Wow. ML Wang genuinely altered my perspective with this book. What was that I just read? From the very first chapter, there was a quiet warning that this story would not be gentle. I should have listened. Still, nothing could have prepared me for where it went.

Blood Over Bright Haven is not an easy read. It’s the kind of book that drains you slowly, then leaves you staring at the last page wondering how you even made it there. The story pulls you forward with a sense of dread and inevitability, and before you realize it, you’re too deep to turn back. I didn’t breeze through it. I survived it.

The ending completely blindsided me. It was devastating in a way that hurts, but also feels earned. Painful, yet strangely satisfying. The kind of ending that doesn’t tie things up neatly, but instead lingers in your mind, demanding to be questioned and wrestled with. I closed the book with my heart heavy and my thoughts loud.

What struck me most is how unapologetically the story challenges your morals. It asks uncomfortable questions and refuses to give easy answers. Would you choose a life of comfort if it meant ignoring the suffering built into the system around you? Would you risk everything for a fight that offers only a glimmer of hope? And at the core of it all: is humanity, as it is, truly worth saving?

This isn’t just fantasy. It’s a mirror. Blood Over Bright Haven confronts power, complicity, and sacrifice in a way that feels painfully relevant. It doesn’t let you read passively. It asks you to take a stand, even if only in your own mind.

I finished this book shaken, thoughtful, and changed. It hurt. It challenged me. And it’s going to stay with me for a long time.

Our weekend stay at Nadhibar Resort was nothing short of incredible! From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, we were treated to a perfect blend of relaxation, great food, and outstanding service.

Unique Menu & Delicious Food: The resort's menu is a food lover’s dream, featuring authentic Asian cuisines like Korean, Japanese, Indian, and Thai. We were starving by the time we reached the port, so I called ahead to order, and they prepared everything quickly. When we arrived, our meal was ready and absolutely delicious! The refreshing welcome drinks were a great start to our stay as well. We even had the chance to chat with the chef, who told us he uses real spices, not artificial seasonings, which explains why the food tasted so rich and flavorful. However, if you're looking for the usual Filipino silog breakfast, you won’t find it there, but the breakfast they do offer is equally delightful and worth trying.

Exceptional Service: Upon our arrival, we were greeted with warm/cold towels, welcome drinks, and the warmest smiles. The staff was incredibly attentive and prompt in addressing our every request, making us feel like we were truly valued guests.

Great Location & Amenities: The resort is conveniently located not far from the port, and the peaceful atmosphere makes it the perfect escape. While the beach is rocky rather than sandy, the crystal-clear water makes up for it. We enjoyed night swimming at their gorgeous pool, and the fact that they have a buy-one-take-one cocktail deal at the nearby pool bar during weekdays was an added bonus!

Eco-Friendly & Thoughtful Touches: One thing that stood out to us was their commitment to eco-friendly toiletries. We loved the wooden combs and toothbrushes, and even the alcohol had a pleasant scent. The shampoo and conditioner not only smelled amazing but left our hair silky smooth. As someone who values sustainability, I really appreciated the resort's effort to provide such thoughtful, eco-conscious products.

If you're a fan of Kpop or Kdramas, you might have noticed how Koreans often curious and ask about someone's MBTI. But what exactly is MBTI? Well, it stands for Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator is a pseudoscientific self-report questionnaire that claims to indicate differing "psychological types". The test attempts to assign a binary value to each of four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving.

Hey there! How was your day so far? Nothing much on mine. Today's just another regular day of me working at home...

Oh! My friend Dee visited me today. So we spent the afternoon co-working, ordered pizza and I made us coffee. She didn't stay long though since she still need to pick-up her son at his school. 

I actually don't know what to share on the blog today. No major agenda. Just trying to motivate myself to start writing and update this blog. Speaking of blog... 

