Going Paperless

Everyone dreams of a paperless mortgage loan process. 

In a SunStar article last 2010, Margaret Chan, manager of Global 360, a solutions provider, urged companies to phase out paper-based transactions in favor of online automation of their business processes. The article goes on to mention AUB's (Asia United Bank) initiative to automate their loan processes as well.

Although the article hints of some biases in the part of the writer, it does point out an inevitable trend in the banking industry, one that will continue in the coming years.

In a related article from Stewart, a company, eOriginal, had begun pioneering the advent of paperless transactions in mortgage loans. Even the local government had stepped in, initiating and passing special legislation to make paperless transactions possible.

Why am I talking about this? That's because I intend to do the same thing here in the Philippines. Let's just say I'm frustrated with the current loan process that we have now, not only in my company but also with the rest of the banks  that comprise the Philippine banking industry. 

To start, I've decided to make paperless loan transactions my personal pet project. However, I guess there are a lot of factors working against me. I don't have any programming knowledge, so to speak. I don't have much in the way of resources, particularly time and money. I don't have special access to my company's databases for beta testing purposes. 

But I do have knowledge of the loan process (I've been a marketing assistant for almost two years now, for crying out loud). I can name collaborators and programmers who can assist me. I have bosses who can support me if they knew how big an impact this is going to be.

So how do I begin? Well, I'm keeping it small for the meantime. I'm thinking of starting with the development of an application which will integrate once and for all the company's loan management system with its loan documentation process. It's not that complicated, mind you. All I need is a team of dedicated individuals to jump start the whole shebang.

Then afterwards, we proceed to making the entire transaction paperless, including the actual loan mortgage agreement that the government gets. But that's for later.

I'm excited at the prospect, at the challenge. I'm going to make this work.

Praying For Someone

Warning: This isn't a coherent post.

Caroline Myss, a former journalist, wrote in one of her essays, The Collective Soul, the following eye-opening incident. She was having a conversation with two friends, a political chitchat about the controversies surrounding Bill Clinton. Things had began to heat up when Caroline noticed one man, who remained silent, by the side. She asked him for her opinion about the issue, to which the man replied, "I have no right to an opinion because I did not pray for him. Therefore, I owe him an apology. He doesn't owe me one."

Ms. Myss eventually interweaves this story to her most profound insight, that the private negativities of each individual or citizen can determine the quality of the nation's spiritual energy and its leaders' decisions.

Obviously, the man's words bear a kernel of wisdom which rarely manifests itself among us Filipinos. Leaders need our sincere prayers and, when prayers aren't enough, that's the right time we use constructive criticism and decisive action.

In extension, it's not only leaders which need our prayers. I, on the other hand, can take something slightly different from this story.

One of the most subtle changes I've experienced within myself started when I began including other people in my morning prayer. At the start, the usual suspects would come to mind. Mama. Papa. My siblings. I prayed for my family, that we remain whole and well. Then, I included my friends. Then, later on, I included people I just happened to meet. The jeep driver, the passersby, and so on. At the beginning, the inclusion of other people in my prayers was a deliberate interruption to my self-centered petitions. As time went by, the habit began to take shape and it has made me feel less critical about my condition and has granted me a softer heart.

Right now, I'm praying for someone. I'm praying that God will give her a miracle this October. I pray that her estranged father can come home at last.

Conceding

Okay, Nathan, you win.

Remember that contest we started two years ago? You're probably earning a lot more these days as a consultant (which is good actually, because you've got a family to take care of).

But, it's not yet over. I'm going to surpass you later. The one thing I learned about this experiment is that I have to be realistic with my timeline. Clearly, succeeding as an entrepreneur would require more than two years.

And maybe then, when that moment arrives, I'll be teasing you to buy some of my company's stock. Hehe.

Something's Wrong

Something's up with the laptop. I'm not a techie but if the CPU is a 100% utilized for the entire duration of my session, clearly, there's something wrong. Another thing is that I can't play music and surf the internet at the same time (the music suffers).

And what's this svchost? Hmmm...

Falling Out Of Love

Mandarin Tea Garden has fallen out of favor with me. The commercialization is now too much. Whereas, before, you could expect a decent meal by eating at one of their restaurants, now, you're already fortunate if the servings could placate your hunger for the next five minutes.

