[quote them] are you a loser?

"Winners take responsibility.  Losers blame others."  (Not sure who was the first to say this.)

So, how much do you blame others for unwanted things happening in your life?

[who is ronjie?] defining moment #1

When I attended the Dale Carnegie Course on Leadership, Communication, and Interpersonal Relationships, we were asked to give a speech about a defining moment in our life - i.e. something that happened that shaped our values and personality, or that made us realize what kind of person we are.

Here's one.  When I was in my junior year in college, I attended this Geodetic Engineering class, where basically we take some measurements by following a certain procedure, and then document our results.  Part of the documentation is the computation of the "error" in our measurement.  In the class, there were at least four groups of around 5 people per group.  So, our group simply followed the procedure, and presented what we got - we computed a huge error (say, 10%?  or 20%?) and that is what we showed in our documentation.  Other groups apparently came up with some tricks and came up with very low errors (say, 5% or much less).  After all groups had submitted the documentation, our professor was a little angry at the beginning of the next meeting.  He asked how can all groups have very low errors?  That is, except our group.  He highly commended our group.

Honesty and integrity.  It works.

[did you know?] Bible versions for Catholics

Straight from the EWTN website: http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/bible_versions.htm

[quote them] [thoughts] Mahatma Gandhi

"An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." - Mahatma Gandhi

To me this is just one of those catchy quotes, and that it is not the best in the world to teach anyone any lesson.  Why?  It is flawed.  Some can then simply counter-justify, "I will then just go for a tooth for an eye; that way, I don't help make the whole world blind but still I can find justice for myself."  I think, yes, "an eye for an eye" is an old rule that, now we know, is not the best way forward to resolve conflicts.

So tell people that directly.  And then be more specific about better alternatives.  If you use these catchy quotes, sometimes they could be remembered only for their rhyme, not their reason.

[thoughts] Venus Raj

From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGgtQR02WA:

Hmmm, watching this video clip again - America apparently did not notice anything (wrong or otherwise) about her English.  It's just that she didn't answer the question.  They thought though that she didn't answer because she wanted to portray "perfection," eventually leading to zero points for her.  I think that's not really what she wanted to do.  She was probably just really nervous because she was the pre-event favorite - she somewhat had expectations to meet.  Plus, I think in Filipino English, "one big mistake" means a really, really bad thing like crime or what, and so on, and well, I think she hasn't done anything really, really bad.  So actually she was being honest.  But in that sense I guess she did not really get the question, or even get to think what is the question really about.  Like Dubya when asked the same question, she was just not prepared for that kind of question.  Didn't she have a coach for that?  Lastly, I think she wasn't really there to win it all at all costs, or no, she wasn't going way out of her way to win it.  She was there to just do the best she can, get as deep into it as possible, but certainly a win would be a really big bonus.  It showed.  And she said it herself, "thank you so much that I am here!"  I think she was successful by her own goals and standards which are unfortunately not the same standard set by many other people on her.  Hey, she was the first Filipina to place in the Top 5 since Miriam Quiambao 11 years ago.  Miriam also "stumbled" but fortunately for her, it wasn't at the final, question and answer portion.  ABC News said "Miss Mexico is now Miss Universe 2010, but we are more interested in... Miss Philippines."  I think she's actually more popular now than the winner.  ABC News also asked in the video, "why is it that smart people have such a hard time with that question?"  Like most international beauty pageant winners, she is smarter than most people.  Unfortunately she's not as smart-ass as others.  And this reflects yet again the attitude of the Filipino: if you are good enough to be in the Top 5 but not get Top 1, you're not good enough to be respected.  This is why we don't have Michael Jordans, Michael Jacksons, or Donald Trumps, because our would-be-Jordans, would-be-Jacksons, or would-be-Trumps are scared of losing the "Pinagsamahan" and the respect from their own kind, in case they fail.  If ever there were Jordans and Trumps in our midsts, we will think they are mayabang or call them names.  "Nognog," "Weirdo," or "Bokal."  When they "fail," and get back down to our level, we tell them "okay lang yan, hindi para sa iyo."  Anyways, I think, like Miriam, Venus will use this "fall" as a learning experience and certainly she has a lot more in store for her; she is still just 22.  Anyways, I hope we can be more encouraging to each other.

