Pinoy sa Puso't Diwa

Although I might not have the best grammar in my native tongue, I would still like to believe that I am a proud pinoy. Not 100% of the time, but most of my life I have never been ashamed of saying that I am a Filipino.

There have been a lot of misconceptions about Filipinos--Filipinas. One is that we are "easy" women; would do anything for a green card. This is perhaps one of the most revolting perception of foreigners about my countrymen. They go as far as to say that Pinays are "sex workers" who exchange sex for money or a chance to live in a foreign country.

Another infuriating notion is that Filipinos are ill-educated or worse, stupid. I really can't blame foreigners for thinking like this because our media portrays us as such. Movies, news, and even online articles are filled with negative comments about us. Our own kind, treating us as garbage. what is more painful is that some pinoys believe them. When in front of a foreigner, we lower our heads and accept their criticisms like they were facts.

Why can't we have more pride in ourselves, in our nation? The Philippines is a wonderful country gifted with beautiful natural resources and resourceful people. If only we could stop looking for an easy way out and find ways to sustain our growth and resources, we could be a powerful and rich nation. One that would be emulated (again) by neighboring countries and even across the seas.

Let's not leave everything up to chance and the government. We should be responsible for our own destiny; supporting and supported by the government.

onemanga.com: A Poor Otaku's Friend

I have been reading manga for as long as I can remember. Sadly, it is not the cheapest and most available piece of reading in the Philippines. That is why I was so happy when I was acquainted with manga scanlations, or scans of translated manga posted online for FREE.

One of the first sites that I have frequented was OneManga. So imagine my shock and utter dismay when I found this note on my way to read the latest release of Naruto.


Due to some problem with publishers, OneManga has opted to close down until further notice. I hope that someday soon, they will re-open. It has been a great pleasure to visit it every so often to get my daily manga fix. It was very useful when I didn't know what to read next because of their random selection button. I have been in some trouble because of that though (LOL labels like "not safe for office" should be indicated).

Farewell onemanga.com you will be missed by this poor otaku.

Typhoon Basyang and the "Plight" of the People

Typhoon Basyang was a certain surprise for most Filipinos. A couple of days after being told that there were no signs of a typhoon hitting our shores in the next few weeks, viola! classes were suspended and worse, no electricity. Unlike most of my countrymen, I HATE pointing fingers. Why in God's name do we always have to look for someone to blame? It's a natural calamity! Can't you even remember a basic lecture in our grade school class? Typhoons are named after women because of their erratic behavior. It's really not easy to predict where, when, and how strong it will hit us. I know there are apparatus to help us with this matter, but no matter how advanced our technology is, it will not stop the typhoon from hitting us hard.

Let's say they have predicted a typhoon's strength and direction, will it help strengthen our roof or our infrastructures? Will it prevent power outages and floods? NO. The storm signal was raised in some areas, while other neighboring locations were spared from the list; do we put our guards down knowing that the said alarm signals are only a couple of kilometers away from us? NO. Didn't we learn anything from Ondoy? We should always be vigilant.

I just hope people would stop pointing fingers at others and reflect upon their own actions (or worse, INaction). The need to put the blame on people ASIDE from ourselves is perhaps the greatest obstacle in Philippine development. Self accountability and the desire to COLLECTIVELY rise up the ladder of success is sorely missing in our masses. We must not pin all our hopes in one person even if that person CLAIMS that he can save you from poverty. As long as you yourself do not make a move to alleviate your own situation, nothing will change. The Filipino culture of "crab mentality" is definitely a scary thing. It is something that I hope will be put into the bin and never recycled. Why can't we look at a person who is rising to the top and say "I want to be like him" instead of "He cheated, that's why he got there." I mean, honestly...WTF?!

To My Father...

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a daddy's girl. I would often fall asleep laying on my dad's lap or ask him to carry me around in the amusement park. When I was older, even if I am not a touchy person, I would still give my father bear hugs and belly slaps. For me, my father was the only man I could rely on; the only man worth loving. I guess to some extent, the reason why I still do not have a boyfriend; nobody will be as good as my dad. (Electra Complex?? NAH!)

Unlike most fathers, my dad was always beside us. He would go to the market and cook our food (when the maid is not home) and would even nurse us when we are sick. He was both a father and a mother to us even if my mom was also always home. My mother is not a domestic goddess, she doesn't cook nor go to the market (we go to the supermarkets, not the wet market. LOL).

I would remember him singing to us non-stop (even if we begged him to) when we are on road trips. He patiently taught me that "he is not a citric fruit, not Lemon...It's Lennon" when I asked him for the correct spelling of "Imagine" when I was in grade1 (yeah...I sucked at spelling!) I have learned to love music because of him from "oldies but goodies" to alternative rock. We loved drinking coffee (even when I was still in preschool) until now that we are both hyper acidic. Both of us are very temperamental so we would often bicker and sometimes not even talk for days. But he would always apologize to me...even if it was my fault. He would come home with shrimp tempura in his hands and bribe his way back to my good graces. Although I might complain that he favors my older sister more, I was still happy to have him as my father.

