What do you give to someone who has everything?A few Christmases ago, Synergeia Foundation president Milwida Guevara found herself worrying what to give to Washington Sycip for Christmas.

Apart from being a well-known figure in the business sector, Wash is one of the reasons Synergeia can do so much work in the education sector, Milwida says. (If you are interested in reading more about this very interesting man, read my favorite professor’s blog post on him here. Butch Dalisay finished his biography on Wash Sycip just this year.) After agonizing about her problem, Milwida bought Wash a toy train that moves on its tracks. You know the type, either your son wants one or your husband does.

“He was so happy with it, he played with it in his office and called his staff to look at the train,” Milwida told me, laughing.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I love to browse bookstores, even when I have already busted my book budget. The other day, I saw this Suze Orman’s The Road to Wealth at Fully Booked near my place. It cost more than 2,000 pesos, if I remember correctly.

I left the bookstore with a smug look on my face. A few years ago, I bought that book for a steal at 359 pesos in one of the best-kept secrets of book addicts in Metro Manila: National Bookstore main branch in Cubao, Quezon City. It’s the top floor that hides the biggest bargains!

[Read the rest of this entry »]