Juan Country » Random Musings

PNoy, Shirts, Lolas, and Taxi Cabs

Carlo Ople — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:11:44 +0000

I was at Metrowalk a few hours ago for a meeting with a client. Since I was Color Coding, I took a cab to go back home after we finished. This was around 6:30pm which means that it was already rush hour. I’m usually an impatient guy so I was naturally irked to see several people trying to hail cabs. I controlled my urge to go to the end of Metrowalk so I could get a cab first and decided to “line up”.

After 15 minutes I was finally alone on the strip waiting for the next ride. However a girl with a baby walked past me and called the incoming cab. I sighed and just let her take it. A few minutes later a guy wearing one of those Philippine map shirts with Ninoy’s glasses taps me on the back and asks if I was waiting for a cab. I said yes and he nodded. I took out my phone to check a message and when I looked up he was at the far end of the strip and managed to snag the next cab which came up. At this point I was pissed already.

Give or take 10 minutes a couple arrived and stood a few meters away from me. I overheard them talking about how unfair it has been for President Aquino to be criticized harshly for the hostage taking. They also mentioned that they were annoyed that “Pinoys are inconsiderate”. I silently agreed with them, but little did I know that they were hypocrites. A few seconds later a cab arrives and passes me by a few inches. I started walking towards the cab but I was cut off by the couple who quickly opened the door and jumped in. I was fuming mad.

But my epic fail adventure didn’t end there. A grandmother eventually arrived and stood behind me. She looked really tired. When an empty cab drove by it stopped in front of me. The door opened and i started to go in. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the grandmother sigh. I decided to step back and ask her to take the cab instead. She smiled one of those grandma wrinkly tired smiles. She softly patted my back and said “God bless you, iho.”

You’d think that the Grandma was the one that was blessed because she got the cab. However the moment she said that all the stress, hate, and anger I felt was washed away. I eventually got my cab a few minutes later and was finally able to get home with a smile on my face.

An act of kindness isn’t just for the recipient, it’s also for the giver.

Sometimes we find ourselves buried in a black storm of negative emotions. We have bad slip-ups at work. We mess up and fight with our loved ones. We hear about how some friends are talking about us behind our backs. We usually respond to situations like this by making it worse. We add to the negativity by being frustrated which is very natural. However if we find the humility and strength to remain positive and channel all that energy into blessing someone else by doing an act of kindness we will walk away the winner.

Follow me on Twitter!

Carlo Ople — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:11:28 +0000

Hi guys! I closed down my previous Twitter account (@wauks) and I’ve moved to http://twitter.com/carloople. Follow me as a I tweet about social media, internet marketing, politics, and life in general. Also please don’t hesitate to send me messages via Twitter and I’ll be more than willing to reply and discuss stuff with you all of you. Cheers!

Click the photo above or click this link to follow me on Twitter. You can also add me up on Facebook. By the way, if you’re interested in Internet Marketing and Social Media, please do visit my other blog: New Media Philippines.

The 15M Filipino Blogger

Carlo Ople — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:29:47 +0000

I gave a talk during the recently concluded Blog World Philippines 2010. As I was getting ready for my talk, I said hellos and hi’s to the other speakers. The two guys at the far end of the table looked really nervous and anxious. Little did I know that these two guys are actually Filipino millionaire bloggers. The entire room’s attention was literally focused on them when the emcee started to introduce them. Apparently these guys are some of the best Search Engine Optimization experts in the world and they’ve made more than P15,000,000 on blogging. Yes, you read that right. FIFTEEN MILLION.

For more information on the event and some talking points of my session, please do head over to my Internet Marketing blog.

Challenges of Filipino Nurses

Carlo Ople — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:39:30 +0000

I read an article written by former Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas at the ABS-CBN website. She explains in her article that the supply of Filipino nurses has skyrocketed while the demand has actually gone down. Not only that, it’s really hard for a nurse these days to go abroad and become an OFW because of the requirements of foreign hospitals.

