Off-road Driving

Our GM Mike Kingston invited us on the trip to Snake Valley River, still here in PNG. He had an invite from Hon. Sam Basil of Morobe Province. Aside from going to another place, what gained my interest is that the invitation says only 4X4 vehicles can climb this area.()

The time of departure was7:30 on 14 June 2010. I have been awake on the night before it as I have been with my friends, having fun playing cards. I just thought of sleeping on our way as I will just use a spare seat of those with the ideal cars for the trip. I only had minutes to prepare and after that, my co-worker came with his car and he said he is not coming. I drove the car to the meeting place and still thought of transferring to a different car. I really don’t want to drive knowing I haven’t slept for more that 24 hours straight.

Then there is this manager, who I know that can help me – Bruce, who works on the other side of PNG, also with K.K.Kingston, I just tried to ask him which car he will use and learning that he will just be a passenger, I asked if he can drive us, at least until I get some rest. Hearing my story, he said it is not right for me to drive. So he did and I slept most of the way. After probably more than 2 hours of resting, I said I am good and I can take it from there. I thought that he will go with be with his wife when I said that and fortunately he stayed.

When I drove and I forgot that to consider that I have never driven in a dusty rough road before. He found some weak spots in my driving. I have never driven in a terrain as such and I am doing it as it is on paved road. He gave me some tips on our first stop and he was happy with my quick improvement the next time I drove.

On the last stretch to our destination, we got tied up in this very steep road. I had problem with it so he easily drove after changing the other shift stick of the 4x4 car - something that I wanted eagerly to learn.

After the very relieving journey we had, we headed back home. He asked if I need his help. I said I can drive but hope he can hop in to our car because help might be needed. Then after that, before I asked him, he said he will teach me how to use the “low range”. I got excited that I did not think of the long drive we are about to take.

Rough road was fine, but he just gave me some tips on riding in a road on cliff like the one we took. It was the first time I drove on a one way road on a corniche. We used the low range and told me how to it works, it just became semi-automatic, but the main thing is that the breaks should not be pressed. I had some mistakes, he saw it, and reminded me that it is very dangerous on narrow roads and most especially at the side of a mountain.

After some practice and turns, we had to pass muddy and narrow road which made driving more interesting. And there is where these low ranges are very useful. I also had time when I slid on mud and he told me what to do.

Many people who came to that long trip were so tired after but I was pumped up learning and having this new experience. Good thing I did not rest the night before.

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American Idol 2010

This year is the first time that I have followed the very famous American Idol starting from its Final 24 contestant. Many says that there aren't much good talent this year but I find the whole show entertaining, especially with the comments coming from the judges. Ryan's hosting is also a hit that I find myself some times mimicking him. ()

As a person who has subordinates and give advice, what the judges instill to the contestants are sometimes relevant on cases I have with my personnel or friends that I had chances on using words that they use to the contestants. I sometimes sound like either Randy or Simon as I talk to them. Ellen is hilarious and though she cannot give technical advice, she looks at a different angle and gives jokes that are well timed.

Though the judges are more often in conflict, when it comes to voice and performance, I also try to follow their advice to the contestants and I believe that I myself improves in my singing - though I more often do it in the bathroom only, and that is my opinion only. The famous "you have to own it" and "you're all over the place", are things that comes into mind when I sing and make sure I don't violate them.

My bet Siobhan left early and she would have made it farther should she listen to the judges. Her shouting sounds great at first, fine with the second but Simon hated it on the next ones. They had good advices gives to her but were not followed.

I haven't been playing guitar for a long time until Tim played "I can't help falling in love with you". His plucking is superb and his voice is perfect for his voice. I got more leverage when the final four all played guitar.

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Rob Libbis

Rob Libbis is a consultant/auditor from NCS Australia who helps us with ISO documentation. I had a chance to talk to him as I had to drive them (him and my friend Leah) off during lunch time. He is experienced and matured. When given this job to accompany a person especially a person of other race, I have no hesitation as I know I can learn something, and sure enough, I heard many things that are worthwhile. ()

What he has that I am really keen on learning is how to gain interest of the audience when he speaks in front. He has to do it for training purposes. He had given me some points. Though I can speak with people, and I have done mini-seminars myself, I know it will be very different if your audiences are not your subordinates. He had simple tips that would really help should I encounter talking to a bigger crowd and outside my own organization. He also is interested in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic programming) which is a topic that I have been reading and practicing for some time now. He finds it very useful and so do I. We also shared life experiences and fortunately, I can relate to most of them. As usual, I ask foreign friend of their culture. I love reading cultures of other nation but I found it best to be heard directly from a real person.

Day after day, we would talk and the conversation gets better and a lot of non-sense but funny things surfaced afterwards. It was a bit formal on the first 2 days and after that, we spoke in a very casual way. Aside from the things that he encounters in his home land and as he worked to other parts of the world, there are a lot of things he said that he learned as we grow older. I told him that, that is the reason I read books - to gain knowledge and so I would not have to wait to grow old before I learn those lessons in life. We only have an hour a day at lunch time and our conversation is so nice that time flies so fast.

It was a relieving week and I look forward to his next stint in PNG this June. If not at lunch time, I know I can ask him questions at work hours but with queries that are work related that can make life easier as I drain in me some of his experiences in documentation and auditing.

