... and the Argonauts

Salamat, @Google!

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:37:31 -0400

Salamat, @Google!

We in this generation salute the sun rising over the Pearl of...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:21:10 -0400

We in this generation salute the sun rising over the Pearl of the Orient Seas in celebration of the warm freedom so gained by our forefathers that we as a nation can enjoy, value and share. Photo reposted (1 May 2013, Laiya, Batangas) credits to Jeffrey Go.

Today is #Philippines’ National #Flag Day! #ProudToBePinoy

Tue, 28 May 2013 01:12:18 -0400

Today is #Philippines’ National #Flag Day! #ProudToBePinoy

Leaders motivate, communicate, and inspire. Bosses discourage, direct, and instill fear....

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 06:08:38 -0400

Leaders motivate, communicate, and inspire. Bosses discourage, direct, and instill fear. #thoughtforacircumstance

life: Michael Rougier’s powerful photographs of the conditions...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:14:15 -0400

life:

Michael Rougier’s powerful photographs of the conditions endured by migrant workers and their families all across the United States.

Pictured: Migrant farm workers sprayed with unidentified chemical after day’s work, USA, 1959

(Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

The past mistakes enable learning; applying learning for the good will enable a better future.

life: Forty-five years after American troops murdered men,...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:12:40 -0400

life:

Forty-five years after American troops murdered men, women and children in a village in Vietnam, LIFE.com bears witness to the horror by republishing the story of My Lai as it ran in LIFE 20 months later

(Ronald L. Haeberle — Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Learn from history

Months of hard work paying off. If I can do it, so can you.

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 11:11:52 -0400

Months of hard work paying off. If I can do it, so can you.

Fruit Stew, Vegetable Stew

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:34:09 -0500

So I thought of having lunch at a carenderia-style eatery just outside the gym. At the food line, I struggled in vain to focus on the menu at the far wall with my poor eyesight; I had to rely on the closer food trays and my culinary knowledge. “Beef ni?” I asked the kindly waitress. Then I spotted a pot with that fruit stew eaten during cold afternoons or more popularly during Lent. What’s this called in the dialect, I furiously asked myself, not wanting to be embarrassed at not knowing what that succulent dish made of plantains, yams, jackfruit, sago pearls, among others, was. As My recognition attempts became futile by the second, I resorted to the safest most fool-proof way of getting something in front of me that I wanted dearly: pointing. “Usa ana, Miss, palihug.” “Binignit, Sir?” she confirmed. Aha! That’s the word. “Oo, Binignit. Salamat.”

Happiness lasts but for a moment as I then lay my eyes on a traditional vegetable stew (bitter gourd, squash, string beans, okra) I suddenly wanted. Here we go again, I lamented to myself. Okay, safe-mode: “Usa pud ani, palihug, Miss,” I asked, pointing to the dish in front of me. “Pinakbet, Sir?” “Oo, salamat, Miss.”

I was furious, humiliated at myself, but also chuckling with mirth at having slipped Binignit and Pinakbet out of my memory when I needed them the most.

Lunch was delicious.

The Warm-Up Leader

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 23:36:37 -0500

Beer can give you temporary confidence, but passion, among other things, gives you guts.

Last night, I was begging myself and anyone who’d listen to get me inebriated at dawn for what I was about to do the following day. It’s different being an event host and being an exercise leader; I wasn’t worried at the former as much as I fretted about the latter.

I’d been teaching a few Yoga-Tai-Chi-Pilates classes for 3 to 8 officemates, and that’s fine. But leading a warm-up routine to hundreds is overwhelming, more so because it was to be my first time this morning. Fortunately, I was able to scrounge some music into my just-restored iPhone, and with crammed practices the day before, I built a 3-song repertoire from moves I learned from YouTube and the group exercise classes at the gym.

