“If there’s a will there’s a way.” – English Proverb
“Spy kids had always been able to beat the bad guys because adults overthink things. But to a kid, everything is possible. Just use your imagination.” – Spy Kids
Every now and then we continue to learn from our children just by observing them. Like for example last night when I saw that despite our son’s present inability to spell and read (most words) he is not deterred from doing what he loves to do–use our desktop to play games and watch videos online. So how does he do it? Simple. He uses a guide that his mom has decided to provide instead of spelling it out for him every time he goes online. Below is the picture of the cheatsheet he has been using so that he can type the URL and keywords on Google Chrome’s search bar. And by the way, he now prefers Chrome over Firefox. Kids.
Online cheatsheet
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Last week I taught him how to use favorites. I checked last night and he has a lot already.
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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Cleaned car, ate leftover corned beef.)
The good thing about having US-based customers is that people in the call center industry who support them also enjoy a time off whenever there is an American holiday. So yesterday we did not waste the precious non-working day and spent it mall hopping. It was a day I never thought would bring back so much personal memories.
Our first stop is the farthest among our itinerary and it is for a lunch we planned since last year–our ever favorite Japanese food dine out. The Dad’s buffet routine went like the ones we had in the past—get plate, pick food, eat, get another plate pick food, eat. But the golden kuhol did the least expected. As I remind my son that these are the same snails Jack of Oggy and the Cockroaches cooked, my mind opened up another stored story.
It was sometime around the ‘90’s when I, with two other friends, had a scary experience because of our fondness for these golden snails. We were picking live kuhol from a rice field on a very sunny noon when all of a sudden we heard someone shout from afar. It was an old man who immediately sprinted towards us. Surprised, our adrenalin kicked in but despite our best effort to make a dash across makahiya-filled grounds, we got caught as others heed the call of the old man for help. My friend (the other escaped) and I soon learned—too late—that we have trespassed a private area which we have been frequenting to get the abundant kuhols in the rice paddies. Thankfully, the folks ruled out detaining us in the nearby police station—they must have realized that we are minors—and instead dropped us off at home before dinner time. Ulam was not kuhol, by the way.
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A couple of minutes after the crossover buffet lunch in Megamall, we headed to Rockwell in Makati to claim my 2011 SY yearbook in AGSB and also to give wifey and Marcus time to window shop in the Power Plant Mall. And like my other visits in this posh place, just being around–without even spending a buck except for parking–makes me thank heavens for giving me the opportunity and support to endure two years of MBA education. God must have a plan after all with the lessons and experiences he gave me from a lowly kuhol to a pricey MBA degree.
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Our supposedly last stop on our list is SM Aura. It is new, it is beautiful but I was not impressed. In spite of its extraordinary shape, a far cry from the boxy SM malls, I find its interior dark and its atrium area a bit tight compared with other malls. Well, since it opened only last May 17, I would expect that they can address the illumination issue (I saw several unlit fixtures) soon but definitely everyone needs to get slimmer if they hate literally rubbing elbows with the crowd.
However, if there’s one thing that I love about SM Aura, is its parking—even if it reminds me of the other day’s Instagram pics showing the basement parking partly flooded due to sudden downpour—because it has a direct exit to C5. And I know Marcus also benefited from this since after finding no Filbars store in the mall I made a deal with him that we would only drop by Festival Mall to buy el cheapo Ninjago substitutes if we don’t get stuck in traffic. And true enough, C5 gave us a quick getaway and we ended up reaching Alabang in no time. That makes it four malls in one Memorial Day time off.
Memorial Day time off. (Clockwise from top left): 1. Marcus’ first mallows on stick of the day–he finished about five among others; 2. Wifey and Marcus; 3. Marcus thrilled that one of the cinemas still shows Iron Man 3–he’s a big fan; 4. Inside SM Aura.
Summer is coming to a close for Marcus. Spending almost two months of vacation wherein he has continuously shown proficiency in his computer skills—kudos to the iPad from the Lawsons—and improving in terms of physical activities—courtesy of the time he spent with his cousins, we will be enrolling him today for Kindergarten level education.
Although he answered half-heartedly to our question if he is ready to go to school again, I feel that this year he will be more eager to discover new things. Last school year, the lessons from school along with what he learns at home have helped him to start (and shutdown) the PC; type the boot up password; log in on his own account; search key words (using cheat sheets just so he can spell the words); and recognize the common computer terms such as: download, loading, next, back, close window and maximize window. Remarkably, my credit card remains safe from Apple store charges as he can distinguish free and paid apps.