2 Years Experience Requirement
The requirement of foreign hospitals is that nurses should have at least 2 years of experience. The problem is that fresh graduates of Nursing will have a very difficult time trying to find local employment because the nurses just outnumber the openings in all of the hospitals in the country. According to Sto. Tomas, 261,000+ nurses passed the examinations in the last 5 years. However the total number of nursing jobs available in the country is only 150,000. Out of that 150,000, I don’t know how many slots are actually open for hiring. Because they can’t find work locally, fresh grad nurses will end up doing either of the three things:

1. Work for FREE in certain hospitals or at insanely low pay just so they can get 2 years of experience. In some cases, nurses even have to PAY hospitals so they can get the experience.
2. They wait… and wait… and wait… in vain.
3. Give up nursing altogether and do something else.

The environment is not good for Nursing right now in the Philippines because of these conditions. If you’re in High School and you want to become a Nurse because it pays well, please think twice. If you’re not passionate about being a Nurse, then you’ll just end up doing a bad job or be mediocre at best. If that’s the case then the ones who excel will be the ones to get the jobs and you’ll end up wasting hard earned money for tuition fees and reviews. I agree 100% with Secretary Sto. Tomas. Nursing is a big risk right now.

For those who are currently enrolled in nursing or who have graduated but have no jobs yet, you can’t afford to just be resigned to your fates. Find out what your passion is and go after it. You might want to try out being an entrepreneur. There are so many businesses these days that you can get into that will even be more rewarding for you. What’s important is that you have a back-up plan and that you can act on it should your original nursing career fails.

Libreng SMS (Text) via Google Voice?

Carlo Ople — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:58:03 +0000

Google is launching a breakthrough telephony service called Google Voice which will offer free SMS (text messages), low-cost calls, call recording, call conferencing, and a whole deck of features. And like all Google products, they’re offering it for FREE. The service is currently on test phase (invite only) and is not available only in the US. However, this product is definitely worth the wait. For more details on this insane, awesome, and phenomenal product, please head on over to New Media Philippines.

Google can make you support Manny Villar

Thoughts on Cheating by a very promising Filipino lawyer

Carlo Ople — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:28:03 +0000

My good friend David Bonifacio shared this article on Facebook this morning and I was really touched and blessed after reading it. During these times when cheating and immorality is the norm, it’s always refreshing and inspiring to hear from people who still stand by their values and principles. This article is written by a law student named Micky Ingles who shares his thoughts on cheating and how it impacts the nation. It’s a simple but powerful piece that will really bring you back to the “real” reality and not the mired and tainted one that we’ve all come to get used to.

Thoughts on Cheating
Yesterday at 11:15pm

Hey guys, this was a letter I sent to a group of friends last night. They suggested I share it via facebook too. So, here it is:

I’m pretty bummed with what happened in school just a couple of hours ago. We had a surprise quiz in our Corporation Law class. The surprise quiz was about a case that was assigned to be recited today. We had to re-tell the case – facts, issue and decision.

As the cruel hand of fate would have it, I wasn’t prepared. I was already called previously to recite on a case, and since the teacher doesn’t do “rounds” (meaning, you’re unlikely to be called again until everyone else has been called to recite), I took the time to study my other subjects (boo to excuses! hehe). So, I did what I could, which was basically nothing – it’s near impossible to try to guess a story. It just sucked becau ase quizzes and recitations make up 50% of one’s final grade, so one can just imagine the stress of seeing a quiz go down the drain (especially if the quizzes happen almost next to never) and the dread of possibly failing the subject.

Anyway, what bothered me even more was the reaction of some people when I told them what happened.

The immediate reaction was, “why didn’t you cheat?” or “dapat you cheated na lang, ang dami namang nagcheat eh.”

Sorry, but, wtf?

Has cheating become such a norm that it has become the first option people turn to when they’re backed to a corner? That people actually forget that cheating should NEVER be an option because it’s a fundamental wrong?

Sadly, yes. And again, wtf?

What ever happened to morals, the use of creativity and imagination in finding a solution, the quiet pride that comes to doing the honest thing, or the humble acceptance that one simply wasn’t prepared?