I was baptized in fire. Early this morning before the 5km-dash gun-start, I found myself still hoping I’d be magically inebriated to quell my anxiety. On two raised platforms thus I found myself empty minded but forcing myself to kick into the routine I haphazardly practiced the day before. Albeit having no clip-on mic, I found shouting the queues to whomever heard me (the front row only I guess) a vent to relieve my fear. Yes, I felt some people jeer and play fun with this guy seemingly clueless on what to do, but perform to my best I did. I took off my glasses the whole routine for two reasons: to have no obstacle when I’d wipe sweat away from my eyes and to blur my view of the crowd - but primarily for of the latter. During the middle part of the first track, I vaguely saw most of the human figures in the crowd mimic my movements, which gave me the confidence boost to continue - I wish I’d kept my glasses on to see them clearly.

Oh, what joy I had, as I found myself breezing through the routine, injecting improvs during parts I missed, but nonetheless keeping my abnormally on-beat moves (I am not a natural dancer) and starting and ending in tune, my preliminary anxieties gone by the time we were into the middle of the second track.

Prayer helped my kick off the routine; my passion to teach others on what I know and to evangelize being fit along with the throng’s participation and mounting respect helped me sail on.

I didn’t need any beer after all.

Bring on the next challenge!

A Volcanic Eruption in Tagaytay

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 21:24:54 -0400

Things can happen to anyone, from the least to the best of us.

The past fortnight had been taxing for me. Beyond coping with the loss of good friends at work, I had to transfer to another room as the previous one was expensive to maintain alone; my roommate was one of those affected by the workforce reduction at our company. Though I had not much to transfer, it was still an effort, what with accustoming myself to the new space, coping with the acrid smell of paint, being able to arrange stuff late at night after work, among others.

Speaking of work, issues have a nag at choosing the right timing; projects started to bear down with their weight, tasks suddenly came into full swing. Co-workers started to show their colors after the prima-facie period, some shades of which weren’t that attractive nor appealing.

Life was akin to a dormant volcano shifting across a shallow rift in the mantle, experiencing significant buildup - just waiting for the perfect trigger for a glorious and menacing explosion.

Then the weekend came.

Five days before the Toastmasters District 75 [Philippine-wide] convention, which I had no plans to attend because of budget constraints and a want for some monk’s time, an invitation from no less than the District Governor came. She was surprised upon knowing I wasn’t going and that I should go, transportation, board and lodging taken cared of. I had gladly helped with some presentations and events under her wing, and I was expected to perform my technical duties during the convention in Tagaytay City. She is a motherly figure and a good friend; with that offer, I meekly accepted to go.

Still tight on the budget, I wasn’t sure (even with the plane tickets at hand) to go until the day before the trip up north. With barely two hours’ sleep from a night out with some gym-buddies and with the pre-departure anxiety and last-minute start-of-preparations, I boarded an early morning flight to Metro Manila with a fellow Toastmaster from Cebu.

Things were mellow until we were about a third our drive away from Manila to Tagaytay. The group had a short pitstop to relieve their bladders and have some breakfast to-go. My Cebu-friend is a twitchy, tense and anxious guy, who gets to my nerves after a while. He wasn’t content with the minute-interval run to the restroom at the Cebu airport just before boarding the flight; he had a noisy breakfast beside me with elbows flying hither and thither, and oh what a chatterbox he was. So I had an uncomfortable drive to the venue.

At the countryside hotel in Tagaytay that was the convention’s venue, I found a beeline to the District Governor and her entourage for a quick breakfast (I didn’t feel like eating during the drive) and to get my feet wet with the tasks waiting for me. Thus started a weekend that was to be remembered in infamy.

The dormancy went from a peaceful mountain, to a trembling countryside, to vented vapors, leading to that forthcoming eruption in all its glory and havoc.

