FF TD: The third Fast made me Furious!

What the ?!?! I just finished watching 'Fast and the Furious : Tokyo Drift' a few ticks ago and that was the lousiest movie sequel. I watched the 1st one more than 10 times and even have a VCD. The 2nd installment I watched a couple of times and have a DVD (but don't tell papaya dance man that it's pirated). I enjoyed both films. The case is not the same for this trilogy.

D.K. was the acronym of the day. The supposed star of the movie, I forgot his name and don’t intend to remember it, attempted to be funny and said that it means Donkey Kong. I thought that was funny. It may also mean Donut King but actually means Drift King. Incidentally, the real life Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya played a cameo role in the film. He was the fisherman who kept giving comments on the side.

Another actor who played a cameo role was Vin Diesel. His movie handle was still Dominic Toretto who challenged the new D.K. to a race. Funny but he was driving a silver muscle car, a Plymouth Roadrunner GTX. The real muscle car star in the movie albeit weird was a Ford Mustang Fastback with a Nissan straight 6 engine. Ano ito, parang American car ng lolo ko na Ford Fairlane na sinalpakan ng Toyota 12R? At huwag ka, tinalo niya sa karera ang souped up Nissan 350Z.

Drifting is another car discipline which entails lots of tire skidding. This is quite heavy on the pocket as you have to change tires often. As in, 2 or 3 times a day depending on how tough you practice. I probably would not be engaged in this type of car discipline even if I have the resources. In my earlier blog entry, I mentioned that I'm the rally car type of guy.

The only thing nice about this movie is the cars used and the setting which was taken mostly in Japan. That accounts for about 20% so that means 80% of the movie was B–A-D. And that’s not an acronym for anything.

What’s a Subaru?

I believe everybody knows that a Subaru is a car brand. That answers the title question. Actually, the bigger question is: What country manufactures the Subaru car brand? Is it: (a) an American car, (b) a European car, (c) a Japanese car or (d) a Philippine car. Process of elimination tells you it is not a letter d. Philippines prides itself of the “King of the Road” the infallible Jeepney and the only similarity between the Subaru and the Pinoy workhorse is the four wheels. It is also not a Euro car as these have distinct sounding names such as Citroen, Peugeot, Mercedes. This leaves us with either a US or a Japanese brand. Truth to tell, in my three and a half decades of existence and a car junkie at that, I thought all along that it was an American car. In the 80s, they had this small truck called Subaru Brat which really caught my attention. You’ll see my Vroom Room Y2007 in an earlier entry and the Brat was in my 1987 to 1989 list. I only learned it was Japanese from a fellow car aficionado who was probably a notch or two higher than me. Heck, this officemate – friend of mine knows by heart the engine models of locally released cars! Ibang klase talaga!

When we were shopping for a replacement for our trusty Toyota psuedo SUV, we were looking at a Subaru Forester 2.0X priced at P1,275M. The beauty of the Subaru nowadays is that it is being distributed and serviced by Motor Image. Before, it was “bahala ka sa buhay mo” type of servicing so it was not practical for us. The Forester has a wow appeal (deserves a second look) and you won’t see much on the road. In fact in our hometown in Tarlac, I only see one silver Forester on the streets. We were eyeing the black Forester but when placed side by side with the CR-V, it didn’t measure up to our expectation. The CR-V was still a more pragmatic choice. Then there was the Subaru Impreza WRX Sti rally car which should be in my Vroom Room list. It would be a nice weekend car especially if you had P2 million to spare. I’m the rally car type of guy and don’t fancy the F1 series (Formula One). My race car driver idol is Sebastien Loeb of the WRC (World Rally Circuit) and not the F1 god Michael Schumacher.

To answer the 65 million dollar question, a Subaru is a Japanese car brand made popular in the United States because they are the only car manufacturer who produces horizontally opposed four cylinder engines. Talk about making a difference!

