It's been a while

Smile! :-) Well, I kinda over use the line "it's been a while" and sure did my last post was almost 2 months ago. Within those months many laughs were shared and yes some tears dripped. However life does not end with one,two or even hundreds of arguments, disappointments, success and failures. You have to go through those things in order to learn. Life was never been fair nor tough. It's always been TOUGHER and UNFAIR. Uncertainties every now and then, all we have to do is hope and pray. Just like how the gas prices are going lately. Everyday I go to work I cross my fingers and silently prays that gas will remain in $1.99 a galloon but now it is up to $2 more and sometimes lesser than what I hoped for. Every cents makes a difference for people who needs 16 galloons of gas per week to get to and from work.

Anyways, I still need to take the risks of hoping that the price is lower when I have to fill my tank again and if it is more than what I hoped for then it is what it is. Though it is hard. From now on more risks we have to take because of the economic crisis. Hopefully soon, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and wish it is not a train.

Have a blessed day everyone!

18 hours

Yesterday was quiet a very tiresome day for me. I started working at 5 a.m and because of some circumstances they need me to work until 12 midnight so that is 18 hours of straight work. I was surprised with the energy I had yesterday. However, it is taking its toll today. I am so tired that I can not concentrate on almost anything. I do apologize to my friends that texted and called me. My phone is always on silent mode because at work it is the rule. We are not allowed to have it in our pocket. Sometimes it lost its battery because for some reason our awesome deluxe resort does not have a wi-fi and in the employee's official breakroom and bathroom does not have any cellphone reception. Ending, cellphones struggle to locate a reception and caused the battery to die.

So my cellphone is almost useless when I am at work. I log in at friendster and checked my email by right now my eyes are just looking but my brain is not absorbing anything.

But I am hopeful I will be back to my normal self as soon as I get a good straight 10 hour sleep.

I will get back to all of you my wonderful friends real soon...

Imagine a world without Filipinos

I went home very late this morning from work. Finally went to bed around 4 a.m and surprisingly I got up again around 11 a.m. Well that is early for me because usually I sleep 8-10 hours :-)

As usual I opened my computer and just browsing and reading news etc. Then I came across to this site that made me say, " I am one of them and yes I am a Filipino! " Take a look or if you have nothing else to do in this moment read this post until the end, if you are proud to be a Filipino this will make your day.

Imagine a world without Filipinos Abdullah Al-Maghlooth | Al-Watan, almaghlooth@alwatan.com.sa

Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and gifts shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and returning home. He says: “When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite.” Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino workers to replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried workers of different nationalities but they did not impress him. “There is no comparison between Filipinos and others,” he says. Whenever I see Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what our life would be without them. Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers — 1,019,577 — outside the Philippines. In 2006 alone, the Kingdom recruited more than 223,000 workers from the Philippines and their numbers are still increasing. Filipinos not only play an important and effective role in the Kingdom, they also perform different jobs in countries across the world, including working as sailors. They are known for their professionalism and the quality of their work. Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around 20 percent of the world’s seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino sailors. So if Filipinos decided one day to stop working or go on strike for any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen. What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good English and the technical training they receive in the early stages of their education. There are several specialized training institutes in the Philippines, including those specializing in engineering and road maintenance. This training background makes them highly competent in these vital areas. When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world’s total number of nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutes, from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore. Cathy Ann, a 35-year-old Filipino nurse who has been working in the Kingdom for the last five years and before that in Singapore, said she does not feel homesick abroad because “I am surrounded by my compatriots everywhere.” Ann thinks that early training allows Filipinos to excel in nursing and other vocations. She started learning this profession at the age of four as her aunt, a nurse, used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the work. “She used to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of 11, I could do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather’s blood pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections,” she said. This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many of our children reach the university stage without learning anything except boredom. The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire world economy. We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences. We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and maintain ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and how to achieve perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do not become like Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and appetite when Filipino workers left his flower shop. We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us। We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us. सोर्स: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13&section=0&article=110923&d=16&m=6&y=2008 It is really true, anywhere there are Filipinos making this world a better place to unwind :-) and yes of course to live. Not to sound irritating to everyone but Filipinos are really flexible. They want to be a Roman if they are in Rome. From clothing to the food, we want to imitate it. Being an imitator is really a huge advantage for it made us open for almost everything. Marami pang bigas na kainin ang ibang nasyonalidad upang mapantayan ang sipag , tiyaga, galing (from faking the accent to following the fashion) ng mga Pilipino. Not to mention na maganda at gwapo din tayo. Looks is always a bonus :-) Long Live Filipinos!

New Year...

New year is my favorite holiday when I was young. This is the day of the year that my mom can't scold me or criticize me because of a little belief, that if she will scold me or my sisters on the first day of the year she will be scolding us the whole year and it is not good for the family. So we tried to be in our best behavior on New year's first day. But right after 2006 new year will also remind me of the death of my beloved uncle. It was a tragedy and it really shocked the whole clan and the whole village.

However this new year 2009 I don't want sadness fill my heart. I want to exhale all of the negativity in me and inhale all the positive. May my heart and yours be filled with good things like love, understanding and kindness.

