What I've Been Doing Recently

A lot has happened since I published the my last post in this blog. I was rereading that post and I realized that I turned down that job mentioned - to be a trainer of marginalized youth who want to pursue entrepreneurship. It's not that I don't believe in the power of entrepreneurship to change the course of their lives. I supposed that the task might prove to be too frustrating since only close to 1% of entrepreneurs can sustain their startups for more than 5 years. And we're talking about marginalized young people as the main students of the classes here. So, yeah.

Another job that I turned down is a post for a business development coordinator for a consulting firm on social enterprises. I'm not sure why I turned it down as the pioneer of the firm herself was the one who talked to me. Maybe I'm on a career shift phase now. The lack of motivation to continue I'mABosco (now on it's 4th year of operations) and letting go Hundred Saints (for St. Bridget) are signals that maybe it's time to move on.

Speaking of phases, it's the first time that I felt unemployed since I resigned from BDO last January . This feeling has compelled me to check on the FB page of Development Sector Jobs to look for openings every 3 hours, and to turn on again the notifications from JobsDB and JobStreet. As much as possible, I don't want to use the connections of relatives and friends. I'm also looking for a job in the government or an NGO because I've been really hungry for significance. I want to feel excited and alive once more, like when we were still planning for Manila Kid.

This means that I also have a lot of free time, most of which is dedicated to our movement DB DWTL. We just had a retreat last month that left the members of our organization with the feeling of ignited-ness. It's like a fire consuming and propelling us to do these activities that can sustain the "high" of the retreat. From recording our group's first music album, monthly series of talks ala The Feast and expanding the reach to other communities. It's an exciting time that I wish I can just work full time for our org (and get paid, of course).

The activities that you may look forward to include (1) Living the 4th - community mass and talk on July 27, Saturday, at 2pm-4pm in RCBC Chapel, with Fr. Dennis Paez SDB to celebrate mass and give a one-hour talk on Healing our Brokenness; (2) Adoration organized by the High School Student Council Batch 2007 in DBTC Small Chapel on August 2, Friday, from 6pm-7pm; and (3) Launch of our first album on August 16, Friday at 6pm.

Most recently, I got invited to give a talk once again, this time on volunteerism. It will be held in Mapua College at the end of this month from 1pm to 4pm. There are a lot of things to be said between me and volunteerism so I'm not really sure what to talk about. We'll be given 30 to 45 minutes each to talk about our experiences. I remember Steve Jobs' commencement address to the students of Stanford several years ago. He talked for only around 15 minutes but there was so much substance and wisdom packed in every sentence that he gave. I hope I can do the same.

As always, I hope to update this blog more often.