JynxedPanda-Sphere » Money Matters

Striving Thrivin’

jynxypanda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:20:02 +0000

*WARNING: PERSONAL POST. SO UH, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ MY DRABBLE, DON’T PURSUE FURTHER UH, JUST READ UPDATE POST BELOW THIS INSTEAD XD*

This is the title of my playlist in my iPhone

READ ONNNNN ▼

before my finals week in the last year of University. I only had a few weeks left before my student life ends (if ever I do pursue Graduate studies, it’s going to be different and frankly won’t be as “carefree” as a University student) and how I’ll be entering the real world. I don’t want to make a super dramatic post about finding my soul or self or identity as I struggle to find the meaning in all of this (but maybe it will turn out dramatic, I don’t know). And how I struggle with questions such as, “Holy crap what if the life that I really want wasn’t the course I chose?”, “What now? Where do I go? Do I leave or do I stay?”, “After 8pm of March 23, I’m officially not a student, so does this mean I’ll be a working girl now?” and plenty of questions such as that.

I kind of envy those who have already heard their calling early in their lives. Look at Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg. Do you think they’re successful because of talent? or hard work? No my friends, there has to be luck in this game called life. It’s when you luckily roll the correct number on that dice that you’ll win in Monopoly. Life’s a gamble and only a few can be called winners. A lot of people say that success depends on perspective, I actually agree on that a whole lot. Know the book Secret? The Secret of getting what you want? Well I’ll spoil it to you my friends, it’s actually all about the Secret of the Law of Attraction. Concentrate on positive things, and positive things will go to you. THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, BE SPECIFIC. But without luck, I don’t think you’ll be as successful too.

I just finished reading Walter Isaacson’s biography on Steve Jobs. It’s a GREAT READ especially for those Steve Jobs/Apple/Mac fans and actually those who want to know in the lives of crazy successful people. Or those with a different line of thought. After reading it, you may disagree with me and would want to rip its pages, heck you might even hate Steve for being an Asshole with a capital A. But I think it’s important to learn his mistakes and know his struggle to success. I just learned about one thing though, he was lucky. He found his passion, heck he called up the head of HEWLETT PACKARD back in the day and was hired as an intern. How gutsy can you be? If you want something that much in life, go get it. But first, you MUST WANT SOMETHING. I think that’s the problem with me, and maybe you too? Or a lot of people out there, ask first the question, WHAT DO YOU WANT. The day you can answer that is the day you can become like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

I wasn’t born with a great talent. I’m an adequate but I think a failing singer (well I’d like to think adequate but coming back from a sore throat, my voice has become a man’s voice with the ability to speak like Minnie Mouse. It’s crap XD). I can’t dance well to save my life but I do try. I’m not artistic enough unlike my cousin so I’m just one of the faceless anonymous in this realm. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. So yeah, I’m still searching for that. I have many wants, many many wants, but passion has to be something more concrete. I believe in a lot of things, but which one should is the icing on top of the cake? Hopefully I’ll be able to ask that soon because I feel like I’m just an empty shell (OKAY NOW I’M BEING DRAMATIC SHOOT, I DIDN’T WANT TO BE XD) handing out job applications, one after the other but with so many goals in my head that I don’t know where to turn to. I have a few set of “ideals” I’d like to follow. I’d want to travel and live in another country. I’d really want that but once I commit myself to a company here, would that restrain me? I am sure though that I’ll never join a company that doesn’t confirm with my beliefs and principles. NO TO SMOKING. NO TO ALCOHOL. It’s not that I’m choosy, I still have to respect myself. If you’re next asking me about my relationships… well that’s a matter I don’t want to talk spill at all. Let’s just say, the time will come when I do.

So after 700 words, I’m now going to actually just list down my playlist. Hope you get the feeling of what I was going through in the last few weeks (and up to now actually). My only problem wasn’t about graduation, it was about life. These songs were chosen because of their lyrics, their meaning and their melody. The guy who commentated on Adele’s performance at the Brit Awards 2011 summarized it PERFECTLY.

