when you find your niche, stay, dominate and then conquer other niches!

well, this entry will be very brief because i have to read several articles for our eco dev paper after this. i am really impressed by the way our Fil-Chi businessmen have dominated a certain industry and have gone on to expand and diversify their products to other sectors so as to have other income-generating vehicles in cases of downturns in any specific industry. i think this is probably a mantra in business. look for your niche and then expand. look at how donald trump dominated the real estate industry and he now goes on to ice, clothes and jewellery lines.

i am really impressed. lesson learned.

Musings on Title and Function

After having two lectures with Dr. Villegas, I have been rather curious about a lot of stuff in society and individuals-in general. During our class he mentioned that girls are naturally born entrepreneurs because the housewives are the ones who look for ways to stretch the budget. In short, the wife tries to maximize the use of whatever the husband brings home to the table. Thus, we have Red Ribbon and quite a number of stores built by women to supplement their husbands' income.

Now, Dr. Villegas said that guys have this tendency to care about the title even if what actually happens is actually quite contradictory. The husband of Red Ribbon's founder quit his job and became company president. However, isn't it true that the wife does the operating function? But who the hell cares when your calling card says CEO, right? I say this because I have realized that it could be true. I remember my grandfather (who was a brave colonel in his lifetime) would do the laundry and ask my grandmother to hang them outside so the neighbors won't think he is "Under the Saya". Even though he kinda is cause he does that every time the maid is gone. HAHA! I guess what we could learn from here is girls are to be taken care of. They are just too delicate to be treated badly. I bet I'll be one heck of an "Under the Saya" too. I can't even stand a girl crying. Can't be stern. I'll give in because of a simple frown. Ok, I should stop talking about this.

The other side of the story here is in the setting of the Corporate World. I mean, people tend to have such dignified titles but at the end of the day, their functions are pretty much basic (for lack of a better term). I mean, people would love being called specialists or managers or even SVPs, etc. but honestly, I would rather be just a shareholder since they are the ones who rake in the cash anyway. Interesting huh? I mean just look at the winners of the apprentice. How can you hire such young people to executive positions? How could Ivanka who is only 25 be an SVP (well, she is an heiress) but still! I'm quite certain the title SVP today is not as demanding as the SVP back then. But hey! It's good for the workers' esteem. They're happy. They give good results, shareholders are happy so what the heck? Let us all be happy. =)

COSTS

Ok, so I'm listening to our Advanced Microeconomics class lecture last Friday and our prof (who happens to be my personal mentor) gave us a really interesting insight. We were talking about costs (from a marginalist perspective) and he digressed to expound on the topic in real life (as is the case most of the times). During the first few years that we have her on earth, we incur pure total costs for our parents. We eat, study, splurge and pretty much expend our parents' income whereas we hopefully generate income in our remaining years. So if we are to live for 63 years, our first 33% of lifespan would be pure expenses then hopefully, we use the remaining 67% to be productive. It is really interesting! So I guess the ultimate question would be, when would the break-even point be and would we yield a higher rate of return than what our parents (or elders) spent on us? Would we generate a decent ROI?

So, there. The diagram looks somewhat like this:


Pure total costs Lots of Revenues
___________l_______________________________________
21 years 40 or more years

Adidas Philippine Jacket

I'm posting this for a friend:

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e-mail me at: bienlouise@gmail.com for orders or queries. You could upsell it to your friends if you want.

Blah.....

Our Microeconomics professor gave us an interesting insight. Sometimes we wake up and feel like, OOMPH! We are energetic, ecstatic, ENERGIZED! Whereas in some mornings,we feel like, BLAH......... Well, that is what I am feeling right now. BLAH........

We have so many stuff to do for school. I am so overwhelmed! Although it may not seem like it. The stoic Asian that I am! I wonder why I don't show that much emotions... Hmmmm....

Anyway, Got to work on my IO! I'm not even fully prepared for MathStat yet...

BLAH.......

WAR

I had this thought last night before I began studying, I wish to share it with you:

I must first apologize for the possible rash judgments and generalizations that I may have in the notes to follow.

My grandfather and my granduncle are as of now deceased. Their deaths were caused by a similar condition, diabetes' complications to their other organs. Aside from this similarity, they also served the military during their lifetimes. Both of them were colonels in the Philippine Air Force

It is said that my ancestors were one of the active guerrillas against the Japanese soldiers during World War II. They were participating in the campaigns against the Japanese soldiers to help the Philippines regain its freedom. Sadly, their love for their countrymen was not reciprocated (at least for my grandpa). Theirr neighbor told on them (may it be out of hatred or a possible prize money, I do not know.).

One morning / afternoon, some of my grandfather's siblings left the house (for an errand, I think) and he was left in their hut (or mound, I think people lived underground during that time) along with some of his siblings and parents. Not long after, Japanese soldiers came rushing to their house and started looting their stuff. Out of panic, my grandfather went to a statue of St. Joseph. He was still very much visible. He could still see everything that is happening.

This sight would unfortunately cause heavy burden until his deathbed. He witnessed how his parents and some of his siblings were ruthlessly killed by the soldiers. He was however saved because of a miracle. He believes that the statue of St. Joseph blinded the Japanese of his presence. So up to now, the same statue is located in my grandmother's room.

This event would jumpstart his career in the military. Being part of the military was a great opportunity for him to avenge his family's death. He was hungry to kill. It is said that even though that the Japanese soldier begged for his life, my grandfather would still shoot him in the head. My grandfather also did not believe in prisoners. Just like the Spartans, he killed every single enemy. NO MERCY! After the war, my grandfather became one of the best soldiers in the military. He fought in a lot of wars and joined peace talks in Mindanao (he almost got killed for possession of Pork and Beans) and he was even sent to the States to do some militarty stuff there. Rightfully so, he was promoted to Colonel and he currently rests in Libingan ng mga Bayani. He truly was a bayani.

My grand uncle had a similar story in his military career. My granduncle was also part of World War II. It comes way back when my great grandmother, a nurse volunteered to help mend the soldiers and citizens free of charge during the war; medicines and professional help were given by their neighbor in Paco, the Romualdezes. I guess my granduncle was inspired by this act so he joined the war. Far from the Achilles-type of heroism of my grandfather, my granduncle was held prisoner and he was ordered to be in the Death March to Bataan. Some time during this time, he pretended to be dead. It is a good thing that he was not shot. The Japanese just kept on kicking him until he was kicked sideways as he rolled through the forest. Long after this, he woke up alongside some of his colleagues and they wandered through the forest to look for a way out. My grandmother tells me the story that they actually stole food from the pigpens because food was really scarce. They ate pagkaing baboy for sustenance. They were also problematic about clean water supply. Rightfully so, he was eligible for a slot in Libingan ng mga Bayani but I think his family opted out.

Am I talking about the honor of joining the war? The privileges that one could have for joining the war? Hardly so!

Look around! Watch the news! Read the newspapers! There are reports regarding the war going on. in Lanao del Norte and Mindanao. It is said that this is caused by the MILF.

We should discuss it in class or in groups so we would have an idea but no matter what we do, our exposure would be very limited. It is however, important that we try to talk about these issues. Though we cannot solve it on our own, we could at least expand our horizons and see beyond the small inconveniences of the weather, money constraint or academic load. We would see that life is a much bigger spectrum. It is not limited to our own lives in school, in the house or with friends. We would tend to see the bigger picture and understand why we need to be prepared; for when the time comes, we would be the ones in power to solve these issues.

I could never adhere to war. I would like to keep everything diplomatic. As long as it is possible, I do not want violence because it causes deaths and unnecessary sabotage of other people. Let us all try to think about this issue and hopefully, we could all equip ourselves for the future.

simplification on investing

Disclaimer: My sources are from Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002; Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist; and my short chat with my Macroeconomics professor, Dr. U. You might be familiar with him because he has been featured in many news articles the past couple of weeks due to our local economic problems (oil price hike, rice shortage, inflation and unemployment). I do not advise this post to be used for academic/paper purposes. The following article is written because it amused me.\

As I was reading Chapter 13 of Warren Buffett’s biography entitled, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist; I stumbled upon an issue that has lingered my mind for the last couple of days. In 1982, the US economy went into a recession. Ronald Reagan implemented a tax cut to boost consumer spending but the economy continued to suffer; partly because the government was in financial debt to begin with. With fewer taxes, the government could not finance their spending and the deficit grew from around 41B USD to almost 91B USD in a span of less than three years. It was even said that the 91B USD deficit was a conservative estimate because some analysts accounted the deficit to be 150B USD. Companies are not able to borrow money in the long-run because lenders are worried that the value of money would further decline because of the high inflation rate. Companies are then forced to borrow on short-term securities, thus they have to pay back their debts immediately, not being able to take advantage of their profits for the fiscal year.

Something that took my interest was the fact that money managers and investors stayed away from the stock market. Just at the time when quotes are at their cheapest! Money managers kept on saying: Stay out from paper! Stay out from paper! They invested in retail and bonds but not on stocks. How come? At first, I misunderstood what the book said, there seemed to be a commotion regarding the security that certificates represented. A money manager once said: Nobody knows the assurance of the value of paper (stock certificates). I thought, why would he say this? Is it possible that the economy is so bad that your certificate would be worth nothing? Meaning, you lose ownership of the company simply because the economy is so bad? Can the government take away the ownership from private individuals so that they can use the funds to finance the government deficit? Really stupid of me. Really, really stupid.

After our Macroeconomics class, I grabbed the opportunity to ask our dean/professor regarding this subject matter. He then told me that stocks are only worthless when nobody is willing to buy it or if the company went under and they could not finance the repayment of their shareholders’ money. But then I asked how come people were staying away from paper for the risk of the stock being valueless? Is it possible for stocks to be eradicated and lose their authenticity as proof of ownership? He then explained to me that stocks were not being purchased not because they were fearful that its ownership would be taken away but because stocks were continuing to plummet. Most may be so greedy that they want to sell at the lowest price possible. For a short-term investor whose main interest is to buy low, sell high and be satisfied from this profit, this is not a good situation. Thus being writ the famous quote: Whereas short-time investors are fearful of uncertainty; uncertainty is the friend of a long-time investor.

Some people do not care about the short-term fluctuations of the stock quotes simply because they are after ownership. They are interested in dividends and company performance, which is what stocks are intended for anyway. But there are people who would like to take advantage of a short-term gain. They are just after the money from trading without really caring about whatever company it is; who is running it; or whatever it sells. Everything is generic. Company X, Y, or Z is going down and it will go up, why not ride with it? I guess it’s kinda like sleeping around; getting the pleasure without the commitment. Logical naman eh. I just neither like it nor believe in it (as a Catholic and a rational human being).

So I guess it boils down to intentions. If you really like a company, you invest in it for the long-run. Through thick and thin. Not caring about its short-term values but its long-run values. Buffett once said: My favorite investment period is ‘forever.’ For a short-term investor, he would be interested in the short-term gain. How much money could I get from it in the next thirty minutes or two hours? What is my speculation for this company?

Inspired by Buffett’s simplification of business, I came up with my very own simplification of these two investment styles:

In relationships, some go for the short-run; some go for the long-run. Some go for instant gratification and choose to engage in pre-marital sex without the marriage. Merely enjoying the pleasure involved. Some go for the long-run, get married, celebrate their love , have children (although this is not always the case for barren couples) and be together forever (again, not always the case).

Whatever the case maybe, sex is meant to produce something. Just like companies, they are meant to generate something, expected to perform something. Some companies generate good results, some companies generate bad results. Do not be shocked. That’s the way company goes. Again in sex, do not be shocked if you get pregnant or get someone pregnant. That’s really the way it goes.

I think I could do a little better in my next simplifications. I really wanted to come up with quotes like these:

The price level is like virginity. You could preserve and maintain it but once lost, it can never be restored. – Buffett on Inflation

“Splitting stocks are not going to make shareholders any richer. Try slicing a pizza!” – Buffett on stock splitting

Why did you start investing at such a young age? “It’s kinda like sex; sooner or later you just gotta do it.” – Buffet on Investing.

Of course, I do not agree with everything the guy says and believe in. I also do not think some comments are moral but it puts ease in understanding business right?

The essence of ownership

This idea is premature because I haven't started reading the book yet. I recently got a copy of a book entitled The Real Buffett. This book talks about Warren's management style. He tells his workers to treat the companies they work in as their very own company. I think they are already doing this in network marketing. Needless to say, this type of leading amazes me. If you think about it, ownership does not necessarily lead to diminishing interest (kapag nasa iyo na, nakakasawa). With ownership comes dedication and the will to excel. People tend to protect their own interests. Their jobs, their business but more importantly, their families, their reputation, etc. When one has ownership over something, he tends to treasure and safeguard it. Interesting huh? Well, I'm excited to read the book but I still have to finish these:

1. Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
2. The Art of the Start
3. Buffetology
4. Cracking the Million Dollar Code
5. Pursuit of Happiness
6. Freakonomics

I bought so many books despite having little time. Dunno when I could finish everything. Considering the fact I have tons of readings for school I'm only half way done reading. =(

Are economic forces and economic growth affected by people's mindsets?

I have been thinking of the rippling effect this past couple of days. When a droplet of water kisses the river, it creates several beautiful rings. For every action, there comes a reaction. Thus, everything that we do creates an effect or a series of effects. But in order to bring about any effect, one must have a reason to do a certain action. What would bring about this action?

There has to be an innate urge or intention to do a certain action. Nobody sane would suddenly punch someone for no reason. I'm sorry but I do not believe in, Trip ko lang! That's all bull seriously. There has to at least be a minimal pushing factor to execute something. If we do not fully intend to do something, it must have at least been put into execution by our subconscious.

This brings me to my point, are economic forces and growth affected by our mindsets? Are they actually affected by our dispositions or what we believe in? I have always been a believer that Filipinos are one of the most resilient people in the world. We have a very high adversity quotient. We do not simply give up to the challenges that we face. May it be flood, volcanic erruption, landslide, we easily cope with the tragedies and move on with our lives. It is amazing. I saw one of the episode of the apprentice way back and they showed successful people-turned-bums because of 9/11. No offense but Filipinos have experienced way more than that event. Way more and most of them are standing up with smiles on their faces (at least for now...).

If we are so good in handling adversity, why then do we lag behind in our economic output? Let us not undermine the fact that our GNP is growing but we have never actually experienced a BOOM. One of the premiere economist in the Philippines has been criticized for having a poor forecast about this economic boom. Our university founder, Dr. Bernardo Villegas was given the name Prophet of Boom. So, why then have we not seen such a boom?

