French Fries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Njqzj8b-o All I can say from a marketing perspective: this ad is cool, very effective. The kids are just so adorable that I couldnt resist to buy my own fries. -See you attack a deeper layer into the emotions and get people to spend. Bravo. Cute.

As simple as this ad, I somehow remember the basic wants of a girl. Recently there was a catch-up with some friends. One of them was recently married and another was engaged. (It sucks when you reach this age when people around you start talking about wedding and you are still single hehe) It was a relief that there were still several singles in that crowd, I dont feel alone hehe.

Anyway, the topic was about their regrets and worries. One said she felt sad that her nanny passed away before her wedding and wasnt able to be there on her big day. She apparently was close to her nanny and said that if there's someone she wanted so badly to be there, it was her nanny. The engaged one said that she wished her grandmother would be strong enough, to be very much alive and kicking to witness her wedding. Then I asked, 'ay ndi ba parents yun pinakagusto mong andun?'. They were speechless for a while and then laughed, 'ay oo naman, pero yun nga lng yun mga regrets or fears kumbaga' Both of them have parents who are still alive.

I smiled and kept quiet. Onga naman that was a stupid question I blurted out.

Let alone the topic that there's no defined groom for me yet. I dont even have a dad to walk me down the aisle... Do you know how it feels?.......

Similar to the mcdo commercial, french fries lng naman ang gusto ko eh! :))

p.s. I dont really have much to say about this commercial being banned by the bishops. Mukhng wala talagang magawa mga tao. There are more important things to bother.

Time is a Good Friend

Last Christmas, company held a Christmas Party for the charity reading events.

I arrived late at the party, my first notion was to look for Elvin (I blogged about him long back, he's the first kid I taught last March and I never bumped into him again in suceeding reading events). I dont really expect him to remember me on just one encounter. I just thought of probably looking at him from a distance, curious to find out how he is doing after like 9 months. (oops dont tell me this is any motherly instict! I dont wanna be an auntie hehe, pwedeng achi na lng :p)

So I looked at the crowd of like 30kids+, I cant recognize him, no choice but to give up searching.
So there's a quick graduation ceremony, perfect, I guess there's only one Elvin around who'd walk up the stage. This is how he looks like now.


Oh my time really flies.. he's grown so so much, I wouldnt know it's the same kid. Binata na. And he's very far from the shy kid I remember, I can see some confidence and kulit energy from him, playing with his friends. Probably he doesnt need me or anyone like me anymore.. he's doing good. And I'm happy for him.

The power of time never fails to amaze me:

...it leaves footprints behind those we touched or have touched us in their small little ways

...it changes a person's outlook and aspirations, goals and priorities, hopefully in a good light

...it heals every imperfection, every wound, both literally and figuratively

...it makes you forget the bad, the ugly, if you want to

...it magically makes you remember the good, the beautiful when you look back

...it makes you realize how stupid you were with the mistakes you did and puts a smile on your face easily

...it makes you proud while recounting the accomplishments you've made

...it gives you some sour regrets for things you failed to do

...it makes you shudder how much of time passes without you feeling its passage

...it challenges you to make the coming days better than the elapsed days

...it gives you hope into the journey for the future

Yeah, just always give me some time, I just need some time perhaps. The right time at the right place, perfect timing.

Time will always be one of my best friends! Cheers to you :)

Men's Watchout Manual for Stressful Women

Is my title catchy enough? :p

I almost forgot how it feels to have close female friends until I left for SG. So far I've met several here and formed real good friendships with them. I can vouch for any of them as good gf/wife material :D They are considerate, responsible, independent, well-rounded, fun to be with especially on vacation trips. All, except one. (may) God forbid me for being honest. I never lost my temper and patience with any close friend, yet. Unless you currently fall so hard, head-banged, with a girl who happened to be similar with what I'll be describing below, I strongly suggest you shun away every possible opportunity. Else, be ready indeed for a stressful life.

1) Self-centered and full of herself
The center of the universe. It's always her. When you talk, you want me to listen to your same heartache stories with your boy over and over again that it's already so annoying. When I talk, you dont listen because it's too obvious you dont remember what I've been saying.
I couldnt get more upset when you tell me 'hey mauna ka naman oh, try mo kung anong meron dyan. Takot kasi ako. Mas gusto kong mauna ang iba then tell me na lng what's inside'. - It sounds similar to me like 'mauna ka na bka nakakamatay yan, para safe ako. Ano ako, guinea pig?'


