The Boyfriend Story

"I have a boyfriend" announced my 3 year old daughter over dinner. We got a good laugh after her statement. The question is, will we have the same reaction in a decade's time? By the way, the boyfriend's name is Miracle.

Blown to Smithereens

"Do you play the number 1 position?" I was asked yesterday. The number 1 position in basketball means playing the point guard role. I replied "Yes, that's my role." I played basketball last night, my first time this year as the last game I played was in December 2006.

Pardon my French but I sucked. When I was in college, I scored 30+ points once in a winning effort. In that same street ball tournament, I averaged 15+ pts, had a healthy assist number and decent rebound stats. Yesterday was probably my worse game ever! I played for about 5 minutes, didn't score, zero assist and had a number of turnovers. Being out of shape is an understatement. The experience was so humiliating that it bothers me until now.

It started when I got a call from an officemate inviting me to be a player for the Senior's Basketball Barkadahan. Senior means 35 year old players and up. I politely declined but he insisted that I join. He said he saw me play in the exhibition game last year and he said "Pwede ka pa." Sayang naman yung uniform so I joined.

One humiliating experience is enough. I just have to embrace the fact that I'm no longer geared up for competitive basketball

DLSU's Dramatic Comeback

The 68th UAAP season. The story starts with De La Salle University winning the 68th UAAP men's basketball crown via a 2-1 win over FEU then being stripped of the crown a few months after. It was definitely a humiliating experience for DLSU. The investigation shows that DLSU fielded 2 players with bogus high school records. Whether it was the wrongdoing of the player or the talent scout, as a responsible institution, they should have verified. As a result of the careless move, DLSU was stripped off the title and worse, suspended from the league for 1 year.

The 69th UAAP season. Effectively, DLSU’s suspension happened during this season. To keep their players in competitive shape, they played in "b" leagues. The show must go on since the suspension clearly stated 1 year only hence their basketball program continued. During the 1 year layoff, new players joined the team and beefed up their line up.

University of the East. During the 70th UAAP season, everybody was expecting University of the East to breeze through the series and claim the crown after 22 years of drought. The last crown they had was during Jaworski's era. Despite having a rookie coach in the person of Dindo Pumaren, an ex-La Salle cager, the team had a perfect match of veterans and rookies. The team boast of having 11 players capable of scoring in double digits. The biggest accolade was they swept the elimination round 14 - 0. The last team to sweep the elimination was DLSU en route to a crown during the 90s. The rules have been revised since so a team that sweeps the elims has the glory or just waiting for their opponent.

De La Salle University. And now let's talk about the champion underdogs. They lost to arch rival Ateneo twice in the elims, had a 10 - 4 score card in the elimination, lost again to Ateneo during the playoff game one to force a winner take all match. During the finals, UE was heavily favored. The only good thing to say about the DLSU team was that they had a multi titled veteran coach and finals experienced team. That advantage seemed to be the key to DLSU's success. Lady luck was on their side when they snatched game 1 via a 64 - 63 win in regulation. Game 2 was a display of experience, preparation and motivation. Again, luck chipped in. When the buzzer sounded, the score was 73 to 64 and this paved way to DLSU sweeping the finals.

The basketball analyst were right that the UAAP men's basketball finals will be a sweep. The only difference, it was the underdogs DLSU who completed the sweep.

Photography 101 : Alin ang naiba?

Subject: A row of high end cars in a high end street
Location: Santana Row, San Jose, CA
Date: June 2006
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101 : Stretched Budget

Subject: A black Lincoln Town Car "stretch" limousine

Location: Torrance, CA

Date: May 2006

Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101 : Pimp my Ride

Subject: A pumped up Dodge Charger (1966 to 1978)
Location: Santana Row, San Jose, CA
Date: June 2006
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101: Old School

Subject: 1952 Chevrolet
Location: Torrance, CA
Date: May 2006
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Pumaren Duel

DLSU def. ADMU, 65 to 60 banners the sports headline last Sunday, September 30. This marked the start of the Pumaren duel. The head coach of DLSU Men's Basketball team is Franz while Dindo is the head coach of the University of the East.

Both Pumaren's played the backcourt position during their younger days. They belong to a family of basketball buffs as the patriarch Filomeno “Pilo” Pumaren used to coach for various teams such as San Miguel in the PBA, U.E and DLSU in the UAAP while the eldest sibling Derick is currently the coach of Talk N Text and used to coach DLSU.

I wonder who Daddy Pumaren would root for on Thurs. If I were him, I'd go for the underdog, La Salle. Go La Salle!!!

FAST FORWARD

DLSU def. UE, 64 to 63 in 48 minutes of action that saw 11 lead changes. The UAAP Finals Game 1 proved that experience by DLSU in the finals plays a big part in a basketball game. The fact that UE, who have 11 out of 12 players that can score in double figures and swept the regular season 14-0 shows that their credentials are only good in paper and they actually succumb under immense pressure. I hope I’m not speaking too soon as game 2 is set on Sunday. At any rate, my mind was set that UE will sweep the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals and eventually win a crown after 22 years.

One on One

Our one and only son (our little kobe-conut) scored a rank 1 in the first quarter. His 95.17 general average catapulted him to this ranking after consistently being in rank 2 in his class during his 3rd grade. Not all news is good though because he graciously lost to a returning grade 2 representative in the race for grade 4 student council representative. For being a runner up, he gets to sit as grade 4 council member. Together with his academic award comes a conduct award. We hope he maintains his ranking until the end of his grade 4 season.

My Humps

“Trials are not the reason to give up, but a challenge to improve ourselves, mistakes are not an excuse to back-out but an inspiration to move forward.”

Tim Hardaway, one third of the NBA famous RUN-TMC from the Golden State Warriors committed a major boo boo in February this year. During an interview, he said he didn't like gay people. A strong statement because I assume about 25% of the worldwide population belongs to that gender. The statement definitely earned their ire. Since then he has “recovered” and brought back the trust in some way by doing voluntary work for the underprivileged.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago also had her share of mishap recently. She took potshots at the Chinese during one interview. She called them intsik on national TV and boasted that the Chinese invented corruption. Strong words indeed reason why the Filipino-Chinese lambasted the feisty senator. She immediately wrote a letter of apology to the Chinese Embassy and publicly apologized the day after she delivered her infamous line saying that she was under a lot of stress.

One of the biggest trials of my professional life is currently in play. I hope it ends soon and I get to already view the closing credits. I'd rather not detail how it came about but would like to focus on my life learning and these are humility and tact. With all the blessing that is coming our way this year: a new car, travel with family, real property investments and achievement of our children (B5 is rank 1 in school and MC was accelerated), any normal person has the tendency to forget where he came from hence the timing of the trial is just right. There are no regrets that this happened, apologies have been delivered to the proper persons and as Julia Fordham said in her song "time heals all wounds."

Miranda Right

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

The Miranda Right largely applied in the US is actually applicable in the Philippine corporate setting. Anything that comes out of your mouth, officially or unofficially, delivered seriously or said in jest, may be used against you. In the corporate setting, there are pseudo lawyers who may defend or persecute you.

Place in the Sun

The travails of a start up group is that you have to overcome a lot of hurdles, the greatest being proper acknowledgement. I must admit stress is getting the better of me and I sometimes have trouble juggling work. The whole global and new business group is under the microscope right now by management because of expenses. These expenses are expected to turn into revenues and at the rate things are going, these will be realized in over 2 years. That's just my amateur forecast.

The core business is still the cash cow but the 64 million dollar question is until when. Remittance business (to the Philippines) is a $15 billion annual amount and steadily growing. The company is aiming to corner a sizeable chunk of the market and we have the business model to answer the requirement.

But until the global and new business groups pour in the needed points and have an impact on the company's bottom-line, my role will be perceived as a glorified PM.

Photography 101 : Windows Desktop

Subject: A cow grazing
Location: San Jose, Tarlac
Date: July 2005
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101 : Mountain Dew

Subject: Dew on a plant
Location: Tagaytay City
Date: October 2005
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101 : Belfry

Subject: Cagsawa Ruins
Location: Daraga, Albay
Date: October 2005
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1
Footnote: After the Nov 2006 typhoon that hit the Bicol region and triggered lahar, the belfry was covered by at least 80%. Now, the only thing remaining in the historical landmark is about 10 feet from the top.

Photography 101 : Baguio Cathedral

Subject: Baguio Cathedral

Location: Baguio City

Date: March 2007

Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101: Burnham Park

Subject: Burnham Park
Location: Baguio City
Date: March 2007
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101 : Sunflower

Subject: Sunflower
Location: Baguio City
Date: March 2007
Camera: Sony Cybershot T-1

Photography 101: Lover's Quarrel

Subject: A couple in Burnham Park
Location: Baguio City
Date: March 2007
Camera: Sony Cybarshot T-1

The Complete Photography Book

“Whatever your experience has been, you can use this book as a source of information and also as a springboard for your imagination. Treat it as invitation to open your eyes, to think laterally, to bend the rules, to experiment, improvise and customize. View the camera as a tool which can shoot wonderful pictures. But it is the eye – the ability to see a good picture – that will make you a good photographer. " from Michael Joseph and Dave Saunders

I recently got hold of a very comprehensive photography book from my brother-in-law. I learned that the owner of the book is my father-in-law. The book is copyrighted 1993 and it is always mentioned in the book that digital cameras have a few more years to mature. Digital cams have arrived and conquered the photo world. The paradigm has shifted since the book was launched and it’s just a matter of time before film cams become extinct. In under a decade’s time, film cams would be relegated to museum artifacts.

My father-in-law is a camera buff. He’s also into farming, likes traveling, a gun and car enthusiast, used to devour piles of books. These are the things we have in common. It’s just too bad that he’s indisposed right now and I’m hoping and praying that he recovers soon. It’s no wonder that his obra maestra inside their house are of fine quality. I learned from my wife that he has an armament of photography devices, Nikon at that. Too bad he’s not exposed to the internet as I would have shared my precious shots to him. I’ll probably print a couple of pictures then share it with him so he can marvel at my shots or critic then if necessary.

Name Game

In a meeting last week, one of the department heads mentioned that I had a unique name and asked if I like poetry and I said no. He then asked what was the pronunciation of my name “dee-lun” or “die-lan” to which I replied that the pronunciation doesn't matter as long as the spelling is correct. He further said that two of the greatest poets are named Dylan. I said I only know one – Dylan Thomas. I can’t recall the name of the other Dylan poet and can’t seem to find him in the internet too.

