Clarification for Funeral and Death Claims

One of the fundamental documents needed for these claims is the Death Certificate
If the Death Certificate contains errors - there is NOTHING else to be done except to have this corrected.  Okay?

Nothing else.

Alba and Annabel

Two lovely restos at Morato with very good food, both had lunch buffets - and  i indulged a bit, i must admit

the thing is, Spanish food - though very good - is a tad cloying

at Alba's buffet - i tasted their callos, which was ok, but i prefer my mom's Callos a la Madrilena
because my mom tamped down the richness a bit.  their callos was deeply rich, and i couldnt eat more than a spoonful of it.

- their paella was okay, and well, i just have to try my hand at cooking it

the lengua was very good, very rich, but less cloying than the callos - must be the way the tripe tasted .....

the mushroom .... i forgot the actual name was just right and so was the spaghetti
the lechon cochinillo (did i spell that right?) was simply good, but i couldnt eat more of it -
i couldnt even return to the buffet!

i loved the salads and the breads though - similar lovely taste as that of Annabel's

and Annabel;s - i loved the balance of flavors of the food they served in the buffet
i enjoyed the baked oysters - and you could taste the pimiento flavor in it
the beef steak that i had to have well-done because i am a KT, the gorgeous pork belly

i enjoyed the shrimp, but not as much as the oysters
the lengua was delicious, i thought it was a tad better than Alba's but this may been due to the fact that Alba's version was toooooo rich.  The fish was alright, but it was nothing special -

the soup at Annabel's was very delicious, it beat Alba's by a mile.  i should have indulged in another cup of soup - it was that good, yes.

the spaghetti at Alba's was a tad better than Annabel's, i dont quite know yet what made it special

i'm going back to Annabels soon but both restos are good, just make sure you dont overdo it on the richness ............ like i said, Annabel has a better balance of tanginess and richness but you will enjoy both places.....

Colossal's Honey on Tap

Neil Gaiman has honey bees - and has several pictures of his hives -
i guess he might be interested in these -
still, a tad unfair for the honey bees .....


take a look at "honey on tap"

Pretty Money - Hungarian Euro?

Seen such pretty money

take a look

d'you think it will encourage savings? or expenditures?

Feb 20 - A meeting with batch mates to see Rubi Sevilla

Setting was at Inday's home once again - at their place in New Manila.

I was saddened by the fact that Tony's big eel (who was situated in the dining room) was gone.  I have to admit i missed seeing it although we - when we toured to check out the art pieces and the renovation upstairs - were ooed and aahed by the light display of the other aquarium, controlled by Tony's cell phone.  Tony, just in case you dont remember from the post last year, is Inday's husband and Inday is a Sayans 75 batchmate.  Both Inday and Tony are MDs, Inday is a pediatrician and Tony is a cardiologist.

i must say the art was wonderful, they had art from Paete and of course, from Tony's mom.  So many wonderful pieces.  We met their 2 dogs again who were temporarily caged upstairs (they were set free after our visit). but the renovation was really wonderful.  Inday showed her skills in setting up and doing the actual installation of the screen for their special window (someone remarked it was created for a harana).  The windows had capiz shells in ye olde format

Attendees - and in no particular order, just with the women first - Alice, (Inday and me of course), MDs Mianne and Benita, Peggy of Papemelroti, Nimfa (Janet was in the US), Amihan, IT Joan, and banker Tylette - an honory batch member, and Rubi

and the men - Manny (yes, he and Alice were there early with the batch powerpoint presentation), Jes, our 2 Bobbys - bankers Bobby of BDO, and Roberto Jesus Reyes of Unionbank, MD Jerry, Jiben, Albert, Doy, Charlie (Peggy's husband)

as usual, their were laughs-a-plenty and a siding of serious assertions.
someone asked, who should i follow - the economist or the banker?
Nimfa is an economist and professor at UP, and Bobby of Union Bank was the other discussant ....

i should say, evaluate their advice and follow your gut....

pics to follow

standing:  Tony, Albert, Jes, Jerry, Bobby (BDO), Jiben, Bobby (Unionbank), Doy, Benita, Amihan, me, Nimfa

sitting:  Charlie, Mianne, Rubi, Alice, Pegs, Inday, Tylette, Manny

Becoming an SSS Member

Some new graduates think that paying to the SS as a volunteer member is a good thing to do so that they can get an SSS ID.

No.  One cannot start to be an SSS member by joining as a voluntary member.  If you persist, you will have problems later on when you start to claim your benefits - when you need it - so do not give yourself a headache.....

One can become an SSS member IF AND ONLY IF
             one is hired as an employee  OR
             one is self-employed

self-employed individuals are those who are in business for themselves or those who practice their profession ....

NOTE:  There are exceptions for OFWs

If you are an SSS member and have a child who is or may be incapacitated for life?

If so, please ensure that you provide SSS with the necessary information and proof of your child's "incapacitation" or disability or mental health, whatever is the cause - this means that your child will never be emancipated upon reaching maturity.

Moreover, should you and your spouse pass on, your total pension will be given to the child, who must be under the care of a guardian.

An example would be a person with Down's syndrome -  this is a person with an extra copy of a chromosome.  Most individuals with Down's syndrome only reach the age range of 8-12 years old, and will never have the mind and maturity of an adult.

There are other diseases that can incapacitate a child - for example, if the mother was pregnant when she got ill with say scarlet fever - that will affect the child.

Inform SSS as early as you can so that SSS can already tag the child's record so that she/he will receive a pension for the rest of his or her natural life....

SSS re-posting = Manual Verifications for 1985-1989

You have probably seen this a few times in newspapers - or perhaps heard discussions on the air via radio or television -

Basically, this means that the contributions  for the period January 1985 - December 1989 that may be missing and these missing contributions could substantially affect long term benefits such disability and retirement.  These contributions, however, will NOT affect short-term benefits such as sickness, maternity, and salary loans.

Although SSS will accept requests for manual verification, these will not be processed until after December 2015, which is the target end date of the project.

However if you know and therefore believe in Murphy's Laws, then add another 6 months to that, so that would be after the elections of 2016 - another administration.

However, pensioners should not worry about the adjustment, if any, this will be given to them - but it is to be hoped that it will not be posthumously - so take care all of you pensioners