mGa KuRo-KuRo Ni Ka UrO

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Hirap mag-ispits

It happened to me twice. First time during a speech last year in Megamall in front of members of Pinoys2NZ. Then yesterday again in another meeting while I was talking about the difficulties we experienced during our first weeks in NZ. It’s not really stage-fright. I don’t think so. Because if the subject matter is something technical or something happy, I'm fine. But if the subject matter is something dear to my heart like my family, my parents, love of country, friendships, I become overwhelmed by my emotions.

When I talk about sentimental topics, I become emotional that I find it very hard to let words out of my mouth. Kahit nga binabasa ko na speech ko, ayaw pa rin lumabas ng mga salita. Hindi naman ako kinakabahan but I start to get teary-eyed and my lips tremble na parang tuluyan akong maiiyak. I only experience that though when I’m talking in public. Many times, I rehearse my speech in my mind and never felt emotional at all.

Bakit kaya? Hindi naman ako iyakin na tao. Although, I’ld admit sentimental din ako. Gawa kaya nang kapapanood ng mga pelikula nila Aga, Claudine, Piolo, Regine, Kristine, at Juday? Dapat siguro, ibahin na ang mga pelikulang pinapanood ko. Isalang ko kaya ulit yung mga dibidi ni da King nang tumigas ang aking loob? O mas maganda pa siguro kung tigilan na ang kaka-ispits at mag-blog na lang? Anong suggestions niyo mga kablogkada?

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Tagay ni Bigdaddi

Rules: List of seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre. Whether or not they have words or even if they're any good, they must be the songs you enjoy right now. Post this instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs then tag 7 people and see what they are listening to.

Heto ang aking listahan. Puro luma. What would you expect?

1. Here Comes the Sun ni George Harrison
Peborit ko yung live version kung saan kasama ni George si Eric Clapton at Ringo Starr.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Little darlin' it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darlin' it feels like years since it's been here

2. Lovin’ You ni Minne Ripperton
This brings back kilig memories nung high school ako. Yung mga perslab at mga pers dance.

Lovin' you is easy cause you're beautiful
Makin' love with you is all i wanna do
Lovin' you is more than just a dream come true
And everything that i do is out of lovin' you
La la la la la la la... do do do do do

3. Southern Man ni Neil Young.
Yung live version na kasama si Crosby, Stills and Nash at 15 minutes yata ang haba. Pampagising ko ito kapag inaantok habang nagdra-drive.

Southern man
better keep your head
Don't forget
what your good book said
Southern change
gonna come at last
Now your crosses
are burning fast
Southern man

4. Both Sides Now ni Joni Mitchell
Kinanta rin ito ni Mega, pero iba ang dating nung original. Isa rin ito sa mga songs sa movie Love Actually na aking nagustuhan.

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the
air
And feather canyons ev’rywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way

5. How Can I Tell You, kinanta ni Lani Hall. Lyrics naman ni Cat Stevens
Hay, kakain-love.

How can I tell you that I love you, I love you
But I
can’t think of right words to say
I long to tell you that I’m always
thinking of you
I’m always thinking of you, but my words
Just blow away,
just blow away
It always ends up to one thing, honey
And I can’t think
of right words to say

6. Say You Love Me by Patti Austin
Isa pang pampain-love.

Don't you know that I want to be more than just your friend
Holdin' hands is fine, but I've got better things on my mind
You know it could happen if you'd only see me in a different light
Maybe when we finally get together, you will see that I was right

7. Muli ni Ramon Jacinto.
Brings back memories of DZRJ and Pinoy Rock during its infancy years - sina Pepe Smith, Wally Gonzalez, Mike Hanapol... Op kors you probably haven't heard of them. Mga kasing idad ng Rolling Stones kasi.

Sinasabi ko sa 'yo
Na wala kong daramdamin
Kung ikaw ay lumayo
At hindi na ako mahalin
Sa paghulog ng luha
Ako ngayon ang may dusa ...

Now, ipasa ko naman ang tagay sa mga sumusunod. Kiwinoy, T2 Onit, Felix J, Atoy, Donald, Royce, Tanggerz.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone - Anthony Burgess

Medyo papalamig na dito ngayon sa Southern Hemisphere. Hindi pa naman malamig na malamig. Para lang nasa Baguio ka lalo na sa gabi. Kaya sa pagtulog kailangan makapal na kumot na ang gamit. Kadalasan gamit dito yung tinatawag nilang “duvet”. Sa Tate naman tawag nila dito “comforter”.

Sa mga bagong dating sa NZ o mga nagbabalak pa lang pumarito, may tips ako sa inyo sa pagbili at paggamit ng duvet. Kung bibili kayo ng duvet, bilhin niyo yung mas malaki kesa sa size ng inyong bed. Halimbawa, kung queen size ang bed niyo, bilhin niyong duvet yung king size para may allowance at hindi lumabas ang paa o ano man parte ng inyong katawan kung sakaling maghilaan kayo ni esmi.

Ang isa pang rason kung bakit mas maganda ang mas malaking divet ay para mai-fold mo ang upper part ng duvet katulad ng nasa larawang ito.

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By folding the upper part it’s like having two blankets over your upper body. Sleep well, good night and don’t let the bed bugs bite. Ngork! Ngork!

Monday, April 10, 2006

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations - Edward De Bono

Dearest KU,

Mahigit 2 months na kami dito. Maswerte naman po kami at sa tulong ng mga relatives namin dito nakakuha agad kami ng mga trabaho kahit hindi related sa aming background. Okay lang naman, at least may kinikita pambayad ng bills at makakuha ng local experience. Pero lately, medyo depress kami, feeling disappointed siguro dahil mataas ang expectations namin. Parang gusto na nga namin bumalik na lang sa Pilipinas. Gusto ko sanang humingi sa inyo ng advice kung ano ang dapat namin gawin.

Mrs. Dazed and Confused


Dear Mrs. Dazed and Confused,

I can only guess that your disappointments are mainly caused by the fact that you and your husband haven’t found your ideal or preferred jobs yet. Yung mga trabaho niyo ngayon ibang iba sa dati ninyong mga work sa atin. Ang mga posisyon mababa sa ini-expect ninyo considering your previous education and work experience. Malamang bago kayo pumunta dito, nasa-isip ninyo na madali kayong makakakuha ng trabaho na katulad ng dati ninyong work. Sa dati ninyong work maaaring mataas na ang inyong mga posisyon. Maaaring managers na kayo o kundi man may mga tauhan na kayo na under sa inyo. May mga taong tumutingala na sa inyo at tumatawag sa inyong Boss, Sir o Mam. Hence mataas na rin expectations niyo.

That impression of easily finding a preferred job, na maguunahan ang mga employers to hire you, may have been perpetuated by your relatives here in order to convince you to migrate to NZ. Don’t blame them for giving you that slightly incorrect impression. Their only desire was for you to live close to them and because in their hearts they know you’ll have a better future here. Also if they ever gave you that impression, they are not totally wrong. For eventually you would find the job that you really want. It just takes a bit of time.

Nung grumadweyt kayo sa college at magsimulang mag-trabaho, mataas ba kaagad ang posisyon ninyo? Hindi di ba? You had to start from below and slowly go up. It took years to go up the ladder. The same here in NZ. All your prior work experiences and masteral degrees if not gained in NZ are not worth anything unless you’ve proven their value. You first have to gain the respect of NZ employers for them to trust your qualifications. You have to give them time, just as you give yourself time.

I remember when I first started here. I started as a junior programmer kahit naging manager na ako sa Pinas at may US work experience pa ako. But I didn’t mind kahit junior programmer lang ako. Lalo kong ginalingan. After a year, nakita ng employer ko ang aking kakayahaan and it was only then that my employer had a second look at my previous experiences and gave me a promotion. Nalaktawan ko ang mga nagmamagaling lamang.

Marami akong kilalang doctors, lawyers, CPAs, dentists, engineers, office managers who came here and initially got disillusioned because they couldn’t land the jobs they wanted. They ended up as taxi drivers, dental assistants, phlebotomists, accounting and office clerks, janitors, casino card dealers. Everyday they go to work, they're ordered by supervisors younger than them, have lower education than them (yung iba HS grad lang), have less experience than them. At times that could be humiliating.

Sa bahay naman, dati-rati sa Pinas may sasalubong na maid para kunin ang mga gamit mo sa kotche. Uupo ka na lang sa hapag kainan para kumain, tapos manonood ng TV at magpapahinga. Ngayon pag-uwi mo kailangan mo munang magluto, pagkatapos magluto at kumain, magligpit at maghugas ng pinagkainan. Habang nagpapahinga pinapaandar ang washing machine o dryer. Habang nanonood ng TV, namamalantsa. It’s a totally different lifestyle. Napapaisip ka if it is worth it. Minsan may mga napapaiyak because of self-pity.

Ano pwede nating gawin para hindi ma-disillusion o magkaroon ng self-pity?

The first thing you have to learn is to unlearn. You have to unlearn most of the things you’ve been accustomed to. You are in a new place, think of it as starting out from scratch. Kalimutan mo ang mga matataas na expectations mo because it’s a different ball game. The rules are different.

For example, if your profession is one that requires certification, it means you won’t be able to practice your profession here until you successfully sit a certification exam. The first challenge for you if you really are keen in practicing your profession is to pass that exam. There is no short cut to it. Period. You cannot expect NZ to adapt to your demands and way of thinking, you have to adapt to theirs. The sooner you realize this, the sooner and easier you’ll be able to adjust.

My last comment is with regards to self-pity. Here in NZ, there is no humiliation in doing house work. There is no stigma in being called under-the-saya. Mahirap ang magluto, maglaba, magsampay, mamlantsa, maglinis ng bahay at toilets. But if you think of them not as sacrifices but as a labor of love, then you can be proud of your achievements.


Have faith,
K U


Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Many attend school to seek knowledge, yet very few find wisdom

Driving around the city one day, I saw a sign to one of the schools here – Auckland Normal Intermediate School. It made me recall the countless number of times I’ve passed by Philippine Normal College in Taft Avenue when I was still working in Intramuros. Back then everytime I passed by the PNC campus I can’t help make prying glances towards their students. Inaalam ko kasi kung gaano nga sila ka-“normal”. Hangga ngayon hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano meron ang isang “normal” school. Bawal bang pumasok sa PNC ang mga may sayad sa utak o may disability?

Paki-explain naman kung ano ang Normal school. Tagal ko nang gustong itanong ito eh. Minsan kasi may mga ordinaryong bagay na hindi natin naiiintindihan at nahihiya tayong magtanong dahil baka tayo pagtawanan. Halimbawa yung school na Don Bosco (my HS alma mater, btw), ang akala ng marami pangalan ito ng isang mayamang Don. Actually “Don” stands for “Father”. Don Bosco was founded by St. John Bosco, an Italian priest who also founded the Salesian Order of priesthood.

Incidentally, nung high school ako, muntik-muntik na akong pumasok sa pagpapari. But that’s another story for another day. For today, what I’ld really like to say is that there is no shame in admiting that you don’t know something. Kahit nung nagtuturo ako sa college I was never afraid to say “sorry class I don’t know” (sundan ng “that’s your homework, find the answer to your question” hehe). But seriously, in life it's impossible to know everything. And we should not pretend to know everything either. Ika nga ni Grasshopper: “seek not to know all the answers but to understand the questions.”


 
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