Ways To Know You Are A Filipino

I found this while browsing the Internet and I think it's really funny while somehow informative. Enjoy!


Ways To Know You Are A Filipino

1. You point with your lips
2. You nod upwards to greet someone.
3. You collect items from hotels or restaurants "for souvenir".
4. You smile for no reason.
5. You flirt by having a foolish grin in your face while raising your eyebrows repeatedly.
6. You go to a department store and try to bargain the prices.
7. You add an unwarranted "H" to your name, i.e. "Jhun," "Bhoy," "Rhon."
8. You put your hands together in front of you as if to make a path and say "excuse, excuse" when you pass in between people or in front of the TV
9. You like everything imported or "state-side."
10. You Check the labels on clothes to see where it was made before buying.
11. You always offer food to all your visitors.
12. You say "comfort room" instead of "bathroom."
13. You say "for take out" instead of "to go."
14. You asked for "Colgate" instead of "toothpaste."
15. You asked for a "pentel-pen" or a "ball-pen" instead of just "pen."
16. You order a McDonald's instead of "hamburger"(pronounc ed ham-boor-jer)
17. You say "Ha?" instead of "What."
18. You say "Hoy" to get someone's attention.
19. You answer when someone yells "Hoy."
20. You turn around when someone says "Psst!"
21. Your sneeze sounds like "ahh-ching" instead of "ahh-choo."
22. You prefer to make acronyms for phrases such as "OA" for over acting, or "TNT" for, well, you know.
23. You say "air con" instead of "a/c" or air conditioner.
24. You say "brown-out" instead of "black-out."
25. You have a portrait of "The Last Supper" hanging in your dining room.
26. You own a Karaoke System.
27. You own a piano that no one ever plays.
28. You own a "barrel man" (you pull up the barrel and you see something that looks familiar. schwing...)
29. You refer to your VCR as a "beytamax
30. You have a giant wooden fork and spoon hanging somewhere in the dining room
31. Your car has too many "burloloys" like a Jipneys back in P.I.
32. You hang a Rosary on your car's rear view mirror.
33. You order a "soft drink" instead of a "soda."
34. You refer to seasonings and all other forms of monosodium glutimate as "Ajinomoto"
35. This you 'll agree 100% ... Goldilocks" means more to you than just a character in a fairytale.

Enrile fumes over lost phone load

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=472052&publicationSubCategoryId=68

I had the same problem like this when I was a prepaid subscriber. I thank the good Senator Enrile for bringing up this issue in the Senate and I hope that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will do something about this and will not be forgotten in a few months. This has been a long problem with this telecommunications company and the public has been suffering long enough regarding this exploitation and NTC haven't done anything.

It might be a blessing in disguise that Sen. Enrile was victimized by this scam because this won't be brought up if it didn't happen to him or to any public official. I'm hoping that he has the political will to pursue this case, just like what he did with the PPA of Meralco.

NTC should protect us consumers from scams like this from the 3 telcos. There were several instances when my 12 year old brother complains about his prepaid load because he lose it in a couple of minutes after loading up P30. These Telcos deserve to be punished with the full force of law.

This is long overdue. Ordinary people have suffered so much, being robbed with their hard-earned money. I hope this matter would have an early & effective resolution.

New American Idol

It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy lately and I also started my sports blog (http://sportslang.blogspot.com) last May 17, 2009.

Last night, I wasn't able to go to work because of tonsillitis. It had an opportunity to watch TV all night. During a commercial break of the basketball game I'm watching (Alaska Aces & Talk N' Text), I saw part of the finale of American Idol. A lot of people are voting for Adam Lambert to win it and Kris Allen has a small chance of winning it.

After opening my homepage, I saw this news from yahoo.com and I'm really surprised that Allen won. Congratulations to him. He was really great when I saw him during the finale.

Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all mothers especially my wife and mom.

My First Driver License

I got my first driver's license yesterday. It's just a Student Permit since this is my first time to get one. I got it from LTO - Las Piñas in less than one hour with no fixers help.

Here's the list of the requirements in case you wanted to get one:

1. Duly accomplished application form
2. Photocopy of NSO authenticated Birth Certificate
3. A document or ID that shows your TIN (in my case, I brought my ITR for last year)
4. Photocopy of valid ID

You can download the application form from LTO's website or get one from the first window. Make sure to bring a pen that you can use to fill out the application form. You really have to bring a document or ID that bears your TIN because they will not accept if you just wrote it down.