“There’s nothing quite like the feeling when you’re listening to a song, written by someone you don’t know, who you’ve never met, yet somehow manages to describe exactly how you felt, a particular moment in your life.”

I’ll be sharing the top 10 songs here. Let these songs speak/sing for themselves and I hope you can choose one below and play it as you finish this post. Or just keep it with you. If you don’t, I hope you like any of them. Will be posting their music videos! Don’t have to play them all, or you don’t have to play them at all (well check out the last 4 songs, they’re really. FREAKIN’ AWESOME.). Thanks for reading up to this point my friend. If you have found your passion, you are one lucky person so STRIVE TOWARDS IT. BE POSITIVE, WORK AT IT.

1. Believe – All American Rejects

I don’t ever want to believe
No I don’t ever want to believe yeah
That when we die
We all leave

2. The Cave – Mumford & Sons

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it’s meant to be
And I will hold on hope
And I won’t let you choke
On the noose around your neck
And I’ll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I’ll know my name as it’s called again

3. Change – Taylor Swift

Tonight we stand, get off our knees
Fight for what we’ve worked for all these years
And the battle was long, it’s the fight of our lives
But we’ll stand as champions tonight

4. Defying Gravity – Wicked Cast

I’m through accepting limits
Cause someone says the’re so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I’ll never know…
Tell them how I am
Defying Gravity
I’m flying high
Defying Gravity

5. No Curtain Call – Maroon 5

I have no time for fear
Or people in my ear
Head down and running so fast
Try not to dwell on the past
I’m fighting through this pain
And things I cannot change
Running right into the flame
Rather than running away

6. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da – The Beatles

Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
Life goes on, bra! – REPEAT LOADS OF TIMES

7. Marchin’ On – One Republic

For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love’s what you hate
Somehow
We keep marchin on

For those nights that I couldn’t be there,
I’ve made it harder to know that you know
That somehow
We’ll keep movin on

There’s so many wars we fought
There’s so many things we’re not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We’re marchin on
We’re marchin on

For all of the plans we’ve made
There isn’t a flag I’d wave
Don’t care where we’ve been
I’d sink us to swim
We’re marchin on
We’re marchin on

For those doubts that swirl all around us
For those lives that tear at the seams
We know
We’re not what we’ve seen

Oh
For this dance we move with each other
There ain’t no other step
Than one foot
Right in front of the other
Oh

We’ll have the days we break
And we’ll have the scars to prove it
We’ll have the bombs that we saved
And we’ll have the heart
Not to lose it

8. Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine (DARNNIT THE WHOLE SONG IS FREAKIN’ BEAUTIFUL

Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It’s always darkest before the dawn
And I’ve been a fool and I’ve been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I’m always dragging that horse around
And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I’m gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it’s always darkest before the dawn
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaah
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh woaaaah….
And given half the chance would I take any of it back
It’s a final mess but it’s left me so empty
It’s always darkest before the dawn…
And I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t
So here’s to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I’m ready to suffer and I’m ready to hope
It’s a shot in the dark and right at my throat
Cause looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Looking for heaven, for the devil in me
Well what the hell I’m gonna let it happen to me

9. The Times They Are A-Changing – Bob Dylan (THE WHOLE SONG. JUST LISTEN.)

ULTIMATE SONG: UNDER PRESSURE – QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE / ANNIE LENNOX & DAVID BOWIE(THE LAST PART OF THE SONG IS ONE OF THE BEST ENDINGS, EVER. IN ANY SONG. EVER. THE FREAKING MELODY. THE LYRICS. BEST. EVER. One video isn’t enough so here’s TWO!)

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure – that burns a building
down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It’s the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming let me out
Pray tomorrow – gets me higher
Pressure on people – people on streets
She been around
Kicked my brains round the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
People on streets
Insanity laughs under pressure we’re
cracking
Can’t we give ourselves one more chance
Why can’t we give love that one more
chance
Why can’t we give love
Give love give love give love give love
Give love give love give love
Love’s such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves

This is our last dance
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

FREDDIE FREAKIN’ MERCURY, YOU ARE MISSED. SO MUCH!

