Last week in the midst of brunch, someone wearing an LBC uniform knocked on our door. He was apparently looking for me with a package in hand. I signed his form to acknowledge receipt of the package and giddily went inside to find out what it is. It came from one of my blog partners – Nuffnang Philippines.

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Last Sunday, my seemingly kind and innocent maid from Pasig, and claims to be a native of Tacloban, asked to advance half of her salary for the next month, just because she’s also finished off half of her salary for the previous month and so instead of getting a full month’s worth of salary she will only end up getting P1,360. So being the ever nice and kind boss, gave in to her request and gave her P1,500 as an advance payment for her salary until the 30th of this month. Read more…

Been rather sleepless as of late, too many things to take care of, too many pressing issues to prioritize. Wish I could sleep a full  8 hours this coming weekend.

image credits: animotivation.blogspot.com

The Philippine Social Security System is currently allowing employers to pay off delinquent loans of their employees until June 30, 2011. What it does is it allows employees to pay off just the principal without the add on rate for the penalties. If you previously applied for a loan and are not sure if it has been completely paid off especially if you transferred to another company, it would be best to check. It is crucial that payment is made otherwise, you might encounter problems later on when it comes to claiming your social security benefits. You can either check it online or proceed to the nearest SSS office in your place of residence or work and check. You can also check if your employer is remitting your contributions in a timely manner.

Again, if you have loans with SSS in the past, check if it has been completely paid out, you might be surprised to find out how much it ballooned to had your employer or previous employer failed to zero out the balance when they were all the while taking off the amount in your monthly pay check.

I always wanted a big wedding ring.  Not that the one I have does not suffice, but I always wanted it bigger and shinier.  I remember my father telling me that when he asked my mother to marry him, he bought a cheap ring from the market since the only stores who sell quality rings back then were the major jewelry shops.

Well here in Manila, Chinatown is known to have the most affordable engagement rings in the metro.  Come to think of it, they the most affordable anything there.  Anyways, you can have gold, white gold, silver, platinum, even cubic zirconia engagement rings.  I wonder if you asked them if they have a titanium one.  My husband always liked to have titanium rings since it would be virtually indestructible and also the thieves won’t take it since it cannot be pawned or anything.  I think he has a good point.

During this time of the year, almost everyone that you know will be attending one or two reunions before the year ends.  I guess this will be like a status check on where you are now after all these years.  My husband personally hates reunions, not all kinds but certain reunions.

He is not the kind of guy you would see sitting down by himself on a corner having his fourth cigarette in a row.  He’s one of the loudest people in any group he’s in.  But when it comes to reunions, you can count him out.  He likes meeting up with old friends and talking about crazy things he did during college or high school.  He just hates those organized reunions, the ones with a program.  He explains that there are three main reasons for those reunions.  One, get funds from the rich and successful alumni.  Two, give the rich and successful alumni a venue to brag about their success.  Don’t get me wrong, he does not hate successful people, he just hates those who think they are.  And lastly, those reunions only spark previous things about your past that you have tried so much to forget.

Now tell me, is he right?

Skilled workers are very much in demand in first world countries more especially in Canada and Australia. Skills in demand are welding, meat slicing, baking, plumbing etc., most jobs that we regard as blue collar job. On the other hand, these first world countries are likewise in need of doctors, dentists and other workers in the medical profession. In the past, I used to check out job openings abroad. Although at that time, more workers were needed in the Middle East. There were several job openings for hotels, restaurants and mall supervisors and managers. I would have applied in a heartbeat, but one of my biggest challenge was not knowing how to use a POS Systems. Or may be, I’m just holding back then for some other things.

Well, now that we are more established, perhaps it will be best to start working on our immigration papers again, and start learning some of the needed skills while waiting.

I remember back in college when there was no texting.  The only way two-way communication that was commercially available was landline telephones.  We used to troop to the nearest phone booth or to anywhere that we can find establishments where we can pay to use their phone.  This usually happens when me and my friends go out and we were meeting somewhere.  As usual, girls are always late when it comes to this.

Today, there are tons of cell phones you can choose from.  Flip phones, iPhones, Androids, Dual Sim, Tri Sims, the list goes on.  Back in the day, when you have a mobile phone, it’s either the company gave it to you or you are very rich.  Now, even street sweepers have them.  Makes you think, would the all notebooks be replaced with an iPad?

A lot of people are coming home for Christmas here in Manila.  Some of them are working abroad for years and this is one of the few times they can get time off from work for a long Christmas vacation.  My husband has a few relatives in the US, all of them are working in the medical industry.

I remember the time they were last here.  As you all know, Filipino gatherings always have my weaknesses, food.  I ate a lot and then allergies kicked in.  Good thing that his cousin, who works at a nurse in the states, was there with a bag of medicines that I was not allergic to.  He told me that there are a lot of people who develop allergies in the US, and particularly in the town he works in.  If you can find an allergy doctor Austin has a few of them.  But here, you can find all kinds of allergy treatments from organic to the latest in the field of medicine.  Good thing he was there.

Christmas dinner again this year, crap.

I was thinking of getting my own business.  I am sure that most you have read it in my blog, but my husband and I are thinking of jumping off the bandwagon and start our own mom-and-pop business.  We have been talking about it and one thing that came up is where do we get quality equipment that is within our budget.  Well, one thing that came to mind is getting it from other businesses that are getting rid of their unwanted assets.  But where do you find them, certainly you cannot search for them like you search for a second hand mobile.  Then I stumbled upon something called asset disposal service.

I searched online and found HMR Auction Services.  They are one of the companies that offer auction Service in the Philippines.  They have the experience, the capacity, and they have 5000 bidders ready to bid on your unwanted assets and liquidate them.  And one great thing about HMR is that they are a full service company.  If you decide to close out your business and sell your assets, they offer services that would help you from start to finish.  They would evaluate your assets, do an inventory, start the logistics and marketing of the said assets, do the auction, and generate the reports on the sale.  You really do not have to do anything else but sit back and watch them do their stuff.  I never thought that there is already a company that handles auction of assets in Manila.  One good thing about HMR is that they will have their business development officer come over and discuss things with you with no obligations whatsoever.  They can also do on site auctions, multiple site auctions, and they also have a storage facility where you can transfer your unawnated assets if you need the space.  Talk about full service.

I know I started this with the thoughts of starting my own business.  But sure enough, in case our little project fails, we know who to call when we need help in getting rid of bulky equipments and machinery.  Maybe I should call and check if they do the same with unwanted personnel too.