Congratulations, Self. You Made It, Baby! - Master of Science in Software Engineering

GRADUATION. A big word for anyone who has earned a degree, and an even bigger one when that degree is a Master of Science in Software Engineering from Quantic School of Business and Technology, a Washington, D.C.-based educational institution.

The email came in. My eyes immediately caught the word “Congratulations.” My heart raced, joy overflowed, and a quick “Salamat sa Diyos” escaped my lips. Almost inaudible to anyone nearby, yet deafeningly loud inside my head.

I MADE IT.

The journey was exhilarating. The learnings were wondrously satisfying. There were moments of discovery, challenges that demanded more patience than expected, and those little victories that reminded me why I started in the first place.

I will miss the witty punchlines on the learning platform. Thankfully, the modules will remain accessible, so I can always revisit the lessons, refresh my knowledge, and perhaps relive a few of those amusing moments.

Looking back, these are the things I treasure most about this journey:

1. From theory to execution.
Writing code using Visual Studio and the Terminal, navigating the intricacies of backend and frontend development, and finally seeing things come together. There is something deeply satisfying about turning an idea into something that actually works.

2. GitHub and the magic of CI/CD.
Shockers! Who knew I would grow to love continuous integration and continuous delivery? What once seemed intimidating became an exciting part of the process. Building, testing, deploying, and seeing the pieces come together made the learning experience all the more rewarding.

3. AI Engineering, AI Business Transformation, and my first AI product.
This one deserves its own little celebration. I built my capstone project and deployed a live AI chatbot called DEUS AI. ◡̈ My first AI product! It was an opportunity to bring together what I had learned about software engineering and artificial intelligence, transforming concepts into something tangible. More than a project, DEUS AI became a personal reminder that we do not have to wait for someone else to give us permission to build something meaningful.

4. Grit, perseverance, integrity, and empathy.

These virtues deserve more credit than we often give them. The journey reinforced their importance in ways no technical module could fully capture. Grit keeps us moving when the work gets difficult. Perseverance reminds us that progress is rarely linear. Integrity grounds our decisions, and empathy reminds us that technology, no matter how sophisticated, ultimately exists to serve people.

These qualities were never strangers to me. But this journey gave me another opportunity to appreciate them, practice them, and recognize how indispensable they remain—not only in engineering, but in leadership and in life.

To Dr. Steele and the entire Quantic faculty and team, thank you for creating such an engaging learning experience and for being vessels of continuous learning. Your creativity made complex subjects approachable, and your platform reminded me that education can be rigorous without losing its humanity.

And to anyone contemplating a degree while juggling work, responsibilities, and the beautiful chaos of everyday life: if you are considering Quantic, explore it. Take the leap if it aligns with your goals. The experience may challenge you, surprise you, and teach you more than you initially expected.

Of course, this achievement does not mean I have arrived at the end of the road. If anything, it has made the horizon look even more interesting. There is more to learn, more to build, and more ways to bring technology and human ingenuity together.

For now, though, let me pause and appreciate this moment. Not every victory needs fireworks, and not every milestone needs to be announced with a grand speech. Sometimes, all it takes is an email, a single word, a racing heart, and a whispered prayer of gratitude.

Congratulations, self. You made it, baby! 🎓

Salamat sa Diyos. For the opportunity, the strength to persevere, and the grace to see this journey through. One degree earned. A thousand possibilities ahead.

— billymacdeus

Expanded Maternity Leave in PH - Everything You Need To Know About RA 11210

 

There comes a point in almost every family's story when career plans quietly intersect with parenthood. For many women, pregnancy is both a joyful milestone and a season that brings practical questions:

- How long can I stay home with my baby? Will I still receive my salary? 

- What are my rights as an employee? 

- These are not merely legal concerns—they are deeply personal questions that affect the well-being of mothers, newborns, and entire families.

Recognizing this reality, the Philippine government enacted Republic Act No. 11210, more commonly known as the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law. More than an employment benefit, it is a recognition that motherhood deserves time, dignity, and adequate support during one of life's most transformative moments.

One of the most significant improvements introduced by RA 11210 is the extension of maternity leave benefits. 

- Qualified female workers are entitled to 105 days of paid maternity leave, regardless of whether the delivery is normal or through cesarean section. 

- Mothers who qualify as solo parents under RA 8972 are granted an additional 15 days, bringing the total to 120 days. 

- In the unfortunate event of a miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, the law also provides 60 days of paid maternity leave, acknowledging that recovery—both physical and emotional—is equally important.

Another welcome feature of the law is its inclusivity. The maternity benefit is no longer limited to women in traditional employment. According to the SSS guidelines, the benefit may be available to 

- employed members, 

- self-employed individuals, 

- voluntary members, 

- overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and 

- even non-working spouses who meet the applicable qualifications. 

This reflects a broader understanding that Filipino women contribute to society in many different ways, not only within corporate offices but also through entrepreneurship, overseas work, and household responsibilities.

- The law also recognizes that every pregnancy is unique. Mothers may choose to extend their leave by an additional 30 days without pay, provided they notify their employer in advance. While this extension is unpaid, it gives families valuable flexibility, especially during those precious first weeks of caring for a newborn.

