After A Year Of Freelancing

When you're a full time freelancer, there is no such thing as vacation. When you don't work, you don't get paid. And if you plan to take a day or a week off, there's no such thing as paid vacation either. A working vacation, more often, is the solution to cope up with the deadlines.

Freelancing doesn't give you the usual benefits a regular employee is entitled to. So, health insurance, child care subsidies and the like are non-existent. Also, since being a freelancer requires you to work on a per contract basis, you have to continually search for new clients.

These, by far, are some of the downsides of freelancing. It's really not that bad if you have a set of rules (authored by yourself, of course) to guide you through any job. It's true that you have to have a schedule and stick to it. And just like any job, quality of work and networking are important.

I've been freelancing for a year a now with a full time job to boot. It was a great opportunity to begin with because what I do on the side is something I am passionate about. The hours can be tough but it taught me to be value my time more. Procrastination has no place in this kind of set up.

I haven't really given myself a timeline to do freelancing. I'm still enjoying it. Plus the perks are something I couldn't find elsewhere. It helped me on the financial side, too. Overall, it's been a productive year.

Generation B: Generation Boomerang

It looks like my folks would never ever have an empty nest. My brothers and myself included, are boomerang kids.

Boomerang kids or boomeranging is going back to your parents home and living with them again. Reasons vary and the length of period a child spends to cohabitate with their parents varies as well. In some cases, children don't leave the nest at all.

But why do children, mostly Gen X and Gen Y's, go back?

There are many reasons and each situation is different. Some are purely economic e.g. loss of a job, bankruptcy, inability to support oneself due to debts or student loans, it's more cost effective to live with the parents and more. I could probably add emotional such as the need for constant moral support. But I'm on the fence about the latter because one can have the moral and emotional support he or she needs without having to move in with the parents.

Boomeranging is a sticky situation to be in. One, you have lost your privacy and two, you have to abide by the rules of your parents. Not really to abide per se, but more like compromising your principles versus theirs especially when it comes to child rearing.

Another issue is the money. The big issue, in fact. Moving back to the nest for economic reasons means you're strapped for cash. Inasmuch as you want to contribute, you are unable to do so because you don't have enough money to begin with. If you're worse off e.g. you lost your job or your credit card debts are up to your eyeballs, you may end up asking your parents to lend you some cash, too.

In the Philippine setting, I see a lot of kids living with their folks even if they're all grown up. And it's normal I suppose because extended families are tolerated by the society. Parents who willingly accept their boomeranging kids are not in any way, mollycoddling nor encouraging the kids to be dependent on them. I think parents only want to help out their kids as much as they can.

Having all the kids, plus the grandkids (if any) all in one roof may put a financial strain on the parents and not to mention the all-day chaotic environment in the household. That said, it is important for the children to share on the expenses while they're living with their parents. Plus, the parents are already in their retirement age. It will be unfair to burden them with additional money problems.

I don't want to be a boomerang kid forever. It was never my intention, anyway. And it's tough to be one. I say, set yourself a goal that after "x" year/s, you'll be moving out and living independently.

Pinoy Life In Hong Kong

What is it with Pinoys and the habit of congregating in one place? A public place such as footbridges, covered walkways and the like. Parks are fine but footbridges?

I was surprised to see a lot of my "kababayans" converting these walking paths to a place where they can hang out with other fellow Pinoys. In short, the footbridges became a makeshift "tambayan". They were busy chatting with one another and I was shocked to see one lady eating rice and possibly pork adobo in a paper plate. The exact place was the footbridge in IFC Mall Hong Kong. It was a breezy Sunday afternoon.



I was tempted to take a photo of the interesting scene in front of me but I decided to forego of the thought. Seeing them in groups talking and laughing together also reminded me of Lucky Plaza in Singapore. There, many Pinoys gather and congregate during their off days.

When I got back to the hotel, I thought of the Philippines and I thought of the children of these women who were left behind. These women, most of whom are mothers, chose to work abroad and take care of other people's children so that their own children back home will have a better life.

But how much does a domestic helper earn in Hong Kong?

From my limited readings about OFW life in Hong Kong, their wages amount to PHP25,000 a month including meal allowance. This is the set minimum wage for domestic helpers. If they send half of their earnings to their families in the Philippines, they're left with practically a pittance. The cost of living in Hong Kong is expensive. And if you want to eat a clean and decent meal, you have to spend HKD20 at the least. I'm not sure if the daily meal allowance given to domestic helpers reaches HKD20. I hope it does.

Working overseas is definitely not a bed of roses. People back home think that once you earn $$$, you become filthy rich. What they don't understand is that the OFWs also spend $$$ overseas to survive. They don't convert in PHP because the food, the goods, the fares and everything else are not in PHP anyway. Thus, nothing much is left with them. It's sad but they have to do it in order to survive and send money back home.

How Does Your Company Respond To Natural Disasters?

On September 26, it rained like never before. The evening prior, it was already raining non-stop. Still, I went on with my usual routine and went to work. That night, it was one of those fateful days when I would rather curl up in bed and sleep the whole night through. I clocked in half past my schedule. I was late for work.

The night was cool and breezy. The rain continued. The double espresso caramel macchiato didn't help me much. I don't usually buy Starbucks coffee but Friday night was an emergency - I was groggy with sleep.

By the time my shift ended, the skies were darker and the rain came to a heavy downpour. I skipped my regular Saturday fanfare at the Salcedo market because I have to run some errands and I didn't want to be stuck in traffic.

I took my son to his Kumon classes despite the bad weather. I thought the rains would stop but unfortunately it didn't. When his class was over, the streets were already flooded. We had to walk past the murky, icky and disgusting flood just to get a ride home.

Homebound, more floods. And at home, the flood is already knee-deep. People started to evacuate their things to higher places. The water continued to rise and by 11 p.m., the power went out.

I got calls from the office and my boss checking if I was okay. Because we didn't have electricity, I had no way of knowing what was going on in other areas. Plus, my landphone and cellphone went dead the following morning. It was only today that I have read all the updates about the lost lives, destroyed properties and stranded people on the streets.

Photo c/o The Associated Press

The office will extend help to those employees who were affected by the typhoon and being one of the lucky ones who didn't suffer as much, I'd like to help out as well. I commend my company for touching base with the employees in the midst of the calamity. It's greatly appreciated.