Last year I wrote about my radio and komiks love affair. Today I received a comment from someone who can obviously read and write, but also apparently has no comprehension.

It was from a student asking for materials on radio programs and also had the temerity to instruct me to email the requested materials to him/her.

I know this plagues most bloggers and other sites. Sassy Lawyer blogged about this at least once. And these sort of stupid comments caused my fave poetry site to close years ago.

It’s bad enough they’re asking you to do their work for them, but they didn’t even bother to read and understand what the topic their “commenting” in is about.

The internet is vast source of knowledge. I could easily give this person crap and he’d probably pass it to his professor. It’s just worrying because in all likelihood the Philippines education system has not yet put proper guidelines/checks on info sourced from public sites. Compounded by the fact that you do get students who are not actually craving knowledge, rather are looking for cheat-sheets ala-Recto’s offering, then in a few years time Pinas will not only have massive brain drain because of the professionals flying abroad, you are also left with an inept workforce and even more stupid & corrupt politicians.

Why such a bleak outlook? Because those who do crave knowledge will think they’re too good to stay and they will have the opportunity to leave. Those who looked for the easy way out will not have benefited from their education and will not be export-material so they become President and Senators and asswipes.

When you’re done reading my post, some of you will be incensed and are likely to say the Title is harsh.

I only knew of another protest going round the Net via Kotseng Kuba’s post. Apparently some Middle East based kababayan are encouraging all overseas Filipinos not to remit any money on 1-2 November, that’s this coming Thursday and Friday. This is because of what they perceive as a false perception of a stronger Peso buoyed by the OFW remittances. Generally the feeling is that it is unfair that our converted pay is now lower than before and our families in Pinas are left shortchanged because of the ever rising inflation. One would expect that with the upward trend for a better Peso - Dollar rate that our economy should also show signs of reviving. Unfortunately, that is not the case. (more…

One of the evils of Democracy is the “red tape”. It’s in every bureaucratic (thank you spell checker!) organisation you have the misfortune of dealing with.

True, I laughed my ass off when I read this email about a Filipino employee trying to obtain a TIN from the Philippines’ BIR (anyone have a copy of that email - pa-forward naman uli it’s a classic worth re-reading when you’re down).

I raise my middle finger subconsciously every time I go the London’s Philippine Embassy. As soon as you step in their compound (that needs an overhaul, please!) I am transported to the hateful memories of queueing and waiting and watching our dear civil servants walk like zombies then be super-sonic when it’s 10 minutes to: lunch time or end of day. I faced our legal counsel one time while he was munching a Burger King and he’s happily chatting to someone-who-should-not-be-there-while-I-discuss-my-personal-life.

Yes, I do love (!) visiting the basement of the Embassy where you’re reminded that the Philippines is indeed poor, we cannot even maintain our Official HQ. I mean, you’d be scared to piss in the toilet & you’ll definitely hang on to your dear life when you try to climb down the stairs.

Then if your business is not done within the right hour, you are reminded how pitiful you are by begging/bribing/cajoling the clerks into “please, please madam put your super-expensive stamp on my paper before you have your adobo & we freeze outside”. Ok we do not freeze outside, we’re sometimes forced to “come back tomorrow”.

Anyway, you know what? Red tape & all the stupidity hate frustration that goes with it, is not only for the sick countries of the world.

I received an Inland Revenue letter saying I have to pay them back some Tax Credit because they apparently overpaid me. Ok, fine I will. So I called & waited. When I got thru, I answered 6 different security questions & then the operator said I failed one of them so I have to call them back. WTF?! Can’t you ask me again? Nope, “I already told you what you have to do & we cannot go any further”. 1-2-3-4… am still counting coz talagang imbyerna ka ha.

Fine I called again. This time I answered all the questions correctly. Then I stated my purpose & the clerk says, “Oh ma’am you have to dial another number for that request”. AARRGGGHH.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7…. Fine. I dialled that number. Gone thru another 6 security questions (by this time I wish I could just replay recorded answers). Then I stated my purpose hoping that this will be it! Nope. But thankfully, she could put me through directly to the correct department (how many of you are familiar with this phrase?).

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Finally after some more security questions (which I’m thankful for - honest - just exasperated), my request was dealt with!

People remember, this is a call that is meant to GIVE THEM money. I cannot imagine how it would be if I was to request for money or complaint. Que barbaridad.

image from: home.aanet.com.au/hcrosby/

A British colleague asked me whether Filipinos are called flips. His roomie is a Filipina and told him so but he was sceptical.

