DAY 2: WHY LEAVE?

April 14,2006: day 2 of my vacation to Shanghai – Beijing. I woke up rather early that day, sometime around 0530, which is way before our tour’s common wake up call at 0700. Well, I’m always the early riser but somehow this has more to do with me being excited about the trip. I peered out of the window from my hotel room and saw a group of people doing Tai – Chi across the street and at the stadium. Oh, I really like to join them but I can’t since I don’t know how to get there. There is a fly over in between the hotel and the stadium and the road doesn’t have a pedestrian sign (I might be caught jaywalking if I did cross it) and there is no pedestrian bridge nearby. It is therefore with a heavy heart that I dropped the idea altogether. I went to have breakfast after my morning “rituals” and happen to meet up with the geneticist and her parents and had breakfast together. The breakfast buffet at Huating is quite sumptuous when compared to the breakfast I had at Beijing Nikko Century Hotel. The former has more variety to offer than the latter. I had a lively chat with the senior citizen (the geneticist’s father) over breakfast. Our topic of the day is the pace of life in Shanghai including the pace of their work and action. People in Shanghai like those in Hong Kong work fast and they walk fast also. By comparison, the pace in Manila would be somewhat “leisurely” if not tortuously slow. We left the hotel at around 0900 to continue our tour over Shanghai. Our first stop is the Silk Factory, where we will be shown how the silk is being manufactured as well as the making of quilt. Well, on the surface, the tour appears to be a factory visit or a plant visit but in reality it is one of the many shopping expeditions that were stuffed in our tour (part of tour package actually) and unfortunately, for me, I happen to HATE shopping! What can I do but to go along and “bear” with it. Our tour guide, Sally (just remembered her name) introduces us to this lovely company guide (I wonder if she is married but I forgot her name) who would be telling us how the entire silk manufacture is done. She first introduces to us the sericulture and intimidated that the secret to a “beautiful” silk is in the Mulberry leaf that is being fed to the silk worm (her English is good!). The worm then forms a cocoon and is of two types. The first type is the single worm cocoon. These cocoons have “heads”, where one can “pick up” the fine strands when the cocoon is soaked in hot water. 5 – 7 of these cocoons’ strands are intertwined to form a silk thread. The second of cocoon are those formed with two worms. Here, one cannot find the “head” to pull the string from. Instead, the cocoon is “cooked” and torn. Our guide actually commented that the twin worm cocoons are “romantic” because the two are tied together for the rest of their life eventually die together “till death do them part”. Her words actually sent shivers up my spine not that I abhor the idea of being together till death us part but the idea of dying. Isn’t it being together and living happily ever after sounds more Romantic than say dying together in a hot bath (more like boiling bath)? Anyway, once the cocoon is torn, it is then stretch and pulled while it is still soft and worn and stretch further over a wooden arc. The guide ask for a volunteer to do the “stretching” and the doctor volunteered and dang, that thing is tough for she could barely pulled it over the arc. The lady worker doing that task must be pretty strong to be able to do that. Around 5 “stretched cocoons are overlaid on top of each other at the arc. 4 female workers then pull those stacked “stretched” cocoons in different directions. This is to stretch it into the size of the quilt. About 5 – 10 layers make one quilt. Again, the guide asks for 4 volunteers to “pull” the “stretched” cocoons. 3 barely pulled it because it was tough but the geneticist manages to tear it (dang, she’s that strong). After the “little” show, comes the sales talk about their quality and the advantage of having a silk quilt over a cotton quilt. The silk quilt is warm during winters but cool during summer (Yup! She’s right on that. I put my hands underneath the sheet and felt it) plus it is non – allergenic. The end. Now, comes the shopping session (Oh, I so hate shopping!). Sat at the lounge the whole time (like more than half an hour) along with some of the male members of the group. Actually, I don’t mind “sitting” nor do I mind listening to somebody’s talk as long as I could learn a thing or two but when somebody starts to diatribe about his married life, well, that is another story entirely. Trust me, it’s boring and quite sickening. I excused myself the moment I saw an opening and wander around. Eventually, I bought two CDs on classical Chinese music (I’m into classical music). One titled “River” (which I recently discovered to be defective) and the other, “Song of the Mei Garden (Mei Yuan Yin). The latter contains two of my favorites, Mei Yuan Yin and Kwang Lin Xan, which if my memory serves me right is the oldest Chinese music, having been composed sometime during the Han dynasty (ca 200BC). Spent 42 RMB on it (Dang, these people don’t even issue receipts!). Anyway, after a long wait, we went to the local bar district. This is the place where one can fine turn of the century buildings and from the number and kind of establishments, it appears to me that this place is to host to a vibrant night life except that there wasn’t much of a “life” when I was there (because it’s in the morning). The first colonial building that we saw was purportedly owned by Jacky Chan (according to Sally). Fine piece of architecture I would and well preserved too. Anyway, Sally gave us 15 minutes to explore the area (didn’t remember the name of the street) and take pictures. We split up into groups and I joined with the geneticist and her parents since I’m traveling alone. I did take several pictures but largely hold back because I am keeping it (memory space) for the Great Wall. There was an area more like a plaza where one can find Starbucks. There is nothing to see at the plaza but the surrounding buildings (including where Starbucks is in) had patios at the second and third floor lined up with coffee tables and chairs. Because of its westerly (direction) orientation, I could only imagine what the view would be like during sunset when one is sitting at the patio sipping coffee and overlooking at the plaza. Pretty nice I suppose if not romantic. Anyway, the entire group met up 15 minutes later at Starbucks where Sally was waiting. The first thing she told us was that she has just spent the first of the 200 cups of Starbucks that her salary could afford. So that is how Shanghai people measure their salary, by the number of Starbucks that they could drink (her salary is about 3 – 4000RMB). Using Starbucks as a GDP (Gross Domestic Product, a economic growth indicator) leading indicator? Not a bad idea at all. At least, it was better than the Philippines where the leading indicator is the number of cases of San Miguel Beer being drowned (according to my macroeconomics professor at MBA). So I supposed that if you’re in Shanghai and you wanted to know a person’s salary but felt awkward to “ask” directly, we could instead politely ask for the number of Starbucks that his or she could afford (Starbucks tall size cost 20RMB). Well, going back, we next went to the People’s Square, which is an open park beside the Shanghai Museum of Arts. The place is actually quite pleasant and peaceful, a piece of green in an ocean of concrete that is Shanghai. Nice place for an early morning jog because of the clean air, and the wide streets plus there is a lot of people around. On our way back to the bus, we saw a flock of white doves on the ground feeding and a lot of kids (and grown ups too) surrounding it, playing with the birds just like in one of the American parks. Oh, what a beautiful scene, coming from where I‘m from, these are the scenes that I could only “see” on TV. I could understand why Megan wanted to chase after the birds, for I too wanted to do so but we refrain from doing so because of our fear for the dreaded bird flu. I mean we don’t know if those birds carry the flu virus but better be on the safe side than be sorry. Too bad though. Anyway, we finally proceeded to have our lunch, one of the 3 memorable lunches I had during my vacation. The place is called Basher and is owned by a Brazilian Chef, Chef Carlos. The restaurant model is a eat – all – you – can buffet type. They have a buffet table filled with great dishes of around 10. The sweets and fruit section are somewhat “few” and left to be desired but the main course of the buffet are the grills that is being serve by attendants at the tables. Chef Carlos himself led the attendants and serves his freshly grilled meats at our tables. Once at the table, we are to get a tong and grab hold of a piece of the grilled meat and the attendant would slice that piece of meat off for you. Dang! They had Angus beef, Shawarma beef, tenderloin beef, lamb meat, pork casserole, roast pork, ham, shrimp balls, fish (it never reached our table because it was “finished off” way before it reached us) and others. Dang! It was so delicious and everybody including me got so full that we actually had to beg Chef Carlos to stop serving us because we can’t ate another bite (with food like that, it’s