At around 4:00 pm in the afternoon today I ended my work receiving to an irate customer with foul mouth full of usual profanities. Disputing of is his service despite explanation that he hadn't paid yet. He hang up on me and in split seconds another call pop up and another customer complaining and shouting that her sidekick is not getting a signal. So difficult to adjust your emotion from one call to another.
I went out the building, the clouds are getting thicker and about to pour any moment. As soon as I alarmed my car to open, rain started to fall. I run to my car, switched it on and waited for few minutes before maneuvering out the parking area. I turned on the radio to listen at FM music, lightnings and thunders reign the dark sky. Cars fog lights turned on. The whole city of Iloilo got the strongest shower after summer this year though no forecast of storm.
Like a rain, humans tends to pour their emotions spontaneously without warning. You can just be struck by a lightning and shaken by a thunder. I pulled over and let the heavy rain subside. If I could have continued driving despite the condition I might get a higher chance of getting an accident. If a person is so mad and would never stop yelling, never answer back or explain rather stay calm and be quiet. He'll get his silence after he pours all out his emotions.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Dawn and Challenge
Today, there were people in my work place who were ask to leave the company not of economic recession but because of the standard the company is imposing. The standard is just and rightful prerogative of the company to achieved its goal and sustain growth and competence. It is so sad to admit that these people are nice and been like a good friends for quite some time.
I felt bad and hurt of had happened to them. Instead I should celebrate for passing the company's tests and examinations I feel more disappointed. I really felt sorry, that some of them are bread winners and had sacrifice a lot for the dreaded schedule and yet after few days they will be ask to leave.
Life is mean and bossy. We need to overcome its challenge to float over the sucking current. I mean we should keep pace to what life demands. If it's asking us to jump, jump! Discover your potential and get serious. Life isn't a joke after all.
For my good friends who lost their job today, never felt apathy and self pity. No one is dumber than the one who survives because of memorization. Intellectuals are always the victim of a formatted megabyte brain modern society. Intellectuals who can articulate and talk about life impromptu never given a chance of recognition but solely for those who can only live and gain success by low level intelligence.
The dawn of robotic memory has just begun. I'll never convert my brain into such fad. I'll survive by my initiative.
I felt bad and hurt of had happened to them. Instead I should celebrate for passing the company's tests and examinations I feel more disappointed. I really felt sorry, that some of them are bread winners and had sacrifice a lot for the dreaded schedule and yet after few days they will be ask to leave.
Life is mean and bossy. We need to overcome its challenge to float over the sucking current. I mean we should keep pace to what life demands. If it's asking us to jump, jump! Discover your potential and get serious. Life isn't a joke after all.
For my good friends who lost their job today, never felt apathy and self pity. No one is dumber than the one who survives because of memorization. Intellectuals are always the victim of a formatted megabyte brain modern society. Intellectuals who can articulate and talk about life impromptu never given a chance of recognition but solely for those who can only live and gain success by low level intelligence.
The dawn of robotic memory has just begun. I'll never convert my brain into such fad. I'll survive by my initiative.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Instant Mami
Instant Mami (Instant Noodles)
Have you ever felt so down in your life? That everything seems to be hopeless? Right now, I am in a total dilemma. I wanted to rectify myself from being lost. It’s early morning now 3:00 am Sunday night of January. I can’t close my eyes and dream the solutions for this inner conflicts. I went up from bed and write instead, re-channeling my confusions and despair into writings. My ego cannot manage enough so I queued in for the defense mechanism called displacement but this isn’t about madness.
After graduating in college in 2005, the real world after is so tough and challenging. Living in the Philippines is so hard for a newly graduate. Competitions and Connections are the two ways to get a job. Competition is common because it happens anywhere in the world. But Connections? Well, you can compete with your credentials but you’ll surely drag down over those who got godfather, uncles, cousins, or distant relatives in general. They were born lucky, and I use to call them “Instant Mami” (Instant Noodles). The dirty culture is a continuous process and it runs from generations. The Philippine laws are more precise to prohibit this dirty practices but the laws seems limited on government agencies (yet I doubt) and just a figures written in paper for private companies.
