Now Playing at the Music Bar below:

Selfish (Chillout Version) - Sunset Daze

Don't Fear the Reaper (Cover) - The Beautiful South

Clarity (Neon Sky Remix) - Zedd ft. Foxes

Alive in Paradise - Tiesto & Dyro feat. Krewella

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

A Dose of Sense: Motorcycle Madness

On certain days we encounter situations that makes us think…what just happened? Or we come across individuals that makes us wonder…what were you thinking? When things tend to get complicated, we often over-think the situation, not knowing that the solution sometimes…is plainly common sense. 

Diagnosis: Motorcycle Madness

Notes:

Patient may be suffering from the worst stage of motorcycle madness which is categorized as the Deadly Evel Knievel – Hallucinating Enhanced Disease; or for short DEK-HED.

These motorcycle riding DEKHEDs feel they are invincible. Nothing can stop them including incoming traffic when they counter-flow, enter one-way streets and cross intersections with total disregard to safety.
 

These DEKHEDs weave through traffic as if they have ingested some sort of hallucinogens, which they think gives them unnatural power to squeeze through any tight spot.


These DEKHEDs also have deficiencies with color association. Even when the light shows red which means stop, all they see is green.

Further Evaluation and Medication:

Please help me understand how a DEKHED like you had this belief that you have that powerful privilege of violating common road rules. What authoritative agency gave you the right to create your own lane aside from the usual motorcycle lane?

Patient is delusional. The DEKHED firmly believes that Yamaha hired him to compete in the MotoGP. Honestly, who are you trying to impress by doing 80 to a 100 KPH on a side road?


You are not indestructible. But if you have a knack for getting yourself busted wide open, try applying as a crash test dummy for some car manufacturer. This way, they would have more realistic results.

Don’t be a DEKHED.

It’s just common sense. But you’re not common…you’re special.

Friday, September 4, 2015

Kid's Garage: Ferrari 575 GTC

Boys with their toys. We love collecting stuff. And for me, one of them would be HotWheels / Matchbox cars. It came to a point that I sometimes buy the same car already. So my son gave the idea that I should take an inventory of them to avoid duplicates. The collection actually started with him when he was younger, but as he grew older, it seems that the kid grew and the dad didn't.


Ferrari 575 GTC (Yellow)

Ferrari 575 GTC (Silver)

Searching for the other variants:

Actual Car:

Featured Clips of the Day: Talkin' About The Movie With Yehya

Planning on watching a movie this weekend? How about catching some previews with Yehya. 
(Courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel Live!)

Mission Impossible 5

American Sniper

Ant-Man

The Imitation Game

Pixels

Birdman

Thursday, September 3, 2015

National Heroes Holiday 2015

Earlier this year I made a promise to visit at least one major attraction or destination every month; (January was an exemption since we were in Vietnam for our anniversary. I'm a Tourist: Vietnam. I had to pass up on July as well since it was my son's birthday and the office sent me to Dumaguete City.)

1. Hot Air Balloon Festival (February)
2. Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (March)
3. Staycation (April)
4. Labor Day 2015 (May)
5. Pico De Loro 2015 (May)
6. Independence Day 2015 (June)


Kids nowadays have very specific demands;

Spend a night at a hotel
Must have a pool
Must be in Tagaytay

But keeping true to our promise not only brought a huge smile on their faces, it also gave us a chance to explore more attractions within the Luzon area.

Having to find an affordable place especially during a long holiday weekend can be challenging since these destinations usually bump up their prices and availability is close to nil. Luckily, we found Hotel Dominique which was just located along Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay.


With a party of 8, you would usually have to get at least 2 rooms. But Hotel Dominique offered what they called a Casitas; having two floors, with a huge Queen size Bed (with a pullout bed), and 2 twin size beds, extra mattresses, 2 bathrooms and a balcony. And of course, the most crucial thing nowadays…the free Wifi. All of these for a low price not exceeding Php 7,000.00.

We then tried to maximize our time by checking out new places in the area. 
(With the exception of the Bee Farm.)

Lunch at Balay Dako

Ilog Maria Bee Farm. The need for honey for allergies.

Dinner at Caffe Sant’Antonio for some Four Cheese Pizza, Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino, and a Strawberry Banana smoothie.

