Just a few more months and it would've been a year without an update on this blog. But no. I'm not letting that happen. So I'm just going to give an update on all the sections of my life.

Travel

My favorite topic as always. I will be in Singapore with my family this November. Our first trip out of the country and the first International travel for both of my siblings. Last Peso Fair from Cebu Pacific Air, I was able to purchase a trip for me and L. However, L might not be able to join me since it's going to be a 9-day trip and it will be a day after his father's death anniversary. The ticket I purchase is one of the things I have been waiting for for years. I've talked about to a friend a few years back about the cheapest price I could get. At first, I couldn't believe it, but I am now a believer in airfare miracles! lol

I'm keeping this a secret for now since I need to get my VISA approved for this.

Work

With regards to getting my VISA approved, I need to be able to acquire all the requirements needed. The biggest challenge would be getting an ITR and reaching a certain amount for the travel budget. The latter might not be so hard since I can still save up for the trip. With the ITR, I need to either get a local full-time job that can provide one for me, or register myself as a professional employer. I don't think I'm 100% ready to get back to being employed again. I am just starting to do a couple of the things I love. Right now, this is not generating income for me, but with dedication and practice, I'm sure this will become another source of income, aside from working on projects with my clients. The only choice I have is becoming a professional employer. Which I am hoping to do this month once I gather all the requirements.

Meetups/Workshops

Thanks to constantly attending meetups for the past few years, I have met really cool people who do amazing things! It's great to see how someone evolves up close in personal compared to just stalking my online heroes. It makes me try harder to work on the things I love to do. Which is why I am starting to do right now. There aren't too many design meetups as of now. The last workshop I attended was Hero Angeles' Miniature Food Workshop last May 2018 and I haven't put what I learned to use. lol.

Mental Health

I'm serious about this. Discussion of my mental health status deserves a place. It's what makes me my best and worst at what I do. There is less mental breakdowns this year. Unlike before when I end up really down which affected my work very badly. It lasted for months. Mostly because of stress, and improper time management. Too overwhelmed with all the YES I gave to all invitations to work on projects. For this year, I have placed my profile in private and accepted less projects. Kinda like getting back to the part-time freelancer and part-time chill thing. Another thing that contributed to most of my mental health was the fact that I have not worked on the things I wanted to do creatively. Which is why I have been slowly doing it this past few month. Overall, I'm getting better at handling my outbursts.

Admitting to the wrong things we have done, accepting it, and forgiving ourselves takes a lot of practice. It does not happen overnight. With every problem you have, there are so many solutions available. Sometimes the downer whispers to our ears telling us to give up. It's useless. Allow yourself to grieve and listen to this voice. But do not make decisions just yet. The downer eventually gets tired of telling you things and will be quiet in a few hours or days. Do something that relaxes you. You will then know when's the right time to make decisions.

Unexpected events have the ability to disrupt plans. As a person with a tendency to overthink and make life complicated, plans keep me at ease. Having goals make calm me from overthinking. When something unexpected happens, plans are wrecked by my emotional instability.

What's up for this week

If I'm asked to write down all the reasons of not immediately doing all the things listed on my bucket list, it'll take you ten scroll down with your mouse to see the bottom of the page.

I'm not exaggerating or anything, but there is absolutely a lot of factors keeping me from starting my own business, taking that solo trip, cleaning my room, finding my lost Government ID, etc.

Some of the items can be rescheduled in another month. (except cleaning my room, I definitely need to do that this weekend). There are also a few items which I need to try out as a way of getting out of my comfort zone.

One of these is blogging.

Blogging is not really a mandatory in a person's life, but as I kid, I religiously kept a diary. Writing was the only way I could let go of everything I felt. As an introvert, expressing my teenage angst to other human beings was hard. When I wrote in my diary, I was able to release all the negative and positive vibes I felt during that day. Bottled up emotions damage us in ways we can't see. It was also through writing that I developed a habit of advising myself during hard times.

My list of reasons not to start a blog

As I mentioned, it's going to take a lot of space to write down the list, but to sum it up... it's all about fear. Too much fear of imperfection and making mistakes made me uneasy about starting a blog. I'm afraid of not being consistent with Scribble and Wander's branding. It paralyzes me to think about my cluttered blog years from now.

