Yeah, I know I promised myself the global warming article two entries ago but haven't found the right article yet. Still, I found a comprehensive site which I included in my favorite links so that is okay with me now... :D
In my last post I mentioned that I was concerned my capacity to help my loved ones in financial ways will soon be taken away from me if I always have unplanned expenses due to family concerns. Hmmm.... I noticed that lately, all my worries are more real than before :)
Going back, the cliche which I am reminded of is that you receive more when you give... or something like that. I got my weekly salary and a small amount of allowance in two days' time! I know. Logical people will say that these are money that I have due coming (actually, one amount is delayed by 5 days). I should be mad more than really glad. Well, what can I say. These two amounts came at a very opportune time.
I am in between having given away money that I know will never come back and money that I should always expect coming. This entry is really going around in circles. My sentiment is just that I could give a small amount to the people who need my help at the moment and still be assured that I will be well-provided for by my job which, thankfully, pays well.
I better shut down this beloved overworked laptop of mine which is barely a month hence my over fondness for it and sleep so my random thoughts will stop tonight and I will be able to think clearly and logically tomorrow.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
The Official Start of Summer '07
I know I said my next blog will be about global warming. That was because I thought my life would be as uneventful as most of the times. Oh well, this entry proves me wrong.
"No more classes... no more books... no more teachers' dirty looks... summer time... summer time..."
This is the only Elmer Fudd quote I distinctly remember from Looney Tunes' Bugs Bunny cartoons. This is my exact sentiment now that I have already submitted the required papers and I actually have time to spend with friends simply to relax.
Surprisingly, I finished my work load for the day around 4:00 pm Thursday. I at once called my best friend and told her we should have dinner. We haven't seen each other and talked long on the phone for over a month!
She waited for me patiently in a fastfood near her office. We had dinner and coffee for over three hours. Believe me, there were no dead spots while we were eating. We would have gone on forever if not for the restriction that she had more than an hour's travel time to go home and we were also exhausted by office deadlines. It was so much fun simply hanging out.
Tuesday last week, a classmate and I planned a gimmick. We chatted online one time and wished just to hang out with each other on a Friday night. This is because from January-March this year, we had 8:00 am Saturday classes. So for three whole months, we were deprived of Friday night gimmicks just so we could be in class on time. I don't want to dwell on that unpleasant past so moving on to what happened yesterday, Friday.
I am beginning to think of why I thought I could plan after office Friday activities. For three consecutive Fridays, office work load was easy until 4:00 pm when we had "mini office crises." That meant leaving office at 7:00 pm when I planned of spending relaxing Friday nights.
Yesterday, around 10:00 am, my officemate asked what I was doing. I told him I was writing an article for the Annual Report. He asked me to prepare press kits as they are hosting a press conference. I willingly obliged because I thought I could work quietly after they left. Then, my boss passed me by and asked me to go with them. The event dragged on forever. I told my officemates I had some scheduled functions to attend and they let me go before the event ended.
I went home to get my gift to attend my niece's Fourth Birthday Party. The traffic was impossible so I wasn't able to attend it anyway.
Then my classmate picked me up so we could go to our gimmick. So there we were, six classmates. It was so much fun. We went to the dampa in Macapagal Avenue and went through the whole experience, from shopping in the wet market, to dining in my classmate's cozy little restaurant. The dinner lasted till 10:30. It was full of classroom stories, plenty of food and laughter.
After that, we had coffee in Sofitel Philippine Plaza's lobby where we took our shoes off and sat/lied on the couch without care for how we looked. We talked about serious boy-girl matters, specifically, how we single ladies could attract the right types of guys. We separated at 1:00 am full of plans for more gimmicks, hope for the future and happy memories. It was a perfect night.
This morning, I woke up and read a text message from my sister-in-law. She had a family concern and I thought of ways on how to help her. It was a good thing that we were able to ease her mind. In times like this, I feel blest that I am able to extend a helping hand to the people I love most. In spite of that happy thought, I am also concerned that my capacity to help her in financial ways only will soon be taken away from me too if I always have unplanned expenses like these.
Today, simply put, I spent the whole day sleeping. Believe me, that is no exaggeration. I felt that I was deprived of sleep because of January to March 8:00 am classes. I planned to wash my clothes because I am going on vacation next week with friends. That plan remains a plan at the time i am writing this entry.
Tonight, I will go to my aunt's house to send my tito back to the US. He was so nice, he gave me more than enough pasalubong when he came. Whatever happens tomorrow, Sunday, I know I am ready to take on all the office stresses and work load they will give me. After all, I have a gimmick to look forward to again.
Friday, April 13, 2007
AsiaWeek June 27, 1997 Cover Story
The last article I posted was about Philippine Brain Drain. This time, it's the singlehood trend in Asia way back in 1997. (I think this article is still true now).
I have decided to post an article about global warming in my next entry. For now...
It seems that me and my single unattached women friends are not trendsetters at all. It makes me think of why and how long the Asia Week, no less, observed this social (?) truth.
(Source: http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0627/cs1.html)
WHY WOMEN STAY SINGLE
The best and brightest are snubbing men, marriage and baby-making for work, fun and adventure. Should Asia be worried?
By Susan Berfield
HENRIETTA CLAUDIA "BONJIN" BOLINAO, a 40-something who runs her own public-relations firm, was planning to get married -- just as soon as she could find the time. First she had to help produce a book, The Philippines: A Journey through the Archipelago. Then her firm won two prestigious accounts, carmakers Volvo and UMC Nissan, and that kept her busy. She also decided to redecorate her apartment, improve her golf game, travel around the world and spend more time meditating. Her fiancé, a writer in Manila three years her junior, didn't seem too perturbed by the delays. As any sensible woman would, she considered that a warning sign. He was "a good guy, with a thinking mind," Bolinao says. Even her mother liked him. But maybe, she thought, he was scared to settle down. Or maybe, her friends thought, he was worried that she wouldn't.
Bolinao reviewed the situation: "He let me pursue my career and saw me through hard times when I set up my company. But at the same time he expected me to assume the role of the traditional Filipina woman. I was supposed to make sure everything was spic and span at home, be the perfect cook and ironing lady -- he even taught me how to iron properly. That whole thing can get really tiring." Bolinao and her fiancé eventually called off the wedding. "I really think we are soul mates. But we are better off as friends," she says now, two years later. "I will always love him. But I don't know about getting married."
For Bolinao, and women like her throughout Asia, marriage is not the first priority in life. Nor is it the last resort, the only way to secure a home and place in society. Marriage, for some, has become almost an alternative lifestyle: it is a choice, not a necessity. The majority will one day wed, but they will do so on their terms. Single women don't all put marriage -- and childbearing -- at the end of their list of things-to-do. Some are dating, some waiting to meet their destiny in a taxi queue. Others try their luck with the personals. But few of these single women -- or at least fewer than men might imagine -- are laying awake at night worrying about finding a suitable match. "A man for me is a bonus, like winning the lottery," Bolinao says. "With or without a man, I am fulfilled."
These single women have a few things in common: a high degree of educational and professional success, financial security, ambition and pride. For them being single at age 30, or 35, or older, is not a stigma; it's a status symbol. Some might even call it chic. They work hard. They travel. They are independent. These women won't settle for men who don't inspire them or nurture their aspirations. A good husband, they say, can keep pace with his wife without stepping on her toes. These are women who are used to having their own space. They want a man with maturity, not just money; someone who will be a companion, not a guardian.
These women are quick to add that those kind of men are scarce. Or already spoken for. Some suggest that it's not even worth looking, given that too few marriages succeed. "If I were starting all over again, I'd stay single," says Ellen Tan (not her real name), a 37-year-old divorcée in Singapore. "Marriage is not everything. It creates more problems. Some of my single friends say they're lonely. But the burdens of a marriage are worse than being alone."
Some call that type of thinking sacrilege. And despite the changing mind-set, the notion that a woman must be a wife and a mother is powerful. Societies and families exert considerable pressure on women to settle down. Most eventually do. But until then it is usually easier for mothers than fathers to understand why their daughter is still single. On the whole, women still bear most of the responsibility for maintaining a home and raising a family. In some countries women are expected to care for their in-laws, boost their husbands' careers and ensure that their kids get onto the fast track. Even if the couple can afford help in the house, the woman still has to take the lead. Men will pitch in: they will take the kids to the park or go to the supermarket. But that might be it.
For women, and men, who marry later the decision to have kids is just that: a choice. Most couples will have children, though smaller families are the natural consequence of rising prosperity the world over. But to some the idea of women forsaking the right, and responsibility, to bear children is profoundly unsettling. Listen to Yi Mun Yol, 49, one of Korea's most famous novelists and the author of a controversial book that challenges feminism. "I have to be concerned about women evading marriage altogether because that has the same effect as evading childbirth," he says. "I see that as a threat to the continuation of the world as it is."
The trend has some governments worried too. In places like Japan and Taiwan, the pattern is most pronounced; in Singapore and Malaysia the changes are most pronounced upon. Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare forecasts that one out of seven girls born after 1980 will remain single for the rest of their lives. If current Japanese childbearing trends continue, the population could shrink to half its size by the end of the next century. The government is trying to prevent this by spending some $536 million on such programs as expanded day care. A few towns offer tax breaks and housing benefits to young families. In a classic sign of the times in Taiwan, family-planning officials have updated the island's 1960s slogan: "Two children is just right" has been replaced by "Go for two."
The Singapore government provides matchmaking services -- one for college graduates, another for non-grads. It also offers child-care subsidies for working mothers and housing incentives and higher tax rebates for having more kids. In Malaysia, Works Minister Samy Vellu cautioned last October that a nation-threatening "bachelor-girl syndrome was creeping into society." (Most "bachelor girls," though, considered Vellu's comments to be a bigger cause for alarm.)
At the heart of the matter is money or, to put it more delicately, national prosperity. "Working women have contributed to these economies," says Fanny Cheung, head of Hong Kong's Equal Opportunities Commission. They should be thanked for helping build up their societies, she says, not blamed for destroying the family. Indeed, many women stay single precisely because they are so successful. And in some cases, married women may be at a disadvantage in the workplace because bosses think their loyalties are divided. "My female executives are very committed to their jobs," says Khatijah Ahmad, managing director of the KAF Group of finance companies and doyenne of Malaysia's businesswomen. "They are very serious and are probably not giving much priority to finding a mate." Not much at all. Professional women throughout the region are clinching deals, winning promotions, starting their own companies. Who has time to date?
Or, as Malaysian Sheryll Stothard puts it: Who wants to make time to date? Stothard, 30, is the managing director of Hikayat, a Kuala Lumpur publishing and public-relations company she helped found 18 months ago. She hasn't seriously thought about marriage since breaking off a longterm relationship some seven years ago. "Right now I'm more concerned about finding a good joint-venture partner than I am about finding a good man," she says. A few weeks ago Stothard was out to dinner with an associate; midway through the meal he mentioned that this was his first date in a while. To which she replied: "Oh, is this a date?"
"I am not lacking without a boyfriend," Stothard says. "If I were -- being the selfish person I am -- I would look. And -- since I'm ambitious and usually successful -- I would get him." Single men are the only ones still gauche enough to ask why she hasn't married. The last time three of her male colleagues posed that question, Stothard asked them why they weren't. "They went on about working too hard, not wanting the responsibility of a family, too many expectations," she says. "And I said, 'Yeah, those are the same reasons I haven't married.'"
Many successful women today see little reason to settle for marriage. D. Katrina, a 31-year-old financial analyst in Kuala Lumpur, is in no rush to make any compromises. "I think there is a lot of sense in what Virginia Woolf wrote: 'A woman must have money and a room of her own. The former stands for the power to contemplate, while a lock on the door means the power to think for oneself,'" Katrina says. "I've got that and I'm going to enjoy it for a little while longer."
Time is a luxury women were not able to afford a decade ago. "It used to be that women older than 25 would rush to marry," says Ikeda Keiko, a director at OMMG, one of Tokyo's biggest matchmaking companies. "They would lower their demands about the bridegroom year by year. Today it doesn't happen that way. Women no longer give up their wishes after 25, or even 35." They are more likely to give up on the bridegrooms.
Irey Lau, a 30-year-old media director at Grey Advertising in Hong Kong, hasn't given up on marriage. Just dating. "I don't waste time on people I am not sure about," she says. Lau is about to join a new company in a more senior position and move to Beijing. During the next two years in China, she says, she won't waste any time on men at all. The only people she will be wooing will be her clients. Her father doesn't get it. Lau recounts a recent exchange between them: "My dad said: 'You started going with boys when you were 14. Now you're 30, and you're not interested. What happened?' So I replied: 'I've seen enough for now.'"
She expects a boyfriend to be able to match her drive, if not her salary. Lau's most enduring relationship was with a man a year older but not as established as she was. "He would compare our positions. He felt uncomfortable since I was earning more than he was," she says. "I don't want to stop for anybody. I told him that my career was more important than our relationship. So we broke up."
It is a familiar story. "Asian men are not yet used to the idea of Asian women who are successful, who may outshine them," says Khatijah of the KAF Group. Some women, of course, will choose to stand back -- Irey Lau would probably call that standing down. She recounts one such instance: a colleague at another advertising agency turned down a promotion because she thought having a more senior title would complicate her search for a husband. Others tell of women whose mothers admonish them not to show off their intelligence; drop the Ph.D from your business card, one anxious parent pleaded.
But dumbing down doesn't suit most single women. "I have money, a good job; I can be demanding about the company I keep," says Susan Liang, a 49-year-old solicitor in Hong Kong. Liang divorced 10 years ago, built her own practice and raised three children. Today her former husband is remarried, she is a leading lawyer with a thriving firm and her kids are studying overseas. "I don't want to remarry unless I meet someone exceptional," she says. "I'm like the Europeans who visit China: I've gone to the Great Wall; I've got my t-shirt." In today's parlance: Been there, done that.
It's true. Other women often are not the best advertisement for marriage. "My sister-in-law has to take care of the kids, help my brother with his career, and do many things for my parents. She has a lot of pressure," says Laura Chao, 30, a radio deejay and MTV Asia music programmer in Taipei. "By comparison I am quite free. I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want." In Taiwan a person like Chao is called a dan shun gwei zhu, or Single Noble. To Chao that's a pretty accurate depiction. "My priorities are work, spending time with friends and family, and travel." Since graduating from college, she has toured through Southeast Asia, Western Europe and the United States. Her next trip is to the clubbing hot spots of Ibiza in Spain and the western Indian state of Goa.
