Rundown

1. Yes, I promised that this blog will contain myOVERSEAS FILIPINO WRITE-UPS (OFW)SERIES. I think I have posted five OFWs by now, and I will continue to do so. As I've said, I will document, make fun of, be sentimental about, overanalyse, criticise and basically, share, the littlest, the corniest, the craziest things about being a Filipino outside the Philippines.

2. I think you have noticed the change in the subheading from the fine details of living in the Fine City to on being a Filipino copywriter in the Fine City (well, if not, I bet you have by now). Yes, I would like this blog to be a little bit personal. Include parts of me as a copywriter. What I do everyday, how do I churn out concepts, how I deal with demanding clients and boring briefs and mind-boggling financial statements. This series about my day job shall be called THE COPY CHRONICLES. But of course, in the name of something called confidentiality agreement, I cannot disclose company names and the nitty-gritty of the concepts I have produced.

3. Oh yes, I still haven't watched Paano na Kaya, which I sort of promised to do. Not that any of you readers would care, but since I had promised to do it, I will. If you know of any Kim-Gerald fans, please tell them to read my future review.
Or better yet, if you know of anyone who loved Miss You Like Crazy, ask him/her to read my previous entry. Bring on the flak.

The Promise of 'Next Time'

We know there will always be second chances. We do something today and hope that a 'next time' will come to do the thing we initially wanted to do. We don't address our cravings, we postpone trips, we procrastinate, we are trapped and lured by the promise of the 'next time'.

We've all been guilty of these. We all are.

Hi, I was XXXX

It's funny how memories are woven in our brains. And how memory recollection happens.

Yesterday, after being guilty of eating yang chow fried rice with fried egg for lunch (imagine all the oil I consumed), I decided to eat salad for dinner. I got all the greens and the dressing from the refrigerator. I couldn't remember when I bought that dressing, and what type of dressing was it in the first place.

It was labeled 'Coleslaw' though all this time I thought it was Caesar salad dressing or something like that. It was too pale to be Thousand Island, I'm sure.

Then I suddenly tried to recall who told me that this particular hotel has good Caesar salad. I remember it was Richard and Ian, former colleagues in Manila. Then I recalled if ever I have tasted that salad in that particular hotel and I had remembered that I did.

But when?

Oh yeah, that particular day when I was the subject of a photographer's hate blog entry.

Whew. Yeah, that's how our brain works, right? Tracing a thread of memories which was induced by simple salad dressing. Amazing.

***

I don't want to go through all the details of that hate blog. But I remember that the photographer did not put my name. He just said that XXXX from blah blah magazine sent him an SMS asking if he would be willing to "shoot for us for free" (Hernandez, 2009).

Someone even commented something like this:

I think it is better to put their names here para mahiya naman sila at hindi na umulit.

That person who put that comment was not brave enough to stand by that statement as he remains 'Anonymous'.

To Anonymous, I am Nelly and I was XXXX. Fortunately, I am no longer affiliated with that magazine. Of course, I would not be sending pathetic SMS like that anymore.





***

I think this is becoming a trend. I started off with one topic then the whole entry becomes a mishmash of what my memory recalls. Funny how my brain works.

Next time, I will commit to just one topic and I'm planning to do a review of Kimerald's Paano Na Kaya? next week (I am so LOL right now).I am following Donj's sugestion of reviewing Pinoy mainstream films. For now, Star Cinema's new releases muna.

Bakit ayaw nyo maniwala?! Seryoso, abangan nyo yan.

Random Thoughts' Ripple Effect: From Mitch Albom to The Devil Wears Prada

Yes, you have read it right. Mitch Albom as in Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom. Last February, I had this rare chance of meeting Mr. Tuesdays with Morrie in one of those meet-and-greet events at Kinokuniya. Of course, I asked for his autograph on my copy of For One More Day . I also asked him what's his advice to writers like me (though now,I'm technically a copywriter, not a writer). He told me that I should read a lot and everytime I find interesting quotes/phrases in materials that I have read, I should highlight them so when I need inspiration, I can just open the book again and re-read those lines.

Speaking of interesting quotes, earlier today, I opened my copy of Males, Nails and Sample Sales: Everything a Woman Must Know to be Smarter, Savvier, Saner Sooner , one of those books I bought from a warehouse sale. I did not want to buy the book at first, but when I saw that the author, Stephanie Pierson, is a creative director at an advertising agency in NY, I bought it. Yeah, I could be superficial like that, buying a book because the cover is nice or because the author is formerly in advertising (friends, you know I've been dying to work in a hotshot ad agency, right?). Sometimes, I don't care about the contents.

But I digress.

So yeah, I opened that book and since I marked some of those interesting lines (following Mr. Albom's advice), I would just like to share them to you. Especially you, fresh grads out there looking for your first jobs and clueless about the real world. There's a chapter in the book devoted to Careers, and in this section, Pierson mentioned this:

"Don't work for someone who is abusive. Life is too short. And no matter how junior you are, you don't have to take it"

Fresh grads, listen up. If the company which hired you don't have benefits like SSS/Philhealth/Medicare/Pag-ibig or if they don't pay taxes, beware. Take my advice: flee as soon as you can.

And here's another advice from Pierson:

"Don't get too rattled or too anxious. Don't give the people who run your company the power to decide your worth. You know when you are doing a good job. You know when it's the assignment that is the problem or when your bosses are idiots. You are not as good as your last assignment. Don't let anyone let you believe that"

I totally agree.

And another thing fresh grads. Let me tell you this: you would encounter insufferable know-it-alls in the workplace, but the worst kind are those who think they are Meryl Streep's character in that movie with Anne Hathaway. If you encounter a boss like that, better look for another job. It's not worth it. Trust me.

Uniquely Singapore, Uniquely Singlish and the absence of Grammar Police (OFW Series Part 5)

I love Singapore, I do. I could cite a lot of reasons why (primarily its low crime rates, cleanliness and super efficient transportation system)but I have a "more personal" reason.

I love Singapore because people here don't judge you because you couldn't speak proper English. People don't judge you because you have a wrong subject-verb agreement. People don't judge you if you have misspelled a word, or use a wrong verb tense in sentences or because you don't know the correct pronunciation of a certain word.

I know, it's a good thing and a bad thing. But admit it, Filipinos could be very annoying "grammar police" sometimes. I would know. I am guilty of being a grammar police, too, but I know I'm not as annoying as other people.

For someone who graduated with a Journalism degree, I noticed that people expect me to have perfect grammar all the time. While I was working in a magazine, people expect me to be articulate and have perfect grammar all the time (grammar police out there, the repetition of the last phrase is intentional, thank you very much for noticing). It's a good thing. But when people have high expectations of you, and you don't meet them, the resulting disappointment (on their part) is never easily forgotten.

I know of someone who could speak about other people's English mistakes but fails to notice his. He always criticises people for their wrong grammar but he himself couldn't distinguish when to use "they're" and "their". That's irritating!

Singaporeans are not so kan cheong about their grammar. It may not be the best way to perfect English, but for someone who has been exposed to irritating grammar police in the Philippines, it's refreshing to be in an environment where people wouldn't bat an eyelash when you commit some really minor grammatical errors.

To my kan cheong friends or professors who think I'm losing my command of the English language, don't worry, I'm still using and practising proper English here (though British instead of American English). I may use 'lah' and 'can' 'cannot' but I know I still have a good grasp of the language. I don't know if I could say the same for my Tagalog though (particularly the "writing" part).

Kung ang 'Miss You Like Crazy' ay isang romantic comedy film (OFW series part 4)

WARNING: Taglish ito, paumanhin sa code-switching.

Kung OFW ka, chances are, TFC subscriber ka. At dahil TFC subscriber ka at namimiss mo ang Pilipinas, manonood ka na ng teleserye na hindi mo naman ginagawa noon. Alam ko ang iniisip mo, 'ang jologs, no?' Oo na, don't rub it in. Jologs na kung jologs. Pero ganon talaga. Kahit papano namimiss mo rin naman ang ABS-CBN TV programming na nakasanayan mo na simula pa noong panahon ni Princess Sarah at kaibigang Tom Sawyer.

