Professionalism

"Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them." - Julius Erving

Wise words from an NBA Legend. As professionals, we engage in an occupation or work as a means of livelihood or for personal gain. In the workplace, we are expected to always give our best, put our best foot forward, and put in an honest day's work. As professionals, we are then held to certain work and ethical standards.

However, we're also human and like every other human being, there are days and/or moments when we find it quite difficult to focus on the work or task before us. Instead of working on either a report or a presentation that's coming due, we find our thoughts wandering off, often to non-work related stuff. It may be due to a variety of reasons such as fatigue, an illness, or personal problems. As a result, we sometimes find ourselves either surfing the web or blogging. Sometimes we walk over to a coworker's cubicle to engage in some chitchat about the day's events or talk about any other topic under the sun except for work.

We may call those moments "mental breaks" or "recharging" but for some people, they will be quick to label those moments as "unproductive time" or "down time". Some would question our work ethic, call us "lazy", and some self-proclaimed moralists would even render a judgment on us by saying that we failed to put in an honest day's work.

Deep within, I must admit that it does bother me a lot whenever I get into such unproductive periods. My feelings are mixed at best. Although I do enjoy taking mental breaks, a part of me also laments the time lost in the process. A good part of my regret is also deeply personal. I view those unproductive spells as my failure to match my father's work ethic.

In all his years at work, I never saw my father open or read a newspaper while he was in the office, not even during lunch breaks. He would only bother to open and read the papers at night, once he was home. But while on the job, he was all work. He was all work from the moment he stepped in his office in the morning to the moment he packed up at night.

I was certain that the papers were never read in the office because they were still very neatly folded and looked as crisp and fresh as the moment they were placed on his desk earlier that day. That was the example he set for me and one I've always tried to live up to with varying degrees of success.

But like my father, I do value my job and I do take great pride in my work. I make sure that with every report I submit and every presentation I make, that I am well prepared and confident to respond to questions directed at me. I make sure that I have command of all the details necessary to support a position or a recommendation. The approach has so far helped me with my career.

But it is also my view that I would rather take a much needed mental break than submit a work product of questionable quality. But make no mistake. Deadlines do matter to me and I won't be caught dead missing any of them unless it was for factors beyond my control.

Looking back, I probably decided somewhere in my past to take an approach different fr0m my father's but to still strive towards the same end. The approaches we took were probably different because our personalities were different. Our life experiences were different too. All his hard work and sacrifices, some dating back from his childhood, did make life a little more comfortable for me and my sister.

Using Mr. Erving's definition of a Professional as the benchmark, maybe I am less of a professional than my father. However, if his definition of a Professional was based on the quality of one's output, maybe I have a fighting chance.

A "123" Book Tag

I asked Dr_Clairebear if I could volunteer for this one because I think it's such a fun tag. I'm glad that she was quite supportive and agreed. :D The following are the tag rules and they're quite easy to follow and do:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The book I picked up that was nearest to me was titled "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" by renowned author and financial management guru, Suze Orman. Ms. Orman became famous in the US in the late 90s for offering people advice on how to save and where to invest their hard-earned money. Unlike other financial authors who tend to just dwell on the technical side of financial management, aside from the technical aspects of investing, Ms. Orman also adds a philosophical and spiritual bent to money management.

This book was, and still is, a huge influence on me as far as managing my financial affairs are concerned. There are a number of passages in the book that help put things into perspective. It so happened that when I turned to page 123 of this book, the following three sentences (per the tag rules above) provide a very good example of the type of message she imparts to her readers:

"The third way to make money is the most powerful and respectful way there is, and that is to invest the money you save during your working years wisely, so that when you no longer want to or are able to work, your money will work for you. The earning years of your retirement money can go on forever--money is a living entity, remember? If invested with respect, if invested in time to let it grow, these earnings will take care of you well and go on to take care of those you leave behind."

According to Ms. Orman, there are basically three ways to make money. The first way is to work for it. The second way is to inherit it and the third way is to invest one's savings wisely. The above sentences also show that for Ms. Orman, the acquisition of wealth is not an end but a means to an end. In this book and in all her other books, she emphasizes that when it comes to decisions affecting money, we should always consider, above everything else, how those decisions affect the ones we love.

For this tag, I'm tagging the following people: Mari, Em Dy, Gizelle, Fingertalks, and BW. I hope you guys won't mind. Thanks in advance for participating.

Photo credits: SuzeOrman.com

Saturday Photo Hunt

This Week's Photo Hunt Theme: High

This is a shot of the west side of midtown Manhattan taken from one of our office windows. The landmark on the left is the famed Empire State Building. This is my first contribution to the Photo Hunt effort and I'm posting it a few hours early.

Have a great weekend.

Original Photo by: Panaderos

A Technorati Tag

This is the other tag from Gizelle that I'm addressing for this post.

I have randomly selected the following five people: Lazarus, Bambit, Rudy, MegaMom, and Dr_ClaireBear to be tagged. I hope that you will similarly publish this post on your respective blogs. The tag rules mandate that you tag 5 other bloggers and to just keep adding to the list. No replacements, just additions.

Tag others and see your Technorati Authority explode. Please let me know if you wish to participate so I can email you the code. (Yes, there is a code. Hehe) Thanks in advance to all of you.

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:
*Blognation, Pinoytek, Reyna, Bluep, Kotsengkuba, Buraot, Iris, KCee, Banco De Reyna, Mitch, Melai, Malen, Beng, Sasha, Divaness, Jojitah, Joanjoyce, Gzel, Panaderos, (you!)

The "Strategist" in the Baker

I took a personality test earlier today at the request of my buddy, Gizelle. So off I went to the mypersonality.info site. The test I took classified me as an INTJ or "Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging", a personality type that is also known as "The Strategist".