From the internet, I learned that the name Dylan is a Welsh name, from the Welsh elements dy, meaning "great" and llanw, "rising tide". A given name in Wales, where the first syllable is pronounced closer to "dull" than to "dill", it is now also a surname in other parts of the world.

My mother who is an English major is fond of poets reason why I was named after the Wales native. My father on the other hand used to listen to Bob Dylan music. The connection between the two, Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan, seem to be the fact that they’re both good writers. In fact, Bob Dylan’s influence is Dylan Thomas reason why he used the screen name Bob Dylan when his real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman.

DYK

Did you know that Bob Dylan's most recent album "Love and Theft" was released in September 11, 2001.

Let's Meet Halfway

My son B5 is 9 y.o. while my daughter MC is 3 y.o. Their average age is 6 y.o. and this is the rendezvous age where the siblings meet.

B5 the kuya most of the time plays as the protector. One time while in the park playground, he told the kids trying to bully his sister 'hey, it's my sister's turn'. On the other hand, he would get mad at her sister for being makulit when if fact he started the kulitan.

The bunso MC, angelic looking at three, can be the ultimate terrible three when in the mood. She would shout 'Huya!' when in pikon mode even if she was the promotor. Then there are days when the only hand that she'll hold (while walking in the mall) is kuya's hand.

My mother was right when she said we will be amazed by the difference of personalities of our offspring. My wife shared that we sometimes abhor certain traits of our children when in fact these are the traits we want to scrub off our system. This is just the tip of the iceberg and we'll learn more from our kids as time goes by.

Photography 101: False Falls

Subject: Water Fountain
Location: Baras-Baras, Tarlac City
Date: August 2007
Camera: Nikon D40
Shutter: 1/200
Aperture: F5.3
Focal Length: 45mm
ISO: 400

Photography 101: JoeLac's Vineyard

Subject: Vines @ my Grandpa's place
Location: Mabini, Tarlac City
Date: January 2006
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-T1

Photography 101: Banana ako!

Subject: Ornamental Banana
Location: Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Date: January 2006
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-T1

Photography 101: BMW One

Subject: BMW One Series
Location: Powerplant Mall, Makati City
Date: September 2006
Camera: Nokia N70

Photography 101: Mix Pix

Subject: Balanti Farm
Location: Brgy. Soliman, Tarlac City
Date: May 2005
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-T1

Cherokee Chief

Bombay. Indian. Pana. Five Six. Whatever you call them, they seem to be in the offing to rule the world. Just give them a generation or two. If you have not figured it out, I’m taking about Indians (from India).

Here are some proof:
1. Graduate School –A handful of universities in the US offering MBA has a significant percentage of Indians. Check out the net and you’ll discover that they have an extensive information support system for their fellowmen.
2. Executives – My new job exposes me to Indian nationals. Not much white guys. But they’re now occupying the positions that used to be reserved for white guys.
3. Richest Persons - The top 20 richest person list shows 25% Americans, 15% Indians and only 5% Chinese. In the population story, China is rank 1, India is rank 2 and United States is rank 3.

You may say that they own the second most populous country title so there’s a higher probability of them making it. The statement may be true for India but not for China and the US.

Now while we are busy calling them names, they are busy conquering the world.

DYK: Did you know that the total earth population of 6.5 billion.

The Road to Three-Peat

“Saying goodbye is not an easy thing” sabi nga nung kanta. Let me start my farewell to this super team by saying that I was irked by a fellow manager’s remark sometime in mid 2004 that SL team was a more mature group compared to CL. Hindi talaga ako pumayag at pinaglaban ko ang CL. Who wouldn’t: CL was MY BABY and we just came from a Model Region runner up finish and the usage award. Right now, I’d like to go back to that manager and tell her that maybe she was right. When I joined SL, I was just armed with a work management model. I simply copied the model that we “nearly perfected” in CL, pasted it in SL and voila! The result is a usage award in 2004 and 3 model region awards (2004, 2005 and 2006).

The experience and lessons I learned from this group in 2 and half years is more than what I learned in graduate school. Like I shared in one of our MTMs was that MY PERSONAL GOAL is to make a significant impact on your careers in my own little way and I’d like to think I was partially successful in that aspect. Just remember the lessons that you learned like R-I-O-T, our management tips, tech tips, operational experiences, teamwork brought to the hilt. Use them as if your own. The best success indicator of my personal goal is if you apply what you learned from this team. Ang sabi ko nga sa email ko “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Allow me to take a few more minutes to recall some memories in my 31 months as a member of the South Luzon team:

ABV – Your rendition of “Girls Just wanna have fun” which made Cyndi Lauper’s version sound like a gospel song.
ARR – Your butterfly costume during our natcon in Boracay. It fits you to a tee. Fly high butterfly and see you at the top.
BDT – Your numerous surprises like our last PA discussion and your new nose.
BFG –Mountain Bikes? Guns? Photography? Basketball? We have so many things in common.
BOP – Attorney Panga, I will never forget your passion matched with subtle persistence.
BPS – I will never forget our loooooooooong conversations. And that singing voice which will give Jed Madella a run for his money.
CBC – Parang complete blood count. It still puzzles me up to now why a UP Dil graduate (with honors) matched with an AIM diploma would want to experience life in Smart.
CDV – Your whistle bait figure. Have I told you that you remind me of a Jim Henson muppet?
DDG – Click is the sound that a camera makes and it’s also a term that I’d like to use to describe our professional relationship.
GMP – Your job interview was mostly in English. Halos mag nose bleed na ako. That was the last time I spoke to you in English. At any rate, what’s important is that you survived the “ex-banker’s test.”
GCO – Our professional relationship is not the fairest of all but the learning is immeasurable.
GCL – Silence is your virtue. You speak up only when it matters.
HVH – Your experience in OQA delivered the goods for you. I wonder if it is also the reason why 3 out of 7 ladies in South Luzon would like to be your “reserve” partner.
JDH – You gave justice to the term COPC catalyst.
JDP – Our lunch date sometime 1Q 2005 in Frio Mixx, Rob Sta Rosa. You know what I mean.
JPB – Our non stop kwentuhans during long trips along Maharlika Highway.
LSV – The key to success is in business…lotto-in mo na.
MEA – Your sugalera stance during our sessions. And for drinking your heart out during our natcon in Clark.
MOB – It was a fine day in April 2005 then suddenly things turned turbulent. Not to worry, I learned a lot from that experience.
MRM – That you beat me in “My heart will go on” singing contest.
PCP – Ang ninong ng bayan! Tell me the truth, pare mayroon ka bang hindi kilala sa Batangas?
RMG – Obviously, mompo ang kinalakihan mo at hindi tequila. Don’t forget your house keys.
RTS – I have to admit mababaw lang ang pinag samahan natin kaya wala pa akong ma-isulat but let me assure you that you will easily fit in the team the way I did.

I hope I didn’t miss anybody but definitely, I will miss everybody. The pessimist in me says “Good things don’t last” but the optimist in me says “All things happen for a purpose.” Thank you for the rich experience and wonderful memories. Good luck to all of us.

The First 200 Kilometers

It's pasyalan blues once again, this time targeting the Province of Cavite. The day started with the family attending the 10am holy mass at Don Bosco Makati. That was shortly followed by the blessing of our new ride. The celebrant was Fr Manny Domingo who hails from Paniqui Tarlac (a small world indeed).

Then it was off to cool Tagaytay City for lunch at Leslie's Restaurant. Their specialty are bulalo, crispy pata and pinaputok na plapla but we only had the latter and sisig. Aside from the good food, the restaurant had a great view of the Taal Volcano.

Next up was Kawit town of Cavite to check out the Aguinaldo Shrine. The last time I saw the shrine was almost 10 years ago just 5 months after B5 was born. Traffic on the way there was moderate to heavy on a Sunday but it was worth it because my son was yearning to see it.

Our Cavite trip pretty much wraps up the first 200 kilometers of our new ride. More pasyal to come.

DYK:
1- Did you know that Taal Volcano is the world's smallest volcano? It's also one of the few volcanoes with a lake in its crater.

2- Did you know that Emilio Aguinaldo was the First President of the Philippines at age 32?

CRaVing at a new toy

Finally, we got our 2007 Honda CRV 2.0 AT after 2 months of waiting and almost 2 years of dreaming. The body color is Alabaster Silver. Honda CRV has 3 shades of silver and for us, this is the best among the crop. It's like a bright silver, almost white. The other 2 silver looks like gold from an OFW na galing Saudi while the other looks like a light shade of talong.

This is our first real SUV as our previous car is more like a psuedo SUV or a poor man's SUV. But despite these comments, we love that car (the Revo). In fact, we’re thankful that my parents-in-law bought it from us hence we’ll still see our former ride. The CRV retails for more than a million and 65% of it was paid by the company. The balance is our equity. The deal is that I have to stick it out with the company for 5 years then I get to buy it for 20% of the book value. Talk about motivation.

We got almost all of what we requested from Honda Makati: free fog lamps, free back up sensor, free 3M tint, a full tank, free rust proof, the usual keychain-doormat-umbrella-windshield visor freebies. Though we paid for it, the front lower grille was painted with body color so that the “toothless look” of the new CRV was eliminated. The icing on the cake is the plate number *KE 118 which is close to our son B5’s name matched with his birthday January 18.

Like a little boy with a new toy, I got the car from the company's vehicle dispatch center at around 10pm last night (August 24), went on a joy ride with my family (who were are excited as I was) around Legaspi Village and The Fort and woke up at 7am to play with Asimo’s sibling (ASIMO is a humanoid robot created by Honda Motor Company. The name is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility). Tomorrow, we’re off to Tagaytay for more joy ride!

Photography...Not!

Somebody recently said that I don't have the license to use the word photography (as a hobby) since I am not good at it. Well it is partly true. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say my skill level is at 5 or 6. Ika nga ni Joe Pring, madami ka pang kakaining bigas.

I'd like to think that I've moved to level two with my purchase of an entry level SLR and the almost 1000 shots that I've logged. This type of skill is not learned overnight. It is analogous to wine- the aging process is the key factor. I recently got hold of materials from generous sources, photography books from a fellow camera buff, Tita Liza Flores. She was doing spring cleaning and came across circa 80s book and instead of disposing them, gave them to me. That's a good example of "one man's thrash is another man's treasure."

A perfect blend of theory and application should do the trick and my skill level will increase in time. Now, as I progress, I’d like to share shots which I think are extraordinary. The timing is just right because my blogging (especially the long entries) may take a back seat because of the work load that my new job requires. Less words, more pictures.

