70 posts tagged “qotd”
If you had one day to spend $100,000 - and you had to spend it totally selfishly - what would you buy?
That is big money in the Philippines. ('Round PHP4.7M.) Hmmm...what to buy?
Could be any of the following:
- Condo Unit - I've tried it before and I enjoyed it. If I had that much money, I'd love to get a unit in the building where I used to live, or anywhere in the same neighborhood. Corner unit, 1 bedroom. I miss the thrill of living independently and breathing on my own terms. Nevermind if I won't have any more money for furniture. I lived in a sparse unit before and still had a blast. Plus, minimalism (and the whole 90s ethos) will be back after all this 80s overkill.
- Car - Yeah, I ought to get myself a car by now. It's just that I have no mean adult savings account to boast of. It doesn't really matter what make or model, but I want it to be an SUV.
- Macbook and Airline Tickets - I'll bundle the two and plan the ultimate getaway. Been wanting to visit and blog from Europa and Latin America eversince I could remember.
- Retail Overload - I am so ready to buy all the clothes and accessories my $100,000 could get. That's truckloads of Paul Smith, Fred Perry, Lanvin, Etro, and Marc Jacobs already! There's H&M, Old Navy and Topman, too. I'll definitely get stuff made by local designers like Joey Samson and Ivar Aseron. And one item from Hermes for good measure.
Geez. Give me those dollars now!
What is the most valuable lesson your father taught you? Bonus points if you show us your dad.
My Dad taught me, by example, the importance of dedication - the type that survives the shifting sands of everyday and gets better with time.
If his excellent work throughout five presidencies isn't dedication enough, I wouldn't know of any better example.
(I don't have a pic of him handy, but I have his symbols of dedication all over.)
One hour to live. What do you do?
Submitted by Jeff Zie.
Gee, I'd hug everyone (those within reach) I love.
Or.
I'll say that I've only an hour to live. They should be able to take it from there.
Steven Spielberg, one of the most influential personalities in film, was born on this day in 1946. Which one of the many films he directed do you call your favorite?
How do you travel to and from work - personal vehicle, bus, subway/train, pedal power? What does it cost you per week in gas or fares?
Submitted by Jan.
Royalty Package: $36.25/week excluding weekend jaunts
- Cab to work
- Cab going home
Pauper Package: $24.75/week excluding weekend jaunts
- Cab to work
- Bus from work to hub terminal
- Bus from terminal to neighborhood terminal
- Jeep from neighborhood terminal to village gate
- Tricycle from village gate to front door
I don't own a car. And hoenstly, I'd choose a condomunium or apartment that's closer to the office rather than drive around town. I love walking. I don't mind hitching. All I want is my own place. Plus, the value of an apartment appreciates over time, so that'll be good for my finances.
Wondering how a jeep and tricycle here in the Philippines look?
Here's how a cramped a jeep is during rush hour.
And a tricycle can get this cozy.
God bless the Philippines and our happy public transportation system!
God save us commuters from getting pickpocketed, suffocated, and harrassed!
I love my country.
If you could leave notes for the future, what message would you have left in the past for today?
Submitted by Nameless.
Damn you if aren't any better.
If you had to write your autobiography in 6 words, what would you write?
Submitted by mitzie.
I wrote.
I loved.
I lived.
What's the best thing about your mom?
Only because I'm writing about my mom here, QotD is quite difficult to answer. It's tough to pinpoint one best thing about someone you adore more than anyone or anything.
She'd probably agree with me if I'd say she was bound to experience a hefty amount of discomfort in her lifetime.
It must have been tough for her being the least favored among her siblings. Definitely not because she was the token blacksheep, but more because her older sister, my aunt whom I love to smithereens, was firstborn. That's the flagship factor right there. I remember my mom telling me how a visitor at our ancestral home once mistook her for household help while she was growing up. Harsh!
But ever the resilient among my grandparents' children, she walked her own path and came out the most loved of all. Ever since I could remember, she was host to many a family gathering and as my cousin would put it, "the glue that binds the family together." Can't beat that.
When she was in labor some twenty-seven years ago, the doctor told her that the baby's head was quite huge and that the thing had to be forceped out into the world. (Aren't forceps used for abortion only?)
Okay, so that baby was me. And it was sort of fair trade that I was born Christmas Day. I would be the all-in-one gift that she'd rear and mentor, the only gift, for the next sixteen years.
She shielded me from pain as best as she could, but it's true, that mother-and-child bond. When I was eleven years old, she was in and out of the hospital for what she explained to me as 'check-ups to see if I could still have a baby sister or brother.' The whole time she was shuttling in and out of operating rooms, I was an elementary school trainwreck - my mind flew everywhere with my heart feeling there was something wrong. I have a report card to prove that.
Nine years later, I would learn that she had ovarian cancer. I asked why she kept it from me. She said I wouldn't understand. I responded by saying I knew she was in bad shape those days, because I wasn't feeling so good myself at the same time.
She has a lot more 'pain' stories to tell, but she'd prefer to keep everything in. And that, among many things, is what's best about her.
That she's a lady. A strong one at that.
I could only aspire to have her strength.
What's holding you back from your dream job?
Submitted by Question of the Day.
Whoa. What a question.
Here goes.
Time was when I thought I already have my dream job. But people and needs change, so I am at that proverbial crossroad again, assessing my life and where I want to take it. Actually, I've been in that crossroad longer than I could write about it here.
And what is my dream job? An all-out career in creatives. Like in advertising or in publishing. It still puzzles me up to now why that field seems to be so elusive, but the Universe has its ways of sending signals.
I was once an advertising practitioner. My first job out of college was in Media, where I peddled cartoon and news channels to agencies. Didn't pan out pretty well, so I took the road less traveled (at least at that time) which was online customer service.
To cut the long story short, I've arrived at a place where it's so difficult to leave because I have accomplished so much. To switch industries is difficult, and on a practical angle, I'm in a good place.
So that's when I compromised.
I'm still in the same company doing the same job, but outside of it, I'd like to believe that my career in writing is flourishing. This double life is something I intend to do for quite a while. Especially now when there is an opportunity for me to squeeze out creative juices in both careers.
It's a tightrope act, this double life. But I honestly think that it's worth it.
Back to the question. And this I answer with another question: is there anything (really) that's holding me back?
If you were independently wealthy, where in the world would you live?
Submitted by Eileen.
If to be independently wealthy, aside from having money all to yourself, means not to work like a horse anymore, the Philippines is the best place to live in. Or any other country that's as cosmopolitan yet has the same cost of living. That way, I can see how I am making the most out of my money, and spend it on other things like travel and real estate.
I know of a good number of expats who eventually decided on settling here permanently for the same reason that they a get a wider stretch for their hard-earned keep. Even the local cognoscenti set agree. The only unfortunate thing about it is how the great divide between rich and poor is so blatant in everyday life.
I'd love to be independently wealthy and be a first class citizen in my own country, but it seems impossible to be in-your-face rich given present conditions. (I am privileged, not necessarily wealthy.) Guess I'll take the same route most people have taken - leave and work elsewhere and resurrect as a spanking rich man. And the universe shall conspire...
