Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Imagine yourself on a Luxury Cruise Ship...

Imagine yourself on a 10-day luxury Caribbean cruise...

You saved up all year for this, and now you're walking up the ramp to go on board - it's your first time and you're feeling a bit shy, but attempting to look confident. A gentleman in a dark suit greets you, "Welcome, Sir!" and hands you a glass of champagne. With a bubbly in one hand and your sunglasses in the other, you smile - the trip is off to a great start...

Monday, February 22, 2010

Remembering Paris

I was in Paris, France in November of 2004.

I remember the weather was nice despite it being so cold - I wasn't used to 7degC-at-noon days.  I remember the long French bread that sticks out of the paper bags of grocers, and the wonderful cobblestone roads.

I remember we stayed at probably the best aparment Paris can offer - not because it was extravagant or anything of the sort, but because it was with a very accommodating French lady lawyer called Marie. She was our gracious host during our stay in Paris.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Our Valentine weekend was really HOT!

Valentines Day 2010 brought Liz and I to the Clark Air Field in Pampanga for one really HOT weekend
_______________________________________________



The 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.


We were up bright and early on that sunny Valentines Day morning as we made our way through the streets of Clark Air Base. We had stayed at Hotel Stotsenberg for the evening after Duty Free Shopping and dinner at a grill and wine restaurant.  We got lost several times while looking for a dinner place there, and so we read the directions to the Fiesta venue carefully.  Thankfully we did not get lost again!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

What the Shell Tax Issue is all about - the public deserves to know

Dear Friends, As some of you may know, I am an employee of Shell in the Philippines.  I would like to invite you to read through the article below about the position of Shell on the alleged non-payment of excise taxes worth $7.3 billion to the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

This issue obviously affects me personally (I am at risk of losing my job if the refinery closes down) but it also affects all of you. Fuel shortage will bring fuel prices up which will eventually cause other commodities to increase prices too.  Double taxation favors importers over manufacturers - if there are less factories, that means lesser job opportunities especially for new graduates.

I invite you to read the article below for your own sake, speak out your opinions - I will respect them.  If you have more questions or clarifications, you may ask it here and I will try my best to answer them for you...

---------------------- beginning of article ----------------------
*As published by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. in the February 16, 2010 issue of The Philippine Daily Inquirer (A-7) and The Philippine Star (A-11)

Recently, the public has heard of the issue regarding alleged non-payment by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC) of excise taxes for imports of Catalytic Cracked Gasoline (CCG) and light catalytic cracked gasoline (LCCG), amounting to Php 7.35 billion for the years 2004-09. To correct the misleading, inaccurate and wrong statements that have been made regarding this case, PSPC would like to provide the public the facts of the case: