Stylish Fashion, and yet Eco-Friendly

What matters to you most: fashion and design or nature-friendly products? Most of the time, in order to help save the nature, artistry and intricate details of a garment are put aside. So should consumers be left without any options as to how they wanted to be dressed?

Other times, garment companies will try, as much as they can, to use organic products to contribute to the saving of the world. The artistry and intricate details are not compromised, but their products are way too expensive. Wouldn't it be nice if a company can come up with organically produced products that comes with artistry and intricate details and yet at a reasonable price?

Hmm..what then is a reasonable price?!

Oxford Dictionary describes reasonable as "as much as is appropriate or fair". And for me, I believe, that companies can come up with concepts that are fairly appropriate both in the areas of artistry & design and in marking their prices. And I have found such a company...Have you heard of GeboMana?

Well, if truth be said, I wouldn't have heard of this company had the owner not sought me at oDesk. It was through this that I get to "look in" on the company's website and 'lo and behold! what I found was indeed a treasure.

GeboMana is a company that specializes in hand-crafted T-shirts. The concept was to bring Bali Indonesia's great culture into artistic exposure through the shirts. The artists themselves are international award winning designers. And guess where the shirts are made...in Bali of course! Before I get ahead of myself, let me introduce the company and key people within.

The 3 key players in this company are Scott Foster, Mike Boorn, and Ruby Reyes. None of them are artist by profession, but all of them play a distinct role in leading the company to where it is today. Scott and Ruby deals with international relations with Ruby creating an international supply chain and overseeing the production in Bali, while Scott handles the international operation and cultural difficulties with an international market. And Mike handles the marketing and advertising.

These 3 people came together and started a unique outlet due to an overwhelming desire to change the world. "Have they?", you might ask.

Well, you see, unless you've visited the site or have purchased, or been given, a shirt from GeboMana, you'll never understand why they exist.

GeboMana, as I have gathered from their website, exists not just for profit, but for service and something else. I said service..hmmm...what do I mean by that? Remember my earlier "wishful thinking" about a company that can come up with organically produced products and yet with artistry and intricate details at a reasonable price? Well, GeboMana uses 100% organic cotton, which means eco-friendly; GeboMana never compromises the designs, all of their shirt are of Limited Editions; and they are not pricey, if you know what I mean. A shirt costs $49. "Whoa!" you might say. Indeed, for 3rd world countries that's too much, but wait 'till you see what you get. Each T-shirt is gift-wrapped and boxed (with GeboMana's unique wrappers), and is shipped via express courier worldwide, and you can have it personalized by having your message printed on a high grade paper and placed in a hand-embossed luxury envelope. Wouldn't it be a romantic gift for a sweetheart?!

"What about that 'something else'?" Remember the "overwhelming desire to change the world"? Well, GeboMana has established a foundation called Gebo Foundation. This foundation has helped other non-profit foundations in their endeavor to "change the world". Whenever you buy a shirt from GeboMana, you start educating another child from a developing nation in sustainable practices.

GeboMana might seem like another company with a foundation and a desire to help poor nations. But for me, putting such a desire together with such a great product is a company worth my vote. Will I be purchasing a shirt from this company? Well, not at the moment maybe, but I'm greatly considering about it. And once I did, I will surely post it here and let you guys see!

These are the designs that caught my attention and if they'll still be available when I have the money to purchase them, I would surely buy these:

The New Jarvis

This guy is amazing! Upon arriving here at Gen San, he had adjusted quite well! There was no mention of Manila nor Zamboanga (which was very different from the time we've left Zambo!) There was no wish of "Mommy, I wish we can go back to Manila (or Zamboanga)" or "Mommy, I want to leave". Instead, there was just pure peace in him.

Even when we first went to his school! Yes, there was this hesitation in meeting his Principal, Teachers and classmates. But on the 1st day at his school, he found friends! He played, sing and run around with these friends that he has found. And his friends are really concern about him too!

One morning, after dropping him off at his school, two of his friends approached me and said that Jarvis is slow in copying what the teacher had asked them to copy. They were concerned that if Jarvis were to graduate from Kinder 2 and start Grade 1, he might not be able to catch up! Amazing isn't it! Well, of course being a Mom, I carried the concern over to his teacher, and his teacher assured me that he can and will catch up.

Going to school (and adjusting very quickly) was the first encounter Jarvis had when we arrived here. The second, as I believe most of you have noticed, was his clean-shaven head. He had not have that kind of cut for almost 3 years already. He has been begging me to have his hair shaved for the past 2years to which I adamantly said 'No'. But on his first hair cut here, I've decided to give him what he has been asking for...and voila!

He didn't like it, that's for sure! When we entered the Barber's Shop, he was filled with confidence with his decision. But the moment the barber shaved a portion of his head, his face changed! And I can see regret in his eyes, but I told him that no matter what other people has to say about his hair cut, he has to still has to accept of what he has decided upon. This was a hard lesson for him..but a lesson that he needs to learn.