no wonder that I’d gained 4 kilos during my entire stay)! After that sumptuous feast at Basher, we next went to see the port area located at the British section of Old Shanghai, where we took the cruise down the Pudong River the night before. There we saw the magnificent buildings we saw during the cruise. We took some pictures. After a little while, we crossed the street to the other side to the infamous (in my book) Nanjing East road, the shopping district of Shanghai. I so hate shopping! (Actually, I was thinking about drawing up a nuptial agreement with my future wife regarding shopping. The agreement would go like “never drag me to shopping unless it’s an emergency such as my clothes couldn’t fit because I’ve gotten too fat or somebody stole all my clothes and I’m left with the underwear I’m wearing. Otherwise, don’t even think about it!”) I really couldn’t understand the logic behind shopping. What’s the big deal anyway with shopping? Why buy something you don’t need? Enough with the hypothetical crap, as usual, I’ve teamed up with the geneticist and her parents and we’d gone window – shopping and also to look for mitten as my hands are freezing (got info from Anthony it was snowing in Beijing a couple of days ago). To my disgust, all of the stores are selling spring clothes in a weather where the temperature is 8oC?! I hate shopping! After waiting for what seems like eternity for the trio of bargain hunters to meet up with us from their expedition, we finally went to visit the Yu Garden, where the adventure of the day begins. The Yu Garden is located at the old Cheng Huang Miao district. Cheng Huang in Chinese means “City God”. In ancient China, all walled towns and cities has one Cheng Huang Miao. It is a local deity that protects the city from natural disaster and brings in prosperity. The area contains some of the oldest house in Shanghai, mainly Ching dynasty era architecture. To see one of those buildings is exciting enough but to actually see an entire neighborhood? Now that is quite a marvelous sight. However, nobody lives on those ancient abodes anymore, all of them are stores and restaurants. Capitalism definitely has seeped into China. The Yu Garden, the objective of our trip, is at the center of the district. In fact, I think the entire district was built around the garden. Once I got in the Yu Garden, I was immediately taken aback by its beauty. It is simply indescribable (even at my standard). Words are insufficient to describe it’s beauty. I have never seen anything like it. The closest comparison that I could think of is that the Yu Garden is the Chinese version of the Garden of Eve, a paradise on Earth. Indeed, the official who built this garden during the Ming dynasty intended it as a retirement house for his parents, so that they may forget the ills of the world. Indeed, the place exudes that tranquility, that harmony, that balance. Getting inside the garden was like being transported to another world cut off from the old world. No noise from the street just outside its walls. Ahhhh, I wish I lived here! No wonder this garden survived the ravages of war and occupation, for the beauty that is the Yu Garden conquered the conqueror. The British and the Japanese warlords made this place their official residence. The Yu Garden is not only a rare architectural gem but is also a still shot of ancient Chinese culture. Being the historian, it couldn’t escape my eyes the intricate sculpture and carvings and what it represents. Very few visitors pay attention to the roof of the buildings. For at the top of the buildings, one could see sculptural depiction of religious and mythical themes, of ancient heroes and villains, of gods and mortal men. The most famous of the roof carvings is the Dragon roof over the walls. The length of the Dragon roof extends to like 15 – 20 feet(?). in ancient China, the Dragon is the symbol of imperial authority and only the Emperor could use it. To use it was tantamount to usurpation of imperial power and therefore deemed as a declaration of rebellion. When the Ming emperor learned of the roof design of the garden, he was furious and summoned the official to explain. The official answered that the design is not a Dragon but something else. Pressed to explain, the official said the Dragons has 4 claws, the beast on my wall on the other hand has only 3 claws. Therefore, that beast is no dragon and the Emperor actually acquiesced to the explanation. Somewhere in the middle of the garden was a very old Ginko Biloba tree. It was 400 years old! Surprisingly, it is still sturdy. Oh I could just wonder, how many generations of children has played under its leaf? How many children in all those years have climbed its trunk? If I could only touch it (it was fenced off because it is considered a 5 star or was it 4 star cultural treasure), I could surely feel the touch of those people far remove from my time. As I was standing there in the middle of the garden, I could dream what would it be like living in a place like this. Standing in the middle of the garden basking under the sunlight of the spring sun. Breathing the fresh air and inhaling the fragrant scent of the flowers and all the while listening to a quite classical music like the Mei Yuan Yin. And in the afternoon, sit beside the pond, enjoying a cup of tea and reading a nice book. Oh, paradise! However, all good things always have to come to an end. As I stepped out of the garden as our tour of the place ends, the gates immediately closed behind me for we are the last of the visitors for the day. Somehow, I felt a sense of regret. Regret that I leave. Why leave? Can’t help but murmur to myself that someday I’m going to buy that place! The geneticist apparently having overheard what I said, quipped, “but it’s not for sale”. To which I replied with a sigh, “Yes, you’re right”. She then suggested that “why not built one like it?” Now, why I didn’t think of that? Sure, I could! I just need an acre of land, built a few ancient Chinese houses, dig a pond, plant a few Ginko Biloba tree, embellish some coral reefs, and then add a Dragon on top of the roof. That’s easy. The scene of the temple area just outside the Yu Garden looked surreal to me. For from a distance, it looked like the scene of ancient Chinese life (if you ignore the wardrobes). Ching era houses, crowds of people walking, buying and selling. It is surreal because there are some things that remind you that you’re not in some romantic past but very much in the present like Starbucks! I had a hot chocolate inside Starbucks (remember it’s freezing outside). Cost me 20 RMB for a tall size. Our next stop was to go shopping yet again (I SO HATE SHOPPING!). Sally offered to take us to a warehouse selling fake branded luxury goods (In China, they slapped a 40% luxury tax on all imported luxury brands, little wonder then as to why the “standard” department stores are bereft of shoppers). On our way to the “secret” warehouse, we happened to passed by a street littered with bridal stores and a few blocks later on the same street, pregnant wear stores abound. I cracked a joke then that it is convenient for Shanghai people to start a family since they just had to pass the street starting from the other end by buying bridal wardrobes and at around the block, look for a hotel for the nuptial reception and honeymoon, afterwards, they could continue their journey down the road to shop for pregnant clothes! And if my guess is correct, there is a baby wear up ahead, then the teen wear and so on and so forth. Of course, we didn’t get to see it because we made a turn. Upon arrival at the “secret” place, I volunteered to stay put and keep the driver company but was prevailed upon to join them “to get an experience” whatever that means. And so with reluctance, I went inside the covert store. Dang! The whole place has all sort of fake luxury goods. You name it they have it. Watches, handbags, leather belts, lighters, etc. Gucci, Ferragamo, Tudor are some of the names that I come across that I’m familiar with. Anyway, they didn’t buy anything and so do I (I hate shopping). And so, the owners usher us into another room filled with “better” products. I have poor taste in fashion but according to my tour mates, the quality of the goods is as good as the real thing and so is the price. They are asking for 400 – 500 RMB for a handbag, which translates to roughly 3000 pesos more or less. Again, according to some of my tour mates, the price is exorbitant and is almost the same price as the real thing. Can’t help myself but to sneer at the situation, I actually quipped in Filipino, “Wala yan, mas mura pa sa 168!” (meaning, that’s nothing, it’s cheaper to buy at 168 mall!). To which, I solicited a bout of laughter. And so with my heads high (others are quite disgusted actually at the “charade”), we left the place. We had dinner afterwards, which is good but quite as good as the one we had during lunch. On our way home, I recall the brief visit I had this afternoon at Yu Garden. I was to leave for Beijing early the next day and somehow, I actually wanted to stay. I’m only here for one and half day and although I hated shopping, I find myself surprisingly attracted by Shanghai specifically the Yu Garden. All I ask is for one more day at the Garden but I can’t have it. I had to leave. Why leave? Well, the answer is quite simple; we live on Earth not on paradise and reality bites.

