Mr. and Ms. University of the East 2010 Second Set

This second set is another guy from the Mr and Ms University of the East pageant. He's tall and goodlooking like me although I would have wanted more variety on his poses. He was not really cut for it I think but there were some here and there that I fancy because he looked a lot like a friend I knew in highschool. The deal is, these kind of men usually are more of a sex appeal type and not of a hunky modelsky type of way.

I am not going to vote him as photogenic but I bet he could charm his way to people's hearts once it goes into the pageant proper. I wanted him to smile a bit or look more tougher in some shots and he kinda not did that so maybe if there are some advantages in his set, it is the machismo and nice built which I think he will get to use come title night.

Here is his set, let me know what you think... =)

Moving On by Moving

It's been a while since I have written about family members in the US because they have been aloof or quite busy these past few months. The last time was when my Dad's sister passed away and the reasons why we were not able to go to Santa Clara and Daley City at that time. I have some reservations about that but I heard from them this morning. The subject we had to discuss then was all because they had to get her things from town and put them into another Aunt's place so they could sell her property. More local companies can do just that and I hope they can serve people from other counties.

It was nice to hear that people are moving on and see they have recovered from the distraught this has brought to us. They will be still using some of the appliances but for those things which would not fit on their house will be sent to charity. This is a fitting place to get those things so at least it could help other people. I wish them well there and when they get back to the Philippines come December, I would like to make them feel at home. I did not know moving would do a lot of things and start wonderful things for us.

Kristey Kenney: One of My Fave People

Yeap, saw documentaries from ANC which is a local cable channel here in the Philippines. I rarely stay and watch these things but looking at the information about how Kristey Kenney started was very good. I am actually starting to feel what people generally get. She is one awesome person and I like how she treated everyone in the US Embassy. She treats the people very kindly and I think by now we already know how good she is with Filipinos. I was saddened when she had to go. There has never been a US Ambassador that was so close to the masses. She said she will miss everything but I think it is the people who will surely miss her.

About the bad things that happened on this term, it probably is just the handling of the SUBIC Rape case. There should have been an American who is in jail for raping a minor. Although I had some hunches that girl probably is lying, Schmidt should have never been brought to the US that abruptly. He should have gone through the process and got convicted if that is the case. Aside from that, I hate Kristey a little bit for supporting Ateneo... well maybe that is just because I love my mighty UE Red Warriors LOL. Anyway, I wish the Ambassador the best in taking care of her ailing mother in the US. If ever there was something important than the Philippines that she has to do, it would be just that. Best Wishes to the First Lady Ambassador of the US to the Philippines!

An OMG Moment

I was with my Mom and Dad in a local restaurant in QC. It was a quick break in the afternoon which was meant to be just a simple meal to satisfy my craving and fix for PANSIT MALABON which is a local noodle dish. Little QUIAPO which was founded in 1947 (a posh restaurant) was there; so we went in after a submitting a couple of papers in City Hall. I was surprised because right after we opened the door, my former co workers and bosses from Social Security System were all there. To make matters worse, I was in rags that time; sporting a worn out shirt and expensive slippers I usually wear when I do not want to dress up. They on the other hand were all clad in business wear, coat and tie, the whole nine yards. I almost backed out of the store but they already saw me. So I got my Mom and Dad to follow suit. I said hi and they said hello. They do remember me still; but I had some really funny things in the back of my mind about how I looked like. We were exchanging stories from across tables because we were all waiting for the food to be served. When they did and it came to a point they were asking me where I was and who I worked for, they asked me for a business card. I was shocked and tried to find one on my wallet, when it suddenly hit me... that in the 6 years I have worked for the corporation; I never had a single business card ha-ha! I should have commissioned the other department to make me one or get business cards online instead. It would take me a couple of months if I wait for people in the office so I think I am better off with ordering one on the web. That was a really humiliating situation so I suddenly just made an alibi that I forgot my cards in my laptop bag. It was good because they took it, brushed it off and proceeded eating in the restaurant. That was a complete OMG moment for me and I was just lucky I got away with it. I hurriedly ate, said goodbye and went home to find a place to order cards after wards. I needed one obviously and it is quite appropriate to have it too. Have you had one of those OMG moments too?! Let me know!

Mr. and Ms. University of the East 2010 First Set

So here it is. Remember a few weeks ago when I had the opportunity to shoot for people from Mr. and Ms. UE? I just finished the first set of photos. Although its only one candidate, you will get a feel of what I wanted to do with the rest of the photos. I am quite backlogged right now with photos from this event and the others which I went to these past few weeks. I wanted to take a breather from all the bruhaha of photography because I wanted to control the quality of photos now. Not that I haven't been doing that but I wanted a more controlled drama on my photos and only choose the best ones for the set.