And the process of getting the license is so easy. Here's a simple guide:

1. Submit accomplished form & supporting documents at "customer service"
2. Proceed to the next window and wait for your name to be called for the picture taking and signature
3. Pay at the cashier
4. Wait at the releasing window for your Student Permit

Here's the breakdown of what I paid at the cashier:

• Student Permit fee - Php 150
• Application fee - Php 100
• Computer fee - Php 67.63

Total is Php 317.63 but of course you have to pay Php 318. Just a tip, make sure you give exact amount or have Php18 at hand since I gave Php 500 and told the cashier that I don't have P18 and she only gave me Php 180.

Pacquiao wins in a flash

Manny Pacquiao looks at Ricky Hatton laying in the ring. (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)

Millions anticipated the boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, but it turned out to be just like a sparring session for Pacquiao after knocking out and sending Hatton to dreamland in the 2nd round of their junior welterweight championship bout.

Referee Kenny Bayless declared the fight was over at 2:59 as Hatton lay in the canvas. Bayless almost stopped the fight during the first round when Hatton was knockdown twice.

This is just the second, and probably the worst, defeat of Hatton, who first lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via 10th round TKO. Meanwhile, this is Pacquiao's fourth match in four different divisions, making him the only boxer to do this feat.

A lot of people were “bitin” of the match, not expecting that it will be that fast. The entrance of the two fighters was even longer than the whole fight.

Some things that I noticed during the fight: Dave Batista, or simply Batista for WWE fans like me, was part of the entourage of Pacquiao. I don’t like the way Martin Nievera delivered the national anthem, something that a lot of conservatives might criticize him. A lot of celebrities were present during the fight like Mariah Carey & Nick Watch, Diddy, Tonny Hawk, Fabulous and Busta Rhymes.

The Battle of East & West: Pacquiao vs Hatton

Hours from now, people are waiting for the boxing match of our very own Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Ricky "Hitman" Hatton at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.

Everything is set, as the final weigh in was over this morning. Pacquiao, known as the "Pambansang Kamao" and the pride of the Philippines, tipped the scales at 138lbs while Hatton, the pride of Manchester, England and wanting to take away the number 1 pound-for-pound honor from Pacquiao, tipped the scales at the limit of 140lbs.

Dubbed as East meets West, the Pacquiao vs Hatton fight is the biggest and the most anticipated boxing event of this year 2009. They will be fighting for Hatton's Ring Belt and IBO Light Welterweight Belt.

I can't wait to see if Manny can continue his magic or if Hatton will cut the streak...

Labor Day Celebration

Today, May 1 2009, is the celebration of International Worker's Day or commonly known as Labor day in the Philippines (a legal holiday and it means double pay!).

The Philippines celebration of this day always reminds me of people protesting on the streets. A lot of labor union like Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), etc. staged rallies all over the country.

This year's protest is nothing new from the previous years. They are asking, or should I say "demanding," the same thing, a P125 across the board wage increase for workers nationwide.

With the economic crisis that the country, and the whole world, is experiencing right now, the call for this kind of additional benefits is not timely. I know that it is hard for minimum wage earners to budget their salary but with the problem that all companies are experiencing, the additional salary can't be granted. Pushing this demand will just result to more problems like less working hours or less jobs, etc.

While reading the news online at Inquirer.net, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) National Capital Region chairman Roy Velez said “House, lot, jobs – these should be given to us by the government. With the present administration, we have long demanded for a P125 wage increase across the board nationwide but our calls have fallen on deaf ears. Weak job policies of the government is allowing continuous poverty and unemployment in the country,” He also said that instead of providing band-aid solutions such as the P330 billion stimulus package, “Jobapalooza” job fairs, and intensified labor-export policy, the government should help secure its workers by strengthening support for homegrown industries and giving adequate benefits and security policies.

He is asking for a house, lot and job from the goverment?!?! Is he insane?! I'm really pissed off with people like him. He keeps on asking things from the goverment when he himself is not doing anything to get a job. How can he expect a job when he is protesting in the streets, waiting for help from the government. He should stop whining and start looking for a job for his family.

A lot of government agencies, as well as private companies, are doing their part to help the Filipino people to have a job. Senator Chiz Escudero proposed an eight-point package for displaced workers in Senate.

