My Shelter Foundation: Help Make a Difference With Just Your Vote

Posted by Alma on 18 Jul 2010 in Climate Change, Culture | 0 comments

One of the frustrations of living in catastrophic Philippines is the lack of urban planning.   As a country along the typhoon’s way, one would assume that we’d learn from our mistakes and go from there.  But its hard to pick up the pieces especially when urban areas continue to grow at an escalating rate everyday.  With the absence of livelihood in the rural areas, and the continuing growth in Manila, alot of people fled their small rural areas with the hopes of finding better opportunities in the cities.

Overcrowding, squatting and poor urban planning contributes to the floods and destructions of homes every typhoon season.  Philippines would you believe get an average of 6-7 tropical cyclones every year.  Ketsana last year has caused so much destruction in the north which according to Huffington Post, “430,000 people were affected by storm, including some 115,000 people who were brought to about 200 schools, churches and other evacuation shelters.”  Imagine 1 months worth of rain in just 12 hours.

Poor urban planning has long been blamed for the floods and the cause of traffic in the country.  But how do you fix  decades of mistakes?  Is it possible at all to start all over again?  During my travels to Papua New Guinea and Australia, I came to realize years ago how badly our houses here are built.  Its crazy to see European style houses sprouting here and there including the countless of low lying homes by money sucking low cost housing in the urban areas.  These subdivisions does not have proper drainage and sewerage systems that during typhoon season, these were one of the places affected by floods every year.

Top Blogging Tools I Use

Posted by Alma on 11 Jul 2010 in Blogging, Internet, Technology | 0 comments

I have been a blogger for quite some time now.  Writing is almost like breathing or lets just say I love doing what I do best.   Now, blogging has not really been financially rewarding for me, except for the fact that blogging has helped me hone my writing skills as well as my technical know-how in various blogging platforms.

So here is a quick rundown of the Top Blogging Tools that I use here as well as my other sites:

WORDPRESS.  WORDPRESS.  I cannot say it enough but I love WordPress!  And yes, this has little to do with intelligent and handsome Matt, but its because WordPress is probably the best blogging platforms today.  I started blogging with Blogspot almost 10 years ago.  I was unhappy with its hosting limitations so I decided to switch on Moveable Type, which was uber cool 9 years ago.  I can probably launch a site in less than 10 minutes.  I guess the pros can do it for 5 minutes, but since I am plagued with false modesty today, I reckon I can get a WordPress site up and running in 10 minutes.  Another thing that I love about WordPress is its versatility when it comes to customization and there are literally thousands of reliable plugins to make your blogging experience spiffy!

For hosting, I have an account with SwankWebStyle.  And for domain registration, I use local ploghost and GoDaddy.

MacBook and HP Pavilion p6240d.  In order to write and post my articles, I use my reliable Macbook for non work related tasks.  I also use my HP Pavilion to maintain and write my posts for my client’s websites which are running in WordPress.

For my internet connection at home, I use Globe Broadband which is the most reliable service in my area.  Although I had issues with Globe (as if I have not ranted enough already), I have nothing much to complain when it comes to speed.  I have 2 internet connections at home actually so my children’s PC has its own sole connection and I do not have to fight with them when we are sharing connections.  Imagine, we can now do FarmVille and Farm Town simultaneously!

For images, I use a Canon Digital Ixus 30.  This has been one of my recent upgrade since the loss of my reliable GE Digital Camera.  For photo editing, I just use Picasa since uploading in Facebook takes only a few clicks!  I also like carrying a spare micro SD card along with my mini tripod along with my digital camera.

I also use my trusty Nokia E72 to take photos.  Its been very handy and I tend to use the camera as well since it comes up with decent images for my blog.

Blogging has provided me company when the going gets rough.  I would like to believe that I have amused and even helped some people because of this love for blogging.  There is no chance that I will quit writing in the near future, so all of the tools that I have dearly invested in better be worth it!  :)

What I Like Most About My Job

Posted by Alma on 30 Jun 2010 in Chit Chat, Freelance Life | 3 comments

Being an online worker can be very rewarding, not to mention convenient! I have been working online for quite some time now, and the best thing about online working is the fact that I never have to leave my house in order to earn a living. Talk about working on your pajamas, or even on your nickers… whichever is comfortable for you should work.



You certainly needed to be disciplined enough to follow schedules, honor deadlines and follow through every bit of task for which ever projects or clients you are working. But on my case, I use several productivity tools to track my work as well as keep tabs of what is needed at home as I am a single parent to 4 young children.



Being a mother, a teacher as well as a friend to my children take a toll on me, believe it or not. It takes alot of time to track each one of my children especially when almost all of them are attending school. Thankfully,l having a job online allows me to take care of my family as well as their need as they come at all times.

Movie Time: Battlestar Galactica and Brothers

Posted by Alma on 1 Jun 2010 in Movies | 0 comments

I love watching movies.  I have tons of DVDs on my shelf and have a habit of buying DVDs at least once a month.  DVD stores love me, I guess because I buy at least 5-10 DVDs in one go.  My children loves movies as well.  I like action, romance and suspense thrillers.  I also started buying second hand DVDs from ebay including tv series.  I wish we could access Hulu here…  I have also just learned how to download movies via torrent, but I only like downloading local movies via torrent.

So what do I have watched lately?  A friend gladly introduced me to Battlestar Galactica – Season One.  As a gift, he got me the first season, and I am now waiting for the next three series from a good seller from ebay.  I never thought I would like sci fi.  I have never even tried to watch Avatar or Star Trek, believe me.  It takes a great recommendation before I would even get any sci-fi movie from any store.

