Wake Up Call for OFWs

Last June 16, I've read an article from the arabnews.com which is entitled, "Imagine a world without Filipinos". While reading the article, I was so amazed on the words the writer used to describe the attitude of my fellow Filipino workers. The sentence, "They are known for their professionalism and the quality of their work.", made me realized so many things.

If Filipinos are considered good workers in other countries, why is it that Philippines is still a poor country where in fact there are 80 million more Filipinos there? Does this tells us that people running the Philippine government are non-professionals that they failed to uplift the lives of the Filipinos?

If OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) are really considered as heroes, why is it that OFWs are so afraid in facing those thieves in the Philippines? Stop this illusion. I am an OFW and we are not heroes. We just work abroad for our families and not for our country. So we are not heroes at all. That's it.

The arabnews.com's article is a wake up call for OFWs to realize that we, Filipinos, have the ability to clean the Philippines and improve our lives. We don't want to be forever exploited by many countries. We have to do something so we can go home and serve our countrymen. Let's prove to the world that we can change our country and Filipino image.

The World Needs Obama

November 2008 US election is just five months away and people around the globe are excited to know who will be the next most powerful man in the world. Although non-US citizens do not have the power to choose, they are still concerned of the result of the election since the world is being controlled by the US.

But if I have to choose between Obama and McCain to become the new US president, I would definitely choose Obama simply because I don't like war. Republicans are now known to be pro-war as what the Bush family has shown to the world. They failed to address the very essential need of the people of Iraq and the rest of the world which is PEACE.

Now, it's time for a change for the betterment of mankind. This change can only be realized if the Americans will elect Obama. I go for Obama because I believe that the world needs Obama.

SEO and Google Ranking

After one month of doing some changes to my website, roydomingo.com's ranking, for the search of "filipino engineer" in google, made a significant improvement from number 6 to number 2. One more to go before reaching the top spot.



This achievement implies that my skills in SEO for Google is improving. SEO means Search Engine Optimization. It's a process or technique on making the website's link appear on the first page of the search engine's result for a particular search of word or phrases.

Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN are the most engines that you have to consider in SEO. They help in increasing the traffic of the websites and thereby increase revenue of the site's business.

But what are the SEO techniques of making your website appear on the first page of Google's search result? Ahmmm.. secret. I can't share it to protect my job and especially the ranking of my sites.

Anyway, my next SEO goal is for the search, "filipino web developer". Let's see the result next month.

My Dream June Brides

It's June already and many students in the Philippines are now preparing for the start of the new academic year. It's also the start of the rainy season and Filipinos, especially those in Visayas and Luzon, are starting to renovate their houses.

But let's not forget that the month of June is also considered to be the peak season for wedding ceremonies. It's usually the women who decide to have the wedding in this month and they will then be called June brides.

If I will be asked to marry someone this month and choose a celebrity as my June bride, I'll surely be having a hard time choosing from my top 5 June brides.

#5. Thalia.

She's a sexy mexican singer and actress. I first saw her in Marimar, a number 1 telenovela TV series in the Philippines way back 1996. She's so beautiful and sexy that I consider her to be my ultimate crush when I was in college.




#4. Kyoko Fukada.

A famous commercial model in Japan. Her angelic face and smile, in a big print Ads poster at Narita's arrival area, caught my attention while waiting for my baggages. Because I was so crazy about her, during my stay in Japan, her pictures were all over the walls of my room.




#3. Nadine Samonte.

A beautiful filipina actress and model. She's my bet during the StarStruck days. Her simple beauty is an assurance that I will not be bored staring at her.







#2. Shakira.

An international singer and dancer. The way she sings and dances makes me attracted to her. I even saved her concert videos in my iPhone so I can watch her anytime, anywhere. Her talent, body, and beauty will surely make me a possessive husband.




#1. Song Hye Kyo.

A Korean lovable actress in the teledrama, Endless Love (Autumn In My Heart) . She's my number one dream girl. Her face makes me think of my ideal wife. Her lips and eyes are so irresistible. And her beauty is an assurance that I will be a faithful husband. =)

The Dead Sea

I am a frustrated showbiz person. So, I made my own first video and launched it in YouTube. I hope my video will inspire people to visit Jordan and experience floating at the Dead Sea.

Beware of Fake Doctors!

Having a title of an Engineer is an honor that I got from finishing a 5-year engineering course and passing the engineering licensure exam. And being one of the top 20 passers of the 3,000 examinees is considered one of my achievements that I should be proud of since I studied hard to get it.

Any name titles such as doctors (be it MD or PhD) should also be given to those people who really have finished the required courses, passed licensure exams, and have the right knowledge and expertise to practice such titles. It's so sad nowadays, that there are some people who falsified their diplomas/certificates just to have the title of a doctor and fool others. These fake doctors will certainly cause irrepairable damages to others.

A fake medical doctor will make a wrong diagnose of the patients' sickness and thereby give wrong prescriptions of the medicines which will lead to worsening of the patients' condition and perhaps will result to death -- an irrepairable damage to the victims.

A fake PhD holder professor will give wrong knowledge to the students which will infiltrate stupidity to the students' mind. In effect, the students will have a hard time getting a job and will look stupid to the hiring companies. These fake professors causes the life of the students miserable -- another irrepairable damage to others' lives.

These fake medical doctors and fake PhD holder professors should be stopped and be treated like criminals since they make people's life miserable.

There are ways how to check fake medical doctors and fake PhD holder professors. The most effective one is to check their names in the website of the school or company where they have claimed to have graduated or worked before. You can also search for their publications in the internet. If you can't find their names, then you are sure that those people are FAKE.

So if you don't want to look stupid, then don't be a victim of these fake people.

I am Googleable!

I am into e-commerce and I tend to follow the fengshui thing just like most chinese businessmen do. There are several methods in practicing fengshui and one of them is about using lucky numbers. The numbers 8, 18, and 28 are considered lucky days in the calendar. So whenever I do business or special activities, I would consider those calendar dates.

Today is May 8. So, it's a lucky day. And I've decided to check the google ranking of my personal website, http://www.roydomingo.com/, and see if there's an improvement. I typed "roy domingo" in the google search and my ranking remained number 1. This rank is the most important thing since there are a lot of Roy Domingo in the world.

The next thing I typed in the google search is "filipino engineer". To my surprise I am now number 6 in the ranking. Wow! That's really a milestone for my website and a sign of improvement of my skills in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I am now googleable!

OFWs are not yet heroes

Today is labor day in the Philippines and I would like to write something about Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). As an OFW, I have felt what is to work far from home. Loneliness, homesickness, cultural adjustments, and sacrifices are just some of the daily emotional feelings of an OFW is facing. To stay long in work, one should be immune to those feelings. Afterall, at the end of the month, there's money to send home in the Philippines. And that's what matter most to OFWs.


But are OFWs really heroes or "bagong bayani"? Is giving remittances be considered heroic act? I strongly disagree. Heroes are people who made significant events that uplift the lives of the people and the country to the next level.

Years of giving remittances change nothing to the situation in the Philippines. It's still the same. Most of the Filipinos are still poor and corruption in the government becomes a hobby.

OFWs still need to discover its power -- the power far greater than EDSA I or II. The birth of this power will only begin if the OFWs will be united and impose the "No Improvements No Remittances" policy to the government. This powerful policy will pressure the people in the government to minimize corruption and thereby create better services, which, in the end, will uplift the lives of the Filipinos. Thus, to exercise this power is a clear heroic act and failure to realize this power will remain OFWs as the not yet heroes.

Am a Gokongwei Fan

I never thought in my life that I would be into e-commerce. It's the kind of business that I can afford to start up and would love to do. As a young businessman, I need someone to look up to. Someone who's good in business and has a vision of helping the nation. It's rarely to find someone in the Philippines with those traits. But still, I was able to find one. That is in the person of John L. Gokongwei, Jr.. He's a successful businessman in the Philippines and the most admired one.

The first time I heard about him was when I was in college. I've known him only as the owner of Robinson's Place in Cebu, Philippines. And I never bothered to know more about him since I was an engineering student and I was so allergic to business terminologies.

It was in 2002, when I was teaching engineering at Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), that I heard his name again. That's because he donated a multi-million peso building for Ateneo's school of management, which was then named John Gokongwei School of Management. At first, I thought he's one of the Ateneo Alumni. But he's not. He's a just generous man with an Atenean blood -- truly, a man for others.

I have read one of his speeches about his life and how he started some businesses that make services affordable to customers. Companies like Cebu Pacific Air and Sun Cellular are just examples of his successful companies that give great services to Filipinos at very affordable price. And that is what I want my business to achieve.

The story of his success made me realize that business is not just about profit. It's also helping the customers save money and make their lives easier.

I know that I still have a lot of things to learn about businesses. But to be inspired by my idol John L. Gokonwei, Jr., I am assured that I am taking my business to the right road of success.

Being Single

I've already passed half of the average human life span and I am still single. Well, it's a choice and I am not in a hurry to get married and have kids.

There are advantages and disadvantages when you are single. I would like to enumerate just 3 for each of them. Let me start with disadvantages.

Disadvantages:
1. Employed singles have to pay more when it comes to income tax.
2. When you reach retirement age, you need a private nurse.
3. If your age is above 30 and you are still single, some will think that you are afraid to commit, hate children, like to be with different partners, or think that you are gay or lesbian.

Advantages:
1. Some companies would prefer to hire singles to save on benefits.
2. No need to worry if money is not enough.
3. You can buy what you want and go anyhere you like.

Well, whatever be one's status, be it married or single, the important thing is the person is happy and we should be happy for that person. As of now, I am happy as a bachelor but I am looking forward to have a family of my own this year.

Age vs Appearance

Today, I can't anymore see my age in the calendar. Now, I am beginning to get conscious of my age.

I tried to look at my face in the mirror this morning and I realized that I gained a lot. So, instead of celebrating my birthday, I went to the school stadium and make 10 rounds of jogging. I need to keep myself fit to defeat age. That was what I was thinking while running.

Just like some showbiz personalities, they go to the gym everyday to maintain their appearance as young as possible. Some even go to plastic surgeons to help them get rid of those wrinkles. But that's expected of them.

I came to realize, after eating my dinner, that the counting of my age can't be stopped. However, I can do something to make my appearance younger than my age. Doing daily exercises and eating the right food would certainly aid me in keeping myself look young. And I should not forget to thank God for another birthday.

Ow, I need to do some push-ups. Hehehe.