Surviving Ondoy

The Flood creeps in

Last Saturday, September 26, started out like any other rainy weekend... I had gotten up during my usual time (around 7am) and since everyone else was asleep, I decided to go down, set up the TV and tune in on the SciFi channel while having water heated for my morning tea.

The rains were constant, but not that strong - or I should say, it was pouring... but there were no strong winds to accompany it to make me think there was a storm brewing. My brother-in-law, Ben, got up early too - but unlike me, he had a reason to do so... that being the need to attend to his nursing exam preparation review class. Before he left, he mentioned something about how rain like what we were experiencing, was the type to not just stop after a few minutes - the basis of his assertion, the seemingly gray sky... with no break in the rain clouds at all.

By this time, approximately around 8am, I had been enjoying the TV, opened my laptop and looked at what was new in Facebook, Yahoo mail and other sites I frequent. Ben had left - making sure he had some rain wear, and decided that the review center did not merit clothing that was too constricting - thus he wore shorts, a t-shirt, a jacket and loafers... he then left, taking the black car with him.

That said, I just continued doing what I was doing. I even vaguely noticed 'Ate' (our house help) come in, presumable after having washed clothes (yes, she was still washing, even if there were rains - she uses two umbrellas as her only protection from the rain as she washes our clothes), and I half expected her to go out once again with Bubbles in tow for her (Bubbles that is) weekly bath.

As you can no doubt see, I was oblivious to my outside - with the possible exception of knowing it was raining hard - but then again it had rained hard before without any issue, so I did not see any need to monitor this rain. Heck, there were no warning bells or whistles regarding what was happening, ans since Ate apparently stayed in longer, there was no one in our household observing what was happening outside.

My only indicator that something was happening was when the house help from the apartment door beside ours, were seemingly laughing and screaming outside while I heard Angelo, a kid a foe doors ahead of our say "Ate Vicky, yung halaman ninyo lumulutang na!" (Ate Vicky, your plant is floating already).

Now that got me thinking... floating? What the...? and I immediately looked out to see about a foot of flood water in our garage - I mean, for our plants to float, they had to have more than enough water around them to make them more buoyant - and these plants were on higher ground than the garage.


Our car's fate

I was definitely surprised, but I could not move to get our car out and possibly seek higher ground at once, as a neighbor's SUV was still blocking the garage - you see it was a long common garage, and we would bring in our vehicles on a first to arrive drives to the end of the garage - to make sure the latter arrivals had more than enough space in the garage to park their vehicles... and the Friday before said date, we arrived ahead of everyone else, hence the car was the deepest in said garage.

Eventually, the SUV got out, but by that time, the waters had risen to the lower tip of my car's exhaust pipe. My dilemma now was that if I should try going out, I would be doing it in reverse (tail pipe meeting the flood waters - with a good chance of stalling if this happened), and to make matters worse, the road outside was deeper than that of our garage. I then decided it was more prudent to leave the car in the garage - rather than risk it stalling in the flood outside the garage. I was gambling on the fact that the waters would not rise any further... after all, floods in this area were a thing of the past ever since the drainage were enlarged - and they were enlarged just about a year (or two) ago. Besides, our car; a 2008 Toyota Altis, was an automatic... and automatics were known to be more problematic in floods.

Better to keep the car in the garage, than risk it stalling and staying stuck outside then. It was a logical decision, far as I was concerned... and the less risky, given the current situation.

Unfortunately, the rain continued on... and the waters continued rising.

Had our neighbors been more neighborly, maybe I would have been able to bring the car out. Alas, no one thought to inform us... until our plants started floating. Maybe they were too busy saving their cars... who knows?


Fighting to preserve what we could

Pretty, soon my battle shifted from car (to which I could do nothing else about), to the water entering our abode... and enter it started doing too. I used the typical dam of rags... pushing them under any cracks between the door and the floor, and only managed to slow down the entry of the water... but slow it down enough to allow me time to assess the situation properly. Obviously, the first things I had to consider were the extension plugs that were lying on the floor - so we (Ate and I) gingerly unplugged these before lifting them up... ditto with the electric fans and PC. Anything that was basically ground-based and vulnerable to water, we removed - including some CDs.

As the waters continued rising, talks on TV about floods started coming in, and announcements that the power would be cut started filtering in. I then thought about everything I needed to do to ensure our safety and comfort. Drinking water and candles had to be prioritized - and naturally, it was at this moment that I realized that our drinking water had run out. Normally not a problem, since the water's supplier was just next door to our apartment. Unfortunately, now it meant opening the door and letting the water in. By this time the difference between the water inside and outside was four to five inches.

We would need water - and if we did not get any now, later would be too late - specially if the floods got worse... so I reluctantly watched Ate open the door and let all the water in.

The water was delivered; with great sacrifice... as I could not return my makeshift dam anymore... the current coming in was just too strong, and by this time, the power was shut down. My next concern... appliances - of which there were two major ones, a 5-foot medium-sized ref, and a 29-inch television.

With Ben not around, the only other male in the house was my relatively lanky son - Bryce, who was still asleep, having stayed awake the entire night (as he is wont to do every weekend) communicating with friends in the internet and playing online games with some of them. Simply put, Bryce was not available - so it was just Ate and me. Barbie was staying upstairs... not coming down and probably watching the flood from upstairs.

The TV was hard, but do-able. I remember carrying it at times, and in this instance, I did it once again... with some help from Ate. We placed it on the first major step on our stairs. A little explanation here... our stairs to the 2nd floor goes up against the wall, then makes a U-turn to go all the way up. It was at this U-turn that we placed the TV. One down.

The ref, however, was another thing. Despite our best efforts, we simply did not have enough momentum (and maneuverable space) to bring the ref up, so we returned the ref to the ground...another flood victim that could not be helped. Thoughts of what could have been had Ben been around intruded my mind for a while - but I shook that out soon enough... after all, there were other things I had to consider.


Making the best of a bad thing

I was feeling the need to go to the toilet - but I knew that any flushing would be useless now... so I just shook the feeling off. This, however, made me realize the importance of comfort - specially in situations like these. I then knew that later on, cooking in the dirty kitchen... the lowest point indoors, would be difficult, so I asked Ate to clear a place upstairs (which be then was already filled with hastily dumped stuff from the ground floor) for cooking. We then moved the stove and LPG tank to the second floor... I gave Ate special instructions to make sure the cooking would happen near an open window - in case the gas leaked at any time.

This way, Ate was able to cook lunch... and much later, dinner, with little problem. If we could not have a decent rest room for the day, at least we'd have decently cooked meals. That done, I turned my attention to other things...

As afternoon came, the rain continued, and I was getting worried. Pretty soon, the door would not be a factor in stopping water, as the flood's level was still rising, and would eventually reach our windows. It was at this time that our car's alarm started blaring.


The car's 'cry' for help

I guess the car had a warning program placed in - one that would let us know that it was in danger of being deluged by the flood waters. But there was nothing I could do. Still it eeriely sounded like a plea for help. Barbie was likewise affected by this 'plea'as she called Toyota to ask for help - asking what we could do. Apparently, the people at Toyota were likewise at a loss in what to do... finally, someone just told her to remove the battery, and by no means think of starting the car.

I also came to the same conclusion, as apparently turning the alarm off was not working (sue me, it was the first time I was experiencing a car stuck in flood) and was slightly delayed by our needing ot search for the necessary tools to remove the battery - flood waters already covered the lower cabinet where the tools normally were.

My one concern was needing to open the car, with the mistaken assumption that it was an enclosed environment - but as I looked in the window, I saw that the inside was already submerged in water, so I did not have second thoughts opening the car and popping the hood. Barbie, though, saw it as another heart rending moment. After all, she - like me earlier, thought the car's interiors would be okay. So seeing me open the door to pop the hood gave her images of the water rushing into the car.

I was soaking wet - not bothering with an umbrella, though wearing a jacket, I removed the battery. Let me also say that it was already difficult to see where I was stepping, as the waist deep water was murky with a brownish color. It was no surprise that as I was moving around, my feet tripped on what was probably a plant, and I went down into the flood water. Luckily - maybe because of my years of swimming, I had the presence of mind to keep my mouth shut as I went down. Lucky as well, that I happen to do this while not carrying the battery.

I lifted the hood, removed the battery - and yes, thankfully the alarm stopped. I then brought the battery into the house and deposited it beside the TV. I just hoped I acted in time to prevent any electrical shortage in the car's wiring.

