26 Random Things About Me

Let's begin...

1. I just LOVE chocolates. All my family and really close friends know this.
2. Whilst I love chocolates, I don't care too much for chocolates with peanuts (yellow M&M's, for instance), plus chocolates and mint combinations.
3. I miss playing the violin. I used to play it well when I was young. My professor even offered to come to our house once a week for private lessons just so I won't stop playing.
4. As cliche as it sounds, I know I am meant for something good.
5. I have been involved in publications since high school, and I even have this blog, but sometimes I am scared of writing. I feel my thoughts run too far ahead of my typing skills at times, and I end up rambling.
6. I haven't been in a relationship in over five years.
7. I drink copious amounts of water everyday - I haven't really measure it, but I would think maybe at least 3-4 litres daily? And that's on a workout-free day.
8. I love sports, but not all sports. Swimming, tennis, badminton, volleyball are among my favorites.
9. I have a strong feeling being a yoga instructor will be in my CV within the next five years.
10. I love my nose, I hate my tummy.
11. Patience has never been one of my strongest suits. I am working on improving it, though.
12. I hate it when people do things a certain way just because it's always been done that way (without knowing why).
13. I am left-handed when it comes to playing racket sports - I discovered this in sixth grade.
14. I am fascinated with languages, and I want to learn maybe 4-5 more!
15. When walking down the street (especially in our village), I used to have this obsessive-compulsive habit of making sure I have six steps in each concrete block.
16. Music has always been a source of happiness in my life.
17. I really want to try bungee jumping at least once.
18. Traveling opened my eyes to a much bigger, beautiful world.
19. I have been nicotine-free since Christmas 2008.
20. I will be starting a business with a couple of friends. We're still in the discovery stage.
21. I have at least 30 books at home, waiting to be read. *gasp*
22. I absolutely love the TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
23. I have not read any Harry Potter book by choice. Same goes for not buying an iPhone.
24. I am a foodie - good food with good friends = bliss.
25. I really should get going as I have a consultation with a trainer in ten minutes.
26. I thought of 26 because it's supposed to be random, right?  25/30/50 seemed too obvious.

How's everybody doing? I've been so out of it these past several weeks. Been working at least 10 hours EVERYDAY. No kidding. My team roster has DOUBLED in February. From 8 FTEs to sixteen. That's right, sixteen. Been conducting training for the past two weeks. At the same time, making sure we meet all the "normal" deliverables. On top of it all, I am working on 3 different projects which all involve the upcoming integration/re-organization. It's tough, I have to admit. But enough of work for now.


One of the plus sides is I've been slowly working my way back to hitting the gym (note the word "slowly"). Been doing it once a week for the past couple of weeks now. This week, I will increase the frequency to three times - two times purely cardio (treadmill, bike), once for lifting. The running part, I am thinking of doing it outdoors instead. Legazpi Park is nearby, plus there's always the village park too. Running indoors can be so boring for me. Plus, I realized that I run longer when I do it outdoors. Guess a change in environment can really work wonders. So, for this week, I'll do cardio on Monday (that's today), then cardio/weights on Wednesday, and cardio again on Friday. Sounds like a plan! Let me put that in my planner as well. Okay, done!  :-)



My goal, which I've written down in my other blog, is to go back to 175 lbs by May 2012. I think I have to tweak it a bit - move it up to April 2012, plus achieve a specific body fat percentage (maybe a range to be more realistic). I have to measure my current body fat percentage first. I'm wondering if a 10-12% goal is feasible in less than three months. That means I would really have to go on a virtually fat-free diet, increase my caloric expenditure, and get lots of rest. Wish me luck! I would have to check by visiting my nearest drugstore which has a computerized height/weight/measurement scanner, which includes body fat percentage. After which, I would have to review my goals and re-sharpen my goals if necessary.


That's all for now! Time to tune in to the Grammys.

These are all the many changes...

