Couch Potato After Five

 My 2nd week in MDP (Management Development Program) in GSIS wasn’t that hectic yet. In fact, I enjoyed it most of the time, doing process observations, research and presentation preparation (the movie maker way). I was even able to go home early on some occasions. So I used my free time to watch the DVD movies that’s been on my TV shelf for so long. I wasn’t able to watch everything I wanted but here are my take on those that I saw…

~~~oOo~~~ 

Are you ready to change the way you live? This was the question asked at the end of the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, about GLOBAL WARMING.

This is Mt. Kilimanjaro then and now. 

I thought this movie will bore me to tears, hearing the same things I’ve learned way back in elementary, high school and college. But I was surprisingly mistaken. Yes, it presented the same general pieces of information but the quantitative data have changed daramatically since then. If this was a battle, we’d be in red alert already. And it is a battle… a battle for LIFE… a fight for good, clean, and long life, that is. Red alert or not, if things don’t change, we will be facing the next ice age very, very soon. Haven’t you seen the signs yet? Major typhoon killers, catastrophic tidal waves, deadly drought… the list is scary and endless. And I am scared. This movie got me scared.

Our ice cap is melting and polar bears will be extinct  soon…

So what are we to do? Am I ready to change the way I live for our planet earth? Yes. I’ve thought of things I can do, namely:

-         stop smoking

-         stop using products that emit CFCs

-         prevent our car from smoke belching by having it checked annually

-         recycle materials

-         reuse  and renew resources

-         start planting trees

-         spread the word

click to enlarge

These things are easier said than done. BUT, they are doable. Actually, I’ve been doing most of them since I was a kid. I’ll just have to keep on doing them and think of more contributions I can make for the environment.

~~~oOo~~~

I’ve been told that this movie will make me cry. So the whole time I was watching it, I tried not to be too emotional. I simply enjoyed the movie and learned the lessons being presented since it’s a true-to-life movie. But, I somehow failed. At the end of the movie, when Chris Gardner (Will Smith’s character) was chosen for the stock broker position among the 20 interns who went through the rigorous training process,  my eyes welled up. I went to the bathroom and even before I closed the door, I gave in to my emotions. I didn’t only cry, but I sobbed buckets of tears! Chris Gardner’s life was unbelievably amazing! Having faced a series of unfortunate events and experiences, he was still able to rise above the rest. A true rags-to-riches/father-hero story… From literally sleeping inside a train station washroom with his son to earning multi-million dollar deals. Inspiring!!!

The movie simply tapped into the unforgotten pains of my past, having experienced a life of deprivation. I remembered how I wished to be happy and comfortable in life. So the only thing that mattered then was to be able to finish my studies (because it’s the only form of wealth that cannot be stolen from me). Even if I didn’t have food to eat then (leading to my peptic ulcer later on) or an allowance to sustain me for the day; … even when my parents fought frequently, my dad committed suicide, my brother almost killed himself too and my sister rebelled, I still managed to focus on my education and graduate with flying colors. And I was proud of myself. Now that I am living the comfortable life I’ve always dreamed of,  I feel guilty for sometimes taking it for granted.  Like this MDP thing that I am beginning to feel stressed about again because the next several weeks will involve A LOT of studying on  my part (and I am aware that I’ve become lazy on this aspect of myself the last couple of years) . The movie made me realize that I should be grateful for it and I have absolutely no excuse to not pass this thing.

Basically, Chris Gardner’s life inspired me to cherish my life more and appreciate the little blessings that come along the way… like Erin Brockovich! Remember her back in 2000? I hope  I’ll always remember his life every time I slack  off.  People like him  must be honored. They’re life’s little jewels.

~~~oOo~~~

This one’s a funny and shallow film. It’s good for spending a lazy night at home with popcorn and coke. I didn’t have to think much about it or analyze its lessons.  I just simply watched and enjoyed the flick.

“The setting is at this cavernous store called Super Club, more like Price Smart and Makro in our country.  And the most coveted honor for all its workers is the “Employee of the Month” award, and having one’s photo immortalized on the wall of fame in the staff lounge. Enter Zack Bradley and Vince Downey, two ultra competitive Super Club workers whose ten years of employment have resulted in drastically different career paths. While Vince–with the aid of his trusty sidekick Jorge–has advanced to become head cashier and winner of 17 consecutive “E of M” awards, Zack is the ultimate slacker whose scruffy appearance and laid back attitude has made him popular with his colleagues, but kept him stuck in the lowly ranks of the store’s box boys. The duo’s longtime rivalry comes to a bitter head when Amy–a beautiful new cashier with a reputation of only dating “Employee of the Month” winners–transfers to the store, immediately becoming the object of both Zack and Vince’s affection and often comical gamesmanship. While Vince instantly impresses Amy with his crowd pleasing, flamboyant style behind his checkstand register, Zack’s feeble attempts to charm his beautiful new co-worker quickly backfire against him. With the race to win Amy’s affections slipping away, Zack determines his only chance rests in winning the store’s next “Employee of the Month” award. “

Review Courtesy of:  EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

