Toledo lumber sale retrospective

report/status of toledo lumber sale

this is what donnie posted in the munding-dida messenger group:

report/status of toledo lumber sale:

ge introduce ni kuya maldo si Roberto natingor (ian)ni mama sa buyer atong april 2018. ang buyer named Roberto natingor. mga 20 times na mi ga balik balik sa toledo para mi kita sa brgy captain sa poog pagkuha sa court requirements, tax ec, ug denr requirements send to and brgy.clearance kahilanlan man gud e prove na kita tagiya.

ang total sale is P200k. ni bayad na ang buyer ug P100k. mao ni ako ge hatagan sa kwarta ug ni pirma sa acknowledgement:

jiggy - P40k (para ni tita georgia, tito mike, tito virgilio, tita jane) andrea (tito bertie) - P10k mik mik (tito gerry) - P10k tita angie bank deposit - P10k maldo - P10k (w approval of tita jane) tita doris - P10k

about sa bahin ni tito rey, ni message ko ni ian to find out kinsa mo receive. nanawag siya nako to make sure mabahinan si maldo ug matagaan si mama sa commission ug expenses. ingon siya e assume lang sa niya na 5k amo expenses ug 5k ang commission ug gamiton sa ang bahin ni tito rey para ana so inig kubra sa remaining P100k, P20k na mo adto ni tito rey. kung naa daw mo object sa amount sa expenses ug comission, then kwaan lang daw amo bahin depending on the difference sa agreed amount. actually, part sa 5k expense, 3k ang nagasto ni ian so sa sunod kubra, 7k ra amo, then 3k mo adto ni ian (assuming ang agreed commission is 5k and agreed expenses is 5k)

retrospective

here is what ian posted to the munding-dida messenger group:'

excellent status report donnie. you are setting a good example on transparency that we should all follow for future endeavors. your mom also demonstrated that hard work and perseverance will get things done. tita jane's concerns are right. that's exactly why from now on, all transactions and activities relating to the properties should be posted in this chat group in a timely manner. keep up the good work !!!

soon all of lolo's and lola's properties will be sold and divided and the heirs will be going their separate ways. we don't need to be in good terms or singing kumbaya to each other. that's overrated. but the valuable things we learn from each other can continue to help us tackle the challenges we face in our own future aspirations.

let's do a retrospective. first let me explain what a retrospective is for those who might not be familiar. it's what we do in silicon valley (the place that gave you technologies you are enjoying right now such as the iphone and facebook) after a product launch. we discuss what went wrong and what went right. even if nothing went wrong, we still identify the possible pitfalls or what could have possibly went wrong. when people work together, miracles happen. so let me go first. anyone please feel free to chime in.

if i was tita doris, i would be P100k richer right now because i will just pretend the bag containing the P100k got snatched on the way home and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about it. you could kick and scream injustice like a helpless child but there is absolutely nothing anyone can do. thank god tita doris is not like me.

however, there's a way to easily cover this potential pitfall, if we just use common sense. it's as simple as 1+1=2. you just need to be humble. it's one of the many reasons for the success of the founders of jollibee and mcdonalds. you think 100% of all jollibee employees can be trusted? of course not. but it does not matter because there are standard procedures in place to prevent pitfalls. why does it require humility? i was visiting a friend who owned a big factory and on our way out of the factory he was talking to a close childhood buddy of his who was also working in the factory. at the gate, the security guard was thoroughly checking the contents of his buddy's bag. if you were my friend's buddy i'm sure you would have been offended or insulted and quit your job.

the easy solution to this possible pitfall is to always demand a manager's or cashier's check as payment. i'm not trying to be a know it all as a matter of fact until 2 weeks ago i had no fucking clue what is a manager's check. i even asked the BDO teller what will happen if i get robbed and the manager's check is stolen. she told me i simply have to cancel it and they will issue a new one. also, tita georgia and tita doris can open a joint account that requires the signatures of both to withdraw money. the account should be online and the online password should be posted in this chat group so anyone is free to monitor the transactions online. all transactions should be reported like what donnie just did.

but there's still another pitfall. if i'm assigned to receive the remaining P100k, i will still ask the buyer to pay me cash, pretend the bag containing the P100k got stolen and just say "oops !!! sorry guys i forgot i was suppose to demand a manager's check as payment". again you can scream and yell injustice like a helpless child (like what the elders of our clan normally do and i'm beginning to think this is their generation's bizarre comfort zone) but there is nothing you can do about it because there was no agreement or policy on the consequence if i fail to follow this rule. so the solution is for us to simply agree or set a policy that if you fail to demand a manager's check and you loose the money, then the amount will simply be deducted from your share in the next sale of a property.

