My wife is earning her second degree at Ateneo. To her, Ateneo is not a school per se. It is a community.
I have heard of schools described as a community, for one I teach at a university who recently got its international accreditation, but from how she describes it, I have a sense it is entirely different. Deeper.
This affect or immersion of sorts has transformed her, among others, to become a die-hard Blue Eagles. It helps, of course, that the current team is 10-0 and is going for a 4th-peat :)
I had a 1st hand glimpse of what I think she meant when I attended the 12th Korean Forum organized by Ateneo Center for Asian Studies last 26 August.
I have been to Ateneo for quite a number of times already but I guess last Friday was the first one I was truly there as a student.
The sessions gave the participants a rundown of Asian Geo-politics from a Korean perspective. And personally, some sessions reminded me why I was drawn to Economics.
Things got more than interesting during the Q&A when a paper was presented on the rise of China and what it meant for Korea and for the region. To hear a lady from the Embassy of China to reiterate their stand, when things needed to be reiterated was a moment I realized I wasn't simply attending a forum. Ateneo, at that instant, became a door, a window or a platform for me to see, anew, beyond the shores of the Philippines.
I wasn't simply a Filipino at that time. I was Asian. And the forum became a way, another push to get to an optimal point when the efficacy of mathematics reached its limitation.
Peace and stability is the environment where economic growth happens. And that end state usually begins with talking :)
"... why think like mere men?"
Saturday
stumble inspiration :)
I'm not telling you it will be easy. What I am telling you is that it will be worth it!
You are who you are when no one is looking.
Love me when I least deserve it because that's when I really need it.
~ Swedish Proverb
Light travel faster than sound. This explains why some people appear to be smart until they speak :)
If we all don't have money, we will all be rich?
Thursday
receiving and giving
"If you do not have PhP 1,000, can you give PhP 1,000?", was the question my serious-toned boss asked me.
If this was your usual vanilla boss, I would think he has lost his mind. But this former boss of mine is different.
So, a deadpan, "No, Sir.", was my reply.
"If that's the case, how can you give PhP 1,000 if you do not have it?"
"It's impossible, Sir."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Then, what is necessary before you can give PhP 1,000?"
"One must work for it, Sir. And earn it. Or, he simply receives a PhP 1,000 bill as a gift."
"Right. So, will the logic still stand if we replace the PhP 1,000 bill with wisdom?"
I was silent and then thankful.
"Why think like mere men?"
If this was your usual vanilla boss, I would think he has lost his mind. But this former boss of mine is different.
So, a deadpan, "No, Sir.", was my reply.
"If that's the case, how can you give PhP 1,000 if you do not have it?"
"It's impossible, Sir."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Then, what is necessary before you can give PhP 1,000?"
"One must work for it, Sir. And earn it. Or, he simply receives a PhP 1,000 bill as a gift."
"Right. So, will the logic still stand if we replace the PhP 1,000 bill with wisdom?"
I was silent and then thankful.
"Why think like mere men?"
tiwala
I've been receiving text messages for over a year now, from unknown sources, offering very low interest loans. This has no significance whatsoever until one compares those numbers to what the credit card charges. The 'texted' loans win hands down. One will be crazy not to take advantage.
But I have not :)
The numbers say that it will 'save' money but the question I ask is what kind of complexity do I get myself in if I bite?
At least with the credit cards, you know how the system works. The 'texted' one, well, too good to be true. It is like a choice between the devil you know and the devil that you don't know. The devil you know wins :)
But why is that I have that logic bubble in my head?
I understand that the current local financial wind is strongly suggesting to the Filipinos to spend. Just look at how little interest one gets from savings and time deposits that one will understand that the government does not want our money in savings account but out there flowing. They want us to spend. To invest. To risk :)
But how come even with the numbers that nudges me to risk, all it does is to make me even ask more questions?
The feeling I have is that I am being set up to fail?
But why do I have that thought pattern? Why do I have that as a bias? Is that the past talking to me? Limiting how and what I see in our present circumstances?
So, I count my successes and my setbacks. Thank God, the former outnumbers the later. So, if this is not my experience talking to me - who is it?
It got me thinking, how can this quasi-financial companies offer low-interest loans. Is it because they also borrowed money from financial institution who offer even much lower interest? :)
Is it possible that these 'entrepreneurs' once worked for a credit card company, understands how that business works, saw an 'opportunity' when he connected the dots of 'existence of cheap money flooding the market', 'the credit card company shared databases', 'the non-existence of a clear legislation on how collecting companies should behave' and 'the Asian's face-saving mentality', thus let's offer a financial instrument that 'seemingly' mitigates the effects and the burdens of owning a credit card?
I wonder if these are the same people who aggressively and liberally offered credit cards to anyone at the malls?
I wonder if they are also the same people who set up shop to go after their 'once a sought after customer turned into delinquent payer'? Now, that's funny :) Talk about vertical integration :)
But still.
Even with cheap money flooding the market - why can't I simply risk?
Is it because it is risk? And how risk was presented to me that I will always choose certainty even if that certainty is tired and in staying in the winter of our discontent?