In pursuit of leisure. That is how many single women might describe where their money goes. "I just cannot give up my juicy life where I buy just what I like," says a 31-year-old hospital clerk who lives with her parents in Tokyo. She is not alone. There are more than 1 million unmarried women in their late 20s and 30s in the capital area, and developers these days are designing condos with their needs in mind (for instance, bigger bathrooms and more central locations). Insurance companies structure policies suited to single women (they, not their beneficiaries, receive pensions). Some funeral homes even offer single women places in specially reserved graves (since they don't inherit a traditional spot with their husband's family).
It is all too much for some men. "Young women have indulged in too much freedom from responsibilities, which often are the base of real joy in life," says Takahashi Masato, a 53-year-old science teacher at a Tokyo grammar school. "They only seek pragmatic pleasures."
But it is not just a material world. Women who can provide for themselves want men who can provide emotional support. It is the most precious commodity today. Betty Wei, 30, is a marketing manager for financial news at Dow Jones in Hong Kong. She is the youngest executive in a company known for its hierarchy. But her corporate existence is accidental. Wei grew up in Shanghai, attended university in Britain, married a man introduced to her by family friends, gave up a chance to work at the BBC and moved to Hong Kong because her husband got a job there. It seemed natural then.
In Hong Kong, she couldn't find the inspiration for her real love -- creative writing -- and was frustrated that her husband fell asleep at ballet performances. He needed someone to put a hot meal on the table, talk about his work and go to barbecues with on the weekend, she says. He preferred that she stay at home. She wanted to work. "We didn't know how to care for each other emotionally," Wei says. "We were floundering, and eventually we drowned." They divorced after three years. "It turned out that I will pursue my happiness more seriously than I thought I would," says Wei. "I would like to support my partner's career but I wouldn't un-do myself for him. In a good marriage, both people have to compromise."
Thirty years ago these women would have been considered eccentrics, or worse. Today, double standards still prevail in many societies: bachelor men are envied, bachelor women are pitied. Call these women spinsters or old maids, though, and you'll hear about it. "I have a social life that's pretty fantastic, thank you," says Katrina.
Despite their accomplishments many women still have to defend their decision to stay single, without seeming too defensive. A date with someone, anyone, invites the question, "Could he be the one?" Family gatherings are trouble, weddings are bad and family weddings are even worse. "I dread going to family weddings because of the inevitable, 'So when is it your turn?'" Katrina says. "I have to smile and mumble something polite. The question doesn't upset me, but the tone does. It is as if nothing else I've achieved in my life is worth anything if I'm not married."
Indeed, single women are no strangers to those who calculate their merit by number -- and that doesn't mean their salary. Any would be able to tell you about the time her friend, aunt or colleague hinted that her sell-by date is fast approaching. Or that her saham dah turun (Malay for, her shares have gone down). Koreans say that single women should lower their eyes (in other words, their standards). In Hong Kong, they say that a 30-year-old woman is like a used tea bag.
Of course part of the pressure to bear children is real, or at least biological. The clock is ticking, though not as fast as some insist, or as loudly as some would-be grandparents would like. They find subtle and less-subtle ways to remind their daughters that they, at least, are ready for a little one. For Chinese New Year, Wei's father gave her a statue of Guanyin, a Buddha sitting on a lotus leaf holding a baby.
Some couples delay having children so they can save up; others so they can savor their marriage. Other career women say they just aren't meant to be mothers. Many men seem puzzled. Consider Korean author Yi's thoughts on the subject: "I think bees create the most perfect society. Every bee except the queen bee works. I highly value the fact that the bee that gives birth is the queen. I don't understand why women abandon the path of a queen and strive to become a work bee."
But they do. One couple in Hong Kong have a three-year-old son, a full-time nanny, full-time jobs and a stack of books on child-rearing. She is teaching her son to read and supervising piano practice on the weekends. "I'm aggressive in learning how to give him the best," mom says. Her mother-in-law would like a second grandchild, but the 37-year-old has ruled that out. "I barely have enough time for one," she says. "How can I have two?"
Wang Shih-sue, 29, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, and her husband David Liao, 31, decided they don't want even one. "Our work means everything to us," says Wang. "Neither of us wants to quit working to raise a child. My freedom and quality of life are very important. I don't want to lose what I have for the sake of a child." Liao, director of the Taiwan Labor Front, adds: "The most important reason is that we don't want a third person interfering in our relationship."
Their parents haven't been able to accept this notion. They wonder who will care for the couple later in life. "They also think we have a social responsibility to contribute a child to our society," says Wang. So do many governments, which, for now, are mostly run by old fathers. But some women believe that society should count on them for more than childbearing. And they are delivering.
-- With reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo
I have decided to post an article about global warming in my next entry. For now...
It seems that me and my single unattached women friends are not trendsetters at all. It makes me think of why and how long the Asia Week, no less, observed this social (?) truth.
(Source: http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0627/cs1.html)
WHY WOMEN STAY SINGLE
The best and brightest are snubbing men, marriage and baby-making for work, fun and adventure. Should Asia be worried?
By Susan Berfield
HENRIETTA CLAUDIA "BONJIN" BOLINAO, a 40-something who runs her own public-relations firm, was planning to get married -- just as soon as she could find the time. First she had to help produce a book, The Philippines: A Journey through the Archipelago. Then her firm won two prestigious accounts, carmakers Volvo and UMC Nissan, and that kept her busy. She also decided to redecorate her apartment, improve her golf game, travel around the world and spend more time meditating. Her fiancé, a writer in Manila three years her junior, didn't seem too perturbed by the delays. As any sensible woman would, she considered that a warning sign. He was "a good guy, with a thinking mind," Bolinao says. Even her mother liked him. But maybe, she thought, he was scared to settle down. Or maybe, her friends thought, he was worried that she wouldn't.
Bolinao reviewed the situation: "He let me pursue my career and saw me through hard times when I set up my company. But at the same time he expected me to assume the role of the traditional Filipina woman. I was supposed to make sure everything was spic and span at home, be the perfect cook and ironing lady -- he even taught me how to iron properly. That whole thing can get really tiring." Bolinao and her fiancé eventually called off the wedding. "I really think we are soul mates. But we are better off as friends," she says now, two years later. "I will always love him. But I don't know about getting married."
For Bolinao, and women like her throughout Asia, marriage is not the first priority in life. Nor is it the last resort, the only way to secure a home and place in society. Marriage, for some, has become almost an alternative lifestyle: it is a choice, not a necessity. The majority will one day wed, but they will do so on their terms. Single women don't all put marriage -- and childbearing -- at the end of their list of things-to-do. Some are dating, some waiting to meet their destiny in a taxi queue. Others try their luck with the personals. But few of these single women -- or at least fewer than men might imagine -- are laying awake at night worrying about finding a suitable match. "A man for me is a bonus, like winning the lottery," Bolinao says. "With or without a man, I am fulfilled."
These single women have a few things in common: a high degree of educational and professional success, financial security, ambition and pride. For them being single at age 30, or 35, or older, is not a stigma; it's a status symbol. Some might even call it chic. They work hard. They travel. They are independent. These women won't settle for men who don't inspire them or nurture their aspirations. A good husband, they say, can keep pace with his wife without stepping on her toes. These are women who are used to having their own space. They want a man with maturity, not just money; someone who will be a companion, not a guardian.
These women are quick to add that those kind of men are scarce. Or already spoken for. Some suggest that it's not even worth looking, given that too few marriages succeed. "If I were starting all over again, I'd stay single," says Ellen Tan (not her real name), a 37-year-old divorcée in Singapore. "Marriage is not everything. It creates more problems. Some of my single friends say they're lonely. But the burdens of a marriage are worse than being alone."
Some call that type of thinking sacrilege. And despite the changing mind-set, the notion that a woman must be a wife and a mother is powerful. Societies and families exert considerable pressure on women to settle down. Most eventually do. But until then it is usually easier for mothers than fathers to understand why their daughter is still single. On the whole, women still bear most of the responsibility for maintaining a home and raising a family. In some countries women are expected to care for their in-laws, boost their husbands' careers and ensure that their kids get onto the fast track. Even if the couple can afford help in the house, the woman still has to take the lead. Men will pitch in: they will take the kids to the park or go to the supermarket. But that might be it.
For women, and men, who marry later the decision to have kids is just that: a choice. Most couples will have children, though smaller families are the natural consequence of rising prosperity the world over. But to some the idea of women forsaking the right, and responsibility, to bear children is profoundly unsettling. Listen to Yi Mun Yol, 49, one of Korea's most famous novelists and the author of a controversial book that challenges feminism. "I have to be concerned about women evading marriage altogether because that has the same effect as evading childbirth," he says. "I see that as a threat to the continuation of the world as it is."
The trend has some governments worried too. In places like Japan and Taiwan, the pattern is most pronounced; in Singapore and Malaysia the changes are most pronounced upon. Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare forecasts that one out of seven girls born after 1980 will remain single for the rest of their lives. If current Japanese childbearing trends continue, the population could shrink to half its size by the end of the next century. The government is trying to prevent this by spending some $536 million on such programs as expanded day care. A few towns offer tax breaks and housing benefits to young families. In a classic sign of the times in Taiwan, family-planning officials have updated the island's 1960s slogan: "Two children is just right" has been replaced by "Go for two."
The Singapore government provides matchmaking services -- one for college graduates, another for non-grads. It also offers child-care subsidies for working mothers and housing incentives and higher tax rebates for having more kids. In Malaysia, Works Minister Samy Vellu cautioned last October that a nation-threatening "bachelor-girl syndrome was creeping into society." (Most "bachelor girls," though, considered Vellu's comments to be a bigger cause for alarm.)
At the heart of the matter is money or, to put it more delicately, national prosperity. "Working women have contributed to these economies," says Fanny Cheung, head of Hong Kong's Equal Opportunities Commission. They should be thanked for helping build up their societies, she says, not blamed for destroying the family. Indeed, many women stay single precisely because they are so successful. And in some cases, married women may be at a disadvantage in the workplace because bosses think their loyalties are divided. "My female executives are very committed to their jobs," says Khatijah Ahmad, managing director of the KAF Group of finance companies and doyenne of Malaysia's businesswomen. "They are very serious and are probably not giving much priority to finding a mate." Not much at all. Professional women throughout the region are clinching deals, winning promotions, starting their own companies. Who has time to date?
Or, as Malaysian Sheryll Stothard puts it: Who wants to make time to date? Stothard, 30, is the managing director of Hikayat, a Kuala Lumpur publishing and public-relations company she helped found 18 months ago. She hasn't seriously thought about marriage since breaking off a longterm relationship some seven years ago. "Right now I'm more concerned about finding a good joint-venture partner than I am about finding a good man," she says. A few weeks ago Stothard was out to dinner with an associate; midway through the meal he mentioned that this was his first date in a while. To which she replied: "Oh, is this a date?"
"I am not lacking without a boyfriend," Stothard says. "If I were -- being the selfish person I am -- I would look. And -- since I'm ambitious and usually successful -- I would get him." Single men are the only ones still gauche enough to ask why she hasn't married. The last time three of her male colleagues posed that question, Stothard asked them why they weren't. "They went on about working too hard, not wanting the responsibility of a family, too many expectations," she says. "And I said, 'Yeah, those are the same reasons I haven't married.'"
Many successful women today see little reason to settle for marriage. D. Katrina, a 31-year-old financial analyst in Kuala Lumpur, is in no rush to make any compromises. "I think there is a lot of sense in what Virginia Woolf wrote: 'A woman must have money and a room of her own. The former stands for the power to contemplate, while a lock on the door means the power to think for oneself,'" Katrina says. "I've got that and I'm going to enjoy it for a little while longer."
Time is a luxury women were not able to afford a decade ago. "It used to be that women older than 25 would rush to marry," says Ikeda Keiko, a director at OMMG, one of Tokyo's biggest matchmaking companies. "They would lower their demands about the bridegroom year by year. Today it doesn't happen that way. Women no longer give up their wishes after 25, or even 35." They are more likely to give up on the bridegrooms.
Irey Lau, a 30-year-old media director at Grey Advertising in Hong Kong, hasn't given up on marriage. Just dating. "I don't waste time on people I am not sure about," she says. Lau is about to join a new company in a more senior position and move to Beijing. During the next two years in China, she says, she won't waste any time on men at all. The only people she will be wooing will be her clients. Her father doesn't get it. Lau recounts a recent exchange between them: "My dad said: 'You started going with boys when you were 14. Now you're 30, and you're not interested. What happened?' So I replied: 'I've seen enough for now.'"
She expects a boyfriend to be able to match her drive, if not her salary. Lau's most enduring relationship was with a man a year older but not as established as she was. "He would compare our positions. He felt uncomfortable since I was earning more than he was," she says. "I don't want to stop for anybody. I told him that my career was more important than our relationship. So we broke up."
It is a familiar story. "Asian men are not yet used to the idea of Asian women who are successful, who may outshine them," says Khatijah of the KAF Group. Some women, of course, will choose to stand back -- Irey Lau would probably call that standing down. She recounts one such instance: a colleague at another advertising agency turned down a promotion because she thought having a more senior title would complicate her search for a husband. Others tell of women whose mothers admonish them not to show off their intelligence; drop the Ph.D from your business card, one anxious parent pleaded.
But dumbing down doesn't suit most single women. "I have money, a good job; I can be demanding about the company I keep," says Susan Liang, a 49-year-old solicitor in Hong Kong. Liang divorced 10 years ago, built her own practice and raised three children. Today her former husband is remarried, she is a leading lawyer with a thriving firm and her kids are studying overseas. "I don't want to remarry unless I meet someone exceptional," she says. "I'm like the Europeans who visit China: I've gone to the Great Wall; I've got my t-shirt." In today's parlance: Been there, done that.
It's true. Other women often are not the best advertisement for marriage. "My sister-in-law has to take care of the kids, help my brother with his career, and do many things for my parents. She has a lot of pressure," says Laura Chao, 30, a radio deejay and MTV Asia music programmer in Taipei. "By comparison I am quite free. I can go wherever I want, do whatever I want." In Taiwan a person like Chao is called a dan shun gwei zhu, or Single Noble. To Chao that's a pretty accurate depiction. "My priorities are work, spending time with friends and family, and travel." Since graduating from college, she has toured through Southeast Asia, Western Europe and the United States. Her next trip is to the clubbing hot spots of Ibiza in Spain and the western Indian state of Goa.
In pursuit of leisure. That is how many single women might describe where their money goes. "I just cannot give up my juicy life where I buy just what I like," says a 31-year-old hospital clerk who lives with her parents in Tokyo. She is not alone. There are more than 1 million unmarried women in their late 20s and 30s in the capital area, and developers these days are designing condos with their needs in mind (for instance, bigger bathrooms and more central locations). Insurance companies structure policies suited to single women (they, not their beneficiaries, receive pensions). Some funeral homes even offer single women places in specially reserved graves (since they don't inherit a traditional spot with their husband's family).