In my opinion, I would attribute this sad event to three reasons:

1.) Our mindsets are directed towards what is bad. It is a pity that people actually visit this blog: www.cofibean.blogspot.com. It is a blog that criticizes the underprivileged Filipinos. This is writen by a Filipino himself. He refers to the unprivileged as native orcs. The bad part is, people have somehow found the comments as something to laugh about. Truth is, the blog could be funny in a way because the author is ridiculously stupid; couple it up with his bastardizing of the English and Filipino languages with a flavor of pure discrimination and mean people would find it a delight. This is however, really sad. I mean, Filipinos have always been famous of coining jokes and anecdotes regarding our being pasaway, our kababayans mispronouncing certain words and some people who are jologs. We laugh at it but we hate it. We hate the fact that these things exist and yet we find laughter in these things. It is really pathetic. I would admit I am guilty with some of these bad traits. A couple of days ago, my friend and I talked about this and she gave me a really interesting comment: We hate some parts of our culture but we are the ones who actually make it. It is also sad that we treat it as a joke. You would even hear these jokes in homilies or by people in authority. It is bad. This to me, is a big problem. You see, you tend to look at yourself the way you are treated. If you let people push you around, you accept your status as a loser. You are almost good-for-nothing. And you accept what the jocks do to you. If you wear some really nice suits and ties, You would really feel like you are a corporate worker and you find great esteem in this. It could be bad when you put others down to uplift your status. But the point is, you tend to act in the way you perceive yourself. Sadly, we accept our mediocrity and our pasaway so we tend to act like this. Ika nga nila, pasaway talaga tayo. So magpasaway na tayong lahat. We create horrible norms and we just laugh at them and perform them.

2.) As a corollary, we actually accept bads in our society and culture that we just get immuned to being treated in such a way. In high school, we came up with really offending nicknames and we hit each other jokingly. We got used to it and it sort of became a joke. Some people would be offended by it but to us, it's mundane; it's our norm. I would dare say that this is true in the real world. We get so used to the bad things around us. We satisfy ourselves with poorly maintained jeepneys, tricycles and buses. I ripped three of my shirts in the jeepney because there are hanging metals. My shirt sometimes get dirty because of the dust and a cockroach once flew to me inside the jeepney. It is disgusting and terrible but we're used to it. Get over it. Third World Country. That's what you pay for not using your car or not having one. We go to certain parts in Guadalupe or any poor area with gulubongs (gulong sa bubong to keep the roofs sturdy against typhoons).We see it as the way it is. Eh ganun talaga eh! Sino bang may hindi ganun sa area na yun? Makuntento ka na! Thus, we get to have sub par living conditions and we settle for it. It's terrible. We look at it as if we don't deserve better. Mind you! WE DO DESERVE BETTER! WE DESERVE THE BEST!

3.) Lastly, whenever we surpass any adversary, we tend to be all optimistic and cheerful. We take pride in surviving tragedies and look at ourselves as if we are omnipotent and we can survive everything. Wake up! We barely make it. We should not be complacent. The fact that thousands die every year because of typhoons indicate that we are not at all omnipotent. Please lang! Let us all seek to actually prevent deaths instead of relying on luck and graces to save ourselves. When we survive typhoons, it does not mean we are strong. It only means the typhoon affected a different region. The problem is, we are victims of poor path dependence. We experience the same bad, shitty things because we don't do anything to fight the problem. We allow people to die and we give them donations to rebuild their houses and stop from there. We report on charitable institutions donating to victims only to find out that those who survived will be affected again next year. I think there is a foundation who is starting to resolve this but the fact is, the majority are still sitting on their asses. Scratching their heads and saying, Sus! Ganyan talaga ang buhay!

Do I think economic forces and economic growth are affected by people's mindsets? Hell yeah! The numbers do not lie. And the numbers are reflections of what are being done. If we do mediocre things, we shouldn't be shocked with mediocre results.

something is really bothering me...

I have been flat out irritated more than thrice this week. Being a civil person that I am, I tend to hide my negative feelings and simply smile or at least hold my temper to a manageable level. However, there is this person that is being too much and it irritates the crap out of me. Couple this up with some of the things that people unintentionally do and I almost reach my tipping point. I do not want to reach my tipping point.

It bothers me that I am feeling this because I have managed my temper well ever since I got to college. I have been very patient but this sort of thing just ignites my temper.... GRRRRR!!!

I need help!!!

I think I am actually growing up...

I made one of the biggest mistake a friend could do today. It was terrible! I absolutely failed. It is a good thing that my friend was able to forgive me and I was able to keep the damage at its minimum. Truth be told, I am very grateful to have a friend like him. He never gave me any stereotype or forced me to change or anything. We are just the way we are and we accept things as they are.

Even though I failed miserably today; I think I handled the situation the way a mature individual would handle it. I actually feel like I am becoming a better individual. I have always thought that I should minimize my frivolous acts and start to act like a man but this is not the case. I am 19 turning 20! I am not really expected to act like a super adult. I should simply act in accordance to whatever the situation calls for. I failed miserably but I would like to believe I made up for it.

Now that my life is getting more and more complicated, I actually think it is very important to go back to the basics.


Go back to SIMPLE PRINCIPLES that we learned we were young.
- Do not betray your family and friends.
- Treat others with respect.
- Behave properly.
- etc...

At the end of the day, these are all that matter right?

some thoughts about oil and sin taxes

I recently read from the newspaper that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated a lump sum amount of 500,000 USD to the victims of Bagyong Frank. Utmost focus will be given to the affected areas in Ilo-ilo and another province I can't recall. They gave the money to the Bishop Conference I think so I guess it is sure to reach the poor. The distribution will vary according to the severity of the typhoon's effect in the families involved. Thanks Bill! I hope you help out more by funding preventive measures so we could avoid accidents like these. Also, I hope Microsoft starts giving various price schemes so students could purchase your software cheaper than the workers. I'm almost graduating so I could not take advantage of this but I think it will help solve or minimize piracy and computer illiteracy. Your man Steve Balmer could do this... =)

Off to the economic side of things. I saw in TV a proposal given by several UA&P (my school) professors about lifting the VAT from oil and imposing one in cigarettes. I heard this proposal is being rejected by the legislative branch. I do not know the full details and I would research on it but I want to voice out my take on the subject. The imposition of VAT on cigarettes would generate more than 50B pesos. The VAT imposed on gas generates more than 70B pesos. Even if the numbers may be overestimates, the VAT on cigarettes would still be big. Isn't it simple enough to understand? In addition, gas has an inelastic demand from the retail market and public transportation. It is very much in use to deliver goods and to transport something to somewhere. It therefore affects a whole lot of markets that are needed by everyone. If you ride the MRT, you'd really feel the effect too! There are too many people riding it. I won't be shocked if they raise the rates too! The MRT uses electricity but oil and coal are needed for electricity. Oil has high multiplicative effects on other goods and services. Cigarettes however would only affect a considerable amount of people since not all of us are smokers. It is also a hard vice to break so chances are, people would still consume a lot of the product. It would work! I have actually wanted higher taxes on alcohol too! I drink alcohol as well but I mean, it would still be good to pass on the taxes here so people who could barely eat three meals a day would have more purchasing power to leave a more decent life. Occasional drinkers would barely feel the effect and the party-goers don't really drink that much. Now, the alcoholics who are different from the party drinkers would still drink a lot. Promise! They would still get more money. Why do I say this? PEOPLE DO NOT STOP DRINKING OR SMOKING BECAUSE PRICES ARE HIGH AND THEY CANNOT AFFORD THE PRODUCT. THEY STOP DRINKING FOR HEALTH, FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

So there! I think it takes a whole lot of effort from the government and the civil society because oil might reach 200USD a barrel!

GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!..........

Like an idiot...

Earlier today, our professor scolded our class and gave us two zeroes for our academic requirements. This is the third zero that I got for something that is not even my fault. Afterwards, our next professor scolded us for being too submissive or rather, passive in recitation. This gave her the feeling that we copied each others' homework-which is not entirely true. We did the homework in groups. Well, okay. We should do it independently next time. In other words, I had a very tough school morning. It does not even include my conflict with my dad. I cannot understand why we can't get along well. It' not like I'm not trying. It was a difficult morning for me particularly because I had a bad night last night and everything just piled up. Why can't I just be happy? Why does something always have to go wrong?

If it is for any consolation, I had a rather smooth afternoon. I think I performed at 85% of what I could offer. I could have performed better but I was and still am disturbed by everything that's happening... Man! I hope things could just go perfectly... even once! Please!

My moment of relief and fulfillment however would be cut short come dismissal. I went to 7/11 for a quick bite. I needed to have something cause it is going to be a long ride home. When I got out of the store. Rain started to pour. Out of fear of being stuck in school, I ran to the MRT station. What took me 20 minutes, took me 8! Improvement of 60%! The cost however, is a haggard looking Bien whose shirt is soaked in rain..... and sweat.... To make things worse, the MRT is full so I had to wait for trains to pass until I got one that is at the very least fitting for humans. (This would never happen in the morning. I force the issue because I do not want to be late... I can't afford to be late!!!)

When I reached my stop, I took a jeepney home. The jeepney happens to be owned by our neighbour and the driver used to be our driver. He refused to accept my payment but I insisted because times are hard and service is service. He must get his due. I was sitting there, thinking of the homework that I have to submit tomorrow; thinking of a way to study the Agricultural Revolution; thinking and thinking and thinking of how I could survive MathStat when two people rode the jeepney. I am one of those people who minds his own business. I do not like looking at people or checking what they are doing because I find it disrespectful but when I looked to my right when I was thinking of something, I thought I saw someone I knew... Someone close to me but I went back to what I was thinking......

......

......

......

I decided to give a second glance and our eyes met. She really is the person I thought I saw. She looked down when I was about to say 'Hi!'. She was with a guy. And the guy was close to her. My heart beat twice as fast if not thrice. Adrenaline rushed over my head. I wanted to confront the guy and ask him of his intentions, his name, how they met but she would never look at me to even acknowledge me. I can't believe she would not even look at me after all we've been through. Truth is, she is the only girl I cared for in High School. Everyone else did not matter. She is the only girl I took seriously in High School. She is the only girl I wanted to take to the prom... but she left and I didn't want anyone else... She was my High School Sweetheart. I just can't believe she is with someone now...



Boy! Did I look like an idiot or what!?


Thus, I have the worst night in my life. I wanted to finish off my Kahluah when I got home but I have class tomorrow. I wanted to look for an outlet to ease my pain. I just avoided going to my parents' house because my dad might have unkindly words in store for me. I feel like shit right now... I know I said I'd stop swearing but it is what it is...


She is the first girl I first genuinely cared for. I can't believe she would not even look at me. I talked to her a couple of months ago and we parted in good terms. Now, it's just PLAIN KICK-ME-IN-THE-CROTCH!!!


What makes all of these hard is I have been thnking of the girl that followed her. A girl that I cannot take away from my heart. How I wish I met her later. How I wish I met her when I'm done with all my stuff. I just can't move on. Why did I have to find the girl I wanted to marry for the rest of my life at such a young age? I could have had some fun times with other girls. I could have gotten to know other people. Worse is, I cannot even go out with sure things just because I can't forget about her. I'm not blaming her for anything but come on! This simply isn't the best situation for me or anybody else!

Thus, I have a problem with moving on and looking for other options. I do not know why. It's not like Iwanna get married in my twenties or anything. I actually plan to delay marriage for as long as I can. But why do I have to meet the right girl so early??? Also, why did I have to screw it up??? WHY??? Why can't I have the things that I need at the right time? At first, my parents, friends and the elders are all like: "You'll get over it. That's just infatuation. You'll find other girls..." Nobody took my feelings seriously. Four years later, the very same girl is in my heart.

My feelings towards the girls I have been with gradually became better. At first, I just followed what everone else was doing. It was kinda cool to have a girlfriend. Then, I actually wanted to have one. Then I started to care for a girl in high school and I actually loved a girl in college. Problem is, why did I have to meet and screw my chances with the one I really wanted for the rest of my life??? And why can't I move on and forget about her? There are lots of times when I would plan something with another girl but I would always change my mnd simply because I have not forgotten about her and to be honest with you, my feelings have not changed one bit. I would still do everything for her. Too bad everything else is not the same. The only thing constant is my love for her...

I actually planned to share something economical today. I had a lot of great ideas but my attention really had to be diverted to this relationship thing. I do not understand it! Hypothetically I could not move on from the first firl I ever loved, will I ever be with another girl? Will I be a bachelor? Worst is, will I ever be happy? Lastly, will shebe happy with all of these? Does she even know this problem? Has she moved on with her life? Will I see her with another guy and look like an idiot AGAIN!?!?!?!?

I hope my situation does not create a path dependence. I don't wanna live my life this way! This is just plain TERRIBLE! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please give me some time to sort things out! You're always part of my plans! What am I saying?

------------------------------- (33 y/o)----------------------------------------->>
MARRY HER

If you find this unfavorable,

-----------------------------ANYWHERE--------------------------------------->>
ANYTHING
ANYTIME
YOUR TERMS!!!!!!!

Just tell me, you know I'll do everything for you... Because if I get to spend the rest of my life with you, I can't wish for more happiness. I'll give up my dreams. I'll give up my goals. I'll give up everything! BECAUSE ALL THE HAPPINESS THOSE COULD BRING ME IS FAR LESS THAN THE HAPPINESS I GET WHEN I'M WITH YOU... I miss the old days! The times I actually wished I already had a significant fortune and I could support a family. You just ain't no fling...

The writer of the article I talked about...

The writer of the article I talked about is Mary Grace Alcala. It is entitled It Depends...

Let's give credit where it is due.

Path Dependence and Character Formation...

I have been reading a lot of articles from the Breakonomics PDF files that our professor gave us and I chanced upon an article written by a girl who graduated probably two years ago, Sorry, I forgot the name. I only read the title and the contents. I'm bad with names also. Anyway, the writers of the magazine pretty much focus on basic economic concepts such as sunk costs, budget constraints, opportunity costs and trade-offs. Much like me! But this girl provided me with a term I have rarely encountered.

It was only a couple of minutes ago that I realized I read it from my Business Statistics book. Anyway, there is an economic/mathematical concept called path dependence. This concept helps you predict the future outcome/result of an action or event based on historical data or past events that already occurred. This is very interesting.

