Hi, I am Monica Moran

What happened to time? I feel like my first year of university just flew by. We’re so immersed with everything that’s going on in this world we call university that we aren’t even aware of time. I remember the dragging oh-so-very-long-classes in high school and it’s not even comparable to this. Over there we wanted to hit the fast-forward button, and now here we want to hit that pause and rewind button. So for now, let’s just pause for a minute and rewind.

Two months has gone by and so much has already happened. Where do I even begin? Well, lets start with that new commerce class that has everyone on edge. That beloved class we call Financial Accounting where we’ve already made such joyful memories (insert sarcasm here), from endless nights in the library memorizing debits, credits, t-accounts etc etc. You now the drill. If you enjoy the course (probably just 1% of the entire 1st years) then I applaud your intelligence. If you don’t, don’t worry…you’re not alone.

And then there’s the other part outside of the academia that we like to call “life.” In such a short span, I’ve already experienced a hundred unforgettable moments that can’t even begin to be captured in words. Moments where you’re balling your eyes our because of non-stop laughing; moments where you can’t help but blush and smile because you’re in the presence of someone you care about; moments where you feel like you’re finally becoming an adult because of the new challenges you had to face (e.g. apartment hunting) during reading break. You get my point.

And I guess, that’s how I would like to describes these past 2 months of university: moments. Moments that can be found in pictures but only you knowing the meaning behind that smile. These are the things that shape you and it finally feels that I am one step closer to discovering me.

Cheers to you, 2011, for starting the year off with what I would like to call moments.

I have watched the Social Network four times. The entire thing. From start to finish. Did it get boring after a while? Absolutely not! Every time I watch it I understand it more and more, and continue to be amazed by the fact that Facebook stemmed from such a small idea of “taking the whole social experience of college and putting it online.” Actually, I am even more amazed how he was driven to invent something just to get the attention of the Final Clubs of Harvard. I am not even sure if this is true but it’s not a stretch to think it is.

Facebook freakishly adictive, you gotta admit and sometimes I wonder if Zuckerberg embedded some type of code that messed with our brains to use it 24/7. But I guess he’s right; we are innerly – some part of us – obsessed to find out what our friends are up to, show of our pictures, meet new people, etc. etc. Facebook allows us to “stalk” our friends. I’ve done it and so have you! Everyone has and you just can’t help it. Zuckerber is right in saying that we constantly want to know what our friends are up to.

Who knew that Facebook would become worth millions or even billion of dollars in the next 3 years. Who knew Zuckerberg would become the youngest billionaire in the world. Do I want to be a billionaire? Hell ya! But if only I had an idea…just one simple idea that could potentially be worth that much money….

Maybe one day! 🙂

Its 1:48 am and I can’t seem to fall asleep. So why not listen to some music, do a little singing and write a blog? 🙂

As I sit here in the wee hours of the morning, I still can’t believe I am already in university, halfway across the Pacific Ocean from my family, and living a more independent lifestyle. I must admit, it was painful during the 1st few days, waking up in the morning, realizing that your completely on your own and just dreading everything: making new friends, classes, laundry, money etc etc. Every little thing just becomes magnified ten times more and that’s a scary feeling.

But then again, I came to university for a reason and that was what drove me to turn that negative energy into something positive as fast as I could so I could spend every minute here even more worthwhile. I am not going to ramble on about university being the key to your future or university being important because it can get you a job; that’s pretty obvious! University is more than that. It’s a place where you can finally discover who you really are, where you can finally be who you want to be and to finally take chances. It’s a different feeling from High School, and I guess the best way to put it is that…you feel more you.

Yes it was a difficult transition, yes the workload became stressful and yes, your grades (pardon my language) are really shitty compared to High School. I’ve had to part ways from that nice and beautiful “A” for some time – don’t worry, I promise we’ll reunite this semester! But to be honest, that still didn’t stop me from making the most out of my first year and I still am. I’ve met some great people here that have not only become such great friends but have become my family as well, had the most amazing study sessions filled with tears of laughter, joined an exec team for a club, went to my very first party, had my first university “crush”, and so much more. I have experienced so much in a span of 4 months and I can’t even begin to imagine how much more that will come my way. I am honestly excited!

I love university, I love Canada and I love life. I tell myself everyday how lucky I am to be studying in such a great school and in such a beautiful country. Life for now is on my side and I’ll make sure it always will as I continue to walk through this long and winding road. It won’t be easy, but hey, what’s life without a few challenges?

