Random FB Posts for October.

Some of my recent Facebook Posts: 

"I actually enjoy the newsfeed and reading each and everyone's analysis on the current situation of the government. No hate, I just appreciate. Because through Facebook can you see a complete transformation on one's self as how you'd know them back in the day. "Ang mga kwela at adik noon, mga analyst na ngayon". That's how Facebook works. You get to recall who they were many years ago, and then get surprised (and appreciate) how they've come to be at present times."

"Clicktivism" has paved way for people to blame "who voted who". I do believe if Mar or Grace won, people too will blame the ones who voted for them even for the smallest mistakes, remember the first big blow to Noy was the Bus hostage of HK tourists. Imagine people hated an individual even if Nanay nya si Cory at Tatay nya si Ninoy and of course kapatid nya si Kris, ikaw pa kaya na normal na indibidual ka lamang. Would the Philippines be way better had Mar or Poe win the election? If Mar or Poe won bigla ba may lilitaw na Benz sa garage mo? or waking up to a bigger house or profits up 300%. Gaganda ba bigla ang imahe ng Pilipinas mula sa pagiging nasyon ng mga OFW? Remember your life at ang iyong kinabubuhay does not depend on who the president is so relax."

"Try to understand the Duterte Haters, even months after the elections at sadyang wala na tayo magagawa. The same way you'd allow and see yourself ranting on Social Media if Mr. Roxas won on his tuwid na daan campaign and pamumunong "Disente". During these times, masarap magmuni-muni, would Mar be also able to eradicate the drug problem as much as Duterte did? Walang issue with the US because clearly Mar is a statesman? Would crime be also be down by at least 50%? Bumaba din kaya ang halaga ng Piso? And lastly, the value of the +6 million vote advantage ni Du30 kay Mar."


"If you drive nice cars and get to "write" about them, remember that you drive, record and observe. Having the means to purchase ultra expensive cars and afford the lifestyle that goes with it is completely different from its free drives and lavish dinners so try to keep your level-headedness. If you count money for a living, sincerely smile and look at people not with a Peso sign on their head, rather as true individuals, who work, live and eat the same way you do. If you sell 9 digit condo units, respect the competing developer and never talk trash to client. Tignan mo muna kung saan ka nakatira and completely understand the workings of being able to afford such prime properties."

Two Dimensional

One of my worst nightmares is ending up as a two dimensional individual. That not everything revolves around cars and parts, motor sports and all. Thats why as much as I can, I do travel abroad when the budget allows, there is also room to learn new stuff from friends from a totally opposite field, or getting to read some books, comics, documentaries and anything totally unrelated to cars and basically experiencing life without the the usual comfort provided to us by our four wheeled machines may it walking or a bike ride to the random places which you've always yearned to go to. Going alone is of a different topic altogether hehe :)

To tell you the truth, I do not want to be known, or at least on Facebook as the person who post nice cars, or gets 200 likes from posting his garage or a nice wide-bodied car with a 6 digit CF wing, I want to be known as a person, well educated, who thinks and works outside the box, that box of course is the industry and the life which we live. I also enjoy blogging, and is something I greatly take pride from as I suppose that writing is one of the greatest liberties we have a humans.

Hanggang saan ka bilang isang tao? Hanggang doon nalng ba sa mahal na mags, magarang damit at masarap na pagkain? Yung date places and resto na paborito ninyong magselfie magkabarkada or habang kasama mo ang mahal mo? Concerened ka pa din sa angulo ng camera dahil mas muka kang maganda kapag galing sa taas ang kuha? "Tumaba", "pumayat", "umitim", "pumuti", "gumanda" at "na-haggard" or "whats up bitch?" pa din ba ang mga salitang unang mo binibigkas kapag binabati mo ang iyong mga kaibigan? In love ka pa din ba sa sarili mo lalo na kapag dala mo ang iyong kotse? Or are you willing to extend yourself with a clear understanding that:

1) You only live once
2) There is more to money and looks
3) Everyday presents a choice for you to make

Back when I was doing voluntary work to provided assistance and education to the less fortunate, I believe that my travels outside Manila are those that shaped me to who I am today. I', a car enthusiasts, yes that is true but I am most alive when I go to the remote places wherein the basics are presented to you. As we set camp on a cliff overlooking a vast mountain range, I feel that there is more to life than what we are currently living on. That there are lives beyond all that we are interested about, expensive stuff that we wear, the newest clubs and restos, who's who in society and the latest gossips and all. That beyond all that we are accustomed in Manila, there is another part of reality way different, odd at times, often opposite but presents to us a window of realisation for a lot of things in our lives. May it with our work, family, friends, our torn and strong relationships, our past, present and future. It is as if when we're out of our usual turf in Manila, "somehow" we can pause, get to passively meditate, think clearly, breathe in & out and basically get a hold of ourselves.

