Category: Views & Opinions

  • What Office Location, Design and Ambiance Say About a Company

    What Office Location, Design and Ambiance Say About a Company

    If you’re looking for a job, you might wonder why you should apply for a position at an organization found in a prime location when working at a small business in the suburbs can be more cozy and convenient. Don’t underestimate the importance of having a well-situated, appealing, and ambient physical office to report to! Why?

    Here are some reasons:

    1. THEY OFTEN GIVE BIGGER PAY.

    Most, if not all, quality clients would not go out of their way for companies that are found outside the main business centers. Thus, organizations that operate in serviced offices like in Makati, Taguig, Manila and Cebu often get the big fish with equally great funds.

    When a company has a huge client base and handles big-time projects regularly, they are better able to pay you more than just the minimum. They might even give you allowances for transportation, food, premium healthcare benefits, 14th month pay, along with unique bonuses and performance-based incentives.

    The Enterprise Centre

    2. THEY DO WHAT THEY CAN TO KEEP YOU HAPPY.

    Many of the companies that are found in city business centers usually have appealing interior designs and décor. This is because they understand the relation between a healthy workplace and quality employee results.

    They know that when their workers are provided with ergonomic chairs and comfortable work settings, they would be able to focus on their tasks better and give their best.

    3. THEY HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER EMPLOYEE.

    Doing the same things every day will make working seem dull and employees will soon itch to run out of the office as soon as they can. They know how to find the right balance between ensuring that their workers feel comfortable enough to be productive, but not so much as to make them feel suffocated.

    These companies often invest in creating positive atmosphere through interactive activities, good training that will not only help them improve their productivity but as a person in general.

    What things should be considered when you are looking at your future workplace?

    Lights and Temperature – It will do you well to see if they have good lighting. If it’s too dark, it could cause you eye strain, but too much light will cause a lot of squinting, and either one is not good. Another thing you should check is if workstations are positioned away from draft. Most offices are kept at low temperatures to ensure that machines will not overheat. However, this may be too cold for many people, affecting quality and productivity.

    Music vs. Noise – Some people work better with music in the background, while others are more productive in a quiet environment. See if their current employees are given the option to use their music players or are provided with headphones for listening to tunes on the computer.

    People – Of course, you should also observe the people. See how they are dressed and how they behave. Do they seem happy to you? Do they seem welcoming to new recruits? By looking at how current employees act, you would be able to tell if they really are in a happy and motivating organization.

    Wrap Up

    While it might seem a bit shallow to choose a company based on their office, there are good reasons why you should do so, especially if you want to get good pay and stay happy with your position. So, as you send in your application or show up for your interview, make it a point to observe the location, design and ambiance.

    This is a guest post by Belle of Regus Philippines – Work your way.
  • How Inflation Affects the Lives of Filipinos

    In the Philippines, we are at no point in “chillax mode.” Right after the senatorial elections, a great number of the people’s nation has expressed dismay on the unofficial results. Unlike them though, I’m not moved – at least for now – when I don’t see the official and final tally and when time is not enough yet for those who won positions in the government to prove their worth.

    So how are they going to uplift the poor and reduce the percentage of poverty in the Philippines? I don’t know and I’m not sure if they would remain true to their words when they shared their propagandas. What I’m sure of is that Filipinos are consistently suffering from poverty because of inflation among many other things.

    In this article, let me discuss how inflation affects the lives of Filipinos, but first this:

    News Flash

    The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) released the latest statistics last month concerning poverty incidence in the country. When the percentages were compared in the last six years, they found out that poverty rates have remained unchanged. Please take a moment to process that statement. OK, the moment passed.

    To quote actual reported figures, “the recorded poverty incidence for the first half of 2012 was 27.9 percent, slightly less than the 28.8 percent recorded in the first half of 2006, and 28.6 percent in the first half of 2009 and 2011.” NSCB continued, “the 2012 first semester state of poverty in the Philippines showed that a family of five can be considered extremely poor if it is earning P5,458 a month or just enough to put food on the table. The same family has to earn at least P7,821 if it wants to satisfy other non-food needs such as clothing.”