I wish everyone good health, stable income and happy life ahead!

God Bless Us all and let us welcome 2009.

Happy Holidays

Financial crisis is a world news. Anywhere in the world is facing it. In my beloved country it is always one of the biggest problems. So every time I watched t.v and newscasters reporting the same thing I have heard for centuries now I just shrugged my shoulder. I am pretty sure that there are still people that are not affected by the said crisis. At work, management is cutting hours. Which means employees have to really hold on tight to make their hard earned dollar stretched as faaaaarrr as it could.

My husband and I decided not to do exchange gifts this year, he still give me one though. Nonetheless being negative about all of this global crisis that affected the majority won't do us any good. If we keep on thinking about it can trigger different kind of stress. If you are stress you can't think straight and it is not helping you or the economy. I am not saying that I am not worried. I am very worried. It has been a struggle for me. I always wanted to help not only my immediate family but my extended clan too.

The only thing is I am no hero and I don't have the ability to help everyone. Funny thing is in my native land, people will never believe that OFW or filipinos that are working outside the Philippines are struggling. I can not blame them. How are they going to believe that OFW's are not picking their money on the streets when some OFW are wearing signature clothes,carrying a branded purse and adorned themselves with either fake or genuine, huge jewelries.

This Christmas with the unstable economy taking time off from work is a luxury that a lot of people can not afford right now. I will be at work from Christmas up to New Year but I will still celebrate it. It may not be the kind of celebration I used to have with my family but I will celebrate it with my friends here whom I considered family. Either after or before the celebration we will eat and take a lot pictures. It is still going to be a merry Christmas and a happy new year for me. I just hope that my husband will get well soon. He hurt his back and I feel bad that I can not be home to take care of him. His doctor is off so he probably need to wait until after Christmas to see him. Poor hubby... :-(

Despite everything let us not lose hope,continue to hope and live for magic will never fade if you believe...

Everyone have a Safe Holidays!

Tough Life eh!

Many struggles are being faced by millions if not billion of people around the globe today. Even the richest and healthiest individuals do have concerns about different matters. I am neither of them but I have so many concerns. I always wonder why some people cared so much and others just shrugged their shoulders and continue moving forward even if they step on somebody? Then I remember that there are only two kind of people in the world. The nice and the not nice at all. But the half bitch and half nice was born and it is the adjective used to those who are worst than not so nice.

There is no such thing as half nice and half bitch. It simply means that this person is really a bitch hiding in niceness to get what he or she wants. Most of the places I've been I've met this people. I am only safe when I am with my real friends, family, in-laws and husband. Upon realizing who are the bitches is quiet hard but what make it bearable on my part is the fact that there is karma even if you and I don't believe it existed. Sometimes we asked ourselves why I bite my tongue when all I did is chewing my steak very carefully? The answer is (again you may not believe me) you said something to somebody that will destroy either your workmate or friend. We are only human and sometimes it is so difficult to admit that what you did the other week was wrong. And it is so convenient to reason out. ( by the way most of us do have masters when it comes to reasoning.)

Tough life, tough world, tough human race. Aside from the fact that universe is unfair and we wrongly accused God He is unfair. We could come to a point that it is hard to trust anybody around us. With pride,hope and joy in my heart I can say that I know who are these people I could trust my life with. Though I am still a bit cautious.

In this world full of people that could change skin very easily the only thing that will keep us going is the faith that some people really do care and a hope that soon human race will succor to each other.

Violet Rose

In so many thousands ways I am so blessed. I have good friends that some truly cares for me, a family that will make a bridge to cross ocean pacific and I have an awesome gwapo husband. However, life is not a bedding made of fur. We have our share of winding roads. Either it is with our relationship with our husband's/ boyfriend's, family and friends.

Arguments between friends,parents,siblings and life's partners are all but natural that completed the equilibrium of life. It is like a heater during a cold winter, a chili for your hot sauce and a cream for your coffee. What I like about the argument is the time where you make-up. Friendship and all relationships will be a whole lot sweeter the second time around. It will strengthen your bond and made you understand more of your differences.

Unfortunately, there are some special instances that soured friendship where trust has been broken previous wonderful bindings will never bring back to life again.

It is easy to forgive to those who wronged you but it will be difficult to forget. I'm not a complicated, silent and showy bitch. In fact, I'm so easy to please and I don't take offend easily. I may look and pose like a stupid fool however I do care, hugely.

But I know when to say enough. And when I say so, the other side of me will prevail. The non-stupid yet fool who is certain that this time she will guard what she always have...Principle... It could be mistaken as pride the only difference is, it is not a foolish pride.

Trip to the North

I took off one week from work. Hubby and I went to Tennessee of course with "our boy" Rupert Rescue. On our way there we have a nice ride and Rupert enjoyed being at the front seat while I also enjoyed the backseat with more space and of course the snacks :-)

The mountains are gorgeous and the weather was a little cold. Nonetheless I love it. It is always wonderful to relax with your family. Being paid while on vacation was just a bonus.

It was a relaxing weekend with my mother in-law and brother-in-law with his fiancee. They played golf almost everyday and since I don't know how to play I'm just a rider.

