I am a father of two --- a cute and pesky 4-year old girl and cute and not-so-pesky one-year old. I guess many working dads like me struggle to keep up with the energy of kids today. It's a full-time job and its hard. Sometimes I wonder, how do other dads do it. Well, here are a few tricks of mine.
Make time for them - i go off work at 4pm, arrive at home around 5pm. Between that and the time they go to sleep at around 7-8pm, I only have 1-2 hours to spend with the kids. I make sure that I am with them the whole time --- running around playing games (we still play tag) or simply watching their favorite DVDs. Family time is scarce these days but there is a fixed amount of time everyday (say, 8 hours) for work.
Give the kids a hug and a kiss when you get home - make it a habit and soon you'll see that everytime youo get home, they'll come running to you.
If you got time to spare during weekends and day-offs, spend it with family - I do my push-ups, dumb bell routines with kids in tow. And we've got lots of bonding moments --- me doing the push-ups with a kid on my back, me lifting both kids on either arm as weights and many more.
Give the kids a kiss and whisper them "I love you so much" before they sleep - Trust me, this works. Whats comes around, goes around. One time, I slept a bit early while the kids are still awake. My daughter sneaked up to my bed and whispered to my ear, in her broken and spotty English, "daddy, alabyusomuch, mwah!".
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Joketime --- Pressure, Stress and Panic
Definitions:
Pressure - This is what you feel when your wife is pregnant.
Stress - This is what you feel when your girlfriend is pregnant.
Panic - This is what you feel when your wife and girlfriend are both pregnant --- at the same time!
Hahaha!
Pressure - This is what you feel when your wife is pregnant.
Stress - This is what you feel when your girlfriend is pregnant.
Panic - This is what you feel when your wife and girlfriend are both pregnant --- at the same time!
Hahaha!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The best thing in life... Everlasting friendship...
Very few stories make me shed tears. Man, this is one of them... and it's not a story of two people. It's a story between man and beast. Read on.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
11 Rules --- Straight to the point!
Just passing this. I'm not really sure if it's Bill Gates who said these rules. But definitely, these bring home a point. Read on...
11 Rules to Live by
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
11 Rules to Live by
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
My Father files for Retirement
My father turns 60 this week. It's one milestone that I would like to share.
Like many who retire at this age, one of the things that he did was to file for retirement benefits at SSS.
My father worked for a garment factory owned by a fil-chinese for 30 years (i guess he deserved a few loyalty awards for this). That factory closed down last 2002 but his contributions were enough to qualify him for pension benefits. From what we were told, you need a minimum of 240 months of contributions to get pension. He clearly hod more than that.
So yesterday, off we went to the SSS office in Tagaytay to submit his requriements. Got in early at #1. Manong, the guard, gave us a few tips to go through it quickly. And yep, in less than 30 minutes after office started at 8am, we were already on our way home. There was no queue in this branch, unlike in other branches where we've heard of horror stories of lines a mile long.
The submission of requirements is the first part --- the easy part. Who knows about the follow-up. For that part, we have heard mixed stories. Let see how ours go.
So for those who, like my father, are retiring. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Go to the branch early to make sure you get in front of the line.
2. Have your requirements ready. For my dad, since he didn't have any qualified dependent (a child or children less than 21 years old), the requirements are quite few:
- Certificate of Employment
- Authenticated NSO Birth Certificate
- His SSS ID
- A completely-filled-up SSS Disability, Retirement claim form.
Have photocopies of the above requirements before you go to the branch.
And oh, make sure that you have a Savings Account from any commercial bank that SSS can deposit your pension funds to. SSS no longer gives out pension checks (I think). They just deposit it to your local commercial bank --- a great convenience.
Like many who retire at this age, one of the things that he did was to file for retirement benefits at SSS.
My father worked for a garment factory owned by a fil-chinese for 30 years (i guess he deserved a few loyalty awards for this). That factory closed down last 2002 but his contributions were enough to qualify him for pension benefits. From what we were told, you need a minimum of 240 months of contributions to get pension. He clearly hod more than that.
So yesterday, off we went to the SSS office in Tagaytay to submit his requriements. Got in early at #1. Manong, the guard, gave us a few tips to go through it quickly. And yep, in less than 30 minutes after office started at 8am, we were already on our way home. There was no queue in this branch, unlike in other branches where we've heard of horror stories of lines a mile long.
The submission of requirements is the first part --- the easy part. Who knows about the follow-up. For that part, we have heard mixed stories. Let see how ours go.
So for those who, like my father, are retiring. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Go to the branch early to make sure you get in front of the line.
2. Have your requirements ready. For my dad, since he didn't have any qualified dependent (a child or children less than 21 years old), the requirements are quite few:
- Certificate of Employment
- Authenticated NSO Birth Certificate
- His SSS ID
- A completely-filled-up SSS Disability, Retirement claim form.
Have photocopies of the above requirements before you go to the branch.
And oh, make sure that you have a Savings Account from any commercial bank that SSS can deposit your pension funds to. SSS no longer gives out pension checks (I think). They just deposit it to your local commercial bank --- a great convenience.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Filipina flies a Viper
Meet Rowena Catuncan, filipina and F-16 fighter pilot. Yes, you read it right --- F-16 fighter. For those of you who were so blessed to have lived through the 80s, I'm sure many would remember the movie IRON EAGLE. The F-16 was the featured warplane in that movie --- the movie that spawned my dreams (and probably, of many schoolboys at that time) to become a cocky fighter plane pilot someday. Then fate had its turn and I ended up in a career in training - but that's another story.See her story here:
http://kayumanggi43.multiply.com/reviews/item/2
Peter Schiff predicts doom under Barack Obama
I've been following this guy ever since I read his book "Crash Proof" sometime in early 2007. He's been right on the money about the current troubles of the US economy. He predicted the sub-prime crisis, the fall of Freddie Mac and Fannie May, and current US fiancial crisis and fall of the economy.
Hold on, folks. The blast zone is in the US. The blast front is on its way here in Asia. We'll feel that next year.
Hold on, folks. The blast zone is in the US. The blast front is on its way here in Asia. We'll feel that next year.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Planting a CEO
I came along this story. Very insightful. I give credit to the original author.
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. '
The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful --in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!' All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. 'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said.
Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!'
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
If you plant faith in GOD, you will reap a harvest
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later. '
Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back'
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. '
The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful --in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!' All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. 'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said.
Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!'
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
If you plant faith in GOD, you will reap a harvest
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later. '
Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back'
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hello World!
Hello World! When I was doing programming, this was the very first program I did (I guess everyone did).
So here I am. My name is Ric and I am a journeyman signing on. Welcome to my home in cyberspace.
So here I am. My name is Ric and I am a journeyman signing on. Welcome to my home in cyberspace.
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