Renzie: One Year Later (Well, Almost…)

Hello blogosphere.

I’ve been away for a rather extended period of time. In fact, a quick look at the articles I’ve posted would reveal that my last entry was late last year– a little more than eight months ago.

I suppose I owe it to my readership to explain my prolonged absence.  Not that I have to, but it’s more of in keeping with the open-ness of this general blog environment here on “The Life and Times of The Renzie Man”.  After all, being an online documentation of my more recent comings and goings, it would only be appropriate to fill in the months-long gap in between posts.

1. I’ve been busy. That’s really the short of it.  How busy?  Well, for starters, I’ve been a lot more involved with a small events and marketing business I set up with a couple other friends.   It’s a teenie little project management venture that we can genuinely call our own, and personally, I don’t mind pouring every bit of time, energy and resource on it, as we all know that- in the end- the rewards are for all of us to reap.

My partners, Gelo and Janeth, stopping for a bite at the Bread Bag, Ortigas Home Depot. July 2010.

There are a couple of other projects and entrepreneurial endeavors besides, but nothing that occupies as much time as the aforementioned business.  There are even a couple of others lined up in the immediate future.

2. I’ve been making new connections. I suppose it can’t be helped.  Not only is it in the very nature of my work to be social (check it: marketing, events, business development, relationship management, new media, promotions– each and every one of them requiring a fairly high level of well, socialization), but from the standpoint of a business owner, a robust network of partners, allies, supporters, suppliers and clients all make for a promising future, with lots of opportunities for everyone involved.

Me, hanging out with JoJo, just before her show, at the Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza. March 2010.

I may have talked about taking off for the USA, but with what I’m doing now, it seems I may actually enjoy the best of both worlds. So here I am, back in Metro Manila, building up my personal network from scratch.

3. I finally figured what I want out of life, and- even better- how to go about getting it. How can you not appreciate this clarity of purpose?  What I do right now involves all the things I love: music, marketing and media.

I see a very bright future ahead, with enough hard work and with the right moves along the way.  I really don’t want much– just a comfortable enough lifestyle, a chance to enjoy mini-retirements every now and then, and a chance to keep doing what I’m doing now til when I grow old toothless and senile.

I finally get to do some traveling. I also get to top off a trip every now and then with the occasional awesome sandwich That's me in Bigby's Cagayan de Oro, July 2010.

4. My priorities have changed. The aforementioned clarity has given me vision– a newfound sense of direction, as well as a chance to lay out a grand strategy of sorts.  Which means I have a better idea of sorts on things that are more important to me, and things that aren’t.

Which is a good thing.  I feel old age starting to creep up on me, and I have to admit, I’m not as energetic as I used to be.  Priorities help me determine what needs working on at any given moment: what needs to be developed long-term, what needs to be addressed right away, and what can be completely ruled out as a distraction, and even ignored completely.

5. I’ve learned a lot. And I’ll keep on learning new stuff. I’ve learned not just from my own mistakes, but from the mistakes of others as well.   I learn from my interactions with my newfound friends and allies.

One of the more important things I’ve learned actually: always have an inquisitive mind. Keep asking questions, keep looking for answers. I suppose this part needs a post of its own. Which I should work on in a couple of days.

Oh well, I suppose I should get back to blogging. As soon as I finish this cup of fro-yo. Me enjoying some fro-yo over at Qoola in Greenbelt, Makati.

So where does blogging come in after all this? Well, for one thing, I can process all my thoughts online for free, instead of engaging the services of a psychiatrist. But seriously, after all that I’ve gone through these past several months, I’ve realized that writing (and blogging)serves as a very much-needed outlet to channel expression and creativity and even some stress release. I figured– why not hit the keyboard once more?

Which brings us to here and now. I realize I’ll have to do some housecleaning over the course of the next several days (or weeks- however long it takes, really). But one thing’s for sure, you’re going to be reading a lot more about me once again.

Catch you all again tomorrow, cats and kitties

Cheers, everyone!