INTJ persons were described as: introspective, analytical, determined persons with natural leadership ability. Being reserved, they prefer to stay in the background while leading. Strategic, knowledgable and adaptable, INTJs are talented in bringing ideas from conception to reality. They expect perfection from themselves as well as others and are comfortable with the leadership of another so long as they are competent. INTJs can also be described as decisive, open-minded, self-confident, attentive, theoretical and pragmatic.

Sometimes people perceive me to be a bit aloof ("suplado") but it's because "To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how." - INTJ Profile

Lastly, according to the Portrait of an INTJ, "INTJs are natural leaders, although they usually choose to remain in the background until they see a real need to take over the lead. When they are in leadership roles, they are quite effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well. They are the supreme strategists - always scanning available ideas and concepts and weighing them against their current strategy, to plan for every conceivable contingency. "

The downside to this is that INTJs were estimated to make up only 1.5% of the population. It tells you therefore that my dating prospects are quite limited. Hehehe

Gizelle, if you won't mind, I'll respond to your other tag tomorrow. Thanks.

Obesity Series #2

I was at McDonald's recently and saw the latest packaging they use for their Chocolate Chip Cookies:

McDonald's calls it the "Cookie Tote", a rather cool and cute name in my humble opinion. There's a small window at the front of the box to show those cookies that almost every child finds so mouth-watering. The following photo shows the back of the same box.

The box had six chocolate chip cookies in it but definitely had room for three more.

How does it relate to obesity then? Well, aside from the high sugar and fat content in chocolate chip cookies, you have to hand it to the folks over at McDonald's for they sure know how to package their products in a very attractive and appealing way. I found the box very attractive and thus, I'm sorry to say, I was "forced" to buy more cookies than I really needed just to get my hands on their nice, little "Chocolate Tote" box. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who was "victimized" by that marketing ploy.

The cookies sold for 3 for $1.00 and thus cost me a total of $2.00. The immense joy I felt from having one of those "Chocolate Tote" boxes: Priceless. (Naks!)

Original Photos by: Panaderos

A Sentimental Trip

The Panaderos family never had a true ancestral home. If we ever had one, it should have been my great grandmother's old home on P. Campa Street in Sampaloc. Her home was built some time in the early 1900s. As was typical of the homes at the time, it was primarily a wooden structure, had capiz (seashell) windows, and a flight of stairs that led one from the street level up to the living quarters on the second floor.

However, after she died in the early 1970s, one of her sons, a great uncle of mine, inherited the place. Since he lived by himself, it was easier for him to visit the rest of the clan who resided in my hometown. Thus, the Panaderos family home in my hometown became the sort of de facto family ancestral home even though it was much newer.

As for my hometown, under the 1987 Constitution, it formed one of Manila's six congressional districts. Back in the pre-martial law days and under the 1935 Constitution, it was one of Manila's four congressional districts.

To share just a bit of its history, in pre-Spanish times, the district I grew up in was originally part of a rather large Muslim kingdom that covered what are now the cities of Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay and the Manila districts of Paco and Pandacan. I guess you could say that the kingdom was a precursor to today's Metro Manila. But when the Spaniards acquired the territory in the late 1570s, control of the area, my district in particular, was handed over to Franciscan missionaries.

In the 1800s, the town became one of the favorite vacation places for some of Manila's affluent families. A number of their vacation homes used to stand by the southeast banks of the Pasig River, at a time when the scent emanating from the Pasig was still described as "sweet". The famed tranvia ("electric streetcar") used to run along one of the town's major roads and the tracks ended practically at the footsteps of our centuries-old Franciscan Church.

The Panaderos clan moved into the district around 1940 from the neighboring town of Makati. Makati, at the time, was still a rural town with rice fields and was one of the towns that made up the province of Rizal. In Makati, the Panaderos family had lived in a house in one of the streets behind the Makati City Hall's current location. In my hometown, the Panaderos family rented a house that was part of three or four blocks of homes that were built and developed by the landlord, the Yutivo Corporation.

Unlike the Ermita and Malate districts, my town was generally spared from the large-scale destruction brought on by the Liberation of Manila. However, it was not without its share of war casualties. A couple of very close family friends lost loved ones during the war. Aling Violet, a next door neighbor and close family friend, had a Polish-American father who served in the USAFFE (US Armed Forces in the Far East). He fought the Japanese in Bataan and ended up losing his life there. Mang Roy, whose family lived next door to us, had an older brother who served in the famed Philippine Scouts. He was picked up by the Kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) one night on suspicion of aiding the guerillas. He was never seen alive again.

The district showed a lot of progress during the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the success and hard work of a lot of its residents. A lot of the old Spanish-style homes were demolished by their owners and replaced by new and modern-looking apartment-style buildings. Quite a number of stylish American cars also became present on its streets.

The 70s were a fun time for me. I became familiar with the places and personalities around the neighborhood. In the process, I made quite a number of friends, a lot of them were the children themselves of my father's friends. I participated in a summer basketball league one year (a topic that would be the subject of a future blog entry), climbed the big acacia trees that were a common sight in a number of the streets back then, helped put up streamers for the town fiesta, participated in games and contests held on the day of the town fiesta, and "helped out" with the Santacruzan processions. I also remember the dance parties my older cousins hosted at home with the lights turned "down low".

We also had some so called neighborhood personalities. The neighborhood pediatrician's last name was Jayme and so we took to calling him "Dr. J", patterned after the NBA star Julius Erving who was quite popular at the time. There was also Dr. G, the older brother of a Sampaguita Pictures matinee idol. To the boys in the neighborhood, he inspired fear for he was known as "The Great Circumciser". Hardly a summer vacation went by without his name being mentioned by the parents back then.

We also had Aling Linda, a lady who sold a variety of cold refreshments, "ulam" (viands) and snacks during the hot summers. She had to do so for she had to support a rather large brood. Sleek and Tomas were the town tailors.

