Barack Obama

Barack Obama is my guy!

I first heard Barack Obama when he delivered the keynote address during the last Democratic National Convention. There is no doubt that the only black american in the senate is charismatic and full of energy. I am constantly following his career even if I will never be able to vote for him if ever he is chosen by the Democrats in the 2008 election. Just recently he has been doing a comprehensive media blitz and the results have been fantastic. I just hope that this fellow will not "rush" in his quest to be the first black president of the only remaining superpower in the world.

How I wish I could find a Barack Obama in my native Philippines.

PERSONAL CHOICE

I am in Naga City for the grand opening of The Coffee Beanery, a client for more than three years now. To say that we "disrupted" the way of life of the people here is to understate. We simply did not open a coffee shop but unveiled a new "lifestyle" made evident by a good mix of Naguenos enjoying our coffee brews and concoctions.

It is almost eleven in the evening and I found no reason to retreat to my hotel because the TCB ambience is too encouraging to write a prose about my own "lifestyle". Hot capuccino is indeed a great mind potion.

TO LOVE AND TO WORK. I could almost see Sigmund Freud in my coffee.

Most of us are more prosperous than ever before. We own more. We're able to get terrific deals. Yet the deepest anxieties of this prosperous new age concern aspects of our lives that can't be bought. Many of us worry about the erosion of family, about our own inadequacies as children, spouses, and parents, about sustaining genuine friendships, about the brittleness of our communities, and about the challenge of keeping intact our own integrity.

I guess I need to have a coffee refill, the emotions and ideas are flowing freely but my wi-fi connection is getting weak. I need to post this one first.

Mr Energy

This week, I returned to my pre-InAsia pace finishing two projects in one week. One is a major pictorial for a billboard and the other a web content for a long-time food client. I had a blast shooting for this particular fashion brand because of my highly creative team. We had fun shooting in the fabulous house of my photographer (with the sprawling golf course as background). I had a minor problem because my driver did not show up so I had to drive back to my condo to get the food (it is a practice that I fed the team well by cooking some of my specialties). We started our pictorial at eight in the morning and we packed-up at six in the evening. I will post the photos once they are done. I am sure that you will love them. I am particularly excited and proud for this project because this is the first collaborative work of my immediate team (a new brand consultant I hired last month and a graphic artist who has been with me for about two months).

I guess what drives me to excel in my work is not necessarily the material reward that I get, but the experience of meeting several people who share my passion in marketing and brand management. I will always be full of energy as long as there are marketing challenges to hurdle and strategic goals to achieve. I have high expectations for my group this year and I know that with God's help we will be able to accomplish our target for the year.

Chime

You found reasons to celebrate
even when the chimes are too motionless
to lull me to sleep.

You do not exist.

In a placid terrain of worthy
revellers, where guffaws and flirtations
rule; you seem detached and could
not be aroused even by a striptease.

You do not belong.

Moments of non-acceptance aggravated
by a doomed spirit.
To retreat is to open a can
of repugnant thoughts.
It is better to refrain and just
swallow thin air

I park my destiny.