Pinanindigan ang Iskedul

The storm rage that was contained

The bus with 49 seater only had 3 passengers on the way back and the company honored its schedule

Sudden Meets

Drix and Henrik, one a recent Metallurgical Engineering graduate preparing for his board, another a graduating Materials Engineering student took a risk to attend an unscheduled, out of the blue social event in the vicinity of their campus. Time could have been spent resting after a board review or chilling out with dorm mates on a rainy Friday night. One is an introvert who recharges by isolating himself; the other is an extrovert who draws more energy engaging in active conversations.

They were not drawn to the place because they were required to as students but simply out of curiosity perhaps not expecting anything but to discover something new in a company of working and retired professionals whose only distinct commonality is sharing the same campus as theirs but on different eras.

While they can claim they learned about wine, wine drinking, meats and music in that marathon social gathering, we too learned from them.

That failing several classes may now be a norm. That school life is really not all ups as there are down moments too. That they have a deep appreciation for history and music, both Asian and the world.
Millennials can be active listeners even outside of their groups. They can appreciate good food and wine and the factual support behind them. They have patience. And they can relate with seniors on an equal footing.

Both have expressed different paths post college. One will pursue a masteral degree after taking and passing the board, the other to get employed. We wish them the best for the endeavors they chose to pursue.

Drix only dragged Henrik to the gathering initially with hesitancy. In the about 10 hours of social exchanges, Henrik must have thanked Drix 7 times.

Leaving the place not knowing if ever we will meet again, the only message we leave is, to take risk. As Paulo Coelho wrote, “we will only understand the miracle of life when we allow the unexpected to happen.

Dealing with change. Minsan (dating sa iyo, nawala o nadagdagan)

Change. We face it regularly and more frequently now at all levels, professionally, governance, personally.


I recall while working for the leading beverage company the various changes that we face monthly, quarterly and the major ones annually. Politically, we face drastic changes daily.  We get devastated on a personal level with loss of friends, loved ones, properties, artifacts, pets or even gadgets.

Without grit, we get disillusioned and desperate. What helped in coping with change was the understanding and acknowledgement of Kurt Lewin’s change model.

Kurt Lewin’s model involves three steps: Unfreezing, Changing and Refreezing . . .  "The process of change entails creating the perception that a change is needed, then moving toward the new, desired level of behavior and finally, solidifying that new behavior as the norm."

Paraphrasing managing change, help let go of the past and prepare for the future. What will change? What will remain the same? What is the new beginning?


Some proven steps for me which have been helpful in transitioning to change: Prepare for the change. Acknowledge change openly. Compensate for the loss. Take a part of the old. Say info over and over. Elaborate on the ending. Mark endings-show how it ensures continuity. Treat the past with respect.

"Iba ang ang mga bossing ngayon. Mababawasan na/Madaragdagan na . . . Nandoon pa rin ang . . . Nandito pa rin tayo. Pero malamang hanggang sa katapusan na lang. Kita kita na lang tayo." "Bilog ang bola." Winter, spring, sumner and fall. When a door is closed, another one opens."

Ely Buendia’s “Minsan” translates the dynamics well in a song particularly in treating the past with respect:

“Minsan tayo ay naging tunay na magkaibigan
minsan ay hindi ko na alam ang nangyayari kahit na anong gawin lahat ng bagay ay merong hangganan
ngunit ngayon tayo ay nilimot ng kahapon di na mapipilitang buhayin ang ating pinagsamahan
ngunit kung sakaling mapadaan baka ikaw ay aking tawagan
dahil minsan tayo ay naging tunay na magkaibigan”

Changes are evidently happening progressively now. Unfreeze (picture the ending). Change (which is inevitable). Refreeze (move on with a new beginning).

Place and Space

The ihawan was created transforming the water tank roofed enclosure to a storage room.

While being constructed, the idea of enhancing it to be a livable quarter was seeded. A wash basin was added. Eventually a small functional comfort room was annexed to it.

Unused wood-based furniture was sourced. Electrical devices were installed including an audio system.

It functioned as a mancave, an isolated place for introverts to pull away from the doldrums, routinely tasks.

The place, with its proximity to a QC workplace was conveniently a venue for grilling, ihawan, inuman, kwentuhan post five thirsty to past midnight.

As the sessions were held more frequently, with new recruits welcomed to the roster of enthusiastic guests, many unsolicited ideas were toyed around to spruce up the place. Professional expertise was offered without of course the fees.

DIY practitioners looking for venue to tamper, artists working on multimedia without a workstation, frustrated chefs in search of willing patrons offered their functional expertise as a outlet for their skills.

Without spending an arm and a leg, the ihawan was slowly transformed to a "bakal-bote" themed hub where the hundreds of wine bottles accumulated through the years served as the motif.

Each bottle of wine with the unique memories attached to it was given focus either on the ground or in the air.

The sound from the chimes ring in good vibes to the place. The sight of stacked bottles reminds the returning guests on the number of sessions they attended to vent out grievances, celebrate success or simply to listen in a quiet isolated space.

Nothing fancy about it, just a roofed private open space. It is not even well maintained, far from spic and span.

