The Awesome Greenery

2009-01-30T01:07:00.001+08:00

Last Friday, we had our lunch at the Sharjah Carlton Hotel [posted above is the hotel‘s façade, thanks to Yahoo! for the download]. The said lunch was arranged by my parents’ employers for their entire clan and that had been a chance for me to meet some of them for the first time since I came back. Everybody was surprised and happy to see me again. Everyone kept exclaiming “Masha Allah”. I think its one of their expressions to denote a feeling of surprise from seeing someone they haven’t met for a long time. And MEYN, I too felt a lot of shock seeing the kids I played with before. They sure grew! I mean, yeah, they all outgrew me. [L sad face from someone disappointed of his own height]. My favourite playmate before was ABDUL AZIZ, my parents’ employers‘ eldest grandson. He’s actually 5 years younger than me and now you’d be surprise to see him with a lot of facial hair and about 5” inches taller than I am. Even his sister YASMIN outgrew me! She’s just 12 but I think she’s a inch taller than I am. And when I left she could barely pronounce well, now she’s typically talkative for her age.

Man, that afternoon became really busy for me from all that smiling, which slightly strained my entire face. I also did a lot of shaking hands with all the people I was introduced with. It was really awesome because I felt a bit like a celebrity that day. Heheh! J Not to mention the FOOD. Yep, they were all Arabic food, but the were all delicious! Especially the dessert! Yumm. I can’t wait for another one of those parties coz my mom only makes Arabic desserts occasionally. Sigh.

And for all of those who are curious, YEP my parents work domestically. My mom’s their maid and my dad’s their driver. Would you believe me if I say that my mom has been with them for the last 28 years already?! Yup. That’s so true. Furthermore, my dad started working here when he and my mom got married. He used to work here as a mechanic when they haven’t met yet. You see, my mom came here when she was just 19 years old and lucky for her (and even for us) to have found really kind and generous employers. She went abroad at an early age when her father became incapable of sending her to college because life was really hard for them back then. That’s why my mom opted to fly abroad instead to help my grandpa. And that’s the story. My dad naman, he was able to come here through the help of his mother who also used to work here as a maid. Coincidentally, my grandmother’s and my mom’s employers are relatives, so that’s how my parents met. Then they got married and had me as a baby after two years. They couldn’t quit their jobs just to take care of me so my grandparents from my father’s side took the responsibility of looking after me while my parents resumed their jobs here abroad. When I got a little older, I think I was five when they took me here for the first time where I stayed until my 7th grade and then I went back to the Philippines to resume my education. Now that I’m all done with studying, I came back to pursue a career. I hope I really do find a decent job amidst this obnoxious financial turmoil going about the entire world.

Oh well, thanks for reading. Till next post!

I'm back for good! (i hope)

2009-01-25T22:48:00.000+08:00

I miss blogging. That’s one fact in my think-tank that I can not eradicate no matter how persistent I am on trying to ignore this longing. It has already been almost 10 months ago since my last post and obviously a lot have happened during that lengthy hiatus, such happenings that are really worth sharing with my blog, but I failed to do so because I was too lazy to write all about them. Another factor was, I don‘t have my own internet connection anymore. It would be a pain, going to and fro the town centre just to go online, with my parents being so stingy to me these days, I hated it. But now the long wait is over. I can not ignore this burning desire forever. I’m a born writer! A writer has to write even if people don’t actually read his writings. Right?

I guess at this point, you’re already expecting me to relate a summary of the happenings that has been, but I won’t. These happenings are already a thing of the past, and relaying them to you would just take me ages to finish writing them down. Since it’s the start of the new year, why don’t we just stick to the present, for now.

At this moment, I’m typing this down in our room, my family’s room, here in Sharjah, UAE. It has been a great feeling being reunited with my family once again, since it has only happened once before when they came home in the Philippines, when I was still staying there trying to finish my studies. But right now is more special because this isn’t just another one of those vacation trips like before. I guess we’ll be together for quite a longer time, well at least that’s what I’m hoping for. It’s really great being given a chance to come back here in this country where I grew up. I guess that’s the reason why I had no difficulties trying to adjust to my new (yet not so new) environment, though a lot has really changed since the last 8 years that I’ve been gone. Not just a lot. I mean, this place just BOOMED, big time. Not that I’m not aware of it, its just a different experience when you’re actually here getting an actual view of the place. Everything here is just spectacular. Comparing the past with the present has just recently been my favourite hobby. I guess it’s a more fun thing to do when you’re able to see them directly, not just trying to visualize the whole thing. A lot has changed and everything is just spectacular. (Did I say that already?) Don’t worry coz in my succeeding posts, I think I’ll tackle some of my ventures here within the Emirates. That’d be exciting!

Aside from that, because of this nasty financial turmoil, I’m still (unfortunately) unemployed. Yet I’m still grateful because without my parents’ employers’ support, I wouldn’t be here right now. Plus, they are the one’s who referred me to Citibank, coz one of their nephews is a manager there. So a week ago, I got invited for an interview, I don’t really know how I did coz they just told me to wait for a call after a week or two but until now, I haven’t received any. If until this coming week and still no call yet, I’m afraid they’d deploy me at Emic (Emirates Metallic Industries Corp.). But I don’t want to! I wanna work in the financial district of Dubai, not within the Industrial Area. That’s why I’m ain’t giving up on hope. I just wish good news will come this coming week.

End! ‘till next post! :D

2008-03-22T23:11:00.003+08:00

I have just finished packing some of my stuff because my Mom will arrive tomorrow from Dubai and we'll go straight home to the province right after picking her up so i'm just gonna bring my packed things with me to go with the van.

Gawd, all those packing made me so exhausted. But somehow, i felt very reminiscent because while packing my school things, it reminded me a lot about my past years in college. I saw some of my test papers, quizzes, homeworks, kodigos [harhar], and projects that made me realize one thing. I'm really gonna miss my college life. Sigh. How i wish i could stay in school forever. It's already less than 2 weeks before graduation. I'm excited but at the same time sad. Buhuhhuhuhu! [Shit, ang korny!]

Nway, I'm sleepy now. Goodnight bloggie.
I'll be back on the 26th. Chao. :D

Oh and before i forget, lemme just greet you guys!

Happy Easter - Greetings - More amazing video clips are a click away

sad?

2008-03-19T22:44:00.004+08:00

I never thought i'd enjoy this much in college. In fact, this has been entirely the happiest chapter of my life and now that it's almost ending, it feels like a very vital organ in my entire system is about to get ripped out.

In this chapter, i've learned a lot of lessons from countless failures. Here, i managed to stand up after a terrible stumbler. Here i met lots of people. I mingled with them and they taught me life's valuable lessons. This is the part where i grew up maturely.

This is also the part where i met my FRIENDS who have played more than a major part in my entire college life, and who, i'm quite sure, will be my companions for life.

They are:

WENDEL JADE BOHOL JUNIO [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
He's my bestest friend among the bunch, so we call each other "bezty". He's smart. Studious. Funny. and so maarte, coz he doesn't like walking so much. He's a guy who i can really talk to about anything. He'll be graduating with honors on our graduation day, i can't be any prouder.

MITCHIE BELMONTE HONRADA [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
She's my future wife. She lives a very simple life but strives to give herself and her family only the best. She's a good singer. She loves walking. and she's very diligent and dedicated. Plus, she's also a cry-baby.

JENNIFER BASULGAN ALCAIZ [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
I love annoying this girl simply because she doesn't really get annoyed. Haha. She only dreams about living a simple happy life in the future. Yes, for her simplicity is beauty!

JEREMIAH MORDIDO ROXAS [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
He is a very nice guy. He never tried to smoke, nor drink, and doesnt like x-rated conversations. Haha. He likes playing musical instruments, politics, business, and pets. We love annoying him because he's such a pikon.

LEO MHEL ALMA BARZANA [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
Though he coudn't be counted on in terms of studies, he can still be the best friend that you need. and although he is a minister's son, he's pretty debauched, haha only a little! He's the one considered as beastfriend ng lahat, hehe.

NERISSA REYES MOSTOLES [BSBA-MARKETING]
She's my girl bestfriend, so i call her "bezzy". She's a born artist and a certified camwhore! I like her for being so independent and practical.

ANNA LORAINE MARIBBAY ANDRES [BSBA-LEGAL MANAGEMENT]
Another honor student! Yehey! She's a very fun person to be with. We never run out of topics to discuss. She's a girl who knows her priorities and knows how to perform them well.

RANILLO TARUC VERAN [BSBA-LEGAL MANAGEMENT]
Another one of my beztys. I like him for being just. and i really appreciate how he worries about us because he's the eldest.

FERLIN ATES ASINO [BSBA-BANKING AND FINANCE]
The most punctual among us all. (can you smell the sarcasm?!) Haha. She's a great dancer. She's funny, and she can always be counted on anytime, anywhere. Just not on the punctuality part. Hehe.

There. These are the people who i can never live without because they became my family, when i had none [coz my family's abroad]. They are the ones who came out of nowhere and shared their lives with mine and now it feels so sad because among all of us, im the only one who plans to work abroad right away, and it feels so terrible just thinking about me leaving. :(

Pffft!

2008-03-14T20:24:00.004+08:00

I wasn't able to watch the Bb. Pilipinas pageant that night when it was aired live at GMA-7 because i was too lazy to get out of my room. I only heard about the results the following day from my friends who actually watched it, and i felt very unsure with what i've heard. At first i just ignored it in disbelief but i fared the opposite when news from everywhere just came popping out about how Bb. Pilipinas-World, Ms. Janina San Maiguel has won the pageant. I'm sure you bloggers have already heard about how annoyingly she won despite her imperfect english and juvenile mannerisms. I know im too judmental to conclude that it was a very dumb decision the judges made to have made her won and to have been given a chance to represent our country in the Ms. World Pageant since i didnt really watch the entire show myself, but im quite sure that there even more deserving contestants in the pageant than her. I just wish that the overall Bb. Pilipinas Planning Committee chose better judges. Im so disappointed. I think we should ready ourselves to get embarassed now.

The Ruckus

2008-03-02T21:28:00.003+08:00

Classes in school yesterday were cancelled because of a major church activity, so i decided to spend the rest of the morning sleeping my head off until my cellphone began ringing and ruined my beauty sleep. I then pealed my eyes and realized i wasnt in slumberland anymore.

So reached for my phone, which was on a chair beside my bed to see what the ruckus was all about. Thinking it was the alarm, it was actually a phone call from someone i didnt know, using a landline. So with a husky voice, i answered "Hello?". "Hello. Is this dexter?". It was a lady's voice. "Yes, speaking", i replied. "Hi, this is Sherry, from RCBC HR Office". Then blah blah blah... The summary is she just told me that she had just recomputed my time record of my OJT and that my own computation was wrong. I shoud've deducted one hour from each day for my lunch break.

Great! So that means that i still lacked 12 hours more to complete my required 200. Damn. All this time i thought i was already in a breather from all the hecticness in my schedule this semester. Still drowsee as i was, i just listened as she spoke, merely saying "yes" and "ok" as confirmation that i undrstood every stated instruction. So i still have to go back to the branch were i work in to fill up my still-lacking hours to complete my OJT history.

Just great. What a wonderful disturbance now that were already busy with our clearances. Sigh.. But after all, it'll just be 2 days. But still, grrr, i'd have to wake up early for 2 consecutive days. What a bummer.

After her call, i didn't feel sleepy anymore, so feeling quite annoyed from the bad news i just heard, i stood up and decided to start my day with a mug of coffee. Somehow, the aroma and taste casted away my slight discomfort.

hurrahy!

2008-02-29T22:35:00.002+08:00

GOOD NEWS!! i got my laptop back!! hurray!! :D

now i need to do a little summary of the things i missed to blog about:

1. our final exams went quite well last week. cant wait for the results!

2. we are now working on our clearances, but we (JFINEX Officers) are on hold at the auditor's office because we haven't done liquidating our expenses yet. darn our treasurer!!

3. i'm now done with my OJT. hurray!! my last day was last feb.20. where my evaluator gave me a generous grade of 99% on my evaluation report. yehey! :D (sablay lang ng 1% sa punctuality! hehe)

4. this month we celebrated our college week and we had to organize the finance exhibits and seminars and phew! that went rather great. except for all the cramming part. but we still garnered a job well done from our dean! :D

5. this month we also attented CAMP 3 (Conference of Aspiring Marketing Professionals) at the Mall of Asia. the organizer was a professor from my school that's why we were forced to go. hehe. Pero the SM MOA-SMX looked great! i loved the venue.

6. official date of graduation is on match 28! waah! there's only less than a month more to go! buhuhuhuhu, i'm really gonna miss college.

so there. till next post. :D

sorry

2008-02-06T21:53:00.000+08:00

my laptop's gone hay-wire so i won't be online until it's fixed. really sorry for the sudden hiatus guys. i'll be back soon. :D

Moping (again!)

2008-01-23T21:48:00.000+08:00

Anak: Tay, huwag mo muna ilipat!! Di pa tapos ung marimar!

Ama: Aysus! Maghapon ka na nga nanunuod diyan eh.

Anak: Di naman. Pumasok kaya ko kanina.

Ama: Umaga lang kaya pasok mo! Kaya ako muna dito. Magaral ka na!

Anak: Kakatapos lang kaya ng midterm. Sige na tay! Sa siyete muna!

Ama: Pakita nga ng exams mo.

Anak: Wala pa. Di pa binibigay. Tay, yung sinabi ko sayo ha. Sa friday na yun.

Ama: Wala pa kong pera! (pasigaw)

Anak: Tay naman eh! Nun ko pa kaya sinabi yun! (pasigaw)

Ama: Bakit ba sumisigaw ka?! (pasigaw)

Anak: Ikaw kaya unang sumigaw! (pasigaw)

Ama: Bakit ba tuwing tayo naguusap, laging pasigaw?!

Anak: Tay naman, iniiba mo usapan eh!