So that’s it! Thanks so much for tuning in

From Africa to Uganda to Loving It

jynxypanda — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:03:21 +0000

I wanted this post title to be about the most important subject in this entry (in short not Joseph Kony, but Uganda itself). Just wanna explain

Everyone must have already heard about the Kony 2012 video that has become viral in a matter of days which basically is a

film and campaign by Invisible Children (organization) that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. – Youtube video description

Jason Russel, the director, spearheaded this organization when he and his friends went to Uganda, straight out of film school, and noticed the plight of many children under Joseph Kony and decided to do something about it. One might say that it is commendable and brave with what they are doing: trying to bring down a most wanted man and trying to raise awareness with this huge amount of publicity and charitable donations.

Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it yet

But if one actually sits through the entire 30-minute film, Russel actually talks about more on selling promotional kits, vying for Oscar nominations according to an article on New York Times and disregards the real issue of the Ugandans. (WTF SERIOUSLY, NOBODY EXPECTS FOR AN OSCAR, WTF)

There have been reports of the distribution of the donations with regards to where does the bulk of the money go to and most of the percentage go to promotional awareness programs such as this film, kits, staff and others. Through research, people have found out that the footage in the film was actually taken five years ago and that Joseph Kony’s army is weakening and has moved to Congo. The film simplifies the problem and constrains it inside a box and objectifies Ugandans.

One Ugandan blogger and activist spoke out (and actually countless others in Africa, they are now promoting to spread #WhatILoveAboutAfrica hashtag on twitter) and it would be worthwhile to watch this most honest, heartfelt opinion and video blog of Rosebelle.

Take note everyone that Joseph Kony ISN’T the main problem and you can’t just simplify Ugandans like what the Kony 2012 video has done. Please read her points on the role of America (should they be pictured like the Messiah always?) and on the stress and importance of local initiatives. I am not saying that The Invisible Children organization is a bad organization, it’s just the mission-vision of their organization is questionable and makes us wonder, do we really want to participate in this? We can’t just blindly watch the video and be moved with pity and then jump in the bandwagon. Everybody has to get their facts straight.

I’m sorry guys for not posting for more than 10 days now! Man am in a blogging slump but it’ll pick up! My classes have officially ended and I am just reveling in my freedom. I’ve been going to the gym for a week already attending Zumba, Bellydancing, Yoga, Body Combat classes and basically using the gym equipment too. Got this voucher with Chair for a bargain price using one of those coupon sites (we now made sure that it’s a dependable store, Gold’s Gym must certainly be!). One month free unlimited gym for just 750php! That’s only 17.5USD! haha Cool isn’t it? Loving everything so far and there are some quirky characters but I’ll reserve that for my next post. And of course wait for my ultimate graduation post and Steve Jobs biography review It’s time for reflection people!

Questions:
1. What are your thoughts on Kony2012 video? Do you agree?

End Piracy, Not Liberty

jynxypanda — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:51:07 +0000

*title taken from Google’s post regarding SOPA*

****UPDATE! AS OF JANUARY 20, 2012, SOPA’s mastermind Lamar Smith POSTPONED and will review the bill once again along with the committee and various Internet entities. This is GOOD NEWS but I am sure isn’t the last act of this World War Web

It’s been so long since I made a REAL blog post and not just a filler video to keep my blog running. Priorities priorities I say! I even ran out of pre-made blog posts that I wrote before. This is how delayed I am -_-

Several serious issues have blotted the start of my 2012. In short, my too optimistic self who says that 2012 will be a better year is in for an extremely CHALLENGING YEAR. My successes will be greater but so will my failures. I’m willing to make that hundreds of TRIALS just to get that right formula or fix the light bulb and this, standing up to a great issue is one of the challenges that not only I but THE WHOLE 21ST CENTURY GENERATION will have to face.

Almost everyone on the online world must already know about the business regarding SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP) as last January 18, 2012, the world wide web witnessed the largest temporary shutdown of thousands of sites in protest to these US Bills that the US government wants to pass. Some known sites such as Wikipedia, Reddit, and even simple blogs like ours joined hand in hand in this silent war against this atrocious bill. By January 19, 2012, US President Obama joined us netizens by going AGAINST SOPA and PIPA.

