Another year off my calendar!
This year's birthday wish is going to be different from the usual "good health," "more wealth," and the staple "world peace!"
It just happened that the opportunity presented itself in class yesterday. Prof Velasco used World Vision (www.wvi.org) as the last case study for the term. The non-profit organization helps put less fortunate children to school, one among its many programs. The topic was about motivation, how to motivate volunteers considering that they are offering their services and selfless commitment for free. According to the case, World Vision also has salaried employees, those who handle support functions such as bookkeeping. From its 100 employees worldwide only 7 resigned over the past 15 years. Four of them even came back! A direct opposite compared to the IT industry where annual turnover rate of some companies even reach as high as 80%.
After being involved in several other non-profit groups, Prof Velasco is strongly endorsing World Vision. He has successfully brought it to Johnson & Johnson because he was able to personally see how World Vision operates and how successful it is in fulfilling its noble mission of providing a meaningful and long-term difference in the life of thousands and thousands of children. One of the guest speakers, Ethel, was a sponsored child from Leyte. From grade 2 to college graduation, her education was supported by a couple who lives in Canada.
I have always wanted to do charity work but always have an excuse for not doing so. World Vision's child-sponsoring program is convenient yet fulfilling. It just needs the sponsor to give 15 pesos each day or P450 per month (that's 5,400 per year) to help put a child in school. As a sponsor, you get to choose the child by browsing his profile and family background. You are encouraged to get to know more about him through letters. I think letters are screened so that you won't be giving him unnecessary info like how financially rich you are, for your protection, I guess. Each year, a progress report will be sent to you, informing you how your "child" is doing.
Prof Velasco, who himself is sponsoring several children the for past 6 years, was able to convince his skeptic lady boss to sponsor a child too. After she saw the program, probably through ocular visits, being the skeptic that she was, wholeheartedly decided to support 10 children!
And so I signed up, so did almost all of my classmates. I did not have any preference, so I asked Ethel to choose a child for me. Antonio Vina, from the photo in his profile, is a good-looking boy with intelligent round eyes. He's in grade 3, plays basketball and loves Math!
I "adopted" a child on my 25th birthday! My wish is for him to grow up to become a God-fearing, responsible, and upright person.
4.19.2004
3.12.2004
Love story
jade
function: verb
1 a : to wear out by overwork or abuse
b : to tire or dull through repetition or excess
2 intransitive senses : to become weary or dulled
synonym: tire (verb)
I'm jaded. Not because of having gone through too many relationships but because of the lack thereof. I feel weary of believing in the picture painted by movies that describes how love is so great, so full of thrill and bliss. I was surprised that my friends still believe strongly in finding the person who can make them feel passionately. Poor me, I guess I just didn't understand, or didn't want to try to understand for the fear of being disappointed if in case, it never happen to me.
Last Febuary, our ManSci prof got married and went on a 2-week honeymoon leave. When he came back, my classmates insisted on knowing the details of his love story. At first he seemed reluctant, it didn't seem appropriate to be broadcasting his personal life to the class. But being the sport that he was, he obliged.
"How did you meet?"
She was my student, a couple of years my junior. Several terms had passed when we met again in the GSB Night (DLSU-Graduate School of Business) ramp modeling gimmick January, 3 or 4 years ago. I represented the faculty and she represented the students as ramp models. She was the only person who was nice enough to talk to me in the make-up room. We had a great time and I sent her a dozen red roses on Valentine's day.
"Where did you go on your honeymoon?"
Phuket island, it's a resort that had a forest in the back and long stretch of beach up front.
"How long was the courtship?"
It took me a year before we officially became a couple. Nahirapan ako because the girl is chinese and her family was strongly against me, not knowing that I am also a chinese. I'm a Lee (mother side).
"How did you propose?"
*smile smile* I took her to Nurture spa in tagaytay and we went to makati for dinner. I sat her down and showed her the photo album containing all our pictures together for the past 3 years. At the last page of the album was the question "Will you marry me?" Then I took out the ring.
"Did she say yes immediately?" (mga usi talaga classmates ko!)
No she didn't.
"Huh? why?!"
She broke down in tears. She was crying and I didn't know what to do.
(Our prof was not hesitant in sharing anymore... volunteer info followed)
You know how I knew she was THE one? The ring which I bought 5 or so years ago fit her perfectly.
"awwww...."