    Counted as the poorest provinces are Apayao, Bukidnon, Davao Oriental, Eastern Samar, Ifugao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao and Masbate, while poverty incidence was highest in Mindanao and lowest in the National Capital Region as well as in Regions III and IV.

    The poorest are in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with 46.9 percent poverty incidence, Region XII (37.5 percent), Region VIII (37.2 percent), and Region IX (36.9 percent).

    How Inflation Affects the Lives of People in the Philippines at Large

    1. Money in the Bank Gets Undervalued

    Inflation would make these inhabitants of poor provinces, as much as the whole nation, poorer as savings are being devalued. I guess there are only two or three ways people can keep their savings. First is to store them in a vault in their homes or offices; second is to deposit money to a trusted bank or financial institution; and third is to invest them somewhere else.

    If a person does not have enough knowledge on investing in the money market or is afraid to take risks to invest his or her savings to real estate or other businesses, a large possibility is for their savings to resort to bank or personal safe-keeping. I’m not saying that this is a really bad idea. In fact, I do keep my money in savings accounts, too. However, note that a regular savings account has only about 0.25% interest generated.

    Maybe your bank gives a larger interest or smaller. Either way, what I’m trying to say is that most average Filipinos’ savings entrusted to banks would have interest rates that will never cope with inflation. In each day that our money sits in the bank, it becomes more worthless. We’re losing money faster we could make it, and this makes the thought of retirement a sad, bitter end to a joke’s punch line.

    Time deposit interest rates do not post high hopes for depositors, in the same coin. Right now I have heard the largest interest rate for time deposit was raised up to 5.5% to 6% (promotion). Sure, these rates fare better than savings account rates. Even so, they still are not enough to cope with inflation.

    2. Increased Costs of Goods and Services

    Inflation thoroughly affects the prices of goods and properties. Both owned and rented real estates would demand higher repayments. Landlords would increase rent and property owners would also suffer from climbing real estate taxes (amilyar). Suppliers of any product and services would charge more to compensate the increasing costs to clients, because their overheads swallow the extra cash from price hikes. Since everyone is a customer, everyone would start to feel the squeeze.

    The recurring problem is that everything becomes more and more expensive, but salaries of people do not grow sufficient to pay for all dues.

    3. Lower Grade of Affordability

    In relation to the previous point, when prices go up high, people cannot afford to have luxuries and even some necessities like cars and houses. Unless the head or any member of the family wants to live under a rock to stay secured, everyone pretty much need a house. A private car is also needed nowadays especially during emergencies and there’s no public transportation available to move a dying child to the nearby hospital in nick of time.

    Thus a lower grade of affordability results to: crippling debts, series of life struggles, and even death (yes, it might be that brutal when prolonged).

    Wrap Up

    Life isn’t fair, for most people who are in and near the poverty line. Not everyone is fated to be rich, and nobody can ever tell when the Philippines will recover and finally become a second-world country or be at peace with other nations. After one unfortunate event and sad news to another (e.g. recent shot of a Taiwanese fisherman), all eyes are upon us, a country known to the world for our hospitality, smiles and resilience. All that was forgotten; now, in the world’s eyes, we are country of misery, inept at rescue.

    What’s important is inflation rates should be manageable this year, to boost economic growth and let people live with lighter hearts. Let’s see what happens tomorrow and the day after and the day after next…

  • Book Review: Vegetarianism – Guide to Becoming a Vegetarian Available at Amazon Kindle Store

    Book Review: Vegetarianism – Guide to Becoming a Vegetarian Available at Amazon Kindle Store

    Where to begin, where to begin… Just when you thought that it’s hard to turn yourself into a vegetarian, a book has emerged to help you become the vegetarian that you want to be (hello, there are many types of vegetarians and one of them is vegan :P). Yup, you read that right. Vegetarianism – Guide to Becoming a Vegetarian by Gretchen Wells offers about 20 chapters that get readers right to the point.

