Bye-bye freewheeling money

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Lifted from a LinkedIn post.

I really don’t understand this metric. This is used by companies wanting unrealistic valuation and investors bit the bullet because…they need to close a deal and show their LPs that they’re doing “something”.

Now that startups and even the unicorns and listed tech companies are laying off people by the thousands (I just edited a story about this in Asia a few weeks ago) as funding dries up and investors begin to see reason. Gone are the days when Uber and WeWork burn money like it’s growing on trees. Things are so bad right now that those who have jumped from their stable jobs to hustle on their startups are seeing doors close on them. Cost of money is rising, with inflation hitting multiple-year record highs, hence, we see central banks looking through their tool kits to stem possible runaway inflation. Investors are now turning off the tap and begin to be more selective in their deals. Companies that I’ve talked to are preferring cash over anything else these days.

Just today, Philippines Statistics Authority reported that last month’s inflation rate was the highest in four years at 5.4%, from 4.9% in April. Gone were the days when I was reporting inflation rate at 1%, T-bills at near-zero levels, and very loose policy rates (which was boring us to tears) that banks and insurance companies were looking at alternative investment vehicles in search of higher yields.

As it stands, inflation is emerging as a big headache for the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is yet to reveal his full economic plans for the country.

The BSP is racing to control prices and has already made its first decisive action to fight inflation last month by hiking rates for the first time in three years. Diokno, who will cut short his term as BSP governor to join the Marcos cabinet as finance secretary, hinted at another rate hike in June.

Philippine Star

I feel bad for my brother, who is trying to close a housing loan with PS Bank and he has been racing against time. If he can’t close the loan (because the Register of Deeds is slow in releasing the title), he has to work again on the loan with higher rates for the townhouse he is trying to buy.

This situation will squeeze small and medium enterprises with existing loans; if they don’t have fixed-rate loans, then this will hurt them so much.

Recession is very much in the offing.

I just bought vegetables and a few oranges last night and I spent PhP 1,200 that is good for four people for a week. And that’s not even the same amount of vegetables I used to buy six months or a year ago.

It hurts a middle class citizen like me but I’m luckier that I can still spend for “frivolous needs” like wheel alignment and clothes shopping because my children got bigger again and no longer fit in their clothes I bought a few months ago.

Clothes and and sandals shopping at SM tonight
Having my car’s wheels aligned and steering wheel straightened out this afternoon
Photos by CallMeCreation.com

This, however, is a different story for those who belong to the lower economic strata who can barely budget their PHP 570-a-day minimum wage, which includes costly transport costs. It’s no wonder why people still gravitate towards the long queues at MRT and EDSA Carousel buses because right now these are still free. Filipinos could no longer afford basic transportation costs.

I have to be selective with the face-to-face meetings because petroleum is so precious right now. I had filled up my tank (which was already half-full) tonight for around PHP 1,700, which a year ago would be enough to fill up my car from near-empty.

Despite the high cost of driving your own car, people like me bite the bullet because there are no Grab cars (heard they decommissioned a lot of Grab cars because they’re older than 5 years already), the queues in MRT and buses are out of this world, and the traffic is much worse than pre-pandemic levels.

We are in a fucking transportation crisis.

Metro Manila is no longer livable.

I had been living here full-time for more than 20 years and I can see how things have deteriorated over time. I can’t wait to move back to my hometown (even if that means I lose my autonomy because I will be nearer my siblings who can poke their heads into my business) because I’m so tired of the drive. The driving time of my brother and mine were the same last Saturday. His 70 km vs my 14 km both for 1.5 hrs. This is really absurd.

Smiles and tears

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Beneficiaries of the donation drive we had. Photo by AAPAFI.

The president of the foundation that I had been helping sent me photos of the turnover of the school clothes for the Aeta children. They said their thanks.

However, we have hit only half of the target 600 shirts. We need to raise more funds.

After all the drama with my car, I will drive up to Capas, Tarlac to visit them with my journo friend, M, who is also helping them.

