Secrets and Tips to a Long Lasting Relationship

I have learned somewhere from my readings that falling in love is easy but staying in love is not. Indeed, I can attest to that. My relationship with my fiancé, Bryan, is already in its 6^th year. On our 3^rd year, I needed to leave Negros and pursue a career in Manila. From then on, every day seems an ordeal. The experience makes me realize that long distance relationship is not for the faint-hearted. Loving someone from a distance takes so much courage, faith and dedication. 

So, you may ask the question: ‘What are our secrets in keeping a long lasting relationship?’ Let me tell you our story while I present to you some points that you may consider in keeping your relationship alive.

1. Open Communication. 

I learned to be expressive to my partner. I believe that I should let him know how I feel because if I would not, I will feel alone in the relationship. I share with him the challenges and triumphs at work.  I discuss our plans and how to go about them even if we are miles away. It is our habit to ask how each other’s day went. Having an open communication helped us to understand and become closer to each other.

2. Consistency. 

We will not last a day without a text or a call. Bryan has been so consistent in dealing with our relationship. During my first three years in Manila, I worked night shift. He served as my alarm clock. He used to call me an hour and a half before my shift to wake me up and chitchat even for a while. In the morning when I arrive in my boarding house, we talked during lunch time before he takes his nap. We have developed this routine. Though it has become a habit, we see to it that we are having fun and spending quality time even if  it is just over the phone. Even if he is very busy at work, he sees to it that he checks on me. I do the same too. There is not a day in our relationship that we have not communicated. I believe consistent communication is a key.

3. Thoughtfulness despite the distance.  

I am living alone, away from home for three years now. My parents as well as Bryan are in the Negros Province. Bryan is two hours away from my parents. One night, I was startled from my sleep when my mom sent a message informing me that Bryan visited them bringing ice cream, roasted chicken and fruits. At first I thought she was just kidding but it was true. It was the first of the many counts when Bryan visited my family even if I am not home. His thoughtfulness makes me love him even more each day.

  

4. Loving and kind words. Complimenting your partner with kind and loving words will foster a harmonious relationship. Fortunately, Bryan and I have not experienced intense quarrel with exchange of hurtful words as a result of emotional outburst. Yes, we inform each other if one has committed a mistake and discuss how it affects each one’s mood. We see to it that if we are in middle of an argument (over the phone, or face to face), we do not throw bad words or insulting words for we may regret it after the tension settles. We believe that any misunderstanding can be sorted out by mellow and peaceful discussion. 

5. Planning for the future together. 

On our 5^th year, Bryan proposed. Months after I said YES, we decided to avail of a house and lot package in a subdivision. Our engagement has been running for more than one year now. Last August 2017, majority of the house construction has been completed. It is surreal observing a structure in front of us – the house (we call LN: Love Nest) is a concrete testimony that love can withstand despite the distance, differences or conflicts in schedule.

If you decide to spend your lifetime with someone you love, plan for it together. Planning is an essential factor of  successful relationship and from there, you can take the next actions one step at a time.

6. Keeping God in the center.  

Surviving each day of a long distance relationship is not a-walk-in-a-park. It is our faith in the Almighty that fuels our perseverance and dedication to continue loving each other despite all our flaws, trusting in our promises and working towards achieving a future together. Hold fast to His faithfulness, give your best to stay loyal and pray to overcome temptation. If a relationship has strong center, it will not fall.

While contemplating on all of these points, I suddenly smell something really good and soothing. I knew it! It is the scent of Del Forever Joy and Love Fabric Conditioner – long lasting soothing fragrance. I eventually heard a knock on my door. Ate Lina dropped by to deliver my fresh laundered clothes conditioned by Del Forever Joy and Love. Wow! No wonder why my inner goddess feels like walking in the middle of a paradise when I sniff on my newly laundered linens. Smells really good! This is because Del Forever Joy and Love now has 15x longer lasting bangooooo vs a regular detergent brand based on consumer test in Metro Manila. (I got this info when I visited their facebook page: facebook.com/delfabcon) 

Like Cheska and Doug Kramer, I will continue to make use of Del Forever Joy and Del Forever Love when we finally live in our house in Bacolod City. This power couple is my inspiration to have a happy, healthy family. My future kids’ clothes/garments will surely be so bango and make them more nakakagigil. Ooohh. I can’t wait!

