Disclaimer: I’m not sure if this is an original, I got this from our Facebook group. Questions were taken from Doc Arvin’s post.
Imagine that today is year 2005:
1: What time do you have to wake up? – 6AM.
2. What is your cellphone? Tell me more about this phone. Why is it the best for you?- I had a Nokia 3650. I think it’s the only Nokia phone with a round bottom. It was the best phone for me because it was a gift.
3.What was your internet speed and how much? -None. I used my cellphone as a hotspot.
4. How many inches was your TV? It was a room TV, around 24 inches.
5. Do you have a laptop? Desktop? How many GB was the storage?- Somebody donated a desktop to me sometime in 2004. I can’t remember the storage capacity.
6.Where do you go for a gimmick?- I hated going to the bar but I went there occasionally with friends. I’ve been to maybe half of the bars in Olongapo.
7.What was the most instagrammable location then? – Beaches in Gapo and the nature in Subic.
8.Which mall was the best? Which mall had the best cinema?- In 2005, believe it or not, the malls that I went to were the small malls in Gapo and Bataan.
9. How do you listen to music?- Through my FM/AM radio.
10. What car do you drive? If commute, how much was the fare.- I have no car yet in 2005. I could not remember the fare because I walked a lot.
11. You are considered “sosyal” when you wear this- To be honest, I don’t know. I’m never brand conscious. What looks good on me will do.
12. You are “sosyal” if you eat what?- What? Caviar? I don’t know. Haha.
13. How much was the US$ exchange rate to Peso- $50?, I don’t remember.
14. Were you working or studying in 2005?- Working!
15. Describe your past get-up- Nothing fancy. Just shirt and jeans.
16. Do you order via food delivery in 2005?- No. Making phone calls were expensive for me during those times.
17. What were your dreams in 2005 that you were able to achieve in 2021?- Prefer not to answer. LOL.
Most people have painful boss stories to tell and I don’t want it to happen to me someday. For the many years that I have been working, I am fortunate to have met good bosses who shaped me into the professional that I am today. Of course, there were also times when our work relationship was not smooth, but being a logical person helped me to get through with all the challenges and criticisms thrown at me. So, without naming names, I’d like to share my experiences with my previous bosses who had different styles and personalities with each other.
Boss #1 is every employee’s dream boss. He was supportive of his department’s career growth and encouraged each one of us to do better each year. He was our cheerleader during project presentations, he made sure that we were comfortable in facing the other bosses. He was fond of teambuilding and out-of-office activities like dining out, badminton, and for the boys’ night out. Boss #1 taught me that being a good leader does not only mean that you’re good at doing your job, you have to have a good relationship with your subordinates as well.
Boss #2 is artistic and imaginative, traits that are not innate in me. I used to view the world in black and white, there’s no in-between and other colors. To put it down literally, she critiqued my first work samples and remarked that I should use more colors to differentiate one process or step from another. She could be feisty and emotional at times and it contradicted my normally cool demeanor. I think that one of the reasons why we hit off later and became friends was our opposite attitude; hot and cold, colorful and black and white. She taught me the value of hard work and patience that I still do now.
Boss #3 proves that even a person as accomplished as him can blend with employees of all ranks and positions. He was a caring boss and the type who would get worried if one of his female staff would go home late because of work-related overtime. His sincerity and empathy earned the admiration and support of most of the people under his management. A natural comedian, meetings were never boring because of him. I learned from him that you could be a well-loved and well-respected boss if you know how to love and respect people in the first place.
Boss #4 is gentle and friendly. He was accommodating especially to the newbies. What I got from him was learning how to work effectively with the other teams by being attentive to their expectations on a given assignment or project.
Boss #5 is a macro manager. It was probably because she came to the time when the culture and system in our department section were already in place. What I loved about her was her efforts to unite the team when some of us were not on good terms with one another. I admired her patience and understanding in dealing with our rants and bickering. Until now, she makes it a point that we communicate as a team once in a while.
Boss #6 is a micromanager. I fully understood his management style because the level of our involvement and commitment to the organization was greater as compared to some. If the other bosses taught me technical skills to do my job, Boss #6’s contribution to me was sharpening my management and decision-making skills. Indirectly, he was the reason why I decided to push through with my MBA because there were a lot of things to be done and accomplished under him. He taught me to be keen on details, be precise with data, and be always prepared when the pieces of information were needed.
