Quick Post....

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Just doing a quick post here as I have neglected this blog big time. I have been busy of course. With what??? My work at home job, of course. Well, it's only one of the many reasons why I'm busy as I have a full schedule almost everyday.

We moved not too long ago and we're still in the midst of putting stuff together. We moved but not completely. Some of our stuff are still in the old house. I have not unpacked some of the boxes and they are still in the garage. Mostly books actually but we need some of them already so I have some unpacking in the near future.

Work for one of the companies I work for is just so busy. Since I'm one of team leaders/supervisors I am needed to work at least a few hours a day...just to be around in case questions from my team arise. Other than that, I can pretty much do or work anytime I want to.

So I'm going to sign off here for now....as work is calling me again....

LiveOps...

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LiveOps is one of the first companies that offers work-at-home jobs I came across with. It was in 2002 when I started looking for one and LiveOps came highly recommended by a lot of people in the chat board I frequent to.

So what is LiveOps? It's a virtual call center that hires work at home agents to take inbound calls from customers who may want order some products they either saw on TV or some kind of a brochure.

I applied for them and another virtual call center called Work At Home Agent. I made to both, which means I passed the modules that they want their agents to go through before they're hired. I even went through the 'mock-up' calls where a trainer would pretend as a customer. But...I didn't have the nerve to actually take 'live calls'. When I got hired by a coding company, I decided to turn my back on my 'almost' work-at-home job.

Anyway, just recently I read somewhere that LiveOps is being sued by some of its agents. I came across the Class Action Lawsuit against the company in the same chat board I found it.

Here's an excerpt from the Class Action Lawsuit:

The Plaintiffs allege that they and other similarly situated Home Agents (1) were improperly classified as "independent contractors" by LiveOps, Inc., (2) that LiveOps, Inc. controlled most, if not all, major aspects of the Home Agent's job, (3) that they were not paid for any training time associated with the job at LiveOps, Inc., (4) that they worked many hours without receiving the equivalent of the federal minimum wage, and, (5) that they worked more than 40 hours during some weeks and was not paid the federally required overtime rate of pay. The Plaintiffs allege that by not paying them correctly, LiveOps, Inc. violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1939, 29 U.S.C. §216(b).

Blog Links

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I like exchanging links with other bloggers. I really do. But why do we exchange links with other bloggers? Is it to make the list longer and longer and even longer??

I admit it. When I started blogging, I just wanted to keep adding in my blog roll. I just wanted to collect 'blogger friends' in other words.

And that's what happened. My blogger list is now so long, I had to make another one...and I'm sure I may have missed some of those who wanted a link exchange as they get lost in the shuffle.

So now comes this question that has been burning in my head: Do you get to visit those who are in your blog roll regularly? Or do you just wait for them to come for a visit and then visit them back? How do you choose who to visit?

I have my answers to these questions but I'd rather keep them to myself for now.

Test and Online Scoring....

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Online scoring is another work-at-home job that I have done myself. It's a seasonal job though. I have only worked for one company but there is another I know that hires online scorers but I'm sure there are more out there that probably do that.

The job is very easy. But I find it really boring. Scorers log on to their system and work on students' answers on some kind of a standardized test. Simple huh? Yes, it is but like I said it can be boring because it is monotonous and it's a good sleep inducer. LOL!

Usually, the cycle only lasts for about a month or a little over a month. The pay is better than a lot of other jobs, work-at-home or even those that are done outside the home. If only it's offered the whole year-round, I'd probably be doing this even if it bores me to tears.

Time Management

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Or the lack thereof. I tried to limit my blog hopping today because I wanted to take some break. I still did some hopping...mostly 'hit backs' to those who came to visit my PinayWAHM blog.

I have been a very active blogger. It's just the way I am. Whenever I commit on doing something, I will really try my very best to honor the commitment and blogging is no exception.

Being a WAHM has its pros and cons just like any job that is done outside of the home. One of the cons is probably the tendency to mismanage time. Unfortunately, I am guilty of this. I don't think that I am even trying hard enough to manage my time so I could be very productive. I already attempted to do this once...take some time off since I came to a conclusion that a lot of things are being neglected because I stay in front of the computer pretty much all the time. But it only lasted for a day or two. After that, I'm back where I started.

So how do I change this? I honestly don't know. I stayed away from the computer as much as I could the whole day today but I did not really do anything productive. I just watched TV and did my usual chores. Tomorrow is laundry as well as cleaning day for me so I would be on and off again. But what I really want is that 'solid' schedule that I can follow pretty much everyday.

