OFW sa Africa

A few good men

2011-02-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Looking back years ago, I remembered my colleague and friend who worked with me in Africa for almost seven years. Among my circle friends I have, he is quite different and somehow strange. He came from Bacolod and was raised by upper middle class parents who are strict and very religious. In this story, I will name him Bob. His parents as well as Bob are all Baptist.

Bob is not only very religious but also a straight guy who obeys his parent’s wishes and instructions. He doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol nor womanize. I considered him an epitome of being a righteous person. He graduated with honors and he is a product of Don Bosco - Makati. In fact, he was a top-notcher when he took his board examination in Mechanical Engineering. We were all single when I met him. At that time, I was made to believe that Bob will definitely be a good father and perfect husband.

Fast forward, today we were all married and like me Bob had one beautiful daughter too. His family had migrated to USA 6 years ago. What actually shocked me when I learnt few months ago from Bob’s wife that they had actually separated. In my mind, I don’t believe that it was happening. Bob’s wife told me that she was perturbed by constant verbal tussle and fights occurring almost everyday. Worst of all, there were several instances that Bob somehow beat his wife and daughter.

I find it really hard to believe that Bob had changed and he changed for worst. Accordingly, Bob had failed to provide financial support to his daughter. I lost contact with Bob and I didn’t hear his side of story. Truly life is unpredictable. A few good men could turn bad.

It pains me

2011-01-31T07:24:00.002-08:00

I was on vacation last Christmas in Manila and got an opportunity to see my former colleague who worked with me in Africa for about 2 years, I guessed so. She had resigned long ago and now happened to work in Makati. Things are not so good with her financially. In fact, she is in heavy debt with her credit card company. She could barely pay the interest. It was quite frustrating to see her in such dire situation.

While we were eating in a cozy restaurant, we talked about those good and bad old days when we were still working with our strange and evil boss. Suddenly, she murmured to me that I had a nice and costly shirt. She further said that oh my husband could not afford to buy such kind of T-shirt. What she said actually pierced my heart since this a lady who happened to love buying costly and quality stuff during the time she was still earning well from her short stint working abroad. Now, they are suffering and need to tighten up their belts even more. Well, since I am still working overseas, I borrowed or should I say gave her US$300.00 to enable her to at least ease their burden.

The social cost of working abroad

2011-01-28T04:17:00.000-08:00

Ang dami naming OFW na angkalat sa mundo. Mula sa karatig asia hanggang sa sulok sulok ng Africa ay merong Pnoy na nakikipagsapalaran para guminhawa ang buhay. Pero maganda bang maging OFW. Madami bang masayang OFW? Maaring oo pero marami din sigurong nalulungkot at naghihirap. Kasi nga sa mundong ito bawat aksyon meron counter reaction. So kung sa ngayon ang aksyon mo ay maging OFW, ano kaya ang magiging reaction nuon. Isa na rito ang cost of working abroad. Ano ano nga ba ito? Sa aking pananaw ay ito ang mga sumusunod.

•Ang hindi mo makasama ang mga mahal mo sa buhay dahil nasa malayo kang lugar.

•Ang pagbaba ng antas ng qualidad mo sa buhay. Ang aspetong ito ang patungkol sa gawain mong pang-araw araw nuong di ka pa OFW. Kung lagi kang nasa mall, mahilig kumain ng tuyo o di kaya bagoong o nagsisimba tuwing lingo maaring di mo na magawa ito kung nasa ibang bansa kana. Sigurado akong ma miss mo ito.

•Iyong mga naiwan mo sa Pinas na lagi na lang umaasa saiyo at ayaw nang magtrabaho. Ang inaatupag na lang ay mag tongits, gumala at magpalaki ng bayag.

•Ang homesickness na mararamdaman mo na minsan umaabot pa sa pagkasira ng ulo.

•Minsan paguwi mo sa Pinas doon mo malalaman na madami palang utang ang pamilya mong naiwan at hindi mo alam kung paano mo ito mababayaran.

•Di rin maiwasan na malulong sa bisyo at kung ano ano pang pangyayari na akala mo sa komiks lang pwede ay nangyari sa ilang miyembro ng pamilya mo.

•Dumarami ang fren mo at kamag anak na laging humihingi sa iyo ng tulong na para bang di ka nauubusan ng pera.

•Lumalaki ang sahod ng OFW pero parang mas mabilis dumami ang problema nya.

Tapos sabi nga nila na life is too short. Iyon na nga short na as in short pero bakit kailangan mas mangibabaw ang hirap kesa sa saya.

Shit Happens

2011-01-24T07:15:00.001-08:00

Shit Happens

When you woke up in the morning alone and not knowing what to do.

When you were young and saw your father dying of throat cancer due to heavy smoking.

When you noticed that your mother a widow was struggling to make ends meet.

When you were going to college not having any money in your pocket.

When you saw the girl you love but can’t do anything just stare at her.

When you work and go to school at the same time.

When you do all good things for a woman and still she does not appreciate them.

When you do good deeds and nobody cares.

When you were taken for granted and used you for her/his own benefit.

When you were taking good care and helping your only grandmother financially, physically and emotionally until her last day while you were waiting and looking for other relatives to assist you; but they never came.

When you are required to work overseas and missed the opportunity to be with your daughter during her younger years.

When your love was not being reciprocated.

When you know that it is the end of a relationship and nothing you can do about it even you tried hard enough.

When you saw your mother health’s failing due to breast cancer.

When you sacrificed something in order to gain but in the end lost it.

My Mother

2009-10-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

Mother is so sick that she barely speaks nor eats. She is having a rough time in fighting the cancer that engulfed her body. It is quite hard for us, her children to accept that she is in her last days of her life.

My mother is a quite extra-ordinary lady who is a widow for more than 30 years now. She takes care of us and make sure that we have sufficient foods on the table and have a decent education. We are not rich and in fact we are trying hard to make ends meet. But with her guts and determination to ensure that we make the days as they come, we survive.

I have so many experiences with my mother good and bad. All of these had thought me so many things in dealing with my life. I definitely believe right now that she had made me strong and courageous enough to face any adversity in my life.

We live most of our lives in Quiapo, a tough neighborhood where addiction and criminality are abundant. Despite of these despicable surroundings, we didn’t succumb to the influence of drugs and easy money making things. I tried my very best to study hard, harder than I could while working part-time in a grocery store. At the end, I and my sister had completed our studies. Sister is now an assistant manager in one biggest bank in the Philippines while I am still an OFW earning enough for my own family who is now in Canada.

My mother is not a perfect person and she has her own demons to deal with. She is so generous to a fault that her friend will take advantage of her generosity. But, it seems she is happy with that. I guess she found happiness in giving. Like any other mother-son relationship, we had some few disagreements. I normally call her two times a week just to chat with her. One time, I told her that you should be happy for your life because you live the best out of it. Her sacrifices to ensure that we finish schooling had paid of not because we, her children, are giving her money on a regular basis, but to the fact that we recognized her sacrifices and pains. And during our school days, I went to school even I don’t have single centavo in my pocket, I trek to school, and I borrowed money to buy books / papers. There were a lot of bumpy roads before I finally graduated in college. I did it because I know she will be disappointed if I would not. I demonstrated my love to her into action. Recognizing her sacrifices and fulfilling what she wants me to be are my best gift to her.

I don’t know how long she can still endure the pain. It’s terrible and disturbs me too. Whatever happens, Ma, I love you for the moment I open my eyes.

It's sharing time

2009-09-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Philippine was hit by a devastating flood that last for almost 24 hours. I can’t imagine what I will do if I were in such situation. It is horrible.

I hope that we can pass this deluge and stand-up from this calamity that knock-out us down.

Despite of this misery, we are full of spirit of giving. I presumed that there will be a lot of OFW will pour donation and help whether in cash or in kind. On my part, I requested one of my friend, who live in Marikina but luckily they are not heavily affected by the flood, to provide food in the school used as evacuation center. Its worth is just P3,000.00 It ain’t much but it will help to say the least.

Long Hiatus

2009-09-23T05:06:00.000-07:00

This is a long hiatus from writing my blog. The last blog I wrote was November 2008. Well, it is almost a year. Time really travels too fast. The reason why I am not blogging is there are so much to read in the internet that I have found no time to write at all. But, I am back for now and hope that I could document my life from the past to present and probably the future which I wish to take.

Laki sa Lola

2008-11-03T04:28:00.000-08:00

I don’t understand myself whenever I read an article describing the importance of Barack Obama’s Grandmother to him it brought uncontrollable tears in my eyes. I really appreciate his love to his grandmother who he affectionally calls Toots. Though he is so busy in the campaign he still squeezes valuable time to be with his failing Grandma.

Feeling of melancholy captures my mind and heart every time I read such article because I remember my grandmother who died on 2001. My grandma lived with us almost all her lifetime. I am his favorite grandson who accompanied her to all the parties, family visits/reunion, fiesta and other celebration. Well, she was far behind to Barack’s grandma in terms of education and financial status. But, she cared and developed me through my adult life. Lola wherever you are thank you for being part of my life.

Kwentong Sex

2008-10-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

It has been long since I wrote in this blog. I was so very busy working and doing my CGA course online. I take a rest in this course session and decided to enroll next year.

Kaya ko naalala magblog ay para ilathala ang naalala kong kalokohan nuong nagtratrabaho pa ako sa Manila. Isa akong external auditor that time sa isang Top 4 audit firm ng Pinas. Part of our audit works ay magpunta sa province para magaudit. 4 kaming na-assigned sa bacolod ng 2 linggo siguro para mag-audit ng isang sugar mill (Azucarera). Ang kumpanya ay matanda pa sa sinauna kaya ang nadatnan naming mga accounting staff ay kasing edad na ni Gloria Romero ata.

Syempre mga bagong graduate palang kami nuon, it was my first job after college. Naghahanap kami ng magandang magagawa sa Bacolod. It short ang hanap naming ay mga chicks na palaban. Kasi nga totoy pa kami at bagong salta wala kaming mahanap. After few days, dumating ang audit supervisor namin at naikwento naming na walang nangyari sa excapades namin. Sabi nya sa amin akong bahala sa lahat kayang kaya ko iyan. This coming Sunday arrange na ang lahat and everybody will have a nice experience that he will not forget during his lifetime.

Ang staff house ng company kung saan kami inaccommodate ay simple lang at malinis pero ang problem 4 kami sa isang kwarto at tag-iisa kaming kami. Akala ko nagbibiro lang ang visor namin that time. Nang walang abog abog nuong linggong dumating ay may biglang dumating na 4 na babae kaso ang problem eh parang kung saan lang nya napulot ang mga ito. Ang problema pa ay isa lang warto. Sabi nuong isa kong kasama sabay sabay na lang at bahala na. Kaso iyong 2 natira kong kasama at ayaw. Ako naman ay di ko type ang mga chicks. Sa madaling salita walang nangyari.

Ang siyeste kinabukasan ay kinausap ako nuong isang accounting staff na may idad na parang nanay ko na at nalaman na nagdala kami ng babae doon as staff house. Sabi nya sa akin wag daw akong papatol sa mga ganoon at baka may sakit. Grabe, alam ng buong accounting dept ay pinaggagawa naming kabalastugan Tapos ang nagdala pala ng chicks ay ang janitor ng company na addict. Doon pala nag negotiate ang visor namin

To buy or not to buy

2008-04-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

To buy or not to buy – this is my question and now it is becoming a dilemma circling in my mind.