~~~oOo~~~

Brazil? Surf and Sand? Sexy women? Who wouldn’t want to see this? But as the movie progressed, I said to Peter “Baby, let’s not go to Brazil.” Hehehe…yeah, it got me scared a bit. I mean, yeah, we travel A LOT. But we haven’t encountered yet this kind of harrowing events. Oh well, if there was one good thing about this movie, it’s the fact that their lady characters were so sexy and gorgeous that it got me so horny, Peter and I ended up having sex on our couch! Hahaha!

Review courtesy of TURISTAS:

Brazil. Beautiful women, pristine beaches, a friendly, open culture. Alex is accompanying his sister Bea and her best friend Amy for their first time abroad–young Americans who have come to exotic Brazil for fun, adventure and the promise of foreign pleasures. On a rickety bus rocketing up a twisting mountain road, they meet the beautiful Pru, who speaks the native language Portuguese, and Finn and Liam, in Brazil for the sole purpose of experiencing the beautiful Brazilian women they’ve heard so much about first hand. After enduring a harrowing bus crash which strands them in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, Alex, Bea, and their band of traveling companions attempt to salvage their day by seeking out a cabana bar on a nearby beach rather than wait an endless amount of time for the next bus to come by. The discovery of the beautiful and secluded beach gives way to a day in the sun and surf, an afternoon at the bar, and a night of exotic liquors and hot dancing with the locals. It’s everything their vacation is supposed to be, until they wake up face down in the sand the following morning, drugged and robbed, their possessions gone, and the trace of very real danger in the air. The farther the group travels into this mysterious and isolated Brazilian community, the further they are from the possibility of escape–and the closer they come to the dark secret that waits for them in the lush jungle and underground caverns of the Brazilian jungle, and they must fight a primal battle for their lives in the most terrifying of all human traps.

MTV Ziggy Marley Reggae Fest

Sofitel Philippine Plaza was jampacked with rasta peeps that night! 

The MTV Ziggy Marley Fest was indeed the Reggae Fest of the 1^st quarter! Too bad that Brownman Revival wasn’t included in the line up of guest bands (I surmise that Papa Dom of Tropical Depression and Jotay, the Manager of BMR are not in good terms). Oh well, that’s life! 

 With our reggae gurlfriends Koryn and Jowi

We watched the whole thing from 6pm to 11:30pm. Several Reggae bands played three songs each before Ziggy Marley came out on stage and reggaed the night away with his own songs and his father’s (Bob Marley) hits! Yoohoooooo! In spite of my hunger (I’d feel worse if we buy their 300 peso burger or their 300 peso shawarma) and tired legs, I managed to finish the whole thing together with Peter, Koryn , Jowi & her gf Tata.

Even people from a private yacht nearby was witnessing this once in a lifetime reggae fest. 

With Jowi’s girlfriend Tata…(the one in pink)

Tired from dancing, we sat on the grass in between sets. 

Here are snippets of videos of some bands who played:

Reggae Mistress

Tropical Depression

Milagros Dance Hall

Indio I

Kudos

AND NOW, HERE’S THE CLEAREST VIDEO WE GOT OF ZIGGY MARLEY:

After The Love Has Gone…

...This is how I carry on… by blogging here still.

Just to get the ball rolling again, here’s an update of what I’ve been doing lately: 

ADDICTED TO MOVIE MAKER

I went out of the office at 7pm. By 9pm, I was still doing my report, movie-style, at Starbucks in MOA which has free wi-fi.  

Yes, thanks to the MDP training, I forced myself to learn the basics of digital movie-making. I figured that using power point is now a thing of the past. And I wanted to give my best shot in this training program as much as possible. So one night, when I got home, I just tinkered with the buttons and before I knew it, I was already hooked! I never thought it would be so much fun! I mean, preparing a report has never been this exciting and addicting for me! I was up til the wee hours of the morning and the next day, it was all I did! Oh, have I told you that starting last Wednesday (March 21) until this coming Wednesday (March 28),we’re having an unstructured style of learning? We just go to our assigned department and observe their working environment focusing on the “7 S PARADIGM” (Shared Mission/Vision/Values; Structure; Style; Skills; Staff; System; Strategies)  We just have to gather all the process observation  data we need. And by Thursday, we’ll be consolidating everything we have in preparation for our final report on Friday. Not a bad schedule huh? I’m really having so much fun right now!

PS: Now I can make our own MTV for our beach wedding. Yahoo!

