Welcome to Breakthroughs in Life!
To each is his own way of looking at and appreciating things, if not feeling dismayed about whatever happened why things turned out so differently from what they were expected to be some years back.
Although I hail from the southern island of Mindanao and grew up in my home City of Gensan, Baguio City has always been a dream place to visit since my younger days. Well, my dream came true for the first time in December 1971, when Ernie Fernandez, a friend from Urdaneta, Pangasinan, invited me for a week's tour. And then again in 1990, just some few weeks before that devastating earthquake rocked Baguio and brought her down on her knees in July 16 that same year, me and my wife, Lynn, went up to the Pine City for a kind of "Honeymoon Refresher".
Some few days ago (Oct.12-14, 2008), me, my wife and kids went up again to Baguio for a family weekend breather. Thanks to the sponsorship and courtesy of our benefactors, Drex and Larah.
During this visit, however, I found many things around look so differently, they made me feel dismayed somehow. To me, the verdant cover of Baguio's surrounding hills which looked virgin and prestine 37 years ago is now out of sight. The ever beauty of her natural topography is gone. Instead, residential units of all sizes - small, medium, large - cropped up at random filling the slope from base to hillside and all the way up to mountain top. I wonder if the dreams and visions of Baguio's pioneering settlers and developers who made a wonderful beginning and succeeded in claiming the City to become the Summer Capital of the Philippines feel happier and fulfilled seeing the City as she is now.
Despite those dismal features, the segments of the City that kept Baguio's tradition as a unique and ideal destination for tourists as well as vacationers stand still. Camp John Hay is still there. The PMA Compound as well as other amenities in the suburb are kept and preserved.
You may ask, "Is Baguio City still a dream place to visit?". Oh, sure yes! I love Baguio's 24/7 cool and soothing climate. And best of all, I love the hospitable people like Oscar "Charo" who made our 2-day stay in his well-kept and fully-loaded Inn real safe, secure, and comfortable. After all, it's the hospitality of the people in a place that makes it homely.
Friends, take a break! Go and visit the Pine City and get refreshed and better still recharged.
Happy holiday!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
The ROLLING STONE and Moss
Welcome to Breakthroughs in Life!
Let's reminisce some more guys...
Take a close look and see if this guy is familiar to you. He sort of hops from one company to another, not because his former employers dismissed him nor terminated his tenure. It's just that he simply disliked their management style and culture.
My unassuming multi-millionnaire former employer, Mr. Jack, intrigued me when we chanced upon reminiscing our youthful escapades over a cup of coffee during one of our usual mid-afternoon breaktime in the office.
Had he remained a diehard "8-12; 1-5" six days a week technician-employee for the next ten long years since he got employed in a garment manufacturing firm in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, in late 1960s, I would not have met and known him in August 1983 as the modest multi-millionnaire-proprietor who was instrumental in giving me the FIRST EVER managerial career break that led to my further growth, progress and advancement in the field of corporate resource-conversion as well as human resource organization, management, and development.
How Mr. Jack became a millionnaire-proprietor of a progressive labor-intensive knitting and ready-to-wear manufacturing and marketing enterprise, employing some 30-40 strong workers in a little less than a decade from 1974 to 1983, is one typical "Scrap-to-Crop-up" success story, only himself is worthy to tell and emote with spontaneity.
One episode in his early adulthood adventure that struck my attentive chord is his recollection of a disheartening and tormenting encounter with an autocratic former boss. The fed up Jackie, who couldn't take it anymore, following a repeated verbal skirmish with the lording over superior, called it quit at the time when the firm needed his technical expertise the most.
Feeling bad and quite mad, the tensed boss retorted with a resounding tenor, saying in effect,"Jackie boy, you're no different from a rolling stone down the stream to nowhere...you'll never gather moss..."
Well, Jackie boy and my boyhood then had something in common - a rolling stone temperament. Today, thanks Providence, I'm stuck around and found a home since that great day when I found myself already bumped and laid upon the One Big and Stable Corner Stone, The Rock of All Ages - The Great Master and Lord of servant-leaders whose management style is one of compassion, humility, justice, understanding, patience and forgiveness.
Friend, remain steadfast and gather more nourishing moss of compassion to feed the hungry souls who might still be rolling down the stream of disappointments.
Be of Good Courage!
Let's reminisce some more guys...
Take a close look and see if this guy is familiar to you. He sort of hops from one company to another, not because his former employers dismissed him nor terminated his tenure. It's just that he simply disliked their management style and culture.
My unassuming multi-millionnaire former employer, Mr. Jack, intrigued me when we chanced upon reminiscing our youthful escapades over a cup of coffee during one of our usual mid-afternoon breaktime in the office.
Had he remained a diehard "8-12; 1-5" six days a week technician-employee for the next ten long years since he got employed in a garment manufacturing firm in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, in late 1960s, I would not have met and known him in August 1983 as the modest multi-millionnaire-proprietor who was instrumental in giving me the FIRST EVER managerial career break that led to my further growth, progress and advancement in the field of corporate resource-conversion as well as human resource organization, management, and development.
How Mr. Jack became a millionnaire-proprietor of a progressive labor-intensive knitting and ready-to-wear manufacturing and marketing enterprise, employing some 30-40 strong workers in a little less than a decade from 1974 to 1983, is one typical "Scrap-to-Crop-up" success story, only himself is worthy to tell and emote with spontaneity.
One episode in his early adulthood adventure that struck my attentive chord is his recollection of a disheartening and tormenting encounter with an autocratic former boss. The fed up Jackie, who couldn't take it anymore, following a repeated verbal skirmish with the lording over superior, called it quit at the time when the firm needed his technical expertise the most.
Feeling bad and quite mad, the tensed boss retorted with a resounding tenor, saying in effect,"Jackie boy, you're no different from a rolling stone down the stream to nowhere...you'll never gather moss..."
Well, Jackie boy and my boyhood then had something in common - a rolling stone temperament. Today, thanks Providence, I'm stuck around and found a home since that great day when I found myself already bumped and laid upon the One Big and Stable Corner Stone, The Rock of All Ages - The Great Master and Lord of servant-leaders whose management style is one of compassion, humility, justice, understanding, patience and forgiveness.
Friend, remain steadfast and gather more nourishing moss of compassion to feed the hungry souls who might still be rolling down the stream of disappointments.
Be of Good Courage!
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