And one the highlights of the trip, which is one for the books; the Guinness World Record holder, Puzzle Mansion, for having the world's largest collection of jigsaw puzzles.

Biggest Puzzle in the World (With I think 32,000 pcs)

2nd Biggest Puzzle in the World (24,000 pcs)


And of course the best part...


Friday, August 14, 2015

A Dose of Sense: AWOL Disease

On certain days we encounter situations that makes us think…what just happened? Or we come across individuals that makes us wonder…what were you thinking? When things tend to get complicated, we often over-think the situation, not knowing that the solution sometimes…is plainly common sense. 

Diagnosis: AWOL Disease

Notes:
Absence without Official Leave. or A.K.A. the David Copperfield Persona. The sudden disappearance of an individual from the plane of reality. Now, if only the Company had some special set of skills...


The company where this individual works will now experience the RKO effect. Patterned after the popularly known signature move of WWE wrestling sensation Randy Orton. Because the AWOL comes “out of nowhere!!!”

Patient's most common symptoms for not calling in:
No cellphone signal or load
No Landline
Forgot to wake up

Further Evaluation and Medication:

How incapacitated were you, for you not to call in? And yet, you were able to post a selfie, tweet a rant, update your Facebook status, joined a clan and started a war in COC.

You decided to work for a living, and yet you don’t have that level of professionalism to simply advise the company that you no longer wish to continue. The resignation letter is just a piece of paper, it’s not as if you’re asked to write this on stone tablets, right?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand the common courtesy of simply telling the company that all good things come to an end and that there is no forever. 

It’s just common sense. But you’re not common…you’re special.

So take your Dose of Sense.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Kid's Garage: Toyota AE-86 Corolla - Initial D

Boys with their toys. We love collecting stuff. And for me, one of them would be HotWheels / Matchbox cars. It came to a point that I sometimes buy the same car already. So my son gave the idea that I should take an inventory of them to avoid duplicates. The collection actually started with him when he was younger, but as he grew older, it seems that the kid grew and the dad didn't.


Toyota AE-86 Corolla (Initial D version - white)

Initial D is an Anime cartoon series back in the 90's.

Actual Car:

Independence Day Weekend 2015

Earlier this year I made a promise to visit at least one major attraction or destination every month; (January was an exemption since we were in Vietnam for our anniversary. I'm a Tourist: Vietnam.)

1. Hot Air Balloon Festival (February)
2. Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (March)
3. Staycation (April)
4. Labor Day 2015 (May)
5. Pico De Loro 2015 (May)

It doesn't need to be a far off place, as long as it's with the family and the kids get to enjoy. We headed off to Seda at Nuvali in Sta. Rosa over the long Independence Day weekend; the drive was about an hour away from the Metro so there were no excuses whatsoever.

While waiting for our rooms, the hotel served treats and refreshments.
Coffee, tea, Melon juice, Guava Lemonade, bread pudding. I don't mind waiting for an hour for the room. Please do take your time.

Scene of relaxation and peace.

Someone is in awe by the view.

Game Room and Day Care area.

A visit to Nuvali isn't complete without feeding the Koi fishes.

The little boy now knows how to do a cannonball.


Enjoyed much with the cousins.Definitely deserves a round two.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

HR – The Company Concierge

I’ve always loved the movie “For Love or Money” where Michael J. Fox stars as a hotel concierge who has this dream of building his own hotel. He then falls in love with Gabrielle Anwar’s character and was later in a situation to choose whether to fulfill his dream of having his own hotel or giving it up for true love.


Aside from the plot of the story, I was more intrigued by the role of MJF as a hotel concierge. How he was loved by his hotel guests for being able to pull off even the most outrageous requests. How he has so many connections, able to get courtside tickets, best restaurant seats, etc. Pretty much, anything and everything that a person can ask for while they are guests at the hotel.

This is how I feel right now about my job in HR; like a hotel concierge.


It is no longer the traditional HR that simply handles payroll & benefits, data and case management, or employee relations. The HR role now delves deeper into business optimization and financials. Gone were the days where I would only worry about case evidences, ensuring people get paid on time and what activity to launch. HR now focuses on lowering operations’ attrition, brainstorming on how to increase revenue, analyzing how other business units can perform better, basically almost every detail in ensuring that the company runs smoothly.