By this time, the flood waters inside the apartment, were reaching my pelvis, and I was worried about moving the monitor of the PC and the other electrical equipment like the microwave. Lunchtime passed - but I was too busy thinking what else I had to do... besides, by this time, the kids were basically having brunch with Barbie upstairs. I guess, you could say that Barbie was making sure Bryce and Bernice's morale were not being too affected. Thought I heard that one of them... Bernice, I think, wrote the words 'help' on our windows.


Preparing for dark

As afternoon came, darkness started creeping in. Candles became the need - and flashlights. I made sure all these were ready earlier, and now it was paying off. I encountered a slight problem... matches. Since no one smokes in the house, matches or lighters were hardly lying around. Luckily, we did have our stove, which served as a source for flames - at least, enough to light one candle... and that was all I needed.

Equally lucky was the fact that one set of our tea-light candles was actually a Citronella type candle a.k.a. mosquito repellent candles. I guess, I had bought this long time ago - then had forgotten about them... or found no need to use them. Well, now was the time to use them, specially during sleep time, as we were sure to sleep without electricity that night.

As I observed the flood water rising, I realized belatedly that we should have brought up the chairs - they did not have to get wet... and they could have helped make sure there were more things to place stuff on. Ah well... maybe the next flood, these things will be more automatic to me - not that I look forward to one, mind you - but at least, it will (hopefully) be less chaotic.


Goodbye comic collection

It was at this time that I realized that I forgot something. The stuff in storage under the stairs... including my comic collection and training stuff. I knew they were now wet and I could do nothing about them. I guess, in an out of sight, out of mind capacity, I had lost track of these items. Again, I could have continued to dwell on this, but instead, I just compartmentalized it and set it aside. It was over and done - with nothing else to be of help in constantly thinking of it, so I just set it aside... focusing, rather, on what I could still do.

Just to put things into perspective, I'm talking about a collection that spanned decades - and though they were not mint condition... they still represented a sizable (both literally and figuratively) collection of comics representing DC and Marvel. Equally as irreplaceable were my collection of training materials - anything spanning coaching, team-building, leadership, Toastmasters... all gone.

I had to sit down for a while on the stairs, knowing these were all literally under me... and most definitely wet. But, I just did this for a moment - then got back to the needed tasks at hand. If this is my way of compensating, I don't know... but I'd like to think of it as a strength. My way of making sure I prioritized; thought well under pressure, and not worry about things I could do nothing about... and Lord knows I needed to do this.


Surviving the blame and guilt

At the height of the car blaring it's alarm, Barbie looked at me and blamed me for wrecking her car... and whenever I looked at the car, I always thought

'Could I have done better?
Should I have tried bringing it out?
Did I err?'

But I also know that doing that (blaming myself, that is) would just make me miserable. What's done was done - at that time, I made a decision... whether it seemed to later turn out wrong was beyond the point, and second guessing myself... thinking about it with hindsight may be important - but blaming myself would have been useless and counter productive.

Still, seeing her crying was hard. I took it upon myself to embrace her and explain to her my thoughts leading to the decision not to bring the car out... and this soothed her a bit. I guess, she needed to let her emotion out. After all, to me, it was hard to see the car in it's condition, but I knew there would be insurance to cover for the damages. In Barbie's case, the car was her symbol of a hard earned reward for all the work she did... so it was harder to see the fruits of her labor go the way of the flood.

Don't get me wrong... I too hated to see the car in it's condition, specially since it was my decision to let it stay in the garage. Late at night, as I thought the water was no longer rising... or at least, would not rise and reach the U-turn level of the stairs (it reached 3 steps - and another two steps were all that remained between the water and the TV), I decided to rest. But I would leek out the window, see the car... and be haunted by me decision.


Before retiring

Before sleeping, I tried to set aside clean water in a pail and place it near the stairs, so should anyone wish to do so, they had clean water to use without having to get it by wading through the flood. Again, I tried to make the experience more comfortable for everyone else. The only other person who worked harder than I did was of course Ate... and she asked me, in one of those seemingly ironic moments if this type of flood was something that happened often here in Bacood, Sta. Mesa... and all I could think of was that maybe it did happen at least once a decade - and as shown by our furniture filled with foam - and was floating in the flood water by the way.

Heck, the ref also started floating... and I just anchored it down with the tool box, flood water and dumbbells so it would not just float around... besides I needed it to place the computer monitor on top of.

My sleep was fitful that night. I had to be a light sleeper, should the rains get stronger, and I would be needed to raise the TV and other stuff to the second floor. I also had to relieve myself, and in a perverse manner, I did not want to piss inside the house - so to the window I went... and added my fluids to the outside flood. I don't think anyone saw me anyway. since it was about 3am, and the rain somehow disguised the noise of my deed.



The next day

I woke up early... around 5:30am... maybe earlier. I just needed to get up and get busy doing something. The first sign of good news? The water level was lower than yesterday... than last night. Hopefully, I thought, it would mean that the flood would be gone that day - and it did... around noontime. Electricity got back by 2pm... but prior to that, Ate and I were already trying to clean what we could.

Ben arrived by 9am, and he was seemingly shocked to realize that the new Altis was part of the casualty... and we were glad to know that he was able to keep the black Altis out of flood waters. So we at least had one car left with us.

We then started cleaning out the place... and we were surprised to realize that others likewise experienced similar loss. I mean, you should see the image of everyone (or almost everyone) bring out their refs and letting the trash collectors pick them up - similarly, sofas were brought out - either to be cleaned or disposed... us? We decided to dispose of ours.

I was happy to realize that two boxes of comics survived - the ones at the top of the pile... the ones the flood waters did not reach. On the other hand, I realized later that my digicam, a Canon Ixus V was in the car... as I sometimes leave it in there - so, one water-logged camera. I'll have to bring it to the repair center to see if they can still save it. I also left me rubber shoes in the car - but at least, that's washable.

On a cute note, Bubbles - our pet dog, refused to wade in flood waters and decided to keep to herself until the outside was walkable... and then, she allowed herself to go out and relieve herself. Guess that's the downside of being trained to do her business in the garage... poor thing.


Lessons learned and realizations discovered

Well for one, we only realized the extent of the effect of this sudden flood when we were listening to and watching the news, suddenly we seemed dumbstruck at the damage wrought by Ondoy elsewhere... although we were affected, we suddenly realized that we were still lucky... at least everyone was alive and safe.

Another realization... as I was cleaning, one carpenter (who was busy fixing stuff in another door) picked up a dried comic and started reading it... and it made me realize - it's not for the mint condition that I collect my comics, but for the story. That said, I started to rescue my collection - or at least, the ones I felt were worth rescuing. So the past few days of the next week found me carefully cleaning up and drying most of my collection - a difficult task, since another storm was approaching, making it difficult to dry them out.

But I got to save most of what I considered as valuable - story-wise. Still... I lost a lot - some I can't even remember.

As for lesson - I'll start parking our car in the garage looking face out... should the need to rush out ever happen again, it won't be as vulnerable as a reverse driving manner. Oh yeah... and be in a more prepared state come next time... should there be a next time. Hope not.

Anything that does not kill us, makes us better... or so, I'd like to think. Hopefully, this becomes collective wisdom for all in the Philippines... including those nitwits who miscalculated the water level of the dams, and released a great deal that Saturday on an already water-logged metro... sure, no one's admitting it. But a lot of people say that Ondoy's flood waters were too many, and rose too swift. A tropical depression - even one with Katrina-like water levels would not have such a swift and sudden effect.

Luckily, the ineptness of a few seems to have given the chance for many more to shine and show their civil service capability, their self-sacrifice, their care for others. For that brief moment, Filipinos showed that we were not a race of uncaring individuals - at least, not all of us are.

I've been getting these series of questions in Facebook, and thought - well, why not include it in my blog? So here it is...

50 Things to know me better

1. What time did you get up this morning?
(note: it's a Saturday, August 27, 2009)
9am. ... then again, it’s a Saturday with no work to rush to. On those occasions, I’m on the road as early as 7am. Naturally, I have to get up before that and do my usual pre-driving to work routines.