Hindi naman ako super duper teleserye fanatic (salamat sa AI, Glee, TAR at Survivor for keeping me sane), pero nanonood din naman ako paminsan minsan. At oo na, nanonood na rin ako ng Pinoy movies ngaun. Kung dati, naiinis ako sa pamangkin ko na super fan ng CinemaOne, ngaun nanonood na rin ako ng Pinoy movies sa pirated DVD (of course, galing sa Pinas).

***
WARNING #2: Hindi ako fan ng Bea-John Lloyd love team ha.
Naisipan ko lang ireview ang pelikula.


Oo, napanood ko na ang Miss You Like Crazy ni John Lloyd at Bea. If you haven't watched it, okay lang kahit hindi mo panoorin. Well, sige na nga. Typical Star Cinema movie. Title na title pa lang, nagkulang na ng creative juices.

Kung hindi ito movie at isang episode lamang sa Dear Ate Charo (linawin na natin para sa mga Kapuso), Maalaala Mo Kaya, malamang ang title nito ay Bato or pwede ring Bato at Pentel Pen or kahit anong bagay na andun sa movie, dahil parating isang noun ang title ng isang MMK episode.

Ay oo, pwede ring Petronas Towers. Kawawa kasi ang Petronas Towers sa movie na ito. Though it served its purpose, being a Malaysian icon, hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit sa conversation ni John Lloyd at Bea sa coffeshop, sinabi ni John Lloyd na hindi nya alam kung ano ang Petronas Towers. Dito pa lang, mejo fail na ang script. If you are a yuppie, Account Manager sa isang CBD, with a well-off girlfriend, don't tell me you have never heard of Petronas Towers?! Or sige na nga, pwedeng playing bimbo-ish role lang si John Lloyd sa parteng iyon ng pelikula. At sige na nga, hindi lahat ng tao ay geog buff.

Isa pa, ilan kayang bato ang dala ng character ni Bea sa bag nya araw-araw? Seriously.

At masyadong magulo ang time difference, ilang buwan o taon ba talaga ang difference mula nang iniwan ni John Lloyd si Bea sa Pilipinas? 3 months? 1 taon? 2 taon? Kasi sa iba't ibang parte ng pelikula, iba-iba ang sinabi.

At ano ba ang nangyari kung bakit hindi sinipot ni John Lloyd si Bea sa ferry station? Ano ba ang ginawa ni Bembol Roco kaya galit sa kanya si Bea?

Wah. Tama na. This is making me crazy again. At cge na nga aaminin ko, hindi kasi namin masyado inintindi ang movie dahil mas exciting pa ang Ben-Melai love team sa bahay kesa sa August-Mia.

***
Kung iibahin natin ang linya ng pelikula, at gagawin itong romantic comedy, eto dapat:


Bea: Alam mo ba yung Petronas Towers?
John Lloyd: Hindi.
Bea: Weh?

or kaya (still talking about Petronas Towers)


Bea: Minsan kasi iniimagine ko nag-uusap sila.
John Lloyd: Anong sinasabi nila?
Bea: Masaya ako pag kasama kita.
John Lloyd: 'As if you have a choice' sabi naman nung isa.
Then Bea would give John Lloyd this 'are-you-crazy-look' then they would both burst into laughter.

Murakami and The Guy Across the Street

On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning - title of one of Haruki Murakami's short stories in The Elephant Vanishes.

If I were able to blog last Tuesday, I would make my entry titled "On Seeing the 100% perfect guy one beautiful April morning". Okay, Emphasis on "seeing". Forget the rest of the story. No conversation happened, just a split-second glance and a smile. Enough said.

Summer Worker (no, this isn't part of the OFW series)

As mid-April approaches, I need to say this:

2010 is the first year/summer of my life (yes, of my entire life) that I am employed. Employed and working and no summer vacation!

