this is the 2011 girl

Everything can be found on the net. Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes it. Somewhere, even in a decrepit room in the darkest alley of an obscure city, someone is writing an article. And, together with all the others like me who think that their blog must contain a new year's entry, whatever comes out from a few clicks on the keyboard ends up on the screen of the rest of the world.

Everything can be found on the net. And if you cannot in your pretty life think of what resolutions you should tackle this year 2011, the web has the answers for you. There is even a ranking of resolutions and among the top ten, I hit five. Which are -

1. Learn Something New.
2. Get Organized.
3. Enjoy Life More.
4. Tame the Bulge.
5. Fit in Fitness.

That's why I have this fresh shot with the treadmill. Smile. It's the closest I could get to using it.


On how to fulfill those resolutions, the web will still have the answers. I'm sure.

between the old and new year

bring out the old, bring in the new
a midnight wish to share with you
your lips are warm, my head is light
were we in love before tonight?

i don't need a crowded ballroom
everything i want is here
if you're with me
next year will be the perfect year

before we play some dangerous game
before we fan some harmless flame
we have to ask if this is wise
and if the game is worth the prize
with this wine and with this music
how can anything be clear?
let's wait and see
it may just be the perfect year

it's new year's eve, and hopes are high
dance one year in, kiss one good-bye
another chance, another start
so many dreams to tease the heart

we don't need a crowded ballroom
everything we want is here
and face to face
we will embrace the perfect year

we don't need a crowded ballroom
everything we want is here
and face to face
we will embrace the perfect year

- The Perfect Year from Sunset Boulevard

x marks the holiday

I've been reading up on people complaining about the removal of Jesus Christ from Christmas and calling the holiday Xmas instead. One woman at the Farm Town market was even huffing and puffing about it and was calling expletives at other players who disagree with her.

Oh that's my world now, in the interactive scenes of an online game.

But back to that letter of the alphabet. The family has a friend named Christopher, and his nickname is actually X. I originally thought this was hip and catchy, since yes, Christmas at times is Xmas to some.

With this divide on the shortening of the Christmas word these days, especially to accommodate cellular phone messages and cool holiday cards, About.com has this to say:

Question: Why Is There an X in Xmas? Some Christians complain that the abbreviation Xmas for Christmas is part of a move to secularize the holiday, to take the Christ out of Christmas, but this isn't really justified.

Answer: It is said that when the Emperor Constantine had his great vision that caused him to convert to Christianity, he saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho intertwined. Chi is written as an 'X' and Rho is written as a 'P', but they are the first two letters of the Greek word Christ 'savior'. 'XP' is sometimes used to stand for Christ. Sometimes X is used alone. This is the case in the Chi (X) abbreviation for Christ in Xmas. Thus, Xmas is not directly a way of secularizing the holiday, but since 'X' is not Chi in English, we read the word as X-mas and see no connection with Christ.

Now that is a relief to know.

Why is there an X in Xmas?

witnessing a cousin's wedding

Photo courtesy of Mike Mendoza

what's in the ipod shuffle?

Here's what I have.

Videos:
Father of the Bride 1
Father of the Bride 2
Gladiator
Roman Holiday
Sleepless in Seattle
The Proposal

Albums:
Barbra Streisand's Back to Broadway
VST and Company's Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko
Bic Runga's Beautiful Collision
Bic Runga's Birds
Bic Runga's Drive
Craig David's Slicker Than Your Average
Craig David's The Story Goes
Fr. Arnel dC Aquino's Lauds I
Fr. Arnel dC Aquino's Lauds II
Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D.
Celtic Woman's Celtic Woman
Celtic Woman's A New Journey
Daughtry's Daughtry
The Pussycat Dolls' Doll Domination 2.0
Pet Shop Boys' Greatest Hits 2
Lifehouse's Lifehouse
Lifehouse's Stanley Climbfall
Lifehouse's No Name Face
Lifehouse's Who We Are
Marek Lutonsky's ML
Boys II Men's Motown Hitsville USA
Igor Krutoi's Without Words

What about yours?

pursuing prakarsa

Malasag Hill, Cagayan de Oro City

September 19 2010
Photography by Mike Mendoza

training the trainers

The LINC-EG Project continued its involvement in the streamlining the business and permitting and licensing (BPLS) program of the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) by providing technical and material support to the training of trainers (TOT) Workshop for DILG and DTI personnel in Mindanao held in Cagayan de Oro City last August 16 to 18, 2010.

