Respite

Everyone deserves this one-day holiday. Everyone deserves a respite from the horrors that greet us at work nowadays. Yesterday, some of my colleagues had a really tough time and I think I was the only one who went home with a more positive outlook and feeling less worried (there were work-related events during the day that lead to this feeling). I've been in their shoes before and I really feel for them. It somehow brought me back to earth after celebrating a mini-victory.

We've been getting almost daily emails from the powers-that-be about the crisis that the US economy and how it will or will not affect us. We've somehow weathered the collapse of Lehman Brothers and now, our bosses are figuring out how the US bailout rejection (is it really true that the US Treasurer went down on his knees and begged the Democrats to approve the bailout?) will affect our business as well. Probably this is the only time that I'm thankful that we're not as big as the bigger banks are right now. The company focused on growing its business out of the US specifically Africa, Asia and the Middle East and as one of my colleagues pointed out, our products are less sophisticated as those offered by our competitors.

I have yet to understand the full problem or the repercussions surrounding the issue but I'm suddenly reminded of the answer that my regional boss gave me when I asked if we've already hit rock-bottom. He said that it seems that we're already on our way up but if there's one thing he learned is that anything is possible.

I guess it's also a blessing that it's raining today. Perfect bed weather and a chance to catch up with my sleep. Yeah, sleep. It's my favorite hobby nowadays. Every weekend when Leo and I go to the mall, I always ensure that I'm home after lunch so I can sleep. I've been told to savor this moment as in a few months, sleep will be a precious commodity which I will have to forgo as I have to take care of my newborn. Thank God for 3 month maternity leave!

Typhoon Frank

It's Milenyo all over again, although I think this storm is weaker than Milenyo which devasted Metro Manila almost two years ago. Nevertheless, there's still that scary feeling especially when you hear the wind and see the trees swaying. Living in an area where the streets are lined with big trees, one can get really nervous because some of them can get uprooted. And when that happens, roads are blocked, Meralco poles will come down and what have you.

I just heard in the news that a ship sank off the coast of Sibuyan Island in Romblon province and it was noted that this ship was carrying 700+ people and so far, they haven't found any survivors yet.The ship was found to have overturned with a hole in the side. Local flights have already canceled and people are already stranded in ports and airports.

Typhoon Frank is expected to leave Manila by tomorrow. I hope damage will be minimal and more lives will be spared.

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Photo courtesy of Inquirer.net