The World of Second Chances

Silay

January 28, 2009

Life & Love

Very familiar sa akin ang term na “silay.” Nauna ko itong narinig kay Mary Ann, best friend ko noong grade school. Ten years old ako ng ma-realize kong may crush na pala ako. Andrew ang name ng first crush ko. Pag sinabi ni Mary Ann na, “sana masilayan naman natin crush natin,” sumasang-ayon naman ako. Masarap magka-crush, di ba? Mas masarap pa siguro kesa magka-boyfriend. Andun kasi ang thrill lalo na pag ina-assess mo sa sarili mo kung gusto ka ba nya o hindi.

Seven months na kami ni Miel. Bago kami mag-isang taon bilang mag-boyfriend, magpapakasal na kami. Wala naman ding halos nabago sa sitwasyon namin. Para pa rin kaming bago nang bago.

Kagabi, nasa labas sya ng apartment ko, nag-iihaw ng ulam para sa hapunan namin. Ako naman, nasa sala at nagbabasa. Paminsan-minsan, tinitignan ko sya at andun pa rin ang kilig pag nakikita ko sya. Lalo naman akong kinilig nung sya naman ang pasimpleng sumilip sa bintana para makita ako.

Eyes wide open. Nakangiting labi. Parang namamangha sa nakita nya. Sumilay nga ang lalaking sinilayan ko. Wala lang.Nakakakilig. Sana habambuhay kaming ganito. =)
So Help Us, God…

January 27, 2009

Career, Finance & Product

Massive job layoffs.
Cost-cutting on companies.
4-days a week work schedule.
Freeze hiring.
What’s next?

I wonder if the global economic crisis is the beast that is mentioned in the bible. I hope not. I hope that this is just temporary. Who will think that a great country like the USA will go bankrupt? In the Philippines, we’re used to living a hard life that’s why Filipinos go abroad to give their family a better future. What will now happen to the families of the Overseas Filipino Workers who were laid off in Korea and Taiwan. There is also a threat of massive job layoff in the construction industry in Dubai that will affect not just the blue collar workers but the Filipino engineers and architects as well.

What is happening seems like a nightmare to me. It was so unforeseen on the early quarter of 2008. But what is good in a bad time like this is people cling to each other for moral and emotional support. People tend to be more empathetic with each other as compared before when competition was very obvious. There is competition but there is also empathy which is good.

What will happen next? Will education and health care be a luxury rather than a necessity? It’s a grim scenario, isn’t it? It’s like people will go back to the age when hunting for food is their way of life.

If there is one Supreme Being whom we can depend on in this depressing time, it’s God. (Atheists and agnostics, I don’t care what you believe in and your opinion is not counted with regard to this subject.)

Maybe we have become so absorbed in this world’s materialism that we forgot about God. Maybe what is happening is one way of getting back to God or renewing one’s faith in God.

Hel
Wistron Mass Layoff

January 20, 2009

Career, Finance & Product

Wistron Infocomm Philippines is under the umbrella company of Acer Information in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Wistron Infocomm Philippines is formerly known as Acer Information Philippines and is recognized to be a top earner and top tax contributor in SBMA. The beautifully landscaped area is home to three buildings: the Admin building, the Desktop building and the Mobile building. Desktop and Mobile are actually production plants.

The Desktop building used to produce desktop computers. The plant was shutdown in late 2001 when desktop operation was transferred in China. Now, the Customer Service Department occupies this building. On the other hand, the Mobile plant produces laptop until the operation was transferred in China. For two years now, smart phones are being produced and is the main source of income for Wistron.

Wistron, as a company, was able to beat the threat of unionizing, several attempted closures and high manufacturing cost. Since 2002, cost cutting measures were implemented. For the keen observers, it was a signal that Wistron was not doing well financially speaking. Then came the transfer of desktop operations in China where the labor cost is said to be much cheaper. The pioneers in Wistron were the most optimistic and most loyal to the company. It was the pioneer group who kept the balance by assuring the doubting Thomases that just like any other crisis, it would just pass.

But did it? How can they explain the mass layoff of 500 regular employees this morning of January 20, 2009? It was so sudden; employees were not able to prepare. They were given five minutes to stay in the company premises and then, they were escorted out of Wistron compound where a shuttle bus is waiting. Police and SWAT were reportedly visible in the area. January 20, 2009 became the mourning day of Wistron Infocomm Philippines.