i apologize for sounding very ugly. we wish we live in a world that can operate according to principle or word of honor. that's more beautiful. but before i dive deeper into this topic let me remind you the good news is that there are many other beautiful gifts in this world we can still enjoy and is not yet obsolete such as vacationing with your family to boracay, bantayan island, or snowboarding in dubai indoor ski resort, bungee jumping in new zealand (https://youtu.be/l9m4cW2yxy0), watching our messiah quiboloy in youtube (i wasn't sure if he was the messiah until he miraculously stopped the earthquake), or watching a dottie suzara beauty gerlyn the caregiver pass by while i'm installing new drain pipes (maybe it's because i don't have kids so my instincts magnetize me to young people who might one day be willing to change my diapers when i'm too old to go to the bathroom. but it's an obsolete instinct because the future is robotics and AI so there will be many young black dudes in america who's only job opportunity is to change my diapers as i'm rotting in a nursing home. unless someone invents an android robot that can change diapers. that would be cool if the android gets infected with a virus and starts fingering my anus).

it's only now that i realize the amazing foresight of lola dida. most people just follow the herd or have sheep mentality but lola had the incredible foresight to see that low cost housing would be the future (just like tito jo soberano of landmasters). tita georgia told me lola was trying to develop a property in mactan. how did she know that mactan's property value will rise astronomically in 20 yeas? very impressive. lola was also an amazing businesswoman, and that's the reason why many of us enjoy the security and privilege of living in a place like crystal compound. you can ignore all my rants in this post but one thing you should not ignore or take for granted is how lucky most of you are to be living in a place like crystal compound. it's even much better than living in those high rise luxury condos you see sprouting all over the city. just as an example, in a high rise condo living, when you park your car it takes so long to walk to your unit (how far did it take for the jews in the bible to cross the desert? 40 years? it takes 40 years for you to get from your parking spot to your unit). imagine the errands you do in any given day such as groceries, going to church and driving your kids to school. after a while it can take a toll on you. you also can't play the piano because it will disturb your neighbors. you can't do gardening or use a gas oven to bake apple pies. not to mention the earthquake. cebu is prone to earthquakes and if you happen to be in high rise building during an earthquake and quiboloy is not around to stop it you will cry and wish you lived in crystal compound. this also serves as an advice to some of you that when you get your millions (which most likely will happen in the next year or so), invest it in a townhouse, never condo.

but the reason why our properties are currently in a bind is because lola depended heavily on "word of honor". i'm sure she would want us to learn from her mistakes. although i don't wan't to call it a mistake, it's more like "incompatibility or obsoletion of this once beautiful principle called word of honor". in the olden days, "word of honor" was the way of doing business. but everything changes. and those who don't adopt will suffer the consequence. and one of those consequences will be forfeiting the joys and privileges of many of the other beautiful gifts in life such as being wealthy enough to order lechon on all souls day or island hopping with your family where you invite one of your cousins and also invite your caregiver neighbor who is away from her family enjoy a wholesome family activity (luckily the baranggay captain lives in our compound so he can give some sort of legal consent to prevent any legal troubles from DSWD). i'm just kidding. never take anything i say seriously.

by the way after typhoon yolanda i wrote a mock retrospective - https://ian-crystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/super-typhoon-retrospective.html . maybe a politician who pursues my proposals in the retrospective could become a national figure if the idea catches on. especially if you join quiboloy's congregation.

donnie, it's also a good habit to create some sort of written agreement every time you enter into a deal with anyone. it does not even have to be formal you can even just write it down on a piece of paper. you can even write it in bisaya. what's important are the signatures for the document to stand in a court of law. if there was no written agreement with the buyer of the toledo logs, it's not too late to create one. you can even just LBC it to him in toledo for him to sign. then take a photo and post it in this chat group. it's these little things that can prevent misunderstandings.

donnie's reply:

Thanks ian kay gpa gaan nmo ang feelings ni mama nga naa Jud member sa family ni support niya.. Thank you kaayo ian sa imo gpa feel nmo nga nka sabot ka sa side nmo.. Thank you thank you thank you.

ian's reply:

donnie, in a way everyone in the family supports your mom everything they say and do to your mom is actually for her own good. maybe it's because they love and care about your mom more than i do that's why they tend to be more emotional or harsh. example, if i have the title to your house i would give it to your mom but that's only because i care less if your family becomes homeless if you fall victim to loan sharks. i also believe in the principle every human should be in control of his/her destiny. but i assure you, whoever is holding the title cares so much about your mom and he/she can't bear the thought of your family suffering poverty.

and donnie, i should expound more on the importance of living in crystal compound or a subdivision or a village where your neighbors are either employed or going to school. if you are tempted to live in a more open or slum like community in exchange for more cash flow or short term financial gain, chances are your kids and bryan's kids will grow up in a very bad environment or dangerous neighborhood. this was actually the biggest fear of lola dida and the reason why lola took the big risk of getting into business with salvador ang. lola's sacrifices will be for nothing if we don't make an effort to understand each other, cooperate and compromise with each other to assure none of her descendants suffer poverty or economic hardships. but as i keep saying, the phrase "working together" is not a walk in the park. it involves a lot of hard work, discipline, diligence and following proven standard procedures like always demanding written agreements when you enter into a deal and giving timely updates to everyone on the status of any activity involving family properties. these things go a long way in avoiding misunderstandings or miscommunication. in the past our elders did not have the luxury of the internet or chat groups or they did not grow up with these technologies that's why even when it was already available for them to use they were averse in taking advantage of these technologies. as the saying goes, you can't teach and old dog new tricks. so do it for your mom, as i'm also doing these things for my father.