#Blog 3

[achie-blog]

Week 1-2: Business Interview 👨‍💼

This blog will provide insights and information about various companies and businesses. On August 30, 2024, my groupmates—Jessa, Ian, and Francen—and I had the opportunity to interview five different businesses. These businesses are N JESS GENERAL MERCHANDISE, HAPPY SIP, AJ WATER REFILLING STATION, JASMINE GARDEN, and AQUARIST FISH SHOP. During these interviews, we gathered valuable information about their operations and the stories behind how each business was established.

N JESS GENERAL MERCHANDISE

The business is owned by Ms. Carmela Barton along with his father. It was established in 2015 and it is located at Zone 12, Upper Carmen, Door 3 LACAR Bldg.  Initially, they focused on selling wholesale Beer, Coke, and nails (lansang). However, the wholesale side of the business struggled due to an employee's failure to perform adequately, and the profit margins were low. On the other hand, nails became a fast-selling item, prompting them to expand their product offerings. Using the profits from nail sales, they reinvested in additional construction materials to attract more customers by providing a wider variety of choices. The business has 17 staff and mostly our labor since the nature of the hardware store requires handling heavy materials. Ms. Carmela said that their business is partnered with contractors, so the materials used in the project come from them. 

Ms.Barton shared that when starting the business, she first found a good location and a supplier. But despite the fact that business is in a good place and sales, it cannot be avoided that there are times they will experience slow sales but still she can manage to pay their financial obligations. And the reason why they decided to venture in business is to allow her father to retire from working abroad as an OFW, ensuring the business as her father`s retirement. 

HAPPY SIP

Happy Sip is a store that is owned by Ms. Rema Hassan along with his sister Merlyn Hassan. It was a franchised store established on March 5, 2024 and the main store was in Manila. It is located in Zone 12, Upper Carmen, near the multicab terminal. The business is focused only on selling milktea but they just added other options like coffee and snacks, including siomai and fires. They have only 2 staff, Ms.Rema and her mother, and they don't have any business partners. Before the Happy Sip was established the family had an ukay-ukayan that was managed by their mother. However, due to poor sales, Ms.Rema decided to venture into another business which led to the creation of the Happy Sip. She just wanted to have an extra income given the situation on their first business. 

Ms. Rema shared that the first process she did in building the business is to contact the supplier since the supplies are sourced from Manila. So basically she needs to wait a while for her to restock again. And it becomes one of the challenges she encounters along with the fact that they have a slow sale since tea is not a known necessity as the basic needs of people like rice. 

AJ WATER REFILLING STATION 

The business was owned by Mrs.Leonor Jamito and was established on June 28, 2024. It is located at Zone 12-C Uzlai Upper Zayas, CDO. It doesn't have a business partner and operates with a small team of just 3 staff since the business was just starting. Mrs.Jamito shared that the first thing she did in making this business is to save a big amount of money since the capital in this kind of business requires a big amount of money. Especially, it needs machines that generate mineral water.   

The reason behind this business is for Mrs. Jamito will have something to leave for her children as she doesn't know how long she will live. She wanted for her children to have a business that will help them to have extra income. And she also said that you just have to be patient because the sales are not consistent. There will be times that are going to be high sales, it also has slow sales moments.

JASMINE GARDEN 

The Jasmine Garden is owned by Amelita Dap-og and it was established in 1992. It was located at Gusa, CDO but now she is currently residing in Tagaloan. The business operates as a sole proprietorship with no partnerships. In 1992, the business started by selling only a few flowers, but over time, it expanded to offer a wide variety of flowers and plants. In addition to this, they now provide landscaping services. At the start, the business had just three staff members, Mrs. Dap-og, her husband Alejandro Dap-og, and her son Staline Dap-og. Mrs. Dap-og shared that they secured their location in Gusa through the support of the local government unit (LGU), and they have remained there because their business contributes to the beautification of the community.

Mrs. Dap-og shared that they were involved in several floral displays, such as festivals like kaamulan and higalaay. That is why if she wanted to display her products in any event she needed to submit a business permit. She also shared that they participated in a contest and won awards for "Best in Flowering" and "Best in Bonsai Plants." This involvement has allowed Mrs. Dap-og to connect with new suppliers and acquire new varieties of flowers that she can propagate and sell. Additionally, she has become a supplier to other gardens, creating a network of mutual support in the industry.

AQUARIST FISH SHOP 

The business was owned by Mrs. Devenia Soccoro M. Chua, who established the business in 1993. However, the physical store in Rizal Fernandez Streets. Brgy. 1 CDO was established in 2010. It is a sole proprietorship and only has 3 staff members, Mrs. Chua, her  husband and their child.  The business is all about selling different types of fish, along with other pets, accessories for aquariums and fish foods. They created this business to generate income but the inspiration as to why they did choose this kind of business is because of her husband who likes to take good care and collect fish. 

