Intel – Page 3 – Marcus Can Blog

Fair-Weather Values

Today’s welcoming bright morning sun seems to have little or no help at all to keep the bleak news from coming out of The Philippine Star news- paper into our breakfast table. Today’s headline: US Recession Looms. And what follows in the next articles and pages are just as frustrating if not scary.

“Layoffs spreading across corporate America”,”RP flunks US think tank’s corruption indicator, loses new funds”.

Switching to CNN didn’t help fan out the negativity either. It just brought more stories about people expected to be jobless and horrible stories of starvation and hopelessness in Zimbabwe. These somehow gave me some guilt while we eat breakfast in front of the TV and with me silently counting off another Sunday of being employed. How self-centered can I get when other people faces far more serious problem than I currently have.

Several more minutes of scanning the paper and watching the news, I realized how still lucky I am — to have brewed coffee, fresh hot pan de sal and another perfect omelet courtesy of wifey. I can imagine, during that very same moment, someone in the USA is being evicted out of his hard-earned home for not being able to pay it; some people in Zimbabwe are thinking where they’re going to get potable water in the next few hours or worse, others might even just die trying to find one, literally.

Well that’s just how sad the reality is nowadays. Being jobless is the “IN” thing. Starvation is inevitable. Bankruptcy is as frequent as before. In short, let’s face it, the world is in crisis.

And being in such predicament, I can’t help but wonder if my personal values would remain as is. The dilemma roaming inside my head just can’t be ignored.

Would I still have the same morals?

Would I still continue with my advocacies such as anti-piracy and environmentalism?

Would I still strive to do my best to drive with courtesy in mind?

Would I still continue to use the pedestrian lane?

Would I still refuse to bribe cops and government employees?

These are few questions that have lately come into consideration. Someone said before that during the worse situations our true character comes out. And so with this I will commit that I’m standing by with what I value most. The answer therefore to some of the questions I have will be yes.

Yes, I will continue…

…To respect my parents and elders. I will still be around to look after them. I will call them as often as I can even if that means that I have to stop sending nonsense SMS to friends to save on prepaid load.

…To respect and be courteous and rational in treating cashiers, janitors, saleslady, waiters, drivers and other blue-collared employees who offer their services to me. Who knows, I might be working with them soon.

…To say no to piracy no matter how hard the urge to buy these things in the name of saving (at the expense of other people).

…To be courteous on the road. And avoid, or at least try not to, honking my horn unnecessarily. (This is another topic deserving another blog entry. I can see wifey smiling.)

…To cross the road using the pedestrian lane even if I’m in a hurry for a job interview.

…To reject the temptation to deal with any form of fixers even if this means delaying the start-up of my small business.

Right now it may be easier said than done. But also right now, I’m saying it out loud as my commitment. As much as I hate fair-weather friends, I hate having fair-weather values.

How about you?

We’re Moving Out

I’ve got a very big family and I’ve known our home as the most secure among the neighborhood. It was where we were always proud to be Inside. And like the rest of my siblings, I also look up to our parents and I was ever so proud to be one of their children. But then time changed and it’s been a year or two since our parents have given us the hint that they’re up to something. And what that is, we were clueless then. By the middle of this year though they told us the shocking news–the house we’ve known to have endured storms and earthquakes is crumbling. That shocked us. It can’t be true. The news was like coming out of a very bad nightmare that despite the earlier hint, still caught most of us unguarded.

That being the reason, it surprised us no more when the next thing they told us was their idea to move out of our current home, a home where I’ve spent most of my life with the rest of my brothers and sisters, old and young alike. This is where we learned to crawl, walk and eventually stand up on our own. This is where I learned and understood how to deal with the rest of my siblings in harmony. We’ve had our differences for sure, but we managed to hold on together with the values that have bound us as one family.

Now, since they decided that we finally move out in 6-9 months time and have announced the location of our new home, they have now started orienting each member of our family of the phases that we will undergo to make the transfer a smooth and successful one as much as possible. We were all ears and so eager to hear about it.

Of course, not all of my siblings are happy with the news. Some are excited but most I can sense are not yet prepared. The older ones for sure have lots of memories in this present home and younger ones have still lots of things to prove and experience. But then, mom and dad have made up their mind.

And so after asking the rest of the members what they think of the transfer and if they wanted to move on or not, our parents stood steadfast. Despite the obvious pain they have to deal with, mom and dad have to finally kiss goodbyes to those who have chosen to part ways. But just like any responsible parents will do, they did not forget to partake what they have to those who will be left behind hoping that my brothers and sisters make use of it wisely.

