A MOMster Life

Yay! It's that time of the year again when some of our dear friends will finally march their way to success and receive that much worked for diploma.

Source: Google images

Ahh!
That scent of "FREEDOM" from all school duties!
That moment where you're so excited to throw that graduation hat the same way you would always see it in the movies!

Source: SPOT.ph

Finally!!! Ariel happened to me...

And then everyone's there with wide smiles saying,

"Congratulations!!" THANK YOU

"I am so proud of you!" I AM TOO HAHA

"You finally made it!" YEAH! THAAANKS!!!

"Welcome to the real world!!" 

And the lively background music stops the moment you hear those last words.

Source: Google images

What do people really mean?

Am I living in a fake world all this time?

Why do they make it sound so exciting yet frightening at the same time?

How real is this real world they are talking about?

What I am going to share in this article are the things I have personally experienced during my own "marching on" moment - mixed feelings of happiness, anxiety and depression.

Here are some of the things and dilemmas I experienced when I first stepped into the real world.


When will I start working?

Or better yet, the right question was "Should I really need to start working immediately?"
I mean, come on. I just graduated! Let me enjoy first! Enjoy what!?

At first, I did not dwell much on the idea, but honestly, I am a little scared of relatives who will pressure me sometime soon if I don't get a job yet.

I'm pretty sure they'll be like, "Why have you not applied for a job yet? It will be a waste of time if blah blah blah's"

Source: Google images

And then, I've got the trouble of even creating a presentable CV.

What do I even write?

Who will I put as reference?

What trainings and extracurricular activities should I include?

Should I really have to add what my parents' occupations are?

Luckily (yea maybe), I was hired right away by the company where I had my internship.
I started my first job a month after I graduated.


I can't control my own free time! Pfft.

Is what I instantly felt when I signed the employment contract with my first job.

I was then left there - with pouted lips - comparing college life and the "professional" life.


In college, I've got to choose my own schedule.
Heck, I could even have a four-hour breaktime if I want to.

Source: Google images with a slight edit in the labels

Not in the office!
They'll strictly keep track of all my log in's and log out's.
Even absences need approval. Ugh!


Earn own income - no more allowance.

This was something I was so excited about working.

My own money! Yay!!

Source: Google images

But then again, because of the same reason that I am earning my own money, my parents are not giving me allowance anymore. Huhuhu

I was actually a bit lucky though that I was not pressured right away to help pay bills or anything.
So that time, I felt "WOW! I have my money all for myself!!!!" that I always spend dinners outside.

Thinking of it now makes me realize I could have used it for something more useful that time.
But anyway, yea. That's it.

But if you aren't too lucky such as myself, you might be obliged to help pay with the monthly bills (and remember, no more allowance!)


Missing college (or school days).

Source: Google images

Sometimes (or actually, most of the times! Haha) I find myself missing my college friends - and surprisingly, even my college professors and subjects!

I get that it-will-never-be-the-same-again feeling - as if I had just broken up with someone whom I had a relationship for the longest time. And the funny thing is that I have never really been in a very long relationship until now HA!

I was even thinking of getting my masters degree just to be in school again.
But yea.

It. Will. Never. Be. The. Same.



Work-Life Balance.

Source: Google images

As someone who was just hired for her first job, I had to struggle in keeping my attitude professional at the office while also trying hard to keep my personal life alive.

And then I have to make sure even my social media accounts need to be "professional-looking" because that's what my mother always says.

Bosses would always take time to search you in the internet and see what things their employees are saying about them.

Well, maybe in my case, it was not really that hard since our working environment back then was just as lax as during my internship days and everyone was just so friendly.

Again, maybe I was just so lucky.



Being offered with different kinds of "opportunities".

Okay, so now that I have started earning my own income, everyone seems to want me take some kind of investment, insurance or whatever they call it.

Honestly, by this time, all I ever want is to enjoy (enjoy what!?)! I have not the slightest idea of these investments-thingy.

Source: Google images

When presented with these documents, I feel like "Oh my gosh! This is so scary! I don't know if this is a good thing or not." Yeah, like honestly! I feel as if this kind of things are just for people who are already at their late 30's or when they reach a certain position or something.

Then there's this offer that I could get a credit card for free and I'm just like "Wow! Credit card! This might help me FEEL more professional!" NOT!

But hey! It's really important you get financially educated! The earlier the better.

And don't just sign into anything without thinking much about it. JUST. DON'T.



So there!

Those are some of the things I have experienced when I graduated.
For some this may not be the case, especially those that need to take some board examinations and stuffs.

How about you?

What does the real world look to you when you just graduated?

Leave your message on the comments section and might as well get featured on this blog post!

God bless!

Last Friday night (March 06, 2015), Cubbi went missing.

I am writing this article in the hopes that whoever sees him, or knows where he is, please let us know.
Or maybe at least, please relay this message to whoever has him now.

I've included a picture below to show what he looks like.




Who is Cubbi?

Cubbi is our pet shih tzu.

The first time he arrived home, he can never get off the basket by himself.

He was scared of getting down the stairs.

He used to wait for Anne (my sister) to come home because he won't sleep if she isn't back yet.



