Someone once told me that in order to enjoy something, you must give it some time. 

Anyone who's familiar with me knows that I'm not a patient person.  When I want something, I want to have it as soon as possible.  Sounds normal right?  But what happens once you do have it?  In my case, I enjoy it for a while then I leave it idle until I want it again, which defeats the purpose of having it immediately. 

On the rare occasions when I do take my time, I do enjoy it more.  When playing a game, I enjoy it more when I don't have any other games to play.  In traveling, I enjoy taking a road trip rather than going by plane.   

All this sounds so typical and common knowledge, but it really is harder than you think.  It's hard to take your time in some things, especially if you feel so passionate about it.  But again, the bad part in it is that you might not get to enjoy it for long as compared to waiting for a bit more for it. 

So just ask yourself this question whenever you find yourself in this kind of situation...

Can it wait or not?

Yup, they're closing down.  Turns out that their publisher, Ziff-Davis, is bankrupt.
With the current economy plus the fact that online websites/blogs and the such are more popular, magazines is on the decline.

EGM is America's oldest multiplatform magazine, which started 1989.  They even have another magazine EGM 2.  I started collecting this magazine since Grade 7 until early college.  I stopped because the price went up from P200+ to about P500. 

It wasn't worth it considering there are times wherein the magazine wasn't that thick anyways.  Nonetheless, their content was good. 

I can still remember peddling this during school.  Hehehe. 
It's a shame that they must go. 
I guess Zinio, an online magazine viewer, also lost a product. 


Link:
http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/942/942015p1.html?RSSwhen2009-01-06_152900&RSSid=942015

It's been awhile since I last posted a rant, since it's a new year, time to start again. 

Usually I tolerate the driving styles of taxi drivers when I avail of their services, although I have a different opinion when I'm the one driving.  Heheh.

The nitwits may be fast.
They may know all the shortcuts.
They may be safe drivers.

But dammit... almost all of them don't know how to shift correctly!
It's either they shift too early or they shift too much.
I would have cried for all the maintenance fees, if I was their operator. 

A piece of advice... sit in front. 
It won't be the safest place to sit in a taxi, but you sure won't feel dizzy that much. 
(Just be sure your insurance is updated). 

When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very frequency may indicate the valuableness of your life.

Only the people who are full of help and strength are burdened by other people's needs.

The interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our indispensability.

The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur -- and it is a danger to guard against -- is to be so independent, so unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us and we are left comfortably alone.

I refuse as I age to deny my years.
When asked at 30, I'll be 30.
When the question comes up at 45, I'll take 45.

For what year will I subtract? 
The one in which my son or daughter was born?
Or the year I first fell in love?
How about the one less favourable?
Like the year I came down with pneumonia.
Or one of those grief-filled years spent saying goodbye to someone close?

Maybe I should choose the seemingly insignificant.
That year I saw a falling star?
Or the one spent not enthralled with life, just content with it?

No, I think I'll keep them all, the good years, the bad, and the not so memorable.
To deny one would be to deny myself.
Because added up, they are my life.

Is there a difference between the two? 

Each means the same, but can be essentially different. 


For me, goodbye is used when you expect to see that person again. 
"Goodbye, see you later."

Farewell, has more of a finality connected to it.  It's as if you don't expect to see that person again.  Maybe that's why you don't see it used in conjunction with "see you later". 



Hopefully, I would have experienced more goodbyes than farewells. 

If you don't like your work;
You'll need three times the energy,
To force yourself to work,
To resist the force,
And finally to work.

If you love your work,
Your desire to do it
Will be like a wind
To propel your ship
With much less fuel.

If you like work work
You work no more --
For work, when you like it,
Is work no longer,
But sheer enjoyment!

If you enjoy your work,
You'll work and work
Without counting the hours
And you'll reap and enjoy
More earnings as well.

- H L Neri

Aha!  Finally, concrete proof!

Taken from: Click Me!