Mrs. Chua shared that the first thing they did to start the business was to invest and set-up a different aquarium size since this was where the fish will be put. They also sought out suppliers for their products, and as they built relationships with these suppliers, they were approached with offers for new varieties of fish, helping to expand their inventory.

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Insight Link:

[cafeyote]

me and gang at the haunted house

[formulaonedirection]

Finding out that World Athletics pays $100k every time a new world record is set so so Mondo Duplantis has just been setting it 1cm at a time from 6.17m to 6.25m in the past 4 years is so funny??? Finessing 1 million dollars 1 cm at a time even though he can clearly go higher at one shot???? #respect

[kiryuing]

[mariblahblahs]

do you guys even like girls that have this ...

[pronouns-d-ace]

IM BEING A LITTLE SELF INDULGENT HERE OK ouugidtjj I just need to put them in a monitored enclosure and see how each version of them would interact with each other

[beepboopappreciation]

Is this anything

[digimediasourcesandsignificance]

Blog 3:Intertextuality: Shared Narratives in Gaming Universes

Unity is a defining element of the game narratives, allowing the blending of the different worlds and the stories for creating the deeper, interconnected the experiences. Julia Kristeva’s theory of the intertextuality underlines how the media texts derive the additional meaning through the references to some other works. The phenomenon in gaming is majorly seen in titles such as Kingdom Hearts and the Assassin's Creed Franchise (Jenkins, 2020).

The Kingdom Hearts exemplifies the intertextuality by the blending of characters and the settings from the Disney’s broad catalog by the fantasy worlds of the Square’s Enix’s Final Fantasy series. The players can fight with the Goofy and Donald’s while also exploring some places like Agrabah or Hollow Bastion, all within the overarching the storyline uniquely to the series. A blend of friendly and newly creates an rich tapestry of the narrative layers, the appealing of fans of both the Disney and Final Fantasy, and generating empotional connections rooted in the nostalgia. It bridges these stories together in shared universe around which Kingdom Hearts draws players in through these connections.

But the Assassin’s Creed franchise blends its fictional story with historical events and real-world figures. Assassin’s Creed II will takes place in the Renaissance Italy, as having the player interacts with well-known figures like the Leonardo da Vinci, while uncovering a hidden plot within the Brotherhood of Assassins. The interplay between fiction and history results in an immersive experience with a heavy dose of history, and a good story.

Intertextuality in gaming reflects the ability to combine art forms and fill the cultural gaps. Games like Kingdom Hearts and Assassin’s Creed show how intertextual storytelling can deepen player engagement by connecting all narratives and getting into the emotional power of nostalgia and popularity. This phenomenon also highlights the rise of transmedia storytelling, where interconnected narratives distance between multiple platforms and digital media.

As games continue to evolve, intertextuality will play a more significant role in shaping their narratives and creating experiences that reflect on both personal and cultural levels.

Conclusion

So, this exploration of intertextuality in gaming is rather profitable because of how multilayer storytelling is developed easily. Through the infusion of familiar concepts into new worlds as well as emotional through-lines, games can not only create emotional connections to disparate audiences but also explore previously unexplored connections. Understanding this is a very relevant part of my growing as a creative practitioner as well — because it is a strong reminder to me that nothing comes out of thin air, that everything is built on something else, and that I should take as great inspiration in my own work. From here onwards, I can use this analysis to borrow intertextual elements into my own work by including cultural points or linking disparate narratives with each other for compelling multidimensional stories.

References

Jenkins, H. (2020). Revisiting convergence culture in games: Intertextual storytelling and shared universes. International Journal of Digital Media, 28(3), pp. 204–218.

Robert and RagnarokAngel (2022, April 4). ‘Wow, that Escalated Quickly: Goonhammer Reviews Kingdom Hearts’, Goonhammer. Available at: https://www.goonhammer.com/wow-that-escalated-quickly-goonhammer-reviews-kingdom-hearts/ (Accessed: [1 November 2024]).

[monkesupreme]

ref

a satisfactory answer for Selina

[kensatou]

deepthroating a gun without breaking eye contact...... he put his entire gongyussy into that | SQUID GAME 2

+ the video because the sound he makes when he puts the gun in his mouth? [redacted]

update: he improvised that. the man really said i'll go full slut.

[cervinae-canine]

this entire blog thesis:

[kittygirlari]

“i’m 30 years older than you” mhm please teach pathetic inexperienced little me how to be the best girl for you

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what my notifs look like currently

[attemptedsaint]

dream closet . ݁𝜗𝜚˚

[sapphicshitnvibes]

Maybe if I keep using the "🥺" emoji she'll know that I'm pouting and want her to fuck my brains out