08-23

     I won't forget this number. It's my last apartment unit in Singapore, the third apartment I rented, before I was sent home to the Philippines for good by my stroke. I stayed in this unit from November 2014 to May 2019 if my memory serves right. It was my first time to stay outside of the busy central business zone of Singapore. My first stay was at City Square Residences, a posh residential apartment, then I moved to Toa Payoh to a flat. 

     I miss this residence of mine, my home office starting November 2014. I did not hire housemates as I was worried they may be disturbed of me working from home as I had a lot of teleconferences.

The grilled doors to the flat 

     It was in this unit where I experienced to be brought to the hospital three times, two of which were emergency situations. I stayed alone as I used it for my day work, working for an American chemical company for a regional post for Asia. My first open heart occurred when I was already staying in this flat. It was February 2015 when I woke up  very early in the morning, I had difficulty breathing, seemed I couldn't move my feet. I called a friend, a bartender working late at night, who told me he will call his wife, a nurse at the National University Hospital(NUH) of Singapore.  In a few minutes the ambulance came and brought me to NUH.

     In February 2017, I had a scheduled surgery to correct my aorta as I had a triple A condition, acute aorta aneurysm. After those two surgeries, I thought everything was in order when in February 2019, I had a stroke. It took almost 24 hours before I could be rushed to the hospital Tan Tock Seng. By some miracle, I was brought to the ICU and survived the ordeal but unfit for work which sent me back home for good.

Gloomy Day

     I didn't walk this morning as it seemed it was about to rain. It's a gloomy day. Forecast said a tropical storm is on the way. It drizzled for a while explaining the wet ground but now it has stopped. Luckily it has stopped as we planned to go to town as it's the opening of Metro Mall Alangalang, the newest supermarket in town, branch of their stores in Tacloban City and Cebu City.

What a gloomy day!

     I have ran out of topics to blog that is why it has been a while that I didn't write in here. I started this blog without any focus on an area to write about, simply write on anything because I had only one thing in my mind, train my brain after I have stopped working. I see the similarity to many so-called vloggers, some friends, who posted videos of mundane stuff. Many of them are extinct now, ran out of ideas to vlog precisely because they had no focus on a particular topic. Many of them I believe started vlogging because of the promise of earning from Meta, erstwhile Facebook. What they failed to see is the reality that they have to have many followers in order to maintain their vlogs. For me, my reason is simply personal, to exercise my brain. I think I should continue writing anything under the sky even without followers.

  

Best Islands in Asia

     Looking at this list of top ten best Islands in Asia, I am overjoyed to see that I've been to the top five islands.

When I was an OFW I got the chance to visit 

      I don't know their criteria for judging but my list for the top would be different. If I am to rank my top five in terms of natural beauty, facilities and ease of touring around, my list would look like this.

1. Koh Samui

2. Boracay

3. Phuket

4. Bali

5. Langkawi

New Condo Tenant

     I've got a new renter in my condo unit, the income from this helps me tide through now that my stroke rendered me jobless. The renter I feel is very entrepreneurial, no surprise as he is a broker by profession. He rents my place for short term staycation. No doubt he will make more money than me with the right promotion but it's alright as i don't want to be bothered by the headaches surrounding short term rentals. He even offered me to sell my unit, he will help market it which I said I have to think about it. I hope this new renter brings me more luck in the days to come.

My studio unit 

Memories

     I saw a distant relative's FB post which reminded me of my own memories growing up in the farm. I can fully relate to what she said.

Her FB post

     We both experienced to live without electricity, since it only came to our village when I was in Grade Two I think, around 1977. Before that, there was no electricity and we survived using kerosene lamps. When night time came, it was awesome when the moon was out because the atmosphere was lovely. But when there was no moon, it was pitch black. There was no internet then. We used books to read our school assignments. We had no TV so we couldn't watch TV shows. My family would gather around a transistor radio listening to radio dramas. That was the simple life we had in the village. There were no complications. 

