Places We Visited

I have been to Matamoros and Nuevo Leon in Mexico and I thought what's the use of going to New Mexico? If you have seen one you have seen them all. But here's the catch Mexico is in Mexico and New Mexico is in the USA. So while taking my Board exams in America, our group opted to choose Albuquerque in New Mexico - it is just like hitting two birds with one stone - taking my licensure exam and seeing the city environs for the first time.

Indeed there is a difference. Mexico is the land of extremes ... it has dense rainforests in the south and east, sweeping deserts in the north, and deep canyons at the center. On the other hand, some portions of New Mexico are flat but are rich in pine forests and rugged mountains while other areas are devoid of any water bodies where even cacti struggle to survive.

There is just one place in Albuquerque that I will not forget. It is the Sandia Tramway.  It is the longest aerial tram ride that towers more than 10 thousand feet in the Sandia Mountains. You can almost breathe the fresh mountain air and enjoy awe-inspiring postcard-pretty views while on top of the world.

Definitiion

Why Do You Always Fail?

Why do you always fail? May balat ka ba sa puwet and everything you touch turns cold instead of gold? Was it because noong umulan ng malas ang langit hindi lang kamay ang ginamit mo at kumuha ka pa ng labador? Was it your attitude that nipped success in the bud ... or was it your mindset that poisoned your business relationship and drove good luck away from your doorstep? 

Failures are part of growing up ... and the learning process ... every time you embark on a new business it is okay to fail twice or thrice, but when failures become a habit and bad luck comes haunting you like a curse instead of abundance and blessings you reap scarcity despite adequate preparation and thorough feasibility studies ... where preliminary exploration is done to determine its merits and viability. If you still experience turbulence and air pockets ... it is high time to say CUT ... and examine yourself?

The first obvious sign that you are treading the avenue to failure is your attitude!

1. Are you a person who refuses accountability for your sins of omission and commission? Are you one person who wrestles with admitting you made a mistake or were wrong? These are ominous signs.

2. Are you a person who quickly blames others for your mistakes and puts responsibility, guilt, and liability on their shoulder?

3. Are you a person who gives up easily? Are you, somebody who raises the white flag of surrender when the going gets tough? Are you somebody who makes his hands up at a mere sign of struggle and indecision?

4. Are you a person whose business acumen is leaning towards one-man rule and its tenets? Autocracy and monarchy perhaps? Or dictatorial? Do you believe you are a one-man band... the only person that can make things happen?

5.  Are you a person who gives ears to others' suggestions? Or is the whole business decision totally your own? Do you resent other points of view and perspective?

6. Are you a person whose pride is high and mighty ... who boasts about his achievements when there is none? Do you always exaggerate your empty successes and devaluate someone you believe is a threat to your throne?

7. Are you a person who believes that when money becomes a problem ... the best option is to borrow money and paying interest for the money you loaned is no big deal as it is just a part and parcel of the whole process?

8. Are you a person who has experience in business? Have you at least undergone business administration training ... or are you that person who was placed in a position that is totally alien to you?

Feeling like a failure can be caused by a variety of factors, including unrealistic expectations, comparing oneself to others, experiencing repeated setbacks and struggles, and low self-esteem. It often stems from negative thoughts, negative perceptions, and self-criticism.

Atychiphobia is a fear of failure. It may cause you to put off or avoid any activity or scenario that has the potential for an unsuccessful outcome.

When All You Do Is Dream

Hey guys I am not boasting here.  At this point in your life, you should know by now the difference between someone telling the story of his life ... and someone bragging about his achievements and rubbing it in your face.

Don't belabor and resent somebody who calls a spade a spade and wants to impart his own version of success and how he gets it to work to his advantage. He just wants to encourage you to keep going ... because when you decide that you have to stop and call it quits ... with all certainty... you are knocking at the door of failure.

