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[2020 prayer] we made it through

Heavenly Father, 2020 has been a challenging year for me and for everybody in the entire world. From natural calamities to man-made disasters; from  pandemics, physical illnesses and  unexpected accidents, you have spared my life as I am still alive on this last day of 2020.  You have also never ceased to provide for me throughout this year's recession and up to the last day of 2020, I have steady roof above my head, a comfortable bed to lay on, and bountiful food on the table. It is true that I should not ask for anything more for myself, instead, I should be  grateful, and I should praise you for allowing me to go through those challenges as it made me not stronger [because you know I was about to give up] but instead, it made me a better  person. It made me a person of faith. Because throughout those challenges, you never left my side. You answered my calls every time and you answered them at the right time. For this, I cannot thank you enough and I have nothing to offer in return except I will try my best to be faithful in my faith.

Many have not been blessed to survive 2020, the countless people who died from COVID and various illnesses, those who died from the volcanic eruption, storms and earthquakes around the world, those who died from factory explosions and other unwanted accidents, please bless their souls and bring them to their everlasting peace.

Still, many were blessed to survive 2020 but still face dire situations. Please continue to bless them and help them overcome their troubles.

As we push forward towards 2021 and leave 2020 behind, we ask nothing more but your blessings, your guidance and that with you we find peace. AMEN.

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[smurfette] as i call her, is a 2006 honda civic. she sports a k20z2 engine mated with a 5 speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. she's been with me since 2012 and we've covered around 38-thousand kilometers since i got her. her engine is impeccable! her roars are music to my ears the only thing we've had troubles was her tranny - and still is. but that doesn't keep us from going at it and having fun together. 😊

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[lessons] message to fresh grads

So like the general public, I’m a member to numerous online social groups and one of which is an the IT Recruitment Hub Philippines. Just scrolling through, I came across a post about asking tips on how to get hired. So as a hiring manager, I thought of sharing my thoughts to the group and perhaps be able to help the next generation face the competitive arena of job hunting. And here goes:

Dear Fresh Grads, here are some more tips: First thing you need to understand is that, more than anything, you are selling your attitude, your character because you still don't have experience. If you've got notable technical skills, school or org projects that you can intelligently discuss, then that is a plus - because that may not necessarily be relevant to the company that you are applying for. Next to that is checking your CV. Make sure it's clear, concise and comprehensible. Wag gawing coloring sheet ang resume. Keep it black and white. And please, please don't put seminars that you've already forgotten - it's pointless to mention a seminar or training that you no longer know about. Once your CV is in check and you know what you're selling, it's time to sell. Send out your resumes to job sites. Use LinkedIn. Use your connections. While waiting for the response what do you do? Go look at the mirror and practice communicating. Being tense in job interviews are minus points as it presents you as not being confident. By practicing your interview in front of a mirror, you train your brain and your mouth on what to say, to train your body the right posture - the way you sit, your non-verbal communications to be confident - to put on a show and perform at their best. As they say muscle memory. As the others also have said, study! Expand your knowledge. Remember you are selling yourself. Much as the X number of fresh grads selling themselves to get that 1 position. Prepare yourself the question: Why should we hire you? What makes you stand-out from the rest? Why you instead of that other fresh grad from the other bigger universities? When you can answer this confidently, and you've made a good impression on your character and abilities, then maybe you might be selected. Practice your ENGLISH! Review your grammar, tenses and expand your vocabulary. Even if you're SMART, but if you can't communicate, then your knowledge is just enclosed in a box. How will the interviewer know what you know if you can't discuss it to them in an organized manner?  When you get called in for the interview, NEVER EVER be LATE! Do everything for you not to be late in your appointment. Be there an hour ahead, that's not a problem, but NEVER EVER be LATE! Being late in your job interview automatically throws your opportunity down the drain. Being on time is PROFESSIONALISM101. Your clothing should be sharp. It speaks of how keen you are in details. Even before the interview starts, you're being graded already. Properly pressed shirt, tidy hair, clean shoes show you're keen to details and can AND should reflect on how you work. Now that's done, let's talk about everybody's favorite topic - SALARIES! Scout for the average market value of fresh grads. And if you're asked for a number, peg your number within the average, noting that you are flexible to negotiate. In the end, if the company is interested with you, get whatever they're offering. It's the first job anyway - no one is telling you to stay in that job for 40 years... Once you get accepted, do your job well. Don't foster tardiness and absenteeism. Maintain integrity at all times. Don't gossip. Plan your career - will you stay in that company for 1-2-5-10 years? or will you look for another job after a year. Do consider also that loyalty also plays a value with some employers. So, while job hopping may boost your salary quickly, your job loyalty may be questioned later when being considered for more senior roles... PS:I did this for about 30 mins. Please take time to read it. I'm sure it can help you folks a lot. And if you find this work helpful, no need to thank me. Take note of it. Learn from it and pay it forward. Good luck to you next gens. :-)

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Do you want to sell sugar-water for the rest of your life? or, Do you want to come with me and change the world.