--------------
That story made me want to cry... want to believe that there is a someone for everyone. Only time will tell...
function: verb
1 a : to wear out by overwork or abuse
b : to tire or dull through repetition or excess
2 intransitive senses : to become weary or dulled
synonym: tire (verb)
I'm jaded. Not because of having gone through too many relationships but because of the lack thereof. I feel weary of believing in the picture painted by movies that describes how love is so great, so full of thrill and bliss. I was surprised that my friends still believe strongly in finding the person who can make them feel passionately. Poor me, I guess I just didn't understand, or didn't want to try to understand for the fear of being disappointed if in case, it never happen to me.
Last Febuary, our ManSci prof got married and went on a 2-week honeymoon leave. When he came back, my classmates insisted on knowing the details of his love story. At first he seemed reluctant, it didn't seem appropriate to be broadcasting his personal life to the class. But being the sport that he was, he obliged.
"How did you meet?"
She was my student, a couple of years my junior. Several terms had passed when we met again in the GSB Night (DLSU-Graduate School of Business) ramp modeling gimmick January, 3 or 4 years ago. I represented the faculty and she represented the students as ramp models. She was the only person who was nice enough to talk to me in the make-up room. We had a great time and I sent her a dozen red roses on Valentine's day.
"Where did you go on your honeymoon?"
Phuket island, it's a resort that had a forest in the back and long stretch of beach up front.
"How long was the courtship?"
It took me a year before we officially became a couple. Nahirapan ako because the girl is chinese and her family was strongly against me, not knowing that I am also a chinese. I'm a Lee (mother side).
"How did you propose?"
*smile smile* I took her to Nurture spa in tagaytay and we went to makati for dinner. I sat her down and showed her the photo album containing all our pictures together for the past 3 years. At the last page of the album was the question "Will you marry me?" Then I took out the ring.
"Did she say yes immediately?" (mga usi talaga classmates ko!)
No she didn't.
"Huh? why?!"
She broke down in tears. She was crying and I didn't know what to do.
(Our prof was not hesitant in sharing anymore... volunteer info followed)
You know how I knew she was THE one? The ring which I bought 5 or so years ago fit her perfectly.
"awwww...."
--------------
That story made me want to cry... want to believe that there is a someone for everyone. Only time will tell...
2.26.2004
Globe incident
My brother's phone was stolen again! Since the line was registered under my name, I had to call Globe's customer service to have it blocked. Upon stating my concern, the CS representative told me that their system will be 'up' in an hour and I have to call back later. I argued that the phone's stolen and there's no stopping the person from making unlimited phone calls charged to my account! But she calmly said that since their system is down, there's no way for her to have the SIM blocked.
HELLO?! Are you testing my patience?!
All I said was "FINE," and ended the call.
The least she could've done is to get the phone number and assure me that once their system is up and running, she will make sure that all calls made through the lost phone wouldn't be charged to the account. Or something to that effect.
After a few minutes, I called again planning to make her at least record the lost cell number and the time I called so that when the bill arrives, we can have the business center staff check their lost phone record to prove that we didn't make those calls. Surprisingly, it seems that their system is running already and the CS rep gladly terminated the phone account.
This proves two things:
1. Either Globe CS reps are not properly trained or they don't use their head.
2. System downtime in Globe takes a few minutes to fix, but then again there isn't supposed to be any downtime in the first place.
HELLO?! Are you testing my patience?!
All I said was "FINE," and ended the call.
The least she could've done is to get the phone number and assure me that once their system is up and running, she will make sure that all calls made through the lost phone wouldn't be charged to the account. Or something to that effect.
After a few minutes, I called again planning to make her at least record the lost cell number and the time I called so that when the bill arrives, we can have the business center staff check their lost phone record to prove that we didn't make those calls. Surprisingly, it seems that their system is running already and the CS rep gladly terminated the phone account.
This proves two things:
1. Either Globe CS reps are not properly trained or they don't use their head.
2. System downtime in Globe takes a few minutes to fix, but then again there isn't supposed to be any downtime in the first place.
2.23.2004
Worth it?
A month before valentines day, my cousin Sally partnered with her friend to help run her flower shop. The shop has existing suppliers, employees and clients when Sally joined the business. Being an eager businessminded person, my cousin planned on opening several short-term fresh-flowers-for-valentines kiosks but realized that she only have enough resources for 2 in addition to their main shop in makati.
