A WORKING MOM'S PEN HAVEN

 I had wanted to post this since forever but did not have the time or just did not remember to have the time.  I wanted to just share about this very organized albeit sablay itinerary of mine.  Well what the heck! I consider myself an expert travel planner. Having planned countless office and family local and international trips, I even thought of putting up my own travel agency just to remind me of how good I am in travel planning.  But there are of course trips that will always run into some setbacks and even unforeseen delays and even stops that may altogether throw your plans out the window. This Cebu trip with my dear hubby was probably one of those. But if you ask my husband, this was probably on his toplist of our most unforgettable trips ever. I usually plan out by hour but since there are items in the IT that's not very familiar to me (sardine run etc), I thought to leave out the time and just run with whatever the day brings.   So here how it all ...

  Just came from our 4-day Ilocos Region adventure with the fam and I am so stoked to write about it! My husband and I contemplated on taking the trip about a month ago when he mentioned that he wanted to see Vigan. I've been there a couple of times for work but have always wanted to visit with him and the kids so I relented despite my apprehensions because of the long travel ahead. I started creating our IT which was difficult to finalize since it meant that I had to see if we can afford the hefty sums for accommodations during peak seasons. So the first thing I did was to look for hotels within or near Vigan. Praise God I was able to find a hotel offering a family room for less than P5k! I immediately booked with a free cancelation option in case plans go hayward. So the rest of the planning began. I booked a halfway airbnb since I know that it was a loooong drive to Vigan. Then I looked for acomm in Pagudpod in case hubby wanted to go too. Alas! 2 weeks before the trip, my husba...

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 whe...

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...

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 lea...

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 th...

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 th...

REALIZATIONS OF REAL ESTATE PANDEMIC TRENDS It's now Feb 2021 and I have held off this 2021 outlook piece precisely because I was too busy thinking of what to say.Yes, 2021 unlike its predecessor the phenomenal 2020 is perturbly quiet and uneventful. Whether good or bad so far, we don't know. https://www.camella.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2018-CAMELLA-MEADOWS.jpg In the real estate scene, all developers including the top dogs have been silent about their 2020 performance except for one IPO company who happily announced that they even grew by 12% in 2020. This is probably considering that they are still a minor player despite going public. For the big guns, top developer Vista Land has been showing muscle to defend its turf in the horizontal segment. Now that the vertical realm has been challenged on several fronts including the mass exodus of the POGO market, the impending oversupply may occur because of it. Shortly after this and in the offing is the correction in price...

I got invited by people from Vista Residences to talk about Investing Tips for Millleneals.  This will happen on Dec 1 via their Official facebook account.  Please see here to registration link. https://www.vistaresidences.com.ph/  https://www.facebook.com/VistaResidencesOfficial/posts/3825522130801187 As I was mulling over the topic for my talk, I needed to do some research on this generation which has been misjudged and misunderstood by the older gen, including mine (Gen X).  But as I conclude my deck, I realized that every generation has gone through that stage in life where self-realization is a foremost need.  Sometimes more than financial stability, the need to find the self is I think one of the most important ideals for the said Gen Y.  This is evidenced by its high level of patronage of travel promos and DIY get away trips by most of the middle class even those belonging to the lower middle class.  I remember one of my staff in the office tel...

Investing in real estate (condo and house and lot) in the time of COVID As a real estate researcher, I've read and navigated through a lot of information and data to analyze and provide insights to our company leaders about industry trends.  Off work, many of my friends also ask me for advise when it comes to decisions about real estate.  To buy or not to buy this property, to sell or not to sell at this price, to rent out long or short term, house and lot or condo , and other related queries about what to do with their money and property.  I almost always suggest to keep it simple and logical.  If it does not add up and you have an inch of a doubt about it, then don't do it.  However, there are also signals that should not be ignored.  This is especially true in periods when demand presets supply.  The worst case scenario for a buyer/investor is to see a property be sold out just when you've decided to buy it and then see it a...

My daughter "Banana" will soon come of age so I finally allowed her to create her own blog. That was about 2 weeks ago and now she just asked me how many followers I have on my 10-year old blog. So I checked for the very first time and so I realized that I just have 3 followers! 3 in 10 years and that already included her! To top it off, my own hubby isn't even following me! Hahaha. I mean I have gained 2k+ views over the years but none of them seem to be interested in following my blog. And so I am now totally determined to prove my daughter wrong when she said that: "Mommy, you don't have any friends!" Because I know I do. Hahaha I am just positive that at least some of them would care enough to prove it. Hahaha. Anyway, who said a mom can't feel insecure about having friends anymore... I sure am glad that I have Jesus with me. At least I know I have one who would follow me wherever I go. And one who will be by my side online and offline. :) So p...

If you are looking for information on what house and lot for sale options are available for P10k up a month, you should attend this webinar conducted by yours truly. I have been a real estate advocate for 8 years now and I have had experience in buying 3 properties from different sources  - developer, foreclosed and Pagibig It is an exciting and most interesting topic for most pinoys out there who have yet to start owning a home of their own. Details of the webinar are as follows: You may message us at our fb page:  https://www.facebook.com/howtobuyhouseandlotph/  to get the meeting ID and password. Pls click here for the event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/260782601632745/ See you on May 9, 2pm via Zoom

Vista Land supports the Balik Probinsya program by offering several affordable house and lot packages in hundreds of locations nationwide. The government recently extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and critical areas of the country to May 15, 2020.  While the rest of the world continue to battle the dreaded virus, PH has more worries ahead.  the economy is on the brink of collapsing and people's lives are also on hold because of fear and  uncertainty.  The different Department of the government each has its own contribution to the Task Force that is helping each other to solve the crisis.  But left out in the picture at least for now are the economists that would like to push for more detailed plans on how to revive the economy after the COVID crisis. DOH on the other hand is still on the limelight sharing it with the DSWD in making sure that the spread is controlled and that people would have food on their plates everyday. Short term stops are on its way ...