But what happened to this stand from Obama when just a FEW HOURS LATER, The US government and FBI sued and arrested 4 out of the 7 shareholders including the owner of file sharing sites of Megaupload and Megavideo. They took their domain and this what you see when you visit their page

So basically after the worldwide protest of SOPA, the FBI promptly gave them the middle finger and poked your eyes out and took down this file sharing and video streaming sites WITHOUT THE PASSAGE OF SOPA OR PIPA. I am all for fighting crime and against theft (don’t you just hate it when you find out someone STOLE THE WHOLE CONTENTS OF YOUR SITE) but there’s a reason why piracy is still in effect. This is probably THE ONLY WAY some people can do to get access to the other works of people such as films, books and others. HOW ON EARTH CAN THEY APPRECIATE THEIR ART, THEIR WORK WITHOUT USING THESE MEANS? How can one watch for example, the recently concluded Golden Globe Best Film “The Artist”? without distributing it to other countries? Hulu.com? Sorry but it’s for US residents only. There’s a better way to fighting piracy than ENDING THE FREEDOM OF UPLOADING AND WATCHING ORIGINAL CONTENT. What will happen to the people who genuinely use Megaupload for their original content? Who should they turn to or sue because they have lost almost EVERYTHING?

In retaliation, Anonymous the decentralized hacker group collective that is composed of anonymous users around the globe (you reader could be part of that group and I wouldn’t know! the members don’t know each other and there is no leader or hierarchy at all) was able to bring down the sites of the FBI, Universal Music, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Recording Industry Association of America in UNDER 15 MINUTES after the shutdown of MegaUpload. These guys work fast by using Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (in short overwhelming servers with THOUSANDS/MILLIONS OF PACKETS OF DATA) through 5,000++ computers (I think) and promptly fought fire with fire. This group has done this over so many times such as doing these to the opposition of Wikileaks (a site that exposes classified information such as ehem… some government records…) and I commend their support because I believe that this kind of protest proves to create the BIGGEST IMPACT than any other kind of protest. Do you think that the government will take notice if they just stage a silent protest? HELL NO. And violence out in the streets isn’t such a good thing either so I think that this is the best protest for this kind of situation. The good thing about this group is that they actually fight for human rights (they brought down a Pornography ring I think…) and for the first time, they actually listed some changes for the government. What do you think? Please check their demands here.

I haven’t really explained SOPA or PIPA yet to you guys and maybe you think I’m just riding the bandwagon here because it’s “in” to be against them. NO! I think that everyone should be against this because of the “ripples” it creates for EVERYBODY. Do you realize that when SOPA is passed (or not, wtf did FBI just do? and HOW COME OBAMA DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT THIS yet he claims to protest SOPA), not only is Megavideo and Megaupload targeted, but EVERY IMAGINABLE SITE (which includes ALL FILE SHARING SITES, YOUTUBE, 9GAG, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, TUMBLR, WORDPRESS HECK EVEN MY BLOG, WIKIPEDIA, AND 99% OF ALL SITES) that can host copyright materials is a potential threat and will be shutdown. The Internet as we know it will cease to exist. Think of this analogy, SOPA treats it as a cancer so if they see that for example your hand has a cancer, they not only will chop your hand off, but KILL THE WHOLE SELF AS WELL. So even though Youtube has this agreement or policy that it is not responsible for the ANYTHING that is uploaded in their site, the bill will still target Youtube once a user uploads a whole movie or used a song in his music video. Because I can’t really explain the bill well and only give you scenarios, it’s best for me to leave the explanation to the experts.