It is all too much for some men. "Young women have indulged in too much freedom from responsibilities, which often are the base of real joy in life," says Takahashi Masato, a 53-year-old science teacher at a Tokyo grammar school. "They only seek pragmatic pleasures."
But it is not just a material world. Women who can provide for themselves want men who can provide emotional support. It is the most precious commodity today. Betty Wei, 30, is a marketing manager for financial news at Dow Jones in Hong Kong. She is the youngest executive in a company known for its hierarchy. But her corporate existence is accidental. Wei grew up in Shanghai, attended university in Britain, married a man introduced to her by family friends, gave up a chance to work at the BBC and moved to Hong Kong because her husband got a job there. It seemed natural then.
In Hong Kong, she couldn't find the inspiration for her real love -- creative writing -- and was frustrated that her husband fell asleep at ballet performances. He needed someone to put a hot meal on the table, talk about his work and go to barbecues with on the weekend, she says. He preferred that she stay at home. She wanted to work. "We didn't know how to care for each other emotionally," Wei says. "We were floundering, and eventually we drowned." They divorced after three years. "It turned out that I will pursue my happiness more seriously than I thought I would," says Wei. "I would like to support my partner's career but I wouldn't un-do myself for him. In a good marriage, both people have to compromise."
Thirty years ago these women would have been considered eccentrics, or worse. Today, double standards still prevail in many societies: bachelor men are envied, bachelor women are pitied. Call these women spinsters or old maids, though, and you'll hear about it. "I have a social life that's pretty fantastic, thank you," says Katrina.
Despite their accomplishments many women still have to defend their decision to stay single, without seeming too defensive. A date with someone, anyone, invites the question, "Could he be the one?" Family gatherings are trouble, weddings are bad and family weddings are even worse. "I dread going to family weddings because of the inevitable, 'So when is it your turn?'" Katrina says. "I have to smile and mumble something polite. The question doesn't upset me, but the tone does. It is as if nothing else I've achieved in my life is worth anything if I'm not married."
Indeed, single women are no strangers to those who calculate their merit by number -- and that doesn't mean their salary. Any would be able to tell you about the time her friend, aunt or colleague hinted that her sell-by date is fast approaching. Or that her saham dah turun (Malay for, her shares have gone down). Koreans say that single women should lower their eyes (in other words, their standards). In Hong Kong, they say that a 30-year-old woman is like a used tea bag.
Of course part of the pressure to bear children is real, or at least biological. The clock is ticking, though not as fast as some insist, or as loudly as some would-be grandparents would like. They find subtle and less-subtle ways to remind their daughters that they, at least, are ready for a little one. For Chinese New Year, Wei's father gave her a statue of Guanyin, a Buddha sitting on a lotus leaf holding a baby.
Some couples delay having children so they can save up; others so they can savor their marriage. Other career women say they just aren't meant to be mothers. Many men seem puzzled. Consider Korean author Yi's thoughts on the subject: "I think bees create the most perfect society. Every bee except the queen bee works. I highly value the fact that the bee that gives birth is the queen. I don't understand why women abandon the path of a queen and strive to become a work bee."
But they do. One couple in Hong Kong have a three-year-old son, a full-time nanny, full-time jobs and a stack of books on child-rearing. She is teaching her son to read and supervising piano practice on the weekends. "I'm aggressive in learning how to give him the best," mom says. Her mother-in-law would like a second grandchild, but the 37-year-old has ruled that out. "I barely have enough time for one," she says. "How can I have two?"
Wang Shih-sue, 29, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, and her husband David Liao, 31, decided they don't want even one. "Our work means everything to us," says Wang. "Neither of us wants to quit working to raise a child. My freedom and quality of life are very important. I don't want to lose what I have for the sake of a child." Liao, director of the Taiwan Labor Front, adds: "The most important reason is that we don't want a third person interfering in our relationship."
Their parents haven't been able to accept this notion. They wonder who will care for the couple later in life. "They also think we have a social responsibility to contribute a child to our society," says Wang. So do many governments, which, for now, are mostly run by old fathers. But some women believe that society should count on them for more than childbearing. And they are delivering.
-- With reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo
Philippine Brain Drain
I had a talk with a friend months ago why we stay put in the Philippines when all else are telling us to migrate where greener pastures lay.
So why do we stay?
So why do we stay?
- Most of our families are here.
- Most of our good friends are here.
- We have simple wants so maybe we are satisfied with the things we can afford with the salaries we receive.
Simply put, we are home. Do we need to say more?
Here is an article printed at the Newsweek, "Philippines: Workers for the World". It posts a thought-provoking question, "The country's prime export is people. But is migration a real development strategy?" (Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6100244/site/newsweek/)
By George Wehrfritz and Marites Vitug
Newsweek International
Oct. 4 issue
Galicano Solares lives beneath a highway overpass in a dank Manila slum. His on-again, off-again construction job pays $4 a day, considerably more than he earned in the gold mines of Bicol before he moved to the city in the late 1980s. Yet he can't afford to educate his three children—now under the care of relatives in the countryside—let alone build the middle-class future of their dreams. But the 37-year-old with a stubbly chin and sweat stains on his T shirt has one advantage over others in the squatter settlement: his wife is a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. "If there's an emergency, we call her," he says, "like when one of our children had a fever recently and we needed money for medicine."
That story of economic struggle, multiplied thousands of times over, is the story of the Philippines. Despite the wave of industrial development that has swept much of East Asia in recent decades, the country of 80 million remains extremely poor, mismanaged and still predominantly agrarian. But the Philippines does play a visible role in the global economy, thanks largely to a single export commodity—its people. According to the government, 1 million Filipinos will go abroad as contract workers this year, the biggest exodus ever. "The Philippines has already surpassed Mexico as the largest source of migrant labor in the world," says Manolo I. Abella, a migration specialist at the International Labour Office in Geneva. In all, about 8 million Filipinos—an astounding one tenth of the country's citizens—currently work overseas to support families back home. They remit more than $7 billion annually, according to the government, but that's only official transfers. A recent Asian Development Bank report put the real figure in the $14 billion to $21 billion range—a sum that dwarfs both foreign direct investment and aid flowing into the country, and amounts to 32 percent of GNP.
In the past, the Philippines was shamed by its inability to create enough good jobs to keep its people at home. But hard economic reality—a 14 percent unemployment rate and one of the highest poverty indexes in the world (nearly half the population subsists on less than $2 a day)—has shifted the sentiment. Today, in a move that countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh are likely to emulate, the government takes the position that, like it or not, the overseas workers constitute the nation's biggest comparative advantage in an increasingly borderless world. And so Manila makes it easy for its citizens to emigrate, and works hard, through its embassies, to see that their rights as foreign workers are protected. When extremists took a Filipino truck—driver hostage in Iraq recently, for example, Manila agreed to withdraw its contingent of soldiers there to win his release.
Unlike much of East Asia, where plummeting fertility rates are the norm, the Philippines could see its population balloon to 130 million by 2050. Experts say the country would explode if the flow of migrants were halted. "I've always viewed [overseas employment] as a safety valve," Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas told NEWSWEEK. "If you prevent them from going to Hong Kong or Saudi Arabia, you might have a revolution on your hands." That risk, combined with official helplessness to fix the local economy, has forced Manila to reconsider migration in a fundamental way. Its new—and more controversial—position: "Our traits as a people lend ourselves well to being part of the [global] service industry," says Tomas. "Perhaps that is what globalization means to us."
Labor migration is as old as the nation-state. Millions of Irish fled a devastating potato famine between 1846 and 1848, Chinese fanned out across Southeast Asia for similar reasons in the 19th century and India suffered a postcolonial brain drain that has only recently begun to reverse itself. Yet both the volume of today's labor outflow from the Philippines, and the extent to which Manila facilitates it, are unique. In a system that has evolved since strongman Ferdinand Marcos dispatched crews to work Saudi Arabian oilfields in the 1970s, the government licenses workers heading overseas, collects fees for each departure, regulates a mushrooming labor-brokerage industry and tasks its diplomats to protect a burgeoning expatriate work force based on 56 bilateral treaties with host nations around the world.
Unlike Mexico, where the vast majority of departing migrants head for a single country (the United States) illegally, Filipinos find themselves welcomed around the world as contract employees, both semiskilled and professional. They're laying pipelines in Siberia, mining diamonds in Angola and sailing ships in all the world's oceans. They clean thousands of homes a day from Hong Kong to Dubai to London; Bahrain's prime minister employs some 50 Filipinos in his own household, and is said to have developed such a fondness for the woman who manages them all that he sends her home to the Philippines on vacation each year accompanied by a bodyguard.
But some experts worry that the trend will, in the long run, hurt the Philippines more than help. While labor migration does serve as an economic stopgap, it's not a good development model. That's especially true when a country starts losing its best and its brightest workers. Although the stereotypical Filipino migrant is a nanny in Hong Kong, the largest group of new recruits falls under the category "professional and technical worker," which includes engineers, pilots, physicians and nurses. In 2002 they accounted for 35 percent of all departures—and many social workers fear their flight will bring down the country's medical system, erode its technology base and, in the end, ruin any chance the Philippines has of becoming a modern, industrialized country. "One of the defining characteristics of the Philippine middle class," says a senior Western economist in Manila, "is that they all want to get out."
The reason is simple: low pay. Lilian Bayot, a 29-year-old nurse with the Red Cross in Manila, earns $3,000 a year, which she says is "not enough to support my family." So she is now awaiting a visa to work in the United States. She plans to settle in Florida, where she's got a pending job offer that will pay her $40,000 a year. And she'll become eligible for a green card within months. According to a global salary study done in 2002, the average Filipino nurse earned just $139 a month at home compared with $650 in Singapore, $982 in Saudi Arabia and $1,666 in the United Kingdom. Nurses now leave the Philippines at three times the rate at which they matriculate and enter the work force.
Top college grads face the same salary problem. Last March a 28-year-old medical-school graduate named Elmer Reyes Jacinto stirred a national outcry when he topped the annual medical board exams (besting 947 other successful test takers) only to announce his intention to move to New York to become a nurse. He has since changed his mind—opting instead for a nursing job in Florida. "It's hypocritical when I say it's not economic," says Jacinto. "But it's more than that. I see a brighter future for myself there than here." Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, vice chancellor for research at the University of the Philippines in Manila, sees that as a troubling portent. "Sadly, this is no longer brain drain, but more appropriately, brain hemorrhage," he says. "Very soon the Philippines will be bled dry."
Labor migration also has a social cost. Experts say that overseas employment is exacerbating social problems in the Philippines, including juvenile delinquency and marital breakups. According to one study, a typical domestic worker in Saudi Arabia will remit the bulk of her $200 monthly salary to her husband, who uses the money to buy consumer products for the children and to support extended family members looking for handouts. The husband often can't or won't find work. Worse, says Florence May Cortina, who heads a help center for migrant workers in Quezon City near Metro Manila, the overseas worker is often shocked to learn "there is no savings" when she returns. Another study declares the kids of migrants "emotional orphans" more likely to commit crime, take drugs or have children out of wedlock.
A decade ago, when Fidel Ramos ran the Philippines and the country looked set to become Asia's newest manufacturing center, officials spoke optimistically of bringing overseas workers home. Their logic: professionals and semiskilled Filipinos with savings in their pockets could spur development by starting small companies. "We were riding a wave of growth," says Cielito Habito, Economic Planning secretary under Ramos. "There was a sense that they had something to come home to." But the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis sent the country into a prolonged tailspin, and it hasn't yet recovered. Habito views outmigration as a necessary evil, saying: "Some people have begun to argue that this is part of our natural role in the world. Frankly, I'm ambivalent about that."
Fernando Aldaba, an economist at Ateneo de Manila University, argues that the government is using remittance payments to mask its economic-policy failures. He asserts that to create new and better jobs, Manila must streamline the economy, attract foreign investment, encourage entrepreneurship and find ways to make household members more productive—none of which is happening with any great haste today. "People leave because of lack of opportunities," he concludes. "The government shouldn't be let off the hook."
Migration proponents insist the situation isn't quite so dire. Labor outflow, they argue, equips Filipinos with skills, know-how and capital. They eventually return home and carry the national economy forward—much like the expatriate Irish did in their homeland in the 1990s. Pessimists point to Lebanon, where remittances from overseas have propped up a dysfunctional state. As Filipinos add to their achievements overseas, it's only a matter of time before the government will face the same question once posed to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi: How is it that Indians succeed everywhere but in their home country?
That's irrelevant to Galicano Solares. When his wife returns from her second two-year stint in Saudi Arabia next February, he hopes to be able to surprise her with news that he, too, will make such a journey. "I've already prepared my passport," he says. "I want to work as a ship's repairman in Jamaica." Then they will typify the new middle-class family: Mom in the Middle East, Dad in the Caribbean, three kids at home studying to become engineers and nurses so they, too, might someday venture abroad. That's better than living under a freeway, to be sure. But is it the best Manila can offer? For now, the answer is yes.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Immortalizing Oneself
What is it about the third millennium that people all over the world wants to immortalize oneself in more than one way, e.g., personal Web sites, blogs, online videos, and the list goes on?
I should be one to ask when I have a blog which I update when my schedule permits. So why do I maintain it?
As I have written, the time I decided to create my blog, I felt that I needed to share the gifts I received then because I am merely a vessel.
Then I enrolled in graduate studies. I was quite proud of the articles I wrote because I earned decent grades, as I mentioned over and over again :D Well, I also spent a number of sleepless nights to be able to come up with a decent article so I felt that uploading it was just the icing on the cake.
I always tell my gifted co-workers and friends to go into teaching so that their talents and skills will not die with them and will be passed on to future achievers.
I remember I attended a retreat a few years ago and was asked if I planned to go into teaching eventually. I honestly answered no because I didn't hear the call to teaching then. I still haven't heard it till now.
However, I have no qualms about mentoring a co-worker, for now. I have already done it a few times in the past and I felt genuine fulfillment in seeing someone doing some things his own way, actually improving my style, after some time.
Call me narcissistic but immortalizing oneself if enough motivation to do things well. Immortalizing oneself is enough reason to check myself to always do my best. I think, people of all generations have always wanted to immortalize oneself in different ways. We people of the third millennium just have the internet and free blog and video sites to make netizens access information about us through cyberspace.
I should be one to ask when I have a blog which I update when my schedule permits. So why do I maintain it?
As I have written, the time I decided to create my blog, I felt that I needed to share the gifts I received then because I am merely a vessel.
Then I enrolled in graduate studies. I was quite proud of the articles I wrote because I earned decent grades, as I mentioned over and over again :D Well, I also spent a number of sleepless nights to be able to come up with a decent article so I felt that uploading it was just the icing on the cake.