Put the case of a 90% free-throw shooter! Whenever he shoots the ball, the probability of the ball going in the basket is 50-50. He either misses it or makes it. Those are the only two outcomes. But since he has a record of making 9 free throws out of ten, people would of course expect him to make the free throw.

Another case, let's say a student loves to cram. Every time he fails a test however, he says he's going to stop cramming. Let's say it's new year and his resolution is to stop cramming. You think he'll really stop cramming? According to past events, there is a high chance that he would continue to cram.

This makes me reflect on what I learned from my mentor. Commitment to a schedule and strengthening one's will to do what one has to is very important because it forges character. Put it simply, having a good historical data of one's ventures and life in general, would increase the chances of building a good character and a happy life.

I like increasing my odds!

I leave you with this quote:
Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of. - Anonymous

I am so confused right now...

I have been having this urge to study abroad for the last two years. It was a defining moment. From the time I went to the EHEF-Manila Symposium in Makati Shang, I knew I wanted to study in France. Problem is, it's 6,000 USD excluding day-to-day expenses. I could choose a 2,000 USD school, which is way below than what I pay here but I didn't like their programs that much. I also wanted to consider IESE but it's really, really expensive. They're the best business school in Europe though... Another set of schools that I drool for are the Ivy League schools in the US. If you go to those schools, you are good to go! Seriously!

But my main obsession is Columbia Business School, which is not an Ivy League School. Problem is, I do not know how I will be able to support myself when I'm studying there already. I mean, tuition fee is one thing but the daily expenses? I dunno... sighs... Anyway, I'll ask my mentor for advice.

Quote from our Dean, Dr. U who also studied abroad (Purdue):

"Usually, universities would pride themselves of their graduates or their Nobel Prize winner faculty professors but at the end of the day, it's up to the student to fully utilize the education he receives. And even if you study in a great school but the faculty could not teach you well, you're better off in an average school with a faculty who could teach you well."

The message was something like that. hehe... Any advice?

Do not judge a book by its cover. Just don't!

Prior notice: I hold no grudge against any person, moment, event, whatsoever. I have accepted everything and I am completely humbled (a little bit shaken) by everything that occurred and I would try to rectify everything....

I was late for class today. It is weird considering the fact that I realized a lot of stuff about me yesterday when I took a long walk.

I thought to myself: What prohibits me from going the extra mile? Do I sometimes get lethargic or indolent because I'm tired? Or am I tired because I'm lethargic?

More often than not, I actually feel like it's my inner drive that limits me. I think I could expand my own Production Possibility Frontier (PPF) if I just exert more effort. I actually thought I'll go the extra mile from then on. I thought I could make it. I was so inspired at that point.

A couple of hours after, I woke up early at around 4am to make sure I could be on time and stuff. Problem is, I had to recheck my paper for that extra mile. I left the house at 7:50am giving myself an hour to travel since our professor has a 7:30 class today. I thought I could be as late as 9am-the original schedule. But then, I looked at Pasong Tamo and saw how traffic it was. I remembered that they were fixing some streets and it would cause traffic. I decided to get a cab to make sure I get to school on time.

Reasons for taking a cab:
1.) MRT would take me an hour or more before I could get to school.
2.) Traffic on the way to MRT.
3.) Walking takes long; it's hot today.
4.) It takes me 40 minutes the most to get to school. That's more than 30% time savings from MRT.
5.) Our place is really commercial (a little ghetto probably) and it is near everywhere else in Makati so it has lots of vehicles).


The problem is, for some reason, the cabs were extremely scarce and I was able to call 6 of them but they all denied me a ride to Ortigas. I was already losing hope at around 8:20 but I could not make it to school if I take the MRT at that point so I took a leap of faith and waited some more. I even texted Diane to tell sir I was gonna be late. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to tell sir but that's another story. So I got a cab at around 8:50 and I got to the classroom around 9:20. I even took out my ID before entering so I would not get scolded for wearing the IEP lace but exhibit tardiness. I have always said that I do not want to disgrace the school and more so, the institution in any way possible. I stood beside the door for a long time; not being acknowledged or whatnot. I found it prudent to keep on standing because that was our prof's instruction when arriving late. I felt happy when I was finally acknowledged. I was so sure he was going to understand the situation...

What do I get though? Pure judgments that I am a spoiled rich kid who refuses to take public transportation. I appreciate his sharing of his past experiences and I actually understood his situation because I have been through those types of situations. I admire our professor! I think he's strong! And I know he has a lot of virtues in him. What I couldn't take though were the judgments and assumptions that resulted to my connotation of a spoiled, rich kid. The bad thing about it was I could not even correct him for it would make matters worse. I just took everything in. Knowing that doing so is most prudent. However, I would like to correct certain things that were implied in the long hotseat:

1.) I am not a spoiled rich kid. I belong to a middle-income class. I might get around 8,000 pesos a month but I am not a spoiled rich kid. I buy my own clothes. I buy my own toiletries. I don't ask my parents for a lot of stuff. I live a simple life. I do not even have enough money for dates! And I do take the MRT to school. I used to be chauffeured by my dad to school in a Pajero but that has not been the case for more than two years now. I do not refuse to take PUVs. I just made a decision to take a cab for the aforesaid reasons and it was too late to take the MRT when I realized my wrong decision. Lost time was sunk or incurred already.

2.) Secondly, I have had my shares of kick-in-the-crotch situations. I waited for my dad for 5 hours in school because I was so sure he was gonna come. I left my cellphone and I was so confident he'd come for me. At 12 am, I took the bus home and I got lost thrice. But I found my way home at around 2 am. I had a 7:30 am class the following day and I had to come up with my first draft for my 6pm class. This triggered my commuting career since I did not want to rely on my dad after this incident. During my 2nd year birthday. My mom only had a simple dinner for me and everybody was already eating when I got home. I had to type some paperworks for my dad 'til 2am and I still had a third draft to submit. But I did so without complaining. It does not really sound like a spoiled brat, does it? (I had a great birthday last year but that's a different story.)

3.) Thrid, I went from Makati to Cubao without knowing how to get there or anything. I did this because I had to get a check for my dad. I also went to Kamuning a few days after for the same errand. It was my first time but I did not back out because my dad needed me.

4.) Fourth, it is not true that I am solely dependent on whatever comes. I find my way to execute things the way they should be executed. When I failed the Ateneo exam because trigonometry was taught in senior year and the questions were trig questions by nature, I knew I had to look for another school. I went to UA&P on my own with a couple of friends. I did not know where UA&P was. I did not know anything about it. I just knew it was a good school and I had to take chances. I studied trigonometry in 4 days to prepare for the exam couple this up with my practices to represent my school in the Inter-Don Bosco school competition. I passed the entrance exam and become part of the top 100 applicants.

5.) Being a Makati boy, I did not even know where Shang was. All I knew was the hotel in Makati but I went to healthway alone. I was the only one alone for the physical examination. I enrolled myself. I enlisted myself. ALL ALONE. My mom did not even know where my school was. They just gave me the money and I had to take care of everything.

6.) I am looking for a way to study abroad and I am doing this alone as well.

I wish to say that I am not mad or anything. I am thankful that our professor shared us those thoughts because those would be helpful to us. I know his intentions are good and I appreciate everything. However, I feel that I have been misjudged without any significant proof. I was hurt because I was typecasted to be someone I am not. But this is something that I have forgiven. I am by no means, okay. I just needed to get this out of my chest.