My blog got a fresh look yet again. This time, I ditched the fancy theme and went with Blogger's basic template. You see, my old theme and Google Adsense were having a little feud, so it was time for a change. Anyway, the previous fancy look of my blog didn't get my creative juices flowing, as I hope. So fancy or simple, themes don't seem to be the magic potion for inspiration.

So, let's dive into another edition of the "Life Lately" series (if you haven't checked it out, you can read more about it here). It's my trusty go-to when I'm scratching my head for what to serve up on this blog.

Hello there, friends! It's that time of the year again, the back-to-school season. I wanted to make sure my son had a nice pair of school shoes because his old ones were looking quite tired. So, off we went to Robinsons Department Store inside Centrio Mall for a little shopping adventure.

 

Hello everyone! Today, I'm excited to share my skin care routine and the amazing products I've been using. Taking care of your skin is incredibly important, and having a regular skin care routine that you're comfortable with is key to achieving healthy and glowing skin. Let's dive into my routine and discover some additional information about each step!

Taeyang released two new music video today. These are songs from his new album called, Down To Earth. I just love listening to his song titled Seed, its so melodic and has so much emotions in it. 

Here's a throwback photos back when my bestie invited me to go swimming at Apple Tree Resort. 

Happy new year y'all!

Same as last year I welcome the new with just me and Justine. My mom was supposed to join us but for health reasons, she wasn't able to come.

Even with just the 2 of us here in the house we still welcome the new year with a bang. Complete with decorations and food. This year the fireworks were a bit wild because it was raining ashes in the sky. Literally, the fireworks above our head because the neighbors next door or next block lit it up. It was so exciting watching them up close. Back at our previous house were just looking at it from afar because our house is overlooking the city.

The kiddo and I stayed up till 4AM just eating and talking. And then, I woke up around 11AM to prepare because my bestie and her fam will be visiting us. When they arrive we ate and then after that went swimming at the clubhouse.

While swimming the bestie convince me to come with them to the downtown mall. I was hesitant at first because I usually don't go out on the first day of the year. But the bestie and the kiddo keep convincing me to go. When I said yes, both of them were so happy. Part of my decision to say yes is that it's been a long that we visited downtown, especially the kiddo, who hasn't been to the mall for a long time already this can be an opportunity to let him go. And I miss Coffee Bean Tea Leaf date with the bestie, this has been our official bonding cafe. I thought it wouldn't be so crowded at the mall since most of the people still celebrating the new year at home. 

However, I was wrong there were still a lot of people in the mall. But unlike the past year this time, many shops were closed especially the department store and furniture shop which was supposed to be the main reason why we visited the mall. The bestie was so disappointed. 

The disappointment doesn't end there... Because our fave drinks at Coffee Bean Tea Leaf are not available even our second go-to drinks and the cold drinks as well. Bummer! And then kiddo had to shop for new shoes because the one his wearing is damaged. Good thing Bench has a 50% off sale.

So basically, only the kiddo fully enjoyed the day. He was very happy and positive the whole time. Which made me happy also.

So that's how my first day of January went. A day spent with people who care and matter to me.

Even though today wasn't the usual and ideal way of spending it but I'm still happy and had fun. 

 

First Dose 

November 11, 2021. I just got my Covid vaccine first dose. I initially didn't plan to get a vaccine but the city requires a vaccine certificate in order to go out. Since I am the one who does grocery and errands so I was forced to get one. 

I registered online and got my schedule immediately after 2 days at the nearest mall, SM City Uptown. When I arrive at the mall I was able to go directly to the waiting area and skip the line because I have a confirmation schedule. The people who did not register online and just walk in need to wait a long line though because they prioritize the people who already have a confirmation schedule. 

I anticipated waiting long because that's what I read on social media, so I brought with me a book, water, and a power bank. However, it was fast and well-organized. I was actually nervous and scared I might pass out, but thankfully I survived. I arrive home safe. 

