MJ Ces

Philippines Bus Hostage – Major Major – And Other Blows

MJ Ces — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:45:52 +0000

I do not deny that the Manila police failed in the recent hostage taking incident inside a tourist bus. It’s a failure because some of the hostages died.

I do not deny that Venus’ answer during the Q&A of the recent Miss Universe pageant was disappointing and cost her the crown.

But I do not deny the fact that my country is just like the other countries; that there are crimes, shortcomings, and stupidities some place else as well.

It feels like it’s about time that I do my share in putting the Philippines in a better light. In what way, I’m not yet sure, but it has to be something online.

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Gosh Darn It! Good Eats!

MJ Ces — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:09:54 +0000

I have been watching a lot of Good Eats lately and that show really stoked the fire of my wanting to learn how to cook. Up to now my kitchen skills are just at the novice level, but watching Alton Brown make cooking both seem easy and fun, I want to improve even if just a bit.

I already asked my wife if we can “invest” in some really good kitchen equipment and tools. By invest it’s my code word for “buying expensive stuff”. She said yes, but one item at a time.

Sounds fair to me.

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I Failed

MJ Ces — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:45:54 +0000

I failed on my 30-day challenge which is no facebook for the month of July. I just couldn’t resist reading about the updates from my friends.

Does that make me feel less of a person because I couldn’t control myself with something that is deemed very easy to do? Definitely not. It just proves that I need to strive harder to achieve a month-long challenge.

I am currently thinking of what would make a great challenge for me since August is just a day ahead. I’m thinking of something I do offline (makes me feel weird to call my real life, ‘offline’).

July 30-Day Challenge: No Facebook That’s right. For one whole month, I will not log...

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July 30-Day Challenge: No Facebook

MJ Ces — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:58:36 +0000

That’s right. For one whole month, I will not log into my Facebook account and check on the updates from my friends. Yessiry, I will not.

I’ve just thought of doing this 30-day challenge just to test my self-control, if I have any. But why Facebook? I would like to try something that is a bit easier and then get harder for the next months.

I’ve been checking on Facebook every single day. Which is not good because it really eats up my time. So can I do this challenge? It’s the 3rd of July when I wrote this and so far since the 1st, I haven’t visited that site.

I’m off to a good start.

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Freelancing: Do I Earn Enough?

MJ Ces — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:44:04 +0000

I am a full-time freelancer and that means I work completely here in my house. My work is mainly for website writing and Internet marketing with clients that are all from other countries.

Now, most of my friends or anybody else for that matter often would ask me if I earn enough through freelancing. I always give them a vague answer which is, “Yes”.

I say that it is vague because the term enough means completely different from one person to another. What is enough for me may not be enough for you. Now if you will ask if I make enough money to pay the bills and other basic expenditures, then again I would answer in the affirmative.

But when it comes to my recreational needs, it is barely enough. And recreational for me doesn’t mean a great big deal. I would include in that category a once-a-month trip to the movie house (which I rarely do because of work or other personal stuff), dining out with my wife, and going on a trip just to name a few. But don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am content that we are able to pay for the mortgage of our house and the utilities.

So for me, contentment is too hard to qualify. Even for myself because my needs and wants keep on changing. I guess that’s the nature of contentment and of being human in the first place. We just can never be satisfied.

Image courtesy of flattop341

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A Great Massage At Home

MJ Ces — Sun, 02 May 2010 19:39:28 +0000

Nhil had just given me a great massage. However, instead of me falling asleep, it was she who is now deep in her slumber after the massage. But still it was all good.

I love getting massages, and I asked her earlier today if she would indulge me with one. She said yes, but only before we go to bed because she still had to finish some stuff. And so I waited… very eagerly. And now all I can say is that the wait is all worth it.

How many guys out there who could proudly say that their wives regularly give them a massage? I guess there’s only a handful of us, that is why I feel very lucky. I am lucky!

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Three Rice Cookers

MJ Ces — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:17:31 +0000

Yes, that’s how many rice cookers we got for our wedding gifts. Three rice cookers of different sizes. I find it really ironic as Nhil and I are planning on limiting our rice intake so as to lose some weight.

Anyway, we are still very much thankful for getting them because these are still gifts. :)

What I still can’t believe is that people would give a very basic appliance. What I mean is, isn’t it a given that there would already be a rice cooker in a newlywed’s home? After all, we Filipinos cannot live without rice and every house in this country has at least one rice cooker in the kitchen.

Again, I am not complaining. I am just thinking out loud with wonderment.

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Our Wedding Kiss

MJ Ces — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:23:32 +0000

My friend Acey took this very beautiful shot of me and Nhil sealing our wedding vows with a kiss:

I have yet to receive the photos taken by Vik, also a friend and the professional wedding photographer who covered the ceremonies. But until I’ve seen Vik’s photos, Acey’s picture of us will be my favorite.

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I’m Completely Facebooked

MJ Ces — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:23:46 +0000

Most of my good friends are on Facebook and that’s the only reason (what else) that I am there. I enjoy reading about their updates, about the places they’ve been, the relationships they’ve been in and out, and the great new developments that have been developing in their lives.

So I find myself every morning visiting Facebook first than even checking my emails. Why, I don’t even play the games there. The only game I probably got quite hooked was the Mafia Wars but now I seldom play.

Does this mean I already turned my back on Friendster? Not completely because some of my other friends are using it and not yet on Facebook. Perhaps I’ll only completely leave Friendster if all of my friends are with Facebook. The thing is, slowly they are making the migration.

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Primary Website Dilemma

MJ Ces — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:18:51 +0000

I’m currently confused. As I am planning to go into full-time freelance writing, I’m not sure which of my two websites I should use to be my major site wherein I will offer my writing services.

The first site is www.PinoyCopywriter.com, which is my copy writing blog for more than a year already. A few advantages that I see of using it are:

1. Its age. I know that in the eyes of the search engines, the age of the domain matters.

2. It currently has PageRank 3. Does PR still carry much weight? I’m not sure, but it’s still a good point to consider.

3. It is chock-full of posts. I have a number of articles posted there already, so content is not a problem

On the other hand, my other site, this new site, www.MjCes.com has the following points:

1. The domain bears my name. As I want to brand my writing services equally using my name, this domain is a good choice. On the other hand, PinoyCopywriter’s name alone suggests what service I am offering.

2. It does not have a blog on its main page. This means I can focus all the page realty there solely on introducing and offering my freelance writing services.

So these are the things that I am considering whether which website I should use. I still have a couple of weeks before I fully concentrate on freelance writing, till then I’ll still conduct more research on this problem.

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