I was able to find a job in two companies consecutively right after I graduate. Maybe I am lucky enough to have it but I am proud to say I am not an “Instant Mami”. When I quit my job to process something very important for a future career in far away lands. The moment I wake up every morning, I felt the ambiance despair and disappointments when I see the statistics of unemployment rates of the country on TV. I came to realize that I am part of it. I quit because I need to prioritize something. What if I never had a job since graduation, or had a job but never had the tangency from my profession?
There are thousands of graduates every year. But the chance of finding a job is a shoot in a blue moon. Even applying to work abroad requires to have a longer experience. But how can you have that longer experience if you can’t have a job within your country? Luckily, with remedial blessing of this proliferating Call Centers and English tutorials for Koreans started mushrooming every cities. The government even brag this achievements on the Philippine televisions that they can provide jobs for Filipinos. Well, I say thank you so much because our Engineers, Nurses, Pharmacists etc. ended up receiving calls from the U.S. and some become an English Tutors to the Koreans. What kind of country do we have? When will this country provide proper jobs for the degree we earned? When will this country inspire the pupas that the time they explore the world, el dorados of nectars are waiting for them?
I am not an activist. Never in my life I shouted on street protesting against the government. I view life full of hope and understanding. I adhere to the principle that no society, government, or country perfect enough to please its citizenry. I am just a human being who can feel the disappointments in life though not necessarily mine. I am just an ordinary Filipino who noticed something is polluting and savaging each Filipinos' full potential.
Have you ever felt so down in your life? That everything seems to be hopeless? Right now, I am in a total dilemma. I wanted to rectify myself from being lost. It’s early morning now 3:00 am Sunday night of January. I can’t close my eyes and dream the solutions for this inner conflicts. I went up from bed and write instead, re-channeling my confusions and despair into writings. My ego cannot manage enough so I queued in for the defense mechanism called displacement but this isn’t about madness.
After graduating in college in 2005, the real world after is so tough and challenging. Living in the Philippines is so hard for a newly graduate. Competitions and Connections are the two ways to get a job. Competition is common because it happens anywhere in the world. But Connections? Well, you can compete with your credentials but you’ll surely drag down over those who got godfather, uncles, cousins, or distant relatives in general. They were born lucky, and I use to call them “Instant Mami” (Instant Noodles). The dirty culture is a continuous process and it runs from generations. The Philippine laws are more precise to prohibit this dirty practices but the laws seems limited on government agencies (yet I doubt) and just a figures written in paper for private companies.
I was able to find a job in two companies consecutively right after I graduate. Maybe I am lucky enough to have it but I am proud to say I am not an “Instant Mami”. When I quit my job to process something very important for a future career in far away lands. The moment I wake up every morning, I felt the ambiance despair and disappointments when I see the statistics of unemployment rates of the country on TV. I came to realize that I am part of it. I quit because I need to prioritize something. What if I never had a job since graduation, or had a job but never had the tangency from my profession?
There are thousands of graduates every year. But the chance of finding a job is a shoot in a blue moon. Even applying to work abroad requires to have a longer experience. But how can you have that longer experience if you can’t have a job within your country? Luckily, with remedial blessing of this proliferating Call Centers and English tutorials for Koreans started mushrooming every cities. The government even brag this achievements on the Philippine televisions that they can provide jobs for Filipinos. Well, I say thank you so much because our Engineers, Nurses, Pharmacists etc. ended up receiving calls from the U.S. and some become an English Tutors to the Koreans. What kind of country do we have? When will this country provide proper jobs for the degree we earned? When will this country inspire the pupas that the time they explore the world, el dorados of nectars are waiting for them?