I have a job right now but I'm honestly not happy. I want to complain but instead, I thank God that he still provides food for me and my family. We all should stop whining and thank God for all the things He provides us. We should stop complaining and be happy with what he have.

NBA Playoffs 2009

The regular season of NBA is over, and it means the start of the playoffs. Out of the thirty teams, the top eight team from the Eastern Conference and the top eight team from the Western Conference will compete for the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy.

Just like what I said in one of my previous post, I like the Detroit Pistons since Allen Iverson is playing for them. But before the playoffs begin, AI already announced that he is out for the season due to back injury.

Although the Pistons is one of the best team, winning the NBA Championship in 2004 and getting to the playoffs for the eight consecutive year, I think they are not capable of getting even to the Conference Finals. In order for them to get to the 2nd round, they need to beat this year's number one team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by likely-MVP LeBron James.

Everyone is predicting a finals match-up between the LA Lakers and the Cavaliers. Others are saying that you cannot count out the defending champion Boston Celtics. But with Kevin Garnett out for the 1st round of the playoff and losing their first game against the Chicago Bulls at home, it will be tough for them to reach the finals for the 2nd time.

Here are the results for today's game:

Detroit Pistons 84 - Cleveland Cavaliers 102
Chicago Bulls 105 - Boston Celtics 103 (OT)
Dallas Mavericks 105 - San Antonio Spurs 97
Houston Rockets 108 - Portland Trail Blazers 81

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everyone!

Today, Easter Sunday, marks the end of the Lenten Season. Easter Sunday is the the day Christians all over the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also means the end of holiday for a lot of workers, but not for me.

While I'm waiting for the NBA playoffs to start on April 18, I'm busy making changes to my line up with my fantasy league. I'm busy analyzing the stats of players coming in to playoffs. It's really to predict which player will do good and which will not. Anyway, you can also try playing your own fantasy league. There are a lot of websites that offer free fantasy league play and it is not limited to basketball.

Megamouth shark caught, eaten by local fishermen

A megamouth shark (scientific name Megachasma pelagios) was caught, carved and eaten by local fishermen in coastal town of Donsol, according to World Wide Fund (WWF). One of the rarest specie of shark, it is only the 41st ever seen in the world and the 8th in the Philippines.

According to the news, the four meter, 500Kgs megamouth was accidentally caught by fishermen trawling for mackerel along the eastern coast of the Burias Island.

"Megamouth 41" - the 41st megamouth caught in the whole world

Holy Week

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the day we commemorate the entry of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. It also signifies the start of the Holy Week.

Filipinos have different ways of observing Holy Week. Since it will be a long weekend (starting Maundy Thursday until Easter Sunday), a lot are taking this opportunity to visit relatives in the province or bond in beaches.

And while most Filipinos spend their Holy Week in the province, there are also who prefers to stay in Metro Manila, like me! Well, I actually don't have a choice since I still have to work during the holidays, one of the perks of being a technical support.

My scheduled rest day from work is on Friday and Saturday (Good Friday & Black Saturday). Right now I'm planning what to do during these days aside from resting. When I was a kid, I usually spent the week doing church activities since I used to be an Altar boy. While reading some news article online, I suddenly thought of doing a Visita Iglesia (literally means church visit). According to simbahan.net, this practiced of visiting seven churches, goes back to the time of the early church the seven great basilica in Rome.

However we spend the Holy Week, I just hope people will live the true meaning of Holy Week, that Jesus Christ died for us to save us from our sins.

The Earth Hour - Global Event on Climate Change

Today is the graduation of my wife's cousin Yeyen. We attended her baccalaureate mass and the graduation rites inside the Immaculate Heart of Mary College.

We had the after-graduation celebration at Five Cows, where we had a very good dinner.

Since today is the Earth Hour day, Trinoma celebrated the event with Live Percussionists and Fire Dancers. I tried to get some pictures but the digicam of Yeyen wasn't good enough to capture the dancers, although we were able to get a video of the dancers. After a few minutes, we headed to timezone to play some games and left at around 9PM.

When we left, it was really dark outside Trinoma as well as SM North Edsa, which I believed caused the heavy traffic along EDSA. Both SM Malls and Ayala Malls participated with the Earth hour.

Very Lucky Shot

I'm a huge basketball fan since I learned to play the game when I was 10 years old. I always make sure that I visit NBA and PBA's website to get updates with the latest news. I even play the fantasy basketball and update my online team on a weekly basis.

I started my day by watching the game between LA Lakers and my favorite NBA team, the Detroit Pistons. The game was held in the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan and Detroit played without three of their top scorers (Allen Iverson - back; Richard Hamilton - groin; and Rasheed Wallace - calf). Since January 8, 2002, the Lakers never won in Detroit. Last year's MVP Kobe Bryant scored 30 points to help the Lakers to a 92 - 77 win.

After eating lunch, I decided to play NBA 2K9 in my Playstation 2. Of course, I'm using Detroit Pistons. I had a quick game with my eldest brother before we went out.

In the evening, the Alaska Aces, my favorite PBA team, played against Talk N' Text Tropang Texters. The last time they played against each other was during the last conference's Game 7 of the championship. Alaska lost the game and I believe they are waiting for this game to get their revenge against TnT. Unfortunately, the Aces lost the game by two points, 124-122. Better luck next time.

While I was browsing the Internet, I saw this video from www.yahoo.com. It was an almost impossible shot, thanks to the court's scoreboard not located in the middle of the court. You can watch the video below.

NCAA Tourney: Top Plays, 3/26 @ Rivals Video

Gov. Ed Panlilio for President?

The next presidential election is more than a year from today but several people already announced their plans to run for the highest position in the country. Vice President Noli de Castro, Senators Ping Lacson, Loren Legarda, Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, Chiz Escudero, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Defense Sec Gilberto Teodoro Jr and even former President Joseph Estrada are among the names that come into my mind when talking about the next national election.

Recently, another name was added to the list of "presidentiables". Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio announced that he might run for president in 2010. Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca would be the running mate of the Catholic priest-on-leave.

Governor Panlilio received a lot of support from several people, after he was able to make changes in Pampanga. Even if a lot of local politicians from Pampanga hate the Governor and even planned to oust him, citing that the people lost trust in him. Amidst this all, Ed Panlilio was able to do his duty as the Governor of Pampanga.

Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales of the archdiocese of Manila has said he "would never endorse any priest who would eye for public office for the 2010 elections." Archbishop Rosales didn't want to comment, saying that he doesn't want to interfere with politics.

Other presidential candidates, including the Malacanang, welcomed the decision of Gov Panlilio.

With the growing number of possible candidates in the upcoming election, Filipinos can choose the next rightful leader of the country. I just hoped that the computerized-election will push through to minimize the possible election fraud. With this names, I pray that each Filipino will look at each candidate and think for their future before casting their votes. The next president should bring a clean government.

Teleperformance acquires Dell - Pasay Call Center

While reading gmanews.tv today, I found this article "Dell sells Pasay contact center, keeps QC facility."

According to the news article, the move was due to the global crisis, which greatly affected the sales of the largest computer company in the US.

It was part of my plan, way back in January, to join Dell Philippines. I've been part of an outsource company of Dell since November 2006. I'm a Dell Certified Systems Expert and one of the best technical support for Dell (ask my friends and former colleagues hehe).

Teleperformance, a French-based call center operator, said that the estimated 1000 employees of Dell will be absorbed. But based on the article, TP will be giving new job offers to these employees. I think a retention or separation package will be offered.

Now, I'm thinking if I will continue my plans to join Dell or should I look for another company. I really love to be part of this company, but with the change of management, I should think twice since I heard a lot of negative comments with Teleperformance, especially with their compensation.

I Miss Blogging

I forgot the password for my previous blog (fritzerwin.blogspot.com) and while trying to recover the password, I found out that I used our company's E-mail and since I'm no longer with the company, I don't have an access to the E-mail. And so, I just created a new one.

It's been a while since the last time I created a blog post (more than a year! whew!). A lot of things happened since then. I got married, joined a new company, transfer to a new apartment, etc.

I'm really motivated to continue blogging since I read several travel blogs during my free time. I really enjoy reading other person's experience of traveling around the Philippines.

Anyway, let me introduce myself (again!) to the blog world. I'm Fritz Erwin Fernandez, turning 24 this coming May 17. I work as a TSR for 24/7 Customer Philippines, handling Time Warner Cable account. I love reading blogs (just like what I said!), watching basketball (I'm really don't have the time to play the game anymore), watching news & movies and learning new things about computers.

I'll try to share a lot more things in my future posts.