Just a week ago, I included an entry for my Weekly Calendar. On Mondays, I should write something. Anything to keep the creative juices flowing. Writing for Experience and Think takes a lot of time since I have to do research regarding a topic. Scribble and Wander is the only place where I can freely express myself. Sure, it's supposed to be a blog for travel, food, and musings, but hey! I'm starting to list one of the reasons why I shouldn't start! Enough with this, Kay!

So I decided to just do it!

Last week's review

Since my contract with a local design agency ended last August, I suddenly had tons of free time to FINALLY work on a few items on my bucket list. Managed to cross out some items last week. Not really proud of how those came out, but nonetheless just being able to cross them out felt awesome! Everything is a work in progress. I'm not going to wait for things to be perfect.

• Launched my portfolio. http://www.kristalacida.com/
• Started a new contract with a design agency
• Finished two cool eBook designs that were 30+ pages each

What's up for this week

We are going to hustle hard this week, Kay! :)

More than a year ago, I decided to try going freelance again. Yes, my 2nd attempt to live a carefree life of working whenever and wherever I want to. It's a dream for most introverts. Working at unfamiliar places provides less distraction for me since it lessens my interaction with people which improves my focus. Now before I go ahead and tell you to quit your job to give freelancing a try, I need to give you 10 tips I did and wished I did before giving up my 9-5 job last June 2016.

1. Assess your skills

Determine what the types of jobs you want to be working on. As a Web / Graphic Designer, it was easy for me to know I wanted to do the same kind of job. You should also be open to learning new skill sets. For me, I developed a love for branding and managing social media pages. If you have a passion for writing, be a Home Based content writer. If you are familiar with using Google Drive and Microsoft Office Products (Word/Excel/PowerPoint), have basic to medium English communication skill and great with emails, be a Virtual Assistant. If you have a fast typing speed, Data Encoder jobs are everywhere. There is always an online job counterpart to almost all office-based jobs. You just have to know what kind of job you want to do.

2. Set aside some money

Not all freelance adventures start out grandly. Chances are, the moment you are free from your 9-5 job, you will be tempted to spend a week or two finishing seasons 1-7 of Game of Thrones or do the 'costly' hobbies you always wanted to try. Or maybe you plan to work on personal projects you never got a chance to do because it consumed your time. There is a possibility you may be making less money than you imagined in the first few months of your freelance adventure. Saving a good amount of money that will last for 3-5 months is attainable and preferable.

3. Have a different bank account for money transfers

One of the first things I was worried about when going freelance was the payment method. How do I get paid? Thankfully, Paypal and Payoneer exist. Online workplaces like Upwork have options to transfer your money directly to local banks (BPI, BDO, Unionbank, etc). Connecting your bank account to other websites can make you feel uneasy about it. Especially if you only have one which holds all your savings. An option to counter this uneasiness is opening a different bank account intended for transferring money from online services. So far, I have used both BPI Debit and Unionbank's EON card for Paypal and Upwork.

4. Secure an online job

It may take weeks or months to find an online job that is perfect for you. Before deciding to quit your 9-5 job, try to apply for full-time or part-time jobs that look interesting. You can find these jobs anywhere! If you are confident you can manage two full-time positions (online and 9-5) at the same time, give it a go and try to decide if your online job is something you want to focus on. If too much work kills you, having an online part-time job is preferable. This makes you familiar with the skills needed to survive being a freelancer.

5. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario

As I mentioned before, you might not find an online job instantly. That very thought of not finding a job almost made me back out from my original plan so I made a deal with myself. If I don't find an online job that reaches the acceptable amount I want, I'd get back to a 9-5 job after 3 months. I wanted to try it so badly and I had to prepare myself for the emotional breakdown if what I planned out won't work out. Accepting defeat was my option. It's different for everyone. You could try odd online jobs, but be selective about it.

