Nomad Manager Progress Report #5: When Procrastinating is Productive
Okay, so I’ve got a backlog of planned posts for Muni PH, as per usual, which only seems to increase with every post successfully publish (more ideas come than I can write them!). I’m also working to build the upcoming Muni Pop-Up Shop Online. And finally, I got myself involved with 2 rackets - 1 on design and 1 on writing (and both require a lot of work).
But upon the recommendation of Dindin Reyes, I opted to watch a nearly 40-minute video of Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of The Start. And prior to that, I spent a good amount of my day talking to Chesa Zimmer-Santos of co.lab PH and Denise Celdran of Edgy Veggy about design thinking for climate change, veg food, and plans for Muni PH.
Today has been a good day. And I need to write some of my thoughts because it’s an important day to chronicle in the life of this Nomad Manager.
Muni PH: The StartUp
Before today, I couldn’t quite figure out how I was going to approach making Muni PH a legal entity. And that’s something I’m certain I want to do. Never before in my life have I found work that I was “meant to do”, or work that made me feel so good - and it was work that I looked for, and not so much found. It took me a while to get to this point, and now that I have, I am certain that I’ve found that which I wish to do for the rest of my life, no matter how long or short it may be.
8 Groups Filipino Entrepreneurs Should Know About in 2013
So yeah, click the above link to see what I’ve been up to lately.
I feel like a party girl with all these “events”, except that the people I meet are real game-changers, and conversations engaged in are more socially relevant and less vapid.
Hooray! And now, I quote myself (lol):
It’s time we all band together to share ideas and strategies to create and support better products that raise the standards of Filipino businesses, to look beyond only profits as entrepreneurs, or the cheapest bargain as consumers, and see in the long run, the choices we make everyday do matter.
With 2012 coming to a close, many anticipate the end of the world, but I only see it as the end of the old world – the old ways we’ve been doing things. 2013 will definitely be explosive — with new ideas, turned into action, and everyone connecting with each other to create this shift in consciousness that I’m convinced will happen in the coming year.
When We Work Not For The Money
I’ve been somewhat amiss in my travel posts lately, and one might think that after a trip to exotic India, a traveling blogger who blogs about her travels (but does not necessarily call herself a “travel blogger”) might blog about it - ASAP. Alas, it has been almost a month now since I’ve come back, and I’ve yet to get around to writing about my whirlwind trip through Southern India (and side trip to Kuala Lumpur).
[Merdeka Square in KL, Malaysia]
However, ironically, November also happened to be the month wherein I became officially unemployed, and yet I feel that I’ve never been busier! I’ve been caught up with a lot of interesting new experiences, meeting new people and trying out new things like:
DREAMER & DOER: Martha Rodriguez of VESTI Bags
October 24, 2012
Between my backpacking trip around Asia, and Martha’s frequent travels around the Philippines as well, it wasn’t so easy for us to find time to meet, but after some 4-5 months of intending to interview Martha for my blog, I finally had the chance to meet up with her at Café Mary Grace. :)
When you meet with Martha, you know you’re talking to someone who is the real deal; someone who knows her convictions and stands by them. Just the kind of person I’m glad is behind one of my esteemed local brands, Vesti.
Insights from a Crash Course on the Philippine Textile Industry
September 25, 2012
Department of Clothing, Textile, and Interior Design - College of Home Economics
University of the Philippines, Diliman
Not very many people know much about the Philippine Textile Industry, primarily because 1) it’s not within their field and therefore don’t really seek to know more about it, or 2) it IS within their field but it seems too work-intensive/costly to get into. However, I believe that the status of the Philippine Textile Industry should be a concern for every Filipino.
Thanks to my good friend Kitty, who teaches Clothing Technology at UP, and knows of my interest in the subject (see my posts on weaving/textile) and my desire to really generating more awareness of our textile traditions after my visit to Ock Pop Tok in Laos, I had the privilege of attending the Scanning Philippine Indigenous Textiles forum. For me, it only further validated my belief that every Filipino should know more about it.
Let me share some of the highlights.