-----------------------------------------------------------
Here's a father-daughter conversation i overheard from a neighbor while waiting for our gate to be unlocked by my roomate upstairs. Lesson-learned=none!! i just missed my dad. :(

Read to be inspired

2008-01-23T10:54:00.000+08:00

You'd benefit from this, im quite sure u would. :D

This was a speech of a filipino magnate, John Gokongwei at the 20th Ad Congress Nov 21, 2007

"Before I begin, I want to say please bear with me, an 81-year-old man who just
flew in from San Francisco 36 hours ago and is still suffering from jet
lag. However, I hope I will be able to say what you want to hear...
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Thank you very much for having me
here tonight to open the Ad Congress. I know how important this event is
for our marketing and advertising colleagues. My people get very excited
and go into a panic, every other year, at this time.
I would like to talk about my life, entrepreneurship, and globalization.
I would like to talk about how we can become a great nation.
You may wonder how one is connected to the other, but I promise that, as
there is truth in advertising, the connection will come.

Let me begin with a story I have told many times. My own.
I was born to a rich Chinese-Filipino family. I spent my childhood in
Cebu where my father owned a chain of movie houses, including the first
air-conditioned one outside Manila . I was the eldest of six children
and lived in a big house in Cebu's Forbes Park ..

A chauffeur drove me to school everyday as I went to San Carlos
University , then and still one of the country's top schools. I topped
my classes and had many friends. I would bring them to watch movies for
free at my father's movie houses.

When I was 13, my father died suddenly of complications due to typhoid.
Everything I enjoyed vanished instantly. My father's empire was built on
credit. When he died, we lost everything-our big house, our cars, our
business-to the banks.

I felt angry at the world for taking away my father, and for taking away
all that I enjoyed before. When the free movies disappeared, I also lost
half my friends. On the day I had to walk two miles to school for the
very first time, I cried to my mother, a widow at 32. But she said: "You
should feel lucky. Some people have no shoes to walk to school. What can
you do? Your father died with 10 centavos in his pocket."
So, what can I do? I worked.

My mother sent my siblings to China where living standards were lower.
She and I stayed in Cebu to work, and we sent them money regularly. My
mother sold her jewelry. When that ran out, we sold roasted peanuts in
the backyard of our much-smaller home. When that wasn't enough, I opened
a small stall in a palengke.

I chose one among several palengkes a few miles outside the city because
there were fewer goods available for the people there. I woke up at five
o'clock every morning for the long bicycle ride to the palengke with my
basket of goods..

There, I set up a table about three feet by two feet in size. I laid out
my goods-soap, candles, and thread-and kept selling until everything was
bought. Why these goods? Because these were hard times and this was a
poor village, so people wanted and needed the basics-soap to keep them
clean, candles to light the night, and thread to sew their clothes.
I was surrounded by other vendors, all of them much older. Many of them
could be my grandparents. And they knew the ways of the palengke far
more than a boy of 15, especially one who had never worked before.
But being young had its advantages. I did not tire as easily, and I
moved more quickly. I was also more aggressive. After each day, I would
make about 20 pesos in profit! There was enough to feed my siblings and
still enough to pour back into the business. The pesos I made in the
palengke were the pesos that went into building the business I have
today.

After this experience, I told myself, "If I can compete with people so
much older than me, if I can support my whole family at 15, I can do
anything!"

Looking back, I wonder, what would have happened if my father had not
left my family with nothing? Would I have become the man I am? Who
knows?

The important thing to know is that life will always deal us a few bad
cards. But we have to play those cards the best we can. And WE can play
to win!

This was one lesson I picked up when I was a teenager. It has been my
guiding principle ever since. And I have had 66 years to practice
self-determination. When I wanted something, the best person to depend
on was myself.

And so I continued to work. In 1943, I expanded and began trading goods
between Cebu and Manila . From Cebu , I would transport tires on a small
boat called a batel. After traveling for five days to Lucena, I would
load them into a truck for the six- hour trip to Manila .. I would end
up sitting on top of my goods so they would not be stolen! In Manila , I
would then purchase other goods from the earnings I made from the tires,
to sell in Cebu ..

Then, when WWII ended, I saw the opportunity for trading goods in
post-war Philippines . I was 20 years old. With my brother Henry, I put
up Amasia Trading which imported onions, flour, used clothing, old
newspapers and magazines, and fruits from the United States .. In 1948,
my mother and I got my siblings back from China . I also converted a
two-story building in Cebu to serve as our home, office, and warehouse
all at the same time. The whole family began helping out with the
business.

In 1957, at age 31, I spotted an opportunity in corn-starch
manufacturing. But I was going to compete with Ludo and Luym, the
richest group in Cebu and the biggest cornstarch manufacturers. I
borrowed money to finance the project. The first bank I approached made
me wait for two hours, only to refuse my loan. The second one, China
Bank, approved a P500,000-peso clean loan for me. Years later, the
banker who extended that loan, Dr. Albino Sycip said that he saw
something special in me. Today, I still wonder what that was, but I
still thank Dr. Sycip to this day.

Upon launching our first product, Panda corn starch, a price war ensued.
After the smoke cleared, Universal Corn Products was still left
standing. It is the foundation upon which JG Summit Holdings now stands.

Interestingly, the price war also forced the closure of a third
cornstarch company, and one of their chemists was Lucio Tan, who always
kids me that I caused him to lose his job. I always reply that if it
were not for me, he will not be one of the richest men in the
Philippines today.

When my business grew, and it was time for me to bring in more people-my
family, the professionals, the consultants, more employees-I knew that I
had to be there to teach them what I knew. When dad died at age 34, he
did not leave a succession plan. From that, I learned that one must
teach people to take over a business at any time. The values of hard
work that I learned from my father, I taught to my children. They
started doing jobs here and there even when they were still in high
school. Six years ago, I announced my retirement and handed the reins to
my youngest brother James and only son Lance. But my children tease me
because I still go to the office every day and make myself useful. I
just hired my first Executive Assistant and moved into a bigger and
nicer office.

Building a business to the size of JG Summit was not easy. Many
challenges were thrown my way. I could have walked away from them,
keeping the business small, but safe. Instead, I chose to fight. But
this did not mean I won each time.

By 1976, at age 50, we had built significant businesses in food products
anchored by a branded coffee called Blend 45, and agro-industrial
products under the Robina Farms brand. That year, I faced one of my
biggest challenges, and lost. And my loss was highly publicized, too.
But I still believe that this was one of my defining moments.
In that decade, not many business opportunities were available due to
the political and economic environment. Many Filipinos were already
sending their money out of the country. As a Filipino, I felt that our
money must be invested here. I decided to purchase shares in San Miguel,
then one of the Philippines ' biggest corporations. By 1976, I had
acquired enough shares to sit on its board.

The media called me an upstart. "Who is Gokongwei and why is he doing
all those terrible things to San Miguel?" ran one headline of the day.
In another article, I was described as a pygmy going up against the
powers-that-be. The San Miguel board of directors itself even aid for an
ad in all the country's top newspapers telling the public why I should
not be on the board.

On the day of reckoning, shareholders quickly filled up the auditorium
to witness the battle. My brother James and I had prepared for many
hours for this debate. We were nervous and excited at the same time.
In the end, I did not get the board seat because of the Supreme Court
Ruling. But I was able to prove to others-and to myself-that I was
willing to put up a fight. I succeeded because I overcame my fear, and
tried. I believe this battle helped define who I am today. In a twist to
this story, I was invited to sit on the board of Anscor and San Miguel
Hong Kong 5 years later. Lose some, win some.

Since then, I've become known as a serious player in the business world,
but the challenges haven't stopped coming.
Let me tell you about the three most recent challenges. In all three,
conventional wisdom bet against us. See, we set up businesses against
market Goliaths in very high-capital industries: airline, telecoms, and
beverage.

Challenge No. 1: In 1996, we decided to start an airline. At the time,
the dominant airline in the country was PAL, and if you wanted to travel
cheaply, you did not fly. You went by sea or by land.
However, my son Lance and I had a vision for Cebu Pacific: We wanted
every Filipino to fly.

Inspired by the low-cost carrier models in the United States , we
believed that an airline based on the no-frills concept would work here.
No hot meals. No newspaper. Mono-class seating. Operating with a single
aircraft type. Faster turn around time. It all worked, thus enabling
Cebu Pacific to pass on savings to the consumer.
How did we do this? By sticking to our philosophy of "low cost, great
value."

And we stick to that philosophy to this day. Cebu Pacific offers
incentives. Customers can avail themselves of a tiered pricing scheme,
with promotional seats for as low a P1. The earlier you book, the
cheaper your ticket.

Cebu Pacific also made it convenient for passengers by making online
booking available. This year, 1.25 million flights will be booked
through our website. This reduced our distribution costs dramatically.
Low cost. Great value.

When we started 11 years ago, Cebu Pacific flew only 360,000 passengers,
with 24 daily flights to 3 destinations. This year, we expect to fly
more than five million passengers, with over 120 daily flights to 20
local destinations and 12 Asian cities. Today, we are the largest in
terms of domestic flights, routes and destinations.

We also have the youngest fleet in the region after acquiring new Airbus
319s and 320s. In January, new ATR planes will arrive. These are smaller
planes that can land on smaller air strips like those in Palawan and
Caticlan. Now you don't have to take a two-hour ride by mini-bus to get
to the beach.

Largely because of Cebu Pacific, the average Filipino can now afford to
fly. In 2005, 1 out of 12 Filipinos flew within a year. In 2012, by
continuing to offer low fares, we hope to reduce that ratio to 1 out of
6. We want to see more and more Filipinos see their country and the
world!

Challenge No. 2: In 2003, we established Digitel Mobile Philippines,
Inc. and developed a brand for the mobile phone business called Sun
Cellular. Prior to the launch of the brand, we were actually involved in
a transaction to purchase PLDT shares of the majority shareholder.
The question in everyone's mind was how we could measure up to the two
telecom giants.. They were entrenched and we were late by eight years!
PLDT held the landline monopoly for quite a while, and was first in the
mobile phone industry. Globe was a younger company, but it launched
digital mobile technology here.

But being a late player had its advantages. We could now build our
platform from a broader perspective. We worked with more advanced
technologies and intelligent systems not available ten years ago. We
chose our suppliers based on the most cost-efficient hardware and
software.. Being a Johnny-come-lately allowed us to create and launch
more innovative products, more quickly.

All these provided us with the opportunity to give the consumers a
choice that would rock their world. The concept was simple. We would
offer Filipinos to call and text as much as they want for a fixed
monthly fee. For P250 a month, they could get in touch with anyone
within the Sun network at any time. This means great savings of as much
as 2/3 of their regular phone bill! Suddenly, we gained traction. Within
one year of its introduction, Sun hit one million customers.
Once again, the paradigm shifts - this time in the telecom industry.
Sun's 24/7 Call and Text unlimited changed the landscape of mobile-phone
usage.

Today, we have over 4 million subscribers and 2000 cell sites around the
archipelago. In a country where 97% of the market is pre-paid, we
believe we have hit on the right strategy.
Sun Cellular is a Johnny-come-lately, but it's doing all right. It is a
third player, but a significant one, in an industry where Cassandras
believed a third player would perish. And as we have done in the realm
of air travel, so have we done in the telecom world: We have changed the
marketplace.

In the end, it is all about making life better for the consumer by
giving them choices.

Challenge No. 3: In 2004, we launched C2, the green tea drink that would
change the face of the local beverage industry - then, a playground of
cola companies. Iced tea was just a sugary brown drink served bottomless
in restaurants. For many years, hardly was there any significant product
innovation in the beverage business.

Admittedly, we had little experience in this area. Universal Robina
Corporation is the leader in snack foods but our only background in
beverage was instant coffee. Moreover, we would be entering the
playground of huge multinationals. We decided to play anyway.
It all began when I was in China in 2003 and noticed the immense
popularity of bottled iced tea. I thought that this product would have
huge potential here. We knew that the Philippines was not a traditional
tea-drinking country since more familiar to consumers were colas in
returnable glass bottles. But precisely, this made the market ready for
a different kind of beverage. One that refreshes yet gives the health
benefits of green tea. We positioned it as a "spa" in a bottle. A drink
that cools and cleans...thus, C2 was born.

C2 immediately caught on with consumers.. When we launched C2 in 2004,
we sold 100,000 bottles in the first month. Three years later, Filipinos
drink around 30 million bottles of C2 per month. Indeed, C2 is in a good
place.

With Cebu Pacific, Sun Cellular, and C2, the JG Summit team took control
of its destiny. And we did so in industries where old giants had set the
rules of the game. It's not that we did not fear the giants. We knew we
could have been crushed at the word go. So we just made sure we came
prepared with great products and great strategies. We ended up changing
the rules of the game instead.

There goes the principle of self-determination, again. I tell you, it
works for individuals as it does for companies. And as I firmly believe,
it works for nations.

I have always wondered, like many of us, why we Filipinos have not lived
up to our potential. We have proven we can. Manny Pacquiao and Efren
Bata Reyes in sports. Lea Salonga and the UP Madrigal Singers in
performing arts. Monique Lhuillier and Rafe Totenco in fashion. And
these are just the names made famous by the media. There are many more
who may not be celebrities but who have gained respect on the world
stage.

But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs
before the world. We must create Filipino brands for the global market
place.

If we want to be philosophical, we can say that, with a world-class
brand, we create pride for our nation. If we want to be practical, we
can say that, with brands that succeed in the world, we create more jobs
for our people, right here.

Then, we are able to take part in what's really important-giving our
people a big opportunity to raise their standards of living, giving them
a real chance to improve their lives.

We can do it. Our neighbors have done it. So can we.
In the last 54 years, Korea worked hard to rebuild itself after a world
war and a civil war destroyed it. From an agricultural economy in 1945,
it shifted to light industry, consumer products, and heavy industry in
the '80s. At the turn of the 21st century, the Korean government focused
on making Korea the world's leading IT nation. It did this by grabbing
market share in key sectors like semiconductors, robotics, and
biotechnology.

Today, one remarkable Korean brand has made it to the list of Top 100
Global Brands: Samsung. Less then a decade ago, Samsung meant nothing to
consumers. By focusing on quality, design, and innovation, Samsung
improved its products and its image. Today, it has surpassed the
Japanese brand Sony. Now another Korean brand, LG Collins, is following
in the footsteps of Samsung. It has also broken into the Top 100 Global
Brands list.