It is the company the defines the spirit of the place; this is the space where young professionals have discovered what they have done, dream of where they can be, design their destinies; where regulars simply show up  to unwind.  Music, food and drinks make them stay until past midnight.

As guests leave, their happy memories are stored in a bottle, sealed for retrieval when the need calls for it.

Galloping Horse Performing Cow vs. Raging Bull

Holy Relic of St. John Paul II in Masbate

8 May 2011. I wrote about the beatification of John Paul II.

Roads led me to Rome

I can relate to the famous quote by the English Poet John Heywood that “Rome was not built in one day.” It took decades for me see the city in Italy. Thanks to the beatification rite of Pope John Paul II this 1 May 2011, it was this force that drew me to the city where over 1 million pilgrims were at the St. Peter square at the Vatican.

Literally I saw “all roads led to Rome.” Influx to the smallest nation of the world started as early as Saturday morning 30 April or perhaps earlier.

Edgar Allan Poe, an American author citing the decline of the city wrote centuries ago, “The glory that was Greece, the grandeur that was Rome.” With what I have seen, to me, it is “the grandeur that is Rome.” It is history made alive. 

Assignment led me to the island of Masbate

July 2019, 8 years after, now a saint, I was on the same plane by chance  as the holy relic of St. John Paul II and the National Youth Cross brought to the Diocese of Masbate in a nationwide pilgrimage by the Philippine Catholic Youth Ministry. Through this pilgrimage, it enjoins the faithful to open their hearts through these symbols of faith.

In my short stay for the assignment, I perceived to have received graces, met associates advancing my interests, productively completed my task, housed safely and comfortably even with the impending typhoon that hit the country. Even my offloaded baggage which was chosen at random on the return trip to Manila to reduce the weight for the CebGo propeller plane to safely maneuver the takeoff while encountering habagat winds was delivered door to door on the day of my arrival.

O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of Your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to Shine through him.

Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You.

Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore ..., hoping that he will soon be numbered among Your saints.
Amen.

Buhay Probinsya

15 hours, total cumulative travel time from a 3-hour bus ride from NCR, 3 hours of waiting time at the Batangas pier and a 9-hour boat ride towards  South West of Batangas brought back the hands of time to retro ages

When fruits plucked from the tree go right at the store traveling the shortest farm to market route

Where fishermen cast the net at the beach front just across the barangay hall

Where local artists imitate life in visual arts seen right at their backyard

The idyllic sea sets as a backdrop in a laid-back quaint old town providing respite from routinary urban chores

Momentarily until one returns back to the city to face the mundane mudslinging polluting the air waves

Clock quickly resets to contemporary times when the karaoke bar starts to play the familiar melodies of “sa ilalim ng buwan”

Value Chain Analysis ng Porterhouse

Mula sa kumakatay ng baka, sa mangkakarne, sa tagaluto, sa kusina hanggang sa plato para lamunin hanggang masimut.

MBA question, anong step ang nag a-add value para sa kumain? Anong step ang walang halaga?

Kiliog Cagayan de Oro Roadside Plants

The roadside from Kiliog Cagayan de Oro to Libona Bukidnon is lined with a variety of flowering floras and trees mostly mahogany, mango, narra and banaba of interest to a Botanist. 

It is a visual delight to an urban traveller yet taken for granted and seen as ordinary by the residents.

Face to Face

 From just a face at the shelf to a personality at the dining table. Thanks for the treat.

Nilagang Mani

"Nilagang Mani" using a medium pot made of stainless steel. 2 cups raw sourced from Nepa Q Mart cost me P 30.0 to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups nilagang mani sourced from Nepa Q Mart valued at about P25 at P60.0 per kilo
• 2 tablespoons rock salt at about P0.50 centavos
• 4.5 cups water straight from the faucet

At least 45 minutes of gasul estimated at P3.50 for 45 minutes based on P770.0 per 11 kg tank. Estimated total cost P30.0.

“Nilagang Mani” was tested in a medium sized stainless-steel pot with a glass cover.

Procedure:

1. Wash peanuts with running water using a strainer until sediments are cleared.
2. Transfer drained peanuts in the stainless-steel pot.
3. Pour in water until all peanuts are submerged.
4.  Pour salt in the pot and mix.
5. Set up stove at medium heat.
6. Boil until the nut is cooked at approximately 40 minutes. Check nut by picking one and tasting it.
7. When nearly cooked, bring the heat to low heat for several minutes.
8. Turn off stove. Let the peanut cool down.
9. Serve.

Best Fit Metal Cookware for Food Type

A Metallurgical engineer, a Data Mining engineer and I were determining which metal best suits a food type. Materials available were cookware made of cast iron, aluminum, stainless, ceramic coated, copper, steel adaptable to either induction or gas fired heat. 


Which metal transfers heat the faster, which one retains heat longer, which one has an even heat distribution?

I was guided by a recipe book collected and published for reference on a variety of food for application.

The findings? We ended up firing a charcoal sourced from Nepa Q Mart to grill beef which was eventually paired with red wine.

What chance can this data gathering objectively succeed under with this condition? (By the way, both engineers are taking up their masteral and doctorate degrees at the nearby university.)