So I jumped on the chance and talked my one-time-tiangge-partner Liza into our second biz-partnership. After determining that the venture entails minimal risk, we decided to open our own in Times Plaza from Feb 10 to 14. We had it all planned out. Thought that it would be as easy as personally choosing fresh flowers from Dangwa to personally arranging bouquets for sale.
As it turned-out, we didn't realize what we're getting into.
A week before:
Went to Divisoria to buy the necessary items for the store such as flower 'pails', bouquet tissue wraps, ribbons, and additional items for sale.
We went to the basement of Divisoria mall to look for deflated balloons and stuffed toys. I didn't realize that even on non-Christmas season, Divisoria is so crowded! The basement of the mall looks more like a small, dark, smelly, suffocating hole where people are squeezed and pushed to move an inch. Anyway, after a dizzying and hyperventilating 5-hour errand, we were able to get everything we need at rock-bottom prices.
A day before the first day:
We couldn't contact the supposed saleslady to man the store! And both of us cannot afford to be absent from work. Fortunately, Liza was able to talk someone into looking after the stall for us.
Since we have to get fresh flowers, we decided to go to Dangwa at 2am the next day when flowers arrive directly from Baguio. Liza & I met at 10pm at my place and took the jeepney to the flower market at 1:30am.
First day (Feb 10):
We bought bouquet boxes, tubes (which I like to call "the roses' life support system") and several dozens of roses, malaysian mums, carnations, baby's breaths and mysticas.
After a tiring 2-hour flower shopping spree, we went home at 4am, not to rest but to wash, clean and prune the flowers. At last, at 7:30am we were able to produce 2 bouquets, of course that is after several trial-and-error attempts to create the most appealing bouquets our sleepy souls could make. Pictures temporarily published at http://photos.yahoo.com/grace_chua_ay
While Liza went to fetch the saleslady, yes her honor has to be fetched or else she won't go to the stall by herself, I cleaned up the leaves littered all over our front porch.
The stall officially started business at 9am! After briefing the saleslady, Liza took the halfday off from work and went home to sleep. I went straight to my desk on the 8th floor and half-awakedly zoned into my usual routine of checking email and pretending to look busy.
At around 4pm, I was barely awake, wishing so hard that 8pm will arrive soon so we can close the store, go home and sleep!
By the end of the day, we had only sold 1 tiny stuffed heart worth P30! So much for motivation...
Second & Third day (Feb 11 & 12):
Nothing exciting happened. Sales were around P500 on each day, not even enough to cover a third of the rent & wage expenses for the day. Fortunately, my Unisys officemates placed a few orders which I had no choice but to deliver the next day.
My parents can't help but comment on how they've worked so hard to put me in college so that I can earn a decent living afterwards and not peddle flowers. They really couldn't see the point why I was doing all this... at that time, neither can I.
Fourth day (Feb 13):
Accdg to my prediction, this is the day when the bulk of the sales will be. Liza & I met up at Dangwa around 2am again. My poor sleepy dad, who insisted on coming with us after being threatened by my mom, waited by the car while Liz & I got all the flowers we need. We were home at around 4:30am to wash and prepare the orders for the day. By 8:30am we brought the fresh flowers to the stall. I took the bus to makati to deliver the flowers as promised. Thinking about it now, I looked so pathetic, like an old lady peddling flowers inside office buildings. But of course, I wasn't peddling, I was merely delivering the orders to their owners. A sleep-deprived zombie carrying a bruised dignity, I was worrying if there will be enough sales for the day to cover the costs we already paid cash for. My dear brother was kind enough to ask his friends to purchase from me. Thanks to him, almost a third of our profits were generated by the dozens of orders his friends made.
Last day (Feb 14):
At last! The day when we get to decide the fate of our biz. I was in school in the morning while Liza went to rest because she was up for 48 hours straight! She was also helping their church raise funds by selling flowers. At the end of the day, we cleared the stall space and went home to do accounting. We were able to make a good 35% financial profit from the experience. After having settled the accounts at 10:30pm, we went to Bacolod Chicken Inasal for dinner to 'celebrate.' Celebrate the fact that we made money, that our business did not fall apart, and that we don't need to sacrifice sleep anymore!
Thinking about it now, most entrepreneur will be lucky if their business is able to generate 15% net profit annually. We should be happy that with such minimal capital, we were able to produce 35% net profit in 5 days. But then again, we gave up a lot of things, like sleeps, breakfasts, and half-days from work where we get paid by just sitting in aircon room checking emails. In terms of experience, I personally think that although we did learn some things from it, I wouldn't exactly consider the learning precious.
