Web Design Philippines | MikeWagan.net » Daddy Things

Working From Home? But…

Mike Wagan — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:01:00 +0000

I don’t know if others can relate, but some people (like family members, perhaps) have “stereotyped” college grads to be just for corporate or office work. That’s what I feel too. Sometimes my parents ask why I won’t try opportunities outside from companies in the metro, or offer me job vacancies where I can apply. I understand that they want me to have a stable job with all the benefits and stuff, but I’ve made a lot of considerations too why I choose to work from home in front of my own computer.

I started my home-based “career” when I was still in college. I needed a job while I am studying, and my wife tried to apply me to a job online as a programmer. They were looking for experienced people, and I don’t even have any work experiences yet, just some fancy school programming projects. But I got hired, surprisingly. And up to now, I still get all my jobs online. I tried applying for jobs in Makati when the “dry season” came, but I still pursued job hunting for online work.

Working from home is the better option for me, and I don’t pursue everyone to do the same. I can see a lot of advantage from my home-based job. Like…

I save the hassle of commuting everyday and spending 1-2 hours stuck in traffic
Health benefits: no smoke pollution, away from viruses (H1N1!), eat healthy because I know where my food is coming from, away from road accidents
No annoying officemates to mingle with
No taxes automatically deducted from your salary
More family time: when I’m on a break, I eat along with my kid and wife, and after work, I can spend the time already to my family instead of commuting if I was in a corporate job
Even if it there’s a signal #4 typhoon, as long as there’s internet connection and electircity, I can work.
I learned a lot more money-making skills through self-study vs. specific task trainings with companies
If you’re thinking about benefits like SSS, PhilHealt, etc., we can fix those on our spare time.
Social life? Facebook is always there to connect with friends and family. Although I seldom use FB now because of other priorities.
Lastly, more time to earn online!

Working from home is not for everybody. If you feel you can be more successful in a company or on a work-from-home job, its your choice. Just a word of advice for those who want to start out working from home freelancing for jobs online: you can do it! If you’re not confident enough of your work experience or you don’t have any, then get some experience online. A lot of opportunities are available all over the net from foreign companies outsourcing their works here in the Philippines. Find job opportunities that welcome “starters”, and you might just land your first job online.

But I want to emphasize again that this is my OWN opinion, don’t start working from home if you don’t feel it. Its a choice. This might work for some, and this worked for me that’s why I favor working from home as a freelancer.

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Jian Ezekiel’s First Birthday

Mike Wagan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:44:00 +0000

Jian Ezekiel’s First Birthday Preparations with Mommy Ianne

Our little angel, Jian, celebrated his first birthday last sunday, February 15, 2009 (although his actual birthday was on Feb 16, a day after). We were quite short of time with the preparation and giving away the invitations, so most of the expected guests did not arrive (most friends and relatives). But still it was really an enjoyable moment because the kids really enjoyed the party. More pictures after the jump…

food for the guest kids

loot bags and prizes for the kiddies

preparations for the party

Mommy Ianne and Jian overseeing the preparations

Me helping out arranging the balloons

This is where the food was served

Daddy and Mommy with Jian

Jian’s first birthday cake

Kids having fun watching the clowns

Some funny parlor games… who’s the winner?

Jian’s Uncle RD and Auntie Tean with their friends dancing Waltz for the crowd

Another dance number from the dancers

The girls wanted to have a solo number to strut their stuff

Jian’s piñata prepared and popped by his Lolo Uncle Jojo

Some more parlor games for the kids

Pictorial (from left to right): Lolo Cris, Lola Luz, Daddy Mike, Mommy Ianne, Mama Maris, Papa Hermie, Jian at the center, clowns at both ends, and some ‘singit’ kids

Tired Jian after the party

The party went well, and I’m really glad everyone was happy. I had a great time watching the kids laugh and enjoy the clowns. It was tiring, yes, but it was all worth it for our cute little angel.

Thank you, Dear God, for bringing our little angel, Jian Ezekiel, into our lives.

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My Shopaholic Confession

Mike Wagan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Hi my name is Mike and I’m a Shopaholic!

Wait, wait, wait! Mike, you’re a shopaholic?! Well, I think the most appropriate intro line would be “Hi my name is Mike and MY WIFE is a SHOPAHOLIC!” Well, that’s sound more realistic now, eh?

