In almost 8-months living as a freelancer, I have definitely gained so much in experience, learnings and insights – in myself as a person, in others and in purpose. I can say that I really have a fresher view and outlook on my career and life. Happy!

So what very, very valuable lessons will I carry to the next life from my time served as a freelancer?

Time is GOLD.

Literally, every second, minute, hour counts as money. If I end up idle, it’s not a good sign because it means no money. Waaaaah! And of course, don’t we all need money to pay the bills? Now, all waking seconds, minutes and hours are really treated with purpose.

Self discipline is key.

People would always say: “Wow you have more time now.” Well, not really. Having more time as a freelancer is an ILLUSION. Because remember that we all are given 24 hours right? It’s how we use the hours is what matters.

And as a freelancer, you really do have to have a LOT of self-discipline to get things done. And come to think of it, it’s almost the same load I had before in the corporate world.

Being grateful 24/7 will lead to abundance.

When I was working, I always thought and said that I didn’t have enough money, which had me ending up with…not enought money. But with much less income, I now feel richer! Ain’t it ironic?

I learned to be grateful for every peso that comes my way, every project that God blesses me with. And even if there are times that I do not know how to pay my bills, money just literally appears out of nowhere! Thank you Lord!

Know what you are worth.

This is probably the hardest lessons I learned. I tend to downplay myself. Yes, humility is good, but there is nothing wrong with owning your accomplishments and being proud of it. You need to know how much your knowledge, experience, work ethic is worth when you are freelancing. If you price yourself too low, baka malugi ka pa.

It’s all about ATTITUDE.

In my freelancing stint, I still end up working until the wee hours of the morning. Seriously. Especially when I had to go on marathon meetings or sometimes spend time with friends. I had to catch up with work in the wee hours!

But I never felt angsty, nor griped, nor grew tired of it. It felt different because I was enjoying all of it. I had fun because it had a definite purpose, something that I’ve never felt in the past 5 years I was working. Seriously.

So enjoying work is really about attitude!

These 5 lessons I’m really carrying with me through the remaining years in my life. I’m so excited!

But at the same time sad because I do have to part ways with The Wais Life. In a strategic move, I have chosen to focus on my other blog projects instead, which I believe will lead me to greater heights.

It’s been a fun ride with a year or so of The Wais Life I do thank you all for the support you’ve shown the blog SUPER! But it is time to move on. I hope that you all continue to live wais-ly: marunong, madiskarte and maabilidad. Pls do still follow me at Loving the Distance and The Blogging Advertiser

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

"Sure ka na ba sa boto mo?"

I just finished voting! Yehey! And the process was so efficient in my precinct (at least), so I ended up finishing in 10-minutes tops!

I actually got a bit nervous since my ballot was misread by the Smartmatic machine. Pero baligtad lang pala ang aking ballot. So I literally screamed: “Yehey!” when the machine generated the “Congratulations!” message. Hehehe! My vote was not wasted Happiness!

So how was your May 10 voting experience?

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

• Bring your codigo of your choice candidates
• Shade the bilog (circle) completely
• Do NOT smudge the ballot (even with your dirty fingers) so make sure your hands are clean
• Do NOT fold your ballot
• You may undervote but Do NOT overvote: 1-president, 1-VP, 12 senators, 1-partylist for national candidates

Just make sure you vote for the people who are fit for the JOB! It’s a JOB people! Don’t forget

For those who are undecided, better ponder on these thoughts, thoughts and more thoughts.

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

P.S. Who am I voting for? Gordon-Bayani FTW baby!

INIIIIT!!! I want one!

SYEF! ANG INNIIIIIIT! I swear, the past few weeks literally have been HELL sa sobrang init!

Pail don't fail me.

Half-empty or Half-Full?

"Mama, pasakay po?"

It is part of my personal advocacy to promote commuting as a way to 1) save money and 2) contribute to a greener Mother Earth minus one carbon imprint. And over my regular commute routine, I thought of some more tips which may come in very, very hand when you decide to commute around Metro Manila…

Prepare loose change.

Do keep the change

And why is it important to keep and prepare the loose change? Because commuting around Metro Manila will REQUIRE change. Minimum fare for the different modes of transportation is as follows (Kindly confeeerm if these have increased or not):

• Tricycle – Php 4.00
• Jeep – Php 7.00
• Bus – Php 11.00
• MRT – LRT – Php 10.00
• FX – Php 12.00

Mejo naiinis lang kc talaga ako sa mga taong bumubunot ng Php 500. Haller! If you know you’re commuting, break your big bills like Php 500 or Php 1,000 at the nearest convenience store or bank before getting on your favorite commute transpo. It will surely save you and the driver from the hassle and the possible headache.

