Just like during Marcos Sr’s martial law. This has a chilling effect on us in the industry–except of course this doesn’t affect media workers who are Marcos supporters. 🤬 Asshats!
My mom always reminds me to be careful and keep safe. She lived through the killings of the first Marcos era. Now I’m living it now.
I no longer know what’s or who’s next. 😔
We’re so fucked.
While we were in the boat going to the spot where I can dive last Sunday, Twin A accidentally dipped her sling bag that contains her mobile phone into the water. She wanted to take pictures, she said. It got wet and she kept on turning the phone on and off. Expect that some short circuiting will ensue.
They would be going to Cebu by the end of the month so I need them to be accessible via phone ALL THE TIME because I do not trust their dad. I had to have that phone fixed.
I went to Greenhills yesterday to have the LCD replaced.
Painful to watch. Photo by CallMeCreation.comThis is how a wet LCD panel looks like. It still has some salt deposits on it. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
It hurt my wallet. PHP 2,000, including a screen protector.
I will have that kid hung upside down to teach her a lesson.
The peso fought back to close higher today but the stock market continued to slide and we are now in bear market territory. The next support level now is at 5,700, which spells disaster for me. I should pray for the market to fight back next week (with some good news that UK economy registered growth in 2Q22) because I need to withdraw some investments in the next two to three weeks. While I have cash so I can issue a check to my contractor by next week, I need to decide soon if I should draw down one fund now (with the outlook that it will not get any better until December) or wait for the corporate Christmas window-dressing. Or before the corporate earnings season around Nov 15.
Meanwhile, the social media universe has exploded when Shopee revealed that its new endorser is Toni Gonzaga, the hypocritical, Bible-quoting actress who blatantly endorsed lies and enabled the Marcoses and Duterte. To make matters worse, the announcement came on the heels of the news that Shopee axed a lot of jobs because it is losing money. People pushing back said, if they’re losing money, why are they even hiring an endorser who is known to charge millions upon millions of pesos at the expense of employees.
So people began uninstalling their Shopee app and deleting their accounts. The noise and the loss of accounts might have been a lot since Shopee started an impromptu survey about endorsers then they started issuing press statements. Then came the dummy accounts that claimed they were former Shopee employees, saying they were well taken care of by Shopee because they got a bonus pay—And we started pushing back against the crisis PR by saying under the law, Shopee is obligated to give retrenched employees separation pay and THOSE ARE NOT BONUSES. Caught their bullshit.
I’ve been calling out the other BS that the crisis PR team had been coming out with. Because I know how PR works and only a few here in the Philippines specialize in that. I’m friends with one crisis PR guy who is on the speed dial of many conglomerates in the Philippines and he has been telling me some tricks of the trade. One of these days I should have drinks with him again.
I should really finish packing now because I would be driving early morning tomorrow—about 5:30-ish???—to go to the beach. I hope it doesn’t rain much this weekend. ❤
We’re just 1 centavo away from PHP 59:USD 1. Before this month ends, the forex will be PHP 60, which beat my brother’s estimate. The cost of powdered milk has jumped PHP 200+ for the pack that I usually buy. We import our milk from New Zealand or Australia because we don’t have enough cattle or rolling lands here for commercial-scale milk and beef production. This is bad for those with infants and toddlers who still need milk.
I was supposed to draw down one of my investments last month but I hesitated because I still didn’t have a full estimate for my house’s construction. Today I lost 50k (paper losses) for that specific investment just because I didn’t have the foresight to withdraw it then. I was being greedy as well, thinking that the markets may bounce back pre-3Q22 corporate financial earnings reports.
HOW F*CKING WRONG I WAS.
Now ECB President Christine Lagarde (*I met her when she was still the IMF Chief and visited the Philippines* 😉) just said that recession is imminent this winter in the eurozone. UK tax cuts would only aggravate the situation and we would be bouncing to a global recession by next year. Actually, we should be in recession now since consumers had been closing their wallets for while now due to the incessant quickening of inflation.
The typhoon also flattened the food basket of Luzon. It’s rice harvesting season now but the typhoon destroyed all rice farms in its path. Prices of local and imported (as declared by the rice cartel of Thailand and Vietnam) will further climb.
AND YET…
Marcos just tweeted and posted on FB how “successful” his NY visit was. Their inept social media machinery showed spliced videos and photos of his speech before the UNGA to show there was an audience. But the truth photos shot by professional photographers showed that delegates walked out on Marcos.
His US trip didn’t gain any investment pledge. But he watched an Eric Clapton concert and went shopping while the rest of the country is being battered by Typhoon Karding. Rescuers in Bulacan died doing their duty.
He made this government trip a family affair because this is the first time his family can step on US soil because they were banned for decades because of their numerous crimes and convictions. But because of US law that states that this ban does not extend to head of states. 😤
Everyone else in the world are asking us why did the Marcoses come back? The Germans said they could not even imagine having Hitler back so how come Filipinos allow it?
