First Piano Recital

Hello Anak,

I was teary eyed and had goosebumps as I tried hard to keep my hands steady while taking a video AND taking photos of you while performing 'The Harebell' in front of full packed SM Activity Center yesterday, 6/9/13.

It was such an awesome performance!  You were the 20th of the 100+ performers and you nailed it anak!  Ikaw lang ang walang mali, at least for the first 30 or so that we saw -- umuwi na kasi tayo agad.  I'm SOOO proud of you!  You were so cool and composed, parang mag may nerbyos pa si Nanay mo when you two came up the stage eh.  Your lolas and lolo were all kwento to the max about you.  Your Tita Minnie actually cried pa daw while you were on the stage performing...ang galing mo daw!

That talent anak is a true blessing.  Keep it, hone it and use it to glorify our God.  Kami, role na lang namin na i-develop ka pa ng husto...to the best that we can possibly can.

Anyway, I'm just a proud tatay, your number 1 fan!

I love you anak.

God bless.

Tatay

PS: I'll post the photos later ha :)

Hello, I'm back!

hello anak!

it's been a while!  i'm currently in Bangkok, Thailand to attend a special training for ibmers worldwide.  i rubbed elbows with some top level managers, vps and other leaders from the us, europe, australia etc.  oh diba, i'm like you - sabi ni teacher sa yo na you're one of the best!! :)

anak, may promise lang ako sa yo ha - kahit na ano mangyari, pag-aaralin ka namin sa maayos na eskwelahan.  kung maaari, sa pinaka-magandang unversity!  pangarap sana namin ay sa ateneo, pero kaw na rin pumili pag malaki ka na.

ay teka, kailangan ko na mag-checkout...nandun na mga kasama ko.  basta yan ang promise ko sa anak.

i love you!!

love,
tatay

Well, what do you know?

Mahal kong Anak,

Kamusta ka na? Ako, eto kagagagaling lang ng CDO...at muntik ng maging barbeque sa hotel. Nasunog kasi yung palengke na malapit sa hotel namin last Friday. So munti na kaming madamay at maging sugbu! :(

Well, what do you know? Lumalaki ka na!

Natutuwa ako at patuloy ang paglaki mo na healthy at maayos emotionally. Sa wakas, kumakain ka na ng kanin at ulam ngayon, at hindi na puro dede lang. Nakakatuwa kang pagmasdan kaninang lunch kasi para ka ng bata kung kumain...that is, hindi ka na nga talaga baby. :) Tumataba ka na ulit at lalong bumibigat kaya medyo mahirap ka ng kargahin...teka kala ko di ka na baby, bat nagpapakarga ka pa rin? :):) Hehehe, ganyan ata talaga, ngayon umaangal ako na kargahin ka dahil mabigat ka na, pero alam ko na sa mga susunod na taon, gugustuhin kitang kargahin, halikan at yakapin pero ikaw na ang aayaw. Kaya naman, kahit mabigat, sige karga, pasan o kung ano pa man.

Well, what do you know? Eh, ano nga ba alam mo?

Hay naku anak, kay hirap talaga ng galing sa di kilalang paaralan. Hanggang ngayon, after almost 20 yrs na naka-graduate ako, nageeexplain pa rin ako ng aking academic background. Kaya naman, kinakailangan kong labanan ang pulitika sa office. Hindi ako, sa tanang buhay ko, namulitika kailanman. Ngayon, tinitira ako nitong isang kumag na kala mo kung sino porke galing ng La Salle. Pasalamat sya at mayaman ang magulang niya! Kung di dahil dun ay di naman sya dun nakapag-aral. Anak, hindi tayo mayaman, pero sisikapin namin ni Nanay na mapag-tapos ka sa maayos na university. Ayaw ko ng iparanas sa yo ang dilemma na kailangan mong i-explain ang backgound mo for more than 10minutes pero wala pa rin silang clue kung saang lupalop ka talaga galing. Ngayon, pinaplano kong mag-AIM para matigil ang pangunguwestion sa background ko. Harinawa't matupad at kayanin ng budget.

O sya, ingat ka ulit anak. I love you!

love,
Tatay

Early News

Hello Anak,

How are you doing? Hope you're in a healthy condition as you read this blog.

