Frugal Shopping, The Key to Living Rich

Despite earning extra income from online works and side jobs, I still find myself scrimping to make ends meet. What gives?

Personally, most of my expenses go to my favorite hobby- makeup. I justify my spending spree by telling myself it's an investment. The question is when will I reap the fruits of my supposedly well-invested money? Hmm.. tough to answer.

With Christmas just around the corner, I need to save up for the expenses that will surely arise during that season. I decided to list down ideas that might hopefully help me be a wiser shopper:

1. Lay off on the credit cards. With the advent of online shopping, it takes more than the usual discipline to stop oneself from hitting the buy button. Buy now, worry later. If it means making my husband tie up my hands to prevent myself from online shopping spree, then so be it.

2. Hunt for bargains. Flea market, here I come. I would love to go shopping at places like Tutuban or Divisoria but the traffic on those places can go really crazy.

3. Allot a percentage of my salary for savings. At least 10% of my earnings should go straight to my bank account.

4. Do early Christmas shopping. Last minute shopping forces you to buy whatever is there, whatever the price.

5. Have the eye for finding great stuffs at low prices. It is possible to purchase a good product without hurting your wallet. Sometimes, the mark up goes ridiculously high because of promotional expenses and middlemen.

Speaking of eyes, there's zennioptical.com, an example of an online shop that sells stylish eyeglasses without the high cost brought about by expensive advertising. Their secret to selling their goods cheap is by offering their manufactured frames direct to the customer. Reviews I have read say that most customers are pleased with their orders from them. It was even mentioned in a book called "Living Rich by Spending Smart."

By frugal living, we can actually enjoy being rich.

Gratitude Blog

I've been my usual pessimistic self in my recent posts that I forgot what I learned from watching "The Secret". Since I'm on a manic episode.. errr.. happier and relaxed state now, I decided to list the things that I am grateful for. These are simple things that made my day brighter than usual:

1. I found a new online job. I got an email today for an interview and it went well that I'm starting it on Monday. About 2 weeks ago, I applied for another job that got me excited because it was a perfect fit for my educational background. The buyer told me that she was going to hire me once her payment process is verified but I patiently waited and found out that other applicants have been hired instead. I cancelled my trip with my hubby to Manila just so I could focus on that new job, only to be left waiting for nothing. I guess this is my second wind, as another job was posted which has something to do with medicine as well. The buyer is a doctor himself, like my boss in my first online assignment who is likewise very pleasant to deal with. I trust that this will finally push through.

2. My Cargo Blu-Ray Pressed Powder arrived in the mail today. It was shipped from US and got to me in exactly 7 days, including weekends. That fast! When I tried it before heading off to work in the school clinic, it had a flawless finish that covered my skin imperfections. I couldn't keep myself from looking at the mirror every chance I could get. This product is miraculous.

3. I got a parking space in a mall where it is extremely difficult to find one. Today is an exceptionally busy day in the mall because another parking lot was occupied with booths that cars had to find any space outside the mall where they can fit in. Like a blessing that fell from the skies, an empty space showed up just in time, at the covered parking lot at that.

4. No moron encounters on the road. Just the usual idiot stuffs. Ok, no negative vibes. It was a smooth driving day.

5. I found magic chips on the grocery store. Yummy!

6. My loved ones are kept safe and in good health.

7. I learned to smile again. After being gloomy and bitchy these past few days, it was almost impossible to believe that I could smile again.

8. I found time to blog again.


Thank you Lord for all the blessings despite my dwindling faith. I can be stupid sometimes but thank you for not giving up on me and for finding me reasons to feel better about myself.

Alyas Girl Topak

I was described as a girl with an artistic temperament in my high school yearbook caption. I was originally pictured to dabble in different art forms but then things got lost in revision that the art in a temper became the highlight of my character which is an eloquent way to say that I have "topak" (being slightly off kilter). It was fairly accurate but definitely not the caption I want my offsprings and grandchildren to read about me. Not that I throw tantrums in public and run amok at the slightest provocation, but I do have a bad case of mood swings. I am happy one minute and then suddenly feel the world crumbling the next time.

Sometimes I do think I have manic-depressive condition, bipolar disorder, or maybe schizophrenia. But I decided to be kind to myself and be convinced that I am normal, only with occasional lapses in emotional management. I still need to grow up, seriously.