The problem is that their prices have jacketed up but their portions have shrinked. It is completely understandable if, say, the ingredients they put in their meals have become more costly (hence, a reduction in serving amount is justifiable) but a quick comparison with the competition (*ahem, Dimsum Diner*) claims that this isn't so. Definitely, Mandarin Tea Garden is not giving their clients their money's due, which is sad because that was, I believe, their formula for success then: giving the customer good Chinese food at reasonable prices.

I also am not a fan of Babista's anymore. The prices they tag on their viands are ridiculous. For instance, a regular-sized hotdog, something you can buy in the malls for P12, is being sold at P20. A piece of fried chicken, which can be sold elsewhere at P26 (with rice), is being sold at P30 (with no rice).

Jeesh.

A Basketball Anime

You remember Slamdunk? Or Sakugari? Slamdunk was a TV anime series about a basketball varsity and Sakuragi was its main character. The animation was crude but it was still entertaining to watch Sakuragi, the funny talented wannabe who dreamed of being the best basketball player ever.

I also have a basketball anime series in mind, titled Fastbreak. It centers on a bunch of neighborhood kids who get to participate in a local summer league. There, they get to meet different sorts of teams, ranging from backyard ballers to elite varsity members, yet they ultimately prevail and emerge as champions in the end.

The difference between Slamdunk and Fastbreak will be the level of technical stuff. Whereas, Slamdunk was content in simply portraying rivalries played out in the hardcourt, Fastbreak will feature a dizzying array of basketball knowledge, from well-known plays to conditioning exercises, to coaching styles and philosophies and player profiles, all injected into episodes full of human drama and emotion.

If I get around to actually writing this stuff, then it's going to be wicked.

Just Saying

Be fair.

Understand that bankers are businesspeople just like you. They have to make a profit too. Their job is to get the best return for their bank, while yours is to get the best deal for you. While you may be able to shave an extra quarter of a point off the interest rate occasionally, deals that benefit only one party don't build good relationships. Whatever you do, don't ask banks to bid against each other for the business. If you are going to shop more than one bank, negotiate your best deal on its own merit with each bank and don't make your banker feel like price is the only thing important to you. It's far more important that you focus on structuring loans to fit the cash flow of the properties than to simply focus on getting the best rate. Remember, in real estate, terms are just as important, if not more important, than price.

-Mike Summey and Roger Dawson

The Weekend Millionaire's Secrets to Investing in Real Estate

Just saying (italics mine).

Pili Tree

In her TV show, "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho", there was this segment entitled "Biyaya Ng Dagta" which featured how several provinces in the Philippines have harnessed the saps of its various endemic trees to create economies and jobs for its populace.

One such tree that was mentioned is the Pili tree. In Sorsogon, several farmers have been harvesting the sap of these trees as an export material to be used for facial cream products.

I found this interesting because the segment mentioned that the Philippines virtually has a monopoly for this commodity and to think that, to date, only Sorsogon has an existing economy built around this product only speaks of the potential growth this industry is capable if it were further developed.

Prety neat, huh?

Dowry

Nestor P. Burgos, Jr. got it wrong as well. 

In an Inquirer article, he reported about a tribal chanter who expressed concerns over the misrepresentation of his people's culture in the TV show, Amaya.

He also reported near the end the following: 'The binukot are trained to be adept epic-chanters and dancers, and to play native musical instruments, he said, adding that they command a much higher dowry than most maidens because of these physical attributes and skills'.

It's really a small matter but he confused the word 'dowry' in the paragraph above with 'bride price'. As per Wikipedia, "a dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents".

It's a popular misconception but the fact is this: In the Philippines, there's no such thing as a dowry (That's reserved for other cultures who still treat their women as second-class citizens). 

What we do have instead is the bride price, in which the guy's family gives food and presents to the bride's family as an act of goodwill before the wedding. As for the reason behind this practice, one website articulates it best:

This is because we give high value to the women in our society and giving them away is not easy. When the two families have come to an agreement as to the dowry (or bride price, I hasten to correct), the wedding date is set, a ring is presented to the girl and the couple is said to be betrothed. A small feast is then held with the food brought by the boy's family.

Pinoy Superheroes

Superheroes have gone through a makeover these past few years. In the past, fans wanted to see their superheroes as demigods. Hence, stories about superheroes centered on their extraordinary feats: defeating powerful villains and rescuing countless lives. Now, superheroes are still superheroes but fans have clamored for a 'humanization' of the legends-that-be: a hero who is both possessed with human characteristics and superhuman capabilities. 