Keep your tickets.

Don't loose your tickets!

I used to throw away my bus tickets once Mamang / Manang Conductor hands them over after I pay.

But the other day, the bus I took stalled (due to engine trouble) and we needed to transfer to another bus. So as proof that we were paid passengers of the stalled bus, we had to show our bus tickets to the other properly functioning bus. Thank God I didn’t throw mine away! I could have spent an additional Php 11.00 if I did not have my bus tickets on me. WHEW!

Therefore, keep the tickets on you! You’ll never know when you’d encounter something like that.

Any more commute friendly tips you can share?

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

Nina and Nikka share their passion for the art AND discipline of writing

My weekend was very productive. I spent, or rather invested my time (and money!) on a How to Jumpstart Your Freelance Writing Career workshop by Writer’s Block Philippines. This is the first ever workshop done by my good classmates (and friends from Anton Diaz’s Maven Secrets class: Ana Santos, Nikka Sarthou and Nina Terol-Zialcita.

I want to share with you a few things I picked up from Writer’s Block Philippines on how to just bust that writer’s block head on…

Know yourself.

The workshop started with the Life SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) exercise . It was THE BEST exercise for me as I was going through something very personal (identity crisis???!!!???) that morning. But really, the Life SWOT showed me in a single page who I was and who I can be. Nice di ba?

Be yourself.

The other segment I appreciated was finding your own voice. They gave us a set of questions to think about. I will share a couple which you might wanna think about too. Questions like:

• What kind of books do you read?
• Does reading your writing aloud sound like the talking you?
• What topics / interests do you identify with?

Okay I won’t give too much because you have to attend! Hehehehe Finding your voice is like finding the perfect pair of jeans. You just have to be uber comfy in it AND look uber pretty too!

Nina Terol Zialcita, Nikka Sarthou, guest judge Owen Santos and Ana Santos check out our work

Practice, Practice, Practice

Boring. I know I shouldn’t have paid to actually hear this. But as the experts said it: write, write, write some more and write more and more! I guess blogging is a good avenue for practice Cool!

It was really a JAM PACKED DAY. Minsan naisip ko nga na info overload eh. Pero I think it was worth it. It’s a Wais Choice to have invested in their workshop. It inspired me more to perfect my craft. Ay wait, ok ba ang grammar ko? Hehehe!

logo from Writer's Block Philippines site (o-ha! citing my sources!)

Watch out for their upcoming workshops. I think they will be having a travel writing workshop with the famous Walk This Way Tour of Carlos Celdran this June Check out their website for the updates na lang since no final date just yet. Exciting noh?

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

I am a Philippine BLOGGING Idol!

Sitting in the iBlog6 talks, speaking and networking with blogging and advertising peers, I’ve been absorbing and incubating some insights I’ve gained from my 1st ever Philippine Blogging Summit  It’s been crazy at work (kaya nga Thursday na ako nakakapagpost about that Globe 4438) and my mind has been literally moving at race pace because of this. So you should be watching out for a new project of mine very very soon!

Thank You to Janette Toral and the iBlog6 organizers for again giving me this opportunity You will definitely see more of me in the near and far future

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

Okay mejo late na cguro ang post ko about this program. I already redeemed my Php 195 rebate as a reward for being a loyal Globe subscriber for 2-years (na slightly required naman talaga). Then last April 4, Globe launched the 4438 Rewards program. Soooo mejo too late the hero na di ba? I got my rebates already!

So now what?

And since I was not able to enjoy any reward from the Globe 4438 Loyalty / Rewards program, I want to ask you, my dear readers (Kung meron nga talaga), what did you get from Globe 4438? Mas happy ba ang rewards nila?

