Thoughts on the Satisfaction of Man

Economics is best described as the proper allocation of limited resources to man's unlimited wants and needs.

I think it's important to reiterate that man has unlimited wants and needs for this post. I for one, should admit that I never seem to get satisfied with whatever I have. When I graduated from high school to college, I asked for an allowance increase. When I got that increase, I told my parents the increase is not enough. When I got my job, I got a decent pay. And now, what I earn still seem to be insufficient. This could best be explained by the income effect wherein our expenses increase with respect to our income. I also think that this has something to do with the nature of our expenses. Surely, our expenses are very different from 5 years ago?

As opposed to my header, I will not dwell much into man's satisfaction as to man's DISSATISFACTION. If truth be told, man will never be satisfied BECAUSE he has unlimited wants and needs. So, I guess the challenge is not so much on satisfying man. The challenge that our insatiable wants pose is: How could we minimize dissatisfaction?"

Let me cite a concrete example and sadly, I am part of this example:

A couple of months ago, a lot of us were complaining about the workload. There really is just too much work being given to us and we do not have enough time to finish them. We have migrated a lot of processes to the other teams during the re-organization. So strictly speaking, a significant chunk of our day-to-day activities has been lessened. I for one could find time to read the news for twenty minutes after I take my lunch (But I rarely consume my whole hour for lunch). It helps that I stopped smoking (saves me 20-40 minutes a day). I rarely render overtime work now. Now I realize I don't have as much money as I used to make. But it's ok! Because now, I feel less burdened. I am not as stressed. However it sickens me when some people still complain about work. I do not get it! Our work is a little bit lighter; we are less stressed and people are still complaining about the exact same things???

What happened in the past, was unjust. In fact, it was inhumane. And up to now, I think some teams do not share the same good fate that we have in our team. It is just a tad irritating when people complain even if measures were made to make our lives easier. Apologies. I digressed too much.

Going back to the topic of minimizing dissatisfaction, I firmly believe that minimizing dissatisfaction should not come from lowering people's expectations so they become complacent and are easier to please. I believe that the key is having a completely transparent understanding of what people are in for and staying true to promises. In every agreement, both parties should set a common goal and both parties should deliver. I cannot stress this enough. Both parties should set a common goal and both parties should deliver!

Let me share to you some quotes that pertain to this topic:

"If the blanket is too small, you bend your legs so you would fit."

- While it is true that we should make use of the current resources that we have; I think it best that though we should bend our legs for the time being, we could look into our options on how we could get a bigger blanket for the future!

"Money does not solve your problems. It never does!"

- Relatively speaking, yes. Money does not solve all our problems. The more money we have, the more we spend. However, I really think there is an income floor for this. Up to a certain level, additional money won't really help. But what about those who earn 100 pesos a day with 5 mouths to feed? Surely, acquiring more money would help? I do think that if you're single with no familial obligation whatsoever, a net income of 30k pesos should suffice. Everything else is extra (for savings, car, vacation, etc.)

sembreak corporate world style!

I have been on leave for 5 days and since today is my last day of vacation, i start to wonder, where did i put all my time? i was actually supposed to be on leave for 6 days but i had to cut it short because they need me back in the office.

ok. here we go:

September 15:

No biggie. I decided to stay home and have some rest because it's my first day of leave. I played like 9 hours worth of video games. Dang! Oh! I actually went to the mall to watch Going the Distance! :)

September 16:

I talked to someone regarding a business prospect which I may not go into because I do not have that much time in my hands. And quite honestly, I don't know if it would work now.. Later in the afternoon, I paid a visit to my high school and got my yearbook after five long years! Later that day, we treated Uncle Charlie to dinner before he goes back to LA. Very fun day!

September 17:

I had my license renewed in the morning to midafternoon. I then went to Jav's place and he bought me dinner over at Charlie's burgers as my advanced bday gift! :)

September 18:

I was late for my bowling celebration with my college best buds. Turns out bowling alley is closed anyway (Megamall) so we decided to watch a movie instead (Pres and Mia - > Resident Evil, Nadine and I - > Last Exorcism), We then had dinner at Gotti's and I got another free dinner. We were supposed to get drinks at Aysee but it was full so we decided to have drinks over at Presly's pad.

September 19:

It was a Sunday. What a good day. We pretty much just went to mass and had dinner together. Typical Sunday for everyone.

Sepember 20:

I did nothing but play video games, watch DVDs and respond to text greetings the entire day. My mom treated me to dinner over at Mexicali. We're having the celebration another day cause Ate Len's on midshift in her new job. I also watched Letters to Juliet.. It's true. I am in love with Amanda Seyfried. oh! and i had my car serviced.