Unfortunately, the 70s also witnessed the beginning of a decline in the neighborhood. By then, many of the old-time residents had either moved to the suburbs or had migrated to the US or Canada. A lot of newcomers moved in from various places and provinces around the country. Sadly, these people did not share the feelings of ownership and respect old-time residents had for the place.

My family moved out to the suburbs in the mid 1970s although we still made it a point to visit on weekends. My visits to the place became less frequent during the 1980s once I got busy with college, got into romantic relationships, and worked on starting a profession. The last long visit was back in the early 90s when I drove around the neighborhood's streets as some sort of goodbye before leaving for the States.

I haven't been to my hometown in a while. Although I was in Manila last August, I was only able to stop by it once to see a very dear Aunt and my dear cousins. It was a shame that due to a previous commitment, I was not able to stay more than a couple of hours. Given such short stay, I was not able to spend some time to savor the neighborhood of my childhood.

Although a lot of changes have taken place, in my brief visit I saw that a lot of the nice old Spanish-style homes are still there. Many still belong to the same families that have lived in the town for generations, some of whom have had a presence in our town since the early 1900s. The old acacia trees are now gone. In their place stand new apartment-style buildings. Although these new buildings look quite trendy and modern from the outside, neighbors told me that they were not as well constructed as the old ones.

Dr. J is retired now and one of his sons have taken his place as the town pediatrician. His clinic still stands on the spot where I remembered it to be. Dr. G, like his matinee idol brother, has long since passed away. So too has Tomas, one of the tailors. Sleek has retired too. Both of their shops now gone. Mang Roy passed away recently after a long bout with cancer.

My great uncle who lived on P. Campa Street is no longer around too, having passed away in the late 1980s. My great grandmother's P Campa residence is no longer there. The property was sold to a Manila businessman who had the house demolished and a commercial building put up on its old site.

Aling Linda, happily, is still around. All her hard work in the summers surely paid off for she has become a landlord and now owns at least two apartment buildings in the area. Most of her kids have done quite well too for themselves.

Those are the stories and there are much more, too many to fit into one blog entry. The town occupies a special place within me for all of the above helped me to become what I am. I don't know when I'll be back for another vist. But when I do, I'll probably stay awhile.

Here Comes The Sun

Little darling,

It's been a long cold lonely winter;

Little darling,

It feels like years since it's been here.

- The Beatles

It may be quite hard to imagine but in a few weeks, all these oak trees will be thick and green with leaves once again, bringing much needed life and vibrance back to what now seems to be a dead and drought-parched forest.

Soon, the summer birds will be back, the kids will be out in full force playing in the parks, and people will be working and planting flowers in their gardens. A renewal.

Spring's finally here.

Original Photo by: Panaderos

Happy Easter Everyone!

Dear Readers, please enjoy this little Easter video that was patterned after my moves on the dance floor. Hahaha Just kidding about the moves.

Let me also share with you below "The Original Human Tetris Performance" by Gillaume Reymond, one of YouTube's Best of 2007 awardees. It shows you what some people can come up with if they have a lot of free time on their hands:

Wherever you all are in the world, I hope and pray that this Easter finds you and your loved ones happy, safe, and well. Take care.

A Little Story (Conclusion)

I knew I was falling for this lady. Her smarts and her way of writing enthralled me. In the days and weeks that followed, I found myself brooding over her and my situation. Should I move on with my life and simply admire her from a distance? I didn’t even know what she looked like and who she really was. Should I even give the whole thing a try?

Knowing myself, I knew that a question left unanswered was something that would bother me no end. I therefore decided to give the whole thing a shot even if the chance of success seemed pretty slim. Better to have loved and lost, right? But of course, nobody likes losing. So to significantly reduce the chances of losing, I had to do some careful planning.

Although I was already quite active in that online forum, having posted numerous entries in quite a number of threads, I still decided to plan my “moves” on the assumption that she knew nothing of me, that she had neither read nor come across any of my posts. Although the forum also had a private messaging facility that allowed members to send private or personal messages to other members, I also decided not to go that route to introduce myself. I felt that it was a risky move had I approached her from out of nowhere. My intentions would have been suspect and she probably would have rejected me right there and then.

So I opted for a subtler, albeit slower and more deliberate, approach. I wanted to do things right, old-fashioned guy that I am. I decided to wait. My plan was that if I see her post an entry on threads I was interested in, that I would respond directly to her post. I was hoping that by doing so, she would respond back and that it would lead to an exchange between us and she would then know that I exist. In other words, the geek in me borrowed a page from my Marketing course in college in terms of raising “brand awareness” on a particular target market. She was the target and I was the brand, so to speak. (Wink)

The approach I took required a lot of patience and did try my patience for it ultimately led to weeks of waiting. The time difference between Manila and the US did not help matters either.

Until one sunny spring afternoon, IT finally happened.

I was busy at work drafting a report for my boss when I saw a post from her show up on one of my favorite threads. The thread was actually a game where a member, say Member A, would start off by asking to no one in particular if he/she would still be loved in spite of some quirk he/she may have that he/she will mention. Another member, Member B, would then post a response by either saying a “yes” or a “no” and give a reason or two why he/she would still love/would not love Member A in spite of/because of his/her quirk. Upon responding, Member B would then throw a similar question but this time mentioning a different quirk.

So once I saw her post a question, I immediately dropped what I was doing and immediately started to formulate a response. I hurriedly drafted and posted a witty reply not only to hopefully attract her attention but also to beat any other member who may also have been thinking of responding to her at that very moment.

Luckily, my response went through and got posted before any other members’ responses did. Then I waited. To hell with the draft report I was working on. The boss wasn’t expecting it until the following week anyway. I waited for what seemed like forever, hoping that she would respond.

A few minutes later, she did. Yes!