Living Solo: Moving Into Your Very Own Place

Share This Post: more tips on independent living, with Renzie Baluyut.

A friend of mine sought my advice the other day and was asking what she needed to get ready for, now that she was dead set on moving out of the house.

Personally, I think making a move from the comfy confines of the traditional Filipino home setup to getting a place of your own is a bold and admirable move.  I’m all for independent living, and you can build so much character by managing your own household, all by yourself.

Obviously, one of the first things to consider when you want to set out on your own is to find your own place.

It would be great if you actually buy your own piece of property (you can get a decent condo for a good deal these days), or at least get something rent-to-own.  It’s still alright to rent one, but keep costs manageable.

As a rule of thumb, I’d say 20-30% of your monthly income could go to your rent.  Factor in bills for utilities, groceries and daily transportation, you should only be spending at most half of your monthly income on all your living expenses for the month.

Any more than that, and you’re probably living beyond your means.   Take some time to sit down and assess your spending habits, so you can see where all your money is going.  If you think you might be spending too much, either scale down some, or make more money.

Don’t forget to figure in location.  Ideally, you would want a place as close to work as possible, to cut down on daily travel time.  The further away from work, the cheaper it gets (in terms of monthly rent and maintenance), but you’ll be spending more time on the road rather than doing something else like sleeping or relaxing.  So strike out a good balance.

Usually you will be needing two to three months’ deposit and one month advance.  So expect to cough out a little more cash at the start.  In most cases, the deposit gets used up when you decide to leave, so you get your last couple of months for free (assuming of course, you have fulfilled the terms of your contract).

Moving in will also entail some costs, as well as renovating and cleaning up your new place, and even buying new fixtures, furnitures and other personal effects.

At the very least, your new place should have a decent bed, a desk and chair, and some closet space.

As for appliances, you should probably start getting a few essential pieces…

• An electric fan or two, because the Philippines is hot and humid like that,
• A refrigerator, so you can store all the essential food you need living on your own, stock up on deli meats, sandwich stuff and other grocery items, have cold drinks, and essentially make life a lot easier for yourself,
• A one- or two-burner stove, so you can do basic cooking and reheating, allowing you to save some money by not relying too much on eating out or having food delivered at home,
• A basic oven toaster, for heating up bread and other food, or for doing some simple roasting  or baking,
• A lamp, for controlled lighting at night.
• A rice cooker, not only because Pinoys love rice, but also because you can do more cooking in it.

For utilities, apartments usually come with electricity and running water.  Depending on your needs, you will probably end up getting…

• Cable TV.  Only if you’re more into TV.  Personally, I’m not a TV person.  I’d rather put my money into…
• Broadband Internet.  You might actually be better off using a provider like Smart Bro, only because I haven’t had any issues with them these past couple of months (I had a couple of terrible experiences with Globe last year, one in June and another in November).
• A landline service.  Landline phones are so easy to get these days.  In fact, you can load a landline sim onto an old mobile phone of yours, so you can take your landline with you wherever you go.

As you gain a little more money, you can probably afford to but yourself a few more high-ticket items:

• A radio/CD/mp3 player. Because everything is so much better with music.
• A TV.  Used best with cable, or with a DVD player, or even a gaming console- totally up to you.
• A PC.  Used best with internet or broadband connection.  Depending on your needs, you can make it more work-friendly, or more gaming-intensive.  Even better if you’re seriously considering doing more work from home.
• Air-conditioning.  Particularly useful during the summer months.
• A microwave oven.  Cooking and reheating gets even more convenient that way.

Of course, later on you can put in money from time to time for new curtains, or even those aromatic oil lamps, throw pillows or little decorative pieces.  Maybe you might even decide to invest on a better bed, so you can get more quality sleep, or you can build up your kitchen some more, spruce up the bathroom, work towards a more impressive home entertainment center- you can have whatever you like.

