Aldo

PAYING YOUR DUES

2005-08-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

is it true that an advantage of being younger generation in the work force is your hard work? most of the old timers may have all the experience in the world but can not physically work harder then the younger guy... Anyway i guess everybody has gone through it... no pain no gain. i am sure at some point the more senior person has most likely worked just as hard as the younger guys during his days to get to where he is at. I just hope all this effort will turn out to be something positive in the long run. I filled out my time sheet for thie week and noticed i did 38 hours in over time. thats a total of 78 hours against the normal 40 hours a week routine for normal people. i squeezed in 2 business weeks into 1. not because i was procastinating.. or because i was un organized. i was handed a project that would have taken a 4 man team 30 days to accomplish... but i did it alone in 7 days. despite all the whinning and complaining from the my project manager about how project like that shouldn't even be considered. the firm decided to pursue the project anyway. i see it as a good and bad... bad that i am putting myself into those kind of conditions... good that i am testing myself and my limits to what i can do in a short time frame. My week went like this... i started at 6pm sunday till 12mn then.. started the work week at 8 am on monday and ended my day at 6 am Tuesday... then came back to work 2 hours later... to start my day at 8 am Tuesday.. and ended 7 am wednesday.. so on an so forth till thrusday. anyway... i did finished the project. my manager was happy.. the principal was pleased. am i happy with the piece.. yes.. and no.. the concept was bang on.. the execution.. could have been done better.. just needed more time. ok my trail of thought has shifted.. my pizza has arrived.

RESPECT

2005-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

a message i wrote to my cousin... after he shared his views on how other people express themselves.

jose,

i am offended by your last message... i do write about work... and i am not bobo.. tanga or stupid, mangmang and whatever other colorful words you used.. people that do write about work may be different from you but thats all we are to you... different nothing more. and just because people express themselves in different ways should you judge people like that. just as how some people get tattoo's on their bodies.. its not becasue they are any of those colorful words you used... it's just a different way of expressing themselves. she knew what she was doing... i know what i am doing... a very provocative painting.. contreversial, you call it whatever you like. it was just pure BALLS.. sharing their thoughts at it's purest... and for some thats what gets them going... just letting it hang out there... expressing yourself. it's different yes... crazy sure... out there sure... but not stupid or tanga. thats what the blog is all about is it not?... expressing yourself? and for bloggers it's in words... for some it's on a canvas... a fresco... for some it's in advertising... architecture.. photography... you're right it may be different.... but not stupid or tanga.. waste of time.. or anything else. the point is if you don't like it... fair enough.. but to judge what you don't like as an act of stupidity/mangmang or tanga is unfair.. because nobody judges you the same way for the things they dislike about how you express yourself.

aldo

HOME RUN!

2005-07-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO! i hit my first home run! ok it may not have exactly gone over the fence.. bec. there really was no fence... but none the less i hit it down the line far enough to make it around for a home run... well that is how we classify a home run in our beer league. hehehe YEAH BABY YEAH! another cool thing about it was that at the end of the game ... i realized we used my softball for the game... so hehehe i now every time i see it wrapped in my glove i can recall the momment. although we lost the game by 1 run... the final 15-14... we did give it our best shot. considering most of the heavy hitters and at least 2 of our key players were missing. all for the love of the game.. and the beer.

HUMUNGOUS GLASS TIP#206

2005-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

drinking with a straw. can be a difficult thing.... but not if you include the cover to keep the straw upright and center. sip... drink... enjoy!

ACTION SHOT

2005-07-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

LIFE PARTNER

2005-07-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

after hunting around for the perfect mate to my remote. WOO HOO! i found it! intorducing her majesty.... from the land of Hoegaarden... hehehe my new glass. after a hard night of partying and bar hopping ... man. let's see that night we did the crime lab... expensive as hell... but cozy.. moving on to COUGER country... JOE Forte's steak house outdoor patio.. man you got to love those blood sucking couger's sucking on these rich cigar smoking 40 year old dirty old man... what we were doing there heck we don't know. we'll we were with john, the highest paid staff in the office.. divorced 2 and horny. LOL. ok so moving on... we ended up in shananigan's... holy crap it felt like hongkong in there. i've never seen a whole bar filled with only asian's. i felt at home i don't know about the other guys and gals i was with... but heck the chicken wings were great! thats all that really mattered. ok then we were of to the "VAG" (prounounced VADJ.. like VAG-ina and stands for Vancouver Art Gallery) for some art and also they had a beer garden with some line dancing LOL... we meet up with more friends and then proceded to morisey's... WHERE ... drum roll pls. i found her. the minute i saw her i had to have her. MY NEW GLASS! yeah baby yeah! the beer tasted like lemonade.. not all that good, but who cares i was after the pint! anyway so there you go... i asked if i could buy the mug/glass/pint... left her a big fat tip... and viola.. the waitress just gave it to me.. WOO HOO!!! anyway.. to end the night we had poutine... and we some bbq pork LOL.. mmmm sarap!