[who is ronjie?] kinakatakutan ko sa naspi

wala lang. ang pinakatakot ako sa pinas, sa mga lespu. mawalang galang na ho sa mga kaibigan nating lespu diyan o sa mga may kamag-anak na lespu. sa akin, hindi bale kung may ginawa talaga akong mali, e di hulihin nila ako at ipakulong. kaso kung minsan may abuso pa na wala na sa ayos. minsan naman wala ka namang ginagawa, bigla ka na lang mapagtitripan, wala ka na. may mga kakilala ako na ganon mismo nangyari sa kanila. e shempre anong gagawin mo kung ikaw ang hinihingian ng pera at inuutusan na pumunta kung saan e sila ang may baril at wala tayong laban dahil ordinaryong mamamayan na nagsusumikap lang naman tayo. ayaw naman nating maputukan o bigla na lang "mawala" dahil meron tayong mga mahal sa buhay na magaalala o nakasalalay sa atin, at umaasa na tayo mismo ay walang ginagawang mali. sa akin naman, dalawang beses na ako hinarang ng pulis maynila dahil daw "lumabag" ako sa "batas pantrapiko" na kakaimbento lang nila nung mismong mga kasulukuyang iyon! minsan naman, may pulis na pumarada ng kanyang sasakyan na paharang na sa masikip naming kalsada. aba nung paalis ako e di pinakiusapan ko na baka pwedeng iurong muno ang sasakyan nang ako ay makalusot. inurong niya nga ang kanyang sasakyan. ngunit pagka-parada niya muli, aba ay biglang inusog niya sa gilid ang kanyang polo at nagpakita ng baril! tanggalan kaya ng baril ang mga pulis? siguro sa "galing" nila mang-extort at kung anu-ano pang katiwalian, dapat lang kaya nilang mapanatili ang kapayapaan ng walang baril! anyway, naayos yung mga pangyayaring yon sa akin dahil nagkataon may mga kakilala kami na silang kumausap dun sa mga yon. pero hindi ko alam kung bakit kelangan may kakilala ka pa para mapayapa ka lang? hindi yata motto ng kapulisan natin ang "to serve and to protect" - o siguro hindi ito para sa ating lahat. mukhang "to serve" ang kanilang sarili lang at "to protect" kung sino lang ang may kaya o may kakilala sa kanila. naiintindihan ko na maraming masasamang elemento talaga at dahil na din sa kahirapan, pero dahilan ba yon? dapat sa mga masasamang elemento lang kami matakot, hindi sa inyo, mga kumpareng lespu. takot ako, takot ako talaga sa inyo. pero hindi ko rin naman sinasabing sa bansa lang natin ito, pero kung pwede, sana lang maayos na ang imahe ng kapulisan sa atin. pero hindi porkit nangyayari ito sa ibang bansa e ibig sabihin ayos lang ito sa atin ha! kung hindi, mas tiwala pa ako sa hukbong sandatahan natin dahil sila mas may pagpapahalaga sila sa buhay dahil linalagay nila ang kanilang buhay mismo sa kapahamakan. ano ang palagay niyo?

[quote them] Love

Sacrifice is the only language of love.

This apparently said by a priest during a homily heard by Papa Jack, a "DJ" of Love Radio (90.7 FM), Manila, Philippines.

[quote them] Troubles

Troubles are like washing machine,
They twist, turn & knock us around,
but in the end we come out brighter than before.

I'm not sure who said this first but apparently based on Google's archive of the web, it's this lady, via Twitter:
http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=en&safe=off&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1900,cd_max:2007&q="Troubles+are+like+washing+machine"+site:twitter.com/ahblackledge&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

[quote them] Oscar Wilde on job appreciation

“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.”