Worth it? You betcha!
Do it again next year? You betcha! NOT.
So I jumped on the chance and talked my one-time-tiangge-partner Liza into our second biz-partnership. After determining that the venture entails minimal risk, we decided to open our own in Times Plaza from Feb 10 to 14. We had it all planned out. Thought that it would be as easy as personally choosing fresh flowers from Dangwa to personally arranging bouquets for sale.
As it turned-out, we didn't realize what we're getting into.
A week before:
Went to Divisoria to buy the necessary items for the store such as flower 'pails', bouquet tissue wraps, ribbons, and additional items for sale.
We went to the basement of Divisoria mall to look for deflated balloons and stuffed toys. I didn't realize that even on non-Christmas season, Divisoria is so crowded! The basement of the mall looks more like a small, dark, smelly, suffocating hole where people are squeezed and pushed to move an inch. Anyway, after a dizzying and hyperventilating 5-hour errand, we were able to get everything we need at rock-bottom prices.
A day before the first day:
We couldn't contact the supposed saleslady to man the store! And both of us cannot afford to be absent from work. Fortunately, Liza was able to talk someone into looking after the stall for us.
Since we have to get fresh flowers, we decided to go to Dangwa at 2am the next day when flowers arrive directly from Baguio. Liza & I met at 10pm at my place and took the jeepney to the flower market at 1:30am.
First day (Feb 10):
We bought bouquet boxes, tubes (which I like to call "the roses' life support system") and several dozens of roses, malaysian mums, carnations, baby's breaths and mysticas.
After a tiring 2-hour flower shopping spree, we went home at 4am, not to rest but to wash, clean and prune the flowers. At last, at 7:30am we were able to produce 2 bouquets, of course that is after several trial-and-error attempts to create the most appealing bouquets our sleepy souls could make. Pictures temporarily published at http://photos.yahoo.com/grace_chua_ay
While Liza went to fetch the saleslady, yes her honor has to be fetched or else she won't go to the stall by herself, I cleaned up the leaves littered all over our front porch.
The stall officially started business at 9am! After briefing the saleslady, Liza took the halfday off from work and went home to sleep. I went straight to my desk on the 8th floor and half-awakedly zoned into my usual routine of checking email and pretending to look busy.
At around 4pm, I was barely awake, wishing so hard that 8pm will arrive soon so we can close the store, go home and sleep!
By the end of the day, we had only sold 1 tiny stuffed heart worth P30! So much for motivation...
Second & Third day (Feb 11 & 12):
Nothing exciting happened. Sales were around P500 on each day, not even enough to cover a third of the rent & wage expenses for the day. Fortunately, my Unisys officemates placed a few orders which I had no choice but to deliver the next day.
My parents can't help but comment on how they've worked so hard to put me in college so that I can earn a decent living afterwards and not peddle flowers. They really couldn't see the point why I was doing all this... at that time, neither can I.
Fourth day (Feb 13):
Accdg to my prediction, this is the day when the bulk of the sales will be. Liza & I met up at Dangwa around 2am again. My poor sleepy dad, who insisted on coming with us after being threatened by my mom, waited by the car while Liz & I got all the flowers we need. We were home at around 4:30am to wash and prepare the orders for the day. By 8:30am we brought the fresh flowers to the stall. I took the bus to makati to deliver the flowers as promised. Thinking about it now, I looked so pathetic, like an old lady peddling flowers inside office buildings. But of course, I wasn't peddling, I was merely delivering the orders to their owners. A sleep-deprived zombie carrying a bruised dignity, I was worrying if there will be enough sales for the day to cover the costs we already paid cash for. My dear brother was kind enough to ask his friends to purchase from me. Thanks to him, almost a third of our profits were generated by the dozens of orders his friends made.
Last day (Feb 14):
At last! The day when we get to decide the fate of our biz. I was in school in the morning while Liza went to rest because she was up for 48 hours straight! She was also helping their church raise funds by selling flowers. At the end of the day, we cleared the stall space and went home to do accounting. We were able to make a good 35% financial profit from the experience. After having settled the accounts at 10:30pm, we went to Bacolod Chicken Inasal for dinner to 'celebrate.' Celebrate the fact that we made money, that our business did not fall apart, and that we don't need to sacrifice sleep anymore!
Thinking about it now, most entrepreneur will be lucky if their business is able to generate 15% net profit annually. We should be happy that with such minimal capital, we were able to produce 35% net profit in 5 days. But then again, we gave up a lot of things, like sleeps, breakfasts, and half-days from work where we get paid by just sitting in aircon room checking emails. In terms of experience, I personally think that although we did learn some things from it, I wouldn't exactly consider the learning precious.
Worth it? You betcha!
Do it again next year? You betcha! NOT.
2.11.2004
values
money is the reason why, even if i feel insignificant in this project, i am still with the damned project.
Espoused value: the value you tell everyone like 'employees are our no.1 concern'
Actual value: the real (deep inside) things you value based on your behaviour and action like 'generate profit or cut cost whatever it takes even if it means laying off employees'
A person becomes self-actualized when his espoused values and actual values are the same.
-----
My espoused value: the significance of my existence.
My actual value: make more money.
I guess I am a loooooong way from achieving self-actualization!
Espoused value: the value you tell everyone like 'employees are our no.1 concern'
Actual value: the real (deep inside) things you value based on your behaviour and action like 'generate profit or cut cost whatever it takes even if it means laying off employees'
A person becomes self-actualized when his espoused values and actual values are the same.
-----
My espoused value: the significance of my existence.
My actual value: make more money.
I guess I am a loooooong way from achieving self-actualization!
2.06.2004
Quarterlife crisis
For the past year, something kept bothering me. It is the feeling of being lost, of living each day aimlessly, without direction, clueless of where I want to go. The me I imagined as a kid is very far from what I am now. A typical quarterlife crisis scenario.
Quarter-life crisis means during our mid-20s, we still do not know who we are and where our life is heading. The crisis part is we get scared because we feel we are getting old without achieving much of anything significant. For me, this crisis doesn't end when we reach our late 20s. We will continue to carry this state of confusion up until we get to middle age, which is another crisis of similar nature called the Middlelife crisis. No one is spared of going through this cycle.
Doing research in preparation for this Saturday class' oral exam, I was directed to www.theworkingmanager.com. The page has an interesting section where their Thought of the Month is posted. It said that the world's greatest tragedy is when the people never find out what they really want in life or what they are really good at. And this is precisely what I am afraid of happening to me.
I will quote some part of it here just in case the page is removed from the site.
"It is exciting to realise that each one of us, every day, has the opportunity to create the beginning of a new self. The self we want to be. "But that is impossible," you say, "You just do not understand my circumstances." You are right, I don't. They are your circumstances, but this I do know.
Your circumstances may not be in your control, but your attitude is. It's not what happens to you that is important it is how you deal with what happens to you. Every person forms his or her own estimate of him or herself and that estimate determines what he or she becomes. You can do no more than you believe you can. You can be no more than you believe you are. If you really do put a low value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise the price!"
Beautiful!
Quarter-life crisis means during our mid-20s, we still do not know who we are and where our life is heading. The crisis part is we get scared because we feel we are getting old without achieving much of anything significant. For me, this crisis doesn't end when we reach our late 20s. We will continue to carry this state of confusion up until we get to middle age, which is another crisis of similar nature called the Middlelife crisis. No one is spared of going through this cycle.
Doing research in preparation for this Saturday class' oral exam, I was directed to www.theworkingmanager.com. The page has an interesting section where their Thought of the Month is posted. It said that the world's greatest tragedy is when the people never find out what they really want in life or what they are really good at. And this is precisely what I am afraid of happening to me.
I will quote some part of it here just in case the page is removed from the site.
"It is exciting to realise that each one of us, every day, has the opportunity to create the beginning of a new self. The self we want to be. "But that is impossible," you say, "You just do not understand my circumstances." You are right, I don't. They are your circumstances, but this I do know.
Your circumstances may not be in your control, but your attitude is. It's not what happens to you that is important it is how you deal with what happens to you. Every person forms his or her own estimate of him or herself and that estimate determines what he or she becomes. You can do no more than you believe you can. You can be no more than you believe you are. If you really do put a low value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise the price!"
Beautiful!
2.03.2004
Annoying
As usual, we went to Frio Mixx UN Ave for lunch. That place is preferred because it's the nearest and the least crowded at noontime.