– Steve Jobs, speaking to John Scully

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I recall, this song 'rocked' back then. But listening to the song after 15 years, I stopped and pondered: I'm no longer the one next in line 'cause I'm the one in it right now. And as I look back at questions in the song -- my questions -- now, I think I finally have the answer:

Life and the outcome of which, is the result of decisions and choices one makes.

Question is: How do you want your life to be and what are you doing to achieve it?

Here's to the next 15 years, when I'll have the answer to my next question.

CHEERS! 

But then again, 15 years is a bit too long.

MUST. ANSWER. THIS. NOW!

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Nice going SE for MULTI-TOUCH on XPERIA X10. Big question is: WHEN! <http://goo.gl/RLwii> Roll-out of Android 2.1 isn't even complete yet.

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Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh I believe in yesterday

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SE Xperia users who would like to know and check if their phones are already ready for updating to 2.1, visit this site: http://goo.gl/UrJnp

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Time to attend to my Daddy duties. Prepping for LSM-PTA Meeting on an early Saturday morning.

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[prayer] it saves lives

there comes a time, that even how careful you drive, you just end up making that wrong decision. earlier today, i was driving down from tagaytay, roads were wet, and there's almost a long line of cars heading down. then i made that decision to overtake. not long from my break point, i suddenly found myself along the path of an SUV heading up to tagatay at fullspeed. almost instantaneously, i felt shivers went up my spine. but no time to panic. i floored the pedal and made a quick pass, barely hitting the SUV.

then i thought, thank you Jesus, thank you Lord.

a good habit and display of faith is what i think saved me from a horrible mishap. i can attest the prayer that goes: "grant me & the drivers around me, O Lord, a steady hand & a watchful eye, so that no one shall be hurt as we pass by" just saved me, my wife and our friend from what could've been the news maker for tomorrow.

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Yay. There's now a tumblr app for android.

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Bjorn's big face. http://twitpic.com/2a18n3

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birth of [impressions]

[impression] as defined by dictionary.com -  a strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, conscience, etc.

this came into mind as i embark the nth web home that i've tried putting up and commit to maintain. to tell you a brief history on my efforts, the first that i did was hosted via geocities. after that, came multiply. i did some several posts there and kept it as my online photo-album, which i dumped flickr for. then google-- thinking that google sites + adsense + picasa would be a very good combo to work with, but i just felt that the sites templates and features were too limiting.

and now, tumblr.

so why is it that i have continuously yearned to have a blog site of sort? there's likely several reasons why someone ought to have a blog site, but for me, here are the top-2 reasons:

[brain exercise]: in writing an article or a blog for that matter, one must carefully organize the thoughts that needs to be written down for the article to be note-worthy of reading. yeah, a one-liner is easy to jot (ergo, the most non-sense storage hogs come from the likes of twitter & plurk), but expounding it and giving the different aspects of a topic entails creativity and critical thinking. so it's a good brain sharpener to maintain one.

and above all reasons, it's [impressions]: a brief background on the thought is that when i was younger, i would love to listen to the stories of my folks. my grandfather used to say, "you know, during the war...", or "when i was in japan...". another grandfather told me: "i used to be a member of KKK and back then..." and with these stories, came lessons that the school couldn't teach, these were life lessons. hence, i developed a notion to listen to stories, get the lessons, and share those stories to other people i get in-touch with. i'd also encourage other people to do the same. the point is: one's wisdom and knowledge is useless unless it's been used and shared. as one's wisdom and knowledge be brought to the grave, one's life would've been wasted as he expire from the living world.

i'm not sure how i can commit to having this site updated with articles and materials. though, cross-posting would help make this site updated with the activities that i do.

this is also dedicated to my only boy, Bjorn. i do hope, that one day, when he comes of age, the content are still here for him to read and to learn from.

anyway, i hope this would be of interest and of value to the viewers of this site.