What about China ? Who would have thought that only 30 years after
opening itself up to a market economy, China would become the world's
fourth largest economy? Goods made in China are still thought of as
cheap. Yet many brands around the world outsource their manufacturing to
this country. China 's own brands-like Lenovo, Haier, Chery QQ, and
Huawei-are fast gaining ground as well. I have no doubt they will be the
next big electronics, technology and car brands in the world.
Lee Kwan Yu's book "From Third World to First" captures Singapore 's
aspiration to join the First World .. According to the book, Singapore
was a trading post that the British developed as a nodal point in its
maritime empire. The racial riots there made its officials determined to
build a "multiracial society that would give equality to all citizens,
regardless of race, language or religion."

When Singapore was asked to leave the Malaysian Federation of States in
1965, Lee Kwan Yew developed strategies that he executed with
single-mindedness despite their being unpopular. He and his cabinet
started to build a nation by establishing the basics: building
infrastructure, establishing an army, weeding out corruption, providing
mass housing, building a financial center. Forty short years after,
Singapore has been transformed into the richest South East Asian country
today, with a per capita income of US$32,000.

These days, Singapore is transforming itself once more. This time it
wants to be the creative hub in Asia , maybe even the world. More and
more, it is attracting the best minds from all over the world in
filmmaking, biotechnology, media, and finance. Meantime, Singaporeans
have also created world-class brands: Banyan Tree in the hospitality
industry, Singapore Airlines in the Airline industry and Singapore
Telecoms in the telco industry.

I often wonder: Why can't the Philippines , or a Filipino, do this?
Fifty years after independence, we have yet to create a truly global
brand. We cannot say the Philippines is too small because it has 86
million people. Switzerland , with 9 million people, created Nestle.
Sweden , also with 9 million people, created Ericsson. Finland , even
smaller with five million people, created Nokia. All three are major
global brands, among others.

Yes, our country is well-known for its labor, as we continue to export
people around the world. And after India , we are grabbing a bigger
chunk of the pie in the call-center and business-process-outsourcing
industries. But by and large, the Philippines has no big industrial
base, and Filipinos do not create world-class products.
We should not be afraid to try-even if we are laughed at. Japan ,
laughed at for its cars, produced Toyota .. Korea , for its electronics,
produced Samsung. Meanwhile, the Philippines ' biggest companies 50
years ago-majority of which are multinational corporations such as
Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and Unilever Philippines , for
example-are still the biggest companies today. There are very few big,
local challengers.

But already, hats off to Filipino entrepreneurs making strides to
globalize their brands.

Goldilocks has had much success in the Unites States and Canada , where
half of its customers are non-Filipinos. Coffee-chain Figaro may be a
small player in the coffee world today, but it is making the leap to the
big time. Two Filipinas, Bea Valdez and Tina Ocampo, are now selling
their Philippine-made jewelry and bags all over the world. Their labels
are now at Barney's and Bergdorf's in the U.S. and in many other
high-end shops in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East ..
When we started our own foray outside the Philippines 30 years ago, it
wasn't a walk in the park. We set up a small factory in Hong Kong to
manufacture Jack and Jill potato chips there. Today, we are all over
Asia . We have the number-one-potato-chips brand in Malaysia and
Singapore .. We are the leading biscuit manufacturer in Thailand , and a
significant player in the candy market in Indonesia . Our Aces cereal
brand is a market leader in many parts of China . C2 is now doing very
well in Vietnam , selling over 3 million bottles a month there, after
only 6 months in the market. Soon, we will launch C2 in other South East
Asian markets.

I am 81 today. But I do not forget the little boy that I was in the
palengke in Cebu .. I still believe in family. I still want to make
good. I still don't mind going up against those older and better than
me. I still believe hard work will not fail me. And I still believe in
people willing to think the same way.

Through the years, the market place has expanded: between cities,
between countries, between continents. I want to urge you all here to
think bigger. Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion
Asians? And that's just to start you off. Because there is still the
world beyond Asia . When you go back to your offices, think of ways to
sell and market your products and services to the world. Create
world-class brands.

You can if you really tried. I did. As a boy, I sold peanuts from my
backyard. Today, I sell snacks to the world.
I want to see other Filipinos do the same.
Thank you and good evening once again."

there. it's quite lengthy but i have to say it is worth it.

I wanna disappear

2008-01-19T19:55:00.000+08:00

There are times in my life when i just seem to hush down and become silent all of a sudden, amidst the joviality of the people around me. Its not that i've encountered a problem or something that just took my mood away, but those are just the times when i just wanna listen, and this is the perfect time to do so.

I like listening more than i do in talking. Sometimes, some things are better left unsaid, than become tactless enough to afflict a person.

I need a moment of silence. I've been too brassy this past few days.

Sorry for this lame post. I just wanna mope sometimes.

what's hot?!

2008-01-18T02:00:00.001+08:00

i noticed a lot of people trying to solve the rubik's cube lately. everywhere i go, there seem to be at least one person twisting and turning a cube made up of six colors. xempre kelangan din mag-move with the flow. hehe.

here's me after an hour and a half trying to solve the top and 1st layer of the cube!! eureka, i solved it! but i've yet to learn how to deal with the remaining layers. and that is already set for tomorrow. right i gotta get a shut-eye. by the way, i just borrowed the cube. i'll buy one for myself when my next allowance arrives. :D

oh, you should try learning how to solve this puzzle too. it's really challenging, a bit gruelling at first but once you get used to it, it gets really fun! !hehe, till here.
goodnight guys. :D

TaGallore!

2008-01-15T21:55:00.000+08:00

Sorry to all of those who tagged me. Ngayon ko lang magagawa, kasi walang magawa. Hehehe. :D

First was a tag is from Kuya Ely.
This one's called "The Yearend Meme".

Here's the rule: Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all.

1. At what age do you wish to marry? Before I turn 30

2. What color do you like most? Green and Black

3. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one? I love you

4. Where is the place that you want to go the most? Japan

5. Which part of you that you hate the most? Height

6. When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do? Think of happy thoughts

7. What are you afraid to lose the most? Hope

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do? Invest into securities

9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her? Or would you keep it to yourself and observe from afar? Observe from afar then confess if the timing is right

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you. Smart, Practical, and Silent. :D

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half? Loyalty

12. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most? Taken my studies for granted during my early years in college

13. Which type of person do you hate the most? Ugly inside and out. [me too!]

14. What is your ambition? To become filthy rich! to help the needy. :D

15. What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad? First impression

16. If you had one wish what would you wish for? World Peace!

17. How would you celebrate new year? with a smile on my face

18. Name one of your body part your hubby/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend tells you he adores. Nose, lips.

19. It would be 2008 in a few days, do you have a new year’s resolution? Become more responsible! hehe

20. If your better half is cheating on you, will you forgive him or her? Yes, i would.

Since it already waaay passed new year, i wont be tagging anyone anymore.
------------------------------------------

This second one is from Kev.

1. Name 1 thing you do everyday:
- Eat

2. Name 2 things you wish you could learn.
- play the piano
- become fluent in nipongo

3. Name 3 things that remind you of your childhood.
- action figures
- lego
- sinturon pag pinapalo. :D

4. Name 4 things you love to eat but rarely do.
- My mom's Cheese Cake with cherries on top
- My mom's American Home-Made Apple Pie
- Mangosteen
- Guyabano

5. Name 5 things that make you feel good.
- Good Food
- Surprises
- Iced Coffee
- Regular Bowel Movement. :D
- friends

Here ill tag Ely, Rob, and Reyn.

--------------------------------------------

and this last one's from Rob.

Rules:

Each player of this game starts with 6 random things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in their blog their own 6 random things and state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. These 6 people will do the same thing.

Here it goes...

I love eating cakes!
I hate waiting in long queues.
I love the color green!
I always sleep on either side of the bed.
I wanna be a doctor, but sadly, i cant.
I used to be scared of steel bridges/overpasses. whatever theyre called. whussy! good thing i got rid of the fear already hehe.

6 people's too many. I'll tag only three. Hehe. Komski, Icka, and Arjay.
-------------------------------------------
GOODNIGHT PEOPLE AND TAKE CARE ALWAYS!! HEHE.

drama drama drama

2008-01-11T21:25:00.000+08:00

medyo madrama tong post na to kaya wag nyo nalang basahin hehe,.
-------------------------------------------------------
dati nung bago ako magmove dito sa pilipinas from u.a.e para i-continue ang studies ko, i felt really happy because i would be living on my own from then on. wala ng sesermon sakin, wala ng makekealam sa mga ginagawa ko, "isn't life so perfect without parents?", sabi ko pa sa sarili ko. si papa ang kasama kong umuwi dito nun. umuwi siya para i-build na yung bahay namin. after 5 months, natapos na ang pinatayo nyang house, then bumalik na siya sa u.a.e. para magtrabaho na ulit. naiwan na kami ng kapatid ko dun sa province, ung aunt ko who is my mom's sister ang nagaalaga samin. at first, i thought madali and masaya ang walang kasamang magulang. days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, only then did i feel how it was to be alone. from then on naging introvert na ko. i started to feel uncomfortable mingling with other people. i've secluded myself from other people's company, because i'm better left alone. dun din ako naanoy sa little sister ko kasi sobrang kulit nya. natural bata. at dahil immature pa din ako nun, i hated her so much. nung grumaduate ako ng highschool and ung sis ko grumaduate ng kindergarden, umuwi si mama para kunin ung kapatid ko. since i decided to study here in manila, parang na-de-ja-vu ako ulit. naiisip ko nanaman na "yes!" tuluyan ng walang manenermon sakin kasi malalayo narin sa tita ko. hehe. ewan ko ba kung bakit i hate being reprimanded so much, maybe because i was a lot nicer than the usual kids around me. :D
then un, college gave me a blast. i got rid of my beig anti-social because of real friends that started to come my way. and sumali pa ko sa isang choral-performing group. akalain mo un?! ako?! nakasali sa ganun?! hehe.. pero despite all of these, malungkot parin ako, kasi hindi ko kasama ang family ko. once a year ko nalang sila makasama tuwing uuwi ang isa sa kanila kasama kapatid ko, nung june last year lang nangyari un, na nakasama ko silang tatlo, umuwi sila because my dad was sick with kidney stones kaya inuwi nila dito para dito nalang siya magpagaling.dito din nagcelebrate ng birthday ung kapatid ko last july, i got really drunk that time kaya hindi ko nacontrol emotions ko, i cried so much to my mom, wanting to tell her how much i was so happy to be with them, pero hindi ko parin nasabi un, iyak lang ako ng iyak habang niyayakap nya ko. problema ko din kasi, hindi ako expressive na tao, i wanna let them know how much i miss them and love them, pero something unknown seems to deter me in doing so. kaya ayun. ewan ko ba kung bakit ko naishare ito sainyo ngayon. nakapakinig lang ako ng malungkot na piano music, naisulat ko na ito. hehe. gusto ko lang naman malaman nila na mahal na mahal ko sila kahit hindi ko ito maiparamdam. na ginagawa ko ang lahat para lang hindi ko sila bigyan ng sakit ng ulo, at para masuklian ang mga paghihirap nila sa pagtatrabaho. un lang. . . haay ang lungkot. midterms na kasi. kainis!

D-Wars

2008-01-09T22:44:00.000+08:00

I just finished watching "Dragon-Wars" on DVD. And its just so wow, Im giving a two-thumbs-up for its great effects. The concept is quite good. It's based on a Korean Legend about serpents that could turn into dragons once a chosen female sacrifices herself in giving her powers to that serpent. But the acting was so bad, I got turned-off amid its awesome effects. But overall, it's still a must-see. Here are its movie posters!

Hot!

2008-01-06T17:46:00.000+08:00

This girl is so hot and talented, I just had to post her videos on my blog. Hehe. Have fun watching. Her name's Marie Digby by the way. To check the rest of her videos on youtube. Click here!

Yup. Im officially back from hiatus. Yehey!! Hehehe. :D

Break

2008-01-02T19:24:00.000+08:00

This is my first post for this year and it's pathetic how i'm having vague ideas on what to write about. I've been thinking of relating to you about how i spent my vacation and how i celebrated Christmas and New Year but i thought it'd just bore you. So i'll be back after a short hiatus, i promise. :D

Bye People!!

2007-12-23T21:26:00.000+08:00

I just finished packing my stuff to bring with me. here's how my room looked like while i was packing.

Lotsa things to bring home! Inside the bag are my [stinky] dirty clothes and bed covers.

A bag full of gifts for my nieces and nephews.

Movie junkie i am, these are the DVDS i bought since the start of this semester!! Im bringing all of them home!

So there they are.
My bus leaves at 11:15 PM so i gotta go people! im gonna miss all o' you! i'll be back after the holidays. And please comment on my previous post too. hehe. Take Care Y'all. Happy Holidays!! :D

Short Post

2007-12-22T00:53:00.000+08:00

Im really very sorry for the sudden hiatus. i got quite busy with a lot of things in school and at work. i miss ur blogs. and i promise to visit before this week ends. bye. :D

Update [Posted: December 22, 2007]

2007-12-16T11:06:00.001+08:00

Last saturday was a blessed birthday for me. First, because it was our church's thanksgiving day. And second, even though my family's not with me, my friends sure kept me company. We went to intramuros and there we spent some time laughing with each other and sharing stories about things we missed, stuff we don't have time to do nowadays. I also attented a party of our bank last december 7. Just 2 or 3 blocks from our branch. I had a blast. It was really fun. There were lots of food, beer, games, and songs from the videoke machine! I also met lots of people that night. Previous business managers of our branch, loyal clients, and families of the bank employees. I also received a lot of gifts this month! Hehe. I took a picture of them just to show you. [Haha such a show-off am i?!]
Here are some of them and more to come. . . i hope! haha. We also celebrate our department's [banking and finance] Yearend Party last Wednesday, the 19th. We, the organizers, weren't expecting it to be really frolicsome and successful after all the procrastinations we did in the preparations. Check my multiply for the pictures!

