The Montifars

Want to see some genius?

The Montifar's website is the Pin@y Site of the Day for the 22nd of December, in the year of the Pin@y 2007.

Marne Kilates

Sometimes, you get surprised by what the old folks have to say. Marke Kilates is the Pin@y Blog of the Day for the 24th of June in the year of the Pin@y 2007.

I'm Moving

Just like that, my focus will change. It used to be that I wanted to find all the other filipinos out there. i still do. But that is a smaller part of myself now. So I will leave this blog where it is and visit from time to time. New directions require a new blog. If I am to be a multi-millionaire, gotta start bigger. Come see me at my new blog:

Tatangs

Take Responsibility for Your Life

There have been many types of messages that have been sent to me lately. But the ones that resonate the most are about personal responsibility. Be an adult. Take care of business. Take care of yourself, then your family. Be a man. Be a human being. Do not give excuses. Do not lie to yourself. Do not, do not lie to yourself. Be honest. Be truthful. Don't delude yourself.

If only the people that I have met can take these advice, their lives will be better.

A long time ago, I cut off people that I considered friends. One slight, out. One mistake, out. I thought afterwards that my standards were too high. That I was losing friends unnecessarily. But in reality, I had high standards. I wanted to be rich. I wanted a life that was enjoyable. I did not want pain. I don't like suffering. I want laughter, joy, and smiles all around.

Five years ago, I began studying in detail how to achieve these goals. I learned that I was going about it all the right way after all. It's nice for the universe to confirm that you were doing the right thing twenty years later.

Kids

Last week, the SO and I ended up watching the sister's kids. A set of twins and a single. The kids get excited whenever we come. I guess they know the difference between mommy and daddy versus guests. I guess they know they can get away with more things with the guests.

Very cute. Very cute. It's fantastic to see their development. I can understand why other scientists go into child development. To see the children accumulate data and then process it is an amazing thing to behold. Furthermore, the growth rate of advances is logarithmic. The twins have mastered walking and are trying to master talking. I take some videos so that someday, they can see themselves.

It makes me wonder about my family to be. How will I hold up to the crying for food, food, I'm wet, food, food. It will no doubt be an interesting ride.

As I said, teaching at a law school in Silicon Valley has been a challenge. Clearly, some of these would-be lawyers just don't know how much work is to be done. One guy asked if he could now go into trial after my class. Well, he did have 15 years experience as a law clerk.

The gout is still with me. I'm just going to need to eat vegetables. Oh, if you are in the Oakland Area, I suggest MEZZE in Grand Avenue. Delicious food!

I had the Caesar salad, the filet mignon and the chocolate mousse. The SO had tuna tartare, duck breast, and Pear Napoleon. Absolutely lipsmacking awesome.

Rotation of a Bowling Ball

114, 191, 158.

It started off pretty badly tonight. I could not figure out what was going on. I was thankful of getting a 100 score. Then in the second game, I experimented with increasing the rotation on the ball. I kept noticing that people with a lot of rotation did not seem to have a problem with the game. So I joined in the fun.

We actually took 2 games out of 4. The last game, we won by 1 pin. The sister-in-law broke 200+ game. Awesome!

I admit, I like synthesizers

Analyzing the music that I listened to while in college and grad school, I realize that I like the technolike sound. Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure. I never did get into the garage band sound of Seattle and Nirvana. Too much angst even for me. I mean, I like sad, but I prefer happy over sad.

In selecting music for my ipod, I am conscious about how it affects my mood. I want upbeat lyrics. Or upbeat music. I choose to be the master of my life. I choose happiness.

Been speaking with the SO about life and how people make decisions. We break down how other people we know are leading life and we compare how we would do it if placed in the same situation. Certainly, it is not for the weak for there are some situations where the hopelessness can only be cured with a 180 degree change in attitude and dedication.

And so it is with the music. I find I still like a capella. I find that I like easy listening. I find that I like jazz.

Testing the New Blogger

You know, change is part of life. Blogger has switched to a new version. I delayed switching for the longest time, but now, I have made it.

