OMG 60+Php na lang ang palitan nang GBP!

Eeeccckkk

Baka mamulubi kami pag-uwi namin sa April.

Tumataginting na: OH NO!

Lahat siguro nang OFW dito sa UK yan ang daing last week.

As early as September, almost everyone was pointing it out but Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were having none of it. Ba’h recession! No one was admitting it. Well not until October when they said it’s “likely” to happen. Gees you think?

November the news topics were no longer inflation but a “more worrying” deflation (one newscaster said).

December, I don’t know if there was anything news worthy for me. Job losses were mounting, banks were closing and governments around Europe were forking our billions of EURO into ailing financial establishments. Well, I guess in December the tone of “we should have joined the EURO” was more audible.

Now in January, Gordon Brown’s finally admitted he failed to foresee the economic failure.

I’m not going to castigate Brown. It’s not his fault. It’s a collective problem, nationwide and on a global-level. To be honest about it, I didn’t understand how we can be affected by the US subprime problems. I just learnt that the UK’s number 1 moneymaking machine is the financial services and our number 1 client is the US. It’s not the only cause but that’s the main problem. The secondary problem is at least the US still has production, the UK? Well. even the English football clubs are owned by foreigners.

Our financial statements probably reflects the country’s economic state, both in the red. But that doesn’t mean we should just give up and wait for the axe to fall.

We fight. We think positive and know this will blow over and we’ll be fine.

It’s not the end of the world. I don’t understand why the media and some politicians (for want of airtime?) keeps playing up the drama and insists on beating people down.

A minister said she sees some green shoots of recovery. And they say she’s out of touch or mildy out of her mind when another bad news was reported in the market. Then they proceeded to dig into her personal life, and how she apparently mistreats her underlings.

Then very recently another person made the same ‘mistake’ for saying he sees a “light at the end of the tunnel” and again he’s supposedly out of touch because it was just published we hit the record high in unemployment.

What do these people want? Will it better for the government, or anyone for that matter, to say “that’s it, we’re done for”?

It’s such a defeatist attitude. I was going to write: “I expected better from the English”, but it should be: I expected better from this powerful nation.

Last year, we were supposed to celebrate pogiBoy’s birthday in Disney Euro. We booked a Disney hotel for 4-nights, the Park tickets, some shows and even a guided trip to Paris. All except a travel insurance. I thought we were saving a few pennies by booking it separately. But before we did get one, hubby was diagnosed with appendicitis.

In Pinas, that would result in a surgery straightaway. Here they waited, and waited, and waited. It’s a long convoluted story. The end result of which is hubby lost so much weight (and he didn’t have enough to begin with) and we didn’t go to Disney. Money down the drain.

To make up for it, I bullied hubby into booking a summer holiday. Destination: Cuba.

We stayed a few days in Havana. We did a Hemingway tour and managed to see the Cojimar town where his “The Old Man and the Sea” was formulated. We walked and walked and saw all of Havana’s main features, including Malecon. Around Havana Vieja, I felt like I was back in my HUM I trip to Ilocos. The epi-centre was also like Barcelona’s. Remember what they used to say in our history lessons? Spanish towns are always built around the church? It’s a global truth in the places I’ve visited at least.

The locals are friendly. Para kang nasa Pinas. Our cultures and norms (including their timekeeping) are almost the same. Almost even the poverty. Of course, in our case it’s mostly due to greed and corruption. Over there, I guess it’s due to the pride/ideals of their Leader (whether that’s good or bad is a different topic). (more…

2007 was a great year for me. I got a new job, I lost weight, I blogged almost everyday, bloghopped at the same pace and I even had time to spend in the garden.

I knew 2008 will be different. It was our ramp up period for Production. I’d admit I thought that by the end of year my life would be revert to its normal pace. It’s not as crazily busy, but busy enough to sap my energy and use up my time.

I cut back on a lot of things, particularly the time I spent online. When I’m not working, I’d rather:

1. Spend time with my family.
2. Cook, which was mostly during weekends. If I was single, I’d be okay with instant noodles.
3. Sleep.
4. Clean the house, which I did very rarely last year.
5. Sleep.

What’s my plan for 2009 then? It’s hard to tell.

Our Live date has been moved, so we’re still in a ‘heightened’ state of flux. As in, there are still changes happening, we still have areas to test and I still have a lot to do (and worry about).

But I hope the situation’s different by mid-year.

Of course, I am mindful of the fact that I am lucky to have a job and that I do not need to worry for the entire year. Bossing said our jobs are secured for at least a year more.

Since last week, I’ve started doing the laundry more often. I’ve also prepared meals for the next day and I even managed to bake some muffins last weekend!

Maybe I can keep it up, even with some late hours and weekend work. That sounds like New Year’s Resolution Numero Uno.

Numero Dos? I pray God help me become a better person. I want to be a good person at home and at work.Mold the hardheaded, hot-tempered, stupid me into someone I wouldn’t be ashamed of.

Okay perhaps I should reverse those numbers. What the heck, on to my next post before I succumb to sleep.