It is quarter to 4 in the morning.  Lately, my world has been topsy turvy.  To say that my sched has gone awry is an understatement.  My supposed day job has become a night job.  I do my advertising work in the night time because I have taken on a different day job these past two weeks. 

My day job is that of a caddy.  I have been caddying my son in his golf tournaments the past two weeks.  I have limited time to be online and so it was only today that I went through Multiply. 

One of the most interesting posts I've read is that of Pastor Dennis Isleta.  His post was that of a lady named Alexis Edralin.  I don't know who Alexis is.  Searched through Dennis' contacts and saw this link.

I'll make this as brief as I can.  Never ever abandon Multiply.

Despite the popularity of FaceBook, there are things which will never be accomplished in FB as opposed to Multiply.  Multiply is not just another blog, this is our life.  Multiply IS our biog. 

I read through Dennis' post and was encouraged to read about Alexis.  Clicked on Alexis' site and the posts were set to private...or there were hardly any posts at all.  How sad.

Folks, yes I do mean Folks as in Parents,...this is your legacy.  The posts you have made here will forever be around for your kids.  Whether in distance or in death, it would really be nice for your kids to look back every now and then to your Multiply site and cherish the memory of their parent who poured out their thoughts and feelings on this corner of cyberspace.

Today is my last day of caddying after which I hope to post pics.  Post pics partly for you, the regular readers of "blindsided".  But most of all, the posts are for my son J and daughter B.

From Blog to Biog.  Multiply becomes more meaningful.  I encourage you all to keep posting for posterity. Even make more posts as "payos" to your kids.  As for Facebook, well, that is just another contact list ;-)

The concept of full retirement is really a thing of the past.  Let me end the suspense to what this blog is all about.  Blindsided is about planning your retirement.  Nevertheless, the concept of retirement should be viewed through the lenses of the Information Age and not the Age of Industrialization (where its inception can be traced).

One can still keep on going way past the point where one has technically "retired".  My example for today is Meckoy Quioge.  He is on his fourth retirement.  I want to finish this way.

The story below shows us that one can be technically retired three times over and yet far from being 'self-actualized' by way of Maslow's heirarchy of needs.

Here's the write-up (with credits to Adobo Magazine)

I had a peek at the Inquirer front page today.  A small story on the side said:

4 pre-need firms near collapse

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:19:00 02/11/2009


MANILA, Philippines--Four more pre-need firms are said to be on the verge of financial collapse, the head of a group of plan-holders said Tuesday.

One of them is Pryce Plans Inc., said Philip Piccio, president of the Parents-Enabling Parents Coalition (PEP).

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Fe Barin refused to comment on Piccio’s information at the resumption of a Senate inquiry into troubled pre-need firms, but Jose Aquino, director of the SEC Nontraditional Securities and Instruments Department, confirmed it.

Pryce had declared funding problems in 2005 and has not been allowed by the SEC to sell new pre-need products. The SEC confirmed that the company was still in operation but only to service clients’ claims.

Piccio refused to name the three other troubled pre-need firms lest he be sued for libel, but he challenged the SEC to make the public disclosure to warn plan-holders and protect the public from buying plans from them.

“It is their duty to announce the situation of every company,” he said. “The problem here is it is the federation [of pre-need companies] that is announcing, not the regulator. That’s the problem. Let the regulators regulate, see the problem, not the federation. But the problem is the federation says ‘we’re OK.’”

Piccio said he got wind of the impending bankruptcy of the three unnamed pre-need firms from complaints of their plan-holders. He said the companies were still operating.

Barin said at the hearing: “If the question is about the pre-need companies that are about to collapse, no, we are not at liberty to say that. In the first place, we have to go back to our offices and take a look.”

Piccio criticized the SEC during a break at the three-hour hearing. “That’s the biggest question — why are they withholding the information?” he said.

He said the SEC did not want to disclose the information “because they don’t want to create panic. But if it will collapse, it will collapse.”

In December 2008, three pre-need firms affiliated with Legacy Group — Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc., Scholarship Plan Philippines Inc. and All Asia Plans Corp. — ceased operations without SEC approval.

A list obtained from the official SEC website showed 27 pre-need corporations with 2009 dealer’s license as of end-January. Last year, pre-need corporations sold more than 250,000 educational, life and pension plans totaling P15 billion.

Barin confirmed to the joint committee that Pryce was no longer selling plans. “If you don’t have a dealer’s license for this year, then you should not be selling,” she said.

Barin also confirmed that the SEC had received reports that Pryce was giving plan-holders cooking gas and medicines instead of cash to service claims, a scheme dubbed “exchange of benefits.” She said this was not illegal.

Piccio said people were going to the PEP for help. “We know what these companies are, and yet the [SEC] is not announcing it,” he said. With Inquirer Research; edited by INQUIRER.net

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Blindsided's notes :  How in the world could an SEC commissioner allow this?...Barin also confirmed that the SEC had received reports that Pryce was giving plan-holders cooking gas and medicines instead of cash to service claims, a scheme dubbed “exchange of benefits.” She said this was not illegal.

In her eyes it may not be illegal.  Yet surely we know that to allow something like this is outright immoral.