What this video taught me was that during the post-pandemic years, mid-tier luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton suffered sales slowdown while ultra luxe brands like Loro Piana and Delvaux still saw an uptick despite catering to a very small number of clientele. This is because mid-tier brands cater mainly to the middle class who want to flaunt the aspirational brands, hence, the screaming logos. When inflation went through the roof, the middle class stopped spending and saved instead whereas the 0.1% of the economic pyramid is nonplussed. They still spent on top cashmere for their regular wear. The middle class? They buy these brands as a treat, not as a regular shopping item, like underwear or usual grocery item.

It’s like what I wrote about a couple of years ago in an article, the sit-down dining restaurants (such as Bistro Group or Moment Group restos) are the ones that are greatly affected during economic difficulties because their major market—the middle class—goes down a notch lower to dine at quick service restaurants. Perfect example of price elasticity of demand.

So what am I driving at? Nothing. I am just wondering about where investors should be placing their money. Should they place their bets on businesses that cater to the middle class that are price sensitive? Or on businesses that cater to the mass market since the sheer volume can make up for the price elasticity of products geared towards this market? 🤔

Why am I thinking about this? As a business journo, I should be paying attention to such things because these musings direct me to ask more probing questions.

Speaking of investments, my friend, M, egged me to try crypto currency. While I don’t believe in that shit—because there is no rhyme nor reason behind that thing—I tested it just to be able to delve into the world of crypto trading to educate myself. I joked to him that I will just invest so I can buy myself a Nintendo Switch. So as of this moment, it’s up 14.6% and I don’t understand how and why when these digital assets are being minted daily in huge amounts. I also want to see how it would behave when gold is up/down, when fixed income markets are shot, or when equities are yo-yoing. Meanwhile, M, placed a huge amount on this silly game of his. I told him, you are a business journalist and yet you succumbed to this scam. 🤦🏻‍♀️I’m just in this for the silliness of it, akin to buying lotto tickets just in case stars aligned.

---

My indoor cats were keeping a watchful eye over me while I was sitting in my pseudo-balcony because Ampon had been trying to get inside my house through my bedroom window (she figured out a way how to climb the emergency exit balcony). Ampon is desperately trying to get adopted as an indoor cat but of course my two suplada tricolor would have none of it. So as consolation, I sat outside to keep her company or else I would have her yowling by my bedroom window at 3 am (which she had done several times).

But then Sushi and Kimchi are a jealous lot so they went out on the cat ledge to guard me. They kept meowing at me, telling me to get inside.

What have I gotten myself into? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Because I was too lazy to cook, I agreed to Twin I’s suggestion of buying dinner at the fair. I think I regreted that decision. I’m already old for this kind of thing.

My kids had been going here everyday with their friends. I couldn’t deny them that enjoyment because this thing has been an annual event for me and my friends since we were in grade school. We saved up pocket money so we can buy jewelry, foodstuff, or buy tickets to the carnival rides.

So today my girls went to the local comic con to see cosplayers and buy stuff. Twin I went home early and then Twin A went home before dinner just to get more pocket money from her safe. They managed to drag me out of the house.

And my girls bought their own stuff, which consists mainly of earrings for Twin I and stickers for Twin A.

My legs couldn’t stand it anymore or it’s the large number of people that sapped my energy but I just wanted to go home immediately after I bought a footlong hotdog. I was just hankering for junkfood like this.

If I were younger, I would have stayed or come back to watch the rockbands that were supposed to play. But no, I’m already old and I just want to be in my comfy bed after that long drive back home late last night.

On my way to Makati to meet friends and work at the same time. Yes, we journos combine socializing with work like that. With deadlines.  Then attend a dinner party with execs of a conglomerate. On a Friday after payday. 😬

Still waiting for my sis in law and her boys here in a gas station along SLEX while they have a bathroom break. They’re hitching a ride with me because, why not?

I’m hungry.

---

Time check: 11:21 pm along SLEX

We left for PGH when it was still dark, around 5:40 am, and yet we couldn’t get a parking slot when we arrived there 1.5 hrs later. I had to drop off Twin A at FMAB so I can park at Robinsons Manila, which was a bit a of a walk…

This is Twin A’s 6th month full abdomen MRI with contrast to check whether there is still omental caking, nodular peritoneal thickening has subsided, and there are no enlarged lymph nodes anymore. Praying everything is fine and there are no other underlying issues…I’m still scared, you know.

Because for some bizarre reason, the infectious diseases lab wasn’t able to culture any TB bacteria. Nothing came out after 8 weeks. 😱

But the thing is, her histopathology pointed to TB and she is getting better. Her last MRI showed no thickening of the colon, lymph nodes have shrunk, ascites have resolved and all symptoms that were thought to be cancer are gone that’s why we were cleared by our hemato-oncologist. She is still communicating with our IDS who went on leave to take care of her son with leukemia.

