A WORKING MOM'S PEN HAVEN

Each time I hear about anything related to Cambodia like Angkor Wat, Phnom Phen, Lara Croft and so on, I can't help but feel nostalgic and go back to when we had the most amazing 2 days and 2 nights we had in Cambodia.  Cambodia was the second leg/country of our Indo-China adventure and so far it's the one that met the most hospitable people we've met,  far cry from the horrors that we experienced during our short visit to Ho Chi Mihn.  The Cyclo Hotel and staff Only a few minutes from the bus terminals, The Cyclo Hotel is a gem for foreigners looking for a quick tour of Siem Reap and its most famous spot --The Angkot Wat temples. The boutique hotel offers large beds and sizable amply put showers and tiny hints of luxury along the way. But what makes the hotel great aside from the sparkling decor pool and the bountiful breakfast is the staff's very warm welcome and service. 

Every once in a while I find myself in a trance.  I pause to reflect on what is happening in the world.  The feeling is overwhelming.   I recall the year that was. Then I remember the year before. The Pre-pandemic. What it meant for me then and what it means to me now. A world of difference. Something that I may never be able to go back to ever again. 2019...That year was when I backpacked with my husband from Vietnam to Cambodia to Thailand by land and air in 6 days- an awesome feat for someone with a chronic illness like me.  Manila to Ho Chi Mihn was supposed to bea  normal uneventful night flight but turned out to be a traumatic experience for our first time in Vietnam.  The taxi driver duped us into letting him count our money and with his quick hands was able to snatch at least P1,000 worth of Dong money from us.   We actually stayed in 2 hotels in Vietnam both of which were not worth mentioning at all.  Both were 2 star hotels where we had the most unpleasant stays in the whole

It's been more than a year since I took the SEO specialization course from Coursera given by UC Davis Extension program. And boy is it a great pivoting experience so far.  As one who have been in the practice of market research for more than 20 years, venturing into a totally new field is not only nerve-wracking but also defining.  It changed my career path unexpectedly even at age 40.   It was also last year that I have concurrently been assigned as Head of SEO/SEM for the entire conglomerate.  And because of that, I have been able to practice SEO not only with one website but with 12.  One year later, I've seen these websites grow impressions by 1k% and traffic by 500% because of organic and local SEO.  It actually surprised me how powerful SEO really is in achieving traffic goals which will help you eventually grow leads. We now have a steadily increasing number of leads across the 12 brands.  But recently I have been trying to assess if I were to shift my career to SEO/SEM.

I started to think about retirement at age 36.  I don't know why but it was then that I realized that despite my good prospects for promotion in the near future and my steady stream of income from the investments that we were making, I just knew then that I needed to start my journey to financial stability and security.   My son and my youngest was less than a year old then.  I computed in my mind that when he reached college at 18 years old, I would be around 55 years old by then.  I was unsure what I'd be by then.  Would I still be healthy enough to work?  Would we have enough savings to make sure that he has money for a decent college to go to?  Would he be intelligent enough to make it to UP to enjoy free tuition?  It was unsettling.  I felt I had to do something.  And so I realized that I wasn't even talking about retirement.  I was just thinking about Sam's college really.   So it was then that I made my big leap to get a VUL.  I did not know much about it then bu

I have again been invited to give a talk about digital selling among its sales network. This time by a very popular brand Camella and its new vertical brand Camella Manors. In my webinar, I've covered topics from Macroeconomics and Industry updates collated from several sources. I also presented a perspective of the brand's buyer persona and journey map. Finally, I gave recommendations on how sellers can leverage on digital assets and tools to effectively reach their market.   But as I pre-recorded that webinar and while giving the piece about the industry update and how the market demand was changing towards the suburbs and even provincial areas, I came to realize that I was indeed describing in general and maybe even in detail what Camella Manors is.  Camella Manors' advantage has always been its prime location in the provinces and even fringes of the Metro like Caloocan.  Emerging cities like Antipolo and Malolos are among those is the pipeline developments of the brand

If you're my age, you've more likely come across an Insurance Agent or Financial Advisor from among the popular insurance companies in the Philippines.  Most of them claim to be able to advise you on investment portfolios that you may want to buy or avail for yourself.  They would often ask you first about your investment capacity or the amount that you are willing to invest whether monthly or one-time and then move into presenting you a proposal based on that alone.   Based on my experience on investments, the best kind of advisors are those that are concerned with the end goal rather than what you'd like to give up from your disposable income.  Normally, when you ask people about how much they would like to invest, they would normally just let you know how much extra extra money they have or what they usually have left after a payroll cutoff.  If you let people do that, chances are you'd end up getting lose changes as investment funds.  There lies the disconnect usual