I pumped my fist into the air and quickly answered her post back. A few minutes later, she did the same. Great!! This back and forth between us went on for a good couple of hours. Along the way, a few forum members tried to join in but I shooed them away. (She can attest to that.) That game thread was mine at that very moment and no member was going to deny me the golden opportunity that I had long waited for. I wasn’t going to walk away from it without making sure that she had become fully aware of my presence and existence.

We had fun because after that first session, she and I continued with our one-on-one exchanges on that thread for several more days before I finally sent her a private message to introduce myself. That led to us having nice little chats daily where we got to know each other more. We also exchanged photos and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this smart lady was also a very pretty one. A week or so later, we finally exchanged phone numbers and I finally got to hear her sweet voice on the phone.

We had to coordinate our vacation and work schedules to prepare for our first meet. But when it finally took place a few months later, it was very sweet. Since then, not a single day has gone by without us keeping touch with each other in one form or another. We've met a few more times since then, each meeting lovelier and more memorable than the one before.

It will be close to a year since that lovely spring day. The ocean that separates us remains a challenge but with each other's love and support, we'll hopefully make it.

An Afternoon Break for a "Lush"

Took an early break from work yesterday and went on a winery tour with my buddy, S. We went to a town called Healdsburg in Northern California, about 75 to 80 miles north of San Francisco. The town is right in Sonoma County, one of at least two counties (the other one being neighboring Napa) in that part of California that are famed for their wines and vineyards.

Our first stop was the Sapphire Hill Winery.

We got to taste at least five of their wine products. A few of the wines we sampled are shown below:


I am very partial to red wine and thus, except for one, the rest of the varieties I tasted were "reds". I ended up buying a bottle of wine, a Sapphire Hill 2003 Pinot Noir, the one in the middle above. The second and last stop was at the Seghesio Family Vineyards, the leading vineyard in Healdsburg:


Behind the glass window in the photo above, are the wine barrels as shown in the photo below. I apologize for the quality of the picture for I was behind a glass window at the time. It also did not help that I am a man with an awful camphone and equally awful photo-shooting skills.

I tasted about six of the red wine varieties at this place. Yours truly had to admit that I was a bit "buzzed" by the time I left this place. It didn't help that while in that "buzzed" state, I ended up buying two bottles of red wine, a Sangiovese Vintage 2005 and a 2004 San Lorenzo Petite Sirah, and also ended up applying for membership at their wine club.

After the winery tour, S and I had a couple of rounds of the Red Rocket Ale at the Bear Republic microbrewery. Actually, a couple of rounds is quite an understatement because each round came in a 22 ounce glass. Plus, the ale had a kick to it.

Anyway, five glasses of wine at Sapphire Hill, six glasses at Seghesio, and two 22-ounce glasses of red ale at the Bear Republic were bound to take their toll sooner or later. I didn't realize the cumulative effects those drinks had on me until this morning when my loved one told me that I fell asleep on her last night, right in the middle of a phone conversation. (Yikes!) That also explained why as soon as I woke up this morning, I found my cellphone right next to me on the bed and all the lights in my room were still on. (Another yikes!) When I got up from bed, I found that my hotel room door was not locked . (Oops!)

Needless to say, I had to apologize profusely to my lady love this morning for falling asleep on her last night. In addition, the planned sequel and conclusion to my little story did not materialize due to my inebriated state. Sigh.

Original Photos by: Panaderos

A Little Story

I was alone, I took a ride,
I didn’t know what I would find there;
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there.
Ooh, then I suddenly see you.
- The Beatles (“Got To Get You Into My Life”)

As posted in a previous blog entry, I travel quite a bit in my current job. I work for a conglomerate with offices and manufacturing plants located throughout the continental US and Canada. By its very nature, my job requires that I be away from home about half the time, with each business trip (or “fieldwork”) normally lasting about a week or two.

Whenever I’m out on such fieldwork, days are normally spent focused on meeting my goals and objectives. Hours are spent on discussions, interviews, meetings, work product reviews, and staff mentoring. However, one good thing I love about the job is that once the workday ends, it truly ends. Rare are the calls, emergency or otherwise, that follow me back to my hotel. There’s no leash, so to speak, that ties me to the job after office hours.

So it is then that once I am back in my hotel room, I often find that there is still a good number of hours remaining before I turn in and call it a day. At first, I whiled away those hours by reading and watching television. However, after a few months, I soon tired of the television part because the number of TV channels in an average hotel was quite limited. I then decided to think of other “entertainment” options.

It was while thinking of other options that I remembered a Filipino-based online social networking forum a friend recommended to me a couple of years earlier. To appease my friend, I remembered signing up for membership. However, I never really did anything with my membership. Did not bother to post a single entry. Thus, my account in that forum remained inactive for about a couple of years.

Once memory of that online forum came back, I decided to give it a try. I saw it as an opportunity not just to keep my brain cells active but also to “meet” and interact with my countrymen online. It was an interesting forum, to say the least. It covered various topics like the political and economic issues of the day, various hobbies and interests, and online mental games. There were also threads where members with expertise, wisdom, and/or experience in certain areas of life, love, and career offered advice to other members.

And so I ended up logging onto this online forum in the evenings or whenever my schedule allowed it. I started participating in the discussions in various threads, became quite active, and eventually made friends with people who shared my interests and opinions. It was that way for months. Happily entertained I, Panaderos, was. Or so I thought.

And then it happened.

It was in reading the various posts in the different threads that I started noticing the posts from a particular lady member. At first, my reactions to the posts were quite casual like “She brought up a good point there,” or “Ok, what she said made a lot of sense.” I was impressed with the stuff she wrote but kind of left my reactions at that and thought nothing much of them.

However, modesty aside, Panaderos was a man born with quite a good memory. And the downside to having such gift is that once a name or any other bit of information gets planted in that memory, that name/information rarely goes away. Thus, whether I liked it or not, the lady’s nickname in that online forum stuck to my memory like glue.