On my part, they haven’t talked to me yet but to keep me busy they have assigned me to do my share in packing up things this week. Some of my siblings have done their share since a month ago. Now it’s my turn. Our home is almost half empty but there’s still a lot to be packed.

Rummaging to what is yet to be boxed, the nostalgia of yesteryears seems to rewind just like in the movies. I can vividly recall the days when mom and dad would give us a new toy and each one of us would gather around it wondering what it was for and but making sure it works at the end of the day. Sometimes we’d argue over it and sometimes we’d work together like we have one mind with one goal. And with each success we made in putting it to work, mom and dad would always clap their hands, give us a pat at the back and more often than not, treat us to a well-deserved meal or even give us some tokens or gifts for the job well done. Those days will be missed. Hopefully, in our next home, they’ll do just the same.

It’s been two days after I started observing and taking charge in the packing of several of our toys with the help of the people whom our parents hired to do it for us. Some of these people are familiar to me as I’ve played with them when I was a bit young in this soon-to-be-our-ex home. Now we still know each other and I’m still as eager to play and help them box the toys.

Tomorrow the packing stops. Just for two days at least. I heard that our parents will be handing out some envelopes to all of us. It’s probably for Christmas. I don’t know. Whatever it is, thanks anyway mom and dad.

Disclaimer: The characters and events in this story are fictitious and if there’s any similarity to actual events, person or entity…then, it must be true…well, partly true.

We are Damned

donut choices — Damn centerpiece. (Photofunia done by wifey)

Whoever coined the phrase “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” is just damn right. In our elementary science class, we were told that we humans actually belong to the animal kingdom but what sets us apart from our crawling, flying, swimming and walking brethren is the ability to make choices, not instinctively, but intelligently. (Although the bible is one proof that our great great great ancestor Adam might have instinctively given in to Eve’s temptation to take the supposedly fruit of knowledge. The irony. Whatever the real reason is, I think we won’t know, but I have a hunch. Hint: they were fully naked.)

I find this capacity to think and to decide a double-edged sword. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Each action we make right after a decision would be understood differently by different people. Reminds me as well of Newton’s third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction. Remember? So does it mean that Newton may have been the man behind the damned phrase? Possible. Whoever it was, he has my respect because such is so short yet full of meaning. It summarizes one lifetime of decision making into just eight words.

So why the fascination with this damn phrase lately? Here are some reasons that it’s just damned if you do, damned if you don’t:

Bayani Fernando who has been in the news, forums and FM radio more often recently. Ever since I learned about this guy’s work, principle and vision, my admiration for him started. I’m one of those Filipinos who look up to a strong leadership that have become so scarce for years here in the Philippines. I read from one survey that he’s not winning approvals from most people because of the way he operates–i.e., quick and he doesn’t care who gets in the way. Although he’s got some kinks to work out within the MMDA, I believe that his personal policies are firm and he’s just the type of leader WE NEED. By the way, he has mentioned that he’s running for president in 2010.
Motorcycles. Due to new LTO guidelines, frequent accidents involving motorcycles, and wifey’s protests, this is hot topic. It’s now a fact that with the current gas prices up and will go up again, which is a prediction that doesn’t need a Nostradamus, everyone now thinks of an alternative to go around. Those who used to take the public transport (e.g., buses, jeepneys) and even with their own cars are now considering buying scooters or underbones. It’s a no-brainer. With the almost unstoppable gas price hike, an alternative transport is a must have. However, if a motorcycle is your choice, it requires a fully functioning brain to drive it defensively. Brain drives rider. Helmet protects brain. Take note.
And then this. Company business updates that gets majority of the employees jumpy and It’s just same story with a title that changes every time, as I always tell those I usually converse with about this topic—that’s 15 directly under me, and several other colleagues. At times I find this topic dragging which makes me think of recording my replies for the next similar discussion. Sooner than soon, this story will end but I can’t divulge just yet. I’d rather do it as a Grinch-who-stole-Christmas type story. You’ll read about it soon.

So are we damned? You’re guess is as good as mine.

***

Stressed@Work

August is just around the corner and I still can’t believe that I still have work to do. And of course, I’d like to keep it that way as long as possible. Contrary to what I’ve imagined how the 2nd half of this year will look like–after the gloomy, yet anticipated April 2 announcement–the environment at work still appears challenging enough, at least for me.