2) So so vain and slow
Before I thought I am considered quite ma-picture in trips until I met you, you are almost 10X worse than me. You want a picture in every corner (even beside some bushes and stones?), taken several times again and again with exactly the same background. When you have a few hair strands out of sync, it is considered unacceptable and you want me to retake again and again. You want every shot to be perfectly neat, which I find too monotonous, hey wind blown hair is quite acceptable to me (well my current profile pic says so) I never expected na ako ang susuko. I am so tired of taking pictures of you, yourself and yourself.

I understand women like to retouch (make-up), well I also do in dates or if I am out with a guy, paimpress or just to look good. I cannot understand what's taking you at least 15-30minutes for retouch in every break when you are just with me and some tourmates. I dont see the need, parehas tayong babae. And because of that I am always waiting forever and chasing on you, 'uy bilisan mo naman, maiiwan na tayo ng tour bus'.. Until we really got left behind by the bus and was asked to join another tour van. I finally lost my temper when the driver asked me to sit in the very small uncomfortable foldable seat in the middle lane of an L3 van. It's ok for a short ride, but hey it's a 4hour+ ride and I am suffering because of your slowness, we could have avoided it grrh!


3) Overly pacute in an attempt to be kid-like
A must-visit section in a department store, for me kid's section is not really an essential part of it. We both dont have kids yet so I dont see the urgent need to visit kid's section in a tour. It felt tiring to hear 'uy ang cute-cute ng bear oh', 'ang cute cute ni pooh', 'ang cute ng blouse'.. Lahat na lng 'ang cute cute'. And it was already 830pm and I didnt have dinner yet. Seems like it's going nowhere that I finally blurted, 'd ka ba gutom, kain na tayo, bka masarhan pa tayo'.

If you look like Kim Chiu, then I definitely will tell you it's ok to be kidlike and it just fits so perfectly and naturally. But if you dont, please don't attempt.


4) Strange thoughts
Perhaps it's me growing old and patience shrieking, but hey we are just born few months apart.
Nakakainis sa work, naiinis ako kay ganito. naiinis ako kay ganon. Even if you change project assignments, change jobs, it's still the same story. - Someone told me before that if your problems are always the same, chronic, repeating in every environment, it's a sign that the problem is not them, it's you.

Gusto ko ang magiging bf ko does not have any past relationships and should be a virgin - I almost choke. Nosebleed ang requirements :). May ganon pa bang lalake? Well I dont know. Perhaps if a guy did it with a serious gf (hopefull the gf is also of considerable 'quality' standards), it shouldnt be too much to condemn and dwell on? Well of course, you also still respect guys who are disciplined to keep their chastity. But in the ever-advancing modern generation now, people have changed havent they?

Sana may PA (personal assistant) tayong kasama para someone will carry my stuff and bags when we take pictures, para makapagpose. Nosebleed again. D ko tlaga masakyan. :)

I hope someone writes a similar guide for Women lol.

Sleeping Longer to Shed Pounds

This article gives me more reason to sleep longer. I love the idea that extra fats are burned while sleeping :D

Want to shed pounds? Sleep longer say experts
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101006/tls-health-us-obesity-sleep-aeafa1b.html

Dieters lost the same amount of weight whether they slept for a full night or fewer hours, but those who got more sleep lost more fat and they also felt less hungry while awake, according to the study, which appears in the October 5 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

P.S. I'm late to office today because my alarm clock died and the aircon is finally resurrected. Parting with my bed seems to break my heart every morning. :)

Remarkable Answers (What A Guy Wants)

In all the encounters I had when I run into discussions about what are you looking for in a partner, so far these 2 are the standout answers from men :p

Attitude/Personality:
The very obvious trait 'maalaga' as top anser. I dont know how many times I've heard of it. Men like to be nursed, period. Few years ago, I remember an early-20's guy saying, he likes ladies who have an ambition. 'May ambisyon sa buhay'. That is striking. I've never heard of anyone who treats that as a best quality?

Perhaps now after years passed by, my outlook probably has changed, so has the crowd of people. To be honest, I dont know if I still have any ambition from a career perspective :p I get satisfied easily, I'm ok with what I have (dear God I cant take a more challenging job that this). I'm sometimes crazily thinking that maybe I should resign and follow Liz Gilbert 's ways in 'Eat Pray Love'. I'm happy that I'm not the only one. In fact, there are many of us, who wants a simple life.

People have the notion that women working abroad are hard-core career women. I was surprized that a friend here told me her biggest dream is to live in a small town. She asked me once what I fancy doing if I do settle down in the future, I gave a funny answer, 'gusto kong samahan ako mag-grocery'. :p

Anyway, I still find the 'ambition' answer to be quite unique.