Like a few hours ago, I was ecstatically testing the new toys in the form of makeups that I asked my hubby to buy for me while he was in Manila. I was extremely happy that my hubby is back and I get to hug my living teddy once again. But now that everyone else is asleep and I'm alone to drown in my own thoughts, I once again ask myself, "what is there to live for?" I'm supposed to be grateful to be married to an extremely wonderful guy- an exceptional one who can deal with my "topak", to have a good family, to be blessed with jobs that no longer stress the hell out of me, and the chance to enjoy doing makeup for other people. How come I still feel melancholic? It seems I have to keep a regular dose of something to excite me to keep me looking forward for the future.

Maybe this is just PMS, or the annoying street kids that wouldn't keep their hands off from washing my car despite that I signaled "no" a couple of times to them. C'mon, do they really expect me to lower my window and allow the rain to get in the car just to hand them over some coins? Or maybe it's the morons who ride motorbikes who enjoy occupying the middle of the fast lane but run 40kph in the highway and won't bother to move aside to give way to other motorists. Grrr.. Sometimes I do understand what went on Rolito Go's head when he committed his crime. But then as he realizes it too late, it was not worth it.

I hate this feeling of living just for the heck of it, without the spark that makes me look forward to the next day. Like, what is there to look forward to anyway, meet more annoying people and morons on the road? I certainly have a lot of reasons to be happy more than my reasons to be upset but I guess my fear of not being happy for a longer time is what’s making me a very reluctantly happy person now. I am imprisoned by my own fears that I no longer enjoy the moments that should be celebrated. Too many uncertainties about my health, my career path, my dreams that are making me too tensed about what lies ahead. Faith is the only thing I can hold on to but sometimes it gets difficult to get a grip when it keeps slipping off.

I need something to be passionate about. I need to get a high without being low the next moment. I need positive vibes to heal my negative energies. Blah, blah, blah. My off-kilter self has taken me over once again. Maybe all I need is a good sleep for now.

Styx Got Married

Me doing my thing- make up. Styx, my intern before as an Internal Medicine Resident til I changed gears to Radiology. She was a videoke and gimik buddy when friends my age started settling down while I still was up for night outs and fun stufs.Now, I had the privilege to do her makeup on her wedding last Saturday.

I don't normally do makeups on clients with this attire. I was one of the secondary sponsors to that should explain the get up.

They Think My Blog Sucks So They Keep Pestering Me to Remove Links

With the Summer Olympics last August, I regrettably didn't feel the olympic spirit as much as I wanted too. Reason: the TV coverage was poor. The local channel that had the exclusive rights were showing sports that weren't spectator types. Although they sometimes showed events in which the Philippine delegation was participating at, most of the coverage would pass for a cure to insomnia.

I surfed other cable channels to hopefully watch better coverage but it seems the exclusive rights were kept very exclusive only to those who can afford pay per view. I didn't get to see how Nastia Liukin nabbed the gymnastics gold and how Alicia Sacramone lost her balance and concentration except for some news bits on other local channels.

Lucky for those in the US, they can enjoy direct tv packages that can enable them not to miss their most awaited events like the NFL through the DirectTV NFL Sunday Ticket. They can have a variety of premium channels to choose from. Movies to sports channels, you name it, direct tv has them. The NFL Sunday Ticket has the widest selection of NFL matchups, with as many as 14 games every Sunday. With this NFL TV Package, they can follow their favorite game at the comfort of their own home, in HD at that.

Don't Bottle It Up

While hydration with potable water is a highly recommended habit, bottled water has become a convenient means to comply to our drinking requirements. It saved us from drinking parasite-laden tap water and taking in other microorganisms in water that threaten our health. Problem solved and we will live happily ever after.

Apparently not. Yahoo news reports a study done by an environmental advocacy group saying that bottled waters have various contaminants no different from tap water. The people from bottled water industry counters that the findings are faulty. I personally did not read the study so I cannot judge whether it is valid.

Apart from bacteria, chemicals were said to be detected from the tested samples, including acetaminophen, caffeine, fertilizer, solvents, radioactive element strontium and by products from plastic. Some are believed to come from the tap water used in the process while others are believed to have leached from plastic bottles.

I bring bottled with me everyday to work to keep up with my ideal hydration status. Plastic bottles are more convenient to carry around than a glass that could break in my bag or a metallic cup that would spil its contents. Caring for the environment could get tough if their are no better alternatives around.

So does this mean we have to stop drinking water? Tap water is contaminated. Bottled water has chemicals. Which is which? Sometimes it gets difficult to decide which is the better option or if we have a choice at all.