I am not an activist. Never in my life I shouted on street protesting against the government. I view life full of hope and understanding. I adhere to the principle that no society, government, or country perfect enough to please its citizenry. I am just a human being who can feel the disappointments in life though not necessarily mine. I am just an ordinary Filipino who noticed something is polluting and savaging each Filipinos' full potential.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Filipinos' Little Spanish and More English
Today my mom started renovating her room and we hired a carpenter. The renovation was a call to the modern design of the interiors she saw on magazines and television. We were actually brainstorming and directing all the this and that. As I observe them working, I heard one shouting at his companion “Largo! Largo!” I was surprise and suspecting that it is a Spanish word. How come he was able to use it. I don’t even use that word in usual daily communication. I tried to think deeper the meaning of the word. I waited to the response of the second person. He brought in a long lumber. Then I think “Ahh maybe it means long” as we also called “Pantalon” (Pants) as delargo or de Largo (in proper context). That probably why we use commonly the word delargo to describe the long pants.
There are thousands of Spanish words in Filipino language. You cannot compose a Filipino sentence without a Spanish word on it, maybe not really be a sentence but surely in a paragraph. If you are a spanish speaker you might probably understand what I am trying to say on this Filipino Ilonggo sentence: “Gusto ko ang sapatos nga barato pero alta kalidad” which means “I like cheap shoes but with high quality.” In Spanish: “Me gustan los zapatos baratos pero de alta calidad” If you go to the market and buy something surely you will hear a lot Spanish numbers. If you are going to ask a prize they will answer you using Spanish numbers or English numbers. For example; “How much is the pork?” Possible answer you may hear: “ Cuarenta cada kilo” or they may also say “Forty per Kilo”, then if you ask someone about the time, they may answer you in Spanish or in English. Usually older Filipinos use the Spanish phrases, but if you ask a younger person they will surely use the English phrases.
What is also unique with Filipinos is our names. Usually our first names are in English but our family names are in Spanish. For example; Michael Perez, Christine Lopez, Peter de Leon. Our identity as Filipinos has been totally influence by the western culture. Our names are just a representation of the two foreign dominations, Spain in 1521 and the United States in 1899.
The Philippines (Filipinas) is named after King Philip II of Spain (Rey Filipe II de España), and it became a territory of the Viceroyalty of the New Spain which was governed from Mexico City until the early 19th century, when Mexico obtained independence. From the 1820's, the archipelago was ruled directly from Madrid, Spain. The Philippines for 333 years as Spanish province (Provincia del Mar) is not enough to become a total Spanish speakers like Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Well, it is also a good thing that we Filipinos was able to preserve our own native tongue with more than 170 native languages (dialects) all over the archipelago. Somehow, I am also disappointed that the gift of Latinity to the Filipinos by the Spaniards is continually lost in time.
Each region of islands in the Philippines has its own dialect. To be able to communicate with each other Spanish language was being used for three centuries. Spanish is the Philippines’ first national language. Before the American came, Philippines is almost Hispanized through an exchange culture between Spain through Mexico. With the decline of Spain's power over its colony is the time and rise in power of the United States. The Philippines made English as the co-official language. Eventually the Filipino in 1937 realized to seek its own identity. They Established Tagalog (a dialect spoken in Manila, the capital city) being called Filipino as the official language of the Philippines. From then on we got three major languages; Spanish, English, and Filipino. Not until the 1980's when Spanish was officially removed as part of the country's major language.
I am happy to think that until now there are still Spanish creoles left existing in some provinces of the Philippines. Such as in the province of Zamboanga where they speak almost or broken Spanish, being blamed to the Spaniards in history who did not teach the locals well.
The Philippines became a Christian nation because of Spain and having a Democratic government because of the United States of America. The Americans was the first to build public schools in the Philippines with English as medium of instruction. Until now, the Filipinos enjoy this gift as fluent English speakers in Asia and with half to extinct Latinity.
