Quoted here last: Jessica Zafra and Conrado de Quiros on success

From Jessica Zafra’s blog post “This just in” :

“I think it’s a good policy to aim too high. It is more practical to be overly ambitious than to set a goal that is well within range of your abilities. How is this possible?

Well, if you aim low and fail, you put your talent and competence in doubt. You want so little but you still don’t get it, so maybe you don’t have what it takes.

However, if you overreach and you don’t achieve your goal, it will be viewed as a case of wanting too much rather than a simple failure due to insufficient skill. Even if you really do lack the skills and are a complete twerp. People will see the ambition first…”

read more of her post here…

And Conrado de Quiros backs it up in his column, “There’s the Rub” on inquirer.net:

Success…build confidence…As you can see from Pacquiao today—he is more confident than ever. But isn’t the opposite true as well? Doesn’t confidence also produce success?

You have to wonder on a broader plane if that is not the thing that has held us back from making the kind of giant steps Pacquiao has…

I have a friend who was thought of being aggressive and boastful by his classmates. Not surprisingly, he made it big in America.

Of course there’s a level at which frankness becomes bluntness, assertion becomes abrasiveness, outspokenness becomes loudness. You get a lot of that in US airports, a stunning contrast with Narita where the personnel are awesomely polite but just as awesomely efficient. But just as well there is a level where obedience becomes submissiveness, respect for authority becomes mindlessness, and patience is no longer a virtue. Certainly they can stand in the way of the dogged pursuit of greater goals, or giant dreams.

Read more of de Quiros’ column here.

Hmmm….Is this why I probably have difficulty finding a job? Because during interviews I exude a confidence that may border on arrogance? Because I refuse to be less ambitious? Because I believe in something more than just corporate things?

If so, this makes me feel better. I am on the right track.

You should too.

 

Film watch list: What have I been watching?!?

Back from a long hiatus. What have I been watching thus far? Well…

The Proposal – Sandra Bullock is the fire-breathing, man-eating incarnation of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada), albeit a watered down, less scarier, version. She is a Canadian book editor who faces deportation if she does not fix her visa status soon. Enter nice book editor’s assistant, the secretly rich, quiet Ryan Reynolds who reluctantly agrees to marry her so she can get a spouse visa. Sparks fly. Dogs fly. Guess how it ends? Sidebar: I am sorry. I could not finish this. I just feel that Sandra Bullock is too old to be in romantic comedies. Why can she not be like other fortysomething Hollywood movie stars and star in a movie where she actually acts her age?!?

I Could Never Be Your Woman -  Michelle Pfeiffer is a successful TV executive producer and a single mom juggling between the responsibilities of work and home. Enter Paul Rudd as the young break out actor who falls for her. Sparks fly. Cute one-liners fly. Movie falls flat. Amy Heckerling directed this. So that makes you scratch your head. I do not know why this one has not done better. Perhaps it is because they were trying to pass Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd off as younger, trying to make a non-issue as an issue, trying to make a conflict out of nothing, trying to make a movie that just does not quite compute.

Garden State – Zach Braff plays a young struggling New York actor cum waiter who comes home for his mother’s funeral. Estranged from his father, alienated from his hometown, the character does not know what to do and I do not know what to make of this film as well. Natalie Portman is thrown in in the middle of the mix as a chronic liar with epileptic fits, but even her charm does not save this movie. The problem? Nothing happens. Literally nothing happens in the movie, the whole entire time.

The Sweetest Thing – I know this is an old one, but since I had to go through it, I might as well write about it. Cameron Diaz and her lady friends spend their time hanging out and hooking up (unfortunately not with each other). Apparently they all have issues. Cameron Diaz’s character is afraid of relationships, and her other two friends cannot just have enough sex (in fact, Selma Blair’s character’s jaw gets stuck in an uncompromising position while doing it) and…well, that’s it really.

