To read list

To read list of books

 #1: Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker

Follow your Gut - Rob Knight

#2: Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science Of The Mind by David Buss

#3: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins/

#4: The Lessons Of History by Will & Ariel Durant

#5: Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

#6: Civilization And Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

#7: When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead by Jerry Weintraub

#8: The Story Of The Human Body by Daniel Lieberman

#9: The One Thing by Gary Keller

#10: The Greatest Minds and Ideas Of All Time by Will Durant

#11: The Complete Story Of Civilization by Will Durant

#12: Made In America by Sam Walton

#13: Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit And Wisdom Of Charles T. Munger by Peter Kaufman

#14: Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger

#15: A Few Lessons For Investors and Managers by Warren Buffett

#16: Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby

#17: All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

#18: The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

#19: Salt Sugar Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

#20: Awaken The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

#21: The Hiltons: The True Story Of An American Dynasty by J. Randy Taraborrelli

#22: Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonalds by Ray Croc

#23: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos And The Age Of Amazon by Brad Stone

#24: Inheritance by Sharon Moalem

#25: Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters by By Alan Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa

#26: Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman

#27: Flow: The Psychology Of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

#28: The Theory Of Everything by Stephen Hawking

#29: Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find - and Keep - Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

#30: President Me: The America That's In My Head by Adam Carolla

#31: Born To Run by Christopher McDougall

#32: Dollars And Sex: How Economics Influences Sex And Love by Dr. Marina Adshade

#33: The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations by David S. Landes

#34: An Autobiography: The Story Of My Experiments With Truth by Mohandas Gandhi

#35: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History Of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

#36: The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Buy On Amazon

#37: Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath

#38: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley

#39: Holy Cows & Hog Heaven: The Food Buyers Guide To Farm Friendly Food by Joel Salatin

#40: The Evolution Of Desire: Strategies Of Human Mating by David M. Buss

Buy On Amazon

#41: The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values by Sam Harris

Buy it on Amazon

#42: I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne

#43: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney

#44: The Essential Drucker by Peter F. Drucker

#45: Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

#46: Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential by John Neffinger & Matthew Kohut

#47: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

#48: Crossing The Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

#49: Cosmos by Carl Sagan

#50: Anthropology by Carol Ember, Melvin Ember & Peter Peregrine

#51: How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie

#52: How Google Works by Eric Schmidt

#53: Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life And Business by Richard Branson

#54: The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

#55: Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson

#56: King Rat by James Clavell

#57: Riveted by Jim Davies

#58: Alaska by James A. Michener

#59: The Art Of War by Sun Tzu

#60: The Self-Made Billionaire Effect: How Extreme Producers Create Massive Value by John Sviokla & Mitch Cohen

#61: Bounce by Matthew Syed

#62: Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow

Buy On Amazon

#63: Plowman's Folly by Edward H. Faulkner

#64: Mother Teresa by Kathryn Spink

#65: Great By Choice by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen

#66: The Winner Effect by Ian H. Robertson

#67: The Snowball: Warren Buffett And The Business Of Life by Alice Schroeder

#68: The Story Of Philosophy by Will Durant

#69: Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became The Biggest Movie Star In Modern Times by Dennis McDougal

#70: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side Of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

#71: Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role Of Change In Life And In The Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

#72: Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond

#73: Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

#74: The Last Season: A Team In Search Of Its Soul by Phil Jackson

#75: A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking

#76: Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw

#77: Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt &

#78: Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples

#79: Smart Pricing by Jagmohan Raju & Z. John Zhang

#80: How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis

#81: Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

#82: Confessions Of An Advertising Man by David Ogilvy

#83: How To Be A Billionaire: Proven Strategies From The Titans Of Wealth by Martin S. Fridson

#84: Wheat Belly: Lose The Wheat, Lose The Weight, And Find Your Path Back To Health by William Davis

#85: Quality Pasture: How To Create It, Manage It, And Profit From It by Allan Nation

#86: Human Resource Management by Robert L. Mathis & John H. Jackson

#87: The Narrow Road: A Brief Guide To The Getting Of Money by Felix Dennis

#88: The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn From Traditional Societies by Jared Diamond

Buy On Amazon

#89: How Not To Be Wrong: The Power Of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg

#90: Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed by Michael D. Eisner

#91: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work And What To Do About It by Michael Gerber

#92: Speed Reading For Dummies by Richard Sutz

#93: Chesapeake by James A. Michener

#94: The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck

#95: Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follett

#96: The Dream: How I Learned The Risks And Rewards Of Entrepreneurship And Made Millions by Gurbaksh Chahal

#97: From My Experience by Louis Bromfield

#98: Storm Of Steel by Ernst Junger

#99: Tribes by Seth Godin

#100: The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

#101: On Wings Of Eagles by Ken Follett

#102: The Time Machine And The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

#103: Bottomfeeder: How To Eat Ethically In A World Of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe

#104: Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook For Small Farm Management by MG Kains

#105: Why Grassfed Is Best! by Jo Robinson

#106: Fall Of Giants by Ken Follett

#107: Empire Of The Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

#108: Secret Millionaires Club: Warren Buffett's 26 Secrets To Success In The Business Of Life by Andy & Amy Heyward

#109: Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

#110: J.R. Simplot: A Billion The Hard Way by Louie Attebery

#111: Papillon by Henri Charriere

#112: Trump: How To Get Rich by Donald Trump

#113: A Night To Remember by Walter Lord

#114: The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

#115: The Call Of The Wild by Jack London

#116: White Fang by Jack London

#117: The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason

#118: Grandfather by Tom Brown Jr.

#119: The Incredible Colonel by Col. Harland Sanders

#120: The Spirit to Serve: Marriott's Way by J.W. Marriott & Kathi Ann Brown

#121: Players First: Coaching From The Inside Out by John Calipari

#122: Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Dr. Frank Luntz

#123: Watership Down by Richard Adams

#124: Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic

#125: Over The Edge Of The World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation Of The Globe by Laurence Bergreen

#126: Amish Society by John A. Hostetler

#127: The Mystery Method: How To Get Beautiful Women Into Bed by Mystery

#128: Plato Republic by Plato

#129: Beyond Tallulah: How Sam Wyly Became America's Boldest Big-Time Entrepreneur by Dennis Hamilton

#130: Nutrition And Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price

#131: Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping by Paco Underhill

#132: Listen Out Loud: A Life In Music - Managing McCartney, Madonna, and Michael Jackson by Ron Weisner

#133: The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie To Everyone - Especially Ourselves by Dan Ariely

#134: Chicken Tractor: The Permaculture Guide To Happy Hens And Healthy Soil by Andy Lee & Pat Foreman

#135: The Old West by D.W. Torrance

#136: The Killing Of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers

#137: The Unsettling Of America: Culture And Agriculture by Wendell Berry

#138: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

#139: Million Dollar Selling Techniques by The Million Dollar Round Table Center for Productivity

Android game: Logis Tycoon Evolution

I am recently fond of playing this android game Logis Tycoon Evolution where you're main business here is logistics. You transport tons of stuff from city to city using trucks or airplanes. I tried searching for guides here in the internet but found none.

Off the loop

Off the loop

I'm feeling exhausted to even care. Even if it is family. If there's a thing that I learned recently on the internet (podcasts) is that I need to address NOW what issues that needed to be solved before it could consume me later on.

Recently, I find myself pessimistic and negative and toxic that when I look in the mirror I find not liking myself. I don't even know if it is what they call compassion fatigue or just I am that burned out. I even confided a coworker that I find myself having lesser patience and tolerance to people given that we were in an industry in which patience is essential. That is why I try to shift that energy to focus on to something more productive. But consistently listening to what people say to me is throwing me off the loop. I don't feel good about myself emotionally today and making comparison to the thing I'm not knowledgeable of to others is a button that hit hard. It may sound to you that it's just a joke, but to me it's not. To you I'm a being childish. But let me put you in my shoes, if I am going to compare you to others which you have a tendency to do, how would you feel? I bet you will feel sensitive right now.

Or maybe I'm not doing it right. Maybe I'm the one who needs to change her perspective. One thing that I know is that I need to manage my emotions. 

One thing is for sure, I'm fucking tired of listening to other people's drama. True, we need someone to at least vent out our frustrations with and tell our stories. But I'm exhausted taking crap from others while not even addressing my own.

