Anna's Road trip with Friends, PhD Update, What drives you to work every day?

Anna's 2020

Been posting Anna's memories in Twitter and YT to remember her love for travel and friends. Yes, a dump account if you will. I still miss her. I go through the range of sadness, remorse, nostalgia through the process of uploading. It has been catarthic too. I hold on to the faith that God will bring us together again in heaven with our parents and Lola Ine.

PhD question

Is maximizing shareholder value inconsistent with being socially responsible?

No. In fact, there are social enterprises as well as multinational companies with well-run business that are high in sustainability and community service. I do not know the financial status of Mano Amiga Philippines or Dualtech, but these two organizations are testament to balancing social responsibility and shareholder value (if they have shareholders).

Cheers to Dr. Richard!

What drives you to work every day?

I have always viewed work to be sources of two life big rewards: financial blessings and character distinction. The regular salary and compensation package provide for daily needs, savings for emergencies, capital for extra projects, and provision for leisure. While the job title defines who one is, what they do for a living, a summation of one's life contribution.

Journalist and American author Derek Thompson coined the term workism. Essentially, it espouses that we can be more than our jobs. Many pursue the multi-hyphenated personality by taking on structured careers which allows them to pursue other interests after clocking out of work--to be a musician, a volunteer, an athlete.

Dr. Mark Rae and Grace School of Theology's Back to the Garden Challenge on Why we Work opened my eyes to a deeper and more spiritual value of work. First, work gives us a better place to live out our faith. Second, work matters to God. This truth alone gave me the reassurance that all the hardships I go through in my work are God-ordained, and that He will pull me through towards a path closer to Him when the best time comes.

Additional benefits of work is to provide for our families as well as those who are in need--widows, orphans, the poor.

These reasons inspire me to value work--whether for a company or through my own organization--and see it as a daily provision I need to do in order to glorify God, support myself, and those around me.

The Importance of Work Dr. Mark Rae

Why work?
1. Work to support yourself.
2. Work to support family.
3. Work to support those in need.
4. Work to support the Church and its work.
5. Work as a platform to live out our faith. People see how we work unto the Lord.

Motivation to work
1. Do you view work only as a paycheck to provide, or do you view work to provide for family, ministry, and provide an opportunity to share Christ?
2. To be obedient to God's command to be productive.
3. There is beauty in being able to trust God for our needs day in and day out.
4. Work for ONE - God.

The Work that you do Matters to God.
1. God could do all the work Himself. But He includes us, and He tells us that it has value.
2. Our work accomplishes something (5 reasons to work).
3. We are all in full-time ministry. We all work in different places to fulfill God's work. Our work is our place of worship.
4. God has blessed you to do that work UNTO Him. Therefore we need to treat it as having great value to us and God.


Importance of Work
1. Your work has the potential of eternal value - ethical and moral work. If it's good work, it has value to God.
2. Purpose is to show off Jesus Christ to all those around you.
3. There is no retirement. Hobby, volunteer work, or others but our spiritual labor never stops.

Sunday School Ministry Meeting

Takeaway

1. Practice loving one another.
2. Pray specifically for people to notice you and to whom you can share your testimony.
3. Share with my kids about the value of work and its significance to God's work.
4. Being passionate about Jesus, He can change your heart towards your work. Seek Him first. Listen very specifically to the Holy Spirit about my work. Work was never meant to be a substitute for my life. Christ should be first.
5. Know your skills and gifts. Do work that is around your skills and gifts.

I’m consistently inconsistent. I don’t even know what I’m doing consistently.

Font Awesome being Honestly Witty and Humble at the Same Time

Workism, Takeaways from Dr. Greg Pawilen, Canva Create 2023 and Lessons from Senior Academic Consultant Will Laschet

Dr. Laurie Santos' the Science of Well-Being class in Coursera made the pandemic bearable. I learned the beneficial happiness habits of being grateful, mindfulness, being in the moment, exercising and meditating.

So when I found out Dr. Laurie launched a Spotify podcast called the Happiness Lab, I instantly subscribed. One impactful episode was with Derek Thompson. He was a journalist at the Atlantic and author of several best-selliing books. He developed the concept of workism which essentially is about society putting careers and promotion on a pedestal. In a nutshell, workism says that our purpose on this earth is not just to produce economic value. Having many life containers which give our lives meaning, the more well-rounded we become.

Workism was really refreshing. A loud, smart voice shouting that it is okay if your working life is not an upward straight line is ok is assuring. Indeed, there are many anti-work sentiments and the pandemic has made us realize how we may turn passion into profit because work life is not ideal for everyone. The Great Resignation, remember?

Here are my main takeaways fromt the podcast:

1. There are ways that you can invest in the other aspects of your life outside of work that could improve your quality of life.
2. There are good enough job. Good enough jobs are jobs that allow you to be who you want to be. It provides a certain amount of salary while letting you to get off at a certain time so you can invest more in yourself, your relationships and your community. Once you have found a good enough job, turn your energy to other aspects that improve your well-being.
3. What could you do aside from work? Play. Value of Play - gives self awareness, great way to serve as counter balance.
4. Unless we define ourselves, our employer will happily define it for us. Find many sources of your identity.
5. Our desks are never meant to be our altars.
6. The work is not done but it is time to stop. We can stop.