The third encounter is his need to wear glasses. He's only 5 years old, but he already have astigmatism and grade. This came about 2 weeks ago, when I noticed that he kept on blinking his eyes, particularly the one on the right. Joshua noticed that he had a hard time reading and often commits mistake with the letters. And last Tuesday, Oct 12, we've decided to have his eyes checked. The Doctor said that if Jarvis can still go on without much complain, then the glasses are not needed. But that night, his eyes kept on blinking and therefore, Josh and I have decided that it's time to have his glasses made. This third adjustment was not a problem either. I was expecting him to complain of dizziness or unwillingness to wear the glasses, but amazingly he wore it with much anticipation! He has stopped blinking, so I assume that the glasses are helping.

Jarvis is truly an amazing guy! I'm praying that he will grow up in this hard and brutal world with love and understanding for all, especially us, his parents. I don't know why, but God has blessed us with a truly great son. I just hope that, as his parents, we will be able to fulfil and give him the love, training and discipline he needs in order to live righteously in this unrighteous world.

On Receving God's Graciousness and Generosity

Motherhood posts a great challenge to every single woman in this world. From the time of Eve up until now, women were never spared from the difficulties and pains of pregnancy down to giving birth. This is one of the major punishment of God for Eve when she disobeyed.

Most people say that children are gifts from God. And yet, most people take these gifts for granted. For people who practices pre-marital sex and got pregnant, they will simply go through abortion in order to "take-away" the shame of being pregnant outside of marriage. While others try to get these blessings through artificial insemination.

In my case, however, the Lord has been extra generous and gracious. Gracious because He allowed me to be pregnant (in both cases) at the right moment. Generous because He has not withheld the joy of having a son and a daughter.

One of the things that most couple aspire to have when they get married is to have children. But sadly, in most cases, those who are not capable of becoming parents received more while those who are able receives either less or none at all. Which one am I? I don't know...but...

The graciousness of the Lord has been bestowed upon me and my family. On the 1st month of our marriage, I found out that I was pregnant with our son. I was not able to work due to my delicate pregnancy and was even hospitalized. But God was gracious in meeting all of our needs. After giving birth, I was not able to go back to work, because it was too difficult to look for a nanny... and yet, God was gracious to meet all of our needs.

A few months before my son's 1st birthday, the Lord has called us to leave our place of ministry and to transfer to a provincial church...again, the graciousness of God. When His ministers are no longer bearing fruit in a certain place, He shall call him out and put him in another place where he will bear fruit. And that's what has happened to us. We were no longer bearing fruit in that place, so God has called us out and put us in another location.

We served in this place for 4years until the Lord asked us to move again. And throughout these 4 years we've witnessed and experienced God's grace and generous giving through the people we're serving. And the biggest gift came when I became pregnant for our 2nd child. Everything was in God's timing. Everything was in God's control.

When I realized I was pregnant, my son was only 2years and 7months old. He witnessed the growth of my tummy and felt the movements of the baby. Although we've been praying for a girl, we're also praying that God gives us what He knows is best for the family. And God has answered our prayers...we have a daughter.

The usual problem with a new baby is rivalry between siblings. And that's what I've been afraid of ever since i knew I was pregnant. At first, my son had a hard time coping with his sister's incessant demand for my attention. But slowly, as he gets to share in the responsibility of taking care of his sister did he finally realized the difficulty I was in. He started having more patience and tolerance. And he also has become more protective of his sister. But of course, the jealousy is still there. And I think in order for him to get some attention for himself, he has started copying his sister's actions.

It was a trying 2 years before I was able to get some sense into my son's head. He's almost 6year old now and he's getting better to being an older brother. In his actions and words, it's evident that he loves his sister dearly. We're truly blessed by God! And we'r continually experiencing His goodness and grace as we go through the rough roads of this life.

May you experience Him as we have and still having! To God be the glory forever and ever...AMEN!

Outsourcing with oDesk.com

Outsourcing with oDesk.com

With the current trends, outsourcing has become the cheapest and most convenient in the business world. Before, outsourcing has to do with manufacturing and other factory related tasks. But now, even office works are being outsourced. With the fast development in technologies, there is actually a software that will allow the "employee" to access the desktop of the "employer"!!! How amazing can technologies be!

Hiring an employee is no longer limited to same city, state or country. One can actually hire thousands of miles away and still get the same, or better, results. And this is what oDesk is all about...outsourcing.

Upon entering the world of oDesk, you'll witness a variety of people inside. There are those whose employers pay great compliments to and there are those who gave their employers headaches. But these things are not only limited to employees. The same can also be said to the employers. There are those who would "exploit" the contractors at oDesk, offering them very low salaries for very big and hard jobs. But there are those employers who are generous and understands the difficulty of working online. Rare are these people...those who work with dignity & dedication, and those who hire with compassion.