Boss #7 is smart and confident. She pushed her subordinates to attend personality development training in a reputable training company. I learned from her that trusting and believing in what your subordinates can do will make a big difference in the improvement of their performance.
Boss #8 gives equal opportunities to deserving people. Being an empath, his concern for the people came off naturally. In return, he was also well-loved and respected. What I learned from him was to never stop learning and to never be complacent. I learned that being mediocre is a disservice to one’s growth and potentials.
I felt good after remembering my past bosses’ contribution to my attitude and career growth. To those who might ask if I change a job very often, the answer is no—the bosses were either rotated or resigned.
I’ve been a Cignal subscriber for 4 years now, we could not afford to have a smart TV because internet connectivity is a problem in our area. Effective October 1st, Cignal announced that the Walt Disney company will stop airing its channels. As a result, the following channels will no longer be shown in Cignal: Disney Junior, Disney Channel, FOX Movies, FOX Action Movies, FOX Life, FOX, FOX Sports, and FOX Sports 2.
I emailed their customer service to ask about the replacement channels and here they are: Lotus Macau, Tagalized Movie Channel, TAP TV, UAAP Varsity Channel, Dreamworks (Tagalized), Dreamworks (English), TAP Action, TAP Movies, Premier Sports, and Moonbug Kids.
I am not familiar with these channels so I took some time to research them. Lotus Macau is a Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking channel so personally, this is out of my channel list unless I push through with learning Mandarin. TAP TV’s current lists of the program are The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Voice UK, The Voice Kids UK, and Top Chef to name a few. Dreamworks(Tagalized and English) offers animated kids’ series like Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, Boss Baby, and Dragons Race to the Edge.
TAP Action-Flix and TAP Movies will show Asian and Hollywood movies while Premier Sports is dedicated to sporting events.
Moonbug Kids is a kids’ entertainment channel.
I am not sure if the new channels are as good as the Walt Disney Channels so it is still premature of me to judge and decide what to do next. Assuming that they are not good, I think that the consumers would be shortchanged because the replacement channels did not meet our expectations. If the other good channels will follow Walt Disney’s business strategy, then there may come a time when the replacement channels will dominate the cable TV.
They say that TV would die soon and the rise of the internet as the medium of video entertainment is unstoppable. In a country where most of the areas have problematic internet connection and connectivity, we’re still far from facing this problem. On the other hand, the rise of digital entertainment can also mean that more jobs will be obsolete in the coming years.
According to the researchers led by Ulf Gyllensten of the University of Uppsula in Sweden, we are all descendants of a group of people that lived in Africa about 170,000 years ago! That being said, we are related to each other because we all descended from a single ancestral group. Scientists say that the difference in the color of our skin is a natural adaptation to the environment. Therefore, people from colder climates have little melanin while those that live in warmer areas have more melanin in their skin. Of course, as we multiply through reproduction, we lose the DNA that comes from the source. This is the reason why later on, people become divided by ethnicity.
I guess these shared ancestors are the reason why people have lookalikes in other parts of the world. Whenever I watch foreign movies, my first reaction is how some of the actors resemble our local ones. Therefore, I made a list of the actors and actresses that have their local counterparts here in the Philippines.
I became a fan of Ajay Devgn and Tabu when I watched their movie Drishyam. Little did I knew that he is a very popular actor in India! Not only that, but he is also a film producer and film director. His face reminds me of Raymond Bagatsing who is also a good actor. Coincidentally, the Bagatsings have Indian blood so this must have also contributed to Raymond’s resemblance to Ajay.
Emma Watson is a British actress who is still known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies. Her signature shy smile reminds me of young actress Maris Racal who started her showbiz career through PBB (Pinoy Big Brother).
A lot of Mark Herras’ fans claim that he is the George Clooney of the Philippines. At first, I did not find the resemblance because George’s features appear to be more masculine than Mark’s. I checked George’s younger photos and I understood where the similarity was coming from. Now, I agree that George Clooney, an American actor, looks like Mark Herras.
