Category Archives: travel

Fighting back

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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. ❤

LIan, Batangas

New low

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How low can it go?!

The BSP hiked policy rate by 50 basis points today after the USD Fed tightened theirs by 75 bps, it’s expected that the peso would sink further.

But not by 50 centavos in one day!

I can’t remember if the currency had dipped this low within 24 hours. In all of my years reporting on the financial markets, I think this is the first time I saw the peso sink like this. 🤦‍♀️

This is already inflationary. The BSP should intervene in the forex market. I know this is the worst use of our dollar reserves but the forex volatility is no longer funny.

Admittedly, I earned well in this quick sinking of the peso but I am not happy because it has made a lot of Filipinos poorer. Goods continue to get more expensive by the day.

Feeling under the weather? Cook bak kut teh. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Pork bone soup cooked in my Instant Pot. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.

Lovely.

However, I’m running out of spice packets. I need to replenish when I come back to Singapore in November.

Speaking of which, I already booked my PAL flights but the hotel is a tricky one since I needed to use the SAP Concur facility so I can use the company credit card. And it’s not working because the chief of reporters has sat on my request on Concur after so many months. 😩

That occupied my entire night.

I liked my last hotel because of its location but I think I should change scenery.

Booked!

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Matabungkay, Batangas. Photo by Matabungkay Beach Hotel.

OK, that’s taken care of. Booked for three days and let’s see if the girls can still attend class online. If not, then so be it. A day’s absence will not hurt. We’ll make the most of this beach trip to Lian, Batangas.

I used to frequent this part of the province as a child. The last time I had been here was when we had an exercise for our Bio 150 and I couldn’t remember what we were doing then. I think it was about biodiversity or something. There was a secluded area of this coast where underwater life was still unspoiled. When my mom was still teaching Bio 150, I used to tag along when I was a kid because I really loved the sea.

While I was doing a loop in UP academic oval this evening, I decided that I probably won’t stay in Anilao for a week. I may just end up holed up here at home or I visit the construction site.

A little sacrifice won’t hurt. By 2023, I would have more financial and physical freedom to travel more frequently as the girls will be nearer extended family who can check on them daily.

If I get to have my ADB conference approved in January, then I will be able to save on airfare for my holiday by extending my stay there. I just need to work my ass off and produce 16 stories again.

If Covid didn’t happen, I would have traveled to Incheon with J in May 2020 (I told him I can bring him as my guest) so he can network with all the big guys there. In Yokohama, I was able to talk to top execs of the big Japanese trading houses like Itochou, Marubeni, Mitsui and was able to get an exclusive story from the president of Hitachi. My Japanese colleagues’ jaws dropped because they said they normally don’t have access to such high profile people, much more have a chat/interview with them. I had been treated to dinner by an executive of JTI. I had chitchats with top bankers in Asia since we sat next to each other during meals.

At the receptions (sponsored by government of Yokohama [dinner 1], ADB [dinner 2] and Japanese government [dinner 3]), I was able to establish ties with some Japanese sources. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to maintain the connections because I became too busy. Nurturing connections like these take a lot of time and effort.

I expect the top execs of the chaebols would be there in Incheon, as well as medium and small enterprises in Korea and some Asian conglomerates. A lot of solid connections for him there since his sector is now one of the top priorities of ADB’s private sector arm.

Well, it’s not meant to be. 🙃 It was good Incheon 2020 meeting didn’t push through because that #$@#$%^&* would still have cheated on me anyway.

Imagine that, he wouldn’t have to pay for his airfare (we would have used my miles) and hotel (my work) and I was able to pull some strings so I could cover the Incheon meeting (even though we have a Seoul bureau) so he can have access to all these. That’s how supportive I was of him.

Ah well I was stupid.

I’m not going to be that stupid again.

Today I grilled some ribs because…why not? Since I am limiting our restaurant jaunts for a bit, I will just splurge on home cooked meals.

Chef’s kiss 👌😘 Photo by CallMeCreation.com

After that late lunch, I went vegetable and fruit shopping because my body is craving for veggies. I need to limit my red meat consumption and carbs if I want to get in shape for my November conferences. I need to fit into an evening dress. 🥴

Shopping at Enrique’s in UP. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I left the car near that area and did my brisk walking to make just one loop.

Wohoo! I missed this. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Only 200 kcal burned. *sigh* It was already getting dark and I needed to bring the car to Cainta to have the final buffing and polishing.