He used to poop on my green sofa bed.

He has his own space in the bed.



He survived Parvo.

He can get everyone crazy when he farts.

He quickly grew.



He is no longer scared of getting down the stairs.

He loves to run around.



He loves hugs.



He likes it when someone tickles his tummy.

He loves to cuddle.


He used to "dig" on the bed to bury any food he's got.

He loves to play with the children.




He went whaleshark-watching with us.




He loves joy rides.



He is not just a dog.



He is family.



To that person who has Cubbi now.

If ever you have no intention of returning him and just want to keep him, we would just like to request the following.

Please take good care of our Cubbi.

And to add some extra notes:

He loves to sleep when the room is cool.
He likes lechon belly so make sure you're going to give him some every once in a while.
Please do not give him chocolates.
He barks a lot when he needs something so make sure you're going to attend to him immediately.
He needs to be well-groomed.
He eats grass when he's not feeling well, so if he does that, make sure to check if he's okay.
He doesn't like popcorn.

Thank you.


We're still hoping for Cubbi to come home as soon as possible.






I pray that Cubbi is in safe hands.

Godspeed.

They say that when it's February, it is the month of "hearts". The time when people show their affection and gratitude to their partners. The time to celebrate love.

As what a few of my friends know, I've started my own online shop last year, 2014.

There was no official date as this only started out as a plain hobby of online buying and selling.

I've been very kind and considerate to customers because all online sellers I've been dealing with also treated me the same.

They could even remember my name and what I ordered from them and it makes my heart smile knowing these people actually take every customer seriously.

And that very fulfilling feeling of knowing my customers love, not only my items, but also my service is another plus of why I would treat my customer so generously.

But then again, not everyone is nice and not everyone loves to read!

Here are some customers whom I find difficult to deal with and how I actually deal with them.


Customers who don't read.

All details - from item code, size, price, availability down to the meetup schedules and shipping fee - are already posted but then they would still ask "How much?"
Oh, come'on! I have provided every detail and have put a lot of effort on every word and then these customers don't even read them.

Source: Google images

HOW I DEAL: Even if I do get annoyed at times, I will still answer their questions with matching smiling emoticons. And when getting irritated gets the better of me, I would simply answer with "It's stated on the description, dear. (:". Yes. With matching smiling emoticons.


Customers who keep on changing meetup location/schedule.

There are customers who agrees to meet in this one place and then later on says they prefer another place and then later on change the date and then realized they are not available on that date so they would change the place again and waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!

HOW I DEAL: I've already set preferred location meetups and days so I'd just tell my customer to choose one from those. And with emphasis tell them that I do not cater all special meetup requests. If they can't choose from any of those, it's either we resort to shipment or the customer just has to find another seller.


Customers who think sellers are desperate for money.

If there's one top misconception about sellers, it is thinking that sellers are broke and poor and are in desperate need of money. I have encountered one customer who demanded for a special meetup, and I had to politely tell her I cannot grant the said request. She then told me, "Why not!? How much is your SMU fee? I can pay you."

Source: Google images

HOW I DEAL: I wanted to tell her she could just shove her money down her throat and that I am earning more in an hour at the office than the item she wanted to buy. But since we sellers have to always keep our cool (even if we are actually losing it), I just told her that I had other priorities such as work and family. And well, it's better I no longer have to comment to the customer about her being able to pay me an additional fee for the SMU. Pfft.


Customers who cancels the order on follow-ups.

I give considerations to customers who cancels orders. I mean, there might be an emergency and anything. But there are customers who loves to reserve items and then says they'll get their orders on the next week. By next week, when I follow up, they'll just say "Oh, I'll cancel my order."
Oh wow. You could have told me sooner when you know you're already cancelling.

Source: Google images

HOW I DEAL: As irritating as it may seem, I just have to move on and thank the customer (for nothing, actually). Oh well.


Customers who buy now and pay later. (idea added by Ishoppe)

There are big retailers who offer this kind of service. And even if the idea is quite tempting, we all know that most of these would require a customer to use their credit cards. So that means the customer would pay on a later date but with a chance of paying it with a higher amount.
Now, my online shop is just a small personal business so most of my direct customers would be my friends. And well.. knowing that we're always gonna see each other anyway, tend to just buy the items now and pay later (like a week or two) - without swiping any credit card! That leaves me with no more items for other potential buyers and no profit yet. Quite inconvenient for the budget.



HOW I DEAL: If it's just an item or two, I make considerations and actually just give in to their request. If it's like half a dozen or more, I would politely ask if they could at least give 25% - 50% of the payment. If it's someone I don't know personally, I would never let them get the item without the payment.


These are just some of the customers I find hard to deal with and uhm.. "unfavorable".

How about you?

Are you also a seller who has to deal with these kinds of people?
What kind of customers do you find unfavorable?
How do you deal with them?

Leave your message on the comments section and might as well get featured on the next blog posts.

Godspeed!

So just recently, someone approached us and basically just told me that I am looking younger.
Of course, if it was someone else, they'd be jumping with joy.

But because it was me, the-ever-skeptical-ME, I was not so sure on how to react.

Source: Google Images