I’ve also read via text that I could actually enjoy special discounts by typing in the codes by texting “discounts <code here>” to 4438. So when I text that I can get the 4438 coupon code then present it to certain establishments (I put na the discount code beside the names) like:

• Automatic Center – AUTOMATIC
• American Eye Center – AE
• Astoria – ASTORIA
• Binalot – BINALOT
• Bio Skin Spa – BC
• Blims – BLIMS
• Cheesecake ETC – CC
• Chris Sports – CHRIS
• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – CB
• David’s Salon – DAVIDS
• Digital Walker – DW
• Fully Booked – FB
• Folded & Hung – FH
• Freego – FREEGO
• Ideal Vision – IDEAL
• Ipanema – IPANEMA
• Jack’s Loft – JL
• Karate Kid – KARATE
• KFC – KFC
• Little Asia – LA
• L’Optique – LO
• Microtel Inns – MICRO
• North Park – NP
• Rose Pharmacy – ROSE
• Soda Group (Pink and Blue Soda ba to?) – SODA
• Spoofs Ltd – SPOOFS
• Timezone – TIMEZONE
• T-Shirt Project – TSHIRT
• Vision Express – VE
• Western Marketing – WESTERN
• Wow Magic Sing – WOW
• Yonex – YONEX

Sorry walang picture kc hindi ko mapicturan ang aking phone with the same phone…TOINK!

But have you tried claiming any of the rewards or discounts? Masubukan nga one of these days…

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

The past days (or rather weeks) I have been busy preparing for such a WOW gig this coming April 16. I still cannot believe (ok, pinch me! PINCH ME!) that I will be speaking at the 6th Philippine Blogging Summit! Waaaahhh!

The iBlog6 (it’s shortcut name) will be this coming Friday and Saturday (April 16-17) at the Malcolm Hall at the UP Diliman Campus. (Anybody know how to commute to Malcolm Hall? Help!). The 1st day is intended for business owners, entrepreneurs and other professionls who are interested to know more about the art and science of blogging, while the 2nd day is meant for anyone who is interested about blogging per se.

Unfortunately, registration (FREE!) is already closed since the organizers reached the maximum of 600 persons for the event. WHOA! 600 people! Ka-tense!

Anyhoo, I’m still sharing the schedule of the talks here…

Day 1 (April 16, 2010)

9:00 – 9:15 Opening Ceremonies (National Anthem, Welcome Remarks by JJ Disini)

9:15 – 9:35 Blogging for Business: Tapping Bloggers to Generate Buzz (Janette Toral)

9:50 to 10:10 Advertising in Blogs (Abe Olandres)

10:25 – 10:50 BREAK

10:50 – 11:10 SPONSOR talk (Ivy Jean Vibar)

11:25 – 11:45 SEO & Blogging to Promote Your Business (Francis Gary Viray)

12:00 – 1:30 LUNCH / NETWORKING

1:30 – 1:50 Measuring Blog Buzz (Carlo Ople)

2:05 – 2:25 Legal Concerns in Blogging for Business (Emerson Bañez)

2:40 – 3:00 BREAK

3:00 – 3:20 Blogger and Advertiser: What is the Win-Win Relationship? (Diana Paterno)

3:35 – 3:50 Online Attraction Marketing (Manuel Viloria)

4:05 RAFFLE and GROUP PICTURE

Day 2 (April 17, 2010)

8:45 Opening Ceremonies (National Anthem & Welcome)

9:00 – 9:20 Blogging 101 (Hannah Villasis)

9:35 – 9:55 Video Blogging 101 (Vince Golangco)

10:10 – 10:30 Photo Blogging 101 (Juned Sonido)

10:45 – 11:00 BREAK

11:00 – 11:20 Blog Policies (Emerson Bañez)

11:35 – 11:55 Blog on Mobile (Racquel R. Cagurangan)

12:10 – 1:20 LUNCH & NETWORKING

1:20 – 1:30 Performance (UP Concert Chorus)

1:30 – 2:15 Political, Online Commentary, Social Media, & Election Blogging 2010 (Marck Ronald Rimorin and Noemi Dado)

2:30 – 2:50 Launching Successful Blog Contests (Jinoe Gavan)

3:05 – 3:20 BREAK

3:20 – 3:40 Impact of Blogging to the Community (Joseph Gonzales)

3:55 – 4:15 SEO: A Must for Making Money Online (Marhgil Macuha)

4:30 RAFFLE, iBlog Video Contest Winner Announcement, & GROUP PHOTO

Can you guess ano ung talk ko? Hehehe.

Hope to see you there!

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais

Plug in and get your voting precinct

In fernez, may silbi din pala ang COMELEC. They have somehow managed to digitize the precinct database, so click here, plug in your name and birthdate to know where you will be voting.

Vote Wais-ly everyone!

Live Wais-ly,

Juana B. Wais