Economic Concept of the Day: Opportunity Cost and Optimization

So I changed the heading of my blog yesterday because I thought it contained mild hilarious profanity that some people would not appreciate. Let us make the internet more kid-friendly. Stop swearing! Haha!

So amidst this pressure, I thought I should find an economical value in this situation. For today, we would learn about the economic concepts of Opportunity Cost and Optimization. By now, it is to be expected that we would have a considerable amount of reality and we would all be aware of the presence of limitations. If you are around the same age I am (19 turning 20) and you still think you have infinite money, time and energy then I advise you to take a hike to Basilan and engage yourself in battle, then we'll talk. (If you're still alive and healthy.) As for those who have a great sense of reality, we should by now be aware of the presence of limitations and scarcity.

For Example:

A kid studying in grade school has an allowance of, let's say, Php 100/day. He wants to grab a meal that costs Php 100 pesos (rice, ulam, drinks and dessert inclusive) but he also wants to buy a rather inexpensive card ( in my time it was Pokemon and Magic cards, now it could be anything!) for the same amount. Let's say that he brought a not-so-tasty but edible food. No doubt, the kid would buy the card in place of the meal because it would give him more pleasure. He has a full stomach even if the food was not as good as the one in Amici di Don Bosco (or school cafe, I dunno) and he gets to add a certain card to his deck.

Let us change the variable: Let us say that the kid failed to eat dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Let us also say that he forgot to bring his baon. Would he still buy the card? Possible if he's stubborn but if he's rational enough, he would probably buy the food in the cafe.

What influenced this decision? It is his desire to get the best out of a given situation. He had two choices. One is to buy the card; the other, to have something to eat.

The main point is, given any constraint, people would look for the best choice or alternative at his disposal to increase his well-being.

So, what does this have to do with my current situation?




I wanna watch a movie and probably go out tonight but I have a lot of pending activities in school so I want to compute the Opportunity Cost and optimize my well being.




Hmmmm.... I dunno yet... haha! LOL! Of course I'll finish my papers first then carry on with Prince of Caspian or Get Smart on Sunday! Possibly, get a parfait in icebergs! =)

So, what are the possible outcomes of my situation? errr... I'll read the book first... *sighs*

Pressure....

I really love my school and my course... It's probably because my school is the best economic school in the Philippines! Yes! Go UA&P-IEP! I have learned to love the system. It is really difficult just to get by through the day. We have professors who graduated from Hokaido, Purdue and Pittsburgh this current semester. We would soon have a professor from Harvard for the second term of our Econ. Hist. Just last sem, we had a prof. from Cornell and Australia. We even have a prof who was related to European companies regarding their finances for acquisition and merging of several companies. Man! It is really overwhelming to be surrounded by such brilliant minds.

As the title of my blog indicates, I would like to have this short moment of vacuum. A moment in time when I have nothing else to do but simply blurt out whatever I am currently thinking. The thing is, I had a really hard time with Math Stat this afternoon. I understood what the professor was saying, the bad thing is, it does not follow that I could do the solution independently. What makes it hard is the fact that I did not expect that we would be 244 pages behind readings. I do not know how I could cope up with the readings considering the fact that I have two essays to write and I do not have any clue what to write about yet. I was also planning to read 3 chapters of Macro; another 2 of Micro; the 40-page Laborem Exercens handout by Pope John Paul II for Work and Society and a whole lot of news for our morning recitation on Monday. I know that Graduate School is not supposed to be a walk in the park but I didn't know it was gonna be a walk in the desert with no oasis anywhere near in sight.

The weird thing is, despite the fact that I have so many things in my plate, my entrepreneurial and capitalistic spirit is still burning. I want to do something other than school. But I can neither find the time nor the energy to do so.

I'll start cracking on my readings in the hope that I will find some good insights for tomorrow's research. Why does the submission have to be on Monday? :(

Well, I am in UA&P and I am in IEP. I should be excellent. I do not wish to disgrace our tradition. I still have in my mind what Dr. Mariano, our University President told me in my freshman year. "If the university produces beer, you'll be one of our finest brewery." :)

Added Information: An IEP alumnus of UA&P took a significant role in drafting the recent tax break for minimum wage earners. Kudos to you my co-economist! I do not know who you are but the feedbacks we heard from Dr. Terosa earlier makes me proud to be part of what you have gone through! :)

I hate it when things don't go the way they should be...

I was supposed to attend a research workshop for CivitasAsia today. I have only attended one meeting and I pretty much missed 90% of what was discussed. I really wanted to make it up today but my mom told me last night that we should see my godfather today. He's the present commissioner of Philippine Regulations Commission and he might be able to help me get into Columbia Business School. For one, I need someone who could help my parents finance my education and stay because it is pretty expensive. Also, I do not really have that much actual work experience to enter into a graduate program there. Moreover, we really just cannot afford it. I have not actually inquired about the actual cost but in University of Ontario it is somewhere between 3,000-4,000 Canadian dollars excluding your day-to-day expenses. We just cannot afford that (Especially CBS is in the US!). That's almost twice of what I pay in UA&P and I would spend more in my day-to-day life there because I'd be spending dollars. It would be cool if I could get to do some sideline job or something but it is clearly stipulated in the admissions link that they expect the students to perform actively in school. Thus, there is a high chance that I can't take a job.
So the plan was I would not attend the workshop but I failed to inform Ms. Vina because I could not find any of my cellphones. Turns out I left it in my parents' bedroom. The sad thing is, we were not able to go to our appointment either because my godfather or ninong is not available in the afternoon and we failed to leave early morning. Everything is just screwed up. I wasted an entire day doing nothing. I just buried myself into watching Bill Gates and Charice Pempengco in youtube. Man! That girl could sing huh? I got goosebumps! I got so spooked out I actually felt her taking my energy from me. In other words, nakakakilabot! Grabe! There are times when I would actually make myself close my eyes. How could someone so young and so small (physically) sing that way? It is just weird that I felt tired after watching her for 40 minutes. Man! I'm so proud of her! Go Philippines!
Did you guys know that Bill Gates would start his full-time philanthropy? Yep! He will remain chairman in Microsoft but he would spend most of his time in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I hope they would be successful in distributing vaccines to the less fortunate. No abortions and infertility medications please! I hope the articles are just rumors! But seriously, come on man! Just because a country is poor does not mean they should not multiply! So please!!! Do not kill innocent babies!
So anyway, too much digression on my part. My mom told me we're visiting my godfather on June 25. I do hope we could sort out something here. I wanna study in Graham and Dodd Investment program so bad! I hope I get to meet Warren Buffett in person. If this proves to be impossible, the least that I could have is study in his alma mater. Even if they would just give me a couple of months! It is more of the experience that I want. It is simply not the tangible asset of having a CBS diploma that I want. I want to have the intangible booster of being part of that institution. I want to have that feeling that I am actually one of them. I think it would help me out a lot!

In this matrix, you're just stupid!