Physical:
Top answers are usually 'cute' or 'ma-appeal'. I got this remarkable answer from a mid-30's married guy. He said his main criteria is 'yun mukhang bata pa rin ang mukha kahit tumanda'.

I was totally captivated. Obviously, we are not referring to women who are OA and childish! I kept insisting, how do you assess or foresee that? Can you actually predict accurately if this face would grow old in a lousy way and this wont? He told me it's a skill.

When I saw his wife, then I understood a bit. A mother of two kids, however her aura still looks like a young lady. So I blurted out, 'eh sa tingin mo, ako kaya mabilis akong tatanda'. Of course, we just ended up in giggles and I didnt get a definite answer to my question. He just said, 'you're ok', whatever an ok means from a guy.

Time to update skin care collection. I actualy sent tons of Olay home to my mom. Actualy I think it works on her, her skin looks better now, I managed to freeze her age a bit hehe. Time to freeze my own.

I Wanna Sleep Some More!

Recently I read in a Yahoo article that the ideal number of sleep hours is 7. Too little is obviously not good, but I didn’t know that too much of it is also not good and can cause strokes.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2008/07/17/too-much-too-little-sleep-linked-to-stroke-risk.html

I am forcing myself to sleep early every night, but seems like I don’t succeed in doing so. Thanks to all the bad influences that have made this a chronic and unbreakable habit for me lol. I seem to be struggling everyday in the morning. (these were the days before the doomsday project)

Extreme case: I was in the office pantry, half-awake. Normally we have this reflex to turn a mug upside down to make sure there’s no water in it before dispensing coffee or any drink. I did the same, guess what, I forget I had just placed oatmeal on it. Viola, I spilled all the oats into the floor. Luckily no one is around, I silently tiptoed back to my seat like a quiet mouse. :p

Actually my previous job requires to be in office at 10am. Present job is a bit earlier, we should be in at 9:30am. Both are already considered late, normal standards are usually 9am or even 830am here. But hey sleeping 5 extra minutes in the morning feels actually like heaven!

If drowsiness can kill, I guess I would have been dead decades ago.

The biggest accomplishment on my July vacation was that I was able to wake up at 11am for four straight mornings. Thanks to the fantastic weather: no doubt it was raining every single day that added more to my laziness.

After starting to work from graduation, this is the only time I was able to do it again. I’ve always dreamt of a stint of bumming period, but seems like I am meant for a busy life :( Spot the common denominator in the number series...
1st job: May 17 to Apr 5
2nd job: Mar 26 to Dec 22
3rd job: Dec 5 to present

Job start dates…my last day of work is always overlapping with the next job! Pathetic! Loser! I cant seem to negotiate well. Or to be frank, all were unplanned job changes and career shifts, I am not confident people will wait for me :(

My mom used to say, ‘ndi ka pa naman sobrang naghihirap sa pera, you can afford a few days off before starting’. Huhu I also don’t know why I always mess up.

And I wonder when I sleep, can I dream inside a dream and how many layers are possible? Inception mode? I’m afraid to fall into limbo.

Ok ok this has gone way too far as an entry for sleeping.

Don’t take me wrong. I just want to sleep, not die. I still want to wake up!

Tips on Domains

I think I have to share and note down my meager knowledge on different domains, before I totally forget again lol.

There are so much more factors to it for each of them, I will just state a few liners.

Point of Sale and Retail and Shipments
This is where I spent the initial almost 4 years of slavery with, a consumer good giant. Basically from a data warehouse point of view, this is none other than reporting of fact and dimension data: in layman terms: sales vs customer vs product kind of thing. SAP Barcode comes into play, different ways of computing for bundled products and promotion, etc. The level of granularity depends on how you want the information to be stored in the warehouse (star schema, dimensional, etc) and the analysis on what metrics to compute of which the top management people are actually tracking and dying to read and monitor. Basic KPI index on ROI, turnover would be among the favorites.

Telecoms
I spent almost 1.5 years on and off a telco company. Simply put there are 2 lines of businesses, the prepaid and postpaid. UDR (usage detail records) will be tracked, to the details like for a customer, how many local and international calls did he make, when (peak or non peak hours) was the call made, demographics, VAS (value added services) like voice call, 3g, incoming, call waiting, data plan, etc and equally important and volatile are the sim states which could be active, expired, terminated, reconnected. Datawarehousing sounds cool, but it is just a fancy tool for Marketing and Sales executive people to dwell and do their fancy forecasts and analysis. (I overuse the word fancy).

