Hello everyone. How are things doing these days? I just finished quarantine officially, yesterday. i can already go places, with face mask and face shield, of course, but I don't feel like going anywhere because it's so hot. Summer is not as fun as it should be, for two years now. This pandemic has really changed a lot of things for everyone. Although, I can see that some people enjoy going out often, I don't really feel envy. I like to think that staying indoors makes me feel safe. It's better now that I am with my family.
Plus our dog... Here's Mishkah, as she enjoys a good bath in this hot weather.
Two years ago, I bought a property in the middle of the city. It's a condo unit that, at that time wasn't finished yet. It was a good buy, really. It's cheaper, considering that the location is right at the heart of our city, and tourism was bustling at that time, pre-Covid.
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It was a corner unit, so it has a balcony. And in the building, all floors, units in that part of the floor, are the biggest in square area. Not that big, but big enough for me and my daughter.
But then again, I had other plans for the said property since it is, after all, located in the heart of the city.
I planned to furnish it, and have it rented thru AirBnB. That should be a good plan, if it were so.
And because it is on a higher floor, and with all the amenities of the condo, like the swimming pool, the gym and parking, I was pretty sure it will be a good way to earn extra money.
I couldn't help but imagine how cozy I'd make it so guests will enjoy their stay.
I planned to put comfortable furniture, and up to date appliances. Not to forget, the soft bed, linens and sheets, and set the mood so their stay will be memorable.
And then COVID19 happened. All the world suffered. Tourism and of course, travel was put on a halt. It broke my heart, ended my dream and the opportunity to earn extra, gone. At first everything was fine. Our school in Myanmar, although it didn't have enough students, was still able to give us our salaries. Then in May of last year, we didn't get any salary at all. They apologized, but we decided to stay on because it was difficult to find another job in the middle of a global crisis. My condo unit was not fully paid yet at that time, so I had a difficulty getting funds to pay for the monthly fee, to complete full payment. I had so many things to think about. I even thought of selling it, or have it mortgaged now, since I am repatriated. One year has already passed, and nothing has changed. In fact, everything has gotten worse.
I looked into mortgage as a last resort, so I have been calculating the monthly fees so as not to lose the property, if unpaid. I chanced upon a mortgage calculator online that is quite unique because of the graphs of loan repayment that goes with monthly and yearly amortization tables. In that way, everything is clearer to the mortgagor. Another thing I looked into is the feature of the calculator that estimates mortgage affordability according to the homeowner's income.
To give you an idea, it looks like this.
Well, that is just a part of the page. Here's more.
If you scroll below that, you will find explanation about terminologies and other important things to know when mortgaging property. That is really beneficial before making a very serious decision about your house, or any property you wish to mortgage. But of course, you need to make sure you will be able to pay amortization when doin so, else lose everything if you are not able to pay.
As I am now a repatriated overseas Filipino worker, I need to make sure that I have my means to pay amortization. I don't want to lose my condo unit or sell another property to save it. I need to find a job or something to earn my means.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reports that as of February 2021, there is 8.8% unemployment, unfortunately, I see that in the coming months, that rate will rise, due to the fact that there were so many Overseas Filipino Workers, like me, who have been repatriated, mostly for losing jobs in the middle of this pandemic, but for us from Myanmar, it's because of the coup that has really paralyzed the economy of Myanmar. With all remaining businesses closing, and the never-ending protests, I could only hope and pray my local friends can survive. As for myself, the need to find another means to stand through this storm is my main priority. So whether I sell my condo unit or mortgage it, my decisions need to be assessed many times over before finalizing anything, or I may regret later on.
Yesterday we had our swab test and today I got this result upon checking for my results. Well, it's not there yet so I need to patiently wait. Hehehe..
It's agonizing to wait, yes, but I am positive that the result is what I have prayed for -- NEGATIVE. Well, yeah, that's what everyone is praying for these days. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I am finally back in the Philippines after almost 4 years stay in Myanmar. Would have been exactly 4 years come May 17, but sadly, I have to come home for reasons that you may already know. Well, last year, during the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, I already wanted to come home, but, we were protected in a way that our mode of teaching changed, from face to face to online, so we can stay at home and be safe. I guess lot of you can relate to that, because all over the world, we fought and still continue to fight the monstrosity of COVID 19. But the very reason why I am home is not only of COVID 19, but because of what transpired last February 1, 2021. When a military junta took over in ruling the country after arresting all the winners of the election held last year. And because it was a landslide win, the people who supported the winners of the election took to the streets and protested, which eventually lead to bloody dispersals and daily deaths of young and old. All people from all walks of life, professionals, workers, students and even children protested. No offices functioned because all employees joined the protests. Banks, hospitals, facilities, the only open ones during COVID related lockdowns have closed. Imagine, we didn't have electricity bill since February because no one is doing the job anymore. It was scary because no one is also monitoring COVID 19 anymore. You don't know who is affected, everyone you meet can now be considered a PUM. All the more my anxiety grew.