DAY 1: SHANGHAI AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

April 13, 2006, day 1 of my vacation trip to China. I got to the airport as early as 830 even though my flight was scheduled at 1130 in the morning. The newspaper (Philippine Daily Inquirer) advises everybody leaving the country to be there 3 hours before the boarding time to avoid unnecessary delay caused by the strict airport security. It turns out to be a real sick joke! There wasn’t much of a line and everything went smoothly. I was at the boarding gate by 930 and had to endure more than 2 hours of waiting (my flight was a little bit delayed) under the sweltering heat (apparently the government has turned down the air conditioning to save on cost). Thank goodness, I bought one of my management books to read (also since I’m traveling alone, to keep me company at night if I got bored and lonely). At least, I wasn’t going to bore to death inside the airport. I thought that things would be a lot tolerable once I’m inside the plane. To my chagrin, the same thing happened. Before the plane was in mid air, the temperature is hot and probably near “grilling” point if I were to exaggerate a little! Apparently, PAL is also on a cost cutting mode. Dang, what happen to customer service? I’d arrived at Shanghai two and half hours later. The first thing I saw while the plane is approaching for a landing at the Pudong airport was that the farms surrounding the airport had hothouses in the field. I surmise that the temperature must be too cold in Shanghai for the vegetation to grow successfully. At any rate, I was going to find out exactly how cold was the weather. The moment I stepped out of the airplane, cold wind coming from the open hatch of the connecting port greeted me and brrrrr, it was pretty, pretty cold (the temperature is like 7oC!). Too cold, that my denim jacket wasn’t enough to keep me warm. Luckily, I did bought along a winter jacket courtesy of my sister who does her homework checking the weather the night before I left. Even so, I still felt the chill because I was wearing a Nike running shoe made of cloth (for ease of walking) and not my regular leather shoe. Dang, I do sorely miss my leather shoe then. And my hands are also freezing. I didn’t bring any mittens along the trip and had to hid my hands inside my pocket to keep it warm. Going back, I met up with my tour mates and our tour guide. The first thing we did as a group was go to the toilet! It seems that everybody is dying to drain their bladders! Much latter on, we were to learn from our tour guide that one of the “peculiar” and expected characteristics of a Filipino tourist is in their penchant to go to the “washroom” very often. After that, we deposited our luggage to a bus waiting outside. The very moment I stepped out of the airport, the wind blew and boy, oh boy, it was so cold! I felt like a frozen Popsicle but that wasn’t the worst yet. We left our baggage and took the MagLev (Magnetic Levitation) train, which is operated based on the principle of superconductivity and electromagnetism. According to our guide, the German built train is the world’s fastest bullet train and we are about to find out exactly why. As the train started humming, it began to accelerate and in just a few minutes, we’ve reached a maximum speed of 432 km/hr and it took us just 7 minutes and 20 seconds to traverse 20 kms from the airport to the city center. Dang, that was indeed fast! It was so fast that we had to wait like 10 minutes for our bus to rendezvous us at the station. After getting into the bus, we headed to the Pearl of the Orient TV tower in Pudong, which take us across half of the city. On our way to the tower, we passed by a giant sundial in the middle of the circle, a magnificent piece of art I would say. As I was looking around at my new environment, I noticed that there are a lot of new buildings as well as new ones still being built. Not just a few nor a handful but quite a lot actually as in the entire city! The new buildings were like less than 5 years old! The oldest is probably a decade old. These buildings are not only new but they are also architectural gems as well. Their designs are not only impressive but are also awesome and grandiose! One of buildings has a giant lotus for it’s top. Another still under construction has a “sexy” wavy figure. The city hall, which they called the White House looks more like a museum of modern arts rather than the seat of government. Then there is the impressive, towering, ever conspicuous, black monolith that is the Grand Hyatt hotel at 88 floors, the 4th tallest building in the world. According to our tour guide, there is a new and much taller building that is being constructed near the Grand Hyatt. One in which will be crowned as the tallest building in the world when it is done by 2008. However, in spite of all these, one thing that is noticeable about the new buildings and that is most of them are empty. I figured that it maybe that the property prices are way beyond the capacity of ordinary Shanghai residents. Ordinary folks might be living in the outskirts of the city for I noticed that there is also an equally frenzied construction of apartment buildings at the suburbs. The implication of this frenzied building activity but with no apparent buyers is that the return on investment will be low or probably even negative. It means that real estate developers are losing money; money, which was borrowed from financial institutions like banks, which in turn derive the loans from deposits of ordinary Chinese. What I’m seeing here is the beginning of an asset bubble being formed (buoyant property prices that seemingly defy gravity) and if the negative return persists, bank runs will follow, precipitating into a financial crisis, which coupled with the size of the Chinese economy could be worst than the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, probably a magnitude of 10 in the Richter scale. What makes my analysis worst was that all of this frenzy was encourage by the government especially the Shanghai government. One could hear the incessant comparison by the tour guide to New York, the premier city of the world. They are no longer content in comparing themselves to Hong Kong or even Tokyo but New York. Take the MagLev for instance, it was losing money (due to slow passenger take up and subsidized fare) but the government persists. It was for “show”. They are trying to project an image of modernity and confidence. Being modest in Shanghai seemed quite out of place these days. Just look around and one will see why. Taken in that context, one wouldn’t be awed by the entire scene of frenzy but rather worry. Can’t help but think the implication of a bubble burst and its effect on the world economy. A bubble burst would result to falling or negative growth, pull out of foreign investments, massive unemployment. All this would force the Chinese to export their way out of the rut and would probably do so by devaluing the Renminbi, which in turn could trigger a region wide “competitive currency devaluation”. Cheap Chinese imports would flood the Philippines (if it is not flooded already) and thus put tremendous competitive pressures on the manufacturers like me and coupled this with cost pressures due to the weakening currency, the future would looked very bleak indeed (Couldn’t help it, I’m an MBA)! As we arrived for our tour, the bus parked at the APEC building, which by itself was an impressive architectural work. The building’s façade is Gothic in appearance much like the Lincoln memorial but with windows and walls and complete with columns. On either side of the building are two huge globes. One might think it’s a barbell but it actually is not. The entire designed seemed “proportionate”, the globes are neither too big as to dwarf the sandwich building or are too small as to look like dumbbell weights. It’s quite pleasing to the eye. The Pearl of the Orient tower on the other hand looks more like a “trophy”. According to our tour guide, the epistemology of the name is derived from a Chinese poem about the spring drizzle. The droplets look like pearls hitting on the jade plate that is the leaf. The seven spheres on the tower represents the “pearl” while the base of the tower is the jade plate. Base on the information on the leaflet that I took, the tower is 468 meters tall making it the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third in the world. There are three places to go in the tower to have a panoramic view of Shanghai. One is the Space Module, located at 350 meters above ground. According to some, one could Chin Huang Island far out in the China Sea from that vantage point. Another is the Revolving Restaurant at 267 meters, the highest elevated restaurant in Asia and the last is where our tour is heading, the Sight seeing floor at 263 meters. The ticket cost if my memory serves me right is something like 100 RMB (or was it the admission price for the restaurant, at any rate, the ticket is already included in our package), roughly 670 – 700 pesos. As I reached 263, I was quite amazed by what I saw. The view of Shanghai at the top is quite exhilarating. Sky scrappers literally littered the skies and it is not just a few of them or “scattered” around in clusters but seems to “cover” the entire Shanghai as far as the eyes could see. A few years back when my mom visited Shanghai, she told me that Hong Kong “looked” a lot better. However, from up here, the story is different. In a space of few years, Shanghai in my view has overtaken Hong Kong as the bustling megapolis of Asia. One could see a “growing” city complete with the busy streets along with the heavy traffics and the numerous constructions, the dazzling “light shows” from the buildings (its almost dark at that time), and the bustling harbor literally underneath my eyes. The naked ambition of a proud city is all too plain to see from my vantage point. Here at the top of the world, one would not only “see” Shanghai but the face of the New and Modern China as well. On our way out of the tower, I was to encounter another face of Shanghai and indeed, probably the rest of China – the hustlers. A set of crystal penholder, with lights and paperweight in the shape of the tower souvenir is selling at 200 – 300 RMB inside the tower but that same souvenir however is being peddled for 50 RMB by the street hawkers just outside the tower! They swarm at you, trying hard to convince you to buy to the extent that they seemed to be harassing you. One of our tour mates actually bought several of them from these hawkers and guess what, she bought them for 20 RMB (or was it 15 RMB?). What a hustle! Dang, if one is not skilled at bargaining (expert level required), one could really fall for their sales “trap”. Next in our schedule was the tunnel sightseeing tour. The tour would takes through the underwater tunnel and to the other side where our bus is waiting. The tunnels are “decorated” to dazzle the passersby and relieved them of their boredom, I supposed. Anyway, at the entrance of the gate, the themes of each tunnel rides are prominently advertised. One of them is a dazzling light show coupled with techno music and other is about Ancient Chinese Sex Culture (I wonder if it’s a tunnel tour or a bund tour, anyway, it is a very interesting topic). For a few of us in the group, the idea of the tour through the Ancient Chinese Culture caused quite a problem not because we are all prudish but rather because little Megan is 10 years old and me and a few others don’t want to “unwittingly educate” her at a very tender age. Well, we came up with a solution to our little dilemma, which is to cover Megan’s eyes while we are “sightseeing”. It turns out that we worry too much because we took the light and sound show (dang!). The tunnel length is actual short but the travel is extremely slow. It took us 15 minutes to get to the other end. The vehicle that took us there is small, good for 15 people. It was glass panel on all sides and with only 2 seats. It is automatically driven without a driver and you have a very beautiful lady ushering you in the train. I would say that the light and sound show is quite refreshing and gives one the feeling that he or she is entering a futuristic time warp of sort. As we alighted at the other end of the tunnel after the show, I would admit I’m a little bit disappointed. After all, sex and history taken together is a very, very, very interesting topic (I’m a historian). Too bad, I won’t be able to “study” about it. We had our dinner next. The dinner is quite sumptuous (more like a feast actually) with 7 or 8 dishes, soup and eat all you can rice plus soft drinks. The food was actually nice and ok but not great. One thing I notice about the food culture here in Shanghai (and in Beijing as well) was that they served the soup at the end of the meal as opposed to the Philippines wherein the soup was served at the start of the meal. They also don’t put serving spoons on each dish. We all have to “volunteer” our soup spoon for public use instead. After the dinner, we all went to take ferry cruise down the Pudong river. The ship we took is twin deck wooden(?) hull motorized ship. Took us probably half an hour to an hour to cruise a significant section of the river. Dang, the night view is great. All the buildings along the river coast are lighted, some even “performing” a show. According to our guide, the city government ordered the building owners to “cooperate” in order to project an image of vibrancy. It is amazing that they are actually doing this in spite of the fact that China is suffering from power outages. Anyway, the lower deck is enclosed, has chairs and is quite cozy and comfortable but is peopled with “seniors” (as in people older than me). At first, I stayed down, since it was cold outside but I suddenly realized that what in the world I’m doing? Here I am in Shanghai having paid my way to it and only to cloister myself with the “oldies”? Updeck, the beautiful doctor and little Megan are having a blast from sightseeing. Well, the choice was quite obvious. I went up. However, the very second I stepped unto the deck and embraced the wind. Well, it wasn’t cold but simply very, very, very, chilly. I couldn’t feel my nose. My fingers are stiff and numb even though they’re inside my pocket. My knees were probably shaking from shaking from the chill. My winter jack was totally useless, for it cannot keep me warm. I felt like standing naked inside the cold room although honestly, I haven’t tried that (cut me some slack for the exaggeration, ok?)! There is a shed near the center of the deck and it somehow protect the people inside from the chilly wind and I would have stayed there for the duration of the cruise if not for the fact that the good doctor and little Megan were “outside” taking pictures of the scenery (dang! Aren’t they cold at all?). And I am supposed to be the “man” and yet I cower inside the shed? Boy! So I stayed “out” with them and “occasionally” (like 60% of the time) served as their photographer even if I suck at taking pictures (for which little Megan called me “the low tech boy” for not knowing how to take pictures with a modern digital camera but I’m flattered to be called a boy)! The ship passed by a real 5 star luxury cruise liner. Call me a simpleton but this is the first time that I actually saw a luxury liner and boy, its huge! Gigantic would be a better term. At the topmost deck was the dinner section and I saw two beautiful women having dinner together beside the window. From my vantage point, I actually can’t tell if the women are indeed beautiful but what the heck, I waved at them. To my surprise, they actually waved back at me! Afterwards, we’d reached our end point and just about wrapped up our tour for the day. The tour guide brought us to our hotel, The Huating hotel, one of the 17 five star hotels in Shanghai (there is a six star hotel, which is the Grand Hyatt hotel). The hotel looks nice, modern in it’s design style with certain elements of minimalism. My room (I’m staying alone) is quite cozy, rather spacious. The bed is actually good for 3 persons. Lucky me (of course, I paid extra for the it in my tour package but still). The bathroom amenities though nice seemed to be “outdated” compared to the bathroom amenities in my hotel at Beijing. At any rate, the first thing I did when I got into my room was to turn the knob on and fill my tub with hot water and soap. It formed a little bubble and I soak in it to “defrost” (one reason that why I didn’t get sniffles that others in the group got). As I was soaking, I try to recall the events of the day and ask myself this question, Shanghai = New York? In all fairness, I’d never been to New York but given with what I’ve seen and the people I’ve met plus the rate of expansion, I would say 5 years or give another 2 years to that (if what I saw in TVs about New York is any indication). I might be exaggerating a bit here about my assessment but the pace of Shanghai is going right now is no exaggeration at all.

