My Grandfather, Ama Casibo

Grandparents are extension of our parents. They love us more, they spoil us more.

I suddenly remembered my maternal grandparents. My grandparents from my father side passed away before i was born.
Ina, (that's what we call our grandmothers in Adasen) died when i was just four so I don't really remember her that much but Ama lived a little bit longer.

Ama Casibo Panganiban.
His two elder children Uncle Ernesto and auntie Landan used Panganiban as their surname while auntie Cadnawan and my mother used Casibo as their surname. I don't understand how they can change surnames before but that's a different story.

Ama was known to be very kind while Ina was more nauyong but they complemented each other and were able to instill love and respect in their children.

If i have a time machine, i would let my grandparents experience a little luxury. Things that they never experienced before. Or maybe buy him a lot of tabako as he really love those.

I remember seeing a letter i sent to my mother when i was young, "pakagtuwam kan nge ama ka ibong nga alamang nga wod aboy na. "During those times, ibong nga alamang can only be bought in Manila. So sad they lived in an era where life was so hard. But i always appreciate the way they brought up our parents, their kids.

I am also proud that He was the trusted panglakayen of the late Fr Sanguerley when they were constructing the road to PABACA and the Catholic Church in Bacooc.

It is just so sad that  both my Aunties and my sole uncle are gone. All of them left a void that can never be replaced.

Hello, Love,Goodbye

I  am not a Kathryn Bernardo fan but i would say i loved Hello, Love, Goodbye. The depiction of the lives of our OFWs is more realistic than Vilma Santos' Anak.

First the sidelights. There's one scene in the movie where Kathryn worked as a part-time waitress in a bar, (it might be in Wanchai) and she had to run when she saw a police questioning a guy. I think most OFWs will act as if nothing happened coz they know that if they run, there's a bigger possibility of them being caught.

Of course for added emphasis on how  Ethan pursued Joy, he had to use a radio
show, ( that must be Metro Radio's The Philippines Tonight Show.) In real world though, a DH will not listen to a radio program that loud when the employers are around.

Now for the highlights, all of the other  scenes are perfect for me. In fact, i had this lump in my throat when I saw those OFWs  in Central resting in what they call apartments. Truly those small boxes are hotels for most OFWs. And Joy selling goods and doing other rakets is also a reality although it's not that common. In fact,just a few engage into those rakets. I like the way they incorporated online selling. The Filipinos congregating in Central plus those packing door to door boxes are the norm there.

Beauty pageants is also very common in Hongkong. What they failed to show is that those contests involve selling tickets. It's like a popularity program. But that scene made me think of Manny and ATIS, an organization i used to be a part of.

Strange but i felt homesick when I saw the MRT stations,the Tram, the double-decker buses, the small flats,  Mongkok and the ferries and of course the dancing lights and the seaside in TsimShaTsui made me think of Nining.

I think what they missed are the different religious groups that's scattered in the former British Territory. It would have been good to see Bro Bruce in one of the scenes.
And of course, the rallies. No we don't mean the recent rallies but the normal  rallies organized by the United Filipinos in Hongkong.

Pepe Pimentel as a musician reminded me of my Musikero friends there. And Alden's Ethan made me think of Stan, Mel, Ej and Jay, all sons of Filipino musicians.

Over all, it is ar really good movie. It is an
eye opener for those whose family works abroad who  just wait for their monthly allowance.  And Hongkong is truly a stepping of those who want to go to Canada.

I laughed at the part where Cacai said "pinag-aagawan mga lalaki dito kasi konti" they should have added, "madaming nagiging tibo dito dahil sa kakulangan ng lalaki".

For someone who don't normally watch Filipino movies and likes Maine over Kathryn, I would say that she got my respect in this movie. And i must say, bagay sila ni Alden.

It is a love story of course and even if it didn't have that fairy tale happy ending, it gave the viewers hope that true love will find a way no matter how long it takes.

Lastly, I am so proud and happy for my Bro Jay Martinez. I know that you are upset with me but let me congratulate you for being part of a very high grossing movie.

Think before you post

I am not a fan and i am not fond of posting work related issues/problems on social media.

What do we want to achieve or get by doing that?

For employees, do u want sympathy? You want others to know how bad or asshole your bosses are?

For employers, do u also want sympathy? You want people to know how asshole or stupid your employees are?

We have meetings and huddles to let our sama ng loob, problems be known, why  wash our dirty laundry online?

Wala lang. Wala ako paki and i don't have the right makialam since we all have freedom of speech but sometimes we forget about online etiquettes. 

Posting work related memes or issues will make matters worse instead of the issue being resolved.

We should all act our age.

#Just saying

New Year, same mindset

It's normal for people to be angry, upset and sad. We all go through that.
But we should also be careful with the words we use. Cliché as it may be, pen is mightier than the sword and once you wrote it, once you blurted it out, there is no taking it back.
I'd rather let people do the talking and smile when after doing that, they ask something from me instead of me talking about them then ask something.
And lastly, when we feel unhappy with what we do, it's better to leave than bite the hands that feed you.