PORTFOLIO

2005-07-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

once again i have to beef up my portfolio. the most difficult thing you can have an aspiring creative person do. put together the best of the best of the best with the sole purpose of showing of you're way better then the next guy. i have to create more ads if i want to make it somewhere. one ad campaign at the time. i have listed some products to mock up. i have DAZ detergent, tupperware, Kenda Tires, and rainbow sandals. well i am really trying to get in the mood to create my ads i will most likely start on sunday to get some thumbnails done am thinking of the detergent ad to do first. good ice breaker to get warmed up on ad campaigns. i have to get back into the groove. i have to set my mind frame back into that creative swing. ask the right questions... ask the intelligent questions. hard work. just have to do it no short cuts in life. anyway.. i really have to get this settled. it's really creating havok in my head. not knowing what exactly i can do with my creativity. right now i am not in an environment that i feel i can grow. it's a great place to work just not exactly the best place to learn anything. i've been looking at some of the award winning ads from the cannes lions 2005. and really the message on these ads is simple... i guess thats what makes it great. simple.. damn! the hardest thing to achieve. keeping the message clear... keeping the message pure. ARGH i have to get my portfolio together.

His Majesty RM-AV2500

2005-07-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Finally! it has arrived to the kingdom of Aldo. I got it! it's like the unification of tribes... it's celebrating independence day! I got it! MY REMOTE CONTROL! after a tough time reading through the instructions... it almost seemed like i could not get all the functions to work properly. similar to jockying for political power in a government trying to break out into one nation! one remote! yeah baby! WOO HOO! anyway after sweating it out... and almost re-packaging this thing into it's box to return it... YEAH BABY YEAH! i got it to work... i was able to program all 4 remote controls into 1... We can achieve it, we can achieve it... Come a little bit closer baby... Get it on, get it on... Cause tonight is the night when two become one. WOO HOO!!!! YEAH BABY YEAH! i can watch everything without having to switch bloody remotes! yeah baby yeah! ok i have to go now.. i have to change channels.

East to West

2005-07-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

my letter to my cousin... inquiring about migrating to canada. never really realized how much pia nad i have gone through after you take a second to stop and itemize everything.

DEAR JOSE step 1... follow ambassador pia's instructions. (my wife knows best)

as for looking for a sponsor you have to find one that has the financial pocket to support you for 3 years (i think thats what was required for me and pia) on paper. and who is also willing to put up with you coordinating stuff in canada. then of course there is the dreaded FEE (peste!) with pia's application i will spend about 160,000 pesos. then there is postage which brings me back another 6,000 pesos (registered mail etc.) then another 3,500 for Pia's medical exam. (argh.. another expense...). and another 2,000 for other documents (police clearance.. etc.) and then last there is Pia's flight to canada which is about 50,000 pesos. so lets see that's roughly about 225,000 pesos or about 6,000 cnd which you can get your sponsor to fork out of his/her pocket. they say it takes about an average of 9 months for canada to fully process your papers. anyway thats for us (pia and i) this should at least give you a rough idea of what it's like applying to canada.

as for the job, well from all the teachers i have met here in vancouver, sounds more difficult to find a teaching job.. since there is a pecking order on who teaches next.. most of the time they start out as temporary teacher covering the primary teacher who is say on holidays.. or maternity leave. also you will have to find out also what the requirements are for teaching here... since a lot of credit is non transferable even within one province to the next. it's wierd... but thats the info i get from most of my teacher.. or teacher wanna-be friends.

as for the other jobs, there are lots of those... i.e. sales clerk in the mall, hotel, etc. etc. the minumum wage here is pathetic if you are living on your own but if combined with your partner you can both get by at minimum wage... i think it is now at 8.50 cdn an hour. as for what a teacher earns here in bc i am not sure i am assuming it will start at no less then 15.00 hour for a temp. another option that might even work for you is your drawing skills... art skills.. etc. there is some demand of that here... for doing movie sets etc. a lot of movies being done here kase, but then again that also is based on seniority... but if you stick it out the movie industry pays you cash by the bucket every hour. how fast can you find a job in canada? its as fast as walking in an office just for 5 minutes.. poof.. may trabaho ka na. if you really look for one you can get any job no longer then a month. (based on my experience.. i am sure others may say otherwise..) during my first year here i have had the pleasure of being a soccer instructor... a produce boy... bellman... front desk clerk...