People didn’t seem to be prepared enough for a national convention such as this one in particular. Most of the business presentations weren’t so much as last year’s slides, and were thrown to me to be done a few hours before the show, and even during the heat of it all. Some details weren’t forthcoming; reports needed to be inserted during the meetings; people hurrying you up and not giving clear instructions or pre-meeting briefings; halls and equipment weren’t prepped. Good lord. My temper flew this way and that, forcing my self very hard keep that glorious eruption at bay, as if I could hold it in. During repasts or meals, I focused my attention on the food, no longer having the energy to mingle. During the two-day convention that was supposed to be an educational and networking opportunity for Toastmasters, I had none of that except hearing the hurried-up but good keynote by a Regional Adviser who was a guest from Malaysia.

The eruption lasted long beyond the convention: the drive from Tagaytay to Manila was placating what with having some time with relatives in Alabang, but aftershocks came at the Manila airport where my fragrance got confiscated at the security check (why wasn’t it taken in Cebu; why wasn’t my isopropyl canister confiscated as well?) and where that Cebu-friend displayed his anxiety to my utmost disappointment; my Facebook wall got the blunt of the eruption, so the world got the news.

Albeit being non-educational, it was a learning experience. Plan before and plan well. Work as a team to get things done. Do not aggravate the situation by being pushy. Do not test someone like me to volcanic eruption because unforeseen and unexpected things can happen even to the best of us.

Updated Visuals for One World Trade

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 05:46:50 -0400

cabbagerose:

the port authority and the durst organization

via: blueverticalstudio

15% Agree • Bread: they’re too soft. • Grilled Chicken:...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:05:47 -0400

15% Agree

• Bread: they’re too soft.
• Grilled Chicken: they’re still bloody near the bones.
• Red Horse: not at all times they’re served chilled as they should be. And ‘tagay’ is just unhygienic - Hepatitis anyone?
• ‘Pas-pas’: saying that to make the driver go faster is crazy. That’s why there are traffic rules and driving defensively.
• Island hopping and ‘bangkas’: some operators and tourists don’t care about proper waste disposal; the sea ain’t a trash dump.
• Haggling: for pirated goods and low-quality merchandise - turns me off.
• Street-Fruit: please care about your health and peel your own fruit - think of the dust and unknown health hazards on the peeling tools and person.
• Tanduay: see Red Horse
• Kids: really, there are no bad ones? Have you thought about juvenile crime and out-of-school youth?
• Road vendors: sometimes they sell senseless stuff like hammocks - anyone care for a nap while driving?
• Clouds: have you heard of smog and pollution?
• Markets: gotta watch out for double-kill meats and pimped-up rotten seafood.
• Pirated media: and you’re happy about that? Where are the rights of digital media providers? Where’s the Department of Trade and Industry?
• The world’s largest restroom: another one! More support for uncivilized creatures. Please don’t pee or crap anywhere and everywhere you choose.
• Roadside mechanics and vulcanizing shops: no complaints there.
• Resourcefulness and recycling/reusing: also no complaints.
• Public transport: unruly drivers, pesky driving; congestion; pollution.
• Karaoke: public disturbance. Where’s the peace when you need it?
• It’s a jungle: indeed!

Verdict: it’s not that fun in the Philippines.

Twitter's Twenty Words

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:53:53 -0500

As a #public entity, #perception matters. So where are the #priorities of the #Philippine #Government? #Politics or the #People? #Disgusting

What's The Most Unique Job In The Whole World?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:06:20 -0500

What's The Most Unique Job In The Whole World?:

2012.01.09. I was walking through The Terraces, Ayala Center, Cebu, Philippines, with a few friends from work. We were on our way home after a busy day. I was talking with Joseph who’d sprained his left foot during basketball earlier; our conversation went this way and that (veering away from his injury) and arrived at him asking me a question: “Jason, what is the most unique job in the whole world?” As a Toastmaster, I did my best to satisfy him with my take on his ‘Table Topic;’ I gave my answer after about 10 seconds. Now I throw Joseph’s question to others (If you’re wondering where #1 is, that would be my answer - watch out for the reveal, perhaps when someone else gives the same answer as mine - my terms for the reveal may change without prior notice. Dun dun dun duuuuun…).