One of my bestfriends, Ranie, had his 21st birthday yesterday, the 21st. but celebrated it just this afternoon at his girlfriend's house, our ka-berks as well. And phew! Until now i still feel bloated after eating a lot. Here are the pictures:

no birthday is complete without a birthday cake!!

here's the debutant blowing his candles after making his wish hehe.

here's me blowing the candle. i requested them to let me blow too because the last time i blew candles on my birthday cake was soo ages ago!! Late birthday treat! :D

here's the pack! :D

This month has given me the blast. I love DECEMBERS!! :D Im going home tomorrow to my province so i'll be on a week long hiatus. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you Guys! Enjoy the Holidays! :D

Yehy! :D

2007-12-12T15:47:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday was me and mitchie's 7th monthsary and what other better ways to celebrate monthsaries than spending the entire day together, eating out, and going to watch a movie on the big screen. I chose Gateway Mall for the venue, since it has already beeen ages since my last visit to that place. So we met at my apartment. [yup! she was the one who picked me up! haha!] then we went on our way. First we ate lunch at Teriyaki Boy! Oh well, here are some pictures. I'll just describe them since its better to relate it that way :D

The Search for 12 Teriyaki Boys in a paper placemat!

Mitch trying to locate the Teriyaki Boys

My Order, forgot the name! Haha, but its deeeelicious!

Here's Mitch's . Forgot the name too but it was delicious just the same! :D

Hanged-out at Fully-Booked after watching "The Golden Compass".

We decided to do something different that day so what we have decided was to walk our way home. Yes. Its a crazy thing to do with all the public vehicles congesting EDSA, but we did it for fun. And besides, we really needed to do something unforgetable. So we walked from Farmers Plaza Cubao all the way to the Quezon City Hall where we finally decided to take a rest. I wanted to take some shots along the way but that was just too risky.

At the City Hall we saw a group of Police Cars nicely parked in the middle of the entrance. I dont really know why those were there but actually looked like this: Neat, huh?!

Took a picture of her while we were resting.

Below is us.

After resting at that place for like 15 minutes, we went back on the road, [walked, per se]. We made a curved turn to UP just to get out from the uber polluted highway. There i walked her to her boarding house, then i went home myself. My feet were all sore when i got home so i soaked 'em in lukewarm water with some salt in it, then massaged them with baby oil after. Relaxing. :D
The End! :D

Tagged!

2007-12-08T09:31:00.001+08:00

Since i've nothing to write about and my birthday's comin soon, i think ima do this tag.

_*What to do:
1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
3. Pick your month of birth.
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Write or give comments how or why.
6. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
7. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!

I was born on the 15th of December on the year 1988, which makes me 18, but soon to be 19! So here are the traits for the month of December:

Loyal and generous: Yes and Yes. If you're my friend, i mean a really good one, expect some intense fidelity from me. Generous? Very much. I really really love to help people especially the needy. But sometimes helping could be dettered because i am not rich, and i promise that if i become one, expect me to help eleviate poverty from this 3rd-world country.

Sexy: No. Haha. Im not really an uber vain person.

Patriotic: No. im not very proud of our country because of its present status.

Active in games and interactions: No. Im a very boring person and i hate interactions. im pretty much of an introvert.

Impatient and hasty: Yes. I really hate waiting, queues, and timely activities.

Ambitious: Yes. I dream of doing a lot of things.

Influential in organizations: Not that much because i kinda lack those leadership traits.

Fun to be with: If we're really close, yes, but if not, then NOT! hehe

Loves to socialize: No, as i said earlier, im pretty much of an introvert.

Loves praises: Yes. Alleluia. Hehe

Loves attention: No. I dont really like it when im being mentioned in a crowd.

Loves to be loved: Yes and No. I love the people who loves me, but not to the extent of uber mushy-ness.

Honest and trustworthy: No, not very much honest. Im pretty a liar myself. Trustworthy, yes. Your secrets are safe with me, like a vault in a bank.

Not pretending: Im pretend a lot and i kinda lie a lot. Hehe

Short tempered: I used to be, but i think i already know how to control it.

Changing personality: Yes, i can be funny and serious at times depending on my mood. Im pretty moody myself.

Not egotistic: Yes, im not. Honest.!

Take high pride in oneself: No. Im the nicest person on earth. If you've made me mad, just tell me your sorry then thats over.

Hates restrictions: Yes. Im a person who knows what his doing most of the time.

Loves to joke & Good sense of humor: Yes. Yes. Heheh. Usually corny at times, but who cares?!

Logical: Yes. I dont really view things in a really complicated way. Life is simple.

The Months and their corresponding Traits:

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

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Im not tagging anyone this time. So feel free to tag yourself if you read this. :D

Another Text Messaging Service

2007-12-02T20:37:00.000+08:00

Now, there's a better way to get news from
the Department of Education

Haha, i found this in front of a public school yesterday and i just wanna share it with you guys. Its kinda unfair because this service is only for the Elementary and High School. Wish there was also a service like this for us college students as well. Hehe.

The Practicum Class

2007-11-29T21:23:00.000+08:00

In our practicum class this afternoon, we had a sort of an open forum. Here, our college dean, also our adviser for that subject, invited two ministers of the gospel. One is a medical doctor, and one is a psychologist. This conference was organized for us, graduating students, to be able to ask questions that we are very reluctant to share. Here, we students wrote down our inquiries on a piece of paper, and then gave them to our dean to read them aloud and for our guests to answer them. One question was asked by a Marketing student regarding when the right time for a couple to have safe sex was and if the 7-days-before-and-after-the-girl's-menstruation-period-safesex was true. This question was answered first by the psychologist whose answer riveted in my mind. His answer goes:

"The safest time to have sex is when you already already have in your finger a wedding ring and you're doing it with a better half."

Yeah. he is so right about that.

The second answer that really captivated me was when he answered the question about true love. His answer goes:

"There are three components of true love. One is passion wherein there is fondness in your reletionship. This is where a person becomes sweet, always longing to make his loved one put a smile on her face. Another one is intimacy. This where you pull out all the affection and closeness for the one you love. Last one is commitment. This is where you make promises to each other that matter what comes forth, the two of you will remain together as one. Remember that it is isn't true love when one of these three are missing."

I learned a lot that afternoon. But these two are ones i'll surely keep in my mind.

What i want for Chistmas. Or my Birthday!!

2007-11-25T22:12:00.000+08:00

I've been a POKEMON fan ever since it went out on the market about 12 years ago. And since it has a new set of installment, i wanna have one! [its the game i'm talking 'bout] But there's a just tiny problem that's hindering me on getting my hands on it. Yes. One is that i'm broke. And second is that this game is developed and published to be played using the new Nintendo DS, which i dont have [yet!]. And now, I want them BOTH, the GAME plus the CONSOLE!!!!! I wish someone out there could lend me some dough. or just simply give me these two things for Christmas or my Birthday [which is due next month!!] Buhuhuhuhuhu!! :(

These what i'm talkin' bout. It's the Jap.Version but the English Versions are already out.
Cute Bonsly and Pachirisu in a battle in the image above.

OOhhh, this gaming console is beatiful!!
especially this LIMITED EDITION
NINTENDO DS LITE POKEMON DIAMOND AND PEARL!!

BEAUTIPULLL................. I want YOU. [desperately!]

The Underground Pass

2007-11-22T09:30:00.000+08:00

I accompanied Neri at the Quezon City Hall for her SYDP renewal about 2 weeks ago and we found out that the undergroundpass in front of it was already open for use! So here's what we found!

Oh well, at least now i know that our taxes are being put to good use. [at least SOME of OUR taxes, that is.] hehehe. [special thanks to my friend, Neri, who modeled for the pictures above :D]

The Cyclone

2007-11-19T17:46:00.000+08:00

I just read the news on yahoo about the cyclone that just hit Bangladesh, and that the death tolls have already reached a total number of 2,407 people found dead in the storm's aftermath, while the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, warned that the toll could even hit 10,000 once rescuers reach other affected sites.

It's really sad to hear about tragic news like this. It breaks my heart when families get bereaved when a family member dies. But this one's even more despairing. A really violent storm, such as this one, could even wipe out an entire family tree. Like what happened to Dhalan Mridha and to his family. They were warned about the high cyclone but they just decided to ignore about it. Now, he has lost his wife, mother, and two children which he found them dead stuck in a battered bush along the coast

Right now, he must be feeling such tormenting agony to see the result of his negligence.

I hope that we could all learn from Mr. Dhalan Mridha's experience. Life is really unpredictable. So we ought to live our lives by being really cautious to our environment. From all the storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other fortuitous events that our world has experienced, it is really impossible to stop them from happening. Others say its all our fault, our negligence that triggered all of these calamities to happen, and now its already too late to change everything that we've done that destoyed the natural harmony and balance of our world. Nothing's left for us to do but feel repentive and help, by our own little ways, to restore what's left for this world to be restored.

The worst is that we don't even have a clue on when our loved ones will be taken away from us. Or even when our own lives will be taken. I just suggest that we stop hating our lives because we ourselves can really make our own existence worth it in this world. There are a lot to do here. Lots of people to share memories with. And lots of instances that we can lend a hand with. Lets not question our existence anymore. Let's just thank God we're alive. All that we need to do now is to make a difference. A positive one, that is.

LOVE AND HATE

2007-11-16T15:09:00.000+08:00

I'M LOVIN' KYLE XY SERIES

IM HATING...

additional 50 Cents for the minimum fare=BIG BURDEN!!!!

Wala Lang!

2007-11-11T17:39:00.000+08:00

Last night i had another dream. Of all the dreams i had that recurs in my mind, this one appears to be the most different. I don't literally dream of my endeavors in life, but this dream made me want to make it happen for real.

In that dream, i awoke in a place so unfamiliar yet so consolatory. It was a place where i've never to in my entire life. The most apparent sight in this place was a rainbow squinting at me over a not-so-far mountain to my left with its vibrant colors giving me a jolt of inexplainable bliss during that time of figuring out where i was. I was sitting on a beautiful lawn that was all over the place and when i looked up to see the sky, i saw leaves and branches bearing the most beautiful red apples i ever saw in my life. Yes, i was under a tree. An only tree, that is, when there are no other tress in sight except for this one. Instead, there were flowers when i looked back over my shoulder. Different colors of flowers which i've never known of. It was a really beautiful sight with the sky so blue up above me and the sun lurking over the clouds. I also noticed a shallow flowing river to my right that looked to clean and very safe to drink.

I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the most freshest air ever. And then pop. I awoke from my cellphone alarm. And there i was on my bed inside my boring old and squalid room once again. sigh the part i hate a lot about sleeping is waking up before a beautiful dream.

Tagged!

2007-11-04T22:38:00.000+08:00

Kuya Ely tagged me and ahm, sorry, it took me quite a while to do this.

The rules:
1. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
2. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
3. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs.

Eight random facts about me:

1. I'm a certified K-Zoner. I started reading this kiddie magazine since 3rd year High School. Been borrowing them from my best friend, Sam. and i first thought of collecting them when i was already in college. I don't really know why i got hooked to it. I guess it really just fills up my being [still] a kid at heart.

that's me holding my November ish

2. I was a member of our university's choir, the Glee Club, and my choir voice is bass! I miss singing and all the blending stuff, but i had to leave because the rehearsals were in conflict with my class schedule. sigh...

3. I lived in Sharjah, UAE for 8 years when i was a kid. My parents took me there when I was 4 years old and i went back here in Philippines at the age of 12. Now my 9-year-old sister is with them there, leaving me here all alone. Huhuhuh : (

4. I'm a lover of food and i can absolutely gobble up anything as long as they're edibly safe and tasty! additional trivia: Being a ''promdi'' or ''from the province'', i already ate a few exotic foods, such snake, frog, monitor lizard (bayawak), field crickets, and ant eggs (itlog ti buos) to name a few. these foods are best for liquour snaks (pulutan). nyum!! but all this lovely food keeps ruining my diet. i mean, i usually promise myself to maintain an ideal weight, but jeeez, i really can't help myself.

5. I've been wearing glasses since my 1st year in HS because of impaired vision. Right now my vision has a grade of -3.50 on both eyes. tsk tsk.

6. I am a baptised member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

7. I first learned how to use the internet during my first year in college. Yeah. I was really ignorant before I was taught how to use it, by a good friend.
8. I dream of becoming a biologist, chemist, writer, lawyer, physician, t.v. host, pianist, and a choirmaster someday. yeah i dream real big.
Now to tag some people. I tag Chio, Dex, Gerome, Gian Paolo, Komzki, Lexi, and Vinch.

OMGWTF?!!

2007-11-02T20:31:00.001+08:00

Who in the world could stand this?! This is torture.!

2007-10-31T23:05:00.000+08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN YOU GUYZ.

HERE PLAY THIS. THIS ONE'S FUN!! :D

----------------------------------------------
TO COMMEMORATE THE SEASON OF FRIGHT, i'd like to share to all of you guys my top 10 scariest movies of time. so if your in for the chills, better check these movies out. (oh yes im a lover of horror movies)

10TH:
ALIEN (1979)this sci-fi flick is the spookiest i've ever seen. just look at that thing, looks very real and deadly. especially when you get to watch it. goes with the tagline, "in space, no one can hear you scream".

9TH:
THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)this is a very remarkable suspense movie with a very good twist at the end. plus very good acting by the kid who played the role of a boy with a gift to communicate with souls. goes with the tagline "Not every gift is a blessing".

8TH:
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. (1984)
Freddy Kreuger is a goofy type, but also very very scary. he tortures people in their dreams which makes this movie's plot very original. i think the song really gives me the goosebumps, "one, two, Freddie's comin' for you".

7TH:
JAWS (1975)great speed? great strength? great teeth? totally a perfect chomping machine. lotsa lotsa blood. yummy.

6TH:
THE SHINING (1980)
this one made all the hairs in my body stand all throughout the movie. all the scary parts kept me at the very edge of my seat. (xempre! scary nga db?!) sus
5TH:
DISTURBIA (2002)this movie isn't entirely scary, but i could still consider it as a perfect nail-biter. very thrilling and very good acting from its actors.

4TH:
JU-ON (2003)
the second best of my fave asian horror flicks. very chilling. the best scenes here are the "under the blanket scene" and the "stair-crawling scene". .

3RD:
THE EXORCIST (1973)
this is unbelievably a very frightening movie to watch. in fact, it still continues to frighten its audiences until today. truely a classic.
2ND:
HALLOWEEN (1978)
a must-see. dont know if they've done any better at the new remake. but i think this is still the best.

1ST:
RINGU (1998)
watch this and you'll feel like Sadako's stalking you all the time.

----------
THE END.
HAVE A SCARY HALLOWEEN.

