One on one with a BMW 135i

January 8, 2009

I saw my second apple red BMW 1 Series coupe last Thursday. It was parked along Bautista St. in Salcedo Village beside the condo that we are staying in. The owner is probably a neighbor. I wonder if he's the same guy driving a silver BMW 325i or the one driving a gray Porsche Cayenne. This vehicle retails for P 2,050,000 in the Philippines.

The first time I saw a BMW 1-Series 135i Coupe M Sport was in Volusia Mall in Daytona Beach Florida in May 2008. Released in 4Q 2007, BMW Florida was doing their regular promotional stuff and had one displayed inside the mall. That time, I just couldn't get my eyes off the apple red sport car.

I wonder if they'd resell it for P1M in 3 years time. I guess not!

A Star Studded Party…

A Star Studded Party…

Dec 19 was the company Christmas party. It was the grandest party in the 15 year history of the company. The night was full of stars:
1- Tanging ina niyang comedien Ai-ai delas Alas
2- International recording rap artist Billy Crawford,
3- The girl with the ultimate X factor Toni Gonzaga,
4- Pretty and sexy teen Ara Cristine Reyes
5- Curvaceous Rufa mae Quinto
6- PBB hunk of a housemate Sam Milby
7- Papa (double meaning ) Piolo Pascual
8- Philippine’s prettiest and sexiest actress Angel Locsin.

But still there was something missing. While I was there physically, my mind was in another place - our bedroom. I was sleepy and had a very long day at work but needed to attend the party. It’s a commitment.

Mother's New Ride

Mother's New Ride

Finally we were able to sell my parents 98 Toyota Corolla GLi. Bought in 2004 via a vehicle swap deal (for a 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer EL) with a car dealer who was trying to pull one on me. The Corolla provided my parents service for a year before they moved to the US. My little sister and her family then used the trusty Toyota sedan until it was purchased in November 2008.

My parent's 6th vehicle replacement in the Philippines is a 2004 Toyota Revo Sports Runner. I'd say it was a good deal as we got the AUV for less 20% of the selling price. The proceeds from the Corolla sale plus funds from my mother's savings was used to purchase the vehicle. The odometer reads 67,000 kilometers, relatively unused for a 4 year old vehicle. An average vehicle uses 20,000 kilometers per year. The two toned (white and silver) Revo has an automatic transmission, power windows, power side mirrors and central locking system.

The car is good for at least 5 years with proper use and maintenance.

Shop-less in 2H 2008

Shop-less in 2H 2008

It's official! I was able to zero out my shopping expense during the second half of 2008. My last purchase was probably in May were I bought clothes, a nice Bass loafers (for $20 only!), a Motorola bluetooth headset, a couple of mt bike gears and a dozen other personal stuff. At the end of the day, I realized I didn't need some of the stuff and they're just waiting to be utilized at home. What can I do, they were on S.A.L.E. Just couldn't resist.

It's almost mid January and I haven't purchase an item for myself though I was tempted to get a Crocs slippers but thought that my 2 year old Havaianas flip flops is still serviceable. I'll probably get something for myself during my birthday in March.

MC's dream about Papa Boy

MC's dream about Papa Boy

One day in December, my daughter MC woke up and said "You know Dad, I dreamt about Papa Boy. We went fishing. He caught a big fish and I caught a small fish." To make sure that I heard the right story, I asked my wife to validate the story and MC just repeated the exact story. She followed up by saying that she misses Papa Boy. I miss my Papa too.

Goodbye Giant, hello Trek!

December 28, 2008

Sold!!!

I sold my 2003 Giant NRS full suspension (FS) mountain bike frame for a mere P10K today. I’m getting a 2008 Trek 8500 hard tail (HT) frame. I’m back to a rigid hard tail after 5 years on a FS frame. The decision to “downgrade” is because of economics. I would really like to get a 2008 Santa Cruz Superlight (my dream frame) but is cost $1,000 (a little under P50K) but it’s not wise at the moment plus our financial status can’t support the purchase. The new blazing red HT frame cost P15K so I need to shell out just 5 grand for the upgrade or downgrade depending on how you look at it. In the mountain bike world, the natural progression is an upgrade from a HT to FS not the other way around. Oh well, I really don’t mind the downgrade. I’ll still get my dream frame in the future.

Kaizen sa Karsil

December 25, 2008

Kaizen sa Karsil
December 25 morning. It’s the Soliman family’s annual outreach. It is relatively an odd outreach as we “reach out” to people who are perceived as misfits of society – the prisoners. They are human beings like all of us it’s just that they made a grave mistake and they have to pay for their actions. I’ve had previous entries about the Tarlac Penal Colony and this entry will focus on how to introduce continuous improvement during the activity. Here goes:

Pre-work:
1. Check the number of prisoners and the prison staff
2. Raffle should be pre-drawn based on their prison identification
3. Free call list
4. Who is the Jail Warden? Assistant Warden?
5. Who is the Prison Mayor? Vice Mayor?
6. Food should be there by 630AM
7. List of 60 inmates who can avail of the free call
8. There should be a committee to handle: Food, Mass, Games, Raffle & Hosting.

Program Outline:
7:30 to 8:30 - Eucharistic Celebration
8:30 to 9:30 - Breakfast
9:30 to 12:00 – Start of Program
9:30 to 9:40 – Opening Remarks 1 by AGS or MSD
9:40 to 9:50 – Opening Remarks 2 by Prison Mayor
9:50 to 10:00 – Orientation of Activities by host
10:00 to 11:40 - Games
11:40 to 11:50 – Closing Remarks 1 by Jail Warden
11:50 to 12:00 – Closing Remarks 2 by CSL or LST or TGS or TSG

Notes:
1. Free Calls with a duration of 3 minutes each will be given to 60 inmates.
2. A priest will be available for confession from 10 to 12nn.
3. A third generation family member (pamangkin) will handle the emcee chores
4. The activity should be over by 12noon.

The value of Japanese Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) may be applied in the simplest of activities.