"This week, boffins released the first results of tests that tracked the neural processes that occur in men and women when they play games. Using scanning equipment, they tracked what happens in the brains reward and addiction spot – the mesocorticolimbic center, no less – when men and women played a simple game. The results showed that the mesocorticolimbic centre was a lot more activated in men’s brains and that the level of activity correlated to how well they were doing in the game. In other words, the reward room was lit up like an exploding star. The more territory they controlled in the game the more happy, ‘well-done’ feelings that washed over them." 

"This proves that men’s gaming addiction is actually a brain-related problem. It’s medical, which means it’s not entirely our fault. In fact, our brains are hard-wired to respond in this way. Like a females in-built cravings for Ben & Jerry’s and chocolate, just transferred to high-caliber weapons and tanks. We finally have an excuse. A proper one too. All men should have this data to hand the next time they get it in the neck for conquering the universe - from their basements. It should be in a place of importance, like on the fridge, right next to the shopping list. In fact, I’ll tell my missus right now."

Olrayt! 

There's something about me that requires a piqued interest in order for me to perform.  In jobs, school, or in anything... I have to be interested in it before I can commit.  Right now, even though its something related to what I'm interested in... I'm getting bored again.

But just when I thought I got a boring job, I come across this person who operates an elevator in a 5-storey hospital building.  Even during the wee hours of the morning, this person just sits inside the elevator.  Goes up and down.  Open and close.  Dang!  I'd go mad in a day if I was that person. 

I can guess what might drive a person to accept such a job, but what is the reason in creating such a job in the first place? 

It's funny how so many things can be so different and yet be quite the same at the same time.  Take this phrase, "bahala ka", for example. 

It can both be positive and negative at the same time, without sounding sarcastic.  You can easily say, "sure" or "whatever", and have it sound negatively but with "bahala ka"?  I don't think so. 

This may seem too embellished but it really is interesting.


"Bahala ka nga dyan"

- Do whatever you want, I don't care
- Do whatever you want, I will still support you


Maybe I'm too much of an optimist, but... I believe that more often than not, whenever this phrase is said, it's leaning more into the 2nd meaning than the first. 

I'm sure that by now, all of us are aware of the details surrounding the Manila Peninsula standoff right? 

I'm not about to comment about the political relevance of what happened there, but about what happened during its conclusion. 

The media and some political figures/activists are complaining how the government/military handled the media covering the event.  How they were inhumanely treated as possible suspects. 

Here's the thing, what made these media people think that they're on top of a high horse or something?!  Sure, they have several rights protecting them, but doesn't the government/military/police also has due process in litigating suspects?  All of them were properly warned to evacuate the premises because the military is about to engage the renegades, but still they persisted.  And now they refuse to face the consequences of their actions? 

Before this happened, I happened to watch "Inside Man", a movie in which Clive Owen managed to secure certain contents in a bank and get away with it.  In a gist, most of his conspirators managed to get away mainly because they made it seem that they were part of the hostages.  And so, when the bank standoff was concluded, all who were involved was brought in for questioning. I am not an expert in this, but doesn't all that happens in a movie mirrors all those that actually happens in real life?  So in the United States, wherein its residents are more sensitive with their rights, didn't had that much of a choice when brought in for questioning. 

So why is our Media making that big of a deal with this?  Is it because of the fear of Martial Law?  Or is it because they're afraid to get off that "high horse"? 

Everyone is already making fun of our judicial system because we bypass several things, such as provide special privileges to Erap and Jalosjos.  If we truly want to improve, we should follow due process.  Would you feel safe if criminals can escape that much easier by disguising as one of the media? 

They say that call center have many needs, which is why they entered such an industry in the first place.  I also share the same viewpoint then, but that changed when I got in on the industry.

People associate call center agents as those with cash, happy-go-lucky, and not easily satisfied.  Again, that is not the case.  In truth, agents are very simple minded and generally craves just one thing...

I got this during a break from one of my co-workers...