Suit Yourself

I noticed that men's clothings are more difficult to choose than women's clothes. Not that I'm planning to sashay in men's clothings anytime soon, but I learned that picking stuffs for my hubby is more complicated than shopping for whatever is on the rack. Men are generally more choosy with their wardrobes.

For classy tailor-made suits, there are clothing measurements, style and garment type to consider. Single-button, Six-button double-breasted, ticket pocket, lapel, side vents, dark, medium or light fabrics.Whew! To make life less complicated, there's an NY- based online shop for custom suit. They have been around for 40 years as makers of quality men's suit.

Sleek-looking outfits need not be limited to the Hollywood carpet. An Angelina Jolie needs a Brad Pitt so have your hubby set an appointment online at Mysuit for measurements. Styling and choosing garments would come easier as the next steps with the help of expert people from the shop. It's important the the person wearing the clothes must be comfortable with the design, so his inputs will matter. A touch of his personal flair for fashion must reflect in his suit.

The turn around time is around 2 weeks. The price of these quality suits would start at $495.

Custom-made suits at off-the rack prices, anyone? With a few clicks on the mouse, your man is all set to looking the debonair that he is.

The Enelyx Kids

This caricature was drawn by my artistic niece Caitlin. She creates comic strips with her and her sisters in it. Reading those elicits laughter from me. I didn't realize the magnitude of their imagination.

This is them, animated as their caricature version. Xylene, Caitlin and Chinchin.

Jobs in Alberta, Canada

It was announced in the news yesterday that Alberta, Canada is opening its doors to more overseas Filipino workers. Doctors are included in the list of jobs to fill in.

Now my friend Mama Fe is excited once again about the new opportunity. She'd try anything just to get away from this country. She fears the political situation come 2010 and the falling US economy that might affect us as well. I can't blame her really. It's an act of self preservation. When you're a health worker in this country, you can't help but look for other options to reap the hard work and money you've invested for years to get to where you are now.

She's been pushing me to submit my resume to all possible agencies to try my luck as well. Honestly, I don't know if I really want to work abroad. Although I continue to lose hope in my country through everyday driving, by analyzing the lack of discipline and the mentality of people living here and all, still this is home for me. As much as I want to live in a better place where I have easy access to all the makeups that will not cost me an arm and leg for international shipping, I don't want to be away from my comfort zone. With my health condition, why would foreign employers hire me anyway?

Maybe I am still hopeful that things will change and that my place will prove to be the better option to live in. I don't know how that will happen but I want to believe in miracles.

Abdominal Wall Problem

I think I may be suffering from a nerve entrapment syndrome, if not myofascial irritation. Something has been unusually wrong with my tummy that I've been in pain for one week now.
I have no changes in my eating habits or bowel function. No palpable mass. I've been twisting my brains trying to diagnose my own condition.

The pain is triggered by light touch but disappears on deep palpation. Sudden movements make me want to scream in pain. Driving along rocky roads pushes the pain button further. The pain was initially pricking in character, which became crampy later. For a while I wanted to believe in "barang" since I could not grasp its manifestations. Then it occurred to me that this is something along the abdominal wall . There is hyperalgesia is somewhere along the lateral margins of the left rectus abdominis muscles radiating to the left lower ribs.

I took all possible medications from Dolfenal to Celebrex to Motilium to Lyrica which got me swirling in dizziness. I didn't realize that the latter's side effects are of that magnitude to prevent me from going to work today. All medications offered little or no relief.

Until now, the hyperalgesia is still there but manageable than yesterday. I badly need an acupuncture but I can't find anyone who practices it here. Sometimes I do want to seriously study acupuncture because I believe in it so much. I just don't know where and how.

For now I can only pray that this is nothing serious and I can go on with life as normal as possible.

Boredom Strikes

It's been a long while since I logged in to this blog. As if anybody cares. But for the heck of keeping this alive, here I am again updating myself in case I'll wish to look back on my entries a few years from now.

Here are some reasons why my blog is empty these past few weeks:

1.Each time I logged in to blogger, it gave me a page load error which I got tired of, and hence did not bother repeating the process.

2. I found a prime time TV show that got me hooked: "I Love Betty La Fea." That's the pinoy version of the international TV series "Betty La Fea" or "Ugly Betty". I didn't watch the American nor original Colombian version because I don't really enjoy watching people on TV that aren't pleasant to the eyes. The Pinoy version is played by a very pretty actress in Bea Alonzo who gets covered up with prosthetics and acts really dorky to fit the role. I dunno but I actually enjoy this show!

