Motherhood Smile On Me
I read somewhere that women in Canada are given a year’s maternity leave, three months of which are paid. After a year, they can expect to have a job waiting for them. Wow!
I cried when I left my first baby to get back to work at which point my father-in-law took me aside and reminded me that I had to pull myself together to work for milk, diapers and seventeen years of tuition fees.
Mar and Noynoy
Politicians who kiss babies (or drive them in sidecars), use the elderly as props and demonstrate the leakiness of their childhood residences leave a bad taste in my mouth. Clearly, even poverty itself is being exploited. Because majority of our people can comprehend little else than daily bread, the bid to demonstrate who can relate the most to the underfed has replaced substantive speeches and debates.
More here
Pacquiao Creams Hatton, Carries the Weight of the Philippines
I have a confession to make. I hate watching burly, sweaty men engage in repetitive, seemingly senseless attempts to beat the living daylights out of each other. That’s why I was never a boxing (and basketball) fan. But thanks to the perpetual advertisements, the amusing arguments by congressmen for trips to Las Vegas and the endless barbs thrown at each other by patriots and traitors to the Filipino race, I was finally hypnotized into standing still with the rest of the nation— for two whole rounds.
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You Have the Right… Really?
To say that the events surrounding the Failon incident last week were alarming is an understatement. For those whose neurons are still on extended leave or buried under reality-displacing office work, one of last week’s biggest news was the death of Trinidad Etong, the wife of veteran broadcaster Ted Failon. Failon himself allegedly found his wife with a gunshot wound on her temple in a comfort room in their home. Etong died the following day, April 16, in the ICU of New Era General Hospital.
And the Philippines Belongs to…
Last week had its fair share of environmental depressants. That’s thanks to the Sulu kidnappings, Manalili’s commuted sentence and Chip Tsao’s overboard apology. One piece of news though caught my attention in particular. Surprisingly, it was more amusing than depressing.
Mindanao Goldstar’s April 4-5 weekend issue published a paid article that presented a certain Dr. Salvacion Legaspi-Kempe’s claim that a Chinese settler once owned the Philippines. According to her documents, the English Supreme Court issued a decree on January 17, 1764 that gave Prince Lacan Acuña ownership of the Philippines. Kempe who is from Iligan is allegedly a descendant of Acuña. Which means…
Too Old to Be Emo?
It’s been two years since I resigned from my hybrid office/school job. In these two years however my former boss has continued to ask for my help on every single issue of the school paper. Actually, what she really needed was a club bouncer who would have made sure that the heads of the editorial staff rolled. I fit the job description closest.
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To All the Customer Reps I’ve * Before
I am sorry. If a head of state can use the same line and make an entire nation forget her less than sparkling trail of shit, I can say it too and be forgiven, right?
I know how difficult your job is. I once passed a call center screening but never reported for my first day of work after I got my first sample call from a fake client who sounded like the world was ending and it was all because of my inability to solve his problem.
Hell Hath No Fury Like Nature Scorned
I’ve been away from some of my online haunts lately. My momentum broke because the week began with a flood. Not the knee-deep flood that is the staple in expanding Philippine cities but the run for your life kind of flood that makes you wonder if the sins of mankind have yet again merited another Biblical Great Flood. This time, the story stars not a local Noah but the embattled conman or martyr (depending on your loyalties) from the people’s palace who came recently with a grin and matching relief goods.
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Christmas Economics
My blog is distinctly missing a Christmas greeting and it’s not because I’m Scrooge in the flesh. Despite appearances, I am a Christmas fanatic. I studied in Catholic schools where every year, traditional tableaux reminded me of whose birthday it was we were celebrating. For some strange reason, I was never chosen to play Mary, Joseph or one of the three kings. The closest I could get to a role in a school tableau was as donkey alternate.
Read more here.
World Domination and Value Meals
If there’s one thing in the Philippines that sprouts faster than weeds, it’s Jollibee outlets. It seems there’s always one in every corner. A little over five years ago, Cagayan de Oro only had two or three outlets around. Today, there are about ten of them with the newest having recently opened across Lourdes College. TEN! The number is enough to give you nightmares of swarms of giant yellow-orange bees out to get your pocket money and of thousands of chickens rising against chicken rights violations. Read more