I have a handful of time in my hands right now so I get to do a lot of stuff I usually would not have time to do. The magic of time. I watched Kung Fu Panda yesterday and man! That was probably the most hilarious movie I have seen in years. I don't wanna spoil the movie for anyone so I'll keep my mouth zipped. Here's the movie poster:

Kudos to Dreamworks! What a splendid job you've done! Kudos to Sam Concepcion as well! That's big huh? Working for an international movie? That's really something! So anyway, I actually wrote this blog so that people could watch a video that I recently saw. Probably a week ago. But I thought you would want to see it. The talk was given by Guy Kawasaki, author of several books such as The Art of the Start, The Macintosh Way, etc. He gave this talk in TieCon Conference 2006. I was absolutely entertained with this video so please do watch it. It would be helpful for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

P.S. Watch out for topic number 6! I thought that was the funniest!

You could see the video from this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3755718939216161559&q=guy+kawasaki+art+of+the+start&ei=6ONLSK-ABoqawgOYidHnCw

Anyway, if you are serious about business, ehem, like me, ehem, you would definitely find this video informative. =)

It's not about the money!

So, I talk a lot about business stuff right? If you do not know this about me yet, then you are most probably less than an acquaintance. To most people that I know, I care about or I have at least engaged in a conversation for at least 30 minutes, they would know that I am a business-oriented person. TRUST ME YOU WOULD KNOW!

Certain manifestations why I am business-oriented include:

1. I am awesome in Monopoly! I have never lost in this game!
2. Most of the books that I buy are business books. Not necessarily all about business but a lot of them are actually related to business.
3. My favorite TV show is The Apprentice.
4. People have heroes in their lives outside the family circle. Some people would refer to celebrities or athletes or politicians or philosophers probably. My personal hero outside the family is Warren Buffett. Not because he donated billions of dollars to charity, not because he is down-to-earth, not because he is the richest man in the world, certainly not because he's pro-choice but because Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most successful companies in America. I think it belongs to Fortune 3.
5. Some people love to gossip about people's lives and whatnot. I get really hooked up when I hear that there are new talks and speeches being made about business.
6. I read annual reports for the fun of it. Yes! For the fun of it!
7. I do not like accounting which is weird considering I like annual reports but the moment I realized I needed it for stocks, I actually became interested in it.

However, to judge me as a money-oriented, blood-sucking, cold-hearted, tycoon is very unacceptable. I am saying this because somebody already made a mistake of calling me money-oriented, oh I'm sorry - TOO MONEY-ORIENTED!

There is actually more to me than business. There is more to me than leverage and stocks and bonds. I am a person. Need I say more? hehe...

Truth be told. I have never invested in a business before. I wanted to but my capital is too low and the stockbroker won't accept anything less than a hundred grand. The thing is, business and money-making do not ring common bells to me. It is not as dissimilar as apples and oranges but they are not necessarily the same thing to me. It does not even follow that business would spurt out money. To me, business is something that entices me. It is something that excites me. It is something that I do not mind doing for the rest of my life.

Let me ask you this question. Have you ever felt so passionate about something that you have completely defied everything that kept you from doing it? Did you climb off your window and took your dad's car to go to a party you were not allowed to go to? Did you travel 20 kilometers just to visit your love ones despite the fact you have a report to submit the following morning? Did you commit yourself to Gawad Kalinga to help build houses for the poor every week despite the fact that you already have a full plate in your household? Finally, did you date someone secretly even if your family dislikes the person? If your answer is yes, then you and I are not so different.

You see. My parents definitely have high expectations from me. My mom is a Ph. D. who got straight A's since her M.A. She also graduated magna cum laude in college. My dad is a self-made mechanical engineer who used to sell pandesal every morning before going to school just to have an allowance. Now, our family is nowhere near to ultra rich. We are actually part of the middle class. We earn enough money to live decent lives. My parents are very particular with education as you might suspect. They sent us to good schools so that we could be successful some day. I am grateful for everything that they have done for us but most of you would not know that my parents do not agree with my path in business. It is kind of like a Romeo and Juliet; only it is more of the geeky version. So geeky that you'll find yourself having internal vomiting. The thing is, for most of my life I have been dreaming of becoming SOMEONE some day. It does not have to be cool. It just has to be SOMEONE. When I was a kid. I wanted to become a scientist. Imagine that! What kind of a kid would want to become a scientist!? Hmmm... Try..... ME! hehe... I would put apart the toys that my parents gave me then I would put them back in. When I receive a toy, my main concern would be putting it apart rather than taking care of it and keeping it intact. I loved tearing up toys to see how they were made! Sadly, my science teachers never got my attention. What's up with the eclipse and the body systems!? How could you attract me to study that!? So, I resorted to medicine. Now, I used to be skinny but we all eventually became healthy. And I promised my parents and my siblings that I would become a doctor and I would invent the most advanced; fail-proof diet pill that you would experience weight loss with just one pill! I would call it Super Slim! hahaha! When my dad would tell me. "Don't eat too much. I'd respond and say, "Never mind! I'll fix it up when I become a doctor!" hahahaha! Then came high school. I got myself to a Technical school and I was and still am and will forever be happy to have been a Bosconian. I wanted to become a computer engineer. I wanted to be like Bill Gates! People seem to say that the guy is geeky. But to hell with it! He's the coolest GEEK there is! I learned programming and website making and Flash presentations until I found myself in Industrial Electricity. Then came my musings for hardwares. I wanted to invent an actual product! I wanted to be like Thomas Edison or Grahambell! Shortly after this, I figured, hmmmm.... I want to be a CEO. I want to be THE BOSS! I ain't working for anybody but me. If I screw things up, my ass is on the line. If I make a killing however, I get freaking rich! hahaha!

So came senior year and I had interests in Conan O' Brien, Jay Leno and all those talk show stuff. I won an extempo speech and I thought, "Hey! I could be a public speaker! A host!" hahaha! So I thought I could take Comm and be in business and talk in public and stuff and that would be ccol but eventually, it faded. Everything I wanted for myself faded. Like faded jeans! (no laughter? Ok...) They all faded in front of my eyes! And the sad thing is, I didn't give a tiny rat's ass. Nothing mattered to me! Despite the fact that I worked hard to train myself for it! It didn't matter to me that I did not want it anymore. It was like, Pfffft. I don't want it anymore. Big deal! Until I went to a business seminar. I learned about Robert Kiyosaki who influenced me but I do not agree with. But my craving for information became stronger. I was hungrier than ever. I liked business more than I liked food (haha!), or school (I like school though), or TV shows, or vices, or even girls probably. Haha! Business was a topmost priority other than my family and well, God of course! But even so, business became a big part of my life. I thought about it day and night. I do not feel bored with it. I find it the coolest thing to ever be in existence! I started to see the company beyond the label! I started to see the organization beyond the price tag. It was a wonderful moment. My sisters thought I was being geeky as hell but I never felt business was geeky at all! I thought it was something that is and will forever be part of my life.

Which brings me to my point. Business is something that I do not see as a means to an end. Business is my intended end. I had a conversation with a 5th year Industrial Economics student by the name of Migs. He is currently working as a Research Assistant for Mr. Pineda. He is not earning a salary but he is really hyped up about his job. I remember him telling me that it is not about the salary. His current job is not related to money-making. Just the experience and the opportunity to work for a Cornell graduate who works for the best economic school in the Philippines, UA&P and a consultant to multinational firms and senators is already big! Same thing is true for me. I told him prior to his statement that I would work free of charge for Warren Buffett. I have always dreamed of spending some time in Columbia Business School to experience first hand they type of education that he received. I would work for free for business. For some people, they find business as a means to early retirement. They find it as an escape from 9-5. They find it an opportunity to escape Income Tax or earn more money. I don't. Business is not a vehicle to earn money. It is an end that I pursue. There is something about it that soothes me. There is something about it that satisfies me. And if I can spend so much of my money and so much of my time devoting myself to buying books and reading them; reading countless numbers of news articles, then I could certainly say that it would be a much smoother ride in the future.