In the days and weeks that followed, whenever I came across her posts, I made it a point to read them regardless of whether the topic interested me or not. I had to admit to myself then that the more I read them, the more impressed I was with her. I found her entries to be well written and the messages that were imparted well thought out. A lot more often than not, I also found myself agreeing with the advice she imparted or shared.

Slowly, I realized a change. From a casual and passive reader of her entries, one who only read them whenever I chanced upon them, I slowly started actively looking for her posts whenever I went online. With each post I read, my interest in the lady grew. My heart started stirring, telling me to make a move. “Got to get to know her, man,” he said. However, my brain was at the same time asking valid and logical questions like “Excuse me, Panaderos but let me remind you, she’s somewhere in Metro Manila, you’re in the US. How are you guys going to meet?” Or sometimes it’s “How can you be so sure that she doesn’t have a boyfriend?” and “What the hell are you thinking? The lady doesn’t even know you exist.”

The brain raised very good and logical points, especially with its questions about the distance between us and with her not knowing anything about me. The questions got me down and depressed for a while for they highlighted the reality of the situation. The brain was probably right. Given how smart, wise and articulate she was, it was highly unlikely that there wasn’t a man out there who wasn't attracted to a lady with those qualities.

Thus, I had to stop. Momentarily.

To be continued.

Sweet Victory for Pacquiao

Score another victory and a huge round of applause for the great Manny Pacquiao.

I just finished watching the much anticipated rematch between Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Juan Manual Marquez of Mexico. The fight was held at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was their first fight since they last met in May 2004. That bout ended in a draw in spite of the three knockdowns that Marquez suffered in the first round.

This evening's rematch, like the first one, also went the distance. Once again, Marquez got floored by Pacquiao, this time towards the end of the third round. But except for that knockdown, this was a hotly-contested battle through all 12 rounds. In the end, Manny won by a split decision on the strength of that one knockdown he scored against Marquez. Thus, with this victory, Manny gained the WBC (World Boxing Championship) and Ring Magazine's Super Featherweight Championship belts.

Manny, once again, will receive a hero's welcome once he lands in Manila. A proud country will welcome him with open arms. Our politicians and people will find themselves united again, at least for one brief shining moment. Everyone will put on their best behavior, and rightly so, to honor and pay respect to a man who has always made his country proud.

In the international boxing scene, Manny has become known worldwide as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters today and maybe, even in history. Sylvester Stallone, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson now count among his fans. Mike Tyson even showed up to watch this evening's fight.

Manny's international fame is such that HBO ring announcer Jim Lampley remarked in this evening's fight that Manny is not just an icon in his native Philippines but has also become an icon in Mexico for beating two, and now with his victory over Marquez, make that three, of their best boxing champions. He is in a pedestal of boxing heroes now, along with the likes of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, and contemporaries Eric Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, and his latest victim, Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao now holds the distinction of beating all three of Mexico's finest fighters. He's now a true legend and at 29, his legend may still grow in the years to come.

I wish Manny Pacquiao continued success in career and more importantly, in his life. The poor boy from General Santos City certainly deserves all the riches, accolades, and fame he has garnered. Simply put, they are the just rewards from years of hard work. I just hope that for his sake and that of his family's, that he will be wise and play his cards right in life. I hope that he would channel all that fame and wealth to productive and positive uses to make sure that future generations of Pacquiaos will no longer experience the poverty and hardship he experienced early in life.

Photo credit: MannyPacquiaofan.com

A Boss Unworthy of the Title

Joe T runs a small but successful insurance agency in a tony suburb of San Francisco in California. Prior to that, he had worked for a big insurance company where he honed his insurance knowledge and marketing skills. Joe T is a very smart guy who knows the insurance business very well. So well that in the few years of his agency's existence, he has managed to attract some very big and wealthy clients.

However, in spite of Joe T's successes, he is not the type of boss I would like to work for. He demands loyalty, hard work, intelligence, and dedication from his employees. Those I have no problem with for any boss is entitled to set a certain level or standard of performance for his employees.

But as a boss, Joe T is seriously flawed in one area. In exchange for the high level of performance he requires of his employees, he tends to promise them with vacation trips around the US and to sign them up for company-paid training courses that would help boost their professional skills. Those are all still fine. However, it was observed that whenever the time came for him to fulfill his end of the bargain, he always reneged. He reneged time and time again without fail. It is for that reason that no employee had lasted more than two years in his employ.

Whenever it came time for him to fulfill his end of the deal, Joe T always brought up issues or concerns such as the high cost of the plane fare, the high cost of hotel and lodging, and the cost of the training as reasons for his inability to follow through on his promises. If so, why make a promise then if there's really no intention to fulfill it?

Without a reasonable excuse, a broken promise amounts to nothing less than a betrayal, an act of bad faith. A person who constantly breaks his/her promises to another can never be considered as a person of integrity. A broken promise especially hurts when it imposes a condition that requires a significant amount of work/effort on the other party to fulfill.

This has happened to all of us at some point in our lives. As human beings, our memories tend to be long on people who had wronged us and had been unfair to us. In an employer-employee relationship such as the one above, I view the broken promise to an employee as tantamount to taking much needed food away from the employee's dining table. It is very demoralizing and heartbreaking to an employee who relied on the employer's word in good faith. It is an act that is worthy of all condemnation.

For such dishonesty and unprofessionalism, a boss like Joe T clearly deserves no loyalty and respect. When such negative traits are present in a boss/employer, other factors that may exist such as good pay and good career opportunities no longer matter. A person would be better off moving on to another employer who would give his/her contributions the respect and appreciation they truly deserve.

