The Fun Balance

Work life balance is a state we professionals want to achieve.  A topic we often come across in trainings provided by our company.  It is mistaken to be too ideal instead of an attainable goal.  It will not make you superhuman once achieved but it rather requires our out most discipline and time management to maintain it.

When I thought of it further, it would be great if I can share things that I’ve learned during the course of my career.   Then, I wondered if I’m credible to provide these insights.  I asked myself if 8 years of working as an IT professional is enough to gain wisdom and impart it to those who are just starting in their careers and to those who I look up to and are ahead of me.  In reality it is not, but I believe I have bumped into one or two things that helped me achieve a sense of work and life balance.

The picture above describes what work life balance is, which is all about having fun. As I watched this man and his group of friends take turns on going through their mini-obstacle, I realized that this is somewhat similar to our lives.  Life is full obstacles no doubt and this does not deviate from the obstacles we face in our life at work.

Oftentimes we are presented with daunting tasks and we stress ourselves thinking that it is too much. We forget what brought us through during those sleepless nights in college, why we chose our fi eld of expertise and what we used to be when we had a burning desire to prove ourselves at work.

Delight is often forgotten when we are consumed by things in our life. Work will not be tiresome if we delight on what we do. Dragging ourselves out of bed and coming early in the office will not be a problem if we find something delightful to look forward in our work.  One can ask: how can I fuel myself to enjoy things at work? I say to you that there are lots of things in the office that you can have joy with.  It can be your coworker that you have fun talking and working with.  It can be your boss that shares with and mentors you.  It can be new things you learn. A nifty way of doing
a C# code, a satisfi ed customer, a fast and accurate fulfilment of a customer concern, an involvement in improving your team’s process, a simple tap on the back by a colleague saying you are doing good job.

These are just things that we can enumerate and use to satisfy our thirst for joy in work.  I would like to end by saying that in whatever you do, put your heart into it.  It really makes a difference if there is happiness, love and passion in what you do. It sustains and affects the people around you. It reflects in your whole being and you’ll learn to appreciate the beauty of life.

Earth Hour 2012

Every year we participate in Earth Hour.  We got home just in time for the event while I was so excited to unwrap our new gadget.  But, I opted to wait patiently and give something back to Mother Earth.  I hope everyone took this opportunity to do the same. :)

Chinese New Year at Binondo Manila

My visit at the oldest Chinatown in the world were celebrated with a lot firsts.  It was my first time at Binondo, the first mini photowalk of our company's photography club and my first time to experience the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

We started our trek at the Ongpin friendship arc near the Carriedo fountain.  As we entered the arc, the sidewalks were filled with vendors selling fruits, little Chinese ornaments, jewelries, hopia, tikoy and so much more.  I told myself that the place was promising and it looks exactly the way I have it on my mind.

We continued our trek inside the Ongpin street and stopped every time we got curious on the items sold by the street vendors.   Until, we heard a loud drumbeat.  We paused for a while and look at each other.  In our eyes you will see that everyone knew that the sound was the signal of a dragon dance performance.  So we hastened our walk and followed the beat. As we approached the show the drumbeats got louder and louder and it was in T. Alonzo that we stopped and saw the dragon dance performers.

We gathered our selves and took our spots were we can have good angles of the show.   The spectators pile up anticipating and watching as if it was the first dragon dance of the morning.

The performance ended with a long and loud sound of fire crackers with dragons dancing and running all over the street.   It was a great start of our adventure, we already saw a dragon dance and we haven't finish walking the long Ongpin street yet.

So, we walked up until the end of the street and saw a lot of the stores that made famous the "Binondo Food Stop".  We continued taking pictures at vendors and stopping at famous stores in Chinatown.  We also stopped on every drumbeat and every firecracker we heard.

It was nearing noon when we decided to take our lunch.  We went to T. Pinpin street to look for the famous New Toho Food Center (one of the oldest restaurants in Metro Manila).   I used the GPS built in my phone and we were able to find the resto.  We immediately picked our orders and we ate yang chow fried rice, beef with broccoli, chop suey and Toho's famous pork asado like hunters. :)

We culminated our adventure by taking a photo with a dragon and buying at the best-selling shanghai fried siopao.

Overall, it was a very fun experience for me and my wife.  We've meet new friends and we were able to enjoy the festivities and good food!   I can't wait to go back to Binondo next year for another Chinese New Year experience or better yet explore the different restaurants here even if it is not a new year's celebration.