Have been busy teaching the class at the Silicon Valley business school. You will be surprised by the amount of bitching and moaning I am encountering from the students. It's as if they came from high school and don't know any better. One guy complained about the write-up of his proposal for the entrepreneur class that I am teaching. He did not even use complete sentences. Bwahahahhaha!

We went to an a capella concert after not having gone for quite a while. What a magnificent show. The BYU Vocal Point won the Western sub-regional. Last year, they won it all. Pretty good showmanship and effort. My favorite was the Michael Jackson Thriller, complete with dance moves.

Have also completed the ripping of my old CDs. Overall, my taste can stand the test of time. I have a capella CDs from the 1990s, Miles Davis, Beatles White Album, Depeche Mode, Eraseure, Filipina singers and a lot of jazz.

The gout has been acting up. Gotta keep eating the leafy vegetables. It's weird when I buy Ranch 99 vegetables. They actually let the plants grow to flowering.

Marshall's Farm Natural Honey

Going to the San Francisco Wine Festival this past year was a fun event. ONe of the vendors that we saw was Marshall's Farm which sells honey. It was the first time I ever tried blue cheese and honey. EXQUISITE!

Sometimes, You Figure it Out

117, 187, 194

Not bad. I missed the 500 series by 2 pins. I ended up using the Infinite One from Ebonite. In the first game, I tried to bowl from the middle of the lane. That did not work as well as it should have. So, I went instead to bowling from the outside lane. I ended up controlling the ball through 5-11 oclock and 6-12oclock holds.

Peste

My mother used to tell me stories about napepesteng manok. Now I understand just what that meant.

Birthmonth

Another year and another birthmonth has passed. Life has been pretty darned good lately. That might be because I have been trying to control my thoughts and going for endorphins instead of cortisol. You know the drill. Don't wallow in self-pity. Improve yourself 1% each day and pretty soon, you will be a good human being.

On Sunday, we went to a bridal fair to try and get the business going. There were many lessons to be learned.

1. Don't be too shy.
2. You are offering a service. It's okay to talk to them.
3. Don't take photos of bride and groom. They are just not ready for it on a Sunday.

The experience made me think about selling and interacting with people. Photography deals with a lot more of selling yourself more than anything else. It's difficult to change, but you pretty much have to. I have to change. The world has already changed from an income based world to an asset based world.

In some ways, it will be easier to sell myself now as a photographer than if I have to work at the age of 65. I better change my philosophical framework now.

I Was Not Alone

Apparently, there are a lot of nasty, evil people out in the world of the sciences.

I'm still recovering from my experience with two less than worthy individuals during my post-doc years at Cal. I can only hope that justice has beaten them back and that I can find the will to forgive.

Sweet Merlot

The law firm took all of its support staff to the racetrack two weeks ago. It was fun stuff. Although I wish we could have seen the horses up close and personal. The company gave us $2 tickets to bet on horses. I ended up choosing a horse named "Sweet Merlot" because of its wine connection. The horse ended up paying on 11:1 odss. That was pretty good and I ended up with $60.

I could see why gambling on ponies is so addictive. You have this instant of anticipation at the start where everything is possible. In the middle of the race, your body sags from exhaustion because of all the adrenaline that is being pumped through. But at the end, you find yourself again and root, root root for the home team or your chosen pony.

Golden Gate Fields was quite beautiful. Lush greenery set in the middle of the track. I was wondering if they could get an aquatic park going on in the middle of it all. We were placed in the clubhouse where all the swanky people stayed. Some of the mail handlers were even wearing pearls! Talk about a classy snazzy joint. Woohoo!

We might try to go again this Saturday. It's supposed to be dollar a day. Dollar for everything. Entrance, fried chicken, etc, etc.

Argentine Tango

One of the things that I did two years ago was Argentine Tango

Ethanol as a Fuel Alternative

I remember as a child something of the energy crisis at the pumps in the Philippines. I remember the long lines. The interminable long lines. I remember the promise of ethanol as an alternative to gas. They called it gasohol.

Thirty years later, in America, we are still waiting.