Applying for the benefit has likewise become more straightforward. Members are encouraged to notify both their employer and the Social Security System (SSS) as early as possible. 

- For employed members, the employer plays an important role in processing the application, while self-employed, voluntary, OFW, and other qualified members may file directly with the SSS following the prescribed procedures. 

- Timely notification helps ensure that benefits are processed without unnecessary delays.

One provision that many families appreciate is the flexibility regarding leave credits. Under RA 11210, 

- a qualified mother may allocate up to seven (7) days of her maternity leave to the child's father, regardless of marital status, 

- or in certain cases to an alternate caregiver qualified under the law. 

- This provision recognizes that caring for a newborn is a shared responsibility and encourages greater participation from fathers and families during the earliest days of a child's life. https://blog.billymacdeus.com 

Beyond the legal provisions lies something even more meaningful.

The first weeks after childbirth are irreplaceable. They are filled with sleepless nights, countless diaper changes, first smiles, quiet moments of bonding, and the physical recovery that every mother deserves. Science has consistently shown that allowing mothers adequate time to recover and bond with their babies contributes positively to maternal health, breastfeeding, emotional well-being, and infant development. Time, in this context, becomes one of the most valuable forms of support society can provide.

If you're expecting a child or planning to start a family, here are a few practical reminders that can make the process smoother:

• Know your eligibility. Ensure that your SSS contributions and membership status satisfy the requirements before your expected delivery.
• Notify early. Inform your employer—and when applicable, the SSS—as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed to avoid delays in processing your claim.
• Prepare your documents. Keep medical certificates, ultrasound reports, proof of pregnancy, and other required records organized.
• Discuss your leave with your employer. Planning your turnover early benefits both you and your workplace.
• Consider whether you need additional leave. If recovery or family circumstances require more time, remember that the law allows a 30-day unpaid extension with proper notice.
• Explore leave allocation. If appropriate for your family, discuss the seven-day leave allocation with your spouse or qualified caregiver so both parents can better support the newborn.

At its heart, RA 11210 is not merely about increasing the number of leave days. It reflects a growing recognition that healthy families begin with healthy mothers, and that supporting women during pregnancy and childbirth ultimately strengthens communities as a whole.

After all, careers may pause for a few months, but the memories created during a child's first days last a lifetime. Sometimes, one of the greatest benefits a law can provide is not simply financial assistance—it is the gift of time.

— billymacdeus

ps: here's the original post

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

The kind of restlessness that arrives quietly is not unusual, or out of the ordinary. It does not announce itself as unhappiness; it disguises itself as ambition. It tells you that the next promotion will finally make you feel accomplished; that the next relationship will finally make you feel understood; that the next city, the next house, the next degree, the next version of yourself will finally make everything fall into place.

So you keep moving. And then, somewhere along the way, you hear a line from an old song: Don’t go chasing waterfalls. It sounds almost comical when you first hear it. A strange piece of early-nineties wisdom wrapped inside a pop song. But there is something remarkably mature about the metaphor. A waterfall is beautiful precisely because you cannot possess it. You can stand before it, listen to it, photograph it, be humbled by it. But if you decide that you must climb into the waterfall itself, beauty can quickly become danger.

  https://blog.billymacdeus.com.

In retrospect, that is what chasing waterfalls means in adulthood. It is not about refusing to dream. It is about learning which dreams are actually yours.

We live in a culture that has become exceptionally good at turning desire into a full-time occupation. Someone is always becoming richer, fitter, younger, more productive, more successful, more travelled. Your phone makes sure you know about it before breakfast. You begin to wonder whether your own life is moving quickly enough; and so you chase.

You chase a career because standing still feels like failure. You chase money because enough never quite feels like enough. You chase recognition because being good at something privately no longer seems sufficient. You chase relationships because being alone has somehow become evidence that something is wrong with you.

The strange thing is that many of these waterfalls are beautiful; that is what makes them dangerous. The promotion may genuinely be worth having, the person you love may genuinely be extraordinary, the house may genuinely be beautiful, the opportunity may genuinely be once in a lifetime.

The question is not whether these things are good —the question is whether you are willing to lose yourself trying to reach them; or will it break your principles along the way in achieving them. There is a difference between aspiration and obsession; aspiration says, I would like to become this; Obsession says, I am nothing unless I become this. That distinction can quietly change a life, on your perspectives and paradigms.

I have come to think that maturity is not the moment when we stop wanting things. It is the moment when we become capable of wanting something without allowing it to own us. Ergo, you can want the promotion without believing that your title determines your worth; you can want money without making wealth the measurement of your life; you can love someone deeply without turning them into the solution to every loneliness you have ever carried; you can dream about another country without convincing yourself that happiness lives at the other end of the flight; you can even want a different version of yourself without despising the person you are today — the list goes on, on the positive maniputation toward grounding yourself, that you are still you.