Indeed, loving is not only a wonderful feeling but also a difficult decision to make. I always have the option to just walk away, free myself from loneliness of a long distance relationship BUT I chose to stay. I will stay.

We all have unique love stories and different circumstances. At the end of the day, we all need to love and feel loved. No matter what happens, do not give up on love. No matter where you are in the world, continue to believe in the power of love. Keep Loving! 

Til next time,
Antonia

P.S. You might want to read the story of how we started our relationship:
Start of our Love Story (Part 1) 
Seeing our future Together (Part 2)
Reasons why I left my comfort zone  

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How to buy prepaid mobile e-load via BDO online banking

In my previous post, I shared with you our squad’s weekend search for Korean Buffet. Since we were not able to call for reservation, we needed to wait in line to be seated. Can you guess how many minutes? No, not minutes! More an hour! But don’t worry, it was worth the wait.

While waiting, I suggested to one of my friends to play Mobile Legend! Do you know that game? It’s like DOTA but in a mobile phone. Let me show you a screenshot of my winning streak at the end of this post. Haha!

However, I do not have mobile internet/data so I needed to buy electronic load for my globe number and avail of unlimited mobile internet promo for 3 days. I find it very hard to find an electronic loading station nowadays. I think because majority in the area is on postpaid or depending on where I am located. Good thing I remember that I can buy e-load via BDO (Banco De Oro) online banking. How convenient, right?

Buying a load in BDO online is so easy and free of charge. Yes! You’ve read it right. No charge at all. Let me share here the steps.


1. Log in to your BDO online banking account: https://www.bdo.com.ph/personal. If you have not registered yet, you can visit the website and browse through the FAQs for guide or click here. 

2. Enroll your mobile number in the account via Enrollment > Prepaid Mobile Number > Enroll.  

3. Enter the needed values. You have 4 mobile networks available: GLOBE, SMART / TALK N TEXT, SUN, TOUCH MOBILE. 
(I do not have mobile banking account so I marked Online Banking instead.)

4. Click Submit. The following message will be prompted. Hit OK. 

5. Once successful, Enrollment Details will be provided. An email will be sent to your registered account notifying you of the successful enrollment.  

 6. You are now ready to buy electronic load for your mobile. Go to Pay Bills and Reload > Prepaid Mobile Reload > Buy a Load.

7. Enter Load Details. Apparently, only regular e-loads are available. In my case, I made use of the regular load to avail of the Unlimited Surfing promo of Globe. Note: The Remarks field does not allow special characters. 

8. Another message will be shown requesting your confirmation. Click Continue.

9. The action will also prompt One-Time Password will be sent to your registered mobile number. Enter the OTP and click Submit.

10. Success! Wait for the e-load to be added on your mobile.

 In just 10 easy steps, you can enjoy your e-load. Hassle-free! Next time you need the load, you will not be having a hard time looking for loading stations.

Here’s a screenshot of my mobile legend game! So much fun!

All troops deployed! :)

'Til next time.
Antonia

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Weekend Getaway: Search for Korean Buffet near Makati

It has been 3 years since I landed a job here in Makati. As a new comer, I find the place huge and full of strangers. For me, Makati is a place to start anew - build friendship and connections. In no time, I found myself spending time with beautiful, cool and talented bunch in the office. We share laughter, story of our lives, challenges in the office and a lot more! We have so much fun especially when we bond over food.

Like other stories, there is a time in our lives that we need to part ways. One moved to a different team, the other relocated to another office building and I applied for a day shift post. It is quite sad but it is part of growing - personally and professionally.

While writing this post, this song played on my mind:

'I spent half my life
Looking for the reasons things must change.
And half my life trying to make them stay the same.
But love would fade like summer into fall;
All that I could see was a mystery,
It made no sense at all.'
I am missing their company (lunch buddies, chika minutes, etc). But, life goes on! No matter where we are in the world, I hope our friendship will stay forever. We just have to make time to meet and get-together! And yes, last weekend we arranged to have lunch in a Korean Buffet!