    Book Review: Vegetarianism – Guide to Becoming a Vegetarian Available at Amazon Kindle Store

    My favorite parts in the book include the following:

    1. Vegetarian Eating Options During Travels

    Back in the olden times, there were not a lot of vegetarian-friendly restaurants you can find outside. And even if there were a few, food didn’t appear to be tasty. Mock meats are extensively used to substitute for the taste of real meat, and both vegetarians and non-vegetarians didn’t get to appreciate them. So what happens to vegetarians during travels? In this book, Wells has provided an outline of suggestions on how to bring and make vegetarian food with convenience. This section helps travelers be free of worries and then take charge of their health while on the road.

    2. The Best Vegetarian Diet Plan to Lose Weight

    It’s summertime in the Philippines and since it’s still early, you can start preparing for your beach body by practicing strict diet and regular exercise. Following a vegetarian diet can support weight loss through the ingestion of whole grains, leafy green vegetables, nuts, and soy for protein. This chapter tells about more suggestions on how you can take advantage of being vegetarian—that is, only eating food that naturally grows from the Earth, or any plant-based food.

    However, in addition, any vegetarian diet must be followed correctly. Otherwise, you would still run the risk of gaining weight. Be reminded to take off the carbohydrates load; don’t be tempted to eat more buckets of rice, bowls of pasta, slices of pizza and packs of chips. Backed up with researches, Wells endorses here that a vegetarian lifestyle is a surefire way to maintain a fit body.

    3. How to Get Protein from a Vegetarian Diet

    Ah, this is a hot topic. Actually, as a vegetarian myself, I often get questions from people related to the source of protein. Following this, arguments would spike in the conversation. Now I can probably just redirect them to this book. I’m not a nutritionist or dietician and I can’t advise about nutritional information, so I’m grateful that finally there are materials that offer great explanations on how vegetables are great sources of protein as well.

    I have learned that most modern researchers say now that humans are not required to consume a lot of protein from meat and take dairy and soy products. Our bodies can already get all the amino acids (the building blocks of necessary protein) by taking vegetables, grains, beans and fruits. There are also no serious issues of being a fruitarian whose eating plan is more restricted than a vegetarian’s. It’s just that we can be healthier if we take Vitamin B12 supplements of which content is not found in vegetables.

    4. Challenges Faced By Vegetarians

    This book briefly entertains readers by answering the challenges posted to vegetarians. This is composed of a go-to guide to understand the “real deal” about becoming a vegetarian. Succinctly, information-packed chapter is an effective primer and a must-read for anyone contemplating a vegan diet.

    5. How to Encourage People to be Vegetarians

    The growing popularity of the vegetarian diet has parlayed into thousands of publications such as books, online forums, communities, social media, blogs, support groups and more. They aid to motivate individuals by telling the benefits of vegetarianism by doing seminars, camps, and other discussions free to the public. Still, it’s hard to encourage meat-eaters to become vegetarians. This chapter is made up of updated information that inspires readers to share the word.

    Wrap Up

    If you are now considering to go vegetarian but are not sure how to start, I recommend you to get this book from the Amazon store (in this link), as this complete reference guide deserves a spot in your Kindle library. 😀 This book encourages the idea that going vegetarian is doable. It’s best for those who are curious about the vegan lifestyle and those living with members of the family digging for optimal plant-based nutrition.

    What are your thoughts on vegetarianism? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading! 🙂

    On other news, since Google Reader is dying soon, I have imported all my RSS feeds to BlogLovin and you can follow my blog with BlogLovin here.

  • How to Take Good Pictures of Your Food Using the iPhone Camera

    How to Take Good Pictures of Your Food Using the iPhone Camera

    Since the onset of smartphones with cameras and playful photo-sharing apps like Instagram and Facebook, especially ones with high-definition resolution, more and more people choose to take photos of their food before eating rather than clasp their hands together and say words of prayers. I bet that most of us still thank the lord for the food we eat, but what’s more rampant now is this trend of food snapshots to proliferate in social media after it’s served.

    I myself is guilty of this! 😀 I don’t care about the weird looks of the wait staff and other dining customers on me whenever I use my iPhone cam to shoot something nice inside the restaurant. I write food reviews as a hobby and intend to help my friends and readers choose where they can pig out next for best food selections.

