Goals...

The other day in class we were asked to provide specific goals that were to be attained at certain times of our lives. What are my goals when I make my first $15 million dollars? Not necessarily how I was going to get to $15M, but rather what's going on in my life when I do get it. The next question was to describe what my goals are when I make my first $1 billion dollars. The following were my answers to the questions. I'm only listing them right now so that I can look back maybe a few years from now and see if my goals have changed.

The reason for this exercise, as explained by my instructor, was to force ourselves into actually making goals. I always had an idea of what I wanted, but never actually described it to anyone.

The following are my list of goals (let's see how long this lasts):

When I make my first $15 million dollars, I will...
... be in a status where Ferrari will invite me to buy their latest and greatest sports car.. and I will gladly decline the offer.
... I will have homes in the cities of my production company's offices around the world. Los Angeles, NY, Vancouver, London, Tokyo and Manila.
... I will buy an apartment house or condominium building to use as a port of entry for my family who are still in the Philippines. I would like to give my cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives the opportunity to come to Los Angeles and see if they would like to live here or just visit. My parents were given a great chance to stay here in the 70's by my father's uncle who basically gave them a place to stay while my father established himself here. I need to do the same.
... I need to make sure that my parents, brother and sister are well taken care of as far as college tuitions and mortgages are concerned.
... lastly, I want to make sure that I give my wife at least 1 year off from work. It's the least I can do since she has sacrificed this and more for me these past months while I returned to school. During this break from work, we'd want to also begin our family with a first child. After her break, I'd like to open up her own family practice facility. One where she is the boss and makes sure she hires doctors that will appreciate great service to patients rather than looking for the profitable patients.

When I make my first billion dollars I will...
... Begin my empire of amusement parks. A direct competitor to Six Flags, if you will. With my first park opening somewhere in So Cal (as if we didn't have enough of these around)
... I will be sooo financially stable that I would go back to pursuing my first career choice; teaching. I always wanted to be an elementary school teacher but never believed that the school system was ever regarded at a status it deserves. Great teachers are never compensated for what they are truely worth. So at least with a billion dollars.. maybe teaching without pay would make the experience more fulfilling.

Fun with the kids

Easter weekend turned out to be really cool. Spent time with the family and some old friends were able to also come over and bring their kids. We're never too tired of answering the ol' question, "When are you guys gonna have yours?" Actually it's getting kinda fun trying to figure out new answers for the fam.

"Umm... not yet... just practicing." seems like the best answer for now.

School is going really great right now. Just finished a pretty intense boot camp style week long class. "Do or die" type stuff. Actually turned out to be really fun. I'm looking forward to the next couple months. This is where the fun is going to begin. I'm going to start working on real projects that will hopefully expose me to the type of work I would like to eventually end up in. I don't know yet where I would like to end up. But I'm looking forward to having a great time finding out.

Will update later. Here are some pics of the kids from the weekend. God bless!

A night out

As Christmas gifts, my brother gave us tickets to see the Lakers play the Timberwolves last night. We had a great time especially since the Lakers won. It was a very close game.. but in the end we all had a great time. No Kobe since he's injured. But nevertheless it was exciting. I haven't seen a full game this season.. not even on tv. I think the whole trade with Shaq and the restructuirng of the team just turned me away. Besides.. I usually start watching after the All-star game anyway. At least by then.. the team has had a chance to blend and get accustomed to one another. Here are a few pics from the night. It was me, my brother, my dad and a friend.

Cheers!

My new job

Sometimes I miss the ol' office. Maybe not the work so much.. but the people that surrounded me. Going to 'work' sometimes was pretty fun. We got shit done.. and had a good time doing it. I knew though that I did have to make a change in my life because I knew that there was something missing when I did go to work.

In a way I always knew that I would be in the IT field. But the field is so broad that I think even the college I graduated from (CSUN) was sorta confused about the IT realm as well. It's funny... it wasn't until after I graduated they (CSUN) decided to really re-vamp the MIS (Management Information Systems) program and truly "prepare" the students for the business world ahead. I came out of the program as a graduate of the Business school knowing how to create databases. That would have been great if I wanted to create databases. I guess I expected to be able to come out of the school with more technical training. I guess that's what the Computer Science students were learning.

Back to the office... my colleagues were able to teach me everyday. More than what I had learned in classes. We all learned from eachother. That made the one hour (one way) trek through L.A. traffic somewhat bareable... getting paid to learn and teach is/was a cool feeling. I always wish them all well... this includes everyone in the office. But like I said, I knew there was something missing.

If I don't make any sense in the next lines... I'll just blame it on my tiredness (it's 1:30am).

You ask your family, friends or colleagues this question: Are you happy doing what you are doing at work? When I would ask this question I sometimes get an answer that almost sound like a sigh of despair. A feeling of being "stuck" at what they do... and not being happy about doing it. My answer to the question was.. "I want more".

I wanted more because I knew that there was more to it. I wanted more because this was the best time to get more. I am lucky to be in a situation where I have a chance to get more if I wanted it.

I like being able to express myself. This is one big reason why I try to maintain this website... to be able to express myself. I know that without having my friends in the next cubicle or office.. I would end up not saying anything. Keeping these feelings in would probably backfire on me in the end.

I guess you can say that my change in career paths still relate me to IT. Digital editing does have a technical backbone. But my "more" looks a little more clearer now. I don't know why I didn't realize that editing (making movies) was always something I had a passion for. Digital Storyteller... hmmm I guess that's my new title.

Holiday buzz a little different this year

It's kinda funny how things change when $$ is taken out of the picture. This year's holiday season is little different for us this year. Gifts we usually look to buy for our family and friends are a little smaller this year since I have returned to school full-time. We finished our Christmas shopping this week.. and I 'm surprised at how little we had to spend for all the kids (cousins, nephews, nieces). I guess when necessary.. you find a way. What puzzles me now is.. why didn't we do this before?!?

Oh well... cousin Mark.. I hope you enjoy the mints we got from the Denny's down the street. Lil Janelle better like the pens we got her from the dentist office.

Cousin Jane and Mak in Euro land.. we miss you. Happy French holidays!!

Mountain biking in the local hills

Did some riding in Studio City hills. It's funny, it isn't until I actually get out of the car and watch the world from the seat of my bike that I came to this imporant realiziation...


I'm freakin' FAT. Still huffin and puffin.

A New Beginning

Yesterday was my last day as an employee at CB. Although quitting a job is easy to do... it is hard to actually leave behind. After spending close to 3 years there, I became attached to not only my work... but to the people I interacted with everyday. Although I gave notice to my supervisor and management of my departure weeks in advance, I didn't talk about my leaving to many others until my last few days. It wasn't that I didn't care to mention to the friends I've made that I was saying "adios" to CB... it was more about how do you say "goodbye" to great people.

I am now on a new journey. I am going back to school to follow my heart in my passion for movies and filmmaking. Attending Stuntman Training school is going to be a great challenge physically and menta... just kidding (wanted to make sure you were reading). Joking aside, film editing has always been a passion of mine. The only problem was that I didn't know what tools I needed to go professional and how to attain them. I thank my friends at CB for helping me by leading me to the right direction.

One more important person to thank is my loving wife Ieda. Without her.. this dream would have remained a dream and not come true. I love her with all my heart and appreciate the support she has given me on our journey together.

So begins the adventure.. in 2 days classes will commence.. and I am considered a student once again. I just have one question... do I still need a #2 pencil?

August 23rd 2003... The day life actually began for me. Introducing my wife Ieda. She is my soul and my spirit. I can only thank God for blessing me with her grace.