Watch UK Law Graduate and Professional Gaming Commentator “Total Biscuit” explain SOPA

For those who prefer American accents, watch David Sohn’s explanation

And of course, the ever reliable Wikipedia (don’t use this as sources in high school or university dear students! but for blogs you can

The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Justice to seek court orders against websites outside U.S. jurisdiction accused of infringing on copyrights, or of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. After delivering a court order, the U.S. Attorney General could require US-directed Internet service providers, ad networks, and payment processors to suspend conducting business with sites found to infringe on federal criminal intellectual-property laws. The Attorney General could also bar search engines from displaying links to the sites.
The originally proposed bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who makes the request, the court order could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators from conducting business with websites found to infringe on federal criminal intellectual-property laws, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites.
The bill also establishes a two-step process for intellectual property-rights holders to seek relief if they have been harmed by a site dedicated to infringement. The rights holder must first notify, in writing, related payment facilitators and ad networks of the identity of the website, who, in turn, must then forward that notification and suspend services to that identified website, unless that site provides a counter notification explaining how it is not in violation. The rights holder can then sue for limited injunctive relief against the site operator, if such a counter notification is provided, or if the payment or advertising services fail to suspend service in the absence of a counter notification.
The second section covers penalties for streaming video and for selling counterfeit drugs, military materials or consumer goods. The bill would expand penalties to include unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content and other intellectual property offenses. The bill would criminalize unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for ten such infringements within six months.
The bill provides immunity from liability to the ad and payment networks that comply with this Act or that take voluntary action to cut ties to such sites. Any copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is dedicated to infringement would be liable for damages.

And after everything, we can ask, “IS PIRACY THE ONLY THING THEY REALLY CARE HERE?”

NO.

They want MORE PROFIT. MORE BUCKS. MORE DOLLARS. So they eliminate competition from Indie film makers, programmers, artists and writers. They don’t want to share and instead EAT THE WHOLE PIE. So please I hope that you can include a STOP CENSORSHIP ribbon on top of your website to protest against SOPA and PIPA (well the bill has been postponed but doesn’t mean we can’t stop expressing our views and beliefs and be ready for the next battle as the American government doesn’t seem like to be waiting for the bill to pass to take action. Rapidshare could be targeted next).

Everyone must informed about this case. Everyone should be alarmed that this bill AFFECTS EVERYONE.

Questions:
1. Thoughts on this? Agree or Disagree?

It’s The End…

jynxypanda — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:56:10 +0000

OF THE BEGINNING! *oh also the beginning of a new rebranded look of my site! Pls read my previous post on explanation THANKS!*

Sorry just wanted to twist the words a bit! But you know with the impending Mayan prediction that 2012 is gonna be our last year ever… I’ve been thinking a lot… like which planner to get. (Okay the least of all my worries but I’m a realist-optimist-ifthere’ssuchathing and in my gut feeling, the earth still has many years to come -andheckIdontwantittoendyetcoz…) Everybody has been raving about the 2012 Starbucks planner and as my brother and I’s annual Christmas tradition of collecting at least 3, we indeed were able to get 3! Maybe we might even get a 4th in January, all these thanks to the help of our friends! We gave away 2 and 1′s for my brother. Actually one was set aside for me but I didn’t find it appealing enough and I needed bigger space. I’m not really a planner person but I want to sort out my life on 2012, it’ll be a good change.

Another planner that I’ve been hearing about is the moonleaf planner. But I’m not that much of a fan of moonleaf to actually want a planner from moonleaf but I can’t deny the sleek and wonderful design.

More info on this blog

And I figured that a lot of people would be eyeing this planner and I’d spot everyone using that planner now (do you also get that feeling of wanting to be unique? I’m kinda like that especially with clothes. The minute I see someone who wears the same shirt as I do, I don’t wanna wear that shirt again and I might stop buying clothes from there. Just like what happened to me and Zara though I still like Zara!). Belle de jour is also out of the question since it’s too thick for me.

So where can I find this unique, inescapable, awesome planner? Well I think I have a few choices and maybe you can help me? Being Little Miss Fickle, I need help!

So there’s

1. Slate – liking the planner because of the color, simple front cover and the art inside! More info here and photos of pages

2. Because I love food and this planner is by Our Awesome Planet food blogger so there’s definitely a lot of food tips in here. And the design isn’t too bad too!