Love Before Sunrise

     I started following this local drama series on GMA 7 from when it started because, aside from  it stars favorite actors of mine, Bea Alonzo and Dennis Trillo, I was curious as to the story line. Because the title reminds me of the rom-com movies, a yrilogy of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. Initially I thought it's something different, creative but as episodes go along, it seems the writer got the lot idea from those movies. There's nothing new in the plot, but of course they localize the story. I'm curious how they will end this series because in the movies, they didn't end up together.

GMA 7 latest soap opera

     Why they titled it this way, only the writer would know. They should not have given it this title so people would not think of the movies. Well, the soap opera is for the masses which I believe don't know of the movies.

Netflix' Lee Kwan Yew

     Over the weekend, a Lee Kwan Yew special was started on Netflix to commemorate his birthday. Lee Kwan Yew(LKY) was the first Prime Minister of Singapore and believed to make Singapore what it is today, a first world country.

Documentary on Netflix

     In this documentary, it showed how LKY envisioned Singapore to be after their separation from Malaysia. His brilliant mind built modern Singapore that recognized the talent and dreams of the people.

Coconut Embryo

    This is a coconut embryo, or coconut haustorium, that if it grows, it becomes a tall coconut tree.

Young coconut to be

     Growing up in the rural village pre-Yolanda(devastating typhoon Haiyan in 2013) days, I learned all the manual tasks preparing the coconuts to become copra, dried coconut meat. When not in school, I would help my poor farming family in preparing the coconuts to become copra. When we broke the coconuts for copra-making, we would find the embryo which we would collect and eat after completing our coconut splitting chores. It was a simple natural food but delicious. 

     That's the value people in the rural areas must learn, simple but delicious. Not all in the urban cities are palatable. In today's society, the poor rural folks all look up to the urban people, they become their role models which is wrong. They follow their values, they become materialistic. What is even worse the materialistic urbanites control the TV and its shows and the poor rural folks look up to them like Gods.

Roti Canai

     I saw this ranking of breads in the world and was surprised and at the same time glad to know that this year's top of the list is roti Canai. It's a popular bread in Malaysia which can be eaten anytime of the day. With ten years stay in Malaysia I have learned to love it. It is easy to make but needs skill to make. I miss eating it.

Malaysia's roti Canai tops the list 2023

US Open To Remember

     It's a historic US Open 2023, it's going to be remembered in years to come. Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam trophy putting him a couple of wins above Nadal and three above Federer. This probably cemented his certainty to be the GOAT - greatest of all time. I love both players, Djokovic and Medvedev, their humility and their respect for each other is genuine.

Djokovic vs Medvedev

 

     Yesterday, the women's category also ended with a record. Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam at 19, the youngest since 1999. I didn't expect Gauff to prevail as I was all for Sabalenka but she was playing like no one else's business. All the balls were returning to Sabalenka, the first time I've seen in a tennis match.

Gauff vs Sabalenka 

Unexpected

     This is unexpected! I never thought Medevedev could lead 2 games to none to Alcaraz in the US Open Semi-finals. I thought it's going to be all Alcaraz. I never thought Medevedev would be this ready. Whatever the outcome in the finals, this  semi-final match will always be remembered.

Mervedev -Alcaraz semifinals at the US Open

     I don't have any liking for Alcaraz even though there is hype to his young age and how well he plays. Maybe it's because of his Spanish background because I don't seem to fancy anything Spanish due to their colonization of the Philippines years ago and oppression of the poor Filipinos.

US Open 2023

     The final four, both for the men and women in the US Open, have been decided. In three and four more days the winners respectively for this year will be known.

     For the men, I place my bet on Djokovic and Medvedev in the final. Personally I don't like Alcaraz although everyone is saying how talented he is at this young age. I guess for a Djokovic victory to make it 24 Grand Slam wins for him.

The men's top four

     I am predicting a Sabalenka win in the women's final, as I believe it's going to be a Sabalenka-Gauff battle. If she wins, it's going to highlight her potential to win more Grand Slams, this will be her second, if ever.