Election Madness

2007-10-29T09:16:00.000+08:00

Haaaaay. ang dugyot noh? hope the candidates would clean up all of these after the Barangay elections.

Back from Vacation

2007-10-26T06:08:00.000+08:00

weeh im back. phew its been a week. hehe. waaah i miss my province. there were lotsa food so i think i grew even bloated again!!

oh yea meet my newest niece! Baby Angelica! She's half-Filipino and Half-Iranian. And she just turned a month old yesterday!! so cute...

Anyhoo. i did nothing else during my stay there except that ive been having those DVD Marathons. here are those that i've watched and enjoyed.

SHAMAN KING

POKEMON DIAMOND AND PEARL

HEROES SEASON 1
DEATH NOTE

i ranked them up according to the series i liked best. and yep i enjoyed Death Note in deed. its the best animé ive watched so far and its very amazing how it was inteligently made. Too bad it has only a total of 37 episodes, so its really bitin. can't wait to watch its two movies though.
----------
today's our enrolment day so i have to prepare myself now. i'll just catch some zzzs later when i get home. chao.

Random.

2007-10-15T22:19:00.000+08:00

I've been really bored this weekend from being all bummy because those two entire days were spent by just staying inside my apartment doing nothing that even defines the word "productive" hehe. [well, i've been watching Death Note ever since my free time and i have had a really great time watching it. it's really the best!! this, i can say, was the only thing being productive that i did during my "hibernation" :D ] that was why i felt really glad when monday has come because yesterday was the day when i went out to see the world once again! [parang preso noh?!] well, to tell you bluntly, we just went lang naman to the Banko Sentral Ng Pilipinas to attend the 9th Inter-Collegiate Finance Competition (ICFC). [Options, Futures, Spot Rate, Forward Rate, Free-Floating Rate, Stocks, Bonds, Dividends, Diversifiable and Non-Diversifiable Risks. and so on and so fort] it has been participated by 20 local colleges and universities in the entire country, including my own school, plus one (1) foreign school called Singapore Institute of Management. We didn't get to finish the entire program. We only stayed until the end of 3rd round, out of 4 rounds that is. and yep. we didn't bag any prize. but at least our school made it to the finals. here are pictures. hehe [show off?!]

My Sticker. i didn't stick it on my shirt for remembrance hehe.

The contestants on the stage.

Me, Wendel, and Tine. Jayjay took this shot. We were the only 4th-years to attend.

-----------------------------

We already had our photos taken for graduation. and i cant wait to have them! hehe. i might also ask them if i could get a soft copy of the pictures so that it would be easier to post them on the net.

I'll be going home to my province on thursday so i would definitely be on hiatus until i come back next week.

Im already tired but i still have to fix my resumé for tomorrow where we'd start our practicum hunting. best of luck. till next post. chao.

--------------------------

Oh yeah. i almost forgot about the desktop meme. hehe. here's how my desktop looks like.

as you can see im using Windows Vista as my OS. Some folders are there for easy document searching. plus the sidebar, which consists of a weather report [of course which tells me if need to bring an umbrella hehe tamad kasi ko magdala] and a clock of course to keep track of the time and also a useful calendar and of course a slideshow of pictures i could stare at at times of boredom. there. i now tag anyone who's reading this, i sure hope someone reads this, somehow hehehe. ayt. chao for now guys.

2007-10-14T12:38:00.000+08:00

1,303,260

Free Online Dating from JustSayHi

i got this one from Vincent.
of course the quantity of germs is inaccurate but its still worth a try.

Glad to be back

2007-10-11T23:08:00.000+08:00

I feel very sorry because i've long neglected my blog. sorry for the past posts that really suck.

Im happy right now because its the start of my semestrial break. and i've made it through this sem alive! hehe. at least a can still consider myself sane after all those hard work. Holy Shit. which reminds me of one thing i need to ask you people. Does studying hard make someone a Nerd?! coz i don't think so. I love studying and learning new and substantial things and i so much pity those students who lack will to learn. Darn. i got pretty annoyed when a friend called me that. well, if that's gona be the case then don't make fun of nerds because someday, your gonna be into serving them as your boss in some office in the near future.

so much for that.

right now, there's nothing to do but to get my back all achy from lyin' on my bed theh entire day dozing off. hahaha. i just love holidays! but i still miss school.

We'll be working on finding a bank for our On-the-Job Training (OJT), which will start next sem, next week. goodluck to us and happy vacation everyone!! :D

*pahabol!!

Eid Mubarak to the Islamic Communities around the world.

WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES??

2007-10-05T00:56:00.000+08:00

The economy of the Philippines is 57.4 percent free, according to our 2007 assessment, which makes it the world's 97th freest economy. Its overall score is 0.2 percentage point lower than last year, partially reflecting new methodological detail. The Philippines is ranked 16th out of 30 countries in the Asia–Pacific region, and its overall score is slightly lower than the regional average.

The Philippines scores well in fiscal freedom, trade freedom, and freedom from government. Income and corporate tax rates are burdensome, and overall tax revenue is low as a percentage of GDP. The average tariff rate is low, but non-tariff barriers are significant. Total government expenditures in the Philippines are equal to roughly 20 percent of national GDP, and state-owned businesses do not account for a large portion of overall revenue.

The Philippines is relatively weak in business freedom, investment freedom, monetary freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The government imposes both formal and non-formal barriers to foreign investment. Inflation is fairly high, and the government subsidizes the prices of several basic goods. The judicial system is weak and subject to extensive political influence. Organized crime is a major deterrent to the administration of justice, and bureaucratic corruption is extensive.

Background:
Before gaining its independence in 1946, the Philippines had been a United States colony since 1898 and, before that, a Spanish colony since the 16th century. Current President Gloria Arroyo took power in 2001 after her predecessor's resignation and has weathered a number of coup attempts. GDP has grown annually by about 5 percent since 2002 as a result of success in the service sector, increased agricultural output, and improved exports. The Philippines is handicapped, however, by a major debt burden and an Islamic insurgency in the south. Industry, services, and remittances account for most of the country's GDP, and the majority of workers are employed in the service sector.

Business Freedom - 54.2%

Starting a business takes an average of 48 days, which is equal to the world average of 48 days. To maximize entrepreneurship and job creation, it should be easier to start a company. Obtaining a business license is relatively simple, but closing a business can be difficult. Regulations are sometimes inconsistent and lacking in transparency. The overall freedom to start, operate, and close a business is restricted by the national regulatory environment.

Trade Freedom - 74.8%

The Philippines' weighted average tariff rate was 2.6 percent in 2003. Complex and restrictive customs regulations, burdensome import licensing requirements, sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions, import and export taxes, import and export bans, numerous import restrictions, export subsidies, quotas, widespread corruption, and weak protection of intellectual property rights add to the cost of trade. Consequently, an additional 20 percent is deducted from the Philippines' trade freedom score to account for these non-tariff barriers.

Fiscal Freedom - 84.0%

The Philippines has burdensome tax rates. The top income tax rate is 32 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 35 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a real property tax. In the most recent year, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 12.4 percent.

Freedom from Government - 91.4%

Total government expenditures in the Philippines, including consumption and transfer payments, are low. In the most recent year, government spending equaled 18.7 percent of GDP, and the government received 1.2 percent of its revenues from state-owned enterprises and government ownership of property. Although efforts to restructure and privatize state-owned companies have been made in recent years, privatization in the electricity generation and distribution network has not been significant.

Monetary Freedom - 73.4%

Inflation in the Philippines is high, averaging 6.9 percent between 2003 and 2005. Relatively high and unstable prices explain most of the monetary freedom score. Additionally, the government is able to influence prices through state-owned enterprises and utilities. Price controls exist for electricity distribution, water, telecommunications, and most transportation services. Price ceilings are usually imposed only on basic commodities for emergencies. The president can impose price controls to check inflation or ease social tension, but this authority has rarely been exercised. An additional 10 percent is deducted from the score to account for these policies.

Investment Freedom - 30.0%

The Philippines maintains barriers to many foreign investments. Two negative lists restrict both foreign investment and the ability of foreigners to practice in numerous sectors. Unofficial barriers, like high levels of corruption, also impede foreign investment. The mining sector is now open to 100 percent foreign-owned companies. Both residents and non-residents may hold foreign exchange accounts, although non-residents may do so only with foreign currency deposits or proceeds from conversions of property in the Philippines. Payments, capital transactions, and transfers are subject to numerous restrictions, controls, quantitative limits, and authorizations.

Financial Freedom - 50.0%

The government has opened the financial system to foreign competition, has raised capital standards, and has improved oversight in the wake of a 1990s devaluation and financial crisis. Non-performing loans are declining. Two banks are fully state-owned, and one is partially state-owned, including the fourth and seventh largest domestic banks as of March 2005. Credit is generally available at market terms, but the government requires banks to lend specified portions of their funds to preferred sectors. Foreign banks are not permitted to own over 30 percent of banking assets. Foreign firms are allowed to fully own insurers and may set up local subsidiaries. Capital markets are centered on the stock exchange.

Property Rights - 30.0%

The Philippine judicial system enforces the law weakly. Judges are supposed to be independent, but several are corrupt, having been appointed strictly for political reasons. Organized crime is a strong deterrent to the administration of justice.

Freedom from Corruption - 25.0%

Corruption is perceived as widespread. The Philippines ranks 117th out of 158 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2005.

Labor Freedom - 60.7%

The labor market operates under inflexible employment regulations that could be improved to enhance overall productivity growth. The non-salary cost of employing a worker is low, but dismissing a redundant employee can be costly.

CHARTS

Philippines, The

Rank: 97
Regional Rank: 16 of 30

Quick Facts

Population: 81.6 million

GDP (PPP): $376.6 billion
6.0% growth in 2004
4.5% 5-yr. comp. ann. growth
$4,614 per capita

Unemployment: 11.8%

Inflation (CPI): 6%

FDI (net inflow): $57 million

Official Development Assistance: $970 million (11% from the U.S.)

External Debt: $60.6 billion

Exports: $42.8 billion
Primarily electronic equipment, machinery, transport equipment, garments, optical instruments, coconut products, fruits and nuts, copper products, chemicals

Imports: $50.5 billion
Primarily raw materials, machinery, equipment, fuels, vehicles, vehicle parts, plastic, chemicals, grains

------------------------------------
oh well, i wanted to post something somehow but i've nothing yet in mind so i figured, why don't i just post something different? hahaha. i got this for my Investment Plan project for the Economic Analysis Chapter. it says that our country ranked the 97th place out 162 countries of the Index of Economic Freedom. That aint so bad is it?! nway, im still busy with school. still lots of requirements to accomplish plus the final exams next week. shit. im close to having a nerve-wreck already. i just wish this sem would end soooooooon. like in a snap!!

post-final defense post

2007-10-01T00:45:00.000+08:00

i apologize for that sudden hiatus. i got [actually me and my FEASIBILITY STUDY mates did] quite busy preparing for our defense. and thank God everything ended well. :D

im not boasting or anything, but our panelists and our guests praised us for such a commendable project we made, they even think that's ours is the best project in the entire semester. . sigh of relief. i thought our's would suck. but what the heck. hehehe. last thursday has been the most rewarding day of my entire life since every single penny we spent, every sleepless nights, and every physical energy and effort we have exerted, all have been worth it hahaha. oh well i'll just post some pictures. :D

[this is our Project Logo] Jemai designed it. hehe

after the defense with our adviser, panelists and
guest, Dr. Valdez of Dept. Research and Dev't
of NEU

Pictures of Ourselves after the defense!!

with Jheng and Leo at Jolibee T.Sora

with Pher and Jemai.

with Jheng (the designer of our Uniforms), Wendel (Group Leader)
and Jemai at the back

WE EVEN WENT TO THE STUDIO TO TAKE A PICTURE OF OURSELVES!!!
HAHAHA HOW LAME. PERO TAE, WE WERE REALLY FROLIC THAT TIME:D

HAHA. sorry for the blurred studio pix. scanned lang yan :D

right now, im still recovering from all the hard work hehehe.
at every part of it has been spent being a slumber sloth.

here's a picture of me just after waking up last friday after sleeping for like 12hours. .

HAD THE BEST AND SATIATING SLEEP EVER!! hahaha

waaaaaaaaaaaht?!

2007-09-18T07:11:00.000+08:00

shit!! this feeling is so intense, i just really need to blog about it.

i want something. totally cravin' for it.

problem is, can't. yep. such a painful word.

"can't have it!". DAMN!!!!!!!!

well, at least not YET, for now.

but oh! i really can't wait.

curious? click on the link. *click!

Erap's Verdict

2007-09-14T00:27:00.000+08:00

Contemplating on Sandiganbayan’s verdict regarding Erap’s plunder case makes me want to alter my outlook on the governance of the Republic of the Philippines. Now that they’ve announced the verdict, in which Erap’s been found guilty in his wrong-doing and is sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 40 years life imprisonment, quite gives me a significant feeling towards the administration of our country.

We’ve all learned about the grounds that result to a presidential impeachment, which includes 1.) Culpable violation of the constitution; 2.) Treason; 3.) Bribery; 4.) Graft and Corruption; 5.) Betrayal of Public Trust; and 6.) Other high crimes e.g. plunder, and I presume that no public officer of a government has ever resisted committing these grounds, except that they are still unnoticed. On former President Erap’s case, I don’t know how it resulted into being discovered but people these days are smarter. Except for a tiny problem. The Philippines is considered as one of the countries to be exercising a reactionary type of democratic governance, meaning it is marked by a favoring reaction, esp. extreme conservatism or rightism in politics; opposing political or social change. Apart from this definition, I have my own way of defining this word “reactionary”. From its root word, “reaction”, which means a reverse movement or tendency, it clearly describes how the Philippines is being governed nowadays. Filipinos are fond of resolving things just right after a damage has been done. Why can’t we just think in a futuristic kind of way by figuring out results that would come out from a particular decision? That is what’s making Filipinos dumb. They can’t vote right. They’ve already seen the evidences that make a presidential candidate worthy for a vote, but still they end up choosing the wrong one. Now, I’m pitying Erap because, let’s face it, it is in fact the people’s fault that he’ll be suffering from a reclusion perpetua judgment because it is us who put him in his position and it is us who made him do unlawful things in the first place. There’s nothing really wrong about the first definition of the word reactionary, because it is acceptable for us Filipinos to be preserving a bit of our being conservative, but my own definition clearly makes sense. I just wish that in the next presidential election, people would vote for a more worthy person to be leading this country of ours. I exempt our being humans and that humans make mistakes, but I hope people will learn from their former mistakes. I personally know a lot of people who repeat their mistakes over and over again, but oh please, that’s already an act of being dumb. Let’s not be dumb, act dumb, and think dumb, shall we? Oh, did I mention people being smart earlier? Never mind.