[quote them] Norman Vincent Peale

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

This is the truth that I recently discovered but have long been the basis of my "criticism" of people -- usually people I consider friends or family -- which I do not to push them down, but for them to see that they can still climb a number of steps up to the top.  Some unfortunately have thought that my "criticisms" of them were opposite of "being friends" with them, and so on.  They took them as personal attacks.  I don't know where they are now, but some other old friends who took my criticisms and stayed as my friends, I know they have certainly blossomed in a very beautiful way, for their own sake and for those of the people they love and care about.

RONJIE.COM is mine again!

Yes!  After 2+ years of wait, the domain RONJIE.COM is mine again.  So, no need to type in the very long ronjiedotcom.blogspot.com in your browser.  Just type RONJIE.COM and you're automatically brought here.  Updates to RONJIE.COM and our affiliate websites are forthcoming.

[who is ronjie?] My "prustrations"

8 years ago when I started taking up my MSc degree, I said I had these "prustrations:" Piano, Photography, Painting, Prose, Poetry, PhD, People (I'm approachable, but not usually approaching)... among other things, I can't recall.  Well I just started my PhD now!  And...  Well, one dream, one step at a time. :-)

[did you know?] Shaq and the 2010 NBA Playoffs

If only Cleveland beat Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the final four teams in this year's NBA Playoffs would have been 4 of the 5 teams that Shaquille O'Neal has been on!  LA Lakers, Phoenix, and Orlando Magic being the other 3 aside from Cleveland.

Miami, one of Shaq's previous teams, was eliminated also by Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

Considering Boston's current streak of eliminating Shaq's teams, will Boston eliminate Orlando and the Lakers also?  We will know in 3 weeks.

[thoughts] On Voting

I received a forwarded e-mail, below, and here is my reaction.

A question I would ask here is... So which president who does not have all these 5 attributes has, whether directly through his know-how and hard work or indirectly through inspiration, truly brought the Philippines back on the right track (at least since the Philippines took a dive since the Marcos regime)? Maybe it's time to try something new and unfamiliar... Maybe it's time to get out of our comfort zones of electing presidents who have been "battle-tested", who have been corrupt even before they were presidents, who have no name as big as "Aquino" to protect, etc. Little girls (or even boys) who are used to being around an abusive male figure such as their father growing up generally tend to look for similarly abusive male figures as mates (or as friends in the case of boys) when they grow up. Maybe it's time we elect someone we're not used to electing.

No one is perfect actually. This "perfect man" called Noynoy is actually not - and the author below has shown it. I believe it is wrong to ask "who I should not vote for?" and then choose a few and not all to evaluate. The other question is, are others voteable? What should ideally be asked is, "who can I vote for?" Or, "Why can I vote for _____?" Don't ask "Why can I not vote for _____?"

---------------Forwarded Message------------------

Subject: Fw: NOY?

Im not passing it on for the sake of the country. I just thought it might be "interesting" to you both...
:p
This was sent to me.
Please take time to read this, and kindly pass on to others for the sake of our country.

No offense meant to ardent supporters of Noynoy, some of whom are my close friends. Just a point of view of a non political observer.

NOY

In every election, the easiest choice to make is, who you would not vote for. This year, it is profoundly difficult because for me the easiest identifiable candidate whom I would not vote for, (aside from Erap of course, for who would vote for a convicted plunderer) is a leading candidate, with the widest of margin in the survey, Noynoy. He probably will be the next president and so, in my heart, I tried my best to consider and reconsider my decision, yet I became more convinced that he is my best choice on whom not to vote for. These are in my thoughts:

He is clean and honest
He really is unblemished, squeaky clean and immaculate.. . His record for nine years speaks for himself. I am reminded of a friend of mine, a cocky but very articulate and bright Solicitor General.

At a certain time before he started winning his cases, his critics had a heyday criticizing the way he handled his job. They said, he had a perfect record of losing all cases. Thus, his record was clean and unblemished of victory. Like this solicitor general, Noynoy has also no record of dishonesty simply because he has no record of accomplishment at all. He was one of the prominent members of the committee of silence. I goggled his name to find out if, except for his name, there was anything he did that he should be proud of.

I am sorry that I found nothing. It is time he reveals what he had done in congress for nine years, plus two years in the senate, to deserve the presidency.