also keep in mind this is how it is like in vancouver i have no idea what it must be like in winnipeg. SHHHEESH! winnipeg.. -40 on a good day (BRRR.. lamig). you piss outside and it turns into ice before it hits the ground. you have to plug in your car so that you can heat it up and start it. quickie sex outdoors is also out of the question with all the layers of clothing you will have to wear. (LOL) plus your johnson will freeze once exposed (stiff but brittle). i also hear winnipeg is the FILIPINO CENTRAL of Canada. almost all the pinoy's i meet have either a relative or is originally from winnipeg. so you will never run out of filipino restaurants there.. which is what is lacking here. and plus you'll never really feel like you're in another country.. since everyone is pinoy. which is a good thing.. nothing beats hanging out with other pinoy's the humor.. the tagalog.. the inuman.. etc.

good luck man!

aldo

ALARM! ALARM! ALARM!

2005-07-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

YES! YES! i've seen Das Boot a gazillion times. i've always pictured myself on a submarine giving the command to dive. Maybe one day i can see myself giving the order to "flood tubes one and 2... and plot a solution". YES! YES! i know i've seen Hunt for Red October a gazillion times. what a life that must be for one to live on a tube for months and to only sky twice within that period if you are lucky. no windows, no flora. what a life. i would love to try it out just once.

anyway today the fire alarm rang at 12:30am and normally people don't take it serioulsy but to my surprise quite a number of the tenants in my building actually procedeed outside the building. anyway, my point is... what do you take with you at time like this? lets see i took with me 1. my jacket 2. the clothing on my back (hate to go down there naked) 3. my wallet and lastly 4. my wedding ring. i made sure i had it on before i locked up my apartment. strangest thing i was asking myself what to take. the t.v.? the chair? well i took my wedding ring. i wonder what would other people take?

16-15

2005-07-08T00:39:00.000-07:00

YEAH! bottom of the last inning the team was down by 2 and we won! yeah! what an adrenaline rush that was. i had some good hits... some singles and some doubles. i was at firstbase a lot of excellent plays. we did our first double play today.. yeah that was awesome!

i think i will be dreaming about this tonight! had fun... well maybe bec. we won. well not really i think i would be singing the same song.. the win only makes it sweeter!

WOO HOO!

Ad SUCKER

2005-07-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

admit it you buy stuff bec. of the ads. ok.. still in denial? lets see would you buy the generic brand of tampons/napkin or the branded one with wings? it's the same product but still you buy the NEW and IMPROVED product. i was grocery shopping today and i once again got sucked into buying the better packaged product. why? its the same thing? but on the other hand the other packaging says a lot more things then the generic one. so i guess if it says it's the best tasting product.. blah blah blah. then i guess it must be true? or am i just a sucker for this stuff.

maybe i should just come to terms with it i want that kind of stuff. or maybe it's just bec. i want to get the best quality product for my money. how many times have you been burned in buying the cheaper product? but then also there are times when you benefit from buying the cheaper generic brand. is there really a difference? god i hope so. or else all that debating and wasting 5 minutes over every item has just gone to waster.

i'd like to think i am burning my money on a quality product and that i am not paying for the box. how much of a difference is it really? generic vs/ branded? how much of a difference is tylenol and the generic brand? or the vitamin C from a brand comapred to generic brand. really makes you wonder. i wonder how your purchasing mind works. there has got to be some study out there. i would love to get my hands on that someday.

Coke is better then the generic brand and so is the Rootbeer. at least that makes me feel slightly better there. i know one thing that is better then the generic brand.

Food Network

2005-07-05T00:06:00.000-07:00

i wonder once you become an established chef... say emeril.. does he ever crave for a bigmac. supersize fries, and rootbeer no ice? would he have the guts to go on the drive through and place his order? what are the chances of that happening?

what animal would you be?