3. Things happened that I'm not blogging about and I don't wanna dwell on. I trust that God will find a way.

4. My mind is on a hiatus. I cannot think clearly and I'm too tired to write anything to spark my own interest. Sheesh.

5. Speaking to myself is not only silly but boring.

Lassitude

In a few months, I will let go of my position as a school physician. It's pretty hard to reconcile being a doctor and a make up artist. Local people still view the MUA as someone who works in a beauty salon and not as a person who practices art.

The last thing I wanna hear from a patient is his/her asking about my rates as an MUA or tips on how to shape the eyebrows when I'm seriously discussing the pathophysiology of his/her sickness. I make sure to separate my function as a doctor and as a makeup artist. I don't offer my services as an MUA to my patients. I think both careers are suffering if I put them together. One has to go.

Does this mean I'll be going fulltime as a makeup artist after I resign? Maybe not. The beauty industry is a cut-throat business that has a lot of issues I'd rather not delve into. No pressure for me. I just wanna enjoy the art even if it does not pay. Once I make a living out of it, that's when stress arises. It's not like medicine where we swear by the Hippocratic oath to abide by our work ethics. Jealousy, bad talks, politics and stealing of clients are things I don't wanna deal with, if I pursue being a full time MUA.

I might still practice my career as a physician in some company where the crowd is more mature to know the difference between Ma'am and Doc, where the halls are not packed with rowdy young people, and where pedestrians move to the side when a car is passing.

Maybe I'll take writing more seriously or simply enjoy my life as a housewife. Or move to another country with my husband where people don't know my medical credentials and live happily as a make up artist or a writer. I don't know. For the nth time, I'm at a loss.

Don't Give Me That Look

Flipping the hair, biting the lips, giving the "look" will surely win you points getting the attention of your dreamboat. But how do you do it without being mistaken for a whore on the hunt for a customer?

Don't ask me that, I don't even know how I sparked up my hubby's interest in me. Flirting is a skill that comes natural for most but can take a lifetime to learn by prudish people like those of my kind. It can backfire if the timing is off and if you appear to try too hard. Reading glossy magazines can serve as your manual for mastery of the art:"Pull your hair loose from a ponytail holder or clip so he can watch your touchable tresses fall around your face," mentions a famous women's magazine on how make the moves that no man can resist.

To do that, you will need gorgeous locks to disarm your object of obsession..err affection. Well, my hubby did say that it was my long hair caught his attention, which is exactly the reason I'm growing it back.

Extreme Style by VO5 is holding the Ultimate Flirting Championship. If you're up for the challenge then go straight ahead and play the game. See if you got the victory hair to nail the title.

To Be a Doctor

I browsed through my niece's yearbook and noticed in the pages of the kindergarten grads that most of them listed "to be a doctor" as their ambition in life.

Charging it to their innocence, they probably don't know what they wanna get themselves into. I didn't realize martyrdom is an attractive career option. Getting measly salary as a training resident, telling patients to take care of themselves when you, yourself can't even have a decent sleep or eat on time, spending holidays in the hospital while the rest of the world are celebrating, doing hospital rounds on Sundays, being on call 24/7, 365 days a year, missing out on the fun things that normal people do, being addressed as "'Inday" or "Miss" even if the MD letters are emblazoned on your white coat, are among the reasons why I have partially turned my back on the field that took me in.

Well, those are jaded views from a residency training dropout, 2x in a row. Maybe it's because I crave for other things in life that have nothing to do with Medicine. I quit my trainings because I feel they were limiting me to explore the other wonders of living. I am relieved that I am out of the 4 corners of the hospital and presently enjoying the liberty to express my art forms.

I am still thankful that I still get to practice my medical profession and enjoy life at the same time. But I don't see myself working 24 hr hospital duties, letting work control my life, doing heroic acts all over again, at the expense of my health.

Doctors are viewed as heroes by some, that's probably why the idea appeals to kids. But unless they are genuinely interested in helping people, ready to make big sacrifices and get a kick out of staying awake all night, they could look for other options before they find themselves taking nursing or caregiving courses after securing a license as a physician.

Reviving Makeup Artist In Scrubs

The last few days got me preoccupied with my beauty blog. It caught a bug in blogger which made the dreaded server 404 error appear everytime i tried to view it.

My other blog that was supposedly made for breast cancer awareness could not be opened either, because of the gmail bug that disabled the email I used for that blog. Blogger and gmail seem to be infested with bugs lately.