This situation might be bizarre for developed countries but very common for the rest of the developing world. My cousin’s TB culture and AFB tests were also negative and her IDS’ only proof that it’s not cancer is her histopathology and her response to the anti-TB meds.

My colleague in Singapore, who writes for a sister publication, told me in late November (when I flew there last year) about her frustrating experience with the healthcare system in that country. She said the doctors there are “textbook doctors.” She and her son spent two to three months in the hospital (and good thing her husband’s insurance coverage was good) because the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the boy. They already did surgery on the leg and so on but they couldn’t cure him. Nothing fits in the checklist that was based on their textbooks so they couldn’t treat him according to protocol.

She’s Indian and her doctor back in her home country told her to bring her son to him, to their top national research hospital (an equivalent to PGH, she said). Her doctor suggested treating him for tuberculosis. Right off the bat, my colleague’s son responded to the treatment. In no time he got well.

She said it would have saved her from a lot of stress, tears, and money if she had just gone straight home to India for her son’s treatment. The surgery in Singapore may or may not have been necessary at all, just like the bone marrow biopsy for Twin A was not needed.

My colleague and I concluded it’s because doctors in developing countries are more flexible and more experimental when it comes to treatments. It’s because cases that may be uncommon or not textbook in first world countries are very common in countries like ours. They had to take chances because most patients in our countries cannot afford regular MRIs or the hospitals nationwide are not equipped with enough/right diagnostic reagents. All forms of TB infections (brain, bone, GI, larnyx, etc) are ever present in our countries, that’s why my IDS told me, “believe me, I’ve seen them all.”

I told my colleague our first IDS in the private hospital we first went to also said the same thing. He said he has seen the same thing over and over that’s why he was confident that it was TB. He had his training at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center—the go-to hospital for indigent pediatric patients after PGH. But I guess he began doubting when Twin A’s high fevers were not abating so he was also working hard to have her admitted to PGH or PCMC. Our IDS in PGH—who knows our first IDS—said the latter was correct, but Covid just messed up the situation that’s why our first team of doctors were thrown off-balance. Symptoms of different diseases were overlapping. She said the previous team was only looking for respiratory symptoms of Covid that’s why they were blindsided. Twin A’s high fevers, vomiting, and continuous diarrhea without the usual cough and colds or pneumonia were consistent with Covid in pediatric cases. If it were not for Covid, Twin A’s case wouldn’t have been that baffling. But kudos to our first IDS for starting Twin A with the anti-TB meds soon while waiting for biopsy to be done. Or else she would have deteriorated quickly and God knows what could have happened.

I also told my colleague about how my dad’s orthopedic surgeon was able to save his diabetic foot:  Zonrox (sodium hypochlorite) with saline solution. At that time (almost 30 years ago) it was an experiment at PGH. My dad’s leg was gangrenous up to below his knees. It took us three months of twice-daily cleansing of his leg with this solution until his leg grew back the flesh. Mom and daughters took turns in cleansing the leg. After that, the doctor grafted my dad’s skin over the entire shin—skin from his butt. This study published in 2013, also conducted in the Philippines, showed that the Zonrox+saline solution was more effective in cleaning diabetic foot wound than just hydrogen peroxide. My dad was one of the lucky 10% who suffered from diabetic foot and didn’t have to lose his leg.

You see, not all third world countries’ healthcare institutions are pathetic. If only we could keep healthcare professionals from leaving the country…But I can’t blame them.

Anyway, back to Twin A’s negative TB culture, I’m very thankful that our doctors were not by-the textbook kind and they think outside the box. Imagine, if Twin A got hospitalized in Singapore—she wouldn’t have been treated for TB just because the culture and AFB tests were negative. Our doctors here are used to seriously bizarre situations so they had to consider all possibilities.

This reminded me of fairy gaymother’s dad’s case in the US. He was very close to dying and out of desperation only did they think of testing him for TB. Turns out he had TB meningitis.

While we were at PGH FMAB, a corp comm team sent me this Valentine’s gift.

It’s only 24 C today but it feels like 21-22 C because of the mountain breeze. I haven’t turned on my aircon in two months. Probably longer.

My kids are out with their friends at the February Fair, which is an annual event organized by the university student council. It started as a Septmeber Fair, a protest against the first Marcos regime. Because September is a stormy/rainy month, they moved it to February, which is generally a dry month. They continued to hold the fair every February in two campuses of our university for several decades now.

Meanwhile, here is one of our foster kittens.

I already set up an appointment with a vet who specializes in trap, spay, and release cats. She told me mommy cat has to rest for a month before she could spay her. I hope in between she won’t go in heat.

