Today is the first day of my MBA class, Management Dynamics. I'm officially back to school. The professor is already a master of her own turf. The professor started by first introducing herself, then followed by each one of us introducing himself/herself. Majority of my classmates are already managers in their respective corporate world; some are even managers of their very own firms. Some are foreigners -- Korean, Chinese, Indian. You see, taking MBA will not just enhance your managerial and entrepreneurial skills but will also help you expand your network. With different backgrounds from various industries, I'm banking to learn from their experiences, too. Diversity in the class will matter.

The professor then split the class into six groups (each group is composed of 3-4 persons). A task was given to each newly formed group. The task was based on the reading done prior to the first day of class. Enough time was provided to do brainstorming. A group presentation came next. After each and every group presentation, further discussions and realizations dominated the scene. It was indeed a lively and very exciting discussion with almost everyone participating. It was only Day 1, and yet I felt that I learned a lot already. I'm looking forward for another meaningful sessions in the coming weeks.

A fast-paced MBA program like this requires lots of reading, presenting, and interacting. Indeed, a great way to learn and further develop myself personally and professionally.

I bought a book entitled "Easy Way to Learn Spanish" to get a hang of it myself. The book does not only contain some basic Spanish phrases like buenos dias (good morning), buenas tardes (good afternoon), estoy muy bien (I'm fine), among others but is also a dictionary itself. Slowly but surely, I'm very sure that I will learn the language. I don't have timeframe to learn the language fully, but at least I'm starting now. Daily will I pick up some Spanish phrases, memorize them, and write them down to a Manila paper posted on the wall around my computer area at home. In this way, I will have a glimpse of what I memorized the previous day.

More than 300 years ago, Spanish was our second language until 1898 when the Americans formally ceded our country from Spain under the famous Treaty of Paris. It will be very apt to learn Spanish than any other language. Besides our accent is already attuned with it. There's even no need to exercise tongue-twisting Spanish phrases. While we are already capable of speaking and writing in English, let us still not forget that once in our history Spanish was widely used. In fact, Jose Rizal used Spanish in his literary pieces.

So now could you please excuse me because I will have to proceed learning the language. Adios. Hasta luego!

While I admire your guts, Bayani, to beautify Metro Manila by implementing strict control over sidewalks, undisciplined bus drivers, among others, still there's one part in you which is missing -- heart. You don't have a heart especially for the poor people like sidewalk vendors. Just awhile ago I saw in television how your men mercilessly confiscated the items being sold by the vendors around a certain public school along Commonwealth Avenue.  Of course, I don't blame your men for they just follow your instructions. What I just can't understand is how you don't care for these vendors. They are jobless and they need to survive amid the rising commodity prices brought about by the series of oil price hikes in the world market. Besides, today is holiday and there's not much motorists travelling along Commonwealth Avenue. Don't you know that a 150-peso income earned from sidewalk vending is more decent than what a corrupt politician earns? A 150-peso income per day no matter how low by economic standard is still a hard-earned money and can at least bring food to the table and feed a number of people. If you take that away from them, you are doing a great disservice to the nation. You are worst than the robbers.

In Thailand, sidewalk vending is being regulated but not totally eradicated. Most of the Thais are also poor just like us Filipinos, but their leaders have hearts. Their leaders allow sidewalk vending in a way that the vendors will neither block the sidewalk nor spillover on the national road. The jobless Thais especially the uneducated can survive in this world by selling on sidewalks. In a way, crime is lessened because everyone can earn a decent income. Why can't you just do the same thing? Giving the sidewalk vendors a sort of leniency while making sure that they are not blocking the road is a win-win solution.

We are not Singapore or Japan where there are no sidewalk vendors. We are totally different from them. They are rich, and we are poor. We cannot pretend to be rich by shooing away all the sidewalk vendors depriving them of a living and then look beautiful superficially. Yes, sidewalks are for the people, but the sidewalk vendors are also humans who deserve decent lives. Sidewalks are affordable locations for the poor instead of renting a space in a mall with very ridiculous rental fee per square meter.

Iboto niyo ako sa 2010. Tatakbo akong Presidente. Ito ang mga programa ko pag nanalo ako:

1. Pararamihin ko ang mga babae sa Pilipinas
--> Upang ang mga OFW na mga lalaki eh bumalik at mabawasan ang mag-aabroad. Sa dami ng babae dito sa Pilipinas, hindi na sila mag-iisip mag-abroad pa

2. Patatabain ko ang mga baboy
--> In case na magkaroon ng krisis sa pagkain, meron tayong matatakbuhang ulam

3. Pabibigatin ko ang mga baril
--> Upang ang mga kriminal eh madiscourage na magdala ng baril at pag nagkagayo'y tatahimik ang ating bansa.

4. Lalagyan ko ng batterya ang piso
--> Upang ang piso ay laging malakas kontra dolyar

* Ilan lamang ito sa aking mga programa pag nanalo ako. Iyan ay kung masisiraan ako ng bait sa 2010. hehehe

This is the first step towards my MBA (Master in Business Administration) dream. I have been planning to take this course since 2006; unfortunately it never gets materialized until recently. I took the cudgel to browse the Internet for MBA program, asked my colleague about it, and there I was picking up the phone, inquiring about the MBA program in Ateneo Graduate School of Business (GSB), and scheduling myself up for the exam. The admission exam was held on May 24, 2008 in Ateneo GSB, and I only learned the result yesterday. I'm happy to tell you that I passed. Yahoo!!! Prior to taking the exam, I submitted the copy of my transcript of records, ID photos, and paid the registrar in Ateneo GSB, Rockwell, Makati. One of the requirements of entering Ateneo GSB is that your undergrad course's GWA must be at least 85% or 2.00.

