Entry #41: Maniniyot

If I were not I am today (that is, a corporate worker), I’d probably be an aspiring writer or a manong maniniyot. You see, I’ve always felt (or pretended, haha!) that I am an “artist,” never mind the eyebrows that it raises but it’s one label that gets respect, or at least that’s what I think, and I’d like to be respected on that level. (See, I love run-on sentences). The thing is, I have a strong admiration for artists–painters, writers, actors, and the like. Anyway, someday, if resources would allow, I’ll definitely take a shot at photography even if that path is murky. Hahai, sana lang may camera ako. Sige lang, pagiipunan ko. Nyahahaha.

I’m supposed to post some of my “artistic” photographs here but, for some reason, I’m not able to. Must be the server, I guess. Oh wellz. Next time.

Entry#39: So… let’s talk about sports.

So the field that I’m weakest at is sports, particularly anything having to do with a ball. I assure you that you’ll be talking to my hand if you would try to discuss sports with me. Well, I dunno but I’ve never really gotten myself to liking any kind of sports. To start with, I am fairly ignorant in basketball, I terribly suck at volleyball, I cringe at the thought of tennis, I’ve never tried soccer, and I consider baseball as boring. Not even chess, which is supposedly my turf given my being a self-proclaimed geek, can spare me from my incompetence because apparently, I easily lose patience with the game. Bowling, some friends say, is something natural to me but I easily get tired of playing it and I have a hard time understanding its rules so that game, for me, is still bleh.

So you see, this may explain why my physical build is poor. This may explain why during any sports event (in my high school, college, or work), you’ll find me on the benches mulling over some book to save myself from apparent boredom. (In most cases, I’ll be nowhere to be found. Hehe.)

So yes, I am not an avid fan of sports and to tell you the truth, I’m not proud of it but that’s me… so suck on it.

Entry #37: Marketing

What is marketing?

Marketing is such a broad field that everyone seems to have his own version of what marketing is.

Well, marketing is like going to a palengke. And marketing is that simple. Why all the brouhaha over Kotler’s, CMA’s, and AMA’s definitions of marketing?

With that in mind, the concepts of exchange, wants, needs, satisfaction, demand, target market, segmentation, and the like can be explained in layman’s terms.

So think of palengke. Think of that manang who so excitedly shouts at her prospective customers. By focusing on the many tasks involved in what that manang does in a wet market, it is possible to get a feel for the wider range of marketing activities.

Among the different things that a manang must do in selling her products, she must:

• Analyze the needs of people
• Predict the types of fish/pork/chicken consumers will want and decide which customers to satisfy
• Estimate the number of customers and how many items they might buy
• Predict when consumers will want to buy
• Determine where the consumers will be and how to get the food to them
• Estimate the price consumers are willing to pay for a fish, and if that price will result in a profit
• Decide what kinds of promotion should be used to inform consumers about her stall and her products
• Estimate the impact of competition from other vendors
• Determine how to provide excellent customer service to create possible repeat purchases in the future

I am so close to getting crazy because of this seminar that my boss and I are preparing for our company’s marketing staff. We’re trying to look for ways to teach the principles of marketing to them without going too technical so that it would be better understood and absorbed. But that’s the thing–the basics of marketing is not that basic. Well yes, we can always relate those technical stuff to real world marketing cases but still…

Entry #36: Pagkalula

Tila yata nakaukit na ng pagkalula
ang aking nararamdaman

Nakatutok ako sa mapula at mabagsik
na apoy ng araw at nagdadalamhati
rin sa mapayapang buwan ng gabi

Minsa’y nagtatagpo pero ang puso
ko’y sadyang mapurol

Pilit mang iniisa, ang dignidad
ko nama’y unti-unting napupudpod
na parang abo

Kaya’t minsa’y naririnig
ko ang mga pulis
“You are under arrest!”

Ako ngayon ay nakaposas, nakayuko
ngunit sabik ng mabulok sa kulungan.

Kaluluha ko nama’y buo at malaya.

Entry #32: Empty Words

“It is an advantage to all narrow wisdom and narrow morals that their maxims have a plausible air; and, on a cursory view, appear equal to first principles. They are light and portable. They are as current as copper coin; and about as valuable. They serve equally the first capacities and the lowest; and they are, at least, as useful to the worst men as to the best. Of this stamp is the cant of not man, but measures; a sort of charm by which many people get loose from every honourable engagement.”~~    Edmund Burke

Was it Edmund Burke who also wrote or said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, which by the way is the maxim exploited and tarnished by trapos?

Empty words.  We need to fill them with actions.

Entry #35: The Woman I Want To Marry

Source: Cectic

Entry #34: Headache

I wasn’t feeling well yesterday so I left office early. It was as if some metal liquid was bouncing back and forth inside the left part of my head. The worst part is that on top of this headache, I felt really, really sleepy. I felt I needed to go home and rest. I realized, however, that I wouldn’t be able to rest at home because of the heat. So I decided to relax by treating myself to a moviehouse. I picked Quarantine. So there I was, sleeping through the movie. It was, perhaps, one of the best sleeps I’ve had in years. For 75 pesos, it was worth it.