2. How do you like your steak?
Medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
G.I. Joe with Bryce

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Eureka, Big Bang Theory, Heroes - I also watch Discovery channel, SciFi channel, Nat. Geo., and once in a while, Ellen.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
in a place where the weather is fine all year round, where traffic jams are just fiction, and where crime is unheard of… let me know if you know of such a place

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Fried rice, Scrambled Eggs, Corned Beef and English Breakfast Tea

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Italian, Japanese, Filipino

8. What foods do you dislike?
Chinese sweet and sour cooking

9. Favorite Place to Eat?
Max’s (chicken), Italliani’s (pasta)

10. Favorite dressing?
Vinegrette, Garlic and Ranch

11. Words you live by:
In service : “Do to others what they expect you to do”
In life: “Lead with an abundance of wisdom, integrity and patience”

12. What are your favorite clothes?
Comfortable, while fashionably stylish... but if I had to sacrifice one or the other, fashion goes out the window.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
for the sights - Paris, the Bahamas, NYC; for the experience – Pyramids, Great Wall, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Amazon Jungle, the Vatican

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
it will always be seen as half full

15. Where would you want to retire?
retire? Why will I do that?

16. Favorite time of day?
After 6pm. – it’s normally when I’m with my family, discussing how the day went.

17. Where were you born?
Manila, Philippines

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Mud Wrestling (what? The last one’s not a sport?)

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
Those who've tagged me first, those too busy, or those I did not tag. ;-)

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
A real friend.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this
Everyone!

22. Bird watcher?
Yes! They can be majestic in flight (Eagles) – or hilarious on the landing (Albatross)!

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
nowadays more a morning person – 20 years ago, night owl

24. Pets?
Bubbles, our Spitz/Chow, two aquariums with tropical fishes

25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share?
Bacardi Night at my place tonight (Sat., Aug. 27, 9pm)!

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
An astronaut or an actor (hehehe)

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Sundays at Lola Nena's – where I’d b with my cousins and we’d be entertaining everyone (by singing)

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
More dog than cat – but I don’t mind cats cuddling to me

29. Are you married?
Yup

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Yup

31. Been in a car accident?
thrice – all not serious, just fender benders

32. Any pet peeves?
inconsiderate public transport (bus, jeeps, FX) drivers, inconsiderate private vehicle drivers – specially those that try to get away with their boorishness by using sirens

33. Favorite pizza topping?
Garlic and Cheese – lots of it, on a thin crust pizza. That, or, everything on top!

34. Favorite Flower?
Not really into flowers – but I guess, roses come to mind

35. Favorite ice cream?
Vanilla – you can take it plain, or become adventurous by adding stuff

36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
Jolibee

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Never, ... I passed the first!

38. From whom did you get your last email?
a friend whom I’m doing some business with - Mike

39. At which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
I don’t max it out – I’d rather reserve it for emergency situations. But if I would… maybe more on books
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
Sudden (unscheduled) Bacardi nights

41. Like your job?
There are days…

42. Broccoli?
Yes

43. What was your favorite vacation?
HK Disneyland and Ocean Park – it was our family’s first real out of the country vacation.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
Barbie

45. What are you listening to right now?
Black Eyed Peas, David Gruetta, Sting, Josh Groban, U2 – depending on the mood I’m looking for.

46. What is your favorite color?
Green

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None

48. How many friends are you tagging for this note?
25 – as instructed

49. What time did you finish this quiz?
16:00 (Whew…)

50. Coffee Drinker?
Yes, at least one cup a day! Specially when I’m not at home.

Done... so why did I bother to do this? Nothing much - just want to look back at this after a few years and see any possible changes to my answers (if any).

Camera Lens Effects - at affordable prices

Yesterday - June 21, Sunday, my family and I were celebrating Fathers' Day by going to the Shangri-La mall to have lunch after we wre done attending mass. Of course, there were other ulterior motives for going to the Shang... but they were Barbie's - not mine. Still, I was not one to just leave things as they were - and took the opportunity to look around as well.

Well, while Barbie and Bernice went their respective way (shopping for a gift), Bryce and I decided to window shop in a few of our favorite stores... and one store in particular, Hobes and Landes, offered a great number of novelty items that were also tools for scientific experimenting, however, their costs were - to say the least, worth reconsidering before purchasing - specially when one has the budget that relatively alienates them from getting so many of these gadgets. Some, after all, were trivial - others were simply too extravagantly priced to be considered as practical.

However, there are a few noteworthy items, that at first glance, looked like toys - but toys that can offer a great deal of entertainment and with it, some satisfaction.

I speak of one particular item in the store that helps any amateur photographer be able to experiment with effects that normally demand getting a pricey lens... for example the fish eye effect. Such a lens can give a sphre-like viewpoint to what the camera takes... a nice effect for landscapes - a funny effect when done with people. How much would such a lens cost? Not to mention the cost of the camera that can mount such a lens?

Then, of course, there's this product called 'Illusion lens', a tiny special effects lens, just large enough to connect to a digicam's lens, and small enough to accommodate most cellular phone camera lenses. It's a very simple device, really... it has a lens cover, and when said cover is removed, we expose a sticky gel, that can stick the lens against that of the camera's lens... so when the camera takes it's shots... the resulting images captured reflect the effect... and nice bubble effects, or fish eye pictures, if I say so myself... of course I could be biased.

There are some possible limitations... number one being the lens size... as you can see with the pictures taken, the outer corners have the greenish background, which happens ot be the illusion lens itself. Now maybe I can remove that by properly lacing the lens - or as a last resort, edit them out using either Photoshop or any other editing software, so it's not that big a problem.

Another effect Bryce and I were playing around with was the Starburst effect. Basically, this means having a clearly focused center and having the pictures background starting to become hazy... and rather than trying to describe it, I've also added some additional shots to show everyone the effects that such a lens allows us to play around with.

Our pictures show an interesting concept - like we were using some kind of power to force the effects. Again, I wonder... how much wold such a lens go for?

Well, let me tell you how much these lenses cost... Php200 - that's it. Bargain right? You bet, and the best part of it is there are more effects available.

So what do you think? Care to go to Hobbes and Landes to try these little babies out? I'm sure a lot of photography enthusiasts will find a gazillion flaws - but then again, for the price... I'd now have to say that these special effects are very reachable, and I shall be posting more of these effects, as we use them.

My paradise, lost? (or revisiting Santo Domingo church)

Have you ever been someplace where everything seemed perfect – left it as such, with hopes of returning another day to once again experience the 'idyllic', only to realize that the perfection was more a fluke than a constant?

I guess that’s how I can describe my visit to Santo Domingo church once again. Let me explain…

In a previous blog, I described how ideal Santo Domingo church was to me in terms of peaceful meditation right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city…. well, Quezon City, if you want specifics. That experience led me to believe that if one needed a break from it all – specifically a mental and/or spiritual paradisse in nature, then going to far off places need not be done – as the Santo Domingo church offered all these. In a sense, it still does – but let me explain the difference with this, my second visit, that made my experience less-idyllic when compared to the first.

This visit happened last Friday, June 19 at around fifteen minutes before 1pm. After I had dropped Barbie off (coming from lunch), I had about two to four hours to kill – and naturally, I thought ‘why not spend some time in Santo Domingo again, like I had done before?’ Parking is spacious and free, the place is quiet and peaceful and who knows – I could use it to meditate once again.

So tit came as a surprise to me when – as I entered the parking area, I saw vehicles parked… lots of them. My first reaction was, is there a special occasion? I knew not any holiday of obligation that day, so it could not be such… maybe a wedding? You could say that I was that clueless… the most obvious reason, of course, was the last one I thought of… a regularly scheduled Friday noontime mass (okay – before we continue, yes… I felt like a dunce for not thinking of it).

So my first disappointment came across as, no peaceful place – at least, for now. I was sure that once the mass ended and the people left, said peace and quiet would happen. As I waited in the wing, I decided to take a few pictures – this time, with my digicam. Here’s where my second observation of real vs. ideal intruded upon me… to call them beggars would belabor the obvious – yet, I am reluctant to label them as such. I will instead refer to them as the economically challenged. And at least two of them tried approaching me as I was trying to find said peace and quiet… no, not inside the church, rather, outside… waiting for people as they are about to leave, and hoping to get any semblance of alms.

The problem is, I too can consider myself part of this economically challenged group – of course, roaming around in a car while also holding a digicam is not the typical profile of one such person… and I would say that looks can be deceiving, as I really had no cash to spare… or to be more precise, no cash I was willing to part with that day.

So… my moment was spoiled because even as I refused to give, I felt a twinge of guilt for not helping out – yet in retrospect, are these people really needy? Why not approach the parish for help instead of just ambushing it’s parishioners for alms? Could this be just my cynical side thinking too much? Maybe. Needless to say, the idyllic peace and quiet was tarnished by these incidents.

As I entered, I went to various locations of the church – trying to find both a place of quiet and some cool wind to keep things comfortable; and this was when the third difference sunk in… during my last visit, it was in a window of calm after a storm, with the weather still being overcast with rain clouds. That meant that the church was cooler then - as it was slightly hot now, I could not really find that peaceful interlude… besides, the church’s many doors were still open likewise letting the traffic’s cacophony intrude the quiet stillness now present in the church.

