A Few Things I love About Pinoys/Being Pinay

1. In the face of seemingly insurmountable trials and difficult circumstances, our sense of humor and love of laughter don't diminish. Together, they are the shadow of the Filipino. Go to the airport and see how Pinoys handle the security measures --- with a lot of chuckles and corny jokes.

2. "Kain po tayo" Translate this into English and you lose all the warmth, love and care that's packed into those three words. And if you're not familiar with Filipino nuances, you might take the invitation seriously when you're not supposed to and some poor Pinoy goes a little hungrier.

3. We know how to have fun! That's not just me talking, that's my American friends too. Just look at the plethora of colorful fiestas and celebrations around our archipelego. There is always a party somewhere and it's seldom quiet and you'll be hard-pressed to stick to your diet. Last year, our Filipino-packed house in Miami was the only one in the entire block making noise on New Year's Eve.

4. If you have Pinoys waiting in line for more than fifteen minutes or stuck together in a jeep in our infamous rush-hour traffic, you will find them chatting with each other. On the shuttle ride I take everyday to and from work, I have gotten to know people well enough during traffic to ask about their kids/spouse/work the next day we see each other.

5. When we meet another Pinoy/Pinay abroad, we go a little crazy! We're just so happy to meet a kababayan that we hug, we eat lunch together, and we talk and talk and talk --- even if we were total strangers to begin with. Plus, you don;t have to worry you'll miss out on this experience because wherever you go in the world, there's a Pinoy there for sure. If we weren't such nice people, we could have implemented a world domination scheme by now. Nyahahaha!

6. We're big on family. We have big families. Family for us consists not just our immediate family but grandparents (and not just your parents' parents), aunts (and their husbands and their husbands' siblings and...), uncles (and their wives and their wives' siblings and...), cousins (first, second, sometimes even third), nieces, nephews, inaanaks... You get the idea. Plan a small, intimate wedding where only family and friends will attend and you'll still have a big wedding in reality because just one family means at least 50 guests already! If two Pinoys get married, it an even longer guest list without even counting close friends.

7. I love how we use unlimited text messaging to greet everyone in our phonebook "Gandang umaga po!". Haha...

Gandang gabi po!

Yey! A Post! (Also read: Pathetic Attempt to Update Blog)

Getting your first paycheck is quite the rollercoaster of emotions. Or is it just me and my warehouse stocked with emotions? Okay, getting MY first REAL paycheck had all the ups and downs and all arounds of a theme park ride.

First, there was the understated text message from a fellow trainee. "Chek ATM. Erly sweldo ntin." I read the text message, looked at my cousin over an emty plate of cake crumbs and scream: "I have money to buy more cake!!! Or coffee. For that matter anything we wanna eat today!!!"

Then there was the mad rush to find a BPI ATM. They are like kabute most of the time but never seem to be grow near you when you actually need to have cash sprigatti. We walk in the crazy heat and by the time we spot one, we could have hurled ourselves against the wall and we would have stuck.

But I forgot my amoy-pawis parfum the moment the machine spit out a receipt. I had cash! Cash I earned! First ever salary! Hah! There was some dancing involved. All the movement probably precipitated thoughts in my brain. I stare at the little slip of paper I was dancing about. What?! Laki naman ng tax/SSS/Philhealth ko!!! Wah! I stopped dancing.

Brains whirled with quick calculations for budget. Momentary joy when I realized I can live comfortably and have a some left for savings. Plunged into panic when I remember that this is God's salary more than it is mine. Tithes!!! Oh my... Okay. Redid calculations. At the end of it all, I'm so grateful Mom is still giving me money for rent. I reminded and still remind myself not to panic too much about how I'll survive five months from now when Mom cuts the rent support. Just save like crazy and curb the comforts (read: comfort food and comfort shoe shopping).

Okay. I can do this. I can. I will survive until the next payday. Hopefully, it'll be early again. Hehe.