Although activity in my area seems to have significantly slowed down in the past few weeks, the pressure to meet commitments and deliverables remains unwavering as before. This means that feeling down and out for the count is out of the question. At some point, I may slack off a bit but I there is still the need to get back on track.

The latest stress that had me feeling a total mixture of emotions–from passing gas to almost collapsing and vice-versa–was the presentation of our 2nd quarter indicators to the next level managers and other key players. Its preparation started about a month before and the extraction and crunching of data almost took much of my time. What made it even more stressful is seeing some of the indicators in a down trend even if the reasons behind it are perfectly justifiable.

Presentation day came and I could feel that the 12-hour day is turning into a 24-hour vigil. Most of the time I get excited, jumpy and the butterflies inside my stomach kept on flapping their fragile wings. On that day, anxiety was all over the place. In fact, even those senior to me had the same uneasiness. If it is of any consolation, it appears that public speaking, regardless of the number of audience, remains to be a nightmare for most.

My turn to present came at last but despite knowing that the foils are self-supporting and show factual data, the fear of being questioned and not being able to answer was just overwhelming. If I remember it right, the last time I was into this predicament was when I asked for our wedding’s approval from my now father-in-law. I was focused yet awkward and the words were hard to come by.

Surprisingly, in the end, the horrible questions I was expecting from the start didn’t come. There were some inquiries, comments and advice that registered into my then half-conscious state but that was it. More surprising was getting a compliment from my direct manager who rarely recognizes a job well done. At least, I must have done something right. Whew!

I went home that night feeling proud and accomplished. I was even singing along with the FM songs in the car like I’ve just been accepted in a job interview. And there’s no better way to cap the day than to treat my wife and I with a couple of slices of my favorite comfort food–a Red Ribbon black forest cake.

With that event done, I now feel more ready to face another work-related stress. Whatever that is, I will surely know in the next days to come.

What Is Career Counseling?

Yesterday I attended another Leadership Enhancement Program and the recent training we had are tailor-made for us to cope up with the soon-to-be closure of our company. Yesterday’s topic was about career opportunities and career counseling.

I actually enjoyed the whole training and find it very interactive and informative until when it came to one of the foils wherein first line reads: Career counseling is NOT giving advice.

Hmm. That isn’t right. I know that deep in my vocabulary the word counsel is for sure synonymous to advice. So I raised my hand to clarify if I’m reading it right and our trainer without batting an eyelash emphasized, “Career counseling is not giving an advice.”

The training ended by noon time and my colleagues and I went on with our kill-time activities disguised as WLE (Work Life Effectiveness) activities. Some played basketball, while we did a good badminton until past 7 PM. But those positive stress activities didn’t shake off the counseling thing. In fact, while driving my wife to work this morning, I kept on thinking about it still.

Bothered, while preparing breakfast for myself, I juggled with the plates and our trusty Merriam-Webster dictionary and there it was printed in one of the pages: to counsel is to give advice. I was so excited that I eagerly finish my bread, egg, and meat loaf . I was in front of our PC after I gobbled the last piece of the processed meat.

In order to confirm if our Merriam-Webster hardcopy isn’t obsolete yet, I browsed through www.m-w.com . The following entries appeared:

Main Entry: counsel

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): counseled or counselled; counsel·ing or counsel·ling

\-s(

Date: 14th century

transitive verb : advise <counseled them to avoid rash actions — George Orwell> intransitive verb : consult <counseled with her husband>

Main Entry: counseling Variant(s): or counselling Function: noun

Date: 1927

: professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes

Main Entry: ad·vise Pronunciation: \ Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): ad·vised; ad·vis·ing

transitive verb 1 a: to give advice to : counsel <advise her to try a drier climate> b: caution, warn <advise them of the consequences> c: recommend <advise prudence>2: to give information or notice to

: inform <advise them of their rights>intransitive verb 1: to give advice <advise on legal matters> 2: to take counsel : consult <advise with friends>

Counsel equals advice or to advise. Boom. With those results and the fact that this top semiconductor company have some managers whom to my shock pronounce words such as freight like fright, sub- like sob and my favorite pet peeve, z like zay, I am no longer surprised that one foil in the training material may be erroneous.

Like a fighter aiming to finish off a sprawling and bloodied adversary, I typed career counseling in the browser’s search field expecting something that will back up my vocabulary. In a matter of seconds, several results appeared and I eagerly clicked each one of it and prepared to celebrate my victory over the foil item in question.

