This one big one you want?

OFW Mindset Perplexity

2005-08-12T01:40:00.000-07:00

I had a chat with my Indian colleague on why India is
becoming an IT powerhouse... oops..Economic powerhouse
for that matter. Though its his opinion, i believe
that it is a fact... He said, "For us, we go to other
countries to do business and learn from the bigger
players, but the main goal is, to take those
businesses back to India. Thats why there are alot of
Indians in key positions and managers in big
companies,(waving his head)" Then i remembered, IBM
had open a technology hub somewhere in India and a
slew of other multinational corporations followed
suit, and these are manned by themselves, this is how
their minds work...I know, this can start a flurry of
reactions on why its not applicable for our country.
Political instability, corruption, our pessimism,
heck! we can even blame our kababayans who piss on the
walls for all i care. But then again...

just my 2 cents.. aiyoh no 2 cents lah, 10 cents can or cannot?!

Pinay wins it big in London
By Alfred Yuson
The Philippine Star
05/16/2004 Patricia Evangelista,

a 19-year- old, Mass Communications sophomore of
University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman,
did the country proud Friday night by besting 59 other
student contestants from 37 countries in
the 2004 International Public Speaking competition
conducted by the English Speaking Union (ESU) in
London.
She triumphed over a field of exactly 60 speakers from
all over the English-speaking world, including the United States, United Kingdom and
Australia, reported Maranan. The board of judges' decision was unanimous, according
to contest chairman Brian Hanharan of the British broadcasting Corp. (BBC). PATRICIA'S SHORT
SPEECH WORTH READING....

BLONDE AND BLUE EYES When I was little, I wanted what
many Filipino children all over the country wanted.
I wanted to be blond, blue-eyed, and white. I thought
-- if I just wished hard enough and was good enough,
I'd wake upon Christmas morning with snow outside my
window and freckles across my nose!
More than four centuries under western domination does
that to you. I have sixteen cousins.
In a couple of years, there will just be five of us
left in the Philippines, the rest will have gone
abroad in search of "greener pastures." It's not just an
anomaly; it's a trend; the Filipino diaspora.
Today, about eight million Filipinos are scattered
around the world.
There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose
to leave. I used to. Maybe this is a natural reaction
of someone who was left behind, smiling for family
pictures that get emptier with each succeeding year.
Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has
perpetually fought for the freedom to be itself.
Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against
the Spanish, the Japanese, the Americans.
To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount to
spitting on that sacrifice.
Or is it? I don't think so, not anymore. True, there
is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that
what was once the other side of the world is now a
twelve-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless
world, where no individual can claim to be purely from where
he is now. My mother is of Chinese descent,
my father is a quarter Spanish, and I call myself a
pure Filipino-a hybrid of sorts resulting from a
combination of cultures.
Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of
people of different ethnicities, with national
identities and individual personalities. because of this, each square
mile is already a microcosm of the world. In as much
as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so
is my neighborhood back home.
Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of
dispersal of populations, is not as ominous as so many
claim.
It must be understood. I come from a Third World
country, one that is still trying mightily to get back
on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall
make it, given more time. Especially now, when we have
thousands of eager young minds who graduate from
college every year. They have skills. They need jobs.
We cannot absorb them all.
A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity, yet
one that is not so much abandonment but an extension
of identity.
Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000
skilled nurses who support the UK's National Health
Service.
We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning most
of the world's commercial ships.
We are your software engineers in Ireland, your
construction workers in the Middle East, your doctors
and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists
in London's West End.
Nationalism isn't bound by time or place. People from
other nations migrate to create new nations,
yet still remain essentially who they are. British
society is itself an example of a multi-cultural
nation, a melting pot of races, religions, arts and cultures.
We are, indeed, in a borderless world!
Leaving sometimes isn't a matter of choice. It's
coming back that is. The Hobbits of the shire
travelled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home,
richer in every sense of the word.
We call people like these balikbayans or the
'returnees' -- those who followed their dream, yet
choose to return and share their mature talents and good
fortune.
In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever
opportunities come my way. But I will come home.
A borderless world doesn't preclude the idea of a
home. I'm a Filipino, and I'll always be one. It isn't
about just geography; it isn't about boundaries. It's about
giving back to the country that shaped me.
And that's going to be more important to me than
seeing snow outside my windows on a bright Christmas
morning.
Mabuhay and Thank you. So, be proud, you are a
Filipino,..not a freckled blue eyed blonde...

