the MARGINALS whiteman in hammersmith palais

casie running on faith

the MARGINALS magulong mundo

the worst that you can do is ...

Back track on an agreement.

As luck would have it back in August, I closed a deal that would make our business a significant amount of money... after a failed attempt at several projects due to the lack of management support, I have finally capped a deal that would be worth something for this business.

And then, as bad luck would have it, we were put in a perilous position that would jeopardize the partnership. It was a situation that put me in harms way... beaten and broken in all aspects... I fought on and managed a win despite the odds.

Now, with everything slowly clearing up. My battle remains as I battle my own company for logic and common sense.

This situation will remain, that I am sure. You lose everything and gain nothing...

the Terrible Year that was

Every turn of the year brings to us a certain amount of anxiety and/or hope as to what the new year might usher in for us. For since I can remember, I have viewed that time always give us a roller coaster ride into the vastness and uncertainty of life's circumstance.

2018 or the year that was gave me more downs than ups... the past year has seen the demise of a business I helped create and care for,  it has given me much heartache with a relationship that I thought would last me my lifetime, and it has shown me that much of life's offered opportunities are not necessarily and automatically ripe for the picking.

Before the year ended I was heart-broken, beaten and damaged... and all of a sudden I knew what silence meant.

All of a sudden, I heard what the stillness and the quiet was trying to say.

It whispered that happiness leads to complacency, happiness is the couch potato who is unable to be productive, and that happiness all by itself is utterly boring.

I have always said that I have led a consistently sad and sorry life and that the pursuit of happiness means the pursuit of small pockets of happiness scattered in between the vastness on the plains of sadness and misery.

For a few moments of my life, that belief I have forgotten. Drunken by my happiness, smitten by my complacency.

But as luck would have it, failures and injuries are things that I have learned not to nurse or cuddle, at least not for more of the time they deserve. Pain should be cherished only for the briefest of moments, gather up your lessons and then go and then it would be time to move on. Stroll into the sadness... walk into misery and broaden your sights in search for the next pocket of happiness. 

And as my luck would have it, I have ended the year that was, happy and content, and started the new year at the same state. I don't know, as no one does, what will come this new year. What I know and what I have learned is that I will be happy but I will never be complacent because I have learned that not all that has been broken can be fixed.

Thank you, G.

Training the Police

Asked why SPADES (Society of Practical and Defensive Shooters, Inc.) devotes a lot of our time, effort, energy and resources in helping reorient Police Officers in the field of firearms training absolutely free of charge, we say... It is because we collectively believe that capable law enforcers will help guarantee the safety and security of the greater community at large, including our own families. But we don't deny the fact, that sharing our skill sets to law enforcers makes us absolutely feel good!!!

Our heartfelt appreciation to our senior instructors who paved the way for the development of our group, Ed Bar, Tony Magsarili, Jim Reyes, Ernie Claudio of the Philippine Institute of Firearms Instructors Association, Inc, we hope we make you just a tiny bit proud :)

“Training should hurt, but never injure…if there is no pain, there is no fear…if there is no fear, then you’re not really training.”
                                                                       
                                                                                                                           - T. Blauer
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Photos by Ruby Bongcayao

HOW WE BEGUN

The proposed “DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND SURVIVAL AWARENESS CENTER” otherwise known as EXTREME or the EXPERIENTIAL TECHNICAL RESCUE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & EDUCATION facility was conceived in 2015 when three parties gathered at the Manila Film Center at the staging of an Amazing Arts Group show then on its 2^nd year.

The three parties namely the Center for Philippine Arts and Cultural Entertainment Association, Inc. represented by Casie Villarosa and Eugene Baroña, TRAVERSE OUTDOOR represented by Johnny and Jess Tana and Period 8 Travel and Tours represented by Rommel Teoxon.

The Center for Philippine Arts and Cultural Entertainment Association, Inc. was the producer and venue provider of Amazing Show in Manila and the Amazing Arts Group. TRAVERSE OUTDOOR is the facilitation provider of well-known team building venues in the country. And Period 8 is one of the more affluent marketers of shows and venues of educational tours and field trips.

The three parties envisioned a Manila-based facility/venue virtually unaffected by the seasons. A facility that could operate rain or shine and day or night where the target market would be diversified free from given limitations of other venues in terms of team-building activities.

A Manila-based facility would be more accessible and cheaper for the target clientele and the clients could choose packages that would not require them traveling to far locations or simply stated, the clients could insert the activity within their busy schedules.

THE CONCEPT

At the early stages, the three were thinking of the usual run-of-the-mill team building activity facility already existing in other venues. What the basic target was that segment of the market who could not afford the packages available at the time to the lower market segments as well as those as stated above who did not have the luxury of time to avail of these services.

For two years, they held on to this idea as they struggled to seek for a financial partner that would help them realize this endeavor. It was then at this time that Johnny Tana then proposed to address the issue of the “BIG ONE” or what The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) confirmed that ‘big one’ earthquake might now strike anytime due to irregular movements of west valley fault.

The idea sold instantly as the “BIG ONE” was well publicized by the media as well as the concept providing the niche needed for better market viability.

EXTREME was niched December of 2017 after 6 months of brainstorming, drawing up plans and designating team members into committees in charge of the development of the venue as well as a marketing plan.

THE STRUGGLE

At the onset, it was anticipated that the Center for Philippine Arts and Cultural Entertainment Association, Inc. will be the capital provider given that the Manila Film Center is leased by the said entity. Two years of budget plan cut meetings, uncertainties and expectations when the Center’s Chairman declined the capitalization.

The two-year setback however will not be a deterrent to this well-meaning project and thus the search for a co-visionary that will allow the group to realize EXTREME.  

WHY THE MANILA FILM CENTER?

The Manila Film Center has been home to the Amazing Show since October of 2001. The primary reason for the selection of the MFC is its very strategic location, the majestic size of the structure and availability of parking spaces for its clientele.

The reason we believe that the MFC is most viable for the EXTREME Project is primarily for the stated reasons above.

From the beginning, the group was already thinking of how to better maximize and make productive the spaces at the Manila Film Center. In 2013 the Amazing Show together with the Amazing Arts Group transferred shows to a newly-built show facility at the back of the MFC leaving the 1,200 seating capacity, almost 3,000 sqm main theater behind.

This dead space is currently in a state of disarray and disrepair. Returning it to its original condition will entail a lot of cost. However, given the premise that EXTREME will be a post-apocalyptic doomsday disaster preparedness and awareness center, it will be perfect for this project. This is considering that theme parks spends a lot of resources making dreadful what is pristine. A quick look at the main theater will instantly spell post-apocalyptic.  

The build will also be relatively simpler given that the facility design is based on the main theater of the MFC. In CPACEAI’s 17-year stay at the MFC, the people behind their builds are already familiar with the structure and has inspected all the nook and crannies of the building.

If we are to state that the target market are those in Metro Manila public and private schools, corporate accounts and organizations, the National Capital Region teems with this market segment.

In the years past, the “field trip” business has been plagued with numerous issues that prompted the Department of Education to issue moratoriums on such trips because of accidents on such trips. All of these accidents occur on trips outside of the National Capital Region. The location of the MFC will allow the targeting of educational institutions and business organizations within the immediate vicinity for us to do a soft opening and thus gain a reputation without the need for our immediate clientele to skip town.

In a nutshell, our immediate target would be the “staycation” market given that we will be soft-opening beyond the usual marketing timeframe of the “field trip” season.