We are relatively new in Calgary. But, the urge to move out to our present place and find a house is hard to resist. There are the following factors that affects our decision whether is this the right time to acquire a house or we should wait for a while:

• Cost of renting a house

Our rent is CAN$800.00. This is quite expensive as we are just renting one room in the basement. The reason we took the basement not because we like it but it is more a necessity for us to have it upon landing to Calgary. We were advised before then that it is hard to find an available apartment to rent. For this reason, we asked the help of my wife’s relative to look for available space for us to ensure that we could have a shelter once we arrived. This will also help us to avoid staying in the hotel if this arrangement had not been made beforehand.

The rental cost is all inclusive. We don’t need to pay for utilities, TV, bed and internet connection. In contrast, it is still attractive to get a mortgage loan which the trend of the mortgage rates is going and spiraling downward. The rent we are paying will be technically converted as equity in the mortgage we intend to finalize.

• Mortgage rate spiraling downward

Recently, the bank of Canada had cut the prime rate to 4.75% so to speak. After a few days, other banks follow suit. As early as January of this year, the mortgage lending rate is 5.95%. This stroke of event leads to the reduction of mortgage rate. Presently, somebody had offered me a rate of 3.99%.

If I had taken a mortgage loan at high rate, I could be losing at least US$300.00. The loss will be too big for me to handle and I would blame myself for it.

As the prognosis is quite good for the part of the borrower, but how far the lower rate could go? At what rate it will reach the bottom? I guess nobody can exactly say that.

So far what I knew, the lending rate will still go down due to the following (1) The demand to buy a house had started to wane and supply had increased. With this basic principle, we all know that cost of this house will surely drop. When I visited sites of realtor, I saw many detached houses for sale that had already vacated by the owners. I presumed that they had bought a new house with the intention to sale their old one. It could be bad if you are caught by the lowering prices of house. You will have a mix feelings whether to hold on and keep the old house until the price goes up or immediately sell the old house while the price had just started to plunge so that you will able to save something before price had reached the bottom, (2) The announcement of Bank of Canada to further reevaluate the rate on June 10, 2008, (3) The retail sales had reduced dramatically compare last months. This is evidence that most buyers had no enough cash to sustain their insatiable wants, (4) Slow economy of USA and the much talked recession that said to be lingering around them – these also contribute a bit to Canada as USA is a major trading partner of Canada; and (5) Buyers strongly speculates that prices and rates are still going down and they tend to hold-on a little longer before buying.

• Down trend of price of the house

Although there was no significant decrease of the average price of the house in Calgary, sellers are still stubborn to further hold on or maintain their price despite the pressure as mentioned above.

The question is how far sellers can cling on and who will give in the seller or the buyer. The market price dictates by law of supply and demand. Many had speculated that the real estate boom in Calgary had reached its pinnacle and it was finally declared over in our newspaper article. In my own opinion, the average (single detached) housing price could go as low as CAN$350,000 from its peak of CAN430.000 plus.

It is a sin to give

2008-04-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

I read this article in Philippine Inquirer written by an OFW. He raised a question if it is a sin if you stop sending financial support to your parents or siblings who in fact could equally find job and support themselves.

It is dawn on me that it is becoming a bad habit for our relatives to partially or totally depend on us as OFW. The will to be independent and courage to stand and support themselves financially, if not dwindled, had completely erased in their minds. But, we OFW are also part of the problem. We tend to give our parents and siblings excessive care by showering them with money until they abuse our generosity to the point of wholly relying on us.

Far worst, our family sees us like a goose that lays golden eggs. They seldom think or care about our situation, health and condition in working overseas. This is also one of the intricate problems OFW’s normally face. Despite of this tribulation, we are still here, away from our home, fighting to survive in a harsh situation.

Let us go back to the question. I have no idea if it will be a sin if you stop supporting your relatives. But one thing I know it will be hard for us to ignore their plea even we know that the requested money will be just used in a meaningless manner.

The Journey of Arnel Pineda

2008-04-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

Just in case you had watched the movie titled the last American virgin when you cut classes during your high school days. You will probably remember the soundtrack of the movie - “open arms”.

The song was made famous by the band named Journey. They are doing concerts touring around the world but this time minus their best lead singer Steve Perry instead the remaining band members hand-picked our home grown talent Arnel Pineda who sings in resemblance with their former band mate.

Arnel, a Filipino who experienced poverty in his early life, is really an inspiration for those who aspire to be successful. His great harsh voice is catapulting him to the world of fame and famous. Who could imagine a person who was homeless during his youthful years and barely find food on the table suddenly becomes popular and rich. Miracles do happen sometimes and success is not limited on being an immigrant to a prosperous country.

I don’t know Arnel personally but I like to hear him sings and his life story is worthy to know. Please check the link to watch his rendition of Open Arms in youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CocuznZtDg

Cleanliness is next to getting the job

2008-03-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

During dinner, a stay-in contractor in our site told me that he had seen a Filipina working as maid in his country. He blatantly asked me how much is the minimum monthly salary an average Filipino receives in a month when we work in our own Country. Maybe in his mind, he expects that we normally receive less than 100 US$ a month since most Filipina maids earn around 200 US$ overseas.

I answered him back that it is not that the 200 US$ monthly salary is enticing or huge that women in my Country willingly take the risk to get this job and work in your wagering war-torn country. The problem is we are over-populated. Our economy is not big enough to provide jobs for newly graduates or non-skilled workers alike. Thus, unemployment is a crisis. Our people accept a meager salary from overseas for the sake of just having a job. They also perceived that this is a stepping stone to migrate or find much better jobs in a developed country.

I told him your people are lucky because they are getting more than the worth of their money as these maids are mostly well-trained, educated and caring. Then, I started to be proactive and threw a simple question to him. There are a lot of maids coming from different Countries like India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Indonesia to name a few. But why you prefer Filipinas despite the fact that their salary is high compared to other nationals. He replied that Filipinas are clean apart from being educated and having a good knowledge of English language.

As old adage says that cleanliness is next to Godliness, but it is more than that. Being clean is next to getting the job. I agree that most of us Filipinos are physically clean but very few are morally upright.

Free your mind

2008-03-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

There are, of course, situation in which it is so depressing that you expected to be love or treated fairly in certain situation but didn't get it. Consider, for example, you have performed your job in your office more than par compared to others. You anticipated to be promoted and get a considerable annual salary increase consummately to your skills.

Suddenly, all your expectation died down like a blazing fire that was abruptly extinguished by high-pressured running water as the promotion went to other not you. This happened to most of us. In fact, Jesus had illustrated this desperate feeling in one of his great parables- the so called prodigal son. Yes, I am talking about the other older son who stayed with his father through thick in thin. He did not squander his inheritance like what his younger brother did. Instead, he obliged to be with his father to help him in their thriving business. But you see when his younger brother came back and ask for forgiveness, he was immediately accepted.

Like the older brother, will you simply accepted that situation and stay silently without any quiver. Let us go back to my first story of an office situation.

In this corporate world full of politicking, prejudice and craziness, you should expect the unexpected. Boss focused, picked and promoted the staff he likes with less consideration on what he or she may contributed to the growth and profitability of the company. Despite of this, you must persevere and do the right thing without hatred. For good deeds are bound to be awarded may be not now. But sure it will come. If we allow hatred rules in your heart, you will put your mind in state of depression and anxiety.

Life's Pain and Misery

2008-03-11T02:14:00.000-07:00

An email was forwarded to me by a friend. The content of the message is poignant and at the same time unbearable. It was painful to see one of our sisters who stayed and lived overseas to suffer such horrendous feat.

Life is too short indeed and in fact even with its shortness it is also full of misery. Each one of us has its own problems to solve and cross to take. Some will come up victorious and other dies with it.

Let me go back to my story and present it to you. Below is the full detail of it.

----- Original Message ----
From: Larry
To: naijapinoy@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, March 8, 2008 6:46:38 PM
Subject: Phil. Brgy. Society - Nigeria [PBSN] Plea for help

To Filipino Community of Port Harcourt
All Filipinos from Other Communities
All Friends of Lolaine Asuquo

Dear All,
Some of you may have heard already of the very sad incident
that has happened to our dear friend Mrs.Lolaine Asuquo and her
eldest son Eturu.
It was early morning about 3am on Tuesday,4th March when armed
robbers attacked their residence in NTA Road Chuba Area.Frustrated
to enter their bedroom,got gasoline from their generator and set
house ablaze.Being trapped inside the room, both of them suffered 3rd
degree burns.Eturu 50% of his body and Lolaine 75%.Eturu's face has
very litle burns but from shoulder all the way down was badly
damaged.Lolaine' s face was burnt and the rest of her body saving only
her hair and few parts.They were both rushed to Palmars Clinic in
Agip Road by a neighbor.They were both conscious and had even
conversed with us.
Lolaine was in more serious condition than Eturu and with the
financial help of friends who were there that evening,Lolaine was
moved to Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Intensive Care
Unit.Unfortunately, we lost her next day at 8am, Wednesday,5th
March.Letty shouldered expenses to put her in Mortuary while Eturu is
still in Palmars Clinic and has no idea about the passing of his
mother.
Her 2nd son who is studying in Philippines will arive
tomorrow,Friday to make decision on how she will be burried while
Eturu is recovering well according to the doctor.
For those who knew well Lolaine, would have witnessed the bitter
life she and her children have passed through.Lolaine was married to
a Nigerian she has meet in Philippines, while both as students.She had
a tough life and became a widow with 4 boys who managed in their own
struggle to finish school.Eturu, being the eldest, is the breadwinner
of the family.Children managed to survive in the absence of Lolaine
who left for Philippines and Dubai looking for job to support her
kids.She came back in Port Harcourt just few months ago and decided
to stay.Sent 2 sons to Phils to study further.With the little salary
she has together with Eturu, they help each other to provide for the
2 sons schooling plus that of her 8 year old grandson.Other son is
married and in Calabar but jobless.
Dear friends, let us open our hearts to this poor helpless
family who is in need of our financial assistance in this terrible
time of loss and grief.We thank God for our lives and all the
blessings He has showered upon us.There is a reason behind it.We are
blessed to cater for our needs and also to share no matter how little
of what we have for others.We may not need help at this time, but
life is too short and we never know what lies ahead of us.We may
need help ourselves oneday and God would provide for somebody to be
there to give us help.It is easy to love someone if you love them for
the sake of God...Please let us help Lolaine's children by donating
generously for her burial and treatment for Eturu so he could once
again look after his younger brothers.
I have voluntered to coordinate this iniative so please forward
your humble donations to me.A financial report will be given to those
who have donated.
Kindly forward this to anybody who is not in the list.
My heartfelt thanks and gratitude in advance on behalf of the
children.
May God bless your kind and radiant heart. . .

Accidental Hero

2008-03-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

I am trying to remember the plot of the movie – accidental hero. If I am not mistaken, the story revolved to a man who had saved many lives during a fatal plane crash accident. Unfortunately, an impostor claimed the credit as a hero himself. The real hero in fact is reluctant to help but due to such opportunity accidentally presented in front of him. He was forced to do such thing as his conscience dictated. Everything happened accidentally.

What is the point I am driving at. You see every citizen of the Philippines including its Government affirm that OFWs are real hero. Being an OFW, do I consider myself a hero? Did I sacrifice something for the betterment of every Filipinos? Of course, I send back my salary in form of remittance back home – which considered by many a good deed to make the economy afloat, eventually making us a hero.

No high-salary job opportunity available to me is the main factor that I dragged myself to work overseas. Leaving my family, experiencing homesickness boredom and facing dangers on my place of work are few examples of sacrifices I made. But, this doesn’t make me a hero of feel like one.

If good and equal job opportunities are also available in the Philippines, of course, there is no point going away from home. I received equal benefits for these sacrifices. This is not a voluntary act to help others without receiving anything. Working abroad like any other jobs, you normally face risk. These sacrifices are simply part of occupational hazard.

I wish I am a hero but I guess am not. And that’s the truth.

Lagos

2008-02-26T04:53:00.000-08:00

Lagos is definitely not so popular place to most Asians. In fact, it is not a tourist spot and very few visitors dare to visit this place. Lagos like any other underdeveloped city is perceived by many as a dangerous place to live.

I could not deny the verity of the situation that there are instances that crimes proliferate in every corner of Lagos. But, crime is by product of most big cities. Comparably to other cities, Lagos is not as bad as other big cities in Brazil, Columbia or even Philippines.

Let me share to you some sites in Lagos!

Now, I know

2008-02-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

Life as well as love is very much hard to understand. As an OFW, most of my adult life I am working hundred miles away from home. Once I step my one foot in a different land away from my family, homesickness immediately jump all over my head, a gloomy struggle of life continues. There is a sudden urge that I want to go back as quickly as arrive or I wish that my vacation is now due and dreaming taking another flight going to Philippines.

Well, life is full of irony. When my contract ended and I was demobilized, I intended to stay in Philippines for good. I searched for a job in my own country and luckily found one. Despite the fact that homesickness is always popping in my mind whenever I am away from home, there is still a deep feeling of emptiness and thinking of loss of financial opportunity whenever I stay and work in the Philippines. Money is practically just a printed paper. However, its power and attraction are so powerful enough to make your mind throw out of proportion. It is really a root of all evils. Luring oneself to work overseas to earn better is hard to ignore.

We are aware that there are so many disadvantages when a parent is working overseas. In spite of these, OFWs including me are taking all the chances just to have a better future for his or her children.

It is more reasonable to suffer alone while working overseas rather to see the whole family undergoes economic hardship. It is a huge sacrifice and sometimes this sacrifice is in futile as family become derailed.

Now, I known - being an OFW is not so easy, you need to persevere, build a close relationship with members by writing and calling them, work hard and at the same time pray a lot to be successful.

CGA Course

2008-02-23T00:33:00.000-08:00

I had decided that I should upgrade my profession here in Canada. In this way, I will be more confident and loaded with knowledge when I start to look for a job in Calgary.

I enrolled and tried to pursue to have a CGA (Certified General Accountant) title while I am working here in Nigeria. My course will still go a long way as the registrar only allows me to take 1 subject per session. There are 4 sessions in a year. I need to take 8 subjects plus on the job training. It will take me at least 3 years to finish this course.

This session I enrolled in a business law (law1) class. The subject consists of the following areas:

1. Canadian Legal System
a. Nature of law
b. Categories of law
c. Origins of law
d. Sources of law
e. The law in Canada
f. Human rights law
g. The Canadian Charter of Right and Freedoms
h. The system of courts
i. Using the Courts
j. Legal costs
k. Alternatives to court action
l. Advantages and disadvantages of ADR
2. Tort and professional liability
a. Tort law
b. The bases for liability in tort
c. Intentional torts to person or property
d. Intentional torts unique to business
e. Law of negligence
f. Award of damages for negligence
g. Professional liability for negligence
h. Professional liability
i. Professional organizations
3. Formation of the contractual relationship
4. Interpreting the contract and terminating the contractual relationship
5. Special Contracts
a. Contract of Sale
b. Insurance and employment
6. Debtor and creditor relations

You may wonder what is the point to enumerate the areas covered by subject I am taking now. It is just a waste of time and effort to type them. Well for me to study profoundly, I used to write the sentences and ideas in order for me to retain them inside my brain. Interestingly, it is one of my effective methods of learning.

From now one, I will discuss topics referred to as outlines, discussions and examination blueprint on my blog.

Lady President

2008-02-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

I received an email from a friend. He told me that did you ever wonder what will look like if former US presidents or presidential candidates are women. Figure it out.

It is just like starting over

2008-02-18T05:58:00.001-08:00

It had been 5 years since I submitted my application to migrate in Canada. Finally, the approval came and we traveled and landed in Calgary on December 11, 2007. We chose Calgary since my wife had a relative in that place to assist us to integrate to the so called Canadian System.

We had applied for social security card and health card. And we enrolled my only daughter to a Catholic School. We stayed for 10 days in my wife’s relative and eventually assisted us to secure a temporary accommodation, which is just a basement.

Life in Canada is quite far from our day-to-day activities in the Philippines. Here, you need a car to move around and do your shopping. There is only one Bus Company that operates in the whole Calgary region. Sometimes, the designated bus stop is quite far from the place you want to go. Hence, you need to walk for hundred meters before reaching your destination. This will be gruesome especially if you are trekking in the snow during winter. As a new immigrant, it is not so easy to get Canadian driver’s license not even to talk about on how to pay the cost of the Car.

In my own perspective, Jobs are abundant. For a couple to have a job is mandatory in order to live comfortably. It will be difficult if just one spouse works and other stays in the house. We feel secure since you can always pay your health insurance, foods, mortgage, etc as long as you want to work.

Adjustment to our new life is not so easy. Homesick, boredom, changes of lifestyles, leaving other members of family and friends and finding new associates are hard to tackle with. I guess it always happen to most of newly landed immigrant. But, I believed we could overcome it and the fruit of our labor here in Canada will be harvested in the long run. It is just like starting over.

Art in letters

2008-02-11T06:33:00.001-08:00

Ang Sipsip

2008-02-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

Sa ating buong buhay, sa tingin ko lahat tayo ay nakaranas na ng katrabaho na sipsip. Akala ko nuong una sa atin lang sa Pinas uso ang sipsip sa trabaho. Nagkamali pala ako madami rin palang ibang lahi na talagang sipsip at sobra pa sa sipsip.

Ano nga ba ang sipsip?. Sa ganang sa akin, parang mahirap sagutin ito. Meron bang panuntunan or kategorya na maangkop sa isang indibidwal na pwedeng paratangan siyang sipsip. Kapag nagtratrabaho ka bang maigi at maayos na maaring maging dahilan para ma-promote ka agad sa maiksing panahon at malampasan mo ng milya-milya ang iyong maging mga katemporaryo?. Isa ka na bang dakilang sipsip. Sa palagay ko ay hindi.

Ang sipsip para sa akin ay iyong ginagawa ang paraan para mapromote siya or makuha ang gusto nya sa maling paraan kasehodang may masaktan or matapakan siyang ibang tao. Sa palagay ko mapipigurahan natin lahat kung sino at ano ang sipsip. Ang punto ko rito ay ang sipsip ay hindi lang nasa Pilipinas or ginagawa lang ng mga pinoy.

Sa tutuo lang, ang mga mainland Chinese ay nakita kong sobrang sipsip kulang na lang dilaan ang pwit ng amo para mapansin. Hindi rin nahuhuli ang mga iba pang lahi na taga europa or mga taong nasa gitnang silangan. Mas grabe pa nga sila kesa sa mga Pinoy. Gaya nga ng kasabihan na sa lahat ng gubat may ahas. Pareho rin ito sa trabaho, meron ding sipsip sa lahat ng opisina or lugar na pinagtratrabahuan saan mang sulok ng mundo.

Ang pinagkaibahan lang nila saiyo ikaw ay may-utak sila ay wala.

Act of Omission.

2007-11-18T01:40:00.000-08:00

It was just an ordinary day in the office when suddenly there was an urge on me to visit the restroom due to urgent call of nature. I am about to leave the place and suddenly I notice that there was a small bag left on the top of the washbasin. I further scrutinized the bag and found out that it contained a pricey digital camera, which could cost in the market at around US$1,000.00.

As nobody was inside the restroom, idea immediately pops on my mind is to keep it. Anyway, it is finders keepers loser weepers. But, it was far on my mind to actually do that. The first thing I did was to inform my local colleagues to keep it until the owner will come to claim it. Strangely, my colleagues reluctantly accepted it and told me to give to the security guard station in our floor for safekeeping. They explained to me that they are afraid to keep anything like that or hold something that was considered accidentally left in a place. They thought that it could be a bait or trap and the owner could came out from nowhere and accused you of stealing it once you hold the thing in your hand when you are trying to hand it over to the authority concern. They had their own reason. But actually, this is a bad act of omission.

I had surrendered the digital camera to the security guard station on our floor. He then immediately knocks on every room to notify the occupants if they had left such expensive equipment.

All Saint's Day

2007-11-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

It’s All Saint’s Day and people are preparing to visit their dead relatives in the cemetery. When I was in the Philippines, all of us will always go to visit my father’s tomb in Chinese cementery. We normally walked more than 1 kilometer before we reached it. Because of heavy flocks of people scattered around the cemetery, we always get lost and sometimes took us extra miles to walk and search before finding the right place.

Talking about All Saint’s Day, I still remembered what my mother told me about the few months of my father life before he died. When the Doctor diagnosed that my father had cancer in his esophagus, she tried to hide it from him. She just informed my father that he got a severe ulcer and everything will soon be all right. Of course, my father sensed that he had a grave illness and cure was nowhere in sight. Probably because he felt death was imminent, he told my mother that he was not afraid to die and was ready for that if this is what God wanted to be. But the only thing he regretted is he will die leaving his children too young for my mother to care for. I was 9 yrs old and my younger sister was just barely 4 yrs old at that time. Further on, my father calmly expressed to my mother that if it ever happened that she intends to marry again, he will always understand her and will have his blessing.

This story was told to me by mother probably when I was in High School. At that time, I did not really catch the very essence of it. Why my father was allowing my mother to remarry again if she wants too? Later in life when I was already married and have my own daughter, now I understand his point.

My mother was just 36 yrs old when my father died. As a single parent, she is responsible for our lives, education, food, shelter and everything. Of course, mother is only human and has her personal needs to attend to. There is a big sign for her to succumb to remarry as she was young then and apart from that she will have a helping hand to tackle the day- to-day problems that normally entered in a family like ours.

I must admit that my mother is not a perfect mother a far from being perfect I would say. But one thing that really made me proud of her is because of her decision not re-marry or even found a boyfriend during her younger years. I don’t know if she truly loves my father till the end or she was just too busy working to make end meets and find no time to entertain a new man in her life. I guess she is the only one who knows the right answer.

For what she endures as a widow and in taking good care of my sibling and me, I tried my very best to finish my bachelor’s degree and passed the CPA board exams. Time changed and we are now financially stable. Mother is now positively earning and experiencing the fruit of our labor. She had toured Hongkong, America, Boracay, Cebu, Tacloban and Bohol. I am also planning to sponsor her to go to Canada.

The Spirit of Giving

2007-10-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

I once told by my mother about the distinguishing quality or character of Filipino, the spirit of giving.

My father who was a full blood Chinese was very much disappointed with this kind of trait and he considered it bad. He expressed that anything that is too much is definitely bad. During the celebration of fiesta in Quiapo, my mother of course cooked a lot of foods for those invited and uninvited guests. This is a yearly big festivity; even in a situation where my mother had no money she will still find a way to celebrate this fiesta with fashion.

The aftermath of the celebration was mother will normally ended up broke without any centavos in her pocket. As you see, my mother’s relatives will come to our house to have fun in celebrating the fiesta. Not only they will eat nor take some remaining foods as pabaon, my mother most of the time will also give them money for their transport or for any other reasons. This irritated my father. He reasoned out that this is far too much.

It is normal for us as Filipino to give money to those in dire needs even this money is allocated for a specific purpose let say tuition fee for your children, sometime too generous to a fault. When we are eating, we customary invite people to share to them what we have. But other people do it in a different way.

Every morning, I am eating breakfast in the canteen provided by our company. As usual, I met few Europeans who share table with me. One guy had brought a chocolate spread. While all of them are chit-chatting, he put the chocolate spread in his bread and continued talking. He didn’t even bother to ask his kababayan if they like the special chocolate spread. If he is a Filipino, definitely he will share this to his fellow persons who are also occupying the same table with him.

