I have a confession to make. I have never completed the Simbang Gabi (or Misa de Gallo) Masses in my entire life.
Our eldest daughter beat me to it. When she was still in university, she and some friends from our parish choir slept over at someone’s home to cook Arroz Caldo. They sang during the dawn Mass of Simbang Gabi and served the parishioners with sizzling hot Arroz Caldo afterward. It was something I always wished I could do but never got around to doing. The spirit was willing but the body just would not cooperate.
This COVID-19 pandemic, despite all its negative effects, has brought some good for me, personally. I have been able to spend more time with my children, something that I was hardly able to do since they began working. A bigger grace for me is actually being able to hear Mass more often, even on weekdays. This year, I made a decision to do all 9 novena days of Simbang Gabi.
Fr. Reginald Malicdem, Rector of The Manila Cathedral
PayMaya has widened its financial inclusion. Now, Filipinos can invest in government Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) using PayMaya.
What are RTBs?
RTBs are medium- to long-term investments or securities offered by the government specifically to small investors. Unlike other bond offerings where the minimum placement is usually in the tens or hundreds of thousands of pesos, RTBs can be purchased for as low as PhP 5,000 during a bond offering. They are also low-risk because it is the government behind its issuance. Of course, no investment is zero risk but in the case of RTBs, it is considered low since the only time one risks losing one’s investment is if the government defaults on its obligations.
(I will place updates on this post as we crochet and test out the earsavers. Sometimes there is need to adjust the instructions depending on the experience of those using them.)
Yesterday, I came across the Facebook post of a friend. She had reposted someone’s crochet pattern for earsavers for frontliners.
It turns out that there are groups of crocheters who are organizing to crochet earsavers for frontliners.
To be honest, I never heard of earsavers so I had to do some googling. It turns out that earsavers are strips that you place at the back of your head to which you attach the face mask ear loops instead of looping it behind your ears. For our frontliners who have to wear masks for long hours, earsavers literally save their ears from the pain and discomfort of those ear loops.
In the US, most earsavers are plastic and disposable.That does not appeal to me because one, it’s plastic. Two, it is often single-use. I am trying to cut down on plastic waste. So crocheting one appealed more to me. Besides, I had so much thread left over from crafting days and they are actually beautiful two-toned ones.
The recent news about shaming and privacy violations by some online lending apps of borrowers who missed their payment schedules unearths the ugly side of credit collection.
At least 3 lending apps are now under investigation by the National Privacy Commission (NPC) as they were allegedly able to access mobile phone features like the borrower’s phone directory, camera, location, and text messages. Some of these apps even went to great lengths to contact a borrower’s relative, friend, and other contacts, exposing the debtor to public shaming. These actions clearly were in violation of the Data Privacy Act. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to-date has barred 30 illegal online lending firms from operating due to alleged unreasonable and abusive collection practices.
(Note: I originally posted on my Facebook wall but social media being what it is, the posts eventually will get buried by newer posts. So I decided to copy the posts (and photos) to this blog because Juned is more than just a blogger friend. He was a true friend whose profound insights made me think that he must be a guru-incarnate.)
It is with a heavy heart that I found out today (July 7, 2019) that I lost a great friend who also happens to be one of the co-founders of BlogWatch — Juned Sonido.
This was the last BlogWatch core group meeting that Juned attended in 2017
Juned had diabetes but he never let this get in the way of activities as a blogger or as an advocate. We go back a long, long way to my early days as a blogger. Juned is one of the blogosphere’s pioneers and was a well-known and well-loved blogger among our circles back then. It is just sad that as BlogWatch is about to celebrate its 10th year this November 2019, we will not have one of our co-founders around anymore.
I saw Juned for the last time in March, at an internet governance symposium. I already noticed he had lost weight (he looked gaunt) and had to have a companion with him. His walk was also slower than usual. And yet, there he was…still attending because he was an advocate and wanted to stay on top of current events.
Below are two photos of Juned in action. The first one was taken when BlogWatch covered the ASEAN 2017 events. The second one was taken last February 2018, during the first ever Democracy and Disinformation Conference, where Juned was a panelist.
We will miss you a lot, Juned. I may not have always agreed with your political position but we were always able to discuss these differences as friends. You always understood my position and I respected yours. Now, it’s time to rest, my friend. My prayers will be for you tonight, Juned. Rest in peace. +++
From blogger to pamphleteer extraordinaire, that was Juned. We have been friends for over 10 years already, through blogger events, advocacy causes, and just plain fun stuff. This album is a tribute to someone the blogging community will sorely miss. I will miss Juned, including the times he’d hitch a ride home and we would continue our conversations about anything while stuck in traffic.
Till we meet again, Juned. Godspeed. Say hi to our blogger and PR friends up there.
This past election has drained me – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As I looked at the lineup of the 12 new senators, I felt a deep sadness creep over me. For months, my prayers at Mass had always been for the country. I would even pray for a change of heart of the President. I tried to carry hope in my heart that this election, we could start a change for the better by electing competent and independent public servants.
My hopes for the future have been dashed to the ground, broken into hundreds of pieces. I do not even know how I can pick them all up and put them back together.