Banking: Forex
Ok finally working on an end-user forex trading application, as they say, where the money is, financial market focus. There are different ways of trading: I will state a few
Spots - trading today where settlement is 2 days from now.
Forwards – trading at a future date
Swaps – 2 streams of trading, a near leg and far leg. It could be even or uneven swap
Orders – putting of orders where you specify your own rate, once the market hits your rate, orders get executed as a trade

Aggegrated trading – for fancy trading for bulk trades of high volumes, minimum usually at 1M for an instruction. An instruction can be further broken down into orders, of which the orders further generate a deal. Some basic terms:
Buy & Sell – you are a market taker, taking in whatever rate the market has
Bid & Offer – you are a market maker, if there is nothing to sweep, you can specify the rate and market where you want to put a limit order in.

Market data adapters would be exchanges like Reuters, Bloomberg, etc which are liquidity sources. If a trader places 10M, it can be executed (risk is hedged by the bank) like 5M@1.03 goes to Reuters, 3M goes to Bloomberg @1.05, 2M goes to CME@1.06.

Some more fancy strategies:
Iceberg – as the name implies, you can have a shown amount and a hidden amount when you place your trade. This way the market won’t have a clear perception of what you place.

Sniper – you can put an open instruction at a rate you want. Once the market hits your rates, it continuous snipes for more orders until the instruction amount gets filled.

Just a side note, after working for forex, I get to be asked a common question, so ‘what do you recommend people to trade’. I once get mocked by an outsider folk for not giving a specific currency to recommend. Let me just set the record:
1) the bank’s forex trading application is for high net worth individuals (financial assets not including primary residence should exceed $1M USD) who do bulk trading. I don’t think it is applicable to common people who do small-time trading

2) whatever currency (ccy) you trade, the bank will never lose, it just hedges the risk outside, it will never keep a long position on a certain ccy. It will only earn, and never lose money. So whether it’s 10M JPY or 10M EUR or 10M USD, it doesn’t make much difference to me from my side of the barn. Perhaps it’s not part of the workstream I am involved in. Do not ask me for insider trading tips, if I do have, I’d be quitting job and practicing trading myself.

People tend to over-exaggerate things. Some people would consider trading as the next booming instrument to take over the world’s financial market. Everyone wants a slice of it and dip their a** into it, makes it sound like they are doing something extremely perplex and high-profile. From a practical standpoint, I can say from my few months, trading is like a glorified gambling casino console hehe.

It’s always handy to know a few of the acronyms and jargons and feel like an expert. As they say, when you can’t convince, confuse. :p

What Sh*t is This?

This is probably the first time you would see people blogging about ‘sh*t’ and I mean literally.

I was quite enthusiastic when I learned that it is a medical benefit of my current company to go for an Executive Health Screening package, maximum capped at 500sgd. (15k php). I looked at the packages, the screening center is situated inside a hotel, my first impression is wow. And since fasting is required for blood test, there is a complimentary hotel breakfast afterwards. Perhaps any free food rings a bell. :) What more can I ask?

I took the basic package of 300+, thinking that it may be good to be budget-conservative since it is my first time. To be fair, the basic package doesn’t look like it’s worth 10k php to me! Quickly browsing through, it’s just some basic tests: blood test, chest x-ray and some physical examination. Well I guess in sg, everything is more expensive and thou shall never compare.

After making the appointment, the screening center sent two empty vials to my office for collecting ‘specimens’. The vials here are a bit different, with the stool specimen bottle having even a narrower opening than the urine specimen bottle, I really wonder why. But it does come with a stick in it, you know what I mean… Ok here starts the dreaded part.

I have no idea how some people can manage to fast for 8hours+ and then wake up the next morning and collect stool specimen??? Where did the urge come from?! It has always been a difficult challenge for me to do this. Worst case, I will have to go back on another separate day, uggh.

That morning came, and true, despite shedding efforts, it has been futile. I walked into the screening center, completed all the tests. I told the staff that I am done except for the stool specimen and that I will submit that on another day. She then issued me the breakfast voucher. I came down for my breakfast. It was not buffet breakfast btw, just a simple local breakfast but good (I chose fish beehon). Still, it was fun, I feel like a feeling-executive haha.


Then came the long-awaited urge. I know I just have to swallow some food for it to come. I am on a valid sick leave for rest of the day. To minimize the hassle of taking another leave again to resubmit my specimen bottle, a brilliant plan came into mind. I brought the empty bottle, went back to the screening center and in a ladies room there, thinking how to manage to complete the task. Of course, the rest is history. I don’t want to dwell into gross details. All I can say is that it was yuck, grrh.

