Influential Essay: Youth by Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease.  This often exists in a man of sixty more than a body of twenty.  Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.  Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living.  In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

Survivor Philippines!

May 21, 2008.  I dressed very early and left the house at 7 am.  Destination?  SM North EDSA to audition for “Survivor Philippines” of all the reality game shows that has been shown on television, Survivor is the one I’m most excited with.

Ever since the first season was aired I was hooked!  Now that it has arrived here in the Philippines I was determined to to be one of the castaways.  I arrived at 8 am sharp and groaned the auditions were being held at the 5th floor of the car park building and the line is already reaching the supermarket that’s about 2 or 3 blocks!  So with clenched teeth I fell in line and waited for I know it’s going to be a long day for me.

Around 12 pm a GMA representative marked each person in line with the GMA logo to ensure that nobody will cut in line.

3pm and I still haven’t eaten anything yet I arrived at the food court, there’s going to be a presentation and the auditions will be held there instead!  I got in the door and was handed an application form.  After I filled it up I was dismayed to learned that I was going to fall in line again.  Surprisingly this line moves faster than before ,and I get to get a good seat when Paolo Bediones talked to the crowd.  It lasted for about 15 minutes and before I knew it, I was next in line to be interviewed.  There was only one question.  “What do you have to be included in the show?”  I answered earnestly with all the enthusiasm that I can muster.  But sadly faith was not on my side and got rejected.  I stood up and walked sadly out of the way for the next person in line.  Then they announced that if you didn’t qualify, you can try again and again until the 23rd of May.  So I went home and determined to try again.

May 22, 2008  I woke up early again and went to SM North EDSA.  I arrived at 8 am and surprisingly there was no line.  I walked to the direction of the food court and found out that the auditions will be held in the car park again.  still no line I went up to the fifth floor and half the floor space of the parking lot was full of people.  Still it was tolerable.  If I can handle 8 hours in line yesterday then I can handle this I thought.  at 10 am they start the interview.  at 12 it was my turn I happily step up to the table then groaned in pain again.  The woman who interviewed me yesterday will still be the one to conduct my interview. I know when i was in trouble when she looked at me.  I knew she remembered me because of the was\y she looked.  Same question again.  I changed my answer, and I gave it with more enthusiasm than yesterday.  Still rejected!  Damn!  I wasn’t about to beg so I smiled at her and said “I’ll see you again tomorrow at SM Manila.”  Rejected twice, by the same person. How lucky can I get.  The experience really surprised me.  I never thought I can fell in line and wait 8 hours to get to the end, more surprisingly I did it twice.  And I’m really thinking of going to SM Manila the next day to try again.

Hey!  I really don’t like giving up.  I was determined to pass and be one of the “castaways”.  But I never has a chance to do it.  I went on leave from work just to be in SM North EDSA on the first and second day,  and I ran out of vacation leaves for the next day.  I contemplated not going to work, but I decided to go to work instead.  I may be regretting that decision not to audition again, but I’ll regret it more if I got fired.

So now I just watched Survivor: Philippines every night, and I can’t believe I’m enjoying it.  Kudos to GMA 7 for a great production.  I’m saving up my vacation leaves now so that I have more time for the next season.

 

The Long Wait Is Over!

Mark your calendars my friends!  Remember a couple of months ago, when I posted about my son’s “First Ever Commercial shoot!”?  Well, the time has come for that commercial to be seen by the public. 

On Saturday;  September 20, 2008 on NET 25 at 7:30 PM my son’s commercial will be broadcast to the nation!  He will be playing the part of an OFW’s grandson.

I remember everything what happened on that July morning, when the day of the shoot arrived!  My wife and I were so nervous that we barely slept that night before.  Although my son was quite the professional during the shoot, he still forced the director to re-write the script because kids will be kids and most often than not their will to cooperate is very limited.  It’s a good thing that the director was quite the professional herself and was very used to dealing with kids.

We would like to thank the people of Philippines National Bank for giving our son their trust and confidence for this ad.

So once again that on September 20, 2008 at NET 25 at 7:30 PM.

I Miss Blogging

It’s been awhile!  I have been so busy the last few weeks that I completely forgot about this page of mine.  Wow!  Before I can write everyday.  Now finding time to write is becoming an adventure.  One main reason is the computers at work can’t access WordPress.    But I’m back!  and I’ll do my best to write more every weekend at least.

So!  What was I up to?  I was training!  Yes, as a newly hired employee of 24/7 Customer Philippines Inc.  I am required to attend a month long training.  I forgot that I had to go through Communications Training again.  But it was quite enjoyable.  It’s like being back in college.  You know learning about “Subject Verb Agreements”, that sort of thing.

This coming week, will be my last week at Production Training,  Kudos to our Trainers Mr. Marvin Martinez and Mr. Ryan Reyes for making the production training, virtually painless.  I learned a lot from these guys in 2 weeks, than my 4 years at West!  Wish me luck Peeps!  I’m almost done!