The women's top four

My Unforgettable Paint Chemist Job

     I have a total working experience of almost thirty years, three years in the Philippines, eighteen years in Malaysia and nine years in Singapore. It gave me a lot of exposure and learnings that had I not become a professional, I would be a poor farmer in my native land, like many of the people here. Maybe I was ambitious and lucky in some way that opportunities came to me and gave me chance to uplift my family's economic condition.

     I was lucky to finish a college course through scholarship, a scholarship that only an intellectually elite few could qualify, from the Department of Science and Technology, about 200 all over the country. After graduation from college, I was able to find job as a paint chemist in Dutch Boy Philippines. I only worked in this company for almost three years, my only working experience in the Philippines, until I got offered a job in Malaysia as wood coatings chemist, which I grabbed because it was an economic solution to my family's woes. I worked in three companies in Malaysia before landing a chemist job in Jotun Malaysia, a Norwegian paint company, which would become my longest working experience in a company, about ten years. I was connected with the regional lab responsible for the R&D needs of Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur.

     After working with many nationalities, the Norwegians are the best employers. I love their simplicity and sincerity, their way of making you feel they are not your superiors at work. There's one experience that would always be etched in my memory when we had a global R&D meeting in Norway, and in the free time, we went to the ski resort. The Asians of course had no skiing experience. The Norwegian R&D Global Director, helped us don our ski boots, he himself took hold of our feet, one by one fitted the boots until he had his fingers accidentally wounded. A director of any other company wouldn't do that. I can't forget that humility.

Shot with some colleagues in one family day

     

BSKE 2023

     The country is hyped for the barangay (village) elections end of October 2023, the filing of candidacy was just completed last week. It's another exercise of unproductivity as people will be preoccupied with politics. I have lived for half of my life in British influenced countries where in their parliamentary form of government, local governments are governed by civil employees, insulated from the political tenure. With such, continuity is there and development in the local government will not be hampered by changes in the politics. In the Philippines, the smallest political unit, the barangay, will hold its elections after having been postponed two times during the time of President Duterte. 

Too much politics in the country

     This political exercises are all unproductive, even the smallest village is affected. In our poor village, the barangay captain is my niece, but she is no longer qualified to run for the chief post as she has reached the three-term limit. She decided to run for councilorship, six of them to assist the chief during the tenure. Her husband is the one running for the chief's post. I find it totally against my principal beliefs, I dare not tell them my opposition. I just wish them luck and hope they focus on truly uplifting and making a difference in the lives of the villagers.

Merdeka Malaysia

     Happy independence day, Malaysia, my second country. I worked in Malaysia the first time I went  abroad for the proverbial greener pasture. Today is the national day, as they like to call it, not dissimilar to the independence day enjoyed in the Philippines on June 12, something very American, I believe.

Happy National Day Malaysia

     Malaysia was colonized by England and became independent in 1957, and they've made progress to development, build a society that is more equitable. The Philippines has been independent since 1898, but look where we are? Because after the Spanish colonization, the Philippines was ceded to the Americans who colonized us briefly, after brainwashing some local elites and made sure their genetic imprint has been planted in the educational system so that Filipinos come out of school with the American psyché in the guise of democracy, declared our fake independence while many think we are truly free. The Americans cooperated with some Filipino leaders who they think would look at the masses, without considering they had the Spanish mentality, keeping the poor poorer because it's easier for them to manipulate in many aspects. That's the root of the disgusting predicament of this country.

Basketball World Cup

     It's a clear case of dreaming to be what we cannot be, even if we rely on localized foreigners with Filipino parentage. We qualified for the FIBA, basketball federation, World Cup 2023, the Philippines being one of the three host countries, and the hype prior to the  games was over the top.

The Philippines lost all the 3 round robin bouts

     Three nights I patiently glued myself to the live coverage on TV, but all on the three occasions the Philippines came out at the losing end. What a sad outcome. The worst part is that coach Chot Reyes had been confidently pronouncing prior to the games to judge him after the world cup, since he was bashed earlier for many losses the team incurred pre-World Cup tournaments.