Imaging by Olen Lim

I love attending seminars. More than the organization that you work for, a seminar increases an individual’s self worth especially if you religiously apply what you learned years after the seminar was conducted. Like change, education is one thing that’s constant in the world that we live in. I’ve attended a number of company sponsored seminars this year and one of the best would be the Professional Image Management Seminar conducted by quintessential Olen Juarez – Lim. Apparently, Ms. O has mastered the art of balancing between driving a point and delivering it on a funny note without sounding too offensive. This blog entry would be insufficient to detail what I learned however I’d like to highlight some points which I will value eternally. This entry will also serve as my constant reminder:

I. Standards:
1. Competitive
2. Helpful
3. Respectful

For easier recall, I used the acronym C.H.R. for Commission on Human Rights or CHR 252, the plate number of my parent’s former ride. In the standards lingo set by Ms. O, C.H.R. for me means Competitive, Helpful and Respectful. She said that consistency is a standard below which you will never fall. I will or actually have started to live my life based on these standards especially Competitive and Respectful. The model region award 3-peat is a testament to my competitive spirit. On being respectful, I live by the golden rule and treat everybody just as how I’d like to be treated. I need to work on being helpful as I’m not foreseen by others as Helpful although this is one of the standards that I’d like to live by eternally. The Helpfulness factor will be an asset eventually when I join the crazy world of politics once I retire from the corporate life.

II. The Art of Conversation
Small talk reminds me of an article I read in a magazine written by Larry King which reads “How to talk to anyone anywhere” in which he gives tips on how to engage in a conversation at a snap of a finger. He says the key is having a common denominator or a connection. In Ms. O’s version, she sets some guidelines like what to discuss and what to avoid. It goes without saying that the topic should be an interesting one to keep the discussion continuous. I thought I was already a master of small talk, being a self assessed amicable person who believes can talk to anybody, if I’m in the mood.

I was able to practice what I learned immediately the evening succeeding the day 2 during our department’s Christmas party at Temple Bar Greenbelt. Our special guest was no less than the company president and our department’s big boss asked me to assist her in entertaining Sir NN. The PLxx – SMT prexy loves his mean machines and I learned that his new baby is a Porsche Carrera S and that he had sold his BMW Z4 via Buy and Sell magazine. Oh so he’s mortal after all and sells via everybody’s fave magazine. I was aching to ask how much he sold the Z4 and how much he got the 996 but I remember what Ms. O taught us.

III. The Business Meal

I’d like to believe that my dining etiquette is not set at zero and I have my parents to thank for that. When we were growing up, they though me basic dining etiquette like: elbows off the table, spoon and fork on four o’ clock after eating, bread should be eaten bit by bit, soup should be scooped away from you and how to how to undress a shrimp. I wish my father taught me how to undress other living things. I had to learn it the hard way. :)

Purely based on recall (as I forgot my notes in Makati), here’s what I learned during the seminar: BMW in dining ethics means Bread on the left, Meal on the center and Water on the right, how to hold wine or champagne glass, European or American style of dining, table napkin discipline, how to eat pasta and where to place your hands. Again my father missed this part. :)

When my children are in their teens and Ms. O is still doing what she does best, we will make sure to enroll them in her class. So Miss O (not Olim or Golen as one of my manager friends christened her), if you are reading this blog entry, words are not enough to express how grateful I am for the lessons that I learned in your class. My pledge of allegiance would be to practice what you taught us and act as a police to my classmates.

My Vroom Room

You’re in St. Luke’s Medical Center watching TV straight for 12 hours so what else can you do as a breather? Doodle with your computer and type away your dreams! So here goes..it is year 2007 and I have unlimited resources, what vehicles will be in my stable? Here is my answer:

1. BMW X5 – My daily ride, a must have vehicle. Paging Aunt LST, wanna sell your ride?
2. BMW 320i – JML’s special occasion car. I hope/dream/yearn to have one before I turn 42 years old.
3. Honda CR-V – JML’s daily ride. Well, what do you know, we have one! At least, that’s one off our list.
4. Mitsubishi Spacegear – a family van, a must have for everybody. This will be our low profile vehicle.
5. Isuzu Pick up 4X4 – Light Haul UV which may serve as a daily ride. Isuzu diesel engine is still the best in the market.
6. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano – my Sunday car. This increases my pogi points a million fold.
7. Hummer H1 – my four wheel drive car. Yup, I still like the original Humvee platform best. The H2 and H3 are more regular SUV-like compared to the utilitarian H1 military vehicle platform.
8. Toyota Corolla Sprinter (second generation) – vintage Japanese Sports Car, a once in a blue moon ride.
9. Range Rover (1995, last of the first gen) – vintage Euro SUV, another once in a blue moon ride.
10. Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla base model – a daily commute for B5
11. Honda Jazz base model – a daily commute for MC

Using the Chinese rule that transportation accounts for 10% of your total assets, we should have assets amounting to P 400M. So where do we start?