Today hurts my wallet.

My entire Monday was spent repairing my old Crosswind—the expected wear and tear of an old car. Good thing about this is that I finally found a good overall mechanic. The bad thing here is he is in Cainta, Rizal, which is a bit of distance from here. His shop also does body repairs since his side business is flipping cars.

old defective fan belt pulley
Old clutch fan
The clutch fan removed
Putting it all back,. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

So after my trip to Pico de Loro and other trips during my week-long leave, I will bring my car to his shop for other internal and external repairs like dents and paint. Then I will bring it to the electrical shop that I had been using since 2009 for centralized locks. Then to my upholstery guy for carpets and sound deadeners.

So after all these, I hope this car will not bring more headaches until I buy a new one.

After Taal Volcano had her tantrum earlier this year, here comes Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon with her own temper flare.

And OMG! NEDA Sec Gen Karl Chua, who is much younger than me, has aged so much over the course of the six-year Duterte administration, especially now that the Philippines incurred P12.76 trillion in debts.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Karl Kendrick Chua gives an update to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during a meeting with key government officials at the Malacañan Palace on February 28, 2022. King Rodriguez, Presidential Photo

“The debt-to-GDP ratio meanwhile has risen to 63.5 percent, which is higher than the internationally prescribed best practice of 60 percent.”

ABS-CBN News

This is double whammy for a developing market like the Philippines as the US is bracing for a recession. It has always been, when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.

So I have to hold off any major purchase and I must hold cash for opportunities. My portfolio lost so much on paper so I must even them out. 😑

Meanwhile, I was able to resurrect my sister’s dead laptop. The Asus laptop keyboard I bought from Shopee arrived yesterday and I was able to replace the old ghosting one. I was able to turn this laptop on, which had been sitting idle for a long time. I didn’t want to spend PhP 6,000 for a new LCD since this is just a spare Windows machine, so I hooked up a spare old Dell LCD monitor.

Et voila! I have brought it back from the dead. And this machine has a licensed Photoshop and other layouting software.

Sushi investigating the old machine. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I’m too tired tonight to paint or sketch. I have to buy new tires tomorrow. 😑

In the meantime, I’ll just watch other people draw people.

Here is the offending fan

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Clutch fan. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

So my radiator guy said the good-for-nothing mechanic replaced my original Isuzu fan with something disposable that needs to be replaced every 6 months. So yeah, 6 months it is.

However, since it is a Sunday, the auto supply shop where he is getting this specific fan is closed so I have to bring the car tomorrow for this repair to be completed. In the meantime, they’re overhauling my radiator because it’s rusted.

Replacing and welding the rusted parts and cleaning the radiator. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

That’s one of the reasons why the coolant is not reaching the engine. The tubes are chock-full of rust. He said I should have this overhauled once a year, just like my AC maintenance, since this is already an old car.

Aggghhh! The perils of keeping an old car. I promise after this recession, I will sell this and get myself a Toyota Rush or a Suzuki Ertiga.

While I’m waiting for my radiator to be finished, the birds at the pet shop next door have been busily chatting the day away.

I feel sorry for them. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Yesterday, we went to Makati to meet my brother, sister-in-law, and my nephews. Kuya P wanted to see the twins. So we met at Glorietta and they played the evening away at Timezone while sis in law (SIL) and I shopped around.

Then we all had dinner at Food Choices since it was already too late for anything else, plus they brought their shihtzuh with them and Food Choices is not prissy about pets.

Ollie, the cutie dog. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My nephews. My brother is blocked by Kuya H. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

We broke up at Greenbelt so the girls and I can proceed to the skating event, which was a big dud because there weren’t enough skates to be rented and the food and beverage stalls were caught unprepared for the huge crowd. I was told by my SIL later last night that some friends she knew who went earlier were so disappointed by the disorganized event and the event host’s amateur way of handling it.

Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Queueing for skates. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Resting for a bit before going back to Greenbelt. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

In the end we just spent 11-12 midnight walking back and forth Paseo de Roxas and Greenbelt where we parked.

In the underground pedestrian walkway along Paseo de Roxas x Ayala Ave. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Good thing we spent majority of the evening with my brother’s family instead of going straight to the skating event, which was just a waste of energy. At least my girls were able to have fun with Kuya P.

Then it was downhill from there…

Too exhausted from last night’s ordeal and today’s repairs that I slept for 3 hrs. Woke up at 6 pm and I’m still in bed.

So lovely. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

This is what weekends are all about.

When it rains…

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Waiting for the car towing company. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

It’s 1:14 am and I’m waiting for the car towing here at the gas station along Edsa.

When we left Greenbelt I was already feeling that the AC is not working efficiently and I just had it cleaned. 🤔 I saw the temp gauge slightly elevated…when I got off the flyover ramp from Ayala, the brakes weren’t engaging and the check engine, battery, and brake light were blinking red.😣

I turned the engine off and on and slowly made my way into a gas station. All the while I was talking with my brother on the phone. He said I shouldn’t drive the car and and call a towing company, which I did.

Meanwhile, the gas station guys helped me bring down the radiator and engine temp. Then I smelled something like burning rubber. I left the engine running to see what the issue was. So here I am with my children at the back, waiting to be rescued.

And there it was, the strange clacking sound. Just as I suspected, it’s the fan clutch.

I had it replaced in December when the aircon guy at Frigidzone already warned me that the fan is already freewheeling when it  shouldn’t. I asked for a mechanic that he could refer me to. Unfortunately, he was the only guy open on 23 Dec and the rest took the holiday off. He isn’t good because it took the auto parts seller to tell him what parts should be replaced and what to do with it instead of just using silicon for the old fan so it can continue spinning.

And when I had returned to Frigidzone for aircon cleaning last week, the same guy said something is still wrong with my clutch fan and my engine will overheat. I said I just had it replaced. He said it was not done well and I should return it to that mechanic.

Hell no, that guy is a fraud. So I brought the car to another radiator/auxiliary fan mechanic and he said it’s still working; nothing is wrong.

But there’s still this nagging feeling that I should bring it to the radiator guy who did the overhaul of my radiator a few years ago. I was just buying time. I was waiting for my leave so that I can fix what should be fixed.

So here we are; I didn’t think it would be this soon.

Tow truck starting to lower its ramp. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My car on top of the tow truck. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Photo by CallMeCreation.com

It’s 3:26 am and we are coasting along EDSA inside my car on top of the tow truck. It’s rather jarring.

I’m freaking tired. I’ll solve the problem of bringing the car to the radiator guy later today. I’m dead.

When you mess up

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Dreaming of Diving. Mess and photo by CallMeCreation.com

I was painting purple petunias when I messed up—I spilled water. Lots of it. Then made the most of it and turned this into a dream sequence, with me dreaming about diving. I propped this against my computer monitor to remind me that I can still rescue something that completely went wrong and try to work with it and be flexible. This ain’t pretty but it’s a reminder. Then I will replace this with another mistake, then another. Until I get better with my mistakes.

I made a lot of mistakes in my life and I simply had to work with what I’ve got. I’m no stranger to grinning and bearing it until I see a breakthrough.

I used to think that when things go wrong, they’re punishment for my sins, for the things I did wrong. Blame my very Catholic upbringing for this way of thinking. Now I should know better. Things happen because I’m just human; I am bound to make mistakes. It’s not punishment but rather just a consequence of my very human judgment. Now the test of character comes after how I will pick up myself from this mistake. Will I let it sink me or I will swim? Blame the universe for being cruel? Blame other people for this mess up? <<<< Well this is what narcissists do when things don’t go their way. They blame others but themselves.