![Poster c/o Nomad Manager
Come join us for a garage sale for travelers, by travelers on:October 6, 2012 (Saturday), 11AM-6PMVenue: Moonleaf Tea Shop, Maginhawa Street, Teachers’ Village
Organized by yours truly (as a result of brokeness from my 2.5-month solo trip around Asia, and prevention from falling into debt after my Dumaguete-Bacolod and India trips this October), this Travelers’ Garage Sale gathers together 5 traveler-bloggers, Nomad Manager, Wanderrgirl, Thysz, Walking Lens Cap, All Things Artspiring, on a noble quest to fulfill our passion for travel, while providing you with lots of cheap options for clothes, books, bags, cameras, film, suitcases, and other things you might find useful for your travels as well. :)
Here’s just some of the items I’ll be selling.
BUT WAIT, there’s more! :D
[[MORE]]
Help us spread the word and get a free Moonleaf drink of your choice and P250 worth of garage sale shopping credit! Just join the Rafflecopter below. :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Only entries made from October 1-5 will be accepted.Three (3) winners will be announced on October 6 by @nomadmanager via Twitter.For obvious reasons, prizes may be only be claimed at the Travelers’ Garage Sale.
Click here to confirm your attendance!Good luck and I hope to see you there! :D
Jen
Follow my tweets • Find me on Facebook • Sign up for my newsletter • E-mail me](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb72chx6j51r0u81eo1_1280.jpg)
Poster c/o Nomad Manager
Come join us for a garage sale for travelers, by travelers on:
October 6, 2012 (Saturday), 11AM-6PM
Venue: Moonleaf Tea Shop, Maginhawa Street, Teachers’ Village
Organized by yours truly (as a result of brokeness from my 2.5-month solo trip around Asia, and prevention from falling into debt after my Dumaguete-Bacolod and India trips this October), this Travelers’ Garage Sale gathers together 5 traveler-bloggers, Nomad Manager, Wanderrgirl, Thysz, Walking Lens Cap, All Things Artspiring, on a noble quest to fulfill our passion for travel, while providing you with lots of cheap options for clothes, books, bags, cameras, film, suitcases, and other things you might find useful for your travels as well. :)
Here’s just some of the items I’ll be selling.
BUT WAIT, there’s more! :D
Brené Brown on the Power of Vulnerability
Nothing moves me more than stories of failure: making mistakes, being wrong, breakdowns, and in spite of everything, getting ups. It’s just more real, more human, and yes, it’s okay to be human. It’s okay to admit defeat.
In a world of instant gratification and instant success, and books on 10 Easy Ways To Be Happy or Top 5 Strategies To Get Rich Quick, our vision gets easily blurred by these candy-colored promises, and to feel that it is shameful to “fail” because the rest of the world makes it look so easy to “succeed”.
But that’s not really how the world works in this Age of Absurdity. And I think that the sooner we can accept that life is a struggle and embrace our vulnerability, the better for our impatient, self-defeating mind.
Brené Brown manages to talk about this in an entertaining enough manner that elicits laughs from the audience, but in an eloquent and insightful enough manner that really elicits deeper impact and reflection. View an earlier and also really insightful and amusing talk here.
Jen
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Jetwing Vil Uyana - Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
September 9, 2012
Sigiriya is home to one of the Sri Lanka’s many UNESCO World Heritage sites. And while I was set on scaling the Sigiriya Rock Fortress (see pictures here), believe it or not, what I was really more excited about was spending time at Jetwing Vil Uyana, only 5 km away from the fortress, and talking to their resident naturalist about the hotel’s green practices.
Jetwing Vil Uyana is a man-made wetland with lakes and reed beds, developed on abandoned agricultural land and forest to form a private nature reserve. More than a luxury development, the hotel is a model that’s setting a new standard for hoteliers around the world, not just in architecture, interior design, amenities or service, but something that I know is really important: sustainability.
While eco-tourism / sustainable tourism / responsible tourism is a highly debatable issue, in the same way the issue of conscious consumption can cause conflicting feelings, right now, I feel that it’s really difficult, if not downright impossible to completely cease luxury tourism and consumption. While there are many evils there, it also brings a lot of good that is necessary for the economy and the bigger picture of how the world works.
I got the privilege of meeting Jetwing Vil Uyana’s resident naturalist, Chaminda Jayasekhara, while I was in Sigiriya, and apart from the now familiar use of a key-card system, energy-saving bulbs, waste segragation and towel or linen change only upon request, here are some of the more interesting green practices that he shared with me:
