Kamusta ka Pinoy??

Pardon me for the lateness of my blog. Also, this is going to be a mix of Tagalog and English, Taglish in short. I felt like I would need to tell some stuff in tagalog to make it more heart felt. As you would notice, majority of my blogs are in english that's because I prefer writing in english and speaking in tagalog. Para naman may balance. haha! Anyway, too much introduction already. Here I go...

Two days ago, the President had her last SONA (may it really be her last) and just like last year, I found myself glued on the boobtube, listening to what she had to say. I have taken it as my responsibility being a citizen of this country to know what is happening to us as a nation.

Back then, I was what you would call apathetic. :( But when I took eco as my major, I felt that I should be involved. That I, could make a change in my own little way.

So from then on, I watch the news even more. Parang umiikot na nga lang ang buhay ko sa news, news at news (oh sige, sama mo na ang uaap.haha!). Lalo na sa bahay namin, oras-oras nakatutok sa news hindi pa kasali dyan ung mga lunch and evening news ha.

I watched the other SONAs she had and some of Erap's but I never really understood what they said. Kasi bata pa ko noon at wala akong pakialam kundi pumasok sa school, pumasa at makagala. Yun lang ang importante sakin. So when I knew better, I watched it and took everything what she said and analyzed if that was really the case.

Lalong mas tutok ang mga tao sa huling SONA niya lalo na at may mga "pagtatangka" na pahabain ang kanyang termino.

The speech lasted almost an hour, her longest ever. Half way through it, I wanted to change channels but I knew that my mum would go berserk if I did. So I summoned all my will to finish it.

Once again, she was talking BS. Economists, rely on statistics big time. With out it, we are going to die. Umiikot ang mundo namin sa mga numero. At yun ang ginawa niya. Figures left and right. Kung titingnan mo, nakakamangha. Pero kung nakakaintindi ka ( it doesn't require being a genius), iba ang nararamdaman.

GDP growth (sorry,geek) has incredibly increased during her term. Our currency rate managed to appreciate from 56 to 47. It's 48. something today. Not pretty bad. But for OFW families, this actually hurts because they get less and commodity prices are still the same. Kumbaga, mura ang palit, pero ang bilihin mahal pa rin.

Madami pa siyang binanggit na datos. Pero sakin sapat na yung nabanggit ko bilang gauge (sorry hindi ko talaga alam yung tagalog) kung ano ang tunay na estado ng bansa.

Education is still one of the top problems that SHOULD be resolved. Hindi natin kailangan gayahin ang mga taga-Kanluran. Adding one more year is rubbish. Matalino ang mga Pinoy. Kaya nila makatapos ng pag-aaral sa edad na 20. Yung iba 19 pa nga. Ang dapat na ayusin ay ang pundasyon. Ayusin mo yun, aayos ang lahat. Chain reaction yan. Eh kung sa simula pa lang bulok na, paano pa pa pagdating sa dulo? Bulok all the way na yun. Also, give the teachers what is due to them. Wag niyong kuriputin ang mga guro. Haven't you noticed?? The best teachers are leaving to country to pursue greener pastures. Paano 80 bata na nga tinuturuan mo, kakarampot pa ang kinikita mo. Kaya saludo ako sa lahat ng mga guro na nagtitiis at nagtitiyaga na magturo dito satin dahil purong puso yun. Vocation if you must. :D

The economy is booming. The country has not been greatly affected by the Global Financial Crisis. This is all because of good governance. I say, BS. BS to the highest level.