It was at midnight when I felt the after-effect of the vaccine, I had chills, so I turn off the aircon thinking it was the reason, but the chills never stopped it took me a while before I fell asleep. And the next day, I had a fever, and my body was heavy. I feel like all my strength was drained out. Even though I did advanced reading and research online on the after-effects of having a vaccine, I still feel worried and nervous. But my body is too weak to think and get worried. All  I did was sleep most of the time. I don't like eating, but I force myself to eat and drink plenty of water cause I know it will help my body. 

With my body so weak, it reminded me that I hadn't had a fever for so many years already. Thank you, Lord, for good health! 

By the way, the vaccine I had was AstraZeneca.

Second Dose

December 14, 2021. I was supposed to come back in January, more or less 2 months after my first dose. But I received a text message about my second dose schedule a month before. I was really nervous because I didn't want to feel weak again, and I felt like my body hadn't fully recovered from the first dose.  

I had my second dose at the same mall where I had my first dose. This time I experienced a long line and long waiting. it was not organized, and even though I am scheduled to have your second dose, they still mix you with the walk-ins. What's worse is the security guard mixed up the line, and so the late to arrive was the first one to enter the mall. I was really pissed off because, this time, I did not prepare anything to keep me entertained while waiting. My phone battery is not full when I arrive at the mall, and I don't have my power bank with me. Arrghh! The irony!

Thankfully, the second dose was not that worse. I had body pains but no fever. 

Watch the Kings Avatar trailer...

I've been planning to dedicate weekends to write a new post in this blog but... I obviously fail to keep up. I was able to make it a weekend habit on reading my previous blog post though... I always start with it to get into the grove of writing, but I always ended reading only and not writing any. 

And here is my attempt at publishing a new post... 

There was that time when I was so passionate about blogging that I do a lot of things, like making friends with other bloggers, participating in comment exchange, and actively sharing my post on all social media platforms. So while reading on my previous post I also read the comments from other bloggers who commented on my post. I visited their blog and it's so amazing to discover that until now they still actively blogging and keep up with comment exchange. If I hadn't been inactive I probably would reach their level of popularity and readership. Most of us started with low following and readership back then, they all come a long way and consistently doing those things continously. And here's me... back to square one.

Regrets... Yes, I do regret not keeping up and letting perfectionism, insecurities, and anxiety consumed me. I also have a bit of regret, when I hastely change my domain back to Venussmilegal.com. I was so happy and excited that I finally got my main domain back and immediately change the domain name of this blog without thinking of the impact. It was late when I realize in doing so, it affected my blog traffic and Google Adsense. Oh well... Might as well accept it and move on. I am really happy that I got Venussmileygal.com back. So will just have to publish more post and connect with other bloggers again to get traffic and readership. 

Readership... This has been my constant struggle. When I plan to write a post and start questioning myself... "Is this post going to make sense?" "Is this is going to be valuable to anyone reading this?" And that's how the pressure of publishing quality content starts to consume my enthusiasm in sharing and writing a post in this blog. 

Reading my previous post, I notice that in my early years of blogging I was so carefree in sharing things in my life. It's actually fun reading and reminiscing the experiences I've had. And then comes the time when most of my posts are reviews and insights on products. That's the time a  lot of sponsors reach out to me. And so when I tried to go back to the carefree sharing I was cautious if my readers will no longer be interested when I started sharing things about my personal life. It's actually nonsense for me to think that way because first of all this blog started to be carefree, and this is a personal blog so I can share anything I wanted to share. Silly me right?

I don't know how to end the post.... So yes, this is yet another random post of what's in my mind right now. 

       

  

Since a lot has been asking about my work. I'm gonna post it here in my blog so I can just send this link if anyone asks in the future. 

What's my work...

I've been a freelance virtual admin assistant since 2010 but I started working in an online business in 2008. To mention a few of my responsibilities... I help my clients in managing and organizing their business, setup and maintenance of their website, email marketing management, developing marketing plans for their business, managing their social media networks, and other administrative tasks.

How I started... 

