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!