The economy might have been picking up. The country has indeed survived the crisis. But you know why?? Because we have been perpetually under a crisis since the Marcos era. Hindi na tayo nakabawi-bawi. Kung nakabawi man, baby steps lang. Tapos darating na naman ang mga kurakot. It has been a vicious cycle. :S

Also, we Pinoys are known for being resilient. Umulan, bumagyo, masunugan, manakawan, kaya nating harapin ang kahit na anong hirap o problema. Haharapin ng buong tapang at may kasama pang ngiti. :) Siguro kaya ganun. Isipin mo mahirap na nga ang buhay, galit ka pa sa mundo? That's bad combination. Para naman balanse di ba? Mahirap pero masaya. :)

Ibang-iba ang nangyayari sa sinabi mo madam. Hindi mo dama kasi wala ka naman sa sitwasyon nila. Kung tunay na maayos ang ekonomiya, bakit may nagugutom? Bakit may natutulog sa lansangan? Bakit may mga batang hindi nakakapag-aral? Bakit may mga nangingibang bansa at iniiwan ang kanilang mga pamilya kung may sapat na trabaho dito? Bakit, bakit wala akong trabaho?? Bakit may mga mga masasamang loob na nanlalamang sa kapwa?

Back in college, a professor told our class that there is a natural unemployment rate and natural poverty rate. It's between 3-5%. Meaning, unemployment and poverty could never be eradicated. Because it would hurt the economy if it's zero rate. Right now, unemployment rate is somewhere at 11%. Sobra-sobra sa dapat. At hindi ako ligtas dito. I have a college degree under my belt and yet here I am, a total bum. Sige, may mga trabaho nga, pero hindi akma sakin. Sayang ang inaral ko. Ako afford ko hindi magtrabaho sa ngayon. Eh yung iba?? Kahit ano kakagatin para lang may kitain. Yan ba ang magandang ekonomiya??

At ang pinakamalupit dito, tinira niya ang lahat ng kanyang kritiko. Resbak kung resbak. Natiis mo ng walong taon, ngayon aalma ka? Personally, I think that she shouldn't have done that. Bahagi pa ba yon ng estado natin bilang nasyon?? Parang malayo yata. Oh well. Ang tingin ko tuloy para siyang bata na nagsumbong sa nanay niya kasi inaaway siya ng mga bully. Ganun. At panalo ang hirit ni Mr. Congress. "Her critics should stop criticizing her but rather help us." Errr, good point Mister... but that's why they're called critics right?? I mean it's their "job" to criticize.

I really hope and pray that by May 2010, Pinoys are wiser than ever to chose a new leader that feels how it is to be common tao. Madam, wag ka ng mag-asam pa. Utang na loob!

Ikaw, kamusta ka Pinoy?? 'til then...

Hardworking hard workers

This morning, I woke up early, 10 am to go to the mall with pap to withdraw some cash and buy some grocery. I only had eight and a half hours of sleep and was a bit cranky about it. But I knew I would hear it from my father if I didn't wake up for this trip.

Sleepy as I was, I managed to get set in twenty minutes. We withdrew first and went to raid the hardware. My dad is a big fan of the hardware. We can leave him there while we go shopping and would pick him up only to find out that he's still not finished going thru the entire space. Drills, and technical stuff fascinate him. Naloca nga ako kasi sabi niya pumunta na raw kami sa bulbs. Naglalakad na ko bigla naiwan na siya kasi may tiningnan na gas lamp. Sa lahat ng madaaanan namin sa hardware, ganun siya. Ang tagal tuloy bago namin narating yung pakay namin. whew!

The guys who assisted and tested our bulbs (before we paid for it) knows his stuff. My dad inquired about this black spot in the bulb when it was lit. He kindly explained that it was the filament and it was just normal for the bulbs to have that.

Also, my dad was busy looking at these water filter when the saleslady approached him and did salestalk to him. Ang galing! Kasi alam niya talaga yung product. Or was I just really dumb? But she sounded really convincing and you know she wasn't bluffing. We left without purchasing (pap said he had to consult with ma first) and the saleslady thanked us. I thanked her back for the information she gave us.

On the grocery, all the "employees" were more than glad to be of help while we grabbed everything that we needed. Our cashier was ever so friendly greeting us with a warm smile. Mind you, she did the bagging too. Nilapit ko na yung mga binili namin para hindi siya mahirapan. Ayoko magmagaling mag-bag kasi una hindi ako magaling at baka mainsulto siya na ginagawa ko yung hindi ko naman trabaho.

We had lunch in a Chinese fastfood (hulaan niyo) and as our order came, the waiter asked if we were expecting more food and when I said wala na po, salamat, he got our order number and said thanks as well.

As I was eating my lunch, I realized how lucky I am. There I was, enjoying my free, yummy lunch courtesy of pap while others have to work their a**es off just to earn a living. Mind you, most of these people I've encountered earn minimum or worse, below minimum. :(

The wonderful thing about them is their passion for work. Sige, siguro malamang karamihan sa kanila hindi yun ang gusto pero they do their best to get people to buy their products and they do! Some are pretty pissed off with nasty, rude, demanding customers but they mighty try to conceal their anger. That is something exceptional about them. That is plain control right there. :)

My parents have done a great job with me and my siblings. If there was one thing that they instilled in our young minds it was to be kind to others. Hindi man kami mayaman, kung may maitutulong eh gawin.

These people, the saleslady, the cashier, the bagger, the waiter, the janitor, the guard and all those who work the "least" wanted jobs, I salute them. If I could give them a hug, I would. Only I'm too jahe. Maybe next time, I could give them the two-thumbs up mark. :D

I instantly felt that I shouldn't be a brat about having a few hours' of sleep. Habang naghihilik ako, yung ibang tao nagbabanat na ng buto para kumita ng pera. Ano ba naman yung lugi sa tulog kesa walang kitain di ba? I felt sooooo blessed and I thanked these awesome people that made me realize this fact once again. :D

So next time you hit the mall, greet them back. It wouldn't hurt to spend some saliva on them. ;P Smile at them as you pass by. The most precious thing in this world is a warm smile that would lighten one's day. Give them that. Always say thank you or sorry whenever needed. This is my golden rule. It's not hard to utter these words. Say it with me, Thank you! Sorry! There. Piece of cake huh? :) Instead of asking the waiter for the gravy or ketchup, why not get it yourself? Nobody gets hurt with a few extra steps. :D

Our world would be a better place to live in if we all extend a helping hand to one another. Right? Right!

Kudos to all the hardworking hard workers. :D You are the BEST! 'til then... :D

Magic is the word

Last Friday, July 17, my friends and I went to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the sixth installment of seven books. I waited loooooong for this and I couldn't be more excited when the time has finally come for me to watch it. :)

We reserved tickets predicting that it would be hard to come by on the weekend opener. Our call time was before 9pm to claim our tickets or we forfeit the reservation. 8-8:30 pm was the "meeting time". But as always, good old friends "forgot" to comply. Okay, okay, kayo na ang busy. Pero reservation kasi natin nakasalalay doon eh.

Tempers were running high. Merong irita kasi ang gulo ng usapan, merong irita kasi ang layo ng pinang-galingan tapos siya yung una, merong atat sa call time, merong naliligaw sa ibang lugar, yun pala may side trip pang pinuntahan, merong chill lang kasi lahat hot na.

Good thing, our workaholic friends had extra dough to cough up for you. Next time, ang late manlilibre ha! :)) That's what I love about my friends. Though different we are, we are all the same. It's a difficult thing to explain but I think you know what I mean. One moment, everyone's pissed off, next moment, we're all laughing at some crazy jokes.

Rarely would you see me out with friends watching a flick. I've explained it over and over again that I find it wasting time, money and energy to do this. Don't get me wrong, I love watching flicks, it's the most relaxing thing for me but it's not exactly what I call bonding time. So the rare occassions you see me out with friends for a movie night means one thing. It's either I really want to see the movie that I don't mind "missing the bonding time" or I love you. :)) Seriously, pumapayag lang ako mag-movie kung yun talaga ang agenda namin. So "let's go see a movie", spur of the moment thing won't work with me. Dapat naka-set ang mind ko na manonood. haha!

