CH50: Just like that

And just like that, another casualty.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jFKT9wY2DNMD2MM2n1vUijGsCm8w?docId=2911c623a58241419c5dc2d661eebe9d

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government says China has executed a Filipino man convicted on drug trafficking charges despite an appeal for clemency from President Benigno Aquino III.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said the 35-year-old man was put to death by lethal injection Thursday in southern Guangxi province.

He was arrested in 2008 at Guilin International Airport while trying to smuggle 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) of heroin from Malaysia.

Smuggling more than 1.76 ounces (50 grams) of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China.

Although China went ahead with the execution despite Aquino's appeal for clemency, government officials have said they respect China's judicial system and that the execution would not hurt bilateral relations

Justice is served.

I wish that the day will come when justice is served as efficiently in the Philippines as it is in China. Not to step on any one's toes, but, I am pro death penalty.

People in the Philippines question the effectiveness of death penalty - primarily because the justice system is flawed. People contradict that for most cases, only the poor will be subject to execution as there is a lot of room for bribe and corruption for those with money to escape this finality.

But, my opinion stands that the best deterrent for heinous crimes is death. The Philippines is not like the first world countries we see featured with the mindset that jail sentences are meant to rehabilitate the convicted - to become contributors to society when their sentences are finished.

The Philippines - Metro Manila especially - is in my opinion, over populated. I don't see any point in giving second chances to people who have taken the life of others and circulated/trafficked drugs that ruined families. It's always an eye for an eye. We're over populated in the metro, no one will miss troublemakers.

The Philippines' lawmakers and government's hesitation and failure to act will continue to mire the people into desolation. (Insert RH bill plug) As the population of the poor grows, the number of uneducated grows, the number of "popular" but ineffective lawmakers is retained.

Time moves on. History is recorded. Trash is recycled.

CH49: On the ledge

The other day, I tweeted the following:

• Accidntlly locked myself out. LOL. Had to jump to the ledge and go into my room through the window hahaha super exciting! #andstupid
• Thank God we only live on the 4th floor
• i forgot to mention that the distance from the condo's ledge to my window's ledge is about the same height as i am. #upperbodystrength :p

 For some weird reason, i unconsciously locked my bedroom when I took a shower. Thankfully, I had clothes on me and  a towel when I went to the toilet. Otherwise, I would have performed my stunt with only a towel around my waist.

My initial reaction when I found out that I locked myself out was laugh. It was an absurd situation to be in. I didn't have my phone with me, and I just literally only had the clothes on my back. For a brief second, a hypothetical event flashed through my mind about spending the whole day without money and just walking about the condo, or even going out to Balestier road (where a lot of budget hotels are) and try to be a beggar for a day.

But, I snapped out of the daydream with the thought of having some activities lined up for work. Commitments that shouldn't be missed! So I went to the door of the landlord and tried to knock and knock hoping that they were still in and had their spare key with them. After realizing that they already left, I look through the toilet and see the window open (to let the steam out of the shower).

I knew then what I had to do.

I dressed up and went to my door and wore my slippers.

I looked out the window of the toilet and saw that I had to jump down a distance about the same height as my foot to shoulder.

I only had about two feet of width to stand on.

But weirdly enough, my usual scare of heights especially when I'm close to the edge without any railings didn't come through.

I walked the ledge to my room, opened the window, pushed myself up. 

As I didn't have any foothold to push myself up further through the room, I had to grab hold of my bed to have that grounding I needed to get through the window.

Seriously, I had a really good time doing it.

It reminded me of the adventure I had in Rayleigh (Thailand) where I climbed up and hiked through a mountain which was very muddy after the rain (mostly by myself, aside from the 1 or two foreigners I came across the muddy adventure).

