The World of Second Chances

Hating Corruption

June 20, 2014

Life & Love

Corruption, corruption—oh, you’re everywhere!
I’m tired of the pork barrel scam! Why do I have a feeling that what we see on
TV is just a show? That Janet Lim-Napoles won’t be that brave to be the mother of all
scammers if it were not for her powerful backers.
What did they just say about coin hoarders? Are they going to put them in jail?
Are they kidding? Then they should start going after scammers and crooks first!

Red tape, nepotism, favoritism—oh, they’re cousins with corruption!
You don’t place somebody in a position where he is not fit for.
It’s like asking a cat to bark.
It’s easier to conspire with someone you’re comfortable with or someone who share
your penchant for money, position and power–that’s the answer.

This isn’t the nation that Jose Rizal dreamed of.
Filipinos are generalized because of the wrong-doings of some; maybe half of the population.
Why would I accept that generalization? Why would us, innocent people, be penalized about
the evil things that our fellow Filipinos do?

Be the change that you want to be. Are you with us?
Taxi Spray Modus Operandi

June 17, 2014

Career, Finance & Product

I am now convinced that what happened to me in the summer of 2011 was not a product of my imagination. I nearly fell victim to a chemical spray had I did not follow my instincts that something was wrong in me.

It was just one of those rush hours when I chanced upon a white taxi at PWU, Edsa. I asked him to drive me to Roces Avenue through Panay Avenue because that was the route that I was most familiar with. It was supposed to be a 10-minute drive including the minor traffic at that time. When we were nearing the crossing at Quezon Avenue, I felt like I was choking. My throat suddenly went dry and I could feel that I would faint anytime. I looked at the stocky and bald driver who must be in his 40’s and he seemed relaxed. I tried to open the window but it was not working so when the stoplight turned red, I tried to step out. I realized it would be risky to step out of a cab in a busy road so I pretended to be suffering from diarrhea.

With my remaining strength, I told the taxi driver to stop at the 7-11 store because my stomach was aching so bad, I needed to get to the restroom. He panicked at the thought of me messing up his taxi so he obliged. LOL!

Inside the 7-11, I listed down the plate number and asked myself several times if I saved myself from a misfortune. Except for my former boss, most of the people that I shared my story found it hard to believe it because at that time, a taxi chemical spray modus operandi was not yet in the open.

If we foresee or feel that something bad will happen to us, by all means, follow our intuition. That is God’s way of telling us to save ourselves from bad people and unfortunate events.
Just a Short Thought

June 5, 2014

Life & Love

I find it weird whenever somebody bashes or responds negatively to anybody then end the statement with “God bless you,peace!” Like, duh! You want to attack or react to an attack but appear to be afraid of retaliation. Why can’t we just be more mature when it comes to expressing our thoughts?

#justmytwocents
Back To School Memories

June 5, 2014

Life & Love

The sound of the rain falling.
The scent of a new pair of leather shoes.
Neatly-pressed uniform.
Giggles of schoolchildren at the corridor.

Teachers busy for the first day of class.
Friends secretly exchanging notes.
The jester of the batch noisily roaming around.
Long queues at the canteen during breaktime.

Secret crushes catching a glimpse of one another.
New hair-do’s being appreciated by some.
Group of boys waiting to finish class to get to the movie house.
Lovebirds that are inseparable.

Back to school memories are sweet.
It always reminds me of good company.
Escaping a Burning Building

May 9, 2014

Life & Love

May 1, 2014, I was supposed to enjoy the day with my family but due to call of duty, I went to the office instead. It was supposed to be Labor Day yet I was there at the shop floor, busy decorating the bulletin boards.

“We need to hit the 1M target this year,” my boss said the other day.

So there I was, not in my best element and talent yet trying to motivate myself to be good on visual control.
My on-the-job trainee and I finished the decoration at 3:30 PM. We headed to the cafeteria afterwards. I brought the Coke-in-can to my desk and left my OJT to answer to my email.

At 4PM, the fire alarm alerted us. I ignored it and thought of it as another false alarm. I was busy and all I wanted was to finish my day’s task. My officemates at the other side of the office were busy looking at the fire. Then, after 10 minutes, there was a power shutdown. My officemates were noisy but I could not comprehend because of distance factor. The only source of light that I had was from my laptop. I stood and saw some figures exiting the office. One of them passed by to my desk to inform me that we needed to evacuate. I looked out of the glass window and saw the heavy smoke outside!

“Hurry, the LPG tanks might explode!”