BACK TO EARTH AGAIN

Just got back home last night from a 6 – day vacation to first Shanghai then Beijing. Left the country last Thursday, April 13. Anyway, this is the first day in my “post – vacation” life and already I’m getting a “post – vacation” syndrome i.e., getting nostalgic, reminiscing, having a strange “difficulty” in “adjusting” back to “normalcy”, etc. It is not only psychological or emotional but also physical or physiological. Take this for instance, I normally have a light breakfast routine but during the tour, I got accustomed to having a heavy stuffed buffet style breakfast courtesy of the hotels that I was staying. And today, I started out with the normal light breakfast that I used to have but somewhere during the mid morning, I felt a hunger pang. I was so tempted to eat but I had to watch my weight since I probably gained a few pounds during the last few days. Another example, I got really uncomfortable with the summer heat today even though I sorely “missed” it. Back in Shanghai, the temperature was around 7oC on our first night and around 8oC the following day. I said to myself then that I was actually looking forward for a vacation to “cool down” but not to “chill out”. Luckily, I prepared some thick clothing for the trip. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wished that I have stayed home and “sun burn” to death rather than freeze to death in a distant place. Anyway, things got a little better during my stay in Beijing, the weather is a little warmer, like somewhere in the mid teens. It was cool but not cold except when the wind blew and in the words of Megan, it is just like you’re in an air – conditioned room except that you’re not inside a room but outdoors. I kind like got use to the weather in Beijing actually and I find myself swearing profusely about the temperature I’m in right now. I also sorely “missed” the daily “adventures” that I had the last few days. Those trips down the ultra – modern street of Shanghai or those walks in the labyrinth of the Imperial palace in Old Beijing or that “historic” climb to the Great Wall. Now, I’m back to the old routine that is both familiar and boring but somehow strangely new to me. And I surely missed that hot bubble bath that I’m having every night before I went to bed. It is my way of “defrosting” from the cold. Oh, I missed that relaxing and warm quarter to half an hour soak in the bathtub. Too bad, I don’t have a bath tub here and besides I don’t luxury of time for a relaxing soak. I also missed the hotel room that I’m staying. I traveled alone and got a room for myself only without any company. I got a bed good for two people (which Megan said to be a honeymoon bed), a sofa for relaxing and watching TV, and a bathroom. Well, actually, I have my own room here complete with a sofa, a king sized bed, and a nice bathroom plus my library. The difference between the two is that my room is a mess and looks like it’s been hit by hurricane Katrina (what do you expect of a guy’s bedroom looks like anyway?) and I had to clean it myself whereas my hotel room is clean and if I messed up, somebody cleaned it for me plus I got a good view of the city. Lastly, I missed the people that I’m been with the past week. Funny, how human beings develop relationships in so short a time. We were complete strangers at the beginning of the tour and along the way we somehow developed a bond and by the time we are parting ways, I actually felt sad and couldn’t really said goodbye but just “see ya” (which makes parting easier, I guess). How could I forget the good doctor, Sandra. She’s always cheerful, very friendly, and nice as in not bitchy. She has a very lovely smile. Or her father, Alejandro, who always manage to attract a flock of waitresses around him studying intently as he magically transform the table napkins into a white rose and he gave them to just one of them. I had to admit that I’m envious of Alex, I mean I can’t attract women like the way he did and women actually felt “happy” receiving the rose and for those who didn’t, envious. Wow! You know for 5 lunches and 5 dinners, I sat there watching him intently, studying his craft hoping to learn from the master the art of making paper roses but I still don’t get it. He once told me that if you give a real rose to a woman, she would probably dismiss you as a cliché but if you gave a rose made out of a napkin, well, you could swept her off her feet that very minute. Come to think of it, he got a point and I find it quite funny how women actually like fakes: fake roses, fake Loius Vitton handbags, and fake luxury branded stuffs. Then there is also, the mother, Solana, who is also very friendly and nice but she is the classic compulsive shopper like most women I knew (Dang, I hate shopping!). How could I forget Jennifer Tan, the microbiologist turned geneticist. She’s an American citizen but a Filipino – Chinese. She is the 5th person I knew to carry the name, Jennifer Tan. Is there something about the name as to make it so popular among Filipino Chinese? She was on vacation and is with her parents, Louie and Mildred. At 77 years old, Louie is the groups’ resident senior citizen and he is still going strong though able to climb and walk unassisted. I would surely miss those chats we have over breakfast. Then there is also Joseph, the group’s unofficial leader and his wife, Betty and their best buddy, Man. The trio could be best described as the bargain hunters par excellence. Dang, these people do know how to bargain and they do drive a hard bargain! Then there is Lily, the 50 - 60 something grandmother who always carries that infectious optimism and enthusiasm about life in general that I felt that I view things way too seriously. Finally, there is little Megan, the youngest member of the tour at 10 years old and Lily’s granddaughter. She is my “adopted” daughter because her father was my age and we really gotten so close and for most of the tour, I was her “guardian” when her grandma isn’t around to accompany her like during the climbing of the Great Wall. She calls me uncle, which makes me I feel "old" (my cousin who is somewhere near her age called me Big Brother) but it’s ok because I think it’s apt. We took pictures together, climb the Great Wall together, and played charades together although I suck big time at charades. Cute, pretty little girl, bright, and very sharp too. It would be a waste if she becomes a model just as everybodywas suggesting (she appeared in commercials by the way). I think she should be a scientist or a doctor or a lawyer someday. We had a ice cream party at my hotel room the night before we left and awhile ago, I was thinking of getting an ice cream to “cool down” and I remembered her. She is somewhere in Xian, China continuing her tour while I’m here blogging………

POSTCRIPT:
I know some of my friends would probably tell me to get married and settled down but you see I haven’t learn how to make a paper rose yet. “ )

THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS

Came home last Sunday in time to watch National Geographic Society’s special episode, the Gospel of Judas (Iscariot). I would say that I find the “facts” being presented as quite interesting even though strictly speaking, I’m not a man of faith. I don’t know what motive do the show producers have in mind but I find the timing of the episode quite “calculated” since it came the Sunday before the Lenten season and on the heels of the “Da Vinci Code” mania. Anyway, the episode is all about the story of the “discovery” of the Codex (an ancient form of book) containing the Gospel of Judas after it was lost for 1,800 years and it’s authentication process as well as the translation of the Gospel. Based on the translation, the Gospel of Judas tells the same story of the Last Supper but from a different perspective and interpretation. In the traditional view, Judas betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver coins but in the Gospel of Judas, Judas did betray Christ not for coins but because Christ told him so. Judas according to the Gospel is Christ’s favorite and the only person to really understand Christ and because of that, he is given the task of “betraying” Christ in order to liberate the Son of God from the body that “covers” him. This he did dutifully and for that, Judas is supposedly promised a “reward” in heaven and that Christ viewed him as greater than the rest of the apostle. Intriguing. According to the experts, the Gospel is widely circulated among the Gnostics specifically Coptic or Egyptian Gnostics, a church branded heretical group. In fact, St Iraneus of Lyon (France) in 180AD wrote an encyclical condemning the Gospel of Judas. So the question bears in mind, why is the Gospel of Judas written in the first place and how come it became so popular back in the 2nd century? Well, according to the experts, in the ancient times, printing technology is quite primitive and therefore there is no book publishing (printing press was discovered in the 15th century while “modern” paper was introduced somewhat earlier but definitely not in the 2nd century AD). Because of that, the Word was spread orally among the community of believers through different preachers. And each preacher tells the story according to his or her understanding and interpretation. It came as no surprise that eventually there are about 30 or more version of the Good News. It is much later on that the Church decided to “simplify” the message and chose only 4 canonical Gospels and condemns the rest as heretical. At any rate, the Gospel of Judas was among those 30 or so gospels in circulation. Egypt during the Roman times was a populous and rich province and it is one of the centers of Greek culture. It also has a huge Christian population. As a fact, the patriarch of Alexandria ranks equally in authority and influence with the patriarch of Constantinople, the pope in Rome, the patriarch of Antioch, and the patriarch of Jerusalem, a testament to the importance of the Egyptian Christians. The Greek has two important philosophical traditions, the Platonian and the Aristotelian philosophies. The Gnostic faith is heavily influence by the philosophies of Plato (FYI, the Matrix movies is out and out Platonian). According to Plato, the world of matter is but only an illusion. It is temporary, finite, and “unreal”. Reality exists in the mind (sounds familiar?), the world of ideas, the perfect world, a world of absolutes. A chair is not a chair that one is sitting on right now. It is not the chair that has 4 legs and a flat surface to sit on. The idea of a chair exists in the mind and it is anything that one could rest his or her ass on it while stretching his or her leg. A chair could be a bed, a table, or a stone, or a fallen trunk, or a stool. This theory of ideas became the basis of Plato’s philosophy of Man. During his exile in the East after the death of his teacher, Socrates, he came to absorb “oriental” mysticism, which I suspect is the early Hinduist beliefs. It is from this belief that he came to develop his theory of ideas, along with the myth of the fallen angle, and his theory of reincarnation. According to him, Man was once united with the “one”, a state of pure bliss, which possesses no matter at all. It is pure “idea” not as an abstract. Somehow, Man made a mistake and as a result, was cast down to earth (myth of the fallen angel) and captured by “matter”. In the process, Man loses all his “knowledge” that he possesses when he is in unity with the “One”. It is therefore the mission of Man to regain that “lost knowledge” in order for him to return to the “One”. The body, which is made of matter becomes a burden since the body has needs to satisfy, has desire to be fulfilled, which ultimately distract Man from his noble pursuit of knowledge. In the attempt to regain that lost knowledge, Man is condemned to earthly life and once he “used up his time”, he is reincarnated in order to continue to pursue that lost knowledge (Theory of Reincarnation). Does this theory sound similar to Hinduistic beliefs? At any rate, the Gnostics believed that each individual contains that “divine spark” that connects Man to God and that the body and earthly matters are evil because it prevented us from knowing God. Man has to understand this “divine spark” within him in order to go to paradise and once Man achieved enlightenment, he would be removed from his earthly body (could this be one reason that early Christians are “willing” martyrs in the face of Christian prosecutions staged by Roman Emperors?). It is because of this, Christ being already enlightened has to be released from his “body that clothes him” and goes back to heaven. Henceforth, Judas Iscariot’s act of betrayal was deemed as doing Christ a favor. Therefore, his betrayal was not betrayal per se but an act of love for Christ. That is of course, how the Gnostics interpreted it and ergo, we have the Gospel of Judas. Now, the next question that bears in mind is that is it true? My brother likes to ask that question to me. Well, truth to tell, I don’t know (besides, I’m not a man of faith, so why should I care?). A long time ago, I came to realize that the things I see, I hear, and I read are all ideas or opinions. There are no such things as “facts” (incidentally, one Catholic priest chided that one shouldn’t believe things just because it came out of the internet!). There are views, opinions, ideas and even propagandas of other people but not facts. Out there is a marketplace of ideas. Each person has one and everybody tries to peddle them, tries to convince others that their views, ideas, opinions are the absolute truth and everything else is wrong. The same thing applies to the Gospel of Judas. It is an alternative view or interpretation of the same “event”. So how should we take it? Or does this affect our belief? To the latter question, yes, it does affect our belief but if I may use an ancient story to further my point. This is the story of Sheng Tsu, the 3rd generation disciple of Confucius. One day, a man bearing the same name of Sheng Tsu committed a murder and soon the news spread around town. A neighbor of the real Sheng Tsu ran to his mother and told her that her son just killed somebody. Now, Sheng Tsu is a man of virtue and a very good man. His mother doesn’t believe that he actually committed the crime and therefore she ignored the man. Later, another man came and bear the same news and then another followed. Afterwards, the mother began the doubt as to the integrity of his son. Over the course of time, things like the Gospel of Judas would come along throwing in doubt our belief, some will question, others waver but my point is would you be convinced? Some may but others won’t. As Thomas Jefferson would say in his Bill Establishing Religious Freedom, that “the opinion and belief of Man depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds” and “that by influence on reasons alone”, we tend to follow “pastors whose power he feels most persuasive to righteousness”. Of all the living creatures on this planet, we alone possesses the capability to reason through logic and we should use this ability to discern for ourselves what is the “most persuasive to righteousness”. If one felt that the Gospel of Judas or anything like it is the “evidence” they are looking for then believe. As for others who are still in doubt about what to do, well, take this words from my philosophy professor, “Too see is not to believe, too (actually) see (it) is to know. To believe is to have faith.” And that doesn’t only apply to religion but also to everything we do.