I also answered a journalist survey and this is what I answered:

Number 12 is just too 🤦🏻‍♀️. They’re the most difficult to deal with. Too many demands, too many conditions, they want to control the narrative and behave like we are paid PR writers 🤬 Good thing that we are no longer covering them as HQ deemed they’re a waste of time.

The most annoying thing is they get so much media mileage from us given that we’re global. Really annoying.

---

M, my friend who consulted me about career moves, was finally convinced to set a definite deadline when to give his notice. I told him that as an editor, I would appreciate it if my reporter would give me a heads up so I can finally move on and search for a replacement. Any sane editor should always be prepared for this because our industry is so stressful and the pay is not commensurate to the amount of anxiety and stress we get. An editor is lucky if the reporter sticks around for more than two years. This friend has been hospitalized several times due to anxiety (palpitations, high blood pressure) and time and time again I told him to quit and move on.

Because I already gave him my perspective as an editor and manager, he now feels less guilty if he tells his editor he is now bailing out. I told him to give his boss two months’ notice so he can train his replacement. I told him that two weeks’ notice is acceptable in our industry, but just to make himself feel less guilty, opt for 30 days to 60 days—enough time to show the newbie the ropes.

This guilty feeling was one main reason why he kept putting off his resignation.

Now as for his next venture, he was offered a position in a startup. But the catch is he will be giving up any semblance of impartiality or clean journalism because…I better leave it like that. I told him to consult R, the well-known (to us) crisis PR who is on the speed dial of all conglomerates here.

So he did.

M told me that my name cropped up in their lengthy conversation over dinner last week. M said that R respects me so much and that I am top of mind when it comes to the best journo to hire to pull in readers. And I have a clean name.

That was nice of him. ❤️

M said it seemed like R was scoping me that’s why he drove all the way to Sta Rosa to have dinner with me to pick my brains a few weeks ago. No wonder it felt bizarre. Anyway, he was already looking for someone to take over his business. R also offered to teach M the ropes if he decides to go to the dark side.

I would have been tempted because the money is really good. Like really, really good.

But I love journalism. I don’t know if I can stomach being a spinmaster for the likes of, let’s say CEB, which is the worst airline you can take. I’m too combative and too much of a crusader to switch to the dark side.

But then I told M, that if he decides to go to the dark side to be trained by R and not take that startup gig, he should wait for me in a couple of years because I’ll join him. One day I will get tired of this and just decide I just want to get rich. Anyway, I already know how to strategize media communication and do PR work. I’ve been giving advice for free anyway. J, the ex, has benefited from my network and expertise for free.

Speaking of which, I will be a resource person for a workshop on comms to be conducted by a global organization this month.

Maybe I do really have a knack for it, no? 🤔

Asia today is very quiet. Only one journo from Australia submitted a story and that’s it. I just spent the day scrolling through artworks and videos on Instagram, trying to learn their techniques so that I would be inspired to make some more paintings and improve myself.

But I am creatively spent. I didn’t realize that you could be drained of creativity if you keep painting everyday. I just wonder how those artists with deadlines make it through….

I had chicken rice in my fridge and heated it up, less work. I am so lazy today; it seems like the stress of the past weeks has not seeped out of me still.

I needed to do something with my hands today but I couldn’t bring myself to paint. So I took the garments to be repaired and sewed. You see, we are a wasteful society and to keep me from throwing garments into the landfill, I have to repair some of them over and over until they can no longer be used as they were intended.

Speaking of working with hands, this video popped up in my feeds on Youtube and now I want to make my own soap. Goat’s milk soap with essential oils sounds heavenly.

Since I have an outdoor space, I can mess around with lye in my utility area downstairs and make these. I’ve been using lye before to unclog the ancient plumbing in our old house (not the apartment) in Quezon City so I’m no stranger to this dangerous chemical.

Another video I’m immersed in right now is how Hermes makes its bags (by Vogue). As a bag hag, this is lovely to watch. I’m in awe of artisans and their craft. While I could not and would not be able to afford an Hermes in this lifetime—a new Birkin costs a minimum of USD 10,500 each while a vintage one costs a minimum of USD 25,000—I still appreciate this video for the craftsmanship and the process of creating these leather goods.

Which brings me to my original intention of enrolling in a bag-making workshop with Soulflower Co. What’s tragic is that their studio used to be within my old neighborhood in QC, in Teachers Village, to be precise…So easy to make time for when I was there. *Sigh* Now I have to drive back all the way there.

I want to do too many things, but I have too little time.

While we’re on the topic of Hermes, this is a fascinating story of how LVMH sneakily tried to wrest Hermes from the founding family—through the global financial crisis. As a business journalist, this is very, very interesting indeed.

---

Follow your heart bullshit. I just counseled two friends about careers at the same time on different occasions last week. In the process of eliciting their deep-seated desires and parsing them, I also had some kind of epiphany myself.