Kris Aquino once said that Vic Sotto reminded her of American actor Gregory Peck. I checked Gregory’s old photos and found the similarity. They both have a pair of thick eyebrows and tantalizing eyes.
Kate Winslet, an American actress, might have changed from being a sweet young actress in the late 90s to a sophisticated lady in the present times but watching her in the role of Rose in the Titanic reminded me of actress-singer Jessa Zaragosa.
Chloe Grace Moretz grew up right before our eyes. The American actress started her career at the age of 7 and is still active now. Her appearance in 500 Days of Summer reminded me of Andi Eigenmann. Andi got her first break in showbiz when she played the dual role of Agua and Bendita. Born to a family of talented and beautiful actors and actresses, she chooses to live a simple life in Siargao with her children and fiance’.
Dr. Foster’s South Korean version is known as The World of the Married. Soon, we’ll be having our version with the working title “The Broken Marriage Vow.” We all know by now that the three lead characters will be played by Jodi Sta. Maria as the wife, Zanjoe Marudo as the unfaithful husband, and Sue Ramirez as the mistress. But before the management confirmed Sue’s role, fans were suggesting that the closest ones that look like Han So Hee were either Kylie Padilla or Cassy Legaspi. Of course, that would not happen because the two ladies are still under GMA’s contract.
Children of the 80s knew how big of a teen star Lotlot De Leon was. Her being the firstborn of Nora Aunor and Christopher de Leon added interest in her aside from the fact that she had her own mass appeal. I was watching The Chronicles of Narnia and found that the actress that played Susan has a strong resemblance to Lotlot. She is the British actress Anna Popplewell.
There’s a story that some people in the California area mistook Sarah Lahbati for the famous model Gigi Hadid. They should probably meet each other just like what happened between Liz Taylor and Amalia Fuentes ages ago.
I have to admit that the only Thai actor that I am familiar with is Mario Maurer. I watch some Thai horror movies but I just could not remember the actors unless I google them. Suppakorn Chaiyo appeared in one of my searches about Thai actors but very little information is known about him. Anyway, he looks like Joem Bascon. Joem is a good actor here.
Ananya Panday of India and Sue Ramirez can pass as sisters. They say that Sue’s lookalike is Alice Dixson but I think they will change their mind once they see Ananya.
I have been watching Mexican telenovelas since Thalia’s rise to fame through Marimar. The golden girl is still as beautiful and sexy as ever! You should see her recent birthday photos. Karla Estrada, Daniel Padilla’s mother, is on the heavy side now. But 90s kids would attest that Karla was slim during her teenage years. Google her old photos and you’ll see her strong resemblance to Thalia. Another Mexican actress Eiza Gonzales looks like Iza Calzado.Both of them have classic beauties.
I was watching Fantasy Island when I noticed that one of the actresses look like Janine Gutierrez. Lucy Hale is an American actress who was also in the cast of the TV series Pretty Little Liars. Some of Janine’s fans say that she looks like Mila Kunis but I think that she has a strong resemblance to Lucy Hale.
The First Half of My Life is a 2017 C-Drama starring Ma Yili (Zijun), Jin Dong (He Han), Lei Jiayin (Chen Junsheng), Yuan Quan (Tan Jing), and Wu Yue (Ling Ling). If you are an avid fan of kabit-serye, you might find that the story and concept are nothing new. Somehow, the story of First Half of My Life reminds me of an old movie entitled “Gaano Kadalas Ang Minsan.” This Filipino movie is about two best friends who fall in love with the same man. Despite the slight similarity in the storyline, what made me hooked in the First Half of My Life was my curiosity about how this C-Drama would fare.
The story starts with Zijun who is “happily” married to Chen Junsheng. They have a young son who is well-loved by his grandparents from both sides of the family. Junsheng holds an executive position in the company that he is working for that is why Zijun can afford to go shopping anytime she wants. She is protective of her marriage and tends to be suspicious about some women that are within her husband’s work circle.
On the other side of the story is the power couple Tan Jing and He Han. Both have strong personalities and are very much dedicated to their career. Han is Junsheng’s boss while Jing is Zijun’s best friend since college.
