, we still have issues with our franchisor and the product itself that we want to put it to rest first.

so what did we learn from this food cart business?

1) it doesn't mean that if you like the product -- like in our case, corn -- a lot of people will like it too.

2) don't be in a hurry.

3) take seriously the things such as: market research, product study,  background check, company profiling, etc.

4) don't believe everything you see online or what you read. like in our case, MFB claims that they were awarder as the 2009 Best Filipino Foodcart Franchise Provider. base from our experience we now question their credibility. awards like this could be bought. i don't want to be mean, but our experience with them was really really that bad! we have a contract with them for 3 years. if that matters to them, or if WE the franchisor meant anything to them, they will wonder why we stopped operating right? we havent heard from them since the beginning. we do the follow ups even the repair of the cart (which was reported first day upon delivery), the signed and notarized contract, the orders, the defective items that they delivered, the poor quality of corn cobs, etc. if they are the BEST PROVIDER, how come we experience these? anyway, ill write a blog about them one of these days. one last thing, if they are the BEST, then where are the other franchisors? there is no COMMENT or TESTIMONIALS in their webpage.

5) consider all other costs such as taxes, permits, franchise fee (if any), profit share (if any), sanitation training (required for food business), other items not included in the package like the 12% VAT (MFB did not mention in their training that all items we get from them are not yet VAT inclusive), provision of fire extinguisher, garbage bags, tupperware, water, ice, and so on. little things but when summed up, will cost a lot.
6) if possible, get in touch with those people who have the same franchise and get feedback.

 

7) when getting a franchise, get the one with a name. it may not be as big as McDonald's or Jollibee, but there are other companies who could really give quality products AND service; who will be true to their word when they say that they will give support.

 

8) it pays to pay extra.  

 

9) to open a franchise, one should have enough money for unforseen circumstances.

 

10) pray. expect the worst and hope for the best.

 

skin problem

it's been days (or was it weeks?) since my last entry. sorry. well, there are things to be done... or not. :) well, for one thing, there's something that is about to happen. something that my husband thought of and he would want me to execute it first. hopefully, God will provide us the means and materials and time for it go on smoothly. as for our part, we will do our best. i'll get into the details once its final.

for now, let me share what i've experienced this afternoon.

i went to the drugstore hoping to find an ointment to treat my gazillion of pimples that suddenly appeared on my back. i found none. actually, i went to a different drug store last night and i tried to search for that ointment. there was none too. what i did find was a gazillion of ointment, lotions, soap, etc. for skin whitening! excuse me, but i have nothing against people who use it and would want to have a fairer skin. but, c'mon!! other ladies have all sorts of skin problems too like skin asthma, keloid, and pimples (and not just on the face). is there just a few of us who have the problem such as these? or am i at the wrong place and should really go see a dermatologist? i refuse to believe that there isn't a solution for such concerns that comes in a bottle! :D

anyway, it tells one thing. that there's a big number of ladies who would want to have a fair skin. but why? i remember the 6 year old daughter of our guard at the office before. she asked her father to buy her a skin whitening soap. and i was like, what?!! at first it was funny, but come to think of it, a 6 year old? 

does a fairer skin makes you look more beautiful? but black could be beautiful. look at miriam quiambao, venus raj, eva longoria, etc. anybody could be beautiful!

true i have a fair complexion and if i wasn't, i am not sure if i'll be one of those who will be buying the whitening products. i was just wondering if being "black" or "moreno" is really a big problem that a lot of companies put their efforts on such whitening products. becuase i think they tend to overlook some of the skin problems and so fail to come up with as much solutions. 

i just want a cure for my pimples on my back :'(   

the other one

every now and then, i hear couples arguing about a girl, whether it be true or just plain heresay [or what they call chismis here in the philippines], still it does arise in one of the things that couples fight about.

certainly it's not only men who have this "other girl". it could happen to women as well, having "other man" in their lives.

i wonder why?

is it really "common" in a relationship to fight about "the other one?" i really hope not. at this age and time, i would still want to believe in forever after, of till death do us part, of one-woman-man or of one-man-woman, of making God the center of the married life, of marriage and commitment!