This is where the waterfall becomes interesting, the waterfall does not have to disappear ⁓ you simply have to know where to stand. There are seasons when we are supposed to leap, there are moments when playing it safe becomes its own kind of cowardice. Sometimes the sensible thing really is to take the risk, leave the job, start the company, tell someone you love them, move somewhere unfamiliar, or begin again.

The philosophy is not never chase anything — it is know what you are chasing, and know what you are willing to sacrifice for it. Because some waterfalls are worth approaching, others are only beautiful from a distance. I think about this whenever life begins to feel like a competition I never agreed to enter, there will always be someone younger than me who is further ahead. Someone richer, someone more accomplished, someone who seems to have figured out the exact formula for happiness — but their waterfall is not necessarily mine.

Maybe the most radical thing we can do is stop confusing someone else's destination with our own unfinished journey, creeping quietly as freedom in saying, I don't need that. Not because you are incapable of having it, but because you have finally decided that you don't need to possess every beautiful thing you encounter.

Some things can simply be admired, some opportunities can be declined, some roads can remain unexplored, some dreams can be released without being considered failures, and, some versions of ourselves can be allowed to die.

The older I get, the more I realize that a good life is not built entirely from the things we achieve. It is also built from the things we wisely refuse to chase, the relationships we don't force, the battles we don't need to win, the applause we don't need, the identities we outgrow, the ambitions we examine before they consume us, and, that is the deeper wisdom hidden inside an old pop lyric — Don't go chasing waterfalls.

Not because waterfalls aren't beautiful, but because sometimes the thing you are running toward is not the thing you actually need. Sometimes the river you are already standing beside is enough, and sometimes the life you keep postponing while chasing another one is quietly waiting for you to notice that you are already in the best place.

—Othello

Give Your Best To the People Who will Cry the Deepest at Your Funeral & Those Whom You will Weep at Theirs

As we grow older, one realization settles into the heart with increasing clarity: the people who matter most are rarely asking us for grand gestures. They are asking for presence. They remember the conversations where we listened without checking the time. They remember the unexpected visits, the reassuring embraces, the laughter shared over simple meals, the phone calls that began with *"Kamusta ka?"* and ended much later than expected because no one was in a hurry to say goodbye.

In Filipino families, love has always carried an unspoken language. It is found in a mother quietly cutting fruit after dinner without being asked. It is in a father waking before dawn so the household can wake to a better tomorrow. It is in siblings teasing one another endlessly but becoming each other's fiercest defenders when life becomes difficult. It is in grandparents waiting patiently for children and grandchildren who have become busy building lives of their own. These acts rarely become viral stories or dramatic moments, yet they quietly build the relationships that carry us through the rest of our lives.

 

There is a quiet exercise that changes the way we look at the people around us. It asks no extraordinary intelligence, no wealth, no influence—only honesty. Imagine, for a moment, the people who would cry the deepest at your funeral. Then imagine the people whose passing would leave you unable to find the right words, whose empty chair at the dinner table or familiar voice on the other end of the phone would become an ache that time never fully erases. Those people deserve the very best version of you.

It is remarkable how easily we reserve our patience for strangers while unintentionally spending our impatience on those who love us most. We smile politely at colleagues, thank cashiers for their service, and extend kindness to acquaintances, yet we sometimes answer our parents with hurried replies, postpone conversations with our siblings, overlook our spouse's quiet need for affection, or assume that our closest friends will always understand our absence. Familiarity has a subtle way of convincing us that tomorrow will always be available. Life, however, has never made such a promise.

The tragedy is not that love disappears. The tragedy is that people often realize its depth only after absence introduces itself. We buy flowers that can no longer be smelled. We speak words of gratitude that can no longer be heard. We remember birthdays after calendars have become memorials. Regret has a cruel habit of arriving when opportunities have already departed.

This is why the people who will cry the deepest at your funeral deserve more than your leftover energy. They deserve your best conversations while your voice is still strong enough to speak them. They deserve your forgiveness before pride hardens into silence. They deserve your time before schedules become excuses. They deserve your affection while they are still able to receive it.

The same is true in the other direction. If there are people whose passing would leave you weeping, do not wait for grief to teach you their value. Tell them they matter while they are here. Visit them while the road still leads to their home. Sit with them over coffee that grows cold because the conversation has become more important than the drink itself. Celebrate ordinary days together, because one day those ordinary moments will become the extraordinary memories you revisit for comfort.

Success will always have another milestone. Work will always produce another deadline. Money can always be earned again. The people we love, however, move through time only once. Every shared meal, every family gathering, every unplanned conversation is quietly becoming history while we are living it.

One day, all of us will attend a funeral where the tears feel heavier than expected. One day, others will stand before ours carrying memories that only they can tell. When that day comes, our greatest legacy will not be the titles after our names or the possessions we accumulated. It will be the kindness we consistently gave, the love we made visible, and the lives that became gentler simply because we were part of them.

Give your best to the people who will cry the deepest at your funeral. Give your best to the people from whom you know your own tears will freely fall. In the end, those relationships will prove to be the truest measure of a life well lived, because while achievements may be remembered, it is love that will always be mourned—and even more importantly, love that will always be cherished long after we are gone.

-Othello