Over all, the movie was okay, but if you've read the book like me, you would feel blah about the whole thing. Fine, fine there's the cinematography to think of. Looking at a different perspective, it wasn't really bad. On the contrary, it was full of humor ( I love the Brit humor!) and the effects were good. :)

I felt really magical watching it. Tipong Hogwarts student rin ako at witch ako. eeeeeek eeeeek! It's my secret dream to find Hogwarts and meet Cormac. LOL

On a serious note, I don't need Hogwarts, a wand or a broomstick to fly. All I need is my family, my brothas and sistahs from otha mothas. :D I call them friends. Some managed to become super friends and there are the super duper friends that took the name of friendship on a totally different level. :D Friends, super friends and super duper friends, it all boils down to the deep friendship I have with each and everyone of you. I am 100% sure that God loves me big time. For He has given me a lovring (loving na, caring pa!) family and a fantabulous (fantastic na, fabulous pa!) set of friends. :D

I feel really magical when I am with you friends. I feel that I can do a perfect love potion for those hopeless romantic, transfigure myself into whatever you need me to be, defend you against the Dark Arts aka bad vibes, nasty, rude people, etc or do some Charms on you (ipinilit??). I can play I mean game of Quidditch but in reality that's just volleyball. Some of us shared triumphs and defeats with the team.

You have been amazingly crazy, insanely serious thru the years but we all stuck it out. Alam na alam kung sino ang for keeps. :) Malapit, malayo, nasaan ka man, kaibigan kita, maraming salamat! :D

Hey you, yes you! You, the one reading this, you're my dear fella, thanks for your awesomeness. :D Don't ever be a stranger or I would surely be sad.

Cheers to a lifetime friendship! :D 'til then...

She :D

is my travelling buddy

is my personal financer

is my strict disciplinarian

is my superhero

is my life guru

is whatever we need her to be

is my pillar of strength

is my father's loving wife

is my Tinkerbell

is my mama

I can go on and on about my mother but I'm giving you the best ten things about her. :D My mama is the best ever. Though I am two months late with this post, I still want to let the world know what a beautiful person she is. :D

My mama ( I also call her mommy, mum, madre and mutti) is the fourth of ten siblings. Having a big family, they were left to help their parents in any way possible. She often tells us how they lived a hard life. Despite this, my grandparents were able to send them to school and all ten offsprings managed to get a degree (tama di ba??). She worked in Metropolitan Hospital where she met my father. After some years, she transferred to PAL.

Since then, she has been working in the office while papa looks after us. I didn't really understand why that was the case. I felt like our household was different from the others. While everyone in my class had their mummies during school events, my mum was in the office working. Back then, I felt like I wasn't loved 'coz I thought she didn't want to see me during those events.

When I finally had the sense to understand things, I completely understood our set-up. It wasn't about not being loved, on the contrary, it was ALL about being LOVED. My mum had to be in the office and had to miss my events so that she could send me and my siblings to the best school there is. She didn't really left me all alone. She made sure that papa was there to see me. There were times that she would attend when pap couldn't make it. :)

Though she is tired from work, she managed to cook dinner for us, check my homework and sometimes helped me with my projects. My mum is a super human! My siblings used to tease me how did I ever come up with the idea that I wasn't loved. Among the three of us, they said I have the best life. When I thought about it, they had a point. I was and still am the spoiled one. Being the youngest has its perks. ;P

mama and i during our recent trip together in koala land :)

I am like mama who is not expressive with emotions. Rare are the moments that we would show affection. But now that we both have "matured", flashes of sweetness are seen more often. She is a friendly tyrrant. She knows when to be strict and when to be lenient.

We both love to eat. She's been all over the world and that is something that I really like about her. I would be more than happy if I could be half of what she is.

Mum has made sure that we have everything in life. She may not have given us what we wanted but she secured us with what we need and showered us with soooo much love.

I couldn't wait for the day that I would be able to repay her in my own little way. I want them (her and pa) to have the life they truly deserve. :D We still have to go to Venice and ride a gondola. :)

I love you mama! You are the best. Rachie is proud of you. :D 'til then...