The Face That Brought Down A Moral Crusader

The photo at left shows Ashley Dupree, the 22 year-old high class prostitute that brought down New York Governor Elliot Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer, who shot to fame in the early part of this decade as a moral crusader of sorts against corporate abuses and white collar crime, was brought down earlier this week as a result of a federal wire-tapping probe against an illegal prostitution ring. He announced his resignation to the media yesterday and his resignation will take effect on Monday, March 17.

Ashley went by the name of "Kristen" on the Emperor's Club VIP catalogue. As a high-class prostitute (quite an oxymoron), the "fantasy" that was sold to Mr. Spitzer by Emperors Club VIP was that Kristen was a successful swimsuit model who had travelled the world.

With the resignation of Mr. Spitzer, Ms. Dupree joins a rather infamous list of women such as Monica Lewinsky (Bill Clinton), Christine Keeler (Profumo scandal in the UK), Donna Rice (Sen. Gary Hart), Jessica Hahn (Rev. Jim Bakker), and Debra Murphree (Rev. Jimmy Swaggart). These were women who, through sex, had brought down men of wealth, influence and power. Except for Bill Clinton, the men they had affairs with had unsullied public reputations at the time.

Whether she likes it or not, the Spitzer episode changes Ms. Dupree's life forever. At 22, she still has many years ahead of her. It is pretty certain that a federal indictment will be levelled against Mr. Spitzer in the coming months. Should that happen, Ms. Dupree will most certainly be asked to testify before a federal grand jury.

In the foreseeable future, she will be finding her name in the headlines. Vultures, in the form of agents, will be circling her for opportunities to make a quick buck about the whole affair. She'll probably be offered book deals, a movie on her life, and maybe, even a recording contract. Exploitation is the name of the game, my friends.

It is up to her. She can use the lessons learned from this whole Spitzer affair to make right a lot of things that went wrong in her life. The other option would be to remain unwise and simply replace one form of exploitation with another.

Photo credit: New York Times and MySpace

Obesity Series #1

Obesity and diabetes are big problems in the United States. In fact, some doctors have said that these problems are reaching epidemic proportions. Whenever the opportunity arises, I will start sharing with you pictures that will give you an idea of how big the serving sizes are at various American fastfood and restaurant chains.

Let me start today with Carl's Jr., a popular burger chain. Earlier today, I had lunch with my co-workers at its branch in Santa Rosa, California. The following photo shows one of its soda cups next to a 12 ounce soda can:

The soda cup shown above is classified as a "Medium" serving. However, it is more than enough to satisfy the thirst of two normal or average size persons. Letting it stand next to a 12 ounce can would you give a clear idea of how big this serving is. It could qualify as either a Large or a Mega in fastfood chains in Asia and in Europe.

Next, of course, is McDonald's.

Recently, McDonald's launched a new line of burgers called "Angus Third Pounders", a supposedly more "gourmet" burger serving when compared to the average McDonald's burger. Given the product line's name and given that there are 16 ounces per pound, one would assume then that each burger pattie would weigh roughly around 5.33 ounces, bigger than the 4 ounces offered via the Quarter Pounder. The Angus Third Pounder product line offers three variants, namely: Angus Deluxe, Angus Mushroom and Swiss, and Angus Bacon and Cheese.

Unfortunately, such sizes are now the norm in fastfood restaurants across the US. The blame falls on both the fastfood chains and on the customers who patronize servings of such size. One can just imagine the amount of sugar and caffeine that's present in huge servings of soda/soft drinks and the amount of calories and fat present in huge servings of burgers. Any wonder then that a growing number of Americans are obese and/or diabetic? Not good.

Original photo by: Panaderos (Soda)
Photo credit: Slashfood (Angus Third Pounders)

Sleepless in Santa Rosa, California

It's past midnight when I wrote this entry. Sleep, as usual, eluded me. So I figured there's no better way to lull myself to sleep than to share with you my whereabouts this week.

Am currently on a two-week assignment in Northern California. The town I'm in is called Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, part of California's "wine country". The above photo is the view from my hotel room. When I checked into the hotel Sunday night, the gentleman at the front desk handed me a complimentary bottle of Chardonnay. I haven't opened the bottle yet for I figured it would be better to save it for a special occasion.

Earlier this evening, I bought dinner from a Chinese takeout place. The place was called ABC Cafe. Don't know what ABC stood for except something tells me that they probably stood for "American Born Chinese". Anyway, as I waited for my food, I saw a sign in that restaurant I found quite funny. The sign was posted right above the Cashier's desk and said, "Thank You For Coming in ABC Cafe".

Never had the chance to take a picture of the sign for my food arrived as I was about to take aim with my camphone. Going back to its message, those folks were a bit presumptuous, weren't they? :)

Original Photo by: Panaderos

I Was Thinking....

The song "Unforgettable", sung by the late Nat King Cole and his daughter, Natalie Cole, has long been a personal favorite. I've always wanted to sing this song for a very special someone, preferably after a romantic, candlelit dinner at a local fastfood chain. However, since the song's a duet, I am finding myself in a bit of a quandary. How do I sing it to her?

I have an idea but guys, please tell me if this approach would be ok:

You guys think this will work? Or will it effectively put an end to our relationship? :)

Finding Love

"When I was alone then, no love in sight
And I did everything I could to get me through the night;
Don't know where it started or where it might end,
I turn to a stranger, just like a friend."
- Waylon Jennings ("Lookin' for Love")

Late in the evening of Thursday last week, a Cebu Pacific flight left Manila for Bangkok. On board that flight was Alice Cadian, a pretty and vivacious girl in her late twenties who works for a multinational company in Makati City.

The purpose of the Bangkok trip wasn't business. It wasn't vacation either. Alice made the trip to finally meet up with a European gentleman, one she had been corresponding with online for about a year now.