I realized as well how much I've gotten stronger and fitter since I started doing yoga and swimming. I don't think I would have accomplished the same feat as effortlessly as I did if my body was in the same state it was in pre-June of this year (ahem. 84kg?! would you believe? now i'm around 70-71kg)

It also made me realize that when put in a situation of "must-do" - when you give yourself time to be reluctant and hesitant about doing it - then, well, most likely, you'll end up wasting time contemplating on things. It was quite refreshing "Just doing it." And this is where I will segue, yes, I must skydive when I go to NZ!

----

Coincidentally, the night prior to the event, I was entertaining the thought of locking my window after reading a Facebook status of my friend - about how someone was trying to get into her house by breaking off the window grills to her room. I was LOL-ing when I read that she scared off the would-be-thief by looking at the window and asking, "Sino yan?" 

It's Christmas time in our beloved Philippines.

If I had closed my window, then maybe I would have resorted to breaking off my door.

CH48: Missing the stress

Work rant:

I've been thinking about how stress-free my work is.
I tell my friends when they ask how I'm doing, and I tell them, I'm only exerting 10% or less of what I used to exert when I was working with IBM.

Well, it's not really fair to compare both considering that IBM was more of a support work with some projects and implementation works on the side; while here in Infineon, I'm more of internal focused more on Solution Manager.

I'm at the crossroad. The position I'm in would be a great position to be in if I was already thinking of settling down - and growing within the company. But, I'm not sure that's where I want to be in right now. The fixed work schedule is great to be honest. I get to swim, do the things I like doing. And there's not much 'work' excuse to say not to have fun.

But then again, is it right for me to be here right now? Or is it a matter of being too early?

Like I told my mom last night, I will have to think about it after I come back from NZ. After all, if I didnt move into the company, then I don't think I would have been allowed 18 days of vacation.

Yes, it might seem like I was only using the company to get what I want - but. hmmm.
To elaborate more on it - aside from not being stressed - I think that I'm not learning as much as I want to learn. It's more of my teammates learning from me. I wouldn't call it a parasitic relationship. They're great people to work with and I feel that I'm appreciated and I'm important to the team.

Although, what irks me is the fact that they are the "System Owners" of the SAP Solution Manager of the company - yet they have very little technical know-how on managing systems. They have almost no background prior to being system owners on how to handle and manage SAP systems. Solution Manager being a central aspect of the SAP landscape - well, it requires a degree of technicality in order to operate and maintain. Yes - that's where I came in.

But, sometimes - I feel like an actual consultant who is an "enabler" for the recognized system owners. So, yes, I feel like, they are getting all the spotlight etc. There was one instance where the sytem owner asked me to create some slides to update the colleagues in EU on the progress of our activities. I was under the assumption that I was the one who was going to present. But it turns out, he was planning on presenting it all along. He used the words I put in my slide. He used all my slides! During our meeting even - when he couldn't find the right phrase to use for his idea - he even asked me to help him come up with the right words to say?! Well, I opted not to. I just solved the issue he was having a hard time explaining.

So yes. right now, after I come back from NZ - my stand is pretty much 60-40 in favor of moving out. But, it's more of a matter of exploring other opportunities. It's like hook and bait. Just to see how much i can demand. I won't be jumping on any offer the instant they're offered. Job security wise - I'm secured here - unlike in IBM where there was a risk of being relieved given that the project was at an end.

Blah Blah

CH47: White Noise

What's wrong about not missing Filipino food?
What's wrong about not missing the Philippines?
What's wrong about not wanting to invest in a place I'm not sure I'll retire in?

After seeing the viral coke-video that's been making rounds in the social media sites, I couldn't help but feel disconnected. I'm an OFW in the sense, but my reasons are different than theirs.
From the video, it seems to me that it pains them to actually have to work in a foreign land away from their family. But in my case, I'm actually having a great time.
Perhaps, it's in the structure of my family. All 5 of us are in different countries - covering 4 timezones. I'm part of the next-gen OFW - the generation that is making the conscious choice to live and work abroad.

To live and work abroad not for anyone else's sake but my own.

