Yeye Viray

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  • First quarter of 2012

    This is definitely not a financial report! Just a summary of how I started 2012.

    Sometime last year I wrote this blog, Be Still because I feel that I am not maximizing my time, energy, skills and knowledge.  And because God loves answering my prayers, I am now juggling quite a number of things. On top of my motherly/wife duties, Financial and Admin work for Search Opt Media, who would have thought that I’ll be managing a coffee shop that started literally from scratch. I am also expected to deliver an iphone App in a few months time because the course that I started attending last Nov 2011 is about to end. (Again, finish a working iphone app, *shivers*) It’s not an impossible dream though, it just requires a lot of time practicing codes we discussed and coming up with my own, and time is a luxury for me.

    We also transferred our head office, so we no longer enjoy the convenience of working at home. We have to do it because it’s part of ‘growing’ as a company and we really need a place where we could receive our clients. And now I miss staying at home and doing nothing because even during weekends I have to be at the coffee shop.

    I am not complaining though. I may be tired and all, I am still thankful for all these opportunities. Besides, I feel that God is helping me manage everything and that if everything is settled already, meaning I have enough people I could delegate work to, these will all be a piece of cake.

    Lesson learned, when God asked you to relax and do nothing, enjoy that opportunity because the next thing you know, you don’t even have time to comb your hair. LOL

  • Mom to a 13 year old

    How does it feel and how is it like to have a 13 year old son? You can ask me now.

    Marcus celebrates his entry to teenage life today and I feel so blessed to have a handsome, healthy, smart, sweet and loving son. I am proud of him because I know he can handle himself well. I envy his confidence and assertiveness. Quoting his school principal, “Some are born leaders and some followers… with Marcus, he can effortlessly lead and influence the class.” Gary and I have noticed that leadership skill as well, but for educators to point that out (despite his naughtiness) is really something else. That is also why we bring our kids to different countries (even how expensive that can be) because I’ve read in a management book that great leaders are well traveled. Not to mention he’s really into World History that he got an A+ in his report card.

    On the contrary, I am also scared because he’s becoming more and more independent, meaning, he doesn’t need much of my time and attention like how my smaller kids do. He wants time for himself. He wants to do things on his own. He kisses and embraces me very fast when in front of his friends and classmates. (Teens! *eyes rolling*)

    I am jealous because he is starting to like girls. He even once used “I love (girl’s name)” as password. Ouch! LOL

    Being a mother for 13 years, I’ve experienced the joys and pains of parenthood. It was definitely a learning and re-learning process. But he may be a teenager now, almost as tall as I am, outsmarts me in some things, may have watched more movies than I did… he will still and always be my first born baby.

  • Quick notes on setting up a coffee shop

    We had a soft opening of our coffee shop last Valentine’s day. Setting it up wasn’t easy, I barely had time to rest. On top of it I got colds and had no voice at all. Lucky for me the place is fully furnished, my sister gave me her cake chiller and freezer and husband took charge of the wifi. So what’s left for me to do? Here’s the list.

    1. Scout for quality but not so expensive Espresso Machine. The supplier provided training for creating hot and cold coffee plus smoothies. Good thing the supplier partners with another supplier of coffee beans, syrups, sauces, packed creamer and sugar etc. They also supply plastic cups, take-out coffee cups etc but if I find time I’ll look for another supplier because I know I can find cheaper supplier of these take-out plastics.

    2. Bought blender, coffee maker, microwave and water dispenser.

    3. Bought plates, cups, spoon and fork, containers, cake server, measuring cups, apron, towels and so so much more.

    4. I had to go to the cake supplier to check out (meaning try it myself) their cakes and pastries.

    5. Bought inventory of canned and bottled softdrinks, juices and mineral water.

    6. Prepare the menu which includes the list of items to serve and their corresponding price (of course pricing is another story).

    7. Employ a barista and another one to assist.

    My sister-in-law helped me with setting up. She also does the accounting (spare me!).