Top Ten Alpha SMS shortcuts

The Philippines is known as the ‘text capital of the world’. Another lingo that was created as a result of the texting generation is making waves. It’s probably a result of katamaran and cutting short every word in a phrase like instead of texting “See you later” the text lingo will read “C U L8R.” Here are the top ten alpha SMS shortcuts according to dylac.

LOL – Laughing Out Loud. Funny, all the while I thought it meant ulol, a tagalog word meaning demented.
ASL – This is the invaluable Age, Sex and Location which every internet generation person knows.
PLAK – Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean a tooth bacteria. It simply means “Please Acknowledge” which is mostly used in the office.
GAM – Good AM or good morning.
GPM – Good PM or good evening.
BFN – Bye For Now
TBAK – No, it does not refer to a thong which men crave about but means “Text Back.”
TKS – If you have not figured it out, it simply means “Thanks.”
AFAIR – Frankly, I had a hard time figuring that out. I means “As Far As I Know” and I got it from an officemate with initials AYT.
AYT – May mean 2 things for me and my officemates as one of our co-manager’s initial is AYT but the common tao understands it as simply “Alright.”

Yes to NUKE!

To keep my heart beating, the Radio Active Iodine therapy (Isotope 131) was a must for my thyroid disorder. It was the first line of defense for my condition. I was scheduled to be in therapy from December 10 to 14 and the competitive spirit in me was targeting to complete the process in under 5 days.

Day 1
I’m back in the 10 square meter room at my favorite hospital, St. Luke’s Medical Center. I don’t actually like the process of undergoing therapy but I’d choose it any day over surgery. To borrow a doctor’s line “surgery will destroy this young man’s life.” Anyway, the procedure is that you’ll pop a NUKE pill (200 mill curie) the size of the regular tablet, then you need to be confined in a room with the objective of flushing out the nuclear content out of your body in the fastest time possible. This is my third radiation treatment in 3 years hence it’s beginning to be an annual affair. My batting average is 4 days in the hospital and this time I’m targeting 3 days to flush out the toxin err medicine out of my system. The nuke man wearing a blue space suit said I’m currently at 50 MRs. I can be discharged at 2 MRs.

Day 2
After one whole day of trying to make the laptop work with 3 possible data connections (1- wifi using my aircard, 2- weroam using another type of aircard and 3- 3G via my Nokia N70 celfone), I’ve come to a realization that connecting to the internet was just not meant for me during the session. Maybe I was meant to rest instead and watch TV. At around 9:00AM, Mr. Rad-Man (the radiologist) measured my radiation level and it was at 12 MR. My life savior a.k.a. my doctor said I can be discharged from the hospital if my rad count is less than 2.5 MR hence that was my target.

Day 3
The first visitor for the day was Mr. Rad-man who was in my room as early as 8:00AM. I just woke up that time and was eating breakfast so I asked him to come back around 9:30AM. Apparently, he didn’t follow my instruction and we was back around 9:00AM so I told him to return after 9:30AM because I wanted to take a shower before he waved his magic wand. E nagtampo ang mister so hindi na bumalik. I asked the nurse around 2:00PM to check my radiation count and they sent Mr. Rad-man around 3:00PM. Lo and behold! My rad count was 2.1 MR!!! The first thing that I said was “Can I go home now?” I was SO BORED that’s why I had to go home. I texted my Doctor and he said he already gave instructions that I be discharged before 5:00PM. So I was on my way home around 6:00PM.

Day 4
I had to go back to St. Luke’s Medical Center for the Whole Body Scan. Technically speaking, this wraps up my therapy with just a little concern, I had to re-take an exam which means I have to return the following day for a 15 minute process. It was perfectly okay, anything for my health and as long as I don’t spend another night in the hospital.

Day 5
I was back for Whole Body Scan partial re-take.

The whole therapy process including test amounting to P 150,000 was bankrolled by the company. Thank God! That would have been a huge sum if taken out of our finances. Seems like I’ll be staying with this company for a longer time.

10 versus 100th : How to invest P100,000.00

If somebody gives you P 100,000.00, what will you do with your new found wealth? Sounds like a third world-ish genie granting a wish but I’m pretty sure we can easily come up with a list of 100,000 things to do. For men, a new set of wheel and tires, an LCD TV, a digital SLR camera, a notebook computer, your own set of tools. For women, a new handbag, a set of make up kit, a sofa set, a baking oven, beauty sessions. The list is endless. And then there’s this boring option called investment. This article will focus on how to invest P100,000.00 and eventually, you can use the interest earned for your caprices!