All in all it was a nice little vacation and I'm certainly looking forward to take one again though I probably have to wait another year to get another week of paid vacation.

If life is only about relaxation, I bet the word stress won't be invented.

What I don't want for christmas :-)

Cellular phone is one of the gadgets that is very popular with teens and even with the "older and wiser" :-) In my motherland named Philippines, cellphone is like the status symbol. Having the latest model means you are in. Most "in" People are changing their phone almost every 4 months . Not so much here in the USA. Elaborating why is unnecessary. But I will tell tidbits why. Some carriers here are using a cdma (no sim cards) technology. The other carriers that use gsm locked their units so that clients can't just buy a sim card and change carriers.

If in the Philippines you can receive calls and texts for free not in here. It does not matter if you are the sender or the receiver of either texts or calls it will cost you money. You have to pay your phone bill every month even if you have not use all of your minutes (or load) or you will lost service. It sounds like you have to buy load every month whether you will use it or not. It is compulsory if you wanted to have a cellphone service continuously. Some careers carry over your available minutes in the next month but some don't. Use it for a month or lost it. Tracking the minutes you use every now and then is a hassle in this rat race country. So sometimes you did not realize you used up all of your minutes and you keep on calling or texting and at the end of the month the big bill will surprise you. Because even if you run out of minutes they will still let you text or call.

So for me cellphone is not something I want to be new every year. However, I can't help to feel behind with the new technology when everybody does have this I-phone, blackberries, phone that you can use as mirror to put on some make-up and phones that does everything. I told my husband about my 'sentiments' I need to get a new phone. He argued with me. I said to myself "oh dear, the fun just begin" . He kinda told me that Christmas is approaching, it just gives me a hint that I won the first round. (smile)

In hindsight, my phone do have a nice camera that I can transfer to my computer real quick. I don't need to re size the kb and it still turn-out nice in my friendster as long it is captured with a nice model in it. (winking) I mean light. It does have mp3 music too, blue tooth enabled and many atsutsu. My husband and I do not have a two-year contract with any career. Why? Because he argued to the carrier's manager and fortunately the rule of thumb that says "customers are always right" applied to him that day when he made the transaction. The only 2 cons with my cellphone are, it is not the latest model and it is a little bulky but as what I've said it is working perfectly fine and it is as strong as makisig. I can bang it to someone's head if they are going to attack me, so hmmm? Do I really need to buy a new phone?

This is the boring part, every time somebody tells me YES, SURE, YOU CAN - it will makes me less interested in getting or wanting that something. It won't apply everyday though :-) So I would say I'll stick to my old phone now and I'll get a new one by the time every carrier will use gsm technology and will unlock their phones so that I can change sim anytime I want. This could take eternity so don't trust me on this.

For christmas, anniversary and birthday I want and need something but certainly NOT a new phone :-)

Continuation

So that Filipino guest with her family that swore last year they are not coming back at our resort was back the other day. She was still not very friendly. Telling me the horrible experience they have the other year and she said I hope it will not happen again. Then she looked around. She said that the front desk that checks them in the other year was so rude and thanks goodness she is not here today. Huh! She did not recognized me! Probably because I was not wearing my nerdy eyeglasses and my long hair covered my nametag and I put on some lipstick :-) I seldom put one. Usually I remember nice guests (90% of them are repeat guests) but mean guests oh boy, I memorized everything about them. Front desks and concierges do not have power to upgrade guests and give whatever they want. But sometimes they can 'influence' the people that could give complimentary stuff to guests. They can push buttons and said these guests are really nice blah... blah... blah... But if you are a guest and approach the clerks,front desks or whoever and act as if you are on top of your game or the king of the world and treat yourself like you own the place nobody would like to give whatever you want especially if you do not want to pay for it. There is no law saying give complimentary upgrade to guests. In short, it is legal to say no. Hotels do always have complimentary upgrade (at least from the resort I am working) it is not everyday but we choose like a family or couple of the day that can gets a suite room or a water view from a garden/parking lot view. We are talking a $700-1200 difference per night. Anyway, I check-in the Filipina again. She talked a lot while I'm checking her in. Then I called the room assigners and ask about the room that my filipino guest requested. Fortunately it was available. So they asked me, "is your guest nice?". Amazingly I said "yes". Somehow it is 'lukso ng dugo' My guest did not know what the person on the phone asked me, I could just say no and we will give the complimentary upgrade to other guests that are more deserving. I broke to her the good news and she was jumping up and down and I saw her face lightened. Praising me that I'm awesome etc. Then she said, " What is your name again?" Then I showed my nametag and then said " I'm from the Philippines and I was the one that checked you in last year. I'm really glad that I check you in again and somehow straightened some records." The smile on her face was still there but mine was really a bright one but you could tell she was trying to recall something in her mind. She thanked me and I told her a little secret that we always try to accommodate our guest's request but it is not always guaranteed. Once again she thanked me in a very nasalize "Sa-lah-mhat" and left. Staying here for over 30 years, I'll excuse her mispronunciation of my favorite tagalog word. Salamat for reading! :-)