P.S. In light of the discovery of the Gospel of Judas, I suggest that we refrain from cursing somebody with “Hudas” for being a traitor lest that particular person who would happen to read the Gospel of Judas would take it as a compliment. “ )

SHOPPING SPREE

“My eyes widened, my grin is from ear to ear. I was like a child let loose inside candyland, who couldn’t contain his excitement; who could have devoured the entire place if only his appetite permits.” That is how my sister describes me last Sunday when she accompanied me to the warehouse book sale of POWERBOOKS. Indeed! I would have admitted to being everything as she described except that I’m not in candyland but rather in utopia and I would have devoured every book (well, not all of them of course, I won’t be buying children’s books or chick lits, feel good self help rip offs and boring fictions.) if only my budget permits. Anyway, I spend a good deal afternoon scouring the shelves for a bargain find. Too bad, they only offer 20% discounts on imported business books. Even so, I managed to buy 4 great books: Essentials of Risk Management, Dollarization Discipline, How We Compete, and Juran’s Six Sigma. All for P5,465.40. Plus they gave me an extra book, a worthless fiction novel written by a newbie. I would have bought more but I already exceeded my book – buying budget for the month (I’ve bought other books before)! Anyway, as I was lining up to pay for my purchase, the guy in front of me peered into my purchase and got jealous of the books I’ve got. He even ask and took one of the books (Essentials of Risk Management), browse a little and ask the cashier and sales lady if there is another copy available. Unfortunately, it’s the last copy. I could see in his eyes the envy, the regret of not having to find the copy before I did. Well, what can I say, I’m a mean picker of books – business books to be exact! Better luck next time, men. Anyway, the 5 books would be a fine addition to growing library, which now has close to 300 books. The total cost I estimated is around P200,000 – P250,000 more or less but probably more but the value is priceless! Oh, I look forward to the day when this collection of mine would reach 500! Maybe I’ll build a room for all those books but for now they share with my bedroom, which is not entirely a bad idea though. For those who are interested in books, POWERBOOKS book sale will last until April 1. They will be open from 10am to 7pm. They are located at Brixton street, which is parallel to Pioneer street in Mandaluyong. If you are coming from Makati, turn right at the corner after Robinson’s Place at Pioneer. Go straight for two block and then turn right until you reach the end and turn right again. You can’t miss them. Good Hunting.

AFTERWARDS …….

While I was attempting to write this blog last Tuesday, I got up from my bed and gaze at my precious collection of books and I noticed that one of the books seemed to be “slumping” and as I opened the glass panel to fix it, I was shocked to discover that it was “eaten” by TERMITES! Argh! My collections! 13 books related to operations management were “devoured” by those pests! 3 of the books are hardbound and of the 13 books, two were Harvard business books! Except for 3 newsprint quality books, all of them are imported books made of high quality paper! I had only read about half of those books. Let me see, one of the books is about Warehousing, another book is on Product design and development, one is on Mass Customization (Harvard Business book), one is on Lean Manufacturing system, 3 books on Operations Management by different authors, one book on Project Management, still another is on Retail and Logistics management, another is on Transforming the Supply Chain, another is on Quality as a competitive tool, another is about Managing the Value Chain (Harvard Business Review), and the last book is about …… well, I forgot. Those books cost me anywhere from P10,000 to P15,000 (P20,000 would not be an exaggeration)! Of those books, only 3 “survive” the “massacre”. The rest have half of their pages devoured by those hideous creatures. It pained me so much as I was removing those books from the shelves. I could still hear their “hearty” chewing while I was doing so! Damn things! (Forgive me for the foul language) I had to throw those books away if I was going to save my entire library from those foul termites. I had to cut my losses. It is so frustrating. I hoped that those termites gain 100 points in their collective IQ from chewing all those books! I now fully realize why so many ancient works are forever loss from posterity. Aside from war and fire, no collections from the Library of Nineveh or Alexandria would ever be safe from those “book hungry” beasts. Ahhh, now I had to buy the replacements that is of course, if I could ever find a copy. A lesson is learned here. I should have invested equally in the safe keeping of my library like buying a metal bookcase. Again, more cash outlays.

Philosophies on Life from a Movie

Two Sundays ago, I went to watch the movie, “Fearless”. It was a film based on the life of the martial arts legend, Huo Yuan Chia. It chronicles his ascent to the top, his inevitable stumble, his redemption, and his dream. It was a great movie even though the plot was both simple and predictable. The drama was intense and I would say that this movie is Jet Li’s opus. Anyway, what really got into me was neither the great storyline nor the breathtaking martial art fight scenes but the philosophies being expounded by the movie. The philosophies has an under current of Sino – Buddhist thinking but I felt that they are universally applicable. One of the philosophies being expounded is that “one’s life is not his/her business alone but everybody’s business because everybody has a stake in it”. Although we are ultimately responsible for our life, for the path we chose and for the things we do but to our parents, our siblings, our children, our friends, and all the people who cared and loved us, our choices, our actions very much affected them as it affected us. In fact, it so affected them that when the time comes that we have to go “away”, they would feel a great and terrible “loss” even if we can no longer care what will happen. Hence, can we say that “they” don’t have a stake in our existence? Yes, they do! And if so, don’t they have the responsibility to ensure that our “lives” don’t go “astray” or “wasted”? Of course, they do! On a bigger context, if we expound this philosophy further to incorporate the entire humanity. We come to the conclusion that the life of one person whatever his race, his creed, his belief maybe, is not his responsibility alone but also the responsibility of the other 7,999,999,999 people on this planet (assuming that we have a population of 8 billion). We may not personally know him/her and most likely, we may not like him/her much less love him/her but we all have a stake in that person’s existence. It is not because of the fear that that one person would become the next Hitler or some mad genius or some radical terrorist that is bent to destroy humanity to avenge his troubled life rather that we “care” because we are human. Mencius once said that “Man’s basic nature is good, for our first instinct when we saw a child that has fallen to the well is to try to save them regardless whose child is he”. It is our basic instinct to care for our fellow human even if that person is insignificant to affect our lives. To deny our basic nature, our instinct is to deny our humanity. However, this philosophy is prone to grave abuse. We could “interfere” other people’s lives in the name of “caring” and “concern” to the extent that we didn’t only trample on that person’s rights and happiness but also practically run their lives as well. How we could prevent this from happening? How we could make sure that our well – meaning help didn’t constitute as interference in their lives? Well, the movie answered that with the analogy of the rice paddies. Rice paddies should be spaced at a certain distance from each other in order to grow. It’s the same thing with humans. Interfering too much would only stunt their “growth”. We must give them “space” to grow, to learn, and to live life to the fullest. Now, with that in mind, comes the next question, “when do we interfere?” Frankly, I am not quite sure of my own answers. If I may venture a guess, we interfere when that person doesn’t “grow” anymore. We had to point the way, provide guides, “teach” them, “enlightened” them so that they could continue growing. Or perhaps, we could altogether do away with “interference”. We could simply “remove” the obstacle to that growth much like removing that protruding rock that blocks out the sunlight that nourishes the plant. In life, there are many “obstacles” indeed and there are also many ways to deal with the obstacles. However, there are only a few of us who possessed the capability and the resources to remove those formidable obstacles, which is why Confucius say that of the responsibility of a gentlemen, “to carry the weight of society until his demise (ren jong er tau yuan).” The responsibility however is too much for “a” gentlemen and which is why that “life is not one man’s business but everybody else.” We need everybody’s help to live life.

A Nation for Our Children

This piece was written by Senator Jose Diokno and it was taken from the article, “Fighting for a Dream” of Professor Elfren Cruz in BusinessWorld dated 02/28/06.

There is one dream that all Filipinos share that our children may have a better life than we have had. So there is one vision that is distinctly Filipino, to make this country, our country, a nation for our children.
A NOBLE nation where homage is paid not to who a man is or what he owns, but to what he is or what he does.

A PROUD nation, where poverty chains no man to the plow, forces no woman to prostitute herself and condemns no child to scrounge among garbage.
A FREE nation, where men and women and children from all regions and with all kinds of talents may find truth and play and sing and dance and love without fear.
A JUST nation where whatever inequality exists is caused not by the way people act towards each other, but by differences in natural talents, where poverty, ignorance, and hunger are attacked, and every farmer has lands that no one can grab from him, every breadwinner a job that is satisfying and pays him enough to provide a decent standard of living; every family, a home from which it cannot be evicted, and everyone, a steadily improving quality of life.
An INDEPENDENT nation which rejects foreign dictation, depends on itself, thinks for itself, and decides for itself what the common good is, how it is to be attained, and how its costs and benefits can be attributed.
A HONORABLE nation where public powers are used for public good and not for private gain of some Filipinos and some foreigners, where leaders speak not only well, but truthfully and act honestly, a nation that is itself and seeks to live in peace and brotherhood with all the other nations of the world.

JOSE DIOKNO

About What to Write for a Book

A friend of mine wrote in her blog the other day naming the top 5 things she liked, hated, etc. One of the things she wrote was what she wanted to do before she is gone. She wanted to write a book. Being a book lover, I naturally inquired as to what book/s she planned on writing. Her answer was that she doesn’t have an idea and ask me for a suggestion. Well, I hated to make this a subject of a blog article of mine but I felt answering in a comment box is inadequate. Anyway, I had my ideas as to what to write because I too harbor the thought of writing a book before my time is up and if this helps her or others like her get some ideas on what to write, then that will be just great. Former Georgian president and Soviet foreign minister, Edward Shervanadze once said and I fully agree that there are three things a man should do in his life. First, do something important, then, retire and write a book, and finally, buy and run a farm. People other than professional writers write books for a number of reasons. Take example my professor, Elfren Cruz. He recently launched his first book on family business. Aside from teaching strategic management, professor Cruz is into business consultancy handling specifically Filipino Chinese family businesses. Therefore, his book can be considered to be the crystallization of his life works. From this, we could gather the first of the reasons people write books and that is to impart the wisdom and experience they have gathered over their lifetime to others and in the process help the readers. Corollary to this is the second reason, which could be independent from the first and this is the desire to create their ultimate “masterpiece” or lifework, or “blood work” that people would remember them for as a sort of “fitting” monument of their existence. Yet, the third reason people in their advance state of age wanting to write a book is to present an “accurate” picture of themselves to be preserved for posterity, to “correct” any “misunderstanding/s” or “inaccurate” interpretation/s of the choices they made in their lifetime, and lastly, to provide the “real” history of their prime years. It is to this reason that we have the autobiographies of famous people. For who is the better authority on what really happened? You or your worst critic? Would anybody prefer their detractors to write about them and blacken their memories forever? The answer is quite obvious. The fourth and the last reason that I could think of is we write books because we want to inspire others. We want to convince them that life is not totally hopeless and life goes on and life always manages to find a way. One of the advantages of writing when one is his advance age is that one has already experienced through the thick and trough of life. Thus, this gave us (I’m speaking of the future, old us not the present) the “right” to tell the “young” ones that we’ve been there, we’ve done that, and don’t despair when things turn bad, keep on fighting, and forge the will to go on. Persevere, for there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and that things could turn out fine in the end. There is HOPE! There are a lot of people out there who don’t see any HOPE and they aren’t necessarily the “young” ones and if by our example, we could convince them to go on and eventually “better” themselves, then wouldn’t that be a fitting epitaph? I’m on the process of writing hopefully be a worthy story of mine that I could someday publish before my time is up but in the meantime, I’m saving some money for that farm I’m retiring to perhaps in 30 – 40 years time. What about you? Have you made up your mind on what to write?

