I did some home improvements in Cebu

When I was able to save money from my online job in 2011, I decided to do some home improvements. That time, I always tell my mom about my plans to help.

I bought a new TV rack that would fit my new LCD TV of 32 inches with the home theatre. Our old TV rack was moved to the sari-sari store. The new TV rack looks so spacious and minimalist. I think the tv rack cost about 5,000 pesos. Our sala set needed a new upholstery so I paid 8,500 pesos for that. I was so happy with our little improvement in the living room.

For the flooring, I can't afford tiles. Not in the photo but later on I bought a new flooring mat. Little by little, I needed to fix our home. Before, we never had a nice ceiling. Imagine, just the roof or we call it 'sin' in Cebuano which you can easily feel the heat of the sun under your roof. So I told my mom we need a carpenter to have a proper ceiling in the living room. I forgot how much was the labor.

With my little netbook, I can easily detach myself from my mini-office and worked lazily on the new sofa.

I remember how inspired I was before. My only inspiration to work hard was my family. I had a Filipino boyfriend at that time. Life wasn't perfect. I used to work 12 hours a day because I was so addicted to working online just to earn more money.

I was also talking to my mom that someday we could have a 2-story house. 4-5 bedrooms at least. Or thinking of a boarding house business. I was dreaming to have my own room with a nice bath.

I wasn't into traveling at that time. I also wanted to have my own motorbike, a Honda Scoopy, because it's so chic and retro. A Honda Scoopy costs 70,000 pesos when you pay in cash. Yes, I was already saving money for that but later on, plans had changed.

I wasn't able to fix the whole house because I needed to do that little by little. The kitchen was started by my mother.

So many things happened later on. My only wish that time was to work online and spend my time with my family. But things were getting toxic when there was an issue about money. I mean, I know how to keep my money. I only give when it is important. But if it's for gambling, it's a NO.

Anyway, my mother was the ultimate secret keeper of my plans and dreams. We used to daydream about improving our home.

I realized that I never did a lot of home chores because I was the only breadwinner at that time. My two siblings were not working. They just stayed at home without worries. My mother and father were supported by her sister and his brother. I never felt pressured to work hard but I just enjoyed earning.

Anyway, looking at these photos, I remember how proud and inspired I was to stay at home. I felt like I just had my own entertainment room. Oh, I remember I also bought a console game, an Xbox 360, and bought it in cash for 13,000 pesos. I felt so cool that I invited some of my high school and college friends on my birthday for an Xbox party. That feeling was nostalgic!