The problem is: Isn't flexibility one of the perks of being a WAHM? I surely think so. So now here I am still at a loss on what to do with this dilemma of mine. Oh well....I guess I'll try to come up with a plan someday.

WAHM Job Part III

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It took a while before I was able to update this blog. It was just a busy few weeks for me that is why. I have been blogging a lot and doing my other work as well...which is known as Coding. It's not as busy as it was a few years ago but I'm just glad that I am able to make a few bucks here and there. Anyway, this brings me to the next WAH job that I have been doing for a few years now...about 5 years.

So what is Coding? It's basically Data Entry....and it's one of the most sought after jobs in the work-at-home or telecommuting industry. A lot of people can probably do this but not everyone can get into it because of stiff competition. If anything, luck is usually what's needed to get ones foot in the "Coding industry" door.

So how did I get in? Luck like I said. When I started looking for a work-at-home job, I applied to almost all of the coding companies. I even got scammed once....yes, just once. I fell for those "pay a one-time $15 Fee for Training Materials" scams that are all over the net. I though just like any other job seekers out there are thinking. It's only $15 so it's not a lot money...but can you imagine if at least 5 people fall for it a day? That would be $75 a day and there's a big chance that most of these people won't bother get their money back because....yes, it's only $15. Not me though...as soon as I got the so called 'training materials', I knew right away that it's a scam. What did I do? I filed a dispute with PayPal and thankfully, they refunded my money.

Okay before I get any further, let me explain first what's in the 'training material' first. Usually, this training material would come in an email as an attachment. It's about 20 pages [possibly even more] of instructions...on how to convince other to pay $15 or even more for that same 'training material'. Yes, it's recycled over and over and over again. I bet that same material is still in existence up until today...and there are still a lot of innocent people desperate for a work-at-home job who are falling for it.

Back to Coding and how I got into it. Like I mentioned luck was on my side. You see a big coding company, originally called as Onsite but is now known as Onsite3, did massive hiring back in 2002. Since I had an active application with them, I was one of those they called. I took the test and passed...the rest is history as they say.

After getting hired by Onsite3, it was easier to get in the other companies. Most of the other companies require experience that's why. Right now I work for 2 other companies aside from Onsite3. One is very new while the other has been in business for a while and have been bought out recently. I am not listing their names simply because they don't have any opening right now. One company I used to work for is called Cypher but they ceased operation at the end of October 2007 unfortunately. There are others that also closed down.

Right now it's been very slow in the Coding industry. The new company hasn't had work for the last few weeks while Onsite3 releases small projects every now and then. Only one has been having work for the last couple of weeks.

That's about it. Maybe one day I will be able to post here when one of the companies I'm working is hiring.

Jewelry Making...

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... as a home-based business? Why not, right? A lot of people are into jewelry so it can be a good business.

I am not much of an artist but from what I have read, even those like me who do not have even a single drop of creativity in my blood can actually pull it off.

I have not tried it but if work stays this slow much longer, I may just give it a shot. I almost tried one before but I got busy with my other jobs.

It's the one where the company will send you a kit to make some crosses then send them back for approval. If they pass the inspection, you get paid for the ones you finished. But some made more money by buying the kit and selling the necklaces in fairs or friends.

Not sure what happened to the company already since I have not heard about it in a while. From what I read before, some did not get paid but some are still doing it. So it's worth checking out...it maybe one way to make some extra bucks to pay for some gasoline at least.

Been A While...

Since I posted on this blog. I got real busy with life in general. My paid blogging picked up a little bit so I have been busy with that as well.

My domain - Pinay WAHM - finally got a rank after about 3 months. It's just a PR2 but it's better than an N/A or a PR0. I am trying to maximize the allowed posts because I'm sure the PR will disappear again one of these days. Ironically, the reason for that PR to disappear is what else but the paid posting I've been doing on it.

Imagine this...when a blog has no PR, there is very little chance that it would get any higher paying opportunities. As a result, majority of the posts will be the unpaid ones...which will in turn return give the blog a higher PR. As soon as PR is given, big paying opps will be available for the taking. So what do we do? Start grabbing those opps as much as possible. Therefore flooding your blog with paid opps now. What's going to happen? The PR will be taken away...resulting to non-paid opps again....and the CYCLE CONTINUES!!!

Oh well...I thought I'd post here today for a change. I have not posted in my Teacher's Corner blog as well. But that's only for a day or two. I'd probably leave that blog idle for a little while so it will be given a PR...hahaha!