Had I decided to stay a little longer… maybe 30 minutes more, I would guess that the noise would lessen – but the temperature would not be as comfortable as before… and unlike before, I had work to go to that evening, so I was avoiding any activities (or non-activities) where I would perspire… so I simply decided to leave.

That experience made me realize how lucky I was that previous time… how the weather, time and general spontaneity of it all contributed to the idyllic moment I experienced the last time. Will such be repeatable? Sure… it’s possible, but I would have to be in the vicinity, at a time I’ve nothing to do in the evening, at around 2pm – when the regular noontime parishioners would already be gone, when the economically challenged would have no reason to linger, and when the doors that help in keeping the cacophony that is just outside at bay are closed – oh yeah, and when the weather is that perfect coolness of almost – but not, raining.

How often will all these instances align themselves to achieve that idyllic environment again? Who knows? Not impossible, just almost improbable. Too bad… I really did enjoy the experience that last time. Oh well… guess that previous day was arranged for me to be there… and having just returned to see that the conditions of my previous visit were not the norm…but rather a uniquely perfect moment, I better appreciate the my previous visit and God’s hand in it. I mean, who else could make sure all those conditions would be repeated as is?

Making better Mojitos

First of all, let me allay any confusion about my being a bar tender - nope, I am not a bar tender, nor have I ever been one - I have not taken any training for such - though I probably would like to, still, for the benefit of this blog, I'm sorry to say that this will just be a purely amateurish viewpoint.

Having said that (and set aside the important caveat, let me mention that I am a relatively observant person - and I have observed some bar tenders practicing their wares, in the past... and I can say that I've observed them, at least several times, when it came to making certain drinks, enough to get some things right (like properly preparing the drink called a "Blow Job"). I was able to do this because i normally stay by the bar whenever I go to such places... normally striking up a conversation with the man behind the bar.

Besides, aside from first-hand observation, there are a lot of cocktail mixing books... so anyone can start mixing drinks or cocktails... albeit with a few failed mixes along the way. I know I have at least three of them - for cross reference purposes... and in case two have a discrepancy, then hopefully the 3rd will be a tie-breaker.

That aside, the drink I would like to focus on right now, is one that a few friends and I have constantly concocted whenever we have a get together in my place at least once a month... a practice that seemed to have begun December last year (2008). It has become so regular a practice, that we've even adapted the drink's brand as description of - or a way of labeling the drink we all seem to enjoy in these evening... the Bacardi nights, and the drink that we normally enjoy in each of those nights? - the Mojitos.

Creating the Mojitos is not that hard - in fact, anyone who wishes to learn about the famous drink can visit the Bacardi web page, ( www.bacardi.com )and find instructions on how to make Mojitos - both for a glass or for a pitcher. There are at least three other cocktail drink instructions available in the Bacardi website, but I believe the Mojitos is the most popular amongst them... my opinion, of course.

For the benefit of this article, let me give a quick low down on how to make Mojitos - you'll need the following: Bacardi Rhum (white), sugar, mint leaves, soda or carbonated water, lime. The preparation of such a drink starts with the need to muddle some mint leaves with a pestle (the Bacardi web site even suggests to use 12 mint leaves) with half a spoonful of sugar and half a piece of lime (said half piece being the slice of lime - or lemon, that you normally see garnishing cocktails).

The relatively crushed mint leaves, sugar and lime piece's juices are then mixed with one part (shot glass) of Bacardi and three parts carbonated water. Transfer to a glass with ice and garnish with more mint leaves... and there you have it - a glass of Mojitos, as suggested by Bacardi.

But if we simply followed the Bacardi suggestion, this article would be done.

So how did the impetus to seek improvements to the Mojitos drink come about?

Simple... at times we searched for ways to make the drink easier to prepare - I mean, if you'll be tending bar, it does take time to muddle the ingredients, so there had to be a better, easier and yes... faster way to do this and we did discover one - which I'll get back to in a while. Another reason was simpler - that being the unavailability of Bacardi white... so naturally the need to replace it with something else. In this case, Bacardi Oro.

Now I'm about to share what is relatively six months of trial and error by our resident Mojitos maker – Jingo, as he (and I) experimented with what we had when it comes to making our Mojitos... if in case this article inspires your curiosity and you happen to try our concoction out - well then good, this article's 'raison de etre' has been reached. Likewise, if you do experiment, and stumble upon a 'better' Mojitos - well then please let me know... okay? Great!

So... concern one - how to make preparations easier and faster? Here's what we tried. It takes time to muddle with a pestle – about two to three minutes (a rough approximation) and it does take some effort whenever a new pitcher is to be made – forget doing it on a per glass basis, that’s just too much work. So I thought… what can replace the mint leaves? Obviously it would have to be something minty.

Option 1) I found a possible solution – thick mint sauce, courtesy of Fountain (the brand). It was basically made of glucose and had floating mint leaves in it – definitely promising. This little experiment, I’m glad to say, was a resounding success – so if you stumble upon Fountain’s thick mint… I suggest getting it and trying it out.

Slight problem, though… it seems that this product is rarely found – and be careful, Fountain has another mint sauce… one it uses for salads, and is vinegar-based. Definitely not for Mojitos use. The main difference is the latter is just called Mint sauce… as opposed to Thick Mint sauce, which is the one you’ll want to use.

Problem number two – assuming you do find the product… It’s sweeten and mint to taste, and each pitcher consumes roughly a third of the Fountain thick mint sauce from our perspective – and I guess you could say that with convenience comes a price. Each Fountain Thick Sauce bottle costs roughly Php180, making each pitcher consume roughly Php60 per mixture.

Compare that to a pack of mint leaves costing about Php40, which can be used for around 10 pitchers easily… and you get the picture. I won’t even go into how much additional cost sugar is… lets just say that the mint leaves and sugar won’t reach Php60 per pitcher. But if you don’t bother with the economics, then this is one viable option.

Oh yeah, one other advantage with this is that while drinking your regular Mojitos, there is the tendency to have the mint leaves enter your mouth. Unless you’re the type who swallows the mint leaves, I’m guessing another minor hassle is the need to remove the mint leaves from your mouth or your glass. Like I said, a minor distraction – one which this option definitely removes, as it’s mint leaves are cut to tidbit sizes, hence definitely easy to drink – no need to awkwardly remove from one’s mouth.

Option 2) Jingo tried placing mint in boiled water in an attempt (some would say desperate attempt) to replicate the thick mint sauce – to make things easier too, we added the sugar into the water. Result? Well, maybe we didn’t get things down pat – but it did not taste that minty… though there was some mint taste, but the sweetness was there. Should we try replicating this again, maybe we’d do the syrup effect first then add the mint leaves later – but really… we were just putting the muddling effort ahead of the mixture – but not eliminating it, so it really wasn’t the answer. I’m no chemist, but I guess something changed from the mint’s state when boiled – it did not taste as fresh… so although it was useable, it did not make for better Mojitos.

Option 3) The use of mint syrup. Again, this was not thoroughly explored – since we were just limited to one mint syrup and I can’t say it was a success… however, it could have been because we got the wrong mint syrup - I got peppermint, and our Mojitos that evening tasted of… well, toothpaste.,, and toothpaste with Rhum do not a good Mojitos make. I drank some, but did not really enjoy the mixture – so scratch that one. Again, I may revisit this option – but it had better not be peppermint. By the way… we were contemplating on using Mint liqueur as an option – but were reluctant to further spike our Mojitos by adding the liqueur… but who knows?

End result? Nothing beats the real deal… so Jingo and I – together with our friendly Mojitos consumers, decided to stick to mint leaves and muddling – after all, the fresh taste of the Mojitos and the fresh feeling we get while drinking them do come from the fresh mint leaves freshly muddled.

Next, we’ll discuss the better sugar and Rhum to use.

Question: :Is Bacardi white the best Rhum to use? How about the Oro? Is there a difference? I’d have to say yes. Now, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I think the Oro version has slightly more kick than the white (or clear) version. It just so happens that Mojitos are known to be a clear drink – but it does not have to be. Heck… being a Filipino, I don’t mind my Mojitos browning… or turning golden in hue.

How did this discovery come about? By accident… honest. There came a day (probably during the holiday season) when stores ran out of Bacardi white… so not wanting to miss out on Mojitos, we decided to go with the Oro version – and to our surprise, we had great Mojitos. We actually preferred Oro over white ever since. And while we’re at the topic of brown versus white… let me also warn everyone about mixing white and oro in one evening.