I didn’t say that what the man did was wrong or try to instigate that our culture of giving more is mere right. This is only my observation. Everything depends on how you see them.

Corporate Parables

2007-10-14T01:04:00.000-07:00

It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a lion is
sitting outside his cave, lying lazily in the sun.
Along comes a fox, out on a walk.

Fox: "Do you know the time, because my watch is broken"

Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you"

Fox: "Hmm. But it's a very complicated mechanism,
and your great claws ?will only destroy it even more"

Lion: "Oh no, give it to me, and it will be fixed"

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy
lions with great claws cannot fix complicated ?watches"

Lion: "Sure they do, give it to me and it will be fixed"

The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while
he comes back with the ?watch which is running perfectly.
The fox is impressed, and the lion continues to lie lazily in the sun,
looking very pleased with himself.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy
lion in the sun.

Wolf: "Can I come and watch TV tonight with you,
because mine is broken"

Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you"
< SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">
Wolf: "You don't expect me to believe such rubbish,
do you? There is no way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a
complicated TV"

Lion: "No problem. Do you want to try it?"

The lion goes into his cave, and after a while comes
ba ck with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf goes away
happily and amazed.

Scene: ? ?Inside the lion's cave. In one corner are
half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits who
are busily doing very complicated work with
very detailed instruments. In the other corner lies
a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.

Moral:
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A SUPERVISOR IS FAMOUS,
LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

In the context of the working world:
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY SOMEONE UNDESERVED IS
PROMOTED, LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

?************************************************

It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a rabbit is
sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter.
Along comes a fox, out for a walk.

Fox: "What are you working on?"

Rabbit: "My thesis."

Fox: "Hmm... What is it about?"

Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits
don't eat foxes!"

Rabbit: "Come with me and I'll show you!"

They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After
few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns
to his typewriter and resumes typing.

Soon a wolf co mes along and stops to watch the
hardworking rabbit.

Wolf: "What's that you are writing?"

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."

Wolf: "you don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"

Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"

The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again
the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes,
and goes back to typing.

Finally a bear comes along and asks, "What are you doing?

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears."

Bear: "Well that's absurd!

Rabbit: "Come into my home and I'll show you"

As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the
bear to the lion.

Moral:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW SILLY YOUR THESIS TOPIC IS.
WHAT MATTERS IS WHO YOU HAVE FOR A SUPERVISOR.

In the context of the working world:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PERFORMANCE IS;
WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR BOSS LIKES YOU

Flying Experience

2007-10-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

You are sitting comfortably in your seat and expecting to reach your destination in less than 1-hour time. Out of the blue, you saw smokes gradually coming on the top of your head. You are looking around finding where did this smoke come from while your heart begun to beat faster and the adrenalin are inundated rushing to every veins of your body. Inexplicably, you became tense, aghast and worried. In fact, you can’t explain the feeling you are encountering now. You are waiting for an explanation to find out if everything will be fine.

Then suddenly, the pilot announced that there was an electrical fault in the cockpit area and the plane needs to return to the base. The pilot added that everything would be ok. But, there is still a feeling of uneasiness on your mind and started to pray and call all the saints you could remember.

You see that this situation is becoming an occurrence here in Africa. In fact, a Boeing 727 owned by Chanchangi Airlines yesterday was in flames as it landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

The aircraft which arrived from Kaduna was scheduled to depart for Lagos.

Although the airline’s spokesperson explained that the fire incident was first noticed in the cockpit, and not in the engine as believed, he added that the lagos-bound passengers were transferred to another aircraft which later took them to their destination.

The incident comes a few weeks after an aircraft belonging to Chanchangi Airlines made a return to Lagos after a hydraulic leakage was discovered shortly before touch down in Abuja. That incident occurred not too long after another Chanchangi-owned aircraft on its way to Kaduna from Lagos returned to base because one of its three engines broke down 20 minutes after take-off. One of the blades of the engine reportedly fell off.

A similar decision to return to base nearly caused a brawl between Chanchangi’s crew and two passengers in a flight to Lagos from Abuja.

The Chanchangi aircraft was already airborne when the pilot realized that its cargo hold door was open and had to return to base to close it. A passenger in the aircraft said there was a loud bang when the plane eventually landed as the cargo door hit the tarmac.

Attempt by two passengers to disembark from the plane was flatly refused by the crew.

I just pray that I will not experience the aforementioned horrible things. I still have a family to feed.

The Boss

2007-10-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

I witnessed the hand-over ceremony of our outgoing big boss. The main reason why I attended this ceremony was to hear what these big bosses would say. It is always a fascination on my part to hear what other people think about themselves and how they portrait their achievements.

I was amazed with the speech made by the outgoing boss. He didn’t only focus his discussion on what he had done to the Company but emphasize on the sacrifices of his subordinates had done in the past in order to achieve the Company’s goal. First and foremost, he gave a great deal of concern on those people who worked under him. I saw in his eyes the sincerity and effort to improve the conditions of service of all workers.

Comparably in Pinas, a party like this will shower us with a lot of foods, drinks and dancing but in this particular occasion it was made so simple.

Talking about people we considered our ultimate superior in fields of our work, I crossed to read a blog depicting his boss as one of a kind, a very considerate person. The blogger looks like had a high regard to his boss. Unfortunately, their tandem was cut-short due to the boss’ early demise. I, myself had good boss and it is very much painful to let go something so beautiful. This experience happened to me also when my previous boss resigned since he needed to stay in Canada permanently. Indeed, it is hard to find a good employee who you can trust and rely on but it more difficult to find a boss who will always be there to support you and kind enough to properly compensate you for the things you had done for the Company.

Manny Pacquiao, the winner

2007-10-07T03:17:00.000-07:00

The game is over and Manny Pacquiao won over Marco Antonio Barrera. I anticipated this boxing event to be short and would be finished by knockout. I prepared myself to wake up as early as 4:30 am to see the TV broadcast of the fight live in supersport.

Barrera was underdog in this fight but it looks like he managed to stay standing and box greatly avoiding Manny’s devastating punching power. The main boxing event was not thrilling and compared to the last fight they had neither to the Manny’s trilogy fights with Morales. Nevertheless, Manny is going back to Philippines as a winner.

It was seen and heard in the TV the utterance of Roach, a sort of “don’t play around”. Was Manny not serious in doing his job to beat Barrera or is he really playing around the ring? Could this be the reason why Manny didn’t knockout Barrera? Who knows? The only thing I knew the game did not raise my adrenalin and was very disappointed that Manny failed to knockdown Barrera to the boxing ring floor.

Same Attire

2007-10-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

I have a colleague who is working with me in the same Company but in different department. He came from Eastern Europe. His country was under the communism regime until People Power broke out and thereafter it collapsed. The old era had gone but it seems that his way of life is still under communist style.

Why did I say so!!!. He is using the same attire almost everyday, literally almost everyday. He is always wearing his patented maong long sleeve shirt. As far as I knew and during those old days under Chairman Mao, the system of communism in China is allowing its people to wear one type of clothing, which is a blue coverall. I don’t know how true is this. But, I felt it had somehow a correlation on the foregoing person I mentioned.

Insidente

2007-09-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

Another nefarious incident here in Port Harcourt took place the other day. A Filipino was kidnapped by certain group of people disguised as soldiers. This is a normal occurrence going on here since the problem erupted more than a year ago. So far, statistic says that there were about 200 expatriates that were kidnapped and most of them were freed after their respective companies had paid the ransom.

Sometimes, I am frightened to think what will happen just in case you had been kidnapped. The probability is not remote to happen to us who we are working here in Port Harcourt. The only thing I can do while I am here is to pray and always be alert.

Our kababayans back home might be wondering why there are still hundreds of Filipinos still working in this area. Well, the bottom-line reason is syempre pera.

Teka nga muna ano bang meron sa Africa at nagsusumiksik ang ilan sa amin at kahit ata putilin ang betlog ay hindi aalis rito. Hayaan nyong ibigay sa akin ang pagkakataong ilathala kung ano ba ang nakaka-adik dito sa lugar na ito maliban sa pera.

Kung kumpara sa mga nagtratrabaho sa gitnang silangan at sa karatig pook natin sa asia, ang Africa ay masasabi natin lugar kung saan ok ang trabaho (maliban sa magulo ang political situation at mataas ang crime rate) at maganda ang trato ng employer sa amin. Karamihan sa amin dito ay professional or skilled workes kuno mula sa pagiging engineer, electrician, welder, karpentero at kung ano ano pa. Libre ang bahay, kotse with matching driver pa, katulong etc…. Ang sahod mo talaga ang diretso sa pinas. Ang siyeste pa neto meron pa kaming allowance maliban sa overseas sahod namin. Tapos dahil nga wala ka namang madaming mabili rito eh hindi mo mauubos ang allowance mo at pwede mo pang dalhin sa atin sa pinas.

Pero there is always two sides of the coin. Masasabi mo ngang maganda nga sahod pero nakakatakot naman pala dyan. High risk eh high price di ba… Will you take the risk gaya ng ginagawa namin rito?

Ghana

2007-09-27T02:47:00.000-07:00

I went to Accra, Ghana to take my immigrant visa from the Canadian Embassy. I thought there would be hundreds of applicants queuing to have their visa. But, I was wrong. The people were less than 15. However, it had taken almost 7 hours before the embassy processed and released our immigrant visa.

It had been more than 4 years since I visited Ghana. Remarkably, nothing had much changed in the Country except that they had expanded their international airport. Ghana is safer than Nigeria. I strolled around the city by Taxi and took some pictures.

Interestingly, the cost of hotel and restaurant are somehow costlier compared to the cost you will incur when you will be in the Philippines. I invited 2 friends and dined in a Chinese restaurant. The bill was US$83 unimaginable cost, whereas, if we dined in a Philippines in a similar restaurant it would cost me around US$40.

Visa

2007-09-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

After more than 5 years of waiting, my immigrant application to Canada had been approved and I need to appear in person at Canadian Embassy in Accra, Ghana for visa stamping. The waiting game is over and another stage in my life will start to appear. This is when we migrate to Canada.

Sometimes, I had a second thought if it is really beneficial for us to live in Canada. Presently, I have a nice job with a good pay. Even I will continue to stay and work here in Nigeria, there will be a need for me to stay at least 2 years out of 5 years from the moment we landed in Canada. This is required in order for me to retain my right as an immigrant. In the end, I will be forced to stay in Canada and start all over again.

There were so much told and untold stories of success and failure of Canadian immigrants. And I don’t know where in the side of this statistic I should fall. In the meantime, there are lots of things for me to do. The first thing is to get my passport stamp on 24/09/2007.

Pain

2007-09-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

Due to the high security alert, most of multinational companies here don’t allow their foreign workers to move out from their working site. This security arrangement had in fact brought boredom in our working life here.

One of a few things to enliven us is go to the gym and exercise. But, before you are allowed to do exercise there is a need for medical certificate to be issued by Doctor stationed in the Clinic. The test performed by the Doctor is quite easy and I got my certificate quickly than I expected.

My friend who came from the Middle East was also subjected to the same Test. He is tall about 5’10 in height having a medium build body. The doctor asked him to squat for 30 times and he is about to reach 20x suddenly he stopped. He said that he couldn’t take it anymore and felt his legs crumbled. It was very strange to me for a strong body like him could not even take a squat exercise of 30 repetition. I guess people from different part of the world are having different points and stages on how far they can take the pain or he is just simply lazy.

Balik Tanaw

2007-09-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Akin pang naalala nuong unang punta ko rito sa Nigeria. Batang bata pa ako at wala pang masyadong muang sa mundo. Ni sa panaginip ay hindi sumagi sa isip ko na pumunta sa Nigeria. Sa tutuo lang ni hindi ko pa narinig ang Nigeria habang nagaaral ako sa collegio.

Minsan talaga hindi mo aakalain ang mga pagkakataon na bigla na lang darating sa buhay mo. Meron maganda at meron naman hindi. Ang pagpunta ko rito sa Nigeria ay hindi sinasadya.

Balikan natin ng tanaw kung bakit nga ba ako napadpad sa hindi kilala at malayong lugar na ito. Pagkatapos ko sa isang collegio sa lunsod ng Maynila agad akong nakapasok sa isang kilalang auditing firm sa Makati. Halos tatlong taon akong nagtrabaho doon at nagpasyang magpatuloy na kumuha ng kursong abugasya. (Buti na lang hindi ako nakapagtapos kung hindi baka isa pa ako sa kaiinisan ng mga taong bayan).

Habang kumukuha ako ng kursong abugasya, isang kapitbahay, tawagin na lang natin siyang botchok, ang lumapit sa akin at sabi na ang agency nila ay naghahanap ng CPA para sa Nigeria. Sabagay wala naman mawawala kung sakaling magapply ako, so pinabigay ko sa kanya ang aking CV at sabi ko isubmit sa kanyang agency. Hindi naman ako umaasa na makukuha at talagang naka focus ako sa aking pag-aaral.

Wala pang 2 linggo sabi sa akin ni Botchok na na shortlisted daw ang CV ko at isasalang ako sa interview dahil padating daw ang may-ari (Chairman) ng Company sa araw ata ng Lunes iyon sa Manila Hotel.

At dumating ang araw ng interview, diyusme ang dami pala kaming na shortlisted halos 20 ata iyon. So hinanap ko ang recruiter at dahil hindi naman nya ako kilala personally doon nya ako sinalang sa bandang hapon mga 4:00 pm na ata iyon matakin mo dumating ako sa Manila Hotel ng 7:00 am. To cut the story short, natanggap naman ako.

Nalaunan napagalaman ko na ang recruiter na iyon ay mabait talaga at madaming natulungan. Sa tutuo lang hindi naman siya talaga agency pero tumutulong siya sa mga pinoy na gusting magabroad for free. Yes nabasa nyo ng tama for free. Sinong may sabing hangin lang ang libre sa mundo. Bilang tanaw sa ganda ng kanyang kalooban ay tuwing uuwi ako ay may dala akong alak at yosi sa kanya bilang pasalubong.

Pero meron isang pagkakataon na pumunta ako sa kanyang upisina ngunit nadatnan ko ang alalay nya na hindi ko naman kilala. So sabi sa akin ah isa ka sa natulungan ni amo di ba. Sabi ko Oo at nandito ako para ibigay ang pasalubong ko. Ang sabi ba naman sa akin ay wala siya eh ibigay mo na lang sa akin iyan at ibibigay ko sa kanya. Wala akong nagawa kundi ganoon na lang since ayaw ko ng bumalik ulit doon dahil malayo ang bahay ko. Paalis na ako eh sabi ba naman sa akin ng alalay wala ba tayong pangyosi bigyan mo naman ako at palatuhan. Medyo nayamot ako pero wala akong magawa kundi magbigay. Ganoon siguro kapag OFW ka dapat lagi kang namamalato at akala ng karamihan sa atin ay umeebak tayo ng dolyares.

Munting Liwanag

2007-09-06T02:07:00.000-07:00

Minsan nagiisip ako (para naman hindi kalawangin ang utak ko) kung bakit tayong mga pinoy ay dagsa ang problema at hindi na makausad ang ating ekonomiya. Isa sa dahilan ay ang malalang corruption na malawakang sinasagawa ng mga naka upo sa gobyerno at ang gagawin pa ng mga opposition na malamang papalit pagtapos ng termino ng mga nakaupo sa gobyerno.

Pero bakit nga ba malala ang corruption sa atin. Sa tutuo lang hindi lang mga opisyal ang corrupt pati na rin ang mga nangangasiwa ng relihiyon kasama na rin ang militar at kung sino sino pang poncio pilato. Kung gayon sino ang aasahin natin na maging matapat sa ating bansa? Sa tingin ko wala na nga ata. Ang nakakapagtataka naman marami naman sa atin ang nakapag aral at alam kung ano ang tama sa mali pero kapag nasa posisyon na nagbabago, nasisilaw na sila ng pera.

Napakasakit isipin ang ating patutunguhan. Ang bansa natin ay wala naman gasinong likas na yaman tulad ng langis at gas pero ano ang ginagawa natin sa ating bayan bangkus ay atin itong pinagsasamantalahan at niyuyurakan.

Ewan ko nga kung meron pa ba tayong pag-asa. Tignan mo na lang ang bagong pangyayari na nalathala sa diyaryo at internet tungkol kay Malu Fernandez na nagsulat tungkol sa pandidiri nya sa OFW na kanyang nakasakay sa Emirates Airlines. Si Malu na isang Filipina mula ulo hanggang talampakan ay yumurak sa dangal ng kanyang kapwa Pilipino. Aminin natin na karamihan ng mga elite citizen ng pinas ay mapanglait at akala mo kung sino na sila. Oo may pera sila pero tama na ba itong dahilan para manlait ng iba. Ang kinatutuwa ko lang ay madaming OFW na nagkaisa para bigyan ng leksyon si Malu at itama ang kanyang pananaw sa buhay. Sana lahat ng pinoy ay magkaisa tungo sa kaunlaran ng Pinas. Mangyari kaya ito? Malay natin! Ang mahalaga ay kahit paano ay nakakakita ako ng konting liwanag mula sa kadilimang aking sinasadlakan. Harinawa ang munting liwanag ay lumaki at magsilbing ilaw sa ating lahat.

Ulila sa Ama

2007-09-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

I was barely 9 year old when my father died. I have bit memories of my Dad; In fact, some of them were vague. I didn’t remember how close I am with my father. I guessed that we didn’t have enough time to know each other.

Looking back, I wonder how does a child feels growing up having a father to guide you to face the problems that we encountered in becoming an adult. I guess I will never know.

I wanna know what love is

2007-07-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful song that I often listen. The rhythm, the beat and the lyrics are perfectly blended producing a fine tune that touched my heart. The song elevated me to another dimension as if I forgot all the problems and worries on my mind for at least couple of minutes.

Suddenly, I started to think what really love is. Did I catch the message of the songwriter more than the song itself? Do I really know what love is nor I find it?

Love had been the topic since time immemorial. It was defined and redefined throughout every generation. It was written and explained in the bible, poetry, history, etc. With these available facts about love, did I actually perceive the concept of love? Love is hard and deep to fathom. It is an art of itself. The meaning of love to me could be craziness to others. Love cannot be measure and sometimes extend beyond reasons.

In this materialistic world, most often than not, most women look for partners that rich enough to provide them all the necessary things the universe can offer. They disregarded the deep meaning of love per se and settle what could be the best for them in a money-oriented way. This phenomenon is universal and in fact happens to men too. Ironically, our parents advised us to use our intellectual mind in choosing a partner thus always find a gf/bf that is rich. Anyway according to them, love can be learned and it can even be thought. This is a pursuit of richness indeed and full neglect of love and feelings.

Forcing yourself to love a person simply because he or she is rich is undoubtedly painful though, it is an easy way to escape poverty. For those who follow their minds over their heart, I hope love grows into your relationship and produce unshaken foundation in your family. Kudos for those who follow their heart no matter what happen, surely they find and taste happiness in some point of their lifetime.

2007-07-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

When I was in College, I hated the subject English. To tell you frankly, I was not really happy to be present in class listening and learning it. It seems that whatever I do to grasp the ideas, grammars and its underlying writing principles it didn’t permanently stay in my mind. I didn’t know why. Every time the teacher asked us to write an essay I begin to stumble looking for words to flow through my pen. Do I lack imagination to paint a picture of words that will convey a story?.

I find it hard to learn the rudiment of English Grammar and this incapacitates me to express my thoughts. But, I am not yet putting the flag down and surrender. I guess it is not yet too late to try learning it. I should read and write more. As they say, practice makes things perfect. With this new technology, all readable things are available with just few hits of buttons on my laptop.

My fear of English Language took me to study accountancy. Well, math is easy and it is an exact science. I find math a straightforward concept wherein when you say one plus one is always two and it will not change. Not like the English Language that I need to deal with regular and irregular verbs. In English when you add S to any noun it will become plural but you need to add s. In contract, the verb supposed to have s whenever the subject related to it is in singular form (first person). Pero teka what is the point posting this. Wala lang gusto ko lang magsulat kahit walang katuturan.

Si Tatay

2007-06-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Para sa mga Tatay; sa mga taong Tatay na; sa mga taong may Tatay pa; sa mga taong wala ng Tatay; sa mga na Nanay pero Tatay pala.....at para sa ating lahat na nagmamahal sa ating mga Tatay.

It's a good and warm and heartbreaking story na forwarded sa email ko.

"1980 ako ipinanganak. Tatlong taon bago pinatay si Ninoy Aquino at anim na taon bago ang EDSA uprising. Taon ding ito nang nagkaroon ng malaking krisis sa langis ang buong mundo. P24.00 ang palitan ng dolyar sa piso at 48 milyon na ang populasyon ng Pilipinas. Ito rin ang taong unang pumunta ng Middle East ang tatay ko para magtrabaho.

Isang karpintero ang Tatay. Isang skilled worker. Malaki ang pangangailangan ng bansang pupuntahan ni Tatay sa mga katulad niya. Sabi ng Nanay mahirap daw ang buhay noong mga panahong iyon. Inabot na raw ang bansa ng economic depression na galing sa Europa at Amerika. Kaya minabuti ng Tatay na mag-abroad. Anupa't dalawa ang pinag-aaral niya at may bago na naman siyang bibig na pakakainin.

Parating pinapaalala sa amin ng Nanay na "nagtiis kaming magkahiwalay ng tatay ninyo para magkaroon tayo ng maginhawang buhay." Palibhasa'y parehas galing sa hirap, kaya siguro ganoon na lamang ang pananaw nila. Uuwi kada dalawang taon, tapos aalis na ulit pagkalipas ng dalawang buwan. Ganyan ang pattern ng buhay ng tatay ko.

Pumutok ang giyera sa Middle East noong 1989. Doon ko unang narinig ang mga salitang Operation: Desert Storm at Third Anti-Christ. Nandoon din si Tatay.
Isang beses lamang siya nakatawag sa loob ng tatlong taon niyang pagkaka-stranded sa bansang iyon. Mabuti naman daw ang lagay niya. May tirahan naman daw sila at husto sa lahat ng pangangailangan. Hindi naman daw sila gagalawin sa giyera sabi ng embahada ng Pilipinas dahil hindi naman daw sila kasali sa awayan ng dalawang bansa at ng pakialamerong Amerika. Iyon naman pala eh, bakit ka pa rin nandyan?! Na-imagine ko na lang tuloy ang Tatay na parang isa sa mga sibilyan na dumadaan habang nakikipagbarilan ako sa larong Operation: Wolf sa SM City. Nang mahawi ang mga
usok ng giyera umuwi na ang Tatay. Wala pang isang taon ay nakita ko na naman ang aking sarili na nakasakay sa arkiladong dyip para ihatid ang Tatay sa Airport papuntang Middle East. Ikaw ba naman ang magkaroon ng pinag-aaral na nurse, isang seminarista at tatlo pa sa elementarya. Kailangang kumayod, kailangang kumita.