My lunchmates have been irked by the fact that the branch had been in operation for at least more than 6 months already, but the service is still lousy. Servers couldn't differentiate Orange from Honey Ice Tea. Their Fried Chicken, a best seller, is usually out-of-stock (I'm pretty sure not because of the Bird-Flu scare). Waiters get confused with the orders because several customers share the same number.
I usually have high tolerance for order mistakes and doesn't really mind when my order comes late or when the water I specifically asked from the counter didn't arrive. But today is different! My officemate's entire order was not served, Italian Sausage in White Sauce, Spicy Squid, Passion Fruit Juice and all, just because some wise guy thought that sharing numbers is a great idea. What's so great about sharing numbers? Order takers write the shared number on the several order slips, waiters get confused and opted not to serve food that they thought had already been served, customers wait a long time thinking that their orders are being prepared, customers stomachs are growling and they get impatient. They really should consider getting more of those number stands so that customers don't have to share numbers.
I usually prefer water to go with my meals. And so everytime I eat there, I ask for drinking water. Everytime! As in we eat at Frio at least once a week, and at most 3 times a week, for 6 consecutive months! I am a repeat, repeat, repeat customer. So I guess it would stick to the waiters' minds that I need drinking water, not juice, not tea, not shake, just plain water to go with the dry meal. And so for the nth time, I was choking on my beef tapa and the water, which I requested 3-4 times to several different waiters, wasn't served yet. That was fine, I can manage... but almost after finishing the food, two waiters brought 5 plastic cups filled with iced water and place all 5 cups near my plate. There were only 4 of us at the table, all of my companions have their drinks. Do you think the waiters were trying to tell me something?!
Lesson to be learned, still eat at Frio Mixx because it's the nearest and the least crowded place during lunchtime. Period.
My lunchmates have been irked by the fact that the branch had been in operation for at least more than 6 months already, but the service is still lousy. Servers couldn't differentiate Orange from Honey Ice Tea. Their Fried Chicken, a best seller, is usually out-of-stock (I'm pretty sure not because of the Bird-Flu scare). Waiters get confused with the orders because several customers share the same number.
I usually have high tolerance for order mistakes and doesn't really mind when my order comes late or when the water I specifically asked from the counter didn't arrive. But today is different! My officemate's entire order was not served, Italian Sausage in White Sauce, Spicy Squid, Passion Fruit Juice and all, just because some wise guy thought that sharing numbers is a great idea. What's so great about sharing numbers? Order takers write the shared number on the several order slips, waiters get confused and opted not to serve food that they thought had already been served, customers wait a long time thinking that their orders are being prepared, customers stomachs are growling and they get impatient. They really should consider getting more of those number stands so that customers don't have to share numbers.
I usually prefer water to go with my meals. And so everytime I eat there, I ask for drinking water. Everytime! As in we eat at Frio at least once a week, and at most 3 times a week, for 6 consecutive months! I am a repeat, repeat, repeat customer. So I guess it would stick to the waiters' minds that I need drinking water, not juice, not tea, not shake, just plain water to go with the dry meal. And so for the nth time, I was choking on my beef tapa and the water, which I requested 3-4 times to several different waiters, wasn't served yet. That was fine, I can manage... but almost after finishing the food, two waiters brought 5 plastic cups filled with iced water and place all 5 cups near my plate. There were only 4 of us at the table, all of my companions have their drinks. Do you think the waiters were trying to tell me something?!
Lesson to be learned, still eat at Frio Mixx because it's the nearest and the least crowded place during lunchtime. Period.
1.27.2004
Disastrous 1st presentation
Last week was crazy! I just had 2 complete dinners for the entire week! Mostly because of preparing Management Principles (manpri) group presentation. The actual presentation went well and our prof had only good words to describe our attempts on pulling off a Kris-Korina talk show on the car manufacturer wildcat strike issue. The fun part ended there. Before the start of the panel interrogation and defense proper (in front of the entire class!), our prof reiterated that his role is take the side against our recommendation. And he assured us no matter what our recommendation is, he is sure to make our recommendation look lousy and weak.
And so the interrogation started, each of the 6 members of the panel (composed of our classmates) had 2 chances to ask a 4.0 question. After a grueling 60 mins, it was evident to the entire class that our group was not prepared (although we did!). We couldn't even give one satisfying, let alone convincing, answer to their questions. It made us look dense. Maybe it was because we didn't expect the questionings would be that in-depth and we didn't exhaustively cover all the possible scenarios of the case. We merely assumed that solving the long-term issues will be sufficient.
Oh well, we did felt a little better when the prof said that since we were the first group, he will be giving us added consideration depending on the contents of the paper we submitted to him earlier that morning. (He gave each of us a hand-shake! as if we lost a courtroom battle.) But thinking about it now, it wasn't much of a consolation. It just meant we were not good enough to set the bar high. Thank goodness we still have a second chance to present in the class... that time, we will make sure we cover everything!
And so the interrogation started, each of the 6 members of the panel (composed of our classmates) had 2 chances to ask a 4.0 question. After a grueling 60 mins, it was evident to the entire class that our group was not prepared (although we did!). We couldn't even give one satisfying, let alone convincing, answer to their questions. It made us look dense. Maybe it was because we didn't expect the questionings would be that in-depth and we didn't exhaustively cover all the possible scenarios of the case. We merely assumed that solving the long-term issues will be sufficient.
Oh well, we did felt a little better when the prof said that since we were the first group, he will be giving us added consideration depending on the contents of the paper we submitted to him earlier that morning. (He gave each of us a hand-shake! as if we lost a courtroom battle.) But thinking about it now, it wasn't much of a consolation. It just meant we were not good enough to set the bar high. Thank goodness we still have a second chance to present in the class... that time, we will make sure we cover everything!
1.22.2004
DCruz
He is our groovy professor in Financial Accounting. The 65-year old (estimated) teacher loves to wear bright and funky shirts. He teaches accounting using his own technique, firmly believing his method is simpler and easier to implement. The book he authored is the entire GSB's textbook for FINACC, even after resistance from several accounting professors. For him, "Accounting is an art and not science." Would you believe that? In Accounting, you must be precise to the last centavo. But based on his statement, you get the impression that often times in the real world, accounting is subject to interpretaions, estimates and work arounds, which after the course, I now understand and believe.
As a teacher, he is very considerate. He makes sure all the foreign students (Chinese nationals) understand the lessons. BTW, quatro ako! :D I remember, whenever the class felt that the topic is difficult, he encourages us by saying "No, this is easy. But although this is easy, it still takes a semblance of intelligence to understand it."
He loves to tell funny stories of his experiences from work and school. What I love about him is that he doesn't BS around. He is comfortable in voicing his thoughts even if they step (just a little) over the borderline of being unethical. He admits, even is proud, that he had paid the arbiter of the fire insurance to jack up the estimated loss of his mother-in-law's burnt-down building. Of course, so that they all made money out of it.
Unsolicited general advices are frequently handed out like once he said, "If you're going to marry someone, better marry a rich one. Beauty won't get you anywhere far. Look at me I married a rich girl... but of course, I love her!"
Of the three profs I had last term, I will miss his witty remarks the most.
As a teacher, he is very considerate. He makes sure all the foreign students (Chinese nationals) understand the lessons. BTW, quatro ako! :D I remember, whenever the class felt that the topic is difficult, he encourages us by saying "No, this is easy. But although this is easy, it still takes a semblance of intelligence to understand it."
He loves to tell funny stories of his experiences from work and school. What I love about him is that he doesn't BS around. He is comfortable in voicing his thoughts even if they step (just a little) over the borderline of being unethical. He admits, even is proud, that he had paid the arbiter of the fire insurance to jack up the estimated loss of his mother-in-law's burnt-down building. Of course, so that they all made money out of it.
Unsolicited general advices are frequently handed out like once he said, "If you're going to marry someone, better marry a rich one. Beauty won't get you anywhere far. Look at me I married a rich girl... but of course, I love her!"
Of the three profs I had last term, I will miss his witty remarks the most.
1.16.2004
new beginning
Several friends got married this January.
12/31. Mark and Caroline married each other. I guess they want to start the new year with a new life.
01/09. Jed Quiambao's ate got married in Boracay.
01/10. Budi got married in Indonesia, which he had been preparing for since last July!
01/11. Stif married her bf, which she'd known for 10-years! wow!
me? no sign yet... it could be a really really long wait.... *sigh*
12/31. Mark and Caroline married each other. I guess they want to start the new year with a new life.
01/09. Jed Quiambao's ate got married in Boracay.
01/10. Budi got married in Indonesia, which he had been preparing for since last July!
