Gubatnon ConnectionConceive. Believe. Achieve.

This You Tube version of the “Lupang Hinirang” national anthem of the Philippines touched my heart. Once in a while, we need to learn how our country evolved from one generation to another. Even short movie clips like this is enough to open our minds and hearts, how heroes of past and present cost their lives to build a nation named Philippines.

I’ve never thought I could find a Gabi (Gaway) plant at Times Square, here in New York City. Of all the places, it was planted at the center island of the most popular square in the world – with 45 million visiting tourists from around the world every year. I found this plant while I was video recording the Times Square, which is a a favorite place for me. Here, you could be alone, but you’ll never feel alone with thousands of people enjoying the place. Everytime I come to this place, I always ask myself why thousands of people come to this place everyday. The answer, ‘though, need not come from other people, but from my own thoughts: Times Square is the symbol of the “American Dream” every person from other places have always dreamt about. The glittering neon lights, the giant digital billboards, the tall skyscrapers, the Broadway shows, the beeping and honking cars, and the sea of humanity at this small triangle, called “Times Square” is like a world in itself. Only that sadness and negative elements are hidden, tried to be forgotten for a moment. Only fun, happiness, and memories are enjoyed in this place.

You’ll enjoy more of my works at my “blog farm,” links of which are listed below:

1. Around New York City 2. Blackberry Phones & More 3. Success Secrets for Filipinos 4. Filmmaking Hobby With Flip Video 5. What’s on Your Mind? 6. The Geek Senior Next Door 7. The City Never Sleeps 8. Gubatnon Connection 9. Do You Need My Help? 10. Just Call Me, Ian Ryne 11. Experts Write About 12. Mark’s Nokia Blog

“Why are we poor?”  runs a line of an Internet post I’ve read in one of my groups in Yahoo? There’s so many reasons to it, but you could only answer this question based on your own perception.

When I was working as a Fiber Technician, and assigned at Gubat, I’ve met an abaca stripper (parahag-ot abaka) at Barangay Tugawe. This stripper was living in a small hut just the size of his height when he lies inside it. It was from this man how I learned that happiness is not all about money and luxurious things in life. He told me happiness is about contentment. When you’re contented with what you enjoy now, then, you’re happy. So, I asked him what makes him happy actually. He told me, once he’s in the poblacion watching the cockfight at Balag’s cockpit arena on Sundays, then, he’s happy and contented already.

The farmer was single and all alone in his life. That’s what I’ve learned further from him. As I went back home, driving my 100 cc Yamaha motorcycle, I told myself, “Maybe if I’m alone, too, in my life I could just be like him – as happy and as contented as him.” But I’m the eldest in our family, with 10 more brothers and sisters looking upon what I could do to help them. My father was just a lowly-paid government employee, while my mother was just a plain housewife. We’re as poor as self-supporting chickens we locally called “isang-kahig-isang-tuka.” With this situation, I could not be as happy and contented as the abaca stripper.

Going back to the question “Why are we poor?” my answer is actually on how we could afford to say how happy and contented we are in our lives. “Contentment” is the magic work.

Postscript:

Jim Carrie, a comedian actor, wrote on a dummy check $10 Millions issued to his name and placed it on his wallet all the time, to inspire him to get a real check with that amount in the future. When he became a successful comedian actor, he cashed out a real check more than the amount he wrote when he was poor and penniless.

Read more of my blogs at “Negosyong Pangkabuhayan, ATBP.”

Fellow Gubatnon:

I’ve been very busy rewriting my movie script, “Root of Vengeance” lately. But thanks, God, I’ve made it good enough for submission. Actually, resubmission to literary agents, because I tried submitting this script to few agents already. Below is just a logline and synopsis of it. But if you have time, and really curious on how a movie script for Hollywood is written, you could follow this link.

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Title: Root of Vengeance
Author: Jess Guim
Genre: Sci-fi Thriller
Spec Script, 90 pages
WGAE# I47496

Logline:
Father and son venture on designing a super-hacking program which endangers their family and the world going into nuclear war. Now, they’re racing against time to save them and the world.

Synopsis:
Calvin Bailor, big-time programmer, is selling his hacking program to the FBI to save his $10-million worth problem on his consulting business and residential mansion. But Division Chief for Cyber Crimes, Hanz Graven, is interested in getting the program for his personal ambitions. So, he steals the program with the help of his Saudi Arabian secret partner, Sheik Ahmad, arms dealer and terrorist.

The program’s authentication process uses biometrics of Calvin’s eyes. To make Medusa work, he abducts Calvin, his wife (Adelle), and his son (Mark). While boarded in a private jet from New York to Paris, the group tests the program to hack a missile testing center in Japan. The test creates a pandemonium in Japan, and incites North Korean government to launch their own missile, targeting Japan.