The climax: I went to the front desk, ready to submit the pending task. And to my surprise, this is what the receptionist said after like checking my profile for a long 5minutes.

‘I’m sorry ma’am. After double checking, you don’t need to submit anything anymore. The package that you have chosen is the basic one, and it only requires urine sample. You can leave for the day and we will call you after 2 weeks to claim your results’.

I’ve never felt so embarrassing in a long time. I said ‘ok thanks’, threw the specimen bottle in the trash can and rushed out to disappear quickly, all in about 30 seconds.

#$#!!!!#$#$ 'Takte! After everything, you now told me it’s not required, why didn’t you correct me earlier?? I wanna cry haha! And In the first place, why did you send 2 empty bottles to mislead me???? Back in Phil, urine and stool specimen are like too basic tests and are considered part of any screening package isn’t it. It’s your fault!

And after coming back to my senses, I felt that rushing out is actually too stupid. I actually should have asked how much additional do I need to pay and submit those darn stuff! I guess it’s another 20 or 30sgd. But who cares, I should be able to reimburse it! Grrh! I was carried away.

Just for laughs. I’m not going back to you again. Bitter mode! :D

Blackout Curtains

I have no clue why the architect of this building had designed to have windows covering the entire one side of my room. I usually have seen one or two panels, but havent encountered an entire side yet.

Unfortunately there were a few weeks of May that were extremely hot. My Saturday sleeps had been very much disturbed as I woke up sweating despite the aircon set at 18deg. Note that I am a ‘ginawin’ person to some extent. The sunlight passing through is just too much. This building is the first one in the block and there are no taller buildings or trees to cover the sun whatsoever.

Luckily I learned from a housemate that there is such thing called ‘blackout’. These are the types of curtains that hotel actually use. As the name implies, it aims to ‘black out' the surrounding. The cost is just a little higher than ordinary curtains. But I must say every cent is worth it!

Here’s a comparison, the left side is an ordinary thick curtain (note that is it very thick already but the sun penetrates through it easily), the right side is the blackout.


Amen to that, back to my sound weekend sleep.

p.s. Good things are for sharing with friends.

Malacca day trip

Overdued post. I went to Malacca last June for a city tour.

The most popular landmark in Malacca is the Melaka Church, situated in Dutch Square.















Other remarkable pix are:
Statue in a Chinese Temple (which I forgot the name)











Jonker Street
(reminds me of my hometown, this is how Binondo looks!)










Trails of Baba and Nonya Musuem
-these are the descendants of Portugese-Chinese. They are known for the beaded handicraft artwork (which by the way is very expensive as they are hand-sewn piece by piece). And also quite known for the Peranakan cuisine, which is as spicy as you can imagine.









Bakery (interestingly named Sha Shu Kong, meaning 3rd uncle)









On the trip back, I was watching Jet Lee's 'Fearless' movie on the bus. It has been so long since a movie has made me teary-eyed (or was it because I was feeling low and down then). Anyway, I was moved by the character of Jet Lee, of how he transformed from an arrogant fighter into understanding the true essence of winning. A lot of things in life are not what they seemed to be.

P.S. Finally back to blogging mode. I was surprised to see thousand+ hits in Adsense (although of course it only has a few cents lol). I'll try to lessen the 'emo' posts in the future :p

Strange Images

There are certain times when you feel like throwing a Vista machine. Waiting for 40,000+days is 100years+. Are humans still alive by then?









Remember the usual puzzled look you'd see on cartoons, like three strips of sweat dripping on the forehead, and some question marks appearing all over the head? This will make you recall that expression. That's why conversing in Mandarin is preferable at times.











Cookies and Creme flavors for ice cream and cakes are certified crowd favorites. However, I never thought of having it on my hair during a hair spa session. Another killer - special bundle of joy? I only see the phrase used by excited parents welcoming their newborns, other than that, this is the first time I've seen it used elsewhere.












P.S. No offense for any sarcasm for the last 2 images. Kasi pinupuno lagi ang mailbox d2 ng flyers. I hope they dont have blogs and dont read blogs. But anyway think of the bright side, this is free online advertisement :D

By the way, I have added one more resto to my previous blog for Best Kept Secrets. Once I have the time, I'll showcase some more foodie trips.

Fated

I saw this in another blog, good read. Senti mood.

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck.

Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul.

Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create whom you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again.

Talk to people whom you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to.

Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create you own life and then go out and live it.

