Tuesday, October 14, 2008

why rent?

lately, i kept on ranting to dabo* and kuya joms how i hated going to work. dabo's usual reply and famous line would always be, "work pays the rent."
then just tonight, i remembered this commercial from the national housing authority, where a woman asked her husband, who was furious with their landlady because of frequent house rent increase,"habambuhay na lang ba tayong mangungupahan?"
although, i am not really a strong believer of the government's endless promises and hypnotic junks, the question moved me in a way.
i remembered a period in my life, where i was so hooked into this business-oriented show in rpn 9, go negosyo, where i would literally wake up before the show begins. sometimes its even out of will. the obssession was not only because of its charming hosts nor the fact that its not favorable to sleep under a hot manila afternoon, but also because the show is really engaging and inspiring.
they have this one episode that i will never forget, where they interviewed a successful filipino entrepreneur (i forgot the name though). the man said that one reason why there are only a number of successful businessmen in the country is because filipinos are "culturally not risk takers". they are more comfortable being employees. since being one, would only require them to work their asses and then just expect their salary every 15th and 30th day of the month. in a way, what he said is actually true and has a point. i thought, probably the riskiest and most common thing that most filipino venture, is opening up a sari-sari store.
for most of us, we are scared of failures and even more afraid with the idea that we may not be able to stand in our feet anymore once we fall, atleast financially.
i would not deny the fact that i am one of them. honestly, i would probably be one of the most unconfident person that you'll ever meet. but please don't give me your alms--- yet.
i eat, drink, and live with "constructive" criticisms all my life, that i already forgot how to accept compliments. this eventually reared me, unconsciously, to be a perfectionist, as much as i want to deny it. i do appreciate the things that i have done. but by the time i would compare it to another person's work, that is the time that i am bombarding myself with the mistakes and flaws. then insecurities will just follow.
a year ago, a friend manage to see the compilation of my art works and liked it.
then she asked, "are you selling your pieces?"
i said "no."
she asked, "why?"
i told her, "would you sell a piece of your memory that already became a piece of yourself?"
she didn't answer my question. but told me that her fiance's family business is into art exhibits. she offered me a venue and equipments for free. but i didn't answer her (as well).
now, burnt out of the things i do at work, i am already considering the invitation. i realized that i need to stop being sentimental about things of my past and begin creating new ones from the things that is ahead of me.


*i don't know why i don't call him kuya? baka kasi offending saka compliment sa kanya yun. since he's older than kuya joms... HAHAHA! its back, DABO, ITS BACK!!!

30 comments:

Joaqui said...

Go for it!

Good luck with this venture! :)

lucas said...

i have seen your compilations and i think your very good at it :) i really hope that you'd go for it :)

Will Shady said...

Nice. Do what you gotta do.

gillboard said...

There are no problems taking risks, kung wala namang mawawala sayo (except for your art works)

Anonymous said...

"being sentimental about things of my past... "

this is probably one of the reasons why we, Filipinos, aren't really risk-takers.

because transendance dictates it unconciously...

our government let us witnessed all pains of failure for taking risks (but because they made us think they ARE indeed taking risks when in fact, they are merely billobying)



me and my anti-government syndrome. it's just me, sorry ;)

Dabo said...

GAGOH! WALA KANG MAKUKUHANG PROMOTION SA AKING BLOG!


HAHAHA!

Julienne said...

"filipinos are "culturally not risk takers". they are more comfortable being employees"

so true! i noticed this on my first job..there was so much negative energy, yet they don't do anything about it. nakakapanghinayang, kaya ayun umalis agad ako..

dominic said...

yup, mahirap talaga pakawalan ang mga bagay na bahagi na ng buhay mo. pero try mo lang. your work is good. ;)

Mel said...

i think filipinos in the urban aeas are mostly pessimists, kaya walang masyadong nagsusugal sa business, kasi ine-expect nila na malulugi agad o magagancho lang

swabe an gmga artworks mo, penge isa, lolz, apir!

A.Dimaano said...

You have a great compilation. I like them. Pointilism ang style mo right? In the league of Georges-Pierre Seurat =)

Talented guy indeed =)

Anonymous said...

wow! artist ka pala.

thanks for leaving a comment in my page. tama, marami talaga s amga pinoy ang hindi risk-takers.

nice post!

Denis said...

make it good brother

Anonymous said...

Totoo naman. Halos walang yumayaman sa pagiging empleyado lang.

And one thing I see in Filipinos are the culture of renting. Some rental fees are so high I don't know what logic these lessees have. When you rent, you only get your clothes and stuff when you get out. When you buy a house on loan, you actually own the house after a few years. Why not buy one if you are spending 20k per month on rent?

Niel said...

ay talaga? masmatanda si kuya dabo kay kuya joms?

Hehehe

N said...

kuya ewik, seasons of love. :)

dak/james said...

a little detachment from your artsies? pwede...

na-imagine ko lng... for a starter, pwede ang sari-sari store along katipunan. hahaha...

or maybe you should find a more fulfilling job, cos it sounds like you aren't with your current job.

stir your career! then let's toast!

odin hood said...

pa-reserve ako sa "been there done that" hehe

jamie da vinci! said...

wow... i love your art work.

- compliments from a fellow wanderer.

. said...

Kita mo nga ako ni mag-publish ng book o kaya naman eh maglagay ng ads sa blog ko (kahit nakakaramdam ako ng malaking volume ng traffic) eh hindi ko magawa.

Somehow, I'm tired of taking risks. You know why? I hope to blog about it sometime in the future.

Neil: Mas matanda sa akin si Dabo. Ewan bakit mas kinukuya ako ni Ewwwik saka Odin.

rainboy said...

lovely work man...
best of wishes

Ely said...

I think, you should sell your art works. They're good. besides walang mag-oofer kung ndi OK.

Dabo said...

@ EWIK LOKO KA TALAGA.. HOY YUNG PANGAKONG ILILIBRE MO AKO SA ITALIANIS HA..HEHE


@neil: yup im older than Joms.. im 27

@joms: mainam na yan kesa, uncle.. ikaw din

Unknown said...

Man, I think your work looks really good! And you know you have to take the risk and see where it leads you. No matter what the outcome is, it's really how you handle it.

It's ok to kinda compare your work with the others, but I hope that you see the greatness in you and your work instead of feeling insecure. Dont think less of yourself or your work. If you love what you do, then take the risk :) Risk doing the right thing! Obviously, you got some mad skills there, man!

Remember what Gandalf of Lord of the Rings once said:

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

:)

Good luck to you,
~kinesics

Turismoboi said...

i hope u find happiness bec it seems di ka happy na sa work mo

hay!

escape said...

astig! gawa ka pa ng marami yung ibebenta mo talaga. astig offer nya.

Boying Opaw said...

kuya ewik, uhm. hahahahaha.

huyy! diba sabi ko sa iyo adik iyong mga gawa mo. kala mo kasi bolahan lahat. waaaaah.

Bryan Anthony the First said...

i also believe that domestic investments will solve philippines' economic worries

go negosyo!

woof

KRIS JASPER said...

I still think Pinoys are risk takers, look at how many OFWs exit RP everyday...

and those artworks. Man, you have a talent that most of us could only dream of.

A.Dimaano said...

Oh no! Are they handrawn?! Galeeeeng! I thought they were camera shots. Hahahaha =)

Anonymous said...

"would you sell a piece of your memory that already became a piece of yourself?"

OO NAMAN! haha.

Kaya GO lang! Dali!

Seriously, go for it.