Passionately M

I was talking to my friends in 50's who were both wrapped with retirement scare. In the past when the market was good and they were young, they did all their best to help their families. "All for families, nothing left for self," they said. It is only now that they are in the insurance business that they have realized the importance of having a retirement fund. I can feel them 100%, as I must admit that I thought I was Wonder Woman in my younger years, I gave it all to my family and I left nothing for myself. All I thought of was I could handle it all and in case bad things happen, I could manage. But things, sometimes, get out of control as we have limited time and only one body. We need the right support system and we cannot handle all alone by ourselves. What could I save when what I could earn was not even enough to meet the needs of my sickly parents, jobless husband (first 4 years of marriage), three (3) young children and a household helper? Fast forwar...

The deadly novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) thing gets to my nerves. I always have fears about this deadly virus so I spend many hours reading related articles and viewing video clips. We are all social beings and we cannot live in isolation for a long period of time. Life has to be lived in a normal way. There must be real human interaction. Even if we are with our family members, relatives and friends, or if we are in any place with other people, sometimes we wish we could have a device that will alert us who is infected with that coronavirus so we can do what is necessary. It is asymptomatic so we do not know exactly who contracted the disease as carriers appear to be healthy. What if you go to a place where there is an infected person, a total stranger, who is later diagnosed to be suffering from COVID-19? Normally the government authorities trace where they went and who were near them so they can be quarantined for more or less two (2) to three (3) weeks. Will you be prepa...

With the novel coronavirus 2019 outbreak, some countries close their borders to certain groups of people to protect their own territories and citizens. According to TheGuardian.com , "Italy imposes draconian rules to stop the spread of coronavirus. People caught entering or leaving outbreak areas are to be fined, after the country's third death." The number of virus cases which started in Lombardy, Crema, was 152, it says, as of writing. Many residents were advised to stay at home and avoid social contact. Some events like Venice carnival, football and other festivities, were canceled. Schools, shops and businesses in locked-down areas have to close for some time. For face/surgical masks, people have to fall in a long line. One man said that  for four sandwiches, they had to fight  and it was 'disgusting'. The challenge, first and foremost, is how to survive, every single day, amidst virus fears. In countries affected by COVID-19, access to healthy f...

It is a challenging time so many businesses are closing. If you are an expatriate in a foreign country and suddenly you receive a letter that you will be laid off, it is like a nightmare. Worse is when you have a family to survive and some payables to meet -- credit cards, loans, mortgaged property, car dues, etc. Unless you are well-prepared for this scenario, it is really unthinkable. Only today, there are some news articles showing contents that  some bank branches will close so it means many employees will lose jobs. The closing of many businesses contributes also to this because banks generate revenues by investing the deposits of companies and individuals, mostly employees, that will give high returns. It is sad to know that even the financial institutions that handle money also get vulnerable. Normally when other industries are 'sick', the banks are there to lend resources so they can recover. They play the 'doctor' role. But if the doctor is sick, who...

In five (5) minutes, a businessman interested to put up a business in Dubai can quickly get the business license via an electronic portal 24/7 without document and physical visit. According to Khaleej Times,  as gathered from a development executive at the Dubai Economic Department (DED), Ammar Yasir, this initiative has "successfully helped the emirate jump to 25th rank in World Bank's Doing Business 2019 report." He said that they want to be at the number one rank. This is what really the world needs -- more businesses to help fuel economic growth in terms of livelihood and job generation. It is a huge saving when the entrepreneurs will not be required a leased office for the first year particularly when you are a foreigner and you have to spend extra money on residential space rental.  This one-of-a-kind business registration initiative saves a lot of time, and since time has value and can be traded for value, it really adds more to savings. It skips som...

Among all, time is the most dominant thing on earth. Nothing can beat it. Time has a value always. Once it is lost, we cannot gain it back. We have the so-called opportunity cost, which means if we fail to do an important project at a certain point in time, it has a cost that we lose. In life, we calculate how much we spend for the month, and we calculate how much we earn. To reach the breakeven point, earnings must be equal to expenses.  If you need AED5K per month to sustain yourself and your family, but you earn AED3K, what will you do? OK, you save on some costs, say AED2K, how far can you go down? Financial gurus always tell it us,  "Save money!"  But what will you save if other items are really required for the family to survive? So it is always  "Increase your sources of income/revenue"  thing. We cannot add more days, nor hours, nor even a second to our time so earnings will cover the deficit. Time makes all stand on equal footing -- an equalizer...

