#laagnitantong

History of Plague When novel corona virus started infecting Chinese in the later part of 2019, I was reminded of the Black Death in the earliest century (1350). I remember how it was described in a historical fiction book series of Ken Follet, the Pillars of the Earth. There were recorded pandemics in 1817 (Cholera) and 1918 (Spanish Flue). Even in ancient history, plagues were recorded in the Bible and in various accounts of human history (https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/pandemics-timeline). Then Covid19 was finally declared a pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 when it spread around the world, forcing governments to quarantine their citizenry. The Philippine Government commenced its hard lockdown on March 16, 2020. Work from Home (WFH) With traffic situation in Philippine's Metro Manila, where I spent at least 4 hours on the road to and from the office, I always wished for a work from home employment arrangement. With the lockdown due to health crisis, I was working ...

(Originally posted on April 5, 2014 in my Facebook page) One morning, as I hurried out to catch the early bus ride that usually beats the traffic in the Cubao area, my cellular phone sounded its usual text tone. A message appeared from an unknown source when I opened it. It said: "It is hard to come up with a wage just to pay off the debt that is left over." Perhaps a wrong sent item, but such is an enlightening message. It connotes that one wage-earner must not be overconfident of his / her regular pay, no matter how huge it would seem. As an earning individual, we have this tendency to avail of debt / loan, or buy stuffs especially cellphones on credit, or pawn our ATM card to afford some things at once. I was once doing the same until I learned financial discipline. Yes I now have reasonably huge monthly earnings. I can afford to buy 40 ”TV in one month, then iPhone 5, iPad or Samsung Galaxy tab in another. But I don't ... I can't ... I won't. I have my ...

Bantayan, Cebu This trip with hometown friends was supposedly the highlight of my birthday celebration. The whole gang was comprised of Nang Lolong and Nanan from Surigao City, Nang Rosshiel and Ruby from Taguig City, and myself. Our reservations at Budyong Beach Resort, in the most beautiful island in Cebu Province, was from January 9-12, 2020. Nang Lolong and Nanan traveled by boat from Surigao to Cebu on the night of January 8th. If not because of the official trip to Singapore, I should have flown with Nang Rosshiel and Ruby from Manila to Cebu at midnight of January 8th. I tricked them; I only disclosed my official call to Singapore on the day that the four ladies were already reunited at Cebu's North Bus Station. So they went ahead with my instructions to enjoy the island while waiting for me. As promised, I flew back on January 10th from Singapore and caught a connecting flight at Manila Domestic Airport that early morning of January 11th to Cebu. Now, another hometown frien...

Just before Covid19 from Mainland China became viral and caused worldwide health crisis, I was able to make three trips in Asia. Singapore Our company, FreeBalance, called for an APAC Regional Planning Workshop on January 9 and 10, 2020 in Singapore. This was my first time to celebrate birthday overseas and on official travel. The Philippine Team, myself, Arfel and Ramon, departed for Singapore that early morning of January 9th. The Project Management Advisory Team of APAC gathered at the main function hall of Hotel Grand Central. We reunited with colleagues from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan when we started drawing our Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for the region. The 2-day activity was facilitated by VP Bridget. Jakarta I went to Indonesia's capital twice in February 2020. On Feb 19-20, I accompanied our partner and sales representative to attend meeting with government officials to promote our company's products and services. I returned on Feb 24-26 to join our Pre-sales...

2019 was another year of adventures for the Trip2Top Family. And we wanted to give back. February 2-3: Climbing Mt Amuyao The highest peak in the Mountain Province, measuring 2,862 masl. Accessed through the town of Barlig, the difficulty of the climb is at par with that of the Napulauan Mountain. The ascent is tough almost at 90 degrees, although aided by knotted ropes here and steel ladders there. However, the peak for me is unimpressive and tight. The campsite at the peak could only accommodate a limited number of tents and campers. July 27-28: Treeplanting in Gabaldon This was the first climb for a cause I joined in. Our T2T community collaborated with local associations with similar cause to do treeplanting. We brought with us 200 plus seedlings of different trees up the hillsite. Then we proceeded to Dingalan, Aurora for the overnight camping and socialization. November 29-December 1: SOUL Outreaching in Ligao Our sister community, the SOUL, had an outreach program in Ligao City ...