It's been what, less than three decades? I'm ending this one-sided relationship first and foremost.

K-bops

If you are looking for a chill vibe sound for a day, check out these stuff what I call the K-bop finds:

• KozyPop - Alarm (Song By Melabbe, IJ)

• 좋아하는 사람?] 파란색 (Song By Taeb2)

• 오이스터(Oyster) - Cherokee (bright #8)

• PAY DAY - 창모, ASH ISLAND, 정기고 (Prod. GRAY)

• Be My Own Man (Song by Uzuhan, Brother Su, Sam Ock)

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

PlayList Global

PlayList Global

I had been a fan of Korean dramas because of their story lines and the characters development in the story. They got great cinematography and original sound tracks to back it up which makes your watching experience more enjoyable.

I was able to first come across this YouTube channel PlayList Global through their web drama A-Teen. And there's also the web drama called Love playlist. I absolutely ship Pureum and Haneul here as they gave me the "kilig feels" but I guess Seoji is the best for Haneul. Ah... Though I have not really made the most of my college experience, this web drama makes me want to go back to  college and A-teen back to high school. (T-T)

You can check the web dramas out at the PlayList Global YouTube channel. I already finished the web dramas below and enjoyed them:

• A-Teen
• Love Playlist
• Ending Again

On the 15k COVID 19 new cases surge in the Philippines

Hearing the all time high surge in cases (15k) yesterday is depressing. What we currently need to battle this pandemic are mass testing in order to determine who is currently infected, an efficient contact tracing system in order to early detect who might have been infected so we can isolate them, and the most important thing that we can do is to cooperate by stay at home. I believe that extending the lockdown is necessary because some people are too stubborn and still go out even they don't really need to go out. They try to test the law by breaking them which is super annoying and frustrating. Sorry to say this but some Filipinos are too undisciplined and lacked character to do the right thing even when no one is watching. I get it that we have to go out to work in order to survive because let's face it: we are on our own today. The government has incompetent appointments and instead of acknowledging their mistakes, they try to give illogical explanations just to justify their actions.

I badly want to shed my mask. It pains me that we haven't learned our lesson yet from last year and this time around it's gotten even worst. Hospitals are full not because of the deficiency in bed capacity but it was because of the lack in manpower. Nobody now wants to work in health care anymore. Why you ask? Being a healthcare worker and working in a hospital magnifies all the ugly things. Patients are twice or thrice more demanding. If it doesn't go with the way they want them to be, they file complaints and even posts them on social media instead of addressing them to the concerned party. It makes me question why I became one in the first place. I always wanted to help others, but I refuse to be a slave to the notion that just because I took an oath, I have to do it while sacrificing my safety. This pandemic has taken its toll on our mental health. Healthcare workers are continue to be demoralized with lower compensation but high patient load which could increased their risk to be infected and risk to bring it at home.

Please follow the standard health protocols. Don't be complacent. I observed way back before the lockdown that in that jeepneys that I took, there's at least 2 or 3 persons inside who doesn't have a face shield. Almost nobody does hand hygiene in the public transport. Now that there's a surge in cases, funny how there's a 100% compliance. People, did you know that prevention is better than cure?

Hair care Talks

 Hair care Talks

I'm not the type to fuss over how my hair look before as I always tie it in a ponytail because I don't like my hair to go over my face. And it is way more neat. However, I'd been letting down my hair recently and wonder how could I take care of my hair better as I plan to let it grow and donate again. Yes, you can do a hair donation and encourage you to do it too. The gift of your hair can make a difference in a person's life. From the last time that I did, it was a requirement to have your hair at least 9 inches long.

Anyway, what is your usual brand of shampoo that you use? I always prefer to use either the Palmolive pink brand (coconut milk) or the green (aloe vera) variant as it tend to smell good and I discovered that the smell tend to last on my hair though I know that this is drying my hair. I also love the Dove pink because of the scent and it is a bit moisturizing than Palmolive. So basically I alternate between Palmolive and Dove.

I've got a bit of a wavy hair. I noticed that when it is dry, it becomes frizzy. I wondered if the only solution to tame it down was to get a rebond from a salon. But I'm hesitating to do straightening because I like my natural curls when it is a bit damp. My hair is straight from the top and then is eventually curling at the tip. 