2005-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

i wasn't going to make it easy on myself (just like most things i do). i wanted to find uncommon animals out there that might be a resemblance to my characteristics. to go beyond the animal farm or the common animals featured on the discovery channel or by steve irwin. so i found this mambo jumbo. the third largest land living mammal on the planet.

somethings i have in common with Hippopotamus amphibius and to those who careless for the scientific name; HIPPO:
1. big body... short legs.
2. large mouth. often associated with the word "hungry"
3. thick skin. yes... he is kapal.
4. brown skin. i am sure if you look closely into some folds of skin you will find brown.
5. keeps himself "cool" at all times
6. lives close to water
7. aggresive animal. not in that order
8. developed some ritualized postures the huge open-mouthed "yawn"
9. alert to its surroundings
10. " teeth bery sharp... like an incisor". the hippo is well-armed & dangerous.
11. hold the exclusive mating rights to resident females
12. has a heirarchy system and is often the boss unless proven otherwise by the resident female
13. love their woman. (singular)
14. In areas undisturbed by people, hippos lie on the shore in the morning sun.
15. are a great host to many creatures
16. excellent swimmers
17. Despite their bulk, they can run extremely fast.
18. hippo's daily consumption is 1-1.5 percent of its body weight (you do the math)
19. Both sexes are very aggressive

things i do not have in common with the hippo
1. 4 toes with web feet (helps distribute the weight)
2. consumes vegetarian and occasion human depending on the tourist season
3. 3.5 tons
4. i do not have a harem of women. fantasized... maybe
5. completely hairless.
6. lives in south africa
7. shy animal
8. attack their young
9. hippos deposit tons of excrement
10. kills more people in africa then any other animal

if you would like to adopt a hippo as your personal pet; here are some links that might help you out:
1. Taking care of your pet hippo: http://www.oink.demon.co.uk/hippo.htm
2. Testimonials of happy hippo pet owners: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20020525-9999_1mi25hippo.html
3. new by-law; no pet hippo allowed in Campbell County, Kentucky: http://moray.ml.duke.edu/projects/hippos/Newsletter/news122.html
4. where to stay in vegas with your pet hippo:
http://govegas.about.com/cs/atozindex/l/bl_basics20.htm
5. where to get one:
http://www.billbam.com/hidrpetpltoy.html

Exposing Yourself

2005-07-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

to some exposing yourself means just that... exposing yourself and to others it requires a more intensive situation like body boarding naked for everyone to see your johnson sway with the waves. the thought of exposing myself in such light never really bothers me that much. what does bother me or is more terryfying is the thought of exposing yourself through your work. it takes forever for some to put themselves in a book... a portfolio. how difficult is it really to build your portfolio? people ask me a lot if it really is that difficult. after all you just go through your stuff and put them together. i do remember trying to make my first portfolio and the trouble and time it took me to accomplish that task. it took me longer then 8 months to feel comfortable with what i had. making the selection of the very best of the very best you've done to date is simply overwhelming. the stress level rises so high it can almost bring you down to a state of depression. thats how i felt anyway. to question your work, constantly... is it good enough? and that people out there far exceed what you can do. makes you really wonder if you are cut out for the job or the career. you look at other people's work and you feel like your a hack. that most people are far more skilled and far more creative than you will ever become. i wish i had a solid portfolio. it would be easier to make the selection. i hope that day will come where i am completely confident that my book will get the job. perhaps its because there really isnt much of what i want... or better yet my current level does not allow me to do what i like to do. not that i am not trying to get to that stage... its just that i am not there yet. i'd love to have the oppurtunity to be in a nadvertising agency, do i have what it takes? i believe i do. i will never know what it really is like if i don't give it a go. i'd like to think its as easy as sending in a resume but in reality for every me there is another 1000 who is fighting for that same slot. it's almost like being one of the hopeful sperm cells trying to make it to the prize and hopefully will create somthing beatiful. when will this happen? will this actually happen? will i eventually make it? i am 28 is that too late? or is that too soon? does it really matter what age you are at? do people really look at your portfolio and say "oh he's good but lets get the 22 year old instead".

i need to compile my portfolio once again. i feel that i have created some pieces today that maybe worth including into my book. i am still missing a few more pieces to get to a point where i feel confident in showing it off to agencies. i do not have any ads. i only have a few. i should get myself some projects on my own. perhaps the wife was right, we should really try to sell ourselves as a team. this is my biggest hurdle, how to bring the ad full circle. i feel i have what it takes to suck you in but it needs a clincher. is my wife the answer? i hope so. i'd like to think so. i wonder if we have what it takes to create great advertising. i am constantly asking myself that everyday... do i have what it takes? i should really develop that skill. i feel like i have no clue on how to create great advertising. do i have enough knowledge to ask the right questions? do i have enough knowledge to know that right answers to the questions? do i?... i do not feel it right now... but at the same time i do feel like i know i can. everytime i look at great ads... i always get gut feel in me that say's "shit... i have thought of that before" or " i can do better than that". i wonder if you ever reach a point where you can finally say " i know it all" . i hope not. that wouldn't be as much fun if i knew you could learn everything in a lifetime. i'd like to think that you can be enlightened at any point in life.

