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Up For A Good Start: XYZ Inks Celebrates Its First Anniversary In The Country

For starters XYZ Inks is doing well in the hi-tech world of Inkjets and Laser Cartridges. Based in the United States, this multinational company has recently celebrated its first anniversary with its initial outlet in the country- Makati City.

Unique to its industry, the company caters printing paraphernalia to its primary market- the business sector. “We discovered that here in the Philippines, it was a much more difficult task to educate the business sector than what we had envisioned. We had to modify our operations to meet our own standards to service our clients,” discussed Mr. Z, president of XYZ Inks Philippines. Aside from large corporate accounts the company also caters to individual consumer segment.

To allow better customer service, XYZ Inks standardized its store designs same to its centers overseas. Inevitably, the company encountered a few bumps with the setting up of the stores. Thanks to its great manual operations everything pushed through smoothly.

With the operations only started on 2007, the company has a total of 5 outlets at present. To date the company’s initial plan was to have only 3 stores opened by third quarter of 2007 but with the strong sales and demands, 2 more came its way as the year 2008 starts.

During the course of the year constant modifying and innovations were made to fully support growth and customer demands. “As we went forward and opened new stores in other locations, we were constantly modifying our support capabilities for the system. We continued to grow in such a way that our system became the only one that supports the variety of inkjet and laser cartridges being used here in the country.” said Mr. Z.

In terms of sales volume, the company foresees a rapid 40% increase of stores by 2008 with its steady growth throughout the year. Mr. Z also mentioned that discussions are up for opening stores in various locations such as Manila, Quezon City and Laguna.

When asked about XYZ Inks Philippines’ goals for 2008, Mr. Z answered “With the success of our current stores, we expect to open 10 more outlets this year. About half of them will be in Metro Manila with the rest being provincial locations. We also plan to expand our clientele base and offer more products and services for the retail market.”

Chocolate Mornings

For a typical person like me, a day wouldn’t be complete without a cup of hot chocolate for breakfast. For more than half of my life it’s my perfect breakfast companion- paired with garlic rice, cheesedog and sunny side up eggs. It seems that my stomach has gotten use to the sweet aroma of this morning munchies.

My mom would always tell us this routine started in our kindergarten days. Being the second in a family of three kids, our mom would get up early and cook breakfast for me and my sister (my sister and I has an age gap of 3 years) before we go to school. Which happens to be garlic rice paired with hotdog or egg or corned beef or spam or whichever comes handy. And then she would make us each a cup of hot chocolate and insist that we take a sip before taking a bath to keep our stomachs warm. I’ve gotten used to it that my day feels incomplete without a morning nip of hot choco.

As I live on my own during my college years I would occasionally skip breakfast because I’m always running late. There’s no one to cook breakfast for me anymore and so I end up always missing breakfast. That’s the thing about growing up, most of the things that we enjoy when we were young would usually take its leave when we grow old.

Now even as I go to work I always make it to a point to still enjoy my hot chocolate. But what I miss most is when my mom would dreadfully wake us up and serve us our daily breakfast with our favorite homegrown hot chocolate.

Wisdom from Kung Fu Panda

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery but today is a gift. That's why its called present." -Master Oogway

*Simple but true. :)

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Copy: Karen Vasquez
Art Director: Mike Segura

Sugar Coated Lingo in a Dog-Eats-Dog World

By a somewhat inexperienced Carrie Bradshaw wannabe

Climbing the corporate ladder isn’t one easy thing to do. You’ve gotta learn to struggle wisely to be able to survive. And yes sometimes you gotta perform tricks up on your sleeves just to win. But please don’t be mistaken that this world is just about outsmarting each other. It’s about hard work, perseverance, dedication, love and acceptance for what you do, a firm belief on your principles. And the most important of all- a tight grip on your lifelong dreams.

What I’m saying might be boring and ridiculous for those who have already surpassed this stage, but for the newbies who are planning to take a plunge in what they call “the dog-eats-dog world” this might give you at least a little help.

The voyage began the day I went out the portals of my alma mater (just like everyone else). Unlike most (at least that’s what I thought) I wasn’t sure what to do and which path to take. Having to finish a degree with a wide range of prestigious elating jobs to choose from, I ended up still undecided. And so I end up working in a call center.

At first I thought it was easy. Seat. Answer calls. Speak English. And that’s it you’re gonna earn a fortune. Sure it was fun- imagine talking to more than three dozens of people each day for eight hours. Having to take a break for exactly 15 minutes and lunch break for exactly one hour. Just a piece of cake for a day’s work. Isn’t it?

With a true human heart I searched for something that’ll make me satisfied. Now that’s when I decided I want to become a writer. By some twist of fate I landed as an in-house writer for a real estate company. With the designation/ position (whichever its called) I hold in the company at first glance my job look sooo prestigious. It isn’t exactly the opposite though, but it’s not just that impressive (to my standards).

It is where I learn to interact and mingle with people from all walks of life- who just like me are climbing the corporate ladder. Some are wise, some are imposing, some are just pretending, some are assuming, some are young and most are old. They may look really nice but don’t let that fool you. And yes the stories are true. They will eat you- if you give them a chance to.

It was a colleague who’s the one to formally welcome me in the corporate world. She told me that to survive you’ve gotta learn to speak the sugar coated lingo in this dog-eats-dog world. It’s like keeping your composure when you’re damn pissed. Looking and being professional is what matters no matter what the circumstances are.

It is essential to encounter humps and bumps along the way because trust me it’s worth the wait. It’s just almost a year since I decided I wanted to be part of this world but I was just beginning. There are a lot of roads that I gotta take and a lot of decisions I gotta make. And there are a few if not a lot of challenges that’s waiting for me along the way.

This life is one crazy ride. And to be able to survive you just gotta enjoy the ride. Sure there’ll be times that giving up is the easiest thing to do. But don’t let your emotions take you. There’s no easy road to success. Just as they say success is sweetest when you worked hard for it.

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"Fun, Fun Summer at Little Baguio Terraces"
Copy: Karen Vasquez
Art Director: Mike Segura