Crisis Corruption

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:29:00 -0500

Many people in lligan City are discouraging everyone to course Sendong donations and relief goods to the CSWD because of pilfering by the receiving officials. According to the concerned citizens, the CSWD and officials of other government agencies get the ‘cream of the crop’ leaving measly remnants for the victims. The public is therefor encouraged to go to the various evacuation centers and distribute the goods personally or to the NGOs present (Red Cross, media partners ABS-CBN/GMA/TV5, UN, etc.)

Aid for Southern Philippines Flood Victims of Tropical Storm Washi

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:25:20 -0500

Aid for Southern Philippines Flood Victims of Tropical Storm Washi:

Please follow the link to find out how you can help: storm Sendong caused severe flash floods whose blunt was worst dealt in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, two coastal cities in northern Mindanao, an island in southern Philippines. Hundreds of families were displaced; death toll approaches a thousand; many are still lost. As much as 20cm of rain came in just 10 hours of hard downpour from the late afternoon of December 16th towards the next day. Water and sanitation are top aid priorities, as public water [and electric] utilities remain out of service.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who..."

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:14:30 -0500

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

- Theodor Seuss Geisel

Drug Mules Get Whooped

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:43:45 -0500

Drug Mules Get Whooped:

This testifies the importance of proper education - bringing awareness to the society about illegal drugs and the smuggling of the same. Also, people need to know that honor, reputation, and life are invaluable compared to any monetary ‘bribe’ no matter how large it is. People, put your mind-set, attention, wants and attractions in the proper social perspective. Discern between right and wrong. Strive to flee from ignorance, indifference, and acting-before-thinking. Seek to be knowledgeable, socially and morally correct, and a role model to others. Don’t give any excuse to be a shameful example to society, either by choice or ignorance.

We’re engineers, employees, and professionals, but...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:43:41 -0500

We’re engineers, employees, and professionals, but kids-at-heart, and can have tons of fun in the limelight as you’ve never known us to have or be! Lexmark R&D Cebu Business Inkjet Hardware and Human Resources Support teams rock the Year-End Party (3 December 2011, The Radisson Blu. Cebu City, Philippines) as they lose themselves in their fantasy-character get- ups, in fun and camaraderie, in their topsy-turvy, entertaining version of LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” Starring the Elven Emperor with his Royal Guards; Chin Chan Choo; Aladdin-Abu & Jazzmin; Belle & the Beast; Catherine. Beatrice, & Eugene; Akmon-Roa; Mr. Crazy Box; and the rest of The Mob, together with our singers Toto and Icel. Have fun. laugh, enjoy the festive season. Let the inner kid in you shine! Thanks to Andrian Sevilla for the video.

Racism

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:48:54 -0500

It isn’t ethical. More so in these modern times when equal-opportunity is the in-thing.

Last night, learning from a friend that she was denied membership in a Catholic University dance troupe because of her ethnicity raised my hackles - who wouldn’t be furious on this discrimination even if it happened almost a decade ago? The narrow-minded creatures with blinders limiting their vision like race- or draft-horses.

This example is but one of the needles in the haystack. Talk about preferential treatment of Whites versus Asians in restaurants, hotels, etc.; rejection to a work-post because only Christians are qualified; non-advancement to a senior or management level because of origins in a cultural minority; etc. It’s unfortunate that some people wish to embrace the Medieval Age - out of breeding, social influence, peer pressure, reputation, and what-else.

Discrimination is beyond today’s moral precepts and ethical values. Everyone without any exemption - including kids, yuppies, and the elderly - must understand that we live and prosper in this era full of respect and peaceful co-existence regardless of the many differences we might have. Long gone were the days of the stake. The past: bears witness to our shortcomings; an opportunity for us today to learn good lessons from; a contrasting image of what society should be.

I invite all to reflect on our shortcomings with our fellow men, understand why we have chosen to wear the blinders of racism and discrimination, and seek for means to remove these dangerous and inhuman barriers.

Live Life Lovingly.