I always tell my gifted co-workers and friends to go into teaching so that their talents and skills will not die with them and will be passed on to future achievers.
I remember I attended a retreat a few years ago and was asked if I planned to go into teaching eventually. I honestly answered no because I didn't hear the call to teaching then. I still haven't heard it till now.
However, I have no qualms about mentoring a co-worker, for now. I have already done it a few times in the past and I felt genuine fulfillment in seeing someone doing some things his own way, actually improving my style, after some time.
Call me narcissistic but immortalizing oneself if enough motivation to do things well. Immortalizing oneself is enough reason to check myself to always do my best. I think, people of all generations have always wanted to immortalize oneself in different ways. We people of the third millennium just have the internet and free blog and video sites to make netizens access information about us through cyberspace.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Spinsters for Christ?
This post is about several conversations which took place in the office...
I told an officemate that I am an active member of the DLSU Singles for Christ (SFC). He told another one of our officemates who teased me about it. He wittily changed SFC to mean SPINSTERS for Christ. One time, I passed by his room to tell him I was about to leave to attend an SFC get-together. He asked me what we do to pass time. Then, he went on to tease me if we were taught how to crochet stuff in preparation for old age. I told him he was not far off. I also told him that I would take a video of it, upload it in YouTube and would oblige him to post a comment about it.
A few days after, he told me that the office would offer housing loans and I should avail of it. I also told him that it was all part of my preparation for eternal spinsterhood. I already have a pension plan which was big enough to support me when the time comes. They just laughed with me.
Then I told a good friend about my plan. She said she would also like to buy one right next to mine. She is a good friend and her remark just made me more excited. Again, i told my officemate about this. He gave me a brilliant idea. He said I should tell all my SFC friends about it and come to live in a single subdivision which will be called Spinsters' Village.
Thinking about it actually made more sense. We could actually live in a village close to each other so our support group will be literally close by. It was a brilliant idea.
I told another friend about this. He asked me why I have already given up hope that i will settle down and have a family of my own. I told him that hope still springs eternal in my heart that I will be a loving wife to a dear man who will be my beloved husband. I sincerely hope that someday I will be a devoted mom to children I will bear and rear to be God-fearing people.
However, this prayer of mine should not keep me from my preparation for single blessedness too. After all, I still live in the reality that for now, I am going through life alone.
I told an officemate that I am an active member of the DLSU Singles for Christ (SFC). He told another one of our officemates who teased me about it. He wittily changed SFC to mean SPINSTERS for Christ. One time, I passed by his room to tell him I was about to leave to attend an SFC get-together. He asked me what we do to pass time. Then, he went on to tease me if we were taught how to crochet stuff in preparation for old age. I told him he was not far off. I also told him that I would take a video of it, upload it in YouTube and would oblige him to post a comment about it.
A few days after, he told me that the office would offer housing loans and I should avail of it. I also told him that it was all part of my preparation for eternal spinsterhood. I already have a pension plan which was big enough to support me when the time comes. They just laughed with me.
Then I told a good friend about my plan. She said she would also like to buy one right next to mine. She is a good friend and her remark just made me more excited. Again, i told my officemate about this. He gave me a brilliant idea. He said I should tell all my SFC friends about it and come to live in a single subdivision which will be called Spinsters' Village.
Thinking about it actually made more sense. We could actually live in a village close to each other so our support group will be literally close by. It was a brilliant idea.
I told another friend about this. He asked me why I have already given up hope that i will settle down and have a family of my own. I told him that hope still springs eternal in my heart that I will be a loving wife to a dear man who will be my beloved husband. I sincerely hope that someday I will be a devoted mom to children I will bear and rear to be God-fearing people.
However, this prayer of mine should not keep me from my preparation for single blessedness too. After all, I still live in the reality that for now, I am going through life alone.
Haven't Been This Sick in a Long Time
Call me a nerd but I actually looked forward to the 5-day weekend to concentrate on my school papers. I thought it was timely that the professor generously gave an extension of 1 day so we could polish our papers. I was ready to work on it non-stop as I have no need to worry about getting up late to go to work and I could sleep on and off till my paper gets done.
I woke up fairly late today wanting to extend my stay in bed some more. Then I remembered, I should work on my school paper. Barely half an hour after I turned my computer on, I felt a minor headache. I tried to ignore it while I surfed the internet to look for references. An hour after, I just couldn't understand a word of the English Web sites I visited. I told myself, it was time to take a nap.
After barely an hour of sleep, I woke up with a splitting headache. I thought it was pathetic for me to cry but I just couldn't help it. Here I was, lying on my bed, when I felt my tummy turning. It was a good thing I was able to run to puke. After an hour or so, the rest of my breakfast was down the drain. It was already 2:00 p.m. then and I haven't had lunch yet.
I can barely recall the last time I had the fever. I can't claim to eat a healthy diet as I eat mostly fastfood meals nowadays, but I thought my body knew how to take care of itself well by now. Come to think of it, personal history reminded me that while I am in the middle of being busy, my body coped quite well. The good Lord reminds me to take better care of myself, i.e., eat at the right time and sleep longer mostly, after I do my job well.
I went to sleep again and I felt recharged. Way, way better! I felt like my old self again. God's blessings never stop pouring.
I woke up fairly late today wanting to extend my stay in bed some more. Then I remembered, I should work on my school paper. Barely half an hour after I turned my computer on, I felt a minor headache. I tried to ignore it while I surfed the internet to look for references. An hour after, I just couldn't understand a word of the English Web sites I visited. I told myself, it was time to take a nap.
After barely an hour of sleep, I woke up with a splitting headache. I thought it was pathetic for me to cry but I just couldn't help it. Here I was, lying on my bed, when I felt my tummy turning. It was a good thing I was able to run to puke. After an hour or so, the rest of my breakfast was down the drain. It was already 2:00 p.m. then and I haven't had lunch yet.
I can barely recall the last time I had the fever. I can't claim to eat a healthy diet as I eat mostly fastfood meals nowadays, but I thought my body knew how to take care of itself well by now. Come to think of it, personal history reminded me that while I am in the middle of being busy, my body coped quite well. The good Lord reminds me to take better care of myself, i.e., eat at the right time and sleep longer mostly, after I do my job well.
I went to sleep again and I felt recharged. Way, way better! I felt like my old self again. God's blessings never stop pouring.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Highlights of My First Month in the Office
I can't believe I've been working in the office for a whole month now! I have been so busy, time passed by so quickly.
I can almost honestly say that I am part of two departments in direct competition with each other. I'm getting ahead of my story once again.
Our VP is in the US so her appointed OIC gathered us in a meeting. The OIC just wants to be updated on the status of our projects. She gathered the 2 departments in a room. Finally, the "competition/cold war" was addressed with all people involved in single room. The meeting was "revealing" to say the least.
One of the highlights
I borrowed my officemate's laptop to take home. He lent it to me without question. When I was about to take it out, it was inspected by the security guards. I thought it was standard procedure.
At the other side of the door was the manager of the Security Group. He is known in the office as GENERAL. He was a very big man with a booming voice. I was not really intimidated by him coz I thought it was standard procedure. He said that he was not informed of anybody taking home any laptops. He didn't allow me to take it home.
I told the owner of the laptop the following day. He laughed at my face before I told him the story. He said he was informed by another officemate about the incident because my story was verified by the security group.
I faced the general then. He told me that a laptop was reported missing that day. Oh well! All's well that ends well!
This entry really sucks! I just want to document these stories coz they bring fond memories.
I can almost honestly say that I am part of two departments in direct competition with each other. I'm getting ahead of my story once again.
Our VP is in the US so her appointed OIC gathered us in a meeting. The OIC just wants to be updated on the status of our projects. She gathered the 2 departments in a room. Finally, the "competition/cold war" was addressed with all people involved in single room. The meeting was "revealing" to say the least.
One of the highlights
I borrowed my officemate's laptop to take home. He lent it to me without question. When I was about to take it out, it was inspected by the security guards. I thought it was standard procedure.
At the other side of the door was the manager of the Security Group. He is known in the office as GENERAL. He was a very big man with a booming voice. I was not really intimidated by him coz I thought it was standard procedure. He said that he was not informed of anybody taking home any laptops. He didn't allow me to take it home.
I told the owner of the laptop the following day. He laughed at my face before I told him the story. He said he was informed by another officemate about the incident because my story was verified by the security group.
I faced the general then. He told me that a laptop was reported missing that day. Oh well! All's well that ends well!
This entry really sucks! I just want to document these stories coz they bring fond memories.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
My First Week Summarized
It was an eventful week to say the least! I attended two Web design meetings, laid-out 3 tarpaulins and edited the company newsletter. But this is getting ahead of my story.
On my second day, I was tasked to create a tarpaulin which has a deadline at the end of office hours. It was my first time to even think of being assigned to create a graphic work at that scale. I called up my artist friend and asked him about it. God was just so generous at that time.
Rendering overtime work is not really an issue with me but I just couldn't that day because I had to attend a class. For this reason, I asked when my deadline was. The person who is supervising my work at the moment made a remark that I was waiting to beat the deadline. I calmly told him my situation. He was kind enought to allow me to leave the office in time to attend my class.
I really can't complain about the team I am assigned to at the moment. They are good at what they do and they are dedicated to their job. We had late lunch because we were all engrossed with the task at hand. This happened both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday was more relaxed. As a result, I was able to give time to processing my some of my internal papers and attend the noon mass. This was really one of my dilemmas in leaving DLSU. Then, I thought that I could be in a better paying job with better perks but I might lose the spiritual nourishment I get from daily masses. That's why I was so overjoyed when I knew of the daily masses held everyday.
I enjoyed another blessing this day. I was asked by my CEO to go over the upcoming office publication. Was I surprised by the amount of work that needs to be done on the paper! To think that the publication date was so near. I asked the writers who were responsible for it. he told me that the people on our team are the writers in the paper. I jokingly told them that I was seriously thinking if I want to keep them as friends. It was a good thing they were good sports about it. They even gave me free reign in checking all aspects of it.
Now, my team leader trusts me with editing the articles he writes. It flatters me, boosts my confidence, to say the least. Now I know clearly God's purpose in assigning me to this office. May I not tire to be His functional instrument.
On my second day, I was tasked to create a tarpaulin which has a deadline at the end of office hours. It was my first time to even think of being assigned to create a graphic work at that scale. I called up my artist friend and asked him about it. God was just so generous at that time.
Rendering overtime work is not really an issue with me but I just couldn't that day because I had to attend a class. For this reason, I asked when my deadline was. The person who is supervising my work at the moment made a remark that I was waiting to beat the deadline. I calmly told him my situation. He was kind enought to allow me to leave the office in time to attend my class.
I really can't complain about the team I am assigned to at the moment. They are good at what they do and they are dedicated to their job. We had late lunch because we were all engrossed with the task at hand. This happened both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday was more relaxed. As a result, I was able to give time to processing my some of my internal papers and attend the noon mass. This was really one of my dilemmas in leaving DLSU. Then, I thought that I could be in a better paying job with better perks but I might lose the spiritual nourishment I get from daily masses. That's why I was so overjoyed when I knew of the daily masses held everyday.
I enjoyed another blessing this day. I was asked by my CEO to go over the upcoming office publication. Was I surprised by the amount of work that needs to be done on the paper! To think that the publication date was so near. I asked the writers who were responsible for it. he told me that the people on our team are the writers in the paper. I jokingly told them that I was seriously thinking if I want to keep them as friends. It was a good thing they were good sports about it. They even gave me free reign in checking all aspects of it.
Now, my team leader trusts me with editing the articles he writes. It flatters me, boosts my confidence, to say the least. Now I know clearly God's purpose in assigning me to this office. May I not tire to be His functional instrument.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
My First Day in My New Office
My first day at work was both boring and eventful. I'm getting ahead of myself. Here is how it went...
My boss assigned an officemate to be my buddy. He is nice but he is not open to suggestions he is so rigid! I tried to talk to him about a new technology and he kept on insisting the old way is better! It was a good thing he did not take it personally.
On my first hour, I received a phone call informing me that I am being called to attend a meeting. The agenda was the redesign of the existing Web site. I just listened carefully to their exchange of ideas. After the meeting, the hours dragged on. I simply killed time to say the least.
Then I thought of having my class reference xeroxed. I asked where the nearest copy center is and they informed me it was ok for me to xerox the whole book in the office free of charge. After that, I was able to read issues of magazines just stacked everywhere.
Close to the end of office hours, a familiar face dropped by the office. I gave him suggestions on how to improve exisitng documents. He was not open to it yet he was game enough to ask me to work with him. Similar to the start of my day, I also argued with him.
On my way home, my mind was filled with ideas on how to improve existing office procedures. I actually made a list of them. Now I know my purpose for being here. God surely is generous with his blessings.
My boss assigned an officemate to be my buddy. He is nice but he is not open to suggestions he is so rigid! I tried to talk to him about a new technology and he kept on insisting the old way is better! It was a good thing he did not take it personally.
On my first hour, I received a phone call informing me that I am being called to attend a meeting. The agenda was the redesign of the existing Web site. I just listened carefully to their exchange of ideas. After the meeting, the hours dragged on. I simply killed time to say the least.
Then I thought of having my class reference xeroxed. I asked where the nearest copy center is and they informed me it was ok for me to xerox the whole book in the office free of charge. After that, I was able to read issues of magazines just stacked everywhere.
Close to the end of office hours, a familiar face dropped by the office. I gave him suggestions on how to improve exisitng documents. He was not open to it yet he was game enough to ask me to work with him. Similar to the start of my day, I also argued with him.
On my way home, my mind was filled with ideas on how to improve existing office procedures. I actually made a list of them. Now I know my purpose for being here. God surely is generous with his blessings.
Friday, February 02, 2007
My Day Without a Plan
Yesterday, I gave my sister-in-law a small amount of money. I just felt that I had to share my blessings. I asked her how much she needed and gave an additional amount. The sum total was still small, to say the least. She dropped by the house to get it.
Last night, my mother forwarded a text message from my sister-in-law saying that she and her two daughters were sick. My two nieces vomitted several times and she was down with fever. I asked her how I could help her. She told me that I could just give enough for the medicine of one of my nieces. As she was sick also, I offered to take the money to her home.
I sent her a text message at a decent time this morning and told her she could text me if she was already awake so I could drop by their house to give her the money. Her elder daughter missed going to school so she prepared her first. As she was also not feeling well, and her younger daughter was also sick, she sent me the text message late in the morning.
I reached her house a little after 11:00 am and left around 11:45. They offered that I ate lunch with them but was shy to accept. I had lunch at a mall. I was so tired going around that I felt so sleepy when I got home. I fought sleep as it would cause me to sleep late come night time.