Mister Excitement gets excited

Ex-PBA Star Forward Paul “Bong” Alvarez is in hot water. Yesterday (August 21), he was in boxing mode and chose a taxi driver and a lady reporter as punching bags. His name is all over the news again after consistently hugging the sports headlines in the late 80s until the 90s.

Mister taxi driver was all black and blue. It was a mismatch from the start, the 6’1” hunk of a basketball player versus a plump shortie. The next match was with ABS-CBN field reporter Gretchen Malalad. Physically, you would still call it a mismatch as the 5’8” Malalad doesn’t measure up to Alvarez’ height and might. But her black belt in taekwondo did the trick and she got off with a kick and a punch to the face of Alvarez. Poor guy but it suits him as she should have respected the Mister taxi driver and Miss black beauty taekwondista.

The moral of the story: Save while you’re sikat so you don’t have to ride the taxi when you’re drunk. :)

Survey says! 15 out of 400

Majority of Pinas' population are dreaming of owning a BMW X5 and I'd probably be first on the list. An X5 cost in the neighborhood of P5 million.

Today, the Pinas government will trash a P5 million beauty in line with their "E smuggle mo, sirain ko" program. The program title is my own concoction but the concept is completely theirs. What a waste of resource. The government can sell that at half the price and there would still be takers. If I had P2,5 M in disposable income, I'd join the bidding. I reckon I can easily sell that for P3 M even after a year or two. Then again I can keep it and thereby increasing by tenfold my pogi points.

Per DZMM radio announcers Anthony Tabernas and Gerry Baja, the 15 imported vehicles that will be burned today is part of the 400 smuggled rides that will be improperly disposed. The lot contains other high end cars like a Lincoln Navigator, a BMW 3 series, a Mitsubishi Pajero and the balance being mortal cars Toyota Hiace, Nissan Terrano and Chevy Astrovan.

Now talking about a wasted resource, placing the X5 for auction which will probably equate to P2,5 M in income. This income can be used to pay our country’s debts (though figure is measly and won’t even cause a dent in our IOUs.), build 10 classrooms, build 3 health centers, a small bridge and a host of other benefits. But NO! The game plan is to burn these potential income generators to teach smugglers a lesson.

New Job, Old Company

It’s official, I have a new job in our existing company. My permanent job starting August 1 is called New Business & Global Support and Special Project. I shall continue my temporary job called Project Customer Relationship Management and Kenan (It’s a bit long so I renamed it Project CK One Team) until first quarter of Y2008. I don’t have a name for my new responsibility yet. I was thinking of naming it G&B team for easier recall. G&B? J&B? For my fellow whiskey lovers, J&B should have a strong recall because of the famous scotch whiskey. Although it maybe a bit infamous for women especially married because the act of drinking tends to steal precious time from family.

Now about my new job…It sounds exciting – New Business & Global Support and Special Projects. The exciting part ends after reading the title because I have to set up the group from ground up. I’m looking at 12 month to 24 months before we deliver results but I know that’s not realistic and in fact goes against the company’s culture of delivering results. Hence, I have to do a Harry Houdini and deliver results in 4 months time! Or at most 10 months. That’s my personal challenge. And what do I get if I deliver? Hopefully, a GC from SM.

Postscript: My new team’s acronym is GBS. It may mean Giorgio Brutini Shoes or Group B Streptococcus Screening or God’s Bible School but it really means New Business & Global Support and Special Projects.

What the ???

Clap! Clap! Clap! Some of the PAL passengers in our Manila - Cebu flight applauded after the Boeing 747 touched down in Cebu International Airport's tarmac. This also happened in one of the domestic US flights last year. What's all the fuzz? I have some assumption why certain individuals have a knack of clapping when a plane lands:

a. Applauding the pilot for a job well done safely landing the plane. Come to think of it, it's their job lest I won't have a chance to do this blog entry.
b. They liked the airline food so they are showing their appreciation.
c. They wanted more drinks so they were calling the stewardess - water, juice or coffee?
d. Wala lang.

To each his own hence they can do whatever they want as long as it is within the bounds of the law and they are not bothering me.

DYK?
DID YOU KNOW that eight hours combination of walking, standing, clapping and cheering will use anywhere from 1500 to 2000 calories.

Three Cars and a Camera

We got a 2002 Honda Civic (7th generation) last August 3. We bought it from an officemate/friend who disposed the vehicle because she upgraded to a spanking new Mit Outlander (2nd generation). In 2002, when I was in the process of selecting a vehicle, a green Honda Civic LXi then priced at P700,000 was one of our options together with a green Isuzu Crosswind XTi and a blue Toyota Revo GLX which we eventually got.

The 2002 Toy Revo (5th generation) is still in our stable as of press time. Originally, the plan was not to sell it. The plan was to have it rented out. Luisita Industrial Park in Tarlac has a number of Japanese companies which employ their “ka-baro” for short term and long term assignments. The 6 or 12 month contract will give you P25,000 to P30,000 per month. Sounds like a good deal. However, we’ve come to a realization that it might not be the best idea because we’re talking about laspagan blues and we might just not be able to sell it at an ideal price. Our Asian Ute is now up for sale to a family member.

