My take on.. Justin Bieber.

It's my last day on my rest day and I thought I could watch a couple of movies that I got from my friends at Trend Micro. I browsed through it and found, "Justin Bieber - Never Say Never". I'm not a fan but I do like his songs. Made me remember the feeling that I had when listening to these kind of music back in highschool.

I watched the movie and the goal of the movie is for people to really know Justin and to serve as an inspiration to all that if you don't give up, then all is possible.

More than being a youth sensation, a big star or an international artist, the movie showed that still, Justin Bieber is just 16 yrs old. And that he still finds time to be a kid even when working. That to me is also important. It showed that the people around him loves him that much to net let him miss out on his childhood on his way to the top.

Justin didn't stop dreaming and didn't stop singing. Like what was said in the movie, "It was all hardwork." Justin sang on different radio stations just so people would hear him. True enough when he started twitter, people followed him, they went to the radio stations that Justin went to. Making Justin, his family and his group realize that people like Justin that much.

For me aside from hardwork, it was also pure talent. Aside from singing, he can play drums, guitar and piano. He's really a musician.

Seeing how his family, crew, staff and the people around him loves him, reflects that he's a good person and not an air-headed superstar.

Justin made it to the Madison Square Garden in just 1.5 years (If i'm not mistaken) of his career. Some thought it's impossible, but for Justin, he just believed in it and worked hard for it. and tadaaan! it happened.

If you want to be inspired then I recommend that you watch this movie.

At the end of the day, no matter who you are, whether if it's concerning music or not, if you just keep on believing and trying, and if you put your heart into it, then nothing is impossible.

Just another application story...

I'd like to share a prayer that I wrote last year, dated August 2, 2010. Here it goes:

**********

Papa God,

It’s been awhile since I last talked to you. Lately, I felt like I can manage on my own. That I can carry my own cross without needing anybody’s help. I’m really sorry that I even forgot to ask for your guidance and advice for the past few days, even months. I was so pre-occupied with the trainings that we had in the office which made me neglect other areas of my life.

Right now papa God, I’m heart-broken. I wasn’t chosen to be the next SC. It hurts a lot because I’ve learned to love the job. I did see myself doing the job and having fun while doing it. But now, everything went black. I feel that now, being an SC is really not for me. It scares me because now I need to find another job that I could say it’s also my passion. I didn’t want to leave Trend until the result for the application was provided. Now, I need to start thinking of my plan B papa God. With your help, I believe that You have a greater plan for me.

I don’t know how to start aiming for another goal. Some people just glide through an application and some even bleed hard just to get close to it. I’ve given my 2 years and 9 months in Trend aiming to be an SC, and now it suddenly seems pointless.

Maybe because I’m going through this trial alone, that’s why it’s harder. But then I think about my friends in Trend. They’ve been very supportive and I’m really thankful for the understanding, support and care that they’ve been showing me for the past days.

But then again, I’m thankful for the learnings that I’ve gained in my stay in Trend. I believe that there’s a purpose for everything. Right now, my tears doesn’t mean that I’m quitting. It’s just my human side showing that I was hurt, I was heart-broken. But even if it seems like I’ve given up, it’s actually the opposite. I just need some time to heal and afterwards, it’s back to the ball game again. I’m not holding any grudge or angst against anybody. I have no one to blame but myself. It was all me and I know that I could’ve done better. Maybe, I’ll be able apply it in another company perhaps.

Thank you papa God for hearing me out and for still making me feel that I’m loved by You.

Your daughter,

Joan

**********

Reading my prayer now, makes me feel more thankful. I know that comparing to the problems that other people have, it's just like a small stain, too little to mind and to cry over for.

I thank papa God for helping me out through those times. And it's real that if you do seek, then it will be given.

We all have to start from somewhere even if we don't know where to go next. We just need to have faith and then ask ourselves, "Are you willing to take that leap?" I believe God answered me by saying "Just hold my hand."

It was quite a ride and up to now, I'm still enjoying the roller-coaster ride that papa God is giving me. :)

Be specific.

This is the lesson that I’ve learned in the past few days. That you need to specific in your prayers. God does listen to what you need and to what you’re thankful for, so why not be specific?

My Tita also mentioned this in her wedding. When we pray we need to be specific. When we ask for money and God gives us P1.00 then that’s still money right? It’s still an answered prayer.