We have been going steady on a bf-gf relationship for almost 4 years before we got married. She’s so loving and thoughtful. I can take her to a fine dine party or to a turo-turo karinderya and have some halo-halo too. When we go to the mall, I’d buy her some stuff that she wasn’t asking for. Or maybe she’d point out like a cute bracelet and a matching pair of earrings and says “I like those, but don’t buy them, I just like them.” Of course, I wanna win her heart big time so I’d buy to her hearts content. Then she gives me a sweet peck on the cheek, and in my mind my smile stretches to the whole circumference of my head.

We got closer to each other and decided we should get married. And so we did. That’s when the shopaholic button was turned on…

I love her, and I know she loves me too. But another thing she loves is shopping. She’s not really the type that goes for the branded ones, she’s the one who goes to the “SALE” pile and dig up the most stylish item, or scan through the lower-priced items when in search for a good buy. She’d also buy some doll shoes or slippers that are really fashionable, and she purchases them 2-3 times in a row. I’m even her consultant when picking the right clothes for her. She really loves to shop, but I don’t complain. Why? I’ll tell you the story.

One time I told her to go to an all-out shopping spree; I’d give her my money and she can spend it on whatever she wants! I gave her everything in my wallet and told her to spend it all because the next paycheck is coming the next day. So she did.

When she came home, she showed me all the stuff she bought. First was a cute pair of earrings, not the fancy type – an elegant looking gem-studded pair of silver earrings. She also bought a simple but stunning necklace in silver also. Then she bought a white stylish watch from a famous brand name. The others are: a pair of denim jeans, some white trousers, a really cool baby tee, a box of undies, short shorts, and a new make-up kit. I forgot to mention she also bought a pair of sneaky flip-flops because summer is just around the corner. That’s not all! She also bought me a nice vintage tee, and cute sandals and PJs for our baby.

The total price: 1,200 pesos!

Just imagine having 1,200 pesos go that far? That’s why I love her so much! She’s a stylish lady with a great mind for budgeting! I’m no match to her when it comes to money spending. I don’t worry if my wife is a shopaholic; she plans ahead where the money will be put to use. For me 1,200 pesos would just go to one pair of branded pants, but she explains that branded clothes aren’t always the best. You can grab an ukay-ukay shirt and still look good on it! So from that day on I let my wife do all the shopping! :)

And that’s my shopaholic experience! (I love you Mommy!)

Catch “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in Cinemas on February 18, 2009!

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Jian Ezekiel at Pizza Hut

Mike Wagan — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:34:00 +0000

One of our family’s favorite bonding moments is eating out. Especially now that Jian is becoming more aware and curious of his surroundings, its even more enjoyable seeing him feast his eyes around, looking at things and touching objects he can reach. This is one of those days when we really had fun with Jian’s kakulitan:

“enjoy na enjoy!”

“wag masyadong makulit baby…”

“gusto mo na rin kumain ng pizza? di pa pwede Jian eh…”

“takaw ni daddy!”

“enjoy ba kayo, mommy? :)”

In the near future kasama na talaga namin kumain si Jian. :)

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First Solid Food ni Jian

Mike Wagan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Eto ang unang try ni Jian sa pagkain ng solid food. Five months sya kumain ng first solid food (malambot na lugaw). Kuha lang sa low-res na celphone cam kaya medyo hindi maganda ang quality. Isa ito sa mga milestones ng aming cute and cudly baby Jian Ezekiel.

Hanggang ngayon ay naaaliw pa rin akong panoorin ang video na to. :)

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How much does having a baby cost?

Mike Wagan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:44:00 +0000

I just thought of how lucky we (Ianne and I) were when we had Jian in our life. Come to think of it, we were so blessed and God’s grace was showering over us when Jian was still in the womb. So I got hyped to list down a rough calculation of how much we’ve spent to get our baby boy safely out of the delivery room and see for myself how we did with our first born since we didn’t have time to reflect on our spendings last time.

This is the nine-month rundown of our expenses with Ianne’s pregnancy and preparations for the coming of Jian Ezekiel:

monthly check-ups with her ob-gyne: 350 pesos/month if you don’t have a health card * 9 = 3,150 pesos
ultrasound: 250 pesos/session * 5 = 1,250 pesos
weekly check-ups on the last month: 350 pesos * 3 = 1,050 pesos
monthly vitamins, Anmum, and other medicine: around 4,000 pesos/month * 9 = 36,000 pesos
maternity dresses: around 3,500 pesos
baby clothes and cloth diapers: around 1,500 pesos
crib: around 4,200 pesos
stroller with baby carrier: around 5,000 pesos
other baby things (bottles, etc…): around 3,000 pesos
Caesarian maternity package: almost 30,000 pesos (cheapest among Calamba hospitals)
other miscellaneous expenses that I’ve forgotten: assumed at 6,000 pesos
Total expense of Ianne’s 9-month pregnancy with a Caesarian delivery: 94,650 pesos
Feeling of joy and gratitude after seeing your son and wife safe after the Caesarian delivery: PRICELESS!