I knew that this year will bring a lot of changes, challenges, opportunities, etc. It's something that I felt deep inside, like instinct, a gut-feel sort of thing, you know? Plus, the fact that all horoscopes I read corroborate this feeling. They say that the Rooster (which is my sign) is a secret friend of the Dragon (this year's sign), which means that this will be a good year for me. I also read that the "luck" that will come my way won't happen until later this year, and that I would have to work hard first before it comes. When you look at it another way, the universe is telling me that in order for me to receive luck, I must work hard for it. Luck favors those who are prepared, right? So there.

What I didn't realize is exactly HOW much changes will go on during the year. The month's not over, plus it's officially been only a week since the Lunar New Year began, but already I've been through a roller coaster of a journey. From changes that directly impact me and my role, to organizational changes which have either "leaked out" or which I found out from various credible sources, it's amazing how I managed to cope. A friend and I were discussing this, and we were wondering if it was better that we didn't know what is to come,if we just "go with the flow," so to speak. I told her that, personally, while some of the information is pretty hard to swallow, I'd rather that it would be this way - that I find out ahead of others (even if "ahead" here means a few weeks, or even days, ahead). That way, I would have time to think, and rethink, my next steps. I've always felt that it was never easy for me here at work. By knowing what is to come, I could plan ahead.

Change management is "a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management). I have to admit, I have much to learn about change management as a discipline. In my organization, I think I am not alone. The company has recently hired a Change and Engage Manager in order to help everyone deal with what is to come in the several months. What we need to emphasize to everyone that these changes are all about improving performance. The ultimate benchmark of performance in our case is customer satisfaction, or CSI. This year, our goal is to reach 8.5, a score which is considered "best-in-class." Coming from barely reaching last year's target of 7.5, this MIGHT seem like a herculean task. After all, here we are with all these changes, restructuring, re-organization, and so forth, and on top of it we have to meet a higher target? What gives, right? But what we need to embrace is this: the fact we are undergoing a lot of changes is to reach our goals. This may sound far-fetched, or even crazy, to some, but I fully believe this is a fact.

Paradigm shift. As a leader, we are presented with these changes almost first-hand (after the managers, of course). Not only are there changes in our roles, but also with how we look at rewards and consequences. We have been raised in a culture of "punishment" - if you fail to do something, there is a corresponding consequence. Take the matter of attendance - if you fail to come to work (whether due to an emergency or health reasons), it will be taken out of your performance bonus and your score. However, the direction right now is a radical change on how we treat non-performers. During a leadership meeting, the plans were unveiled (a bit hastily, it was not part of the agenda but HR felt it was needed at the time, since all questions were pertaining to that anyway), and some found it a bit difficult to swallow. I myself raised a few questions, and a couple of people supported me; but it turns out they were looking at it differently from my point of view, that everything got twisted and screwed up during the discussion. Sheesh. Anyway, my whole point is this: paradigm shift. A change in the basic assumptions. A change in the way of thinking. From a geocentric model of the universe, a paradigm shift occured. Now we know that the sun is the center of our solar system (that is why it is called the SOLAR system, hahaha!).

I need to end this article now, and so I leave you with a paragraph taken from an article on the web. The link is http://www.taketheleap.com/define.html, and I hope you like this:

"In conclusion, for millions of years we have been evolving and will continue to do so. Change is difficult. Human Beings resist change; however, the process has been set in motion long ago and we will continue to co-create our own experience. Kuhn states that "awareness is prerequisite to all acceptable changes of theory" (p. 67). It all begins in the mind of the person. What we perceive, whether normal or metanormal, conscious or unconscious, are subject to the limitations and distortions produced by our inherited and socially conditional nature. However, we are not restricted by this for we can change. We are moving at an accelerated rate of speed and our state of consciousness is transforming and transcending. Many are awakening as our conscious awareness expands."

Sunday afternoon thoughts

So far, I must say things have been good. True, I was not able to cross off all things in my TO-DO list for the 1st working week of 2012. But the important thing is I was able to accomplish a lot, and that my year started on a good note.