When he ran for Senate, he simply relied on his family name and the endorsement of his mother. Being in the Senate with no accomplishment will not hurt the nation except the wasted money paid to him as a public servant. But to be president and not knowing what to do is probably as disastrous as a corrupt president.

He comes from a good stock

A prominent columnist of the Inquirer believes that since hero’s blood runs in his veins, he is a natural hero and would do nothing to shame the good name. The prominent columnist also said that what we need is a good heart and correct values and Noynoy fits to the T. Of course heritage is a plus factor but unfortunately, this is no assurance that he too will be as upright as his parents..

We do not have to look far. Look at his sister. She even gloated and flaunted her sexual indiscretions and gave press interviews of her indecent acts, in spite of the fact that at that time, her dear mother was very much alive. She fueled salacious gossip about her sexual escapades that she grabbed the headlines for days of the local papers. Not only that. She proudly proclaimed that she will have to do a wash over of sorts, on the personality of Noynoy.

To be fair, since Noynoy is not the sister’s keeper, he should publicly open how he spent his several hundred million, probably billions of pesos, if cumulatively taken together, of pork barrel. Joker and Lacson did not spend a single centavo on their pork barrel allocations.

Moreover, Noynoy has not been battle tested; we do not know how he will react to temptation, simply because he has not been where the action is. He can not honestly and truthfully say that he is goodness personified and all others are evil just because he is the son of Cory. It is sheer arrogance and hypocrisy to make such claim.

He comes unprepared

Before the death of former Pres Cory, nobody considered him of presidential caliber, not even for vice president. His party mates knew of his capabilities and did not even look at his direction when they then considered their standard bearer. Noynoy himself, conscious of his own limitations, did not even dream of being one.

When his mother died and there was public mourning, all of a sudden, his party mates in spite of knowing his limited capabilities, and taking advantage of public sentiments, pushed him to be a candidate to the noble office of the presidency. This factual milieu clearly shows that his popularity is solely and purely for sentimental reasons, the death of Pres Cory.

His supporters are praying to high heavens that the public sentiments on his parents would not wane and that the public would not see through the real Noynoy. Stripped of all sentimentality, there is nothing in his bio data that shows he is capable of the challenges of the highest office of the land. His biodata is uninspiring, to say the least.

Aside from his public office due to his lineage, he was a sales person of Mondragon Industries, and a member of the board of directors of a security agency which the family owns. How in heavens name will he run the country?

Pres Cory’s landmark of achievement in her administration was her Land Reform program. Our own 24 hectares of irrigated rice land in Kinamayan, Davao del Norte was subjected to land reform and my Dad wanted to fight it out but I counseled him to surrender the land as I explained to him that ultimately the entire country will benefit from this pestering problem of unjust distribution of wealth. He understood the situation that each of us had to make sacrifices for the common good. This is not a unique scenario in Mindanao, then known as the Land of Promise .

Little did we know that Pres Cory distributed all other people’s landholdings except her own Hacienda Luisita. She asked all of us to make sacrifices, except her own family. Her tenants protested and in the ensuing protest several tenants were mowed down. The tenants were unarmed and no casualties were suffered on the side of the soldiers trying to disperse the tenants. Of course, Noynoy is not her mother’s keeper, nor do I intend to diminish her mother’s role as our leader who toppled the dictatorship.

But when Noynoy declared his candidacy, he was asked point blank, what he planned to do with Hacienda Luisita. He had no ready answer but promised to give a stand soon. Three months passed and still no answer. Is he really prepared?

Trust

The argument goes, that since the people lost trust in the present leadership, Noynoy comes as a white knight, enjoying the trust and confidence of the people. But why should we trust Noynoy? Has he done something to deserve our trust?” Trust is earned, deserved and not bestowed nor inherited. We are now bombarded with propaganda about the goodness of Pres Cory, to the extent that Noynoy propagandists even go to the limit of declaring her a saint, in the hope that people will also view Noynoy as saint- like.