On Greatness; A Conversation between Brothers

My brother likes to ask questions a lot. In fact, he asks so much that it is annoying to me at times. I felt like I am his instant “talking” encyclopedia that he could ask anytime and expects an answer immediately after. There are times however, when he asks a question that is so deep and meaningful that I cannot help but answer it. He did that sometime last week. He was reading an article over the net about the life and works of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor back then. After reading the article, he asks me that isn’t it unfair to the person who have achieved so much in his lifetime to just be simply “talked” or even “discussed” about in an hour or two or even just a few pages? He went on to elaborate that that great person spent his entire lifetime, shedding blood and sweat, going through agonizing pain, despair, and sorrow, surmounting the unimaginable obstacle and overcoming the overwhelming odds and literally, investing his entire life to accomplish the feat that he is remembered for and what did he get in the end? To be a mere subject of a casual conversation? Somehow it “belittles” his achievements, his life, and his effort. When my brother said that, I fully understand what he was saying. Somehow, it wasn’t enough to be just “talked” about. Great men should deserve our gratitude, our respect, our admiration but they seemed to be short changed. I remembered a poem that exactly captures my brother’s dilemma. It is the preface of the book, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, written by Lo Kuan Chong in reference to the great battle of the Red Cliff. To loosely translate it, “The violent waves of the gushing great river flows to the East, to a distant land, carrying with it the memories of the legendary past. The waves have erased the footprints of heroes, washed away the bodies of the defeated along with their armors, as well as the victor’s arrows and sword. Nothing is left except for the mountain where the cliff hangs, the silent boulders sit, the quiet tree rest. I wonder if the sunset looks the same as now as it was then? I gazed my sight down on the shore and found a party of fishermen drinking and merry making. In their raucous revelry, they talk about the past, about the great battle that had happened centuries before, about the heroes and the villains, about victors and defeated only to be forgotten when they woke up from their drunken stupor. I cannot help but lament, is this what they worked for (everything they worked for is gone by now)? To be a subject of a drunken debate?” I thought about my reply to my brother’s question for a while and then I asked my brother, how many people have lived or existed in the last thousand years? Billions perhaps. And of the billions that have lived through the ages, only a handful got to be talked about not by one individual or for a couple of years but by many for years after years, centuries after centuries, and generations after generations. Isn’t that fair for what they did, even if their “monument” didn’t survive till now? “Well, yeah.” My brother replied. “But, is it worth it? To stick your neck out only to be criticized, lampooned?” Indeed, there are people who weren’t “there”, who couldn’t understand “why”, and who doesn’t know “what happened” but had the gall to criticize the “one who sticks his neck out” as if he could do any better. It is always easy to know what to do in the past based from hindsight in the future. My reply at that time is, “Well, great men have their admirers and detractors. It’s the price of greatness.” Even so, I somehow am not convinced of my own answer. Is criticism a fair price for greatness? A person is great because he has a “great” responsibility or a “great” task. Bungling the task or a simple mishandling of it would create disaster for multitudes and therefore, great men should accept the criticism thrown against them by posterity. Then again, I remembered these words that is taken from a science fiction novel (Star Trek, The Next Generation, “The Forgotten War”) wherein Captain Jean Luc Picard “assesses” a legendary Starfleet commodore and this is what he said, “There was once a legend and his name was Commodore Lucian Murat. There were things he did that were glorious, things he did that evidenced bravery beyond all expectations of bravery. And there were mistakes that showed just how human he truly was. For within every legend, there cowers a man.” Nothing is more truer said that this! Remove their cloak of invincibility, their aura of greatness; a great man is no different from all of us. However, his virtue, his strength were greatly expanded by a hundred folds and blown out of proportion while his folly, his weakness were magnified a thousand times and all the blame were place on him. It is really quite unfair for they are just like us, human, prone to mistakes but capable of redeeming itself and of doing great deeds. Having convinced myself, I turned to the other statement that my brother said that day and that there are people who weren’t willing to stick their neck out and be “lampooned”. Quite right, there are those who shunned the limelight, who “avoided” greatness and even feared it. The truth is greatness is neither to be sought after nor to work for but it was bestowed upon those worthy of it. The famous phrase of Wen Tien Shiang said it all, “Ren sheng cher ku say wu sez, leo chee tan shin chao han ching.” In my own understanding, this translates to “Since time immemorial, no man has escaped death. Why then bother with the fleeting pleasures of life (power, wealth, influence). Instead, leave a ‘radiant heart’, a clear conscience that one has done its best for his dream, for his principle, for his belief, for what is right, and for humanity to illuminate the pages of history.” Never mind what other said, what is important is what we do. The following day, in between work, I told my brother these words, “Life could be a 10 volume DVD or a few lines that dirty the otherwise clean white sheet of paper, what is your life?” To which, my brother gave a curt reply, “Not even a dot!” That was his answer, what about yours?

Revisiting Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

It’s been more than a decade since I first read Edward Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”. Back then; I was just a high school history enthusiast with little knowledge of “serious” history. Although the book was an eye opener to me in terms of studying “serious” history but I remember getting “bored” at times while reading the book of which I had little understanding. However, reading the masterpiece in the past few nights was a totally different experience to me. Somehow, I genuinely felt that I was reading a book that I haven’t read before. It happened a few days ago in my leisurely research of Roman history that I came across the “full” version of Gibbon’s masterpiece over the net (www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/home.html) (my old book edited by Moses Hadas was an abbrebriated version). Armed with a mature understanding and a better grasp of the subject matter, I find the book a delightful read. Edward Gibbon’s masterpiece is considered by many as the greatest historical work written in English and indeed, it’s reputation is well founded. To me, Gibbon writes less about analysis and emphasizes more on narration or story telling (J.B. Bury’s monumental work, “A History of the Later Roman Empire”, which cover similar topics is more analytical in nature) making reading his work less of an intellectual pursuit and more of a pastime. His writing style is “flowery” (and hence less analytical) yet concise and dignified and not overtly flattering. It is also vivid especially in his depiction of tyrants and virtues of worthy Roman emperors. Best of all, it is so fluid that one would be surprise to know that after reading several chapters in one sitting, he has already read through centuries of Roman history and several generations of Roman emperors. To understand the importance of his master’s work, Gibbon’s book covers 13 centuries of Roman history and everything we learned from our history classes about the Roman Empire came from his writing. His book is the foremost authority on the subject matter and is considered as the “traditional” source of Roman history teaching worldwide. And what makes it even more fascinating is that, it was written in the late 18th century (1776). One of his most celebrated and often quoted paragraph by historians is as follows:
"In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence: the Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government. During a happy period (A.D. 98-180) of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines. It is the design of this, and of the two succeeding chapters, to describe the prosperous condition of their empire; and afterwards, from the death of Marcus Antoninus, to deduce the most important circumstances of its decline and fall; a revolution which will ever be remembered, and is still felt by the nations of the earth."
This is why Gibbon wrote his book, to deduce the circumstances that led to the destruction of a mighty empire, the chastisement of a proud race, and the ruin of a once invincible city. The Roman Empire at its height comprises most of Europe, Middle East, and North Africa, including the territories of modern nations of Britain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, part of Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Israel, part of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and of course, Italy. In fact, one could say that these nations especially Europe wouldn’t be here hadn’t been for Rome. To name a few, modern institutions were ultimately derived from Roman institutions. As an example, the title Chancellor was a minor Roman notary called cancellari. The modern day title of Count was derived from the Roman “Comes” meaning companion or to be more specific, the companion of the Emperor. The Latin language was also the mother tongue of the European language. I could guarantee that one could “fairly decipher” Latin. Best of all, Rome bequeathed to us it’s famous Roman Law. In fact, Gibbon devoted a chapter to Roman Law and there, one could find the genesis of our present “Western” legal practices and traditions in marriage laws, criminal laws, etc. The Roman Law was adopted by the barbarian kingdoms who succeeded the Empire alongside their own Germanic law. Eventually, the Roman law was amalgamated with the German Law to produce two modern legal traditions, the British Common Law, which ultimately produced the American Law, and the French Law as represented by the Code Napoleon. With this in mind, the foremost question that begs for an answer is “What happened?”. The Roman Empire was forge with fire and sword and in the end, it was destroyed by fire and sword. But what forces “weakened” the Empire that it was eventually swallowed up by flames? How could a happy period of four score years of five good Emperors end up like this? According to Gibbon’s thesis, the decline and fall of Rome was due to:
1. The inherent defect and weakness of a one – man rule wherein a system of government relies on the quality of a man, the Roman Emperor and his understanding of the situation which is in turn clouded by the lies and intrigues of his courtiers;
2. The danger of military dictatorship wherein a restive army jealous of its rights and keenly aware of its power wouldn’t hesitate to revolt and place an Emperor on its throne only to depose him later when another gave them a “better” offer;
3. The luxury and vices that pampered the Romans leading them to moral decadence which in turn softened their will and diminished their martial spirits. It was not long ago when Romans were the terror of the ancient world but in their decline, they tremble at everyone that knocks at it's gate;
There is also a fourth reason according to Gibbon, the rise and predominance of Christianity, and it’s effects on the Empire. (Of course, these are Gibbon’s thesis. Modern day historian has a plethora of theories on the decline ranging from economic to military to social theories). Interestingly, Gibbon is an Anglican Christian. On a side note, reading the book on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, I cannot help but drew parallels with the state of politics in this country of mine. The exactions of a bankrupt government, the corruptions of the elite, the tumultuous and divisive politics, and the restive military are all too familiar to me. I cannot help but lament at our situation while reading the book and express alarm at the state of our affairs and where we are heading if Rome is our guide. Somehow, the phrase “history repeats itself” is actually happening to us except that Manila is not Rome, the President is not a "worthy" Emperor, we are not Romans, and definitely, our country is no Empire. What would have become of us? Perhaps in a hundred years, somebody would write “The Decline and Fall of The Philippine Republic”. Too bad, I wouldn’t live to read it, .........................I hope.

I am Atlas

My real name of course is not Atlas. Atlas is my cyber name, a name that I adopted to distinguish who I am from others in the digital world as well as reflect the kind of person that I am. Parents gave us name when we were born reflecting their desire of what we should be in our future as well as denote their expectations and their dream of us. Having my “own” name, in other words, reflects my “own” expectations, my “own” dream, and my “own” desire of what I am and what I should become. If so, of all the names that I could adopt, why Atlas? Well, to start with, Atlas is the Greek mythical being that carried the world on his shoulder. He is the one responsible for maintaining the world in order and not allowing it to "plunge" to oblivion. Though, I couldn’t carry the weight of the world on my shoulder by myself but I nonetheless, am willing to do my share in “carrying” it. Confucius once said, “The role of a gentlemen is to concern with the problems of society and carry its burden, however heavy till their demise, however long is it’s span.” I’m just a good student of the master and not a great humanist. At any rate, I believe that I could do my share in “carrying” the burden of society by sharing my thoughts however inconsequential to those who needs them and is willing to listen. To paraphrase Plato in his “Allegory of the cave”, a “liberated” man who have climb out of the dark cave and have seen the light, would feel that he should share this with “others” who are still left behind in the depths of the cave and for this reason, the liberated man who descend into the cave and guide those who are willing to see the light out of the cave and set them free. I don’t claim to have seen the light but I felt that I have a better “vision” than others and have seen things clearer than some and therefore, I felt nonetheless obliged to “show others” what the cave looks like for those who have difficulty seeing in the dark. It is for these reasons, that I adopted the name and created this blog.

