Philippine Stock Exchange (Tektite), Ortigas, Pasig City

Philippine Stock Exchange in Ortigas


Where are huge profits made or lost, where billions of pesos are traded every working day from 9-12:10pm? It is the stock market! or at least in the Philippine setting, it's the Philippine Stock Exchange!

You may have noticed my long hiatus in blogging, the reason behind this is that i have been so thrilled by the stock market, the ups and downs, and all the rumors and speculation. Nothing is guaranteed, except for the fact there will be risk.

Anyone could invest in the stock market! I walked into the Tektite building with my P5000 initial investment, driver's license, SS number and TIN, walked into Accord Equities (http://www.philstocks.ph is their online access) and created an account with them. You could too!

It took me some time to convince myself that I should go into the stock market rather than mutual funds, another viable alternative for putting my money. The thrill of making it (or losing it) is part of the stock market, so I chose the stock market for my money.

Part of my initial investment was my purchase of 10 shares of SM Investments (PSE:SM) at P365.00 each. The following week it plummented to P302.5 per share. I was disheartened at first but the following week saw it regain its price and went as high as P385.

My first profit was the sale of my SM stock at P375. so 375-365=10 x 10 shares = P100 !!! My first profit! It sure beats my interest from an ATM account. That was sweet. The sweeter part was the timing of my selling. It fell swiftly to P340 today, so I was proud of my decision.

My reinvestments were not as sweet. I bought 2000 shares of Geograce Resources (GEO) at 1.54 and lost confidence. Sold at 1.6, then later in the day the price shot up to 1.76. Frustrating, but it was just speculation. My reinvestments in GEO and MA (Manila Mining), hopefully, should reap a profit.

Try it out, save your P5000 and try the stock market out!

Max's Glorietta 2: Hanne's Debut

Lady's sister Hanne asked for her help to look for a venue for her debut. After looking at so many packages, she decided to hold it at Max's Glorietta last Saturday, August 4, 2007.

Lady and I with the debutante Hanne.

It was scheduled to start at 7pm but the program didn't start until 8pm. I did the invocation/opening prayer and then there was the 18 roses. After the 18 roses, dinner was served, and then there were the 18 candles. The singing of "Happy Birthday" followed, and then there was so many picture taking afterwards.

The food served was by a per table basis. Two whole chickens, two servings of fried lumpia, two plates of pancit, chopsuey, and caramel bars were served together with iced tea.

All in all, we got the famous Max's flavour in every viand that was served. My only qualm was the chicken. There must be more chicken! But probably only I complain about not having enough chicken. :)

Max's handled the event without us having any major complaints. Anyhow, if you guys are planning to hold any event, consider celebrating it at a Max's Restaurant.

Burgoo Rockwell: Experience

In celebration of our 2nd Anniversary, Lady and I decided to go to Rockwell for a simple celebration. We watched Ratatouille, which was a very heart-warming animated film. After the movie, we had dinner at Burgoo.


We were seated initially near the entrance, but when a couple left the foam bench seats beside the to our left, we requested to be moved there.


When we got the menus, I have to admit that I got startled with the prices. From the top of my head, you could expect to spend at the very least P300 per head, not including the service charge and VAT. Anyway, it is the first time we ate at Burgoo and it was our Anniversary, so all was OK with the prices. (hehehe)


There were condiments on the table as well as information cards. Very good strategy to have information cards, they suggest side dishes and desserts if you want more.
While waiting for our dinner, we took pictures of each other. This is just one of them. The others will be posted on http://xxavier.multiply.com shortly. Finally, Lady's order arrived: Fettuccine with mushrooms and garlic bread. A few moments later, my order arrived: Medium Country Steak with potato wedges and corn on the cob.


The fettuccine was rich in parmesan, bacon, and mushroom. It was sprinkled with parsley and had two pieces of garlic bread on the side. It had a rich, creamy taste, and was rather oily. for P185++ it was a bargain compared to other items on the menu.
The country steak I ordered on the other hand was an 8-oz steak grilled with spices herbs served. Admittingly, it was smaller than I expected for P395++ but it was juicy and very rich in flavor. The potato wedges reminded Lady of KFC's fries, only less oily, and crunchier.

After our meal, we looked at the desserts on the information card, and Lady signalled to me that she found the Mississippi Mud Pie's picture delicious. We ordered just that.

Sorry for the shaky hands holding the camera. The presentation was absolutely fantastic! The cake was on one side with chocolate syrup spiraling the plate with morsels generously spread. It tasted like ice cream sprinkled with morsels. The crust was crunchy and cold, the way the different flavors mingle in my mouth made me feel like picking and eating the bits and pieces that got stuck to my teeth. For P135++ it was steep, but it was good enough for both of us.


While waiting for the bill, we noticed the crayons on the side and the paper table cover. Why didn't we notice it earlier?! We drew different animals. You be the judge on who is the better artist. :) I drew the cat and the sheep, while Lady drew the chicken, dog, and pig.

Overall, our experience at Burgoo was a blast, and although we won't be eating there anytime soon because it's too expensive, we would recommend it to anyone who wants to have an enjoyable dining experience.