    I call this my baby. So far we have more expenses than income (expected). We haven’t done much advertising. I still have a lot of other products to include. I am still thinking when’s the grand opening. We’re still getting the feel of it. It’s quite tiring but I am enjoying the whole idea. To God be the glory!

  • Just a thought

    When I am overwhelmed (and I feel too blessed to even think about complaining), I take it one day at a time.

    When I cannot imagine how to finish (or even start) a big project,  I take it one step at a time.

    When I am faced with problems that push me to just quit everything, I stop thinking and ask God for help.

    I have accepted the fact that as much as I would want to be as positive as possible, there are people or things that will make me (almost) fall apart. And there’s only one thing that will help me go through them and go on with life… FAITH IN GOD.

    I thank God because however difficult my day has been, I survive it with my loved ones.

    It never fails.

  • Love at first sight

    The first time I saw it, I fell in love with it right away. I am not into watches (Gary is!), that’s why when I see something I like I make sure I get it. Each day I spend with my watch, the more I realize that we’re really made for each other. It’s been a year (almost). Here are the top 5 reasons why I love my Philip Stein watch: (ang babaw ba? LOL)

    1. I don’t like small and girlie type watches.

    2.It has Dual time zone. When I travel, one concern that I have to face each time is the time difference. I am too lazy to adjust the time (and date) so I just count forward or backwards to know the time. With this watch, I have the luxury of seeing both time zones.

    3. I’ve been looking for a watch that I can wear everyday, not too expensive but not cheap as well.

    4. I can change straps. I have red and black. I love my red strap while I wear the black one for that ‘classic’ look. I plan to get more.

    5. Embedded to it is a Natural Frequency Technology which is proven to provide benefits such as better sleep, less stress, increased focus, and improved overall well-being. I’m not really sure if it’s working on me but I hope it does.

    So, why don’t you get one for yourself? :) (Philip Stein should pay me for this LOL)

  • A role to play

    “The dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun. And the realists, well, without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.” – Modern Family

    Gary is the dreamer and I am the realist. We used to treat this as an obstacle. I think of him as a risk taker because he grabs any opportunity, even those not knocking at his door. He looks at me, on the other hand, as control freak who always sees risks and ensures that it could be managed properly else we should not invest at all. So imagine our conversations which usually end up in an argument.

    Needing to “grow up” for the business’ sake, we did a few changes that we think worked for us:

    1. Acceptance is the first step. We come to realize and accept that we have differences, to the extreme that is, and we can’t force each other to change.

    2. We talked as matured business partners. We agreed to talk about things first. I tell him how I feel about a “prospective” client or investment but I gave him the authority to decide whether to pursue or not. I realized that at the end of the day it’s still his responsibility to provide for the family.

    3. We read informative books on business and money.

    I learned that net income (gross income – expenses) should be divided into the following; savings, investment account, educational acct, entertainment/leisure acct and charity. Where the investment account should only be used when there are “opportunities” for investment. In this way, you’ll have money to “play” without sacrificing your savings. Education on the other hand is for trainings, seminars or even books that will help you grow as a professional or businessman. (In our case I just have one account for Investment and Education). Entertainment/Leisure account is for anything that will make you feel “rich”. I highly suggest that once in a while you treat your family in an expensive restaurant, travel, shop for expensive jewelry or anything that will make you realize how good it is to have money. This will make you strategize on how to make more money. Those who say that money is not important doesn’t have money. The charity account is obvious, just have an account where you can pull out funds when there’s someone in need.

    While Gary learned that one way of increasing net worth is through Simplification. Simply put, we should not allow ourselves to have an expensive lifestyle.

    Among others…

    4. Finally, we realized that being different is actually an advantage to us as business partners because each of us has a role to play. He sets the vision while I prepare the road, something to that effect. :)

  • 2011 as God had planned it

    If I have to live the year 2011 all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

    I have learned so many things and proved once again that I can do more than I can imagine. I am a businesswoman, tutor, driver and a student while being a full time mom and wife. Best thing about all these, Gary and I are ‘growing-up’ with our kids.