The Heartbreak Kid – Ben Stiller has relationship issues. Encouraged by family and friends (note to self: never listen to family and friends), he proposes to the first woman he meets on the street and she turns out to be a total psycho (creepy that). On their honeymoon, he meets the perfect woman (Michelle Monaghan). Sparks fly. Lies fly. Fights ensue. This one is actually funny.

Made of Honor – Patrick Dempsey has relationship issues. He is bestfriends with Michelle Monaghan and is in love with her but does not realize it until she leaves for Scotland and comes back with a rich Scottish fiance. Sparks fly. Montages fly.  Guess how it ends?!?

The Ugly Truth – This one is actually more fun. Katherine Heigl (look how nicely she’s filled out since those “Roswell” days!) is a successful TV executive producer (aren’t they always?) with relationship issues. She has a crush on the neighborhood hottie but can’t quite work up the courage to ask him out. Enter totally un-PC, totally woman-hating Gerald Butler (without the “300″ get-up…so sad!) who teaches her how to play the dating game without looking like a total dork. Sparks fly. Vibrating panties fly (best scene that, actually. This redeems the movie for me). Happy endings for everyone.

Mary and Max – Eight-year old Mary from Australia, and 40something obese man from New York, Max, strike up a friendship as pen pals. The story chronicles how each one go through life. A touching, bittersweet, heartfelt animated film.

Zombieland – Funny take on zombie movies, with Woody Harrelson starring, with funny cameo from comedian Bill Murray. Mixes tongue-in-cheek humor with indie sensibility. Winning formula! Now a hit in the USA.

Reading list: What I have been reading for the past few days….

So I have survived three typhoons in the Philippines and am waiting for a new typhoon off the east coast of northern Philippines  to come ravage this country yet again.

To entertain myself, I have been reading books. Here are the books I have finished thus far:

Ever since I read Balzac’s “Pere Goriot” I have developed an interest in French authors (Marcel Proust notwithstanding) and this second book I have from Balzac (bought at 20 pesos at a booksale), does not fail to disappoint. This is the story of Grandet the miser, his clueless wife and even more clueless daughter, Eugenie Grandet, subject of much fascination and gossip, as she could well be the richest young woman outside Paris. Set in post-revolutionary France, this novel is a delight to read, with its vivid descriptions of French aristocrats, nobles, the nouveau riche and the peasants. It provides a good insight into post-revolutionary French life and preoccupation as well as provides insight into the one human universal preoccupation: greed.

The Blood King by Gail Z. Martin. Let’s face it. Fantasy novels are a dime a dozen. I personally have a soft spot for Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and am always very wary of any other fantasy (relatively unknown) writer with a novel that may probably be just another rip-off of another novel. But then again, we live in a post-modern world. So is there really anything original anymore in a world where everything seems always readily accessible? Anyway, my ex sent me this novel knowing that I had a penchant for sci-fi and fantasy novels (she sent me the complete “Twilight” series as well, bless her soul). I was not looking to be entertained by this novel, but a few pages into this novel and I really got into it. There is supposed to be a book 1 and I was a bit bummed at the prospect that I’d have to go hunting for book 3, but I was pleasantly surprised that second book stands all on its own and wraps all the loose ends from Book 1. In a nutshell: Power-mad, evil Prince Jared Drayke has assassinated his father, driven younger half-brother Prince Martris Drayke out of the kingdom and enlisted the help of evil mage Arontala to take control of all the Winter Kingdoms and resurrect the all-powerful evil,the Obsidian King (think all the evil villains of other fantasy novels like Sauron and He-who-must-not-be-named and you get the idea). Matris Drayke discovers he is a summoner and a mage himself and must control and summon all his powers in order to defeat his brother and mage Arontala and prevent the Obsidian King from coming back from the dead. My summary does not do it justice, but suffice it to say that it is a good read. Lord of the Rings it isn’t, but it sure as hell is an entertaining one.