Today is a bit slow since China, Taiwan, and HK are on public holiday and Southeast Asia is not that in a mood to chase stories today either. I was able to cook baby back ribs in the slow cooker for more than 6 hours. It was so tender that you can shred the meat with just your fork. You can make a Philly cheesesteak with it only that it’s pork, not beef.

This day was a more relaxed one compared to yesterday when I was still working until 10 pm. I was able to cull dead leaves from my plants. So far so good; the ones I recently bought are still alive.

Photos by CallMeCreation.com

I think I have more room for flowers since the deadly heat of midday is no more. I just have to continue with companion planting so the plants wouldn’t suffer root rot due to soggy soil.

This is my container garden goal:

This gardener does a lot of companion planting that’s why her container garden looks lush.

I can’t buy plants tomorrow though because we’re going here:

Goodluck to us. We would be making a fool of ourselves here. I haven’t skated since 1994. 😜

Obnoxious

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Kimchi, cat with an attitude. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

My obnoxious cat thought she could prevent me from working and could earn a treat by being bossy like this. I could still work from my main computer, silly little cat. 🐱

They couldn’t leave my side. Such babies. Photo by CallMeCreation.com.

Yesterday, my new Maya debit card arrived. This is my new card I applied for (via the Maya app) after their rebranding into a digital bank with e-money features. I use Maya (formerly Paymaya) more than G-Cash since the latter is full of bugs or is usually down.

New Maya Bank debit card. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

We broke the story of PLDT via Voyager applying for a digital bank license and their Series fundraising rounds are for this purpose. ❤️

Speaking of work, while I was busy chasing 3 stories today, I was also doing some admin work—re-hiring a reporter who left and wants to come back because I am the new manager. I never thought this would be so complicated and the amount of justification needed is more compared to just doing a new hire. 😭

It’s mind-numbing.

And they have yet to approve my promotion and raise. 😑

Too much red tape here.

I had a video call with a journo friend (the bureau chief of a competing news wire) and we were both wearing tank tops—basically comfortable house clothes— and she said, hurray for working from home! Indeed! I said, that’s why it’s ok to work late as long as we can do it in our tank tops 🤣 and bare-faced. No need to put on make-up and uncomfortable shoes. And no more driving for hours.

The aircon guys reinstalling my room AC. Photo via webcam

And here I was yesterday, working with the aircon guys at the back. I had my AC units cleaned as part of their quarterly maintenance. I just woke up so that’s why my hair was in a messy bun and my face is really bare and shiny.

Even though I barely come out of my room during work days, I always end up exhausted with the amount of brain cells I needed to overwork everyday. This is what my friend and I were talking about: our brains are elsewhere i.e. pursuing national and international news but we’re stuck inside our rooms. Can’t complain though. It’s a privilege to work at home when we feel like it.

Maybe next week I can attempt to work in Makati and have dinner with friends. I need stimulating conversations with humans face-to-face. Thankfully, most of my friends have great minds so every conversation with them enriches my life.

I don’t think I can live with someone who is small-minded—we will run out of things to say to each other. If you and I cannot carry a conversation about anything interesting, we’re doomed. You don’t need to agree with my ideas and vice-versa, but at least we know each other’s minds. If you are as shallow as the water on a saucer, no matter how good-looking you are, you are only just that, a face. I remember having drinks with the most good looking guy in my sister’s class but he was as boring as a doorknob. We never went beyond discussing people. 🙄 I don’t want to end up having dinner or drinks with him again if it’s just the two of us. Besides, he only goes after literal beauty queens. Maybe he was just testing the waters if I could fit his criteria…errr no.

Anyway, I need to schedule this coffee date with another friend who is recovering from a stroke. She was overworked that’s why her neurologist recommended that she let go. I was advising her to just take a consultancy gig so she can work remotely most days of the week. Anyway, she just came back from abroad and she just finished graduate school. I will help her draw the terms of the contract and the deliverables. We will also draft the communication plan for this particular office.

And if we’re successful, we can tag-team later on and do consultancy work together. ❤️