Kung tutuusin maraming na-miss ang Tatay sa buhay naming magkakapatid, lalo na sa akin. Wala siya nang una akong magtalumpati sa entablado. Wala din siya nang grumadweyt ako ng elementarya at hayskul.Wala siya nang una akong nakipagsuntukan sa kaklase ko nang inasar ako nito habang binibigay ko ang libreng plastic na singsing na galing sa cheese curls sa kaklase kong babae. Wala din siya para turuan akong magbasketbol tulad ng ginagawa ng mga kapitbahay ko sa kanilang anak. Wala rin siya para panoorin si Kuya na contestant sa Student Canteen at ako naman para sabitan niya ng medalya para sa mga math competition na sinalihan ko. Wala siya nang dumating
ako sa punto ng aking buhay, na siya ring kinakatakutan ng lahat ng katulad kong
nagbibinata- -ang magpatuli. Wala rin siya para turuan akong maglanggas. Wala siya nang kauna-unahang lumabas ang pangalan ko sa dyaryong pang-estudyante bilang
isang editor. Ipinagtabi ko siya ng mga kopya para maipagmalaki sa kanyang pagdating. Wala siya nang una akong tumikim ng alak dahil binasted ako ng
dinidigahan kong babae. Wala rin siya nang sumubok akong manigarilyo at itapon ito pagkatapos ng dalawang hithit pa lang. Wala siya, wala siya parati.

Napansin ko na lamang na mas naiibuhos naming magkakapatid ang oras naming sa labas ng bahay at sa eskwelahan. Ang Ate ay kagawad ng Sangguniang Kabataan, ang Kuya naman ay matagal nang kinuha ng seminaryo, ang dalawa kong kapatid ay may mga
sarili nang kina-career at ako naman ay natutuon sa aking pagsusulat.

Dumating ang isa sa pinakamasayang araw ng buhay ko, ang pagdating ng Tatay at sabihing ito na ang huli niyang uwi dahil hindi na siya babalik ulit sa
abroad.

Makalipas ang ilang buwan, trinangkaso ang Tatay. Sabi ng doktor ay overfatigue lang daw at kailangan niyang magpahinga. Pagkaraan nang ilang buwan, na-diagnose na may tumubong tumor sa utak ng Tatay at malignant na ito. Minsan naitanong sa akin ng uncle kong doktor kung nauntog ba ang Tatay o nabagsakan ng mabigat na bagay sa ulo. Nahihiyang ngiti, kamot sa ulo at isang "hindi ko po alam" lang ang naisagot ko.

Kung gaano kabilis na nadiskubre ang tumor niya sa utak ay ganun din kabilis na binawi sa amin ng Diyos ang Tatay. Habang pinagmamasdan ko ang Tatay habang mapayapa itong nakahimlay noong burol niya,nahihirapang tumulo ang luha ko. Kung tutuusin, hindi ko kilala ang taong ito. Siya ang tatay ko. Kalahating pagkatao ko ay galing sa kanya. Pero kung tatanungin mo ako kung anong gusto niyang timpla ng kape, kung allergic ba siya sa hipon na paborito ko, kung San Miguel o Purefoods ba ang
team niya sa PBA--isang malaking EWAN lang ang maisasagot ko sa iyo. Noong bata pa ako, nasa abroad ang Tatay. Kapag nandito naman siya para magbakasyon,
mas malaking oras ang nagugol niya sa pag-aasikaso ng mga papeles niya para sa susunod niyang pag-alis. Nang tumigil na siya sa pagtatrabaho, ako naman ang
abala sa mga reports, periodical examinations at mga research works. Nang nasa ospital na siya, kahit makipagkuwentuhan ay mahirap nang gawin dahil halos hindi na siya maintindihang magsalita dulot ng chemotherapy.

Matagal nang patay ang Tatay. Minsan nabalitaan kong dumating na ang seaman na tatay ng boss ko, pilit ko siyang pinauuwi nang maaga. Minsan ding buong kawilihan kong pinagmamasdan ang isang kaibigan ko na nagmamadali dahil baka masaraduhan na siya ng
grocery. Kailangan niyang makabili ng ingredients ng spaghetti dahil 'yun daw ang bilin ng tatay niyang na-stroke. Minsan rin nang makainuman ko ang matalik kong kaibigan habang binubuhos niya sa akin ang sama ng loob niya sa pagbabalik ng tatay niya na malupit sa kanila nang mahabang panahon at ipinagpalit sila sa ibang babae.
Sa tingin ko lang, "Buti ka pa nga may Tatay pa."

Syempre hindi ko sinabi iyon sa kanya. Baka mamaya tanungin pa niya ako kung kanino ako kampi, kami pa ang mag-away. Minsan din sinamahan ko ang kababata ko nang dinalhan niya ng pansit ang tatay niya sa City Jail. Hindi naman sila nagtatanong kung bakit ako ganun. Wala naman silang alam kay Tatay.

Maraming pagkakataon na nanghihinayang ako dahil masyadong maaga ang paghihiwalay namin ng Tatay. Gusto kong sisihin ang Pilipinas dahil napakahirap ng buhay dito. Sa Amerika ba may tatay na nangingibang- bansa para makapagtrabaho lang? Naisip ko
tuloy na sumama na lang sa mga nagpipiket na mga migrante dahil alam ko tulad ko rin sila. Kadalasan rin sinisisi ko si Saddam Hussein at ang Gulf War dahil kinuha nila
ang tatlong taon sa buhay ng Tatay. Sayang ang tatlong taong iyon. Nakalaro ko man lang sana ang Tatay ng basketbol o di kaya'y naturuan niya akong mag-bike.
(Beinte anyos na ko nang matuto mag-bike).

Isa sa mga klase ko sa writing ang nagpasulat sa amin ng kahit ano tungkol sa aming mga tatay, samahan pa ng larawan kung maaari. Bigla tuloy akong nalito.
Hindi ko alam kung anong tungkol sa Tatay ang isusulat ko.

Ikuwento ko kaya na isang Overseas Contract Worker si Tatay. Isang bagong bayani. Nag-aambag ng malaki sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas. Sabihin ko kayang may larawan ng tatay kong may suot na hard hat na dilaw,construction boots at may hawak na drill at
kasama niyang nakangiti ang mga kapwa niyang Pilipino with matching background na disyerto. O kaya ang larawan nilang magkakababayan habang pinagdiriwang nila ang New Year at nag-iiyakan dahil tinutugtog and Lupang Hinirang. Ang drama no?

Kuwento ko kaya na isang survivor ng Gulf War ang Tatay. Na natutulog siya at ipinaghehele ng mga Patriot at Scud Missiles. Pakita ko kaya ang mga
remembrance ng Tatay na mga dull na landmines. Adventure naman ang dating nito.

Kuwento ko kaya kung paano hindi nagpabaya ang Tatay sa pagbibigay ng pangangailangan namin. Hindi kami sumasala sa pagkain, may magagandang damit,
maayos na tirahan at nakakapag-aral. Siya ay naging isang good provider. Siguro isang malalim na buntong hiningang "Haaaaaay!" ang ibibigay sa akin ng mga
kaklase ko.

O di kaya'y dalhin ko ang picture ni Tatay habang kini-chemotherapy siya. Ikwento ko din kaya na naging mabilis ang lahat ng mga pangyayari. Na inoperahan siya sa loob ng walong oras at binutasan ang ulo niya. Na nakalabas pa siya ng ospital.
Pagkatapos ng isang linggo, agad siyang namatay.
Tragic naman ang approach ko nito.

Gayahin ko kaya ang kuwento sa telebisyon na tipong galit na galit sa mundo ang anak dahil hindi ito nabigyan ng sapat na atensyon dahil inuna ng kanilang tatay ang pinansyal nilang pangangailangan.

Teka, hindi naman totoo yon eh! Napaka-unfair naman 'nun kay Tatay.

Ikuwento ko na lang kaya ang isa sa mga magagandang alaala namin kay Tatay. Apat na taon ako noon. Malinaw na malinaw pa sa alaala ko ang pangyayari.
Kadarating lamang ng Tatay pagkaraan ng dalawang taon.Nagkaroon ng simpleng party sa bahay. Kainuman niya ang mga kumpare niya nang tumayo siya at binuhat ako
mula sa kuna ko habang pinaglalaruan ko ang bagong matchbox na pasalubong niya sa akin. Inutusan niya ako na ikuha siya ng beer sa refrigerator. Pagkakuha ko ng
beer ay kinandong niya ako at buong pagmamalaki na ibinida sa mga kumpare niya na natanggap na raw ako sa local na Day Care Center dahil abot na ng kanang kamay
ko ang aking kaliwang tenga kahit idaan pa sa ibabaw ng ulo ko at matatas na ako magsalita at madali raw akong matuto. Matagal din akong nanatili sa pagkakandong niya. Mistula siyang bagong dating na hari na suot-suot ang kanyang korona. Ako ang kanyang korona.

Kapag naaalala ko ito, napapawi ang lahat ng panghihinayang ko sa mga taong kailangan niyang magtrabaho at mawala sa piling namin. Mga panahong kasama ng mga tatay nila ang mga anak nila. Ito na lang ang isusulat ko. Bago ang lahat,
pupunasahan ko muna ang mga luha ko at ang patulo ko ng sipon. Baka mapatakan pa ang keyboard ng computer at ang hawak kong picture. Picture ng isang paslit na may hawak na bote ng beer habang kandong ng tatay na kitang-kita ang kasiyahan sa mukha.

Sand Storm

2007-05-29T02:57:00.000-07:00

Who said it is easy to work in Saudi! Our OFW's are literally eating dust when they are encountering sand storm.

Ang Pag-Ibig ba ay Para ba sa Lahat....

2007-05-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

Nang nasa bakasyon ako sa Pinas nakapanood ako sa tv ng isang tunay na kwento tungkol sa mag-asawang pinalayas ng anak dahil ang kanyang ina na biyuda ay umiibig sa isang lalaki. Ang bagong minamahal na lalaki ng kanyang ina ay kasing idad naman nya sa aking tingin ay wala namang masama doon. Ang anak ay siguro mga nasa paga sinkwenta na kung magkagaynon ang kanyang ina ay siguro lampas 70 na.

Dahil ang kanyang amain ay walang hanap-buhay or mahirap lamang, mukhang ang anak ay naaburido at hindi matanggap na ang kanyang ina sa ganoong idad ay kumarengkeng pa. Sa galit ay pinalayas nya ang mag-sing irog. Magmula nuon namamalimos na lang ang 2 matanda at nakikitulog kung saan abutin.

Pumasok sa aking isipan ang pangyayaring ito kung sakaling mangyari ito sa buhay ko – na ang aking ina ay magmahal ng iba pagkatapos ng ilang taon mula ng mamatay ang aking ama.

Ako ay nagisip. Masama nga bang magmahal kung lampas 70 anyos kana. Ang pag-ibig o ang umibig ba ay para lang ba sa mga bata. Wala na bang karapatan umibig uli ang isang biyudo or biyuda na lampas 70 anyos na . Naikwento ng aking ina nuong minsan umuwi siya sa probinsya na ang pinsan ng lola ko na biyudo ay nag asawa uli na sobrang bata sa kanya. Ang idad ng asawa nya ay parang 28 anyos ata samantalang ang tiyuhin (tawag ko sa kanya ay lolo) ng ina ko ay parang malapit na sa 80. Para silang sina Dolphy at Zha zha ang pinagkaibahan lang ay si Dolphy mayaman siya hindi. Umaasa lang si Lolo sa kanyang karampot na pension at sa bigay ng kanyang mga anak na propesyonal na nagtratrabaho sa abroad. Dahil sa nag-asawa na si Lolo ang mga anak nya ay nagalit at hindi na sya binibigyan ng pera. Ang masama pa daw nito ayon sa aking ina ay pinalayas sya sa kanilang tahanan.