Ciao...

Pop-Ups, Widgets, Add-Ons...atbp..

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The past few days have been kinda' frustrating for a lot bloggers specifically those who are using the Blogger. Well, it's not a problem with Blogger per se but it seems that only those who are using Blogger are the ones greatly affected by what's happening.

Okay...so what am I talking about here. I am talking about the POP-UPS that have been coming up everytime some blogs are visited. I have had my share of seeing those unwanted pop-ups. They vary from simple ads like travel advertisements to PORN pop-ups. Yes, those! Fortunately the pop ups are not causing any virus or anything of the nature but it does not make them less stressing.

So where do the pop-ups came from? Actually, there is no way of really knowing where they come from. This is what we know right now, per our experience. It seems that some of the pop-ups are brought about by some of the WIDGETS that we use to make our blogs pretty and equipped in some ways. Well now, these widgets seem to equip our blogs with pop-ups as well. Unfortunately, the pop-up blocker we activate on our browsers don't work on these pop-ups so they still come up even with the blocker on.

So which widgets are causing these? Again, this is only per some bloggers account and experience. One is the Rank Widget. A blogger friend said that after changing her templates she started installing the widgets one at a time. As soon as she installed this specific widget, the pop-ups started. So she took it down and the pop-ups stopped.

So a word of advice. If you have some widgets in your blog and you are having some pop-up attacks...try removing the widgets then reinstall them one at a time and do the process of elimination.

That's about it. Hopefully it works to you as it did to the other bloggers I know. Goodluck.

Spring Forward....

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So today is the day!! The day for what??? The day to adjust your clocks 1 hour onward, forward, or whatever you want to call it. This 'spring forward does not only happen here in the US. A lot of other countries also do it.

So why do some countries and some other states do this? I mean adjust their clocks on the second Sunday of March and then again on the second Sunday of November. There is a long explanation on this one and I won't even dare explain it. If you want to read extensively on this DST or Daylight Savings Time, I found this website with explanation and it's called 'About Daylight Saving Time'. Very imaginative title, don't you think?

For someone like me who works at home, there is really no difference except when one of the jobs I do actually requires me to log on to the server at a specific time. But that only happens like 2 months a year for a few weeks. Majority of the time, there is really no need to do that.

The only effect this has on me is it somehow messes my body rhythm. Like right now. I don't feel like it's really 2 o'clock . But this will only last for a day or so. At least I don't have to wake up and go to bed at specific time. That's another advantage of working at home. Ha!

Google Page Rank

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Since my last entry is about 'blogging' as a possible WAHJ' [work-at-home job], I thought I'd elaborate more on this so-called Page Rank which is being given by Google.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I really have no idea how the Page Rank is achieved. What I write here is just what I observe and my own take on the issue.

My 2 other blogs both had a PR of 3 at one point. My own domain used to be a blogspot like this one. It was only about a month old when it was given a PR3 by Google. A couple months ago, I decided to convert it to my own domain because advertisers seem to exclude blogspot from their list of allowed domains. I was advised that its PR would go away as soon as I convert it to my domain. It did and it's still a PR0.

Admittedly, I work more on my Pinay WAHM blog than in my other blogs. I only update my Teacher's Corner occasionally. So I was surprised when I found out that it was given a PR3. Cool. So I started working on that blog more. Guess what...as soon as worked on that blog daily the PR tanked. It's now a PR0 for about month.

So now both my blogs are PR0. I still get some opportunities but not as much as I used to get when one of my blogs had a PR. I'm fine with that until last week.

While I was doing some bloghopping, I noticed that other blogs that used to be PR0 are getting PR 3. Cool. So I tried my blog's PR...nope, both still have a PR0. For kicks, I checked the PR of my old blogspot account...the one that I converted into my own domain. Here's what I saw:

Yes, that one has a Page Rank of 4!!! Why? I have no idea. I'm sure it's not backlinks because all those are on the new domain. The entries are also mostly under the new domain. The only reason I can think of as to why this old blog has a very high PR is because....because...because...nothing!

Jobs that Can be Done at Home Part II...

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Since I am not doing anything yet and while I'm waiting for my little one to tell me what she wants for breakfast, I thought I'd start blogging here first. This is my second entry on 'work-at-home jobs'.

In my previous entry on the WAHJ, I blogged about 'phone related jobs'. Another WAHJ that has gained a lot of momentum within the last year or so is 'blogging'! Yes, this thing I am doing right now can also be a work-at-home job. A lot of people make a thousands of dollars a month doing paid blogging.