I was in a state of panic. It was dark and all I wanted was to get out of the building and save some of my valuable possessions.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

I grabbed my handbag and my laptop then ran towards the exit. For some reasons, I thought that I would need to change from my safety shoes to my rubber shoes so I went back to my desk.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

I dropped the laptop while trying to get my rubber shoes. I was slightly shaking.

I managed to get out of the building; I was safe with the other evacuees at the flag pole area. I wondered what happened to the rest because we were only around 20 at the flagpole area. Were they unaware of the danger of explosion? Being one of the management team present, I felt responsible for the safety of the rest of us so I went back to the office and production area to check them. I was slightly shaking while walking back but I trusted that God would save us all from this.

I saw operators, engineers and guards trying to kill the fire. When it was declared “fire out,” there was that sense of “we made it” on their faces. Good job!

I learned that we need to be alert once the fire alarm alerts us.

I learned that we need to keep calm on emergency situations.

I learned the value of responsibility over our people.

I learned that fire-fighting is a team work, nobody should take credit of everything.

I learned that we need to put in our hearts the value of fire drill. Better prepared than never, right?
The Diskarte and Delihensya in Philippine Society

March 31, 2014

Life & Love

The AVP (assistant vice-president) of one of the departments of the company that I’m working for was presenting a new process. Sensing that the crowd gave him a lukewarm reception, he went straight to the point by saying, “Gusto ko na kasing itama whatever we are doing. Please, tama na ang diskarte!”

I wanted him to expound what he meant by “diskarte” and why he thought of it as something negative when my own experience with a friend reminded me about how we Pinoys thought of it.

Diskarte—make a way out of no way, pretend, solve the problem, never mind if it is not the best solution.

Diskarte—just like what my friend did, he pretended to be something that he was not by tampering his credentials so that he would be marketable to top employers.

Diskarte—solve the problem through band aid solution. The “pwede na yan” mentality of most of us.

Diskarte is delihensya’s close relative. My housemate in college freaked out when our landlady asked her to pay her rent by hook or by crook.

“Eh di dumilihensya ka!” the landlady said.

“Dumilihensya? Ano gusto nyo? Magpokpok ako?”my feisty housemate replied.

While I sympathized with the landlady for not getting her rent income on time, her choice of words left a bad impression on her.

Dilihensya is earning or producing money in a not so modest way.

So why are we immune to hearing these words? It could be because delihensya and diskarte have long been ingrained in our system that we fail to acknowledge that these are not really positive behavior. It all boils down to survival, actually. When one is faced with challenges and the resources are limited, one tries to overcome that challenge; never mind if it’s illegal or immoral.

Would it make a difference if there is genuine brotherly and sisterly love among us so that people would be more honest and helpful?

Would it make a difference if companies would stop discriminating applicants and welcome everybody who has talent and good work ethics?

Since we are members of this society, we are part of the problem so we should be part of the system change.

Let’s change our society for the better!
Adi is Most Cheerful!

March 21, 2014

Life & Love

Adi while looking at the fishes.

Last week, just like any other day after office, I opened my four-year old’s schoolbag to check for his teacher’s reminder. I was not expecting any academic awards from Adi because he was not focused on school. I guess, the more correct way of saying this is—I have accepted the fact that my son will not get any academic award for his first school year.

But really? Was that the case yesterday when I refrained from going to the stage with him just because the only award that he got was “MOST CHEERFUL?” Yeah, I knew about the special award two days prior to yesterday’s graduation. I expected something like “Best in English” or even “Best in Arts” but the least that he got was “MOST CHEERFUL!” What does it got to do with school?
I don’t know if my husband felt the same way. Anyway, he was the one who went with Adi on stage to receive the award. My officemate was pushing me to go to stage to join my “mag-ama” and she even grabbed my digicam to capture that supposed special moment but I was firm in my decision not to oblige. And you know, I realized that I made a very BIG mistake yesterday.

After receiving the award, Adi went straight to my location, showed me his medal and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. I realized that Adi treated the award as a precious gift he could give to his parents. I felt guilty for not going to the stage with them. I felt guilty for asking too much of his young mind. I felt like I would explode and make a scene yesterday!

How could I belittle such an award? “Most Cheerful”—the school said. How could I measure Adi’s progress and achievements on the academic level when having a high emotional quotient (EQ) is just as important as having a high IQ? Adi is a happy child—no more and no less. I don’t mean to say that his classmates are unhappy but my son’s cheerful disposition is just hard to ignore. My son is a happy person, period! And the school acknowledged it.

I kissed him before bedtime and whispered, “Thank you for the award, you made me proud and happy.” He smiled and said, “I love you, Mama.”