By the way, business is something that I have never been tired of and the day I stop loving it is the day that I have nothing to smile about for the rest of my life.




I actually forgot. So I'm posting a picture of TIMELY. It's the product I talked about in my first entry... I think? Anyway,



You could visit the website here: goodlandenterprises.freehostia.com

Do not put www. I do not know why it does not work with www.

Monopoly

I might regret posting this blog some day...

A couple of days ago, I decided to browse through my Microeconomics textbook for twenty minutes and I stumbled upon an article that discusses Microsoft´s monopoly. It said in the article that Microsoft is guilty of killing its early competitors such as Netscape by adding MSIExplorer to its OS package. It is quite interesting since I am really curious about the power of monopoly companies.

In the Philippines and most countries, monopoly companies usually render household necessities such as electricity, water, supposedly oil but it was deregulated during the Aquino administration, etc. Other basic needs are encompassed in the competitive market where there is small margin profits and where businessmen would easily say, "Hmmmf! To hell with that." And most of these monopolies are government regulated.

I cannot help it but admire the people who are able to capture a significant amount of market share and are able to sustain its dominance by increasing the barrier of entry so as to eliminate competitors. I commend them for their brilliance. I do not have any issues with Microsoft's dominance of the computer software market. I love Microsoft! I like Bill Gates too. I do not have any problem with Buffett's dominance of a newspaper company nor do I have a problem with San Miguel's apparent strength in the local brewery. I think they are doing a fantastic job and their efforts are giving them significant power to increase profit margins.

However, I do disagree with a couple of things regarding monopolies. For one, they tend to polarize people too much. Polarizing people is a good thing. You must produce a product that would be likened by a lot of customers with different tastes. The downside is it becomes detrimental to people's creativity and the variety that one would expect to find in the marketplace. People would love to have choices.

Allow me to digress, I am a big fan of democracy. In my opinion, if it could be implemented in a Plato environment, that is ideal environment, it is probably the best system of government because it has checks and balances; it empowers the people through suffrage; and it allows for a balanced distribution of power among its members. Now, it may not work because of cultural deficiencies and whatnot but I am just saying that if it could be used optimally and properly, it is the best government system! Now, the reason why I like democracy is amplified by my strong dislike of communism. In my personal opinion, I think communism especially if it is enforced fully would create the worst society ever given to man. For one, to completely surrender all your rights to the government is really wrong. To make things worse, to allow the government to assign your specialization, clothing and designation is pretty much utmost suppression of one's personhood! And this brings me to why I find dissatisfaction in monopolies especially if they are providers of basic needs.

No matter what price is set, if one really needs it, he/she would buy it. This is the explanation for the inelastic demand for necessities. No matter how bad a product is made, if it is the only one available, one would buy it. Lastly, no matter how many protest and cries people do for lowering the prices and increasing the quality of the products and/or services being provided, they can't do anything. Sad but it is true or would be true. The capability of monopolies to suppress people demand and act in a mediocre manner and still profit scares the hell out of me. Imagine living that life. Paying a high price to a bozo who can't do s**t really. That would suck.

Think of things this way. Why are we paying so much money for gas just because the OPEC is limiting its production? This is what I would call monopoly of energy source. And as we could see, entry to energy provision is really difficult for companies. Why is that? Because cars work with gasoline and diesel! Same thing for Microsoft! I personally use Linux and Microsoft in my computer. I would love to use Linux and let go of Microsoft despite my love for it because it is too freaking expensive. However, I cannot simply do it. Why? Because my printer, wireless lan, webcam,MP3 player, YM and a lot of other necessities do not work with Linux! And I do not have the necessary skills and... well... patience actually... to look for the kernels and install them via Terminals that I think is worse than MS-Dos.

So, there. I actually might have more reasons why I do not like monopolies but I am already lazy to recall them. Don't get the wrong notion though. I admire monopolies and I have high respect for the founder of companies that are able to dominate a market. However, I just feel bad that the consumers are left with their hands tied buying whatever is available.

Blog Christening!

It's my first time to blog.. Yey! Exciting??





NAH! Not really... This is my nth blog! hahahaha!




Nobody would probably read this since I may not spread out the URL to anyone in particular but I thought it imperative to have a sanctuary in the World Wide Web and thus the title, breathing room.



Where do I begin?... Okay. It's as of now past three in the morning and I have been tasked to give my mom a ride to her office at 5:30. Wait for the bank to open and withdraw some cash for my tuition fee, which I must pay today. Also, I would still have to make certain adjustments for my course enlistments so I'll probably lose all my energy today and metaphorically resemble a nearly empty toothpaste tube.



Okay. Off to the blog. I would actually like to take this opportunity to voice out my taxing situation as of the moment. Are any of you Cathlolic? Well, we're in the Philippines, so yes probably. There's an instance in the waning moments of Christ's persecution where he prays in a garden to His Father because He could foresee the pain and suffering he is bound to undertake. Well, it may not be right to make comparison but this is exactly what it is. I have a tough year ahead of me. In fact, I am probably biting more than I could chew (which literally happens at times) but yeah. I'm really scared with the upcoming year that I have. I am just surrounded with too many activities and I am really not in a great shape to enter the 5th year program. Couple those up with my personal goals and outside activities and voila! You are looking at a Carrera being driven at 200 miles an hour by an unskilled driver. I am really anxious not only because I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of the upcoming year but because the intangible pursuits that I have are not even being taken into account yet. Well, come to think of it, millions of teens are probably thinking of the same things anyway. So I should probably just mellow down and try to make the best out of this situation. One thing is for sure: This year is make or break for me. Either I do well or I end up in dismal mediocrity.



Something has been keeping me occupied over the last couple of days and I have been trying to recall a lot of HTML stuff that I used way back in High School. I have been creating a website for my dad's invention. It's pretty cool! The gadget is cool; the website? Not so much. But hey! It has been a long time since I had one.



Anyway, we are actually already using this gadget. It is an anti-car nap / anti-car jack device. It is pretty high tech so I cannot really describe how the gadget functions but I could describe its functions. I have used this twice. When you're driving and in the unfortunate event that somebody forces you out of the car and drives of, the car would stop in half a minute or so depending on how you programmed it. It could also stop if the thief goes on a full stop. The best part is the car would not turn on again unless the hidden switch is found. How much time does the thief has to look for the switch when the other cars are horning? Amazing huh? I prefer having the key switch. He can't turn on the car unless the key is used to reset the device. It's pretty cool. I always feel safe when I use the car. Anyway, the device is called TIMELY, and youc could just check out the unfinished wesite http://www.goodlandenterprises.freehostia.com for the details.



What else has been keeping me busy? I have watched a lot of movies and played bowling and wondering if I could study in Columbia Business School where my hero, Warren Buffett studied. Oh! I got a new dog! Actually, we got a new dog! He's pretty cool. His name is Basty! He had very thick hair when he arrived but we brought him to a pet store to get a haircut because flees might hide in his fur. I'll post pics next time. Hmmm... I'm sleepy. I'll just sleep for an hour. Au revoir!