The Answers

2005-07-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

The pass couple of months, we've been doing development in a chaotic and disorganized fashion. These should had been done a long time ago?!, but then again, our company has a predilection for procrastionation.
Everybody here is feeling the heat. Hell yeah! totally! Everybody are sooooo "in the edge" and soooo jumpy that we can be the next set of athletes that will vie for the high jump competition.

One of my favorite thing to do in our development battlefield, is looking for the question and answer conversations.
I find it amusing because i realized that people in the office have their own answering styles,
(don't mind the answer if its right or wrong)

Check this out:
1. The Morse Code Answer.. ditdaditdaatditdit. It so cryptic that you'll end up more confused.

2. The Conjunctive Adverbs Answer - Also known as the Litanic answer - It has some resembelance to morse code answer with conjuctive adverbs in between.

eg. ...Furthermore, the database is down, hence, we transferred...Nevertheless it still...

3. The Doctor's Answer - They'll give you 1 answer at a time wherein in fact, it should had been a string of answers. You have to set an appointment to get the rest of the answers.

4. The Blank Answer - the guy will just look at you wearing a bewildered face, as if his stuck in a twilight zone. His just gonna stare at you and thats it. Word of caution : Don't forget to snap your fingers before you leave, otherwise, he might not go back to his working state.

5. The Throw-The-Ball Answer - Best describe as, "Please ask somebody else, im a bit busy" reply.

6. The Actually Answer - Yeah.. right... im guilty. Often used by us Filipinos in answering questions. Its like, there is an actual scenario that is happening that they don't know, which we only knew exists.

7. The Basically Answer - Im proud to be a Filipino! We find the most basic answer to all Complex questions!

8. The Ahh Answer - self explanatory

9. The Google Answer - Instead of answering, immediately, this guy will launch Google website, type the most impressive criteria in the Text field base on your question and Lo and Behold! 10000 websites, answering th most fundamental to the most complex form of your questions. Only drawback is, his help stops there?! You now need to sniff the proper websites to answer your questions.

You might find what im doin is kinda rude but, in this kind of environment, anybody can go loco in a matter of days, that its why I have to help myself stay sane... and besides with such a group of people in existence in the office, who will not be amused... unless your the one who's asking the question.

The only constant in our world is... Overtime

2005-07-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

Huh its already 4:30 AM! pakinsyet! what am i still doin here in the office? Walao! How come what?

Am i gonna always be an avid fan of aunties and uncles that conduct their daily tai-chi in front of our office early in the morning?

Am i forever gonna be a chastised employee by the security officers for not logging out because im too sleepy to remember that i logged in?

Am i condemned to wake up the cab drivers who are sleeping blissfully inside their cabs for the rest of my life? Not to mention, chattin with them so that they won't fall asleep again in front of the wheel while driving.

Most of the times i asked myself if this is the work i always dream of. HELL NO!! Whoever disagrees with me, I swear, i'll crucify him in his cubicle. I'll nail his hands to his desk! And for kicks, I'll throw in the longest long-playing album of MLTR (Michael Learns ToRrock ) to torment him. That will definitely keep his engine running so that he can continue his dreary job. (No offense to MLTR fans)

i remember my dad saying, and i bet you heard this words of wisdom, "Mas mabuti nga na-busy ka, kaysa wala kang ginagawa dyan sa opisina. Ibig sabihin nyan kailangan ka pa rin dyan". Sigh.., sometimes, Im finding it very hard to cling to that idea, really. ah ah ah, don't fall into the trap of making a conjecture of my situation except of course to my colleagues in which i can bet my priceless 7 year old plantsa (lifetime warranty at any Raon outlets) that they're experiencing what im undergoin right now.

