4 Mouth Watering ways I can spend my first odesk earnings

     Take a look at this screenshot.

     That's my very first odesk earnings! And that's equivalent to 4 hours of work. Not bad, huh?

     Now, I'm contemplating on how I should use this money. I can think of several but here are for me the top mouth watering ways:

1. Treat myself to a coke float from McDonald's. I'm sooo dying to have one. Ok, I'm gonna treat my kids too.

2. Buy a half-gallon of Selecta Ice Cream Hershey's Kisses that Carmina Villaroel and her family are promoting on TV. ( Do they get a year's supply, I wonder?) That should be enough for five of us at home.

3. Summer is over according to PAG-ASA and I have yet to make my Chowking halo-halo-with-1 scoop-ice cream dream into reality.

4. Why don't I just satisfy my craving for a piece, ok 2 pieces of grilled spicy and juicy pork chops?

     On second thoughts, maybe I should just put this amount to good use and save it to pay for my internet.
  
     What do you think?

From Zero to Heroine

It wasn't that long ago, I was one of the newbies in odesk looking for my first freelance job.

     Everyday without fail, I will look through the jobs posted for virtual assistants, personal assistants, administrative work and data entry. By now, I've already learned how to spot and ignore posts that are scams and these are cancelled by odesk.
     I remember the feeling of anticipation everytime I log-in to odesk to see whether I've been picked for an interview, and disappointed that I was not.
     I visit the community forums often to read and sometimes participate in the discussion threads. And I see the same uncertainty felt by fellow odesk newbies, the same question that runs through our minds.
     When will we get that first elusive odesk job?
     But now, I've crossed the bridge. I'm on the other side. Because, two weeks ago, I was hired as a virtual assistant! It's only for 4 hours a week doing blog commenting, but for me, it's a start and I'm so thrilled!
     It was also a pleasant surprise for being unexpected. I didn't have all the skills the client was looking for but I sent my application anyway. After all, what's the worst that could happen? And when I checked odesk again, I was already hired. Isn't that something?!
     I'd like to think that it's all because of me but I know and I believe that it's because of God's grace.
     In His eyes, I deserve to be a heroine.

Breakthrough!

     Everyday, I keep telling myself I will be making a breakthrough soon. And it was true. I did. I've gotten two odesk interviews. Nothing came out of it but still I regard it as a sign that clients are starting to take notice. It won't be long now before I finally get my first client.
     My first interview was in the form of a test given by a buyer to several applicants. I was instructed to go to a website, find at least 5 errors in spelling and grammar, document them in a word file and submit. Since I'm not always online because my kids also use our one and only PC, it was only several hours later that I was able to do the test and after submitting it, it was also only several hours later that I found out that the buyer was not able to open the attachment. And by the time I was able to correct it, the buyer had already chosen his provider. A lesson learned. Now, even if my kids are using the computer, I make sure odesk is up and running.
      My second interview was with a lawyer from California. He requested a video interview but since I don't have a webcam ( can't afford one for now ), we settled for an audio interview. It went well. At least I think I didn't make any major, major boo-boos and the client asked for some proof of identification. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to provide one of his requirements so I had to let this client go.
      Now, I'm back again to checking the latest job posts in odesk. But now there's a difference. I'm more hopeful and more confident because I know that that first client is just around the corner.

Thank you, Kim Tak Gu!

Eversince I started on my journey to becoming a virtual assistant, a constant source of inspiration for me is the lead character of the hit Koreanovela Baker King, Kim Tak Gu. It's not because he's good-looking  ^ - ^,
although there's that, but because of the qualities that he possesses. The trait I admire most about him is his positive outlook in life. Fans of this show will know what I mean. He is always smiling and ready to give a helping hand. And despite seemingly insurmountable odds and overwhelming obstacles that would have broken a lesser man, he is always able to rise above the challenges that life throws at him without losing his sense of fairness and his innate honesty. And he is humble, ready to accept his mistakes and learn from them.

     Those who come to know Kim Tak Gu whether in the show or fans like me, have their lives touched and changed in one way or another.

     He is truly an inspiration especially to an aspiring virtual assistant like me and one of the reasons why I eagerly get up each morning so that I can continue my lessons to add to my skills and become a phenomenal virtual assistant.

     The show has ended its run on GMA-7 but the lessons in life will linger and I promised myself  I will buy a copy of the show to remind me...