The Day After

2005-07-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

what hurts more; the hangover or the brutal flashbacks of what you think you've done the night before? pain is your friend... it let's you know you're still alive and you've survived to fight another day. how important is it really to get drunk? to experience a drug binge? to be in a club every night? what excuse do you give yourself every morning to justify to galavanting? whatever it is... it feels great to let loose. i guess in the bigger picutre it is great to have that luxury of a wild night. when does that luxary end? or does it ever? when was the last time you've seen a ceo or a president of a huge company get shit faced and have picutres to prove it? are you considered immature to be balsted when you are 50? is it a scandal to see your mom drunk? when does it really end? when do you hang up the gloves and the world's strongest chug-a-lug heavyweight champion title? when is the prime time to say it's ended? i'd like to think those days are near and that the days of refined socializing is slowly approaching. the days of sipping wine and chatting in a very up tight manner is around the corner. doesn't sound all that exciting really. but i guess the purpose of those chit-chat events is totally different. in the end no matter what you say eventually those old days must end and be content and proud of the damage you've done during your reign as the chug-a-lug king. everyone must retire at somepoint.

i wonder if that holds true for everything in life. does everything eventually retire? do you ever retire your career? your profession? do you say that you've stopped becomming who you are? i'd like to think even in my death bed i will still be doing what i love doing. I wonder what that will be. maybe or i am sure of it that goals will eventually change as time goes by. is it ever too late to make a career change? i'd like to think that you can change at anypoint, but a lot of older people have told me that there is a point where you can not turn back and only look forward and finish what you are doing.

Hands are tied

2005-06-30T00:47:00.000-07:00

you can only do so much to protect someone. knowing that your loved one is in a situation you would not like to be in makes your stomach turn. despite the numerous assurances from your loved one that everything will be alright you can't stop thinking that you must do somthing about it. i guess it almost as similar as knowing your other half is fighting in a war on a foreign land. loving a soldier in battle and loving a wife in a foreign country is just as similar. no matter the number of times you hear the soldier say everything will be alright... we have the best equipment... and every confidence an arrogant american soldier may say... you still know that a bullet from the 1800 is just as deadly as a bullet in 2005. if that bullet has your name on it.. it will kill you. i feel the same way, knowing that the wife is in harms way with unpleasant people around her will make your stomach turn. what can you do? can you pick up a gun and join the battle? if i could i would. perhaps a letter to the owner? will my voice me heard? maybe if he gave a damn he would. but who knows maybe if the company is filled with just as much garbage perhaps the leader himself is just as filthy. after all you do hire people in your company/firm you feel has the same attitudes and fit as your own and consequently the integrity of your business. do these people really care? what kind of an attitude is that to be sharing porn and talking about vulgar situations with a co-worker. is it crossing the line? i will admit having worth with teams filled with both men and women you can not help it but at some points you do come across sexual inuendos. where do you draw the line? knowing that my wife has to leave her office space and work in the conference room because of the animals working beside her can not control themselves... makes me angry. what can you do from a distance? will it be stepping over my boundaries to take matters into my own hands? but on the other hand i can not just sit here and do nothing. perhaps persuading the wife to take action might be the more diplomatic way of doing things. after all my wife is an adult as much as myself and should have as much cahones to do what needs to be done. if i were there i'd bring in my louisville slugger and break every bone of their body. till then as they say the pen is mighter then the sword. patience... knowing when to attack and how to attack with as much effectiveness and with much elegance and grace. AH those kurusawa movies have paid off after all.
(image attached with this post.. the enemy.. damn BASTARDS!)

Paying for your talent

2005-06-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

what are you worth? i am worth a 1000 bucks a day. am i worth it? yes, comparing the return on investment i will put back in to the barrel. if the client see's the value of what i can do... why question the rate? does the client really understand that he is getting? if he trully does... then again why question the rate? is it worth the trouble playing cards with clients who are only looking at the lowest price. is there trully a difference in paying for a 100,000 vehicle compared to a second hand 2,000 dollar vehicle? they both get you from point A to point B. would you question the price of a luxurious item? perhaps if you could not afford it. you want to deal with clients who believe in your value. who know what you can do and is confident of what he is purchasing. am i naive? perhaps. but i know the value of creativity... priceless. how can you place a price on the creative mind? why question its value? pay up and enjoy it. savour that 100,000 vehicle.