While watching the West Wing, I was surprised to hear from the show that ethanol production costs more to produce than actual gasoline. I was intrigued so I did a search. I found The Ethanol Page.

What piqued my interests were the scientific studies.

You decided what is what.

New Year's Resolutions

It has been a while since I have tried implementing into my life a new year's resolution. Partly because of a lack of discipline, I often rebelled against what I set out to do. Talk about destructive tendencies.

This year's top ten goals are:

1. Prosperity in the mind, body, spirit and finances for me and everyone I know. Spread the word that prosperity lies in the mind. Prosperity is a choice.
2. Continue to improve my health by walking in the morning and or evenings.
3. Continue being selective about my food choices. Tasting delicious Pinoy food is on the books. Just don't eat it for seven straight days. Choose leafy vegetables.
4. Continue to bowl with a goal of a clean game. The physical activity does me good and it will allow me to bowl with my father in law.
5. Let go of some of my older clothing. Donate them to the Philippines. It is nice to remember the good times. But, it is even better to create the good times in the present.
6. Become a teacher who changes lives. I began teaching at a law school in Southeastern los Angeles. I hope to affect the lives of my students for the better. I take the plane for the 3 hour class and I come up the same day.
7. Plan for the start of children in our lives.
8. Begin preparing for the next purchase of a house somewhere in Alameda. I already saw the Kapitolyo, the model house where I hope to live someday. It was about 3.4 million. I figure with a side business, maybe we can achieve it in five to ten years.
9. Continue to promote and explore my photography and consulting for college job.
10. Have fun!!!

Pioneers of Philippine Art

Tonight, it was off to the relatives on my father's side for some partying. Before getting there, we went to the Filipino exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. The exhibit was titled Pioneers of Philippine Art.

Twenty five years ago, as I began studying and questioning America my new homeland, I came upon the question of identity. How do I place myself in this new land. I of course wanted to prove that a Filipino was just as good as anyone born in the United States. I thought that I could reach that equality by going to the museum to see all the Filipino things there. But in Los Angeles of the 1980's, there was nothing Filipino being exhibited.

This led me to begin questioning the validity of Philippine achievements. In my young mind, the lack of Philippine representation in the museum showed that the Filipinos were backward and not worthy of anything. Colonial mentality was forged by my very own mind.

It is with great pleasure to say that twenty-five years later, I finally went to a major exhibit in which the subject was Filipinos.

President Hillary Clinton

In the middle of the Clinton Presidency, I saw the possibility of Hillary becoming President.

I believe that John Edwards and Barack Obama should not run. They are young enough to wait for Hillary. Edwards had the unlucky decision of pairing with Kerry, a war veteran who should have pummelled Bush on defense. Obama does not have enough Senate experience. He should not take a VP spot however if he wants to become President someday. He should wait and garner power in the Senate. He still has 20 to 30 years of opportunity. To jump in now would be to take a beating. Align yourself with Hillary.

Barefoot Running

In the Dec 27 Wall Street Journal, the newspaper featured a runner trying to run barefoot in marathons. The runners want to develop a thick sole of epidermis on their feet with the idea of preventing ankle injuries and plantar fasciitis. However, the pain of blisters and the very real threat of feet injuries resulting from infections is something that the runners ignore.

One runner stated that he went bare after other barefoot runners passed him by. HELLO??? Why don't you improve your conditioning? Train in a dry, environment with heat up to 80 degrees. After that, you can run pretty much anywhere. How about training without food? Without hope? Without anything? That is why the African runners do so well. They don't have any other hope and running is their lifeline out of the ghetto that is their current existence.

Some part of me admire the stupidity of the runners in America who want to go barefoot. IF they want to impale their feet to pebbles, gravel, pine needles, and INSECTS and worms, GOD BLESS AMERICA! Americans are free, but it does not guarantee wisdom.

As for me, when I walk around the block, I wear my New Balance shoes. My feet are wide and they demand protection. I grew up with tsinelas. I even had a nail puncture my tsinelas. Forget that running without shoes.