Dear 2010, I love you. What can I say?  You were my year. You were the year where everything seemed to fall into place for me, the year where I’ve experienced one of my biggest accomplishments, and most of all, the year that opened a new chapter in an already heavy book that I call my life. We’ve had out ups and down but in the end, you helped me pull through and we ended our time together with a bang.

I still clearly remember when I first stepped foot into High School territory as a Freshmen and the main thought that jumped at me was how I still had a long way to go. 4 years was going to be hell of a long time. Oh boy was I wrong. Time flew and next thing you know, we’re honking away and screaming “its 2010!” Of all the years, however, 2010 felt like the longest. Maybe it was all the challenges I had to endure, all the opportunities I finally had the guts to take advantage, maybe all the late nights spent studying for the IB exams, stressing over university applications, or even the questions that go through all girls heads “what am I going to wear to prom? Who am I going to go with?!” Nevertheless,  all these aspects – some I dreaded, some I looked forward to – were all worth it and have enabled me to look back, smile, pat myself on the back and say “wow!”

I miss High School and I always will. Yet, we should always remind ourselves to stop looking back and asking “what if…” but to look at what is in front of us and ask “what can be?” So on that note, it’s time for me to finally close the chapter I call 2010 (four numbers say it all) and open a new one that I now call university. As the saying goes, “[we shouldn’t] cry because its over [but] smile because it happened.”

Hello everyone. So I’ve decided to use my blog for something more rather than letting it all be related to the academia. A sort of diary of my thoughts, feelings and who I am in general. We lead a very fast-paced life and there are moments where you tell yourself “if only I had a remote and could press pause.” I’ve had moments where the days just blur together and we feel as if we’ve had no time for yourself; to just sit down and contemplate where our lives our heading, to sit down and just have a little me time. When we get home the first things we university students  do are to either take a nap or turn on the computer and enter the realm of Facebook. If we spend that much time on the computer, why not do something else? Why not have a little me time in the process?

And so I begin this process. As cheesy as it may sound, I am going to start a little relationship with my online diary (sounds better than “a blog” doesn’t it?). I know, we’ve got other social networks at our fingertips but “status updates” or “who I am” can not even begin to capture the complex entities that make us who we are. I want to be able to show people a different side of me, a side that portrays who I really am as a person and just express what goes on in my head at a day to day basis. One of my good friends here at UBC, David Huynh (here’s a shout out to you David) began doing this a couple of months ago, and I was inspired by  his ability to capture life with words. Just like him, I love to write and I believe that here is a good place to continue that passion.

I am Monica and this is my story…

Jamie Oliver is one of the most innovative chefs I have ever known. His career began through his television show The Naked Chef, and because of its success, he began writing his own cookbooks, developed more TV shows, and even opened his own restaurant. But what else is unique about Mr. Oliver? He’s not just a man with an ambition, he’s someone with a vision. A vision to promote healthy eating, especially to children, and provide opportunities for young people to tap into their cooking skills. He is a social entrepreneur.

A social entrepreneur is someone who uses entrepreneurial principles to make social changes and help resolve social problems in the world. For Jamie, it was the opening of Fifeteen, a restaruant designed to provide young people the opportunity to learn about cooking, how to eat healthy, and to teach others what it’s like working in the restaurant industry Furthermore, most of the profit garnered by Fifteen is contributed to apprenticeship schemes, which is part of  the Jamie Oliver Foundation, a foundation he had established to raise awareness on the importance of nutritional food.

In fact, one of Jamie Oliver’s series follows his journey through various schools in England, where he attempts to create awareness to children the values of eating healthy, and implement a change in the school meals provided. What moved me the most was his passion to make a change, and create a difference to the community no matter how small.

Jamie Oliver isn’t just a normal chef nor is just a TV personality. He is someone willing to contribute his skills and talents of cooking for a good cause It’s not everyday you see  someone use cooking to make a social change. For Jamie, it’s a vision. No doubt, he is my favorite TV chef!

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. There are various challenges and risks in starting your own business, such as lack of resources, capital and of course fear of the unknown. An overwhelming feeling amidst the very competitive business world. Some stay away from entrepreneurship exactly because of this but there are some that are willing to accept the challenge and strive for success. Thus, this blog entry will be about a person in my life that has shown to me how being an entrepreneur is possible, my aunt, one of the most influential entrepreneur’s in my life today.