There are thousands of Spanish words in Filipino language. You cannot compose a Filipino sentence without a Spanish word on it, maybe not really be a sentence but surely in a paragraph. If you are a spanish speaker you might probably understand what I am trying to say on this Filipino Ilonggo sentence: “Gusto ko ang sapatos nga barato pero alta kalidad” which means “I like cheap shoes but with high quality.” In Spanish: “Me gustan los zapatos baratos pero de alta calidad” If you go to the market and buy something surely you will hear a lot Spanish numbers. If you are going to ask a prize they will answer you using Spanish numbers or English numbers. For example; “How much is the pork?” Possible answer you may hear: “ Cuarenta cada kilo” or they may also say “Forty per Kilo”, then if you ask someone about the time, they may answer you in Spanish or in English. Usually older Filipinos use the Spanish phrases, but if you ask a younger person they will surely use the English phrases.
What is also unique with Filipinos is our names. Usually our first names are in English but our family names are in Spanish. For example; Michael Perez, Christine Lopez, Peter de Leon. Our identity as Filipinos has been totally influence by the western culture. Our names are just a representation of the two foreign dominations, Spain in 1521 and the United States in 1899.
The Philippines (Filipinas) is named after King Philip II of Spain (Rey Filipe II de España), and it became a territory of the Viceroyalty of the New Spain which was governed from Mexico City until the early 19th century, when Mexico obtained independence. From the 1820's, the archipelago was ruled directly from Madrid, Spain. The Philippines for 333 years as Spanish province (Provincia del Mar) is not enough to become a total Spanish speakers like Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Well, it is also a good thing that we Filipinos was able to preserve our own native tongue with more than 170 native languages (dialects) all over the archipelago. Somehow, I am also disappointed that the gift of Latinity to the Filipinos by the Spaniards is continually lost in time.
Each region of islands in the Philippines has its own dialect. To be able to communicate with each other Spanish language was being used for three centuries. Spanish is the Philippines’ first national language. Before the American came, Philippines is almost Hispanized through an exchange culture between Spain through Mexico. With the decline of Spain's power over its colony is the time and rise in power of the United States. The Philippines made English as the co-official language. Eventually the Filipino in 1937 realized to seek its own identity. They Established Tagalog (a dialect spoken in Manila, the capital city) being called Filipino as the official language of the Philippines. From then on we got three major languages; Spanish, English, and Filipino. Not until the 1980's when Spanish was officially removed as part of the country's major language.
I am happy to think that until now there are still Spanish creoles left existing in some provinces of the Philippines. Such as in the province of Zamboanga where they speak almost or broken Spanish, being blamed to the Spaniards in history who did not teach the locals well.
The Philippines became a Christian nation because of Spain and having a Democratic government because of the United States of America. The Americans was the first to build public schools in the Philippines with English as medium of instruction. Until now, the Filipinos enjoy this gift as fluent English speakers in Asia and with half to extinct Latinity.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My 2nd Anniversary as a United States Professional
Two years ago I went to Hong Kong to take the National Council Licensure Examination. Lying down my bed this morning mesmerizing the moment I walk around the Chinese soil full of hope to pass the State Board Examination of the United States of America. It seems only yesterday that I tried to lost myself in Queensroad completing my dinner with a hot pot.
Hong Kong is far advanced than Manila, as it is being called an international city. The young people speaks English well and with Chinese accent. The older people barely understand and speaks English. I am totally impressed of its modernity unparalleled to Manila or any Philippine cities. Call me a caveman but the thing that excites me is the scanning system for transportation. The Hong Kongers just placed their cards on the scanning machine when they ride the bus and the subway. Some would place the card on the bottom of their bags and just try to put the whole bag over the scanning machine, or inside the wallet and putting the whole wallet on top of the scanner. I sound so naive and funny writing this things. One thing I hope from this and that is a hope for a modern Philippines. We only have a swipe system for our metro, and we only have few lines. I heard that the Philippine government is planning to add and extend more metro lines. I wish the budget will really be on the project and not on the politicians' pockets.
I feel sad, really sad, when my dad opened my room this morning asking me to drive him to the city to get his plane ticket because he is going back to United States for his work. When will I get my own plane ticket for the U.S. and start working as a professional? I renewed my American license already but I am still here in the exotic islands of the Philippines. When will I start staring at the skyscrapers? I hope next year I will write on my blog my third anniversary wearing thick clothes preparing for the upcoming winter in New York City.