Anyway, here is a video of our repatriation flight and our quarantine facility where we are now housed upon arrival. Our government is very strict when it comes to people getting into the country because right now, there is growth in numbers again. So we have to be quarantined for everyone's safety, then we'll only be released if our covid test result is negative.
Pardon my big face. Gosh, I am so fat, aren't I? I blame COVID 19 for this. How about you? Have you not gained weight during this terrible time? Did you or anyone you know also gained weight during the lockdowns? If not, how did you stay in shape?
As for me, it was quite a challenge. Before the pandemic I weighed 180 lbs. It was already a struggle. But at that time, I have managed to keep fit because face to face classes make me move a lot; going up and down the stairs to go from one classroom to another. So I was fine. Unfortunately, in March2020, just after my birthday, every plans of the school for trips and get togethers were called off, and summer classes were done online. Then there was the lockdowns. We were told to stock on food good for a month, and I bought 2 months worth of food because I didn't want to go out anymore.. After 3 weeks, I weighed myself and I found that I gained 10 lbs. Living alone during the pandemic does that to a stress eater that I was. It went on for months. And every time I weigh there's added numbers. Then I was afraid to weigh myself. When I reached 226 lbs., I was more than alarmed so I tried using a weight loss calculator to help me. I lost some weight and was happy at 205 lbs. as of December 2020, before the Christmas break. But during the Christmas week, another lockdown was declared. So how to cope on a holiday away from your family, with everything that went on in the country so far away from yours? Eat... I gained again. At 223.4 last January 11, a friend and I started using Fastic, an app we downloaded from playstore, to hep us manage our weight. So we did fasting, keto diet and low carb diet altogether along with the Calories Burned Calculator which we found online.
As of February 1, I found myself stress eating again. No one is monitoring the covid situation in Myanmar, plus the military could come up our building and shoot anyone they suspect to be a protester or if anyone is suspected to support or hide protesters. It's double the worry, and double the anxiety. My ideal weight is 110 lbs., and although I have set that as my ultimate goal, I was working it slowly, but I am now stuck at 215 lbs., for more than 2 months now.
So I decided to come home. Here, I could be facing the covid problems of my community, as well as economic uncertainty, but I will be with my family. I have a support system here that I never had while in Myanmar. Plus, there is no military to worry about, and although I feel worried and scared for the lives of my friends in Myanmar, I still feel better knowing that I am home in my own country. I can help them better if I am alive and healthy. And to start losing weight again, I have requested no rice in all my meals here in our quarantine facility, as I am now back to the work on my weight loss journey. I think this time I need to include the use of a calculator for counting macronutrients to help me estimate macronutrient consumption in all meals too. Now, since gym facilities are closed at this time, going through YouTube for work out videos is a must. It's not only diet that needs looking into, but the right exercises as well. Wish me luck!
Here is a workout video that I try to do while in quarantine.
This was me in 2014. I was 230.4 lbs. in September of 2013, when I got sick. But I managed to lose weight that by February 2014, I was at 176 lbs. and although I gained weight over the years, and became 180 lbs. thereafter, I was able to keep it from going up by following a strict diet and lots of movement activities that helps me sweat even when I don't intentionally exercise.
It was only during the pandemic lockdowns that I kind of lost it again. So yeah, coming back home will be an advantage. Gaining weight and covid 19 are my problems now, but will be better faced when I will be with my family around me, than when I was far away.
How about you? Do you have the same problem too? Do share. Please comment below.
This morning, we went to buy garden soil, and I am really glad I went withTr Grace because I saw so many beautiful flowers that reminded me of my grandmother, Lola Viating.
The soil we bought was priced higher than the usual, and the lady manning the garden supplies and plant shed told us that her soil comes from Bangkok. It was kinda odd to hear that because nothing can come or go internationally, with the pandemic still around. Maybe what she meant was the soil is better than our previous purchase. He he he Miscommunication always happens here due to a language barrier.
Anyway, the trip was worth it because I saw so many flowers that reminds me of so many things, of different people who I dearly miss. It even reminded me of our small rooftop garden back home. There were also flowers that I have not seen before. Like this multicolored baby chilies.
And there were those we wanted to buy but they were really expensive. So I just took photos. The lady didn't mind.
We were all given 1 layer of New Year cake by our school.
Because all 3 of us live in one house, we have 3 and I am also in the process of baking a Chocolate Monster Cake, so I gave mine to our tuktok driver for his family.