Zijun’s world collapses when Junsheng tells her that he wants a divorce. To add insult to injury, the mistress is the woman that she befriends in the office. Without Junsheng’s money and a ready source of income, she risks losing Pi’nger (son) to the former’s custody.
Jing helps her get on her feet but being a busy career woman, there are times when she asks a favor from Han to be her proxy. Initially, Han and Zijun clashes but when she realizes his sincerity, she begins to warm up to him. Just like Jing before, Zijun becomes Han’s mentee and from being a saleslady, she now has the confidence to work in a corporate set-up. Ironically, she targets a position wherein she will be one of Ling Ling’s subordinates. Now, all five of them have a working interface.
While spending more time with Zijun and Pi’nger, Han feels that he is falling in love with her. He tries to forget about his feelings by proposing to Jing but Jing feels that there is more to the friendship between her best friend and fiance. When Han confirms that he loves Zijun, Jing returns the engagement ring.
Jing feels betrayed by Han, Junsheng, and Zijun. She feels that Han never really loved her and his past relationship with Vivian is just an excuse not to marry her. She feels that Junsheng covered up Han and Zijun’s relationship to protect his position in the office. She hates Zijun for allowing Han to fall in love with her.
Because the real score is now revealed, Han professes his love for Zijun. Zijun tells him that the feeling is mutual but she cannot be with him because she does not want to hurt Jing. In an attempt to save their friendship, Zijun helps in tracking down the person who tried to set up Jing. But the sad thing is, even when Jing’s name has been cleared, she still has to find forgiveness in her heart to redeem their friendship.
In the end, Junsheng stays with Ling Ling despite the trouble that she made concerning Jing. Han resigns from his job to protect Jing and goes to Guandong to start a seafood business. Jing remains in Shanghai and continues her career. Zijun leaves with Pi’nger for Shenzhen to start a new life.
They say that the First Half of My Life has an open ending so I’m going to write my interpretation of the seaport scene. A year later, Zijun inspects the new project site and sees a man who she mistakes for Han. In another seaport area, Han sees a woman who he mistakes for Zijun. Both of them tell about their past life in Shanghai and why they end up in Guandong. There are six seaports in Guandong and if Zijun regularly visits the Port of Shenzhen, there’s still a small probability that they will see each other. Why? It’s because of the timing factor. Han’s seafood business requires him to be away on the sea for most of the time. And during his port transactions, he is too busy to even check on every woman who comes to the port. Likewise, Zijun is busy with her project and it’s impractical to wait on the port for every incoming ship. In the first place, she does not know Han’s ship. She can easily find it out knowing how smart she has become but choosing not to do it means that she does not want to reconnect with Han. Mistaking the man for Han was just her initial reaction because she loves Han. But it doesn’t mean that she would reconnect with him as her lover. Zijun is more loyal to Jing than her feelings for Han. In the same way, Han is more loyal to what Zijun wants than his feelings for her. He respects her that is why even if he can trace Zijun’s new workplace, he did not do it.
Some fans say that the story is about women power and independence. I agree.
If I may just add, this story is all about TIMING.
It took a while for Junsheng to realize that the wife that he divorced is exactly the strong woman that he wanted to. Had he given Zijun more time to be a better person, then he would not divorce her in the first place.
Jing and Han’s readiness for marriage came late when the latter is no longer in love with her. Had they settled early on, Han would probably choose to be loyal to Jing because he takes “contracts” seriously.
Ling Ling’s timing is perfect when it comes to destroying Junsheng and Zijun’s marriage because they were at their most vulnerable stage when she came into the picture. A workaholic husband finds a reliable ally in Ling Ling and thinks of his carefree shopaholic wife as a liability.
Jing and Zijun’s friendship can still be saved, it’s all a matter of timing. When Jing finds another man and is truly happy with her life, she will surely soften to Zijun and maybe try to reconnect with her.
Item 4 leads to the possible scenario that since everything and everyone is forgiven, then Zijun can now reconnect to Han and start a new life with him.
Therefore, the Zijun and Han love story is only possible at a later time because of the timings that I mentioned. I so love this C-Drama and if we’re going to have a local adaptation, I think that these actors/actresses fit into the role.
The World of Second Chances 