I guess we all have our response to this phrase so I'll leave it at that. If we look at it, work is where we spend most of our time so the least we can do is maximize our time at work. We should not fall prey to the routine that is work. We should look at work differently. We should instead look at it at a different perspective - more on service, service to your colleagues, to your superiors and to your clients.
This is my definition of work.
Anybody still aware of the local basketball scene?
A quick glance. The PBA or Philippine Basketball Association has taken up the responsibility of maintaining a training pool of players who will represent the country in international competition. For this year alone, the national team has participated in a couple of big name tournaments - Jones Cup in Taipei and the FIBA qualifier in China both outings ending in disappointment. Disappointment to the sponsors, basketball officials who overesees the progress of the team and the Filipino public who are still hoping for a miracle that the Philippines can reclaim its former glory as a basketball power in Asia.
Those were the days.
Looking at the tournaments that I just mentioned above - the Jones cup is a prestigious contest that is participated by mostly national teams. The participants use this tournament to size up their possible opponents in future international meets. If my memory serves me right the last time the Philippines won the gold was in 1998, when the so-called centennial team convincingly won the title under coach Tim Cone. Back then we didn't have Fil-foreigners playing for the flag but how come we won the 98 edition of the tournament? Fast forward to the present. The team that competed for this year's Jones cup is definitely more atheletic and talented but why did fell short of a respectable finish?
Evolution.
If we look at the asian basketball scene for the last three years there was this gradual change that alot of people didn't expect. The changing of the guard. After the Chinese monopoly on the basketball golds here come the teams from the middle east. Iran has been steady in their campaign as far as winning international competitions are concern and not far behind are Lebanon and Jordan. Korea once an arch rival of China for the gold has also been relegated to a supporting role. The absence of Yao Ming on the Chinese bench is a big blow to the Big Red Machine but a golden opportunity for others. Even with Yi Jianlian playing for China they still were beaten badly by an Iranian team that didn't have a superstar.
A fact that I like to point out. China was the great innovator when it came to developing talent and assembling a team while Korea was the hands down choice for conditioning and shooting. From these qualities that the teams on the raise also invested greatly. A practice that the Philippine team does not have. Yes it's a given that the players that is currently in the roster are the finest that the country has but is this enough?
The preparation alone is already a big question mark. The team still has a lot trials that they need to undergo as one but I guess with the current set-up they wouldn't have enough trials to look forward to. A player's stint with the national team is short and uncertain, just like the national basketball program.
To be continued ...
After a few months of silence I'm at it again. Now that summer is official over it's back to the rat race. Just a quick glimpse of how my summer went, a couple of out-of-town trips namely - Nasugbu, Batangas, Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija and lastly Cebu. You can say that I was able to have a taste of everything during this summer. First trip on the agenda was the beach outing to Nasugbu with the J.H. Inc. - my core group at work to just relax by the beach have a few rounds and forget about work for just the weekend. Then there was "Cabs" as our friends fondly call Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija - this was sort of a despedida for Rey - a very good friend of ours and god father to Joaqui. He was set to depart to Hawaii by April so a common friend of ours hosted us at their humble home for Rey's despedida. By the last week of May we were enroute to the "Queen city of the south" Cebu to attend and witness Mervin and Dale's wedding. We had a great time in Cebu during our brief stay mainly because, it was Rhoda's first visit to Cebu, in the process I became her improptu tour guide. I think I flunked as a tour guide because I only took Rhoda to the Ayala center the whole time. The only time we were able to change venue was during our last full day in Cebu, I took Rhoda and Joseph - a friend of ours from Bustos, Bulacan to the downtown area. We visited Sto. Nino's Basilica, Magellan's Cross and Fort San Pedro, we also had a last minute shopping at Gaisano Country Mall in Banilad to buy "pasalubongs" for home.
On a personal note, it brought back memories from several years back. I told Rhoda that I frequented Cebu before because one of my Aunt was then assigned to Cebu everytime I would visit I got the red carpet treatment from them. I can still recall the places we went to the beach resort in Mactan, the classy restos and the bars that was hip then. A lot has changed from my last visit what was then a sleepy town has transformed to one of the most progressive city of the south.
The trip would not be complete without the wedding, the venue - Sacred Heart Church was one of the more traditional churches in Cebu. The reception on the other hand was at Casino Espanyol a five minute drive from the church, the only glitch was during the "waiting time" of the guests the the club's lobby. The guests had to wait 20-30 minutes before we were given permission to enter the ballroom, during this time a number of guests went home. The night was truly amazing from the program to the food and the new acquitances we've gained because of the wedding. Then right after the reception the newly-weds then invited us to a few rounds at Formo a bar located at Banilad Town Center, this was the venue for the North vs. South face off drinking contest. In my opinion it ended in a draw, because we were still in the thick of it when my comrades from the north decided to go home, this will definitely have a sequel.
That's my summer for this year, there were indeed countless memorable moments that I'll remember. Looking forward to the next summer!
One of the surprises that the New year brought was the acquisition of V.2 - our first family car. We really didn't have plans of buying a car this early because of several reasons. First is the price of a brand new car and second the monthly payment you need to pay for several years. That was our reservation, but when we learned about that Tito Vic was going to sell his Subaru Legacy, I grabbed the opportunity. the car, A Subaru Legacy wagon version 96 is a very ideal car for us it has the features of a regular sedan plus a wide trunk space.
Although it already has its years on it the car in general, is still in good condition. The only thing that needs immediate attention is the engine. Initially, the engine oil was leaking due to faulty oil seals and gaskets it was never fixed due to the limited availability of the parts. The search for parts led me to Banawe - where they sell all car parts for almost all car brands. The first trip to the "talyer" was a disaster, the mechanics not that knowledgeable with the Subaru design damaged the parts upon installation. The only time I detected the faulty work was several days after, this prompted me to send the car back to the shop for improvement. Unfortunately, the mechanics were never able to fix the problem, the best they could do is minimize the leak that's it.
The woes continued when the temperature went up. I speculated on the subject, probably the fan is longer working or a busted radiator it's only a toss up between the two. The thing that I was trying to avoid was sending the car to Subaru directly. There is this negative perception about having your car service directly with the manufacturer, they say that it's too costly and it's impractical. I had no choice, Subaru was "the" only option so with reservation I had the car checked. Upon estimating the car parts I figured, price is not as outrageous than I thought yeah sure we're still talking about a good amont of money but the parts are genuine. And what is more important is the mechanics, they're knowledgeable with the car and the work that they would be doing will have a warranty so it's not that bad.
I've decided to have V.2 to go to Subaru for repairs after all there's no other car shop willing to take on the job because of parts shortage.
I'm now 32 years old, and officially out of the calendar date. One thing I discovered is that I'm no longer healthy as before. Diet - I have to avoid eating fatty food, I would need to follow the food pyramid more consciously. Drinking - I'm doing my best to cut down on it, instead of drinking weekly I'll just reserve it for special occasions. Although this is a challenging thing to do I'm doing my best to change.
I still want to do a whole lot of things - indulge in sports to keep me fit, try out new things and spend more quality time with family. I feel that without the proper reforms I will not be able to achieve my goal so with that in mind I am sincere and serious of my goals for this year.
One good thing about this issue is that everyday I learn new things, I unconsciously become more responsible, more mature and more of a family man. The defining factor here is - family, not a day goes by that I am so thankful that I have a loving wife and a wonderful son.