Hanz considers the family as tough and dangerous. He chains them like hardcore criminals and terrorists in the jet. Hans orders father and son to remove the biometrics authentication on the program, or they’ll all die.

Mark finds a heavy-duty paper clip taped underneath his notebook. He always has this clip with him, to manually eject his broken DVD player, by inserting the clip’s wire on a pinhole at its front. Calvin unlocks his handcuff and other chains on his belly and feet using the paper clip. He fails to free his wife and son, when the paper clip cuts-off on Adellene’s handcuff.

The jet goes into trouble when a gangster accidentally fires and breaks its window, while he’s trying to stop the escaping family. Sheik Ahmad tries to escape with a parachute on his back, but Calvin shoots him while exchanging fire with him. Hanz gets the bullet-ridden parachute from dead Sheik Ahmad, and escapes the troubled jet. But the torn parachute opens like a blanket, and chokes him.

Calvin thought the tragedy created by Medusa program ended already after the jet crashed at the Atlantic Ocean. But five months later, the twin children of Sheik Ahmad, Abdul and Aisha come to avenge for their father’s death. Abdul explodes Calvin’s mansion using shoulder-type missile, and escapes on expensive limousine car with a backup rescue helicopter following them.

Calvin runs after the escaping car, using the EMS ambulance that’s going to rescue and bring him to hospital. The second fire truck that’s about to go to Calvin’s burning mansion accidentally hits the escaping car in an intersection. Calvin reaches the accident site and identifies the twin as children of Sheik Ahmad through an old French newspaper, “Le Figaro,” in the limousine car. The rescue helicopter picks-up the injured twins at the accident site.

Calvin finds the shoulder-type missile launcher of Abdul inside the car. He loads it with a projectile and fires it to the escaping helicopter – exploding it into pieces. Calvin vows to stop using his hacking program, and never to trust it to anybody else. Calvin receives $10 million reward from the FBI for killing Sheik Ahmad, a wanted terrorist.

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The script is 90 pages in all. So, you really need time to read this spec script. Once you’re done reading it, please send me your own personal criticism on it. You could post your comments here, or you could send them personally to jessguim(@)yahoo(.)com – parenthesis not included.

Again, the main movie script is at http://gubatnon.com/movie_script_the_analyst.html

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Fellow Gubatnon:

This blog’s subscribers had increased a lot since I redesigned this “Gubatnon Connection.” So, from here, I would like to thank you personally for your trust on my writing capabilities. Gubatnon Connection, as you may know, is different from other Gubatnon web sites or Gubatnon social networking in the Internet now. It’s been my objective when I created this blog, that you’ll come here not only for fun but mostly to learn something about doing business in the Internet, secrets of success by the rich and famous, and any postive ideas that could change our lives as Gubatnon.

Writing for blog is a hard work, specially that I have other blog sites to maintain. Aside from “Gubatnon Connection,” I’m managing also a blog site for digital photography in New York City, a web site for overseas Filipino workers, and a new blog about writers. Sometimes, I would even contemplate of closing this blog in favor of my other blog sites with larger subscribers like the bigapplecity.com blog and the overseasfilipinos.com blog with thousands of viewers every month. But I’m a Gubatnon, and I love Gubat. I feel different when I write something for this site. I feel I’m connected to my Kababayans even if I’m here in New York City – the reason why I finally changed it’s head title from “Gubatnon Blogger” to “Gubatnon Connection.”

Fellow, Gubatnon, I urge you to invite other Kababayans to come, subscribe to this blog, and participate in discussions by leaving comments on the posts and pages. Thank you very much.

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Kapwa ko Gubatnon, Diyos marhay na adlaw uli saimo!  An tema san ako blog niyan an manungod sa mga rason kun nano kay kaipuhan mo mag sadire sin personal web site; o kun may negosyo ka, business ecommerce web site.  Daghanon dini sa Internet an puwede niyo kadtuon para mag-bukas sin libre na personal web page o web site.  Nan di mo kaipuhan mag adal web designing kay duon mismo sa kakadtuan mo, mayon na duon sin programa sa web designing – masayunon, maski grade one na nakabasa English, makahimo tulos sini. An sekreto, i-search mo lang sa Google an”free blog,” ”free web,” “free web hosting,” daghanon yuon na puwede mo himuan sin sadiri mo na web site – libre.  Kun medyo maaramunon ka na, saka ka lang mag hanap sin professional web hosting na may bayad.

An Internet pareho sin planeta na mahiwason.  Sadto baga na panahon paurunahan magsakop sin sayo na lugar.  An mga nakasakop sin sayo na lugar, paurunahan magsadire sin mga ingod, kabas-an, kalubihan, o maski nano na klasing propredad.  Komo an Pilipinas sinakop sin mga Kastila, an mga pamilya na may daragkuon niyan na ingod (kalubihan, kabas-an, bakahan, abakahan) mga lahi yuon sin Kastila.  An kagayunan san Internet, kay mahiwason ini, wara limitasyon para masakop. Kaya lang habang maaga, dapat yaa na kamo dini, may sadire man na web site.  Para sa kaawatan, an inlalaban mo dini an imo popularidad kun pirmi may bisita an imo web site.