I know flip originated from America. Wikipedia says some Filipinos avoid the term and “prefer to be simply called Filipino or Pinoy/Pinay instead”. I am one of those “some Filipinos”.

Am I being narrow-minded? My being revolts at the thought of responding when called flip by anyone. Perhaps because I’m not from America, I don’t fully understand the value of turning this negative term into positive. But I do understand why blacks would call each other negro but would be offended if non-blacks do the same.

Perhaps because I grew up in my native soil I just refuse any non-Filipino label. I’m not flip. I’m not a flip. I’m Pinoy. More specifically, I’m Pinay.

How about you? Flip ka ba?

I have been racking my brains how to best start this post because I do not want to be accused of having “conflicting interests”. Cheng, a friend from Uni, started an online venture a few months ago and has recently flagged me on PPP to post about it. I was reluctant to accept the direct offer made from PPP as I would have done it for free. In fact, I kept chiding myself for not doing so earlier.

Just to make it clear, yes this is post is a direct hire from PPP. But the venture I’m going to talk about is not just based on a paid blogging opportunity’s description, but based on what I found out when I tested the site and based on Cheng’s ideas about a pro-Filipino portal.

Cheng is a Filipino mother based in Laguna. I met her in 1994 when I joined an acad organisation and she attempted to scare the heck out of me and my batchmates. She’s like most mums I met online, open-minded, vocal, has a strong personality, bright and hopeful of the Philippines’ future. She’s taught IT for a good number of years and recently decided that she wanted to empower herself and also give something back in her own way. Thus “HoPeS UP” was born.

So just what is “HoPeS UP”?
You can look at “HoPeS UP” as a web portal for any service you might be looking for that specifically caters for Filipino – service providers and clients alike. The idea is if the site gains as many subscribers then potentially this can be a one-stop shop for nearly anything.

Most consumers, especially Filipinos, rely on “word of mouth” in terms of referral to specialist needs. “HoPeS UP” takes that value in consideration and aims to house all those information in one place accessible by everyone in the world.

You need a builder? You need a nanny? Or perhaps you want a web designer? Or a wedding planner? Then if “HoPeS UP” gain enough subscription, potentially you find all that by setting the appropriate filters on the Search facility on the site.

What can “HoPeS UP” do for you?
“HoPeS UP’s” main target is listing businesses, be it a professional service or consultancy or teams of people or proper business venture. BUT it’s NOT LIMITED to just that.

“HoPeS UP” also offers “Affiliate Membership”, an option to earn at your own pace without leaving your comfort zone. Stay-At-Home-Mums (SAHMs) can easily be Work-At-Home-Mums (WAHMs). Those looking to supplement their regular income can look at this as a potential second job. In fact, I considered joining in June but then the homefront situation changed, making it difficult for me to commit to anything. Perhaps next year I will.

“HoPeS UP” also supports people looking to pay into charities or foundations.

Why am I even posting this?
Because I believe in what “HoPeS UP’s” trying to achieve. Like me Cheng of “HoPeS UP” believes that modern Filipinos have the talent, skills and resources to succeed. We just need to help create more opportunities for our community to leverage that pool. Perhaps with this venture, we don’t just hope, we can actually do it.

Need more information?
Check out the site (you’ll also find a link from my sidebar): http://hopesup.com/
Or get in touch: simplify(at)hopesup(dot)com

Huli man at magaling, matsing pa din?

Sexy Mom, I really feel bad that I have been late in reading about your first “flame” encounter. Reading both Connie’s & Noemi’s post alone inflamed me, too. But you were all right, turn something negative into something positive.

What is sex? What is sexy? What is it about Pinays being categorised as “exotic” (dancer, entertainer, bride etc etc)? Nakakainis. Nakakapanggigil.

They say it’s time to fight back & reclaim our identity. Gabriela, Princesa Urduja? Are you girls out there? If you are, hey look at me, I’m here, too.

I am a Sexy Filipina.
Indeed I am a super Sexy Pinay.
If you google it, I can also be a Sexy Philipina.
I am a minx in the bedroom, in the office, and mostly, in my head.
I am to be adored, I am a demi-god.
I am powerful, I am sex incarnate.
I am my husband’s dominatrix.
I am the ruler in the roost.
I am a Sexy Pinay Mom.

Pardon me people if I confess that, yes, I can be a slut, I can talk dirty, I can even tut-tut. But heck, my brain won’t stop churning & cavorting. My imagination’s fertile.

I shake and grind my booty day in, day out.
I leave my scent everywhere I go.
I make my mark on everything I touch.

I am gold.
I bring food to the table.
I take care of our loot.
I look after our children.
I look after my folks.
I also look after me.