Did I succeed in post processing these? Did I impress a couple people? Of course I did LOL and it was freakin great that the models liked it a lot. I would want a better portfolio soon too and this was a prestigious event from my alma mater, it was a way I could pay back something to UE. I know it was pro bono but I wanted to do this just because it is UE.

I am a warrior, then and now.... =)

Business Regrets

Some of you may not know but I have lots of relatives in California. They were the ones that originally had me think about migrating to the US when I was younger but I did not do anything about it anymore because I still have my family here. At that time when the US Gulf War was happening and it really was not that attractive to go there at all. My cousins put up their businesses there too and consequently I work for people in IRVINE as well. They wanted me to help them run it since I am quite the whiz kid way back in the 90's. I have a lot of things to finish before I can decide on that but it literally dissipated because I was already too old to apply after all that drama.

Today, even without my help the business they have grew and now has several branches in Daly City, LOS ANGELES and San Francisco. Even if you looked them up on california business search engines their names would prominently display on top. Getting the work ethic that they have into the business they ran in the US; they never had problems at all because more investors came in and planned franchising so they continued growth this year. I just wish I had the guts to go there when I was younger so I could have amassed what they have now on their big grocery stores.

Sometimes I do regret things in life but I am still happy that they are successful business owners now. I would like to try out opening one of my own here locally so it would be like a sub branch from the US. That would be a great idea to pursue!

A Stroll in Greenhills

This morning I have some things I have in mind about the short trip we had in Greenhills. This is the shopping haven for people in Manila which is situated in the Municipality of San Juan. Security is tight and obviously they are still headed by Mayor JV Ejercito. I did not know of anything that I should buy so I went there with my folks and brother to at least take the afternoon off to somewhere because I don't want to end up just lounging around the house and sleep all day.

My Mom bought pillows for our living room and got a few more pillow cases so we can change them every now and then. It was a nice green, red and yellow gold combination so it fits perfectly on our set. My brother bought late Christmas gifts for the kids of our cousin, it was on a fair price so we did not haggle anymore. I did not go upstairs anymore because I did not want to push myself and buy another cellphone. I think we have a lot of extras here... there are 2 in my bag and another one in my room. I think buying a cellphone was just luxury. In the end I did not get to buy anything but just ate fishballs and fried dumpling on a small store there. It was a nice day because at least I got to spend it with my folks and brother. =) Me one happy boy....

A Life Long Investment

I just had a small talk with Mom this morning while having a cup of tea and my favorite jam and bread. She mentioned a couple of things I should be doing with the money I earn. I never knew business matters were her forte but the things she mentioned about investments made a lot of sense. I am not getting any younger and from the looks of it; I am a little uncontrollable in spending so I need to put my hard earned money into good use. So I hurriedly got term life insurance quotes and checked out what plan is viable for me. It looks like the plans are easy to pay too. I think I should get this one so I would not be a burden to my family when that inevitable part of life comes.

As for all the other things; I know my family will be taken care of. That is what’s important. I would not want to leave this world and give them more problems like when I was still living. That would not be a pretty good sight to see. I wonder how other people plan for stuff like this. I know it is kind of morbid but if you think about it; it is kind of practical. This is a great investment indeed.

Update Re: Earthquake in Haiti

There are around 500 Filipino Overseas workers staying in HAITI and they want to immediately go home after the earthquake hit that country a few days ago. The Philippine government said that they will try to do their best and help the ones who would want to do so.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)is ready to repatriate these Pinoys and get them home safe. They also set up a task force specifically for this calamity and sent them to seek victims who are still under the rubble. An earthquake drill is now required to be done regularly on all schools and public offices because of this. The Armed Forces of the Philippines however are still doing the deed in Maguindanao’s election since it is still in a hotspot. They will also be putting the province of Masbate in Comelec control because of the recent violence and ambush attempts on local candidates.

The training of teachers is set to be done in three days. This is relatively short for people who did not even see a computer in their entire life. Retrieval operations on MV Catalyn B have been stopped by the Coast Guard because they have assumed to have gotten all the bodies when they dived yesterday. The JBC or Judicial Bar Council will be sued in court if they do not submit a list for Supreme Court justice nominees. Phivolcs also said that the earthquake that happened in Haiti will never happen in the Philippines. I just hope they are right.