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Food, Beverage and Medicine's Shelf Life

How important is an item's shelf life to you? Does it really matter? What if, for some reasons, some bad people changed the expiry dates? I viewed one documentary on some medicines with some men erasing the expiry dates with an acetone and then stamping new dates on the products packaging. Where is their conscience? Are they not thinking that many people can possibly die because of their greed for money? Or perhaps they read Harvard Health Publishing of Harvard Medical School ("Drug Expiration Dates -- Do They Mean Anything?") that " the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date ". So it is important to check the manufacturing date. Few years back I had a flatmate who was always excited when she purchased processed foods at very much low prices. She always looked for those items with shelf life soon to finish. Maybe it was also one reason she always suffered f...

How to Have More When You Have Nothing

I viewed some financial gurus or life coaches' videos inviting viewers (through sponsored Youtube advertisements) to join their free webinars. As a come-on, they show what they have purchased (big houses, luxuy cars, travels, etc.) by applying time-tested wealth-generation systems, which they say, took them many years to learn so prospects do not have to go on long bloody routes and many trial-and-error cycles. They offer wealth generation courses for a substantial amount of money.  They say --  "Money will not make you happy but lack of it will make you unhappy". Of course participants get very interested because of the very convincing presentation and there are testimonies, too. Mmm. Then some of them say, "OK, mentor me, please, and I will pay you after I generate money from your system. I am poor."  The wealth gurus say, "If you don't have resources, you can be resourceful." A wake-up line? See these people are millionaires or even bi...

Master of Public Health

The degree of Master of Public Health obtained from the leading university in our country, University of the Philippines Manila (College of Public Health) is a new milestone to my youngest daughter who turned 27 last 14 June 2018. It was her graduation this morning. The online website of the said university shows the following subjects as  core courses  in the curriculum for Master in Public Health  --  principles of epidemiology ;  principles of health administration;  practice of health administration; man, health and environment 1 & 2;  field practice;  research methods, and; public health education. I cried in joy and with a grateful heart thanked God for this huge blessing that despite all tall challenges she reached that far in her quest to make a difference in her and our lives as well as others'. How time flies! We can only connect the dots between yesterday and today to understand passion and purpose in life, and where the...

Goal: 'Vulnerable' to 'Stable'

There are many of us who feel vulnerable, silently enduring what life throws us. Life is a choice -- but when other choices are worse than the present situation, you will choose the lesser evil. When you are vulnerable, it's either you stay in the dark or go outside bravely.  Time is the most dominant resource so you lose a lot of opportunities when you stay in the dark day in, day out, on the same status.  If you go out,  you will be exposed to the possibility of being harmed. It is at your weakest or most vulnerable moments that you will be attacked by visible and hidden enemies physically and / or emotionally.  You must be a wise and fierce warrior with undefeated spirit to rise. The highest wastage in life is that time between (from-point) when you are most vulnerable and cannot utilize your talents to the maximum, and (to-point) when you become the person you must become. Unfortunately, time cannot be recycled and can never be carried over to the next d...

Random Thoughts on Creating and Supporting Entrepreneurs in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked as 21st top nation on the World Bank's latest Ease of Doing Business report as per an article published in the Gulf News.  With the government announcing some exciting news recently, many people are waiting for more updates. For one, the investors find it very attractive to have a ten-year residency visa which will allow them to grow their businesses in an innovative way. Some of the measures to be taken as announced are replacing the bank guarantee of AED3K / employee with an insurance policy for some entitlements for an amount of AED60 / year only. Others are cut down on red tape, a more 'relaxed' business ownership rules (investor can own 100% of the business), and reduced registration and operating costs, among others. More will be announced later. This ease in doing business in the UAE is one major element in attracting people to self-employment or investing in viable businesses. Creating more businesses will defini...

People of Determination: What is Your Quest Story?

One of my favorite songs is "The Impossible Dream" .  See the lyrics which I memorized when I was in high school as our YDT (Youth Development Training) teacher required us to do. To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go To right the unrightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march into hell For a heavenly cause. And I know if I'll only be true  To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star. When I was in college...

Create Entrepreneurs, Create a Paradise of Peace

How can we have peace? How can we end war and poverty? We are all products of evolution and by now we must have learned a lot from the lessons our ancestors left us. We are all connected without time and distance barriers. The internet offers vast information and serves as a level playing field for all. But again, why many people find it difficult to survive and many people fight against each other? I belong to 'sandwich generation' . After graduation and finding a gainful employment, I did my best for heaven and earth to meet so I could provide support to my sickly parents, brother and children. In our times, in our locality, there was no massive financial literacy program unlike now that young generations have easy access to information and tools to navigate them to that path to create and manage wealth. So my thinking was always to find a good job. But when I got tired working like a horse day and night, almost seven (7) days a week, the enterprising part of m...

That Forgiving Spirit

A Filipina mother and her three (3) children aged 7, 5 and 2, overstayed in the United Arab Emirates as they were fooled by a person they trusted to renew their visas. Overstaying fines rose to AED714,200 and the load was too heavy to bear. But yes, there is a solution to every problem. There is light at the end of the tunnel. From that amount, it was reduced each to AED4K. Thanks to the 'forgiving spirit of the UAE government' , next to God's grace. Thanks also to the multi-awarded international lawyer, Atty. Barney Almazar , who guided them every step of the way since they sought his legal support. Last Sunday, 10 June 2018, the family boarded on the plane back to the Philippines. They want to come back to Dubai which they consider their second home. It's timely as the article was published in the leading newspaper in the UAE, Gulf News , the day before the 120th Philippine Independence Day, 12 June 2018. It is really a horrible experience to 'live in fe...