I like living and working in Singapore. It's actually refreshing to be free of the traffic jams and pollution. I like not being surrounded by noise from the media. I like being away from the saturated news and the distracting billboards. I like how my shoes do not seem to get dirty - contrary to how dirty it gets just by walking through the car park to the mall. I like how safe it is here. I like the accessibility of the pools and how convenient it is here to actually make a healthy living and adapt a healthy lifestyle.

I like so many things here in Singapore that I'm sure I can find elsewhere abroad - when and if I choose my next destination.

But, with so many things I like - does that mean I hate the Philippines?
With regards to the questions I initially asked:

• What's wrong about not missing Filipino food?
• What's wrong about not missing the Philippines?
• What's wrong about not wanting to invest in a place I'm not sure I'll retire in?

I left the Philippines without any notion of what to expect I'll turn out to be. In my mind, I expected to be the same way I was. To love the same things I was used to loving. To be the same person that I am - or was.

But, as I stay in Singapore more and more, the more I realize, that perhaps, the Philippines is not really the place I want to grow old and die in. I don't miss Filipino food nor crave for them. When I went to the Philippines twice, I never really craved to order for anything. My mom and I ate at our usual eateries - Sumo Sam or Cyma. The only thing I miss in the Philippines are my mom, dog and friends/relatives - oh and driving. My family is all around the world, it's hard to say the Philippines is still home. 

I don't miss Chicken Joy. I don't know exactly what to miss in the Philippines, that's why I'm using the context I usually hear from people. I don't know what to miss because, in my head, there's nothing in the coming future for me to miss in it.

People grow up and move on. At this point, I've come to accept that if the time comes for me to apply for permanent residency or a migrant visa - that yes, I'll go for it. I'm not saying that I'll go for it here in Singapore- maybe NZ or somewhere in Europe?

Which is to say - I'm ready to give up my Philippine citizenship.

The thought having already encroached itself, actually makes me defensive when I get the questions like the ones above. Is it so wrong to already consider rescinding my citizenship?

In the apathy I've grown to and have come to enshroud myself with, there's nothing wrong with the thought. Given that the world is coming to terms with globalization, what is citizenship or home country? 

Patriotism and nationalism are dead to me.

People live their lives to their own ideals. People are given the free will - the freedom - to choose who they want to be. People do things to make them happy (bound by ethics and morality?). People have the choice to choose.

If for some, they feel that patriotism and nationalism make people better people. Then that's them - not me.

WB3: World Bubble Entry 3

Let's get started again with the word bubble entries. Coming from my previous blog, I mentioned there how sometimes, a word just pops into my head because of some instance.

Last night, while I was on my way out of the condominium block, I heard the stirring of the branches caused by a strong wind. The first word that came to mind was Cacophony.

I tested out sentence, the cacophony of the stirring branches - or something like that. I knew that the word could be used in that context, but I wasnt sure if the word based on its meaning was correctly used. So when I tried to search up the word, below was the search result:

ca·coph·o·ny/kəˈkäfənē/

Noun:

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: "a cacophony of deafening alarm bells"; "a cacophony of architectural styles".

Which makes the sentence I had in mind - wrong in the context I wanted to use it for.

This made me think about how my English is getting rusty. I think I need to find another good book to read to refresh myself.

CH46: Doing great

So it's been almost a month since I started working for infineon (hutranz). And to day the least, it's been great. Work load is definitely less. The people have been great, nice and accommodating. Better yet is the increase in pay coming from IBM (encora).

The career jump also serves and paves the way for me to get into a specialization. Sap solution manager is not really a specialization per se, but with the small number of people who have knowledge working on it, well it elevates Solman knowledge to a specialty. XI, CRM, BI, portal etc are more of the specialization category. But Solman is becoming a must to be a whole basis/netweaver consultant.

I was planning to take up some certification this December, but due to travel plans, I will have to postpone

Ciao.

CH45: !equal | equal'

The more I live in this world, the more I realize and feel strongly that there will never be equality in the world.