The truth is I live my life full of disappointments, failures, and a never-ending series of do-overs (doing it over again). I have my own share of ups and downs ... any word resembling the shape and color of total collapse ... I experience it - defeat, frustration, disaster, catastrophe, screw-up, downfall, malfunction, breakdown - you name it ... been there and done that.

I did not have the happiest of childhoods - where money is scarce and far between. I have no experience of being given gadgets for free ... nor do I wear designer clothes to the envy of my friends. Never were my school supply items newly bought from National Bookstore ... year in and year out ... I am always singing the same old refrain - hand me down items coming from well-meaning friends and relatives. As a child, my eyes were opened too early to the harsh realities ... and the usual same old routine needed to be done in the name of survival.

These setbacks did not prevent me from thinking these days would pass and I will show everyone I can be successful too. I daydream a lot of having a good life too - a good motivation to continue and never give up.

Added to the above menu are my being hardworking, desire to succeed,  perseverance, resiliency, common sense, and ardent wish to help my parents and make them proud. They became a sure-fire amalgam that brings all ingredients & condiments into one pot... all in my desire to savor a mouth-watering success story.

In summary (as in the illustration above) I failed a lot of times ... and hard life became my stepping stone to improve the quality of my life. Dreaming is good ... but when all you do is daydream and sleep ... chances are you will fail again.

So don't even wonder ... why failures become a permanent fixture in your life. The answer to your question of why you always fail is staring at you in all its splendor.

The problem is you always ignore the obvious ... and when all indications in your post-mortem evaluation are pointing in your direction ... acknowledge them and make sure you take some corrective and remedial action to rectify the problem. 

Brownout Memes

This post is funny though ... but infuriating ... especially if you experience rotating brownouts for 1 week - I felt like there was no end in sight.  You just can't help kundi ang habaan ang pasensiya mo ... otherwise nag-umpisa pa lang ang umaga mo ... sira na ang mood mo. Imagine patay-sindi every 4 hours?

I appreciate memes like this that touches on the now subjects. Just one question though: Nakikita bang madilim ang isang lugar ... kahit tanghaling tapat?

Miss World Philippines Western Visayas 2024

It was a starry night at the Iloilo Convention Center last January 6, 2024, as all roads lead to Megaworld to witness who's who in Iloilo pageantry especially Miss World Philippines Western Visayas 2024.

The new trend now in far-flung provinces that is a 1 or 2 hours flight to Manila is to adorn and accessorize their final shows and coronation nights with stars, TV or movie actors, and previous pageant winners. 

Gone are the days when anybody could be pulled up as an emcee or be the judge ... now everything is being scrutinized and should pass the pageant microscope... from the hosts ... to performing guests ... and for the jury and selection committee ... "name recall" becomes a requisite.  It has become almost "de rigueur" nowadays that for a pageant to meet the semblance of prestige and stature ... the organizers should not tighten their belts ... so the sky is the langit.

Just like the other provinces in 2023, Iloilo did their home work ... so they tighten some loose screws and delivered. They hired actor and model Victor Basa as the host ... and his female counterpart was Maria Gigante of Cebu, a fellow beauty queen and a Binibining Pilipinas alumna.

Invited guests and judges include Actor and Bench Model Juan Carlos Galano and previous pageant winners Francisca Beatriz Mclelland (Miss Eco Teen Philippines 2022) and Tracy Maureen Perez (Miss World Philippines 2022... an exceptional troika adding more pizzaz and glitz to an already glamorous night.

All these are steps in the right direction.  Now if the organizers in Iloilo are open-minded, they should also listen to sincere and constructive criticism ... like placing a handsome budget for the stage and other technical aspects. I am not going to expound on this time ... as this is their first attempt.

I for one believe in doing it slowly ... from baby steps to giant strides... let their labor pains be mild. For a first-time producer ... let us not overwhelm them with details ... but the second time around ... I will sharpen my reportage and call a spade a spade.

Good job for a first-timer.

            Arieanna Beron from Pototan Iloilo won Miss World Philippines Western Visayas 2024

Animal World