Mad Money Trailer

Tomas Bradanovic

The sad story of my life

I was born in Santiago de Chile at January 6, 1955, my first schools was Rafael Sanhueza Lizardi, then Liceo Valentn Letelier and Escuela No 157 for basic cycle, all of them public and free.

After a big earthquake which destroyed our home, in 1967 we moved to one of the most dangerous gettos in the city, near Zanjn de la Aguada river, it was called "Operacion Sitio" when the late Eduardo Frei Sr. ruled as President. I spent my childhood among lot of criminals, but it was very happy and normal in any sense, I had it all except $$

In 1969 I moved to Arica with my sisters home for my first year of secondary studies, in this city at 14 years old, I started my road to perversion, I tried liquor for first time, failed at studies and turned into a rebel without a clue, my parents sent to me to a "healty exile" in the southern island of Ancud (Chilo) where they lived for the following 4 years.

Ancud it was for me a place for strong emmotions, where I suffered the most and where I keep the most wonderful memories of my life. In 1974, after to finish the secondary studies at the glorious Liceo de Hombres I come back to apply for the university in Arica, wich saved to me for a certain dead from cyrrosis.

But I failed to the entrance examination and I was out of the university. So I started to study for electronic technician at Inacap, this carreer was acredited by Universidad Federico Santa Mara. As I was quite good student at secundary so I finished as technician with no problems. Meantime my father died and we was -once more- in the most deep of misery.

As long as I dislike the idea of working as technician, I taked one of the few risky desicions of my life and applied again to the university with no money at all. This time I was accepted with a score in the middle low of the Bell curve (I have been always in problem to concentrate during long drills). At the university I obtained my degree easily ranking with the best students, providing I had to work to pay my studies.

Among several miserable jobs I had to do, I was introduced to the manager of a firm in the free zone of Iquique who represented Casio Computer: the very first computers was arriving to Chile and they needed someone to sell those exotic toys as commisionist. I was always great programming computers at U, and this job fit to me as a ring to a finger, it gave to me a small commision for piece of euipment sold and the business to sell programs was mine. It was a convenient deal to my company also, because in the early 80s very few people was able to develop aplications and I was for free because dont received salary, just commisions.

I have proud memories from some systemas from those times: complete inventory or ledger apllications with just 8 bits and 32Kb total memory (for programs, storage and RAM) those aplications worked fine during many years and I earned a good professional reputation in the area.

As time goes on, I started to improve in my job taking charge of purchasing and marketing analisys for japanese people at Casio. In Japan those years marketing was more to do with commercial intelligence than advertising so I had to sent them -via an old Siemens telex- a daily report with goosip of commercial, politic, social etc, analysis, that way I improved a lot my english (self learned reading "Penthouse").and I was developing friendship relations with almost every area manager at Casio in Japan Finally they invited to me to Tokio as an outstanding salesman prize. I exchanged the first class ticket for a PanAm "round the World" so I made Miami-Los Angeles-Tokio-Hong Kong-Macao-Bangkok-Dehli-Frankfurt-Pars-Londres-Nueva York-Miami. That is, the complete round.

During those years (83 - 84, I guess) I met Pilar who was my first girlfriend and the only to the date. I haven`t think on that before, but it is odd in those times to have just one girlfriend. We have a child but we use to live at separate places during years. I guess this is the secret to the everlasting happiness because we live quite happy "almost together" since then.

After some years I was fired from job due my lazyness (lazyness it is into my DNA) because I started to go less days to work every day, finally I was in job just one or two days a week an my boss told me "you have to sign a contract and work as anyone else" I felt deeply offended, packed all my stuff and leave in anger. An there I was, unemployed with no one single peso, after some months I received an offer from a chilean representative of Apple Computers, the owner was a Bolivian-American and they appointed me as in charge to strat operations Arica to Tacna (Peru). During a couple of years I become an expert contrabandist at big scale and any kind of odd business. After a while things started to smell danger so I resigned before to be caugth in jail.

During those years I also worked as consultant with a company who represented Pioneer electronics, I was part of a staff of consultors, most of them proffesors from the Facultad de Administracin y Economa at Universidad de Tarapac, incluided the dean. So after two years I associate with tho of them and started the consulting firm Viera, Bradanovic, Navarro wich, despite earned good money our expenses was even much bigger.After a couple of years we split friendly and they are among my best friends up today.