You might heard that shampooing your hair everyday is bad as it take away the natural oils in your hair. I still do shampoo my hair every time I came from work as I work in a hospital and given the situation today with COVID-19, I don't want to take the risk.

What I do is that I condition my hair with keratin from time to time. I personally love the Creamsilk brand. Again, it is because it smells good.

On Radio Stations and Podcasts

Whenever we took a vacation here in Manila during my high school years, one hobby that I did back then was to listen to radio during the night. I don't know if it was something that typical teenagers do but I enjoyed listening to it. I remember that I was using the now phased out mp3 mini players that were a huge hit at that time. The songs that were played were a plus point for me especially if I liked them. But what I really looked forward to was the conversations that were relatable to an extent. Topic and issues that were asked by the callers were tackled by the radio jocks. Those countless topics every night gave me ideas and added wisdom as I learned how to think from another person's perspective.

This photo is credited to this sitehttps://www.oocities.org/epj19/products.html

Just so you know what mp3 players looked back in the 2000s.

Nostalgic from the memory, I began again to listen to radio podcasts. Instead of the usual radio station, I took it up to the next level and got my fix from Spotify. Spotify is an online streaming website or application (and it depends on what you use - either laptop or a mobile gadget) in which it is where you can stream your favorite type of music be it a pop, rock or an RNB song. You can also find nature or instrumental songs if it's what you like. It also offers educational podcasts which was perfect as you can play it whenever you want to.

And so I've been recently listening to podcasts by Paano Ba Ito by Bianca Gonzales. One thing that I admire about her is that whenever she talked, she spoke with eloquence and wisdom. I was also tuning in to Megan and Mikael's YouTube channel and was ecstatic to know that they also had a podcast in Spotify.

Android Game: Trade Tycoon Billionaire Research and Development

Research and Development

Agriculture R & D

12M Mushrooms

25M Saffron 59 minutes

40M Wagyu

80M Ginseng         1 hour and 59 minutes

200M Yubari Melons 3 hours and 59 minutes

500M       Caviar               

Textiles R & D

12M         Cashmere

25M Silk         59 minutes

40M Mink Fur

80M Mulberry Silk 1 hour and 59 minutes

200M Leopard Fur 3 hours and 59 minutes

500M       Vicuna Wool

Metals R & D

12M         Titanium

25M Silver 59 minutes

40M Gold

80M Platinum         1 hour and 59 minutes

200M Vibranium 3 hours and 59 minutes

500M       Mithril Steel

Elixirs R & D

12M        Indigo Elixir

25M        Violet Elixir 59 minutes

40M        Rainbow Elixir 

80M        Growth Potion 1 hour and 59 minutes

200M      Strength Elixir 3 hours and 59 minutes

500M      Love Potion

Elements R & D

12M        Uranium

25M        Plutonium 59 minutes

40M

80M Francium 1 hour and 59 minutes

200M Tritium      3 hours and 59 minutes

500M Californium

Gemstones R & D

12M        Opal

25M        Pearl 59 minutes

40M        Emerald

80M        Ruby 1 hour and 59 minutes

200M      Sapphire     3 hours and 59 minutes

500M      Red Diamond

Monsters R & D

12M Dorumon

25M Seraph 59 minutes

40M Neptulus

80M Peto         1 hour and 59 minutes

200M Zarruth 3 hours and 59 minutes

500M      Noghad

Weapons R & D

12M         Machine Gun

25M Link Gun         59 minutes

40M RPG

80M Flame Thrower 1 hour and 59 mins

200M      Laser Rifle  3 hours and 59 minutes

500M      Howitzer

Android Game: Trade Tycoon Billionaire Unlocking Cities

Unlocking Cities:

    Unlocking Cities will enable you to access countries which could give you a profit depending on what you had bought. Below are the guide so you could decide what countries would you unlock first:

• San Francisco (SFO) - Increase in Elixirs Prices; Decrease in Monsters Prices
• Mexico - Increase in Weapons Prices, Decrease in 