Healthy that I may not be. Three weeks ago, I was diagnosed to be Stage 1 Hypertensive. I've had some blood tests which says high cholesterol, high sgpt, high uric, etc, etc. Somehow I can't believe all these because I know to myself that I have been very selective on the things I eat, I don't smoke and drink alcohol! Darn! So what have caused all these? Genetics. The Doctor said 95% of hypertensive cases are due to genes. Man, how bad is my genetic make-up! I got asthma from maternal side, then this from paternal side.

I can say that I don't have a choice, can't I? Well, it seems that you won't have a choice either. I just hope that your maternal genes somehow can compensate.

Anyway, I am still optimistic that the test I did today, 2D Echo, won't have any conclusion that I have angina, heart enlargement, or anythin to do with my heart. What else can I do? Well, some folks say go and be merry - drink, smoke or whatever. "Enjoy life!" I can do that why not...but Idon't have an urge to do so. I guess I will stay with my current lifestyle + do more of physical exercise. Your nanay bought me a stationary bike last week, so I hope it's a good start! :)

BTW, I just got a second job offer and waiting for the third by Monday. Just look at the grace of God. Now my head is aching as to which company will I work for next. I have signed up with IBM already, but I would want to see first the other two. Imagine, I was selected as the Project Manager of an IT company (as in hardcore IT company), called Technidata, France. The other company is TetraPak - I always thought it's a packaging technology until now. They supply the packaging materials to all food and beverages in the country and 90% across the globe. They are offering me Project Manager and Engineering Manager position folded into one. Imagine, your tatay, a TUP graduate of a course seemingly unknown to anyone, being considered to manage such companies! Thank God! :) He always will provide...

O sige anak, I will be conducting a lecture tomorrow pa sa BASF. And tomorrow is a BIG day for all of us kasi it's your GRADUATION DAY! Hehey, you've finished Nursery! I feel accomplished na already kahit nursery ka pa lang...hehehe! Congratulations anak! Konti na lang, matatapos ka rin ng College! :):):)

Ingat, I love you!

regards,
Tatay

Diversification

Hello Anak!

How are you today?

Today, I wanted to share with you a potential career strategy that you may want to adopt into when you grow older. When I was a kid like you, I always wanted to be an Astronaut. Well, that will never be possible because I would have been a Philmonaut instead -- Russians have Cosmonaut, Americans have Astronaut, Philippines would have Philmonaut. :)

Anyway, kidding aside, my point is gearing towards knowing a lot of things could be a vital weapon in the future. Like an astronaut, he does not only know hot to fly a space shuttle, but he also need to know physics, meteorology, astronomy, fluid dynamics, psychology, etc etc, to be effective. Similary, I made myself as diversified as possible.

But, how come lah? Ok. Truth to be told: I am not an engineer. I did not finish college in a classy university. I don't even have a college degree that is acceptable widely - most of the people would ask me "Ano yung Bachelor of Technology, Ano yung Instrumentation, Ano na nga yung kurso mo?" Or they would respond "Ah Ok" but they never really understand. Boy, such a miserable experience. But that did not stop me from learning new things. In fact, it even enhanced my desire of knowing more things. In retrospect, it was the key for me to over-compensate to the things I lack, ergo: good university background.

Hence, therefore, thus, that key opened up a lot of opportunity today for me to take on. For instance, i know a little bit of programming - now, I can do simple/short java/action scripting. I know a little bit of Organizational Development - now, I teach OD lectures. I know bits and pieces of statistical analysis - now I earn from simple stats analysis (earn a lot man...a lot! :)). Now, I am to embark a new chapter in our lives - as a full-pledged Project Manager. Well, I have been a PM since 2001, but this time I think is different. Things will be magnified multiple times. But I know with God's help and the diversification I did in my skill set and knowledge base, I will be able to surpass all the challenges there might be.

I hope you pick something out of this short blog...

Ingat and we love you!

regards,
Tatay

Still here...

Hello Anak,

I'm still here...it's (again) been a long time since I blogged. There's quite a lot of things going on in my mind right now and don't know which one to share with you.