Exciting US Trip

     Six years ago, I was on a frantic trip to Houston, Texas to attend a global marketing meeting of my American company which was on the last minute changed to Atlanta, Georgia due to hurricane Harvey in the Houston area. I was stranded a bit in Manchester, UK then when it was finally decided that our flight to Houston was improbable, I had to discuss with my global marketing boss and it was decided that I changed my itinerary to Atlanta.

At Manchester airport waiting for further instructions

The airline accommodated us in a Manchester hotel

     After a good night sleep in Manchester, we were accommodated by a flight to Atlanta where we had our marketing meeting in a hotel inside Georgia Institute of Technology. Then on my return to Singapore, which was originally from Houston, I managed to change to San Francisco, California so that whole trip gave me a rare opportunity to go around the globe, something I won't forget 

Adventure Seeker

     I am an adventure seeker that when I worked in Malaysia, I did activities that would pump up my adrenaline. I climbed mountains, I went spelunking, and I went sky trekking, if that's the appropriate term. My one and only experience with sky trekking was in Malaysia.

Sky trekking in Malaysia

     The stroke has rendered me physically unfit thus I can't do this kind of activities now. No doubt I miss them. I got hooked up with such kind of challenges when I worked in Malaysia. I remember growing up I didn't do such things. I was focused on my studies, when there were sports competition in school, I normally would be the organizer of the year-level team. I was a mere spectator. Then in Malaysia, I got introduced to mountain climbing which started my interest in outdoor adventure. I climbed many mountains in Malaysia but I have never ever climbed any Philippine mountain ironically.

Putrajaya, Malaysia

     Putrajaya is part of the federal territory of Malaysia, which became the seat of all government's national offices in 1995, the development of which I've seen until I left Malaysia for good, while Kuala Lumpur remained as the capital city. Whenever I had visitors then, I would tour them around Putrajaya, proudly showing the efficiency of the government and how it is less corrupt than the government of the Philippines as demonstrated by the development of such government center.

The uniquely designed Finance Ministry office with my last car in Malaysia

     I love this photo of the Ministry of Finance, with my blue car conspicuously parked at the curb, in one of my many trips to the administrative capital of Malaysia showing to my visitors, mostly from the Philippines, how Malaysian government embraced modernity while infusing in their building designs with Islamic touch.

     The idea of concentrating all government offices in one location is admirable, very much possible with government will and the availability of land and funds. If one has things to settle with the government, only one place to go and all the offices are neighbors. 

Kalanggaman Island

     A friend in the USA, an ex-colleague, heard about Kalanggaman Island and asked me if I've been there. Of course, I've been there ten years ago with my high school classmates. I went there when it was not commercialized as today, we had to erect our own tents to camp overnight. There was still no electricity. It was so basic then, an outstanding break from the urban business. The long sand bar which appears during low tide is such an enchanting sight in this island.

Kalanggaman Island

One with a long sand bar

Idyllic island in the west side of my province

Persona Non-Grata

     Pura Luka Vega, a drag queen whose real name is Amadeus Fernando Pagente, has been declared persona Non-Grata in several cities and provinces in Luzon,Visayas and Mindanao, for singing the "Our Father" in one of her performances which is considered blasphemous by many in this devoutly Catholic country. 

Pura Luka Vega in her blasphemous getup

     Many of the proponents of the non-grata label have considered her performance as purely irreverent with no regard to the sentiments of a predominantly Catholic population. While he claims his performance meant no disrespect to the sacredness of the prayer, saying it was art, the Catholics definitely cannot accept whatever explanation he says now. What have I done wrong, he asked.

     I don't have a strong position for or against her performance. I strongly believe he should have taken some prudence into her performance knowing that such backlash would have been expected. I am not sure though if this is real or his way to become popular as she is now treading the headlines. In the Philippines, the media hype would die down eventually, just like many other issues in the past, strengthening my belief it's her ploy to become popular.

My Malaysian Buddies

     I went to work abroad in 1993 after working for almost three years in the Philippines as paint chemist of Dutch Boy Philippines then. By a twist of luck I managed to find a job in Malaysia which I badly needed because of my poor family otherwise we would have wallowed in poverty. I went to Malaysia without any knowledge about the country at that time. I managed to get a job with a Hong Kong-Swedish joint venture manufacturing wood coatings.