Nobody is perfect and I thought that his only imperfection was his ghastly habit of smoking and his foul temper. However reality really does bite...and it bites hard. Finding out that your father is not the ideal man was like a throw-down from life. Suddenly pulling out the trust from under our feet is the most painful thing that life has dealt my family. It has been a year now since the incident, and every time I remember it I still tear up and sometimes cry myself to sleep. This time, I see my mother in a different light. I see both of the in different lights. My seemingly perfect family, shattered by an old whore.

My parents are still together after that incident...my mom forgave my father. However he can never regain what he lost...what we lost. I lost my rose spectacles; my father lost our trust. So even if my father is still physically present, my heart still breaks when I hear "dance with my father." Now, I am looking at a new man...a man different from the father I knew. I know that what he did should not diminish his worth as my dad, I know that. But it feels terrible knowing that he hurt my mom...all of us. I hope one day, I can see my father again. The father that I love and respect. To my dad, I love you. Even if it hurts...

Pardon Me for my Emo

After frolicking around for a couple of months, I decided to finally try my luck and apply for some jobs. Since I am still unclear as to what I really want to do with my life, I tried to play up to my interests instead.

I submitted a couple of resumes online and finally, one responded to my application. I was actually pretty interested in the position so i told my family over dinner. Then all piss and shit happened; they actually placed BETS on how long I will stay in the job! Talk about pissing on your parade!

Ang masakit lang talaga, sarili kong pamilya ung nagbababa sa akin habang nawawala pa ako. Paano ko mahahanap ang sarili ko kung sarili kong pamilya ko, hindi naniniwala sa akin? Putcha lang talaga...ang sakit. Gusto kong umiyak pero hindi pwede. Gusto kong magalit, pero lalo lang nila akong pagtatawanan. PUNYETA! Huwag nalang kaya akong magtrabaho? Para parepareho kaming walang trabaho?

Feeling the Heat: Batanes Experience

It has a been a dream of mine to go to Batanes for as long as I knew the place existed. I don't think there is any other place (locally) that I wanted to go to so badly. So I was so happy to hear that there was a buy 1 take 1 seat sale in SEAAIR. My family instantly went to MOA to buy the tickets and by a couple months' time, we were off to Batanes.

To tell you honestly, it wasn't everything I hoped it would be. First off, it was burning hot there. We were under the impression that it would be really cold we were shocked to feel otherwise. Don't get me wrong, the place was absolutely stunning! It was as if we went to five different countries at once; Jerusalem, Greece, New Zealand, USA, and Africa. We took literally more than a thousand pictures in our 5day stay there. We made the most of our trip by going to all three of their inhabited islands; Batan, Itbayat, and Sabtang.

If you are interested in an extreme experience, I suggest you go to Itbayat. It's an island without a single beach! You need to ride on a boat for 3hours from Batan to get there. (Experience the refugee-like boat ride! No seats, just sitting on the floor and watch dozens of flying fish hovering on the water!) Aside from the journey to the island, going around the place was also quite the experience. They do not have vans and jeeps there, only pick-up trucks! So you have to ride at the back of the trucks, sitting on wooden benches (bangko). The experience is hard to explain in words, you just have to experience it for yourself. You will also hike a long way to go to a cave. On the way there, you will walk on a white limestone path that is absolutely breathtaking! Definitely worth the trouble. You can also go to a separate island, and stay there overnight if you prefer to laze on the beach. But you have to give them advance notice, because they have to prepare the place for you. That is if you have enough time on your hands...

Batan Island is like the center of Batanes. It has the most establishments, even internet cafes have found their way there. The Marlboro Hills are located here and also the world famous Honesty Coffee shop. If you do not know how to ride a bike, i suggest you learn before you go there. I didn't know how to ride one so I had to miss out on going solo. >.< SAD! Going around the Island on bike is refreshing and you can experience things you might have missed while on the van.

Sabtang Island has the most number of stone houses in all three islands that we have visited. It is also home to a 103 year old man! We talked with him and he didn't seem his age. It was as if you are talking to a 70 year old man. His secret: NO VICES! This is also the place where you can frolic on the beach and eat lobster. You can also watch locals weaving their Bakul (native straw hats) and buy them straight from the source.

I Think Therefore I am for GIBO TEODORO

This is the last campaign day; last day of those annoying commercials. Thank goodness.

As the title denotes, I am for Gibo Teodoro. Popularity aside, I think that he has the best chance of improving the situation in our country. He will not be preoccupied with his personal vendetta and trying to please other people. He would go right down to business and run our country. He strikes me as a no nonsense kind of man; a man who is not ruled by his emotions when it comes to making decisions.

I want to shout at people who say "sayang lang ang boto ko sa kanya, hindi naman siya mananalo e." Well I say, mas sayang ang boto mo kung iboboto mo ang isang taong popular nga, pero wala rin namang magagawa para sa bansa natin. Contrary to popular belief, elections are supposed to be a system wherein we vote for people based on credentials and not on POPULARITY. This is our NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS and not a popularity contest in school. Vote based on credentials and merit, not based on relatives and endorsers.

Do not pay heed to the surveys because "I was not asked by the survey." Survey companies admitted that they only surveyed roughly 2000 respondents. That is not a reliable representation of the entire voting population. Ask the friends of your friends, I'll bet that none of them were asked by the survey.

For my VP, I will vote for Bayani Fernando. As a marikenyo, I know how effective he is in public administration and implementing laws and statutes. He will be the man of Political Will to discipline the Filipinos and execute our otherwise good existing laws.