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Something I wrote last November 2006, it’s in my Friendster blog but I am reposting it here…

This is Life in America..

1. When you pay bills, buy food, groceries, you can do it by credit card, debit card or checks, bihira yata ang cash gamitin dito. Pwede ka din bayad online.. or thru phone ..
2. Ang pulubi dito ang tawag “homeless”.. sosyal ang dating di ba?
3. Ang homeless dito ang dala-dala hindi homemade kariton tulad ng mga nasa Pinas, ang dala ng mga homeless dito eh grocery carts ng Safeway, Walmart at kung ano anong carts ng mga tindahan…
4. You have to undergo a credit check when you want to lease a house, buy a car etc..
5. Cable teevee, internet and landline phone can be covered by just one company para isang bill na lang di ba?
6. Kailangan may auto insurance ka just in case mabangga ka or makabangga ka. Karamihan naman meron , bihira lang dito ang walang auto insurance..
7. During elections or if they are promoting something, you can never see any flyers or ads pasted on the fences, walls . They make theirs with a kind of stem or peg so they just kinda “plant” it on the ground. That way madali lang nilang alisin …
8. Apartments are already equipped with a fridge, a stove, a heater, airconditioning unit and a dishwasher… dadalhin mo na lang ang sariling ititira mo dun..
9. Ay naku, bigtime dito ang excuse me, thank you, you’re welcome, ano pa bang mga words of courtesy? basta dapat magalang ka dito , di uubra na iismile ka na lang .. dapat iwords mo talaga, like ” you’re welcome (name) “.
10. Bawal pala dito magcomment - comment kasi baka mademanda ka ng sexual harassment . O di ba , bongga ? Kasama to sa sexual harrassment. Di mo pedeng sabihin na ang pangit naman ng damit mo.. or kahit pabiro di ka pedeng magtanong na ” bakla ba si —– ? ” Kasi di mo alam baka isumbong ka ng kabiruan mo.. true yan ha, believe me, nsa employee handbook namin..
11. Ang pagpabinyag madami pang kuskos balungos, kesyo seminar na apat na session, dapat registered parishioner ka ng church where you will have the christening, dapat yung ninong ninang Catholic , minsan hihingian pa nila ng mga certification from their parishes …
12. Ang mails dito eh nakalagay lang talaga sa mailbox, di ninanakaw. Minsan pag mga boxes or parcels ang delivery, they will just leave it on your porch. If you want to send out mails without going to the post office, you can also do it by just leaving your mail clipped on the outside of your mailbox, meaning it’s for the mailman to pick up..
13. There are no sales clerks to follow you around when you shop.. Kya ayun pag may kailangan ka, todo hanap ka muna or punta ka sa customer service kasi dun mo lang sila makukuha.. Hindi sila dito malambing sa customer… di tulad sa Pinas na kulang na lang eh punasan ka ng pawis or paypayan ka heheheh… tuwang tuwa nga yung kaibigan kong namili nung umuwi sya dyan sa PInas kasi talaga daw na asikasong asikaso sya. Of course naman ganon tayong mga pinoy , talagang customer service in the real sense of the word…
14. Sympre ang daming sales events dito pag may mga holiday, pero almost every weekend yata eh sale dito sa US pero yung talagang mga big sales eh during or after the holidays, like ganitong Thanksgiving, daming sale na naman.. kung mainggitin ka eh malamang maubos ang savings mo kabibili ng kung ano ano..
15. Bawal umihi sa tabi- tabi, please lang madaming restrooms dito since almost all business establishments provide these comforting rooms so if you’re a male and used to peeing just outside of your house (in your part of the world), here you are not allowed to do that except of course if you are stranded in the Mojave desert and there is no restrooms around.
16. Ang soda dito eh free refills lagi kahit ilang ulit kang bumalik balik sa soda fountain or kahit ilang ulit kang mag order, no extra charge yun. Di tulad sa Pinas di ba, pag bottomless may additional charge.
17. In America, even men exchange I love you’s , no kidding here. I know it would seem weird to Filipinos but really they say that to each other like, ” I love you,man!” then they would hug. Aww, aint that sweet ?

Okay next issue naman uli ang iba bago maging mini-novela ang entry ko.

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Wheeee, I am so happy I was able to get my Nokia phone back today ! It was never lost but see, I bought it from the Philippines and when I got here, I wasn’t able to use it anymore since it just doesn’t want to accept my simcard from Tmobile.

This Nokia phone that I am talking about was locked. I knew it was locked because as I’ve said, it doesn’t want to accept my Tmobile simcard. A “simcard registration failed” just kept showing up no matter what I did so we went to a T-Mobile kiosk at Sunvalley today and asked if they can unlock my Nokia phone for me. I reckon it was their responsibility to unlock that thing for me since the Samsung Stripe that they gave me, along with my 2-year contract with them, isn’t good at all. It doesn’t ring anymore and activates the voicemail immediately when somebody calls me so I desperately wanted to use my old Nokia phone. Anyway, the Tmobile guy I talked to, because I wasn’t going to buy anything, told me to call the Nokia company or visit the Nokia website instead.

Tired but nevertheless bent on getting what I wanted, I tried Googling “unlocking Nokia phones” after my search at the Nokia website proved futile. And surprise, surprise, I found this site . After following their instructions, I was able to unlock my beloved Nokia phone in seconds.

I am so happy to get my phone back… I can’t believe I did it !!!

So dear friends, should you need to unlock your Nokia phones, whether you’re in the US or wherever, just go to that website and follow the steps and pretty soon, you too will be able to unlock your Nokia without paying anything at all. Isn’t that so cool ??? To the genius behind that site thank you so much !!!

I’m feeling good…

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A friend of mine, a new Filipino immigrant in the USA like me, called me up sometime ago and we got to talk about all sorts of things about life and all. She mentioned how she doesn’t have a credit card since she doesn’t want it and she’s used to paying in cash.

I understand how she felt about staying away or creating debts when she has money to pay for things right away but nevertheless, as a new immigrant, building her own credit, is one very important thing here in America.

Because I grew up in the Philippines, I too, am not much of a believer in credit cards because I want to pay everything in cold cash. I know for a fact that credit cards can be stolen and you know if that happens, it can be such a hassle. I also do not want the interests they charge, imagine about 20% if you are a newbie on credit cards. Like my friend, I too, want to live without having to worry about these things. But soon I found out that things are different in America. The less debts you have , the less creditworthy you are. I found out that my credit history and my credit score will play a big part in my life here in Uncle Sam’s land.

I needed to establish my own credit so what other choice do I have but to get started on getting my own plastic card, that’s one way to start off with my agenda of credit building. And very important too, is to get a job, of course. Nobody will give you credit, if you have no job to support your loan, or no means to pay your credit card bills.

Anyway, if you will ask me why building your own credit is important and where in the world would it be needed, you will be needing your good credit in the scenarios I will mention below:

• when you try to lease an apartment
• when you want to buy your own house or your own condo
• when your spouse’s credit isn’t enough and the creditors will need an additional guarantor
• when you want to get your very first, very own car
• when you get divorced or worst, you suddenly lost your spouse, you will need your own credit to be able to do things on your own.
• when you apply for an insurance coverage ( medical, dental, car insurance )

What I did to personally establish my own credit was to put all our bills in my name. I also got two credit cards ( which I admit has a higher interest rate since I am a newcomer in this “charging” business.) I also opened my own bank account. Be careful with overdrafts though. Overdrafts are also indicators as to how you are as a spender. Be sure to not have them because they are also points against your creditworthiness.

They say that credit card debts are one of the problems of Americans. Yes, but if you know how to handle yourself and put a leash on your spending, I don’t think it is a problem at all. With credit card debts, I do not worry much about that because I know myself when it comes to spending. I am very conscientious and very stingy .

One thing I do so I will not be tempted to spend beyond what I can afford is to take out my credit cards out of my wallet. I do not bring them with me unless I have paid the past bill in full. Paying your bill in full rather than just paying the minimum amount, is a good indicator that you are a good credit material. It means you can pay off your bill quickly and you are not a candidate for bad debts in the future. But should you really need to use your credit cards or get loans from financial institutions, you should just be wise and smart and not go beyond what your paycheck can afford.

If you just got here in the US of A, if you have not yet done anything to build your own credit, start establishing your credit now before it’s too late, I mean who knows what the future will bring, right? It won’t hurt to do it but it will hurt you a lot in the future should you need that credit for something.

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It was May 27, 2005 when I came here to the USA on a fiancee visa. I may be nearing my third year of stay now but I sometimes still feel lost when talking to some folks here. They have words and phrases here that I feel awkward to say, words and phrases like …

• “I’m good ” when somebody asks me how I am. I feel like good should only be used to denote a trait like bad boy, good girl, that kind of thing. I usually just say, “I’m fine, thank you ” as we all have been taught in school.
• ” Have a good one “. I feel it’s not a complete sentence, like it lacks something… like a good “what” ? I feel much better if I say ” have a good day/ evening”.
• ” Talk to you later” or “See you later” . When somebody tells me “talk to you later” , I ask myself, ” will they be talking to me again later today or when ?? ” Just doesn’t make sense to me. Later for me means later today, not tomorrow, or the following month or what later for them means.
• “What’s up? “. The sun?

Some American terms doesn’t make sense to me sometimes.

Click here for more of those slang words .

Oh well, for lack of better things to do…

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One time I had this very short conversation with a delivery guy when he came to drop-off a a parcel to our company. I wasn’t sure he was a Pinoy so I asked him.

Me: “Filipino ?”

He: ” Yep”

Me: ” Tagalog ? ”

He: ” Yes”

Me: ” Ah I see. Pacencia na ha kasi minsan kahit mukhang Pinoy eh di pala marunong magtagalog so hindi muna ko kumikibo. ”

He: ” I know Tagalog , I speak and understand it but since you know English, and I know English so let’s just talk in English.”

What else can I say? In my mind, the words of Dr. Jose Rizal kept ringing, “Ang di magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa mabahong isda… ” .

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