6. Listen to your body

The biggest challenge for me in an office-based job is my productivity. I sometimes find myself more productive in the morning than in the afternoon. Other times I am able to get more work done in the afternoon and evening. What was different about these days? I realized I become very productive in the morning when I am able to finish small tasks. The feeling of accomplishing something boosted my mood throughout the day. Afternoons sometimes make me sleepy, but I noticed I become energized when working standing up than sitting and drinking a cold beverage. That's when I realized my body prefers cold drinks or coffees. The more you get to know about your body, the more productive you are. You get to experiment with your work schedule as a freelancer, but best to get an idea of how you want to work first before doing so.

7. Secure a laptop

This will not apply to everyone. But it was something I should've done before. Working at home meant being distracted from everything that occurs at home. Not everyone at home will understand the importance of focusing while working at home. I was not able to anticipate the temperature inside my room in the afternoon. It felt like summer and it made me very sleepy. If I had secured a laptop before, I could just work in cafes or at our garden.

8. It's not a vacation

We are sometimes tempted to think of going on a vacation or spending a lot once we start the adventure. Images of other people working at the beach or while they are traveling are often times misleading. It does not always start that way. Sure, It's great for an Instagram post but bad for the wallet. Make sure you are already financially secure before going on extravagant trips and experience the advantage of being a freelancer.

9. Learn to say yes and no

You will need the courage to say yes and no every time you get a job invite. Saying yes to all jobs because you don't want to pass out on the opportunity is not always the right move. Saying yes to an odd job because you have no other options might make you feel guilty in the future. While saying no because your insecurities are acting up will also make you guilty. Saying a firm, yes and no can lead to a guilt-free future.

"I knew that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." - Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO

10. Just Do It

Insecurities. Fears. What ifs. Other people telling you're doing a stupid mistake. The person with the biggest impact in your decision to say no is you. Not your status as the bread winner, or anyone. Just you. Remember to set a portion of your life dedicated to yourself. You only get to live one life. If you want it so badly, just do it.


I hope you will be able to use these tips on your journey. My first attempt last 2013 didn't go well and I had to return to a 9-5 job after 3 months. My second attempt last year turned out well. I'm very happy to find a couple of long-term clients who are still part of my journey today.

Picture yourself as those people who are working at the beach, or while traveling around the world. That could still be you one day.

I prepared a list of what to bring to Hong Kong 2 years before I booked a flight. That's how fired up I am for my Hong Kong trip. Who wouldn't? If you're someone like me who prophesized about visiting Hong Kong in 10 years, you understand how it feels. Let's talk more about that in a separate post because this will be all about what I packed inside my Pink 44L CabinZero Backpack.

Before I modified my list of items and booked my November trip to Hong Kong last January 2016, I did some research about the best month of the year to visit Hong Kong. Just like the Philippines, Hong Kong has a very hot summer, and some rainy season, but it also has a cold season! Since I'm also looking forward to visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, it'll be disappointing if I get wet when it starts raining as I go on some rides. The month of November has few rainy days and it's starting to get colder as it nears December. This was the best month for me!

Packing Less

If you read my post about Packing for 3 days in Thailand, you probably didn't know I kinda overpacked. It didn't mean I packed a lot of stuff that made my bag reach the carry-on limit, but there was stuff in there which I didn't use during the whole trip and a couple of items I could do without. For the sake of #OOTD, my backpack felt overpacked. My Hong Kong trip was only for 4 days, a day shorter than Thailand.

Clothes / Undergarments / Footwear

Minimizing the number of clothes I would be bringing meant that I have a slighter increase of encounter an outfit problem. I could accidentally get my shirt dirty and may need another shirt to wear. Having extras for these sort of problem is something I am proud of myself. I didn't want to be in a dilemma of not having an emergency outfit. But for this trip, I'm trying out a way to this problem. I set aside an allowance for outfit problems. In case this happens, I could just buy something new to wear in Hong Kong.

• Chambray
• 2 T-Shirt
• Gray Cardigan
• Blue Jeans (which was not added in the photo)
• Sleeping Shirt
• Black Lounge Pants for sleeping
• 2 Cami Tanks. Black one has built-in bra
• 5 underwear
• 3 ankle socks