And believe it or not, I have accepted this role without hesitation and regret.

In addition to being a company concierge, you can add an M.D. to that. Well, not that an HR personnel is a medical doctor, but in terms of being “on call” and trying to heal the wounds, you’re pretty much on the same wavelength. For urgent matters of the life of a business unit, for consultations, “ask and you shall be responded to”, daytime, noon, and night, my clock does not stop. Some would ask, don’t you have a choice? For me, it’s not that I don’t have a choice, but I made it my only choice to make myself available. At the onset, I totally planned to bring this upon myself. Why?

Because like I always say, when something goes wrong, at the end of the day, more often than not, it always falls unto to HR to find out what happened, and how to get it fixed. (So this is how President Aquino feels. He gets blamed for everything and is expected to fix everything. I feel you dawg. I feel you.) I want to be on top of things, I don’t want to be caught off-guard. Because you never know who will be holding a knife, stabbing you in the back or probably portraying as Hansel and Gretel’s witch hunters looking for faults and errors.

The role requires that you have this “I get it, I got it, it’s done” attitude. It’s like you are a hostage negotiator. You are not allowed to say no, never, it can’t happen. You will always, always respond, “I will see what I can do.” You will get requests that seem out of your jurisdiction, but as a concierge, you use everything at your disposal to get what the customer wants. (It’s like grabbing a magic lamp and comes out an HR Genie to grant your wishes.)


The Company Concierge M.D. does have its pros. You are well rounded, well informed, people can’t live without you, and you are the first person that comes to their minds with pretty much anything when things get messy. The sense of fulfillment is priceless. The satisfaction you give to your customers is equally priceless.

But on the flip side of this role is the way that my children now see me. It almost drove me to tears when my 5-year old son asked me one day, “Dad, why are you always at the office?” I simply responded, “Dad works so he can buy you all the toys that you want.” And his only reply was, “Dad, I don’t like toys anymore, will you stop working?”

I really try to balance work with the life that I want to live. I want to be able to tutor my kids with their homework, I want to spend the weekends with them uninterrupted; but I no longer yearn to be able to watch the DVDs I bought that are still unpacked, read the E-comics that I have downloaded, and play the hobbies that bring happiness to me. Because whatever free time I have, it’s no longer about me, It’s about making my customers at home happy, it’s about the 5-year old kid who is willing to give up his toys so I could be at home with him.

So it begs the question now, as an HR Company Concierge M.D., do I do it for love…or for money?

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Pico De Loro 2015

Earlier this year I made a promise to visit at least one major attraction or destination every month; (January was an exemption since we were in Vietnam for our anniversary. I'm a Tourist: Vietnam.)

1. Hot Air Balloon Festival (February)
2. Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (March)
3. Staycation (April)
4. Labor Day 2015 (May)

Summer ain't summer without a beach getaway. So thank you to mother dearest for grabbing a discount package at Pico De Loro Beach resort. A reasonable two and half hours drive but a weekend of sun and fun for the kids.


It was a pool paradise for the kids

And, there is no stopping Kian from taking the water slide the whole afternoon by himself.

The hotel also boasts of facilities such as a basketball court, badminton, and bowling. 

And our number 1 bowling fan...

And as per request of Julia, a pony ride.

When you get tired of the pools, you head over to the beach.

My first kayak experience with my eldest son.

Mission Accomplished.


Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Labor Day 2015

Earlier this year I made a promise to visit at least one major attraction or destination every month; (January was an exemption since we were in Vietnam for our anniversary. I'm a Tourist: Vietnam.)

1. Hot Air Balloon Festival (February)
2. Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (March)
3. Staycation (April)

To kick off the month of May, while almost everyone else was spending summer in LaBoracay, we felt a bit patriotic and visited the Philippine Air Force Museum. It was airplane heaven for Kian to see lots of airplane models. (Though not much on the historical parts of the museum) It was unfortunate that the simulator was closed, it would have been a great experience for him.





And since we were in the area, we decided to go to the Lego Exhibit in Resort World.


Compared to the cost of going to Bora, this was less stressful, less people, and the experience was as always, priceless.


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