To my dismay, not one of the sites shows a bit of “Career Counseling IS about giving advice” to support my argument. Instead it listed common words such as assessment, aptitude tests, planning, decision making, development, and research. It was almost about everything but advice. I wave the white flag.

As much as I hate defeat, I came to realize that career counseling may not be just two words that can be discussed over a one-on-one meeting which in our case would only last 15-30 minutes every three months. If one staff gets lucky (or not) enough at all he’ll be in one at least three times every quarter. Career counseling after all is indeed a task to be handled only by a professional career counselor and if you’re not one of them, most likely, you can only advise. So is that first slide correct? Be my guest.

A Wedding Anniversary With Intel Friends

This week is our week as husband and wife. Initially planned to be celebrated as a road trip going farther north of the country but due to unforeseen factors from work and the weather, I welcomed the cancellation. So goodbye SCTEX drive-by. Goodbye Cagayan. Goodbye Ilocos. Goodbye Pagudpud.

The series of events at work added to the fact that majority of us are trying to make every bit of last celebration worthwhile made me finally give in to my wife’s request to allow her to have her production area’s summer outing fall on the exact date of our wedding anniversary. And so instead of driving hundreds of kilometers north I found myself driving just around ten kilometers from our home to the resort of their choice.

Around eight in the morning of June 26, we were already at Qubo Qabana resort. We scouted this place just a couple of days prior and it was a bit of surprise finding it better than expected. The area has good facilities. There’s a pool for both kids and adult. There’s an activity area readily available for large group of people and event. More importantly, the rate is affordable. It’s no wonder that it immediately got everyone’s approval just by looking at the pictures I took. Besides, it is just halfway along the way to work and settled strategically near Magdaragat (seafoods restaurants) and Quinta Court motel. It’s so easy to spot that one don’t need Google Earth to find it.

Most of the group arrived late but by then those who came earlier were already very busy preparing the food which overwhelmed those assigned in the grilling area. Being a bad cook, I helped in keeping the charcoal aglow that got me occupied for hours. There were enormous squids, tahong (sea shells), fishes, chickens and hot dogs on queue.

Thankfully by noon most of wifey’s team have arrived and all menus have been prepared. Other than the grilled meats, there were also a variety of potluck which made lunch time a feast. The table had chicken curry, shanghai rolls, salads and one of my favorites–bicol express. Too bad the alcoholic drinks came later in the afternoon.

The pool’s design is good though at first glance the flooring appears to be a disappointment because it is made only of white concrete. Surprisingly, upon closer inspection it is not mossy, it is not slippery, and it is clean. An improvement on safety may be needed though by posting a depth guide as it has a deep part at the center that could catch novice swimmers unguarded.

Obviously, we ended the day neither in a resort in Ilocos nor in a nice beach somewhere in Pagudgud yet we both enjoyed our ninth anniversary somewhere near together with friends and colleagues who seemed to have enjoyed our last outing together as employees of Intel.

***

Mood: 5/10 (Read this again on March 22, 2011.)

A Familiar Logo

This afternoon I was once again in the waves of ennui, surfing the internet trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my Sunday while feeling guilty of having to skip mass again and while also waiting for my wife to come home.

Emails checked. Multiply.com updates checked. Friendster.com scanned–not much friends here. Favorites list scanned back and forth. Lurked forums done. Emails rechecked again for the nth time in just a couple of hours. Thankfully I’m free from mouse to keyboard ratio recording or I could be sending red signals to the ergonomics guru of our company.

Not really knowing how to bail out of my PC’s chair which is getting butt-hot while I move the mouse aimlessly, I suddenly realized I was looking at Formula1.com’s interview with the recent winner of the Canadian grand prix, Robert Kubica. Having watched this race’s replay I must admit that it was one of the most exciting I’ve seen so far this year. It’s one for the books of fame and for the books of unfortunate events which by the way F1 races will always be I guess. Even Michael Schumacher has his own share of fame and shame.

In this race Lewis Hamilton rear-ended Kimi while on their way out of the pit lane that brings the conspiracy theorists like me raise an eyebrow out of suspicion. Hmm. Robert Kubica of course wasn’t one hypocrite not to accept the fact that he felt more hope when these two leading drivers crashed. It was not only his day to win but it was his day to lead the drivers’ championship with 42 points. His consistency during the past races eventually paid off and June 08, 2008 became the day for him to be in the middle of the two drivers in the podium for the first time. It was the day BMW claimed the most coveted win of every races. It’s the day their sponsors have been waiting for. Wait, something looks familiar in the picture. Ah, our company’s logo.

