Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 http://jonharules.blogspot.com/2009/06/michael-jackson-grand-come-back-or-no.html

Blog Reactivated

Hi everyone! This blog is up and running AGAIN! It’s been several months since my last post because I forgot my username and password. Luckily I was able to recover it and changed some settings so it will be easier for me to update this little blog. I can’t think of anything to post as of the moment so feel free to check out my other posts in my other blogs:

http://www.jonharules.blogspot.com

http://www.missionarypreparation.blogspot.com

http://www.thetriviaworld.blogspot.com

http://www.storeads.wordpress.com

It seems like I’m such a Blogger lover, haha.  Well WordPress is pretty powerful but Blogger is pretty much friendly. Well hope to hear your comments as to what you’d like to hear from me! Have fun!

Business Max UPSIZE Lessons

August 22, 2008, Friday. Last day of the week and this is always something I look forward. I do not really look forward about my Biology class though. And then there’s this Biz Max Upsize Seminar for the IFJMA or the Association for the Marketing-major students. So what about it? I wish to spend the whole afternoon sleeping and get ready for my graveyard shift. But I already bought a ticket last Tuesday, so I guess I just have to attend and enjoy what this event could offer.

Me and my friend, Ruby Ann, whom I’ve met in my least favorite class–Biology, agreed to meet prior to entering the Cinema 3 of SM. To my surprise, there were around 700 marketing-major students who attended the said event, or at least that’s what speaker said our attendance was.

Going on the event proper, the first speaker wasn’t at all impressive to start with. He’s the Marketing Director of Mayad Studios—a proud Ilonggo photgraphy and videography company. Well, I think we share the same problem, like the “uh” stuttering. I wish he didn’t talk much and just showed the videos of their master pieces. When you get to see them, you’ll be really like ” Wow, hanep pang-world class nga!”.

The second speaker was Jason–or Jake–as he wants to be called–the Advertising Director for Level Up Online Games in the Philippines. He started his talk by asking the online gamers and helping me and the others, who haven’t been in the online gaming world at all–to understand what it’s like. He looked like a Korean, but again “Wow, hanep pang world-class nga!” for he is a “full blooded Filpino”, as he put it. He talked about advegaming–or advertising in online gaming and showed clips of how advertising in the gaming world helps companies gain the interest, and eventually, the trust of teenage consumers. He also pointed out that advergaming wouldn’t replace traditional advertising, only to enhance the retention rate, and the efficacy of the advertisement. Well, the way I take it, advergaming helps the sellers hit two birds, or in the case of online market, million of birds, with just one stone. The game developer profits, the advertiser profits, and yes–the player also does, or as he believes he is.

Mr. Guerro from BBDO Company spoked about outhinking the world through creativity and imagination. His presentation was fantastic, aided with many clips we all loved due to its humor. I love the interactive advertisement made by Adidas when instead of the traditional billboard of 2 football players, they hired professional wall climbers and did the stunts for the advertisement. What a brilliant idea! Why haven’t we thought about it here in the Philippines?

The last speaker was plainly positive Mr. Willy Bantigue of Business People, Inc. They are a distributing company, major distributor of Nestle products. He spoke about paradigms, wrong paradigms, shifting paradigms and many other classic e-mail stories that he has eventually saved and implemented into his life and business. He talked about how Christopher Columbus has made an egg stand on its own. How? He broke it and so the egg stand on its own. He said that if we want a breakthrough, we need to break with. He also shared that if we would usually go with the rest, we would most likely be wrong just as when 520 years ago, the whole world thought that the world is flat and that the Earth is the centre of the universe.

My skepticism of the said event, Biz Max Upsize was dissolve, or perhaps only diminished when I heard the speakers speaking and showing how marketing can change or control the world. As for us, Filipinos, only one thing matters, we’ve got the drive and we need to act towards changing what we want, and what we can. How? Ah, that’s the question I’ve failed to ask..Let’s see..study hard? OR STUDY WISE. Go get high grades? I’d always get the same answer, START FROM WHERE YOU ARE. Or as Raphael said, “with what you have”. What I have now is the decision that even if it’s hard to work and study at the same time, I’ve got to finish a bachelor’s degree and won’t just settle for the Computer Programming diploma that I’ve got from STI Kalibo. The decision to change what I can, no matter how hard the risk.