Now ask yourself: what do I want to become after my 8-5 work gig?

Dr. Greg Pawilen

Had the privilege of joining a webinar on syllabi development conducted by UPLB educator Dr. Greg Pawilen. He was a lively presenter teeming with generous sharing of life lessons gleaned from his stellar teaching career.

Aside from valuable tips on how to develop syllabi, here are life lessons I gathered from Dr. Pawilen:

• Life is not measured by your GWA or the awards that you receive.
• Teaching is not a game. It is not a show. It is a lifetime experience that will influence the lives of students: whether they become better not bitter.
• Important focus is for students to learn how to process.
• Synchronous classes should not be used on reporting or lecturing. Adopt the flipped learning: address questions, discussion when synchronous.
• Target students to be self-regulated, independent learners. Question student about their alternative understanding of what they learned.
• You can collect data all day, but how are you using it to make your program better for your students?

Canva Create 2023

I have been using Canva since 2014-2015 yet it was my first time to join Canva's Create event. So glad to see Canva has evolved into a power tool that everybody uses. I remember talking about Canva possibly eating out of Adobe's market share in one of our Academic Councils. With more and more younger users more adept with Canva instead of Adobe products, the future is exciting.

Here are some notes from my online attendance of the event:

• We all have our own life journeys. Be comfortable in your own skin.
• Use words of kindness, wisdom and love at all times.
• Do good in the world. It is a choice.
• Era of you: Who are you?

National Geographic Learning Ready for Work: Conflict Management

Since working-from-home during the pandemic, I have been attending National Geographic's free webinars whenever my schedule allows it. In one of the most recent ones I have attended, the valuable lessons on communication are applicable not just in teaching but in any relationships. Sharing them here for you to think about too:

• Conflict management tip: examine every type of issue for the best type of response to conflict.
• Give in - when you've realized you are wrong and the issue is more important to them than you, or when the relationship is very important to you.
• Avoid - when issue is small. Not the right time or place to talk or better to wait until everyone's calmer.
• Compromise - no time for longer discussions or when you need a quick way to lower the negative feelings.
• Work together - when you need everyone to commit to a solution, or when you need to build a long-term-relationship.
• Force - when you need to stand up for yourself, when you've tried other ideas but they haven't worked, or you need a quick solution.

How to tell if a landline in NCR is PLDT, etc

Now that NCR-based landline has to have additional prefix digit so you may dial them, here's a cheat sheet whether to put 8, 7 or whatever based on the landline provider.

Professional Skills vs Academic Knowledge, Travel Goals, Embracing YOU

Are professional skills more valuable to graduates than academic knowledge? Does a higher degree get your foot in the door, or does your past work experience count for more? And beyond this, how valuable are professional skills vis-à-vis work experience or academic credentials?

I am having my first PhD classes this month. Despite my educational credentials and almost similar work experience vs. my partner who is into IT (I am currently in the education industry), our salaries have 8x disparity to his favor.

Education is very important. A degree is a winning ticket to turning lives around economically. More important than the school where you came from, is also the kind of degree you take as well as your character, goals and dreams.

An act of kindness can help you as much as the person you’re helping out.

Bucket List: Japan

Day 1: Tokyo Shinobuya
Day 2: Ghibli Museum
Day 3: Tokyo Dotonburi & Shibuya
Day 4: Shinkansen to Kyoto
Day 5: Kyoto
Day 6: USJ
Day 7: Osaka Castle
Day 8: Airpot to Kanzai

God, when we focus on You things get alright.

In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.

Memento Mori, Studying Again, How it Started vs How it's Going

After more than six years, I am reviving this blog to continue my documentation of my journey as a mom, a homemaker, an office worker, and a freelancer. I have been a recluse in protest of the world's decaying morals. Still, it is the best of times and the worst of times. I admit deep down, I have been insecure too. Joining the online conversation made me more envious of other's well-curated life, so I shied away from it. Yet after losing two of my beloved last 2021, I got a hard lesson of life's unpredictability and brevity. As I journey towards healing, this blog helps me expand myself. It's my gratitude journal. My take of the world. Me tossing my hat in the ring.

Back to school again As part of my personal and professional commitment to growth, I am pursuing my PhD with three units for this term. Still got 45 units to go and our course is yet to meet for intensive sessions in June 2023.

BBC tips for successful studying Don't just focus on what you're learning – think about how you learn
Reflect and think about how you learn best
Review your past learning experiences – good and bad!
Keep a learning journal
Make a study plan
Explore different study tools and choose the ones that work for you

My kids are almost grown up. Both are taller than me. The youngest won the Battle of the Bands with his classmates. The eldest is commuting her way to onsite class and preparing for UPCAT in June 2023.

The husband heads the development of an almost acquired UK-based investor. I work onsite twice a week in a private HEI in NCR. My cholesterol count is 207. Threshold is 200. My LDL is 146 vs 100 threshold. I have started taking fish oil and cholesterol maintenance daily. I am choosing less fried and processed food. I also sleep as much as I can. Bye to on-demand #DirtyLinen on Kapamilya Online Live. I try to move more, sit less. In June I am scheduled to have laboratory procedure to check if levels went down.