Surely, the one million desktop production in year 2000 will just be a memory. There will no longer be a queue in the metal detector area, canteen and ATM area. They will no longer see familiar faces, hear familiar voices and smell familiar scents. Definitely, the ones left behind will be insecure of their future in Wistron. The once top tax contributor in SBMA will be nothing but a history.

The global economic crisis can now be felt. God bless the Philippines. God bless the world!
Waste Segregation in Balanga City

January 16, 2009

Life & Love

The waste segregation program in Balanga City under the leadership of Mayor Joet Garcia is admirable. There are garbage collectors that roam around the city twice a day to collect biodegrable and non-biodegradable wastes. Residents are mandated to do waste segregation, otherwise, the garbage collector won’t collect it.

What is good in this waste segregation program is that, biodegradable wastes are made into compost while non-biodegradable wastes go down to the junk shops. It generates extra income for the residents while maintaining a clean and garbage-free environment.

Mayor Joet Garcia maybe a neophyte in politics but his one year of public service record is impressive. I believe that he is even better than his brother, ex-Mayor and now Congressman Albert Garcia. On the other hand, the then Mayor Albert or Mayor Abet as we fondly call him, was responsible in giving Balanga a make-over.

Keep up the good work, Mayor Joet! Continue to make Balanga City a clean and garbage-free city!
A Baby Is A Blessing

January 10, 2009

Life & Love

Whether you’re 18 or 38 when you had your baby, consider it as a blessing. Not all 18 or 38 year olds are capable of having a baby.

Whether you’re struggling in life or very stable in life when you had your baby, consider it as a blessing. A baby becomes an inspiration of a struggling mother and a baby completes the comfortable life of a wealthy mother.

Whether your husband or boyfriend welcomes your baby or not, consider your baby as a blessing. An irresponsible father and unloving husband should never be a barrier to continue with your pregnancy. An excited father and loving husband should lessen your fears of pregnancy and childbirth.

A baby is a blessing, not a burden. We don’t treat something/someone we love as a burden if we don’t love them. How can the smiles of a baby be a burden if it brings joy to a mother’s heart? A baby is a blessing, not a burden.
Amazing Clean and Clear!

January 10, 2009

Career, Finance & Product

I normally get break outs before my period comes but it’s just a zit or two. I notice that since I started doing the following, my forehead never runs out of zit! Eeewwww!

1. when I started using Beautyclinic moisturizer with AHA

2. when I started using Maybelline powder foundation

3. when Facial Treats (a beauty salon) changed their facialist–the new ones are so-so

Anyways, I didn’t mention Beautyclinic, Maybelline and Facial Treats just to bash them. If I can praise a product or a service establishment, then why can’t I comment on products or service establishments that caused me harm than good?

Let me start with Beautyclinic. Actually, I didn’t buy the product. My mother gave me one of the two bottles that was given to her by her friend. The product has a strong acidic smell. It must be the AHA or alpha hydroxy acid. The red compound found on the white cream could be the AHA. When applied on skin, a slight burning sensation can be felt. This product worked wonders for a month until I noticed that small pimples started to appear on my forehead. I stopped using the product after that.

As for the Maybelline powder foundation,my fiance’ gave it to me since he knows my fascination with make up and beauty products. I am also thinking that the small pimples on my forehead could be due to clogged pores. But if I was using Beautyclinic at that time, it’s impossible for me to have clogged pores since AHA is a declogger!

Theory 3, the facialist at Facial Treats. Facial Treats is an affordable facial salon in Bulacan. When it comes to service and facilities, I can say that it can reach the status of Let’s Face It when properly managed. (Let’s Face It is the facial salon of the mass here in the Philippines. If you’re moneyed, you have Belo or Cosmetiderm to choose from for a facial fee of US$55.00+) Since October 2008, the new set of facialists have been getting on my nerves for being unprofessional and lax. Facial salon ought to be a cozy place where you can relax. But in Facial Treats, facialists waiting for customer just gossip with each other and laugh so loud. It’s distracting! Worse, the facialist assigned to me was in a hurry to finish.

Now comes Clean and Clear Pimple Clearing Face Wash and Speed Gel! I’ve been suffering from flawed complexion for three months now. What I did was, I stopped doing the three things that I mentioned and relied on the magic of Johnson and Johnson.