Never take someone for granted. Hold on every person close to your heart because you might wake up one day and realize that you've lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones

Housekeeping: Portable Vacuum Cleaner

I bought this powerful tool last month. If you live alone, this is really a must-have item for your bedroom, especially if you are too lazy to sweep your floor everyday. The sucking power is actually not that strong, but good enough to pick up falling hair and dirt in the floor, like your typical car vacuum. This one can actually suck liquid too though I never tried. The hood is light enough to be 'portable'.

Now, every night when I'm not tired, I would turn this thing on and do a quick round in my bedroom, takes just about 2 minutes max I guess. I like my floor tidy and hair-free. Mine is from Moulinex and it costs 60sgd.

The down side is, this runs in rechargeable batteries (NiMH), therefore I would expect its life to be diminishing over time. I hope every rechargeable item will come in Lithium batts in the future.

Gift Shopper

Probably it was only in SG that I realized the 'joy' of giving. In my previous vacations, I just always have the urge to buy something for everyone in the family. And take note, it's only my immediate family (so less than 10pax) and I still always end up in excess baggage mode (or, if not, in ultra heavy handcarries mode) hehe I need an efficient packer. :)

The July08 was my one-time big-time gift-giving mode. Staying for one year+, I feel obliged to give them something pretty much substantial hehe. (well I've been receiving so much gifts from them all these years). An overflow of bags and of course clothes. My mom loves the clothes I buy for her (it takes skill and practice to buy for others!). :) Ey I suddenly feel like applying for a professional shopper :p







Though this might have added some credit card swipes, I dont mind at all, so much for people I care! And it's once in a long while.

Actually I didnt receive much birthday gifts from friends this year. I suddenly felt my circle of friends are getting smaller (since a lot of them have left or some have drifted apart). I sometimes wonder (or maybe envy) those people who will blog about who sent an sms to greet them, gave them gifts, with a list adding to about a hundred hehe. Anyway it's the quality and not the quantity :p. I'm glad to have something I really wanted and needed. My good friend seems to know me so well that she gave me a yoga mat (I'm planning to enroll in yoga) and a bag in my favorite color! Back home my achis and I always have this un-surprised surprise. We went for a vacation and they noticed my bag was not so 'porma' so they bought me one that is fit for beach/travel. I also told them I like one specific walking shoe and they find me one. One gave me a pair of earrings. And my mom even replenished my Globe cards haha. Just everything I have in my shopping list. Thank you!

I have a friend (guy) who is so much into signature/designer items. A funny thing is that he was so proud he bought his ex-gf (who is fond of tiangge shopping) a limited edition of Dior shirt costing around probably 10K php. And he bashes that probably the shirt can buy his ex all the items in her favorite tiangge. Hmm I doubt it was appreciated, cause they broke up :p

For me, gift giving lies in the thought, the effort to find something that fits or something that could probably be of some use. It's gotta have some heart, just that. :)

English lah

I have an Indian officemate who is very funny (even if he does not exert effort to be funny). Here are some of the humorous quotes

-'My one is missing'. He went to my seat and murmured those words with a worried look. I said 'what?'. He replied again, 'my one is missing', pointing to my monitor. I then figured out he has some files missing. After checking I found those missing files and told him, 'no, your one is there, it's not missing'. 'Oh thank you'. See I'm a fast learner, copycat. :)

-'There was one time when he was browsing on some bank's websites. Suddenly in a loud voice, he asked, 'hey what's TT?' I said 'where did you see that?'. He replied several times, 'TT', 'TT'. I had to control my laughter, what in the world is this TT thing (not that I'm green, but my top recall of those 2letters is a Filipino word). It was only by chance when I got to ask my sister if there is such banking term TT, and she said yes, telegraphic transfer that is :p

Other funny terms: Singlish / Hindi-ish. :

'upgradation' of contract - upgrade

my aunt 'expired' ---- past away

scheduled pronounced as shedule

I shall send you this email and print the same - 'the same' appears so many times

#1 --- it's not number 1 but hex 1

' --- this is not apostrophe but inverted comma

this one can, this one cannot - everything is can and cannot. can help check this issue. can do this can do that.

*To be updated when I learn more. :)

Clueless and Puzzled Creature

It's really funny whenever I remember the 'amazing gift' na pinasuyo sa akin to bring back home last July. It was from a guy in SG who is courting my friend in Manila. Pardon me but up to this point, I still cant figure out the logic behind. :p Anyway it's my first time to be a bridge, let's just wait and see if this one's a happy ending.

Profile of the girl: She used to be my bestfriend and suddenly we lost touch after high school. Earlier this year, she greeted me in friendster saying she was surprised that I have changed a lot based from my pictures. And that started our frequent chatting. She's a simple girl who studied in CEU and currently works in a bank. I know she really wanted to have a bf but seems like she hasnt found one that's fit for her as she related. Dinalaw ko cya last July and I was glad that our closeness is still there despite the time and distance factors.