While others troubled by the error are still patiently waiting for the problem to be fixed, I decided to transfer my site to a new domain. I had to take action to revive it before it drowns into oblivion. I now have to start from scratch and build readership all over again butI am consoled by the fact that I love how it looks now. I chose a magazine-like template for wider space and easy readability.

I wonder if how the number 404 would fare in suertres lotto. Would it be yield the opposite effect or would it be just as infuriating?

Eating Healthy Does Not Come Cheap

My alternative medicine docs advised me to shift into a healthier diet consisting of organic products including rice and veggies.Problem with organic food is they turn out to be pricier than their mainstream counterparts which leaves us reaching out for the cheaper alternatives.

The unpolished rice I eat costs more than the premium quality rice in the market. According to my hubby, the rice is reminiscent of the nutribun goodies distributed for free in schools before. Now, it's marketed for the health conscious who can pay for the higher price. I still find Japanese rice yummier but my body seriously needs the nourishment from the organic variety.

Another problem I see with sticking to healthy food is that they are not readily available. When outside the house, it is easier to grab a fast food hamburger than look for a filling healthy meal. It's a good thing that there are fruit juice stalls where I can order a glass of carrot juice or fresh fruit juices without much sugar. "Thirsty" and "All That Juice" have them at our local malls. But we need something to munch while drinking the juice.

With all the diseases stemming from bad diets, the trend now is leaning towards more natural, healthier options. I am hoping that they will be more available in cheaper and more palatable ways. For now, home grown veggies and fruits are my best bets.

Pushing My Luck

Why am I posting this visualization check on my blog? To attract abundance, what else? See, when I wrote about my ideal man and the elusive qualities I was looking for in guy a few years back, it came to life in the person of my husband who's just as cute. Like the atenean dream guy, my hubby was also a class validectorian in high school. I found the most wonderful husband in the world who loves me for just being me.



When I posted about wanting a dslr camera the first time, I got a point and shoot canon. Not bad. The second time around, a spanking new Nikon D40 became my latest acquisition in two days after the post. Yeah, I now own a dslr! Yipee!!!!

So I thought about taking the law of attraction a step further by posting this check on my blog. Hmm.. If I publish it for the world to see then maybe the universe will conspire to grant my wishes, just like how I found my husband and the dslr. Thing is, if this becomes a reality, you won't catch me blogging about it. But you can take the hint when I start posting my travel pics in Europe, me strutting in Manolo Blahniks, or running my own franchise of MAC cosmetics.

Conversations

Battle of The Passions

I'm in a confused state right now. I'm arguing with myself whether I should get a dlsr camera or buy additional makeup to my stash.

Both are expensive hobbies but the thing with makeup is that you can slowly build your collection and find cheaper alternatives. But computing the total cost 0f my kit should afford me a nice dslr camera.

Film Photography was my passion in college. I haven't heard of photoshop back then. I resorted to cutting newspaper prints and pasted them on my photos to make it look like an ad. Sometimes, I would cut a model's body and replaced her head with one of my friends' faces. Then I would end up laughing at the sight.

These days, I could land on billboards in a very realistic fashion, using photoshop or cool websites like photofunia. Digital photography has come a long way and I haven't taken the first step to keep up with it. I do own a point and shoot digital camera (canon ixus 55) but it's too limited to fully explore the wonders of photography.

The last time I used it on my niece's graduation, I was appalled by the blurry or dark images my camera produced when I tried taking shots during my niece's validectory address speech. I was already close to the stage and set the ISO to 400, with flash and all I got were dark or grainy pictures. Even photoshop couldn't save the dismal photos. A dslr should have been around for that very special moment. Presently, a good dslr is cheaper than the price I paid for my digital cam.


If I do get a DSLR and get hooked into it, it could be a very expensive endeavor. Passions can leave one broke. It would be another area that would get me excited and consume my time and money. Unlike makeup where I can earn from it, photography will just be a hobby to keep creative juices flowing.

My makeup stash wouldn't fit in my traincases anymore but I still crave a few more high end items for looks I'm planning on. It's far more affordable than a dslr camera.

Maybe if I had the money for both, that would be a no-brainer. For now, life is teaching me the value of sacrifice by choosing just one passion.. for the meantime, that is.

Archie is #1

David Archuleta's single "Crush" was released for digital download yesterday and it's currently occupying the top spot in the itunes charts.

The song can be downloaded through :

itunes
amazon

Go, Archie!