The Honda CR-V (3rd generation) is already available. It’s in Honda Cars undergoing some mods which I requested. The last concern (and most important) being the car registration and plate number release which may take two more weeks. The timing is just right because the reality is we do not have parking for three vehicles aside from the fact that we don’t need three rides…two will be more than enough. Actually, we can survive with one 4 banger.

Therefore, by end August, we’ll have two Hondas and a Nikon SLR camera.

Davao Diary

I was born in March 1972 and my parents were married in June of 1971. They had their honeymoon in Davao Insular Hotel making me officially a statistic called “honeymoon baby.” I learned that Davao Insular Hotel is now Waterfront Davao Insular Hotel- same hotel, new owner.

Last July 30 was my first time to go to the Philippine island of Mindanao. I was in Davao City for business. This is what you call, perks of the job. The business conference was in the hotel where I was conceived. I was probably just a thought and Davao City paved the way for my existence, if you know what I mean.

I have long idolized the Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Durterte for his “no non sense” style of leadership except for the perceived executioner part. It has been said that there are days that he idolizes the grim reaper and would like to take matters in his own hands. All told, I still idolize him.

I didn’t get the chance to go around the city as much as I want to, probably the downside of an official trip. I had planned to see my college friends (Jigger & John) but time and opportunity was not on my side. We just saw the airport (of course since we flew in from Manila), Davao Insular Hotel (the site of the conference) and two SMT wireless centers (the city has FOUR WCs).

Maybe the next time I go to Davao, it will be on a leisure trip with my family. I'll definitely check out their beaches like Pearl Farm, Mt. Apo and have dinner or something with the LSC boys Jigger & John.

Alpha or Avida?

Alpha or Avida? The decision point is analogous to buying a BMW sedan. The question is do you go for a ten year old BMW 5 series or a brand new BMW 3 series. Each has it’s advantages and disadvantages and there is never a correct decision because factors vary depending on the buyer.

1997 BMW 525i / The Pro:
o Mid sized (therefore not too big and not too small)
o Luxury features (just like living in the lap of luxury)
o Safety is key (for its class, car safety is basic unlike in low end models)
o Stable resale value (by this time)

1997 BMW 525i / The Cons:
o Second Owner (hence not sure about how it was used)
o Gurgles gasoline (the bigger the engine, the more expensive it is to run)
o High maintenance (cost of service, parts, insurance, registration).
o Low resale value (10 more years down the road and you’d have a hard time selling it)

2007 BMW 320i / The Pro:
o Brand New (as in never been kissed and never been touched).
o Service galore (no headaches on service since warranty covers for it)
o You can choose the color and other options.
o The financing is budget friendly. You can go for a low down payment or low monthly.

2007 BMW 320i / The Cons:
o Size (might be too small for a family of 5 with a dozen grocery bags).
o Luxury is incomparable to a 5 series.
o Considered low end by 5 series and up owner
o High acquisition cost and probably low resale value (esp. if you’re desperate)

Sabi nga nila, nothing beats brand new. So we’re going for Avida.

Footnotes:
1. We didn’t buy a BMW. I’m just dreaming.
2. If you want to know what I’m talking about, check out www.avidaland.com

Forest Hills Foray

We discovered a place in Subic Bay called Forest Hills Resort located in El Kabayo Road, Binictican Heights – thanks to the internet. The cost of a one 3 bedroom house is a mere P4,800 during weekdays. The price increases to P6,800 during weekends. The house is relatively BIG and can comfortably fit 3 small families or a barkada of 8. It’s complete with a carport, 3 bathrooms with hot and cold shower, a kitchen, laundry area (washing machine & dryer) and centralized air con.

The drawback of it is the place is bare in the sense that it doesn’t come with hotel-like amenities (no towels, toothpaste, etc), the exterior of the place needs sprucing up, no stores in sight and it’s at least 12 kms. from the main gate. The interior is a different world and for me, that’s what matters. The exterior is mainly for photo ops while the interior is more experiential.

In case you’re on a budget and would want to explore, you may check out Travel Smart @ T# 02 8978709 C# 0927 4037826 or an agent’s website: www.travelsmart.net

Enjoy a retreat in Subic Bay for an economical price of P600.00 per head!

CRV, Malapi Na!

Nakita ko na nung biyernes ang pang apat naming sasakyan sa aming isang decadang buhay pamilya. Natural nagagalak ako ngunit sinilip ko siya dahil naninigurado lamang ako sa kundisyon niya. Yung pangatlo naming sasakyan na 2002 Revo ay may kaunting diperensya nung nakuha naming ngunit huli na nung aking nahalata – na pinturahan yung bandang harapan ng hood. Hindi man siya halata kung tutuusin subalit kung mahilig ka sa sasakyan tulad ko ay mahuhuli mo ang pagkakamali. Sinabi ko nga sa Toyota yun pero ang sabi sa akin ay natural lang yun. Natural man o hindi, sisiguraduhin ko na sa susunod naming sasakyan ay hindi na mangyayari ito.

Palagay ko makukuha naming ito sa susunod na lingo kaso mga dalawang lingo pa bago naming makuha yung plaka ng kotse. Umabot ng mahigit isang milyon ang sasakyan ngunit 62 porsiyento nito ay sinagot ng kumpanya. Masaya ako dahil nakakuha kami ng P25,000 na diskwento at mga P40,000 halaga ng libreng gamit tulad ng pang atras na sensor, ilaw pang ulap, punong tanke ng gasolina, 3M mahiwagang tint at kalawang proof.