I’ve got used to seeing Mclarens, Ferraris, and Renault exchanging top positions for years that it took me until now to realize that right beside BMW’s logo is Intel’s. It may have something to do with the fact that Intel’s Philippine site is closing this year that I forgot to cheer my heart out when the whole BMW team was cheering and savoring the huge champagne during the awarding ceremony.

BMW and Intel’s win may have been late to be fully relished especially for us working for the latter but as they always say, “A win is a win.” Now I don’t know if I’d be celebrating next time if BMW takes the 1-2 position once again. Hopefully yes.

Go BMW. Go Intel. Greetings coming from a Ferrari fan.

***

bmw poster

When we had our pictures taken in front of the team’s mall display back on April 2007 in Suria KLCC I never thought the BMW guys behind have any chances of winning a 1-2. Now, I stand corrected.

What The F***

Be calm. No need to censor. But I’m trying not to say this dreaded F word, FATS. That’s because right now I’m facing a tough problem. Tougher than the impending unemployment and tougher than facing an unending oil price hike. It has something to do with my weight. And the horrifying number is seventy pounds. That’s how heavy I am right now. And that’s seven pounds more than my required weight.

In gym lingo, I’ve reached the hated plateau. No matter how much I do treadmills, weight training, and hopeless crunch and abs workout, my body just got bored with these routines. And like an employer running out of manpower, my body has posted a vacancy sign outside its doorstep. It’s accepting fats and calories like Vietnam is accepting all the multinational companies.

I know I can’t do anything about Vietnam but I’m sure I can do something about this weight. A battle must take place though to achieve once again my ideal weight as I don’t find it amusing anymore seeing our bathroom scale displaying a value higher than the last time I stepped on it. So instead of crying over spilled beer…I mean milk, I’d like to write about this new weight goal so I can get back to it soon and feel good about losing – weight, that is.

For me to be back on track, a re-assessment has to be done like anything that has gone awry or in this case what I’d call SNAFU – Situation Normal All Fat’s Up. Got to go back monitoring what I eat and when I eat. I have to say goodbye to Jollibee breakfast, goodbye to Burger King Whopper, goodbye to heavy dinner, goodbye to beer. The last could be the challenge.

As part of my reflection, I’m wondering what I have done recently that made me accumulate such weight. So let me focus at least on this past week’s activity.

Monday. As scheduled, I played badminton with a couple of colleagues. Although known as the fastest game and tagged by some as a good cardiovascular workout, I find this game as a false sense of exercise to complement a diet. Why? Normally, the heart-pounding and blood-pumping game for the whole day will bring us to a fast food restaurant to recover what we skipped during lunch. This last game, we found ourselves eating spaghetti and having a couple of beer in The Old Spaghetti House.

Fats – 1. Diet – 0.

Sunday. I was in Batangas with wifey to attend a birthday and a farewell party. The Red Ribbon chocolate cake and the predictable spaghetti were there and were looking mouth-watering as ever. I must have blacked out in front of the table but I found my stomach bulging and my lips colored brown and red.

Fats – 2. Diet – 0.

Saturday. Finally, I attended my first TUP-V summer outing after several postponed dates with my batchmates. So right after a hard day’s work (at least I believe so), I found myself worthy of good food and good company. Without wasting time, I drove my way from Cavite to Sta. Rosa Laguna; and a hundred wrong turns and a couple of hours later (thanks to the perfect map), I eventually located Dictado Resort where most of the attendees also got lost which is probably why the program started late. Despite the exhausting drive, it was fulfilling to meet long lost friends, schoolmates and other new alumni. It was also nice seeing some of the faces behind the aliases in the Tup-Vian’s yahoogroups. It was a ”tagalog-free” night and it felt like being home in Bacolod with everyone around speaking Ilonggo. The feeling of nostalgia is of course never complete without Beer. Lots of it. Ti abi.

Fats – 3. Diet 0.

