Before and After

Wow!! Time flies so fast that it's been two months since my last blog post. So many things happened, I get rehired by my previous employer, and realized many things. I was given the opportunity to fix (again) the company's computer network/system and in the same time have some little projects for my company. I've met my old colleagues and some new employees. I've heard again their endless sentiments and it's quite hard not to get involved but I tried my best to keep my cool.

I've met different top executives in the past and I've realized how much I've grown as a person. Now I know how employers and employees thinks. Their different perspective in getting things done, their different styles and their priorities in life and business/career. 

One thing I really don't like about supposed managers or supervisors even on top executives is when they panic. Panic is born out of fear. For me, managers should learn to lead because its how their subordinates see them. What will happened if everyone in the corporate ladder panics and although get the job done. Something else will be sacrificed in the process. It may be respect for your boss, yourself/confidence or quality of your work. 

I might say I really missed the old team on my previous company. The time when all of us are working as one. Not because of the money but we want to company to grow as we grow. We enjoy what we're doing and respect one another. At this point, I still believe that something good will happen and everything will turn out just fine.

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Job Hunting is like the life of Pi

Few weeks ago, I've watched the movie the "Life of Pi" because my girlfriend keeps on insisting to watch it. To those who haven't seen it yet, I have to give you a spoiler alert so don't hate me after reading this post ok? ;) As I watch the movie, I can't help but relate on his life and realize many things that happened on the past and what's happening at the present.

During his youth, pi short for piscine was making fun of by his classmates because his name sounds like "pissing". He tried to change it to "Pi" pronounced as pie. His early attempts failed but he never gives up and memorized almost a whole blackboard of the value of Pi. To those who doesn't know or remember a Pi is a mathematical constant that has a decimal representation that never ends. Pi became a math legend on his school after that. Bottom line is, he turned a negative event to a positive one. 

I remember that time in College that I need to transfer to another school because of low grades on my previous one. I swear to myself that if given a second chance, I will change for the better and graduate. I did graduate with flying colors and met many amazing people during that time.

Back to the movie, Pi and his family needs to migrate to Canada because of a conflict with the Government in India. But as he went out of the room to see the animals, He finds out that the ship is sinking and he was thrown in a small boat by the sailors. After the storm, Pi found himself with animals like the hyena, orangutan, zebra and a tiger. Eventually, only the tiger survive and Pi needs to make the best out of resources available.

For me job hunting is like this. It's like you're on a small boat with a limited resources and during the interview you'll meet different people. There's the zebra, professional interviewers that wont notify you if you're not hired or they already hired someone. In short, they just don't care. The Hyena, interviewers that loves to laugh with you but say bad things behind your back. The orangutan, interviewers that will really help you like your parents and tell you the truth (if you're not hired). And lastly the Tiger, a strict and ferocious interviewer but will still consider you for the position you're applying for.

Oh by way, I'm still job hunting and sometimes I'm really losing hope and feeling anxious about it. But during these times, I realized many things that I've taken for granted. Now I appreciate and value my time and money more, because like Pi in that small boat I too have is making the most of what I have.There's a quote that the adult Pi said that I remember the most and helped me a lot. 

"Even when God seemed to have abandoned me, he was watching. Even when he seemed indifferent to my suffering, he was watching. And when I was beyond all hope of saving, he gave me rest. Then he gave me a sign to continue my journey." 

I do believe that everything happens for a reason and I know one day, God will give me that dream job I'm searching for.

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Back to the Old Drawing Board

One year ago. I've decided to quit my job and become a full time entrepreneur. Fortunately, I've become one and it's not an easy road to take. I've learned so much last year about business and money that I've decided to come back to the work force this year. 

Why? You asked. Being an entrepreneur is really cool but at this time I don't feel I can give up my career either. It just doesn't feel right. This year I've learned so many things and I came to understand how it feels to be an employer and an employee. I met so many amazing people that I've learned to realize that I've so many things to learn to become a full time entrepreneur.