Relationships mold us.

As humans I've always believed that we still are evolving. On what we believe in, out attitude and our views and outlook in life. I've always stated that our current relationships is a strong reminder of how it either, sucked in the past, or how better is was in the past. I've had a girlfriend who was Christian years back and I remember going to a Church alien to what I was used to. It was strange but home as the years passed. Though her family and I always had our fights and differences, I could always be honest to myself that I drew the good from that past as I've helped build a Christian Church in Mindoro. It was a personal triumph of mine that deep within, an outsider, a Gaijin of such faith can still make a huge difference. That we can read the bible all we want and site its verses a hundred times but if we never practice what we preach, wala din. That it just takes heart and the character of the person, without that religion translates to only obligation. Second was a girlfriend of mine who loves to cook. Though her job took over her and eventually she built her own resto and then moved to the US, I can say that like all individuals, we get upgraded by simply being with a critic. That we can't settle for less may it be with the quality of the food we eat, or the speed and efficiency on how we work through the morning and the of the day. That we can rule our staff with an iron hand, but still with a forgiving heart. I've also had someone who was Zen-like in many ways. She taught me to be simple and appreciate the afternoons at a local campus, as we dreamt big things as we glanced at the beautiful sun, setting itself beyond the green horizon. In essence she taught me how to appreciate the simple stuff, such as long walks alone, my long drives and the "calm" we draw from which is a figurative symbolism of my happy place such as my dinner at an SM Food Court to immerse yourself to the earl and genuine smiles of the people, or Christmas walks to Cubao as it greatly reminds you of childhood and even traveling as it it something that fills the heart, mind and soul. The other taught me that money affects the very fiber of humanity. That it seems almost magical that the brave become weak, ang suplado ay nagiging mabait, ang maingay any nagiging tahimik and that dignity and honor can easily be melted by such. Money is the true window to ones soul. That, as we all know for sure, if we want to see the true nature of an individual, put him in a tight situation involving money and you will see one's true color. I was also taught that the we join shows and conventions not for competition. Not to raise the bar and bask in recognition and triumph but to be humbled. That in one single event, you meet your match, or in some cases dwarfed by the "other". It can also be a learning experience when entering say fr example an IT, Toy or Gun Show, it just goes to show that there is bigger world around you. A world that you do not have grasp or control over.


I believe that we can always draw some good from our past relationships, thus helping us to be better, or shall I say "stronger" as my bitter friends would say. Same same goes for cars. Our failed installs taught us lessons on on never to be stingy on the important parts. Our past projects showed us that it takes time to build something outstanding and magazine worthy. We learned to be patient with our cars and also never to only depend on ourselves but realize the gold, that is our friends and co-enthusiasts. And that my friends is my 5 minute blog as I wait for diner to be served. Heading to South in a bit, good night. Be good.

GIGIL.

We've all matured. We all know that. From the way we speak, the way we think, the way we treat our friends or how we perceive information around us. We've learned to keep it cool, stay out of trouble, rethink before we speak and never put too much money on the line. I've just observed that sometimes the cars we build can be a reflection of what we've come to be. Or maybe the speed on how we build it is a reflection of how we take life nowadays, and how some priorities in life clearly overtake that our our most precious hobby. Something which you could have never thought of would happen in the past. The past, which as you may recall put motorsports, cars, parts and car groups above else in your life. Never mind food, or time for parents, or the upcoming exams, the reunion or that concert at Araneta, we all know that most of us would rather enjoy speeding through the Zig Zags of Tagaytay, spend hours ogling at our project car, installing parts past midnight or meeting up with our fellow car enthusiasts at Silver City, Metrowalk, Greenhills or Alabang. We are after all car nuts, and during those days, that identity is strongest. That this hobby which we all love takes precedence over everything. Even your highschool sweetheart.