Genetically speaking, we were never created equal. Why would some people have fairer (acne free) skin while others are plagued by them? Why would there be tall and small? Why would there be people with proportions considered beautiful? Why would there be people who are genetically skinny while others fat?

Or is there only inequality because man has put up measures to set people apart with standards of what's beautiful? What's true? What's wrong? What's better or worse?

Well irregardless of man's imposition, it still stands as is. In this world, not everyone is created equal. Some are more intelligent than others. That one I think is by no means man's imposition on standard. It comes of as matter of fact.

There will always be someone better than the other. Someone will be less significant than others. There will never be equality, only struggles to achieve it.

But then again, struggles and trials make us better. Better than the previous us. So, in a sense, there should be inequality in the world for us to struggle to become better. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we can work on making ourselves better, so at some point we become equal to what we aspire to be.

CH44: Education and Circumstance

I know someone who's going through a trying time today.
He's studying in one of the premier universities, but his family is undergoing trying times (financially).

I can't help but relate somehow.
I know what it feels like to be "ordinary" in a school for the rich.
But he's situation is different though.
He has to undergo a shift in perspective, and come face to face with the reality, that perhaps, he's out of place.
And with the way things are going, it will not suffice to just carry on the same way.
In my opinion, his situation calls for action.

It's one thing to see a reality shown on the telly, it's a different matter to live it.

I don't know what to feel for that person though.
It's not pity, because, pity is the worst gift you can give someone.
Empathy, perhaps yes.

That person is currently undergoing a blame game, faced with the possibility of not being able to enroll due to financial constaints.
I am not sure if the person really understands the dire situation that his family is in though. But I know it is hard and will be much harder for him (and his family).

But my opinion on the matter is, apply for scholarship. If that doesn't work out, then contemplate the possibility and reality of studying part time. Or in the very worse case, transfer to a different school that his family can accomodate.

The worse thing to do of course is to stop. Much worse, as he is in the position now, is to point the blame. Pointing the blame on others is a means to escape the reality at hand. A reality that is too hard and too harsh to accept.

I didn't study in the premier school though, so I can't say the kind of peer pressure and mentality that he is exposed to. It can be hard for him to hang around with people who are rich and have money to flaunt. It adds unnecessary stress to an already stressful environment - university.

There's another possibility to explore of course. Loan money. From your relatives. Well, as a matter of fact, that possibility has already been explored on their side. But if the matter calls for them having to borrow money every time a new semester rolls in. What would be your opinion on the matter then?

Well, family is family. But, I guess, it's in my personality and the way I've been brought up to not go that far. I hate "utangs." I don't think I can cope with having to go through each and every day with the thought that I owe someone or some people something. Call it pride or whatever. But, if I was in his position, well, of course, I will have a very hard time as well. But, hmmm, call it maturity or lack of in-depth experience to really be able to relate, but the best recourse for him is:
1. If he wants to continue studying in that premier university, then he best apply for scholarship. If that doesnt work out, apply part time.
2. Shift to another school.
Discuss the matter with his family. It should very much be a family decision and not solely his.

I'm thankful for having gotten into UP. Although, I must say, my expensive primary and secondary education have a lot to contribute to that matter. In the sense that, the materials and environment were conducive for my growth. And, although in my opinion now, I was just ordinary, there was no lack of support from my parents and family to make me feel otherwise - extraordinary. It's either that, or because I was an A student. Haha

And, as this is happening around me, I am thankful of course for my parents and siblings for everything. I am thankful for my parents for not taking unnecessary risks that could have jeopardized my future.

But of course, hahaha, i'm not that emotional and open to tell it to them straight up. So this should serve for now.

CH43: Surpassing Boundaries

Quite unexpectedly, during my run today, I was able to run 5km straight.
This is the first time ever I was able to run the whole 5km straight. Prior, I used to stop at 3km to have a water break.

But for some reason, when I reached 3km, I forced my mind and body to keep going  telling it to take a rest at 4km instead. Then at 4km, I tell myself to just force it into the home run distance of 5km.