An web site mau an nagre-representar saimo o sa negosyo mo sa bilog na mundo san Internet.  Mau yuon an imo imahen sa Internet 24 horas an adlaw, maski turog ka.  Sayo ini na paagi para ipakilala mo an saimo persona, negosyo, komunidad, organisasyon,  banwa, o kawsa sa paagi sin web log (pareho sini na inbabasa mo niyan), regular na web page o web site, o photo gallery.

An imo web site mao an imo magiging venue o paagi, kun pano mo ibabalangibog an imo mga kaisipan, ideya, o kawsa.  Dini, puwede mo ibahen an imo mga kaaraman, experiensa, interes sa kapwa mo na parehong may entusiasmo sini na imo kaaraman, eksperiensa, nan interes. An ehemplo sini, an insasabi na discussion board o forum. An guestbook, mao an lugar kun diin nagpo-posting an imo mga bisita manungod sa imo mga artikulo.

An imo web site puwede maging tagpuan san imo mga amigo, ka-klasi, kababayan sa mga haragrayo na lugar.  Diri na nira kaipuhan mamasahe para magtaragpuan kamo, kay dini mismo sa imo web site baga man lang kamo an harampangan, lalo na kun an imo web site may feature para sa chatting.  Puwera lang san dati mo na mga amigo, ka-klasi, o kababayan, dahil sa web site mo magkaka-mayon ka sin mga bago na amigo o cyber barkada.

Kun ikaw paralitiko, o limitado an kusog para mag luwas nan maki-esturyahan, an web site mo an magiging pintuan mo sa bagong mundo na puwede ka mag komunikar sa mga tawong diri mo kaya abuton. Puwede mo pa ngani ini gamiton na lugar para mag-bukas sin negosyo na diri mo kaya himuon dahil san imo limitasyon mag hiwag dahil san imo kapansanan.

An web site o Internet sayo na necesidad na kaipuhan nato kupkupon na mga Gubatnon, para umasenso kita.  Ayaw niyo pag turugturugi an nagdadalagan na teknolohiya, kun gusto niyo mag asenso personal, o mag asenso an ato banwaan san Gubat.

Pasensiya na tabi kamo kun dini sa premero ko na mga postings, an mababasa niyo puro manunungod sa ako nan sa mga nahimuan ko na. An rason, kun baga sa libro, dapat mag-establisar nguna an publisher na ini na author sini na libro maaram san kanya insurat sa libro. Sa dahilan na ako an publisher nan author sini na Gubatnon Blog, ako na mismo an ma-surat san manungod sa ako.

Sa diri pa maaram sa ako, an ako pamilya (ama, ina, mga kamanghod) naka-estar niyan sa Gubat.  An iba ko na mga kamanghod may asawa na. Kaya may naka-estar sa Bulan, Magallanes, Sorsogon, nan Manila. Salamat sa Diyos kay buhay pa an ako ama nan ina. An ako ama an breadwinner sa amo na 11 na magkaramanghod.  Plano niya sadto mag-tindog sin team sa basketbol.  Sayang, nakuwaan si Mama sa ika-11 niya na pag-anak, kaya wara kabilog an 12 na team members sin basketbol.

Nag-eskuwela ako sa elementarya san Gubat Central School, sa high school san Gubat National High School, nan kolehiyo san Bicol University. Gusto ko lang makatapos sin kolehiyo, ke sa mag-estambay san deri na-utob ni Erpat an paadalon ako abugasya kay daghanon na kami na inpapakaon niya sa saday na sweldo sa pag-trabaho sadto sa Court of First Instance (CFI).  Wara man kami kalubihan o kabas-an sin paray na makadagdag sa pagbuhay san pamilya, kaya didto ako tunapos sa kolehiyo san Bicol University College of Agriculture sa Guinobatan, Albay. An dumdom ko, nubenta pesos (P90.00) lang sadto an tuition fee kada semester.

Nag-tapos ako Masteral in Public Administration (MPA) san makusog pa an Annunciation College sa Sorsogon.  So, sa diploma ko an an ngaran san eskuwelahan Annunciation Graduate School. Sabado nan Domingo lang an eskuwela namo dini. Nagporbar ako magtapos Doctorate (PhD) sa University of Saint Anthony sa Iriga City. Pero, sayo lang na semestre an natapos ko kay prioridad ko na an ako pamilya na gastusan san saday ko na suweldo sa gobyerno.