With hard work, and some smart spending decisions, you’ll eventually have the home away from home you’ve always wanted- a place where you can chill, relax or crash, or have a DVD marathon with some friends, or just spend some much needed alone time with yourself.

Cheers, everyone!

Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”

Share This Post: listening once more to the Mary Schmich-Baz Luhrmann collaboration, with Renzie Baluyut.

About ten years ago, I remembered pushing for this song to get more airplay at the radio station I was working for then.

The song was “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” by Baz Luhrmann.  It came out in one of those international samplers the station subscribed to, and I loved it the first time I heard it.

It was inspirational, it was different, it had a positive message to it, and it made for great listening. At the time, the prevailing rumor was that it was taken word-for-word from a Kurt Vonnegut commencement speech he gave for the graduating class of MIT.

Much later, it turns out that Kurt Vonnegut had nothing to do with the song.  The original piece of work was by Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

From Wikipedia:

Luhrmann explains that Anton Monsted, Josh Abrahams and he were working on the remix when Monsted received an email with the supposed Vonnegut speech. They decided to use it but were doubtful of getting through to Vonnegut for permission before their deadline, which was only one or two days away. While searching the internet for contact information they came upon the “Sunscreen Controversy” and discovered that Schmich was the actual author. They emailed her and, with her permission, recorded the song the next day.

However, “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” wasn’t radio-friendly- the single ran for more than 7 minutes (you can play 2 songs in 7 minutes), and it wasn’t backed up by any significant marketing effort from the local recording companies.

I managed to sneak the song in several times within some of my special programs, but Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” unfortunately, never saw the heavy radio rotation I felt it deserved.

Nevertheless, the song remains very inspiring even to this day.  So here it is, along with the spoken-word lyrics to it.  I hope it inspires you too.

Traveling On a Budget: Get Airfare For Less

notes on cost-friendly travel, with Renzie Baluyut.

Traveling is great.  In fact, almost everyone wants to go around the world, do some sightseeing, and soak up on some culture just by doing so.

Jetting all over the world, however, is a rather costly endeavor.  Most of us do have to worry about staying within a budget, or think about the upcoming credit card statement.

Here are a few tips on how to get your airfare for less:

- Timing is everything.  As a rule of thumb, try to get your tickets as early as you can- at least 22 days in advance.  Airline ticket prices typically go up 21 days, 14 days, 7 days and 3 days just before flying.

- The best fares are usually available on Wednesday between 12MN and 1AM.  Next to this, you can still find some pretty good deals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

-  Try to play around with your arrival and departure dates.  Shifting your itinerary around can make a significant difference in fares.

- Do some online research.  There are a number of websites you might want to visit just to do some shopping and to compare rates.  Fare differences might amount to the hundreds, so you may want to visit two or three sites just to be sure.

• Travelocity.com
• Cheapflights.com
• Expedia.com
• Hotwire.com
• Bestfares.com

- Before you finally make that purchase, head on over to the airlines’ official website.  There are usually deals and promotional rates not advertised on other sites.

Also check out this video on How To Get Cheap Airfare.

This video courtesy of HowCast.  Check out my Howcast profile and network with me, and learn a few new things while you’re at it.

You may also want to check out my other articles on Travel and Leisure.

Cheers, everyone!

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification

Living Solo: The Importance of Manscaping

practical solutions to life’s biggest challenges with Andy Botwin and Renzie Baluyut.

Whether you’re living solo, or happily married with a wife and kids, there simply is no excuse for a terrible sense of personal hygeine.

There’s a reason why grooming is so important, particularly for singles and bachelors: you want to get into the habit of making yourself more appealing to the opposite sex.  And that means working on grooming and hygeine all the time, 24/7.

Here to talk more about the subject matter of manscaping is Professor Andy Botwin of the University of Andy.  Pay close attention, man.  This will save your life one day.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, go right ahead and visit the University of Andy official website, and sign yourself  up in one, several, or better yet, all of their classes designed specifically to make you a better man, all of ‘em practical solutions to life’s biggest challenges.

Enroll now!

Cheers, everyone.