01/11. Stif married her bf, which she'd known for 10-years! wow!
me? no sign yet... it could be a really really long wait.... *sigh*
1.06.2004
new year equals new resolutions
By the end of 2002, I promised to have more fun and recreation in the folowing year. Most probably because I felt overworked and stressed. It was the year in which I felt fulfilled in my young career. I got voted as the year's MVP and completed alot of projects. I was actually looking forward to 2003!
Looking back, 2003 was not as exciting as the previous years. I got assigned to a big team of senior developers where all the exciting work of designing and architecting the system were done by more experienced members. The timeline is very very relaxed, which is both a good thing and a bad thing for me. The good thing is I get to have more free time for myself (realizing my resolution to take it easy). The downside is my technical skills did not improve significantly even if I tried to keep up-to-date by reading technical materials. Can't still figure out why there is a need for EJBs!
With all the free time in my hands, I got interested in photography. It's amazing how I learn to appreciate nature. I began to develop a habit of gazing at trees and clouds and stars. This is, I guess, my version of taking time to smell the roses. I became an aesthetic.
I felt restless, too much time doing nothing. Can't waste time watching TV! So the most logical thing, at least at that time I thought it was the most logical thing to do, was to go back to school. I heard a lot of good things, probably mostly hyped-up version of the real thing, about getting an MBA while still young and single. Being single! I need to write something about that later. Anyway, I was getting bored with IT work, I felt I wanted to explore other areas such as marketing, business, manufacturing, export, finance, and even agriculture. Not necessarily because I wanted to shift careers but I just wanted to see how they work. And so I got in. Breezed through 3 subjects last term. Can't exactly figure out what to do after finishing the entire program.
And so we're starting 2004! Time to do a lot of reflections and thinking. And my list of resolutions for this year is a complete 180 degrees turn from the previous years'. At the top of my priority list is to multi-task. Not trivial ones but tasks that are relevant enough that I can be proud of. Perform well in my day job, continue school, and start a biz. Set long-term goals. Be more spiritual. Exercise. And be confident (thanks to a friend who pointed it out).
Among all the sms messages I received at the start of 2004, these two are my favorites:
"Like birds, let's leave behind what we don't need to carry... Grudges, Sadness, Pain, Fear and Regrets. Fly light. Life is beautiful. Have a happy new year!"
"No one can go back and make a happy beginning, but anyone can start from now and make a happy ending. Hope you have a new year that starts right and ends happy."
Looking back, 2003 was not as exciting as the previous years. I got assigned to a big team of senior developers where all the exciting work of designing and architecting the system were done by more experienced members. The timeline is very very relaxed, which is both a good thing and a bad thing for me. The good thing is I get to have more free time for myself (realizing my resolution to take it easy). The downside is my technical skills did not improve significantly even if I tried to keep up-to-date by reading technical materials. Can't still figure out why there is a need for EJBs!
With all the free time in my hands, I got interested in photography. It's amazing how I learn to appreciate nature. I began to develop a habit of gazing at trees and clouds and stars. This is, I guess, my version of taking time to smell the roses. I became an aesthetic.
I felt restless, too much time doing nothing. Can't waste time watching TV! So the most logical thing, at least at that time I thought it was the most logical thing to do, was to go back to school. I heard a lot of good things, probably mostly hyped-up version of the real thing, about getting an MBA while still young and single. Being single! I need to write something about that later. Anyway, I was getting bored with IT work, I felt I wanted to explore other areas such as marketing, business, manufacturing, export, finance, and even agriculture. Not necessarily because I wanted to shift careers but I just wanted to see how they work. And so I got in. Breezed through 3 subjects last term. Can't exactly figure out what to do after finishing the entire program.
And so we're starting 2004! Time to do a lot of reflections and thinking. And my list of resolutions for this year is a complete 180 degrees turn from the previous years'. At the top of my priority list is to multi-task. Not trivial ones but tasks that are relevant enough that I can be proud of. Perform well in my day job, continue school, and start a biz. Set long-term goals. Be more spiritual. Exercise. And be confident (thanks to a friend who pointed it out).
Among all the sms messages I received at the start of 2004, these two are my favorites:
"Like birds, let's leave behind what we don't need to carry... Grudges, Sadness, Pain, Fear and Regrets. Fly light. Life is beautiful. Have a happy new year!"
"No one can go back and make a happy beginning, but anyone can start from now and make a happy ending. Hope you have a new year that starts right and ends happy."
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