Oscar #33: Oscar de la Luya

Before the Oscar de la Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight, everyone seemed to agree that Pacquiao wouldn’t stand a chance against the Goliath. I, for one, rooted for Oscar de la Hoya. And so were my relatives and friends. This was not against the Filipino race or something. It was simply a rational assessment of the circumstances surrounding the two boxers. Oscar seemed to be stronger, wiser, and taller. (This reminds me of Naruto and Ghostfighter because of the excitement I get when assessing the advantages of a fighter over another. Speed vs Power. Intelligence vs Strength. Taijutsu vs Ninjutsu. Water vs Fire. Etc.) And, of course, the fear of being wrong in our prediction was also a big factor.

Well, well, what can I say? I was wrong, and so were many of us. Pacquiao beat De La Hoya to the punch from the opening bell and as the rounds wore on, it was clear that De La Hoya was losing the fight. De La Hoya looked pitiful and helpless. The Golden Boy suddenly became rusted while Pacquiao became the Goliath. And following the eight round, the fight was waved off with De La Hoya on his stool while Pacquiao stooped down on the ring’s corner, probably thanking God for the $11 million that he would get from the fight and the prospect of being a superstar bigger than De La Hoya himself.

Some of the first people to congratulate him on the ring were politicians like Noli De Castro who hugged him for like 5 seconds. I nearly puked. What a way to taint the innocent victory of the country’s pride. And on top of that, Pacquiao even gave them special thanks on air. I can’t remember the exact words but it had something to do with thanking the governors, mayors, and congressmen of the Philippines as if they had something to do with his victory. What another way to cheapen your victory.

Entry #30: Azeus is not equal to Asus

I used to work as a software test engineer for a company called Azeus (pronounced as you would pronounce the Greek god Zeus), a leading IT services provider in the Asia Pacific region and the first CMM Level 5 company in Greater China. The initial response of people asking me about my old company is “Wow, Asus? Bigatin ka pala…”, to which I would just nod because I’ve gotten tired of explaining that Azeus is different from Asus. Well, I can’t blame them. Azeus is not exactly a company targeted at the mass market and so is not popular. (It caters to governments and private companies mostly located in China.)

Although I lasted for only about 5 months or so in Azeus, the training I got there was worth my while. I learned how to beat myself up, abuse my mental capacity, and push myself beyond my physical limits. In exchange, on top of my big salary, the company provided me free multivitamins, orange juice, milo, brewed coffee, and snacks everyday, as if to justify the typical gargantuan tasks that we were assigned to do. My most favorite part was that the company was not strict with the time-in. That is, it was okay to show up at work later than 8AM, provided that I render the required 8 hours of work and that I meet my deadlines. (I usually showed up at 9-10AM and left office around 7PM.) Under normal circumstances, I would have liked that kind of environment but the problem was that I did not have the passion for what I was doing there. The work was too technical and I did not see myself doing software testing forever. I was a business administration graduate and felt that I should be doing what college had really prepared me for, which were operations, marketing, management, and the like.

When I decided to move out, the first company I aimed for was HP, as in Hewlett-Packard. The reason is that I was deeply inspired by the “HP Way,” a statement of culture that HP is trying to adopt within its workforce. Here it is:

The HP Way

We have trust and respect for individuals.
We approach each situation with the belief that people want to do a good job and will do so, given the proper tools and support. We attract highly capable, diverse, innovative people and recognize their efforts and contributions to the company. HP people contribute enthusiastically and share in the success that they make possible.

We focus on a high level of achievement and contribution.
Our customers expect HP products and services to be of the highest quality and to provide lasting value. To achieve this, all HP people, especially managers, must be leaders who generate enthusiasm and respond with extra effort to meet customer needs. Techniques and management practices which are effective today may be outdated in the future. For us to remain at the forefront in all our activities, people should always be looking for new and better ways to do their work.

We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity.
We expect HP people to be open and honest in their dealings to earn the trust and loyalty of others. People at every level are expected to adhere to the highest standards of business ethics and must understand that anything less is unacceptable. As a practical matter, ethical conduct cannot be assured by written HP policies and codes; it must be an integral part of the organization, a deeply ingrained tradition that is passed from one generation of employees to another.

We achieve our common objectives through teamwork.
We recognize that it is only through effective cooperation within and among organizations that we can achieve our goals. Our commitment is to work as a worldwide team to fulfill the expectations of our customers, shareholders and others who depend upon us. The benefits and obligations of doing business are shared among all HP people.

We encourage flexibility and innovation.
We create an inclusive work environment which supports the diversity of our people and stimulates innovation. We strive for overall objectives which are clearly stated and agreed upon, and allow people flexibility in working toward goals in ways that they help determine are best for the organization. HP people should personally accept responsibility and be encouraged to upgrade their skills and capabilities through ongoing training and development. This is especially important in a technical business where the rate of progress is rapid and where people are expected to adapt to change.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans for me. Well, I did not get a chance to apply at HP (to think that my housemate worked for HP at that time) because the day after my last day with Azeus, I flew out to Davao. And after realizing that I was better off in Davao, I decided not to return back to Manila. (to be continued…)

Entry #29: Hard to Understand

I googled myself and discovered, to my horror, that a badly-written poem I wrote in high school is still online. The worse thing is that I can’t remove it from the site where it is currently posted. Wow, talk about choice.

The poem was inaptly entitled “Hard to Understand”. Aargh. To top it off, I don’t understand what the poem is all about. I was young when I wrote it so it must be about puppy love or something. I dunno. Now I need to literally wear a paper bag in my head.