"Always expect the unexpected," so they say. The beginning of the year 2020 welcomed us with many unpredictables which we haven't witnessed for many years, or maybe, in our entire life. Recently President Rodrigo Duterte sent a rescue ship to evacuate overseas Filipinos in high-risk areas amidst tension in the Middle East.  (Read more  here .) Many disasters happened that claimed lives, injured people, killed and harmed animals, destroyed trees, properties and other non-living things. Whether they are natural or man-made or partly natural and partly man-made, we do not know. All we know is that the world is in pain. When our smallest finger is hurt, the whole body feels it. I have my own struggles and worries but heavens hear how grateful I am for my life, for the roof over my head, for every single day that I am alive. I am not complaining about the present load of challenges. Who will complain when you watch on your mobile phone or laptop those unfortunate ...

Like this image, a barrier tape "DO NOT CROSS | MEDICAL ALERT",  the way to economic growth is currently barred by the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019-n-CorV, particularly in areas where there are cases of related deaths and where there are PUIs (Persons Under Investigation -- those who are diagnosed to be afflicted by the coronavirus) and PUMs (Persons Under Monitoring --- those who have travel traces in ground zero territory). The impact is horrible and huge. Health is wealth so when a person is not healthy, so he is not wealthy. What more if we are talking of hundreds and thousands, not only in one place but in many places? In the Philippines, there is such a recorded case of death of a Chinese (from Wuhan, China) who went to Cebu City then Bohol. Chinese businessmen and tourists helped the economy as President Rodrigo Duterte, a political and economic strategist, allowed trade deals despite some disputes. However, with the coronavirus outbreak, there hav...

With an increased awareness of the novel 2019 coronavirus, we are now more careful when it comes to touch points. We regularly wash our hands with soap and water as these are the carriers of viruses to our bodies when we touch our face particularly our lips, nose and eyes. This slogan is true -- Clean hands make the world go round. Wearing face / surgical masks not only helps filter the air we breathe in as they say that the 2019-nCorV is airborne.  The masks also help avoid direct contact of hands with other parts of the face particularly mouth and nose. Outdoor, many of us carry our hand sanitizers and/or wet towels, and a little sprayer with 70% isopropyl alcohol solution / antiseptic disinfectant. In a hospital in Wuhan, China, the zero ground of deadly 2019-nCorV, there is a robot bringing food rations to each room where the patients are being treated. This is to reduce the exposure of healthcare practitioners to infected patients. I just wonder why they did ...

As of writing date and local time (8 February 2020, 11:43AM UTC+4:00) Coronavirus 2019-nCoV Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE online shows the following figures: Total confirmed cases: 34,917 Total deaths:  724 Total recovered: 2,152 The clock is ticking. The whole world monitors what development is going on, hoping this will stop soon. The killer 2019 novel coronavirus has adversely affected not only the health of the affected people and the ones providing them with their needed healthcare services but also other aspects of life like economic and political. This is my first time in my entire life that I have viewed stories on virus scare in zero ground as if I were watching a movie about end times. It is indeed a Goliath challenge for China to contain, manage and stop it from there alone. The virus is airborne so it takes only one host/carrier to transfer it to thousands of people very quickly, particularly in a world with very fast movement. I see many people...

It is flu season normally from October to February. There are many flu cases reported everywhere. These days, when you catch flu you get scared because of 2019 novel Coronavirus (2019-nCorV). Most symptoms are the same. I was standing in the kitchen when a friend passed by to reach the balcony. I was well earlier, and I did not even talk to her face-to-face but after I left the kitchen I began to sneeze then I had a runny nose, felt hot inside, my head and bones were aching and my throat seemed dry. I drank a lot of water (my daughter who was a medical representative always reminded me of that when I caught flu), wore my surgical mask and stayed in the room to take a rest. Prevention is better than cure. Preventive way? Avoid getting closer to people who are sick, coughing or sneezing. If you are sick, at least do care for others. Stay away from many people. Don't spread the bugs in areas where others do their normal things -- living room and kitchen. Stay at home in your...