Paid blogging is a bit tricky though. To be able to get accepted to the paid blogging sites, your blog should at least be a month old and should have some relevant entries. Some sites on thee other hand require that the blog be at least 90 days or 3 months old. Aside from the 'blog age' requirement, your blog/s should also be indexed with Google and/or Yahoo.

Now for the tricky part. One of the most important, if not the most important, things for paid blogging is what is called Google 'Page Rank' or PR. Let me clarify though that I really HAVE NO IDEA how a Google PR is achieved. Different people have different theories. Personally, I am not convinced that there is really a solid basis for this PR that Google is letting the bloggers know. One thing I know though is that Google does not like paid blogging. It's kind of ironic for some. Why? Because a lot of the bloggers out there blog because they want to do some paid blogging someday. So they work their tails off to achieve a good page rank and get accepted by the paid blogging sites then BAM...their PR disappear soon after they start doing the paid blogging. And with the PR going down or disappearing altogether, a blogger's chance of getting higher paying opportunities will be very slim to none.

I still have a lot of things to learn about 'monetizing' my blog. Right now, I am just going with the flow and trying to learn the ropes so to speak. One thing I am hoping though is that the day comes when this so-called Google PR will not be the major factor in getting those higher paying opportunities.

There you have it. My take on another possible work-at-home job: Blogging.

Sick Leave for a Working-at-home Mom???

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So what happens when a WAHM like me is a bit under the weather??? Take a break and just rest...the whole day...without worrying about missing a day at work.

Today I have not been feeling well. I think I caught the sniffles that my little one started having about a week ago [Thursday of last week to be exact]. I have allergies so to her and my husband, there is really no difference. I sneeze and blow my nose everyday anyway. But to me it's obvious when I have it.

Anyway, this is one of the advantages I have as a work-at-home Mom. Whenever I am not feeling well, I can just sit back and relax. Well, kinda'. You don't really sit back and relax when you have a kid, do you? The same goes true if my little one is not feeling well, I don't have to worry about asking a boss for a day off to take care of her.

I am an Independent Contractor, which means in most of my work I don't get paid if I don't work. But I have some gigs where I am given a deadline and I get paid as long as I make the deadline. Anyway, I'd rather be resting comfortably at home rather than going to work and possibly spreading what I have to more people.

I am logging off now to rest a bit more. I have to start making dinner in a few.

Typical Day of a Work-at-Home Mom...

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I thought I'd blog about this as early as now. I'm not doing anything at the moment anyway. It's one of those days...slow days, work wise. One of the downsides of being a work-at-home Mom like me.

So what's a typical day for me? Everyday, I make it a point to wake up to see my husband off to work. He's a morning person and he has his own small business so he somehow owns his time. It's not always a good thing though because he can work as much as 18 hours a day and his pay will be the same. Anyway, back to the topic. He normally leaves around 5 AM - give or take. So I'd wake up then to see him off. Then back to bed I go...LOL. My 'real' day starts when I wake up from my second 'round of sleep'.

Between 7 -8 AM - wake up
Between 8-9 AM - breakfast with the little one, checking emails, blogs, work if there's any
Between 9-10 AM - Clean-up
Between 10 - 12 Noon - work for me if there's any, school work for the little one.
Lunch time is usually between 12 - 2
Between 2-4 - Work, little one's TV time
Between 4-5 - Wrapping up with whatever I have hanging, more school work for the little one
Around 5-6 - Dinner preparation
Between 6 - 8 - Dinner, Clean-up
Between 8-9:30 - Little one's bedtime routines
Between 10 -12MN - More work if there is any
Around 12 MN [11:30ish] should be bedtime for me or else my allergy will be at its worst.

Next day - Repeat...the routine!

The good thing is the schedule is not strict. I can have a day doing nothing just because I am lazy or not feeling well or the little one is not feeling well. We rarely get sick so the day-off is usually a result of the former - LAZYNESS!

There you have it. That's a typical day for me. I'm sure other work-at-home Moms have their own schedule as well. I try to keep a schedule [in my mind] so as to have some kind of a direction.

Jobs that Can Be Done At-Home....

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So what type of jobs can be done at home? I am tempted to say 'practically all of them' but that may not be 100% accurate. Let's face it, there are jobs that just don't fall under the category of work-at-home jobs. Right?

Having sad that, there are a lot of JOBS that can be done at home. But I will only talk about the ones I have first hand knowledge. I will cover one job in one entry plus I will be listing some companies that hire .