You see, one of the good things of having Mojitos is experiencing the day after – no hangover whatsoever. Even if you did not drink moderately, come next day, the worst one can experience is a good buzz – but no headache. Somehow, when you mix Oro and White, the ‘punch’ seems stronger… and yes, the buzz seems to linger longer. Now if that’s your trip then you’re welcome. If not – then let white be used one evening and Oro another… but don’t mix your Bacardi Rhums – strange but true… at least, far as I can recall.

Next question: Is there a better type of sugar to be used with your Bacardi? Apparently, yes there is.

This last Bacardi night (June 5), we were not as organized as we wanted to be – the result of moving the drinking night one night ahead of schedule… and said date being the day itself. It was a friend’s request, and since we were all available later in the evening, we said ‘why not?’

That said, when we were in the process of muddling and needed the sugar – we just then realized that we had no more sugar. Now, it would not be much of a hassle to go out and buy sugar at the nearby store – did I mention that we were experiencing heavy rain that night? I guess I forgot to… but yes, it was pouring hard that night. But like I said, no sacrifice was too great for Mojitos… but wait… we did have sugar – though the unrefined version – otherwise known as Muscovado.

Once again, Jingo and I were in that ‘do we, or don’t we’ mode? In this case, it was to use Muscovado instead of refined sugar, or not?’ Muscovado, after all is still sugar –albeit a less refined version… but in the process – and this is according to Jingo, who’s opinion I trust in health matters – him being a registered nurse, after all… the Muscovado happened to be a healthier option. But, of course, we did not just jump into the fray… having learned from many experiments, we tried a glass of the Mojitos using Muscovado before committing to pitcher mode – and it did taste good… so Muscovado it was.

Now, if you know your Muscovado, you’ll know that using this type of sugar tends to turn things brown – but since we use Oro anyway, we did not mind the brown color. Okay… it wasn’t really brown as in chocolate brown, rather it gave a golden color – as opposed to the light amber color that the Oro gives when diluted with the carbonized water. Since I, too, am used to taking beer – our Mojitos that evening just looked like beer in pitchers – well, beer with mint leaves anyway.

For the carbonated water, there are many options to choose from – even those with fruity taste are acceptable. Personally, we use Zero Cal (for their purported zero calories) which comes with a few flavors. I’m partial to the citrus flavored ones, while Jingo likes the one with a Watermelon taste. Either way, it’s a great mixer to the Mojitos. If you can’t find them, your typical softdrinks (7-up or Sprite) will do just as well.

Last, but not the least – the lime. It’s hard to find lime in the Philippines, in that nto all your neighborhood stores keep them in stock – but they do keep lime juice in stock, as it seems to be a popular mixer to a local brand of Gin for the more labor-intensive folks, not just for the taste, but for the affordability. Well, apparently, they knew a good thing – and Jingo tried using Lime juice as replacement for your lime slices – with great tasting results.

Bottom line for me here is if you want to try a different way of making Mojitos – which I would like to refer to as the Manila version of Mojitos, try it with Bacardi Oro (instead of white) and Muscovado (instead of refined sugar).

But if you’re a Mojitos purist and prefer your Mojitos clear, then there’s nothing wrong with that – just keep with the tried and tested route.

By the way, whether you’re mixing the brownish or clear version, please use fresh mint leaves – unless you’d like to try the Fountain Thick Mint Sauce – assuming you can find it. But as I said earlier, having the fresh mint leaves does give the Mojitos a really refreshing taste – whether in a hot and humid night, or a rainy and windy one.

So here’s to the Mojitos – cheers!

Credit where credit is due... I would like to thank my friend and drinking buddy, Brian, for the pictures he took that night with his Canon DSLR.

Oh yeah, a bit of public service here...

We can enjoy our drinks, but if we need to travel after our night of drinks, please make sure to have designated sober drivers. I cannot emphasize that enough. Thankfully, our group has not had any bad experiences regarding drinking and driving - related accidents – but we don’t want to push our luck either… and neither should you.

Please don't drink and drive.

A Spiritual Pause in the middle of the Metro

This afternoon (of June 5, 2009), I did something I never did before... or at least hd not done in a long… long time. What may that be? Simple, I entered a church – and not just any church, mind you – but Santo Domingo Church to just sit down, relfect and - you could say, reflect / connect with God. Was this a planned visit? Nope, not really. Circumstances just brought me here – now isn’t that great?

“What’s so great about visiting a church” one might ask? Simple, I was able to find a very quiet and peaceful sanctuary amidst the hustle and bustle of the Metro – and I did not have to go to a Spa or drive for hours away from said Metro to escape to a beach resort. I had time to spare, was in the neighborhood, simply went inside Santo Domingo... and realized how peaceful it was.

Okay, so I’m starting this at the middle – let me backtrack to explain how I ended up here. It happened to be a day when I had to accompany Barbie to a training she had scheduled – by that, I mean she happens to be the speaker/resource person. This particular training was happening in Quezon City, specifically near the Banaue and Quezon Avenue area, for those of you familiar with the place - you would know that this place is a very busy place in terms of traffic.

Now, since she can’t drive yet, and she needed to get to the location – after which, when said training was done, she would need to get out from said location… I had to drive for her. This is, I’m not too familiar with said place, though it is located along Quezon Avenue, which means I had a general idea of how to get there.

As I said earlier, this is a very busy place - that means that there would be a great many public transportation option available to Barbie – though whether she could get one fast was still a question to be answered. As I was driving for her, she need not have had to think about all these; besides, I was around and had nothings scheduled that day, so off we went.

Now the question was… what do I do while she’s busy? I basically had to wait for four hours. The natural tendency would be to look for a fast food, preferably, one that wasn’t too noisy, and hopefully, one with WiFi so I could use my laptop and surf the net. But not being familiar to the place (I said that, right?), I did not know where the closest Starbucks or Seattle’s Best was, relative to where I brought Barbie.

So I did what most red-blooded Filipino male would do – drive around and seek said places (asking directions being so... uncool). Not that I did not know where certain Starbucks were – but I did not want to be far from Barbie’s location either.

Well… after a few rounds around the block in search of such a place – likewise getting the ley of the land, I could not find any of these coffee shops. I did see one or two - but aside from the fact that they were not well recognized brands, parking was tricky and a challenge to find… it being relatively lunchtime by then.

Then I thought, hey… since Santo Domingo was just near, why not stop there – at least, I was assured of having parking… after all, who would crowd into a church yard when there were no scheduled masses? And so I maneuvered to Santo Domingo church’s parking, entered and parked = after all, I could plan my next moves while in said parking location.

I also had a secondary reason for this... Banaue has a 'not too safe for cars' reputation - whether unfair or well deserves, I did not bother to consider such merits. I was just worried enough to not want to park anywhere near Banaue lest I lose one or both side mirrors. I thought, it would really be a brazen move should someone try to target me car while parked in the Santo Domingo church parking lot, and was banking on that point of safety when I was parking.

Soon as I entered and parked, I struck a mini-conversation with the parking attendant who without knowing, gave me information I had suspected a while ago… see, the rain had been heavy the past two – maybe three nights, and with these rains came flash floods… and as I looked around while driving, I could not help but notice that many establishments had their businesses raised in relation with the roads – which to me meant that these places experienced floods. Lucky for me, it was a sunny day today – in contrast to days gone by – sunny, yet windy… which meant the noontime sun’s heat was hardly felt. So, it looks like no rain today, or at least, not in the same volume – and with that, no floods. Good.

It was then that I proceeded to the church. I mean, I could not recall if I had visited Santo Domingo before - for sure, I did, but it wasn't really for spiritual reasons - rather more political. After all, Santo Domingo seemed a focal point for popular political uprisings... among others, it was where Ninoy Aquino's funeral mass was held, it was where many thanksgiving masses by Cory Aquino were mostly held. So it was not just the religious significance that caught my curiosity, but the historical implications of the location as well.

I entered through the front, and as I did, I immediately noticed the vastness of the church – it was indeed long, large and wide. It was also very quiet – with a scattering of devotees in it’s pews. I proceeded to it’s midpoint, found a relatively windy spot, near one of the church's side entrances, and sat down.

Now, as I said, I had not done this in a long time… in fact, I could recall visiting our school chapel ever so often while I was in Grade (primary and intermediate) School, maybe not as much in High School, and hardly at all in College. Apparently there seemed to be a progression of less visits – though I would be quick to say, I did go to mass almost religiously… meaning I never skipped a Sunday, though I might have skipped the Holidays of obligations. I guess, it simply meant that as I grew older, I 'needed' to visit less often.