Writers have taken heed of this trend by portraying superheroes with more psychological depth. Now, you have superheroes who have more complex personalities and are wrestling with all-too-human dilemmas.

I believe Pinoy superheroes shouldn't be exempt from this trend. I watch as the TV networks produce shows featuring these heroes and what they merely succeed in doing is rehashing the stories found in the comics series of long ago, albeit with new characters and new story twists. Still, there's nothing new, nothing which can excite the mind. 

If one is to do a TV show featuring a prominent Pinoy superhero, one must be prepared to flesh out that hero in a way that character has not been portrayed before. One can add strengths and weaknesses to his or her overall personality or perhaps inject some internal issues that create tension as the series progresses. I state that, far from alienating the masses who watch these shows, such a shift in programming can lead to more Filipino viewers because by then, the story itself would have grown more intelligent and more compelling that even the higher echelons of society can appreciate the distinction.

Carbon Credits

An interesting topic came up in the show, The Bottomline with Boy Abunda.

Boy Abunda was interviewing L-Ray Villafuerte, Camsur's maverick governor. Both were discussing the province's ongoing project, a plan to plant 12 million trees by 2012. Asked about the motive behind this, Villafuerte mentions carbon credits and how it can provide the necessary economic impetus for green projects, such as his province's tree planting movement.

Simply put, carbon credit refer to (as per Wikipedia) "any tradeable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide".

In step with the Kyoto protocol, nations have pledged to lower their overall greenhouse gas emissions after a given time period. In other words, countries have set themselves their own limits as to how much pollution they can spew out without severely compromising their economic development. However, industrialized nations who cannot or will not do so can opt to purchase "carbon credits" from nations who have lowered theirs. This way, they can technically stick to their limits by owning another country's right to foul the air.

That's where Villafuerte steps in. By planting a dozen million trees, he hopes to sell industrialized nations carbon credits, an ingenious way of preserving both the local environment and making preservation efforts sustainable.

I don't know how he will make such a project feasible though (as far as I know, measuring how much carbon dioxide a hectare planted with several certain tree species can absorb isn't an exact science yet). But he has definitely paved the way for how other green initiatives can prosper.

Going Mecha

When I was young, I was a Gundam fan, like any other boy my age. My first taste of mecha anime was with the Gundam Wing series, which, despite its dark themes, was still pretty cool to watch. 

Like the rest, I also tried to draw and copy these robots, which I did quite well. I remember having several trading Gundam cards, cards which were usually sold outside school, and spending hours sketching figures, trying to make the legs and faces of my Gundams look right. 

Early on, I already imagined myself creating a comics series of my own, centered on mecha. I was in college then and I wanted to emulate what the Gundam series did: portray mature themes in a medium that was accessible and entertaining to people of my age group. One particular idea I had was weaving a story based on an alternate reality reflecting the more popular political trends of the period. What came out, after weeks of daydreaming, was a rough synopsis for a mecha graphic novel, titled 'The Adarna Chronicles'.

Looking back, the story I concocted then was pretty naive (What do I expect from a first year college student?). 

It centers on the intertwined lives of five elite pilots of the MAIAS (Mechanized and Armed Infantry Assault Suits. Wow. I can even remember my coined acronyms until now), over-sized robots which have garnered legendary reputations in a Philippines now torn apart by civil war. Various factions, each represented by a MAIA pilot, have conspired to break the country into several states. My main character is a rebel representing the Muslim secessionist movement. Another character, and his love interest, is a UN peacekeeper whose allegiance to peace is tested by her Lumad community's desire for autonomy and her own struggle for identity. The next character is a hotshot lieutenant from the Visayas, who is an icon for the separatist coalition (because of his numerous military exploits) but is secretly harboring doubts about his purpose and mission. The fourth character is the lieutenant's second-in-command, an aspiring soldier from the Cordilleras who grapples with the loss of her innocence as she faces the horrors of the war. Finally, the fifth character is a brilliant ex-general, with a tragic past, who is called upon by Imperial Manila to counter the insurgency threat.

As to whether I'll pursue this idea at all and bring it to reality by making an actual graphic novel, I honestly don't know. Maybe, I'm just too old to meddle with this stuff. Or maybe I'm simply too busy with more pressing matters.