I mentioned earlier that I have this positive outlook towards our government. The reason behind this is because of this verdict, I presume that public officials have already learned to keep their noses off of the government’s money and start on circumspecting their actions more eminently. They’re now better off avoiding committing crimes discreetly before the people and just paying attention on managing their governmental offices thinking what would best benefit the country and the people they are serving.

I agree, this event has been monumental in our history because for the very first time, a former president is be sentenced to a 40-year imprisonment. This is a big leap for the nation not just because it has shown how serious the government is in the fight against corruption, but it has also shown how it renders justice.

nax!!

2007-09-07T22:54:00.000+08:00

after 32 years of NEU's existence, it has finally provided its cute students [ehem!] with internet facilities in its libraries in different colleges. so aside from this obsolete library set-up..

they have altered the libraries' semblance by adding 20 new computers with internet access to make our lives more easier. or least the other students'.. i haven't tried it out yet since a computer rarely gets vacated. but i heard it uses LINUX. they say its better than MICROSOFT. agree?? i'm clueless..

at least now we wouldn't have to face masusungit librarians when borrowing books. hehehe. good job. bravo NEU. sana aircon na next. hay sayang talaga. im now a graduating student, i won't be able to experience NEU's progress in the coming years after my graduation. sigh....

2007-09-04T22:42:00.000+08:00

Let's have a little contest shall we. Below are three characters whose powers are quite similar. all of 'em uses the powers of sand. below are some information about them. after reading it, be my guest and judge who seems to be the coolest among the three. i'll pick my own choice at the end of this post.

First off, we have Crocodile or Mr. 0, who is a character in the animé, One Piece. he was one of the baddies who got their butts kicked by Luffy. Before he became one of the seven War Lords of the Seas (Shichibukai) his bounty was 81,000,000 berries (beli). He started a criminal organization called Baroque Works with the Billions, Millions, and Number Agents. He planned to take over Alabasta and get the ultimate weapon buried in its country, Pluton.

Crocodile had to get the name Mr. 0 due to the Baroque Works Code Name Policy and so only Ms. All Sunday (Nico Robin, Ms. Sunday), Igarum (Igarubpoi, Mr. 8, Egarum), and Vivi (Ms. Wednesday, Princess Nefertari Vivi) knew his true identity. Crocodile is a man who doesn't trust anyone, save anyone, or befriend anyone, not even the members of his organization. Crocodile is quick to punish anyone who fails to do their duties.

Crocodile has mastered his Devil Fruit ability, the Sand Sand Fruit (Suna Suna Fruit). He can turn any parts of his body into sand against anything. Although he has perfected his ability, he has a weakness, just like all Devil Fruit users. If his skin or clothes is touched by any liquid, he cannot become sand, but he can absorb any liquid with his right hand.

Crocodile was defeated by Luffy, who used his own blood to defeat Crocodile. Crocodile, as punishment for doing Baroque Works and trying to take over Alabasta, was stripped of his Shichibukai status and his bounty reinstated. Now, he is imprisoned by the world government.

Second, we have the Sandman, one of the baddies in Spiderman 3, who has the ability to transform into a malleable sand-like substance which can be hardened, dispersed, or shaped according to his will, something akin to a type of geokinesis limited to sand and small rock particles. Even if his body is blown apart, he is capable of reforming it. His striped shirt and cargo pants are both a part of his mass sand-like body. They are colored to appear as if he were wearing actual clothes.

In the comic books, he is mainly seen transforming his arms and hands into a sand mace or a sledgehammer to battle Spider-Man and his other enemies, but in the movie, we just saw him turn his self into a sand monster. He can merge with natural sand if it is in his direct vicinity like a beach or desert, thus he can manipulate normal sand like his normal body, add it to his physical size and strength, or use it to reform himself. Sandman has mental and physical control over every particle of sand in his body. His body seems to take the physical and chemical qualities of sand, as once he was mixed with cement ingredients and was turned into solid cement. Despite this weakness to cement, he remained alive like this but in a coma-like state, and returned to normal later. He possesses superhuman strength several times in excess of Spider-Man's, making him roughly equal to the Thing.

of course you know him! third's Gaara, a baddie in the naruto series. As the host of Shukaku, or the one-tailed beast, Gaara possesses the ability to manipulate sand at will, typically moving it through the air to serve various purposes. The amount of sand he can control at one time is fairly immense, as in Part II he is able to gather enough sand to cover Sunagakure as a shield. If sand is lacking in abundance, Gaara can use what little sand there is to break apart minerals in the ground to create more sand. While he can control any sand (assuming it isn't wet), ordinary sand requires that he exert more chakra to manipulate it, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Gaara keeps his own chakra-enhanced sand with him at all times in a calabash gourd he carries on his back, though this gourd is itself made of sand. Because this sand is already infused with his chakra, Gaara has a great deal more control over it, enabling stronger and faster attacks with it.

In desperate situations, Gaara can take on the form of Shukaku by layering sand on his body, making him many times more powerful than he already is. Shukaku's personality grows more dominant during this transformation, increasing Gaara's homicidal tendencies. Once finished, Gaara assumes a human-sized version of Shukaku wherein he relies on his brute strength to destroy everything around him. While in this form Gaara can use Sand Shuriken or Sand Halberd to hurl sand-based forms of the weapons at an opponent. Shukaku also gives him the ability to utilize wind-based attacks such as Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough, which spews large amounts of sand from his mouth, devastating both the enemy and a large area around him.

If need be, Gaara can almost instantly create a life-sized version of Shukaku should the human-sized form fail. In this form, he remains deep within the Shukaku copy safe from harm though unable to move. Gaara can also unleash the spirit of Shukaku through his Feigning Sleep Technique, which forces him to sleep to allow the Shukaku copy to operate at its full potential. To do so, however, Gaara must emerge from within the copy, leaving him open to attack for the duration of the jutsu. While Gaara is initially dependent on waking independently or through someone else's intervention to regain control of his body, he begins to be able to suppress Shukaku by himself towards the end of the anime's filler arcs. By the time Part II begins, Gaara is even capable of using numerous Shukaku arms for attack without losing control of himself.

AND THE WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
among the three, i pick the sandman. why? well first, he's evidently the strongest among the three. since his body is made up exactly of sand particles, it makes it very easy for him to manipulate and control them. and unlike Crocodile, he doesn't get easily beaten with water or any liquid form. true, Gaara's able to create the best defense techniques in the anime series, but some of his opponents were able decipher his defense's weakness and was easily beaten off, but the sandman's, eerm sand is almost invulnerable to any physical attacks because of he is able to manipulate his sand particle's texture.
ayun lang nmn poh. hehe. kayo sino pinili nyo??

2007-08-31T18:38:00.000+08:00

thank God. i thought this week would never last.
im off to home [isabela] again tonight.
which means another pain in the butt coz id have to sit my ass in a chair in a bus for the entire 9hours on the road.

i added a link on 'isabela' if you wanna know a little bout my province. hehehe. i'll be back after the weekend, and by that time, i hope i'd have more plenty of time to blog.
ima leave with this hot video of nelly furtado featuring the acoustic version of promiscuous. i version i consider better than the original. hehe.

bud triph!!

2007-08-24T00:50:00.000+08:00

hayupz talaga. tama ba yun? bigyan ako ng mabababang midterm grades sa dalawa kong subjects. one's business law 2. hayup yung manzano na yun. ang tamad tamad pumasok. pag pumasok naman para kaming kinakantahan ng lullabye dahil [soooobrang!] nakakaantok siyang magdiscuss. pagmagjojoke naman siya, kung merong word na mas korny pa sa word na korny, un na un. tapos bobo pa magenglish. hayupz, nababadtrip ako pag meron xang nasasambit na wrong grammar oh di kaya namimispronounce na words. like for example, ung word na "important", sakanya, "imFortant". hay, sana di nalang siya nagturo. namimis ko tuloy prof ko nung law1. she's waaaaay better than him. i'd be more than glad if one day i hear news about him getting sacked dahil hindi siya bagay magturo. hmf! badtrip talaga.

yung isa naman sa major. shet talaga. nung nalaman ko grade ko dun, parang everything around me turned gray. parang nawalan ng kulay. para bang meron 'dementor' na kumikiss sakin sucking out all the happiness in me. hay alam ko o.a. na pagkakadiscribe ko pero un nga talaga. parang napakabobo ko naman to receive such a grade as low as that eh andalidali ng subject na yun. well, not that easy, pero yakangyaka ko naman. huhuhu. kasi naman! si mam eh, ayaw aku bigyan ng remedial exam nung umabsent ako that time na nag-chapter test sila, [that was the day when i family arrived from Dubai]. eh isa lang ang quiz ngayung midterm kaya hind ko na nabawi. napaka-inconsiderate naman kasi!

ngayun, hindi ko na alam kung pano ko pa mababawi mga grades kong yun.

parang nawalan na tuloy ako ng ganang magaral. . . .

haay, pasenxa na. i just needed to release my anger. hehehe. thanks blog for being my outlet.

The Unreachables

2007-08-21T22:01:00.000+08:00

As human beings, its just normal when you start to have realizations on things that would prefer to do. but of course, one can't live forever to do achieve all his desires, so he would rather prefer focusing on what's already in store for him especially when he had those realizations all too late. im human, so below is a list of my aspirations, ambitions, desires, and endeavors which i believe that i will never achieve.

1. i wanna be a model. y know. a guy who gets his butt uber busy with pictorials, shooting, and in being famous. but with tummy as big as mine, i know i really ought to include this in this list.

2. i wanna be a pilot. blaah! having impaired eyesight, c'mon dex, get real! it was just that wonderful feeling of flying and being over the clouds that made me desire to fly an aircraft.

3. i wanna be a magna cum laude. but my grades won't make me qualify for this one.

4. i wanna be a doctor. i know i will never be one anymore because i have already taken up another course. and since i noticed that medical doctors are rich people, im guessing that would count as one reason why i wanted to practice medicine plus im really interested in this field, curing ailments, incisures, injections, and all that jazz. hehe.

5. i wanna win a nobel prize. oh cmon. who wouldn't wanna win this prize? hihihi, and since im nice, i would be more than willing to accept a nobel prize for peace.

6. i wanna work something out that could get rid of the wars that are happening today in this world. [this is what im talking about in number 5!! :p] but nothing we can do now can stop any of it.

7. i wanna go visit other planets just like the prince did in Exupery's The Little Prince. Have a little adventure of that sort. But the technology needed may only become available after my death.

8. i wanna be rich. filthy rich. richer than bill gates! yeah, i believe in the impossible with this one. such a cheap desire huh.?

9. i wanna have super powers. [xempre! hindi na 'to mawawala sa list na'to] one such as that of an Avatar. [one who is gifted to control the four major elements] kid stuff!!

10. i wanna be friends with Sheikh Mo, the ruler of Dubai, and UAE's current Prime Minister. now don't ask again why this one's included in this list. the reason why i wanna be friends with him is because i admire him in being a great leader. i mean, for me he's the best. just take a look on what he did to Dubai. Phew! Truly terrific.

so there you have it. my list of the most unreachable desires and endeavors in my life.
yeah i agree, i am boring........ sigh

sad

2007-08-13T22:28:00.000+08:00

me: pa, nawala po digicam ko sa quiapo po. nadukot po sa bag ko.
dad: bakit? anung ginagawa nyo jan??
me: magiinterview po kasi kami para sa feasibility, eh dinala ko po ung cam para po sa documentation.
dad: eh yung cellphone mo hindi ba nawala?
me: hindi po nasa bulsa ko po kasi.
dad: ah ganun ba? oh cge magingat ka nalang jan.
me: oh sige po 'pa, bye.
dad: sige sige, bye.

yes you have read it right, from the telephone conversation with my dad above. i lost my old precious camera. huhuhu. i only noticed it right after crossing an overpass bridge at quiapo, after alighting from the bus from makati, while looking at my reflection at a window glass. i just noticed the zipper from my bagpack, the one in front, was wide open. i cursed as i remembered that i have placed my camera in that pocket and i have neglected to place it at the larger portion of my bag. i digged through it hoping that i'd still find it, but it was no where to be seen anymore.
sigh, i felt my heart get crushed after that confirmation that never will i ever see it again.

after that. i felt different emotions rage inside of me. i felt anger. because someone has violated me, my rights, and the law. i felt disgust. because i belonged to this race wherein the violation of filipinos to other filipinos is very common. i felt like blaming myself for my negligence over my properties. i felt like blaming my own girlfriend, because of her, my attention then was only focused on her, and not with my sorroundings. i even felt like blaming our subject adviser because it was her who instructed us to interview 3 brokerage firms that vary in locations. i felt afraid, because my parents might get too disappointed in me, that they would never entrust me with these costly gadgets again. i know im bad about blaming my teacher and even my own girl. but i guess that's just the way it is when you experience something really traumatic. yes, after 3 years here in manila, this has been my first time na madukutan

but im really thankful that my friends were there to cheer me up, they even tried to find that disgusting filthy creature that took my camera away from me, but they were unsuccessful. [wow andrama] it just feels so SAYANG kasi i only managed to use that camera for only a year and now here i am, being a cameraless person.

i guess that just the way its meant to be. i have been feeling so lucky these past months for receiving such blessings and now i think its time that some other people get lucky naman. pero i swear that if ever i find out who that criminal is, im gonna kick his balls real hard until it gets really smashed........................................................................................................................................ im also thankful that my dad didnt get mad when i told him about what happened. i'll wait 'till my mom will.. sigh.

time to review for business law and world lit now. chao.

the paiiiin!