Ngayon, tinatanong ko ang aking sarili kaya ko bang gawin ito sa aking ina kung sakaling umibig sya ulit sa ganoong idad. Kaya ko ba syang palayasin sa aming tahanan. Hindi ba ako makokonsensya?. OO aaminin ko ako na ang bumubuhay sa kanya pero dapat ba ako na rin ang kokontrol ng buhay nya.

Siyanga pala ang ina ako ay nabiyuda nuong taong January 1976. Ang idad nya nuong taong iyon ay 35 yrs old. Ako naman ay 9 yrs old. Nuong ako ay nagkolehiyo natatandaan ko na pumasok sa aking isipan na kung sakaling mag-aasawa ang aking ina ito ay aking sasalungatin. Sa madaling salita, pipigilan ko siya.

Nuong ako ay nag-aaral palang, laging sinasabi na aking ina na kaya daw hindi na siya nag-asawa dahil para sa amin. Ayaw daw nyang Makita na minamaltrato kami ng kanyang bagong asawa. Hindi daw nya kayang makita na ginugulpi kami ng aming amain at mabawasan ang kanyang pagmahal sa amin kung saklaing magka-anak pa sya ulit. Sa panahong iyon, ang katagang ito ng aking ina ay pumasok sa aking isipan ng ganoon na lang para ba itong pagkariniwan lang na salita na pumasok sa butas ng aking tainga at lumabas sa kabila.

Tinupad naman ng ina ko ang kanyang pangako na hindi na muling nag-asawa. Pero ang ginawa nyang ito ay nagkaroon lang ng halaga nang ako ay nag-asawa na at naging ama.

Hindi pala madali iyong mabiyuda o mabiyudo lalo na kung bata ka pa. Ang single parent ay ikaw lahat aako bilang ama at ina ng tahanan at kapag may problema ka wala kang katulong o masabihan man lang ng iyong mga pasan na problema para kahit paano mabawasan ito. Ito ay sa pinansyal na aspeto lamang. Paano pa iyong emosyonal, physical at sexual na pangangailangan.

Siguro kung ngayon mag-aasawa ang nanay ko palagay ko maiintindihan ko na siya. Kaya lang hindi na pwede datan na sya at ang hilig na lang nya ay magbingo, mamasyal at magshopping. Dahil sa kakayahan nyang itaguyod kaming magkapatid kahit wala na si itay at hindi na naisapang mag-asawa pa, ito lang masasabi ko maraming salamat po inay.

Places I remembered

2007-05-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

During my much-awaited vacation, my family and I decided to go to Hong Kong. If I not mistaken, this was probably the sixth time I visited Hong Kong.

Looking back, it comes to my mind that I had visited a lot of places. Being an OFW, this is an extra bonus since we have opportunities to play the role of a tourist in any country we are transiting before going to Philippines. The following are the countries that I had visited.

1. Nigeria
2. Ghana
3. Malaysia
4. Thailand
5. Italy
6. Germany
7. Switzerland
8. Holland
9. France
10. United Arab Emirates
11. Hong Kong

Dapat bang kaingitan ang mga OFW...

2007-05-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

Nuong nagaaral ako sa High School, napansin ko ang isang pinsan ko na nakapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa na para siyang biglang yumaman ata. Hindi ko naman masasabi na nanalo siya ng Lotto dahil wala pang lotto ng panahong iyon. Pero kung manlibre at magpainom siya sa mga kaibigan at ka tropa nya ay parang walang katapusan. Ang ganda ng mga kasuotan nya at naninilaw siya kung tignan sa dami ng nakapalupot na makapal na alahas sa buo nyang katawan. Nabalitaan ko pa na nagpapagawa daw siya ng bahay sa probinsya para sa kanyang butihing ina at ama.

Lalo tuloy akong namangha at lumaki ang aking mata nang ipasyal nya ako at dalhin sa isang arcade sa bandang makati at ilibre nya ako at ibili ng bagay na aking gusto. Malayo na talaga ang kanyang narating. Sa madaling salita, ako ay naiingit sa kanya at nasabi ko sa sarili ko pagnatapos ng aking pag-aaral gusto ko na makapag-trabaho rin tulad nya sa ibang bansa. Ito ang bago kong pangarap.

Hindi naman ako nabigo tatlong taon pagkatapos kong grumadweyt ay sumabak na rin akong tulad ng karamihan na magtrabaho sa ibang bansa.

Sa mahigit na sampung taon kong pagtratrabaho malayo sa Pinas, nagbiglang tanaw ako sa nakaraan iyon bang inggit na aking naramdaman sa aking pinsan nuong ako ay nag-aaral pa lamang. Sumagi sa isip ko dapat nga bang kaiingitan ay isang OFW na tulad ko. Oo aaminin ko na hindi na ako salat sa pananalapi at meron na rin akong lupa’t bahay na matatawag kong akin. Dagdag pa sa mga ito ay ang kotseng nabili ng hulugan; ang aking kakayahang pag-aralin ang aking anak sa magandang paaralan na gusto ko at mga bagay bagay na luxury goods kung tawagan na kayang bilhin ng aking pinaghirapan sa abroad. Naisip ko tuloy na siguro meron na ring mga tao sa aking paligid na naiingit sa akin at nagbabalak na magpakalayo layo para maghanap ng trabaho sa ibang bansa at makamtan din nila ang nalalasap kong financial reward na aking nararanasan ngayon. Pero talaga bang kainggit-ingit ang mga OFW. Sa isang tingin, OO nakaka-inggit matakin mo pa na tinawag silang mga bagong bayani sa ating henerasyon. At sana naman walang mag-isip sa kanila na magtayo ng sarili nilang statwa bilang simbulo ng kanilang kabayanihan. Kung mauso ito aba eh baka malunod tayo ng mga rebulto nila at hindi na makahinga.

Sa isip ng mga karamihan, ang isang OFW ay simbolo ng isang natupad na pangarap. Kung may kapatid, anak or magulang ka na nagtratarabaho para kang may pato na nangigitlog ng ginto. Pero gusto kong isalaysay ang mga paghihirap at mga negatibo na aking nakita at narinig sa mga OFW na tulad ko. Ikaw na ang humusga kung ito ay tutuo or hindi: Ikaw na rin ang sumagot magsabi na dapat ba silang kainggitan. Ito po ang mga paghihirap kong sinasabi.

1. Kadalasan ay Lugi sa Negosyo

Ikaw ay magugulat sa mga statistika na lumalabas na karamihan sa mga OFW na sumusuong sa negosyo ay madalas nalulugi. Mantakin mo ang naipon mo sa loob ng ilang taon pagtratrabaho ay bigla na lang naubos at nalugi. Hindi ba napakasakit iyon Kuya Eddie. Maraming dahilan kung bakit ang OFW ay madalas nalulugi. Marami na ring pag-aaral na ginawa ang ating gobyerno sa mga kadahilan kung bakit mailap ang tagumpay sa palad ng OFW ang pagnenegosyo. Ang mga kadahilanan na nabanggit ay walang masyadong kaalaman ang OFW sa pamamalakad ng negosyo na kanilang pinasok; isa pa walang namamahala sa kanilang negosyo habang sila ay nanatiling nagtratrabaho sa abroad kaya kadalasan sila ay nakukupitan o niloloko ng kanilang katiwala.

Siguro naramdaman mo na ang sakit nang mawala saiyo ang iyong cellphone or mamahaling bagay ng di mo inaasahan. Ano pa ba ang sasakit sa OFW na malugi ang kanilang negosyo na ang kapital ay galing sa pinagtrabahuan nila ng ilang taon. May mga kakilala ako na OFW nalugi sa pagbili nila ng Jeep na pampasahero or taxi, etc.

2. Diborsyo

Kung isusulat ko lahat lahat na aking nakita at narinig na mga problema sa pamilya naming bawat OFW kulang siguro ang isang buwan ay kulang para mailathala ang mga ito. Pagkaraniwan sa aming mga OFW ay dibors na at hiwalay sa asawa o dili naman kaya ay may bago ng asawa. Pero teka nga pala hindi lahat ng OFW ay hiwalay sa asawa at hindi lahat ng diborsyada or diborsyado ay OFW.

Pero napapabilang ang mga OFW sa hanay ng mga nakararami na nakikapag hiwalay sa asawa. Bakit kaya hindi naman sila artista o baka naman dahil karamihan sa kanila ay mukhang artista. Hindi ko na siguro uungkatin ang emotional na hirap na dinadanas ng isang lalaki or babae na sumasailalim ng proseso ng paghihiwalay.

Ano nga ba ang mga rason bakit nakikipaghiwalay ang mga OFW sa kanilang asawa. Sa aking opinion ay siguro dahil na rin sa hindi makatiis sa tawag ng laman ang OFW lalo na kung ito ay lalaki. Kulang sa komunikasyon ay isa ring dahilan. Kung ikaw ay magbabasa ng dyaryo madalas ang wento ng pag-ibig at kamunduhan ay punto ang buhay OFW. Hindi ko rin masisi ang OFW na wag tumikim ng sex habang silang ay nagtratrabaho sa malayong lugar. Mahirap talagang iwasan ito.

At kapag nakatikim na ng sex ang OFW sa ibang babae, ito ang magiging ugat ng hiwalayan. Naiinsecure si misis dahil mas bata ang kalaguyo ni mister o dili kaya ay mas masarap ang kalaguyo sa kama kesa ke misis.

May mga pagkakataon naman na ayaw iwan ni misis ang OFW na mister kahit alam nyang madami sila sa buhay nya dahil na rin siguro sa mga anak nila or takot siya na mabawasan ang intregang sahod ni mister kapag pinili nyang makipaghiwalay.

Pero mas masakit para sa isang mister na OFW ang malaman na may kalaguyo si Misis at inuubos ang pinapadala nya para sa pangangailangan ng kalaguyo.

Meron po akong wento sa inyo. May isa akong kilalang OFW na nalaman na ang misis nya ay may kabit na pulis. So hiniwalayan agad ang asawa pinutol ang sustento. At ang OFW ay nag asawa ng mas bata, sexy at maganda. Iyon lang ang advantage kung may pera ka madali kang makapag asawa ulit na mas maganda. Ang nangyari as dating misis nya ay ayon naghihirap sa kamay ng pulis. Minsan nasasabi ko nga kapag ang misis ng OFW ay kumarengkeng, binigyan nya ng pagkakataon ang kanyang asawa na magmahal ng iba. OFW has the money to offer any young lady who is willing to take the wife’s role and place. Samakatwid baga ay worth na ang ipapadalang malaking sahod sa bago at batang misis. Ika nga ay it’s worth the money.

Hindi lahat ng OFW na naturotot ay sumasailalim ng maganda at maayos na proseso ng paghihiwalay. Madami ring OFW or kanilang partner ay dinadamdam ito at minsan humahantong ito sa trahedya tulad ng suicide, o biglaang pagkakasakit o atake dahil hindi nila ma-take ang pangyayari.

3. Problem sa Anak

Karamihan sa OFW ay may problema sa mga anak. Kung hindi maagang nabuntis eh madalas makabuntis. Hirap ang mga anak ng OFW na makatapos ng pag-aaral. Kung makatapos man ay hindi sila preparado para makahanap ng maayos na trabaho. Madalas mo na siguro mabasa sa dyaryo ang pagbaba na kalidad ng kaalaman ng ating kabataan na nakatapos ng collegio. Gumawa ng simpleng pangungusap sa wikang kano ay hirap na hirap na sila at gamunggo na ang pawis na pumapatak sa kanilang ulo. Hindi kaya ito ay sanhi nang hindi sila nagagabayan sa pag-aaral ng tama habang sila ay lumalaki dahil nga wala sa tabi nila ang isa o dalawa nilang magulang na naghahanap buhay sa malayong lugar.