Going back to Santo Domingo… as I sat, I started meditating about how my life was… realizing or reminding myself of a few personal goals not being met. As they are rather personal, I’ll just keep them vague here, and just continue… So I was meditating… I then knelt down and started praying/communicating (with God of course), and the very first thing I said was “Thank You…” I thanked God for letting me discover this place of peace and quiet… where i was seated, I could not hear the outside traffic of cars, buses and jeepneys jockeying for position in Quezon Avenue – it was really quiet, and I could actually concentrate / meditate.

I literally poured out my heart… (mentally, of course) and actually had a few tears rolling down my cheeks as I did so. Yes, it was that serious. I, of course, prayed for a better life, and then thanked him for what I had, the things I was doing right - and one more time before I got up, I thanked God again for this unplanned, very peaceful visit.

Now, this was not a short meditation either. I’m not one to kneel too long – after all, it’s not the most comfortable position I know… but I believe – that very afternoon, I cold have knelt for an hour or more – if needed. That said, I think I was kneeling for about 20 to 30 minutes… long in my book, trust me on that. So why was I able to do just that? Again, I would have to point to the environment of peace, comfort and yes… even with little people around, the spirituality that I could feel in the place.

Now, maybe it was just because I did not do such a thing for a long time, that I might have been very recipient of the surrounding… but I had gone to visit the Greenhills shopping center chapel last weekend during a non-mass moment – so I don’t think it was due to any length of time for not having visited a chapel or church.

Maybe it was, indeed, Santo Domingo church – I mean, the fact that this was a historic church in our not too long political landscape, was not lost to me either. This was, after all the favorite gathering of Cory Aquino, Cardinal Sin and many more dignitaries… you know, the states-people type, not the traditional politicians (or trapos for short). I was probably feeling the vibe of such a place having been an important part fo recent history. Maybe if I stayed long enough I would feel the same passion and commitment these people had - by tapping into the same spiritual font of strength that they had tapped.

I could have stayed much longer, but decided I wanted to look around some more.

I then visited the adoration chapel, prayed a bit – then decided htat this wasn't a daily occurrence, and had to write about this experience, to then be shared later in my blogs. Should you be reading these words now, you know I did just that.

So that’s basically it. I found a place to pause - even if just for a while. A place where I needed to commune, to re-energize, to reassess. Oh yeah… and I’ve actually eaten up almost two hours just visiting Santo Domingo.

I'm currently by the side garden as I type this article - sweating a bit due to the weather – though it seems that even that little problem is being addressed by the shower I now see, feel (laptop is relatively safe – for now) and smell (the wet grass – that is).

Should I do this again? Meaning the visit and spiritual renewal? Definitely… though it may not necessarily be in Santo Domingo, but the meditation, reflection and communication did help. Like a Spa, I felt a renewal, or replenishment of my spiritual self… maybe more so than going to mass at times – which may tend to be crowded, noisy and less spiritual as we’d like it to be. Not that I’m advocating stopping people from going to mass – no way… I’m just saying that I rarely found churches this peaceful, and it was a very welcome pause from all the hustles of city living.

In movies, I wonder why there are some people who go to visit the church when there was no mass – and I normally related these people with the desperate… those really in need, due to a crisis or an illness. Well… this afternoon’s experience was an eye-opener. Not everyone need go just because of trouble – but it is a nice place to hang… maybe there are no parlors, no fast foods, no movie or game joint… but if there were, then the peace I felt – the one I liked – the one that let me commune… that would not have been there.

Oh boy… now were really seeing rain – hope it does not last too long. I’m ending this now – not for fear of flooding… nah. It’s because I’ve said what I had to say.

Now I’m energized… until the next time. Oh, and try it some time too. Just visit - specially if you feel the need to get away from it all. You need not get away too far. Go visit your church, or any church for that matter. Give God some time for a one-on-one with you. Who knows? You could find that 'peace' too.

By the way, pictures here are courtesy of my Nokia N70, since I had not brought my Canon Camera... not bad either. Imagine that, I can literally blog on the go wiht just my notebook and cell phone.

How do they do it?

As I surf the net, once in a while I come across blogs of friends or future friends, and the first thing I notice is how great looking their site is. A definite far cry from basic Blogger or Wordpress templates at that (though I should be honest that the Wordpress templates seem a whole lot more artistic)... and the differences are just too glaring when I hop from their site to mine.

So as I said earlier, how do they do it> Are there HTML codes and commands I have to recall? Java scripts I have to collect? What should I do to make my sites look more... well, artistic and professional yet aesthetically sound?

I don't mind reading and learning... but I do want a road map. What should I do to shift from default template user to a more versatile, power user. Suggestions are most welcome.

My Have-Do-Be state

Have – Do – Be… a very simple model that we (in our in-house trainings) teach / preach in Coaching; one that we liken to the analogy of a tree with fruits. So how does it work? Simple… the tree has fruits – which can be likened to fruits of our labor being achieved… goals attained, or target acquired.

Now… to reach these fruits, one need climb the tree – which could represent the actions that we do in an effort to reach our goals. This is represented by the tree’s trunk – as it connects the fruits (at the tree’s top) to the roots (at the tree’s bottom). So, to reach the fruits, we need to do some action that will get us closer to the fruits – until we eventually reach them.

And, as mentioned earlier – at the tree’s bottom are it’s roots… symbols of the unseen factors that affect our actions – whether we realize it, or not. These roots are symbolic of four such factors which we identify as our values, beliefs, assumptions and thoughts.

Why these four? They influence our actions and decisions. For example, when we have our thoughts… whether we voice it out or not, we are possibly reacting to some outside stimulus (see, hear, smell, touch) and these reactions are actually formed based on our experience - our own or others, in which case, this latter situation can be seen as assumptions. These experiences may be seen as truths (at least, our version of it) and we may come to conclusions – or even judge a situation or person, based on what these experiences have taught us… in a stimulus / response manner. We oftentimes refer to this as learning.

These learning experiences can form truisms… maybe even cultures, if said truism is replicated to a whole community. For example, openness of a community to strangers – or caution, could be due to said community’s collective experience with said strangers. It won’t matter if said strangers stumbling into contact with their community represent a statistical representation of a country’s population to form an acceptable pattern – just one stranger adversely affecting them can keep them on their guard come next time another stranger appears. These truisms, in turn, become beliefs and even values.

If they’re still hard to grasp, it’s my limitation in explaining them without expounding on the ideas some more… and as I am writing (typing really) these words at 2am, I hope to either find time to expound them in my second pass (editing), or leave things as they are – after all, the Have – Do –Be is the lynch pin of this entry… but not necessarily the cornerstone. On the other hand, I’m sure many others can think of other considerations that can join this group of four if one really thinks hard enough – and they may even be right – but for now, let’s just stick with these, as they are just background to – and not the main reason for my current thoughts.

Nope, that Coaching model (if we can call it that) was just the introduction (hence the need to get it out of the way ASAP) – what is the more important aspect here is my using this same model with what I am doing right now. Easier said than done, apparently – because, the Have – Do – Be model needs a firm understanding of the ‘end in mind’ (the ‘Be’ part).

My problem is, I have not been putting strong focus on any ‘Be’s these days – hence, the feeling of unfocussed living of my life. Why do I feel this way? Simple… my current situation, wherein I have a very nebulous earning capacity these days, makes me feel unhinged – specially since there are days where I need to find ways to meet my expenses, and contribute to the household maintenance. Until I find a steadier source of income, I will remain unhinged. What’s worse is that I feel too reactionary – no proactive sense at all.

The problem is… I have not been able to search for a new job – although, I will also have to admit that I have not really been too active in searching for one… relying instead on what I used to do – that is, part-time training, which paid well before… though not too well these days after the U.S. recession – so that’s what? Since November of last year… almost half a year has gone by. Damn…

So… what should I be doing? Let me try things form a Have-Do-Be perspective.

‘Have’: I want to have a high paying job – one that will give me at least six figures a month… even after taxes, and reward me – in terms of both compensation and career advancement. What kind of job? Therein lies the rub… what do I want, and what can I offer to a company or organization? I will naturally have a bias towards training business… after all, it’s the business I’ve been in for decades – but it seems that such a business may not help me achieve such a goal. Either that, or I’ve not been looking at this the right way.

Though many people – not in the training business, of course, will quickly say that the reasons training practitioners do not earn that much is because they do not directly contribute to the profit margins… or are perceived to be stress-free (or at the very least) have little stress in their jobs.