Personally, one of my prayers has been answered already. And I’m happy to say that even though I’m half-hearted about it, I’ll be taking that leap. Half-hearted because I’ll surely miss my friends in Trend. I prayed that I wanted to earn X amount for my salary. And God did provide it. I’m really thankful that he blessed me by answering my prayer. 

I know that there are more things to pray for than salary or finances. It just shows that if God can provide us with the material things that we need, then imagine what more He could do to bless our lives even more. (Of course don't forget to be a blessing to others as well. :) )

Prayers indeed will be answered. If it’s really for you then God will give it. If not, then He knows what’s best for you. You just need to trust Him and patiently wait for it.

The Furt Story

I was having a hard time sleeping earlier. I slept at around 3:30pm, woke up at around 6:30pm. 3 hours of sleep is not enough! Hehe.. I tried to sleep again, but I can’t. I don’t know why but I just can’t. I therefore decided to watch Glee, the “Furt” episode. I think it’s just the right thing that I needed. I was able to finish the episode and I was able to sleep after. :)

Finn and Kurt = Furt

I like the episode very much because it showed much values. Here are the parts that I liked the most:

• Burt (Kurt’s dad), Finn and Kurt were rehearsing for the wedding at the Glee club’s homeroom. When it was Finn’s turn to dance with Kurt, suddenly Karofsky (the bully) appeared just in front of the door making fun of their gestures. Burt saw it and asked, “What the hell was that? That guy was making fun of you. What’s his name?” And then Kurt replied that Karofsky has been harassing him for a few weeks now. And then Burt went on to ask, “There’s more, there’s something else that you’re not telling me.”  Kurt replied, "He threatened to kill me." Upon hearing that, Burt instantly ran out of the room, chased and confronted Karofsky. As a father, Bart said, "You like picking on people? Why don't you try me?"
  
  For me it's touching how Burt instantly fought back for his son. He had this instinct that that told him that there's something more to what he just saw. He showed that he'll do anything for his son and he won't hold back especially if his son is being threatened.
  
•  2nd, the Glee Club started the wedding differently. Singing and dancing "Marry you" by Bruno Mars. For me the song was perfect for the event. It's the first time that I heard the song and I liked it. :) (Check out the videos below ^^) It became even more perfect, (if there's such a term hehe) when Burt came in dancing and then Carole (Finn's mom, the bride) entered the hall dancing as well in her gown. So cute :)
  
• 3rd, the welcome speech of Burt and Carole for the wedding was heart-melting I should say. It wasn't just about the 2 of them but they included Kurt and Finn. The marriage this time wasn't for 2 people becoming 1. It was for their family, for them to be complete. For Finn to finally have a Dad and for Kurt to have a Mom. They're like puzzle pieces that fit perfectly.
  
• 4th and the last, whew! hehe.. The part where Finn gave a speech for their parents and then ended up thanking Kurt for all his efforts for the wedding (by the way Kurt is their wedding planner). I believe Finn also wanted to ease out the pain that Kurt was having in school because of Karofsky and that he didn't exactly manned up and protected his brother.
  
  He sang "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars with the Glee Club members. Again a perfect song for the moment :) It showed that he has accepted Kurt as a brother, with all their differences, and even if he knows that Kurt is gay. Acceptance is the keyword here. :)
  
  

And that's about it on Glee! :) Enjoy the videos! :)

A smile that brightened up my day ^^

Last Monday (November 22, 2010), I opted to wait for a cab because it was raining. I waited at the taxi bay of Medical City. As usual, I got a number from Kuya there. The number I got was 45. I asked him what number is to be called next, and he said "23". I thought of just leaving because it'll be a long wait for me. But then, I chose to just sit on the fountain side, listen to the radio and just wait. Patience is a virtue, hehe.. 

While I was waiting, a child sat next to me with her mom. I saw them talking to each other on the side. Several minutes passed, the child (a  little girl) caught my attention by poking me. She then looked at me and offered to give me some of her Chips Ahoy. I wasn't expecting that from a child. When I looked at her, she was wearing a nice, genuine smile. I believe she's sick at that time but then she was kind enough to share her chips ahoy with a smile.

At that moment, I could've have been irritated because I've been waiting long for the cab. Instead, it made me smile. I wasn't thinking of the time anymore. I just enjoyed the moment, thinking of things and listening to the radio. 

