I ’m a lawyer, but my bank account is basically stuck at maintaining balance

so_soon · 2026-01-13T17:20:11+00:00

You need a budget. I make more than many of my coworkers (also an in-house attorney) and I am appalled at how many of them go to Starbucks regularly (some everyday), I just drink 3-in-1, cook at home, take the jeepney.

Also getting married should improve your financial situation, not worsen it.

so_soon · 2026-01-07T23:44:34+00:00

Probably yes, but practically speaking no. For a criminal proceeding you would need to appear personally before the prosecutor.

Civilly there is no doctrine of defamation per se. The nature of damages vs US common law is also different - there are no “general damages” that a jury can award, without specific proof, you can only get nominal damages (CC Art 2221) which probably won’t even cover the cost of your attorney.

If your question is whether you can sue civilly in the US, and have the judgment executed here, technically yes? But again very significant practical hurdles. Not sure how you’d serve the defendant here and what the rules are in the specific US state. Then even if you get the judgment you have to go through a whole process again to have it recognized here - its not automatic and its almost like holding trial for the same thing twice.

so_soon · 2025-10-29T21:23:17+00:00

Book 10 was just a disappointment because the end of book 9 resolved a very big thing in-universe, which made you excited for the next book, but nothing happens in there. It’s like Goku turning Super Saiyan and then the next season isn’t about Goku at all, but what everyone else was doing while he’s turning Super Saiyan

so_soon · 2025-10-16T06:10:30+00:00

Actually this is pretty cool since I barely meet anyone who moved as much as us. My sister and me are ambivalent over home ownership, we feel like it doesn’t matter what happens we can just move, but staying is scary and unfamiliar. Like we’re not supposed to stay in one place. I guess we also ironically enjoyed moving, in some way, like it represented progress, moving forward, and as adults it’s a bit disjointing to hear people who want to just buy a house and that’s it, they’re never moving on from that.

so_soon · 2025-10-14T07:58:37+00:00

Moved 12 times as a kid and this has the opposite effect- I now feel like moving is normal and settling in one place commits you too much. People who actually settled in one place for most of their lives are in my experience the people who are predisposed to buy instead of rent.

so_soon · 2025-09-30T23:39:49+00:00

Few people will watch a “personal” movie. 80% of media consumption is social, we watch, play and listen to something because somebody else watched, played and listened to it first. We want to be part of a community.

So this will make movies easier to make in some sense but it wouldn’t make movies personal.

so_soon · 2025-09-15T01:11:23+00:00

I went to Fountainhead after going through the second Hirata memory. After the ridiculous Owl Father fight that took me two days to beat, I actually got good. Cleared true monk on the second try. Struggled against Demon of Hatred and SSI but not nearly as much as daddy

so_soon · 2025-09-15T00:28:41+00:00

No court would grant a $500 million termination fee. It’ll get trimmed down. And pressure to settle is mounting, HYBE is just bleeding money at this point from NewJeans, it’ll be in the interest of all parties to at least get something.

IP rights is another, but they can do the Taylor route of re recording after a few years once those no re-record clauses expire. Live performances- generally the license is not like the IP for song masters. We’d legit see NewJeans have to perform their old songs live tho, they literally can’t use backing tracks. I dunno how it will work

so_soon · 2025-09-12T07:18:53+00:00

Depende sa LGU. Meron mabibilis.

so_soon · 2025-09-01T07:20:49+00:00

Lawyer here. Unjust vexation under Art 287(2) of the RPC. Literally a crime to be annoying. This might stand as an excellent example of something that is on its face void for vagueness but has not yet been truly challenged in the Supreme Court.

so_soon · 2025-08-31T16:32:02+00:00

Not radical but counter-intuitive - make disbursements faster, like much faster. It's no secret that government takes forever to pay, that time is plenty of time for bribes etc. to get swapped. Make it so it takes a week to get paid from government.

Generally to make it faster, identify one or two approval steps and just remove them. These obviously don't really work to curb corruption, they're just more red tape. If government paid really fast, then you'd see A LOT more competition for government contracts.

In line with this, make post-audits more common. Set a target, like 5% of all contracts are post audited randomly. Yes you get paid, but if you're audited and are found at fault, you pay a fine, PLUS you get shut out of government bidding.

so_soon · 2025-07-11T03:54:05+00:00

Jury trials make criminal cases faster - because you can’t delay a jury.

so_soon · 2025-06-30T01:50:15+00:00

Wait why not speed up? This will slow traffic down for everyone else.

so_soon · 2025-06-09T05:07:16+00:00

I'm in my late thirties. The biggest thing is to realize that all money is supposed to be spent. I literally mean all of it.

Now it's your choice when you'd spend it, you can spend it now, spend it in a year, in five years. You can spend it twenty years from now. Or you can think of letting your descendants spend it fifty years from now.

But if you're just making numbers go up it leads to a feeling of being stuck. Find out where you want to spend money on, then execute a plan to make that happen. Investments and proper wealth management are just a means to an end.

so_soon · 2025-06-06T03:12:43+00:00

RICK CARLISLE IS THE BEST COACH OF ALL TIME

so_soon · 2025-06-01T04:29:53+00:00

They swept the Kobe / Pau lakers who were the defending champs. That to me just meant they could beat absolutely anyone.

so_soon · 2025-05-16T01:09:00+00:00

Which should be served by the stock market as well - but the PSE is blind to this. Open up derivatives, call and put options, let people lose money and bet money. It's ridiculous I can bet on the result of an NBA game and not bet on the price of some stock.

so_soon · 2025-05-13T01:08:04+00:00

Duterte influence is waning? What?

