US Open 2022, Tennis

     The US Open ended with new champions. I am an avid tennis fanatic. I watched almost all grand slam when I worked abroad. This time I am not working anymore, so I have the time to see the matches. The winner for the men is someone I didn't expect. In a way, it is good for tennis with new blood at the top.

Carlos Alcaras Garfil, 19 y.o., the youngest to be no. 1

     He defeated  Casper Ruud, Norwegian, now the new world no. 2.  I personally was rooting for the Norwegian having had worked previously with a Norwegian paint company.

Iga Swiatek strengthened her no. 1 rank

     In the women's, Iga Swiatek ruled and established her no. 1 ranking  and this is well deserved.

     What a real surprise for me was the women's junior champion who happened to be a Filipino. Although I heard her talent in tennis, I didn't expect this early for her to win. I hope she carries this all the way to the women's category. She is the first Filipino to ever win a grand slam.

Alex Eala, a Filipino, won the  Women's Junior

Christmas in the Philippines

     I don't know if this is due to my not being in the country for years before stroke sent me back here to my village. The gaiety over Christmas the moment September 1 comes is over the top, I really feel. It's too commercial, an elitist act that mask the real probems of the society, the real issues of the common people. 

     Christmas songs are now playing on the airwaves, totally far from what I used to see when Christmas feels only on Christmas day although shopping malls in Singapore adorn their malls at the start of December. In the US, I see they put up Christmas trees on Christmas day. 

Christmas decorations are selling like hotcakes now 

     This is too much, an escapism to hide the realities of the society. It's the Spanish culture of celebration pervading on the psyche of society. It's a weapon of the rich diverting the focus from the harsh realities, from the simple lives of the poor who are not so in the gaiety.

     The elites are into the celebration forgetting that many poor people in the countryside are struggling on survival. What they do diverts the attention of many from the stark realities of society. They hide the pain and worry of the poor because they just want the festive mood beginning September until Christmas day, four months and a third of the year hiding the truth from the eyes of the public which foreigners get to see, not able to see the true situation in the grasscourt.

     This festive atmosphere distances Christmas in the Philippines far away from the true meaning of Christmas, of Jesus being born in a manger, and saddest part is that the Church is silent, kind of approving this kind of celebration. Maybe because many of the priests come from elite families, detached from the impoverished followers.

My Ex-Colleagues

     Five years ago, I met my ex-colleagues in previous companies for lunch when I was still working in Singapore. Both of them are working in the same company now, PPG paints. One is a colleague of mine in Jotun Malaysia and the other in Dutch Boy Philippines. 

Lunch with Jun and Timothy

     Jun, my ex-colleague in Dutch Boy, came from the sales department but was always in the lab because he was chasing samples from the chemist for his product. 

     Timothy, my ex-colleague in Jotun, was my colleague in the lab. I was a chemist for decorative paints while he was a chemist for protective coatings. I knew him earlier when he started working with ICI(now owned by Akzo Nobel) which was my primary customer when I was still with Revertex Malaysia doing polymers for paints.

My Korean Experience

     Eleven years ago I was in Korea, not my first though. I was visiting customers with our local sales guy. In one of our trips, we need to travel some distance from Seoul, and allowed to me see the countryside. 

We travelled by car to see the  customer 

     I enjoyed seeing the countryside and I can't help compare it with the Philippines' countryside. Sadly, we pale in comparison.

     Many of the lands were planted, made productive by the farmers. 

My colleague then Jason phoning customer that we're coming late

My First Trip to the US

     I was in the US five years ago for a company meeting. It was eventful as it happened when hurricane Harvey landed in Houston, where our meeting was originally set. It was moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

     On my way back, I had options for alternative routes as my original ticket was returning from Houston. I settled to pass through San Francisco and a chance to meet my high school classmate in Sacramento. He came all the way to San Francisco airport to bring me around.

     My classmate and friend Nilo brought me to see the famed Golden Gate Bridge. It was surreal seeing it in person, something I used to see only in books or TV or movie.

With Nilo at the Golden Gate Bridge

     Then we went to the world's crookedest lane. 

At Lombardi Street

     He brought me to see the Palace of Fine Arts, my friend being an art afficionado.

Palace of Fine Arts

     Before he sent me back to the airport to resume my flight back to Singapore, we had dinner at Pier 39. 

Enjoyed American lifestyle

     It was a brief moment but I enjoyed my quick visit to San Francisco. Had there been no hurricane Harvey, this would not have had happened.

Great Asian Railway Journey

     I watched this series of Michael Palin Great Asian Railway Journey although I didn't see all the episodes. I happened to watch the episode showing Singapore, used to be my base before stroke left me out of work.

I miss Singapore

     I truly miss working in Singapore. I personally think it is such an ideal place to be. It is very modern, progressive yet it has maintained the traditional buildings, food, and culture. It is a country with very low poverty and crime rate. It is so rich a country. 

     The show showing the famous places in the island and Sentosa indeed drove me to miss my life there from 2011 to 2019. It's unfortunate stroke sent me back to my rural Philippines. I miss the orderliness and cleanliness of the country. I still truly believe this is due to good governance and the people follow and respect the laws of the land. It is so unlike to the politics in the Philippines where there is too much democracy. It is being manipulated by the elite few, fighting with another group of elite while the majority poor are not aware about it.

Marketing for the Asian Region

     I miss my old job, being the marketeer in Asia for a monomer until stroke rendered me useless for the job. In my Facebook memory came one of our global marketing meetings in the US, historically too for the meeting went to so many changes due to hurricane Harvey.

The global marketing team after we finished the meetings 

     Our original meeting was supposed to be in Columbus, Ohio when our lay over flight in Manchester, UK was delayed overnight hoping the hurricane situation would become better, only to be informed the next day we were being flown to Atlanta, Georgia. Our global marketing team had to change plan for our global meeting, to Atlanta at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

     It was an unforgettable trip for me aside from the Harvey bravado. It was my first trip to the US.  I went to Atlanta via Chicago international airport. I had a totally different life when I was working than now post stroke.

     I miss the global marketing team although only one remains in the company as of today. My ex-boss who looks like Virgo Mortensen definitely instilled in me nuggets of marketing, technical marketing. I am very lucky to have experienced these from 2011. Had I known that to be in marketing is awesome, I would have shifted career earlier.