Ang masakit pa nito ay kahit may apo kana ikaw pa rin ang pumapasan sa anak mo at sa kanyang mga anak. Alam ko na halos tradisyon na natin ang ganito. At saka sino ba ang hindi makakatiis na manghirap ang anak at apo. Pero sa tingin ko may mali pa rin sa ganitong sitwasyon na kinukunsinti natin ang anak natin na umasa sa magulang. Maganda sana kung lagging may trabaho ang magulang sa abroad paano kung wala na, paano na kaya ang mangyayari.

Mas masama pa rito ay minsan nalululong ang anak sa masamang bisyo na humahantong or dahilan rin sa pagkawasak or gulo sa pamilya.

4. Lungkot, Hirap at Pangamba sa Trabaho.

Hindi lang lungkot ang kalaban naming mga OFW habang kasama na rito ang hirap at takot sa lugar na aming pinagtratrabahuan.

Sa Singapore ang normal na almusal na binibigay ng amo sa aming mga OFW ay kanin na bahaw na sinabawan ng mainit na tubig. Para kang may sakit ang hirap atang magadjust. Sa Hong Kong naman ang kwarto nila ay kasing liit ng kubeta. Sa Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia at Nigeria ay panganib na baka isang araw ay madisgrasya ka or makidnap. Sa middle east naman ay ang mapagsamantalang arabo na hindi lang minamaltrato ang ating mga kababaihang OFW ay ginagahasa pa. Bagamat puro panganib ito ay pilit naming itong nilalabanan dahil na rin siguro sa ganda ng sahod na hindi namin makikita sa Pinas. Hindi ko na siguro babanggitin pa ang hirap na nararanasan namin para pakisamahan ang ibang empleyado ng kumpanya na meron iba-ibang kultura na sobrang sipsip, magulo, mayabang, nakakainis at kung ano ano pa.

5. Ang Paniniwalang Puno ng Pera ang OFW

Ang balon nauubusan ng tubig, ang araw ay lumulubog at ang hangin ay humuhupa pero ang akala ng karamihan na lahat ng OFW ay hindi nauubusan ng pera. O dili kaya ay madaling kitain ang pera sa ibang bansa na parang isang pitik mo lang presto may lalabas nang pera sa bulsa namin.

Sa ganyang paniniwala ng ating mga kamag-anak, ka kilala at kaibigan, halos lahat sila ay kung hindi nanghihiram ay nanghihingi ng balato. Hindi ko naman sinasabi na masama ang manghiram or manghingi. Ang punto rito sa dami ng nanghihiram ay siguradong meron kang hindi mapapagbigyan di ba?.

At kung hindi mo mapagbigyan ay masama at madamot ka. Por Diyos por santo, si Pacquiao nga na multimillionaire (in US dollars ha) eh hindi mapagbigyan lahat. Kami pa na barya barya lang kinikita. Kung mapahiram mo naman ay hindi ka binabayaran at kapag sinisingil mo na galit pa… Bakit kaya ganoon?

Confined Space Teamwork

2007-05-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

The epitome of Confined Space Entry.

The photos show a crew accomplishing their assigned tasks on a confined space job. Observe in the photos the sequence of work procedures performed by the staff. I wonder if there was a work permit issued for this task.

The Bloggers

2007-05-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

I read lots of rants and raves from different types of bloggers. As an OFW, reading bloggers’ stories are entertaining and captivating. It becomes one of my ways to combat the loneliness we normally experience. Their stories came in different colors and dimension from love, comedy, triumph, horror, sports, politics, socio-economics and as well as sex. You name it and definitely you can have it as fast as a click of a mouse.

There are so many ideas to perceive and learn from a mind of a blogger. In fact, I sometimes told myself you see this person had more problems than I am; but he can overcome it with ease. It seems that no tsunami of problems could nail him done.

As a result of reading so many blogs, I started my own. I am not a good writer per se and let us see how far I can go on blogging.

Back to Africa

2007-05-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am back here in Africa after few weeks of vacation from my home country.

It was really a nice vacation with my family. I will post my vacation stories these coming days.

Sites of Africa

2007-04-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sites of Africa

Tidbits from Politicians

2007-04-07T01:05:00.000-07:00

It's election time. There were so many jokes about political personas and one of these was forwarded to me.

"A friend has been a Travel Agent for 30 Years. She says, of her 30 years of taking reservation requests from government officials, we are all in trouble.

Here's a few choice reservation questions from these bright people.

Senator Tessie Oreta asked for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.

I got a call from ex-Mayor Joey Marquez, who wanted to go to Capetown. Explaining the length of the flight and passport information, he interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts ." Without trying to make him look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, " Cape Cod is in Massachusetts . Capetown is in Africa ." His response: (click).

Congressman Mark Lapid called, furious about a Florida package we did for him and tv star Kris Aquino. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that was not possible since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked in the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (so he expected to see the ocean on both sides of the hotel?!)

Sen Ralph Recto's popular wife asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada ?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map."

Senator Lito Lapid asked if he could rent a car in Dallas . I noticed he had only an hour lay-over in Dallas . When asked why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between the gates to save time."

Senator Jinggoy Estrada called last week. He needed to know how it was possible that his flight from Detroit left at 8:20 a.m. and got into Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but he could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told him the plane went very fast, and he bought that.

Congressman Ronaldo Zamora asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" He replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight. I think that is very rude!" I looked into it and explained the city code for Fresno , California is (FAT) and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage.

Former presidentiable now tv star Eddie Gil inquired about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, he asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and take the train to Hawaii ?"

I just got off the phone with Senator Bong Revilla who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them."

VP Noli De Castro asked, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , FL. Do I have to get on one of those twin engine planes?" I asked if he meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane. He said, "Yeah, whatever!"

Congressman Dilangalen called and had a question about the documents needed to fly to China . I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this, he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and everytime they accepted my American Express!"

Senator Miriam Defensor called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York ." The agent said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo , do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal," she said."

Heidi Lopez

2007-04-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Heidi, a petite girl with a fair complexion and vivacious smile, was my classmate when I was in 1st year college during the school year of 1985. She is simply beautiful and energetic. My world becomes so marvelous and my life for the first time then was euphoric every time I saw her. I didn’t know what hit me. I guessed that I had a crush on her or infatuated to her sweet smile.

I knew in my heart that I liked her, however my mind kept telling me that it was not yet the right time to have a girlfriend because of the following reasons:

I just started college and it was unfair to my mother who was working so hard to make sure that I could finish my schooling. She will be devastated if she will know that I focus myself to this young lady rather than my schooling.
I was afraid to tell her my feelings. I am afraid that she might reject me, which could result to frustration and affect my studies.
I had no money. In my mind, gifts like chocolate and flowers are very essential for every courtship. Where in the hell I could find such amount of money to finance this adventure.
As far as I knew she was rich. Being poor like me could have a negative impact in case I decided to court her.

To make the story short, I kept and hid my feeling to her and concentrated more on my studies and works. The next school semester I learnt that she was not in a block section anymore. Thus, she will not be my classmate. I guessed that this would quickly help me to forget her.

Time runs fast. I was taking my class-card in one of the subjects in my last semester of 1988 school year; I saw her standing by the door. She had changed from a young girl into a woman. She looked more beautiful wearing make-up and fashionable dress. I stared at her looking on how she came out from her cocoon and turned into a stunning lady.

You are probably telling me that it is now the proper time to court her and exploit my new horizon. But, fate had made things different; I am now seeing a new girl who eventually became my wife. Perhaps, my future wife had seen something in me that she had made sure that well I should belong to her and vice versa.

I put up a lot courage and decided to visit Heidi in the dormitory with a plan to tell her my real feelings. Guess what!! She had just left and went back to her home town – Nueva Ejica and nowhere to be found. For Heidi wherever you are, thank you for the little memories that you had shared with me. It could be irrelevant to you but your face and personality had been scribed in my mind. In my mind, you will always stay young and vibrant forever.

If I had only a time machine, I wish I would be back to the time when you were still my classmate and rearranged everything. Who knows, she could be very happy right now and she never even give a though or damn on me. Heidi is just part of my life to rekindle and presently I am very much happy with my wife and daughter.

Pumapatak na naman ang ulan

2007-04-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

Paggising ko kaninang umaga bandang 8:00 am ay napakadilim na ng langit. Mukhang bubugso ang ulan ng matindi. Hindi nga ako nagkamali eksaktong 9:15 ng umaga bumagsak ang napakabigat na ulan. Parang signal no. 3 na sa atin ito.

Bakit kaya napakalakas ng ulan ngayon dito sa Nigeria!! Eh samantalang sa Manila ay super init na ngayon. Nakapagtataka dahil halos nasa equitorial reqion ang Pinas at Nigeria.

Ang sarap sanang kumain ng tuyo at sinigang na bangus. Tapos ang kanin ay bagong saing. Ginugutom tuloy ako lalo. Ang almusal ko lang kanina ay isang nilagang itlog at kape. Hindi na ako pumunta sa kantina dahil sinadya kong matulog lampas ng 7:00 am dahil linggo ngayon at ang oras ng pasok ay 9:00 am kaso nga lang ikaw na bahala ng almusal mo dahil ang kantina ay bukas ng 7:00 am hanggang 8:00 am lang. Napakalakas ng hangin at matindi ang bugso ng ulan.......

Way to go

2007-03-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

Paano ba ako napunta dito sa masalimuot na lugar sa bandang west Africa. Una kong narating ang Nigeria pagkatapos ay Ghana.

Tulad ng ibang mga pinoy, isa ako sa nakikipagsapalaran na makahanap ng magandang kabuhayan sa loob or sa labas ng ating bansa. Pagkatapos ng aking paghihirap na makuha ang kursong BSBA major in accounting ay pinalad akong matanggap sa isang accounting firm sa makati. Tumanggal ako ng halos 3 taon doon. Naisip ko bakit hindi kaya ako kumuha ng abugasya. Para kasing magandang pakinggan kung CPA kana Lawyer kapa. Dahil sa pangarap kong ito, nagpasya akong mag-aral sa San Beda dahil ito ay malapit sa tirahan naming sa Quiapo.

Habang ako ay nag-aaral, may isang kapitbahay na nagudyok sa akin na mag-apply ng trabaho sa Abroad. Inisip-isip ko since wala naman mawawala sa akin bakit hindi ko try just for curiosity sake, I was 24 at that time.

Hindi ko akalain na ma-shortlisted ako at isalang sa interview. Ang naginterview sa akin ay ang Chairman ng company. Sa madaling salita ay natanggap ako. Ivory Coast sana ang initial destination ko pero sabi sa akin mag training daw muna ako sa Nigeria.

Tatlo kaming pinoy na umalis papuntang Nigeria, that was October 14, 1991.

A Reason To Blog

2007-03-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

I started reading blogs for almost six month. To tell you frankly, I was amazed to know the ideas being conveyed by various bloggers coming from different parts of the world.

For this reason, I begun to think that I should have my own blog. But first, I hesitated to create my own blog fearing that I could not write well both in English and my own local dialect. However, I changed my mind when I read the post of one blogger expressing his reason for writing his idea, story and life journal in the net. He said “one of the main reason that I write blogs almost on a daily basis is to document what I see, feel and hear in order that my children and descendants could visualize myself, my principle and thoughts.

I told myself this is a great idea to pass to my next generation the framework of my thoughts and reaction on every events vis-à-vis my life story hoping that they can learn something on it. I don’t mind if I will make and continue to make grammatical error in expressing myself. Well, I am an accountant by profession not a writer so to speak. Therefore, it is pardonable if my command in English is weak. Moreover, I need to conquer this fear and begin to learn how to be effective writer. This could only happen if I will tend to write more and I guess blogging will be my best exercise.