I am a woman of the world.
A proud wife, a proud mother,
A very proud daughter,
An even prouder Filipino.

What is wrong with that?

In case someone asks, no I’m not a whore, I’m not ‘for sale’.
I am a woman.
I worked my way to the top.
Challenged men and women and the third-sex alike.
I am me, a modern Pinay.

I saw this really, really small piece of news in the morning paper a while back: “Headbanging is ruled a disability“. I was on my way to work & I thought the British benefits system is really going to the dogs. But hang on this is happening in Sweden! As soon as I got home & was able to blog, I checked out Mr Roger Tullgren & sure enough he’s in ananova.

So Tullgren complains his Heavy Metal obsession should be classified as a handicap and they did. Now he’s going to receive an estimated £65 per week! Perhaps I should try the same application here as my practise for the Metallica concert is causing me so much problems - I can’t stop listening to “Enter Sandman”.

Seriously though, the number of benefit cheats in any state that offers a good benefits package is unbelievable. Here in Britain they’ve been showing ads on tv and on print about the punishment & threat of detection for as long as I can remember. They’ve been encouraging people on sick benefit to get off their bum and look for work. They even have a monetary incentive for those who do take a job. Then we have illegal immigrants and EU migrants. The British government started paying some of them to leave and go back where they came from. But honestly, isn’t that more like an invitation than a deterrent?

And who is shouldering all these expenses and gleaming glorious benefits system? The tax payers like myself, of course. It gives me a warm feeling inside, especially when the government keeps highlighting that there may not be enough money for me when it’s my turn to ask for help or time to retire. Right now, the pensioners across the UK are being supported by the current workforce, too. And the pension forecast for the working class is that there will not be enough people of working age to support the present future-pensioners!

Then you are also made aware that some people bore a great number of kids in order to receive more child benefits & bigger houses. These people are also often unable to work due to some illness or some just say they don’t want to work because they want to be with their kids - both mother & father! So who’s feeding them? The state! It makes your blood boil. The reality is even grimmer if you look at the fact that a single mum will have more money than a two-parent family because the former receives so many benefits & tax breaks, whilst the typical family is left to fend for themselves.

It can make your blood boil sometimes. But then looking at how it is back “home”, I used to get taxed 35% of my pay & I see nothing come out of it. The Philippines has no benefits system that I know about that actually does what it says on the label, has poor & corrupt Education system, has untrust-worthy policemen who I’d encounter asking for traffic violation money, and public servants you’d want to strangle (ever applied for Tax Code on your own?)! I know, I’m painting a very bad picture of our country, but it’s a reality that hurts me, too.

I have read about Oasis Airlines the first time it was publicised in mid-2006. Back then when I checked their London-Manila rate, the three of us could have gotten a return ticket at less than £500! But I didn’t push it. First, we needed a budget for allowance money & a Pinas trip for 2007 is not planned. Second, I wasn’t sure of their service (as they’re new) & I wouldn’t want the family to suffer from DVT (deep vein thrombosis).

Around March of this year, some people we know started talking about Oasis & they knew people-who-knew-other-people who used the airline daw. There is one girl in particular who managed a roundtrip flight for £200 daw.

So the other night, while hubby & I were looking for Eurostar Paris break for August, I showed him Oasis just out of fancy. Sabi nya agad mag-book na daw kami. Imagine, Emirates (which we always take) quoted a March 2008 flight for our family at around £2800. In Oasis it was just £750, including taxes and surcharges!

The following morning I called my sister in Dubai. The last time we spoke her hubby suggested we coordinate our hols next year. I have not seen my sister for 6 years & her daughter I haven’t kissed or hugged since birth! I was really excited. Then I called my ate in Pinas to tell her the good news. She got over excited, akala nya this year kami uuwi. Ay Mali. But in any case, when I told her I will book the tickets that night & the Dubai family will book theirs soon after, ate was really over the moon. It will be fantastic for our parents, too.

I started emailing Pinas-based friends. All day long I’ve had visions of what I will do. How we will arrange our itineraries. I started dreading the suggestion that we stay with my outlaws for a few days. I mentally checked my shopping list for the family: jeans, hankies, ilocos kornik, and chocnuts are but a few.

Then I couldn’t resist it, I peeked at Oasis one more time. Ngek, they only have schedules for March 2008. Wala pa April. I was miffed because hubby said before bed that we ought to go in April in time for Kelvin’s 4th birthday. It made sense but still… you know, I was put back to Earth & made to face my reality.

