Different shades of green in Benguet: Photoblog

It was not a sunny visit to Benguet, I must say. And because of that, I saw marvelous formations in nature that one can only get from this side of the country. Though I did not enjoy the weather (I was made for the beaches), I enjoyed my photos. :)
I hope you'll enjoy as well!
(It was an acad-related 2-day visit.)

On our way to Philex, we stopped for a while for me to take pictures.

When we arrived at Philex, the first stop to get samples. Trekking was required to go to the sampling location.

This was taken before the trek. Water droplets

Lovely tree hidden behind the fog. We had to wear raincoats because of the drizzle

In the middle of the trek.

There were many spiders like this in the path. Also, dragonflies. It was a grassy mountain.

Pambasan bridge

Bolok - Agno river confluence. I thought of American valley photos when I saw this. 

The tailings pond.

Fishing at the tailings pond. 

Lovely morning sight. But, swearworthy weather. 

Life

Underground mine

Between Lenses - Silence

Lovely collab. And not only are they great with their photos, they're great with words too! 

I've never joined a bloghop, so when I saw in The Life of Vee's blog that she joined one, I got excited and decided that I want to join too!

Between Lenses is a monthly bloghop, and for this month, the theme is silence.


Silence, for me, equates to calmness of the soul. But of course, sometimes, especially during arguments (citing this example due to experiences? lol), silence can mean a crumpled black speech balloon that can't be expressed in any form of sound - thus, silence.

But here, I present to you a photo of the former definition:

Fishing, seen in the tailings pond of Philex, after field work

 There's silence in
...the stillness of this (tailings) pond. I love how the reflection in the pond was formed.
...the calmness of mind while fishing.
...being with them - watching them, while also enjoying the comforting silence that only nature can give.

I love the waters, being born near one (a beach!), so I guess there will always be a feeling of familiarity and a need for self-reflection whenever I'm near one.

What's silence for you? Maybe you can join this bloghop initiated by Tara Victoria and oftreasandhues too!

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Win bundle of books or Human Nature goodies!

Because I've been winning things on the internet and I've been accepted to different types of applications (conference, a trip abroad, Philippine Model Congress), I decided to put up a giveaway!

Other pictures to follow.

Just enter the Rafflecopter below to join the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please comment your name and contact details below so I can contact you when you win.

It's not that much, but I'm giving away two sets of prizes:
1. One winner will receive a bundle of books (new and preloved), plus George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream graphic novel issue #3.

With George R.R. Martin, Agatha Christie and Isaac Asimov!

2. One winner will receive Human Nature's SUNBLOCK (200 ml) and 100% Natural Night  Moisturizer Night Cream with Plant Collagen (100 ml).

There will be two winners. You will be made to choose between the two prizes in the Rafflecopter. :D 
Entries will be accepted until October 31, 2014.
The winner will be announced on November 1, 2014 in this blog, and will be informed via Facebook or email.
Because the prizes will be delivered free of charge, this giveaway is for Philippine residents only.

*Disclaimer: This giveaway is not affiliated to Human Nature or the books' publishers. All prices come from the blogger's pocket money.



UPDATE: I'm giving away plus points to those who comment to my other blog entries and to those who will share the giveaway in FB, so share/comment away! :) Good luck!

Update on my 52-week money challenge: On residual incomes and more

Update on my 52-week challenge:

Still going on even though I do not have my monthly stipend already. 
Thank gods for my residual incomes. 

I was very fond of attending and trying things to have other sources of income, and this is the gist of what I learned: cut the middle person off, and keep on learning.

Example 1: I am a Sun and Globe load retailer. 
I did it ever since I got my first cellphone. It's advantageous on many levels. 
First, I get to have load discounts. I don't have to pay Php22 whenever I want to load Php20. (I also don't charge like that, so if you're a Sun/Globe user and we're friends, I'm YOUR retailer. :D ) 
Secondly, I don't have to go outside just to have load. I just have to go to a store one time to buy the load wallet. One added step equals many steps deleted. 
Thirdly, I get to have a business. Though the profit is soooo small now (5%) compared to when I started being a retailer (12-13%), I do it still. 
(Note: Thinking on joining the ABSCBN Mobile, for the sake of cutting the monopoly of telcos a bit. This monopoly thing is slowing us down, that's why I bought Sun. But then Sun was bought by Smart. What do you guys think?)

Example 2: I am Human Nature dealer.
Human Nature has a wide variety of home essential products. 

One sweet day - when I had overflowing orders. See one of the bestsellers here.

Being a dealer with a minimum 25% discount (I have 26% as of the moment) up to maximum 30% discount can really help cut down the budget for groceries. (Blogged about actual computations here.)It's also one of my main source of extra income because it has the highest profit and is the most marketable. Thinking of becoming a dealer too? Click here for the dealer terms, and here for their magalogue (aka brochure) now to see their products.

Example 3: Nuffnang and Churpchurp membership

Image from here.

Because I'm almost always online (free wifi at libraries ftw) and I have blogs (this, here and here, not to mention an 'extra' personal blog somewhere lurking in the webs), I signed up to Nuffnang. Even though I haven't gotten monetary gains from it because my blogs are not famous enough to earn much, Nuffnang runs other promos and contests with prizes such as movie passes, GCs and the likes. I won a couple of times already, and I must say, it's worth it, being a Nuffnang member.

Churpchurp, on the other hand, pays the 'sharer' money for every click. The links can be shared almost anywhere. Mostly, I share them at my FB and Twitter accounts, but I've shared some here, too. If you want to be a member, just click here. It's easy! 

Example 4: Signed up for WFMA
For continued learning regarding financial matters, I attended a free seminar on how to build a solid financial foundation. It taught me the basics of how to handle money and where to put it depending on its intended use (yes, it shouldn't be all in the bank). What made me instantly join the association is because the registration has no expiration, I can attend seminars for members anytime I want, and of course, the extra cash. After I get my Insular Wealth Assurance through WFMA, I encouraged my friends and family to attend the seminar, and some of them bought plans for themselves too, having known the advantages of having one. Education is the key, so we're not just selling in WFMA, we make sure that the plans that one buys is the right plan for him/her. The personal financial check up and proposal-making are free too, so I encourage everyone to avail them. (Comment here or contact me at 09222425334 if you want to attend the seminar, too!) As of now, I'm not an active member (because of my acads), but I can go back any time, without any fees to pay. 
*Added perk - I've got to make new friends who are as 'higpit sa pera' as me, so as a bonus, I've got myselfsurrounded by money masters = good influence. 



So, those are my activities to keep my 52-week challenge going. Are you on the challenge too? Share your experiences on keeping it up below!

My Current Playlist: Because I'm In Love

Hola there guys! Because it's our monthsary yesterday, I'm sharing the playlist that makes me think of us whenever it's playing. :D

The songs: 
Darwin Deez - Radar Detector (His website)
Phineas and Ferb - Evil Love (The amazing TV show)
Omar - There's Nothing Like This (His official page)
Sally Seltmann - Harmony to my Heartbeat (Her page)
Kevin Michael - At Last (His Youtube channel)
Basic Vacation - I Believe (Their FB page)
Filter - Surprise (Their official site)

Hope you'll enjoy this, too!
Stay happy and in love!