• London - 
• Madrid (MAD) - Increase in Elixirs Prices; Decrease in Gemstones Prices
• Paris (PAR) - Increase in Monsters Prices; Decrease in Textiles Prices
• Amsterdam (AMS) - Increase in Textiles Prices; Decrease in Elixirs Prices
• Berlin (BER) - Increase in Gemstones Prices; Decrease in Metals Prices
• Rome (ROM) - Increase in Agriculture Prices; Decrease in Monsters Prices
• Istanbul (IST) - Increase in Monsters Prices; Decrease in Elements Prices
• Moscow (MOS)- Increase in Elements Prices; Decrease in Weapons Prices

• Beijing (BEI) - Increase in Weapons Prices; Decrease in Elixir Prices
• Seoul (SEO) - Increase in Gemstones Prices; Decrease in Metals Prices
• Tokyo (TKO) - Increase in Elixirs Prices; Decrease in Textiles Prices
• Shanghai (SHH) - Increase in Monsters Prices; Decrease in Agriculture Prices
• Taipei (TPE) - Increase in Agriculture Prices; Decrease in Monsters Prices
• Hongkong (HKO) - Increase in Gemstones Prices; Decrease in Elements Prices
• Ho Chi Minh (HCM) - Increase in Elements Prices; Decrease in Weapons Prices
• Bangkok (BKK) - Increase in Elixirs Prices; Decrease in Monsters Prices
• Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Increase in Textiles Prices; Decrease in Metals Prices
• Singapore (SIN) - Increase in Agriculture Prices; Decrease in Metals Prices
• Jakarta (JAK) - Increase in Metals Prices; Decrease in Textiles Prices

Bluetooth Sports Headset Review: Tylex Bluetooth Sports Headset X-Q5

If you are looking for an affordable blue tooth sports headset, why not try the brand Tylex X-Q5? I bought it at Shopee for 229 pesos not including the shipping fee and it arrived today.

Originally, I was considering the Lenovo brand that costs around almost 400 php. But I needed to have a headset as soon as possible for my review lessons and so I made this purchase as the seller's location was nearer my place.

What I like about this Tylex X-Q5 headset is that it has a good quality sound which I believe was a good decision considering its' price. I was a bit disappoint that the neck part is made up of plastic but later I realized that you can wipe off the sweat easily and sanitize it, so I'll consider it as a plus point. 

What I didn't like about this is that there is no manual or a guide included in the package. You will have to do a trial and error to get a feel of how it works. For a first time user of a blue tooth sports headset, it was baffling.

In order to power on the unit, you have to press and hold the center button for at least 5 seconds until it turns blue. It will have a blinking light from blue and red respectively which I think indicates that the headset is ready for pairing.

What's your MBTI personality?

What's your MBTI personality? I've taken this test a couple of times and at different times just to test if there would be a change. However, it always resulted to this:

Apparently, I'm a turbulent INFJ. Have you taken the MBTI personality test yet? I took the test at www.16personalities.com

Android Game: Trade Tycoon Billionaire

If you are looking for an android game that is more like on buy and sell trading stuff, this is worth checking out. It was made by Rhyzen Games and also has a part idle game where you make money on the side (not real money of course).  The only bummer here that I can see is that you have to wait for a time so the hearts bar would be filled. Maximum amount is 10. Hearts are needed here so you could fly to another country so that you could trade for a higher or lower price.

If you are looking about unlocking cities, you can see my post here.

If you are looking about R &D (Research and Development) , you can see my post here.

Milk Tea Shop Brand: Coco

What's up with you guys! If there's one thing that you can splurge on for milk tea for a reasonable price, it's Coco. We have been on the look out for more exciting things to experience and I'm glad that I got to try this. I first found about it through my peers and it got raving reviews. I tried already their Passion Fruit Tea Burst and liked it but I personally loved their 3 Buddies Milk Tea in 50 percent sugar level and less ice which costs around 110 php for a large cup delivered through GrabFood since we were on enhanced community quarantine again. 3 Buddies includes a handful of pearls, black jelly and a copious amount of egg flan.

On Serial Killers

Serial Killers has been one of the areas I've taken an interest in for quite some time. Kind of perverse type to be, but I like thinking how they think, why they might done it, and what might have gone why they are the way they are. Are they like that because it was way of nature has intended, a mere biological tendency or was it because it was nurtured?