Then my classmate sent a text message around 5:00 pm saying that our meeting in Makati at 7:00 pm will push through. I haven't taken a bath by that time so hurried through all the motions. I met another classmate in going to the place. The traffic was unbelievable! It took us 45 minutes to reach Quiapo. We decided then that we'll just stay at Robinson's Place to have dinner. We informed the meeting organizer.
It turned out, the organizer took 2.5 hours to get to Makati. She told us that our other friends told her they would arrive around 10:00 pm. She was urging us to meet her then. We could understand her disappointment but really couldn't join her anymore because we had early morning appointments tomorrow. It was a good thing she was understanding enough to cancel the meeting.
My friend and I just had dinner and malled. We haven't done it in a long time. We missed talking about the nonsense and the things which concerned us most at home, in work and in our everyday lives.
I have a class report tomorrow and still haven't read on the topic. Yet, here I am in front of the computer documenting My Day without a Plan.
Last night, my mother forwarded a text message from my sister-in-law saying that she and her two daughters were sick. My two nieces vomitted several times and she was down with fever. I asked her how I could help her. She told me that I could just give enough for the medicine of one of my nieces. As she was sick also, I offered to take the money to her home.
I sent her a text message at a decent time this morning and told her she could text me if she was already awake so I could drop by their house to give her the money. Her elder daughter missed going to school so she prepared her first. As she was also not feeling well, and her younger daughter was also sick, she sent me the text message late in the morning.
I reached her house a little after 11:00 am and left around 11:45. They offered that I ate lunch with them but was shy to accept. I had lunch at a mall. I was so tired going around that I felt so sleepy when I got home. I fought sleep as it would cause me to sleep late come night time.
Then my classmate sent a text message around 5:00 pm saying that our meeting in Makati at 7:00 pm will push through. I haven't taken a bath by that time so hurried through all the motions. I met another classmate in going to the place. The traffic was unbelievable! It took us 45 minutes to reach Quiapo. We decided then that we'll just stay at Robinson's Place to have dinner. We informed the meeting organizer.
It turned out, the organizer took 2.5 hours to get to Makati. She told us that our other friends told her they would arrive around 10:00 pm. She was urging us to meet her then. We could understand her disappointment but really couldn't join her anymore because we had early morning appointments tomorrow. It was a good thing she was understanding enough to cancel the meeting.
My friend and I just had dinner and malled. We haven't done it in a long time. We missed talking about the nonsense and the things which concerned us most at home, in work and in our everyday lives.
I have a class report tomorrow and still haven't read on the topic. Yet, here I am in front of the computer documenting My Day without a Plan.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
My Last Day of Processing Papers
Finally! All requirements and signatures have been accepted by the HRD!!! Fortunately for me, it wasn't as simple as that. It was an eventful day.
I chose to go there in time to attend the 12 noon mass. I commuted to go there with the senior citizens riding in the jeep. The people who rode with me were talking about the GSIS. My heart broke as I heard their stories. Was I glad that it was my last day to commute or else I wouldn't have started working there.
I arrived early so I decided to go up to the office. It was great timing for me. The whole team was about to go to lunch. Also, one of my officemates was celebrating her birthday. These two are separate stories. My boss invited me to join them and I did. It was a lunch date full of laughter. A great teambuilding event.
Then, I brought my papers to the Legal Department for notarization. The lawyer who attended to my papers asked me endlessly who my backer was in getting in. I told him that I was a walk-in applicant and was chosen from among the five selected applicants. He also told me that they were not hiring at the present time. In the process, he told me it was the rule and not the exception. At that point, a warm feeling enveloped me as I realized I bested four great applicants.
On my way to submit my papers to the HRD, I met one of my bosses. I told her what happened in the Legal Department. Her words made me feel humbled because I was just getting to realize the enormity of the blessings bestowed upon me then.
Before I slept, I called my cousin and her husband to thank them once again for letting me know of the job vacancy. To this day, I am still amazed by the manner the Lord gave this job to me. This is one story where I can truthfully say that I obeyed all instructions without resistance. This is one story where God's providence is truly filled to overflowing. This is one story where I only need to trust where God leads me. My prayer now is that I may be the empty vessel simply following God's directions so I may prove myself worthy of the blessings showered upon me.
I chose to go there in time to attend the 12 noon mass. I commuted to go there with the senior citizens riding in the jeep. The people who rode with me were talking about the GSIS. My heart broke as I heard their stories. Was I glad that it was my last day to commute or else I wouldn't have started working there.
I arrived early so I decided to go up to the office. It was great timing for me. The whole team was about to go to lunch. Also, one of my officemates was celebrating her birthday. These two are separate stories. My boss invited me to join them and I did. It was a lunch date full of laughter. A great teambuilding event.
Then, I brought my papers to the Legal Department for notarization. The lawyer who attended to my papers asked me endlessly who my backer was in getting in. I told him that I was a walk-in applicant and was chosen from among the five selected applicants. He also told me that they were not hiring at the present time. In the process, he told me it was the rule and not the exception. At that point, a warm feeling enveloped me as I realized I bested four great applicants.
On my way to submit my papers to the HRD, I met one of my bosses. I told her what happened in the Legal Department. Her words made me feel humbled because I was just getting to realize the enormity of the blessings bestowed upon me then.
Before I slept, I called my cousin and her husband to thank them once again for letting me know of the job vacancy. To this day, I am still amazed by the manner the Lord gave this job to me. This is one story where I can truthfully say that I obeyed all instructions without resistance. This is one story where God's providence is truly filled to overflowing. This is one story where I only need to trust where God leads me. My prayer now is that I may be the empty vessel simply following God's directions so I may prove myself worthy of the blessings showered upon me.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
ITC, GSIS, SFC and graduate studies
To say that September to December, 2006 were very busy months is an understatement. Of course, my regular activities are going to the office five days a week and attending graduate classes two days a week. I salute all postgraduate degree holders because I know they are all expert jugglers in managing time and energy.
Personally, in the time span mentioned, I was a student who went on vacation only for a week but never really got the drive back to study hard. I was a Singles for Christ (SFC) member who attended meetings in campus weekly and and in the chapter monthly. I always thought things will return to normal after each activity I finished. The respite spent in between then were essential for me to rejuvenate physically (read: justifications to be a big-time bum!!!)
Enter 2007 and my schedule went from busy to physically draining day after day after day. My regular activities went on as usual, i.e., office, class and SFC. One uneventful afternoon, I received a phone call from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) informing me that I have been accepted as Staff Writer and they want me to report right away because of the urgency of the position. I felt blest upon receiving the news. I thought I would think it over for a night then decide in the morning.
However, God had another plan. He made my cousin send a text message to all our relatives and common friends which I quote, "Bait in God, signed na appointment ni princess sa gsis! Sa public affairs unit. no politics and backers. She got d highest rating sa exam and interview and was unanimously chosen by d panel. May mga humarang sa hgher level kasi may mga gustong ipasok na iba pero d nagprevail."
Soon after, my cell phone was flooded with congratulary messages. I felt that I had no choice but to hand in my resignation from the De La Salle University Information Technology Center (DLSU ITC). The day after that, I got my list of requirements from the GSIS, went on programmed sick leave from DLSU ITC for two days to process required papers, had a lunch meeting with my new boss and team mates, while attending SFC activities, preparing/attending classes. The days I spent at the ITC were spent teaching my officemate, who joined the team in September, to process documents, implement standards, learn how to use different software and their features, among others.
The documented Staff Writer job description given to me by the GSIS HR was standard. Little did I know that they hired me mostly because of my experience in using graphics software to create banners, streamers, flyers and information materials. It shouldn't come as a surprise in the corporate world's multitasking culture right? However, this was the exact reason I left the publishing house almost 8 years ago. I felt that I was veering away from writing, which I love dearly, and is being molded to become a graphic artist, which has never been my interest, mostly because I felt that I didn't have the talent and patience to improve on the skill.
Last night, my good friend invited me to a prayer meeting. I joined in spite of the fact that I haven't prepared for my classes the following day. As with the GSIS job announcement, God had a plan. Though it hasn't bothered me as much yet that I might not be good enough to be a graphic artist, God addressed the matter reassuring me in the process.
The speaker said over and over again that she felt God was setting her up for failure because of all the odds she faced recently. Through the Bible, her perspective changed to Why do people put a limit to what God can do for us in our lives? He gave us the opportunity, He will provide the means for us to go through life with enriching experiences and enlightening wisdom.
My recent Yahoo! Messenger status is I will truly miss my ITC family. In my heart of hearts, I sincerely felt this. This is the office where I spent 4 years and 2 months of my life. This is the office where I learned how to maintain Web sites, the office where I honed my technical writing skills, the office which pushed me to pursue graduate studies. This is the office where my people skills were tried and improved, I sincerely believe. This is also an office where I began and nurtured genuine friendships.
Taking all of these things into account, many ask why I resigned. In my heart, I feel that the good Lord is still shaping me up to reach my full potential. As long as He is in charge, I need only to obey Him.
Personally, in the time span mentioned, I was a student who went on vacation only for a week but never really got the drive back to study hard. I was a Singles for Christ (SFC) member who attended meetings in campus weekly and and in the chapter monthly. I always thought things will return to normal after each activity I finished. The respite spent in between then were essential for me to rejuvenate physically (read: justifications to be a big-time bum!!!)
Enter 2007 and my schedule went from busy to physically draining day after day after day. My regular activities went on as usual, i.e., office, class and SFC. One uneventful afternoon, I received a phone call from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) informing me that I have been accepted as Staff Writer and they want me to report right away because of the urgency of the position. I felt blest upon receiving the news. I thought I would think it over for a night then decide in the morning.
However, God had another plan. He made my cousin send a text message to all our relatives and common friends which I quote, "Bait in God, signed na appointment ni princess sa gsis! Sa public affairs unit. no politics and backers. She got d highest rating sa exam and interview and was unanimously chosen by d panel. May mga humarang sa hgher level kasi may mga gustong ipasok na iba pero d nagprevail."
Soon after, my cell phone was flooded with congratulary messages. I felt that I had no choice but to hand in my resignation from the De La Salle University Information Technology Center (DLSU ITC). The day after that, I got my list of requirements from the GSIS, went on programmed sick leave from DLSU ITC for two days to process required papers, had a lunch meeting with my new boss and team mates, while attending SFC activities, preparing/attending classes. The days I spent at the ITC were spent teaching my officemate, who joined the team in September, to process documents, implement standards, learn how to use different software and their features, among others.
The documented Staff Writer job description given to me by the GSIS HR was standard. Little did I know that they hired me mostly because of my experience in using graphics software to create banners, streamers, flyers and information materials. It shouldn't come as a surprise in the corporate world's multitasking culture right? However, this was the exact reason I left the publishing house almost 8 years ago. I felt that I was veering away from writing, which I love dearly, and is being molded to become a graphic artist, which has never been my interest, mostly because I felt that I didn't have the talent and patience to improve on the skill.
Last night, my good friend invited me to a prayer meeting. I joined in spite of the fact that I haven't prepared for my classes the following day. As with the GSIS job announcement, God had a plan. Though it hasn't bothered me as much yet that I might not be good enough to be a graphic artist, God addressed the matter reassuring me in the process.
The speaker said over and over again that she felt God was setting her up for failure because of all the odds she faced recently. Through the Bible, her perspective changed to Why do people put a limit to what God can do for us in our lives? He gave us the opportunity, He will provide the means for us to go through life with enriching experiences and enlightening wisdom.
My recent Yahoo! Messenger status is I will truly miss my ITC family. In my heart of hearts, I sincerely felt this. This is the office where I spent 4 years and 2 months of my life. This is the office where I learned how to maintain Web sites, the office where I honed my technical writing skills, the office which pushed me to pursue graduate studies. This is the office where my people skills were tried and improved, I sincerely believe. This is also an office where I began and nurtured genuine friendships.
Taking all of these things into account, many ask why I resigned. In my heart, I feel that the good Lord is still shaping me up to reach my full potential. As long as He is in charge, I need only to obey Him.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Commercialism in CRAZY FOR YOU (A Review)
This was my Media Criticisms final paper as required by Dr. Isagani Cruz.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Media messages in television are powerful because they are reproduced through imagery, thus, TV is the best medium for commercialism. Crazy for You is a good venue for media to exhibit the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. It shows the poor that they could join games of luck to improve their financial standing, it shows the balikbayans how and where they could happily share their blessings, and it shows the middle-class the latest trends so they can keep up with the rest of society.
In a good number of Filipino families nowadays, the children leave to work offshore as soon as one is already capable of working abroad to take on the role of being the breadwinner, or to help the family stay afloat financially. Crazy for You shows the intricacies of the lives of modern Filipino families where the eldest child of former OFWs take on the role of being the breadwinner by working offshore. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) statistics show that there were 48,089 more Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in 2005 than in 2004 (Source: http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/2005deploment.xls). As for the media, the ABS-CBN news magazine program, The Correspondents, also tackled the lives of OFWs in the episodes Lebanon Diaries ng mg Pinoy, Teknolohiya at Buhay-DH sa Hong Kong, Mga Kwentong Pinoy sa Germany, Kapalaran ng mga Traini-yuki sa Japan. In Crazy for You,
ABS-CBN tries to show how OFWs live as domestic helpers and foreign students in Barcelona, Spain and the issues they face when they return to the Philippines.
In a manner of speaking, Crazy for You was patterned after the koreanovela Lovers in Paris and Only You (Source: http://beta.abs-cbn.com/tabid/71/xmmid/387/Article/1673/program/c4u/xmview/2/Default.aspx) as the lead characters were foreigners in the setting, that is, Filipinos in Barcelona, Spain; Koreans in Paris, France; and in Italy, respectively. Due to this fact, part of Crazy for You showed the main characters sightseeing and enjoying the outdoors, while they were in Barcelona and Ibiza, Spain. In addition to being primarily love stories, all series are not heavy drama anthologies but have light touches of comedy.
In his September 15, 2006 column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nestor Torre reviewed the first three telecasts of Crazy for You. He wrote,
Most of its first telecasts’ scenes focused exclusively on its Filipino characters, so they ended up appearing to live in a cultural vacuum. Manzano does well in the show, but Gonzaga and Pokwang are too ditzy and flighty, acting up a storm for ostensible comic effect. On the brighter side, the new show’s visuals are agreeably perky and varied, so the eye is entertained. (Source: http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=21254)
In real life, Toni Gonzaga, who portrays Janice, the female lead character, is currently
22 years old and Luis Manzano, the male lead character (Wacky) is 26 years old. In the series, Janice, at that age, is tasked with being the breadwinner of the family. This setting actually happens in the modern Filipino family. The most recent National Statistics Office report showed that the most number of OFWs who left in 2004 belong to the age bracket 25-29 (Source: http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/2005/of0402.htm). This clearly demonstrates that between the ages 25 to 29, Filipinos are already tasked with providing for the family. This is the new face of the Filipino family.