3. Cover says it all. And I doubt that this is sold in stores.

Hmmm so there, am in a pickle…

On other news… WE JUST GOT A NEW DOG! We wanted to preserve the lineage of our first favorite poodle, Hollywood the first (R.I.P. ), we asked for one of Pawpi’s pups. So we got little Hailey! Isn’t she adorable? The great thing about her is she isn’t too boisterous nor too timid. She’s just right (ala Goldilocks LOL)!

Isn’t she adorable? 8D

OH AND I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO BLOG ABOUT THIS! OMG! After that long disappearance and that stint with cooking (please check out my gastronomic food post!), I’ve decided to try my hand at…

BAKING!

YES! I HAVE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BAKING AND I’VE DONE IT!! ~~Crosses off bucket list~~

*EVIL CACKLE*

So I’ve done Butterbeers and such, BUT WHAT ABOUT…. BUTTERBEER CUPCAKES? My love for Harry Potter is still alive and will always be alive, so I decided to celebrate Halloween by baking my very first batch with the help of Chair! The first 6 didn’t come out that nice but the rest were like natural cupcakes! I lacked moisture and softness but they were edible and looked like cupcakes! I then tried Carrot Cupcakes on my own and I can say that my cream cheese icing was AWESOME! hahaha And they turned out better too. So here’s to MORE BAKING STUFFS!

Creamy Buttebeer cupcakes!

Adding ze ganache

I suck at icing decors. Well I think coz I have the wrong icing tip.

FINALLY CARROT CUPCAKES!

Next on the agenda is baking a REAL CAKE! I have to study a few youtube videos still though. Baking cakes are definitely WAAY harder now. I’ll start with chocolate cakes. Nothing too fancy yet. Hope that I’ll be able to do it!

WELLL TOODLES NOW

Questions:
1. Which planner did you like best? Do you have a planner or planning to have one?
2. DOGGIES?
3. Do you cook? Bake? What’s the last thing you cooked/bake/what’s your fave food? LOL

Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noël!

jynxypanda — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:05:58 +0000

~~THEME IS A BIT WONKY ON FIREFOX. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. Hope that you use Google Chrome or Safari first Thanks!~~

—> FIXED!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!!

Have I ever mentioned that I love this holiday? Haha and I took this opportune moment to herald the total revamp of my site! I’ve finally updated my rotting pages (heck my bio hasn’t been updated in 2 years!) and fixed some broken links (still open to link exchange!) and also do you notice anything? Anything different at all? Nah you probably don’t…

BUT IF YOU DO……. It’s all thanks to my dearest and most awesome artist friend Liza! Please head on over to her site and give her some loving while you oooh and aah at her other works. I didn’t think a Harry Potter Panda theme was possible but she made it all happen. So what do you think? I decided to shake things up a bit here because I thought that I needed an “identity” and I felt lost amidst all the other blogs there and I needed a look that would scream me.

Man I can’t believe that 2011 is ending…
SOME PERSONAL CRAP. Read on only if you want to ▼

and (the end of the world OMG haha naah) 2012 is just right around the corner. Honestly for me, 2011 hasn’t been one of my best years. I’ve always thought that Senior Year would have been awesome because of what my friends have gone through but I absolutely feel NO SENTIMENTALITY at all. :/ It’s kinda crazy but I just want 2011 to be over and done with. I may sound like a cruel person (or maybe I am…) but this is just another phase that I will get through. Maybe because 2010 has been so awesome that 2011 is left behind the shadows but I doubt that this is the case. I’ll stick to the reason that I’m just not a sentimental person.

I won’t deny that 2011 has given me a LOT OF FIRSTS. Check out my about me page coz I added a few things there! I’ve started to bake, climbed a mountain, got drunk, blacked out, first time to go to Palawan, first k… okay so a lot of things happened but I seriously can’t wait for 2012 just because I have this bubbling optimism for it. I’m finally, FINALLY going to be able to work and make a difference with my life. I think that’s the biggest step anyone can achieve. To finally be able to plant a flag and say “I DID THIS ON MY OWN AND I CAN SUPPORT MYSELF”. Well to that effect anyway. I want to help my family and myself so much and I think that this is one of the only ways to do it. And really, working entails meeting new people and creating a new life, wherever I may go to. I don’t want to divulge anything yet but I’ve been applying here and there. Let’s just see how it goes.