Then it appears my wealthy cousing who engaged to me to a venture in the Free Zone of Iquique as manager, after 3 years I ended in the bankrupcy, sick of stress and with the bigger mountain of debts I had ever had in my entire life. Well I also learned a lot form this experience, it was a "PH.D. in living" who opened my eyes a lot and very useful for my future jobs.At this link you can read (spanish sorry) one of my most dangerous adventures on those years when I dreamed to get rich doing nothing.

In 1992 I started I started with my first public investment proyects for Poder Judicial en Arica. I earned almost nothing the first 3 years but since 1994 I started to earn big money, for the first time in my life, at last.

Time passed and at 1999 the ocal politicians discovered that they can rob the money I was earnig, so my brigth business faded same as my brigth future, I was unemployed again.All this sad story you may read here (sorry in spanish)

More years and little by little I was stabilizing as consultant for investment projects both public and private, we started with dome friends Santa Cruz Consultores and also TFox Consultores. Sometimes appeared good business, sometimes nothing but in general terms I managed to earn my living working very little, which is what I always dreamed, .

Many times I pass for vacas flacas (hard times) as any independent work, but I have not died starved yet so I am quite satisfied. Currently I was hired by Municipalidad de Tacna (Peru) and I work there 3 days a week supervising investment projects.My aim is to learn the peruvian investment system and make friends there to bring investors or start my own company to supply the peruvian goverment. Per is booming now.

Bradanovic or Bradanovich?

My surname is Bradanovich legally, but the rigth croat spelling is "Bradanovic" my grandfather surname, furthermore, due my snobbery or crazyness I prefer the surname without the final "h" that is why I write this way. The story of my grandfather Tomo and family is here,

And what happened next?

Those was some of my adventures to 2000, but what happenned since then?. Well, from 2001 to 2007 I was devoted to weird business, in december 2007 I was fired and again unemployed. Then I lived during one year with the high sponsoring of my wife, and when my last peso gone way I started doing a series of weirdest business, such as the administration of a sex bar, a dangerous trip to the gold zone in the peruvian amazonia and the only "real job" in which I have been in my life, at Municipality of Tacna, where for the first time I was required to sign a contract and wake up early, I standed the infamy to december 2008, then unemployed again. In april 2008, when I was near famine, some people from Escuela Universitaria de Negocios from Universidad de Tarapaca called me to join and start workng there. Currently I am working as ad hoc professor, and I am also involved into a big project from Ministerio de Educacion, My finances are balancing again and I feel great with the new job. I am also studying for an MBA in direction and business management which I hope to finish next year. "No hay mal que dure 100 aos".

My trailer

I was living 4 years in a casa rodante at the beach. Well half living because most of the day I spent at Pilars home with my people.

VITAL STATISTICS

• Name: Juan Tomas Bradanovich Pozo
• Curriculum Vitae (Resume)
  
• Birth date: January 6, 1955
• Heigt: 1.71m Weigth 80 kg
• MArital status: Single, 1 son (born 1990)
• Education: Electronic technician (1977 Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria), Electronic engineer (1986 Universidad de Tarapaca)
• First job: commisionist salesman
• Computers: Lenovo 3000 V100 laptop, Celeron 750 (Desktop), HP Pavillion ZE1201 (laptop), Dell Axim X50v (Pocket PC), Palm M500 (palm)
• Pets: german sheppard dog (Beppy)
• Trips: 3 times to USA, several to Peru, two to Bolivia, two to Argentina, one round the world
  
• Sports: None, never except for two years in love with swimming
• Last book: America (Kafka)
• Favorite newspapers: El Mercurio, Esquire, Scientific American. Mampato, Readers Digest
• Favorite website: http://www.marqueze.net, due the interesting and educative content...:-))
• Newsgroup suscribed and active: chile.soc.politica, chile.comp.pc, chile.rec.sexo, rec.travel.latinamerica,
• Favorte music: Jazz-blues. boleros, tropical, rock de los 70
• Favorite songs: Me and Bobby Mc Gee (J. Joplin), Paladar (S. Roriguez), Stormy Weather
• Favorite movies: La Familia, La Dolce Vita, any good italian neorrealism: Ettore Scola, Fellini, etc.
• Favorite saying: "Muchas manos matan la guagua" (too many hands kill the baby)
  