So anyway I got to know this guy from her. Seriously, bilib din ako sa tiyaga because this guy was literally sending sms to her everyday, calling her, online chats and lasted for already 4+ months. Whew for a guy to pursue someover overseas and engaging in posible long distance relationships, it must be real diligence and I respect him for that matter. We got to chit chat sometimes over ym. He was asking me for ideas what gifts to give. I told him looking at her friendster page, it was quite obvious as it was clearly stated that she likes accesories, 'anything kikay' I said. Then he told me he was planning to buy Body Shop products. My goodness, I dont know what he is thinking, there are so many Body Shop outlets in Manila, why bother, and I dont want to bring liters of lotions in my luggage! I said think of something unique that is only available in SG. I even gave him clues, if you find it difficult to buy accesories for women, well maybe just buy small bags, or perhaps kikay blouses.

'Pano kung hindi magustuhan' he said.
'Hindi yan.. or kung gusto mo buy one each of what I mentioned, khit sa tiangge lng, hndi naman kelangan mamahalin lahat. Cguro may magugustuhan naman cya khit isa lng dun'
'Naku bka magulat yon, sabihin bkit ang galante naman nito, hindi ko pa naman sinasagot'
I was like ha? Deep inside I was thinking what harm is there na magulat???
Then he continued,
'Hindi pa rin eh, hndi naman sa mayabang ako, what if naging kami, tpos mag-expect na lagi big-time ako magregalo. Mahirap yun ganon'

I was dumbfounded. What ??###!!@#. Here again is one guy who is worrying about what chicken dish to cook before the eggs are even hatched. And I dont see the logic behind giving gifts and being pressured what gifts to buy the next time to supercede the previous delight level. Isnt it giving gifts is a voluntary act? I give people gifts because I want to and probably because I care, not because I am forced to. Maybe it's a good trait that a guy has a clear grasp of future planning, however it's also because of this too much thinking left and right that stops them from progressing? That's it. He could have my vote, but he just blew it all away hehe. Anyway I dont intend to share this part with my friend, I dont want to be a factor para mabasted itong guy, because as a 3rd party, I can still see some goodness in this guy.

Anyway, when we met up, he has this nice silver box with a nice silver ribbon and placed in a dainty violet tiny bag. It looks perfect to me. I started teasing him 'hey teka ano ba laman nito. Naprepressure ako, bka pag nawala ko, hndi ko toh kayang bayaran'. (I was thinking it might be some watch? or maybe some accesory or jewelry, that was the impression actually of the size of the box and packaging). He just kept on smiling and saying secret secret. Later I was already serious, ano ba talaga laman, of course I dont want to bring any liquid or anything that might prohibit me from entering the plane right, at least give me a general idea. Deep inside I have the feeling somehow I have the right to know kasi pina-hassle mo na nga ako magdala. I asked once, twice, thrice, ayaw pa rin sagutin, tawa lng cya nang tawa. FINE. It's hard to talking to you. I gave up. :p

When I met up with my friend in Manila, of course she was really surprised that I brought her a gift from this guy back in SG. Girl talk chismisan, I simply told her 'hey buksan mo naman, I want to know what is it'. Medyo kilig pa cya when opening. So what was the big fuss all about. My goodness, it was several small pieces of puzzle packed in a tranparent plastic bag. The suspense didnt reach the climax part and drop down dead in a nano second..! I can't explain what my friend's expression was, and I had to be very careful to mind mine coz I dont want to upset her by laughing hard. Then I asked her, mahilig ka ba sa puzzle? Hindi. Cya mahilig ba? Hindi rin. Then I became speechless, I dont know what to say. Cge buuin mo na sa bahay. :p Then I changed the topic. The next day the girl called and told me she asked her kuya to form the puzzle which has something written like 'you're special to me'. The intent of the guy was that she extracts the message to the last piece. Poor thing, it didn't serve the purpose then.

Okay the intent was probably unique and has some substance in it. But then again, it's barking at the wrong tree. Hayy it's complicated! :p

Marketing Project: TV

Sharing my final project - creating a marketing strategy for digital TVs. It was a group project, I was assigned to do positioning and financial plan.

Positioning
Being one of the strongest in terms of producing LCD panels, Sharp doesn’t seem to have conveyed this strong point across, leaving the television industry throned by Sony and Samsung. With the impending switch of Analog to Digital Television, it’s a good timing that Sharp uses this winning strength and launch a full-blast campaign.

