Preparations for the coming holiday season is in full blast here in the country right now. The holiday season in this part of the world starts right after Halloween and ends on the celebration of the Three Kings in January. So you can only imagine the preparation done by most of the Filipino people. Despite the setback we had (several typhoons in a row), you can still feel the festive spirit especially when you go to malls and tiangges.

People are talking about the coming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto on Sunday, November 15 (14th in the US). I am sure the whole country will stop whatever they’re doing to tune in to the fight.

Yesterday, I saw an article in a local broadsheet about Pacquiao’s rising popularity in the US and Asia. A photo of Pacquiao’s Nike billboard in Hollywood alongside that of Kobe Bryant‘s was published together with the article.

No other local athlete can boast of that, right? For a change, Philippines is being talked about in a positive light. Set aside the dirty politics, rampant corruption and the spotlight on the plight of our poor fellowmen. Then the cover on the Time magazine was reported…

And it hit me, Manny Pacquiao’s really made it! Imagine Pacquiao on the cover of Time magazine!

There is a TIME magazine article on The Meaning of Manny Pacquiao. Another in The Rise of Manny Pacquiao. I think he’s the first Filipino athlete to ever grace the cover of the prestigious mag, right?

We can really say that Manny Pacquiao’s popular in every sense of the word. I just hope he lives up to the expectations of his fellowmen. And won’t succumb to the dirt of local politics.

My sister loves to send text messages and call her friends. She used to have a prepaid mobile line but then she switched to post paid already because she consumes a lot of cellphone load a month. Her phone is always at hand.

This coming Christmas, I already have an idea on what to give her. Can you guess? HTC Pure Cases for mobile phones! And any cellphone accessory that will go hand in hand with the new look. I saw some at HTC Pure Accessories. Knowing my sister, she’ll appreciate this kind of gift more than the book that I originally have in mind.

If you love enhancing your mobile phone like my sister, check out HTC Accessories. I just know you will find what you are looking for in that site.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, or you are one of my subscribers, you might have remembered my laptop, David. I bought him in May 2008 and he sort of given up on me last month. Probably due to overuse. I’ve been using it for several hours daily. Or the brand is not that good. Hmm…

I was talking to friends about getting a new laptop pretty soon. I miss the sound of the laptop keys. And I thought it was just me, but when I talked to Tim, she said that she can also write a lot more stuff when using her laptop. Hahaha.

I’ve been eyeing an MSI or Lenovo laptop for my next acquisition. Probably before November ends as I need to take care of other more important expenses first.

There was a PR update a few days ago. Have you noticed any increase or decrease in your PR meter? Mine’s still the same. A big fat zero! What about you?

I am doing my best to get back my PR but, well, no luck yet. Maybe on the next update? Calling the big G of the world wide web!

A college degree is something that most of us would want to achieve. Some are just lucky enough to get the better out of life without a college degree. But for the average person, this is something that will clear the way towards a brighter future. That includes you and me.

But it’s not all about a degree. You have to make sure that you get the right one so that you won’t regret living the kind of life you’d get out of the degree you have. For the right college degree program, there’s DegreeScout. Know what course you want to take up and then find the right school where you can get it. At DegreeScout.com, you can easily find the right degree and school for you. Enter your zip code and the degree you have in mind. And it will give you a list of prestigious schools as well as the similar programs you might want to consider.

Get a college degree. It is something you can use as a fall back when the going gets tough.

Last Saturday morning, my sister and I went to Dangwa, a popular local place here in Metro Manila where flowers abound. You can go to Dangwa and find almost all kinds of flowers. Every year, before November 1st/going to the cemetery, we would go and buy flowers, and then my sister would arrange it. You can buy pre-arranged flowers but it’s cheaper to pick the flowers you want individually and prepare it in a vase or pot yourself. But this time around, we opted for the pre-arranged ones because you wouldn’t believe the prices of flowers. It was sky-high! We were told that it’s because of the recent typhoons and how it was really difficult to get the flowers because Baguio was affected by the typhoons.

We bought three flower arrangements and junked the idea of buying the way we used to.

Happy Monday!

I’ve never really enjoyed shopping. Unless it’s for books, home items and food. My friends know about this so they don’t ask me to accompany them when it comes to shopping for clothes. But on other things, they know they can count on me.

