Investiiing!!

Mistake#1: I bought UITF in 2007 when Phil stocks are on record high.

Lesson#1: Be well informed before investing (in anything). Before investing in financial markets, read wall street journal or other financial related columns or at least watch or listen to business news. Know the trends, learn a bit of stock market history.

Mistake#2: I cashed-out in May 2009 when the stocks showed some recovery. From the news, I have an idea the stock market will recover in May and June. But I badly needed the cash in May so I have to withdraw. Unfortunately, the stocks gained more than 5% after my withdrawal.

Lesson#2: Do not invest in high-risk products if you can not hold it long-term. If you believe you'll be needing that cash soon (less than 3 years) then invest in safer products like time deposits or money market. I guess this is the reason why banks wants to know the percentage your investment from your total liquid assets. It is not advisable to invest most of your cash into high-risk products.

ZoukOut Singapore 2008

ZoukOut Singapore 2008, originally uploaded by edbumalo.

This is the annual beach party at Siloso beach (Sentosa) held every month of December. It was very well organized but the beach, i must say, is no match to our beaches.

So... theres entrance fee, not so accessible since Siloso beach is inside Sentosa which is an island of theme park and resorts, whole night of music from local and international bands, booze and disco on the beach.

Photo taken with my SE W9601 phone.

Who will be the next president??

It was not waste of time watching the Ateneo leadership forum. I learned many things about these individuals who expressed intentions to be the Philippines next president. Photo by: flickr/jvnunag

Here's my opinion:

Gordon - i will vote for him if election is held today. good background. sounds intelligent. mature and with excellent experience in public service. nice american name as well, easy for mass voters to remember.

Teodoro - harvard educated lawyer, good reputation and with great ideals. with good public service experience though unknown to most voters. i think he is clean and desires change for good. with elite image and could be hard to campaign for the masses.

Escudero - looks young and sounds young. full of great ideals and have great appeal to young people, perhaps due to his speaking skills. belongs to political clan which may not be good. he is a UP educated lawyer with one year stint at Georgetown University.

Panlilio - there's a joke "road map to recovery" is written over his face. like religion he offers hope for the hopeless. but lacks experience compared to others. could be favorite among those who hates traditional politicians. will likely be influenced by catholic church. last name hard to write and remember.

Roxas - son of ex-president. name easy to write. young and with vision for this country. future husband of korina sanchez. looks adventurous. may not be favorite for chick voters.

There should be more forums like this or televised debates for presidential candidates. And people should not vote for those who don't attend forums. I suspect they prefer going to places to convince the vulnerable masses to vote for them rather than spending few hours on TV to subject themselves to questions and let the general public know what they want to do and their potential to make it happen.

Life @ 28

I have been to lot of travels and adventures recently but had no time to post here. Now I am officially 28 and so i have to update at least the title of this blog. I will still post here life adventures from my life @ 27. Belated happy B-day to me!!!

Canon 850 IS -- Singapore

I will be in Singapore on the week of May 18. Canon 850 IS is selling here in Manila for around Php14K but this is only between Php11-12K in Singapore. This is a very good digital camera. I already bought one for my sister.

If you're interested to purchase, just leave a message and will get in touch. Can probably sneak in 3 units in my luggage.

PAL Tagal

PAL Tagal, originally uploaded by edbumalo.

Came through this picture in my archives which instantly reminded me of lots of troubles I had while traveling with the Philippine Airlines. This shot was taken in Bangkok in 2007. Flashing proudly on the airports flight sched monitor – PR0731 MANILA DELAYED.

Back in 2006 I slept at NAIA T2 for about 5 hours waiting for a PAL plane which supposed to depart at 11AM. We were advised our flight will depart at 6PM instead. So much trouble for some travelers but for me it was a perfect timing! I had a terrible hang over it was almost impossible for me to be on that flight. But I was allowed to check-in and pass through immigration. I already conditioned my mind to use those sanitary bags. This was the only time I was really thankful for a delayed PAL.

Few weeks ago I decided to travel via PAL Express - AirPhil domestic flight going to Tuguegarao. Travel time is only 1hr and the ticket is only Php1,300 one way. So 10AM I was at the airport for my 11AM flight. While queuing to check-in, the clerk announced the plane will arrive only at 2PM. I was not surprised and not much hassle for me cause I had the whole day allotted for travel and my family is with me at the airport. But for one Caucasian who seems a regular flyer… “Late again?? This is not PAL Express, change your name to PAL Tagal!!!”.