Napakatagal ng hintayang ito para sa isang mahilig sa sasakyan tulad ko pero sa wakas, malapit na din!

A Ferrari on Fire

Guess what’s wrong in the picture?
a. It’s daytime and the driver forgot to turn off his headlights.
b. A man is walking in South Luzon expressway on a rush hour.
c. The car is burning rubber (and steel and composite material).
d. The car is a super smoke belcher.
e. All of the above

The picture above is genuine and it happened last July 23 along South Luzon expressway. A Ferrari F430 was literally “on fire.” The car which cost in the neighborhood of P20 million caught fire because of an unknown cause. Forum flicks says it was caused by an engine overheating flaw in that particular Ferrari model. This was confirmed by my cousin "Big DST" who works in Top Gear Ph mag and my favorite portal wikipedia.

No wonder they call the color variant as Ferrari Fire Red.

The Crossover Story

Presidentiable Senator Manny Villar is keeping his Senate President post in the 14th congress. This came after crossing over for the Nth time from the opposition to the administration just less than 3 month after the May midterm election.

I've seen Senator Villar twice already. The first was in Tarlac City when he inaugurated his now defunct Capitol Bank. He was a congressman of Las Pinas then. The second time was in Baguio City while we were on vacation. We were in Mile High inside Camp John Hay and along came Senator Villar.

In 2001, then House Speaker Villar ran for the senate under the administration ticket. In between ‘01 to ‘07, he became Senate President, had a falling off with GMA for her stance in the con con, ran for senator under the opposition wing and now he's back in GMA's arms. This just goes to show that some politicians will go through all means to push their 'hidden' agenda. And for Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga, this equates to mastering the crossover move.

Duped by ALI

I was ‘duped’ into attending a Wealth Management seminar yesterday (July 19) at Peking Garden Restaurant in Glorietta last night. The invitation was for a 6PM seminar but started almost 8PM. It was hosted by Community Innovations, a subsidiary company of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) I must admit I attended the seminar because of the catchy title knowing too well it was just a ploy to sell The Columns Legazpi Village condominiums to prospective buyers. I was invited by one of their Property Specialists a.k.a. real estate agents.

The speaker for the seminar was Rex Mendoza who was their Vice President for Sales and Marketing of Community Innovation. Actually, the speaker sounded like a foreign bred or at least foreign exposed Pinoy who was probably in his late 40s or early 50s. The guy was good. I guess he is a financial planner first then a real estate person. The seminar actually ran for 1 hour but only 5 minutes was allotted to selling. The top things that I learned from him that night include:

I. The Three Stages in a Person’s Financial Life
1. Man @ Work
2. Man & Money @ Work
3. Money @ Work

II. Last Will & Testament Writing Tips
Acronym is ACTS meaning:
A – Adoration
C – Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication

These are the types of seminar I’d like to attend: crisp, straight to the point, just enough examples and no autobiography. I learned a lot during my one hour of listening.

My blog site turns one!

Time flies when you’re having fun! And fun equates to meeting my target of 2 blog entries a week. Although I may be a bit amiss on the Top 10 (or 5) tips which I initially targeted 2 entries per month but I hope I am forgiven because it takes more time to create those types of entries although more meaningful for the general readers.

Happy 1st year anniversary to my blog site!

And thank you, dear reader, for patronizing my site.

DyLac

Abe's, A Ribbitin’ Resto

Abe (ah-beh), noun. Capampanagan word for friend, companion and getting together; nickname of a beloved son of Pampanga Emilio Aguilar Cruz (1915 to 1991), a writer, editor, painter, connoisseur, bon vivant and legendary eater outer.

Sunday lunch last weekend was at Abe’s Restaurant in Serendra, The Fort. T’was my second time to dine at this restaurant. The first was with my officemates and this time I was with my family. Initially, we thought that the place was owned by Maritel Nievera of Cabalen but later found out that it’s owned by Larry Cruz of LJC group.

Our meal of choice included the following gastronomical delights: batute (edible frog legs), lengua (ox tongue), sisig (parts of pig's head), gising gising (spicy beans) and suam na mais (corn soup). We almost completed the food groups.

So what does Kermit taste like? It tastes like chicken!

Quiapo Quest : The 30K D40

My fancy for photography just went up a notch last Saturday when I purchased my first single lens reflex (SLR) camera. Since I was on a tight budget (P30,000), I looked into the pool of entry level SLR digital cameras but took careful note of a friend’s advice, to invest on lens and other accessories. That way, if you upgrade in the future, you can still use the lens and accessories.

THE CHOICE. The battle of the entry level SLR digicam was a toss between Nikon D40 and Canon 400D. The big differentiator was the weight and the price. The D40 weighed 475 gms while the 400D weighed 510 gms. The weight weenie in me is at work. The 400D has its advantages like 10MP compared to the 6MP of D40 but I won't be needing extra MPs or megapixels.

THE PRICE. I got the D40 unit for a bargain price of P 23,000 and the package includes a camera bag and a 2GB multimedia card worth about P 2,000. Before finally making my purchase, I surfed the net for great bargains and found some but the catch is the shops are all based in the US and shipping would be a problem. In our beloved Pinas, D40s sell for P35,000 in malls and authorized Nikon dealers. In Hong Kong, the range is about P40,000 but that includes a 200 mm Nikon lens which cost about P 9,000.