So my only Christmas wish this year is for everything to fall in place. Vague but it stands true for me. I don’t want any material things (okay who am I kidding, if anyone can give me Steve Jobs’ biography or the Harry Potter Page to Screen book or any of the books in my shelfari, or a book shelf, or a trip to HK, etc. I’D LOVE YOU FOREVER!) so no Christmas lists for this year. Being stable is the most important thing for me now.

In my last post, I blogged about making Butterbeers and here’s one of the recipes I’ve used (Please add whipped cream). There are actually a lot of versions online and I didn’t even get to try this flaming butterbeer (do tell me if you do!) because Schnapps are hell expensive! And so are the other ingredients.

I did get to try butterbeer latte and my friend and I loved this! Better than the Cream Soda one I think but seriously, only drink small amounts because of the buttery-ness! For those who are health conscious… I’m not sure if Butterbeer is the best bet for you

Oh! And for your Christmas movie list, please PLEASE include Les Choristes (The Chorus in French) in your list. It may seem dark and depressing at first but I assure you that you’ll have tears in your eyes. Or at least a few drops! haha! We watched this for our European film class and so far this is the most heartwarming one. Good thing for youtube, the full movie can be seen online! Watch the trailer then hit the spoiler for it

On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in “Fond de l’ Etang” (“Bottom of the Well”), a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own.

Taken from IMDB.

The beautiful angelic voices shall serenade you this Christmas eve

Watch the WHOLE thing ▼

Another reason why I like this film ▼

Oh by the way, this friendly doggy also wants to say Merry Christmas!

Watch some feel good movies such as It’s a Wonderful life or Les Choristes and enjoy it with your family! Or read a book or something. Or just do something joyous! Oh and another crazy thing to think about this Christmas (got this from a friend, not sure if he composed it himself XD)

Is there a Santa Claus? – a physicist view

Consider the following:

1) No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn’t (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total – 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 91.8 million homes. One presumes there’s at least one good child in each.

3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa’s sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man- made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second – a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that ‘flying reindeer’ (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload – not even counting the weight of the sleigh – to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison – this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance – this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force. In conclusion – If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he’s dead now. Say what?..

Hope you all have a merry holiday! *dance*dance*dance*

Questions are back!
1. Any Christmas 2011 plans?
2. What’s your Christmas wish?
3. If you could change anything in your Christmas tradition (or have one if you don’t), what would it be?

NSE NU Skin Enterprise, Pharmanex, Octagon Building, Teleperformance, Scams Among Other Things

jynxypanda — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:21:14 +0000

Who here has been called up by some mysterious caller who suspiciously knows your mobile, landline numbers, your university, schools and your name and is being offered an “executive” or “junior executive” position in some company like NU Skin, Synergy, Pharmanex, Biotechnological US-based firm?

*raises hands*

and who here has turned down the offer?

*raises hands*

and who here has showed up for the meeting?

*MAY RAISE HAND*

NU Skin or the Octagon Building in San Miguel Ave. in Ortigas has been the TALK of blogs since 2009 or even earlier! You had friends telling you that you have been contacted by so and so and with such a shady conversation with no concrete answers, you decide to “research”, google it and lo and behold hundreds of blogs talking how it is a SCAM because hey it could be a modus operandi of some kidnapping gang or something or it could lead to a PYRAMID SCHEME.

“A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud.” – thank you Wikipedia

People then avoid it like a plague but haven’t you ever wondered why IT DOESN’T SEEM TO STOP? Is this strategy by NU Skin actually working? I mean now you have LOTS of people talking about it and as they say, news have wings in Filipino, news whether good and bad (oh especially bad) fly around a lot. Is this what NU Skin exactly wants and why isn’t the government doing anything when clearly a lot of people have been or almost been “scammed?”

Well I did a little research and I found 2 very helpful blogs that shed some positivity into this negativity. I am not saying that what they’re doing is a scam or what they’re doing is correct, it’s all about research and UNDERSTANDING the strategy behind this.

