Thank You Note for the People who Made AEA SingKwenta Possible

Oh hi there. I hope that you get to enjoy the short holidays. Well I know I enjoyed mine by putting up an additional 10 pounds and finishing a lengthy reading or two. And oh, trying (and failing) to comprehend Metrics.

This is a long overdue note of thanks to all the people who made “AEA’s SingKwenta: Where Yesterday and Today Meet” possible, and a raving success at that. I’ll try to remember specific names as much as possible in this list. (Warning: this note is quite lengthy)

 

Avid AEAn: Ang Kinky Niyo!!!

I went to this UBE thing last November 15, again expecting (and failing) to get free ube jam (and also failing at this corny joke BTW). Last time I went to a similar event, it was like a Talentadong Pinoy free-for-all. This time they decided to make things… uh… romantic. Heck, they even had a playlist straight out of my pang-romansa DOM uncle’s iPod for background music. You know, “Careless Whisper” and other stuff.

And again, I was late, but this time I had to break a horcrux before going. No, actually I came from a photoshoot and a business meeting and dancing with Hermoine cause she’s alone (hirap maging sikat, whew) before going to the UBE and getting surprised with what I saw as I enter. I thought I saw two guys trying to kiss lips-to-lips while this (bit too) perky emcee eggs them on. Yun pala, they’re eating a Pocky biscuit between them, and the catch is that whoever pair ends up with the shortest biscuit left would win. The shortest Pocky apparently came from a (real-life?) couple, with only 0.6 cm of biscuit left. I was like inggit wow so they did kiss?

Then the emcee wanted us to form groups of seven. Next game was card relay where we pass playing cards to the next teammate using our lips. Of course I placed myself in the most convenient position: in between cute girls at the back. Well, the cards never reached my way, and needless to say, the other group won. Napaghahalata kung sino yung mga sanay na…

Then the next game was something about melting ice using you and your partner’s hands. I kinda forgot what happened, except that one couple allegedly melted the ice even before we get to melt just half of ours. And so the UBE ended, quite anti-climactic. It didn’t help that there wasn’t so many of us there, as I can attest na maraming kasabay yung event. But I can say na malas lang nung mga di nagpunta dito, they didn’t get to enjoy a good kinky bonding experience.

And oh, as we were cleaning up the place, there was this fat semi-kal guy who kept on promoting this event he called Singkwenta. He said that it’s an alumni homecoming event and a Christmas party and more. He sounded kinda too eager and enthusiastic, but in fairness, I got what he said and maybe I’ll go to that event’s volunteer GA, and of course sa event na rin. For short, nadaan ako sa salestalk…

Things are really picking up in AEA eh?

(Up next: About this volunteers’ GA thing. Nadaan ako sa salestalk, pero OK naman ba talaga yung Singkwenta na yan? And wait, alumni homecoming di ba, so they’re gonna invite Noynoy?)

 

Is Santa a deadweight loss?

An interesting article from the Economist. Click here to know the answer to this question:

“Are all those Christmas gifts just a waste of resources?”

What to Get an Economist this Christmas

Here are tips on what to buy for Economists this season of giving (from the “Mind Your Decisions” Blog)

Gifts for economists, 2010

It’s that time of the year where I try to answer the following question: what would you get an economist?

There are plenty of good ideas in my previous guides, so you may want to get started there:

–Gifts for economists, 2008

–Gifts for economists, 2009

This year’s list adds on a few more economics related gifts.

So without further ado, here is the 2010 version of gifts for economists.

For the card player:

• Poker dealer button with timer
  I love this idea of putting a timer on the dealer button. This allows everyone to know how much time is left before blinds go up.
• Alternate suggestion: for bigger games, you might want a larger display like this poker home tournament timer

For the planner:

• The Economist wall calendar 2011
  This is a perfect accessory to put up around the home or in the office. The monthly images are drawn by by Kevin Kallaugher (“KAL”), The Economist’s editorial cartoonist since 1978. I received the calendar and the promo material said you can find the calendar in Barnes & Nobles and Borders stores online, from the Economist website, via telephone (            800-456-6086      ), and in Canada’s Chapter stores. The calendar retails for $14.99 – $16.99 plus shipping and handling.

For the board game player:

• Monopoly
  This is a classic board games and definitely brings about important economic concepts. I still love the classic version of the game with paper money and property prices in the hundreds. There is a new version that uses an electronic banking system – called plainly Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition which could be useful to prevent corrupt bankers (though I always felt stealing was an interesting element in the classic game). There is also a modern version known as Monopoly Revolution which features a circular board. It looks good though personally I’m sticking with the classic edition.

For the general read:

• SuperFreakonomics
  I got around to this book during the year and I’m still going through it. While it’s not as good as the Freakonomics (unfair, as that’s a high standard), it is definitely still worth a read and by now the price is very affordable at $18 for the hardcover.

For the movie enthusiast:

• The Informant! (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is an interesting comedy starring Matt Damon. The plot centers around a whistle-blower concerning price fixing in agri-business, and this is based on the true story of lysine price fixing.

For the TV watcher:

• Modern Family Season One (Blu-ray, DVD)
  This is a personal preference, but I did enjoy how the characters got into amusing binds and had to think of strategy to get out of them.

For someone that likes cool t-shirts, mugs, etc.

• Economists Do It With Models merchandise
  The logo for the site EDIWM is very cool–a graph in the shape of a woman–and you can get this logo on tons of items like t-shirts, mugs, hats, or on a bumper sticker. I’m sure if you sport one of these items it would definitely be a conversation starter in the office or at a cocktail hour.

For a last minute gift:

• Amazon.com gift card
  I’ve mentioned this in years past: this is a gift that is pretty close to cash and reasonable for pretty much everyone. You can send it in the mail with free one-day shipping (crazy!), or as a last minute gift, you can send the gift card to a friend’s Facebook account.

Source: http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2010/11/29/gifts-for-economists-2010/