Why don't I start with what happened last week. First is about you - I don't know how and what has influenced you to be lazy at school. Your teacher told me that you wouldn't want to write when she asks you to. You also didn't take your quiz last Friday. We made a deal that we're not going to the mall if you do it again. Hmmm, I thought that was easy. I should wait then til you grow up in your teens. By then, I'm pretty sure that we won't have the same simple deal if we want you to do something that you don't like. Well, I just have to try and pray that we won't have this kind of problem which amplitude multiplied by 1000times.

Also last week...I finally have faced one of my most dreaded exams. I took the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam. It took me half a year to prepare! Well, it just kept slipping because I had to give in my exam slot for some other stuff, i.e. a consulting program, etc. In any case, I PASSED! It was such a personal victory for me to overcome this test. But I have to tell you a wonderful story. Because I may have been ill-prepared for the exam, I really had to pray hard to get over my fears. And for the first time, I really felt the Holy Spirit's intervention. Starting at the 124th question, the ambient noise just disappeared for some reasons. The questions appeared to me as if they were sliced and diced, making me understand those long and confusing questions much better. Then, the answer seems to show themseleves to me. Whoa! Really an experience! To God be the glory!

Ok anak, I'm now going off to the office...Ingat ka lagi and God Bless.

I love you!

Tatay

Where am I?

Hello Anak,

Wow, ang tagal na namang panahon na hindi ako nakalikha ng liham para sa iyo. Again, I've never thought I could be busier than ever. Initially I thought that this thing that I'm doing would be simple (or simpler) than my previous job. Well, my paradigm has proven me wrong.

I have just finished a couple of consulting stints. One was a program with Trend Micro, the 3rd leading anti-malware company, where we delivered TQM program. I tagged along Tito Raf as my partner, and he was so happy about it. I had the impression that he also wants to do this thing i"m doing. The other program is with Dentista Inc, the biggest Dental company in the country. This time, it is a free-lance program with Ms Aileen. She used to be part of the corporate world being a Director of PhilipsInc, RedRibbon, Emerssson. I can say that she is such a blessing for us because she was the one who introduced me to consulting - the reasonwhy I landed a project-based job with GlobeTelecoms. From there, she stayed behind me as a coach guiding me along the way. She took me as a partner in this stint with DI - something like a rookie with a pro! The experience was so wonderful because I get to talk with the companies Directors and President. Something I won't be able to do if i'm in the corp world. The most fulfilling part is when the Director congratulated me personally and asked "can i call you if i need advice in the future, even if not covered with the contract?" With goose-bumps I said, "Yes sir!" He said that he even would drive the approval of our retainership with them. Whoa!

Also, in the company that we formed, I also was able to rub elbows with yet another company President. Two weeks ago, we met with the President of Cocolife! We met with them to demo our product offering - a web application for their client. And the best part is who did the web apps demo...syempre si Tatay!!! I finally get to do what I always want to do - programming. Do you know that I wanted to take up Computer in College? I was just convinced by your Lolo to take instrumentation because he thought at the time that there will be high demands for such course. Of course, at a young age, I didn't have the right to rebut or contradict what he wants. I had no regrets naman of taking up instrumentation as I have been exposed to different engineering fields. Anyway, I can't do anything about that anymore, can I? So now, it's never too late. I am taking up programming courses to somehow get me abreast with the more current languages. Every sunday afternoon, I go to Informatics, taking up Java progamming. Konting tiis lang na walang SM after church.

As diverse as what I have been doing, my real intention is to re-tool myself in preparation for the future. This is the best time (i believe) to re-tool because of a couple of reasons: [1] i can make use of the windfall (at least part of it) for training and expenses during the consulting/business, and [2] it's perfect because the economic conditions haven't been favorable. Isn't that ironic you'd ask? Well, I'm glad that somehow (somehow) your Nanay is supporting me to all these that I'm doing; though sometimes(...). I may be lost right now, but my objective at this point is to gain as much diverse experience that I can, in preparation for our future in Canada. Just being proactive. I don't want us flying out unprepared.

I have never been so passionate to what I am doing until now. I know that this is all passion and does not cover much on the bottomline. But I firmly believe that this is the way to go. Although that is so, only the Lord has the power to design our future. I give back all the victories to him, and offer all these plans in prayer.

Sige anak. Papatulugin pa ulit kita. Madaling araw pa lang ay gising ka na at nagpatimpla ng dede. Tatabihan muna kita at matutulog ulit ako.

Ingat ka lagi and God bless.

I love you!

Tatay