The Liberal Party had even formulated its battle cry: “this (the election) is a fight between good and evil”. My goodness, don’t you agree that a man who pontificates that he represents goodness is really suspect of some loose screws somewhere.

Noynoy's handlers forgot the basic need of a responsible candidate-the need to have an advocacy. It should be pointed out that Noynoy has no advocacy at all in his public life. He won his senate seat solely upon his family name, like Loi Ejercito, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla and the like. This is very important to those who are very discerning.

We do not know to what directions we will be going, with him as a leader. It is fearsome to have a president who is not only unprepared and unqualified, but also to be under the control of unknown advisers and heaven forbid, under the tutelage of his movie star sister.

It becomes more dreadful because his popularity is seemingly sustained, thanks to the biased and twisted reporting of our media and most especially of a very large TV network who all have their interests to protect.

The above mentioned points are correct.

I am simply saying that Noynoy is “Not Worth Voting For” because:

1. He has no capability to govern

2. He relies solely on the name of his parents

3. He has no advocacy

4. He has no achievement on his own

5. He is pure creation of media

Sadly, only Noynoy has all these attributes among all presidential candidates.

[quote them] Bo Sanchez on love

“But love is like that.  It is giving oneself without expecting anything in return.” - Bo Sanchez

[did you know?] "The World is a Vampire"...

"The World is a Vampire..."

... is not the title of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"! :-D

[did you know?] Do you watch DWWX-TV or DZBB-TV in the Greater Manila area?

Then you're either a Kapamilya (DWWX, aka ABS-CBN) or a Kapuso (DZBB, aka GMA)!

[did you know?] Singapore, Metro Manila cities, and Davao City

Singapore is larger than Metro Manila!  710 sq.km versus 640 sq.km.  That makes Singapore as a city larger than any city in Metro Manila.  But...  Davao City is 2444 sq.km!  Metro Davao is 3750 sq.km!  That's more than 3 to 6 times larger than Singapore or Metro Manila, or nearly 3 times larger than Singapore and Metro Manila combined!  The Greater Manila area which includes Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Rizal is around 4863 sq.km.  In comparison, the Tokyo Metropolis and New York Metropolis are 2187 and 17405 sq.km respectively.  Manila though (the city, not the metropolis) is one of the most densely populated city in the world, with 1 person per 23 square meters, second only to Dhaka in India with 1 person per 22 square meters.

WATCH RENT Musical on V-Day! (please forward to your officemates and friends)

***Guys, you might be interested. Please forward to your friends na din.***

Hi,

The 7th longest-run show on Broadway is coming to Manila again this February 2010!

What better way to spend V-Day afternoon than watching this Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical with your loved ones?

Doesn't have to be a date; in this SEASON OF LOVE, there's a lot of love to go around.

See you at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater, RCBC Plaza, on February 14, 2010, 4:30 pm. Reserve your tickets now to get the BEST seats!

Brought to you by 9 Works Theatrical and directed by Robbie Guevarra.

Ticket Prices

• Orch Center - Php 1,700
• Orch Side - Php 1,600
• Loge Center - Php 1,400
• Loge Side - Php 1,100
• Balcony - Php 800

For more info, kindly visit our website at http://rentvalentines.co.cc

For the seatplan, please visit http://rentfeb14seatplan.co.co

Please contact Mela @ 0917-594-2884 for tickets! :)

"It's time now to sing out, though the story never ends let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends. "

About Rent

Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini'sopera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS. The show's creator, Jonathan Larson, died suddenly the night before the off-Broadway premiere.

Better Resumes

Based on http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/01/resume-writing-guide-leadership-careers-employment.html?feed=rss_popstories

1. Write a "positioning statement," or "professional summary." Yes, ideally this is just one statement.
2. List down your top accomplishments.
3. Choose your keywords. Match them up with the words the company uses.
4. Sometimes, computers are used to scan your resume for keywords. One trick you can do is to type in keywords at the end of your resume, but make their font color white. This way, the hiring managers don't see them, but the computers will.
5. Polish your LinkedIn profile. Post your resume there, too. And add a photo.
6. If you have the looks, make a "visume," a video resume that you can send via e-mail.