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160 BC

"The busiest day of the busiest week of the IR season" was the words that one of my clients used to describe yesterday. And indeed it was. I started the day at with a 5pm US Eastern Time call, (around 5am local time) and ended at around 3pm UKT (approx 10PM local time). When the dust has finally settled -- just found out that i plowed through 160 minutes of audio -- whew! So that's why my fingers were starting to hurt!

(And did i mention that I also had a day job?)

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend and prep up for another busy week. (which would start as soon as i'm finished with my weekend work so i better get going! Just realized that I'm taking a break off my typing work by doing more typing here! LOLs)

Thanks for dropping by! ^_^



P.S.
Like PGMA said in her SONA, there's indeed good money to be made in transcriptions, given that you have the right skills, of course. Yesterday's workload should be worth around PHP10,000 using today's FX rate (i've been doing this for more than 6 years and have direct contacts, that's why!)

Tempted? ^_^ Be prepared to invest a LOT of time though, you'll have to build your skills up, and earn your place with your clients. You have to show them that you are just as good -- even better -- than your onshore counterparts. Developing a professional attitude, the ability to adhere to your deadlines, and maintaining constant communication with your clients is a must if you want to get into this business. And always remember that you'll only be as good as the last file you worked on so grab your "Pwede na ito" mentality (if you have one) and throw it out of the window.

So if you think you have the right skills, why not try your luck here? Give transcriptions a shot, all you need is a working PC, better-than-average English skills, and a foot pedal (wonder where you could get one cheap? wink wink)

Haha Shameless plug! ang daming pasakalye, magbebenta lang pala ng pedal! :P

Lens problem -- who you gonna call? MANG ADY!!!

One of the most common problems of photography enthusiasts in a country as humid as ours is fungus that grows in the lens, CDSC (Nikon's official distributor) charges an arm and a leg, and most of the stalls that offer cleaning services in Hidalgo are too unprofessional-looking for my taste.

So where do you go if your beloved lenses needs repair/cleaning/ and even a calibration? The answer-- the SuperSaiyan of Nikon-mounted Lenses, Adelardo Balce or simply known as Mang Ady in Pipho. Pros swear by the quality of his work and at a price that is very, very reasonable.

I have an old Sigma 24-70/2.8 that i wanted to dispose of and I'm planning to sell but it has some "issues" so I sent to JT Photo (Sigma's official distributor in the PI) for repair and cleaning, when I got it back, they were able to fix the misalignment at the rear barrel but they were not able to address the mold and the front focusing issues (albeit slightly but it can pose a problem with shallow DOFs). The mold build-up in the rear glass really irritated me whenever i take the lens off -- it's like an itch that i cannot scratch. Having mold build-ups can really hurt the lens' resale value, so i took my chances and looked up Mang Ady's contact number.

I've long heard about Mang Ady and his superhuman skills with lenses, so I sent him a text message and asked if he'd accept the job. He replied promptly and to save me the time from going to his place in Bulacan, he had it shipped via his preferred courier -- LBC.

After about a week of waiting, the lens finally arrived (and i haven't even paid for it yet!) When i took the lens out of the box, i gave it a thorough inspection, and lo and behold, the mold was gone! All that was there to see is a shining-gleaming piece of glass! And not only that, after running the lens through its paces, i found out that he had the minor front-focusing issues solved as well. I was so satisfied with the end-result that I decided to keep the lens.

I don't know what he did but the images are now tack-sharp, the adjustments had much better results than JT's calibration machine, and add to that the pristine quality of the glass and you've got one very satisfied customer.

I think he also works with Canon lenses, but he's much more adept with Nikon mounts. So for my fellow photographers who want to get a hold of the man with the Midas' touch on lenses, the easiest way to reach him is through his cell -- 09179394487.

Affordable Camera Accessories

Just found out about Extremedeals in a forum that i frequent in TPC. I was looking for a relatively affordable ND8 Filter and a Step-up ring. My 18-200 has a filter size of 72mm, but i'm planning on investing on a 77-mm UWA lens in the future so i opted for the 77mm ND8 and a 72-77mm step-up ring.

The deal was pretty sweet at Php1,250 for an original lenspen, the ND8 and the step-up ring. And did I mention free delivery within Metro Manila? The reply was prompt and there are a variety of payment options available. I opted for Gcash. Delivery is swift as i got my package the very next day. Can't wait for my next nature adventure so i can out these babies to use.

Another thing that caught my attention is flashgun that sells for PHP2,500. It has an optically-triggered slave function like that of the Nissin's (not the ramen), has a built in bounce card, and what's cool is it can be attached to a radio-controlled remote trigger for more creative lighting.

The remote trigger sells for PHP1,300, so adding the price of the flash gun, PHP3,800 ain't bad for something that you can trigger off cam if you're not that much of a strobist. I'm still waiting for peer reviews of the product before i order, but it looks pretty promising.

For price comparisons:

• The Nissin Di622 sells for PHP6,500 and has to undergo heavy modding in order for it tobe radio-triggered.
• Best option still would be the Nikon's SB600/SB800 as it'll use TTL and can be used with the d80/d90's commander mode. The Sb600 goes for around 12k in Hidalgo, and the SB800, way higher (it goes for around 15k second hand)

If you have the money, and for best results, i'd go with the Nikon's Creative Lighting System, but if you're on a budget and don't do pro work, then third party flashes should be just about fine IMhO.

You can check out their items in http://extremedeals.multiply.com/

Apply PoH Me!

"Muztah Poh! Open pa po ba yung ads u about homebased trans? Pwede poh ba me apply?"

Truth to tell, inis me pag ganito approach ng nagaaply at nahihiya lang poh me barahin u. Kasi naman poh, apply u for trans, at expect me na grammatically well-versed u. At full sized keyboard rin po ang gamit u so why not take the extra effort u para itype ng tama the words? After all, transcriptionist poh and position na inaaplyan u.

"I have a question" and "May question me" took almost the same effort typing out.

Please do remember that first impressions are important. I'm not the one hiring you, i just forward your resumes, which i pre-screen, to my contacts who are asking my help for aptly-skilled people (I'm not earning anything from this, take note). And PLEASE construct a decently-written cover letter, and not something that has been generated from the web (I've seen most of them).

So alam na u ha? I already gave you guys a heads up. As much as i wanted to help everyone out. Paalala na rin me na follow-up mails, no annoying text messages asking if you got hired. If my contacts are interested, they'll be the ones to call you.

Kaya wag na u kulit me ha? Azzzaarrrrrr!

Thanks ^_^