Month: February 2012

General

2012-02-11 Vieux Chalet, Antipolo

By on Sunday, February 12, 2012

We got together with some friends at Vieux Chalet. As usual, the rustic ambiance and the city view was great. And as usual, Rico and the staff were also great. They even did a dance number. The food was just good. I had ordered Cannelloni, Fettuccine Alfredo, Pizza de la Casa, and Pizza Napoli (anyone notice how all of these seem Italian?) and though they were individually quite delicious, I inadvertently ended up with a very anti-South Beach (still remember that?) carbo-loaded menu. Still, the night went well and it was great seeing and being with friends. Thanks everyone!

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General

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

By on Saturday, February 11, 2012

I attended a short one-day seminar of Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s good stuff! Essentially, the 7 habits take us through 3 levels of the maturity continuum into becoming highly-effective people.

DEPENDENCE – We are born into this. Depending on others to take care of us. And often, blaming others for undesirable outcome of events.

Habit 1: Be Proactive – Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and subsequent actions) are the primary determining factors for effectiveness in your life. Instead of simply reacting to stimulus, decide on your response to stimulus and take responsibility for your decision and its consequences.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind – Identify and clarify your values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.

Habit 3: Put First Things First –  Plan, prioritize, and execute tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts are aligned with your values, propel you toward your life goals, and enrich your roles and relationships in life.

INDEPENDENCE – We mature into this. We take care of ourselves and make our own decisions. We accept responsibility for both undesirable and desirable outcomes.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win – Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial outcomes in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood – Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.

Habit 6: Synergize –  Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork to achieve things that are difficult of impossible to do alone. Get the best performance of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

INTERDEPENDENCE – We work as a team to achieve things that are difficult or impossible to do alone. We all have important roles. Whether as leaders or followers, others depend on us and we, in turn, depend on them.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – The story goes that a man was cutting wood with a saw and it was taking much time because the saw was blunt. Taking the time to sharpen the saw resulted in overall time savings. Just as a tool regular maintenance, we too require our own maintenance to rejuvenate our minds, bodies, and souls to create an effective, efficient, and sustainable lifestyle.

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General

MoA Eye

By on Thursday, February 9, 2012

Last night, I showed Jeanne the photo of the MoA Eye (very original name) I took when I had dinner with office mates earlier in the evening.

I asked her: “What’s that?”
Jeanne: “Wheel.”
Me: “It’s a ferris wheel.”
J: “Ferris wheel. Want to ride that.”
M: “You want to ride the ferris wheel?”
J: “Yes!”
M: “Okay, let’s ride that.”

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General

Doing Good, Doing Right

By on Wednesday, February 8, 2012

There’s this suggestion called Pascal’s Wager is a suggestion posed by Blaise Pascal that since the existence of God cannot be proved, then you can only wager on certain things being true and the consequences:

  • If you believe in God, and God does exist, you go to heaven.
  • If you believe in God, and God does not exist, you don’t lose anything.
  • If you don’t believe in God, and God does exist, you go to hell.
  • If you don’t believe in God, and God does not exist, you don’t lose anything.

Obviously here, believing in God is the way to go.

But wait, there’s more. If you believe in God, then you likely live a good life and since good begets good, you actually gain. If you don’t believe in God, and you lead an evil life and since evil begets evil, you actually lose.

So whatever your beliefs, whatever everyone else is doing on around you, doing what is good, doing what is right, is the only thing to do.

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General

Bonding x3

By on Monday, February 6, 2012

I survived! Michelle went off to climb Pulag with her officemates so I was left with Jeanne for the past weekend. Of course, it helped that Gretchen was also around.

Friday

It actually started Friday afternoon. I arrived early as I normally do (I usually leave home while she’s asleep and then come back early, sometimes just in time for her afternoon playground time). This time, she and Gretchen were already out playing. I had with me some banana-cues for snacks and I put them in the oven to reheat. I was done just when they came back and we had snacks. Jeanne said she likes it but just nibbled here and there. I ended up eating the remainder.

After dinner Michelle arrived to bring back the car. We then drove back out to her office to drop her off. At first, I didn’t want to bring Jeanne because I was afraid she might throw a tantrum once Michelle gets down. I eventually relented and surprisingly, she was cool about it.

Once we got home, we went through her bedtime routine: drank vitamins, brushed teeth, wiped down, changed nappy, and prepared for bed. I promised to read her a story and I read her some story about a dog’s antics. And then it was sleepy time. She tossed and turned for a while and asked for water but she generally wasn’t very fussy. Pretty quickly, she quieted down and was soon asleep.

Saturday

I woke up before Jeanne and quickly ran out to the car wash for a full wash (engine, under, body). When I returned home, we quickly prepared for lunch with Val and Rose at Saint’s Alp in Katipunan (slow service!). I was able to find the place pretty quickly. By and by Val came along and we ate. Jeanne was up to her antics and didn’t eat much. She behaved a bit when Rose arrived but went back soon after.

After lunch, we dropped by the Podium. I tried changing her nappy but for some reason she had developed a fear of the diaper-changing station. I tried putting her on it and she screamed and thrashed about so much that I got scared she might fall. So I let up, but we weren’t able to go around anymore. I was however able to quickly grab a copy of Batman: Arkham City from DataBlitz.

We then went home and changed nappy. Jeanne then played with Gretchen while I played some Batman then napped till just before dinner. I took over Jeanne while Gretchen prepared dinner.

After dinner we sat on the sofa and watched The Double. As usual, she wasn’t interested and was drawing most of the time. After the movie, we went through her bedtime routine. I promised to let her watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And then it was sleepy time. Just like the previous night, she tossed and turned for a while and asked for water but she generally wasn’t very fussy.

Sometime in the night she woke up. I keep asking her what she wanted and finally she said “Nothing.” then slept again. Later she woke up again. Again, I asked her what she wanted. She said “Don’t. Talk. Dad.” then slept again. I guess she didn’t want to be disturbed :P

Sunday

I woke up with the intent of quickly running to the car wash (for the other car) and getting back in time for Jeanne waking up. Fat chance. She was apparently already awake. When she saw me putting on my pants, she quickly got up and said “Want to go with daddy!” What choice do I have? So off we went to the car wash and she had fun watching the crew wash, shampoo, rinse, and dry the car.

We then went home and had lunch. Jeanne then played with Gretchen while I played some Batman then napped till just before dinner. I baked some ham in the oven then took over Jeanne while Gretchen cooked rice.

The ham turned out to be good! Definitely much better than fried. Even Jeanne agreed as she ate the ham including her favorite fatty-fatty bits. As usual, I was done eating first. As I checked something on the phone, I noticed Jeanne smiling and I realized she wanted a picture. So I obliged and snapped a quick pic. She immediately said “Want to see!” and I showed it to her.

After dinner we sat on the sofa and watched In Time. Again, she wasn’t interested and was drawing most of the time. After the movie, we went through her bedtime routine. I promised to let her watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, later Barney, and even later told her my majorly revised and truncated version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. And then finally it was sleepy time. Again, she tossed and turned for a while and asked for water but she generally wasn’t very fussy.

 

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