    In this post, I will talk about tips on how to take good pictures of food using your iPhone camera:

    1. Don’t zoom in.

    Apparently, zooming in will cause the picture to blur. So just get closer to the plate or the food to have a clearer version of the shot. You can take as many tries as you want and stop only when you achieved what you think is acceptable. You can be creative and take it from below or take it on the sides or other unusual angles!

    As a kind etiquette, don’t forget to say sorry to your date or whoever is with you at the dining table, when you stop them first from taking a bite until you’ve photographed your plate for posterity. 😛 You never know, he/she may be converted to a narcissistic food iPhone photographer as well! An exaggerated ending would be that both of you are still taking photos of the food without noticing that it’s already gotten cold.

    2. Tap to focus.

    Notice the square thing that appears when you tap the screen when your phone is on camera mode? When you take a shot, you will normally see this to achieve a macro focus that gives the illusion of depth of field. The background becomes blurry, while the quality of clarity of the object on focus becomes more defined.

    3. Move into the light.

    Obviously you won’t catch a great photo when you’re in a dark place. If you’re using iPhone 4, 4s or the iPhone 5, you can use the built-in flash. However, the quality is better when you’re under either artificial or natural lighting without the flash. Just find a light source and move your plate there to take the photo.

    ** Enhancement **

    Personally, I use the following applications to enhance the photos I take. They are as follows, with links to iTunes (if you want to try downloading them as well). Notice that some of them are paid apps now, but I got them when they new in iTunes and they can be installed for free. So lucky me! 😀

    1. InstaCollage Pro – Pic Frame & Pic Caption for Instagram FREE – Free
    2. Photo Wonder – Free
    3. Panorama 360° Camera – $1.99
    4. Poly Frame – $0.99
    5. Line Camera – Free
    6. InstaFrame+ – $0.99
    7. Vintique – $0.99
    8. Slow Camera Shutter Plus PRO FREE – Free
    9. Blux Camera Pro – $0.99
    10. Camera 360 Ultimate – Free
    11. Camera360 Concept – HelloCamera – $0.99
    12. Mr. Chiizu ~ Photo Decoration With Artists – Free

    Wrap Up

    DSLR and SLR cameras are still the way to go when you want to capture really fine-looking photos you can keep and be proud about for life. But if you’re not keen in bringing heavy equipment around, you can use your iPhone camera (or any smartphone camera) and take good photographs anyway. With practice and application of the the many appropriate enhancement filters and editing options available in the smartphone apps, surely you can make your pictures be really presentable.

    Do you have other suggestions to improve taking of food pictures? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 😆

  • Thoughts on the Facebook Graph Search

    Thoughts on the Facebook Graph Search

    Last January 15, 2013, Facebook has announced its newly “cooked meal,” after the Facebook Timeline. I bet many will shout their criticisms out versus Facebook again, for the continuous updates released over the years. The Facebook community has been stunned when the Facebook Timeline first came out. Probably mostly of resistance to change, many had expressed their dislikes but still use Facebook anyway.

    Now, are you ready for Facebook’s Graph Search?

    Since last week, Facebook’s Graph Search has been getting all the buzz from users. Like the Facebook Timeline, Facebook selects users who want to try out this new “gimmick” and invite them to conduct the initial pilot testing. These users are encouraged to provide their comments – both positive and negative are accepted.

    As an active member of this social networking site, I already sent a request to Facebook to enlist me as one of the first to experience this new Graph Search (in beta).

    I expect that interface will be affected a lot, and people would have to re-learn how to use Facebook. Another anticipation is that through the Facebook Graph Search, anyone can have visibility on every user-generated data made on Facebook. And every information posted can be combined with another from the same person, to interpret those pieces and show a meaningful conclusion.

    While this will definitely useful for digital marketers and entrepreneurs to know more about the backgrounds of their potential leads and target market, this might pose harm to private individuals who use Facebook profusely without the intention of showcasing all their “secrets” to “dangerous cyberstalkers.”