    God has blessed us tremendously, not just with material things and travel opportunities but more importantly the difficulties and challenges that came our way. For one, having a business does not guarantee a regular income. Clients come and go. If I would think about the future, it would be too scary. But I did not allow those future worries affect my present, on the contrary, it made me more thankful of what I have now and just live each day at a time. It’s not easy but it can be done. Looking back, I haven’t faced yet those things that were causing all my worries and I don’t think I ever will because of God’s perfect timing.

    Now 2012 looks even brighter. May the Lord continue to bless, teach and use all of us to fulfill His will.

    Let’s do good and live a good life.

  • SkyLounge Coffee Shop

    I remember last year I blogged about Starting-up a business. There I mentioned that I want to have a business that I’m really good at or have passion for. When the opportunity to set up a coffee shop was opened to me, I thought this might be it. I love coffee and cakes and I think that’s a good start.

    The coffee shop will be located at the penthouse of Cypress condominium in Taguig. It will be just beside our company’s new head office. Target market will be condominium residents, though guests and outsiders can also be accommodated. We plan to operate Tues to Sunday 10am to 10pm.

    We will offer high quality coffee, tea, hot choco, cakes and pastries at a very reasonable price. We will also sell canned softdrinks, beer, bottled mineral water and chips. Additional products that we find in demand will also be included. Free wi-fi, reading materials and a cozy environment is provided to customers. There will be smoking and non-smoking areas.

    I am not expecting so much but I am hoping for the best. It will be additional work but I am excited to learn another craft. Thank you Lord!

  • Back to Programming

    I’ve always been good at programming, modesty aside. So good that I would almost always top our programming exams in high school and compete with our (then running for) Summa Cum Laude in college. I know it has been more than a decade the last time I did codes and designed algorithms but language, concepts and syntax may have changed, I believe that logic stays the same. I am not saying that IOS application development will be a piece of cake, but I am just confident that I can finish the course obtaining my objective of learning the how-to’s. I even asked the person in charge and made sure that I will be starting from scratch because I have zero knowledge of these things, else I wouldn’t have enrolled myself despite my husband’s protest.

    So there, starting Nov 7, I’ll be attending iOS Application Development for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch – for 2 hours, 3 times a week at MINT College. Hopefully I’ll do less of our company’s Admin and Acctg work (though I still don’t have anybody to delegate it to, not to mention my difficulty in delegating tasks because of control issues) so that I can not only develop mobile applications but also become a Project Lead.

    My husband also made sure I won’t have ANY reason to lose my motivation, so he bought me this new toy, I mean tool. Sweet!

  • Thin line between being PROUD and CONCEITED

    According to my dictionary, the word PROUD connotes two things, it can be positive or negative. Proud can be defined as a feeling or showing justifiable self-respect. Likewise, it can also mean being filled with or showing excessive self-esteem. Sadly though, when dealing with self and others, it’s hard to draw a line between the two.

    This bothers me because I personally don’t like conceited and arrogant people. More importantly, I don’t want to be branded as one. I know a lot of people who share a lot of things about themselves; their success, purchases, travels etc. but I don’t find them conceited. On the contrary, the more I look up to them. There are people, on the other hand, who would mention something and it sounds to me like they’re blowing their own horn. Maybe because some things are too obvious and better left unsaid, or maybe its the way they say it, the timing or maybe because I don’t know them too well.

    All these bring me to one question, am I conceited? I know people close to me won’t think that way because it’s not really my nature. I just wish other people who can read my writings, blogs, tweets or see the pictures I post won’t think of me that way. I just love to share things about me especially those that made me and is making me happy even to the point of influencing them to do the same. But just in case I’m bordering to being conceited, though honestly not my purpose, I hope someone would tell me so.