am i being unrealistic? believing too much in fairytales? hoping too much? am i too scared?

i am not being judgemental here. and i also don't know if i  myself will remain committed to my loving husband and vice versa. i hope and pray that this is not one of the things that we will ever fight about. i don't like it.

i want to stay committed.

sundays

since weekdays are spent mostly at school, work and doing other errands, we treasure weekends to be able to spend quality time with each other.

saturday is usually our errands day like going to the pediatrician or attending a party or doing grocery. we like going to the grocery together. its fun. especially when we see the food that we like, openning it and eating it right there. i know its not really allowed inside, but hey, we make sure we pay for it. honest!

sundays, i like. one thing that we try not to really miss is going to church as a family. that's a priority and a really important thing for us. if we have extra budget, we eat out to our fave restaurants. it doesn't have to be fancy, as long as we satisfy our cravings. we go to the mall once in a while, buy what is essential and sometimes treat raya to her favorite place -- timezone! other times, she gets to buy a toy. we try to control this of course.

if we don't have the budget, we have lunch or dinner at home. we will cook our "no-frill-good-food such as tocino (with salted eggs and tomatoes), fried chicken (with Maggi noodle soup), spam (with sunny side up egg), etc. since we are home, we would just read or rest in our room and turn on the aircon. at times gelio and raya will cook their favorite popcorn and watch videos. it is at weekends that we allow ourselves to eat "junk food" like chips and sodas and plenty of chocolates! if we don't have errands, we are allowed to sleep late, wake up late and even sleep through the day. it is also a time wherein the house especially the room is a mess and we couldn't care less.

lazy day, chips, sodas, popcorn, chocolates, kiddie parties, timezone, messy bedroom, comfort foods, messy bedroom, half a day spent on the bed with the kids in an airconditioned room....

ahhh.... life is beautiful!

i wish

kainis! i wasn't able to go out yesterday and buy a lotto ticket. prize reached to Php303M already and i just let the opportunity slipped. i even texted my friends and my husband so that they could have that opportunity of being a millionaire. my husband just laughed at me. i have read that the probability of winning the lotto is like 1:200M. hmmm... still, there is this one chance right?

i have thought countless times of what to do with the loot just in case God will grant it to me :) like what my friend cimeon always says when we discuss about being billionaires, God knows that we will share and donate and we promise not to be selfish. promise, cross my heart! :) anyway,  here's what i'll do:

• give 10% to church. half to GCF  (where we go to church) and half to Gawad Kalinga (i am a member of Singles for Christ).
• give to our missionary friends. i'll have to ask them what they need. perhaps money or car to one, a car and 3 educational plans (till college) to their 2 kids, a house & lot to the other one and of course medical assistance to their son.
• buy a big lot wherein two houses could fit. 1 hosue will be for us and the other one for my mom & dad. a pool or a nice garden will be the one in between us.
• buy a 2 bedroom condominium for my mother in law and sister in law.
• a house and lot in the US for my other sister in law.
• of course pay all our debts including that of my immediate family's and of my husband's
• buy a volvo SUV (or any 'safe') for me and my kids
• i have to set aside trust funds for my kids
• a fast food franchise for my elder sister and a trust fund for her son
• i want to enter build and sell business and i'll get my dad to be the architect. that way, he could go back to what he loves doing and then earning from it as well 
• a car for my mom.
• a condominium and a business capital for my good friend cimeon.
• for 3 good high school barkada, annual travels. vegas will be our first destination.

that's it. these are on top of my list. i cannot spend all of the loot in just one sitting! :) there's also the education for my kids, a culinary education for me, a masters degree at MIT for my husband, our annual travels and constant support to the church and the needy. the needy includes not only the poor (they get support from the government and other private institution) but also people that i know and don't know who truly deserves help.

i don't know if i'll ever win the lotto or have laods of money that i couldn't count them. its free to wish. hehe. i just pray that money won't destroy me. that's why i'm writing this down, so that i'll be reminded that i will truly give and share. anyways, blessings are best when shared.