2007-08-10T19:20:00.000+08:00

now that the typhoon chedeng is gone, another one has arrived..

i call it... nope not Dodong. its

THE MIDTERM EXAMS.

sigh.

another pain in the brain!! look at me frownin' over this hideous storm in my life as a [lemme borrow Per's term] STUPIDENT.

rain drops keep fallin'on my head

2007-08-07T21:52:00.000+08:00

i've read this SAD thingy from one of the blogs i've been to.
and since its raining outside, i think i'ma share some bits about it.
SAD actually stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder [that is for all of those who dont know what it means yet :) ]

According to wikipedia, Seasonal affective disorder, or S.A.D., also known as winter depression or winter blues is an affective, or mood, disorder. Most SAD sufferers experience normal mental health throughout most of the year, but experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer.

i know some of you guys experience this sometimes.
and i know some people who do.
especially girls. they just turn unexplanably sad and gloomy all of a sudden when we experience a rainy day at school. its like one moment they were so happy then suddenly it rains when they start acting like as if a demon has snatched all the happiness in their hearts.

well, i know it says winter depression in the definition but hey, san ka naman nakakita ng snow sa pinas?? :) philippines has only in fact two seasons. the wet one and the dry one. so lemme just define sad in a philippine setting. SAD is also known as a rain depression. ghahaha did i get that right?

anyway, i still don't get the point why im discussing this right now.
im guessing maybe because i'm one of those people who suffers this syndrome sometimes. and its something that i don't really understand what's causing this sudden change in my mood when it rains. but don't really act all depressed and mopy. its just that when it rains, i just feel very relaxed like as if its the perfect time to be letting go of all the worries that's sometimes causing excruciations in my life.

its the time wherein i act all quiet because it sometimes seems that the rains tells me to listen to its rain drops and to the winds it creates. its like its the perfect time to ponder on my dreams and it gives me the time to remind myself that albeit all the experiences in this life, the time to relax must not be neglected.
so there.

i know it sounds all nuts but i dunno, that's what i really feel. its really wonderful when the rain's around because i know there'll always be a rainbow after that.
and i don't need a therapy for this!! i don't consider it as SAD either [im talkin' bout the disorder here]. :)

post bago matulog

2007-08-04T00:28:00.000+08:00

had a very busy day in ortigas pasig.
we were working on our feasibility study.
im still suffering from a headache. :(
twas my very first time to sleep in public.
i passed out when we were already at megamall.
tambay sa food court since we were already too tired to stroll.
laid my head down on the table then unconsciuosly dozed off.
my friends said they were trying to wake me up but i was totally asleep.
as in deep slumber :)
i think i slept for like more than 30 minutes. good thing.
or else my headache now would be even worse.
didn't have enough sleep pa naman last night. slept for like only 5 hours.
nway enough about the sleep talks.

ive been trying to save the skin i downloaded from blogskins.com but i havent been victorious in doing so. can anyone please help. haha.

bobo kasi.

aun. antok na ko.
goodnightyness.

oopz. magbloghop p pla muna ko. something i missed doing.

hmm, craving for pizza.and bk whopper. and a kfc chiken wing. nyakz

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havin' fun with the lights.. Rasenggan!!! haha erm a white one though it should be blue. malay natin chakras in real life is colored white pala talaga. (:

2007-07-20T01:44:00.000+08:00

its been a while since i last had a real post.
------------------------------------------
lemme just have a recap:

my family arrived from dubai last month.
dad's sick. kidney problems. pity. hope he gets better.
hate seeing him being skinny.
ive been goin' home to isabela every weekends.
exhausting. but the time spent with my family is priceless.

have a new phone. N72. click.
its quite a cool phone. been looking for one here in the philippines.
but there aint any. i must be the only person here to own this one! :)

i do have hates about it though:
has only a single camera. bad for an Nseries phone.
the camera lens cover is annoyingly easy to open. especially at times when i place it or take it out from my pocket.

we're quite busy at school right now so i guess i won't be able to post anything till the following week.

watched HP5. Loved the effects.
hated the plot.

lookin forward for book7. only a day left.

chao.

hell lotsa why?!

2007-07-15T08:40:00.000+08:00

Why is the third hand on the watchcalled the second hand?

If a word is misspelled in thedictionary, how would we ever know?

If Webster wrote the first dictionary,where did he find thewords?

Why do we say something is out ofwhack? What is a whack?

Why does "slow down" and "slow up" meanthe same thing?

Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance"mean the same thing?

Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

Why do we sing "Take me out to the ballgame" when weare already there?

Why are they called "stands" when theyare made for sitting?

Why is it call "after dark" when itreally is "after light"?

Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

Why are "a wise man" and "a wise guy"opposites?

Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?

If all the world is a stage, where isthe audience sitting?

If love is blind, why is lingerie sopopular?

Why do we put suits in garment bags andgarments in a suitcase?

Why do we wash bath towels? Aren't weclean when we use them?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside ofthe bottle?

2007-07-04T10:33:00.000+08:00

The "Euro-English"European Commission has justannounced an agreement wherebyEnglishwill be the official language of theEuropean Union rather than German,which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, theBritish Government conceded thatEnglishspelling had some room forimprovement and has accepted a 5- yearphase-inplan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replacethe soft "c". Sertainly, this willmake the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favourof "k". This should klear upkonfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publikenthusiasm in the sekond year when thetroublesome "ph" will be replacedwith "f". This will make words likefotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse ofthe new spelling kan be expekted toreach the stage where morekomplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage theremoval of double letters which havealwaysben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mesof the silent "e" in the languag isdisgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptivto steps such as replasing "th" with"z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o"kan be dropd from vords kontaining"ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vilhav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultisand evrivun vil find it ezi tuunderstand ech oza. Ze drem of aunited urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al bespeking German like zey vunted in zeforst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas let ozers read zis.

2007-06-17T14:53:00.001+08:00

i think i'm depreciating..
can't even think of something to write. whuhuhuhu :(

Lakbayan: How Much Of The Philippines Have You Visited?

2007-06-17T13:52:00.000+08:00

Your Lakbayan grade is D!
-------------------------------------
i've already been to most parts in luzon!! wana visit other parts of the Philippines as well.

here's the link if wanna grade yourself too. click

credit: thanks kuya jon for the link! :)

2007-06-14T16:21:00.000+08:00

what to blog about??

kainis. walang maisip.

2007-06-11T13:01:00.000+08:00

now that i'm back in manila, there are a lot of things that i'm starting to miss:

1. FOOD. i miss my aunt's kitchen. it's always full of edible, yummy, thingys. hehe.

2. MY BED. huhuhu. now i'll have to start suffering from those backaches once again. :(

3. THE PEACE and QUIET.

4. THE FRESH AIR. now i'll have to pick my nose for black-colored boogers.

5. THE PEOPLE. their company.

6. THE POULTRY and FARM ANIMALS. i miss the stink-bomb i smell from the pig pen when i eat outside. even all the chicken and roosters' alarming screeches every morning.

back to school nanaman!!!!! haaaay.

quick update

2007-05-31T11:08:00.001+08:00

hello blogging world. it's been a while.
---------
news about me:

1. i've been messin' with my hair, now it's all gone. haha. here's my new look.. no more messy, wiry, kinky hair plus no more bad hair days. . :)

2. i've grown into corpulent bakemono! . huhuhu. i just can't help myself from eating.. and besides, what's there to do in such a boring summer than eat, sleep, and make your tummy grow even more. can't even get rid it from uber laziness.

3. im having driving lessons this summer. cool, now i know how to drive.
haha! never thought it was that easy. i had difficulties at first but i learned to overcome it. it's really fun. can't wait to drive my own car! :) hahaha

4. i got my grades. great. im at the dean's list. i hope i maintain this status till graduation day. :)

5. just bought myself paolini's eldest. can't wait to finish reading it.

6. had some cartoon marathons.my faves!!

pokemon master quest, one piece, and avatar the last airbender.

7. i'm going back to the province tonight. which means no internet connection [again] until i get back..

i'll be back soon.chao. sayonara! :)

putting the right pieces together

2007-04-26T18:00:00.000+08:00

a jigsaw puzzle. that was what i saw on top of my cabinet in my room just as i arrived from manila. i wondered how that one got up there. but i soon figured out that my dad left it there for me before he went back to dubai last february. the moment i saw it, i already decided to myself that i wanna put up all its pieces together to be able to make a masterpiece. i also decided that that was one cool productive way to spend my vacation. i took it from the top of my cabinet and examined it for a while. the box was quite big, but i didnt wonder about it since it was composed of 4000 pieces. i opened its box and there i saw a myriad of jigsaws!! they stimulated my mojo and got me feeling like i wanna start with it right away..
at first, i felt hopeless on finishing it... digging for a certain piece in a big pile of jigsaws sure gave me a headache. but wat the heck!! it was a lot more fun than i had imagined. finding the right pieces is like, finding the perfect things that fit my life. right now, i'm still 1/3 through with it. sigh i wish i could finish it!! wish me luck :)

bye!

2007-04-10T18:58:00.000+08:00

my new laptop.. weeh. i love my parents :p [wag nyo nlng pansinin ng model]
------------------------------------------
uwi na ko bukas sa province. bye Metro.. till next month. :p

sorry la pa kong matinong post. natatamad akong magisip hehe. napudpud utax ko this sem.

congratulations sa lahat ng graduates :p

2007-04-09T19:38:00.000+08:00

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand

DOES THIS MAKE ME A PIG??

2007-04-09T19:00:00.000+08:00

SUMMER 07 DAILY ROUTINE

9:00AM ---GISING
10:00 ---BANGON
10:00-10:30 ---HILAMUS; TUTBRUSH; MAGSUOT NG CONTACTS
10:30 ---BALIK SA BED [MAGBASA NG LIBRO OR MAGTEXT NG
MAGTEXT]
12:00 ---LAMUN NG LUNCH
12:30PM ---MANUOD NG TV
1:30 ---BALIK SA BED [MAGBASA OR MAGTEXT ULIT]
3:00 ---TULOG
6:00 ---GISING
7:00 ---DINNER
7:30 ---NUOD NG T.V.
10:30 ---NUOD NG DVD SA LAPTOP
1:00AM ---MAGBASA NG LIBRO HABANG NAKAHIGA
2:00 ---TULOG NA

PRODUCTIVE DB?

bakit ganun?

2007-04-05T15:02:00.000+08:00

how come when i'm in school i feel really obsessed with having a day-off or any holiday from all the exhausting and excruciating activities, but when vacation is already within my grasps, i long naman to be back in school because boredom kills me!

hiatus

2007-03-31T15:10:00.000+08:00

i'll be back...

2007-03-27T15:14:00.000+08:00

it's the end of the school year and the start of the summer vacation 2007. i just feel totally rapturous for having ended the school year with much satisfaction and happyness. i think i did great in the exams and the closing celebrations held at school was really fun and ecstatic. hail to the graduates of school year 2006-2007...

yes, that's me. but the toga's not actually mine. [feeler?!] hehe. it's my rommie's. both of my rommie's are graduating on friday and great. i can't be any prouder. hehe. rex is graduating from the course Legal Management and DR from Psychology. Rex got hired at Convergys but he still has a pending application at Accenture, while, DR got hired at PSE as a Sales Manager. Kewl... i really can't wait to graduate and experience looking for jobs and get to feel the frolic sensations when u get hired.. but i've still got a year left and i promise myself i'll make it good and better!! wee, im gonna be a senior!! im gonna graduate after a year!! wee.. :)

last friday.. at the university hall there held a Fashion Show thingy for incoming Professionals. whatever.. it's a mini ramp contest for graduating students and my roomie, Rex joined and won two titles, Best in OJT uniform and Mr. Body Beautiful.. what the heck.. the judges must've had blurred eyesights. hehe. and i've got a crush on the winner. forgot her name

here's a shot i got after the show.. my crush is at the picture above this text. she's at the very middle. i apologize, all u can view in the picture's a blur. hehe. but she's really cute, chinita type. i really didn't like her when we're passing by each other along the school's corridors, she wasn't much of a head-turner, except that night when she wore makeup and all.

after that was the start of the vacation proper. yoohoo. but it kynna hurts my head doing nothing but just lying around at my bed especially when the climate's gotten all hot and humid during the day.. that's why i really decided to look for a job. a call center wouldn't hurt. i know i opt to try and apply at jobs with relation to my course. but me and my friends couldn't find any. but Teleformance rings a bell. someone told a friend of mine that Telepormance is a company that deals with credit and collection. we're set to try that one out maybe next week.

right now, im really bored. its a good thing i've a blog to kill time. i think i'll just bloghop. chao.

wahahah

2007-03-22T21:24:00.000+08:00

tomorrow's the last day of the exams week. thank God.
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me with my friends went to ICT this morning for a job interview for an application for customer service. i was qualified till the 2nd test. first was the interview. it was my first time so it got me really nervous. but i think i did good. so i proceeded to the 2nd test which is Phone Simulation. i messed up with the role playing. i suck with sales. . . they said they were gonna give me call tonight and they did but i unfortunately wasn't able to answer it. they only called once. im still waiting if ever theyre interested to call me again. if i don't pass this one, there are still a lot of call centers out there. . .

till next post. . . ;) hope u readers will give me some advice about this job interview stuff. . . tnx ;)

2007-03-21T12:42:00.000+08:00

exams week. . . hell week. . . 5 sleepless nights. . . i'll be back after this grueling week. . .

2007-03-14T20:19:00.000+08:00

i feel so disappointed. . . depressed. . . in short. bad. but nobody knows about yet. except neri and you readers out there. how would you feel if you worked so hard. like your brains are already gonna explode trying to squeeze out some thoughts and relevent analysis regarding your thesis on the night when you and your groupmates decided to spend 3 overnights just to accomplish the thesis before the day of your defense and yet you don't earn any extra credit for your efforts??? my groupmates, [my barkada] did all the encoding. they ranked me third on the list of members after our leader. i admit, i'm into recognition for the work i did because i know i really deserve it. but heck, feeling nila sila gumawa. eh di Go. gawin nila gusto nila. . .hurts me the most when two out of our 3 panelists gave me 1.25 for my performance. damn it. ako na nga lang magisa sumasagot using english 1.25 pa binigay sakin! samantala mga kagroup ko.. bwisit talaga. yoko na magkwento tungkol diyan. . .

