Busy Busy Busy

Now that work has officially started, I have less time to myself. I mean my job consumes nine hours of my life, plus an additional hour to walk to and from my house. It's been four years since I last had a nine-hour working day (i.e. high school), since in college, your classes barely take up more than three hours of your time per day (oh, and I'm a genius, so I don't study, hehehe).

Last night I quickly collapsed once I got home for dinner. I didn't even get the shift that I wanted (got the morning) shift but in a way, that's also better since despite the lower salary, I do have a semblance of a normal salary man (9 am - 6 pm, Mon - Fri) although I really can't maximize that since I don't have a social life (*hint* *hint*). But at least I'll be able to attend the gaming convention next month.

I'm also exhausted from reading three 800-page novels in a span of six days. On a side note, I've already exceeded my personal quota of reading 52 books in a year.

"Relax."

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Dream Job

Why oh why did this pop up only now?

Ambergris the call center is looking for a gamer. You'll be playing X-box games and providing tech & game support over the phone! 13K+ with benefits. Do text Auji de Lara about details - 09164310667. If you're lucky it's still open. You'll start on monday.

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Back to School

Since the first phase of the job involves training, it feels like I'm in school again: lessons to learn, classmates to learn with, trainers/teachers, ID tags, and even classrooms.

And of course, we get paid for studying.

Standing Out

Of course while I constantly feel the need to stand out in a group, I also know not to overdo it, because I might appear smug and arrogant to other people (I actually am, but that's besides the point). So for today, I was going more for meekness and subtlety. Unfortunately, I still stand out in a group, and in this case, due to my really big bag.

At least it gets the attention of the pretty girls. =)

And of course, it's also uncomfortable to be the only person in the group who doesn't have a computer-related course. But I don't think anyone is noticing, so...

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Goodbye Furry Jocks!

Saw the second season of the new He-Man series the other day and they gave He-Man a makeover: gone are the furry jocks but is now instead replaced with a gladiator-type of armor. Skeletor also gets replaced by new serpent villains.

On a side note, Zoids: Fuzors debuts next week, August 27, on Cartoon Network.

Work!

Work officially starts on Friday. So there's both anxiety and excitement.

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Quiz that Speaks for Itself

What Kind of Geek are You?
Name
DOB
Favourite Color
Your IQ is	frighteningly high
You are a	word nerd
Your strength is	you never need to sleep
Your weakness is	chocolate
You think normal people are	stupid
Normal people think that you are	deranged
This cool quiz by owlsamantha - Taken 57556 Times.

New! Get Free Daily Horoscopes from Kwiz.Biz

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Eyelash Shampoo

According to the ophthalmologist, the style that frequently pops up is due to the accumulation of dirt that I acquire. He recommended that I shampoo my eyelashes in order to prevent such occurences.

Bookfair Blunders part 2

Rumor has it that next year's book fair will still be at the World Trade Center.

Booksale Blunders

Along the lines of the Powerbooks sale a few months ago, National Bookstore gives you discount certificates for successful purchases (which means you only get a discount after you've bought a book). Moreover, they also have a promo that those who purchase P5,000 worth of items (as if everyone has P5,000 lying around) will get a chance (it's a lottery) to go to the US Bookfair next year. Aside from needing to spend P5,000 and the fact that it's not a sure thing, I'd also like to point out that the real "book fairs" aren't bookfairs that have books on sale; they're usually venues for publishers to peddle their books for other people to import/export in huge quantities. So for the tourist or occassional book buyer, unless you plan to purchase the rights to print a certain book, why bother?

Broke

After overtextending my resources last week, I'm officially broke. At least until the windfall that is September (alas, I hoard friends, not money).

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Dad's Emails

Because my parents are technophobic (or more precisely, refuse to "learn" how to use the latest devices on the sole reason that they're "getting old"), I'm usually in charge of checking their emails. My mom uses my sister's account, while I manage my dad's (he uses my inbox, especially since we have the same names). While this is an additional influx of email for me to go through, it also has its own perks.

Like getting emailed porn by your dad's batchmates and friends (and there's all those green jokes that gets passed around).

Except I don't fancy porn.

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The Chinese Way

One of the more prominent communities in the Philippines (in the Metro Manila area at the very least) known for their good business sense are the Chinese (second only to the Muslims).

Not that all Chinese are experts when it comes to business (or else me and El would have been filthy rich by now), but we do have a "knack" for it. Well, at least some of us are.

The most common explanation many people give is that Chinese would choose little profit from large quantities over large profit from smaller quantities. take Jollibee, for example. It's a fast-food chain and while there's little profit in the food they sell, it serves millions of Filipinos everyday.

Another common reason is that we have foresight and patience. Take SM and Jollibee. The former started out selling shoes and they now own one of the most popular chain of malls. The latter started out as an ice-cream parlor and now it's the leading Filipino fast food chain. It took quite some time in order for those two to gain a foothold in the market but the investment was well worth it.

In practice, we Chinese also learned how to save in small quantities. For example, whereas other people would give away their spare change, we hoard it as if our very lives depended on it. A peso saved every day is better than spending money once a week to buy a lottery ticket in the hopes of winning it big (not that Chinese aren't suspectible to gambling).

Another talent I see that some Chinese entrepreneurs have is their ability to sense where they can profit. For example, there's this one business that may seem to many people insignificant, but is in fact a very profitable enterprise. It's so commonplace that most of you take it for granted. I'm talking about napkins/tissue. Yes, the ones that are provided at restaurants and diners. More specifically, those that have the logo of the restaurant. Providing napkins may seem insignificant, but when you look at the bigger picture, it's an example of how you can really profit. If you provide napkin, for say, Starbucks, you're already providing for an entire franchise! And many tissues are consumed by a single outlet every single day. Multiply that by all the branches available, and you have the start of a thriving business. More so when you cater to other similar places.

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Book Awards

I was at the National Book Awards yesterday, although if you want the whole story, it's better if you visit Dean's blog, since they were the main reason I was there and congratulations to them, who won the book award for best comic.

Of course it's also strange to be there, since I'm not part of the people involved in Siglo: Freedom. I'm like what a stalker really is... a shadow in someone else's glory. But still, I don't regret being there. As I said, it's my first time being present at the book awards, and it was interesting to see some familiar faces, even if I did arrive there as a tag-along to people more worthy and talented than me (at least at this point in time).

On a side note, it's strange and funny to see that the Book Awards are far from perfect. Horrible Powerpoint presentations, people hitting various objects, the place literally collapsing (not just the walls but the lights as well). Reminds me that no matter how big an event, it's the micromanagement in the long run that still matters, whether you're a small org, a school event, or the Manila International Book Fair.

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