Author Archives: Issa

Why I (Always) Want to Bring the Children

December 10 12:08 am ,

When the Sky Cries

It was midnight and my son started screaming like a banshee.

I mean, all of his 16 pounds-almost-five-month-old-body was tense, as he was screaming at the top of his lungs.  Wanting my attention.

I read today that I should expect screaming from my 4-month old baby and that I should not worry – it is normal.  That actually, screaming is harder for parents than it is for the babies.  Theirs is just an outcry, no matter how desperate and agonizing-sounding it is.  Their hearts are not broken.  They are just manifesting the need to be held.

Wanting attention.  Mine.

Because we were apart for almost 14 hours yesterday, courtesy of a Christmas party that I thought I needed to attend because I wanted to network and socialize.

My reaction to that cry was pain in my gut and unbearable guilt.

Because in the past, when he was just forming the first of his memories, he only needed to reach out his hand to me, or whimper, and I was there.

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Posted in: Children's Stories, Life Stories, Random Thoughts , Tagged: ,

When I Manned the Store

December 2 1:08 am ,

The Art of Selling

The first time I manned a store – I think I was 14 at that time (maybe) – I chased the customer away.

Yes, I had one customer.  Because my mom would not let me talk to any other customer after that.  I think.  (my recollection is a little hazy)

We were selling batik clothes and some imported goods in a dry good stall and I was being very enterprising, butting in the conversation, giving the one customer (a man, I think) this option and that.  He almost bought something but I think he got confused because I kept showing him stuff after stuff. (giggles)

He left without buying anything and I was kind-of blamed.  I never really tried to sell after that.

But last weekend, I had to.

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Posted in: Art, Green Products, Life Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Experiences Over Possessions

November 28 1:02 am ,

Life's Simple Pleasures

A friend of my husband asked me how in the world I do not own any Louis Vuitton, Prada, Tod’s, Burberry or Chanel bag, the carry-on status symbol of choice for the modern woman.

I had to smile.

Okay.  I have to admit that I am not immune to their charms.  If anything, I love soft leather, and I certainly can appreciate wonderful craftsmanship.  The ooohs and aaahs of the woman who realizes what it is is also a great incentive, I will not lie.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Random Thoughts, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Greening of the Soul

November 21 3:09 pm ,

Green Your Soul

Everyone feels it.

The earth is no longer young.  Its resources are no longer inexhaustible.  Temperatures are rising.  Entire species are disappearing.

Just yesterday, everyone cavorted in clean, sparkling water, drenched themselves in sunshine, fished an abundant ocean, breathed air that is fresh, harvested a generous, bountiful earth.

Something happened between the space of yesterday and today

Mother earth was taken for granted, and overtaken (over taken) by human greed.

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Posted in: Art, Green Products, The Philippines , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Winning the Lottery

November 18 12:54 am ,

The Sky is the Limit

The grand prize for the lottery soared to obscene heights and people again began to dream.

Of what it would be like to have money, lots of money, the future changed in a whim, through balls swimming in the air.

What would one do with it?

What one can do with it.

Of how it would change everything.  Their lives, their past, their present.

And so they purchase their tickets day after day after day, as if through it they are manifesting their faith in the great unknown.

A chance of 1 in 20,872,566,000 – a chance that they are too willing to take.  If statistics are to be believed, being struck by lighting (1 in 280,000) would appear to be easier.

Yet they take it.  After all, you will not win if you will not roll the dice (or buy the ticket).

If you win, what would you do?

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Posted in: Life Stories, Random Thoughts, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , , , , , ,

To be Understood, Not to Understand

November 10 10:22 pm ,

Side By Side

I used to be a sponge.

I mean, I used to be interested in anything and everything and would ask my questions, however silly they are.  I used to love to listen and would look with awe and wonder at the speaker, a sponge, taking in everything, what is being said, what is not being said, what I felt, what the speaker would want me to feel .

I used to be interested in stories and explanations and people.

But time intervened and with knowledge came… disinterest.

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Posted in: Life Stories, Random Thoughts , Tagged: , , ,

How to Get A VC to Fund You

November 4 6:55 pm ,

Beholden

Before the Entrep Summit, I was not very familiar with the venture capitalist (VC for short).  I have heard about them but was not sure how they figured in the world of business.

Turns out, VCs are the power behind great start-ups like Facebook (as you would have already found out if you watched the movie Social Network).

And through the Entrep Summit, I learned the hoops of how I can get funding from a VC.

But as I said in an earlier article, it is not simple.  A lot of money is at stake and venture capitalism is not charity – the venture capitalists are also in the business of making money.

But yes, getting funding from a VC might be well worth your time – it not only eliminates worry but it also lets you know someone believes in you and that someone has your back.

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Posted in: Financial Education , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where To Get Money for Your Business

November 2 9:51 pm ,

Harvest Time

There is an abundance of great ideas.

But the difference between the success and failure of a great idea is execution.  Many great ideas do not even get to go off the ground.

And many times the problem is money.

If he can, the idea-owner funds himself, or borrows from family, or a relative, or the bank.  Those are the usual, if not easy, avenues.

I attended the recent Entrep Summit of the Manila Jaycees and found out an additional avenue where the idea-owner cum businessman-wannabe can get funding for his ideas.

From venture capitalists.

Enter the mental picture of the shrewd investor: eyebrows lifted, having the singeing look as the hapless businessman explains why he needs money and why he does not have any and why in the world he has not gone far with his ideas.

Through the Entrep Summit, this face changed.

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Posted in: Financial Education , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,