    As a user, you don’t need to ask your friends for their opinions on what books to read, what their recommended movies are or what things to buy. Since the Facebook database inputs all these information, you can easily access them (if shown to Friends) by searching through the “graph.” As a business owner, this is great to expand your market and increase traffic to your website. Note that Facebook Graph Search is not made to be a competitor to Google, Yahoo or other search engines as it only presents input from Facebook users’ profiles.

    One may argue that even without the advent of this new tool, Facebook is one huge sea of cyberstalkers anyway. Because it does not show “Who Has Viewed My Profile,” it gives people more confidence to search and read through profiles of others more frequently. End result? Cyberstalking became the least deviant behavior.

    Do expect that the results of the Graph Search will be dominated by shares and likes of your friends who are perpetually online and those who post status updates incessantly whose attention span can match those of hamsters. Information presented would mostly consist of people’s interests and experiences, businesses or events visited by your friends and media and entertainment liked or watched by them.

    To know more about reviews of trusted sites, check these out: CNet, Forbes, Venture Beat, and Tech Crunch.

    Here are some more screen shots of a demo searching friends who studied at DLSU:

  • Beyond the Icing in the Cake, I Dream of 5 Alternative Careers

    Beyond the Icing in the Cake, I Dream of 5 Alternative Careers

    Whenever we have family members celebrating their birthdays, we come together to the house of our grandparents to have lunch or dinner, chat, celebrate, etc. While the list of activities changes from year to year, the last thing we do before we say goodbye and return to our respective homes is sing the “Happy Birthday” song, cut the cake and eat it.

    I remember too well that when I was little, I have always have wanted to get the flowers on top or the icing in the cake for myself. I would dip in my pointing finger and surrender to happiness whilst enjoying the sweetness of the icing.

    Through the years though, I find myself liking the substance of the cake more than the mere icing. This is where I’ll relate this to these representations:

    Icing = Online World
    Substance = Real World

    It seems like only yesterday when I joined Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networking sites…and started blogging. Fast forward to now, I have over a thousand friends and followers in FB and TW and hundreds in the rest. Yet I don’t feel quite enough. I get swept up in the icings of my life, which are composed of beautiful images and their promises of perfection then almost forget all I have learned from my real-world experiences.

    For sure, it’s not only me who thinks this way. Many people tell their stories more online than they do in real life, hence barely expressing themselves in actuality.

    Like a real IT geek, I seem to prefer the online world rather than the real world—and I know this should not be the case. I feel like my life can be something more when I get to deal with real-life people do real-life events. But how can I correct this when I stay about 11 hours at work facing the computer and use my laptop again at home to work on my other projects and business-related tasks that I need to finish?

    To save myself from sticking with the online community too much and give it a break, I envision to live a life having a different career.

    My 5 Dream Alternative Careers

    1. School Disciplinarian

    Through Kindergarten to high school to the present times , I look up to Mr. Yu, Uno High School‘s disciplinarian, for being able to take a great deal of time and effort in monitoring everybody’s behavior in school. I’m proud to say that I have graduated from this prestigious high school not only learning from all the lessons taught in class but also embracing the discipline and values Mr. Yu has shared and administered. Like him, I want to be able to stay in an environment I love, be an inspiration, earn people’s respect and mingle with them sans being online. 🙂

    2. Theater Arts Dancer

    Dancing and working out are two of my most favorite activities. They are much more than a sport, as they require the right amount of talent, confidence, and patience for the craft. Being accepted as a member of a professional theater arts group would be a dream come-true for me. Be it performing ballet, jazz, swing, hip hop, break-dance, pointe, or modern, I can be out of the computer doing my own sharp and graceful moves throughout the day.

    3. Celebrity Hairdresser

    It’s funny that I used to be that girl who hated makeup and doing hairstyles other than the usual bun, ponytail, simple braid and curls. But when I started watching YouTube videos last year inspired by the Singaporeans who love makeup and dressing up, I became so fascinated with the things we can do beautify and improve how people look. I wanted to try all sorts of colors, textures, lashes and shapes to people’s faces and make them look amazing.