I have also finished “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fanny Flagg (2o pesos at Booksale! Yay!). I’ve already watched the movie, the story is pretty much the same, but the novel is not specific about the sexuality aspect of the two female protagonists as well. That one’s left for the imaginatino.

And now, I am reading one of my favorite fantasy novelists, Ursula K. Le Guinn, and her book, “Sea Road”. More on that later.

Jobhunting, Pinoy style 5: The rejection letter…

A letter I just received in my email today:

Thank you for your interest in joining E*******************.We have carefully reviewed your application for the ************** Specialist position as it relates to the Training Department’s present requirements.  Although your overall background is good, we regret to inform you that we are unable to further process your application.

There were other candidates whose qualifications were closer to the Department’s requirements at this time.Rest assured that the results of all evaluations would be held with strict confidentiality and that we’ll be keeping your file on active status for future vacancies.

We wish you the best of luck in your current endeavors and express our sincere appreciation for your interest in applying.

This would have been my reply had I no sense of propriety or manners (yes, I am a bit pissed…bear with me…):

Dear *************,

Thank you so much for your email. I appreciate you taking the time to email me a well-written rejection letter.

But in future, please note the following:

1. Please do not make applicants who come from other provinces travel seven hours to Manila just to take an idiotic test on abstract reasoning, verbal reasoning, mathematical reasoning and the like then send them back again to wherever they came from to wait for your next call.

2. Please do not wait a week for said results to come through, have another interview, then ask the applicant to come straight to Manila for a teaching demo and a panel interview.

3. Should you interview your applicant at 11am, please do so. Making them wait for 30 minutes to an hour so you can go out and have some Starbucks frappes is just rude, rude, rude. Especially since the applicant saw you come in and out of the building oh so leisurely, with nary a thought about the applicant who just came from a nine-hour trip (the travel route had been changed because of the typhoon).

4. The applicant finds your condescension and your apparent lack of preparedness appalling. In future, stupid jokes and inane comments should be kept at a minimum, as are loud chatter during a teaching demo.

5. Your day will come. Burn in hell.

I feel better now.

After the Ondoy and the Pepeng: A Wishlist

I wish the National Disaster Coordinating Council would actually coordinate disaster prevention and rescue operations.

I wish the P56 B road tax would actually be used to maintain roads and infrastructure.

I wish PAGASA could actually have more advanced equipment.

I wish the MMDA would really be about (sustainable) development and not the kind used to pacify financial institutions we need funding from.

Are zombies the new vampires…?!?

From Newsweek Magazine:

“Have you heard? Zombies are the new vampires. First it was the hit literary mash-up, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Last month it was Jennifer’s Body, the Diablo Cody-written zombie movie starring Megan Fox. This weekend, movie-goers flocked to Zombieland, which became the first surprise hit of the fall season (it opened at No. 1 with $25 million, according to studio estimates). Starz premieres Zombiemania later in the month, reviving all the old zombie classics (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and more). Apparently there’s even a self-help book for zombies on the way, dispensing “advice and etiquette for the living dead.” Zombies zombies zombies.”

For full Newsweek article, click here.

Jobhunting, Pinoy Style redux: Still in Clark…

Monday -

Went to Manila apprehensive, cautious, worried that the place where I was going to, Shaw Boulevard, would be flooded like the rest of Manila. Shows you what I know of Manila! Friend told me to get off at Quezon Ave, take the MRT to Shaw, get off at Shaw and I’ll find the office there. Friend says I can’t miss the office – it’s like a mall. Promptly got there to find that there are at least three malls there or something. Perfect! So of course I spend much time trying to find the office of the place where I am supposed to take the test for the job. Between you and me, I am positively tired of tests. The tests I had to take for the job application were IQ tests, reading comprehension tests, etc. I’m supposed to have yet another job interview and a teaching demo.

I went to another place in Panay Ave (took the MRT again) to see about another job and it was going great, until the interview told me it was only going to be a three-m0nth job. F*cking hell!