"Dude, ang babaw na natin noh?  Dati parang ang dami nating gusto.  Gusto natin ng kotse, gimik, at kung ano-ano pa.  Pero ngayon, masaya na tayo pag parating na ang off natin.  Bakit?  Para maka-kumpleto din tayo ng tulog!  Grabe noh?  Simpleng tulog lang eh masaya na tayo.  Ibang-iba talaga pag nasa call center ka."

All of us laughed when he said this.  What made it funny was that it's true!  It was not a party during the off days that made me happy.  Neither was it the chance to go the malls.  It was the uninterrupted sleep that brought a smile to my face... heck, to all of our faces. 

The call center may have its ups, but the one thing that we no longer get to enjoy is time.  We no longer have control over our time, well except when its time for our VL.  Heheheh!  So as much as possible, we take our sleep as we get it.  Agents may be seen in the occassional party venues to drink and party, but that's just because we do it to get our sleep ASAP. 

HOOTERS, the American restaurant made famous by its buxomy beautiful babes, will be opening its first outlet in the Philippines at The Fort entertainment strip in Taguig City .

This was confirmed by Kaz Endo, managing director and partner of Paradise Wings Llp., a Guam-based company which owns the Hooters franchise for Guam and Asia, including the Philippines .

In an e-mail to BusinessMirror, Endo said construction is ongoing at the restaurant, which will open its doors to the public by February 2008. The Philippines , in particular Metro Manila, is a multinational city. Quality brands from around the world can be found here. Hooters, an American casual-dining themed restaurant, has many fans around the world, and with its expansion around the globe [e.g. China , Japan , South Korea , Dubai , Tel Aviv, etc.], it was only natural that this solid brand of over 30 years eventually found its way into the Philippines market.

While he didn't say how much his group is investing in the first outlet, Endo noted that the Atlanta-based parent firm and franchisor, Hooters of America Inc., requires a minimum of $1 million (roughly P43.7 million) of available funding per store. The first store opening has taken about two years to plan and put together. We took our time because we wanted to enter the market correctly not just bulldoze our way in. An aggressive expansion will be determined greatly by the [positive] response of the market. With this said, we intend on opening at a minimum two to three restaurants in and around select major city areas.

Endoâs other partners in Paradise Wings are Guam-based businessmen Brian Y. Suhr and Michael S. Hahm, president/chief executive officer, and executive vice president, respectively of South Pacific Petroleum Corp.; and a Los Angeles-based lawyer named Charles Isgar. There is also a reported Asian partner, but for the Philippines , Endo did not name the group™s local partner.

The restaurant at The Fort will approximately measure 400 square meters, with a 150-seating capacity. It will also employ about 30 to 40 part-time and full-time staff. This number exponentially grows as we expand. So in short, with the success of Hooters, so comes more job opportunities for managers, cooks and of course servers! Endo said.

While the restaurant is most famous for its Hooters Girls, immortalized in a number of American films, TV shows, magazines, and calendars, Endo said their group is not hiring waitstaff based on looks alone. No doubt, the Hooters Girls are the restaurant's ambassador of goodwill and service. As pretty as they are, these are hardworking waitresses who make sure that customers of all gender and age are happy with our service. With an average of 70 percent of all sales coming from food sales, Hooters is still a restaurant, not a bar! We are being very selective with choosing who gets to be a Hooters Girl. They have to have a great personality, smarts as well as beauty. . . . all within a girl-next-door package.

He said Hooters at The Fort will look like any Hooters outlet in the US and around the world, with the interiors dressed in pinewood to give a log cabin feel. It will also have on display products of American nostalgia and sports gear, aside from the usual gigantic TV sets strategically placed throughout the restaurant, making it a perfect place to watch live sports (soccer, basketball, etc). It's a casual dining atmosphere, so basically it's a no-nonsense place where everyone is welcome.