BLOGGING, ONE YEAR AFTER: A BLOGGER’S CONFESSION

This is my 54th post for this blog and it is over a year since I started “blogging” but it is only in March of last year that I begin to write seriously. I had to admit that I had a different conception of what I’m going to write when I started but after a year and 53 blog posts, that conception is how would I put it, “expanded”. I got the idea of blogging when I happen to read about them in the papers and actually stumbled on one during one of my surfing sessions. I realized then that this would be my vehicle to “share” my thoughts. Ever since high school, I’ve always kept a journal of my thoughts. It is not a diary of everyday happenings but thoughts, a.k.a. my interpretation of things surrounding me as well as various quotes from “great men” and their philosophies. It is these thoughts that shaped the person that I’m now. I still continue that “philosophical” musing through college and until now. Then sometime in 2004, a bright young lady text me a nice quote and I felt obliged to “reply” with one and I send her one of my “thoughts” and it goes like, “Life today is not an abrupt jump from yesterday but the summation of the gradual accumulation of evolutionary changes that happens in the past.” She then replied and ask for another one, which I again obliged by sending her this quote, ”Life doesn’t wait for anyone. Take charge and siege the day.” After which, she suggested that I share it with the rest of the world. And so here I am, blogging to share my thoughts. Actually, I was quite reluctant to share my thoughts because these are personal to me. These are what made me into what I am and I am a very private person. To share it with a total stranger is unthinkable. However, I also noticed that there are some people I knew who are in my view “lost”. They seemed not able to grasp what is happening around them. In my view, they are both naïve and somewhat fail to understand who they are. I felt that I could help them understand, help them reach their potential because a long time ago, I was in the same dilemma but I am able to “grow up” thanks to my journal of thoughts. I know I could sound too presumptuous and cocky as well but if somebody or anybody for that matter could get something from my thoughts and utilize it in their lives then my blog’s mission would be complete or so I thought. As I go through with my writings, I began to explore. And in the process, I discovered something else entirely, something that I least expected. I’ve discovered myself. Blogging enabled me to measure the depth of my soul and helped me mapped out the limits of my being. By writing down my thoughts, I was able to understand that subconscious part of me that I always knew but never had the time to articulate nor discover. In the end, instead of helping others discover themselves, I discovered myself. Looking onwards to another year of blogging, I look forward for more of such discovery of myself as Socrates would suggest, “know thyself” in order to understand the world outside. However, I would so admit that I wouldn’t publish everything since my life isn’t an open book and I prefer to keep the most intimate details of my being to the people that I’m very close to but I would share as much as possible my thoughts. I still had many of them and I haven’t written all of them yet. My only problem is writing it. You see, I’m not an extemporaneous writer and I can’t write without thinking it through or without an inspiration of sort, which partly explains why my blog posts are quite long in the first place and it could actually take me days to finish a single post, which is why some of the topics written are “delayed”. However, once, I had “it”, I could go on for days and if you notice, the topics of my posts are somehow related to each other, it is because of that. I try giving myself deadlines to post an article and thus treat my blog like a newspaper column but I failed miserably. I failed because when I am interrupted, I could “lose” my inspiration and I find it difficult to continue with what I’ve written. This is why I had plenty of half finished articles, which I coined as “almost blogs”. Hopefully, I could continue them someday when I “regained” my inspiration but for now, I’m looking forward to the future and inside of me to discover, to explore, and to grow.

My first 53 blogs:
1. On my thoughts.
2. The sailor in me.
3. Saluting a great man.
4. The sand castle.
5. Rites of initiation.
6. The person that I want to be with now.
7. To Neverland and back again – on growing up and being a kid again.
8. The purpose of life – a reply to a friend.
9. Approval addiction – an analysis.
10. Another murder of my generation and I’m angry.
11. Sorry for the tears.
12. A quote and a historian’s rumbling.
13. The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker.
14. Listen to my wife.
15. My mini library – part 1.
16. My mini library – part 2.
17. The day of reckoning – simply unthinkable.
18. My mini library – part 3.
19. The martyr wife.
20. The seven stages of man by Willian Shakespeare.
21. On being 30.
22. On being 31.
23. My contract.
24. A manifesto of our commitment.
25. The road not taken.
26. Steve Jobs.
27. Chinese Valentines’ day.
28. Unrequited love.
29. My cousin Philip.
30. Outsourcing.
31. September 11.
32. A wise guy speaks.
33. When I’m 80….
34. Mid – autumn festival.
35. The tallest tree.
36. To my love, happy birthday.
37. The ceremony.
38. EVAT law and the Philippine society: a historian’s view of a crisis in the making.
39. Philippine politics and the economy.
40. 68 more visits to the grave……..
41. Book launching.
42. Writing about how to start a business: a disclaimer.
43. For the love of the game: the purpose of business.
44. What motivates you?
45. “My” philosophy of money.
46. December 25, 1914.
47. Ethics of greed.
48. Entrepreneur.
49. SWOT/TOWS
50. I condemn….
51. Day 1 of 2006, what a start!
52. T’is the season………
53. The new year.

THE NEW YEAR

This is the blog that I should have posted last December 31/ January 1 but due to some unfortunate reasons, I wasn’t able to. It is only recently that I was able to finish the article.

In a matter of a few moments, it will be 2006, the new year. For most of us, a new year is a new beginning, a fresh start, and a chance for change. I must wonder though why is it so? The New Year is but just a day following December 31st. It is but just a continuation of the past just like any other day. Things don’t abruptly changed overnight nor would problems go away just because it’s the New Year. Surely, nobody would naively expect that by “tomorrow”, they would be living in a dream world, would they? Then why oh why do we imbibed the New Year with so much “hope” and so much “romance”? A very long time ago, when our ancestors were just beginning to eke out what is our civilization, they notice that the weather changes according to a predictable pattern and that pattern would repeat consistently after a period of time. Spring would be followed summer, which afterwards be followed by autumn and lastly, by winter and then, the cycle begins again with spring following the heels of winter (at least in the temperate climate). From here, our forefathers conceive the idea of a “year” and discovered that nature eventually “renew” itself quite predictively. From this, our forefathers preach the idea of a New Year as a new beginning, a new hope, a fresh start. Spring always come after the long cold winter. In this case, the New Year represents hope for the future, a better future, a future that will be according to our dream. But if the New Year is about hope and it is just a day in a year, why couldn’t we make everyday a “New Year”? Why not make everyday a fresh start, a new hope, and a new beginning? Why should it be January 1st? Before the 19th century, the Europeans celebrate New Year on Christmas day (apparently due to economic reasons since they couldn’t afford two major festivities in such short notice and aside from that, New Year is a “secular” feast as compared to the “religious” feast that is Christmas). The Chinese celebrates the New Year on February of the “Western” calendar. Other cultures have other dates for the “New Year” (The Greek Orthodox Church celebrated the New Year on January 10). So why January 1st, when we could have it everyday? Put it differently, why do we need to wait for January 1 to jumpstart a change, i.e., make a resolution? In fact, why do we need to set a date for change? Why do we have to draw up a demarcation line when there is none to separate with in the first place? Why should we “compress” the entire past and all the hopes for the future on a single point in time when change happen so inconspicuously, i.e., we only notice the “difference” when change has happened a long time after? Change could have happen way after the New Year and even way before it. All we need to do is will it to happen and make it so. Remember, life doesn’t wait for anyone (it’s a motto I kept reminding myself everyday when I opened my cell phone). Wait till the New Year to make a change and life will pass you by inauspiciously and left you behind.

T’is The Season…………

Christmas to the New Year is the season to be jolly. Not only because of the holiday spirit and partying but frankly due to the fact that I’m making money. This January, the tune is different. It is the season of well, paying bills. This is the time when your bills kept coming in droves and the collectors are at your door every second of the day. However, the good news is it won’t happen until the middle of the month, which would provided me some more time to take a deep breathe. However, it doesn’t mean that the first few weeks of January is fun. This is the season of number crunching! Today, January 3 is my first day of work but I already started working since the 1st doing accounting work for my company. For accountants and I’m not one, this is the season when you do the “tallying” work of how your company fared the last year, specifically, this is the time when you sort out the numbers from the mess left over from the holiday’s frenzied pace. This is the season when one makes the year-end report, the year-end financial summaries, and balancing the seemingly “unbalanceable” financial statements. Not to mention the auditing works, inventory updates, maintenance check ups and others. It would be good if one has an accounting staff to work with but for small companies like mine, it’s part of the Christmas wish list that Santa kept on forgetting. And so, here I am, pouring through the paper works, pacing around the office trying to keep my sanity and running around the factory “inventorying” and auditing. Definitely, this is the season not to be jolly at but dread about. In addition to that, this is the season when one would experience a roller coaster sort of emotion ranging from sheer joy to down right exasperation. It is “rewarding” and exciting when one is tallying sales especially if it is better than last year but one could get really exasperated and uneasy when one is counting the costs and expenses and in the end, it is quite disheartening that all you work for in a year translate to a disappointing figure. However, it would be a consolation if the profit is within expectation or better than last year and a reason to celebrate when the profit is beyond one’s expectations. And there you have it, the drudgery and unkindness of accounting work, not knowing how the numbers would add up in the end while going through the unending tasks. But my work doesn’t stop there. After the number crunching comes the evaluation period. What went wrong? What did we do right? What should we be doing next? Any bright idea? Stuffs like that. I should have taken a looooooooooooooooonger vacation before going back to work but I can’t. Such is the curse of a business owner, one has to look ahead and keep a pace if not ahead of competition. One cannot simply afford to be “left” behind. I need another vacation after this.

Day 1 Of 2006, What A Start!