Sigh! I am so disappointed but hopeful.
Hong Kong is far advanced than Manila, as it is being called an international city. The young people speaks English well and with Chinese accent. The older people barely understand and speaks English. I am totally impressed of its modernity unparalleled to Manila or any Philippine cities. Call me a caveman but the thing that excites me is the scanning system for transportation. The Hong Kongers just placed their cards on the scanning machine when they ride the bus and the subway. Some would place the card on the bottom of their bags and just try to put the whole bag over the scanning machine, or inside the wallet and putting the whole wallet on top of the scanner. I sound so naive and funny writing this things. One thing I hope from this and that is a hope for a modern Philippines. We only have a swipe system for our metro, and we only have few lines. I heard that the Philippine government is planning to add and extend more metro lines. I wish the budget will really be on the project and not on the politicians' pockets.
I feel sad, really sad, when my dad opened my room this morning asking me to drive him to the city to get his plane ticket because he is going back to United States for his work. When will I get my own plane ticket for the U.S. and start working as a professional? I renewed my American license already but I am still here in the exotic islands of the Philippines. When will I start staring at the skyscrapers? I hope next year I will write on my blog my third anniversary wearing thick clothes preparing for the upcoming winter in New York City.
Sigh! I am so disappointed but hopeful.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Old Bad Childish Memory
This morning I was driving my car around my hometown and I passed by the old school where I had my elementary education.
When I was young in my elementary years, I was brought up in a society where the equation of intelligence, wealth, sanguinity, and memorization are paralleled. If you can memorize the Pledge of Allegiance you’ll surely get the highest grade even you do not understand what you are saying. Those kids whose parents are teachers would usually get the highest recognition in every school activities and would get an extra points on their grades. They are the singers, the orators, boy scout leaders, the leaders to sing the national anthem and raise the flag. If you are a son or daughter of a prominent family they would also give you a credit or recognition of such otherwise they can’t get a big donations to renovate the bathroom, exclusively for teachers' use. Unfortunately I am not on those categories, we don’t have richness for them to loot, thank God we don’t have relatives among those crocodile educators, and I don’t memorize things I don’t understand. So I end up as an ordinary student, whose name can only be heard when the teachers checks the attendance. I am just a nobody, and one of those from behind in dark corners.
I don’t like how these people from latrine slime in my community run the public educational system in our town, with guts to believe that the society owes them because they are the so called “Educators of the Future Filipino”. The fancy slogan would only deserve for teachers who teaches with fair, impartiality, and would not send his students in gardening instead of reading books. While she is so busy chit chatting with her fellow stinky colleagues dissecting life of other people. With my gullible mind I am too innocent not to have a liberal thinking that moment to analyze that we are doing is wrong. We are not suppose to do those gardening, we deserve to read books and not to till soil the whole day and looking for white stones at the river to decorate the garden. Every morning they would even ask us to pay for donations of this and that, payments for this and that. Sometimes my money reserved for snacks end up to donations because if you won’t give; "God will punish you, and you might end up in hell because selfishness" as what our teacher’s rhetoric speech would always conclude. I only have five pesos per day that year three pesos in the morning that you can buy a bread and a homemade juice in plastic and straw, and two pesos in the afternoon and I can only buy a gum or a candy. Some children were even given more than enough by their parents and they could buy more than what I have. I live my life so innocent that I don't even complain of what I have nor compare with how much my classmates have.
I thank my mother because after finishing elementary, she sent me to a private and big university in the city, for my high school. There, I would not live tilling the soil and spend the entire educational term in gardening. Unfortunately I had to leave home and would stay for several months away. I love that university because it is has wider campus world class library and it inculcates talent on every students. That is where I was coming out from my shell to share some God's programmed talent. It was the only time that I was able to perform oratorical speeches in competition in an elegant University Auditorium. I won several contests. As compared to that slime filthy stage of my elementary school where the usual people and usual names are performing, I have gone far from them.