A smile can really go a long way. It's contagious, can be shared and it can brighten someone else's day. :)

Thank you papa God for that beautiful smile. :)

An Epic Fail: LG Optimus One Sale

LG's leaflet for the promo

 LG sure made history by putting up a 50% off with their Optimus One android phone. The event was a big hit basically because they were able make the line reach the basement coming from the 4th floor of SM Megamall. (I'm not sure about the other malls, but I've heard that the scenario was almost the same.)


My friends and I were lucky by being able to get into the mall without having to outrun others from the entrance door going to LG's booth. We were able to get in at around 9:00am I believe. How? We used our Fitness First ID. Yep that was our key to getting into the mall even if it's closed. And yes, most of the people that was able to get the phone used their FF ID's as well. Some were friends or relatives of SM employees I believe.


At exactly 10:00am, the walls of SM began to shake. People were literally running to get in line. I thought that I'd be seeing that kind of scene in a shopaholic movie only. But no, it's really happening and I was scared that there could be a stampede. Thank God it didn't happen.

So there that's how it started. Let me emphasize some points that I think made this Sale an Epic Fail. (Got the term from my ate by the way.)

• The guards only started to fix the bar that will be used for the queue when they saw that the crowd was starting to build up.
• They should've started to prepare at least an hour or several minutes before people could get into the mall.
•  It seems like they didn't know that people could use their FF ID's to get into the mall even before it opened. Were they able to stop people from going to LG's booth even if it's closed? No.
• At 10:00am, yes they were able to setup the bars, but then they didn't how to make the people fall in line in an organized manner.
• People had to actually suggest on how to make the line system work.
• They had poor crowd control. Even if we were in line there were people arguing on who should go first or someone has cut in their line, etc. etc..

 

• They didn't know how many customers they can serve in the 1 hour window.
• If they did know, they shouldn't have let the line reach the basement floor.
• They should have provided stubs for 50 people if that was their expected number of customers to be served.

• Wrong setting of expectations.
• The sales lady informed the crowd that they have unlimited stocks of the phone so everyone will get to have one. Another is that DTI could decide to extend the 1 hour window to accomodate all the customers. Did this happen? No.

• Given the fact that less than 50 people got the phone at SM Megamall, did LG apologize? Yes, but it was all scripted and it just made the crowd wilder I should say. Personally, they could have given a more personalized message to all the people there. I mean those people are still LG's customers right? I guess they've chosen to go with bad publicity instead. A sincere apology could've made the crowd listen more and probably still be an LG customer in the future.

Luckily, we were part of the last batch to be accommodated inside LG's booth. They assured us that even if it's past 3:00pm, we will be getting the phone. They also provided us with stubs which is redundant for me since they already assured us.

Last 4 stubs provided by LG

I wasn't that fully happy thinking that I'm assured to have the phone. Why? Because of what happened in the event and seeing the crowd shouting, boo-ing, and even threatening LG.

In the end, we got the phone. Our efforts were not wasted but then this is one experience that I'll never forget. I hope LG will do better next time since I've also informed their sales lady and cashier about my opinion.

The man on the microphone said, "See you on the next One day, One hour, One Chance..." with the crowd boo-ing even louder... My response... Naaah.. I don't think so. If that is how LG treats their customers then definitely, no I will not patronize their products. This could be my first and last LG phone.

Welcome to the world of blogging.

Okay. Here's my first post. ^^ *winking on the side, thinking of what to write next*

I thought that blogging is simple, but then just thinking of the title is hard. There are so many titles that can be used for my blog and I even had to do a simple research for the suggest blog titles. I came up with "summerdream" first. Why "summerdream"? I like it because I'm very much fond of going to beaches may it be summer or not. It's that simple. hehe.. Upon checking the title's availability, unfortunately it has been taken. That's why I ended up "summerdream10" instead. So there.. That's how I came up with the title.

I want my blog to be all positive although I will be sharing things that may not be all good but I'll try to see the positive side of it. I'll be blogging about anything under the sun, may it be about gadgets, techie stuffs, events, people, places, vacation spots, oh! and food (How can I forget that topic! lols). 

My next blog will be about the "LG One day, One hour, One Chance Promo". I hope LG people will get to read it so that they'll know what happened during the event and try to do better next time.