Friday. Coming from work, I picked my wife at home and went back to SM to watch the most anticipated movie of this year – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I don’t know if the peanuts we brought inside was responsible for my calorie pile up that night OR the film being the MOST boring (sorry, I can’t help but emphasize) Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg film I’ve ever seen. So boring, my metabolism almost stopped working. If I haven’t seen any of their previous works, I could have included them in my never-to-watch-films list. Watching Indiana Jones is like watching a chopsuey of films such as X-files, Tomb Raider, Alien vs. Predator, Armageddon all rolled into one. And that’s not a compliment either.

Fats – 4. Diet – 0.

Thursday. Failing to bring home something to eat after my shift ended, I asked my wife for a dinner at the nearby David’s Tea House. Meal was picked to have the least calorie content that we can think of. I ended consuming the dumplings that my wife did not eat. By the way, did I mention I had beer that night? Well, I did.

Fats – 5. Diet – 0.

As much as I’d like to add more days in this list, it’s becoming more obvious that Diet is losing the battle. I can imagine a fictional referee raising the Fats’ hands after winning the unanimous decision for the 5-rounder battle. But the fight is not yet over, Diet is calling for a rematch and I’m making sure we will win next time.

The David Among the Giant Printers

Choices for printers have improved a whole lot since the days of slow black and white matrix printers. Anyone can now have faster quality prints at home that years ago could only be achieved through costly commercial printing press services. Now we have one in our hands. It’s a Brother all-in-one printer 150C model. An impulsive but justified buy. A printer, scanner and copier in one package at the price of just approximately Php 4000 (<USD 100) is money well spent.

This brand may not be as popular as Canon or HP when it comes to printers, but the features it has are competitive enough. The printer’s interface is user friendly. Its overall case and parts appear sturdy which remind me of our Brother portable typewriter that I’ve done a good deal of torture but still remains in operation until now—15 years later. Hopefully this multi-printer will stay strong just like his brother (pun intended).

Scanned images and print outs appear better than expected. At first we got disappointed when the photo prints outs had lines in it but after reading the user’s manual (duh!) and following the instructions a better print came out. I can’t say it’s perfect, but it’s like just any other photo I received from my sister who I know got a Canon photo printer and from some friends who developed their digital images thru professional developing centers. By the way, it has four separate ink cartridges (black, magenta, cyan and yellow) which makes it economical. Only the consumed color gets to be replaced. My resume will use up only the black one first anyhow.

Nothing is perfect though. Upon installation I saw some issues with it. The scanning software doesn’t have a preview unlike my Canon’s LiDE 20 which I find very useful as it lessens scanning time when doing small size papers such as paper bills which I used to test it. I read in the manual that it’s illegal to scan money. Don’t worry I don’t intend to forge my 500 bill. Though I wish it could multiply just like that. Ti abi.

printer — AC Cord on lower left corner. Scanner bed is shown as lifted to access USB port.

printer2 — Red arrow pointing at USB port.

Lastly, I find the AC cord and USB connections weird. I expect the AC cord to be at the rear part and the USB port just somewhere visible. The port is hidden underneath the scanner bed which must be lifted in order to connect/remove the cable. I don’t know if the other multi-printer brands are set up like this.

Overall, this neat multi-printer will make the top brands a run for their money. It’s like David vs. Goliath. It’s like AMD vs. Intel. Hmm. It’s a stretch, and let’s not go there. It’s for another blog.

Here Comes Bum Days

Every working day seems to be getting gloomier and gloomier at work but I still exude a positive look to most people—to my colleagues, to my peers. In short, I’m becoming a professional hypocrite. Ti abi. But that’s the way it should be right now. There’s no point in surrendering even if the fight seems worthless and unwinnable. Sooner or later I’d be a bum but until that time comes I try to be positive. Remember: choose to be happy.

So what have I done so far to soften the impact of the inevitable? I’ve made sure that I equipped myself with bum tools.

Unpaid car. Nice to drive around with. Necessary to eliminate couch rashes.
Books. Lots of it. I think I’d be able to read most of it while in career hibernation. I’d start to worry when I start re-reading my wife’s Archie comics.
Cable TV and Internet subscription. Other than being certified bum tools, both may be my connection to the outside world. Which reminds me to check the schedule of the TV show Til Debt Do Us Part.
DVDs. Genuine DVDs. Got to have popcorns and beer to go along with these.
A Brother. Yes, a Brother multi-printer. The brother that can help me distribute my resume print outs while on a job hunt.
Rubik’s cube. I don’t know if the recent recession and attrition is the reason this cube puzzle was revived. I’m smelling conspiracy here.

For now these should suffice to keep me occupied for the bum days to come.