I remember that when I belonged to that age group I was starting to earn enough to afford small luxuries on top of my financial obligations. I have always enjoyed watching television and the advertisements shown keep me updated on the latest products out on the market. In fact, there are times when I keep the television on but watch commercials only.
Relevance of the Study
I haven’t read any recent Social Studies textbooks lately but when I was in grade school and high school, the school books I read then stated that the father is the provider of the family. It is the father who works hard so that the family can have all the necessities of everyday life and even the luxuries enjoyed by all. I also remember that back then, at least in the families I knew of, the working son or daughter is expected or even obliged to help financially, but not to the extent of being the breadwinner.
However, in Filipino families nowadays, the parents work hard so they can send their children to college, in most cases, nursing schools. They know that after passing the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), their children will work abroad and be able to finance the entire household’s needs. For the parents who cannot afford to send their children to nursing schools as money is a concern, they work abroad by being domestic helpers.
I could also say that on top of providing the basic necessities such as education and food, OFWs also want their kin to keep up with the latest trends, be it in fashion or gadgets, among other things. In the teleserye, Globe’s services were incorporated in the story, e.g., Melba’s cell phone was a load wallet, Roger was a Globe in-house agent, and a number of characters used cell phones with video conferencing. Other commercials promote vanity so an individual will be accepted in the society, ultimately. Media is powerful because it has wide reach. In television, media messages are reproduced through imagery. It is seen everywhere.
Delimitations of the Study
This paper will review the commercialism in the October 25 episode where Janice was hired as a hotel receptionist by day and as a call center agent by night, and the November 9 episode where Janice joined Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong. It is interesting to note that Crazy for You is aired in ABS-CBN yet most articles written about it are published in the broadsheet Inquirer, which is a partner company of the GMA Network, ABS-CBN’s rival.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In the study Modeling Consumption via Parasocial Interactions with Television Soap Characters (Source: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/default.aspx?id=924), Cristell Russell and Barbara Stern tested a model of the influence of television soap opera characters on viewers’ consumption attitudes and behaviors. They showed the soap opera character’s effect on consumption behaviors both directly and indirectly towards the characters’ consumption.
The paper Telenovelas and Soap in Latin America (Source: http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata131.htm) by Zona Latina proved that the telenovela is an effective advertising vehicle for laundry detergents and other household cleaning products. It concentrated on the commercial aspects of telenovelas and pointed out that they have been instrumental in developing a “national” identity for Latin America countries in terms of self-definition, as well.
This paper will prove that advertisements in the program Crazy for You show us the good life many of us aim for. Crazy for You commercials exhibit that the ideal lifestyle is one where we, as consumers, can keep up with the trends and the rest of society.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In the book Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa, Bienvenido Lumbera said, “The student of the arts has to look beyond plain artistic production. It is imperative that one investigates the society in which artistic production takes place, noting how social, political, and economic forces contend for hegemony within that society. The student ought to take into account the multifarious factors that influence the production of any art work, because he needs an all-around understanding of what the Filipino artist wants when he undertakes creative work and what the Filipino audiences expect from a given work of art.”
Lumbera’s perspective asserts that media content should have social relevance. It should reflect how the dominant classes protect their standing, ways and means. In essence, the role of media is to awaken the people’s awareness as to the condition people influence and interact with one another. As stated, this paper will attest to the fact that even so-called teleserye, which the unsuspecting masses view as pure entertainment is actually a reflection of the existing state of affairs between mass media and the people who view them.
SUMMARY OF THE STORY
Crazy for You was originally about the lives of OFWs in Barcelona, Spain. Janice, is a young woman who works as a day-hire maid to help out her family in the Philippines. Wacky is a student who is the son of former OFWs in Spain. Janice worked for Wacky but never saw him because he was always out whenever she was in. They finally meet at a party and was instantly attracted to each other. Somewhere along the way, Wacky got involved with Sabrina who, later on, couldn’t accept his rejection of her. Ultimately, Sabrina tells the Spanish government about Janice who is an overstaying domestic helper. This led to the deportation of Janice back to Manila.
When Janice went home, she discovered that her father needed an operation that required a big amount of money. Part of what she did to secure the money was to join Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong. Later on in the story, Melba, Janice’s mother, earned her part of her income through subscribing with Globe’s e-load while her father, Roger, was a full-time Globe in-house agent
As the story progressed, Wacky came back to the Philippines to be with Janice. After resolving their problems in the past, they reconciled. As Wacky and Janice got to know each other’s families, they were misled to believe that they have the same biological father.
Standard Presentation of the Series
Each time the series and the gaps start, the title shot is flashed to signal the beginning. Then a recap of the highlights of the past day is shown. There are 5 gaps every night. After the last scene, the Department of Labor standard note that minor actors/actresses secured the necessary working permit is shown. This is followed by teasers of the following episode.
GENERAL REVIEW OF THE TELESERYE’S CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER COMMERCIALS
It is apparent that the major sponsor of Crazy for You is Globe Telecoms. Globe is part of the daily lives of Roger and Melba. Roger is a Globe in-house agent while Melba’s cell phone is a load wallet. Luna and Brix talk to each other using Globe’s video conference services. In one episode, a young man who is one of their neighbors, as evidenced through addressing Janice’s mother as Aling Melba, came and loaded P40.00. Melba was quietly sitting down in their house’s porch, writing on a notebook and wearing house clothes. As the young man was about to leave, he found a one-peso coin and asked Melba if it were possible to load just P1.00. Melba was happy to accommodate his request.
This is a direct promotion of the benefits of being a load wallet. Melba used to be a barangay council so people in the vicinity know her. In the past, people were used to coming to their homes to air their concerns. They were already comfortable talking to her. It was natural for people to go to her home albeit a different purpose.
The Globe commercial is also the first shown after each gap. It has four stories, a man telling his older brother that his wedding will not push through, a brother giving encouragement to his sister, the CPA board passer telling his father, and the new mother telling a grandmother about the newest member of the family. As it is incorporated within the story and is repeated 4 to 5 times in the duration of the teleserye, it is telling me that I need Globe services if I want instant access to communication technologies.
The commercials and the manner Globe services are incorporated in the story make it seem that one does not need to think twice about the amount that will be deducted in one’s cell phone load to avail of Globe services such as voice call and video conference. It is as if it were saying that we need these services to keep in touch with the people we care about.
The irony of Crazy for You advertisements is that they also include Sun Cellular, Smart Communications, and Touch Mobile which are in direct competition with Globe Telecomms. Call me old-fashioned by even big-name stars like Kris Aquino and Aga Muhlach have many endorsements but never of the same kind. For example, Kris Aquino endorses San-san cosmetic products exclusively, Pantene hair products and no other hair product brands, San Miguel Beer products and no other alcoholic drinks. The same is true for Aga Muhlach, Quaker Oatmeals and no other breakfast products, Jollibee and no other food chains, Selecta ice cream and no other ice creams. If they could impose exclusive contracts on celebrity endorsements, maybe TV network executives could figure out a way for one kind of product shown per TV show. All talents in the show do not endorse any cellular phone service provider so there is no point in arguing about it. However, I suppose that this wishful thinking is also shooting for the moon as TV commercials boil down to profit for the network. As presented, in cell phone service providers’ endorsement case, this could mean Crazy for You losing contracts from Sun Cellular, Smart Communications and Touch Mobile.
Review of the October 25 episode
I will focus on the commercialism of working in a call center in the Philippines. In this episode, Janice and Blessy searched for jobs. Janice was lucky to secure two jobs, as a hotel receptionist and as a call center agent. The ease of getting a job as a call center agent and the competitive pay an agent gets upon hiring are common knowledge. To say that their lifestyle is better than most in terms of the brands they use and the overseas travels they enjoy, among others, is a cliché. These are the reasons most college students aim for a job in a call center no matter what course they are taking up. In addition, even professionals who have long work experiences resign and apply as call center agents because the pay is better (Source: http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/call_centers.html).
In my former office, a colleague of mine had a disagreement with his immediate supervisor. When it ended, he filed a resignation letter and left in his anger. We, his concerned friends asked how he would earn his keep. The following week, he informed us that he was hired as a call center agent after a day of application.
In the Philippines, English is the medium of instruction in the classrooms. When I go to night spots with friends, English is the language used by most people everywhere. My freshman high school cousin and his classmates who study at DLS-Zobel are all English-speaking.
I remember back in 2003, a good number of call center companies participated in the DLSU Job Expo. I asked the people who manned the booths why this is so and they told me that Lasallians are at ease speaking in English.
The flourish of the call center industry in the Philippines intensifies the hegemony within the society. If a person speaks English well, s/he is admired. I am awed by a Filipino who speaks with an American and/or British accent. On the other hand, persons who have a hard time speaking English develop inferiority complex because s/he feels that his/her views are not good enough and will be eventually be looked down though they are brilliant because s/he doesn’t know how to express himself/herself well.
Review of the November 9 episode
In the November 9 episode, it was shown that Roger was struggling to decide between robbing the cash register of the company where he works for or not because the family needed a big amount of cash immediately. Eventually, he decides against it. Meanwhile, Janice and Blessy were watching TV and saw the Pera o Bayong portion of the program Wowowee. They decided to join the game as they were watching it. Before they went to the TV studio, they discussed how far they should go in the game. They were still discussing it while they were on their way to the studio to join the game. They agreed that no matter what happens, they would choose the bayong hoping that it would contain the P1,000,000.00 jackpot. They also talked about a backup plan where they would only choose pera when it reached P100,000.00.
In the actual game, Janice was lucky enough to successfully outsmart the other contestants in the elimination round. In the final round, Janice chose the bayong though the P100,000.00 amount was offered. She ended up with the P20,000.00 consolation price. All throughout the game, the only emotion showed on Janice’s face was hopeful desperation. As Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong still runs on TV, this is also part of the commercialism of the show.
The tie-up between Crazy for You and Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong is inevitable. Janice, Blessy, Paolo, Melba, Roger, Gigi and Eduardo were formerly OFW. In Wowowee there is a portion where balikbayans donate dollar bills that are collected in a basket passed around during the show. Who can forget the Wowowee tragedy where 73 people died, many of whom are women and elderly, some of whom lined up outside the studio for as long as 3 days? (Source: http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=584).
In an interview, the show’s host, Willie Revillame, mentioned that Wowowee was envisioned to be a source of hope and money for the poor (Source: http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=65166). In the same article, ABS-CBN’s Vice-President for Entertainment Charo Santos-Concio was asked to react on the issue that the show encouraged mendicancy and dependency on dole outs. She replied by saying,
“The reality today is that there are plenty among our countrymen who are poor,” she said in Filipino. “We only want to give them hope. We're all human, and I think most of us have tried our luck in games of chance. But we are not encouraging mendicancy.”
I suppose, in the minds of the ABS-CBN management, this is the modern version of the bayanihan in the city. Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong provides the needier the venue to count on luck, on occasion, to improve their financial standing. They can always depend on the generosity of the people who enjoy watching Wowowee abroad when they come home to the Philippines. Also, as the sponsors are balikbayans, it is as if the game is saying that one could only afford giving to the needier if one worked abroad. It is as if the teleserye is saying that the status in life of the needier members of our society will not improve because they do not have the capacity to leave the country.
As previously mentioned, Janice’s hopeful desperation is reflective of the general sentiment of the Filipino masses. I suppose if I were as poor as the contestants who join the various Wowowee games, I would be awed by what I would see inside the studio, the well-lit air-conditioned room filled with people who speak well, people who dress well, people who are smart, people who can face anybody at any given time. From the poor’s perspective, their lack would only be emphasized by the things they would see inside the studio.
I suppose if I were as poor as the studio contestants, I would be nervously waiting for my turn to join a game. If I were already participating in the game, I would be as desperate, add this to being star-struck in the face of Willie Revillame, if I were as poor as the contestants. I suppose I would be happy only after the game I joined is over, if I took home even a small amount of money. On the other hand, I would be sad if I weren’t able to get back even the fare I spent in going to the studio. I suppose if I was already at home, dealing with the problems I deal with everyday, my hopeful desperation would only turn into desperation as I was able to experience a few hours inside Wowowee’s studio.
Others might think that Wowowee bridges the gap between the rich and the poor but what it really does it promote the status quo. The well-to-do members of the society are somehow being shown that if you have blessings to share, Wowowee is the venue where you could enjoy departing with your money. Of course, you can only “donate” to Wowowee if you have enough spare cash. So the mentality that is being perpetuated for balikbayans is to work hard abroad so they can help needier Filipinos.
CONCLUSION
As Lumbera said, “It is imperative that one investigates the society in which artistic production takes place, noting how social, political and economic forces contend for hegemony within that society. The student of the arts has to look beyond plain artistic production.”
The integration of Globe services within the story shows what one can do to preserve one's status in life. The teleserye Crazy for You reflected what is happening in the society. In a growing number of Filipino families, members search for the proverbial greener pasture abroad. Commercialism is not exclusively found in the advertisements between the show’s gaps but was incorporated within the story. In the October 25 episode, Janice joined Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong to show that the needier members of the society can depend on luck and the money donated by the balikbayans. However, though Globe Telecomms is a major endorser in the TV series, they cannot even ask the network management to block out all other cell phone service providers. Commercial product managers draw exclusive contracts with their celebrity endorses but this is not applicable with TV networks. This would mean direct losses from them if they imposed one kind of product per TV show.
The commercialism in Crazy for You exhibits the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. It shows the poor that they could join games of luck to improve their financial standing, it shows the balikbayans how and where they could happily share their blessings, and it shows the middle-class the latest trends so they can keep up with the rest of society. Crazy for You is a good venue for media to exhibit the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. Media messages in television are powerful because they are reproduced through imagery, thus, TV is the best medium for commercialism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book
Lumbera, Bienvenido. Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa. Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 2000.
Theses
Russell, Cristel and Barbara Stern. “Modeling Consumption via Parasocial Interactions with Television Soap.” 10 August 2005.
Brava, Muñeca. “Telenovelas and Soap in Latin America.”.
Online Sources
ABS-CBN Interactive. ABS-CBN. December 7, 2006.
Inq7.net. Inquirer. December 7, 2006.
“Call Center in the Philippines.” Living in the Philippines. 07 December 2006.
“Deployed Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers by Destination (New hires and Rehires)” Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). 06 November 2006..
“Wowowee: A Filipino Tragedy.” Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. 04 February 2006 < p="584">.
“2004 Survey on Overseas Filipinos Table.” National Statistics Office (NSO). 15 April 2005..