I'll listed down below some of the most important things I've learned:

1. One of the pros of being an employee is that you can easily build new connections and enjoy the company of your colleagues.
2. If you're starting up a business don't quit your job yet unless you have a sufficient capital, a good network, a good cash flow from your business and you understand the business 100%.
3. Being an entrepreneur is like growing your own kid. If you didn't pay attention to it and nurture it, it will not grow and eventually die.
4. I believe that there's always a transition from being an employee to becoming an employer. You will know when it comes.
5. Sometimes being always at home or doing your business at home sucks. That's why having an office is very important.
6. Defining your market at the beginning is very important. If you can't define your market, just answer this question what problem does your business is trying to solve?
7. Don't believe everything about what people tells you. Always trust your instinct and test everything before jumping into something.
8. Most of the time, most friends are not good business partners. Everything changes when money is involved. It is best to start a business on your own or with your wife/husband.
9. Have fun doing your work, be it on the office or your home.
10. And lastly, don't be discourage by failures. At first, most people won't believe you or your business but don't stop and never ever quit. Persistence is the key to success.

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Awesome Bum 3.0

November is always very special month for me. Yup, it's my birthday last month and I'ts been a very busy week since then. Me and my family (relatives and girlfriend included ;)) were together on a trip to Tagaytay to have an ultimate bonding experience and I'm very lucky that my birthday falls near a long Halloween Vacation.

Anyway, I've turned 30 this year and I'm kind of sad and happy at the same time. I'm happy because everything is almost perfect. My parents/aunts/uncles are still alive and healthy. Me, my siblings and cousins were still close but most of them are married to their laptops so its hard to get their attention and the only time I can talked to them seriously is when we're out eating and drinking :). And lastly, my girlfriend was accepted as part of the family.

I'm sad because I'm not on my twenties anymore. It's the same feeling when I turned twenty ten years ago. I remember I told my friends that time that I'm not a teenager anymore. And their joking about it and told me that I'm still "twen-teen". Anyway, I reflect and asked myself why am I sad about it and I realized I've lived an awesome life during the past ten years. A good, awesome life.

And now, I've decided to act and improve more everything about me. I want my 30's to be more awesome and happy than my 20s. I've listed below some of the things I've planned to do during the next ten years.

1. Spend more time with family and friends.
2. Get married with my girlfriend.
3. Lose weight and exercise more.
4. Meet new amazing people.
5. Travel around the world. (if given the opportunity)
6. Get Career Certifications (I'm an IT Professional so I really need this.)
7. Learn new things like photography, painting or cooking.
8. Learn a third language (Japanese, Korean or Mandarin?)
9. Buy and develop more assets (business and investing)
10. Have my own car.
11. Join an organization. (Habitat for Humanity?Gawad-Kalinga?Greenpeace?)
12. Pray more often.
13. Taste different kinds of food.
14. Celebrate life everyday because it is really a beautiful miracle.

So that's it, maybe I should act like an adult now, but I guess I'll always be a child at heart. 

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The End

It's 12/21/12!! According to a popular belief, the world is supposed to end today. Well it's still too early to tell, its exactly 2:18 PM (GMT +8) at this time of writing so its still not Dec.21 in other countries. Anyway, I researched about the origin about the "Mayan Prophecy" regarding the end of the world and I found out that it all starts a long time ago. 

via NASA.gov 

"The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 -- hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012".

What Dec.21-2012 really is according to Mayan Calendar via Stunning and Interesting Facts that you didn't know:

"What it predicts is the end of the fifth cycle of the earth’s 26,000-year history, which began in 3114 BC and will end on Dec. 21, 2012. The 26,000 years is divided into five earth cycles of about 5,126 years. The earth is now in its fifth and last cycle according to that calendar." 


It's just sad to know that a girl in India killed herself because of fear of the end of the world and almost 1,000 'cult' members in China was arrested due to spreading doomsday rumors. 

Like on year 2000 the "end of the world" stuff magnetized many people around the world. There are even TV shows showing people preparing for different kinds of scenario like Zombie Apocalypse, Alien Invasion or Government take over. Some concerns also includes solar storms from the sun that can fry all the electronics in the world, planetary alignment and polar shift theory.

Even NASA was flooded with calls from anxious people, that Nasa even setup a webpage just for the Doomsday concerns (see credits below). Maybe it's a wake up call for all of us, that before we believe on some rumors or news,  we should do some research first. Not all written in the internet are true and not all news shown in TV are real. 

So what really happens on December 21, 2012? It's not the end of the world but a winter solstice. 

via Stunning and Interesting Facts:

"The Northern Hemisphere will have the longest night of the year (16 hours, 40 minutes and 29 seconds) which will also be accompanied by the shortest day as well."

