It was my fault. I should have inquired about this sooner. Ditto for this post!

But we still have time.

My wife Gina took a housing loan in early 1997. We still pay the monthly amortization (though I sometimes miss, not because we lack the fund but because I lacked the time to go pay.).

PAG-IBIG fund sent a letter which stated that an interest discount will be available for those who qualify by being current with their dues - or something to that effect. I really didn’t know the entire story and it was just something that was good to have. Little did I know that being current, there will be be a 2% interest discount from current rate of 12%.
The amortization will be the same but discounted amount will be applied to the principal.
Which means that if all is well, we might be able to reduce the number of payment years by 4 years!

The catch is is, you have to be current by December 2007 so it can be applied. Doing so in 2008 would be too late. I hope they can extend it a bit longer for those who just got hold of this information.

On a side note, the one handling my account explained that this is an offshoot of the economy and exchange rate. This is one effect that I didn’t see tackled here.

I wish the interest I wish all government offices are like that.

Plus, I’ve noticed some pretty good changes in PAG-IBIG. It had become customer-centric. IT seems that they are always on the lookout for the best possible ways to benefit the member. There was someone who was assigned to my account who patiently and respectfully explained all these things. And I can call her anytime. Lyn C - you deserve a commendation.

Whoever is running the show at Pag-Ibig deserves a raise.

I would like to thank Melo of melovillareal.com for this book. I fancy myself to be a productivity advocate and student. The book The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris is coming to my hands via this contest.  By the way, another contest is on-going for another book: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day. This is something I need. Maybe I can join and win again =). Go here for details of the new contest. It’s also where he announced my win.
Imagine working only for four hours a week.

That’s just 240 minutes or 14400 seconds.

And having the rest of the time for any pursuit you wish. If a typical person works for five days at 8 hours a week, that totals 40 hours of labor.

So spending a measly four hours toiling leaves one with 36 more hours of play, recreation, contribution and other productive pursuits (including those which are seemingly trivial.)

I like the sound of that. This also answers my dilemma which book to bring to Bicol. This should be finished before the New year.

Thanks again Melo!

It’s where you place the presents. Hang gold and silver and red shiny Christmas balls. Lights adorn it. Ribbons and trimmings and angels. On top is a star, otherwise it would just seem incomplete.

I have a simple Christmas tree my wife bought from Dapitan Market.

She bought one too.  The other one is an old wooden version you hang by the door.

Marc and Gail’s first tree.

Aileen mentioned her tree here, but no picture =(

Any else who has or seen one?

Not food.

Not sleeping.

And certainly not shopping.

Exercising, maybe?

Well you may be in for a surprise..

The mighty Pen and Paper tandem - the best stress-reducer of all time.

Or if you want to go high tech, we can consider a PDA.
So how do you relieve stress? Just write everything down.

No, I don’t mean write as an outlet (though this would belong to the group mentioned earlier), which most bloggers normally do, aside from binge on pizza
I think our minds are pre-occupied with things that are pending 95 % of the time. And these things are mostly the ones which we cannot face at the moment. So we worry about them and get ulcers, trying to keep up with the ever-increasing data in our brains. And we can only keep so much. When our minds get overloaded, we get stressed out from too much thinking.

When you practice the habit of writing things down so you do not have to worry about forgetting them, you relieve the pressure in your head so you can’t concentrate better. It also frees you to use your imagination and creativity in a more positive setting. This translate to better work, better relationships, lesser outbursts, more time to think and do the things you love.

Don’t try stuffing it all in your head.

Write it down.

Photo credit: www.plu.edu