The weather today has been fantastic. Nice cool breeze, occasional rains, cloudy skies - perfe ct for spending your Sundays at home. Thank God for wifi, coffee, cable television. Hehehe. In an hour I am heading off to church for choir practice and to hear mass at 6pm. After which, dinner (and maybe a movie) with a new friend. Yes, just a friend. :)

I bought this bok entitled, "The Game of Work." For a business book, it is really short. I aim to finish it tonight, and get into a reading groove. Yesterday at Powerbooks I almost ended up buying a couple of books (ESPECIALLY since they were on sale). Thank goodness I exercised enough restraint - it's not as if I don't have enough books left unread. And  for me, unread books = unloved books. That's why my goal is to really read and read and read. I used to be a voracious reader. I read whatever I could get my hands on. Now I feel as if my attention span has really gone downhill. The fact that Wikipedia and Google are a few clicks away aren't helping, either. True, you get information in your fingertips in a few seconds. But honestly, I find it shallow and uninspired. Am I old-fashioned, or is there sense to what I am saying?

Since I have decided to grow my hair, I am at a point where it is behaving badly. I mean, I am running out of ideas on how to wear my hair. Help!!! But I will still fight the urge to get a haircut, or worse, shave it all off. The latter would probably look better on me, according to many friends of mine. But I must be patient. Besides, I want to see the look on my Mom's face when she sees me with long curly hair. Whatup!

Tomorrow I look forward to swimming, and to catching up with a dear friend. Yay!

Just a few (work-related) updates

I know I have not been updating my blog this past couple of weeks, so here I am, desperately trying to catch up. :) Here's what went on the past week, as well as what is to come. Most stuff will be about work, so consider this a head's up.

Visual Management Content - aka VMC, or VMS (Visual Management Systems), or Kanban. Like my previous post, I have been in a visual management frenzy, what with our  competition which happened on Friday, November 4. According to the criteria set by the manager, it should reflect what is going on, stats-wise, but on a team level. It should also be sustainable - materials used should be found in the office, plus it should be sustainable. So for my team, after reading a ton of articles online about this whole visual management, I decided to keep it all about the content. I formed a team of four who will be in charge of the board - its design, of couse, but most especially, its upkeep. I informed them I want to see the board being updated DAILY, and that we will be having daily huddles around the board. This way, we would not lose sight of where we stand, and we would know how to get to where we need to go.

I must say, I am VERY proud of my team and what we have done with our board. We were the first (among 12 teams) to finish making the board, and we have started using the board as a tool days before the judging began. Aesthetically, it is very simple and straightforward. We have decided to make a motel theme, for reasons unbeknownst to outsiders. We all know that motels have taken a lot of flak here in our country, and there have been occasions when we were swapping "mot-mot" stories. Some teammates even have a "I heard" disclaimer - that is, they're claiming that they have not been to mot-mots themselves, they just heard the story from a friend. Hahaha! Anyway, back to the board. As far as content is concerned, it is very clear and easy to understand. We have statistics for the past 3 days, the past 3 weeks, as well as on a monthly basis (starting on the 3rd quarter). We got the sustainability part covered, too - we stuck to using the whiteboard as a whiteboard, and the stats on a weekly and monthly period covers everything until year-end (we just update using pens and markers). I say whiteboard as a whiteboard because some teams covered their entire boards and resorted to having their data printed. Each to his own, of course.

And what I feel most proud of is the fact that we have started conducting daily huddles. We discuss what went on the previous day, what will happen for today, and other updates from the center, RDS, etc. I have tapped one of my teammates to conduct small activities, and he obliged. We had sharings about our fears, saying something good about the other person, and even answered random sets of questions, beauty-pageant style as another teammate said. But it's all in good fun. So the challenge is to maintain consistency. Let's go!