    So I thought that with flexible hours, becoming a celebrity hairdresser at the center of the beauty industry is a career I think is fun and rewarding. It’s one recession-proof job that can touch the lives of endless number of people. I can meet celebrities, attend events with them for free, work with a fashion or movie set and even go traveling around the world for projects. On slow days, I can always have lots of gossip to keep myself busy! Nyahaha 😛

    4. Pastry Chef

    Being a pastry chef requires much persistence and patience in the kitchen, I know. Even if I’m not into baking, I do love eating baked goodies and pastries, and I think I can be good at making them myself when I subscribe to commitment. I thought smelling the aroma of food from starters or appetizers, snacks to desserts every day and living completely tech-free would be good. I could also make people happy, feeding them sweets to brighten up their mood anytime.

    5. Dubber

    I’m not gifted with a good singing voice but I can totally use different voices to dub characters on TV, radio, music videos and other shows. The good thing about being a dubber is that I don’t have to memorize scripts as I won’t be the actor facing the camera. Additionally, I don’t have to use my brain cells to create my lines as they will just be given to me. I don’t have to work hard on my looks to please audiences either, as I stay only at the back projecting for voice-overs. Yet I can be an instant star when people find out that I’m the voice behind a popular cartoon character or main cast of a non-Filipino television series.

    Wrap Up

    While these fantasies sound great to me, I believe or make myself believe and so people do believe as well that I’m good at what I do now. And so I cannot escape from being what I have presently become. I love my job(s) and if ever I would go for those five figures above, I can just mess up in a hundred ways and I can go broke.

    But what if I succeed? 😆

    If you have read until this far, I thank you for your time and ask you to also think about the alternative careers you dream about. And before you leave this page, contemplate on this note: “Until you live out the things that you profess to believe, they are only so many things in your head.” Hopefully, we can then break out from tasting only the “icing in the cake.”

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  • My Top 12 Car Picks

    My Top 12 Car Picks

    One of the topics I hate to deal with is cars, despite that our family business works with different companies providing automobile parts.

    I gained interest only since last month. I know how to drive but I don’t have the driver’s license yet. We had a car which was sold because of Daddy’s accident. Without a driver in our family and a car to drive, I’d want to fulfill both the position and the vehicle. And that’s for next year!

    My target is June 2013. I have a budget set for it already. My confidence level in driving manual transmission cars is okay. People around me say that driving automatic transmission cars would be pretty easier. The stop and go (gas) pedals are all I need to press on and manage. I am excited for the new experience — I’d be at the back of the steering wheel taking control after over 20 years of being a public commuter in the passenger’s seat.

    Problem is, I don’t know how to appreciate and even distinguish car brands, models and categories apart from one another. I did not know which to aim for, until last night. Haha.

    When we were not allowed to enter our rooms because the wood parquet (floor) has been newly painted, I did not have anything else to do. My laptop and everything I need were inside. So after dinner, I asked Mom for a mother-and-daughter bonding time. We went to the second floor, upper and lower ground floors of our condominium to hunt for cars.

    The parking lot was huge, filled with top of the line models of automobiles. We treated it as a showroom instantly available for our access with a free pass. Here are the top 12 cars, in no particular order, that seem promising — promising enough that I’d choose one of them for my own (or if I had the money and liberty to get them all, I sure will!).

    1. Honda City 1.5 E AT

    2. Honda CRV 2.0

    3. Honda Civic 1.8 S AT

    4. Honda Accord 2.4S

    5. Toyota Innova 2.0 E VVT-i AT

    6. Toyota RAV4 4×2

    7. Hyundai Sonata GLS

    8. Hyundai Grand Starex

    9. Hyundai Tucson 2L Theta

    10. Hyundai Accent GL 1.4L AT

    hyundai accent

    11. Hyundai Elantra 1.6 GL AT

    12. Kia Sportage DLX D-CVVT 4×4

    Deciding factors are:

    • Design
    • Seating Capacity
    • Price
    • Resale Value
    • Safety Standards
    • Maintenance
    • Gas Mileage
    • Fuel Efficiency

    As this will be my most expensive purchase ever, like a million others, I’d want this car to be perfect for me. Ah, perfect. That word is a hot one.

    Pictures are from AutoIndustriya.com.