I have searched the DVD stores here for Brothers and badgered a friend to tell me the ending of the movie after I have mentioned that I have seen the trailer via YouTube.  I believe this movie was sad and kind of depressing.  But the movie was reality.  Spider-guy really did a great job here.  Talk about great acting!  So believable and touching.  I have to be honest, the real reason I found Brothers was because I like Jake Gyllenhal.  It was accidental and I found out that Toby Maguire was among the main cast.

Among my collection at home are Greys Anatomy Seasons 1-6 and CSI-Vegas Seasons 1-8.  Nothing beats medical drama!

What about you?  Fancy a good movie later?

The Crapper and Reading

Posted by Alma on 1 Jun 2010 in Freelance Life, Latest Reads | 0 comments

Eversince I started working online, I try to stay away from my work PC for at least two hours a day.  Apart from the fear of getting carpal tunnel syndrome, my eyesight is beginning to wane and lets face it, as we live in the internet age, everything just seem possible online.  You name it, shopping, banking, connecting with friends and VOIP.

Sometimes, my body screams foul and although I have promised to stay connected in case of emergencies, I never turn off the PC and Yahoo just in case.  So what do I like to do besides sitting on my comfy leather high back chair?  I like reading and watching movies. 

Its been awhile since I read a book for pleasure.  I love mysteries and legal fiction.  When I have extra cash, I like hanging around BookSale to look for Kellerman, Crighton, Patterson and Scottoline novels.  BookSale is convenient.  It is full of books from all genre.  Cheaper than buying new from National Bookstore.  Books are almost good as new!  And cheaper…

For this week I bought myself James Patterson’s Beach Road and Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline.  It takes me one day to read a 350 page paperback.  Not bad.  But when I have work, I read my novel between breaks and before going to sleep.

To me, reading is one of the ways I can relax.  I like reading my books in bed. I also tend to take my book inside loo and tends to read while seated on the crapper.  Who doesn’t read while in the bathroom?

So, my friends, what books do you like to read?  Anything interesting?

Privacy in the Entertainment Industry: Is there such a thing?

Posted by Alma on 1 Jun 2010 in Chit Chat | 0 comments

I have had my share of movie stars sighting.  One thing an entertainer can expect from me– I would never sneak in to take their photos or mob them while they are shopping or eating.  I remembered shopping in a Benetton outlet in Manila when I noticed a woman huddled in the corner.  She was wearing a scarf and being cornered by 3 people.  It was Ai Ai delas Alas.  Poor Ai Ai was trying to run away from the mob.

I worked for a huge firm long time ago, and was given opportunities to dine with movie stars side by side.  Given the rare opportunity to meet and talk to them in person has given me one conclusion, I feel sorry for them because they do not have privacy and can never enjoy the little joys us non-showbiz entities enjoy.

Aga Mulach, Charlene Gonzales and Jolina Magdangal once went to Bago City to perform the play Jose Rizal.  I was one of the entourage, and I saw how hard it must be to be a star.  It took 45 minutes for Jolina to get to the door. The mob has blocked all doors and we had trouble getting her inside the darn place.  On the way inside the poor girl was groped, hair pulled, pinched, screamed and squealed at.  She tried to appear like the mob did not bother her, but I guess the fear of disapproval and disdain of fans has kept her from frowning and screaming back at them to give her space stopped her.  She continued to smile setting aside her discomfort. Once in her dressing area, she crumbled and it was obvious that she was tired and frazzled.  I cannot imagine living her life every single day.

My Top 3 Symbian Applications

Posted by Alma on 15 Apr 2010 in Technology | 3 comments

I have a Nokia E72.  Inasmuch as I loved everything Apple, I decided to buy a Nokia since it is more practical (easier to use) and yes,  economical (its way cheaper than drool-worthy iPhone).  Compared to Sony Ericcsson, Nokia phones have easier navigation features.  Its almost like Windows and its easy to remember each functionality.

So when I lost that Nokia E63, I went for the Nokia E72 and did not regret the purchase. I use it often now because of the brownouts, to keep tabs on my email and sometimes, when it becomes too boring, I like peeking into Facebook and Twitter. lol

So here is a list of my favorite Symbian applications:

1. Gravity- I like Twitter and although I am not a heavy user, I like the fact that I can add multiple twitter accounts in one application. At the same time, I can follow and search for other users quite easily. However, Gravity is not free.  This great application costs $9.95.

2. Skype for Mobile-  Who doesn’t use Skype?  I like using Skype on mobile by tapping on my own wifi connection.  It is convenient when I am not close to my desk and I seldom miss conference calls at all.  Skype for Mobile is FREE.

3. Facebook for S60-  Next to Gravity, I like keeping tabs on my friends via Facebook.  Gone are the Friendster days, and I am more or less into Facebook now since most of my friends are living all across the globe.  Facebook Mobile is FREE.  And yes, thanks to wifi connection at home, I can go around the house without missing shoutouts.

4. Bloove- this is a very useful application!  You can download the Bloove agent and backup all your important SMS messages and contacts.  It is FREE, however, they have a premium version which I have not subscribe to since I have no need for their premium service.  The free service serves its purpose and I like to backup my phone at least once a month.

5. Nimbuzz- if you are a social networking addict, then you need Nimbuzz application on your phone!  With Nimbuzz you can connect to various Instant Messaging Networks using one nifty application.  Skype, Yahoo, Windows Live, Facebook, Twitter and AIM you name it, they have it!  I used to like Nimbuzz alot but I found out that it fcuks up my Yahoo and after using Nimbuzz, using Yahoo IM on my PC becomes impossible.  For some reason, I get locked out of my account for a few hours.  Weird.  But if you needed one application for everything, boy Nimbuzz is just great.  And yes, Nimbuzz is FREE!

Are you using a Nokia smartphone?  I am currently looking for an application for Symbian that can track expenses, etc.  I would love to get my hands on a superb task management application for Symbian.  Any suggestions?