I don’t think this is true either… but I will need to sit down with whoever says this and enumerate what they do and what we do. Yes we don not possibly contribute directly to sales and marketing… until you figure out who is making sure that the sales and marketing folks have their knowledge and skills in place – yes even the experienced hires. But again, this is a different point.

So… what now?

‘Do’: I need to assess my transferable skills… one that can be used in any business? I need to know my strengths… to see what other career I can jump in to. In that regard, I took the Strength Finder test, and it told me what my top five skills are – and I could readily agree with them. But how do I leverage these? And for that matter, are these enough?

I feel that I just scratched the surface. I need to know – or discover more. I need to reassess my capabilities, and I have a book that can help me… specifically, ‘What Color is your Parachute’ – and I should do the activities inside it. Lord knows I’ve had this book for about a year now… but I was still in a relatively comfy enough job – both when considering work and pay, so I was in a comfort zone. Back then, I already knew it wasn’t something I wanted entirely… but I was too busy earning to stop.

Will doing this… namely assessing my strengths, be worth it? Will this help me solve my problem? Won’t it be considered a waste of time? Won’t this be something akin to ‘analysis paralysis’? My answers in the same order… I hope so; maybe not immediately – though it can be a necessary prequel to the exercise of solving my predicament – as it can certainly help me avoid future problems; waste as compared to what? I mean, I’ve already got a lot of time that I’m not maximizing; and no it won’t be – at least, so long as it is not preventing me from acting out on some solutions. But… it is not a direct ‘Do’ action item when considering what I’m talking about – so what else can I ‘Do’?

Well, there is… for starters, the idea my dad broached to me… about trying out his business – though with a different perspective. Basically it’s pre-need selling, specific to memorial lots. Now that may not be the most attractive product (and yes, there is a product – specifically the memorial lot being sold), but in practical terms… people eventually die. Question is, will they be able to say that they won’t let their family worry about where to put their departed loved one – them or someone else, when that time comes?

Right now, dad’s business model is to set up shop and offer the lots to the people near the office. Fully dependent on walk-ins and a (deputized) sales force coming from these walk-in folk, once the business model is explained to them – so basically a form of pyramid selling – without the negative connotation of the pyramiding scheme. Despite this, the business can only go so far. What he proposes I do, is to actively market the same concept - but not via sales office (though that, too is open to possibilities), but to target companies in the Calabarzon (south of Paranaque and Muntinlupa) area.

It’s ideal is several ways – for one, dad will be there to help me out… and so will Burs (my youngest sister – half-sister, really… but I don’t care too much for the details). Next, it taps my (Strengthfinder) skills – so it’s akin to saying I can jump into the role like a fish in water.

Downside? It’s not a full employ, and it won’t get me my five figures… at least, not yet… unless sales will really be booming… and continuous for years to come (decades preferably). I’ll be basically an entrepreneur here… which is both good and bad – good since it will make me stretch my wings… bad because… well, I’m not exactly the most detail-oriented person to run a business and keep pristine records (i.e. I’ll need an accountant).

So what else can I do? Actually, that’s it for now. I can’t think of any other option right off the bat, that won’t be a ‘status quo’ thing… and as I said earlier – the status quo is not working out, right now.

And what of my ‘Be’?

To be brutally honest with myself – how do I answer the question ‘How did I get into this mess?’ Do I always look for the simple way out? No, not really? Am I not a dependable person? Definitely not! What attributes am I lacking? Right now… I’d have to say ‘Passion’. Passion for what I’m doing – passion for improvement, passion for getting things done right and well – though I have rarely slacked in this regard, since my strong sense of accomplishing what is right by the customer always gets things done right. But going back to passion - it may be this lack of passion that is making me act complacent. But I was certainly not always this way.

What was the root cause for this? Can I trace it back to my I/ACT days? I don’t think so – I was very passionate there… I always gave it my all… my best. It was in the latter days – when I perceived that management was not acting in – say, I/ACT’s best interest that I lost some passion in continuing to work for them… but not to work in a training business.

When I transferred to Fujitsu, I had a better pay… and I was in demand – but I held on to my principle of loyalty to the company – though, it, apparently could not hold on to me… thanks to 9/11 and it’s effect on the global economy. But then, I should have seen the writings on the wall – realizing that the training business was not really a priority of our CEO back then and he and the Chairman did not really see eye-to-eye. Still, I had a very good team – one of the best… which I helped build ground-up… a feat I replicated, by the way, from my I/ACT days. Still, it wasn’t enough, it seems. I’d say my frustrations started then.

Later, my joining PrimaryEdge was a good thing to start with – again it was about training… a strength I definitely had.. and it brought me into contact with colleagues I would really know and respect. Though I was not the lead – I was, in many instances, accorded the unofficial accolade of someone who was a senior (not age related – but experience specific). It would have been a good job – had it not been for the management… once again.

Why training businesses I end up with are not being handled by passionate training practitioners is a wonder… and this, once again, became apparent when I was talking to the CEO of PE – who saw training as a less stressed and therefore less pay valued job. I could disagree a whole lot – and I’m sure she was saying this to us… but equally preaching about such benefits to their main client. So I can’t fault her for her shrewdness. But I can fault her for not keeping her pool of faculty happy.

This was true in several cases… but I’m not writing this to dig up past instances – and remembering just puts me I a foul mood, so let me just say, I was again frustrated… and was wondering if the pattern I could see was because of me… a dangerous situation, since I was beginning to doubt my capabilities.

This self-doubt creeps in at times… and I have to convince myself (yet be careful not to delude myself) that I am not a failure… I am not at fault… I am not just lucky… but I, too, need to be more assertive – if not aggressive. I am a great professional – globally capable and able to adapt to a globally challenging culture, one with high work values. I am a great leader / manager – specially when in a training business. I can work with the best of them – and am considered (without hubris) one of the best trainings business facilitators.

I can hold my head up high… and I can handle any work that entails building teams, managing teams and setting goals, managing problems and keeping morale high. I value respect for the Individual, continuous improvement of the person and the processes, client relationship is something I value highly – but not at the expense of the team or the organization. I can sell ideas and am not shy to talk to anyone on a business level. I’m a management asset to anyone willing to try me out… and any organization that does not hire me, missed one hell of a human asset – their loss… not mine.

Question is… is that all I need to adjust in my ‘Be’s?
Not the end of my self discussion / self-disclosure… not by a long shot. I will need to review this document once in a while… and reflect on it. After which, I will need to do the hardest thing… a plan of action - something challenging, doable, yet not too safe / comfortable.

So definitely, this isn’t the end, but rather… a ‘to be continued’.

The ironic and mundane day

Warning... if you don't want to read about boring stuff - skip this entry.

Ironic… that is what I’m thinking of right now. That I have more access to technology that could help me blog faster or better… and yet, fins myself blogging even less these days (or weeks). The question is – why is this so?

Is it due to a lack of time? Don’t think so… but I do think it comes into the picture. A lack of topic, perhaps? Maybe – see, though I could possibly talk about so many things… I don’t want to talk about too mundane stuff – things that may seem just… well, everyday-ish (I can imagine what some grammar police will be thinking of that last statement). Is it basically a lack of interest or inspiration worth writing about? Now, that… can be the root of it all. But, again, why is this so?

Take today (the date escapes me right now – it’s just one of those slow days for me… meaning I’m slow – not the world), for example… if I were to just talk about what has transpired, I’d say that I brought my wife to work – as I usually do.

I also decided, early this morning, that I would go straight to work real early – about half a workday early (basically four hours early) because I don’t want to scamper for parking in the Robinson’s Forum (shopping mall) parking lot; due to the fact that the Cybergate office building’s parking would definitely be full of your regular office arrivals. So I really don’t mind being too early, as it offers less hassle later.

But what do I now do… with this extra time? Well, for starters, I can catch up on my blogging – albeit, in an offline sense, as I’ve been trying to find wireless networks that will allow me access. I simply needed to get to my work area (12th floor conference room) early and hang out there. I was even planning on taking my breakfast there – however, the best laid plans did not consider the fact that the training room I would be in would actually be occupied from 10am until 12nn - thus unusable by me.

I ended up at the floor’s pantry – plugged my laptop to the outlet in one corner, and started typing out my thoughts and feelings. However, things got a little noisy – hence I decided to pack up (after breakfast) and head on to another floor – with hopes of finding a colleague. Unfortunately, it seems that there was no one else around. So I decided to once again go to that floor’s pantry – find a socket and continue blogging. Yes… it was comparatively more quiet in this panrty.