1. Type: TIME DEPOSIT
Where: All Types of banks – Universal, Commercial, Thrift, Rural banks.
Period: As short as 15 days, 30days to as long as 5 years. Withholding Tax is 20%. Tax becomes free if period is 5 years and 1 day.
Interest Rate: range is 2% to 4% per annum or per year
Minimum Investment: P5,000.00
Risk Involved: Low
Investor Participation: Low
References: www.psbank.com.ph

2. Type: COOPERATIVE
Where: There are over 10000 cooperatives in the Phils. You can check out the list in http://www.cda.gov.ph/.
Period: Usually, dividend is declared first quarter of the year.
Interest Rate: Depends on the performance of the coop. May be as low as 3% or as high as 23%. Sempco declared 23% in the 1Q of Y2007.
Minimum Investment: P10,000.00
Risk Involved: Low
Investor Participation: Low
References: http://www.cda.gov.ph/; www.kskcoop.com

3. Type: DOUBLE YOUR MONEY
Where: Cooperatives and Rural Banks
Period: Usually 5 to 6 years.
Interest Rate: 16.67% per annum
Minimum Investment: P250,000.00
Risk Involved: Moderate. The reality is, universal and commercial banks are “more stable” compared to rural banks however life would be pretty mundane if we don’t take calculated risks sometimes.
Investor Participation: Low
References: www.firstcountryfinancial.com

4. Type: STOCKS
Where: Stock Brokers or on line stocks broker sites
Period: Holding period can be as short as one day but ideally, hold period is one year.
Interest Rate: Depends on a lot of factors like the company invested and the period of investment
Minimum Investment: P10,000.00
Risk Involved: High
Investor Participation: Low if passive, high if active.
References: www.citiseconline.com

5. Type: MUTUAL FUND
Where: Financial Consultants
Period: minimum of 1 month
Interest Rate: 7 to 20%
Minimum Investment: P10,000.00
Risk Involved: Moderate to High
Investor Participation: Low if passive, high if active.
References: http://www.sunlifefunds.com//mutualfunds; www.philamfunds.com

6. Type: UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST FUND
Where: Banks
Period: minimum of 1 month
Interest Rate: 7 to 20%
Minimum Investment: P5,000.00
Risk Involved: Moderate to High
Investor Participation: Low if passive, high if active.
References: www.bdo.com.ph/investment

7. Type: GOVERNMENT SECURITIES (Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds)
Where: Banks
Period: minimum of 1 month
Interest Rate: 3 to 14%
Minimum Investment: P5,000.00
Risk Involved: Moderate to High
Investor Participation: Low if passive, high if active.
References: www.bdo.com.ph/investment

8. Type: BUSINESS – FOOD FRANCHISE
Where: There are a dozen food franchises in the range of P30,000 to P60,000.
Period: ROI is dependent on a lot of factors like sales, location, etc.
Interest Rate: You can actually double your money in under 6 months. In the same manner, you can loose your money in half the time.
Minimum Investment: P30,000.00 to P60,000.00
Risk Involved: High
Investor Participation: Low if capitalist, high if industrialist.
References: www.entreprenuer.com.ph

9. Type: BUSINESS – DIRECT LENDING
Where: Ask your neighbor
Period: Usually 1 month to 6 months.
Interest Rate: As low as 2% per month to as high as 10% per month.
Minimum Investment: P10,000.00
Risk Involved: High
Investor Participation: Low if capitalist, high if industrialist.
References:

10. Type: BUSINESS - TRADING
Where: Depends on a person’s passion.
Period: Depends on the “harvest period”
Interest Rate: Depends on a lot of factors but can easily double your money in less than 6 months.
Minimum Investment: P5,000.00
Risk Involved: High
Investor Participation: Low if capitalist, high if industrialist.
References: www.entreprenuer.com.ph

BONUS: Type: BUSINESS – REAL ESTATE
Where: Depends on your preferred location
Period: Depends on your resources.
Interest Rate: From 10% to 20% depending on monthly rental rate
Minimum Investment: At least P60,000.00 (for the first year)
Risk Involved: High
Investor Participation: High
References: http://www.camella.com.ph/; www.theorientalplace.com

There’s no perfect investment for any individual. It all depends on your need, your want, your resources, time you can spare and how you’ll justify your choice of investment.

