eyeing the president 2

One of the more amusing moments of my time at the World Trade Center was seeing how close I could get to the Lady President who is surrounded by her security people. My motive? To get as close as possible to take a picture.

The answer? I got within 5 feet, and there was no one between me and the leader of my country, except for the podium. If I were a bad man, I could have done something horrible (only my camera was checked - I could have had things in my shoes, under my balls or strapped to my legs).

I got my picture and sat down right there, suit and all, to listen to her (behind me were the big time technology people).

Her speaking voice is really bad, like a static on AM radio. And she's painfully petite.

But smart.

Being the President, she naturally commanded the attention of everyone in the hall, except perhaps me, as I was thinking of how orange actually suited her. Remember that there was this big hoopla about her image and her handlers were harshly critiqued for how she was was positioned.

Things were over soon, and she was shuttled off to the next event. And the flash of orange was gone.

The reason I was really there was to see how our design of a client's exhibit booth was implemented. Pipe did the concept, layout, copy, photography, everything. The result - an exhibit that breathes and looks quite elegant, emanating trust. Client loved it, passersby loved it. I'm delighted and proud of my partner and staff.

Of course, Jason was there, as part of Yehey!'s new thingie. We had breakfast and talked about his Hinirang story and other potential things we can do in the future. Later, we met my (Kestrel Studios') production manager, Tony, who was at the event with Digital Filipino.

I also bumped into my step-brother, J. Disini, the top cyber lawyer of the country. We spoke briefly about business, shook hands and moved on. It was good to see him, as I rarely see members of my step-family despite the fact that some of us actually occupy adjacent industry space. I recall the time we'd cram everything in a VW Beetle and sputter to school, and then when we were older, having a series of devastating occurances that forever colored our opinions of each other. Such is life.


Pipeworx

The other business unit we've created is called Pipeworx. It'll be positioned primarily as an events management company but with enough flexibility to adjust to market demand. We've already lined up a list of clients and events to target and have begun the process of marketing the company.

My partner, Camille, is GM for the new company. Given her previous experience and savvy, we should be looking at moderate success soon. Pipeline Media occassionally runs into clients with event requirements and this is our way of serving them.

Besides, I want the free tickets to films, concerts and bar tours!