Anyway, that’s it.

Sunday Morning in Clark

Well, friends…

Storm’s passed. I am in Clark, and everything’s back to normal. This would mean, it’s hot, it’s humid, it’s putrid, it’s the same old, same old. Cagayan, Ilocos, Batanes, have been ripped apart by the recent typhoon and damages are still being estimated even as we speak.

But on the whole, hopefully, the worst has passed.

I am here in Clark right now, and everything seems to be back to normal. Hell, the sun was out this morning! Here’ s hoping everything’s going to be alright soon. At least for a week or a month or so. Just to give survivors a chance to breathe…

Vigan! Laoag! Batac! Sarrat!

So…it’s been a year or so since I’ve visited the Ilocos. I grew up in Baguio, but the grandparents hail from the North, and though I am as much a mountain person as the next one, I am more Ilocano than anything and I do love the Ilocos.

So, armed with a few shirts, shorts, and a friend, I traveled to Vigan in the middle of a storm over the weekend.

I chose the Partas bus, which is one of the more popular buses coming from Baguio that goes to Ilocos, got off at Narvacan, got a mini-bus, and got off at Vigan. We would have gotten the Laoag-bound bus, but we missed that one, and was forced to get the one going to Abra, hence the need to get off at Narvacan.

From Vigan, we had lunch around 2pm, got a calesa (tip to tourists going to Vigan: get the calesas, support the cocheros, they know where to go naman e) which charges about 150 pesos an hour. I didn’t bother to haggle, the driver (cochero) was old and seemed in need of the money anyway. The driver took us wherever we wanted to go: the Bantay Belltower and church, pottery shop (one of the finest in Vigan), the museum (which we skipped), the garden (which we skipped), the Baluarte zoo (which we did’t skip), which was, at the moment, just full of deer, ducks and five tigers.

From Baluarte, we were driven to the highlight of the calesa trip: the cobbled-stone streets of Vigan, always a favorite of mine, where you can see the finest souvenirs of Vigan.

We took the bus to Laoag, spent the night there and went around the next day.

You can rent a van or some other form of transportation when you are there, but since I have relatives in Ilocos, I saved a lot on that.

We first went to Paoay, site of the world-famous Paoay church, significant not only for the design of the church, but for its historical significance: Katipuneros used to use to place as a hideout and a lookout area. We then went to Batac, where Ferdinand Marcos’ body was ensconced in a museum, surrounded by his houses.Then we went to the place where he was born, in Sarrat, a simple two story house preserved for our viewing pleasure. Lastly we went to the Malacanang of the North, overlooking Paoay lake, where the late president used to go to work when he was on holiday.

What can I say but that Ilocos is a beautiful place? I shall go back there soon again.

Movies! in 3 lines or less!

This is escapism I know, but one needs something to cope with all the madness and chaos that is the Philippines. So here are the movies I’ve watched in three lines or less:

1. 17 AGAIN:

Mike O’Donnell (Matthew Perry) – or as we like to call him, Chandler: I want to be 17 again.

Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) – or as we like to call him, that guy Troy Bolton from High School Musical: I want to be a high school jock again!

Fans: Trying to suspend disbelief – how can somebody who looks like Zac Efron grow up to look like Chandler?!?

2. ANGELS and DEMONS

Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor): The pope is dead! Long live the Illuminati!

Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks):  The pope is dead! Long live symbology!

Fans: Screw this! We’re just watching it for Ewan McGregor!

3. NEW MOON

(Ok this hasn’t come out yet, but I’ve read the book, so)

Edward: I can’t be with you. I’ll go to Italy and kill myself.

Jacob: I’m a werewolf and while Edward is away, I’ll make my move on Bella.

Bella: I will remain completely self-absorbed. Like I did in the last movie.

4. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

Family: We will vacation in the woods, somewhere away from civilization where of course, a group of psycho criminals will find us and wreak havoc on our picture perfect family.

