Christmas and the Joy of Giving

Christmas is a celebration of giving. For many years, this day has been synonymous with Jesus' birth and that of giving gifts. As a child, Christmas also meant Santa Claus and Noche Buena. Today, with kids of my own, I still view Christmas the same way as I did as a kid -- but with a huge difference.

Before, it was I who was the eager recipient of other people's generosity. Today, me and my family sponsor and organize the annual Gawad Kalinga-Sibol Christmas Party. This is our fourth straight year.

Last Sunday, December 3, we helped organize the Christmas Party of underprivileged kids from two GK areas: Kaingin and Multinational in Paranaque City. It was a happy riot to say the least. My friends Merrick and Maureen Chua, owners of MEC Network Corporation, sponsored the event. We had 64 kids and around 24 adults for a total of 90 people! That was the largest Sibol party we ever organized! MEC's staff and some managers provided lots of toys and give-aways, besides helping out in hosting games.

As a sidebar to this blog entry, let me just point out that for the past four years, not one of our Couples for Christ immediate household has known of this project. Amazing, isn't it? How can an annual big event, involving top leaders from the same CFC cluster or sector not be known by our household? Simple -- we never told them! That's where true blessings lie. Whatever kindness you do in secret, the Father himself will reward you in secret.

God has been good to us. After having us endure financial turmoil for almost 10 years, we're back on our feet again and much more! Our businesses have picked up and I'm in a job that I am enjoying and pays very well. Thus, I simply am paying the Lord a simply gesture of gratitude by making Sibol kids happy.

Looking back, we started giving back to God during the lowest points in our lives. We started giving tithes (10% of income after tax) when I lost my job in RJ. We were also assigned to the financially-draining Gawad Kalinga as pioneer Sibol project managers when we didn't even know where to get our kids' tuition. Talk about giving...until it hurts...no more.

What's the lesson in all these? Have a big heart for those in need, and God will never leave you when you yourself are in need.

Next year, we are gearing towards a pending appointment in Youth for Christ (YFC). Another challenge, another opportunity to serve. What else can I ask for?

New Work, New Challenges

Fast-forward to November. Time indeed flies so fast. Two significant things happened since page 3. First, Jinky was operated on her salivary glands to take out the stones. It was a success (though costly) since Jinky was operated on with local anaesthesia only. Second, I got the Manpower job. To say the least, it was a good deal (much better than the other one).

I started on October 2, 2006 at Manpower, a global employment services company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was my prayer to get back into the true-blue corporate world in a true-blue multinational company. God did answer my prayer. I'm sure, this was also my family's prayer.

Work at Manpower is close to alien to me since the industry is far from my advertising background. Eighteen years is quite a long time to master a field. Thus, shifting to recruitment is not a breeze to say the least. I warned them about that but nonetheless, they still hired me. They said they needed my sales background.

The whole of October I was in induction. It was like being in suspended animation wherein you sort of watch time pass by while your training goes on. Mark, a former colleague from Digitel and his staff of two were good to me. They let me squat in their workstations during my first two weeks.

Last week, 5 days after celebrating my first full month at Manpower, I closed my first contract worth PhP200,000 (about US$10,000). I'm currently on my way to closing my next contract, hopefully, before the end of November.

I admit that going to mass everyday has been key in all the blessings we've been receiving. The mass, being the highest prayer (according to our former parish priest Fr. Nip Frugosa), will always be a major part of our Catholic life. I pray this also shall be for our children.

Directions

A lot of things really happen in a span of one month, so they say. I believe its true. My loving wife Jinky was diagnosed to have at least one stone in one of her salivary ducts. What? Well, yes, I, too, didn't believe that such condition exists. Our ENT doctor Manny Villegas even has a name for it -- Sialolithiasis. Practically ailment-free for the past months, last week, Jinky's right cheek became swollen. An hour after, Doc Manny gave the diagnosis. I believe it's not that serious but knowing Jinky -- who has endured 7 operations and their after-effects -- she'll always worry about it. Doc Manny recommends a procedure called a "canulation" which will somewhat siphon off the stone from the duct. Local anaesthesia is needed, or rather required by Jinky. I worry a bit on Jinky being a worrier. It's bad for her heart. I just keep on reminding her that we should live to a hundred that's why she has to keep healthy. I just hope she gets tired of worrying. I miss her trooper attitude. It's a good thing we go to mass almost everyday. I know that'll help.

Then, I got a call for an interview. It was a return bout with global employee services giant Manpower. I really thought I missed the chance of joining that company after a grueling set of interviews (local and overseas teleconference), a 3 hour exam, and a panel presentation! I got a letter in early May that I didn't make the cut. Admittedly, I charged all those to experience. Only my ego was scathed.

So a few days after another brief interview with my future boss, Randy Rively, last week, I got a job offer as Sales Manager. Why does it excite me despite my other job offer at Level One? Maybe it's because of the nature of the industry being employee services.

For many years, not only have I advocated entrepreneurship, but I have helped entrepreneurs as well. This time, I have the opportunity to find more jobs for my fellow countrymen.