Marc (aka Prof) will be our guide (shall I say, our driver - Thanks Prof!). First choice: Hanayo Grill, Tomas Morato, Quezon City. The place has high ratings online. We drove to Quezon City where we will meet Liz. We were driving around Tomas Morato but we could not find the place. We decided to call their reception and to our surprise, we were informed by the owner that they are no longer operating!



Lesson Learned: Call first to request for reservation. We overlooked to do that because we were so excited- checking each other's life updates. In short, we thought it will be a road trip! Anyway, we had so much fun in the car.

We searched for another resto with Korean Buffet and we found Day DonDonDon! They are also located in Tomas Morato, Quezon City (inside Sunshine Boulevard). We inquired inside and checked their food. It has also high ratings online but we opted look for another place. It was around 11:30 am and we were starting to feel hungry and exhausted since we took off straight from the office.

This is the facade of Day Dondondon Korean Buffet

We met Liz near the area and brainstormed on where to take lunch. We were craving for Korean Buffet. We then decided to check out Samgyupsalamat in Banaue (Quezon City) amidst the traffic. We arrived in the place around 12:00 noon. Again, we did not call their office to inquire. So, we were not that surprise that there is a long queue. We decided to enlist and we grabbed the 7th spot in the queue. Wow! We were really famished (exaggerating here!) but we opted to wait for almost an hour before we were seated.

It was worth the wait. Take a look at this video. I have included here our food trip last month (All4u Korean Buffet in Century City Mall). Watch 'til the end to meet some members of the squad.

 

'Til next weekend,
Antonia

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If you are given a chance to undergo plastic surgery, will you take it?

I was exposed to colorful beauty pageants in my teens. In fact, I joined a number of pageants in school and in the city/province (Would you believe that!? - Well well well, *hairflip*) When I prepared for the pageant, my trainers will hand me sets of questions that I need to be familiar with. These questions are normally hand-written in a spring notebook. One of the most popular questions is:

'If you are given a chance to change a part of your body, what would that be?'

The popular answer to this question way back 2006 is (let me state it in a ShowTime Q&A way):
'Thank you so much for that wonderful question. Ladies and gentlemen, if I am given a chance to change a part of my body, I will not change any of it. I believe that I am perfect in the eyes of our creator. I am contented with what I have now and confident that if I love and accept myself, I can achieve my aspirations and goals in life no matter where life takes me. I may not be physically perfect but I am who I am and I will carry on with confidence and a loving heart. I, THANK YOU!' (*hairflips one more time). 

It will be more fun if you listen to this audio recording of how I will say the answer. CLICK PLAY

Well, that is somehow a popular answer in the early 2000 when plastic surgery is not that common compared today. If this question will be asked today, I would be more sensitive in how I will answer the question.

For months, an internet sensative has been making a buzz in facebook and trending in twitter for undergoing plastic surgery. My newsfeeds have been flooded with updates regarding the new face of Marlou Arizala, now known as Xander Ford. His new face was even 'launched' in a popular program in ABS CBN - Rated K. I have read different reactions from Netizens - some were happy for him, others are not so impressed.

Take a look at Before and After comparison.

The surgery was not that easy-breezy. I grabbed an illustration of how much it costs:

Photo and information grabbed from Facebook/ PeP

Well, for me, what matters most is how Xander Ford feels about himself. If the outcome makes him even happier, then that's good for him. We all have our own freewill and every one should make the most out of it. What's important is that we are not stepping on the rights of our fellowmen.

I also dreamed of being sponsored by the popular Dr. Vicki Belo. I always tell my friends that if I will be taking some beauty fixes, I will rely on Dr Belo. If you'll ask if I am open to plastic surgery, I will answer: 'No for now'. But, who knows maybe in the next 5 or 10 years? We'll never know.

If you think the surgery will make you feel more confident at work or life in general, then go for it. For sure, you will be contemplating on that matter for thousand times before deciding. I believe that this matter is life-changing and would not be taken without extensive counseling, discussion and professional consultation. I think one must be prepared physically, financially and emotionally. Be ready with the outcome and how you will embrace the change. Be open to any criticism or not so good opinions from others that will come along the way. When you are already there, be firm. Stand by your decision and do not forget to savor the moment and enjoy.