• Member: Radio Club de Arica, IEEE, Computer Society IEEE (many years not paying fees althoug)
• Annual incomes: from US$ 4.000 (hard times) to US$ 36.000 (good times)
• Assets: some US$ 30.000 aprox
• Debts less than US$ 100
• FAvorite programming language: Visual Basic for Aplications
• Second language english (defective, specially speaking)
• Favorite places in the world: Arica (Chile), Putre (Chile), Hong Kong, Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia), Mendoza (Argentina)
• Favorite people: italians, I love them
  
• Favorit e meals: Chesse, pasta
• Favorite drink: Beer, Absolut, RonRico
• My cars: Honda CRX HF, Chevrolet Cheyenne 1500 (opps RIP) , Mitsubishi Colt GLX, Trailer Discovery 1999
• Car of my dreams: VW bettle cabriolet, aircooled (my kind of car)

Then and now (how old I am!)

Some people I admire

Not all are friends of mine, but I am proud to have meet them

Here I am with Toms Moulian, a great chilean writer, he is politically near to communism, at the antipode of mine own ideas, but I am a fan of his works.

I was very luky to meet the most brilliant mind of Chile: Jos Piera, which I admire and share his political view, this picture was during a speech at Iquique. Doctor Piera has -in my opinion- a world class mind, mix of creativity, intelligence and practical feeling, very odd mix in a same person.

I also meet Sheij Suhail Hassad, Islmic teologist from shiite muslim, I learmt a lot of interest things with him on Middle East, history, customs, etc. It is incredible how ignorat and prejudicing are we with the Middle East world and customs.

With my good friend Hector Vera, sociology Doctor from L Sorbonne, Hector has lived an extraordinary life full of adventures, was also gifted wit athe clearest mind and a humble personality as usual in extraordinary people.

I have a lot of friends in the art scene and I feel great affinity with them, despite (regrettably) I have no special talent, here I am with the fine finnish painter Anna Maija Saukonnen representing to all my artist friends Viva el Arte!

Personal preferences

Despite the apariences, I am very introverted an antisocial, my distracctions are mainly individual: I love reading from my chilgood, I must have read many thousand of books and magazines, I read everithing, even a phone book if I have nothing better, it is my vice: to eat alone, at bed and reading. My favorite books You can check here (sorry spanish only).

I also love painting and in my youth I was quite good ilustrating, I am a big fan of Picasso and my home used to be full of his reproductions I love also music (sorry in sapanish) and despite I have no musical knowledge for classic music at least I enjoy at "ear level" .Which I most enjoy is opera, specially Mozarts "Don Giovanni".

Regarding to popular music my tastes are quite eclectic, blues, jazz and great songs from 20-50 (Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Halliday, Bing Crosby, Cole Porter), corridos norteos from Mejico, boleros and valses peruanos drive me crazy, I also enjoy salsa and caribe music, cumbias and some urban folklore (Soza, Silvio Rodriguez). I never lernt to dance and I feel in extreme upset when I have to do it, when I go to a disco I get mad, and there are no way I go out my chair unless I am completly drunk, which happen one or twicea year, then I dance like Travolta

I get sick with "folklore tradicional chileno", andean music, enviromental music, new age and msica "chicha" peruana.

The beach, the beers shared with friends and any other activity, normal to common people I enjoy, except the TV watch. I hate TV and will never in my life will purchase a TV set

An that is all folks

Webs and Blogs

I am prolific in the web proudly Ariqueo Neto and I really LOVE my tiny town most of I publish in the web is due a communitary interest to share with another people my feeling of the nice who is living in Arica

Yers ago I was in charge of the municipal website, after a couple of years I was fired (my lazyness again) and I start the communitary website INFOARICA.

I run my personal blog and my personal website (both in spanish, sorry) and I attempted a blog in english at Facts and fictions besides my Old weblog at Blurty

And now, well, thats all folks.

Tomasito the traveller, at Asakusa Kanon