Yeah, I graduated from the university two years ago, so that summer, I was still unemployed. I started working June 2008, then resigned from my first job March last year.

April - May 2009 was still a summer vacation, as I was looking for what then was my would-be second job.

Ten months later, here I am, working on a summer day for the first time in my entire life. There has to be a "first", indeed.

Skype Hype (OFW series part 2)

just an FYI,in case you read this entry before the previous one, OFW = Overseas Filipino Write-ups.

MUST-HAVE FOR EVERY OFW: A Skype Account.


***

I don't know when was the last time we had our Skype how-are-you night. I don't have an idea either when would the next one be.

As Geog Kids, we are kinda living up to this "label", as our virtual get-togethers (read:skype) are now bound by geographical limitations; being in different parts of the world.

Thedd is in QC, and he's in his I'm-soo-busy mode.Juggling two programs and a "non-living entity" plus all the spinning world hoo-ha, I don't know when he would have the free time.

Weisa's in her busy mode, too, in Laguna. And it doesn't help that she deactivated her FB account. Last time we talked was almost a month ago.

Reuben's globetrotting again (this time in the US). And with the timezone now added to the reasons-we-can't-skype-in-this-particular-day list, maybe we'll just skype when he's back in the Philippines.

Jeck's living his expat life, of course, in Brussels, and though he's almost-always-online, he's busy with work, so he's just there, active in Gtalk and FB but still could not be disturbed.

And I'm here in Singapura, waiting for the next skype session. I miss you Geog Kids, let's skype again. I want those Revenge: Marimar Style type of conversations soon.

The Stranger (OFW series Part 1)

in my attempt to make something meaningful out of this blog, i will start my OFW (Overseas Filipino Write-ups) Series. I will tell you about the mundane things about living in a highly globalised world. After all, Marshall McLuhan's adage applies to my every day existence.

I will document, make fun of, be sentimental about, overanalyse, criticise and basically, share, the littlest, the corniest, the craziest things about being a Filipino outside the Philippines. You know what I mean: what it feels like living with strangers, how to say yes and no in different languages, where to eat the best peri peri chicken, why you can proudly wear mini skirts abroad when in Manila you prolly won't; when is the best time to call home, what website to go to for the best Pinoy news; etc etc etc.


I will start by telling you the story of the "historical stranger".

One time I was running late for work and a Malaysian couple asked me where the MRT is. I can't say no to strangers asking for directions, so instead of giving them a vague you-turn-left-then-cross-the-street-kind-of-stuff,I asked them to walk with me as my office is located near the station.

The guy could speak fluent English. The girl could only speak Bahasa.So basically the guy was the only one I could converse with.He told me that he immediately guessed that I'm from the Philippines because of my accent (that's the very very first thing strangers will tell you!)Then he asked where I study here (that's the second thing strangers ask me).

He said he had stayed in the Philippines for two years. He said he lived in Legaspi Towers in Manila - the one in Makati not the one in Roxas Blvd. Yes, he clarified that there are two Legaspi Towers in Manila (wow, I didn't know that).

He asked how's the Philippines, is Arroyo still the President. When we were like 3 meters away from the MRT, he asked me if Noynoy is really running for President.

I told him yes, Noynoy is indeed running and told him that I was impressed that he's updated with what's happening in the Philippine political scene. Then I asked him if he knows Noynoy, then he said:

He was just a little boy then.

So of course, I asked if he knows Ninoy.

Then he replied:

Yes, I was at the airport when he was shot.


Then a bitter smile appeared on his face. He looked up at the street sign, we're already outside the MRT station.

Wait. He was at the airport when Ninoy was shot? What was he doing there? Was he a friend, a classmate? Or merely a stranger who happened to be at the airport during one of those historic moments? I wanted to ask him the 5Ws and 1H of that particular moment. But he remembered Noynoy as a little boy back then so he's probably a close friend, a family friend, a fellow Anti-Marcos?

I was supposed to ask all these questions. But he said his thanks, both he and his wife smiled at me, and he went to the escalator and was swallowed by the rush hour crowd. I did not had the chance to ask for his name.




He was a fragment of history, he was probably one of those men who ran towards Ninoy when he was lying dead at the airport. Wah. I did not even ask for his name. I do not question the authenticity of his story, because he seemed really really sincere when he mentioned that he was at the airport when Ninoy was killed.

And since this is part of the OFW series, he's one of those thousand fleeting strangers I encountered, but definitely the most memorable one.

MVP no more

In the Philippines, MVP stands for two things: MVP = Most Valuable Player, in basketball. the best player, the one who's at the limelight because of his sheer ability to shoot and score (this is a simplistic way of putting it).
MVP = Manny V. Pangilinan, one of the top businessmen in the country. President of PLDT, SMART Communications, owner of a TV Station, one of the who's who in Pinoy business scene.

***

MVP (as in Manny Pangilinan) was rocked by controversy last week as his speech at the commencement ceremonies at the Ateneo has certain parts lifted from speeches by J.K Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Obama, etc.

Now, who's to blame? Okay, he had speechwriters, no doubt. Should we put the blame on those writers for being so irresponsible? Should we blame MVP, because even though he has writers, he should've checked the speech himself? But given the busy man that he is, would he have the time? But clearly, it's no excuse.

He already released an official statement containing his apologies. It is the right thing to do, there's nothing so noble about it because when you come to think of it, it is his responsibility to own up to that mistake.

As for Manny's speechwriters, I don't know if it is still necessary to name them. Some people who had commented in the blogs I've read today said that we should name those writers. Like MVP, they should say their sorries and own up to their mistake. If it would make them feel better, then come out, but expect a lot (as in tremendous amount) of flak. They wouldn't be jailed for plagiarism, there's no such law. But their reputation as writers, as well as Manny's reputation, will forever be scarred.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense (insert author here, I know somebody said it). Maybe we feel strongly against it because during our stay in Peyups, all our professors have instilled on us the value of originality, of honoring intellectual rights, of knowing how to cite sources. Maybe those writers don't have the privilege of being guided the way we were. Maybe they weren't as aware and as knowledgeable as we are. But still, they committed plagiarism, and even if they like it or not, the consequences will haunt them.

As for MVP, he would still be regarded as one of the best businessmen in the country. If we talk about this in basketball parlance, he's an MVP no more.

Now, he's a has-been who had been at the top, and is now being dragged down because of something called plagiarism.

I could only wish the best for him. As for his speechwriters, I hope that they do not lose their passion for writing, and after what happened, should they decide to continue their writing career, I guess they should learn about the do's and don't's first.

GINATAAN, WHERE ART THOU?

It's Peak Period, my working world's counterpart of the college semester's Hell/Finals Week. Suffering in Lent = perfect timing, right?

I remember last year I was in Olongapo for the Holy Week. Resort. Helping out with the chores. Sunset at the beach (which is the exact thing I need to see after the five-hour traffic at NLEX). This time, I'm here at the office, working yet again. Black Saturday is supposed to be 'Batangas-homebuddy-eating-ginataan-under-the-chico-tree' day. But circumstances changed, and life dragged me in a not-so-Catholic world where Black Saturday is just an ordinary working day.

I had promised to ditch Facebook on Good Friday (which I did) and Black Saturday (oops, not) but I feel the need to be connected to people. When you work for hours on end in a foreign land and you can't call your friends (I mean long-time friends)for dinner, you just have to at least feel that,in a way, you know what's happening to them, even though what I would know would just be a superficial or trivial(read: facebook status)aspect of what's really happening in their lives.

I had promised not to eat pork, chicken and beef for these two days, too. This I had done successfully so far. But my officemate said that eating fish/prawn/seafood is still similar to eating chicken/pork/beef because it is still meat. But, forgive me, I have to eat something that has protein (please don't argue with me anymore!). I think I need to gain the two kilos I lost (wah, that's 4 pounds?!?!) in the last three months.


Now, I'm craving for ginataan. Well, at least it has no meat.