Our Store Improvements... and Hopes For This Year <3

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Recently, my parents and I have started to do some improvements, not only at home, but also our store. My mama and papa don't have any job, but we have a small business which helps us go forward in life and survive. Of course, I also have to do my part by working in order to help pay the bills. It's honestly very difficult to make ends meet, but we're all helping each other to do so. ^^

Papa has retired from his job almost ten years ago. He used to be a policeman. He really enjoyed his job, but somehow, we are happy that he retired because his job was tough. It's funny how we talk about it now. Papa would sometimes say, "If I was corrupt back then, maybe we're very rich now." Mama and I would just laugh and say, "If you were corrupt and were a bad policeman back then, you would have been dead now!"

It actually makes sense... there sure are a lot of policeman who tried to abuse their power. It's just sad that because of that, a stereotype has been formed. Not every policeman is bad and corrupt, but other people think otherwise. I'm just glad my papa wasn't the type. A lot of people love him. Until now, he's still respected in the city. It makes me proud when some people in the city would tell me at times, "So, you're the daughter of 'Sir A'? You're father is a great man. He has helped a lot of people back then."

Anyway, we have this principle at home which one of my grandpas told us about, "Mas maayo pa ang pobre nga hamugaway, kaysa dato nga nagka-lisod lisod." In English, it means 'It's better to be poor that's living a good life than to be rich that's experiencing a lot of hardships.'

We don't really dream to be rich... we just want to live a happy and contented life. However, we can't deny the fact that money makes the world go round these days, so, we also have to do our best to survive. <3

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Papa receives his pension from the government after serving the country for more than 20 years. His pension is smaller because he opted for early retirement, and we still had to pay the loans we had years back when I was still a student. So, the amount we receive isn't that much... However, papa used the money to start the business when he retired. :)

It's this small store we have. It may be small, but it has helped us a lot, especially our daily consumption and the like.

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Around end of last year, we ventured on an ice cream business. We purchase the items in bulk, and sell them in retail. We decided to do so because there are a lot of teens and kids in our neighborhood, so they're our target customers. And luckily, the business is also doing well. Of course, the sales aren't always big every day, but it's helpful enough. Mama also save some of the profit from the ice cream we sold for the electricity fees.

Some of my friends and also neighbors buy a lot of ice cream whenever there are special occasions. Last Christmas, we also gave out free ice cream to the kids around our area. Ice cream really makes people happy... but of course, we shouldn't have too much of it.

Sometimes, some kids buy ice cream in the morning, but papa would interrogate them first whether they've had breakfast or not. Interestingly, they answer honestly. If they haven't, papa send them home and ask them to eat breakfast first, and if the did, papa would sell them some.

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Last week, we talked among ourselves and came to a decision to extend the store and sell more products which are often consumed not only by our customers, but also our family. We decided to sell retail rice per kilogram and also some noodle products, Mandarin chorizo and mung beans. :)

Our neighbors were happy because they need not go far to buy these products and our prices are not very expensive. We have this thought "Bahala'g ginagmay, basta kanunay." which means, it's okay to have less profit, as long as it's continuous.

Having the store isn't purely for business. My parents, especially papa, also enjoys tending it. Recently, he's becoming more and more like my late grandpa. Grandpa also used to tend his store after he retired. He stayed in his store (which was just inside the house fence) most of the time. Sometimes, I and my cousins would stay in front of the store and grandpa would give us some biscuits and other snacks. More than the business, it's like the store exist for the family. And I believe it's the same in our current store.

Due to the pandemic, 2020 became a tough year... however, there will always be things to be thankful for. Hopefully, 2021 would be a better year for everyone. I wish everyone the strength to overcome any situation that comes your way. Wishing for a perfect year seems impossible, so I'm wishing for everyone to grow and become stronger to face every challenge in life. <3

Take care and have a great one! (^_^)/ See you on my next post! <3



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11 comments
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This talk of your Papa about not being a corrupt police-man is nice to read!

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Thanks... it really makes us proud! It's just sad that in the Philippines, they're stereotyped as corrupt and abusive of their power. xD

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Probably everywhere now... In Libya too, for good reasons.

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haha... we can't blame people though, some of them are really cruel. xD

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i miss your family shei oy! good to know that your business is improving! Keep it up. Ang sinking fund musta? :D

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Thanks Jann... go lang ng go ta ani sa life... hihihi~ OK ra ang sinking fund, floating ghapon... hahahah xDD

We miss you npud Jann~ mahuman nlng jud ning pandemic ba... 🥰

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Huy Shei. Mu ara jud ko sa inyo if makabalik ko Cebu whether you like it or not :P

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