     It was only when I started working I learned about Malaysia, that it is a Muslim country, that there are three main races - Malaysia, Chinese, Indians while the other races are minor. I encountered Muslims at work, and in the community I lived. They are so different than the Muslims in the Philippine south who are known for violence and terrorism, not sure though if my image of Muslims in the Philippines is based on what come out in the media. 

My first colleagues in Malaysia 

     In the first company I worked with, I became very close to two Malaysian Chinese who were my colleagues, they were from the sales department. They were always willing to help me especially during that time, I had no car yet. They were my go-to friends for all the things I needed. I was very lucky to meet such kind-hearted people.

Stable BP

    Being a stroke survivor, I monitor my blood pressure daily, morning and evening. Not until this week, my profile has been up and down, occasionally high at certain days. But one thing I noticed these past few days, it has been stable for the last ten days. Thanks God! I hope to maintain it this way.

Sample of  a 3 -day profile 

Follow Your Ikigai

     I saw this and made me search what ikigai is. Roughly I have now an idea what it is and it's time for me to make it a part of my life.

     I may be a stroke survivor but looking at the rules of ikigai, it seems I should embrace it then it will give me peace of mind. I maybe a stroke survivor but I am not retiring. I maybe retired from working but I am not retiring from life. It may be hard for me but I take things slow now, I take time to smell the flowers as the proverbial phrase say. I don't eat a lot although the temptation of Filipino overeating is always there. I have limited circle of friends now. There are only two groups of friends who are consistently there for me in good and bad times, my high school close classmates and my colleagues in Jotun Malaysia. I definitely can say I am surrounded by good reliable friends who are always lending me a hand when needed. Although I don't really celebrate my birthday openly, I am keeping fit for the next one every year. 

    I am trying to smile all the time but I have a problem here in my rural birthplace because majority of the people I don't recognize so there are cases I don't simply smile at them. It might be construed for something else. I am back to nature life in the rural community, near a stream of a small river in this place where I grew up. I am always grateful for what I have achieved despite the hardships and obstacles, I have reached great heights despite of my poor beginnings. I definitely am living in the moment communing with nature, distant from any worries that I used to have while working. I must follow my ikigai, the path that will lead me to authentic happiness detaching a bit from the material world.

  

 

Singapore National Day

     I worked in Singapore until a stroke sent me home and I do regret. I regret for such short stint of work, eight years. Had I known earlier, I would have sought for a job suitable to me there. I have worked, prior to Singapore, in Malaysia for 18 years or so.

Happy National Day Singapore 

     No doubt my stay in Singapore may have been short but it was enough for me to kind of know their society. I am back to my birthplace and I can't help but compare the kind of government. The Philippine government have many things to learn  from such a tiny country yet managed so well since its inception founded by then Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of Singapore's development I know many Filipinos would label him as a dictator, which I believe is due to the American point of view prevalent in the so-called democratic Philippines. What they fail to realize is that the freedom, both political and economic, in the Philippines is only for the rich while the majority poor wallow in immense poverty. The sad thing is that the poor has kind of accepted it, and believes that fate is like that. It's hard to let them realize they are merely pawns of the powerful elite which controls the government.

Freaking Hotel Decor

     This decor in the hotel hallway to the guest room freaks me out always, even if I stayed in that hotel for years. I didn't get the logic of the hotel to exhibit such display in every level of the hotel. I know they were trying to be unique, trendy and modern based on their lobby displays.

Isn't it scary?

     This is at Pullman Hotel Central Park, Jakarta, Indonesia which I had stayed in my business trips when I was still working. I chose to stay there as it is connected to a mall making it convenient for my business trip. I can imagine my fear as I opened my door in the morning, that time I was at the last room in that level, and the first thing I saw at the end is this image. It was frightening that took time to get rid of.

Terrorist?

     This case involving Congressman Teves, who is now hiding somewhere outside the Philippines, is really blown out of proportion. Too much politics is involved.