Alice made the trip very much against the well-intentioned advice of her closest friends who had expressed their concerns for her safety and well-being. Their concerns were valid for they already have a very good idea of what to expect in the weeks or months to come. They've seen the scenes play out so many times before. She meets a man, falls fast and hard for him, quickly dreams of a future to share with him, but alas, always ends up losing him. Not a few times have tears streamed endlessly down her pretty face whenever her relationships come to a sad and bitterly disappointing end.

Her situation raises some questions. When it comes to love, how, where and when do we find THE ONE? I've been on several relationships myself in the many years I've been on this earth. But to this day, and based on personal experience, I still do not really know the answers to those questions. Nor will I even try to find them.

Alice is such a sweet and pretty girl. She's funny and there's never a dull moment with her. Many a man would love to love someone like her. But maybe, all she needs to do is ease up on things a bit and not to force the issue to find the one true love that has so far eluded her.

There are a million and one ways to find love. Some find love within one's social circle, some find love at work or through some career-related association, some find it online, and for some, they find love serendipitously.

In the end, I believe love will simply happen, at a time and place of its own choosing. And when it does, it will find us and, if we're lucky, stay with us.

There's A Filipino in the "Association"

This entry entailed some digging through the musical archives and I wonder if a lot of Filipinos are aware of this fact. But decades before fellow Filipino Al Pineda or "Apl.De.Ap" became famous worldwide as a member of the Black Eyed Peas, and a decade before Freddie Aguilar hit it big internationally with his hit song "Anak" ("Child"), there was Larry Ramos, Jr.

Larry who? Yes, Larry Ramos, Jr., a Filipino who was born and raised in Hawaii. Back in the 1960s, there was a band called "The Association" who hit it big and became popular with songs such as "Windy", "Never My Love", "No Fair at All", and "Cherish". Unbeknownst to many Filipinos today, Larry shared lead vocals with fellow bandmate Russ Giguere on a couple of the band's biggest hits, "Windy" and "Never My Love".

"Windy" became the first #1 hit for The Association in July 1967. I don't think you'll have a hard time spotting him in the following video:

A few months later, in the fall of 1967, the band had another million-seller called "Never My Love". The following video shows the band performing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show:

The band broke up in the early 1970s when their style of music fell out of favour with the public. Though a comeback was attempted later, the band never regained the fame they enjoyed during the late 1960s.

Where is he now? Larry now lives on a 300-acre farm in Grangeville, Idaho. As recently as 2003, he was still performing around the US with co-vocalist Russ Giguere in a re-formed Association doing about 80 to 100 concerts a year.

Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin

A Filipino Institution

Its brand name, in bold dark blue letters prominently printed on a white background and wrapped in its trademark bright red foil pack with a picture of delicious corn chips in front, has been omnipresent in Filipino supermarkets, groceries, sari-sari (corner neighborhood) stores, school cafeterias, and Filipino kids' snack boxes for years. Its rectangular-shaped barbecue corn chips are immediately recognizable to every Filipino child. It is so widely popular among Filipinos that it is probably safe to claim that every Filipino child over the age of 3 has had a taste of this snack. Given its special place in Filipino snack culture, let this entry serve as my small and yet dear tribute to arguably, one of the greatest and most popular snack foods to ever come out of the Philippines, Chippy.

A very close friend laughed when I told her that I planned to do a "tribute blog" in honor of this product. It could indeed be quite laughable to honor a product so ubiquitous that it is so easy for everyone to take it for granted. It may even be hard for today's kids to either believe or imagine that the Chippy brand has been around for at least 40 years.

The product was introduced to the Filipino public in the mid-Sixties to very little fanfare, if at all. However, at the time, nobody could have had the faintest idea, probably not even the folks at Universal Robina Corporation (URC, Chippy's manufacturer), of the level of popularity and longevity that the Chippy brand would one day achieve.

As a product, its formulation was nothing short of genius. The blend of the sweet and the salty led to a taste that was so original and that clicked with the Filipino consumer. The taste is so delicious and so appetizing that one almost always ends up devouring the entire pack after that tentative first bite. Taste is so good and could be quite addicting that it is quite common to hear people "complain" that they never really meant to gobble up the entire pack, that all they wanted was a bite or two.Yeah right.

The snack's taste also goes so well with soft drinks that it has become part of the regular "merienda" (afternoon snack) fare for many of our countrymen. Not a few times have I also seen it be feasted on as "pulutan" (finger food) by beer drinkers who were on a tight drinking budget.

Chippy could also be considered a model of successful, grass-roots marketing. By making the product very affordable and available through the country's small neighborhood stores and grocery stores, URC made sure that it would reach its target market.

Depending on one's views, Chippy's list of ingredients could be viewed either as a Chemistry major's sweetest dream or as a cancer/heart specialist's worst nightmare.

Its main ingredients are corn, vegetable oil (which may contain palm, corn, or coconut oil), barbecue flavor (made up of salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), flavor, tomato powder, yeast extracts, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (from soybean), tricalcium phosphate (as an anti-caking agent), iodized salt, MSG, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and antioxidant.

(Author's note: MSG's impact and influence on the flavor must be such that the esteemed people behind this great product deemed it appropriate to show MSG twice on its list of ingredients. These ingredients could also probably explain why consuming a pack or two of Chippy could lead to episodes of coughing or dry throat.)

According to its Nutrition Facts, a serving size of 30 grams yields 170 calories, 35% saturated fat, 8% sodium, 0% cholesterol, 5% of total carbohydrates, and 4% dietary fiber. It should be noted that the Chippy pack above that is regularly sold in stores weighs about 115 grams. Thus, each pack is equivalent to about four servings. Sounds healthy, doesn't it? :D

However, back to a more serious note, it is to be lamented that URC's management has not given due public recognition and honor to the people who were behind the development and marketing of this product. For it truly is remarkable for a product to remain firmly entrenched in the Filipino popular culture and consciousness for four decades. A third generation of Filipino kids are now being introduced to the guilty pleasures of this snack.