She started with a small idea of serving Mediterranean cuisine to Filipino customers, something that was very rare throughout the Philippines. In 2005, this idea became a reality, when my Aunt launched her restaurant, called Cafe Mediterranean (Cafe Med). Today, she is able to expand to various parts in Manila.

She began working at home to plan out the business and then set up a small office in the restaurant itself so she could oversee her implementations and development of the business. It wasn’t easy. The investment she and her family had placed in this venture was high, and thus the pressure for the restaurant to succeed was high.

The risk of opening a restaurant is extremely high in the Philippines because the industry is highly competitive. There are already several outlets that have gained costumer loyalty, which makes this venture difficult. That’s why an entrepreneur needs a unique value proposition or have a unique selling point. For my aunt, it is mediterranean cuisine. Although the growth stage was particularly slow, Cafe Med was able to establish a loyal customer base throughout time

In class, Entrepreneurship was described as “a puzzle in which each piece is constantly changing and effecting the rest of the puzzle.” My Aunt’s venture was this small piece and throughout time, it will not only grow but develop and change. In fact, my aunt is the one who has influenced me to be part of the business world because it is my ambition to be an entrepreneur. I know how risky it can be but if my aunt can do it, so can I.

What is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is basically someone who starts a business using their own resources and become significantly accountable for their own risks. Entrepreneurs start of with an idea and then try to start a business that revolves around that idea. So let me introduce you to Jeffrey Church and Michael Stone, two entrepreneurs with a goal to help impoverished communities in their world countries through selling purified water.

The two founded Nika Water in March 2009, a bottled-water company that donate most of its profit to organizations that provide people, especially less fortunate ones and who come from poor environment, clean drinking water. Last year, in fact, the sales generated from Nika Water provided relief to villages across the world such as in Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. Furthermore, they have also set up a recycling program in schools, where they provide dumpsters that collect water bottles that can be recycled.

Stone and Church believe that this entrepreneurship can help make a difference in the world, and their goals doesn’t revolve around money but through contributing to the resolutions of various global issues such as the water crisis. As Church says, “It only costs $20 to bring clean water to someone for the rest of their life.” (1)

(1) http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217454

The Blackberry is taking the cell phone industry by storm. It has attracted not only business men but also young teens that are drawn by its instant online access and free instant messaging to anyone around the world. Despite its increasing popularity, there is still increasing competition within the cell phone market. Using Porter’s 5 forces – mainly the treat of new entrants, substitutes and intensity of rivalry – let’s analyze the competitive environment of the Blackberry:

Threat of New Entrants

There are always possible threat of new entrants in the Phone industry, not necessarily a threat of a new phone company but of new products from established companies. With the launch of the I-phone 4, the competition is high for Blackberry. They did launch the Blackbery Torch around the same time, which makes Apple one of the biggest rivalry for Blackberry for this particular product. Both are new and innovative products.

the Blackberry Torch

Threat of Substitutes

The Blackberry can be relatively expensive as it is a Smart phone, and during and an unstable economy, demand for normal phones may be higher.  However, it is also important to note, that the demand for Smart phones is high for teenagers and college students due to its instant access to the internet. Therefore, in the long run, there is not any significant threat of substitutes.

Intensity of Rivalry

What sets the Blackberry apart from other Smart phones is their development of the Blackberry messenger, which no other smart phone has. It allows users to message people with blackberry across the world without a charge, which is why it is attracting young customers. This innovation has given them a competitive advantage in the phone industry. Secondly, ever since the launch of the Blackberry Torch, they have done intense advertising to advertise their product. In Canada for example, network distributors such as Rogers, Fido and Tellus, highly advertise smart phones including the Blackberry. Therefore, these strategies that the Blackberry utilizes allows the company to survive in such a competitive environment and as stated before, gives them a commercial advantage in the phone industry. In addition, they have a a very diverse product portfolio, which helps reduces the intensity of rivalry for the company.

Based on Porter’s 5 forces, the competitive environment of the Blackberry is intense due to the launch of new products from already well-known and established brands. However, based on the increasing demand of the Blackberry and its intuitive appeal to young adults gives them a “boost” in the phone market and helps them sustain their high standing in the industry.