We are preparing for New Year's Salubong and we need more tables, but we only have four small ones, so we have used this ironing board and turned it into our New Year Salubong Fruit Offering table.
Every year, my friends and I will always have our reunion around Ella's birthday, where we'd meet and have dinner and an overnight party. But since this year I have not been able to go home for Christmas break, we did our reunion online.
We each prepare our own food, and eat together while we are doing our online party. Talking while all four of us are in one room. We always chat but often we are not complete at the same time. We just manage to catch up because the messages are left on the chatroom.
We had fun posing with the different looks we got from the app. It was incredible how after all these years we have kept our friendship. For that, I am thankful..
Thank you Wellness Market for this early Christmas present. I always buy my Quinoa and Flax seeds from Wellness Market. It is an online shop that sells all health food you can't find in the grocery. It is based in Yangon so orders always come with a delivery fee to be delivered here in Mandalay.
This order included coconut oil for cooking my food. and in my box, I was surprised to find another box.
Since the pandemic started, we have been careful about going out, that we usually buy everything online and delivered to our home. But sometimes buying online has its disadvantage. Either the product is defective, lacking in number or is not as advertised, we can actually return them and get a refund.
There is a procedure that needs to be followed, and when it's time to give it back to the delivery guy, I usually take a selfie with him as added proof, aside from letting him sign a receiving copy. hehehe..
You have finally made up your mind that you are going to renovate a room in your home and turn it into a man cave. Therefore, you will have quite a few tasks that you need to complete before the renovation can officially begin. You need to educate yourself and learn what a homeowner needs to do in order to get a house ready to be renovated. Not having everything in order when the contractor finally shows up will slow down the entire project considerably. Here are the things that you need to get done before the contractor and his crew show up to renovate your home.
1. You need to have plans for the renovation drawn up by an architect.
The contractor you hire will need to have building plans to go by while his crew is working. Otherwise, he will not know what to do without any plans. Therefore, you will need to hire an architect and tell him exactly what you are looking for. Tell him the exact changes that you need to make to the room. For example, you might be interested in window tinting for homes. Then he will go to work and create the plans that will be given to the contractor to follow during the entire project.
2. You will then need to clear the area that will be renovated to make it easy for the workers to access it.
There is going to be a large amount of activity around the part of your home that is going to be renovated. There will be workers constantly entering and leaving your home for the entire duration of the renovation project. Make a clear path from the entrance of your home to the area that will be renovated. Move all furniture out of the way. You should also put up barriers to prevent pets and children from gaining access to the area.
3. Reserve a place for building materials and equipment to be placed during the project.
The room you are renovating might not be big enough to fit all of the materials the workers are going to use for the project. You should have a place in your home cleared out so the materials can be placed there until they are ready to be used. Equipment can also be placed in this area when it is not in use.
If you run a medical business, you'll need proper tools and solutions that will benefit everyone during major and minor treatments. Because typical gadgets and medical solutions can develop flaws over time, proper maintenance and repair services will be required in order to maintain everything that could impact a patient's experience.
Enhanced Customer Service
Families that visit medical facilities always want a high level of customer service, and the best way to ensure rapid results throughout appointment and treatments is by keeping all medical tools in optimum condition. The slightest flaws can affect how quickly medical technicians can complete treatments. For example, if a scalpel is somewhat dull, the process of implementing medical procedures efficiently in a timely manner will be challenging. In order to avoid stressful situations that involve families, harmonic scalpel repair services should be pursued whenever your medical supplies are dinged, dull, warped, or bent.
Increased Safety
When a medical clinic has high safety standards, managers never have to worry about risky situations that could lead to lawsuits. If your business is in the early phases, you'll need to develop strategic policies so that your employees will fully understand the signs that mean that tools must be replaced. When defective supplies aren't repaired, patients who get treatments are at risk, as dull or dinged edges can cause a minor or major injury during the treatment process.
Properly maintained tools can also help employees avoid nicks and cut during treatments that involve kids. Because children usually fear medical gadgets that are pointy or sharp, you'll need to take tactical steps to make typical treatments easier for everyone. Pursuing scalpel repairs is one of the best ways to keep children safe throughout a treatment because most kids will wiggle and wobble while medical procedures are implemented with a tool. If a scalpel is bent or ding, the misaligned portion of the blade could harm kids when they wiggle. However, if all scalpels are strategically honed, technicians can make adjustments efficiently in order to protect kids throughout the treatment process.
By maintaining your medical accessories, you can run your medical business in a professional manner. Along the way, practical polices will needed so that employees can pursue repairs before simple flaws impact procedures that are implemented on a regular basis.
Christmas is oh so near. I have to find other means of getting more money for Christmas shopping come December, as I am going home to celebrate the holidays with my family. I have actually joined three ventures aside from my existing online business.