Congress declared Teves a terrorist

     When they started, I thought Teves men really killed his political nemesis Degamo in Negros province. Now that Congress has wasted all its efforts in declaring him a terrorist, this made me question, is this a real murder case or simply a political struggle?

     Congress, representatives of the people, of the masses, is wasting their time on politicking. They are forgetting they have stronger purpose to serve the people, to uplift the poor standard of living of the masses which for years seemingly became their pawns in their political ambitions. They are so detached from the reality of the poor countryside.

Super Moon August 1, 2023

     Last night was full moon, a super moon. There will be two full moons in August this year, August 31 will be full moon too. Tonight it is still a huge moon up there.

It's a beautiful night

     In the farm, in the absence of the lights of the city, the sight of the moon is such a beauty. It erases the exhaustion after a hard day's work. With so much distractions like TV, I am sure the local folks don't see this beautiful nature. Nobody cares of the moon anymore.

Gifts from Malaysia

     Last month, I received a big parcel of gifts from my Malaysian friends in Jotun, most of them is coffee. They know I have become a coffee coinnosseur of sort after years of tasting them in Malaysia. They sent me coffee, tea and two glasses of prawn chili. The truth is I learned to drink coffee in Malaysia, as I grew up avoiding hot drinks as I sweat a lot. When I was growing up, I drank ice-cold drinks, preferably water, just like many other Filipinos. I was drinking soft drinks, Pepsi or Coke, that time, Pepsi was popular in the rural areas while Coke was for the city folks, which is not anymore today.

My Coffee Supply

     When I moved to Malaysia to work in 1993, I was so surprised very few, almost none of them, drink soft drinks. That's when I was introduced to many other local drinks mostly hot, which later I found out healthier than soft drinks. My local friends drank coffee so I learned to sip coffee from the local coffee shop, during those times, there was no Starbucks yet. And another surprise to me, was that men, mostly Muslims, go out at night to drink coffee, not beer or any other alcoholic beverage. Their being Muslim prevents them from consuming alcohol, so unlike in the Philippines where men gather at night, for sure it's going to be over alcoholic drinks.

Memories of Reunion 2010

     My high school class makes it a point to organize a reunion every five years, we had one in 2010, our third. Before the event, some batchmates invited me to play badminton, and I was eager to show off how I developed badminton skills in Malaysia, one of the leading countries in the sport. I was not as skilled as many Malaysians but definitely better than any of my local friends, I can proudly say.

Playing badminton with batchmates in 2010

     Badminton, it seemed, found a way to be kind of popular among Filipinos although it is still a sport for the upper class unlike in other neighboring countries that it is a massive sport. Badminton courts sprouted for rental in many cities. This is a sport that the country should learn and focus in order to excell world wide and not waste energy on basketball, learned from the US, where chances of excelling are next to impossible, physically.

Dinner after our badminton 

Malaysia

     The first country I went to work outside of the Philippines is Malaysia, I had only worked in two foreign countries, Malaysia and Singapore. I worked in Malaysia for about 28 years and Singapore, 9 years until a stroke sent me back home for good unfit to work.

     It was March 1993 when I first went to Malaysia for work. I had to for the need to uplift my family from poverty. The Philippine economy was not doing well and I felt hopeless to depend my family's future in it. I was fortunate to work in Malaysia which enabled me to uplift my family from extreme poverty. I have not enrich my family but definitely I made some stride to uproot it from the impoverished rural life, built a house somewhere near Metro Manila. I thought I was on the road to progress when a stroke hit me bringing me back to where I came from. I have to as I am no longer employed and only my loving family in the rural village can help me.

     I went to Malaysia without any knowledge of the new country because I went there for the economic need. Only when I was there I learned it's a Muslim country. That time, my idea of Muslims was the violent rebels in Mindanao, in southern Philippines. In other words, I have a scary image of Muslim, which I couldn't blame myself becaus that was my only exposure. In the first few months, I stayed indoors and dared not talk with any Muslim neighbors. Later, I found out Muslims there were the nicest people on earth, so different probably than the Muslims in the Philippines. That time Malaysia was not as developed as it is today, it was the beginning perhaps of its progress and development.