Phone Jobs

The name says it all. A lot of phone work involved in this kind of a job. It's actually one of the easiest jobs to land. I got on with one company in my early years of being a WAHM but decided against it because of nerves. Being English not my mother tongue, I just can't master enough courage to call people who may not understand what I am saying. Don't get me wrong. I speak English fluently to the extent that my in-laws and my husband's friends didn't believe at first I was not American BUT I just don't feel confident enough to do phone jobs. Plain and simple.

The company that I got on is called Work At Home Agent. The company is West. I applied [and got accepted] with the company in 2002. A lot has changed since then but the kind of job is basically the same. If you are interested in becoming an agent for them. Visit their Become an Agent page.

Other companies that are hiring home at work agents are:

Live Ops
Verafast
Voicelogs

These are just few of the companies that hire agents that can work at home on a regular basis. They may or may not be hiring at this time but they may be hiring next week or next month. The key is to keep checking. The ones I listed here are agents that accept incoming calls from customers who are either ordering or inquiring about services or products offered by certain companies.

What I wrote here is just one of the many possible phone jobs one can have. Phone jobs also include sales or telemarketing....mostly outgoing calls. Some call this 'solicitation calls' and agents may encounter some not so friendly people in the course of doing this kind of a job. There are also jobs where agents conduct phone surveys.

That's it for now. Just like any other jobs, research is important before applying to a company. Me listing these companies is not in any way a recommendation.

Working-At-Home...Pros and Cons

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Just like every single thing we do, there are pros and cons in working at home. I have been doing it for the last 6 years, more or less, so I know quite a bit about the disadvantages and advantages of doing it.

I believe though that these advantages and/or disadvantages are relative. What I consider an advantage can be a disadvantage to others. So let's just say these are the ones that apply to me.

Let's start with the advantages.

---> I get to see every little thing that happens to my little girl.
---> I don't have a boss...well, I do but I don't see them face to face.
---> I don't have to follow a strict schedule like an 8-5 job.
---> I save in gas, clothes, make-up etc.
---> I can take a break anytime I want.
---> I work in the comfort of my own home.

Now for the disadvantages.

---> My social life is virtually non-existent.
---> I tend to procrastinate more now because I know I have time...kinda'
---> I stay online more than necessary.
---> I have no desire to learn how to drive.
---> The money is not always desirable. Work is sporadic this is why.
---> Work discipline is not really there.

These are the major ones for me, I think. I listed 6 of each not on purpose but in reality, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. If given this chance again, I would grab it anytime if it means I get to stay with my little at home.

Like I said they may apply to me but not to you. I know I am forgetting some things but I'd reserve them for next time.

If you are interested to see what kind of WAHJs I have had already, just visit my Pinay Wahm blog. I made an entry not too long ago.

Teacher's Corner

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This is Teacher's Corner

This is my very first blog. I have a hard time figuring out some things about it so I just didn't mess with it for a while. As a matter of fact, I still have a hard time figuring out this blog. I try to post here as much as I can.

I originally called it: Peek-a-Boo!..LOL. Why? Because I couldn't think of anything to call it. Once I started applying for some paid blogging sites, I decided to change its 'screen name' to Teacher's Corner. Why that name??? Does my being a teacher have to do with it? Definitely.

I have plans of writing more 'education/teacher' related posts here. Again, time is my enemy here. Well, actually, it's more like 'time management'....

Anyway, that's about it. When you get the chance, please visit this other 'place' I call "Teacher's Corner"...

S Look-alike Meter

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When you have a child, you can't help but wonder who the child really took after. We always like to say she or he takes after you, right?

Well, I got this Look-alike Meter tag from a friend. All you have to do is to upload pics of the family that you want then voila...it's there.

Here is our result. Seems like my hubby and I can't really say she took more than one of us. As you can see, it's fair share...50-50 as they say. LOL...Why not try it with your loved ones.

Btw, the pictures you use will have a major effect on the result...surprised???

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Pinay Wahm

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This is PINAY WAHM

It's my own domain. I spend most of my blogging time here since it's easier to work on compared to my other blog...Teacher's Corner which is my very first blog.

I originally wanted to make this blog a resource of some Work-at-Home-Jobs. Well, that didn't happen because LIFE got on the way. I have some work at home jobs and during the time I started this blog, those jobs started picking up. Then paid blogging also happened during those times.

Anyway, I just thought I'd introduce you to my other 'home'.