Need to lose weight and get back in shape.

I am taking advantage of this nicer weather. I hope it won’t rain heavily this coming week.

Let me finish the paint job please!!!

Screen shot from NOAA West Pacific Visible Loop.

It looks like it’s going to be clear for the rest of the week (*keeping my fingers crossed* 🤞). It breaks my heart to see this clear satellite view. This would have been the perfect weather to go to Palawan or even Anilao but I can’t go. 😥

Ah well, I’ll just bring my bike to my hometown this weekend when I meet my contractor and then I will go to that secluded place my high school friends posted on IG where they grilled food on their camping stove while waiting for the sun to set over the swamp. ❤

Uncle Roger would be proud

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It’s food recycling day. So I made fried rice that Uncle Roger would approve. Cold rice from the refrigerator left overnight ✅ leftovers ✅ Magic Sarap ✅ and cooking the scrambled eggs in the same wok as the rice (and not separately) just like what the ethnic Chinese uncles do ✔.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Meanwhile, mooncake gifts had been trickling in. I received a special Eng Bee Tin mooncake today and I think I would be drowning in mooncakes by the end of this week.

Nice tin box, no? Photo by CallMeCreation.com

It was raining heavily today so I decided to change course when we were already in Xavierville. We were originally going to Tiendesitas to buy cat supplies and shop at SM Hypermarket Pasig but the heavy rain earlier convinced me that traffic would be bad. I instead turned left in Katipunan Ave and went to UP Town Center to do grocery shopping in Merkado, because I want to check out their SKUs. We also had an early dinner at Razon’s because of the halo-halo. What I paid tonight is half of our usual meals outside our home.

I told the girls we need to put a cap now on our weekly dining out because I need to save a bit of money for the house. Although I have everything planned out, I’m just hoping that maybe my scrimping for a few months would allow me not to touch some of my investments to pay for the last few months of the job contract. Stocks are really low right now and I would be selling at a loss. Big, fat, juicy loss.

So I would be issuing a check for the half down payment next week, then it would 20%, 20%, and 10% as we go along.

Good thing I also canceled my Korea trip because I received this notice in my email:

Haha! My May 2020 trip there to cover this event is now pushing through. So I will have my trip paid for by my company. I will just extend my stay there for a week out of my own pocket.

By that time the financial pressure is less because my house is already built.

Let’s see if I can replicate my productivity in Yokohama in 2017 when I produced 16 stories from that event alone. 😏

I think I need to lay off Twitter and Facebook (well I’m not much into it anyway) because they’re causing me so much stress. I’m getting angrier by the day. The troll farms are going on offensive because a lot of people are calling out the government for the economic mess we are in.

It’s draining. No wonder I’ve been too exhausted the past few days.

I’ll just go back to my first love: reading. I have a lot of fantasy books here that I need to finish.

Cancelled

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Layag Resort, Mabini, Batangas.

That’s it. I’m not going to S. Korea anytime soon. I just contacted Layag Resort in Anilao for a long weekend stay first week of October. If no room is available, I can push it back to the week of my birthday since they have a weekday work-from-beach promo.

I can’t travel abroad in the next 6 months except for work because I just got the quote from my 2nd contractor and I almost had a heart attack. I’m waaaay over budget. We’re talking about millions. Prices of construction materials have doubled, I reckon. I was negotiating with my contractor earlier how we can bring down the cost (Italian granite vs cheaper but still tough granite tops; hardwood vs pinewood for cabinetry). I’m constructing my house on cash basis–no bank loans. I cannot risk having a mortgage because our industry is in a flux so I always feel insecure about my job. Whatever happens, at least I have a fully paid home.

The new car can wait a bit.

As an example, this is how expensive kitchen cabinets are:

And this is just for the kitchen granite top:

Final sketch by CallMeCreation.com

It’s tight but that’s how new condos are built in Metro Manila nowadays, a two bedroom 50-sqm unit. The indoor living space of my unit (in a duplex) is about 50 sqm and it excludes the patio on the right, the space beside it and under the stairs, which will be the grill and laundry and utility area. If you add that, I guess my total living space will be around 70sqm. I can convert some part of that into a screened studio, just like my mom’s screened porch that doesn’t have any use at all except as a repository for their shoes. 🙄

And my contractor agreed to this request by the girls.