YouTube channels that I am watching related to serial killings are as follows:

• ReignBot
  

 How did I started with Stock Trading/Investing

As I had discovered the National Library located in Kalaw Maynila, in it I also learned that it also has a Filipiniana section. A Filipiniana section holds books that are authored by Filipino writers. There were also memorabilia items from a Filipino history which you can see. If I remembered it correctly, way back, the National Library of the Philippines were using a Dewey Decimal classification type of system. In order for you to be able to borrow a book of your choosing, you have to search into their computer what kind of book you'll need and write it down on the piece of paper which you can get near the librarian. You have to write the title of the book, author and the code. A tip that I eventually formulated is that I would borrow a certain book like, for example, related to self-development and from there I would find the book I had chosen while looking into the books that I could also borrow. I'll write it down and then borrow it later as you can only borrow a limited number of books. In this way, I've discovered Francisco Colayco's Pera Mo, Palaguin Mo. Their reading area were comfortable enough that I was able to finish the book. This is the first book that got me into personal finance. I would really like to buy this book at that time but I can't because it was expensive for a student like me to shell out a 500+php book. Later, I did.

Personal finance piqued my interest for a while that I began to gobbled books just to quench my thirst for additional knowledge. Colayco's books were more on investing on real estate which at that time was not really that realistic as I was still a student. However, it imparted that before you do investing, you should have an emergency fund first. 

Because I had already seen all the books related to personal finance in the library, I turned to the internet where I was introduced to stock investing. At that time, there weren't any available resources like we have today. I thought that the stock market was a high risk type of investment and I was keen on focusing first on savings and building my emergency fund. Also, one of the reasons is that I was discouraged to try out the stock market was that, it wasn't as accessible before as it is right now. Before, you have to go to the Philippine Stock Exchange and have to personally process the necessary papers for you to be in the stock market which at my part was a tedious and a hassle. So I didn't pursued it.

Many years forward, my sister was insisting that we attend the COL Financial seminar so we could start the stock market investing. It took her a lot of times (a lot of nagging included) before I was able to attend one. After the seminar, we filled out the forms and e-mailed later what we lacked and started investing. For those who do not know, COL Financial is an online platform for the Philippine stock market where you could purchase stocks even at the convenience of your own home. Their minimum amount just so you can start is 5000 php which was definitely okay as even mutual funds in Sun life starts like this in amount.

It was nerve-wracking at first especially when you see the stocks you bought are in the red color. This color means that you are in the negative, a potential to lose money. Actually, you could lose real money if you decided to withdraw your money. But I constantly remind myself that I'm in it for the long haul and I am still learning through reading more books and through experience. I'm in it for the long term as I plan for it to be my retirement income. I realized that what I do in this recent years is stock trading. I've netted some profits and learn to hold stocks which are worth holding out.

Android Game: The Wild Darkness

Are you a fan of an RPG style game? I am. One thing that I am usually looking for are games that will take a minimal space on the memory of my phone. I happened to browse on Google Play store and tried it.

It was a bit difficult though as I've been dying a lot of times now. How did you manage to survive? Got some tips?

How I was able to Assemble the Study Table

The table that I've ordered arrived 2 days after I've received the Kalimba! I didn't have the pictures how I manage to assemble the bookshelf and so I decided to let me share how I assembled this type of table as I did it. 

When I saw this and the instructional piece of paper which is mostly pictures, I felt exhilarated as I thought that I've got another puzzle to solve! Yehey!

These are what I've got for 1459php including the shipping fee. I thought that assembling this table will be a breeze as it only has a few parts. The package also comes with a free screwdriver. However, I  would highly encourage you to use a good screwdriver as it makes it more easier to assemble.

First step

Second step

What I did here is that I didn't fully screw the sides so that I could adjust it for the back.

See the two screws at the back?

Third step - bird's eye view

You'll screw the rod from both sides.

Final step - What I did here is I turned over the table so that it will be more stable as I screw the remaining pieces.

The assembled table is done!

Here is what it looks like from the front.

Back side - this part will be the one facing the wall.