The next step is to submit other requirements prior to the enrollment period in mid-June. Class starts a week after the enrollment. Now, the thing is, MBA is costly especially that it is Ateneo GSB, the brand so desired. My challenge now is to raise money for every term (2 months). I've limited financial resources but with strong determination, I will be able to hurdle the challenge. I know there are avenues where I can make money to support my MBA studies.I strongly believe I can. It's a matter of the power of postive thinking and possessing the can-do attitude.

You might be telling me why in Ateneo GSB given the fact that acquiring MBA is expensive? Spending money for one of the top business schools in the Philippines is all worth it. If you can raise the money for it no matter how hard it is, then go for it.

Let's see in the coming months how will I be able to hurdle all the rigors of taking the MBA course. Abangan ang mga kabanata.

I'm now back again in Thailand for a training. My last visit here was 5 years ago. Many things have changed in Thailand. For one, it has now a bigger and better airport (can't compare its airport of course with ours). The immigration counter has now a camera to take a picture of you.

The airport resembles a very modern airport. Thailand is also becoming an aviation hub in ASEAN region next to Singapore and Malaysia. When will be our time to be an aviation hub? Dream on my friend. :-)

At the moment, travel from the airport to the city center is via tollway. In less than few minutes (sorry I was not able to calculate the distance, but presumably it's like coming from Clark to Manila), you're already in the city center.

Not to lag behind Singapore and Malaysia, Thailand is building an elevated railway from the new airport to the city. Pretty soon, it will be finished, probably in a year or two, and mind you, it's longer than our present MRT and LRT's.

These are just the two changes I have observed since my last visit, not to mention several high-rise buildings sprouting around Bangkok like mushrooms.

One thing is so sure: our country is lagging behind. Another reason to sulk...Tsk, tsk...

A First-Ever Boracay Trip (May 2-5, 2008)

We stayed in Sanderswhite (Boracay's Station 2), but in one of our itineraries, we went to Asya Resort's private beach located somewhere. Our group numbering twenty-four rented a multicab which brought us to the place.

Diving in Bora was the most memorable to me.



That place was so serene. We paid for the beach's amenities. We did kayaking to the max, swam to the max, everything was to the max. It was only orgasm which was not to the max hehehe... Anyway, what I liked most in our sorties in Bora was the diving thing. Yes, people, your lolo did a dive. It was one of my best dives in my whole life (after all, I only did diving in my bed in my entire life)

Most of us of course are SMS alumni. Please read the links below for more of our Boracay activities as per the accounts of fellow alumni bloggers (They already described how it was to be in Bora. Perfect narrations)

http://apolthegreat.blogspot.com/2008/05/asmsi-2008-summer-getaway-boracay.html

http://maximus4life.blogspot.com/2008/05/bora-experience.html

http://binxjet.blogspot.com/2008/05/dahil-di-ako-kasinggaling-ni-kuya-apol.html

More pictures on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bora.may08

Indeed, the memories are priceless. Don't be a foreigner in your own land. Tour around the Philippines and you'll surely love your country no matter how it is besiged with problems, be it man-made or natural.

Kanina galing ako sa PLDT Pasay site (meron kaming ongoing trial for PLDT's Next Generation Network), at dumaan ako through F.B. Harrison (tama ba iyung street na yun?) then kumanan sa Buendia. Pag kanan ko sa Buendia, akalain mo na may isang jeep na hinahabol ng matanda na uugod ugod at langya sa gigil yata niya sa jeep dahil sa hindi tumitigil ang jeep, hayun tinakbo ni lolo at tinalon yung jeep. Tama namang nasa likuran lang ako at laking kaba ko na akala ko mababagok yung ulo ni lolo, pero gulat ako at ang higpit ng kapit ni lolo sa estribo hehehe. Grabe ang tibay ng buto! Nakita ko yung muscle ni lolo, tumubo sa buto hehehe...Iyan ang lolo! Only in the Philippines...

When my boss who is currently based in Singapore asked the Philippine OBS group from both Smart and Globe accounts (I work for Smart account by the way) who would want to attend Training For The Trainer next month in Bangkok, and out of sheer intention to get out of my comfort zone, I volunteered. The training for the trainer will mean that I have to train the Philippine team first for the new version of our Network Management System for both 2G & 3G networks.

This will be my first baptism of fire. If my colleagues will like the way I train them, I would then justify to my boss that I should train engineers in the region particularly our region, Asia South (Philippines-Singapore-Malaysia).

As early as now, I have to aim and expose myself to training other nationalities. Realizing this feat makes me shiver though, but then I really have to get out of my comfort zone, and do this so I can grow professionally.

It will be one of my greatest achievements in life if I would be able to train engineers in the region. The last time I taught was when I was with my nephew teaching him arithmetic (sounds good exposure? hehe)

Last year, I was designated as the new team leader for Operations and Business Software (OBS) group in the Philippines. However, the salary and car allowance adjustment didn't materialize yet.

Later in that year, I was able to figure out that the team leader position doesn't mean an automatic promotion to a new job grade level. Being a multinational firm and a high-tech firm, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) doesn't look at the position as the basis for the salary adjustment, but rather at the job grade level.

As of April 18, 2008, I'm at now at new Job Grade level (thank God!), and of course my next goal will be higher job grade but this will mean a bigger role, thereby, a bigger responsibility.

I lost money in R M F, but this promotion is a welcome development. At least, a better way to start from scratch.