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Media messages in television are powerful because they are reproduced through imagery, thus, TV is the best medium for commercialism. Crazy for You is a good venue for media to exhibit the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. It shows the poor that they could join games of luck to improve their financial standing, it shows the balikbayans how and where they could happily share their blessings, and it shows the middle-class the latest trends so they can keep up with the rest of society.
In a good number of Filipino families nowadays, the children leave to work offshore as soon as one is already capable of working abroad to take on the role of being the breadwinner, or to help the family stay afloat financially. Crazy for You shows the intricacies of the lives of modern Filipino families where the eldest child of former OFWs take on the role of being the breadwinner by working offshore. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) statistics show that there were 48,089 more Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in 2005 than in 2004 (Source: http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/2005deploment.xls). As for the media, the ABS-CBN news magazine program, The Correspondents, also tackled the lives of OFWs in the episodes Lebanon Diaries ng mg Pinoy, Teknolohiya at Buhay-DH sa Hong Kong, Mga Kwentong Pinoy sa Germany, Kapalaran ng mga Traini-yuki sa Japan. In Crazy for You,
ABS-CBN tries to show how OFWs live as domestic helpers and foreign students in Barcelona, Spain and the issues they face when they return to the Philippines.
In a manner of speaking, Crazy for You was patterned after the koreanovela Lovers in Paris and Only You (Source: http://beta.abs-cbn.com/tabid/71/xmmid/387/Article/1673/program/c4u/xmview/2/Default.aspx) as the lead characters were foreigners in the setting, that is, Filipinos in Barcelona, Spain; Koreans in Paris, France; and in Italy, respectively. Due to this fact, part of Crazy for You showed the main characters sightseeing and enjoying the outdoors, while they were in Barcelona and Ibiza, Spain. In addition to being primarily love stories, all series are not heavy drama anthologies but have light touches of comedy.
In his September 15, 2006 column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nestor Torre reviewed the first three telecasts of Crazy for You. He wrote,
Most of its first telecasts’ scenes focused exclusively on its Filipino characters, so they ended up appearing to live in a cultural vacuum. Manzano does well in the show, but Gonzaga and Pokwang are too ditzy and flighty, acting up a storm for ostensible comic effect. On the brighter side, the new show’s visuals are agreeably perky and varied, so the eye is entertained. (Source: http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=21254)
In real life, Toni Gonzaga, who portrays Janice, the female lead character, is currently
22 years old and Luis Manzano, the male lead character (Wacky) is 26 years old. In the series, Janice, at that age, is tasked with being the breadwinner of the family. This setting actually happens in the modern Filipino family. The most recent National Statistics Office report showed that the most number of OFWs who left in 2004 belong to the age bracket 25-29 (Source: http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/2005/of0402.htm). This clearly demonstrates that between the ages 25 to 29, Filipinos are already tasked with providing for the family. This is the new face of the Filipino family.
I remember that when I belonged to that age group I was starting to earn enough to afford small luxuries on top of my financial obligations. I have always enjoyed watching television and the advertisements shown keep me updated on the latest products out on the market. In fact, there are times when I keep the television on but watch commercials only.
Relevance of the Study
I haven’t read any recent Social Studies textbooks lately but when I was in grade school and high school, the school books I read then stated that the father is the provider of the family. It is the father who works hard so that the family can have all the necessities of everyday life and even the luxuries enjoyed by all. I also remember that back then, at least in the families I knew of, the working son or daughter is expected or even obliged to help financially, but not to the extent of being the breadwinner.
However, in Filipino families nowadays, the parents work hard so they can send their children to college, in most cases, nursing schools. They know that after passing the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), their children will work abroad and be able to finance the entire household’s needs. For the parents who cannot afford to send their children to nursing schools as money is a concern, they work abroad by being domestic helpers.
I could also say that on top of providing the basic necessities such as education and food, OFWs also want their kin to keep up with the latest trends, be it in fashion or gadgets, among other things. In the teleserye, Globe’s services were incorporated in the story, e.g., Melba’s cell phone was a load wallet, Roger was a Globe in-house agent, and a number of characters used cell phones with video conferencing. Other commercials promote vanity so an individual will be accepted in the society, ultimately. Media is powerful because it has wide reach. In television, media messages are reproduced through imagery. It is seen everywhere.
Delimitations of the Study
This paper will review the commercialism in the October 25 episode where Janice was hired as a hotel receptionist by day and as a call center agent by night, and the November 9 episode where Janice joined Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong. It is interesting to note that Crazy for You is aired in ABS-CBN yet most articles written about it are published in the broadsheet Inquirer, which is a partner company of the GMA Network, ABS-CBN’s rival.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In the study Modeling Consumption via Parasocial Interactions with Television Soap Characters (Source: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/default.aspx?id=924), Cristell Russell and Barbara Stern tested a model of the influence of television soap opera characters on viewers’ consumption attitudes and behaviors. They showed the soap opera character’s effect on consumption behaviors both directly and indirectly towards the characters’ consumption.
The paper Telenovelas and Soap in Latin America (Source: http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata131.htm) by Zona Latina proved that the telenovela is an effective advertising vehicle for laundry detergents and other household cleaning products. It concentrated on the commercial aspects of telenovelas and pointed out that they have been instrumental in developing a “national” identity for Latin America countries in terms of self-definition, as well.
This paper will prove that advertisements in the program Crazy for You show us the good life many of us aim for. Crazy for You commercials exhibit that the ideal lifestyle is one where we, as consumers, can keep up with the trends and the rest of society.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In the book Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa, Bienvenido Lumbera said, “The student of the arts has to look beyond plain artistic production. It is imperative that one investigates the society in which artistic production takes place, noting how social, political, and economic forces contend for hegemony within that society. The student ought to take into account the multifarious factors that influence the production of any art work, because he needs an all-around understanding of what the Filipino artist wants when he undertakes creative work and what the Filipino audiences expect from a given work of art.”
Lumbera’s perspective asserts that media content should have social relevance. It should reflect how the dominant classes protect their standing, ways and means. In essence, the role of media is to awaken the people’s awareness as to the condition people influence and interact with one another. As stated, this paper will attest to the fact that even so-called teleserye, which the unsuspecting masses view as pure entertainment is actually a reflection of the existing state of affairs between mass media and the people who view them.
SUMMARY OF THE STORY
Crazy for You was originally about the lives of OFWs in Barcelona, Spain. Janice, is a young woman who works as a day-hire maid to help out her family in the Philippines. Wacky is a student who is the son of former OFWs in Spain. Janice worked for Wacky but never saw him because he was always out whenever she was in. They finally meet at a party and was instantly attracted to each other. Somewhere along the way, Wacky got involved with Sabrina who, later on, couldn’t accept his rejection of her. Ultimately, Sabrina tells the Spanish government about Janice who is an overstaying domestic helper. This led to the deportation of Janice back to Manila.
When Janice went home, she discovered that her father needed an operation that required a big amount of money. Part of what she did to secure the money was to join Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong. Later on in the story, Melba, Janice’s mother, earned her part of her income through subscribing with Globe’s e-load while her father, Roger, was a full-time Globe in-house agent
As the story progressed, Wacky came back to the Philippines to be with Janice. After resolving their problems in the past, they reconciled. As Wacky and Janice got to know each other’s families, they were misled to believe that they have the same biological father.
Standard Presentation of the Series
Each time the series and the gaps start, the title shot is flashed to signal the beginning. Then a recap of the highlights of the past day is shown. There are 5 gaps every night. After the last scene, the Department of Labor standard note that minor actors/actresses secured the necessary working permit is shown. This is followed by teasers of the following episode.
GENERAL REVIEW OF THE TELESERYE’S CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER COMMERCIALS
It is apparent that the major sponsor of Crazy for You is Globe Telecoms. Globe is part of the daily lives of Roger and Melba. Roger is a Globe in-house agent while Melba’s cell phone is a load wallet. Luna and Brix talk to each other using Globe’s video conference services. In one episode, a young man who is one of their neighbors, as evidenced through addressing Janice’s mother as Aling Melba, came and loaded P40.00. Melba was quietly sitting down in their house’s porch, writing on a notebook and wearing house clothes. As the young man was about to leave, he found a one-peso coin and asked Melba if it were possible to load just P1.00. Melba was happy to accommodate his request.
This is a direct promotion of the benefits of being a load wallet. Melba used to be a barangay council so people in the vicinity know her. In the past, people were used to coming to their homes to air their concerns. They were already comfortable talking to her. It was natural for people to go to her home albeit a different purpose.
The Globe commercial is also the first shown after each gap. It has four stories, a man telling his older brother that his wedding will not push through, a brother giving encouragement to his sister, the CPA board passer telling his father, and the new mother telling a grandmother about the newest member of the family. As it is incorporated within the story and is repeated 4 to 5 times in the duration of the teleserye, it is telling me that I need Globe services if I want instant access to communication technologies.
The commercials and the manner Globe services are incorporated in the story make it seem that one does not need to think twice about the amount that will be deducted in one’s cell phone load to avail of Globe services such as voice call and video conference. It is as if it were saying that we need these services to keep in touch with the people we care about.
The irony of Crazy for You advertisements is that they also include Sun Cellular, Smart Communications, and Touch Mobile which are in direct competition with Globe Telecomms. Call me old-fashioned by even big-name stars like Kris Aquino and Aga Muhlach have many endorsements but never of the same kind. For example, Kris Aquino endorses San-san cosmetic products exclusively, Pantene hair products and no other hair product brands, San Miguel Beer products and no other alcoholic drinks. The same is true for Aga Muhlach, Quaker Oatmeals and no other breakfast products, Jollibee and no other food chains, Selecta ice cream and no other ice creams. If they could impose exclusive contracts on celebrity endorsements, maybe TV network executives could figure out a way for one kind of product shown per TV show. All talents in the show do not endorse any cellular phone service provider so there is no point in arguing about it. However, I suppose that this wishful thinking is also shooting for the moon as TV commercials boil down to profit for the network. As presented, in cell phone service providers’ endorsement case, this could mean Crazy for You losing contracts from Sun Cellular, Smart Communications and Touch Mobile.
Review of the October 25 episode
I will focus on the commercialism of working in a call center in the Philippines. In this episode, Janice and Blessy searched for jobs. Janice was lucky to secure two jobs, as a hotel receptionist and as a call center agent. The ease of getting a job as a call center agent and the competitive pay an agent gets upon hiring are common knowledge. To say that their lifestyle is better than most in terms of the brands they use and the overseas travels they enjoy, among others, is a cliché. These are the reasons most college students aim for a job in a call center no matter what course they are taking up. In addition, even professionals who have long work experiences resign and apply as call center agents because the pay is better (Source: http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/call_centers.html).
In my former office, a colleague of mine had a disagreement with his immediate supervisor. When it ended, he filed a resignation letter and left in his anger. We, his concerned friends asked how he would earn his keep. The following week, he informed us that he was hired as a call center agent after a day of application.
In the Philippines, English is the medium of instruction in the classrooms. When I go to night spots with friends, English is the language used by most people everywhere. My freshman high school cousin and his classmates who study at DLS-Zobel are all English-speaking.
I remember back in 2003, a good number of call center companies participated in the DLSU Job Expo. I asked the people who manned the booths why this is so and they told me that Lasallians are at ease speaking in English.
The flourish of the call center industry in the Philippines intensifies the hegemony within the society. If a person speaks English well, s/he is admired. I am awed by a Filipino who speaks with an American and/or British accent. On the other hand, persons who have a hard time speaking English develop inferiority complex because s/he feels that his/her views are not good enough and will be eventually be looked down though they are brilliant because s/he doesn’t know how to express himself/herself well.
Review of the November 9 episode
In the November 9 episode, it was shown that Roger was struggling to decide between robbing the cash register of the company where he works for or not because the family needed a big amount of cash immediately. Eventually, he decides against it. Meanwhile, Janice and Blessy were watching TV and saw the Pera o Bayong portion of the program Wowowee. They decided to join the game as they were watching it. Before they went to the TV studio, they discussed how far they should go in the game. They were still discussing it while they were on their way to the studio to join the game. They agreed that no matter what happens, they would choose the bayong hoping that it would contain the P1,000,000.00 jackpot. They also talked about a backup plan where they would only choose pera when it reached P100,000.00.
In the actual game, Janice was lucky enough to successfully outsmart the other contestants in the elimination round. In the final round, Janice chose the bayong though the P100,000.00 amount was offered. She ended up with the P20,000.00 consolation price. All throughout the game, the only emotion showed on Janice’s face was hopeful desperation. As Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong still runs on TV, this is also part of the commercialism of the show.
The tie-up between Crazy for You and Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong is inevitable. Janice, Blessy, Paolo, Melba, Roger, Gigi and Eduardo were formerly OFW. In Wowowee there is a portion where balikbayans donate dollar bills that are collected in a basket passed around during the show. Who can forget the Wowowee tragedy where 73 people died, many of whom are women and elderly, some of whom lined up outside the studio for as long as 3 days? (Source: http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=584).
In an interview, the show’s host, Willie Revillame, mentioned that Wowowee was envisioned to be a source of hope and money for the poor (Source: http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=65166). In the same article, ABS-CBN’s Vice-President for Entertainment Charo Santos-Concio was asked to react on the issue that the show encouraged mendicancy and dependency on dole outs. She replied by saying,
“The reality today is that there are plenty among our countrymen who are poor,” she said in Filipino. “We only want to give them hope. We're all human, and I think most of us have tried our luck in games of chance. But we are not encouraging mendicancy.”
I suppose, in the minds of the ABS-CBN management, this is the modern version of the bayanihan in the city. Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong provides the needier the venue to count on luck, on occasion, to improve their financial standing. They can always depend on the generosity of the people who enjoy watching Wowowee abroad when they come home to the Philippines. Also, as the sponsors are balikbayans, it is as if the game is saying that one could only afford giving to the needier if one worked abroad. It is as if the teleserye is saying that the status in life of the needier members of our society will not improve because they do not have the capacity to leave the country.
As previously mentioned, Janice’s hopeful desperation is reflective of the general sentiment of the Filipino masses. I suppose if I were as poor as the contestants who join the various Wowowee games, I would be awed by what I would see inside the studio, the well-lit air-conditioned room filled with people who speak well, people who dress well, people who are smart, people who can face anybody at any given time. From the poor’s perspective, their lack would only be emphasized by the things they would see inside the studio.
I suppose if I were as poor as the studio contestants, I would be nervously waiting for my turn to join a game. If I were already participating in the game, I would be as desperate, add this to being star-struck in the face of Willie Revillame, if I were as poor as the contestants. I suppose I would be happy only after the game I joined is over, if I took home even a small amount of money. On the other hand, I would be sad if I weren’t able to get back even the fare I spent in going to the studio. I suppose if I was already at home, dealing with the problems I deal with everyday, my hopeful desperation would only turn into desperation as I was able to experience a few hours inside Wowowee’s studio.
Others might think that Wowowee bridges the gap between the rich and the poor but what it really does it promote the status quo. The well-to-do members of the society are somehow being shown that if you have blessings to share, Wowowee is the venue where you could enjoy departing with your money. Of course, you can only “donate” to Wowowee if you have enough spare cash. So the mentality that is being perpetuated for balikbayans is to work hard abroad so they can help needier Filipinos.
CONCLUSION
As Lumbera said, “It is imperative that one investigates the society in which artistic production takes place, noting how social, political and economic forces contend for hegemony within that society. The student of the arts has to look beyond plain artistic production.”
The integration of Globe services within the story shows what one can do to preserve one's status in life. The teleserye Crazy for You reflected what is happening in the society. In a growing number of Filipino families, members search for the proverbial greener pasture abroad. Commercialism is not exclusively found in the advertisements between the show’s gaps but was incorporated within the story. In the October 25 episode, Janice joined Wowowee’s Pera o Bayong to show that the needier members of the society can depend on luck and the money donated by the balikbayans. However, though Globe Telecomms is a major endorser in the TV series, they cannot even ask the network management to block out all other cell phone service providers. Commercial product managers draw exclusive contracts with their celebrity endorses but this is not applicable with TV networks. This would mean direct losses from them if they imposed one kind of product per TV show.
The commercialism in Crazy for You exhibits the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. It shows the poor that they could join games of luck to improve their financial standing, it shows the balikbayans how and where they could happily share their blessings, and it shows the middle-class the latest trends so they can keep up with the rest of society. Crazy for You is a good venue for media to exhibit the lifestyle one could aim or work for in life. Media messages in television are powerful because they are reproduced through imagery, thus, TV is the best medium for commercialism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book
Lumbera, Bienvenido. Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa. Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 2000.
Theses
Russell, Cristel and Barbara Stern. “Modeling Consumption via Parasocial Interactions with Television Soap.” 10 August 2005
Brava, Muñeca. “Telenovelas and Soap in Latin America.”
Online Sources
ABS-CBN Interactive. ABS-CBN. December 7, 2006
Inq7.net. Inquirer. December 7, 2006
“Call Center in the Philippines.” Living in the Philippines. 07 December 2006
“Deployed Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers by Destination (New hires and Rehires)” Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). 06 November 2006.
“Wowowee: A Filipino Tragedy.” Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. 04 February 2006 < p="584">.
“2004 Survey on Overseas Filipinos Table.” National Statistics Office (NSO). 15 April 2005.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
My First Trip to Mindanao
In October 3-7, I was on vacation from Tuesday to Saturday. I went to Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin with officemates. I am blest to have friends who are fond of going on low-budget out-of-town trips.
I called Brian’s cell phone at around 3:15 am so as not to disturb the entire household with the doorbell. He was still taking a bath. His brothers prepared breakfast for me, donut and milk. We left their house at around 3:45 am to catch our 5:15 am flight to Cagayan de Oro. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. As expected, there was a long queue of people trying to check in. Apparently, the lady in the counter with a very soft voice was through calling out passengers bound to Cagayan and we didn’t hear it so when it was our turn to check in, she turned us down. She argued for a while but later on attended to our tickets.
We did all the touristy things expected of first-timers in a place. We saw the
The highlight of the trip was the canopy walk-zipline-white water rafting activities. I still can’t believe I was able to do all three because they involved the two things I feared most, heights and deep water. The guide in the canopy walk and zipline wasn’t much help. He just kept on telling jokes that I’m sure were so old and NOT true but made me fear for my life, nevertheless. It is ironic that they named it canopy walk because there were really three suspension bridges that were so high above the ground, at least by my standards.
I was able to laugh a little about myself when it came to the zipline. I was placed on a secure harness while the guide tested by letting go of his hold on it. Instead of going down like my friends, I actually floated in the air because I was so light. They all teased me that I might stop in the middle of the line because my weight would not be enough to sustain the speed I needed to reach the other end. As the activity was video-taped, I told them that they might as well expect to see me with my eyes tightly shut. Was I proven wrong! As the wind blew on my face, I cherished the 15 second or so trip with my eyes wide open. It is something I’d love to do again.
As with the canopy walk and zipline, the white water rafting wasn’t that scary at all. I have long ago learned that the key to all rides, e.g., roller coaster, loops, etc., is to let my body go with the flow and the rhythm of the ride, not to fight it with all my might. I was even bold enough to take the front seat where there was no place to lock my foot to prevent me from being overthrown from the raft. The waves of the river pushed the water up and took care of my security, so to speak.
Another part which is very memorable to me was the food. I told my friends that this is the first time I recall buying food to bring home from vacation. I loved the pastel (Camiguin’s signature bread), Iligan’s roasted peanuts and Cagayan de Oro’s fruit pie. They were all so yummy!!!
As with any other trip, what made the experience special was the new friend I gained. She was so sweet.
Friday, September 08, 2006
The Center’s Continuing Legacy: The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism throughout the Years
The Center’s Continuing Legacy:
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism throughout the Years
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism throughout the Years
I distinctly recall a class in our Development Journalism subject in college where our professor asked what kind of journalism we wanted to practice. My reply was investigative journalism. This arose from reading detective stories from grade school until high school like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Perry Mason, and seeing legal drama series, such as LA Law, and even re-runs of Matlock. I remember that I was always amazed by the logic and meticulous manner they solved the different cases. I never really thought of being a detective or lady cop but I have always been fascinated by the manner the issues are solved by inquisitive minds that unravel evidences in search of the truth.
Little did I know that this simple thought which entered my mind as a teenager has actually been institutionalized through a research paper written by Honorable Rigoberto D. Tiglao (“Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff” Office of the Republic of the Philippines President Web Site. 26 August 2006
<>) gave birth to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) in 1989 together with his colleagues who are all well-respected Filipino journalists. They are Sheila Coronel, Beting Laygo-Dolor, Malou Mangahas, Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, Howie Severino and David Celdran.
To date, PCIJ has published over 180 articles in major Philippine newspapers and magazines, produced five (5) full-length documentaries and launched more than 20 books about politics & government, journalism & media, the environment, women and special interests. PCIJ’s catchy slogan tells it all: “We tell it like it is… No matter who… No matter what… Journalism with an Impact”
We tell it like it is…
“The PCIJ is unique because of its special focus on investigative journalism. Our organization is funded by a combination of grants, revenues and contributions from individual supporters. Our funding structure allows us to be independent because we are beholden neither to media owners nor to advertisers nor even to grant-giving organizations (the diversity of our funding base allows us to choose the projects we want to do with donors and to set our own terms with them). We are, however, accountable to our board and ultimately, to our readers,” says Sheila Coronel, PCIJ Director (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 26 August 2006 < p="4">).
Last year, the Center published the article Health Politics Demoralizes Doctors (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 24 May 2005
As far back as 1997, PCIJ published a guide book, Uncovering the Beat: The Real-world Guide to Reporting on Government (Corotan, Gemma Luz, et. al. Manila: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 1997). In journalism terms, a beat applies to a special area assigned to reporters (Ramirez, Jaime B. Philippine Journalism Handbook. Caloocan City: National Book Store. 1989. 581). It could be an area, e.g., CAMANAVA (CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas, VAlenzuela), or a government office, e.g., the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). In the book’s Foreword, it mentions the specific objective which is “to aid harassed journalists being sent out to the beat and made to report on key issues and crucial events, often with scarce preparation” (Corotan, Gemma Luz, et. al. Foreword. Manila: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 1997. vii.). The book is divided into eight (8) chapters: Law Enforcement, The Courts, Congress, The Presidency, The Economy, The Environment, Education and Health. These are the beats where most of the biggest news regularly originate.
The most striking subtitle within the book is Looking for Pork in the Congress. The book says that “looking for congressional ‘pork’ is done much the same way that one searches for food: by following its aroma and uncovering the pots that may contain it.” The book posts pertinent questions such as “Does any of this amount go directly to the legislators?,” “Is the ‘pork barrel’ always a bad thing?” and even the meanings of the pork’s fancy names. All questions were answered with clear explanations.
No Matter Who...
With the number of newspapers, magazines and tabloids out in the market, publishers strive to make titles of articles as catchy as possible. A publication may have exclusive coverage about a topic that may appeal to the general reading public yet it may not sell much because when it is placed beside other reading materials, it may not “look and sound” as interesting.
In keeping with the Center’s vision to be a catalyst for consensus that would redound to the promotion of public welfare, PCIJ published the book The Child with a Fish for a Twin (Or How not to Write about Children) (Balgos, Cecile. Manila: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 2001.). The title is deliberately unorthodox to arouse interest on an otherwise uncontroversial yet important issue, the plight of Filipino children. “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa sa kinabukasan,” goes the cliché. It is ironic how little attention is given to children by the media and the government alike.
The United Nations’ most recent statistics (“United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals Indicators.” United Nations in the Philippines. 26 August 2006
The limited time allotted in gathering data and writing the story means less quality interviews and field research which results to inaccurate news reports. In addition, the primary source of information, the children, are shy and afraid of strangers. To urge the readers who will access the book to spring into action and to be actively involved in improving the living conditions of the children, the book has a directory of government agencies, local and international non-government organizations (NGOs) which they can approach to report injustice committed against children. It also has selected definitions and statistics to further explain terminologies used in the book.
No Matter What...
PCIJ will always be associated with serious, hard-hitting reports which “promote investigative reporting on current issues in the Philippine society.” In addition, it also contributes to promote investigative reporting on “matters of large public interest.” Taking the Filipino culture into account, how Filipinos enjoy a good laugh even through trying times, PCIJ also published Joke ni Erap: A Jokebook to Support Serious Journalism (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Manila: PCIJ, 1999.).
This book was in addition to deposed President Erap Estrada’s Eraption series which he published during the 1998 presidential election campaign period. Joke ni Erap is a product of global exchange. The accessibility of cyberspace is a good medium for all Pinoys dispersed around the world to unite in noisy humor. On its cover, Joke ni Erap irreverently pointed at both Erap and the decorative head of the carabao in front of the passenger jeep and labeled both as Father of Carabao English. Another line printed on the cover is “A Lady without a Lover is like a Joke without Erapsyon.” This is a direct jest to the common knowledge about Erap’s numerous “wives.” The Foreword of the book is aptly entitled “Why a Jokebook?” Its simple reply is “Why not? When all else fails – even this attempt at an introduction – we can always laugh.”
Journalism with an Impact
One political issue that stands out in my mind is the PEA-Amari scam which marred then President Fidel V. Ramos’ credibility. PCIJ’s report PEA-Amari: The Grandmother of all Scams (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 26 August 2006
The key person in the transaction, Justiniano “Bobby” Montano IV is described as an aging playboy named after his grandfather, the strongman who held Cavite in thrall from the 1940s to the 1960. A certain Benito Cuevo is depicted as a cagey, nondescript man in his late 60s… a seedy character. Cuevo owns the International Merchandising and Development Corp., a trading company through which some of the Amari commissions were coursed.
While the report mentioned that it was unfortunate the Senate investigation did not pursue President Ramos’ possible role, it also said that it was clear from the Senate hearings that Malacañang’s blessings went a long way in ensuring the deal’s approval. To substantiate its report, the Center was able to quote Senator Franklin Drilon, Chair of the Senate blue ribbon which investigated the deal. He said, “It’s possible DOJ Secretary Teofisto Guingona, Jr. saw the President’s approval in writing and felt he had to sustain the President’s approval.”
President Ramos was not the only Philippine president who was exposed by the PCIJ. In 2000, the Center published a series of astounding reports about then President Erap Estrada’s close to P1 billion worth of land and houses in some of Metro Manila’s poshest and most exclusive districts. They are entitled, The State of the President’s Finances: Can Erap Explain his Wealth? (July 24-25), The Estrada’s Three Dozen Houses: First Family’s Firm Flouts the Law (August 21-22) and Estrada’s Fronts: Cronies and Attorneys (October 23).
In the article The State of the President’s Finances (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 26 August 2006
The Estrada’s Three Dozen Houses (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 26 August 2006
The article Estrada’s Fronts: Cronies and Attorneys (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Online. 26 August 2006
This series of articles is consistently cited in broadsheet and online publications as the start of the downfall of Estrada’s administration. The top major daily, Philippine Daily Inquirer, was urged to create the Web site Bad Times: Estrada under Siege (http://www.inq7.net/jueteng/) on October, 2000 to gather all published materials about the topic in one site.
The Consequences
As the Center believes that the media should be a catalyst for social debate and consensus by providing the bases for arriving at informed opinions and decisions, it went a step further, shared research techniques and tips on accessing information to its Web viewers. PCIJ equips the citizenry with a channel where they can exchange information and insights through a blog it aptly calls Inside PCIJ. A blog is a Web site that provides a venue for commentaries or news and information about a particular subject (Wikipedia. 26 August 2006
The most commented topic is Palawan Radio Journalist Killed (Inside PCIJ. 22 May 2006
No matter how well-researched and documented articles are, people mentioned within them find ways to stop the Center. On November 5, 2005, the Philippine Daily Inquirer posted on its front page Court Orders 'Libelous' Item Deleted from PCIJ Website. The article is about the stand-off between the controversial “Hello, Garci” digital audio engineer Jonathan Tiongco and the PCIJ. The Center received the first legal action and first temporary restraining order (TRO) issued against a blog in the Philippines. In April, 2006, The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (Center for Media Freedom Online 26 August 2006
We tell it like it is… No matter who… No matter what… Journalism with an Impact
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism is able to publish hard-hitting articles because its funding is beholden neither to media owners nor advertisers. The Center is able to maintain its credibility and to hold the interest of the reading and viewing public about an issue because reports cite specific cases together with the complete names of people involved. It also urges the citizenry to be actively involved as it collates and presents pertinent information about offices and organizations that are handling specific cases. Mass media has the power to arouse the interest of the public regarding a topic which may be of national importance yet considered to have little appeal depending on the presentation of the subject matter.
Journalism with an impact means opening the minds of the people to questioning the state of affairs of the nation. The Center even went as far as sharing coverage techniques so the public can be involved in searching for the truth and not passively accepting reports seen on the television, heard on the radio or read in the papers. As a result, the boundaries of the role of the media were pushed to provide the venue where opinions may be exchanged. This should still be responsibly regulated by the owners of the forum, however, so as not to lose sight of the original focus. As new ways of expressing opinions are introduced, some legal boundaries may be tested. These are all consequences of searching for the truth by the inquisitive minds that are presented with fascinating evidences.
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