I was supposed post something else for the New Year but I’ve changed my mind because of the very recent experience I had. It all started with just a few minutes before mid night of December 31,2005. I took a breather from writing the article that I was supposed to post and came to the balcony to enjoy the fireworks, when my neighbor fired his firecracker to the power and sparks flew right beside me. Luckily, I manage to escape and wasn’t hurt at all but that incident tripped the power lines and suddenly, the whole neighborhood went into blackout just the countdown to the New Year winds down. My brother and me like the rest of my neighborhood greeted the New Year literally, in total darkness, no thanks to my neighbor. Not only that, we weren’t able to enjoy our mid night feast because it’s “dark” and I’m in no mood to have a candlelight dinner at all. I manage also to make my very first phone call of the year! I called up MERALCO to report the incident and requested them to fix it ASAP. Good thing there is a call center representative to attend to me and she is in a darn jolly mood to attend to my request. Eventually, my brother and I decided to go to bed and skip the feast. However, I could hardly sleep since I fear a fire hazard arising from the incident and if I did doze off, I manage to wake up every now and then. My brother is rather pissed about the spoiled celebration but I comforted him by saying that “look at this way, at least, we could clearly see the night sky free from the dazzling distraction of the lights.” However, I knew better that the night sky is far from clear as a result of the smog from the fireworks. At any rate, MERALCO came by around 350 in the morning as I was sweating profusely in my bed. However, to my disappointment, power wasn’t restored till 5 or 6 in the morning. It is then that I manage to sleep soundly and relaxingly till like 10. We were planning to go food tripping at that time although we doubted that there will be stores open when a very heavy downpour occur further dampening our already diminish enthusiasm. We end up eating the supposed dinner feast from last night, which require reheating and frankly, the food taste not that good and some even got spoiled because there is no refrigeration available last night. After the less than delightful meal, I went to work, preparing the programs that I’m going to use in my business. We went out late in the afternoon when the weather is clear to get sustenance and to get away from seclusion as well. We doubted however if the malls are open but to our surprise they are open and it is filled with throngs of people just like us, people who don’t know where to go on a holiday. More than half of the stores are closed today but thankfully, the bookstores are open and as usual, I do my rounds in their shelves. I felt at home and relaxed as if I was drunk and lying in the bosom of a beautiful woman. Worry free and indolent as I shifted through the pages of the book just as if I was caressing her face, her hair and explore the intimate depth of her …………… soul. It was pure tranquility. As I am in my state of trance, mindlessly walking through the store, I chanced upon a book, actually a journal with a very provocative title, “The 100 Places I Wanted to Visit Before I Die”. I opened the journal and nothing is written. The content of the journal was meant for the owner of the journal to write on his adventure. It got me thinking though, where do I want to go? I’ve only manage to be in few places so far and frankly, I don’t even have a clue to where I wanted to go much less to enumerate the 100 places. Perhaps, there is one place that I could go. My beautiful lawyer – friend suggested that I should go to Sedona, Arizona in the US and see for myself first hand how beautiful the Sedona’s Sunset is. She describe to me that how the rays of the setting sun would cast an orange glow on Sedona and transform the place into a scenic beauty never before seen. Someday, definitely, I would be there at Sedona and watch the setting sun. As the day winds down, we have a “respectable” meal than we have during lunch. As I was driving on my way home, my brother played the CD he just bought. It is Il Luvido, the voice opera quartet. The songs are mostly Italian I think and though I couldn’t understand what they are singing, I find it relaxing. There is one particular song that I enjoyed and that is their rendition of O Holy Night. I’ve heard numerous times, the popular rendition of the song and only once, the opera version of it and I heard the latter in the movie, “Merry Christmas”, the World War I story but it was in German. Their rendition however is in English and I never somebody sang that song in so much grace and beauty. It was so soothing that I practically thought that what happened this morning was but just yesterday or maybe, last year. Anyway, here I am, in front of the PC, writing a blog about how my first day of the year been, blackouts, sweat, sleep, bad food, heavy downpour, work, book browsing, and listening to a great music and of course, blogging. Tomorrow, January 2, well most people would be working but me, I won’t start till the 3rd. I had an extra day to make up for today and then it’s tackling the rest of the year.

I Condemn....

First and foremost, I condemn the parents who couldn't and wouldn't look after their young ones and leave them alone to fend for themselves. The street is not a place for children and even though they couldn't afford to give their child a better place to live. It is no excuse for them, not to look over their child and protect them against the ever lurking danger. I condemn the government, whose obsession in the exacting taxes from the citizenry to the extent of extortion but somehow manage to consistently mismanage the economy and waste the valuable resources given to them. For jobs are scarce even to those who are willing to work and some of these people live under a roof made out of sack with no walls and located on the sidewalk. The money earnmark for the poor always seem to manage to end up in the pockets of wealthy politicians. I condemn the passersby who couldn't lend a helping hand when help is needed and only manage to surround the victim when accidents happen and pity the latter and debate on who is at fault except them. They are the perennial "uzicerro". I condemn the cynical world, who could express anger and indignation and wonder out loud, "how could such horrible thing happen in this world?" and then turn their head, have their sumptous meal and go on as if nothing has happened or that it was just a bad movie. Lastly, I condemn myself for being part of the cynical world. I condemn everybody but did nothing to change the world. I condemn myself for shrinking myself to become infestissimally insignificant when in fact I had the power no inferior to anybody and equal to every man to change the world but I just didn't. A 5 year old boy's place is in the playground amongst his friend and not alone, beneath the tire of the back wheel of an 18 wheeler trailer truck laying in the pool of his own blood with his brain scattered in the pavement. This tradegy could have been avoided if only..................

S.W.O.T. / T.O.W.S.

One of the most celebrated characteristics of an entrepreneur is their ability to spot and exploit opportunities. Many business writers took pains to emphasize this unique quality and contrast it with the qualities of an “administrator” i.e., managers. To adequately differentiate the two, it is necessary to understand the difference from SWOT and TOWS. SWOT is the acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats analysis of the environment and company while TOWS is short for Threats, Opportunities, Strength, and Weaknesses analysis of environment and the company. Technically both are the same except for the order of wording and it is in the wording sequence that spells the difference between the two. I’m not playing semantics here but with SWOT analysis, one would always proceed by determining the strength and weakness that one possesses and try to look for the opportunity to exploit that could utilizes the strength that an individual possesses. In short, it is playing to one’s own limitation. This is the archetypal “administrator”. Administrator are ones who exploits opportunities as long as he could reach it else, the best thing he could do is wait and see. The typical order of questioning by an administrator is what resources do I have and what can I do? Followed by “what opportunities are available to us?” TOWS analysis on the other hand, would start by identifying the threats and opportunities in the environment, then determining what skills, capabilities are needed to exploit it, followed by an audit of the skills and capabilities available and develop those that are not present. Here, capabilities are not the pre-requisite to exploiting the opportunity rather the opportunity is the paramount. It is in the creative nature of an entrepreneur that he could remedy his “weaknesses” in order to exploit the opportunity. In fact, “weakness” is not the traditional definition as weakness but rather a “things to do or develop” list in order to exploit opportunity. An administrator would balk in exploiting an opportunity when he doesn’t have the funding to do so while an entrepreneur would not be deterred, instead if he lacks the capital to exploit the opportunities; he finds a “creative” solution to his problems. Possible solutions include borrowing capital, raising it through some offerings or finding a joint business venture partner or some other creative method. Here, the entrepreneur often ask, “What is the next big thing that we could try our hands on?” first. Followed by “what do we need to get things going?” then by the question, “What do we have?” and lastly, “what should we do about it?” An entrepreneur is not in any way hindered by his limitation. I’m not deriding the “administrator” here but one would often expects their attitude to be as perceived because most of the time, administrators are given a mandate and a “budget” to work with and they are expected to do what is necessary within the limitation provided. Entrepreneurs on the other hand, create his own mandate and they are expected to work towards the goal a.k.a. the dream they set.

ENTREPRENEUR

In most popular magazines and column advice on entrepreneurship would focus more on the tasks needed to do in order to start and run a business. I on the other hand stress on the mental preparation on starting a business (the reason why I wrote the 4 previous articles). My reason is simple. Most would be entrepreneurs don’t lack the skills of running the business. What they lack is the “courage” to start the business. Besides, I’m also biased to this kind of approach since I’m an introvert, a person who is motivated by his inner thoughts as opposed to an extrovert who is energized by the outside event. Anyway, to me, entrepreneurship involves a great deal than just a simple how to. It’s the kind of attitude and psychology that an individual must possess. I didn’t mean that if a person who lacks the attitude would fail in business and hence, avoid go into business but rather what I stress here is mental preparation i.e., if you don’t have it, try instilling it. One of my idols in business is Sir Richard Branson. Sir Branson was the ultimate entrepreneur and a billionaire. He started the Virgin group, first with Virgin Records and now, Virgin Airways. When asked sometime ago on why he called his businesses as Virgin, he quipped that because he is going into the business “like a virgin”. I don’t know if Sir Branson likes to listen to Madonna or if he is still a virgin but for those who are “inexperience” and “naïve”, what he meant by “like a virgin” means he knows nothing about sex but is eager to lose his virginity (Ok, probably determined to lose his virginity would be more apt or is it “desperate”?). And that is what an entrepreneur is all about, know nothing if not little of the business he is interested to go into but is eager to get on with it and try it and get his hands dirty. It is this kind of admirable attitude that led Sir Branson to succeed in most of his undertaking and one that every entrepreneur should possess i.e., be “like a virgin”. The second quality in my opinion that an entrepreneur must possess is that old Chinese attitude immortalize in a song, Ai Piyaa Chia Ae Yahh, literally, one must give his best and pursue it in order to win. It is the same attitude as expounded by Al Pacino in the movie, Any Given Sunday, “To fight for every inch of the field, never give up and fight for every step of the way until you reach the Goal” or something like that. In connection to this, an entrepreneur must also take charge especially when the going gets tough. If you want to win so badly, you must take the ball even if there are others who are responsible for them and not you. Patience is another virtue that an aspiring entrepreneur must have. Unlike in a job where an individual could easily discern his/her performance by the reward or punishment he/she gets, in business, such is not the case. Although, an entrepreneur could already tell his success by the amount of money he is earning or in the wealth he is already accumulating but achieving the ultimate goal or the vision or the dream takes a lot longer time, very much longer actually, something like if you are successful 25 – 50 years. There are times even when it would take generations to realize the goal but it is still achievable. Patience is needed here to see it through and slowly built it towards it conclusion. Rome isn’t built in a day. You can’t expect that your business would become a multi – billion enterprise literally over night. Along with patience is motivation. Patience is not enough, an entrepreneur must be sufficiently motivated to move on, to move forward against all odds, against all the luxury that softens his fighting spirit, against all the set backs that would have easily destroy a lesser mortal. Lastly, an entrepreneur must be bold. It is here that greed would “force” an entrepreneur to be bold, to take risk knowing the reward that would shower when he succeeds. As the old Roman adage would say, “Fortuna fortun adiutat”, literally, fortune favors the bold.