Before I got a work-from-home job I was struggling to find a job. I have worked as fast-food cashier, department store cashier, waitress, secretary of a small office with a salary that is not enough to pay for bills, food, and other expenses for a family of three. So during break time of my secretarial job, I have to walk around the city checking on establishments that has "Job Hiring" post. Submitted my resume and praying for a call for an interview. Until a friend recommended to apply at the outsourcing company where she is currently working. 

I started working online last December 2008. I was hired by a local outsourcing company here in our city. It's not a work from home, so I report to the office from 8 AM to 5PM on weekdays. I was assigned in the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) team. My main task back then is doing backlinks for the websites of our foreign clienteles through forum posting. I research forums, sign-up, participate in a discussion and then post the client's website. I also do blog commenting. I search some related blogs and then post comments with the client's website attached to my comment. It might sound easy, but no you have a quota on how many forums post and comments to make and comments should be long, relevant, and unique.

Then as months passed, social media was added to my task. This is the reason why I joined Facebook. I remember how I used to add random foreigners to my friend list, for me to advertise and invite them to like the client's Facebook pages. Yes, that's how we do it back then. 😁

I also created accounts on other social networking sites. We were encouraged to use our personal profiles to promote our clienteles blogs and websites. This is the reason I have so many accounts in almost all social networking, I even forget the logins in some of them now. 

I also do the social bookmarking tasks. I don't know if these websites still exist, but I do know Reddit is still very active now.

January of 2010,  is when I nervously ventured on freelancing while I am still working at the office. After my office work, I go to a friend's internet cafe to work for my own client because I don't have a PC or laptop then. I found my first client who is from the United States while searching for an online job listing at OnlineJobs.ph. I'm working during his daytime which is nighttime for me, thats 6PM - 1 AM. The best thing about my first client is that he is okay with me still learning on the task. So most of my work back then is 50% training and 50% implementation. His business was my training ground on WordPress and hosting. From setting up several websites from scratch, managing the hosting, maintenance of the website, adding content. 

After 2 months of working with him, I  was able to buy my own laptop. All my hard work paid off, I no longer need to work long hours at the internet cafe and came home late. For a single mom, it was tough being out the whole day and don't have that much time to take care of my son. It was a blessing I have my mom who take care of my kid while I was out making a living for us. 

At this time as well, the local outsourcing company that I'm working with has some internal trouble with pioneering employees, things got so messy. After a long thinking and asking for advice from freelancers and bloggers friends, I decided to quit at the local outsourcing company and focus on my on client. As the cliche quote from Alexander Graham Bell goes... 

"When one door closes, another one opens." 

My work-from-home journey started...

While I am still working with my first client I found my second client who is from Switzerland. Luckily, when I started working for my second client he provided me a laptop and paid for my monthly internet bill for the first year. So I was off to a good start with my freelancing journey. 

My Swiss client was so happy and pleased that I am so eager and interested to learn something new in the online marketing business, so he enrolled me in so many training. He even bought software and tools to expand my knowledge and skills. And that's how I got my image editing and video editing skills. His business has been my training ground for marketing, project management, and business management. Experimenting with video marketing, social media, online advertising, and more. In his company, I learn to develop business tactics and marketing proposals. To understand clients and to learn the ability to make the client understand the project even if he isn't a technology-knowledgeable person.

15 years after, I am still using the PC that my Swiss client bought me back then when the laptop can no longer support the image and video editing task that I was working on. I just did some upgrades on it last year. 

Both clients were a blessing because they have helped me a lot in building my confidence in freelancing, honing my skills, letting me test and learn new software and tools, and provided me with lots of support to start my online job easily. 

Where to look for online jobs?

From my experience, I found most of my clients from OnlineJobs.ph (I recommend for beginners VA) and Virtual Staff Finder Careers (recommended for advance VA).

I have a friend who also works from home and she mostly gets clients from Upwork.com

I hope this will help you in starting a work-from-home career too. Best luck on your journey, have more patience and willingness to learn. You'll surely go a long way.