BECAUSE WE ARE STUPID, DRUNK THE FACEBOOK KOOL-AID.
Ghad, I could punch every person who voted for this brainless BabyM. He’s as incoherent as Duterte, but in English. If there was an Asian version of a dumb blonde, he could be the perfect representative.
I keep on telling myself not to open my Twitter and yet I couldn’t help it because I needed to check the tweets from the financial markets in the US, UK, and eurozone. Today was no better.
This after scrolling through Twitter this morning.
The Marcos trolls and the Sara Duterte trolls (they’re different breeds) are doubly offensive today, trying to cover the incompetence of both officials in light of this latest calamity.
It’s so tiring. I mean, this is the reason we can’t have nice things here in the Philippines. The great unwashed and the equally morally corrupt upper class keep voting for these monsters because they have no regard for others.
I’m tired.
Ang hirap mo mahalin, Pilipinas! Kelan kaya kita maiiwan para maka-usad na ako sa buhay ko? Sana lumaki na lang ako na walang pakialam para hindi ganito kabigat ang dibdib ko araw-araw na nilulustay ka ng mga kawatan.
Cooked this from scratch before we lose power tonight. Then we will resort to time-saving, ready to cook marinated stuff I bought from Monterey today when shit hits the fan.
Meatballs in gravy. Secret ingredient: lots of nutmeg. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Apprently, I haven’t been reading the weather maps well. Typhoon Karding hasn’t made landfall yet.
PAGASA and JWC had upgraded Typhoon Karding into a super typhoon after it crossed the Philippine Sea—notorious for its warm waters—that fueled its strength before landfall. It is yet to cross Metro Manila now at 2 pm but the periphery of the typhoon is already felt with the deceptively calm rain we are experiencing now.
If Signal #4 is already raised here, then Karding is about as strong as Typhoon Glenda or Milenyo, two typhoons that knocked out power in Metro Manila for at least a week. Milenyo was in 2006 when I experienced walking from the Department of Finance to my newspaper’s office because there were no public utility vehicles. There was no power anywhere and as a reporter, I still needed to file my stories whatever the circumstances. The bigger the catastrophe, the more we must work and be on the ground.
Then the unlearned still brand us as paid hacks and useless 😑
Glenda was in 2014, when the girls were still babies. That was challenging. Right after Glenda passed, Metro Manila was freaking hot and humid—a guarantee that would send babies crying at night because it was so uncomfortable. We had to go to Araneta Center to charge our gadgets, in my case my laptop, and have some air-conditioning. Power was out for more than a week and I still had to file stories.
Twin I helping me shop for supplies. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Twin I and I went out for our supplies run before Typhoon Karding hits us. Right now it is taking its time ravaging Quezon Province. 😔
Back to making curtains. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I’ve also brought out my hobbies that won’t require power, like sewing curtains and sketching/painting.
I’m writing about these things so when I’m already gone, my girls will know what to do upon reading blog entries such as this.
Also posting this link to an IG reel that hit me hard. This is for my girls as well. If they feel like they are being treated like a human appliance, they should pack up and leave. They shouldn’t sink to my level; I who groveled at the feet of men who treated me badly.
So my children, if you’re reading this now that I’ve gone to the great beyond, then remember this: be always prepared before a calamity. It doesn’t hurt to be extra vigilant. If the typhoon passes without destroying Metro Manila, it’s good. Do not treat your prep work as wasted effort.
Second point: do not stay in a relationship because you are expected to. Once your partner treats you like a maid or human appliance, LEAVE! You don’t deserve to be treated like that.
That’s why I think I will end up as a cat lady. It’s only my cats who love me like this. Sushi slept on my pillows all day. We slept together this afternoon and this evening she’s at the foot of my bed, still sleeping. She doesn’t let me out of her sight. ❤️
Typhoon Karding will make landfall in Bicol tonight.
This is the calm before the storm. Typhoon Karding will be making landfall tonight and I haven’t done any grocery shopping today 🥴 It will be rainy and windy as shit tomorrow until Monday.
While the eye will not be in Metro Manila, we will be around Signal #2 tomorrow as Typhoon Karding crosses Luzon to exit West Philippine Sea by Monday. Better charge laptops, phones, and electric fans.
Today was sunny and I thought it will stay that way all throughout today. So I took my time and cooked chicken rice for the first time on Instant Pot.
Who would have thought Hainanese chicken rice could be this easy?
You need 1) Instant Pot 2) chicken rice mix (I used to buy them in jars from Hi-Top Aurora). Prepare washed rice but only 3/4 the usual amount of water that you put when cooking using a rice cooker. Dump and stir chicken rice mix.
Wash chicken thighs very well, like there should be no trace of blood and impurities. Season chicken thighs reeaaaalllly well by scrubbing it with a lot of salt. Place them on top of the soaking uncooked rice. Place halved shallots and big chunks of ginger in between the chicken thighs.