Hope this will help you if ever you had purchased this type of table.

Till next time!

On Swabbing and Contact Tracing

More than 10 times of seeming endless contact tracing because of exposure to COVID positive patients, I was usually informed to monitor for any development of symptoms. Sadly, I'm back again to doing the swab because of being categorized as a high risk asymptomatic.😭 I've been exposed to a recently COVID positive coworker because we usually rode the same public transportation together. Anyone who is waiting for their RT-PCR results can relate and experience anxiety especially when you know that your result is now available. A lot of things comes into your mind like what if I turned positive? What will happen to the members of my family? How about those people who I had in contact with? Where will I isolate? What will happen to me? For those who do not know, hospitals in the Philippines are now in full capacity for COVID positive patients. I could vouched that it's the truth as I work in a tertiary hospital and even my batchmates had inquiries who could help them find a hospital who can still cater for one. Anyway, by sheer luck and prayers the RT-PCR result turned out negative again which I'm eternally grateful. One thing that I can take away from this experience is that I cannot reiterate much the importance of face mask and face shield. When outside, please always put on your face mask and face shield. Never remove it at all costs. Avoid touching the mask/shield and if you do, promptly do proper hand hygiene. Please do handwashing if you can and as much as possible whenever you have access to soap and water. Never forget to also bring your hand lotion as dry hands can cause cracks in the skin which can be an entry for the virus or any opportunistic organisms. I understand that it's difficult to breathe in a mask especially those with certain conditions, but please understand that it is for your own safety too. If you can't then don't go out and loiter around outside. Social distancing matters too. 15 minutes or more time exposure to a COVID 19 positive person will put you in a high risk category. 

I don't want to pinpoint and blame the Filipinos for the surge in the COVID-19 cases as a lot of us are trying their best to get by in this pandemic. Tremendous number of people lost their livelihood which is heartbreaking due to the fact that a huge chunk of businesses had to forcefully close. However, in my observation, some of us are that hard-headed. People knew that there is a curfew and unsurprisingly a big number of people are still penalized for being outside during curfew hours. People are undisciplined. Others lacked integrity. And it is not even because of one's educational attainment. We are not in preschool anymore. For this pandemic to end, discipline should start with you and me. Let me share one instance in the public bus that I rode recently. In the two rows in the front seat, I saw one boyfriend and girlfriend eating inside an aircon bus. On the next stop, two male guys sat in front of me and usually in the bus, seating is alternate. But the faces of the two guys are almost near each other's face while they're conversing with each other. Both of them had face shield alright, but I guess they were using it to shield the forehead instead.

I'm fed up with this. Is it all worth fighting for?

Kalimba!

My first Kalimba instrument had finally arrived! Yay! I ordered it through an online shopping site just 2 days ago after a few months of deliberation whether I'll purchase it or not. And fortunately had the courage to click the Place Order. I got it for for a total of 439 including the shipping fee.

These past few days I've been feeling down. What I need nowadays are sources of flow. I've read from Finding flow that learning a musical instrument can help in boosting flow. Kalimba is a type of African instrument where it is like a thumb piano. I'm amazed by how it sound so in the next few days I'll find time to learn Kalimba tabs on songs.

Here is a sample of me playing the intro of Bizarre Love Triangle after trying it out:

 Ponder points

"What they don't know, they can't destroy." - Sanegeal Farmhear

 Brave Girls and Brave Sound

If you happened to be a Korean pop fan way back when, chances are you have already heard of this "Brave Sound" on some of the famous girl groups hits like Sistar's Ma Boy and AOA's Like a Cat and Heart Attack. Hearing Brave Sound means that it was produced by Brave Brothers which I first thought was a group of 2 or more brothers but it turns out that he was just alone! I absolutely adore how he manage to produce bop and pop songs and even think that he's a genius!

Brave Girls is one rising group under Brave Entertainment which was founded by (that's right.) Brave Brothers. They debuted a long time ago but was not marketed well. They were technically are going to disband and ready to leave when a miracle happened. Thanks to a fan who posted on YouTube a compilation of their performances for those still serving in the military, and the military men's funny reactions, their song Rollin' catapulted into the limelight and even managed to bagged several wins despite the song being produced 4 years ago.