Training on Coaching - I have a lot of catching up to do. The deadline has been extended until Wednesday close of business. I have two more assignments left to do. During the close out call last week, we were asked to share any challenges we had in doing the pre-work. A lot of people said it's the time given to complete these. I was like, "Dude! We were given almost two months to complete everything!" Besides, all activities were spread out on a weekly basis, so it is really up to us to finish everything on time. Part of being an effective leader is being able to organize as much as 80% of your tasks/meetings, both on a weekly and daily basis. I know, I know, I am ineffective in that sense too - I was not able to complete my pre-work on time, right? But hey, at least I admit it. It's the first step to maturity. Hahaha!

Virlanie Foundation visit - we have finally started the groundwork for this, and I am REALLY hyped! Been too long since our first visit (Feb 2011). I even asked my team member to consider having us booked in advance for 2012 - maybe 3 or 4 visits throughout the year. My goal is to ensure continuity and making our presence felt with these kids. Anyway, I have a feeling this will be a very memorable one for us. I can't wait to go to Divisoria and buy our supplies. This is going to be awesome!

Dayshift on Tuesday - one of the little things I look forward to, to be in honest. I have a Global Anti-Bribery and Corruption Training going on, so my Monday would extend to Tuesday morning. After the training I will report back to work on Wednesday evening. But I think I would still go back Tuesday night, if only to have our daily huddle and to make sure things are in order. Still undecided on that - I got a whole day to figure it out.

October stats and coaching - have to finish the stats TODAY and start the coaching sessions TODAY as well. Whew! Wish me luck!

Anyway, I am off to meet a friend in Pasig - we are going swimming! Hopefully the traffic is light, considering it is a holiday today. Laters.

Visual Management

Been caught up in a visual management frenzy these past couple of weeks.

Since we now have our own visual management system (aka bulletin board, VMC, kanban, etc.), I felt re-energized and motivated. I wanted to use that as a tool to really make our goals as a team visible. It is in synch with the One Minute Manager Principle, in that the goals must be clearly spelt out. I also started becoming more communicative to the team, especially when it comes to informing them of my whereabouts, my itinerary, meetings, etc. Of course, I still have a long way to go. I can feel my patience wearing thin at times, and I know that it is obvious to them as well. I have to learn how to look people straight in the eye more often. The latter has always been my thing - I sometimes tend to look anywhere but in the eyes of the person with whom I am conversing. Baby steps - like what I said, I'm getting there.

I just hope I could finish the reprieves so I can look forward to a great week. I am thinking of having everyone work the same schedule - think that would create more cohesion as a team? Let me sleep on it first. I can't wait to do my 1:1s with my staff - WAY OVERDUE. But in order to start doing that, I need to have the data prepared. So help me JC, please!!!

What a day

I am talking about the events that transpired starting Wednesday afternoon. I watched The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall at 5:00 PM. Kidding. It was in Greenbelt 3, although TPOTOATRAH was the title. It was over 3 hours long. They showed the history of the musical - how Andrew Lloyd Weber came up with the idea, the success it's gained all over the world, etc. Hard to believe it's been 25 years since its first show in London.

Then came the actual musical. Amazing. The company was fantastic! The Christine they got was beautiful, plus her voice was spot on. The Phantom was creepy. He's that good. Oh how I envy these musical actors and their God-given talents! :)

After the curtain call, Andrew Lloyd Weber came on stage to say a few words. Then the original cast came on stage. Sarah Brightman, ex-wife of ALW and the first Christine, sang The Phantom of the Opera with four of the past Phantoms. Michael Crawford, the first Phantom (who won both a Tony and an Olivier for this role) came on stage too, but he didn't sing. Later on I read in Wiki that he came from another show so he wasn't able to sing.

So that was the highlight of my day, I would say.