My girls’ model bedroom. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

My contractor said this would make their loft beds stable as he can anchor them against the walls. Then the girls will have a bigger floor space for an extra mattress where their friends can sleep when they have sleepovers. Contractor said there would be extra space between the loftbeds so he can build actual stairs, instead of ladders, for the girls. This way I can also divide their room with floor-to-ceiling curtains for privacy, if they want to.

So no Korea trip this October, no Japan trip in the spring. No Palawan. Just Anilao. If I need to get away, I just drive to Anilao and dive. That’s it for the next 6 months.

And I just bought again ETF when stocks were falling today. I was trying to catch a falling knife. It burned me though as I bought at 103.8, but it continued to fall. 🥴

Ah well. What can I do? I’ll just buy again at the end of the month.

Cronyism

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Ah, Megawide has de-risked itself because it plays fair; because of that it is now being eased out of the dirty, regulated infrastructure business of the Philippines. And the best entity to sell to is a Marcos crony—Aboitiz. Group CEO Sabin Aboitiz is super chummy with Marcos Jr so I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out as the “next Dennis Uy”, the favorite businessman of a sitting president. During Duterte’s reign, Uy was like Pacman, gobbling everything in is his path. Government contracts were his for the taking. Now he is being chased by creditors and is set to sell most of his assets because NONE of the promised support from China pushed through. His telco, DITO Telecommunity, is looking for a buyer for Uy’s stake. The problem is, no one wants to sleep with China Telecom, Uy’s JV partner.

I can’t write such things as straightforward as this but I try my best to inject some of these insights in my stories—but I know I’m pushing the envelope. I take that risk because the investing community should be aware of the political dynamics we have here. That’s a service that cannot be quantified by our CRM but is valuable to our readers, as I was told by some of them.

It has been raining nonstop even in the absence of a typhoon. I feel I’m ballooning again so I need to walk tomorrow or something. I need to be back in shape for a marathon networking in Singapore in November. The big bosses will be flying down from London. And oh, I must bring an evening dress (*OMG I need one that fits me) because there would be an awards night for ***.

Speaking of work, my most senior but least productive reporter told me he would like to step back and have a different arrangement, like a per-article basis freelancer status because he acknowledged that he could not meet his quota.

Now this poses a big problem for me because since top management is NOT prioritizing hiring of new reporters or editors (only a senior North America editor), losing one headcount means it would not replaced. I lose it, then I lose it. As it is, competition in the region is heating up. Other news organizations are finally catching on and realized my niche is lucrative so they’re building up their own team dedicated for this niche.

I cannot lose more people.

I was having back-to-back calls today with my seniors to solve this conundrum. I also need to arrange to have my team fly to Singapore in the first week of December for a year-end training that I would be conducting. 🥴

Because I was preoccupied with admin concerns, I wasn’t able to write again my stories that have been pushed back a couple of weeks and months now. I also need to see a doctor for my left knee that has been hurting now. I don’t know if this is an old football injury that I aggravated during my walks in my hometown the a few weeks ago. I also need to bring Twin I to a pediatrician for her nosebleeds. They’re getting worse now.

How to shoehorn these doctor visits in between all these work pressures? I need to attend a conference tomorrow or on Thursday and I have a lunch meeting with some bankers and another set of bankers in the evening on Friday.

Oh geez and I need to book that resort in Batangas for that beach holiday at the end of the month.

Wait, I still need to follow up my travel arrangements and visa application for Korea.

I need to breathe.

What have I been doing? I don’t know, I haven’t been keeping track. I’m having a hard time finding mental space for all the important things to do. I only have two hands and finite amount of brain cells to balance being a manager for Southeast Asia (which is a lot of work), being a specialized journalist, a mother, and a future homeowner who needs to build her home, and at the same time I must take care of myself if I want to live beyond the age of 42.

I think I’m getting overwhelmed.

I want to scream.

man near carton boxes with many different words about stress
Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com

BREATHE. Stop and smell the roses.

Maybe I should cancel that Korea trip. Maybe I just take a week off in October and just go to Palawan to go island-hoping and dive for a week and burn to a crisp.

Yes, I think I should do that.

I don’t think that Korea trip with my friends is that compelling anyway. They’re planning to go to Busan when I haven’t even explored Seoul. 😶 Maybe I’ll just do that next year when it’s less hectic.

Oh.

I would be moving houses next year. In May.

Let me see…

Damn it. Breathe.