I will have to wait perhaps until end of July (I emailed Oasis to enquire) before we can book our Pinas flights to Hongkong & connecting flights to Pinas. I know I will also wait for 8 months before we can fly home. But if I just have the booking confirmed & the printout framed in front of me, I’m sure the coming cold winter will be a breeze.

I miss Pilipinas so much.

I was going to blog about this last week but I was too sick to concentrate. I nearly choked on an article carried by the dailies. Apparently a psychologist from Durham University claimed that Dyslexia is being used by parents to cover for ‘thick children’. Prof Julian Elliot said that the condition is a convenient excuse, particularly for middle-class parents, to stop children being thought of as ‘lazy, thick or stupid’.

This day and age this is very un-PC. Of course, Elliot gained a few hours of media time. When I googled him, turns out he’s opinion has been out there since 2005. I don’t remember hearing about this two years ago, and I am curious as to why he’s suddenly in our faces but that’s not my topic.

Elliot wants dyslexia to be re-classified as a reading difficulty rather than a medical condition. But Dyslexia Action has responded with statistics and counter-arguments that you can read here.

What really caught my attention is not whether dyslexia exists or not, because personally I believe dyslexia exists. Sometimes I think I suffer a mild (?) form of dyslexia as I tend to read some words wrong or see weird/incorrect letters. But I digress - again.

My real point really is the difference between the have’s & have-not’s when it comes to their priorities. In Pinas, a typical child is likely to be labeled ’slow’ when he/she’s unable to read at a certain age. If the child comes from a poor family, the label sticks & his/her condition will remain unchecked. Ganun na lang “bobo for life”. But if the child comes from a middle-class family (upwards) the kid is likely to be seen by an expert & a proper evaluation conducted, or a private tutor is hired to help or even both. The child is saved with good measures in place.

I know we have the capacity to know if someone is suffering from any learning disability, or indeed any illness. But so few have the means or access to specialists and facilities. Sometimes it is interesting to know how many Filipinos actually suffer from these unseen disabilities, because for sure even they themselves don’t know.

Hubby, his aunt & I were talking about retirement last night. We know of several people, mostly couples, who opted to spend their retirement in Pinas.

My first example is this couple who spent their first year in Pinas, well, spending. They sold their maisonette here in the UK, cashed part of their pensions and proceeded to build what they thought would be their multiple homes. The husband built a house in his hometown in Pangasinan. They also built a house in Tagaytay. Their main residence is Bulacan where they have two houses: one is shared with the woman’s family (everyone pitched in), and the other a 4M house which now stands empty. They returned here last year to everyone’s surprise. I haven’t spoken to them since but I can imagine what happened. Finances aside (the endless spending), they’re bored. Once the houses were built, they have no more project to work on. They missed working. So at the age nearing 70, the woman, I was told, is back in NHS doing “agencies” (replacement nurse). The sad part really is they’re co-habiting with friends as they have nowhere to stay here.

Now we have another couple, originally from Pangasinan, who both worked for the Royal Mail. They received handsome pensions when they opted to retire. They sold their house to their daughter for cheap. In Pinas, we were told, the couple bought a mango orchard with 400 fruit-bearing trees. They also bought a “palaisdaan”. They own a house & lot near the beach where the compound’s neighbour apparently includes Gretchen Barretto. When my friend went to visit them last month, the couple took her & her family to an island via their newly-bought fishing boat. And of course, these retirees have no plans to come visit grey London anytime soon.

Some people have this grand vision that when they retire, they will enjoy doing nothing. But I have yet to see that pan out.

There are so many pitfalls for balikbayans thinking of spending their grey years in Pinas:
- If the person doesn’t have enough money then old age in Pinas will not be kind. Remember old age = aches & pains = high medical bills & maintenance.
- I don’t think anyone will really want a life with nothing to do. Even your closest friend cannot chat with you day-in & day-out.
- Balikbayans are accustomed to work, hardwork even. If they suddenly face what they see as “doña’s life”, they’d go stark raving mad.
- Some balikbayans will not settle to Pinas life anymore. It’s a fact. Yes, you visit once a year, you think you still know the place, but it’s a different story when you’re a permanent resident once more.

Like many other employees, I have designs for my own retirement. I know that to enjoy my retirement in Pinas I need enough money to support myself (& hubby). I have a very long “to do list”. Painting, photography, writing, see Pinas: those are just few of MY wants. But I also want to be able to “give back”. I don’t know how, I don’t know where, but I want to give my time not just money.

Retirement doesn’t mean stagnancy. As proven by Sexy Mom & Annamanila (ok she’s nearly retired), there’s more to life out there. I see it as my freedom to finally do what I want. I’m just hoping I will have enough fuel to sustain me.