So far, I’ve been at this for three hours, with two blog posts to boast about – one (this one) being a mundane piece – despite my earlier statements, and another which came out a little too profound for public consumption... oh I’ll still post it, though may consider a more private setting for it.

Since I still have two hours to spare – I have to think of activities (including lunch) where I can spend less – if not at all. Plus… it seems like I’ll be looking for another location after all, as this particular pantry (18th floor) is getting too noisy – will people chattering and the City Service personnel cleaning mugs will little regard to the noise he is making.

I also know I need to go to the mall later – withdraw some cash (in case my parking gets higher than Php100 (which I doubt – I hope), the tight money matter (prior to withdrawing) was another reason I decided to park the car in the Cyber 2 building, and not the mall. Another reason for my need to withdraw some cash? Just to have some contingency funds – it’s an ‘in case’ thing. I need not do it during lunchtime… which is just 30 minutes away, as many people may troop to the ATM during their lunch break – and my training will allow for some break time… I can use one such break time to get to the bank’s ATM . Whew…. Time flies when you’re preoccupied.

Ah well… half the workday is done, but my training has yet to start. Lucky for me, I’ll be with Mon – so one of us can really sneak out to the mall while the other lectures – so long as whoever is out gets back before his turn to talk comes. Unfortunately, that could entail spending – which I already said I would not want to do… being on a tight budget and all.
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I need not worry for meals – for one I have some ‘snacks’ and second, my training has meals included – possibly an afternoon snack and dinner. So I’ll survive this day’s meal requirements… and if there isn’t any available meal… well, I could afford to lose a few pounds.

Side thought…Wow! eleven paragraphs; approximately one page and a half… of mundane talk typed out – how about that.

Another side thought – this while eating a Washington Apple that Barbie gave me for snacks (and it is 2:13pm anyway, so it really is snack time)… this tastes crunchy and great! Too bad it was just a little apple – kinda ‘bitin’ and the café mocha that I’m taking on the side with it, somehow does not go with it too well. Note to self… don’t mix an apple with coffee – or specifically, café mocha. They aren’t the perfect snack match.

So… was this interesting? Did my reader(s) learn from it? Yeah… they probably learned that I can be a raving lunatic or blabbering idiot – uh oh… was that thunder I heard? Is it raining outside? Doesn’t look like it – but I can’t be certain, as the windows I see are shaded – and I see no darkening effect or wet marks. Ah well… no worries – I do have the car. Barbie, on the other hand, will have to worry about the rain this afternoon – if it does rain.

So back to the blabbering idiot part… yes, I can be verbose. But anything else learned? Here’s one… as a running commentary for my day, it sucks… why is that? It does not give the reader… myself included, any idea of time stamps… one that I was used to doing in my journals of old – you know, like the Star Trek supplemental logs. Oh well… next time.

How am I doing this, by the way – meaning, writing while I’m supposed to be supposedly conducting training? Simple… in the partnership I have with Mon regarding the trainings we share, it is currently his turn to talk. I’ll do so later – and I’m sure he will then be doing something similar to what I’m doing now. He does have a blog, after all.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

There is a song that starts with this line, and as one gets on with life, one realizes that – yes… for whatever reason, old acquaintances do get left behind and eventually forgotten, as we move on – move out or simply just move… elsewhere…

We see friends less and less – at times making a point to try and keep in touch – but even this tends to get caught in the many trivial and important things life throws at us, and without realizing it… we hardly find our old acquaintances at all.

And yet… in these days of cell phones, internet instant access, virtual social networks, email or instant messaging, maintaining contact isn’t that hard to do… nor is it expensive, either. We can even get near-real-time information of what others are thinking or doing via sites like Plurk, Twitter or Facebook – so what excuse would we have for not keeping in contact?

Hardly any, really… even distance, after all, is not an excuse, since the typical PC can be configured to send and retrieve real time video/audio streaming… resulting in being able to have a very decent (quality-wise) conversation; whether pure text, voice or video.

And yet again… these may not always be enough. After all, say what you will about these tools for communication – and I’d be agreeing with you, but face-to-face, real time conversations are still the better style (or medium) of communicating with friends.

This leads me to what seems to be such a practice – thought, probably not a reason for such practice’s humble beginnings – but it is one obvious advantage fulfilled… namely the keeping of friendship bonds. So how do I do it?

Bacardi Nights…

There is nothing really special about the Rhum – other than the fact that we almost all love it as a mixed drink that can help fuel our conversations. It certainly keeps us from getting thirsty while we talk (or listen) – usually catching up to what’s been happening to each and everyone sine we last got together.

These Bacardi nights are simply a monthly gathering of friends, with the sole intent of sharing the night in a relaxing manner… where conversations can revolve around work, or people at work, or of other things in any manner or order. The important thing is you come prepared to unwind, talk and renew bonds of friendships.

That is what I and a bunch of colleagues have endeavored to do. We rotate houses where we can have these Bacardi nights, so as to not impose too much on anyone – and we also bring some dish (or drink) to help support the gathering’s needs.

So far, I’ve been privy to around three Bacardi nights at friends’ houses… and an almost equal number held at home – albeit, with a smaller crowd… and all I can say about it is that there’s never been a Bacardi night that I have not enjoyed. What do we normally do with out Bacardi? We make Mojitos, sometimes we just mix it with fruit juice – or sometimes, we use other alcohol available… my home is usually stocked with Jaegermeister (schnapps), Absolut (vodka), Contrieu (orange liqueur), Bailey’s (Irish Crème), Kahlua (coffee liqueur) and a few bottle/cans of San Miguel (beer). We don’t mix and match alcohol - though if we do mix our alcohol, we are careful not to go for a lower alcohol content.

Friendships preserved, updates exchanged,and should the Mojito run out of ingredients, we cn always mix the Rhunm with other things (like Coke). If we were to call it a night, I would say that there would be days when we would rather stay around longer… but the next day’s activity beckons… and in my case, I can’t be too drunk and nurse a hang-over (which , by the way Bacardi does not do) while going to mass.

So what are you waiting for? Why not organize a Bacardi night for you and friends and keep those acquaintances unforgotten?

Another day of blogging on the go…

It's a Monday, the 27th of April, and I’m currently in Starbucks’ Mega mall branch (the one found on the side of building A – facing building B). I’ve just finished one blog entry for my coaching site, and am now just typing this out for my minutiae musing site.

But to go back a bit, what am I doing here? Well… Bryce and Sharmaine are apparently celebrating a monthsary (monthly anniversary) by spending the day either watching a movie or just hanging around. I, of course, had to bring Bryce here – as, lucky for him, I did not have anything pending this day… but how about me? I did not want to be a chaperon from 11am to 4pm, so I had to think of doing something.

So, I lugged my laptop into my North Face backpack – complete with charger – placed my iPod in as well and decided that I would try to find a Wi-Fi hotspot, and either blog or just read my downloaded e-comics.

After Bryce and I found Sharmaine, I was left on my own… and started looking for, well… a place to have lunch and maybe hang around while using my laptop. I was trying to look for the soup place - the place that served different soups; which I remembered to be on the side of Mega mall – hence my coming to this side - but when I could not find it… well, I spotted Starbucks, and thought, why not?

Three hours later, I’m still here… having had a chicken-turkey sandwich and orange juice for lunch. Right now, I’m slowly sipping on a Tall Non-fat, no whipped cream, Café Mocha, as I type this out. The music is a bit progressive – but not annoying, and it certainly beats the traffic noise outside… and lets not forget the lingering summer heat. I’m glad this place is air conditioned, or I’ll be in a very crabby mood.

I also visited two comic shops here – just to see what they were displaying, but I had to control myself from buying any comic… after all, my funds are limited these days, so I have to avoid unnecessary expenses… and given the fact that these can be downloaded from the internet torrent sites… well, lets just say the temptation to spend has less impetus or reason – plus the fact that I can enlarge the images, and not really need my glasses to read the comics is getting to be a plus factor.

But enough of that… how is my blogging experience going? Just fine, really. Granted, I’m more using a word processor first, to help me get my thoughts in order… edit here and there for consistency (and spell check) before downloading the whole article to my various sites… that seems to be the current practice. I can, of course, do impromptu writing direct to the sites – as I have done at times in the past… but they tend to be unedited, which makes me go back to fix them later. Now, since the typical word processor already has a spell-check, then it won’t be (or shouldn’t be) a problem anymore.

So on I go… blogging here and there.

Note: apparently, that place can get noisy by 3pm, and I then decided to finally leave Starbucks, so I could walk around - even briefly, before I rendezvous with Bryce.