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Ninoy Aquino

When I was young, I remember seeing this guy on TV speaking in front of a big crowd. I did not absorb most of what he said except for a joke in it  and since then, every time I read or hear the name Ninoy, the lines in bold just comes out of my mind :

”As you very well know the Japanese have a difficulty pronouncing their R's. Manila becomes Manira. And so this Japanese gentleman stood up and said, My dear Piripino pipor, you are very raki, and I consider he said the Filipino people the most raki in Asia. And the people were of course surprised and they wanted to know why they are very lucky. He said you know why you are raki? You have a president who robs you, and you have a first lady who robs you more!”

Just yesterday, I saw chunks of this speech at National Geographic’s presentation of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination and the investigation that was done. Seeing that, I then searched for his speech and learned that it took place in Los Angeles in 1981. I believe it was aired on Philippine TV after the reign of the dictator.Videos are available on Youtube and the website http://hawaksatun-og.webs.com has a written article of this speech.

I was amazed by the wisdom he has and powerful words he used. He looked at things in so mature and sincere way. He also has a great sense of humor. And even with his wisdom, he is humble enough to say that he still seeks for sage advice. A very wise man indeed. I am a fan of wise people and he is probably one to follow.

Simply amazing, he would have been a president of the Philippines and with his bravery, he was assassinated then people woke up, fought and had freedom back. Now I have more lines from that speech to think about in addition to the joke he uttered almost three decades ago.

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Contract Ending

I have worked for almost 3 years in K.K.Kingston Ltd, Papua New Guinea and through those years, many good things took place. These are years where I put into practice all the things that I have learned from previous jobs, trainings and of course from books that I have read.()

With those years, I have improved in communicating. I have been braver facing big complaints and giving people answers that can solve their problem. It is already automatic that when I hear a problem, answer(s) come in an instant and the level of answer I give them is much better than how I give advice before working in PNG.

I have moved out of my comfort zones in many areas of work and life. There are things that I never knew I can do until I tried them and made possible. I was very cautious before that all moves have to be calculated and before I knew it, opportunity is lost. Now, I walk into the paths where people say it is too risky and learn what is in there.

I have stretched my patience and now can easily accept things the way they are. I have practiced more of putting myself on other’s shoes instead of judging them for what they are doing or saying.

I can make decisions a lot faster now. Knowing systems, patterns and its people here in PNG make planning easier.

After those years, I believe I am mentally and emotionally stronger now. I have met people that are experienced and wise. The feeling is very different when we just listen to what others have done right; and when we do it, thus also reaping the benefits in it. I also have been thru bigger problems where I gained experiences.

Still I know that there are a lot of things I still don’t know yet and have more years of learnings to come. I consider what happened to those years to be big leap for me in terms of leadership and maturity.

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Next Job

Luke is one of the first subordinates I had here in PNG. He was our maintenance co-ordinator and worked on our computerized maintenance management system/software. After working with me for a year, a job opening came, still here in the same company but suits him more because it is his course from college – IT. I had small chats with him all along and just lately he told me that he is leaving and this time to a different company which offers a lot better than the current one can give.()

I had a chance to ask him about it and he felt guilty saying that he is leaving. I saw myself in him in this situation and told him that in Philippines, the first thing I do when I start working in a company is to look for the next one. This is a good strategy for me as it helped me study everything that I can whenever I can. Looking for the next one, I have accepted additional jobs that are beyond my boundaries and learned different aspects of the business. With it, I did not get comfortable no matter how good the company and its benefits are. I also did not get bored while in the factory as I have used all the free time I had checking out things that I don’t know yet.

As a Plant Engineer here in PNG, this is where I have used and is using all the knowledge gained from the Philippine companies I have been to. Here, I am also bounded by contract that I have to at least finish. It is more of the management stuffs that I am gaining more while working.

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Stock Market Lessons

When it comes to stock market many talks about Technical and financial analysis. I am still a newbie (just started Nov. 2008) in this field, but having heard, watched and read a lot of articles regarding them, and there are things that experts would not forget to share. They say at least one of these basics thru their interviews and for me, these are the best things that stock market has taught me:()

Be patient. It is better to hold on to your money than just invest on any stocks. I am trying to learn everything I can so that I won't end up just getting a deal closed. Buy high and sell low, that is all we can get out of Philippines stock market as we don’t have much options. Market goes up and down so if I did not chose a stock that goes up, I'll just wait for the next opportunity.

Don’t be greedy. When market goes up, tendency is we wait until it goes up and up… suddenly it goes down big time and we would become depressed. The thing is that we should have a target that is attainable and be happy selling it when it is already reached and don’t be affected should it go higher. Looking at stock market history, prices go up and down so I would not wait and sell them when I have what I wanted.

Admit mistakes. Either you sold something and then have a new high or if you picked a stock that you though is at bottom then goes lower, best thing is to admit you made a mistake and then cut the losses. The main thing is that we should learn from every mistake we make. I believe that we should not focus on just one deal we make but we should look at your whole portfolio. When one you’re your “picks” increased price and did not buy them when low, forget it, move on and look for other deals.

All these thing aren’t just for Stock market but of course every part of our lives. If we can master these things I believe wewill not just end up being a good investor but also a better person.

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