     Kuala Lumpur(KL), the capital city, was not as developed as Manila then although it was more orderly and less crowded. I liked the space the city exudes and breath of fresh air both literally and figuratively. First thing I noticed was that it seems everybody is driving a car. In the Philippines, owning a car then was only for the rich.

The world-famous Twin Towers

     I saw the development of the Petronas Twin Tower from its early construction. I remember walking towards the Philippine embassy passing through the construction site as the tower building was in progress. That time I didn't know it would be a famous landmark in the whole world.

     One popular thing I won't forget in Malaysia is the pasar malam or night market. Almost every village around KL has a night a week where hawkers would showcase their stall of goods. It was interesting going around choosing food, dry goods and others, almost complete market at affordable prices. It was convenient for the working people because the market comes to their village at least once a week.

    I am also impressed with the unity among the races, coming from the Philippines with the violent fight between the government and the Muslim rebels, Christians versus non-Christians. In Malaysia, I saw how Muslims, Buddhists, Hindis, and Christians co-exist without violence, without bloodshed. As such they have a pot of many cultures, celebrating the festivals of the races. They share food and culture and live happily. I saw how people of different religions celebrate each other's festivals.

     I adore the balanced development from the city to the rural areas. Being a parliamentary form of government, their states have independent legislature and thus they compete with other states in attracting foreign investors. No doubt the national capital attracts many foreign companies but there are other smaller companies in the rural states. In plain economics, that is distributing the wealth to the countryside. Unlike in the Philippines where all development are in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces but the moment you go to the rural areas, especially Visayas and Mindanao, it's rampant poverty and unemployment creating the  economic imbalance in the country.

     These two make Malaysia for me a great country, much much better than the Philippines, a good balance between progress and rural culture. 

   

Drinking Water

     My niece and her husband own a water refilling/bottling business which started in rural Bato, Alangalang, Leyte supplying to the surrounding towns. I helped them in the initial investment that time when I was still working oversea. The business has been great in the last five years thus the need to expand to Tacloban City, about 30km away from our town, driving them to start a refilling station in the northwest side of the city as a branch 

     They started the branch last December 2022, making it about half a year of operation. I don't monitor closely the output financially but based on what my niece and nephew tell me, it's so promising. The original branch in Alangalang has been in existence for five years, while the new branch in Tacloban has been running for about six months. According to them, the revenue of the Tacloban branch is half that of the original outlet. That is a very positive result.

The water refilling unit installed in Tacloban

     I am helping them market their drinking water in Tacloban City where I have more friends than in my birthplace Alangalang, Leyte because I studied my secondary school there. I gathered some friends of mine and some who knows me, because I was kind of famous during my school days, are supporting our water business. I fervently pray this venture of them succeeds. 

Eat Bulaga

     It's the 44th year anniversary of the controversial Eat Bulaga of GMA 7, making it the longest running noon-time show although in different TV channels. The erstwhile hosts, the famous Tito Vic and Joey(TVJ), have a fight with the management TAPE, the producer, which is still an on-going court case. TVJ started the show and the name but TAPE is clever to patent the name making them the rightful owner. It's still a case in dispute. It is run now by a new breed of hosts which made me watch it as I was never a fan of the old EB. The old hosts started their new show at another channel.

The fresh hosts attending the GMA Gala last week

     I watch the new EB, with fresh hosts, something different from the usual noon-time shows, the competing It's Showtime and the new E.A.T. hosted by TVJ from old EB. I never liked TVJ as well as Vice Ganda, main host of It's Showtime. I am turned off by their remarks that are often demeaning and unprofessional. Watching the new breed of hosts seems like a departure from the usual type and I see their sensitivities towards the audience, both live and on TV.

     They launched their new theme song. It's alive, fast and uplifting. I like it.

Condo Title

     When I was working in Singapore, a sales agent, a friend,  was able to convince me to buy a Filinvest condo unit, a studio, at that time, I thought of it as just another minor investment in a prime location in Quezon City since I had spare money. I didn't know then that such an investment would be a reliable money-making unit for me in case like today when I am not working anymore.