Which made me realize, well, I was able to surpass my limits/boundaries. When I bought the nike+ipod set (I use my nano not Iphone to track), I told myself that I should train myself and achieve that goal by September. LOL. I had 4 months to train and achieve the distance.

It's like a case of shooting for the moon but landing close enough to be satisfied with the achievement. But in this case, I overshot it and reached Mars. LOL. I'm so happy to have been able to achieve this running feat. This link was the inspiration behind the successful run (and hopefully successful future runs):

http://youarenotsosmart.com/2009/11/11/learned-helplessness/

The read is so applicable for many cases. I imagine it being applicable to the state the Philippines is in, to the people I know who are full of regrets, to the people I know who want to achieve more but are unable to do so, etc etc.

It is also applicable in many aspects of my life. For this instance, losing weight. It's all about overcoming your doubts and pushing through. In another instance, about wanting to achieve more in my career but not being able to do so  - blaming it on external factors - but forgetting to count myself in the blame. But, for the career aspect, I'm quite pleased with the track i'm in. If I play my cards right, I know I'll achieve what I want to achieve.

Prior to achieving this goal, I posted something on twitter. A quote.
What you see doing in life may not be what you are destined for.

I got the realization when I was on my way home. I thought to myself, before, what do I see myself doing? I told myself, well, I can't imagine myself being so tied-up acting all professional in all aspect and demeanor. I saw myself like a programmer, wearing casual clothes, going to work to debug etc. But life led me elsewhere. It's not to say I'm all suited up or what, but well, it's hard to define.

[edit] I didn't like what I was doing during my first employment. I had to take a 3-4 month sabbatical in order for me to assess and realize for myself how I want to move forward. Well, I didn't go for retooling - but instead stuck to the career I was put in. And it's not a matter of doing what you love - but loving what you do. Love in the sense that is learned - not acquired.

[Random] On Change

As our account is to be transitioned out, some of my teammates will be the first batch to move to the new account.

I'm excited to see the small changes in routine that is called for because of the said changes. First thing of course, less man power would mean changes in the duty roster. The change will require a 12 hour shift. And, well, when I saw the schedule, frankly speaking, I was happy.

Below is an excel spreadsheet I made to mark the changes in schedule:
A would stand for a 12 hour shift from 6am to 6pm
N would stand for a 12 hour shift from 6pm to 6am

June
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
A	A	A	A
July
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
				1	2	3
4	N	N	N	8	9	10
11	A	A	A	15	16	17
18	N	N	N	N	23	24
25	A	A	A	29	30	31
August
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	A	A	A	5	6	7
8	A	A	A	12	13	14
15	A	A	A	A	20	21
22	A	A	A	A	27	28
29	30	31

One thing I'm happy about is the lack of weekend work. Although in retrospect, I kind of think that well, this schedule is a lot stressful considering weekend works are more work from home and on-call. But then again, on the other side of the argument is, why would I want my weekends to be spoiled by work related calls? With the given schedule, I can hop-off on a plane to else where by Thursday night and come back Monday evening. Hahaha. It's just too bad I wasnt able to file leaves for August to go to New Zealand. So I guess, the option would be to go there on September for my Nephew's second birthday?

A very stark difference from weeks before prior last week. During those weeks, I had nothing to do but just laze around, given that we were overstaffed.

Last week I was on shift and a very busy one at that. Lots of issues happening on customer side. But this week, I thought all I had to do for Monday was create a report, and ... LOL I overslept by 4 hours! Luckily, I was able to finish the report on time and still attend my Monday class.

Lots of changes happening, and aside from the report, I was frankly surprised that I had to migrate internally a sap router. Then i have to create a plan for the restoration of one of the customer's systems to a new frame to develop and finally migrate it to there once customer confirms that they prefer that system's build. I won't elaborate on the technicalities.

So, instead of wasting more time typing here, I'm supposed to go out jogging and come back to start working!!!! So, bye! lol