'Life is what you make it!' Do what you have to do but always be ready with whatever the consequences are. Make the most out of life. You only live once.

Enjoy the weekend!

Feeling Imperfectly Perfect,
Antonia

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Tips to get Google Adsense approval

A dear friend once told me that it would be very fulfilling to earn with your talent/passion. I agree! I know some friends who fell in love with photography and they are earning well from their hobbies. Others love to dance and they have set Zumba, hiphop, dance tutorials. Isn't it awesome? You will always look forward to waking up each day (even Mondays) and go to work!


How about me? I surely love my current job now, no doubt. However, I also love writing. I have been writing since Grade 6.  I joined School Press Conferences held in Cebu, Bohol. I met several student journalists along the way. Memories of those times are colorful and full of life. I thank all those people I met for teaching me a lesson or two and for introducing to me the art of writing. I still got some grammar mistakes, run on and all that but I keep on writing because it is my way of sharing a story. I just hope that I can inspire others with my life story. You'll never know, right?

Yes! Sharing your stories (hopefully to inspire) and earning on the side is not that bad. You bet! I heard of Google AdSense from college batch mates and wanted to give it a try. My college friends had pretty websites and they were very good in writing and editing sites with HTML and other tools. They were also very generous in sharing their ideas in setting up a website.

I started in 2008 but I lost access to the site. At that time, my site has been approved for Google AdSense. I think it was not that strict during that time. Unfortunately, I failed to re-gain access to the site and decided to start over.

I applied for AdSense with more than 10 articles on my site in 2013. I have been disapproved for years. Every time I re-submit, I anxiously wait for the Gmail notification to pop-up. I held my breath every time I open my mail only to find out that it is another not-so-good news. Nonetheless, I did not stop. I continued writing and I see to it that I pour my heart in every article. I am doing my best stick to the goal of my site which is to live, share and inspire.It took me 4 years to get approval. What did I do to finally deserve the most coveted AdSense's YES? How did it happen? Let me share here some tips:

1. I learned that you will have higher chances to get approved when you buy custom domain name. I tried once but I could not afford. Besides, I am not sure if I am dealing with a legit site. So, I stick with Blogger. However, if you know something about this and familiar with the process, you can go ahead, research further and buy one!

2. Introduce yourself. I think readers are more interested if your approach is more personal and if they can relate. Even myself, I would not stay in a site if I can sense that it is possible that its ads may lead to unsafe pages. Stay legit!

3. I am not well-versed in customizing the design in my site so I stick with Blogger templates. There are thousands of templates available that exude professionalism and great sense of artistry. Go for a simple yet captivating designs.

4. Build up with contents. I have read that for you to be approved, you need to have at least 15-20 well-written blog posts. I am not sure if this is entirely true because when I applied for approval last October 2016, I already have more than 20 blog posts. All original. You need to have sufficient texts on your site for AdSense specialists to review. So, keep on writing and posting!

I have been disapproved for insufficient content, here is one of the responses I received:

 
5. Stay away from copyrighted pictures/images. I got one post with Warren Buffet on it. I wanted to share some fun facts I read from a magazine about the businessman. It is possible that I got the 'ding' from AdSense and a big NO NO because of the picture I grabbed from Google. Thus, get rid of copyrighted pictures or videos. You can surely find sites for free images. Leverage Google now!

Here is how it looks like when AdSense review team spotted copyrighted materials on your site.

 6. Write in complete sentences and not just titles. Avoid posting just videos and animations. For sure there are backstories in all those stuff. Go ahead, tell a story or two!

7. Be brave enough to apply. The rejection letter only hurts most at first. It took me 14 re-submissions to be approved. Never ever stop working to get the approval and earn with your talent and passion. What are you waiting for? Set up your blog and apply!

There are several resources in the net for guidance in starting with your site and applying for AdSense. If all fails, you can visit their Forum Community to raise some questions and gather more information from pool of FAQs or visit the AdSense site.

Drop your questions, comments and other tips below. I will be glad to answer, read your stories about 'struggles' to be approved and take note of your tips.

Happy earning!
Antonia

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