The main positioning statement would be composed of two main parts: to produce IDTV that gives the best image quality and the FIRST to give you visually appealing designs.

For the first part, best image quality. With Sharp owning their own LCD panel technology, coping up with the demands and trends wouldn’t be a problem on resource availability for mass production. As television sets evolve through the years, they were able to achieve a sustainable growth from the old days of CRTs to the current LCDs and much more in the future of digital living.

For the second part, visually appealing designs. Sharp will differentiate itself from the competitors by introducing creative designs to veer away from the usual black and silver panels. Mobile phones have colored casings, laptops now come in different colors and skins, and so with digicams. It’s about time that a top TV manufacturer be daring enough to try different colored LCD panels. To be able to cater to individual taste, two lines will be launched -Trendy and Elite lines. Trendy designs should be the hip and colorful designs targeted on women. Elite lines will have an elegant finish and will also have higher specs, as this will be charged a premium and targeted to the high-end market.

We want to position Sharp Aquos – Trendy and Elite lines as a must-have item in every home, it’s not just a TV but a house decor for owners to flaunt, a de facto item in every household.

We have thought of two strong concepts of ads/taglines to position our TVs clearly in the mind of our target buyers.





P.S. Special thanks to my artist who has put my brilliant ideas into awesome images. :p

P.P.S. Above concepts are created for educational purposes only. If this does become a trend in the future, well then I'd be more than happy to be acknowledged. My brainchild. :p

Asking Questions

Ever wondered why we always have so many questions?

Questions to make you look BRILLIANT
Bibo kids in the corporate world would never miss an opportunity to ask questions during coffee talks or business meetings. 'What is the company's strategy to address this problem X, where are we heading in the next couple of months, are we adapting this blah.. to surpass this crisis..?' Am really curious what makes this people so passionate about such trashy stuff :p Typical classroom setup, may grade ba ito for recitation kaya tanong ng tanong? :p

Questions to make you look POLITE
Seems like we are obliged to ask people 'kumain ka na' or 'kain tayo' whenever we ourselves are eating. Sa totoo lng, pag hindi mo gusto yun taong inaalokan mo, parang takot ka pa na sumagot cya ng 'oo', patay the food is not enough for yourself pano ka pa magshare. wehehe.

Questions to make you look INTERESTED
Sometimes para hndi mapahiya ang kausap mo (eg dates), you have to think of so many topics and so many questions para lng hindi ka mablanko. Awkward :p. Just to show that small piece of care and concern, cge isip-isip, tanong-tanong pa.

Hmm normally I would ask questions only when I need an answer, like asking for instructions. Or when I'm in my kulit mode, yes I have lots of questions :p Somehow I also find it hard to pop essential questions that are really circling in my head.

Would you still ask a question:
- If you know you won't get a clear answer at all?
- If you know you won't get the answer that you wanted?
- If you think it would only lead to more confusion and more questions?
- If you think it's something that's gonna affect how people think of you?
- If you know you'll be pissed if you get the beating-around-the-bush type of answers?

Hmm if your answer is yes, then I applaud you! :) Would you rather die without knowing any hint of answers? Asking's not gonna kill you right?!

Still. I'm a chicken. I hope I won't have to be in situations where I have to ask. Borrowing a favorite term from the anaps, 'tell me' haha.

Extra Challenge: Chinese Poem

I just notice I forgot to post my Chinese masterpiece. I think this would be my first and last attempt to create such a long poem :). It has 28 stanzas, 8 liner each stanza. AND it RHYMES! I finished this last December, got me churning for appropriate words and phrases, what a challenge! And oh, I miss my petix days hehe. :)

Seriously, I really feel good when I learn a skill without having any formal lessons. For me, Mandarin is definitely not something I learned from school. The exposures just accumulated to my present level now. I don't have any special skill to be proud of. If there's one single thing I can do better, let's say more than 50% of the filchi fipinized population, I guess this is it. :p

Sharing my first stanza. :0

風花雪月 眼花遼亂
天長地久 海枯石爤
字字句句 深印心坎
不知不覺 回憶片段

What's Your Name Hidden Meaning

Nice read. 80% accurate. :p

What Leslie Wong Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very charming... dangerously so. You have the potential to break a lot of hearts. You know how what you want, how to get it, and that you will get it. You have the power to rule the world. Let's hope you're a benevolent dictator! You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are deeply philosophical and thoughtful. You tend to analyze every aspect of your life. You are intuitive, brilliant, and quite introverted. You value your time alone. Often times, you are grumpy with other people. You don't appreciate them trying to interfere in your affairs.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?