The program seeks to reduce the cost and shorten the processing time of getting local business permits and licenses to encourage more investment in local communities nationwide.

The 38 DTI and DILG personnel trained during the 3-day TOT workshop will guide the personnel of local government units (LGUs) in Northern Mindanao establish streamlined business permitting and licensing systems (BPLS) in the participating LGUs.

The BPLS they are to help establish will use one single unified form for new applications and renewals; reduce the number of signatures and steps to 5; and limit the processing time to a maximum of 10 days from the date of the submission of the application form for new applications and 5 days for renewal as required under the provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007.

The workshop included discussions of the process of establishing the reformed BPLSs as well as simulations of the coaching sessions to be conducted by the DTI and DILG personnel for their LGU counterparts.

LINC-EG provided for the resource persons who conducted the training, the training venue, and the accommodations for the participants, resource persons and support staff.

A second TOT in Mindanao, this time for DTI and DILG personnel in Southern Mindanao, will be held 7-9 September in Davao City. LINC-EG will again support this initiative.

- From the LINC-EG Highlights for the Month, August 2010

a mantangale birthday

Mantangale Alibuag Dive Resort

Balingoan, Misamis Oriental
August 21-22 2010

the people at work

I love the rush you get in firing people. But that would make for another story. Because I like hiring people too, when the slate is still freshly white clean and anything is possible and they can still have the chance to impress me.

Scouring all the materials available on how to better manage the people, I found this printed on a piece of paper, folded three times. I cannot remember exactly how I got this, but it may be one of those inspired and guided moments –

How to Properly Place New Employees
(or re-assign old ones needing that extra umph)

1. Put 400 bricks in a closed room.
2. Put your employees in the room and close the door.
3. Leave them alone and come back after four hours (you must or else lunch will be due).
4. Then analyze the situation:
1. If they are counting the bricks, put them in Accounting.
2. If they are recounting the bricks, put them in Auditing.
3. If they have messed the whole place with the bricks, put them in Engineering.
4. If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order, put them in Planning.
5. If they are throwing bricks at each other, put them in Operations.
6. If they are sleeping, put them in Security.
7. If they have broken the bricks into pieces, put them in IT.
8. If they are sitting idle, put them in Human Resources.
9. If they say they have tried different combinations, and they are looking for more, put them in Sales.
10. If they have already left for the day, put them in Marketing.
11. If they are staring out of the window, put them in Strategic Planning.
12. If they are talking to each other, and not a single brick has been moved, put them in Management Group.
13. Finally, if they have surrounded themselves with bricks in such a way that they an neither be seen nor heard from, (they should not be in your company), for they belong in Government.

Hire away!

butuan city and its potentials

In one voice, the government and business leaders of this northeastern city of the Agusan Valley of Mindanao expressed their vision for a more competitive Butuan.

In a meeting with the representatives from USAID Philippines and the policy-reform project LINC-EG or Local Implementation of National Competitiveness for Economic Growth, Butuan City Mayor Ferdinand M. Amante Jr. and Agusan del Norte Governor Erlpe John Amante presented the plans for reforms of the local government that the newly-inaugurated officials will pursue to make Butuan City a business-friendly environment for investors.

In a separate meeting, DTI Caraga Regional Director Brielgo Pagaran enumerated mining, wood and agri-aquaculture as the winning products of the area. He says that with a renewed strength, Butuan City can draw on its attractive industries as it pushes through with its agenda of becoming one of Mindanao’s progressive cities.

The same optimism was shared by Butuan City Chamber of Commerce President Engineer Alan Silor. Expressing his high hopes for better management of the local government, he confirmed the private sector’s willingness to partner with the government to improve basic services that will encourage more economic activity in the city.

In agreement, the leaders named some of the crucial features to make their city competitive – streamlined government processes, proper implementation of priorities, and transparent and accountable leadership.

They expressed to John Avila, representative of USAID Philippines, their continuing interest and commitment to the various projects of the USAID in the city.

LINC-EG organized the meetings last July with the Butuan City leaders to explore the possibilities of partnership in their various projects. Chief of Party Alid Camara, whose mandate is to bring the policy-reform project to the main cities in Mindanao, is confident that with the right attitude and effective implementation of reforms, Butuan City will soon realize its competitiveness potential.