Tomorrow, I will be personally looking into the job offer of Manpower. If the offer is good, then, I have to personally let Level One know of my decision, despite earlier telling Jan (the CEO) that her offer was interesting enough to be initially acceptable (even with some reservations). Actually, I was never able to sign the offer sheet. I hope she'll understand. At least, she told me that she also hired the other candidate from Citibank.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Page Two

It was sister Nina's birthday yesterday and I guess since she's a prolific writer, I thought of getting back to writing page 2 of my blog myself and experiment with my skills. Another 3 months has passed since my last entry. I hope it doesn't really take that long to update again.

Well, I got a 3-month project on corporate restructuring which kicked off on the first week of July. We are now in the half-way mark and there's still a lot to be done. The other week, I got a formal job offer to join a customer experience & relationship company. The offer is good enough given my current financial status and direction. Status quo, I'd say but I would like to think that it's a breath of fresh air career-wise.


Projects still seem to be pouring in such that my hands (and feet!) are tied-up. I'm not complaining. I just hope I'll be able to extricate myself from them as soon as I join Level One (the new company) by October. I'm looking forward to the next 20 years of my career. As they say, life begins at 40. (Close. I'm 39 now.)

A review of what I have been through the past 20 years of my working life:

At 18, I joined a direct selling company (MLM) and was promoted to supervisor in just 1 month. This kicked-off my sales career such that I even did wholeselling of eggs a few months into the MLM business. By the time I graduated from university (U.P. Diliman) with a bachelor's degree in communications research, another sales career pushed me to sell publications and subscriptions.

Wanting to practice my learnings, I joined McCann-Erickson at 20 and got a staff post at the media department handling the San Miguel Beer account. This was despite a note from the president at that time (Ray Dempsey) to put me in accounts management. What do you know, they exported me to the accounts department after about 8 months. A year and a half later, I was pirated by the client via San Miguel's Magnolia Division (from beer to ice cream). I was only 22 at that time and the position I got involved me creating the media department. What a promotion from a junior account executive post!

In Magnolia, I had a great mentor: Bert Anido. He was the one who broke the news to my father who was the head of R&D at that time and who didn't even have a clue I was joining the company to be with him! Such a great mentor was Bert that I was pirated by Ramon "RJ" Jacinto and became the RJ Group's corporate marketing director (at 24!). I turned around the company in only 6 months which resulted in the creation of more radio stations and business opportunities for RJ. I left RJ after 2 years due to a simple misunderstanding.


Some months later, I found myself in publishing, having joined the Asian Sources Media Group (now Global Sources). After almost 5 years and a 500% increase in revenues (as an outstanding country sales manager), I moved to Benpres Publishing (now ABS-CBN Publishing) where I became its marketing director for 2 years.

I then moved into various phases as a consultant and chief marketing officer for a U.S. publication and two dotcoms (worldroom.com and clickthecity.com). I consequently joined a telco (Digitel) and a start-up ad agency handling marketing and communications. I also did work for business development for events companies and a toy company.

I am currently a project consultant for a marketing services company and do other consulting work for others in various fields such as IT, below-the-line media, direct marketing, and events.

Through all these, together with my wife, I have been involved in various religious and social activities through Couples for Christ and Gawad Kalinga. This, I believe, adds to the balance in my life and family.

We have been in CFC since 1995 and have been entrusted with God's work in various ministries including the youth, music, education, police and military, and the environment. I'll cover this part of my life in another page in the weeks or months to come as 11 years of fulfilling work is truly an exciting discussion for me. Something which me and my wife believe is worth doing till the end of our days.

In the meantime, I'd say I'm wanting and preparing to embark on another career. I want to get the best out of life and experience its twists and turns. That's where the excitement of life is -- the experience. Life begins at 40? Well, it really never ends. You just have to re-boot when the keys hang. With Level One, I'd like to believe that this is the right step in the right direction.

Page One

After a 3-month hiatus, I'm back to writing for a new blog which will represent my e-journal. I've been shopping for a new notebook which I can turn into a journal when I was in Hong Kong for 2 weeks ending April 18. Another enjoyable trip, too, I'd say, especially for my 14-year old son who got to nursing another crush.

I'll begin this journal with my recently concluded trip with the family -- as it is a major event for this summer of 2006. One, because it involved a lot of financial maneuverings (and prayers), and second, it signals a beginning of another chapter in my life story. This seems to be the case for me everytime I go on a 2-week vacation. I try to leave the past year behind, contemplate (and strategize), and plan for the next steps in my life.

Life is basically family for me. This, I believe, is the career God has given me. Work is simply making a living as I look ahead to a fruitful retirement with my wife. Too far ahead? I don't think so. I think I have a good 20 years to push myself to the limit in my work as a sales and marketing professional in the field of advertising.

For 10 years, I have done lots of wheeling and dealing for various ad-related projects. These projects have brought about my entrepreneurial spirit as well as my ability to handle many projects at the same time (project management, they say). Tiring, yes, but also enjoyable.

Today, I look forward to change. I am hoping to shift gears towards a new field, hopefully in one of the jobs I am applying for. Maybe in an organization with more structure. I've been in loosely structured teams and organizations for the past 10 years. I'm rearing to go back to a multinational company this year -- God-willing. I've got an interview this afternoon which I hope and pray I can hurdle.

I read somewhere that we go through 7 careers in our lifetime. Maybe, I'm on my fourth or fifth. So I guess I still have 2-3 careers left in me then? Well, here's to change! (clink!)