Walang pinagkaiba yan sa dati mong ugali na: "it's now or never". As you and your friends are on your usual inuman, and suddenly there's this super beautiful, tall and charming girl in the area and you have this strong and compelling urge to approach her, talk to her and ultimately get her number because of the plain and obvious reason that there wont be a chance anymore next time or that moment is for you to grab, take over your life and make your own destiny. Ganyan ang mga motto ng kabataan, feisty, hungry, sabik, malakas ang loob at minsan ay KSP.

The talkboards, the selling pages, our who owns and who sells what... GRAB it now! In my opinion thats how we are as young enthusiasts. Get that Caliper, or those rims, or that Gathers interior, or those Recaros, get it while its still there. Relentless, budget-unconscious, limitless and "Gigil" that's how we deal with cars back then. Sometimes, we can also reflect on how were as young enthusiasts. Not only by the way we style our cars, but how we choose the parts, the speed on how we built it, or how in-love we were with that hobby, and the level of enthusiasm we had.

My friend had this line which he often says: "Mabuti pa dati kahit naka-SIR lang ako, I would go to my Lolo's village, take tons of pictures of my car on that same corner, timing it as the sun sets creating a wonderful camera effect, post it on PBASE that same night and link it up at the forums. Ngayon, naka M3 nga ako, tamad na at pagod na para mag pektur at nagagamit ko lang pag Sunday pag bibili ako ng dyaryo."

Goodnight everyone and have a great weekend. Grabbing dinner in a few. Peace. Be good.

A week after the 2016 Elections.

One week after the elections and the political posts have finally died down. I have always believed the the newsfeed here in the Philippines is like a fiesta. I've always said that you need to join, enjoy, participate and never take things too personally. That is the way Filipinos do Facebook, or shall I say our society does. We are the top social media user in the world or top 3, and add that to a unique culture and what you have is a wonderful and chaotic confusion.

If there is one thing I learned in the months before the election is that some people really have a knack of believing that they are better than others. Thats the truth. Sadly, Facebook has revealed the true color of some individuals thus further cementing my old, tried and tested idea that politics and money reveal one's true colors. Its ok to be a fanatic but not too much naman that people may wonder how many millions have you donated for the campaign, or by the mere concept that, in 5-6 years, you may be cringing when you backtrack your Facebook, or in voluntarily shows you memories and you tell yourself, what was I thinking and why did I say those things. Wilbert, my genius, and uber rich and successful friend who is a fellow car love (mine is a Jazz his is a mini, mine is Civic, his is a Porsche kinda thing... ) campaigned for Mar, and I'm pretty sure he had a huge chunk of financial contribution, yet he's cool about it. I can even joke about Mar in his face, with him patiently and diligently breaking down to me why his party is the logical and clear choice. It reminded me how he would tirelessly explain to me the Math problems I had difficulty in solving back in HS.

The month of April and May has been good to us. I feel our ties with Honda PH is even strionger as we further promote their products through our projects at various shows, all the more at the recently concluded Fit Fest and Hot Import Nights. We look forward to the coming months in anticipation of the new Civic. One of our friends, client and an executive from Honda will be grabbing one of the first RS Turbo's here in the Philippines so we're excited to check it out and see the similarities and differences from the older generations specifically the FB and FD chassis. We did our homework too as we have a few items up our sleeve from YS and especially our suspension/springs from Eibach which is now being developed in Germany. We still stay true to our identity, that we serve subcompacts, that and nothing else.  Through the months, we have also put more emphasis on original parts, better suspension systems and wheels. A true testament for the love of the scene. So there you have it, a 10 minute blog from yours truly. Good night. Be good. My headache is killing me.

Selfies and LTO's Ban on cars that have soul.

As I was going for my usual jog, I noticed a group of friends laughing away under the tree at as browse through some old and funny pics maybe of past or present, from their vacation or during one of their classes. Their laughs were of pure joy, careless and sincere, as if their world is isolated from all the grim problems our country has. The lady at the corner, going for a selfie, she was  rapidly taking pictures, of different angles, changing backgrounds, changing themes, including the cars, the trees and the passers by as she tries to provide drama to the pictures she is taking. on my second and 3rd round around the oval, I am a bit surprised that she's still at it. 

I begin to wonder if indeed, some people are really in love with themselves, or are clearly addicted to seeing themselves "apart" from them, seeing themselves in action or in drama via pics or even short and sweet videos on IG and FB. I begin to ponder upon life, that in the end after we live our life and we're done with our careers, riches, aspirations, goals, relationships and everything, we still end up six feet under. NO matter who you are, how rich, famous, beautiful, influential or powerful we will end up in a coffin or in ashes.

Now going back to the selfies, I guess its OK!. Because there is no other person to be in love with, to praise or to take pics on but who else but yourself. That life is too short, too linear, unpredictable and ending for you to try to limit yourself, or trying too be proper or obedient to magazines and online articles on trying to be the "right" person. I'm not saying you should really go for it, but just go ahead and take those selfies at wag ka magalala. Live it lang.

Moving along, well my take on LTO's ban on 15 year old cars? I''ll make it short and this best summarizes it. Our good government and its overly effective branch which is the LTO, is trying to go the easy route of going after the private sector to remedy the traffic in Metro Manila. Why? Because of after years and years of corruption and disorderly policies for the road, licensing and public franchises, it has finally come to this... the roads are clogged up because of too much PUVs on the road, buses not following regulations, traffic stoplights that do not work, roads that undergo yearly renovation as a source of income for the local officials, a very "broken" train system and the lack of interconnecting flyovers as compared to neighboring countries. Once again, pinataw nanaman ng gobyerno ang kanyang kakulangan sa mamayan. That best describes it. 

TAKE NOTE that while LTO is trying to implement this, it still has its share of problems with the card supplies and still hasn't completely settled its debt with company that provided their systems. Ang tindi diba?

Classes and Gatherings..

While Tin and I were having dinner at a resto at BGC, we were talking about how she worked in Germany and how she hated her boss and the Filipina blood in her demanded the amount of respect and compassion we Filipinos are accustomed to. That as much as they work like robots, a part of her wanted to break out. How she had shared the traits of both her dad and dad, both professionals. I was telling her about how Malls have thrived and succeeded in the Philippines and in contrast, Germany didn't have as much malls as we have, but rather had a more vibrant club or bar scene. Well since Germans really are the workcaholics that they are, a remainder of their time will be then left for bars as they tackle some drinks before heading home, we on the other hand, or a vast majority of Filipinos, would rather relax a bit, take a breather, and maybe thats why our malls have taken over the Metros. Like how many malls have met the dark fate of closing down recently? Close to none right. At the back of my mind, I could hear my dad, a patriotic Filipino in every sense of the word say, "Marami rin Pinoy ang di mahilig sa mall, mahilig magtrabaho at nasa oras palagi".

Born of the endless debates maybe I have with him, on how great Filipinos are, how we can still make a comeback and how we realistically need 5 Duterte's, 5 BFs and 5 Gordons, on how Filipinos are so well and good with time, late, slightly late, 1 hour late or the famous on the way (but still not on the way) texts and messages. I do think Filipinos are really that way, or maybe its with the upbringing or training, at school, at work or at home, does our blood have anything to do with it, probably our culture or maybe, education has something to do with it. Well either way, as someone who is always around a wide variety of friends, I can say that one of their problems with our society is indecision and not being on time. That's it, beyond that its all good. 

Driving around as we ended some errands around the Metro, she noticed houses, next to really big houses, mansions next to squatters area. And as usual I would explain that's how our country is built, and a testament of the gap between the rich and the poor in our society. I remember gatherings in Malaysia and Thailand, wherein guys with Skylines would have their cars next to a Jazz or a Civic, or a Supra next to a Brio, an M3 next to a Corolla, the amount, the variety and the non-classification of cars caught my attention. I am therefore impressed, by maybe how they consider everyone as equals, and plainly, hanging out with each other. That this guy can talk freely to this guy. Well forgive me for saying this buy that doesn't happen here, often, there is a classification where the Corolla guys would be at that corner, the Supra boys in the corner, or Silva's at the other, and the Lancers at the other end. Never will you see those guys mingle together, side by side, sharing stories, taking pics. I do believe that its not a fault, but simply, how our society is put together or has evolved through time. That there is huge gap between classes that in even manifests itself on gatherings, what people can afford, what they can drive, where they study and where they hang out with or WHO they hang out with. 

A 5 minute blog by yours truly, have a good and relaxing night everyone. Peace.