Set Instant Pot on “Rice” mode. It should pressure cook at “Low” for 14 mins.
Watch some Youtube videos. Your InstantPot will be calling for you in about 30 mins. You let it be because you aren’t done watching some more YT videos. Then you realize electricity is expensive so you attend to your chicken rice.
Lovely.
I didn’t have to put the chicken in an ice bath to stop the cooking process because I was lazy. I didn’t have to rub sesame oil on the chicken skin for that brownish oily glow.
However, I missed the soup part. There was no way you can have soup this way. So you can make a soup batch by sauteing shallots and lots of red ginger (or whatever color you have) or galangal, add a chicken bullion cube and boil all these until the root veggies almost disintegrate. Add chopped green onions.
Instant Pot Chicken Rice. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Skin still intact even without the ice bath to arrest the cooking process. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
It was so tasty that I went over my one-cup-rice-a-day diet. I needed to walk 6-7km today to burn the calories but of course the weather didn’t cooperate. It rained heavily at 4pm just as I was about to leave. I waited and waited for it to end but nope, it only stopped when it was already dark.
No choice but I have to do indoor workout again.
Well according to my Oppo Band, my heart rate during my entire exercise session was around 125-136, especially when I was doing my weight training.
Not bad for indoor workout, almost 260 kcal burned, equivalent to a 5km walk under an hour.
My drinks with the friend is cancelled because he’s meeting his dad tonight so we arranged it for next week with more friends. I hope there would be no typhoon yet…Next weekend is our long weekend at the beach. ❤
Yes, I did say I didn’t want to post anything political or anything to do with current events but of course I couldn’t help it.
Who else could it be??? Like as if any Korean presidential candidate would be as brash as this… Or I could be wrong 🙄 But then the most obvious candidate is…TADAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
Your guess is as good as mine.
Meanwhile….
The top rice importers in the world 1) China; 2) PHILIPPINES
And hellooooooo! Who is the concurrent agriculture secretary? The president who could not even make head nor tail of the economy and government.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Bravo! Bravo!
And this government cut the budget for health; we no longer have budget for Covid vaccines and support for cancer patients. All went to the confidential funds of the Department of Education Secretary, who is the Vice President, and should not have confidential funds because what does she need “intel” funds for as education secretary? Then the office of the president has billions in unwarranted “confidential funds” that can be disbursed without state auditing.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
*Sigh* I shouldn’t have clicked on Twitter. 🙄
My desk on Friday night chaos. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Been busy emailing people for meetings in Singapore in November so I can have my trip approved by London. Kinda stupid that I had to justify my trip to my own office. As if I’m there to have a holiday. 🙄 Good thing the people I reached out to were very willing to meet me and have already ordered their secretaries to send me an email invite to table the meetings.
I need to book my hotel and flights next week since the rates are already going up.
Because I was attending to these things, I wasn’t able to get off my table and to start walking again at 4pm. I opted to have indoor workout, which I’m not really a fan of. The usual core exercises and dumbbell workouts. Then stretches.
After planking.
I can’t NOT have exercise these days because I love home cooking. Just look at this!
Instant Pot 45 min kare-kare swimming in peanut sauce. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Fall-off-the-bone beef kare-kare in 45 minutes. This is part if the xxx number of kilos of beef I bought from my hometown. It’s cartilaginous but it just melted. The peanut sauce became peanut soup since it is pressure cooked, no steam escaped/no evaporation, hence, the sauce remained watery instead of transforming into a gooey sauce. I remedied this by plopping more Reese peanut butter…ah well. Lesson learned. But the kare-kare is excellent. *Chef’s kiss* 👌😘
And to cap off the weekend, here is 12-year-old Yoyoka, wowing me again with her wicked drumming skills in 1970s classic heavy rock. She’s just one year older than my girls and yet her mastery of the instrument is that of a 45-year-old professional drummer.
I’m glad that heavy rock is still alive and kicking in Japan and has not been swallowed up by Kpop/Jpop. Japan has always produced very skilled guitarists and bassists, especially women bassists, like Madoon who complements Yoyoka here.
Monoral was in heavy rotation in my iPod a decade ago.
Speaking of bassist, the best bassist for me is Billy Sheehan >>> he’s a big part why I loved Mr. Big. He could make the instrument really sing and compete with the lead guitars in terms of melodies. And with Yoyoka’s drumming, it was ear candy.
My kids are starting to appreciate some of my music now that they started listening to Up Dharma Down and Radiohead. We’re on Spotify family plan so they have started to discover music on their own. However, I don’t think they’re ready for nu metal like Korn and P.O.D. but they have an entire lifetime of listening to discover those.
Oh Up Dharma Down…smooth jazz fusion music on a Friday night. I miss them and there’s a huge void when they disbanded. I’ve only seen them live once 😥 but Armi Millare is still there creating beautiful music and she provided me with the most poignant soundtrack of my life.