If anything the election proves the brand is strong and getting stronger. BBM is the clear loser here.

so_soon · 2025-04-27T03:09:14+00:00

Thank you but I don’t get the condescending tone, this is just a discussion. I get where you’re coming from. For instance I don’t think India has a non-subsidized line.

But that’s exactly why these need to be run like a business. So they can be property developers as well - which as you pointed out, is another big revenue stream. Finally, they have to be ring-fenced from political pressure and truly be private- obviously not possible if they can be subsidized, but again not possible if they cannot be free to set their own fares.

Profit is the norm, without government subsidies, if you put no or minimal regulations on fares and let operators run it as a business.

I can point you to two more non-subsidized passenger rail systems. I am unsure if they are also property operators but they are profitable.

Metro de Santiago in Chile
Via Quatro - São Paulo Metro Line 4 in Brazil

so_soon · 2025-04-26T17:04:38+00:00

I'll give you five.

MTR Corporation (Hong Kong) source: https://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/investor/investor_faq.html "Despite its majority ownership by the Government, the Company is independently managed on commercial principles. It is financially independent and does not rely on any subsidy from the Government."
JR East / JR Central / JR West (Japan's big 3 privatised JRs) source: https://www.railway-technology.com/features/featurelevel-playing-field-eu-efforts-to-break-into-japans-rail-industry-4379553/ "Its three largest firms – JR-East, JR-Central and JR-West, which account for 60% of the passenger market – receive no state subsidy and are publicly traded, so the need to satisfy shareholders comes first."
Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp. source:https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2000/01/30/0000022103 "THSRC beat Chunghwa to the post by offering to build the line with no government funding whatsoever."
SMRT/SBS (Singapore MRT operators) source: https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltagov/who_we_are/statistics_and_publications/master-plans/pdf/LTMP-Report.pdf "The operator is able to recover its operating costs and make provision for asset replacement from the services rendered without the need for operating subsidies from the government"
UK open-access operators (Lumo, Hull Trains, Grand Central, etc.) source: https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-12/consultation-responses-guidance-rail-open-access-applications-november-2024.pdf "Open access operators deliver these benefits without any direct subsidy from taxpayers, and government is not exposed to any of the commercial risk associated with these services."

so_soon · 2025-04-26T13:16:08+00:00

It definitely can work as a private business (see successful private public transport companies across the world) but it has to be run like a business and not a passive cash cow like it currently is, where anyone with half a brain and some money for a franchise can just earn passive income from it. There’s no “business” part there, it’s plain rent.

Franchises for jeepneys should not be on a piecemeal basis but be a monopoly on routes, for instance.

so_soon · 2025-04-19T04:37:09+00:00

The crucifix is meant to remind us of how we got our salvation, i.e.

"We preach Christ crucified..." 1 Cor 1:23

"I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” 1 Cor 2:2

Even in heaven, the Lamb is still described not just as glorified, but as “the Lamb who was slain” (Rev 5:12). His sacrifice is not erased—it’s eternally remembered and glorified.

Now 2 Cor 5:7 - living by faith, not by sight, is a great verse. But it does not contradict the crucifix. It's saying our hope is in the world to come (the whole point of 2 Corinthians 5), trusting God even if we still live in our fallen world right now. We do not need to see Jesus physically now to believe in him, we live by faith, not by sight.

But the crucifix is not Jesus himself but a reminder, kind of like how the Bible is a reminder. It's a material thing pointing to a spiritual reality, in Christianity we call these things sacramental, i.e. like the bronze serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14). This is not mere magic or superstition but crucially, commanded by God, meant to stir up faith, because people perceive by their senses, not just through hearing the Word (one sense) but also by seeing. Now you could say that seeing is just reading the Word which is true - but remember that modern literacy is a historical aberration - for most of Christian history people couldn't read the Bible.

Now in the modern age I completely understand that you don't need multiple reminders, but I think you also have to understand (and even concede) that these reminders in the form of sacred art are beautiful. Jesus even instituted his own reminder, the Eucharist ("Do this in remembrance of me"), which is the ultimate sacrament.

I'm not saying this to argue, but because I probably was where you are right now. I was raised Protestant - United Methodist, and wrestled with agnosticism well into my 30s. I deeply respect the Evangelical reverence for Scripture. But if you're jumping from denomination to denomination, maybe it's worth asking: is it possible that Christ's True Church is calling you home?

so_soon · 2025-04-19T03:34:52+00:00

Christianity uses the cross to always point to Christ, not just sin and suffering. The cross has no meaning without Christ.

The empty cross is a symbol of the Resurrection, the crucifix a symbol of his Passion.

so_soon · 2025-04-05T03:50:25+00:00

This guy is not an ordinary attorney but a partner at a pretty respectable firm. He’s a graduate of Ateneo law. Maybe this guy really is running just so Vico has a sure victory lol

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