THE HECK WITH COMPLACENCY

(Perspective on the 2008 Global Financial Crisis)

When it broke out, the 2008 global financial crisis was big news. But my attitude was:  Who cares? Economists are saying that the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930‘s will not adversely affect the economy of our country. They were right. I didn’t bat an eyelash.

Fast-forward few years later, with a growing sense of concern and vigilance over societal and economic woes and I realized that complacency is not rational in critical times like this. The rippling effect of the crisis may have been minimized by the rather conservative economic policy of the country but still, the domino effect made itself felt among the business community. Unquestionably, undue stress was placed in the country’s equity market, with heightened risk aversion and uncertainty. Stocks were placed in the sidelines, waiting for an organic environment where they can thrive again. As a result, the capacity to raise capital was dampened.

The anticipatory measures the country’s premier bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, undertook is a justification of the point. First, their cutting down on interest rates lowered the rate of slowdown in lending and borrowing activities. It maintained consumer confidence and generated a positive feedback cycle between the wary financial sector and the strained economy. Second, their liquidity enhancing measures kept the economy moving forward through trimmed reserve requirements, liberalized rediscounting measures, etc. An example would be the increased maximum deposit insurance coverage, from P250,000 to P500, 000.

Whatever the effects of the global financial crisis on the economy was, it is heartening to know that our country was not complacent enough to rest on the rather positive outlooks of economists on our country’s economic standing vis-à-vis those of the directly affected. Had they assumed the same stance I had and shrugged their shoulders, there’s no telling what would have happened with our economy that time, considering that the administration the crisis came to be was riddled with accusations of graft and corruption. Negative speculations might have increased and we might have gone down the brink, too. Bank bail-outs? I’m afraid it could have been a possibility.

 

Well, those are now the imaginary what ifs of the past. What we have now is a plethora  of information that we can use to guide us in the next economic years. And though we are not wishing for it to happen, the possibility of another financial crisis lurks in the corners. We just have to be cautious and be vigilant. Complacent? Big No. As they say, let’s learn from our history. So be it.

ANTI-THESIS

(A Reaction Paper to the Movie, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps)

Wall Street is not just any movie. Yes, it has a romantic flair, albeit awkward, a bit of twists and turns, and a sprinkling of action scenes, if you call that action, but it does not end there. It also has the store of unlimited stock market, finance and all other money matter information embedded in major parts of the movie which can overwhelm ordinary viewers and undermine their understanding and perception of the movie.

Yet if we glue ourselves to the unfolding scenes and painstakingly follow the thread of information tossed to and fro by the characters, not to mention the clear-cut and obvious statements delivered, we would be able to grasp a word of wisdom or two that is not only applicable to the business world but in real life, too. Some are trivial, some  are contradicting and some, just plain self explanatory.

Case in point, Gordon Gekko’s (portrayed by Michael Douglas) “Greed is good.”  Who dare say such statement? Why, greed is one of the seven deadly sins. But whatever, we are left to ponder upon such norms-defying statement. And we question the plausibility of the statement. And we say, maybe. After all, who drove mankind out of caves and jungles, who pushed them to reach for the moon and the unknown space beyond explanation, who directed them to create mega-worthy cities? It’s not anything but their inability to control the urge to be satisfied, finding ways and means to quench their thirst for something new, despite the fact that this something new is just a reformatted or upgraded version of a basic need already fulfilled. In one word, it’s greed.

That takes us to a less trivial and more complacent statement, Jacob Moore’s (portrayed by Shia LaBeouf) “If it weren't for people who took risks, where would we be in this world?”  Definitely. Unquestionably. Certainly. If Ferdinand Magellan didn’t risk his name and life and simply nodded and dozed off to eternal sleep years afterwards, would we be enjoying the perks of cruising without the fear of falling on the end of the world? Same as if our engineers, chemists, scientists, astronauts, the list goes on, didn’t risk their emotional, physical, psychological, name it, you have it, welfare; we would not be enjoying the life we call our life now. Piece of cake.

The movie has more. From love to life interspersed among the rigors of the business environment, actors show and tell. We just have to be quick to decipher and  process it before the movie  toss another another dull scene. The movie is dull, trust me. The title says money never sleeps but we are no money. We are humans, and halfway through the movie, we would sleep. Though if we are looking for some piece of movie that we can glean a picture of how the stock market works or lift a life lesson or two, this is a good movie. Just bring lots of popcorn and well, toothpicks to keep your eyes wide open. Wide awake, Katy Perry says.

THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED

 

It was rather a meaningful and learning experience. My accounting professor today shared, explained, opined, whatever on the merits and demerits of courtship and  opposite sex relationships vis-à-vis the concept of the hunter and the hunted. The hunter, he says, represent the male sex and its female counterpart represented by the hunted or the prey.

Just like hunters, the male specie is initially attracted to those things that please his sense of sight. He then pursues them, lure them and eventually catch them. He will satiate his primitive instincts on the catch and goes on to look for another catch. Sooner, he will accumulate a dozen or two and in the process, exhaust them, after which he dumps them. This unlikely behavior has earned the male specie the stereotype of trickster or in common terminologies, the player.

That being said, it seems that maintaining a stable relationship is just a flicker of imagination. Indeed, it is acknowledged that there are more-than-successful relationships out there where both parties concerned work-out whatever differences or conflicts they have but the number of failed relationships undeniably outnumber them. Not a good statistics.

Now, my professor suggested using the same concept to turn tables. If hunters have the tendency to hunt and hunt and hunt, they do also have the tendency to be attached to a certain catch. That catch would have to be something that they worked for in such a long time, spying on its lairs, everyday activities and whatchamacallits that when owned by them becomes a symbol of pride. They may hang the antlers above the fireplace for everyone to see or wear the bones on their sturdy necks or spread the exotic skins on their love beds. Letting go of it would damage the pride he held for himself or if not, leave an aching in his heart. The same thing applies to courtship and possible intimate relationships. If a man worked hard to gain the nod of his partner, then it becomes a symbol of his pride. Letting go of it ranks last in his options.

Of course, the female specie should not just expect to be hunted by these male/hunters. Hunters look for something worthy hunting in a catch and they take off from that. Women should therefore consider some factors before they become chase-worthy and they are only the elementary or basic mantras we learn and hear everywhere as we grew up: Love yourself, respect yourself. Only then if women learn to value their self will they become pleasing to the eye of a prospective hunter.

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margarida

PS: Ayan, may sense na siguro ang nachorba ng baklita. Chos!

CRUSH LIST: JAIME BINHAON

Dahil black-out na ang utak ko sa mga ganap at wala akong maisipang isulat ay ang crushness muna ni Nurse K ang ating chikahin.

Iyan ang Papa Jaime Binhaon ni nurse K. Naninipa siya ng balls(!) in short, soccer player siya. Suki din siya mga pageant ek-ek ng school nila at dito ito unang nadiscover ng baklita. Mormon ito at hindi naman na siguro kaila na matinding imbestigasyon ang ginawa ni baklita para makilala pa ang future husbie niya. Nakakaloka! At ang hanash pa ni bakla, magpapaconvert na din daw siya at hindi na iinom ng kape kundi Milo na lang. Ikaw na, teh!

Ang tanong ko lang naman, worth the effort ba  naman ang hombreng itech? Ewan! Naeewanan ako sa baklita dahil kahit saang anggulo ko tingnan, hindi ako naguguwapuhan sa kanya. Walang X-factor! Chos! Although, bet ko ang pagiging soccer player (think Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham! Ayan, giveaway na. Chos!) pati na ang economic status niya. Kaloka! Social climber kang ang peg ng bakla!

Yun na!

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margarida

PS: Huwag umasang may sense ang mga chochorbahin ng baklita.

ANG BABAW!

Rampa galore ang baklita kahapon papasok ng LPU ng isang realisasyon ang nagbigay liwanag sa buhay ko! Keme! Ang corny ko na masyado! Chos.

Masasalubong ko noon ang isang grupo ng mga hombre at hindi ko alam kung natutuwa ba ako sa sarili ko sa pagiging rampadora sa daan o anupaman pero nagbabantang magliwanag ang aking mukha sa isang bonggang-bonggang ngiti. Pinilit kong nilabanan iyon bago pa maisip ng mga hombreng iyon na nilalandi ko sila. In their face!

Noong malayo-layo na ako, na-affirm kong ang babaw nga ng kaligayahan ko. Pero naisip ko rin na siguro dahil dito kaya ang babaw din ng dhsghghlksh(opposite of kaligayahan, chos!) ko.

Yun na!

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margarida

PS: Huwag umasang may sense ang mga chochorbahin ng baklita.

GWAPO O MAY TRABAHO?

Once in a while, naloloka ako sa hanash ni mudrakels. Minsan, may dumating na grupo ng mga hombre sa aming sitio, sort of distant relatives. Nakita na naming sila from far away so nakiabang ako sa mga usyusero kong mga kapatid tru the siwang-siwang sa dingding ng aming abang bahay. Nakakaloka!

Ang hanash ko ng dumaan na sila: “Hanubayan, walang gwapo sa kanila.”

At si mudrakels na nagluluto noon ng hapunan at approximately seven meters away from me eh biglang humanash ng: “Alam mo ba, may mga trabaho na ang mga iyan.”

Hanudaw? Is she implying na hindi kailangan ng kaguwapuhan basta may trabaho? Practicality ek-ek, ganun? Kaloka!

Yun na!

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margarida

PS: Huwag umasang may sense ang mga chochorbahin ng baklita.

THE JESTONI ALARCON

Nakakaloka! Hindi ko inakalang ito pala si Jestoni Alarcon. Palagi kong nababasa ang pangalan niya noon dun sa mga CD cases pero kapag pinapanood ay hindi ko maidentify-at hindi ko naisip kailanman na bet ko pala siya.

Nagkaroon lang ng ideya ang baklita sa presensya niya sa mundong ito noong mapanood ko ang Marimar sa Fox Filipino. Gumanap siyang Gustavo at itinala ko iyon sa Draft box ng cellphone ko para isearch ang identity niya sa Google pero in the process, nakalimutan ko.

Muli kong nasayt ang aura niya noong Christmas break noong tinry kong panoorin ang Adarna kung saan gumaganap siya bilang Simon at matikas pa rin ang porma niya. So far, nawaglit din sa ala-ala ko na iGoogle siya noong ilang beses na nag-online ako.

Fortunately, naalala ko na iyon ngayon and now, the identity has been revealed. Chos!

Yun na.

PS: Huwag umasang may sense ang mga chochorbahin ng baklita.

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margarida