It will also carry the same menu as the US and international including the restaurant's famous chicken wings. But for those looking for lighter fare, Hooters offers great appetizers, salads, soups and sandwiches. For something more hearty, [guests can] try our great burgers, chili or pasta dishes. Of course [we also have] Alaskan King crabs, grouper fish sandwich, and fresh oysters which are always great alternatives during the Lenten season or when you crave seafood, Endo added.

While no particular market is being targeted by his group, Endo said Hooters normally attracts a young crowd, both male and female, followed by families and older adults. Statistically, men tend to make up 55 percent of our customer base, followed by 35-percent female, and 10-percent family. An average [meal tab] will be approximately P500. A, B and upper C markets can afford our menu, and in particular those who like American concepts, we hope will give us a try.

According to Endo, Paradise Wings will be opening the other Hooters restaurants itself instead of franchising these out to other interested parties. But the company will probably seek investment partnerships when aggressive demand for the restaurants picks up. Hooters, as simple as the concept appears, is a very controlled environment; therefore, any operator/partner will have to go through extensive service-quality training and will be carefully selected, he explained.

The company is also considering other locations in Asia such as Thailand , Bali and Vietnam .

The first Hooters opened on October 4, 1983 in Clearwater , Florida . According to its web site, the privately held Hooters of America Inc. operates and is franchisor of 435 Hooters restaurants in 44 states and 23 international locations such as Argentina , Aruba , Austria , Australia , Brazil , Canada , Chile , China , Costa Rica , England , Germany , Greece , Guatemala , Mexico , Peru , Singapore , Switzerland , Taiwan , Trinidad and Venezuela .

Requirements for a Hooters franchisee include the ability to develop three to five restaurants within one's territory, a restaurant location with at least 100,000-150,000 people within a five mile radius, $2 million in liquid assets, at least five years as a multiunit restaurant owner/operator.

A franchisee has to pay a franchise fee of $75,000 per location and an option fee of $15,000 for each additional restaurant option within a territory. Initial investment is between $800,000 and $1.5 million for each restaurant



Hehehe!  Nice!  Ang iniisip ko lang, ano kaya ang mga mukha ng Hooter Girls dito?  Asians, particularly Filipinas, aren't known for their hooters. 

"People have an unconscious way of practicing the irony of love:

its like this we love because we love the feeling of loving and having someone to take care of.

But deep in our minds, we know that when we love; hurt, pain, and tears will always be a part of it, and yet we still do.

It's like, we continue to love because we love getting hurt."


I saw this somewhere I just can't comment on his post.  Hmmm...

I think...

The secret of a successful relationship is this:

A relationship is not a 50/50 proposition.  A 50/50 proposition is one where nobody is giving anything.

Rather, the secret is 60/40.  One gives in 60 percent of the time and expects the other to give in 40 percent of the time.  The other, in turn, gives the same. 

In a 60/40 proposition, you don't clash in the middle and say, "Now it's your turn."  Instead, you intersect and overlap, because you're each giving 60 percent.

There is a rule in sailing wherein the more maneuverable ship should give way to the less maneuverable craft. 

I think this is sometimes a good rule to follow in human relationships as well.

There is nothing higher, stronger, and useful for life in later years than some good memories, especially a memory connected with childhood, home, and good friends.

If a person carries many such memories with him/her into life, he/she is safe to the end of his/her days.

And if we have only one good memory left in our hearts, even that may sometime be the means of saving us. 

What a maddening thing a memory can be.

Dodging away from you when you're trying desperately to snag it,

descending around you like a collapsing tent when you most want to forget it.

As the over-inflated concept of "romantic love" decreases in modern society, the separation/annulment rate will begin to decrease along with it.

Goethe remarked long ago:

"Love is an ideal thing,
 Marriage is a real thing;
 a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished."

Books say, "She did this because."

Life says, "She did this."

Books are where things are explained to you, life is where things aren't.  I'm not surprised that some people prefer books.  Books make sense. 

The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people's lives, never your own.