The committee must be commended, except for the Pizza Hut crews who failed to serve my drink since I was in the last seat of the row (and the guys from I guess it was UPV or were they from CPU as well, only them knows if ever they’d remember) didn’t even care to pass on that drink. It’s okay, I’m not into an upsize iced tea. I’m for the thirst for success that has just been powered by the speakers of the said seminar. Seminars, they always inspire. Getting successful people talk about how they’ve made things happen.

Marketing after all is not an easy task, but fun and rewarding when you get things done. Imagine and Create. It’s either the ideas would scatter, or they’d matter.

CPU after typhoon Frank

What used to be green green grass field now filled with thick mud and broken branches.

Canals were opened, only to see what worsen the flood–garbages

The roof of the library was under construction..now almost everywhere at school would be..er-reconstruction

I thought my only haven–library–was spared..

Religion and Ethics Department–all we could do is hope and pray, for its faster recovery..

A single flood would not deter the students from excelling. I t was only one of those challenges we had to go through, as we EXCEL.

Adventures in Park Regency

Behold the beauty of Park Regency–and me

Sam Milby and Anne Curtis in Iloilo

Sam Milby and Anne Curtis, on their way to Robinsons.

Sorry for the blurry picture. Their van was moving, I barely noticed they were already there. I was on my way to Rob Mall, and I was distracted by the screaming people. Goodness, there they are–My Boy and His Girl. Sam is way cuter in person. Anne is pretty skinny and her hair doesn’t impress me a bit. It was long but never all the same in her H&S ads. I don’t hate her for having Sam though, she’s beautiful and they look pretty happy together. It was also Sam’s birthday the day they visited Iloilo.

The Cameraman..lol..and Anne, she’s singing Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’

I think the reason why most actresses sing this song is because it’s pretty easy to sing, without having the people notice that you don’t really have the correct lyrics and right timing or hindi ka halatang sintonado. lol..Oh, Anne you’re still amazing when it comes in acting though.

Anne Curtis singing Umbrella..

Sam Milby sang “My Girl’

Sam and Anne together.

Sorry for giving you the rear view..hhee..The cameramen looked like the stars instead of the two..hhee

Sam and Anne looked so much in loved with each other. No doubt about that.

Season and Time for Everything

The tragedy that typhoon Frank caused to Ilonggos and Akeanons and many other Filipinos were just horrible. Many have lost their loved ones, their living. For some, they have to start from the scratch. One could hear mixed emotions after the typhoon. Some were blaming the government for procrastinating in implementing the projects that could have lessened, if not prevented, the disastrous flood. Some would feel bad for losing their homes, their blood-and-sweat-founded wealths. Some would just utter disgust for the muds that reminds them of the catastrophe.

Me and my mom were not spare from the typhoon’s mischief. We even live in the city where the flood never skips even with not so much rain–Jaro, Iloilo City. I had to endure sleeping in the house of other people when I could no longer walk home due to the strong pressure that the water is giving me when I was walking home from work. Our apartment was filled with flood until the knees. When the rain stopped on Sunday, I had to walk again, somehow thankful that this time the water is until the waist, I don’t have to walk against the current this time.

I would be a hypocrite if I would say that after what the typhoon has done, we’re okay now. Ther aftershock would be no electricity and no water. However, that’s better than it never stopped at all.

For those who lost their loves and loved ones, I could find no enough words to comfort you. For those who lost their fortunes and their precious possessions, I do not know how many years would it take you to regain what you’ve lost, or will you ever be able regain it?

However, during these times, we should not look for people to blame on what happened. Not the government, not our neighbors, not even God. We could perhaps blame–ourselves. Blame ourselves for not taking good care of our environment just in time. For not throwing our garbage in the proper places, for not planting trees, for not bothering to know what the nature needs. We couldn’t have prevented it, yet we could have lessened the effects of it.

Oh, it wouldn’t help to blame God for this. We our responsible for this. Somehow we should be grateful that He has spared our lives. That we could make a change–change of ourselves after what happened. Somehow we should be grateful that even if water and food is in scarcity, we still have some to eat and drink.

I don’t think we need to experience disasters to  remember Him. For everyday of our lives, we need to remember the One who gave lives to us. Everyday is a gift from Him. Just as a cliche goes, “everything happens for a reason”. May it a be a result of our own actions, or others, there’s still a rainbow after the rain.