This carinderia has no name only “Bulaluhan” - which they serve more than bulalo but all sorts of ‘totoong’ lutong bahay dish. They have seafood, vegetable & the best cooked rice for a carinderia!

Nothing can entice you with an authentic offer of dish - like a Bulalo!

What made it exceptional from all the other carinderias I mentioned in parts 1 and 2 of this blog title?

1. Their service is very personal. Sometimes it goes beyond the usual business relationship. But come to think of it, when it comes to food it is always personal. Joel, the cook, is more often ready to welcome me with a very provincial smile & stories. Jasmine, the server, welcomes me with the recent neighborhood scoop!

2. They knew my gastronomic preferences already. Even before I give my order, they are ready with what I wanted for the day. If there is ginatang langka or fish, I don’t have to say my order, it will be ready in an instant.

3. For a carinderia they are particular with cleanliness. Their place is not fancy but I know that they know sanitation.

4. Their location is accessible – on the corner of 2 busy streets (Vito Cruz & Taft). It can be located easily. Even if their place is very small they are with other carinderias so they can really be a 2nd choice if all the others are busy with customers, which eventually if you will experience their service, they will be your 1st choice. They started as one of my alternatives only!

5. Lastly, they are sticking for what they are – they are expert in their name as ‘Bulaluhan’ and add on the best lutong bahay dishes, that can compete with a mother’s preparation!

Insights: To be well accepted & authentically preferred by other people be it in your neighborhood, workplace or other communities be…

• …also authentically personal in your dealing with other people.
• …be the person that is pleasing both in your body and personality.
• …be available to people.
• …stick to what God would like you to become and develop it to be the best you can be!

Carlo & his fiancee, soon both of them will be promoted from being single to being married!

While browsing over the net my eyes were caught by a blog, which I believed, appropriately an interest by many urban professionals here in Metro Manila.  I asked the permission of the blogger, Mr. Carlo S. Ople, to allow me to repost that blog here at ‘The Workplace’ he approved, thank you a lot Carlo!  He described himself as “the grandson of the late Senator Blas F. Ople and is currently a marketing consultant handling various corporate clients.”  He happened to be one of those who introduced me to seriously consider blogging when I attended one of his seminars!

Here is the detail of Carlo’s  blog:

I’ve been talking to a lot of young professionals lately and two of the most asked questions I keep getting are: when did I get my break and what can they do to get promoted quickly? It’s becomes very interesting though when you start to probe deeper. People who keep asking about getting breaks are most often than not just waiting for that opportunity to come along. They are very passive and they lack the initiative to actually “make that break” happen. That’s my answer to the first question – you don’t get breaks, you work for them. Opportunities will always come by but sometimes you don’t recognize them as opportunities because you’re too busy complaining about being stressed, not being recognized, and not being rewarded.

The same can be said for quickly getting promoted. If you’re doing your best and you’ve communicated to your superiors properly that you want to get promoted and that you want to grow professionally in the company, then it should be a matter of time before you get your chance. However, there will be instances that there really is no opportunity in your company and you’ll have to wait. If you can afford to wait a bit, then it’s up to you to do so. If not, then you can always consider transferring or applying to other companies.

What’s the worst that can happen if you work hard and smart? You get better. Not so bad right?

I am a very itenerant person! I ride the airplane, helicopter, train, bus, powered big boat, small boat, tricycle and padyak.  I try even kayak, tok-tok, and my very own slippers.  I experience how to wait LONG hours. I watch in-flight movies one after another.  I become dizzy viewing the fast moving scenery along the way and the blue and green seas below.  I sleep hundreds and hundreds of hours along the mountains ranges and over it.  I lost my voice talking with a lot of companions on the journey and with strangers too. I get sick eating vendor-offered exotic food just to entertain myself while traveling. Travelers like me have done many, many things just to  get over the boredom along the journey.

Kahit yong pag-punta sa office at pauwi sa bahay minsan nakakainip. Marami ang nag-entertain themselves with the music in their cell phones and ipods.

Ikaw what do you do pag-naiinip ka na sa byahe?

Here are some of the things that I do:

1.  I sleep. If my sleeping schedule isn’t enough and I need to recover from exhaustion, I take the opportunity to power nap while traveling. I am just very vigilant of my few properties I carry on the journey. Ingat na ingat din ako na huwag tumulo ang laway at magka-muta!

2.  Pinapanood ko ang mga kasabay ko sa byahe. Saya! It is very entertaining. Facial and body features of people are very funny. Characteristic of fellow byaheros are very intriguing. I never get over it. It makes me smile and laugh but sometimes it also irritates me!

But the thing I enjoy the most doing in my travels is…

3.  I make a lot of reflections. During the none active moments, my mind becomes very active and productive. It is the time I see resolution to problems, see possibilities, potentials and new opportunities. I get very nice thoughts in the trivial things I see around. Most of the times while traveling I get the most insightful materials for a talk, a sermon or a seminar and I create a poem or a lyrics for a song.

Dami-dami talagang pumapasok na bagay kung walang ginagawa sa byahe. During those times my idle mind never becomes the workshop of the devil but the work place of God’s productive mind! Allow Him to make it His Craft Room!

A typical creative work room

God would like us to be in our work places so that we can influence others.  He would like us to be the audio-visual aid of His character to people, our employers, supervisors, managers, colleagues, employees & clients.

Our work demonstrates what we believe in and a good testimony of who we are because action speaks louder than words!

A passage in the Word of God says “…set an example…in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

God gives you your job to preserve goodness!  Are you doing it?

This is the last of the posts attempting to answer the reasons for working.  Starting next week I will tackle the issue ‘How to love your work!”