Criminals: We will take your daughter, rape, torture and kill her.

Family: You missed. Now we torture and kill you.

5. DARK KNIGHT

Bruce Wayne: I am a rich playboy with a lot of issues who has a penchant for bats and for wearing costumes.Oh, I have the hots for the district attorney’s girlfriend.

Joker: I am a crazy man with a lot of issues with a penchant for bats and waring costumes and lipstick.

District Attorney Harvey Dent: You killed my girlfriend! Now I have a lot of issues as well! Oh, and I’m going to kill you both!

6. THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS

German boy: I am a lonely young boy with no playmates whose father is the commander of the Auschwitz camp.

Jewish boy: I am a lonely young boy with no playmates and I am about to die in the camp.

German boy: Let’s be friends! And I’ll sneak into the camp and die in the gas chamber with you and end the movie.

7. FREEDOM WRITERS

Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank): I am young, privileged, naive, white teacher with an insecure (but really hot!) husband, intent on making a difference in my poor high school students’ lives.

Students: What the f*ck do you know about being poor?!?

Erin Gruwell: Let me tell you about Anne Frank.

8. CLOVERFIELD

Lily (Jessica Lucas): My boyfriend’s brother has been promoted to VP and is moving to Japan. I will throw a party, have my boyfriend video it, invite my boyfriend’s brother’s bestfriend who had a one-night stand with him and complicate things.

Lily’s boyfriend, Jason: I will ask my friend Hud to video it instead because I can’t be bothered with all this.

Hud the Cameraman: I am in love with one of the guests and will video her instead.

Lily’s boyfriend’s brother, Rob: A disaster just struck and I will drag you all over New York trying to rescue the love of my life.

Monster: I don’t care about your stupid storyline. I’ll eat you all and end the movie.

9. THE SPIRIT

The Spirit: I don’t know what I am, but I like saving people.

The Octopus: I hate The Spirit and I hate people. I’ll just make life a living hell for The Spirit and the people.

Moviegoer: I cannot believe this crappy movie ever got made.

10. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE:

Jude: I am a working class lad from Liverpool in search of my father who I believe works in Yale, save up to go to the US, find out my father is a janitor in Yale, befriend a Yalie drop out, meet his pretty (and really hot!) sister, Lucy, move to New York, get deported and try to win his sister back.

Lucy: I will just be the object of Jude’s affection. Oh, and get involved in anti-Vietnam protests.

Prudence: I am the token closeted Asian-American lesbian in love with the New York landlady with a promising storyline that suddenly quietly disappears.

Director: I’ll throw in some other characters and compress all the issues of the 60s into this one movie, plus add in the coolest Beatles music sung with psychedelic backdrop.

Moviegoer: Awesome! (at least for me it was. Who can resist a Beatles’ musical?!?)

11. MAMMA MIA

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried): I don’t know who my father is! I need to know who it is before my big wedding! I’ll steal my mom’s diary, find out my mom slept with three men, invite them all to the wedding and figure out who my father is.All the tune of Abba songs!

Donna (Meryl Streep): I don’t know who my daughter’s father is. I see all three of them before the big wedding and start singing Abba songs!

Three possible fathers: We don’t know which one of us is Sophie’s father. But who cares?!? We’ll just have a ball singing and dancing (rather excruciatingly) to Abba songs!

Moviegoer (mostly me): Awesome!

12. MADE OF HONOR

Tom Bailey (Patrick Dempsey): I am in love with my bestfriend and of course it will take me the whole movie to realize this.

Hannah (Michelle Monaghan): I am in love with my bestfriend and of course it will take me the whole movie to realize this.

Director: Let’s throw in every other cliche into this movie and hope for the best! Oh, and throw in Patrick Dempsey in a really short, short tartan skirt!

Moviegoer (thinking): Wow…crap…but the leads are hot, so I guess I can forgive him/her!