Minsan deri ta kaipuhan sa mga mamahalon na eskuwelahan para maka-kuwa sin trabaho na mayad sa futuro.  Deri ta man kaipuhan an halangkaw na inadalan para makakuwa sin halangkaw na puwesto sa trabaho.  An importante sa panahon niyan an kuwarta na kaipuhan nato sa uruadlaw na pantustos sa ato pamilya.  Kaya maiimod nato na maski an mga doktor sa Pilipinas nakanhi sa Amerika para maging Nurse na lang.  An mga maestra nato, nakaradto sa Hongkong para maging domestic helper na lang.

An problema sa ato kultura kay grabe an hinguha nato makatapos mag-adal, para maka-kuwa sin mayad na trabaho, na mahatag sa ato sin dako na suweldo sa ato pag-buhay.  Kaya daghanon sa ato niyan an may inadalan o tunapos sin kolehiyo na wara man trabaho. Dapat saday pa kita an dapat itukdo sa ato kun pan-o an magka-igwa sin kuwarta na dako sa sadire na entrepreneural skills (pag-negosyo) o sadire na artistic skills (pag-artista, singer, boxing, writer, etc.).  Deri niyo napapansin, mga bata pa niyan na artista an mga milyunaryo sa Pilipinas, maging dini sa Amerika – deri man nagtarapos sa kolehiyo.  Kaya kun ako sa iyo, kun bata pa kamo ma-o ini  (entertainment world) an iyo asikasuhon na masulodan. O kun may mga bata na kamo, ma-u ini an dapat niyo i-usong saiyo mga kabataan.  An entertainment world deri yuon nagbabagsak maski na nano na klasing sitwasyon sin ekonomiya sin nasyon – bagsak o progresibo. Kun bagsak an ekonomiya mas daghan na tawo an nag-e-entertain (para limuton an problema) sa mga sinihan sa mga sadiri na TV sa balay. Kaya, mas kaipuhan an mga artista, singer, entertainers, camera men, o iba pang empleyado na kaipuhan sa TV, pelikula, o theaterical show sa panahon sin economic depression. Sa panahon man na progresibo an ekonomiya, mas lalong daghan an nagpapasiram-siram na mga tawo kay may kuwarta.

Kun deri kaya an entertainment world, padakuon nato an bata sa mga ideya sa pag-negosyo o entrepreneural skills. An mga milyunaryo sa Amerika pareho nira Bill Gates, nan si Dell na tagsadire san Dell Corporation, an eristuryahan o motibasyon san mga magurang nira kun sira harampang sa balay an manungod sa negosyo, sa stock market.  Baliktad san inhihimo san mga Pinoy na magurang sa kabataan inhihikayat an mga bata maghinguha mag-adal sa elementarya nan high school para pag-college magkuwa sin abugasya, nursing, engineering.  Halabaon na proceso, para maka-kuwa sin kuwarta. Milyun-milyon na Pilipino an may parareho na isip sini.  Kaya milyun-milyon niyan an tapos sa kolehiyo, wara man trabaho.  Samantalang an bata pa dini na Amerikano milyunaryo na, deri man nag-tapos sa kolehiyo.

Sampula niyo si Manny Pacquiao, deri man yuon nag-tapos sa kolehiyo. Pero, multi-million dollar millionnaire – deri kay multi-peso-millionnaire, kundi dolyares an kuwarta suon niyan.  An pinaghalian san kaniya milyones dahil sa boxing skills, pero sa entertainment world an hinalian san mga kuwarta niya.  May tagsideri ngani sin web site na deri pa nagtapos sa elementarya, milyunaryo na man. Si Wowowee Willie Revillane, drummer, wara tinapos na kolehiyo 7 an mamahalon na kotse, may sadire pa na yate (yacht). Entertainment an skills niya.

Sampulo ako na taon nag trabaho sa gobyerno sa Pilipinas, nag-tapos master’s degree pa. Pero, baon ako sa utang. Hininguha ko na maging Regional Director san amo upisina sa danon sadto ni Governor Frivaldo (nan sa kagustuhan mismo niya na ako an mag-kapot sini na puwesto kay an may pinaka-daghan na may abaka sa Pilipinas an Sorsogon).  Wara pag-raynar. San pinurbaran ko mag-negosyo (again, nag-batog sa kapital na P500.00), sa sulod sin tulo na taon nabayadan ko an ako utang na house and lot sa GSIS, nakabakal ako sin ikaduwa na balay, nakabakal pa ako sin ingod sa Sorsogon na plano ko tindugan sin mas dako pa na balay.

Daghanon an paagi sin pag-asenso sa buhay.  An pinaka popular na paagi an maging corrupt o kurakot sa gobyerno, para magka-kuwarta.  Kun kirita nag-isip sa batog na kaya ta mag-asenso sa paagi sin sadiri na entrepreneural skills o artistic skills, maasenso kita. Maasenso an Pilipinas sa mayad na paagi.