I wasn't aware of Rollin' back then but I already heard of Brave Girls 'We Ride'. I thought that it was a cool song. It has this retro cool and chill vibe which I like. I hope Brave Brothers can produce more quality bop songs for the Brave Girls as I believe that Minyoung has vocal talent along with Yujeong who has a unique vocal color. Compared to other idol groups, I think that they need to polish more on their dancing skills. I'll be rooting for them. They have Brave Brothers as a producer after all.

If you're curious, here's the songs I recommend you check out:

 

Rollin'

Dancing in that chair with high heels on is not an easy feat!

We Ride

I'm going  to learn their dance choreo! :-D

High Heels

Will it ever end?

 Will it ever end?

These past few days, I found myself easily angered even at miniscule things. I tried contemplating on things and realized that maybe these past few years was wasted and I feel that my life has been a waste. Struggle has been my constant since we moved back when I was still in grade school and finishing studies has been my focused goal. Now that I'm working, I feel that what I do has no meaning. Books has somewhat saved me back then, but now.. I don't know. I feel so unmotivated and useless.

The Astrazeneca jab: Will you take it or not? My experience

Healthcare workers were considered as one of the most vulnerable population given that they are highly at risk and more likely to be exposed to a COVID positive patient. And so we were given priority and with which I'm duly grateful. After contemplating for a while, I've decided to get the Astrazeneca vaccine from the current two available vaccines in the country. I'm more comfortable in getting this one and I have a better gut feel on this. The vaccination process in our hospital was organized and kudos to the vaccination team it was a breeze. I was already expecting some side effects. Let me tell you what I've experienced after vaccination:

0958H > Got the Astrazeneca vaccine

• less than 15 minutes post vaccination - No complaints. I'm feeling fine.
• probably 30 minutes post vaccination - Feeling of lightheadedness; I took my lunch and the symptom lessened
• 2-3pm - Starting to feel muscle ache from the lower extremities but probably at around 1/10; 
• 5:30 pm - During transportation on my way home; felt joint pains and muscle ache from the lower extremities more prominent now; Feeling of fatigue, slightly
• 6 pm - Got home; Fully felt tired. I wanted to be done with bathing so I could already go to bed. Took a warm bath and felt chills. Felt cold after a bath. Don another layer of clothing and a blanket. I ate some fish soup.
• 6:30pm - Took my temperature 37.1C; after some time took again at 37.7C
• 7:30pm - Temperature spiked at 37.9C so I took a 500mg Paracetamol; Headache with a pain scale of 6/10 in which it feels like there is clawing in your eyes.
• 8:00pm - Decided to go to bed; Already exhausted and fatigued. It's like the flu twice the strength. Hands and feet feels cold. Did not use the electric fan. But after some time it felt hot so I turned it on.
• Woke up at 5am the next day - Feeling that you have sufficient sleep but your body is still fatigued.
• 5:30am - Head feels cool but upon checking my temperature it was at 38.2C. Took another Paracetamol. Headache lessened to 2-3/10. Still with a bit of muscle aches on the lower extremities.
• Was able to go to work again; Temperature was at 38.4C. Took another Paracetamol by lunch time. Checked temperature by 4 pm and it was at 37.4C
• Checked temperature the next day and it was at 36.4C which was my usual temperature. Yay! But felt soreness on the injection site.

Why You Should Stan, Subscribed to and Support Asian Boss

Why You Should Stan, Subscribe to and Support Asian Boss

Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and still ongoing battle to end it, people were highly encouraged to stay at home as possible with the lockdown lifted. The quarantine life has been a struggle for all of us especially those who'd been used to be around people. Thank God for the technology that we have today, a lot of us had turned to the internet to be able to connect with everyone and we get to see what's going on around the world.

Being a YouTube subscriber and a documentary series lover, I happened to come across the Asian Boss on YouTube. Their channel focuses on different issues around the world and takes on the personal opinions of the masses. It is amazing that they were able to produce highly profound videos and I'm glad that they were able to pull through the recent crisis because of the pandemic.

I'm sure that the people behind it must be proud of themselves as this kind of thing that they do takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Most of all, what they do could make a huge impact on someone's life.