State of our economy

Please forgive me for not posting so often. I guess that's what happens when you're busy living life; you can't sit down to write about your life. :) Well I hope to turn a new leaf now and write more often here.

Just yesterday, we went to Crustasia Restaurant at The Power Plant Mall for a 3 p.m. lunch/snack--it was lunch for my sister and her family, and snacks for my mom, my son and me. Now crabs, fried rice, shrimps, and spring rolls don't exactly qualify as snack menu, but it was my sister's birthday after all. Food's great, but service was not so great, as they forgot my son's tofu. But that's ok, since we were so full anyway that there wasn't room anymore in our tummies. In fact, we skipped dinner last night.

Last Monday, I got to interview one of our country's bright economists, Dr. Cielito Habito of the Ateneo, for a story in a mag I write for. He was also former NEDA director-general and former socio-economic planning secretary during Ramos's time. And he explained in simple terms what we will more or less face next year: higher prices, not enough jobs, no wage increases--basically what we're experiencing now. And that calls for more belt tightening, he says.

Well yesterday was sale day at The Power Plant and the place was swarming with people, although, not quite Megamall on a 3-day sale. Still, there were so many people. And they were buying and buying at Fully Booked (20% off on cash purchases, 15% off on credit card buys), Bayo, Marks and Spencer, and even Lacoste was full! And that got me thinking: Are we really getting poorer as our economists say? Looks like life's a blast at The Power Plant yesterday. I bumped into whole families eating Coldstone ice cream (P150 per cup; buy one take one yesterday), saw men ogling the new Benzes on display and even taking them out for a test drive, women with shopping bags in tow.

Hard times? Maybe not here. But it's out there, on Agham Road in QC where we saw a little boy pulling his toy car (two wooden blocks placed on top of each other with four bottlecaps as wheels), on Mindanao Avenue where streetkids show you their dirty palms as they ask for change so they can eat...I could go on and on.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: My friend Cielo let me borrow her book Wild At Heart by John Eldredge. It's about "discovering the secret of a man's soul." There are three things a man needs: a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. Too often, we women (moms/wives/friends) curtail that wild side in a man and so men turn out to be wimps. A great read! I'm just halfway through it but it's so amazing.

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Luke 12:22b-23;25-26: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"

Oh my aching back!

I've been quiet these past weeks--for almost two months now. I hurt my back. A week before Holy Week, the pain started on my lower back. I didn't mind it then. But when two weeks passed by and the pain was still there, and worse, it was getting hard for me to sit and stand (I was like an old lady holding my hip), I knew it was something different.

I went to see my sister's best friend, a physiatrist at St. Luke's. I was diagnosed to have sciatica. A disc on my back is pressing on the sciatic nerve, causing pain and tingling and numbness. I was put on meds and had to undergo 18 sessions of physical therapy. I praise God that He heard our prayers and surgery is no longer an option. I'm still on meds (and dazed!) but am hoping to be fully well soon.

One thing I learned: We should take care of our bodies. Go ahead, take a break. Rest and be quiet.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: This week I'm reading Rich Kid Smart Kid by Robert Kiyosaki. Basically he's just repeating what he has said in his previous books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, that working hard as an employee won't make anyone rich. It's quite practical though as he gives parents tips on how to teach their children these financial lessons from age nine onwards.

VERSE OF THE WEEK: Blessed is the man [whose]...delight is in the law of the Lord...He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)

Notes on a Quiet Holy Thursday

Ok, I know, I know. It's been quite a while since I last made a post. February came in a blur as deadlines overwhelmed me. One thing I learned that time was not to take in more work than I should so I can keep the evenings and weekends to myself. :) That was also the time my son and I had a food poisoning incident from eating a slice of egg pie. That was tough. Ewww.

So I'm back and I hope to post something new here at least once a month, whether or not I have readers. hehe

In case you're wondering, this blog is called Quiet Stream because I imagine it to be a place where I can think my thoughts aloud. Sort of like Steve's Thinking Chair in Blue's Clues. It's also inspired by a verse from my favorite Psalm, Psalm 23:2-3: "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul."

Today is Holy Thursday. I'm glad we'll just stay home this Holy Week and just...be quiet. My mom and sister are going to Tokyo tomorrow to be with my brother and my sister (going there from L.A. on the first week of April) so the rest of the family is staying put in Manila. Last year, Good Friday fell on my dad's birthday. We were in Tagaytay when my dad announced we'll be going to Matabungkay Beach and have lunch on a raft on his birthday. That was a different experience--having inihaw na bangus and manggang hilaw with bagoong on the raft with a table and roof while all around us the rest of Batangas--so it seems--swam.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: Voracious reader that I am, I always have a book with me. Right now I'm reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Quite interesting, as it gives one a peek into prerevolutionary China. I am struck by how industrious the farmer Wang Lung is, and his fortune is so Gulong Ng Palad-like: from poverty to riches, from hunger to excess. This novel won for Buck the Pulitzer Prize back in the '30s, and it made it into Oprah's list. Oprah seems to have a thing for depressing books, no?

VERSE OF THE WEEK: In this blog, I'll share Bible verses that became meaningful to me lately. This week, it's Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Food for thought.

Quiet Day At Home

It's a hot afternoon as I write this. My nine-year-old son is working on his military base made of Lego blocks and toy soldiers on my dad's table just a few feet away from me. He's supposed to be in school, but he's down with colds and a nasty cough again. I am beginning to wonder why he has this colds-and-cough bit every month since November. I hope it is as he says--it's because he doesn't wash his hands every day in school, thus bringing all the germs home with him. Hope it's not because of anything worse than that.

Although I would like him to be in school now so I can work in peace on my writing, it feels good that he's home the whole day. When I came back from doing errands this morning (go to the bank, pay bills, etc.), he said, "Mom, I made you iced tea!" Aw, that's so sweet. Never mind if he poured the whole pouch of Lipton Iced Tea Mix in the pitcher when the package said only half a cup to a pitcher of water. :)

Earlier I extracted from him a promise that this will be his last absence for the school year. And he also promised to work on two pages in his cursive writing exercise book. Now he's beside me as I write, reading what I'm writing!

Ok, gotta go. He wants to make his own blog.

This is me