JUANBAMBU

Green Bambu Tea, Hainese Thai Chicken and Mixed Veggies 

Last Friday, Peter picked me up from training at around 7pm. We headed to Mall of Asia hoping to catch a movie. However, we learned that their cinema has this policy of not letting its customers repeat the movie unless they pay again for another ticket. Since we didn’t have the patience for this kind of policy and we had no plan of staying late just to catch the start of the next screening, we looked for a place to eat instead. We found JUANBAMBU. They serve Thai and Indian inspired dishes and they taste really good. The price is also cheaper than the other restaurants in the vicinity. The only downside was that one of their waiters looked so bored and irritated with his job. I almost wanted to cancel my order. But I gave him a chance. I thought perhaps he’s just having some personal problems. But when Peter read his aura, he saw that his negative demeanor was just his natural style. What a pity. But I decided to let it go. Maybe someday, he’ll have his karma. But it won’t be coming from me. Not just yet, anyway. Hehehe. 

DATE WITH CES  

Chicken Curry and Mixed Veggies with Mushrooms 

Gosh! It’s been ages since Ces and I last saw each other! I think that was last November when I organized a Halloween party at home! My goodness! I really missed my pretty girlfriend!  We first met up at Starbucks in Podium at around 11am last Saturday. Then we transfered to Banana Leaf, another Thai inspired resto where they really have us eat on a banana leaf! I was surprised but I complied nonetheless. While waiting for the food, Peter tinkered with th laptop and enjoyed the free wi-fi access in the area (the entire Podium building is wifified)  and Ces & I chatted like there was no tomorrow. We really did some major catching up. And I am always happy t hear Ces’  stories  because they always exude a certain amount of maturity and growth. And I also like it when I know that my friends have overcome their battles and have come out stronger and wiser than ever. And Ces is one of those who just keeps on becoming a better person every single time. Keep it up Ces! I’m really proud of you!

THE REGGAE FEST PROLOGUE

At 3 pm, MTV was still setting up the venue for that night’s reggae fest. 

After our lunch date with Ces, we went our separate ways. She still had to meet with her agent for a party while Peter and I hurriedly went to Sofitel Philippine Plaza to buy us 5 Ziggy Marley Reggae Fest tickets. The concert  will be starting at 4pm and it was already 2 pm then. We got so worried that there won’t be any more tickets left that we asked our dear friend Jowi to call Sofitel for us just to be sure. Unfortunately, all tickets were already sold out! Peter was crushed! He was sooo looking forward to it! And all I felt was regret for not having bought the tickets earlier. That text message from Jowi really put us both in a fowl mood. But I was determined to get them by hook or by crook. So I told Peter to still go to Sofitel coz  I was pretty sure that  there were still some tickets left. My God, didn’t I tell you that we needed 5 tickets?!  When I reached the ticket desk, the lady in charge told me that there were still 6 unsold tickets! SIX!!! Oh my goodness! I immediately bought the five ones and I was happy as  a buzzing bee! Peter was all good since then. We headed to Bo’s Coffee at MOA afterwards to get wifified. Apparently, their wi-fi access is not for free so we transfered to Starbucks instead and waited for Koryn. We went back to Sofitel before 6 pm and reggaed the night away! 

I showed Koryn my hate i.ph blog entry at Starbucks, MOA. 

To be continued… 

MAD @ i.ph

I was going to update my blog last Wednesday. I've written a long entry about three of the places we've been to around 2 years ago namely Nasugbu, Tagaytay and La Luz in San Juan, Batangas (the very first time we went there). I've placed tons of pictures (as usual) and I've really racked my brain for all the stocked info I have regarding those places. I drafted the entire entry just to be sure I saved it. Then when I was about to publish it, for some reason, it came out as "null".

It disappeared! I hit the refresh button a couple of times… nothing! I called Peter. But he was already on the way to the car… My whole world crumbled just then! I was doing it for 3 1/2 hours only for nothing! Thanks i.Ph! This is really GRRRREAT! I was blogging while waiting for Peter to come home just so I'd get distracted from feeling abandoned and mad (he had a meeting that lasted very long and got home around 11 pm or so). You see, I'm the type who's not very good at times in handling his late nights. Thanks to the internet it has helped me a lot in keeping me from getting mad at Peter whenever he's keeping late hours at work most of the time.It's really is an awesome distraction especially when I'm being hormonal about it.

Peter told me not to quit. So here's my "not quitting". Isn't blogging about sharing yourself? Well, here's what I have to share right now. At least hindi ako plastic. What you read in my blog is really what you get.