However, these people can be found at oDesk, but one has to search with great patience. Outsourcing is very risky for you'll never know if the one you're working for will pay you as what was stated in the contract or if the one you've hired will work in accordance to what your contract had stipulated. Either way, trust must be built. There's no way for either one to see and monitor the other's actions and thoughts, for there's lesser opportunities to make contact outside work. Rarely will one ask about the other's family life for whatever e-mail or conversation transpires online, it will be all about work. Then how can trust be built, you might ask...well, for the employee, you'll have to check the feedback score given by previous employees, or you'll just have to work for a week or two before you'll know if you're actually getting paid. For the employer, you'll have to hire based on the feedback scores given by previous employers or you can hire and see the progress (or lack of progress)of the employee before hiring for long term (or terminating the contract). As I've mentioned earlier, outsourcing is very risky, however, it can be rewarding for both parties, you'll just have to be patient in looking for the right candidate.

Therefore, if you're willing to give it a try, go ahead. But just be warned, its never easy to find the right fit. You'll need your God-given wisdom in deciding where to apply and most especially who to hire.

Working for oDesk

Working online is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of "working online" websites but most of it are only applicable in the United States, or somewhere else, but rarely applies the Philippines. Yes, there were reports that a Filipina had earned hundreds of thousands of pesos by giving her comments online. Rarely will you find a website that offers work for free. If ever there'll be such a website, one can't help but wonder.."is this a scam?" Well, let me tell you my experience with online work...

5 years ago, I've thought of searching for work, online. Since I get to be online almost 24/7, I wanted Internet time to a more profitable and effective. So I've started looking for work online. There were websites that are "catchy" in nature...they will offer you great money with a simple click of a mouse or simply giving your opinion. With these kinds of offers, who will not be tricked into signing up?! And yes, I was tricked into giving them at least $25 for their sign up fee...what did I get? Websites upon websites upon websites....Did I get any offers? Oh yes! But once I clicked on the link to get started, an error will appear saying that the product or company is not being offered in my country! It was so frustrating!!!

I almost gave up, but the Lord has been good, I've found a breakthrough! As I was searching for online work, which I have been doing for the past 5 years, I've finally landed on a gold mine! While clicking on links upon links, I tumbled upon oDesk.com. At first I was apprehensive to join 'coz it might be one of those crazy websites. But as I read thru the website's page, I found out that it's not offering quick money or anything like that. Instead, it's offering real job from real companies for real freelancers...and it's free! So, I've decided to give it a try.

I've filled up their resume, gave a proper calculation of my salary and started applying for work. It's much like applying for a real job in the real world, just minus the hassle of traffic, pollution and weather conditions. I was a member of oDesk since March of 2010, but I only get to work 2 months later. It's not easy to land a job, as it is not easy in the real world. The competition among the contractors are great, but its not impossible to land a job.

The uniqueness of oDesk is in this area: joining the website is free, both for the contractors (freelancers) and the employers; if the employer will hire a contractor, the employer will shoulder the 10% service charge, while the contractors will NOT pay for anything while working under oDesk; the only time a contractor will pay for anything is when he/she will withdraw his/her salary from oDesk, and this is at a very very very low price of $1/withdrawal. So lets say you've earned $251 by working at oDesk and you wanted to withdraw the money, $1 will be deducted from your salary and you get the remaining $250. The same is true to any amount you would like to withdraw. Therefore, it is wise to gather as much money as you can before making a withdrawal.

How to transfer the money from oDesk to your bank account will need another blog for it. What I wanna focus on right now is working online under oDesk.

oDesk guarantees that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour worked is an hour paid. That is why there are no "lazy" moments while working at oDesk, which is very unlikely to happen in an office environment. Some people are known to take advantage of their employers absence. Do you know the popular phrase for this? "When the cat is away...the mouse will play" (which, sad to say, is most visible and rampant in the Philippines government employees!) But this is not so with oDesk. oDesk has a software that allows it to take snapshots of what you're doing on your desktop. if you were doing something outside of your work (even for just a few seconds), and oDesk Team took that snapshot, you'll be forced to delete that snapshot, and so does all of your work for that full 10 minutes or so. That's the guarantee of oDesk: that an hour billed is an hour worked and that an hour worked is an hour paid.

There are a lot of work available at oDesk, but most has to do with web pages. Most popular are the web designers and blog/article writers. As I've mentioned earlier, great is the competition among freelancers in landing a good job. And I guess this is the sad part in working for oDesk...for a mom like me, I have to compete with freelancers who have all the time in the world to work. Therefore, those more "abled" freelancers gets to land the "good" jobs while I get the "crumbs".

But in totality, working for oDesk is much more realistic rather than running after the quick and easy way of earning money online. As the older folks used to say "its more satisfying to spend a hard-earned money".

I hope this blog has helped you in any way possible.

For employers who might have read this blog:

For freelancers who wanted to join this wonderful team: