Buffet's Billions

Whoa! this man blew me away! I guess you all know by now that this billionaire is planning on giving 85% of his wealth to charity. And he's worth around 44 billion! The amusing part of this is the lion share of the benefaction will go to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So there is hope, people are not really greedy, most of them are just in the Philippines.

Turning Japanese

I went to the reception of the christening of my niece's son today. There was nothing special about the restaurant, we had bird's nest soup, and 6 Chinese entrees afterwards. The nice thing about these gatherings is you get to meet old friends, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. and to my pleasant surprise I saw Totot. Totot finished Computer Engineering if I was not mistaken at Adamson University. I later learned that she was having difficulty landing a job after graduation in the late 90's and she somehow ended going to Japan to become a "Cultural Entertainer".

Totot was a very shy girl, the type you would not imagine entertaining people for a living. Anyways, there she was at the reception and she looked extremely different from the last time I talked to her. The last time I talked to her was at the Bus Stop more than a decade ago, we were both waiting for our ride on our way to school. She was a freshman and excited about becoming a Computer Engineer. It was fun talking to her then because she really seemed wide eyed for all the glowing possibilities of a future Engineer. However at the reception, you won’t easily recognize her from a decade ago, aside from the fact that she looks thinner, she seemed to have acquired a different fashion sense because she looks more daring. On a positive note she looks more assured of herself, exudes confidence, and ready to take on anybody.

Totot was able to provide for her family, her parents and 3 male siblings. I heard that she was able to build an apartment building. One of the reasons why Totot decided to try her luck in Japan was because of the success story of Angge. Angge’s story is closer to my heart.

Angge was a childhood friend and she is 3 years older than me. Angge became my friend and playmate because her mom would always tag her along in our house when she was doing our laundry. Our friendship goes way back pre-school. In our tender age I have noticed early on Angge’s strong personality. Why did I say this, well, for starters even though I own all the toys we were playing with, we always end up with Angge’s concept on how we should play with the toys. At a very young age she seemed to have a very clear idea on what she wants to be as a person. I distinctly remember how she would tell me that she would emulate Maria Clara until she becomes an adult. She will never wear make up and she would stay a virgin until she marries her husband.

Angge was a lovechild, her father seldom visits her and she was raised almost solely by her mother. I also remember how her mom would always ask for money from my mom for her enrollment at the public elementary school. It was not easy to raise a child solely from doing laundry. But despite all these Angge was able to finish a degree of Electronics and Communications Engineering from the PUP. We were all proud of Angge and her mom, against all odds Angge was able to finish school. Angge’s graduation from college should have been the start of their fairy tale ending of happily ever after….

Right after graduation Angge started looking for a job. I know that after almost 21 years of doing laundry, Angge would like to give her mom the rest she deserves. However, days, weeks, and months have passed and Angge could not land a job. The best job she could land is as a cashier at an SM department store. After toiling for years to send her daughter for school Angge’s mom was still doing laundry for us. I even remember the day I found Angge during her day off helping her mom doing the laundry when I got home from school. I could only offer a smile to Angge and her mom but my heart is breaking for both of them. They deserve more than this.

After more than a year of working at SM, Angge decided to join the bandwagon of young beautiful Filipinas who would try their luck in Japan as a “Cultural Entertainer.” After a couple of months in Japan, Angge’s mother finally retired from her laundry job. Years have passed and Angge did not waste the time she spent in Japan. She now owns several houses for rent, sends her daughter to Montessori and owns two cars.

These are my first hand account on how hard it is to make a decent living as a Filipino. Should you ask me the following questions, am I proud of these two Filipinas? I would say to you that I am very proud of them both. Am I happy for them? My answer would be a big NO, they deserve more than this.

Il Mare

I have noticed that the movie "The Lake House" starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves is now showing in the local theaters. I havent seen this movie yet, but I do intend to see this movie because I have already seen the original Korean version (Il Mare) more than four years ago. Il Mare is one my favorite movie in the "romantic" genre. Il Mare's lead actress is Ji-Hyun Jun of "My Sassy Girl" fame while Jung-Jae Lee is the lead actor. I love the cinematography of this movie as well as the subtle way the actors have delivered the cocktail of emotions on screen. When I first heard that this movie was going to have a hollywood version I was a bit apprehensive because there are some things I find endearing in the movie that is intrinsically Asian. I am afraid that they will not be able to translate the Asian "culture" aspect of the film. Well, I guess that makes it more interesting for me to find out how a multi-million budget of a hollywood adapatation will measure up to a relatively low budget quaint Asian film.

I have seen the movie Lake House yesterday and I have to say that I like the original Korean version more. The hollywood version in my opinion gets too preoccupied with tying the loose ends of the peripheral factors of the story. The Korean (Il Mare) flick focused more on the budding relationship of the two lead characters. Furthermore, I really liked the way the cinematography in the original Korean version sets the tone for the mood of melancholy the movie evokes. Although I have to admit that the way the story ended in the Lake House is the ending I wanted when I first saw the original movie (Il Mare) . However, there are a lot of tweaking that the director/writer have done in the Lake House that the story's mystical spell in the original version is somehow lost. I highly recommend to those that have not yet seen the original Korean version (Il Mare) to watch the original version and see the difference for yourself.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Happy 108th Independence Day! Although our beloved country is still beset with the usual economic, political, and social quandary I strongly believe that we should always celebrate this day. We should never forget or neglect the sacrifices our forefathers have rendered to achieve our independence. The struggle continues… there‘s a trillion and one things to be done… we should bring down all the barricades that hinders us from achieving real democracy…. Unshackle our people from oppression of every kind. We should never be defeated by these obstacles and despite the general feeling of apprehensiveness and hopelessness. Let’s still take time to commemorate this day for the heroes of yesterday and the hopes of tomorrow. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

The Omen of a very bad flick

I watched last Friday an extremely boring movie. I was not expecting much from this movie but I never expected that I will find myself fighting to doze off to oblivion. This is a horror flick to begin with, so I was expecting at least to be in throes of scare or dread. I suggest that none of you my dear friends will shell out any hard earned money to watch this flick!

However, yesterday I was able to watch "Inside Man" and was not disappointed with the powerhouse performance of Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer. I agree with the observation of most critics that Willem Dafoe's talent was not fully utilized in this flick. He deserves a meatier role or longer exposure. The plot is pretty simple but the performance of the cast and overall execution of the movie makes it above the usual caper flicks. There is also another bonus from this movie that I liked so much. The song on the closing credits was a blast to listen to. The title of the song is "Chaiyya Chaiyya - Bollywood Joint" performed by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi, featuring MC Punjabi. Do check this movie.

Intramuros Snapshots

Sometime last February my friend Tuding asked me to join her to an expedition to Intramuros. Tuding is slated to fly to Texas as an immigrant nurse in two days time and had a sudden surge of identity crisis and patriotism. It was a hot and humid Wednesday afternoon and our first stop was Fort Santiago..... I took a snap shot of this fountain and it looks so tempting to get drenched amidst the tropical heat. The old gate of Fort Santiago.....

Jose Rizal's footsteps from Fort Santiago to Luneta when he was executed.

Fort Santiago snapshots.


The view across the Pasig River.

Jose Rizal's gigantic bust, this bust is probably more than 5 feet in height. Notice the height of the door leading to the museum and the bust.

Jose Rizal's museum and the moat surrounding Fort Santiago. I noticed that there were quite alot of tourists visiting the place. We came across "Japanese sounding/looking people", Fil-Am's, and the cluster of people near the moat seems like Eastern Europeans, because they dont sound French, German, Spanish or Italian :-)

Outside Fort Santiago you will marvel at the imposing facade of The Manila Cathedral.

San Agustin Church which was built in 1586 is the Philippines' oldest ecclesiastical edifice. This church is also one of the finest Baroque church here in the Philippines. Believe me I know my architecture very well. Inside the church you will notice immediately the 19th century chandeliers. We were not able to visit the San Agustin Church museum because we came way past visiting hours.

Inside the Intramuros are many educational institutions, including my alma mater Mapua Institute of Technology. Viva Mapua!

Atop the wall of Intramuros you may sit and stretch your legs while you wait for the sun to set. Across you can check your timepiece against the Manila City Hall tower's clock.

Our tour started around 3pm and ended around 6pm, hence we failed to visit any of the museums. I definitely intend to revisit Intramuros time and time again and I also resolve to make sure that I get to visit all the museums inside the walled city.

First time ko!

I have been forever mulling about the idea of starting my own blog. But the pessimist in me have been telling me otherwise. I have a million and one reason not to blog. To begin with I am not a good writer... lemme rephrase that.... I am not a writer! I am not very confident with my writing skills. I am afraid that people will always cringe and feel nauseous everytime they read my posts for some unforgivable grammatical lapses. I love reading books and quite a voracious reader despite of my being a bit dyslectic. Unfortunately, it does not automatically translates that I would be able to utter prose and be a poet.

Second, I dont lead a very exciting life..... I have a pretty mundane existence to say the least. So why would people bother to read something about a boring person with poor writing skills. Hence, I figured I am going to do this for myself not for anyone else.... hmmmmm not actually anyone else. My guinea pigs will be my friends/former c0lleagues, heck that's what friends are for, right?! Also, I promise to post lots of nice pictures (thank God for digicams).

This is it folks... welcome to my world.