My condo after it was renovated around 2017

     To avoid the monthly headache of amortization, I paid in full last January 2020 so I could obtain the title. I managed to get the title few days ago finally after much follow-up since early 2020 battling the bureaucracy in the country, even in private companies. You can just imagine how bad it is in the government.

I got the title few days ago 

     I am very glad I invested in this unit many years ago as it comes handy as a source of income after my stroke which rendered me unable to work. Braving the bureaucracy of Filinvest, pestering them with my regular emails after I have fully paid, now it's settled. When they sent me the email last month that my title is ready for collection, it was a sigh of relief. My persistence in nagging them, knocking at their doors every now and then for two years has finally come to fruition.

Sigh of relief when I got this

    Truly it's an investment that didn't go to waste. It comes beneficial to me when I am no longer employed. Had I have no such unit, I will be without income. Glad I have this condo unit is an understatement. I have a house rented out in Montalban, Rizal. Both are supporting me financially now as I am trying to recuperate from my stroke, albeit slow walk and movements. It's not much but enough to cover my basic needs and my medication.

My condo unit at Vinia Residences

     I have another house in Montalban(now Rodriguez), Rizal, just 20-30 minutes away, without traffic, northeast of Metro Manila which I now rent out to the family of a friend. I acquired this property in 2004, much earlier than my condo and when I finished amortizing, I had extra money to invest in the condo.

My house in Montalban 

Personal ID

     Sometime last year, I got my new Philippine ID, a national identification card system requiring all citizens of the country to have. I was one of the first few who went to apply as I salute the move, late as it may but it's a must.

My  new National ID

     Had there been no national ID, many of the local poor folks would have no identification card. The upper class and the working class has other IDs such as SSS, their social security system ID card. Now with this ID, with or without job, you have proof of your identity.

     When I worked in Malaysia, they asked me what ID do we have. They were surprised to find out we have no national ID. I only have my passport to identify myself. I was all praises to the Malaysian national ID, which is similar to the ones they have in Singapore. It links all their information in government agencies, their ID number is linked to all their records, public and private. With the national ID, they can trace all their records in any bureaucracy. In Singapore where I worked, even foreign nationals are given a national ID, and we can pass through immigration without showing our passport. Of course, the ID numbers are coded to identify that you are a foreigner.

     I hope the government implemented this national ID system in order to come up with a unified database. This will solve most of the record issues of the citizens. With what I am seeing, I doubt if it's what the government is aiming for implementing the national ID system. If not, then it's a futile exercise, a waste of resources, like many other programs which they do  because other countries are doing it 

Women's World Cup 2023

     The country is celebrating the win of the Philippine women's football over host New Zealand, 1-0. The Philippines won three days ago but the euphoria is until now, in social media the thrill is overflowing still, and that is their second game in the round robin stage. They lost in the first game against Switzerland. The celebration seems like they won the Women's World Cup. 

Sarina Bolden's goal in the first half gave hope to the Philippine team

     Indeed Bolden deserves the accolade but the goalkeeper, Olivia Davies-MacDaniel, has to be highlighted for her tenacity to stop and prevent New Zealand from scoring. She was instrumental in preventing any goal from the opponent which made them win. The press should emphasize that too.

     I heard of women's football late last year when I saw the Philippine team winning the finals of the Asia Football Federation Cup. I searched about the team which I have not heard of before, only to find out that all but one were born outside of the Philippines, mostly in the US. They are all speaking with the American twang when interviewed on TV. Thus after that I didn't follow their succeeding games until this World Cup. When they lost thelr first match, I lost track of them and I thought it was game over for them. Until this World Cup.

     Anyway, they may not be homegrown talents but I hope they really stay and play for the country for love of the country and the game. A friend highlighted to me that France men's football team which won the World Cup last year, has a team majority of which are migrants from Africa. I guess he is right. Thus there is hope for this women's football team. I do hope they succeed into the next round and forward. They have to win their next match against Norway in order to continue the fight.

Their first win made them sensation of the press