My First Day As An MT

 
I’m classmates with my friend Lai :-) 

The whole ride home, I can’t stop thinking how I want to blog about my first day as an MT (Management Trainee) in GSIS’ Management Development Program (MDP). To my surprise, it just blew me away! I enjoyed myself and I learned  some things which weren’t new to me anymore, like the concept of leadership and paradigm shift.  It helped that one of the program’s consultants and facilitators is a renowned expert in her field and was one of my few favorite teachers back in Ateneo when I was taking up my undergrad degree in Psychology some 8-12 years ago (yes, I’m THAT old, it’s just not so obvious, haha.) — Dr. Karen de la Cruz, Ph.D. It just brought back memories and feelings of how it was like being a scholar in a very prestigious university with that goal of being able to graduate with flying colors! Oh, how I really pray that I pass this course and eventually become one of GSIS’ future leaders! Sigh.

 
This is a serious undertaking. Thus, my serious look. 

Paradigm came from the greek word PARADEIGMA, meaning, pattern. And the premise of this whole process is that “People will not change because I want them to. BUT, I can change the way I think so I may influence them into changing their negative ways later on.” This quote is so apt in our current situation in the office. Being a huge government finnacial institution, it’s a known fact that there exists a lot of antagonists and ill-minded personnel in the system. I cannot do anything about the way they are or the way they do things. But I can do something about the way I perceive the situation, the way I think about them and the way I will have to do things. Then maybe, in the long run, I will be able to influence them to do what is right and just for the system. Anyway, this is just one of the many things I learned today. There are still some quotes here which I’d like to share namely:

” Discipline is not a principle of business alone. Discipline is a principle of greatness” - Jim Collins

I‘m thinking right now that perhaps, in order for me to attain greatness in the future, one of the traits that I would have to imbibe is that of DISCIPLINE. Like what Stephen Covey wrote in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, FIRST THINGS FIRST. On my way home, aside from wanting to blog, I also wanted to play with my guitar, watch dvds, exercise, listen to music, etc. It has always been my personality to multi-task coz I tend to get bored so easily that I always need to do something different every hour or so. That’s my free-spiritedness/impulsiveness dictating how I live my everyday life. But with this very challenging course I’m embarking right now, I NEED TO BE FOCUSED & DISCIPLINED with my studies. And so, if you noticed, with my blogging right here and right now, I am also reviewing the major lessons I learned today. Coz reviewing my notes is the first thing I must do every single night for the next six months. And depending on how light or heavy the subject is, then I can decide if I can still have some time with all the other things I wanna do. Since it was just the first day of training and we’ll just be doing diagnostics and self-assessment administration tomorrow , all the other activities I want to do can follow. Like after blogging, I’ll head downstairs to do my exercise regimen while watching an episode or two of one of the series I still haven’t finished. Then I’ll have dinner with my hubby and spend time with him. Then I’ll play with my guitar and before I go to sleep, I’ll read a few more pages of SUN TZU’s Art of War. (I’m actually finishing 3-4 books these past couple of days. Art of War which I read at night before sleeping, Paolo Coelho’s Like A Flowing River which I read  in the MRT on the way home, Board Bible/Surfing Magazine which I read during my lunch and snack break at work and Kingdom Come, a DC Comic Book about all the DC heroes (like Super Man, Batman, etc.) which I read when I want something light for my mind.

” True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom to choose to not to.” - James MacGregor Burns 

 Hmmm…. I wonder if I can be this kind of leader in the future… We’ll see. I do hope so. On the other hand, how about my boss? We follow her coz we’re afraid of her. What does this tell about her leadership?

“Level 5 Leadership is to make sure that the right decisions happen no matter how painful or difficult, for the long term greatness of the institution and the achievement of its mission independent of popularity.”

This means that leadership is no popularity contest. I remember the movie 300 we saw last Sunday. Leonidas made a huge sacrifice of disobeying their law and sending his few men (300 in all) into battle because he knew it was the right thing to do at that time, even if it came to a point that lives will have to be sacrificed. But if it means freedom for the their country or achieving a greater good in the long run, then it must be done. Can I do the same thing?

 
Taken during the talk given by the Senior VP for Admin. 

They call us the “Magic 40″ out of the almost 900 employees who took the rigorous series of assessments over the last couple of months. However, at the end of this 6-month management training program, only 34 will pass and the bottom 6 won’t be able to graduate. It’s our PGM’s strategy to make sure that all of us will aim for excellence in our studies and be able to stand up in front of him, thinking like a leader, talking like a leader, acting like a leader, looking like a leader. Wow! What a tall order to follow! But I am already committed. I’m here aren’t I?  No more space for doubts (I hope!).  If they can do it, so can I (I’ll really give my best)! It will be very challenging and some sacrifices on my part will have to be made. Whether I graduate or not in the end, it doesn’t matter, as long as I do my best every day and enjoy myself in the process. This is it! Let the drum roll begin…