Curbside Stories

I am close to finishing my MBA. I am going to miss this university, a lot!  Wish me luck on my last semester. God bless!

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela Well, my Managerial Accounting subject is not yet officially over since we still have classes on Saturday and I still have to pass my take home final exam. But, I am pretty sure (my confidence level is at its peak) that I will move on to the next chapter of my MBA... Information Management System. The moment that I learned that I will have an accounting course, butterflies immediately went fluttering into my stomach. It reminded me of the days when my least liked subject was Accounting 101. Looking back to my experience, the frequent basic accounting I meet everyday at work and the cold and clammy feeling I get while reporting process costing and budgeting... I can say that you can never really escape from your fears. Face your fears. Face them more often until you feel you are not afraid an...

Me with fellow Philippine Marketing Association officers and Prof. Henry S. Tenedero (in yellow). Prof. Henry S. Tenedero is one of the funniest men I know. Aside from being an educator and advocate of multiple intelligence, he is also good at making people laugh. There was never a dull moment when he lectured about Marketing with the Heart in Mind as the main topic of the seminar that the Philippine Marketing Association-Cavite Chapter hosted with the theme Exhilarate! The Extraordinary Marketing Experience , held yesterday at the Lyceum of the Philippines-Cavite Campus. Prof. Henry's wacky pose with me and my co-employees who attended the seminar. Before he began teaching the participants on how to create an extraordinary marketing experience, he asked first if we think we are genius--which he followed with the question if we are global or analytic  Being global means seeing the whole before the parts while being analytic is the opposite or seeing the parts bef...

I am reading my Money, Credit and Banking book when I suddenly remembered that once upon a time I was known and being called as Row 6, Seat 2. It was how our Accounting 101 teacher would call me when I was in 3rd year high school. It seems as if it is impossible for her to memorize all our names in one school year. When I was in 4th year, I am Row 1, Seat 7. But it was Row 6, Seat 2 that made a whole lot of impact during my adolescent period. It was my first time to call all the possible saints I know to pray for me so that I may not be called for a recitation. It was the first time that official receipts, vouchers, debit, credit and balance sheets mattered to me.

Our professor in our Special Topic course in MBA class is really awesome! He is too awesome because he was able to inspire me to buy books about banking and finance. Me becoming interested in a subject involving accounting is way beyond my wildest imagination. In fact, Accounting 101 is one of my least liked subjects when I was in high school. It is one of the reasons why I favored taking up a science degree course  in college rather than a business course. I really admire our professor for allowing us to understand the lucrative banking industry in the simplest possible ways. His Socratic style of teaching really fires us up each time. And he is generous in giving a recitation grade to anyone with the smartest question and answer. I specifically bought this book, Money Credit and Banking , because the authors' examples involve companies and financial institutions in the Philippines... something that I can relate to because I know more or less what is happening in my c...

My son gave me another reason to be proud... He got three perfect out of six exams. The other three are 90, 96 and 97--which are not so bad, too! I think I am going to buy him the toy he's been telling me for weeks now.

Not intended to promote a coffee brand. I was just cold that I have to have something to keep me warm. We were allowed to have coffee, anyway. I attended the last session of my Ethics subject for my MBA and we discussed about good governance, ethical standards expected of a public official and the like. One of the reporters said that a public officer should earn public trust--which I totally agree. Another thing that was discussed were the 8 norms of conduct of public officials: 1. Common public interest  2. Professionalism 3. Justness and sincerity 4. Political neutrality 5. Responsiveness to public 6. Nationalism and patriotism 7. Commitment to democracy 8. Simple living If only these eight are being practiced by all government officials and employees, then, probably our courts will not trial a public official for graft and corruption. Blessed is the nation whose God is LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Psalm ...

I am inside the campus, sitting on one of the many metal benches at the admin building, maximizing the battery of my laptop, observing the interactions of the students and professors around me. On my left is a group of five teens being scolded by their professor. On my right, on the other bench, is a group of students probably waiting for their class to start. In front is a huge white board where students can check out their room assignments, how to drop and add subjects, how to validate their IDs and all other school transactions that most of which I did not experience when I was in college. While not many interesting  activity is happening right now, I enjoy people watching when I go to places. It excites me to see various expressions on their faces, their gestures and the tone of their voice. People watching gives me a grasp of the realities of the world.

Some snapshots of my new Alma Mater... Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite Campus. I love the architecture and the ambiance! It is the perfect harmony of earth, wind and metal... in fact, it is known as the first resort campus in the Philippines (whatever that means). It will be my second home every Saturday in the next 16 months.

Photo from here . Somebody said to me, "Be the best woman that you can be." I was so inspired by it that I am going to continue my plan to take graduate studies. In fact, tomorrow will be my first day of school and I am so excited! I am having jitters!