-----------------------------

hhmmm, ano kaya ikukwento ko?

tntmad akong magenglish. dahil naiinis ako. hehehe.

isa pang bwisit. exams na pala next week [aga!]. sigh isa ko sa mga candidates na mageexam. di umabot grade ko sa mga dapat exempted eh. bobo ko kasi.

hay un lang naman. napakita na si mamon samin last night at siya nagtreat samin ng dinner.

picture na nga lang ipopost ko :)

ayan badtrip ako nyan kaya ngiting aso ako..

isa lang mssbi ko, ayaw ni jemai, mam valdez, at ni wendel ng pink..bow

here's moner, neri, and me at the taxi. . . missing her again already *sniff [miss u ate]

hehehe

2007-03-12T09:40:00.000+08:00

things are getting really busy this past few days.
i'll be right back :)

the kid i love

2007-03-05T22:42:00.000+08:00

i decided to watch Bridge to Terabithia yesterday at the big screen. twas the movie that made me weep for the first time. yep. i wept over a movie. how hilarious. but its nothing to be ashamed of having wept over rediculous things. not on my case. i felt really affected about how Jesse and Maybelle were like being a big brother and a sister in that movie. at that point, i felt like missing my sister. we haven't been together since a year ago and we rarely talk to each other over the phone. that's why i decided to call her up upon arriving at my bording house. i felt really happy hearing her voice again. it was my fault i don't call her when i could and because of that, we hadn't had the chance to talk to each other for like a month. she told me stuffs like how she's doing in school, how our parents are doing, who she plays with and other stuff. i even felt proud like a parent when she told me she's still in the honor list. at least she's doing things i havent done during my childhood. gawd. i really miss her. she's such a bright kid. i hope she grows up to become a great person someday. unlike me.. i'm such a nobody. [nagself-pity] hekhek.

--------------------------

sigh.. short post. :)

here's our pictures: taken on the day of their flight back to Dubai, June 2006

pesky kid

2007-03-05T11:53:00.000+08:00

so much happened this week. and im not in the mood to story-tell all about it. im just just gonna write about what happened to me last thursday on our trip to Manila. we accompanied mitch to divisoria coz she had to buy a new dress for the Holy Supper (held last Saturday-Sunday). we rode a bus and alighted in morayta. again on the way there, i sighted UST. [im such a frustrated Thomasian.. grr] when we alighted the bus, we passed over an overpass and when we got to the opposite side, we saw a kid. he was begging for alms. but he's not the main character here, it were the dogs who were with the kid carrying a basket using there jaws. the dogs were so cute and adorable helping the little kid into making the passers-by drop a few coins in their basket. after dropping a few coins, we went on our way to 168 mall. we rode a jeepney to get there. we travelled in the jeepney without taking my hanky off my face because the entire place's air polluted from all the vehicle congestion. it was my first time in 168 mall. so i went all cautious coz some people might pick-pocket me. luckily i wasn't. the place was nice. it wasn't so crowded since it was thursday that. i saw a few things i wanted to buy but i couldn't coz i didn't have enough dough. sigh, it was frustrating. after mitch bought a dress, we went to the top floor at the food court. we just sat there while eating quial eggs. [did i get the spelling right? im doubtful] we left the mall at around 4pm. we decided to go home but after visiting the quiapo church. again, we walked to get there. when we got there, we saw there was a mass going on so we just headed home. wendel told us that there were jeepneys and fxs under the bridge so went there. after having gotten out of the church. a kid just approached me and tried to sell me this necklace with a nazareno pendant. i just shook my head to tell the kid, who looked like he's aged 7 or 8, that im not interested. and before you know it he just clung on me. i was shocked! and disgusted coz the kid wasn't so clean and.. well, you get what i mean. plus he has wounds on his skin that looked like allergies!! eiw!! i tried to get his dirty hands off my shirt but he still wouldn't budge. he began to get teary-eyed and even tried to wear the necklace on my wrist, i even heard him tell me, "sige na kuya Nazareno yan eh!". at those words, i felt really sorry for myself coz i really can't buy the thing he was offering me. it was against my religion. i figured out i could just give him money instead. i offered him some coins but he won't accept it. [at that point, he was still clunged to shirt..] shit i was starting to get pissed off. it was a good thing my friends were with me at that time at they too were trying to explain to kid that i really could buy the necklace. they even offered him some coins, like i did. but he was too desperate to sell the necklace. we were puzzled about what the kid's problem was. after seconds, other vendors [old ones] noticed what was happening and they too persuaded the kid to leave us alone. then the kid got his dirty paws off of me at last and took off. sheesh.that really was a traumatic experience for me. what was the kid's problem?! why did he pick me to cling on to instead of one my friends?! was it because he sensed that i was already too sinful that i needed that necklace so bad?! or was it because i was the only one looking rather rich among my friends?! Gawd. im not rich. i wasn't even wearing anything preppy that day. well, i just figured out those questions wouln't be answered anyway so i set aside my thoughts and just asked for alcohol from my friend. my skin felt all itchy after that pesky kid got off me. i rubbed alcohol all over my skin and felt that i desperately wanna head to the showers right away. but after that i felt great pity ove that kid.he was poor. there shouldn't be any child labor everywhere. that kid was meant to be in school. just like i did. i just hope he gets on with his life happy. . . .

mga kwentong walang kwenta

2007-02-24T17:47:00.000+08:00

an assembly was held yesterday, friday 23rd, at the university hall. an announcement was made by the school to the students regarding the increase of tuition and misc. fees that'll take affect next semester. for me that was good news. why? nakaupo ako sa harap ng classroom, as in tapat ng table ng prof. sa gitna, xempre pag dun ka nakaupo, nakatutok sayo ung ceiling fan. eh sa room naming un, nkktakot ung fan dun, parang bigla nalang siyang mhuhulog dahil medyo shakey ung pagikot nya. musta nmn ang fate ko pag sakin mahulog un!! wala ng matalino at gwapo sa class haha! joke lang :)they really need to improve the facilities in our school already [habang andun pa ko!]. una n dun ung ceiling fans. [wish ko lang sana maging air-conditioned na mga rooms]. second, ung libraries. sana maging high-tech na un. palagyan n sana nila ng computers para pwede na kami magresearch online. kaya saludo ako dun sa announcement nila na magkakaron ng 6.2% na karagdagan sa tuition. sana magamit sa ikabubuti un ng school. second announcement was about the alteration of the girls' uniforms. nagpropose sila na instead of skirts, gawin nalang pantalon. la ko pake kung anu gusto nilang gawin sa uniforms. basta iimprove nila facilities.
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nagpasa na ko ng resume and letter of intent kanina sa adviser ng org. required daw un para sa mga nanominated na maging officer. nominated ba naman ako bilang asst.treasurer and auditor. akalain mo un. haha. wala lang.
----------------------------
nakakabwisit yang tagis-lakas [better maging tagis-hina nalang] !! laging napopostpone mga scheduled quizzes namin!! puyat na puyat ako sa pagaaral, di rin nman pala matutuloy ung quiz kinabukasan. badtrip yung ganon.. buti nalang tapos na.
----------------------------
hmm, nilalaro ko ung Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. tapos ko na pala. andali lang pala. sisiw!! i just wasted my time on this shit. sana di ko nalang nilaro, mas gusto ko pa yung Aria of Sorrow kesa dito.
----------------------------
napanuod ko ng magkasunod ung The Prince and Me Part I and Part II. sheesh. sana wala nalang part 2. Mas likable ung chemistry ni Julia Stiles and Luke Mably sa part 1. kesa sa part 2. iba na nagportray sa character ni Paige Morgan. this time, si Kam Heskin na. Magaling naman siya kaso di maganda chemistry nila ni Luke Mably. la lang. sana consistent nalang na si Julia Stiles ang nagportray bilang Paige Morgan in both movies.
----------------------------

missing GC

2007-02-18T17:24:00.000+08:00

_________________________________________________________
watching this UPCC video made me realize for the first time how much i miss singing and dancing with my choir. it was just since December 15, 2006 when i left and that was one of the most hurting experiences in my life knowing i wouldn't be able to back there anymore. that's why im stuck here to reminisce. i was a freshman then when i unintentionally auditioned for a choir. it was my first time to sing in public [well, at least there were people who were listening to me in that room] hehe. the only main reason i joined was because i would be exempted in NSTP. in that audition i sang twice [in front of the people and in Ma'am Fe's office] and my voice qualified me to become Tenor1 but i become a bassist after a week hehe.. that time i didnt know anything about all those musical crap but i soon learned and started to like singing. my very first performance was in NEU-Pampanga. and the most memorable performance for me was our very own concert last September, 2005. i was proud no getting rid of my stage-fright. [my most memorable outing experience was in Subic, summer of 2006. hehe.] my stay in GC made changes in myself. there, i was taught to become organized and disciplined. in there i met good friends and we treat each other as brothers and sisters. i really miss those guys. everytime they see me, they would tell me "kuya dex balik ka na!". i couldn't respond to this, instead i just smile at them. sigh. weighing the disadvantages and advantages of going back, the disadvantages seems to outweigh the advantages. sigh, i guess what's done is done. but im still very thankful to God for bringing me inside that group. actually, it's more than just a group, it's family. and im proud i became part of it.

jackpot!!

2007-02-14T18:17:00.000+08:00

it's feb.14 there's nothing significant about this day except for my cousin, Kuya Val's, 22nd birthday.

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last saturday, i felt the urge to buy myself a good book. so i went to SM North Edsa hoping to buy myself Paulo Coelho's 11 Minutes but unfortunately, it was out of stock. both in NBS and Fully-Booked. so i switched my choice to Paolini's Eragon. it was again out of misfortune not available. so i was forced to find myself anything available there. as i rummaged throughout the children's books section, i found McHale's Pendragon. i read the back part of the book. it was.. nice. hehe. i was forced myself to buy that book without any intentions to buy it. weird noh. maybe it was because of the layout that got me or because i was just convinced from the comments in the book which i also read. there's this one comment in the book which says that Pendragon series are even better than Harry Potter. so i thought to myself i ought to try this book out. i started to read it when i got home. liked it. it was jackpot!! a good read while waiting for Harry Potter andf the Deathly Hallows' release.tell u more about it when i finish it. im such a slow-reader kc. hehe.

-------------

then when i went to Books-for-Less last sunday, i found Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy which only cost less than P200. with 20% discount pa. kaya un, since matagal n kong naghhanap ng gnun, i bought it na without any second thoughts. i'll read it after i read Pendragon. :)

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Photos of the books i bought: [la lang hehe]

a day at ortigas, pasig

2007-02-08T19:13:00.000+08:00

last tuesday, our professor in Fin.8 assigned us to find a security broker or dealer for an interview. he also gave us a hint where to find them and said that there are numerous brokers and dealers at the Philippine Stock Exchange. so we [jeremiah,mitch,pher and myself] scheduled this day to visit the Philippine Stock Exchange office a Ortigas, Pasig to schedule an appointment for an interview with any broker/dealer we'll meet. we were all first-timers to be there so i couldn't help mysef to take a picture of the building. so this is how the PSE Building looks like:

when we got there, we spoke to a ladyguard inside and she told us that we supposed to contact the PSE through call for an appointment first before we went there. so we were forced to look for a payphone. we started searching along the Makati-like streets there. i was amazed because i never thought that was how ortigas looked like, with so much buildings and all. so after what seemed like 30minutes of searching, we found a park there which looks like this:

well, actually it looks more beautiful than what it seems like in the picture. so we decided to take some rest there for what seemed like 15minutes after i realized that we were wasting time so i asked my companions that we continue THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING PAYPHONE and they stingily agreed. out of exhaustion [and hunger] me and mitch managed to entertain ourselves by singing some novelty songs with matching laughter because we were changing the lyrics into funny lines only laughable by the both of us [in other words, we sounded corny in the ears of the others]. we continued walking along the sidewalk until at long last, we managed to find ourselves a payphone, naturally from a PLDT Office. here's us looking really happy [but hungry still] after having found a way to call the PSE Office:

after that, Jeremiah managed to speak with someone at the PSE Office. [She] instructed us to log on to their website: www.pse.com.ph to find some contact persons there. so we did as we were told and managed to find an internet cafe in one of the buildings there, a few blocks from the PLDT office. after finding some contacts, we decided to eat because it was already passed 12nn [finally!!] and because our tummies were are already rumbling. we found a McDonald's branch near that sight and filled our hungry tummies there. after eating, we decided to tambay and discussed some issues regarding school and some normal topics discussed by teens. after nung nagsawa na mga pwet namin sa pagupo, we decided to visit The Podium. being my first time there, i was somewhat shocked about what i've found!!

hehe. owner na pala ko ng isang fashion aparrell store ng di ko nalalaman. at sa The Podium pa. hehehe.

wala nmn kami masyadong ginawa dito. we just took some pictures of ourselves then tumambay sa national bookstore.

after that we visited Shangrila Plaza. it was my second visit to that place but it seemed my first dahil i only got to libot the entire mall for the first time. its a mall with long escalators....

after that we went home. and now i have to wash my uniforms!! bye! :)

finally, the hiatus has ended!

2007-02-07T18:39:00.000+08:00

sorry for being out of the blogosphere for almost 2months. got busy with some other stuff.. :)
-----
anyhow, our university's accreditation just ended this day and it just drove me nuts! i was just supposed to stay put but everyone else went 'gaga' over it, that it got me carried away. i was just wondering why we had to act so differently in front of the accreditors, instead of just acting normally. in other words, everybody acted as hypocrites. like these pictures:

this tarpoline ought to be enough upon the prying eyes of the accreditors because it shows the brighter side of the Eraians'
being courteous :)

but these sceneries!! they even diplayed and attached outdated banners and tarpolines [of activities] far back from year 2002!
can they even spell P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C ?!

plus. there's one other thing i really hated about the accreditation. the professors made us memorize the school's Vision, Mission, and Objectives. or more than that. they bribed us! [hehe o.a?]. what i mean is, why make us memorize when the latter aren't doing the right thing towards achieving the stated vision on becoming a world-class institution of knowledge. that is why i don't even bother to memorize it because it isn't worth the headache!!

but today i heard that we weren't able to pass the accreditation. i feel bad about it. but i hope what i heard is wrong. because aside from saying those nasty things about my school, i still LOVE MY SCHOOL and i want only the best for it. i just hope the hypocrisy we showed won't be witnessed again by the accreditors in the next accreditation.

phew. till next post! ;)