September 21:

Today. Last day of my five day leave. :( Watched Resident Evil and chatted with Manang Jona, Manang Delia and lola all day. I also responded to fb bday greetings over at fb. Spent almost two hours responding. Guess fb really helps out people get connected. :)




September 22(tomorrow):

Supposed to meet with a friend but has to report for work. Postponed my plans to the 30th. I hope I wouldn't be too stressed out and I hope there won't be too many e-mails and escalations (I hope there'd be none on this actually) I don't wanna work yet!! hahaha! :(



I guess it's not that bad. I didn't really waste a lot of my time and made good use of it actually. I guess I just miss long vacations! :)

Sunday Morning

I know I haven't been posting any good reads the past couple of months. I think my mind has really stagnated ever since I left college... I do not want to talk about the hostage crisis (which in my opinion has been totally blown out of proportion).

It is funny how people from the metro undermine the 7.2% percent 2nd quarter gdp growth. Truth is, people from the metro really won't feel a lot of the impact because we are comparatively better off than the rest of the Philippines. And I heard majority of that growth could be attributed to mining. Really, how could you feel the growth when we don't have mining here? On the downside, mining is the most volatile and unreliable investment you could ever make in the stock market! All was good with investor and public confidence in the Aquino admin and that helped out our local investments but I think the hostage crisis would somehow taint that. We'll have to wait and see... I really hope people would get over it already. It is a one off mistake and could happen to just about any country. There was a college massacre in the US a couple of years ago. People get abducted every now and then but that doesn't really make a specific country completely unsafe right? I think the more important issues to be tackled pertain to global warming, waste disposal and homeless people relocation. Why? Because hundreds of people die from these every year. Mostly because of the flood that ensue due to these problems ---> very important especially now that we are in the rainy season (it is just weird how unexpected the rainfalls are)

I now realize how cluttered my ideas are. I can't even make a coherent entry.. haaaay...

ROLLERCOASTER

It is funny how fleeting things seem to be. One minute, we like this thing, the next minute, we like something else. One minute, we feel a certain way, the next minute we no longer feel the same way.

People change depending on the circumstances they are in. Just take a look at the nba for example, a franchise player requests a reade but signs a contract extension when management signs better players to the team.

Lately, I have been feeling like I should pursue someone and get settled in. It has BEEN A WHILE since I was settled with someone and it would be nice to have someone to bring along with me in family reunions. This started when one of my uncles told me I shouldn't be like my bachelor uncle. I live with him so I know it would be hard to get old alone. I could say I'm 22 but still...

You know how successful married men say: "Besides a successful man, is a good woman."? Well, I want to be able to say that someday.

Where will I find that woman??? Tagal na kitang hinahanap...

I just hope I don't change my mind again...

staying... for now.

I know I've been venting a lot and ranting about possibly leaving and looking for greener pastures somewhere else... after giving a lot of deep thought about my future for the next year or two, I have decided to stay a while longer and see how far I could push my career over that period. If things don't change significantly, then it would be time to think again. I'll just give it my all and take it from there

Realized and Unrealized Potential

That woman beside me is the most wonderful woman you'll meet in your entire lifetime - my mother

I have been reading a book that my friend gave me for christmas. It is a rather short book but it is taking me forever to finish it for some reason. It is enitled "9 Things a Leader MUST DO" by Dr. Henry Cloud. It contains so many lessons that you would really have to ponder on the message before you proceed to the next chapter.It is only 127 pages long and is slightly bigger than Archie comics so my slow pace is still unforgivable.

I intend to put this small lesson here in my online journal so that I could share it to the small number of people who read this blog, if any and so that I could go back into it some time-it really is a lesson worth remembering. (the below is not a compendium or summary of the what is written in the book. It contains my analysis and understanding of what is written)

When you're old and you look back in life, you could judge your performance in two ways:

1.) I would have been ________________ if _________________.
2.) I did really well. I never imagined I could ____________________.

Everyone was a given talent. I was addicted to Pilipinas Got Talent and it amazed me how great our kababyans are. There are a lot of undiscovered jewels in the Philippines and I am grateful to have seen a few. There are those who were given a chance to show them while others are yet to be discovered. It is in the same light that we are all given aptitudes and capabilities to succeed. It is just that, not all us are given the chance or are placed in a position wherein we can truly succeed. It is really up to us, to do something about the situation. It is for us to realize our potential and not have it rot within us.

Crossroads

I just saw Lisa Kudrow (popularly known as Phoebe Buffay)'s commencement speech in Vassar University. My friend posted the video in her facebook and I thought I should share it here:



Seeing this video gives me hope and enouragement. I am just glad that she says 22 is the age wherein we get to see a lot of possibilities in life and it really is full of crossroads. I am just glad that despite the fact I haven't found the thing that I want to do for the rest of my life, at least it should be normal since I am still at that age. (I am turning 22 on September.)