Amazingly, it’s just my 3rd day of using the product and yet the pimples are GONE! My skin is back to normal. I wonder what’s in it that works like magic?

Thanks to Johnson and Johnson!
Prepaid Card Modus Operandi

January 6, 2009

Career, Finance & Product
Don’t fall prey! If someone who claims to be your friend asks for prepaid card or cellphone load, be wary! He/she could not be your friend he/she is projecting to be.

My friend’s YM was hacked several months ago and I didn’t receive her warning about the fake one who’s asking prepaid load from the people in her YM list. The fake one chats with whoever is online and pretends very well that she is the real one. The fake one knows that the real one is abroad and has a wide circle of friends in the Philippines that includes me.

The fake one chatted with a common friend who’s based in Singapore, but was on vacation leave in the Philippines, to ask a favor. The fake one requested our common friend to send her 50 pieces of Globe prepaid card worth PhP500.00. Fortunately, our common friend was in a tight budget due to his wedding preparation. But unfortunately, our common friend referred me to the fake one thinking that she was the real one.

Our common friend texted me and gave me the fake one’s roaming number. I was in the middle of a trip but I texted that number since our common friend said that it was urgent and important. The fake one replied and asked for 50 pieces of Globe prepaid cards worth Php500.00 and she would pay me through my bank account the next day. I didn’t read the text message clear enough and thinking that it was only one piece, me and my companion rushed to the Globe prepaid card outlet to buy one. Just when the salesgirl was about to hand me over the card, I re-read the fake one’s message and realized that she was asking for 50 and not a piece of prepaid card. I only had PhP3,000 in my wallet at that time and the additional PhP23,000 was impossible to produce for the following reasons:

1. it was holiday in the Philippines on December 26 and the banks were close

2. I was on a tight financial budget to be able to give her that amount of Globe loads

But since she was a dear friend, a friend from wayback primary school and also my mother’s friend, I asked her if I could give her 20 pieces of Globe load instead. She said that it was fine but I had to speed up since her customers in her area were asking for Globe load. Like a friend’s intuition, I wondered when she started having an eye for business? She was never the type who would push a friend to give her favors, too. I wondered why she didn’t greet me “Merry Christmas” just the way she always did in the past. I decided to call Globe Customer Service hotline to check whether the number is roaming or not. It was not registered to be a roaming number but the number was unreachable when I tried to make a call.

It was a Friday when that incident happened and I promised the fake one that she’ll receive the Globe cards on Monday. What made her believable was she knew the real one’s YM ID and even asked me to have a chat with her. But her ignorance of the real one’s MSN ID was a give-away that she was not really the real one. At this time, me and my companion were playing games with the devil.

Sunday afternoon, I tried to contact the real one’s mother’s contact number but her mother replied the following day. She was surprised to know that the fake one is still actively pursuing for preys and she was glad that I didn’t fall into the fake one’s trap.

That same afternoon, I received a sort of follow up text from the fake one to verify if the cards can be delivered to her on Monday. I affirmed and asked her how her lovelife with ASG is going. ASG was recently married to our common friend and I expected her to react. But instead, the fake one said that I received the news about her and ASG very fast!

The following day, after a series of follow up text messages from the fake one, I told her that I only got 15 pieces of prepaid card and I was on the way to their house. This time, she said that I should not bother going to her house since she’s abroad. I acted surprised and told her that I could still go so that I could visit her mother.She said that since it was urgent, I should send her the cards’ PIN before going to their house. I replied naughtily,”You expect me to send all those 15 PIN’s? It would be easier for me to just give the cards to your mother and have her send the PIN’s to you.” She asked for my bank account number and I told her that she could send it thru Western Union.

After three hours, the fake one asked me if I could send the PIN thru text message. I told her that I gave the cards to her surprised mother. The fake one did not text anymore up to this day. She must have realized that I knew she was a fake.

My realizations:
1. That we should not open malicious links that could give the hackers our important passwords.
2. That we should be careful when using public computer terminal and remember to log out everytime we’re done.
3. That it is alright to delay a favor if it means saving ourself from the hassles and pains of being duped.
4. That we should trust our intuitions:if something seems not right, it probably is really not right.