A friend of mine is shopping for garage flooring. I love anything that has to do with decorating any part of the house. I know more about it than clothes, to be honest. They can count on my opinion on anything home-related and my friends know it.

Of course, anything technical I refer to my dad hehe

It’s hard to get high quality inbound back links. Unless you are an expert. I have tried doing it by myself but it’s really hard unless you know what you are doing. Actually, even if you know what you are doing, if you don’t have enough experience with link building, it can still backfire on you. Why not get a link building agency to do it for you instead? This way, you are assured that the people acting on your behalf are professionals who have enough experience with link building and can give you the results you desire.

Improve your page ranking. Make sure every search done on your keyword will land you in Google’s first page. Get the help of Status Media Plc, a company specializing not only on link building but also on online lead generation, too. In fact, their services are interconnected. Generate enough back links to land you on major search engines’ first pages and acquire potential customers. Great, isn’t it?

Concerned about your company’s bottomline? All business owners are like that. If you want an increase in your profits, better get the expertise of the professionals from Status Media. They can help on CPA Networks and other things leading to higher percentage of sales. Increase it by 300% or more! They can do that for your business.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting more. There is a way for a better bottomline this year and the years to come. Go to StatusMediaPlc.com now and choose from the different services they offer. Which one you need the most? Or get a couple of services and watch your sales go up. Choose from Contextual Advertising, Advertising Network, Link Building, Technology, Web Design, Recruitment, SEO, PPC, or Lead Generation. These services will improve your business in the process. Visit the web site now for more information.

When we are all home - my sisters, my brother, Hazel and my dad - expect the tv to be on. We love watching tv together, especially when the news is on. You can say that it’s one of the activities that bond us together. Some people would say it’s not good, always watching tv. But I say that it depends on what you actually watch. At home, news is always on. Local news or CNN or Fox. We also love to watch local magazine shows. Travel & Living, Discovery, Bio, History, Crime & Investigation. And HBO.

Watching tv can be a way to take your mind off your worries. I want to get tv and tv stands for the grandparents this coming holidays. When you get older, you worry a lot about so many things. It’s the same with my grandparents and I want to take their minds off of it even for an hour or two of tv watching.

I used to have this vertical banner ad spot for Adbrite on my sidebar. I removed it because there’s a flashing ad showing a woman in a red bikini and it’s about something. I forgot. When I saw it, it’s like you came upon an adult blog. Instantly, I removed the ad spot. I am keeping the one below my posts, though.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Adbrite. But I don’t like ads showing women in various states of undress, just to lure people to look at their product. It’s okay for some people, that’s marketing strategy. But I don’t like it. I am not being prudish, as what a friend said to me. I just don’t like the fact that women are being used in such a disrespectful way. There are other ways to advertise your product. I can understand if you are peddling undies or lingerie. But if you are actually marketing WordPress themes or a lifestyle web site… come on! Use another strategy!

On that note, those widgets in Entrecard showing scantily clad women in provocative poses, or those using suggestive images, please don’t bother dropping on my widget. I won’t be returning the favor. I also won’t be approving your ads, thank you.

Nuffnang, on the other hand, is giving us purely family-friendly ads. I love the fact that the products are actually something that will interest readers of various ages. The only thing I don’t get is how come I am not earning as much as others. I get fairly decent traffic for my blog. But I get stuck with earning cents off my ads. Because this blog is the only one actually earning off Nuffnang ads, I am removing all the other ad spots in my other blogs. I’ll just concentrate in this blog for everything Nuffnang.

I hope that I will earn more from Nuffnang. I love the program and I am hoping to stay with them for a long time.

November 1st, in a previous MYM entry about candles, is a big holiday here in the Philippines. Instead of the actual All Souls’ Day on November 2nd, people commemorate their dearly departed loved ones a day ahead, on All Saints’ Day. And because almost every one is in the different cemeteries nationwide, business-minded individuals take advantage of the days leading to, as well as the actual, holiday. When you are in the cemetery, no need to look for a sari-sari (convenience) store if you need something to munch on or drink. There are stores set up by enterprising individuals inside the cemeteries itself. Like the photo above.