As the saying goes, "Live every day of your life as if it's you last!!" Happy Winter Solstice!!


credits:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://www.facebook.com/StunningFacts
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20794276

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Forward we go

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. - Eleanor Roosevelt

It's officially my first day of being a bum. I woke up today at 9 A.M. and the first question that pops out of my mind is what will I do for the day? And I decided to take a whole day rest. I just watched T.V., take a nap, talked to my girlfriend on Skype (she's on China) and appreciate the day as it is. 

I also reflected on what happened yesterday, my last day of work on the company. I really appreciate what my friends and office-mates did for me. My friends bought spaghetti, pichi-pichi,  ice cream and a few large bottles of soft drinks. It's not much, but I really appreciated it. I've felt really happy yesterday, and I also realize that they also appreciate me as a friend and as a co-worker. It's crazy. I'm sad and happy at the same time. 

I'm sad because I'll be leaving the work I love and the people I worked with for one year and ten months. I'm happy because I know that this is not goodbye, I'll still be working with them with the small businesses we came up with.

Anyway, I also realize that I'am on my own now. I'am now the boss of my life and I, have the power and responsibility to create what my life will become. So I created a list of what I plan to do for the whole week:

1. Clean my room (our maid do this for me, I'm such a lazy bastard)

2. Create a new post for my blog.

3. Confirm our reservation for Panagbenga (Baguio, here we come).

4. Attend the service for Single Encounter 56 on Sunday at BLD House in Cavite. 

5. Talk to a friend regarding the proposals and contract for unlideals.com (a group buying site that we're working on)

One might say, that this is a crazy idea. Leaving a stable job without the assurance that all the business ideas will really take off. Yes, this is really crazy and the fear of failure and not being financially stable sometimes creeps in. But I believe that we can make it, no matter how long it will take. 

Thank you, my friends (you know who you are). See you all soon :)

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Genesis

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither. - Benjamin Franklin

It's been a while since I entertain the idea of actually writing and creating a blog. I've been an internet user since 1999, and yes i'm one of the first few filipinos who owns an external dial-up modem, chats in irc, used early yahoo messenger using their real names, yahoo is cooler than Google and lastly windows 95/98 are the most awesome Operating system that everyone have.


I remember the time when I and one of my classmates in UST (University of Sto. Tomas) have created a simple web page using notepad (yup, we're doing it manually) and we're so fascinated with what we can do in the internet that we teach ourselves HTML programming. Ok, enough nostalgic stuff. Let's go back to the blog topic.


First, why awesome bum? Are bums awesome? Well, not all. Last week, I gave my 30 days notice resignation letter to my boss and effective February 15, 2012 I'm officially resigned and unemployed. Yes, I have lost financial security but I'm no longer a believer in that stuff. In return I gained back my awesomeness and my freedom. I don't have a freaking job!! Am I happy about it? Yes and no. 


I've listed my top 10 reasons why I chose to quit my job.


10. Being locked inside the office is boring and a waste of time.
9.  Routine activities will kill your creativity.
8.  Favoritism sucks.
7.  Having a regular job dictates how i spend my time and live my life.
6.  Early morning stress due to squeezing my way inside the LRT/MRT train.
5.  I have to associate myself with scumbags.
4. Time is more valuable than money.
3. I need to wake up early in the morning and go home late at night.
2. I want to spend more quality time with my family and friends.
1. I want to live an awesome life.


And there is only one reason why I'am sad about leaving the company.


1. I will miss my friends. (emo?)


Ok, lets get to the awesome part. I've create my bucket list and it is listed below.


1. Make money without having a job. (Don't underestimate my powers)
2. Lose weight until I reach my ideal weight (I'll reach 155 lbs. in no time, I promise ;)).
3. Make my first million pesos. 
4. Start my own blog. (check)
5. Travel across the philippines and revisit all those cool places.
6. Skydive and Scuba Dive.
7. Travel across the world. (The countries that doesn't need visa and the ones that need later :D)
8. Be married at the age of 33.
9. Be a successful entrepreneur and establish my business empire.
10. Taste all the delicious food, beer and wine the world has to offer. 


Like they said becoming an entrepreneur is really frightening. It's really like jumping off a plane. Of course, before I resign I have more than one business plan in mind. But I need to take a risk and give everything I got to make it successful. Hoping for the best, cheers!! 

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