I will preview some excerpts from these 2 blogs,

This 15th floor of Octagon Building is actually the HEADQUARTERS of NU Skin.

“Nu Skin Enterprises is a US based multi-level marketing company that’s been in operation since 1984, worldwide…it’s completely legit, and what they say about the company is true…They are publicly listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and has been featured numerous times in CNN and other world news. They are also the corporate owners of Pharmanex and Big Planet.” – from RandyPau’s blog

From what I understand, Pau has experience with NU skin and based from his commenters, they too have benefited from working at NU Skin (as retailers? sellers? marketers? they don’t really specify how which puts the skeptic in me in thinking mode… is NU Skin telling them to do all these but NU Skin is an established brand. I mean 25 years!) so they have a right to defend NU Skin. Unlike other blogs there who just base their opinions on hearsay and gossip and say it’s a SCAM without really trying it. But we can’t blame them too really for being very cautious. Based on the readings we had for our liberation theology class, Filipinos are very PERSONAL which leads also to extreme personalism to the point they also do not care about others anymore and they take everything personally. Which is hard to do in sales and business so does this make Filipinos bad salesmen? No I’m not saying that at all but there’s a reason why Filipinos are aversive towards Sales and this kind of Networking when it has been going on for a longtime in Western countries. Networking is actually used here in the blogosphere when sites get referrals to boost up their ratings. I have another excerpt from another blog.

Network marketing has created millionaires and multi-millionaires for over 50 years and I expect it to end anytime soon. So when I see a person bashing the industry in general or bashing a company in particular by claiming “nuskin scam” or some other derogatory… it really makes me made. Because the reality is, for whatever reason, the company or business did not work for them. And they’re mad. So they tend to point fingers versus taking personal responsibility for the result they produced or didn’t produce…are seriously considering joining Nuskin to start your own business, then you deserve to hear the truth about the company and not read someone foaming at the mouth because it did not work for them. Because, regardless of the company you are considering, the unfortunately reality is you will always find more than a few people who joined, didn’t do anything, and now… to save face… seem compelled to scream something ridiculous like “nuskin scams – avoid them”… – from Rob’s blog

So what they’re trying to say is that NUSkin is merely PRESENTING AN OPPORTUNITY. As they say in their phone call, this is a no-commitments gig so you don’t need to join IF YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO. Don’t go around saying it’s a scam. And for those who know how to utilize this opportunity, then GOOD FOR YOU and you might strike big. This isn’t the perfect job for everyone and I guess they employ this strategy to sift the risk takers from those who are not. What is wrong though for me is they actually (based from the comments that I’ve read) HAVE PEOPLE who go to these seminars and make them write down a list of other people to call. That’s really not cool with me. The people or agents they have us calling aren’t properly trained in my opinion because of the amount of negative reactions that they are getting. So their “plan on expounding to Southeast Asia” isn’t really working out despite being a multi-million dollar company. They have to change their tactic a bit. If you’re wondering where they get your numbers, they probably bought it from companies or checked jobstreet or your friend actually wrote down your name in the list of people to contact. So BE PREPARED guys. Be wary but be informative and do proper research.

I actually have a rescheduled meeting for tomorrow 3pm since I’m not feeling well today. I clarified that I DIDN’T WANT TO DO ANY NETWORKING OR SALES such as that (heck i don’t even use the products… well not now) and I DON’T WANT TO SHELL OUT MONEY (i don’t have any, i’m kinda broke…) AS STARTUP OF WHATEVER and this lady actually agreed that I have the ability to choose the projects I wanted and that the friend who referred me will actually be in the meeting. Unlike other comments, I will be going to an “interview” and not a seminar. WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT. I really want to get to the bottom of this all and tell people what really goes on inside of that building. I’ve already read both positive and negative comments from people who actually WENT to the orientation and they did say it is a seminar. But if it isn’t… then I don’t know. I do want to meet my friend who referred me there and get to the bottom of this. It’s quite shady that they actually DON’T ask for a resume. Really weird.

Be safe everyone and understand things before going on saying it’s a scam or not. I shall update this with a new post after tomorrow’s “meeting” Wish me luck!