Why do I struggle with risking? Why do we struggle, as Filipinos, with the concept of risk? Is it because, even with their good intentions, financial planners has still a lot of ways to go in educating Filpinos about personal financial planning? Should we legislate that so that it becomes part of tertiary or technical-vocational curricula? Are we putting insurance companies out of business if we do that or are we making their sales pitch for them? :)
Or is it, at the heart of the matter a manifestation na hindi talaga tayo nagtitiwala sa ating mga modernong institusyon na gagawin nila ang tama at dapat? Na gagawin nila ang bagay na makakatulong sa Filipino? Sa ikauunlad ng bayan?
Can you imagine how will the Philippines look if we have earned the trust of one another? And that we trust one another to a point that you can use your iPhone or your Samsung Galaxy in saving you a seat kila Manang sa kanto?
The speed of trust... the beauty of trust.
But I have not :)
The numbers say that it will 'save' money but the question I ask is what kind of complexity do I get myself in if I bite?
At least with the credit cards, you know how the system works. The 'texted' one, well, too good to be true. It is like a choice between the devil you know and the devil that you don't know. The devil you know wins :)
But why is that I have that logic bubble in my head?
I understand that the current local financial wind is strongly suggesting to the Filipinos to spend. Just look at how little interest one gets from savings and time deposits that one will understand that the government does not want our money in savings account but out there flowing. They want us to spend. To invest. To risk :)
But how come even with the numbers that nudges me to risk, all it does is to make me even ask more questions?
The feeling I have is that I am being set up to fail?
But why do I have that thought pattern? Why do I have that as a bias? Is that the past talking to me? Limiting how and what I see in our present circumstances?
So, I count my successes and my setbacks. Thank God, the former outnumbers the later. So, if this is not my experience talking to me - who is it?
It got me thinking, how can this quasi-financial companies offer low-interest loans. Is it because they also borrowed money from financial institution who offer even much lower interest? :)
Is it possible that these 'entrepreneurs' once worked for a credit card company, understands how that business works, saw an 'opportunity' when he connected the dots of 'existence of cheap money flooding the market', 'the credit card company shared databases', 'the non-existence of a clear legislation on how collecting companies should behave' and 'the Asian's face-saving mentality', thus let's offer a financial instrument that 'seemingly' mitigates the effects and the burdens of owning a credit card?
I wonder if these are the same people who aggressively and liberally offered credit cards to anyone at the malls?
I wonder if they are also the same people who set up shop to go after their 'once a sought after customer turned into delinquent payer'? Now, that's funny :) Talk about vertical integration :)
But still.
Even with cheap money flooding the market - why can't I simply risk?
Is it because it is risk? And how risk was presented to me that I will always choose certainty even if that certainty is tired and in staying in the winter of our discontent?
Why do I struggle with risking? Why do we struggle, as Filipinos, with the concept of risk? Is it because, even with their good intentions, financial planners has still a lot of ways to go in educating Filpinos about personal financial planning? Should we legislate that so that it becomes part of tertiary or technical-vocational curricula? Are we putting insurance companies out of business if we do that or are we making their sales pitch for them? :)
Or is it, at the heart of the matter a manifestation na hindi talaga tayo nagtitiwala sa ating mga modernong institusyon na gagawin nila ang tama at dapat? Na gagawin nila ang bagay na makakatulong sa Filipino? Sa ikauunlad ng bayan?
Can you imagine how will the Philippines look if we have earned the trust of one another? And that we trust one another to a point that you can use your iPhone or your Samsung Galaxy in saving you a seat kila Manang sa kanto?
The speed of trust... the beauty of trust.
"Why think like mere men?"
Saturday
on past experiences
"Though we can't always see it at the time,
if we look upon events with some perspective,
we see things always happen for our best interests.
We are always being guided in a way
better than we know ourselves."
Swami Satchidananda
Thursday
Monday
Sunday
Friday
on value of time 2.0
A truth emerged. Finally. Thankfully.
:)
The time of frustration... the time spent waiting for 'it' to happen... to arrive... the time spent on questioning... on being lost... is time to know our heart. Our true desires. Our true dreams. The ones that we can not speak of. The ones that no words can describe. Much more, communicate. The ones that we don't even understand. The ones that we do not even know reside in our hearts.
These times are times to know the very design of the Potter... of how the Blacksmith shaped us in His furnace :)
I am thankful for now I have a reply to Your question - "What would you have Me do?"
"... why think like mere men?"
:)
The time of frustration... the time spent waiting for 'it' to happen... to arrive... the time spent on questioning... on being lost... is time to know our heart. Our true desires. Our true dreams. The ones that we can not speak of. The ones that no words can describe. Much more, communicate. The ones that we don't even understand. The ones that we do not even know reside in our hearts.
These times are times to know the very design of the Potter... of how the Blacksmith shaped us in His furnace :)
I am thankful for now I have a reply to Your question - "What would you have Me do?"
"... why think like mere men?"
on value of time
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a pre-mature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Wednesday
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