There can be alot of culprits on why my cubicle is slowly being converted to a virtual jail cell.
Is it because of too many deadlines? Maybe its because of the faulty decision making and plannings done by the top honchos themselves? Or perhaps im just too lazy to work on my deliverables. You can speculate all you want, its free of charge. But one things for real.... I need to finish these tasks or else, its either my head will be on the chopping board or i'll rival Mr. Clean sa paputian tomorrow... oops my mistake its today.

Remember, "Last impressions linger... "

aim arlerdi sheeing duble, cannnt thjimk striagth.. ai tink ai'll cull ita dai..

What If's

2005-07-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

I always admire people who tries to mess up my mind and gets me all revved up. People that I call "intellectually stimulating schmoozers". Their ideas that make you think about the "what if ?"s. Take this guy for example, his an ol friend of mine. His a band member, a guitarist to be precise. I won't dwell on the details of this guy, or else i'll end up being sued for libel. This guy is a true ladies man. "Damn his good" i always say... One time, in between sets, he sat down with us and striked a conversation. His opening argument was and i quote "Pre matanong ko lang, paano kyo nakakatagal dito sa ng di tumi****? Kasi ako pagksama ko si esmi di maaring di kmi magti***** kahit 1 beses lang sa isang araw kundi parang mamatay ako." Me, together with my colleague were totally stupefied, not knowing what to utter other than "talaga?". To further emphasize his argument, he reiterate "talaga mga pre? paano nyo nakakayaan?" It was like Hey Dude! say something! Itayo mo bandera mo! Mustering all the machismo left in me, i said....."Ganyan talaga pre.." and i felt silent.. Duh! is that it! Is that all I can say? "Ganyan talaga pre? What the hell was that? A philisophical slur? Hopefully their set was about to start, at least the agony of embarassment was abruptly stifled.

Ting!! Then comes the realization. "Bakit nga ba?" Followed by the "What ifs" and the "Why not"s. Geez, this guy totally rewired my dogma. Suddenly i realize, i've been living in this infinitesimal island for quite sometime now, but still if i looked back, my life had been a pathetic combination of office (most of the time) , home and a dash of gimik every now and then and thats it. Hmmm will i bite the "What if" conundrum? Tempting isn't it. The cards are totally laid out for me. Im no Congressman Escudero to be known by almost all girls around by the way. Shucks.. its just to darn tempting. But then again... "what if"... . I'll end up in a bucketfull of !@#$%^&* aka dilemma.

i don't want to step further into the abyss of the what ifs. Im happy on my current principles.. Besides, its to dark in the abyss, im afraid of the dark.

Oracle rediscovered

2005-07-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder why so many astute people around the office always say that their right adamantly? We know for a fact, that we have the same level of intelligence, but these wackos use their patois to confuse their audience, which actually can be expressed in 1 to 2 sentences! But in their case, they conjure an explanation that will rival the Mahabarata epic! The end result? your time is wasted and these guys walk away snickering because, not only they have something to put on their timesheet, but also, they have proven to their awe-stricken colleagues (them, not us), that they are the oracles of this office. ( literally they prefer to be called gurus, just listen to somebody asking for questions, they often start their queries with term "Guru....) . Such bravados are very common, specially here in our office, wherein a mix of races often lead to jutting for position and acquisition of awe and respect from colleagues is a must (us not included).
That is why, it became a habit for lil ol me, to shoot down egotistical birds during meetings
and small conversations. Though, at first I felt bothered by the whole idea of bashing a colleague. But there was 1 instance that change my perspective about it. A guy turn the tables against me and bashed me! The nerve! Imagine, me supporting him when he was being subjected to a barrage of questions (with such difficult questions, even Michael Dell would had
felt going back and finishing his college degree), then all of a sudden, he threw his white flag, and dumped all the blame on me. The NERVE!. Painful lesson indeed.

Anyway, I always believe on the thought that "Whatever you know, share it with outmost humility and modesty because there are alot of people who are more knowledgeable that you."