A Vote Wasted

Picture Story:

Pix taken outside our condo unit's window facing south east. The subject is ABS-CBN's helicopter hovering about 700 feet on top the Manila Peninsula Hotel and covering the November 29 seige. The hotel is less than a kilometer from our place.

Shot Specs:

Shutter: 1/1250

Aperture: F5.6

Focal Length: 200mm

ISO: 400

If you are a Manila Peninsula patron, you have an axe to grind with honorable Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. It is because of him that a tank found his way inside the lobby of your fave hotel.

It started one rainy morning last November 29. A court hearing was in session in the Makati Regional Trial Court when the rebels just decided to walk out and walk to Manila Pen. With a platoon of about 30+ soldiers, they took over the hotel. The grapevine says the grand plan was to seize the hotel and last until the following day in time for a series of pocket rallies conducted by militant groups across the metropolis scheduled on November 30 Bonifacio day. To borrow the line of Cinderella's maid of honor "It simply isn't done."

Fast forward to 500pm, just minutes before day break, the government troops stormed the five star hotel along Ayala Ave via the front door using a tank and made mince meat of the entrance. Next step was to smoke the bandits with tear gas. That seem to be the perfect formula to extricate the rebels from the temporary lair. It was all over by 800pm with the government winning this battle again. This 10 hour siege maybe an entry in the record books as the fastest coup de etat resolved.

Senator Trillanes must have swept his own feet off the ground. He banked on the thought that over 11 million voted for him to a senate seat in last May's polls. He may not have realized that he was no sweet talker nor a charismatic leader reason why his lines sounded more like a plead for support from a college student who recently got a ‘C’ in communication. I voted for him last election, the first guy in the list. Like half of the populace, I’m starting to think that I made the wrong move. I hope the honorable Senator proves me wrong.

Mother's Know Best

My two EXes are past president of their school dance club. As a company manager, we get to present during functions and it's usually a dance number. I love to listen to songs with danceable tunes. All these suggest that I am a good dancer - NOT!

I was once invited to join a dance competition in our town during my teenage years. My mother did not allow me then and I felt bad. I didn't know if I was a good dancer but my partner would be a high school crush so back then, it was all that matters.

Two decades after that incident, it's crystal clear to me what my mother's intention was - that she wants to protect her son from imminent humiliation. I don't need any further proof and embrace the fact that I'm not cut off for dancing. I've realized that more than 10 years ago.

Three's a crowd

It nearly happened this last week of November 2007, a historic and potentially destructive three simultaneous typhoons in our country.

Typhoon Lando seem to have forgotten something from his visit late last week and made a 180 degree turn back to the Philippines. This while typhoon Mina is threatening to wreak havoc in our country within the next 12 hours and typhoon Nonoy within striking distance.

The result: a sunny Wednesday morning. We now have more reasons to believe that our weather forecast system badly need an upgrade.

Friendster: Networking in the Digital age

Finally, I created a Friendster (FS) account in July this year. The FS website was introduced about 7 years ago and when people ask me if I have an FS account, I tell them it’s just a waste of time and it’s not my cup of tea (read baduy).

.

I am now a convert and 4 months after opening my account, I've amassed close to 300 friends and acquaintances, update photos once every 2 wks and get mails once every 3 days. I am a full pledged FS frequent user. My account demographics shows about 50% women, 45% men and the balance belonging to the friendly ‘third force.’ Nearly 1/3 are officemates and the remaining 2/3s are a combination of families, friends, acquaintances, high school, college and graduate school classmates, fellow mountain bikers and car aficionados and photo buffs.

.

The most pleasant surprise invite came from Ms. Carla Custodio who I last heard more than 13 years ago. She was the least person that I expected to meet via FS. Carla was my college thesis mate. She used to live in a condo in Salcedo Village where we often hold our thesis meetings. She’s now based in the California USA while I now live in Salcedo Village just across the street where she used to live.
.

So what’s with Friendster? You have common internet features such as email, photo sharing, testimonials, a blog site, announcements and links to social groups. You have an option to accept or reject friends. Of course, we wouldn’t want to be rejected, right?
.

Our parents and mentors always highlight the advantages of networking. In the pre internet era, networking was limited to casual talk, parties and other social occasions. In this day and age, aside from text messaging, email groups, forums, you can add online networking such as Friendster Multiply, MySpace and Facebook in the growing list.