Pilipino Ako! Pero.

Masarap maging Pinoy. Maabilidad, matalino, masigasig, matiyaga at masipag. Pero sa kabila nito. May mga bagay na dapat siguro na isantabi na natin. Mga bagay na humahadlang sa atin para marating talaga ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng Galing ng Pilipino.

Sadya kong isinulat ang post na ito sa salitang tanging Pinoy lang ang makakaintindi. Para lubos nating maunawaan ang ating mga kakulangan. Kumbaga "Usapang Pamilya lang." Ang layunin ko ay para harapin ang katotohanan na meron talaga tayong problema sa ating kinagisnan at marahil sa ating kultura na dapat na natin iwanan o di kaya kalimutan na lang. Katulad ng mga sumusunod.

Pakikisama. Sa papaanong paraan nga ba ang tamang pakikisama? Pakikisama para saan? Sama sama sa pag unlad? Sama sama din ba tayong maghihirap? Ang Pinoy likas na matulungin. Pero minsan sa ang pagtulong natin sa kapwa, may hinahanap na kapalit. Kahit sa maling paraan. Halimbawa may humingi ng pabor sa isang tao, madalas may inaasahan tayong kapalit sa pagtulong na kahit sa maling paraan o panahon ay hihingin natin ito sa taong tinulungan dahil sa konsepto ng "Utang na loob" na kapag tumanggi ka na tumulong, sasabihin sa'yo wala kang pakisama. Kahit na ang hinihingi sayong pabor kapalit ng tulong ay ang paggawa ng maling bagay. Madalas ito sa pulitika. Kaya nga marami tayong nahahalal na pinuno kahit hindi naman sapat ang abilidad para mamuno. Kasi nahalal lang dahil sa pakikisama.

Malapit sa Pamilya. Hindi ko naman sinasabing masama ito. Pero may ilang mga bagay na naglalagay sa atin sa kapahamakan dahil na rin sa Pamilya. Mga taong ikinukubli o di kaya'y kinukunsinti ang maling gawain ng kapamilya kasi pamilya nga eh. Dapat ipagtanggol. Pero ipagtanggol sa maling paraan. Kaya nga sa Pilipinas maraming political dynasty. Kasi kinunsinti din natin na magkaroon ng mga ganito. Hinayaan natin na may maluklok sa posisyon kahit hindi naman para sa bayan ang interes.

Talangka. Hindi ko alam kung bakit sa atin pa napunta ang ganitong kaisipan. Maiuugnay din natin ito sa pakikisama. Sa isang banda naisip ko kaya siguro natin hinahatak ang isang taong umaangat kasi gusto natin pantay pantay tayo. Walang lamangan. Kung saan yung isa, doon dapat lahat. Inggit. Maling pakikisama.

Regionalism. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang tamang salita sa Tagalog dito. Pero naitatanong ko rin to palagi sa isip ko. Bakit sa Pinas magawi ka lang sa norte iba na ang salita. Bakit ang tao kapag tinawag na bisaya (aminin natin ang realidad) baduy o di kaya katulong. Si Inday o si Dodong. Siguro dala na rin ng pagkakalayo layo ng mga isla sa Pinas kung bakit hindi tayo magkasundu-sundo. Kung bakit iba iba tayo ng paniniwala. Dito rin lumalabas ang pagiging racist natin. Ang Pinoy kapag nakakarinig ng biro galing sa ibang bansa umaangal agad. Pero bakit tayo may mga tawag din tayo sa ibang lahi. Halimbawa na lang sa mga Indians ang tawag natin bumbay na nagpa 5-6 at nagbebenta ng payong at kumot.

"Bakit kapag nagsalita ka ng ingles sasabihin sayo sosyal o trying hard o di kaya call center agent?" Samantalang natural naman sa Pinoy ang magsalita ng English. Tayo nga lang yata ang may ganitong salita sa asya. Dito tayo angat kaya hindi dapat iniisip ang mali sa pagsasalita ng ingles.

Sa bandang huli Pilipino pa rin tayo. Palagi nating sinasabi "Proud to be Pinoy". Ayaw nating na mababa ang tingin sa atin ng ibang tao. Pero naitanong ba natin sa mga sarili natin kung nararapat ba talaga tayong ipagmalaki ang sarili natin? Masayang maging Pinoy pero masmainam kung maitatakwil na natin yung mga ganitong kaisipan na humahatak sa atin pababa. Parang talangka...

What a life?

Days really fly so fast. I will be celebrating my birthdays after two weeks and I'm not getting any younger at twenty five. So what's in an age? It has been always a mind boggling topic for me to come and think about how people age and how it materializes into steps in life where you find your fate unpredictable. I always look up to something whenever i get older. I start to realize the things that I have, the things I've made, and my plans for the future. Suddenly, I am a bit scared with a feeling of being challenged on how I grasp life.

I am young. And this has been a fact for so many years that I try so hard to avoid thinking about how my life would be ten or twenty years from now. However, it is really an obsession of my mind to analyze the life of other people and reflect myself through it. Whenever I meet or hear a story about a person, I begin to seek interesting details about life. The bachelor years, career, marriage, family, children, etc. And all of these things I delineate in my mind a timeframe of a person's life. In order for me to analyze in a more tangible way.

Most of the people I look after to are the professionals or I'd rather say career-oriented people. Because it seems to be a realistic manifestation of a good life (in my opinion). However I also see life of common people. Based on what I saw, most people who chose to concentrate on their career had much chances of getting a stable life. Since most of them tend not to get married right away. A life being single. Where most of the chances are visible without any hesitation. A life with no strings attached where you have enough time and freedom to take the best opportunities. More time being you and building yourself for the better until you finally giving up all these for the family. This is one way of how I visualize life into a perspective. But nevertheless, you can't really perfect life nor predict what will happen afterwards.

The Down Syndrome

I really don't know what I am feeling right now. I'm always attacked by the feeling of insecurity and there's no way i can find to cure it. It's more like a cardiac arrest and maybe writing this may help to outburst the pain I am experiencing.

It was a good start today at work. Just got a fairly good cheer from my co-workers. But end up really unwell because of unpredicted situation i wasn't able to handle. I am the project manager of a construction site and I find it really challenging for my career to have an opportunity like this. Considering I am still in the inception of the industry. It is a small project though I am in charge of everything from planning and design up to the supervision and quality inspection. Beside me handling this project is Kudur, a Syrian sidekick working for my Arab boss for almost twelve years and Shaheen, a Pakistani working as a freelance electrician for almost ten years. It was a "Good Group" as my boss said and indeed it was. And to come and think about it, I am really proud that though being a newbie, I was given a good break for the start seeing the importance of my position regardless of the few experience I've had.

We had a good deal and a smooth sailing workflow. However, I am quite reluctant and skeptical about the stability and my situation being the head of the Project team. Maybe because of the inferiority complex that suddenly kills me. It starts when my boss seeks for the report of Kudur regarding the project situation. Since Kudur has worked for my boss for a long time, he has already gained the trust of my boss to all the business transactions including some personal errands of my boss, Kudur is always there. Most of the time I felt like i was "left behind". Perhaps because I am young, or maybe I don't know arabic which is practically the language used since most of the people here don't speak and understand English.

Can't really do anything to stop this anxiety at the moment. I hope it will just be frozen in oblivion.

Homesick

Unti-unti ko nang nami miss ang Pilipinas. Bakit ba ang hirap mong makalimutan. Bakit ba palagi kitang naiisip. Namimiss ko na ang patagaktak ng pawis ko sa init ng trapik sa EDSA. Ang fishball at kikyam kaya 50 cents pa rin? Gusto ko nang makipag inuman sa kanto kasama ang mga sunog bagang mga tambay.
Ang taho, balot, penoy, betamax, isaw at tokneneng. Ang magulong palengke. Ang ulan at baha. Ang makukulit kong kapatid na madalas kong kabangayan. Ang mga kakulitan kong mga pinsan. Mga kamag anak namin na hindi ko naman masyado kilala pero oras na makita ako magtatanong ng "Kanino ka bang anak?" Ang maingay na jeep at ang matagtag na tricycle. Ang simbahan sa bayan na madalas tagpuan. Ang barkada na akala mo noon lang nagkita kita kapag magkakasama. Ang aso ko. Ang maliit kong kwarto na tanaw ang sikat ng araw tuwing umaga. Ang mga magulang ko na paborito akong sawayin. Malamang malungkot sila ngayon. Wala kasing nang aasar sa kanila. Minsan prang gustong tumulo ng luha ko. Pero h'wag. Maslalo lang akong malulungkot. Ang hirap pala mag-isa. Napapaisip tuloy ako minsan. Mga ganitong oras nagluluto na siguro si Nanay ng agahan. Siguro naglalaro nanaman ng basketball sa labas ang mga pinsan kong makukulit. Nagsimba siguro sila nung linggo. Madalas siguro kong hinahanap ng tropa. Hindi ko na alam kung pano itutuloy. Kasi masmalulungkot lang ako kapag inalala ko pa ang lahat ng masasaya. Lalo na ang Pasko, bagong taon, birthday at lahat ng okasyon na alam mong ikatutuwa mo kapag nandoon ka. Pero pass muna. Bakante ang upuan ko ngayon sa Pinas. Pag-uwi ko magkikita kita ulit tayo.

The Joy from Happiness

Jim Carrey once said "I wish everyone could experience being rich and famous, so they'd see it wasn't the answer to anything".... I think he was right. There are lot of things here on earth that we take for granted. Thinking that there is something missing in our lives. We keep on finding what we don't have. And finding that "missing thing" doesn't really suffice our needs. Doesn't really make us happy...or joyful i must say.

Joy is different. It is something beyond what happiness is. A lasting feeling of satisfaction. More sincere and unconditional. Doesn't require much to get. Perhaps you have to do is to appreciate more than criticism. As the saying goes "All of the best things in life are free." The air, sunshine, rain...everything that is already there but we often take for granted. The morning sky, a greeting from a friend, an empty parking slot, a message of sweet nothings, a "thank you". We didn't buy them, yet somehow it makes us feel better. We feel blessed for we are appreciated.

Thank you Lord.

Unsolicited Suggestions of The World

The world has evolved completely from the ancient civilization to the modern day era brought about most of the technology. The sudden innovation of technology really is the prime suspect of all the advancement in the lifestyle of a man. As time goes by, man embraces a new trend of living and this situation is always the starting point of change of human "needs" towards the "wants".

Food, shelter, clothing and others are our basic needs to sustain everyday life. What comes beyond these are the wants. The wants that leads to craving that the world suggests you want them. To start with, the internet. We have lived so many years ago without the internet, without the facebook, without even knowing what has happened to our friends seconds ago. We still breathe air without giving a single tweet or even writing an article on a blog like this. But why do we patronize such unsolicited suggestions? Because we are already a part of a vast change. And living without it means inexistence. The reasonable part of it is that it is profitable. With these constant communication, we try to sell something new that is marketable. Like mobile phones with cameras that suggest you to take pictures of anything and everything you want wherever you are. Phones we used for talking that are now we called android because we can do almost everything on it. Write a blog, watch movies, video chat, play games and so on and so forth.

Come and think about it. Do you really have to watch an HD movie while riding on a train? Do you really have to tell everyone what you are doing right now? what will be your dinner or who's with you at the moment? Is it really important that you assume you have an audience for this blog? Will i die if i didn't watch the latest post on youtube? Let's think again.

According to Maslow, the top of all human needs is self actualization. A stage in which what a man can be, he must be. A life fulfilled without the inferiority. Satisfaction without being what the world suggest you should be.

Basically in the sophistication of life nowadays, it is really hard to obtain self-actualization. For there are lots of things that we think we need. And that part of the culture that tells you what you lack and what you should do. But the real question that we forgot to ask ourselves is "what do we already have?"

NAIA

Who can tell? That i will become an OFW someday. It was two years then since I started writing this blog and most of my posts deal about the life of Filipinos working and living abroad. It was more of a drawing. A question of how would it be like to be an OFW. But what the real thing is for me to reveal now that I am one of them.

It was August 15 of this year when I left the country for the opporunity that called me. An opportunity that I cannot resist. Because chances don't come everyday.

It was my first time to work, live and travel out of the country and this maybe one of the most life changing experiences I have encountered. Mixed emotions, Significant places and important persons that i have been redefined to me as i brace myself for an adventure I am yet to discover.

NAIA. I already knew the meaning of this airport before but it was more of an International airport. I realized that it was a hub of dreams. A terminal filled with scenes that tell you more of a story by just staring people from afar. Some are bread winners, good fathers, loving mothers, expatriates, a happy family, a good son and daughter and many more.

Bottomline is that I am now one of those thousands and thousands of Filipino leaving the life in the Philippines for better opportunities abroad. For family, for self, for career, for the country. Perhaps I can already prove how it feels like to be an OFW. The people who we call "Mga Bagong Bayani."