Not to be forgotten as well is his interest in new cartoon shows on cable TV. From last summer’s Phineas and Ferb, he has moved on to programs such as Ninjago, and the Ben 10 series. He is so into these cartoons that he can memorize a majority of the characters which is something that never fails to surprise me and my wife and it make us wish that the school has enumeration quizzes for the names of the heroes and villains of these TV shows. We know he’ll ace it even if he pronounces both Lord and Lloyd Garmadon just the same.
This school year, however, he will be into a different time slot. Waking up early is therefore the first challenge I anticipate and I now also wonder if there is an iPad app that can help us with this.
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Yesterday, my favorite healing priest Fr. Fernando Suarez mentioned during his TV mass about pre-school education in Japan. According to him, the Japanese curriculum does not include regular exams for the pupils during first three years of their schooling with the rationale that it promotes unhealthy competition if imbibed at an early age. But whether this information (about Japanese education) is factual or not, I think that every parent should take note of it. I agree with Fr. Suarez when he said that more and more parents nowadays have been coaxing their children to win in contests that at some point it sends a wrong signal and value to the young minds—one that divides rather than unites especially without the appropriate guidance. So this school, I told my wife that we give Marcus some slack and besides it is what we did during the later part of his nursery education and guess what, he ended up the as the most improved pupil of his class.
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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Stuffed toy and green ball just came out of the bedroom. He’s awake.)
Some of us have probably read by now a number of articles about bosses, recruiters, or interviewers who are now using social media footprints to learn more about an employee or an applicant. But how many of us know someone who has experienced this, or, more awkwardly, see their own blog being opened right in front of them, in a cubicle, by their own boss. Guess what, it happened to me.
In my attempt to participate in other company activities I applied to be a part of a group involved in employee engagement. One of the qualifications is for one to be creative and during the interview I mentioned that I can write and in fact I have a blog. And as if under hypnosis, I soon found myself staring at our manager’s desktop as he types marcuscanblog.com on his internet browser’s URL address field. For the very first time, I was browsing my blog site alongside someone whose impression of it could make or break my quest to be part of a new challenge. Well, I’ll know soon.
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After the interview, I tried to recall if my current blog still contains posts that are relevant to the call center industry as I accidentally wiped out years worth of blog posts just last year. Thanks to Feedfabrik I was able to save more than a thousand pages of post since I started in 2006. And as I approach my second year in the industry, I will try to re-post those under the call center tag so please do drop by every now and then to read my archives. Yes, including you boss.
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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Laundry’s drying, done running–again, and now channel surfing. Will see wifey and Marcus later.)
This should serve as a warning to everyone out there on a diet. There is a restaurant somewhere at SM By The Bay that you should stay away from. It is called the Movie Stars Cafe which is a place that will put to shame a burger store’s “have it your way” promise. Last Friday we were there to have a simple celebration for our son’s birthday but it was only then when I learned that the place my wife has described to me as having hundred plus TV screens actually serves buffet. That very moment I heard the word buffet my focus shifted from counting the LCD TVs on the wall to finding the start of the buffet line.
As the resto’s name suggests, I soon discovered upon getting a clear view of food at the buffet area, the restaurant’s menu are moviegoers’ favorites. Set along the buffet table where a huge head of a seemingly hungry T-Rex hangs overhead, are dishes anyone will find hard to ignore. The queue starts strategically with hotdog rolls and burger buns followed by–to name a few–a variety of juicy sausages, hot off the pan burger patties, chunky fries, chicken teriyaki, and desserts. Everything’s just so irresistible that the glutton in me reared its ugly head and by the time I reached the end of the line, I had so much on my plate that I swear the sharp-toothed dinosaur would have considered me a real threat to his food chain if it were alive.
Diners in this place are also in for other treats. The place has lots of movie mementos including picture frames of Hollywood celebrities and life-size figures of movie characters like the Stormtrooper, Spider-Man, Batman, and Iron Man. Movie Stars’ waiters and waitresses likewise complete the cinematic details as they too are in character with their costumes identifiable with those we see in the big screen. But wait, there’s more! There are a couple of shows which include mask dancers with someone in Darth Vader costume but one who is rather graceful than intimidating. If someone plans a second trip to the buffet table, these shows are best ways to buy time to let that stuffed feeling go away.
(Clockwise) From top right: V for very naughty; Marcus’ shot of Iron Man; Trust me, this batmobile is to die for; Three of us.
Worry not, however. Despite its ambiance that will remind people of Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood and other similar movie-themed restos, patrons of Movie Stars Cafe won’t have a tragic ending to their movie dining experience.For the price of about P700/pax, everyone will leave with still enough budget to enjoy the other attractions along the the stretch of SM By The Bay. Expect though to walk out the door with the realization that you are far from fitting inside one of Iron Man’s armors. And so once again, you have been warned.
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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (On HBO…without the unlimited burger. Reality.)
Marcus Can Blog 