Only a few other Filipino products could match Chippy's longevity and popularity. Choc-Nut, Ricoa Flat Tops (from Commonwealth Foods), White Rabbit, and Storck are the other brands that quickly come to mind. These products are so popular that it would be very difficult to find a single Filipino store that does not have any one of them on its shelves. It is way overdue for the people behind these products be given the honor they truly deserve.

Cats in the Cradle - Video Versions

There were at least two popular versions of the song I posted in the previous blog entry. The first video shows the song being performed by its composer, the late Harry Chapin.

This second video shows a remake of the song in the early 90s by Ugly Kid Joe.

Enjoy.

Cats in the Cradle

A child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?"
"I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?"
"I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?
"He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?"
"I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."

And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?"
"I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

- Harry Chapin (1942-1981)

Each moment not spent with a child is a moment lost forever.

Continuously Out of Sync

I travel quite a bit in my current job. In fact, that so-called "quite a bit" requires that I be away from home 50% of the time. Though I get to see different places, meet different people, accumulate frequent flyer miles, and get complimentary hotel room upgrades every once in a while, the downside to this whole travel thing is that I find myself in a constant state of jet lag.

The longest that I do get to stay home continuously is three weeks. More often though, it's just around two weeks. A good number of my trips are to the West Coast of the US, three time zones away. After that are trips to the Midwest, one time zone away.

Trips back from the West Coast are often on those "red eye" flights. These flights normally leave the West Coast around 10 or 11 in the evening (local time) and arrive in the East Coast at five or six in the morning the following day. Given the cutbacks in the US airline industry (such as no meal service and less legroom), these flights are often so uncomfortable that getting a decent amount of sleep is next to impossible.

Prior to my current job, I used to average about seven hours of sleep each night. Now, that average is down to a mere five hours. It's been close to a year now since I've had a decent good night's sleep. I used to take decent afternoon naps (average of two to three hours) on weekends too. However, because of my jet lag, I haven't had a leisurely afternoon nap for more than a year now.

The fact that I have to drag myself out of bed at five every morning to make the two-hour commute to work also doesn't help alleviate my jet lag. An option is to either get another job with a different company or request the boss for lesser out-of-town trips. Careerwise, I'm not ready to make either move yet.

Thus for now, I try to make up for the serious lack of sleep by eating fruits, exercise (whenever the outdoor temperatures would allow), and drinking fruit juices. However, I can't help but feel that those measures can only help me up to a point. So far, I'm still able to function at work. I take naps whenever and wherever I can. But their duration of 10 to 15 minutes are a far cry from the two to three-hour naps I used to take. I really need my Zs for the sake of my long term health and well-being.

The Baker's Back!

After a week on vacation, I'm so back, Dear Readers. :)

Sorry for the absence but the Panadero had to take a much needed break from his Panaderia so as to spend much longed for quality time in Hong Kong with the love of this humble baker's life. (Naks!)

Anyway, it was a great and fun trip, to say the least. Yes, more pictures will be published on this blog once they pass review by the Chinese Government's Board of Censors. To prevent this blog from getting unduly flagged for obscenity, the pictures to be published will focus on just the sights, ok? :D

Special Someone and yours truly got to ride on a cable car, toured the Hong Kong island's city streets on board a tram, saw some world famous animated cartoon characters, and took a ferry to the Asian casino mecca of Macau. As for dining, we agreed to totally avoid the fastfood chains (both Western and HK-based) and opted instead to dine at local eateries or "hole in the walls". This was to get a true taste of traditional native cuisine.

We came away very impressed with what the people of Hong Kong have achieved. Signs of economic achievement and wealth were everywhere. Hong Kong was a very nice mix of the old and new. Old sections of Hong Kong with its old residential apartment and commercial buildings, small shops, and eateries were reminiscent of the Binondo and Santa Cruz districts of Manila, areas with a large Chinese populace. Modern high rises and skyscrapers in the Admiralty and Central districts remind one of New York City in the US and Makati City in the Philippines.

Thus, the old section of HK gave one an idea of the entrepreneurial spirit and drive that led to the place's economic success. The shining skyscrapers in the newer sections of HK and modern and efficient public infrastructures such as the MTR (Mass Transit Railway, picture on the left) and impressive highways and bridges provide the perceptive observer with what the Chinese entrepreneurial spirit achieved.

The former Crown Colony's government is also a picture of financial health. In the week that we were there, the government's Finance Secretary reported a record budget surplus of about 115 billion HK dollars. This surplus resulted from robust economic growth and tax revenues last year.

We also found the people to be quite helpful and tourist-friendly. English version of menus were available in all the eateries we visited. Asking for guidance and directions were never problems. Walking the streets at night was never a concern too. Safety was never an issue in any of the places we visited, even the very crowded ones such as street markets.

It was the first HK visit for both of us. The trip was so enjoyable and the experience so pleasant that we both long to come back someday.

Photo credits: Wikipedia.org and hktramways.com

Love and Peace (Amor y Paz) Meme

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for children, especially the orphans, the sick, the hungry, the abused, and the impoverished. For me, they are the most vulnerable. This tag from Bambit made me think of all the suffering children around the world, especially in war-torn areas in Africa and the Middle East. I believe that there are enough financial and material resources to help the world's poor children. The problem however lies in the allocation and use of such resources. Rather than invest the resources in fertilizers and agriculture, for example, there are a number of third world governments that would rather use the money on weapons or lose the money through graft and corruption.

The problem also lies with the failure of the rich nations to develop an effective process that would make sure that their aid reach the parties or groups those nations intend to help.

Here are the rules:

1. If you get tagged or not (or want to play along), take some minutes to meditate about love and peace. Pray for countries that are facing troubles, for those people you love and those you don't.

2. Write a post with links to blogs that you think would like to participate.

3. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

I am tagging Mec and Miki and all those who wish to participate.

Let there be world peace.