When I got to work, I got stuck in two meetings, which lasted for 2.5 hours in all. I already knew I wasn't feeling well - I have a terrible cough and I feel I have so much phlegm inside me that's very stubborn and refuse to come out. Plus, I had very little sleep. So I opted to take a sleeping lunch instead (a term we use when we wanna spend our lunch break sleeping). When I woke up, I grabbed a bite at our cafeteria. But I knew something was wrong still. So I went to the clinic and asked if I could use the nebulizer. The nurse set it up for me, and before I knew it I was out for three hours. Good thing I informed my boss and my senior staff that I was going to the clinic.

It ain't over yet. Let me tell you how I ended up all the way in Cavite. Laters.


Sent from my BlackBerry®

Let's put Habit 1 to the test this week, shall we?

This week will be very challenging for me. Why? Because aside from the usual tons of stuff I got to do, I have to prove to myself that I CHOOSE to be proactive. Proactive in the 7 Habits sense. I would not let things which are beyond my Circle of Influence get to me. I'd focus on the things I can control, no matter how small or little they are. I'll start with my chosen response to stimuli.

First, what are the things I need to complete this week anyway?

Finish scorecard coaching for 3Q
Start coaching for first week of October stats
Passport renewal
Bill payments
Drivers License Renewal
Change oil, tune up of suzie
Watch more flicks at the Spanish Film Fest
Watch Phantom of the Opera at Greenbelt
Pray! Especially come Wednesday - Perpetual Help
Fellowship plans with the team
Hear Mass on Friday
Consultation with pulmonologist
Training of team


Also some of the things I hope to do as well:

Get Postal ID
Join weekday choir practice
Swim at Ace Water Spa
Hit the gym

Whew! I'm no super human. It's not going to be easy to accomplish all these. But with careful and strategic planning, plus proper delegation, communication and follow-ups, I reckon it can be done.

So, back to Habit 1. What's up with that, you ask? Well, last week was a real test for me. I was made to feel like I was very incompetent at what  I do. I was questioned as to why I am here (position-wise) in the first place, given that I had myriads of issues, especially when it comes to dealing with people. No matter how strong a person you are, you can't say that hearing something like that won't hurt you. I admit, it did. Whilst in retrospect, I know I could've chosen a better response, I'm just glad I didn't do anything worse. I don't wanna disclose what happened - that woudn't be part of me being proactive now, would it? But I am allowing myself to talk about it just one last time here. I choose to focus on the things I can control and influence. It wouldn't be easy, but with JC's help, I can do this.

Oh, did I mention my birthday's also coming up this week? :)

Just a few thoughts before I sign off

Watching Russell Peters now while here at work (still). He's so funny! He does accents so well, plus his facial expressions are a treat. There's truth to what he says at times, you have to admit. I like how he portrays Filipinos, especially the ones living in America. "Junjun, show Tito Ray how you play the piano. Show Tito Ray!" Classic!

I just realized, Pelicula has started and I have not seen a single flick! Boo. I have been so caught up with work this week. I have to promise myself to come home on time. I end up staying so long in the office, it's starting to take a toll on my health.

Speaking of work, I stumbled across an article in the internet -  10 Signs You're Unhappy At Work (click here for the article). A lot of the things resonated with me. Sigh. Especially the part with the physical symptoms. I haven't been this sickly since I was in grade school, it's crazy. I get stressed thinking about my health at times, which doesn't help. And what's funny (in a way) is that my health deteriorated because of stress in the first place! Hahaha.

Looking forward to this weekend - watch at the Spanish Film Fest with friends, having a nightcap with my childhood friends. The latter I am excited about more - we haven't hung out for the longest time. To be honest, I don't expect anything exciting to happen. But at least we get to hang out.

My birthday's coming up in a week. Aargh! Hehehe.

Sometimes I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. Damn if you do, damn if you don't. To say I am tired would probably be an understatement at this point.

I know, I know - focus on my circle of influence. Things on which I have control. It does seem like an exercise in futility when we try to lament over things beyond our control. But hey, I am only human.

It just gets very frustrating at times.

“Basing our happiness on our ability to control everything is futile”

 - Stephen R. Covey (from http://goo.gl/Xv36Z)