THE STORE. I got mine at the “camera capital of the Philippines” in Hidalgo St., Quiapo, Manila. The lucky store was Mayer Photo. We went to other stores but Mayer had the best bargain for D40s. The location is not the cleanest or safest in the neighborhood but what the heck, for savings of at least P10,000, I’d go there anytime!

THE NEXT STEP. Just like a little boy with a new toy, I played around my new gadget the whole Saturday night. I read the manual from cover to cover but have yet to apply what I read. The next step is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE!

History Repeats itself…on another generation

By the looks of it, history will repeat itself for the Pimentels however this time on another generation. The 12th senatorial slot is about to be filled up and the announcement is expected to come out in a few days. In a sudden twist of faith, 3 termer Bukidnon Representative Migz Zubiri (Team Unity) is leading the race in a photo finish fashion. As of yesterday, he leads senatoriable Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (United Opposition) with only 18,372 votes. Quite a slim margin indeed and makes you wonder if operation dagdag bawas was in effect.

In election Y1995, Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. ran for a senate seat but lost or rather was cheated (source: wikipedia). He elevated the concern to Supreme Court and was awarded victory in Y2004. That’s a full nine years after the election and the funny thing is, he was a sitting senator since he ran in the Y1998 election and won a 6 year mandate. This gives you an idea about the pace of the justice system is in our beloved country.

While the nation awaits Senator Zubiri’s proclamation, it may be short lived because if a protest is filed in the Senate Electoral Tribunal, the numbers in the senate are opposition friendly and they can easily unseat Zubiri and install the younger Pimentel. While it may take some time but definitely not nine years!

Seven Seven Seven

For some people, 7 is a lucky number and not 8. Last Saturday, the date was July 7, 2007 expressed 7/7/07 and everybody was scrambling to have a special event in their lives so the date will be forever etched in their memorabilia. San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker wed Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria in Paris that day. My cousin Bubbles’ son Kenzo was baptized that day and I was one of the godparents. Aside from the baptism, 7/7/07 was a typical day for me.

The number 7 is my favorite number. This is not because I am a big fan of Robert Jaworski, his choice of number and mine are just coincidental. I am also not a fan of ex-Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez who was obsessed with the number seven- from his house number, the number of flights in his stairs, his cars, etc. I hope he got 7 life sentences for committing a heinous crime. I wonder if his son won as mayor of their town last election?

My semi-obsession with the number 7 extents to the cellular phone number that my wife used to have (0918-8227777) during the analog days. Now that we’ve gone digital almost a decade ago, we’ve changed her number to her favorite number. Then there’s our next car’s plate number. Initially, I thought of spending P30,000 to get a CRV 777 plate number then realized it might just be a waste of money plus the trouble you have to go through to get that number so I just decided to get a “sandwich” plate number like 787 or 757 and just shell out P2,500. Hope to get that by next month.

Okay. So there are days when you have difficulty connecting your thoughts and you just dabble and write anything that comes to mind and hopefully it reaches 500 words. It’s 11PM 7/8/07 and I’m a bit sleepy. Time to park my pen or rather park the keyboard (and mouse). Good night.

PS: By the way, my blog entry reached 1,777 characters! How’s that for coincidence.

Discovery Adventure

I watched three books this weekend. That’s right, I watched three books! Well, sort of. Watching Discovery channel on TV is pretty much like reading a very interesting book. You figuratively and literally get glued to the tube, enough to get your spouse irritated because you seem to mix up your priorities that is TV over lunch or dinner.

I watched three interesting shows on Discovery last weekend and these were: (1) Man vs. Wild, (2) Everest : Beyond the limit and (3) How do they do it?

Man vs. Wild. The one hour show was hosted and starred by Bear Grylls. Don’t know the guy and t’was the first time I came across his name. I reckon he was either named after a mammal or a fish but what’s more important is what I learned from him which I am hoping I won’t be able to use. The show I watched was filmed in Colorado Rockies. It started when he jumped from an airplane and landed in the middle of the forest. With just a set of clothes and minimal outdoor gear, his target was to find his way out of the forest. It goes without saying that he conquered the forest else it won’t be a TV series.

Everest : Beyond the limit. I never dreamed of scaling Mount Everest. Losing my fingers because of frostbite is not my idea of an adventure. And that’s good news. The bad news is that you might just lose your life. In 2006, eleven climbers did not only see the world’s highest peak, they also saw the gates of heaven. They weren’t as lucky as the other climbers. Mount Everest is the world’s highest peak at 28,251 feet. It is located in the border of Nepal and Tibet. I guess everybody knows that. What you probably don’t know is that climbers are aided by sherpas (The term 'sherpa' is used to refer to local people employed as porters or guides for mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas. They are highly regarded as experts in mountaineering and their local terrain, as well as having good physical endurance and resilience to high altitude conditions.).

How do they do it? Have you ever wondered how footballs are made? How about airplane propellers? And marbles? Ship engines? Amplifiers? Neon signs? All of these were features in a 30 minute show called How do they do it? After watching the show, you’d be saying “ganun pala.”

I used to love reading the contents of http://www.howstuffworks.com/ website but it gets pretty boring sometimes just like reading a book. There are times that you just want to laze around, watch TV and hopefully catch some sleep along the way.