I passed far from the main gate. I was searching for some good memories in my elementary but I can only remember my old good classmates. I never had an inspiration from teachers.
When I was young in my elementary years, I was brought up in a society where the equation of intelligence, wealth, sanguinity, and memorization are paralleled. If you can memorize the Pledge of Allegiance you’ll surely get the highest grade even you do not understand what you are saying. Those kids whose parents are teachers would usually get the highest recognition in every school activities and would get an extra points on their grades. They are the singers, the orators, boy scout leaders, the leaders to sing the national anthem and raise the flag. If you are a son or daughter of a prominent family they would also give you a credit or recognition of such otherwise they can’t get a big donations to renovate the bathroom, exclusively for teachers' use. Unfortunately I am not on those categories, we don’t have richness for them to loot, thank God we don’t have relatives among those crocodile educators, and I don’t memorize things I don’t understand. So I end up as an ordinary student, whose name can only be heard when the teachers checks the attendance. I am just a nobody, and one of those from behind in dark corners.
I don’t like how these people from latrine slime in my community run the public educational system in our town, with guts to believe that the society owes them because they are the so called “Educators of the Future Filipino”. The fancy slogan would only deserve for teachers who teaches with fair, impartiality, and would not send his students in gardening instead of reading books. While she is so busy chit chatting with her fellow stinky colleagues dissecting life of other people. With my gullible mind I am too innocent not to have a liberal thinking that moment to analyze that we are doing is wrong. We are not suppose to do those gardening, we deserve to read books and not to till soil the whole day and looking for white stones at the river to decorate the garden. Every morning they would even ask us to pay for donations of this and that, payments for this and that. Sometimes my money reserved for snacks end up to donations because if you won’t give; "God will punish you, and you might end up in hell because selfishness" as what our teacher’s rhetoric speech would always conclude. I only have five pesos per day that year three pesos in the morning that you can buy a bread and a homemade juice in plastic and straw, and two pesos in the afternoon and I can only buy a gum or a candy. Some children were even given more than enough by their parents and they could buy more than what I have. I live my life so innocent that I don't even complain of what I have nor compare with how much my classmates have.
I thank my mother because after finishing elementary, she sent me to a private and big university in the city, for my high school. There, I would not live tilling the soil and spend the entire educational term in gardening. Unfortunately I had to leave home and would stay for several months away. I love that university because it is has wider campus world class library and it inculcates talent on every students. That is where I was coming out from my shell to share some God's programmed talent. It was the only time that I was able to perform oratorical speeches in competition in an elegant University Auditorium. I won several contests. As compared to that slime filthy stage of my elementary school where the usual people and usual names are performing, I have gone far from them.
I passed far from the main gate. I was searching for some good memories in my elementary but I can only remember my old good classmates. I never had an inspiration from teachers.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
How Blind is Love to Make Us Stupid ?
This morning as I entered the English Academy where I am working, with headphones on at highest volume, listening to a Spanish crash course, one of my colleague asked me, "Do you know how to speak Chinese?" I answered, "Well just the basic one". I then discovered a young Chinese lady at the couch looking for her lost boyfriend (yeah, this is real! sounded like a TV drama eh). She lost in contact with her Korean boyfriend who had been studying English here in the Philippines. His boyfriend was our student in this academy a month ago, but after that he went out to find an independent tutor. Actually I saw her boyfriend few days past at one of the bar here in the city. We had a few chat and he is doing well and enjoying being a freelance learner, so I told her about that. She waited for the manager (a Korean) of our academy and ask for help where she can find her boyfriend. She lost in contact with him for almost three weeks and there was this speculations I heard that they already broke up, the reason why the guy probably changed his phone number. So what the hell is she doing here? Spending money to fly from China to the Philippines just to find her lost boyfriend? Yet in fact uncertain if her guy still loves her. Is love blind or just so stupid to be blinded? Today she went to the place where she can possibly find him, showing a picture of her boyfriend to anyone if they know him. Well, good luck to her!
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