I do admit that all that money didn’t came out of my pocket. I had the help of my parents and in-laws with it. But I also did my part, as a husband and (back then) a future dad to look for sources of income to prepare for the delivery. I know others would agree and/or disagree with the amounts I placed in the list, but what’s important is that everything was worth it. I never looked back at what I’ve spent and think “sayang, sana sa iba ko na lang ginastos.” Seeing your wife undergoing a Caesarian operation is not the best feeling in the world, you’ll never know how it feels like until you’ve experienced it. I’m just so full of gratitude that I have my wife and my son safe and are now my greatest inspirations.

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Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)

Mike Wagan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:35:00 +0000

I’ve just recieved a forwarded email about a mother who lost her baby because she chose the wrong person to take care of her 3 month old daughter. The cause of her baby’s death was SBS or Shaken Baby Syndrome. I did a few googling about Shaken Baby Syndrome and this is what I got from Wikipedia:

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a form of child abuse that occurs when an abuser violently shakes an infant or small child, creating a whiplash-type motion that causes acceleration-deceleration injuries. The injury is estimated to affect between 1,200 and 1,600 children every year in the USA.It is common for there to be no external evidence of trauma. Injuries from impacts with hard objects may accompany SBS; this combination of shaking with striking against a hard object is sometimes termed the shaken impact syndrome or shaken/slam syndrome.

SBS, a major cause of death in infants, is often fatal and can cause severe brain damage, resulting in lifelong disability.

Jessica, the mother of London Marie, shares with us her experience on how she lost her precious daughter because of SBS. Below is the email forwarded to me by my wife:

December 4th, 2007, Jessica Sherwood had to do something no mother should ever have to do.

At 2:29 pm Jessica made a very tough, but the right decision to take her little 3 month old daughter off life support In memory of little London Marie, i thought id start a little forward..
Jessica had a message that i want every one to know..

This is what Jessica said:

“If anyone has kids, make sure that you keep them with you the whole time. Don’t give then to anyone that you don’t trust. Trust me, I thought that I trusted Josh. But now as of December 4, 2007 at 2:29 AM, she is gone. My one & only baby . & He is going to pay FOREVER, even if he gets out of jail scott free, he will be dead no matter what. & To all my friends that know London , I am very angry & upset that I lost the love of my life, my babygirl. She died on her three month birthday .

London had six fractured ribs, both of her legs were fracture, & her brain was so damaged that if she were to live she would be a vegetable. So I did what was right & what was best for her & took her off life support

That’s what you call Shaken Baby Sydrome [SBS]“

For those of you who dont know what Shaken Baby Syndrome check out the facts ;
-Shaking, jerking and jolting can cause blood vessels in the head to tear or burst.

Shaken Baby Syndrome is the shaking of an infant or child by the arms, legs, or shoulders with or without impact of the head.

This trauma can result in bleeding and brain injury with no outward signs of abuse

Often frustrated caregivers feel that shaking a baby or small child is a harmless way to make the child stop crying. However, a baby’s brain and blood vessels are vulnerable to whiplash motions, such as shaking, jerking, jolting, and impact.

The neck muscles of an infant or small child are weak, so the child’s head is relatively heavy and the neck cannot support the stress of shaking or impact
-Shaking a very young child, with or without impact of the head, can cause irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities, and even death.

It is tragic that healthy, intelligent babies are suffering these disabilities simply because their caregivers don’t know about the dangers associated with Shaken Baby Syndrome

An estimated 1,200 to 1,400 cases of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) occur each year in the United States .

Only 1 out of 4 babies dies of Shaken Baby Syndrome

HOWEVER, the other three babies will need ongoing medical attention for the rest of their short lifespans

London in the hospital

London after she passed

You dont have to foward this, your not going to have bad luck in your love life, your not going to die tomorrow, and your not going to get good news at 11:11.

If you have any heart at all, you would foward this Rest in Peace London Marie Sherwood

September 4th, 2007-December 4th, 2007

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