And to cheat for what? For grades?
Sure, they’re important.
Sure, we all want to do well.
Sure, we’re pressured.
Sure, some can argue that our future lies in numbers in a transcript. I’m admitting all that.

But have grades become THAT important that morals and honesty are sacrificed? Is our self-worth pegged to that? What will keep us honest in the future, when now, we sacrifice honesty for a few points in the QPI? What else will we sacrifice when faced with bigger temptations or more lucrative incentives in the future?

It just sucks because we ARE the future leaders of the country – in the government, our own firms, businesses, corporations, or simply our families. What we do now – everything we do now – affects and reflects how we’re going to be in the future. That’s just how life is, that’s just how humans are – creatures of habit.

If we start compromising our morals and integrity now, then it’ll be easier for us to do so in the future. Hello, public corruption. Hello, private corruption. Hello, cheating on taxes. Hello, cheating on our family. Hello, moral depravity.

Let’s start now what we had to start a long time ago, and which, gladly, some have been doing ever since – let’s not cheat.
Even when it’s hard not to.
Even when it’s the easy way out.
Even when everyone’s doing it.
Even when it seems like the only option.
Because it’s not the only option. (No, it’s not better to cheat than to repeat, despite what people say.)

Let’s do the right thing.
It’s hard, yes, but that’s the pressure we have to deal with. That’s the pressure we have to deal with because basic honesty is what the country needs right now to improve.

And correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we all want a better country?

Ok, this isn’t a jab at anyone, I just had to get these off my chest.

(Author’s Note: Had a short chat online with Mickey. Asked me to credit this to www.onetama.com)

Bro, once you graduate I’ll be more than willing to help you find clients. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter. I personally felt blessed by it. Cheers!

Nilo, the Everyday Hero

Carlo Ople — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:12:24 +0000

My friend, confidant, and driver Nilo passed away last night. He was in a comatose for the past 3 days after getting hit by a pretty bad stroke early Monday morning. He left behind his grade school son and his wife. I visited him at the Manila Hospital around 9PM and he was already in critical condition. My eyes, brain, and heart couldn’t comprehend how this happened so fast. Just last Saturday Nilo and I were going around the Metro meeting clients and working on various projects. He was so full of life and we were even talking about how life would change once I got married.

I walked up to him and met his family for the first time. His wife was devastated. I tried my best to comfort her and told her that I would try to help as much as I can. Mich and I then went over to Nilo and offered a prayer for him. After a few minutes, Nilo’s breathing started to slow down, and eventually the nurses had to go there to do CPR and they began emergency measures. Nilo passed away half an hour later.

You don’t really know how valuable something or someone is until they’re gone. While accompanying the nurse bring the body to the morgue, I couldn’t help but think of all the good times that I had with him. Nilo has only been with me for the past four months but as most of you know, the last four months for me have been really life-changing. Unknown to most, Nilo actually helped and gave lots of input in the planning of my proposal to my fiancee. More than anything though the thing I will miss are the random conversations we would have while we suffer the intolerable rush hour traffic of Makati and Edsa. Sometimes we would talk about my problems – be it at work or with my family. He’d offer advice since he was technically my “Kuya”. I remember him sharing about how proud he was of his own family and that he’s really excited to see his kid grow up and become a man. This guy worked really hard and the only thing that he really aspires for is that his kid would have a better life than him.

Nilo was an everyday hero. His sacrifices – both physical, financial, and emotional were all fueled by his burning desire to make sure that his kid would grow up and have a better future. Each time I’d give him his salary, he’d talk about buying clothes or whatnot for his kid and it was really touching to see how much he passionately loved his family.

I only knew him four months, but I will miss him terribly. May he find peace and joy in the arms of our maker. I pray for comfort and kindness for his family and those that he left behind.

I’m currently raising funds that I can give to his family for financial assistance. If you feel like giving, please do let me know by sending me an e-mail at oplecarlo@gmail.com or sending me an SMS at +63918 804 00 55.

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