Archive Page 4
April 11th, 2008 by admin
Catholics in America will have ample opportunities to travel with Pope Benedict XVI through television and radio when he makes his first papal visit to the U.S. on April 15 until April 20, 2008. EWTN Global Catholic Network and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide the special live coverage during the Pontiff’s six-day trip from the time his plane lands until he departs the country.
You can go to the EWTN website for more information of their papal visit programming.
Performers who will be at the papal events will be Kelly Clarkson, Jose Feliciano and Placido Domingo. Kelly Clarkson will sing several of her standard songs for the youths awaiting the Pope at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, on April 19. Jose Feliciano will be at the Yankee Stadium on April 20. Tenor Placido Domingo and Denyce Graves will sing at the Mass at the Nationals Park in Washington on April 17. Other performers include Metropolitan Opera tenor Marcello Giordani, the Irish singer Dana and jazz singer Harry Connick Jr. Choirs will include the Harlem Gospel Choir and the West Point Cadet Choir, from the U.S. Military Academy.
I just wish I was nearer New York, too.
April 9th, 2008 by admin
One time I had this conversation with my coworker Gracie. She was griping about how she had a disagreement with her elder sister when she called her in our beloved Philippines, my Philippines. She was mad at how her sister was egging her about sending her 100 dollars, anyway, as her Ate said, “it’s just 100 dollars, Grace, ano ba naman yon dyan ?”. Grace was mad that they do not realize how a hundred bucks meant to her considering that she is a single mom and nobody helps support her three-year old daughter and she has a lot of bills to pay too.
As she kept ranting about this, I realized this, people from the Philippines do not actually know what 100 dollars meant to the Filipino earners in the US. I mean I for one thought it doesn’t mean a lot but when I got here, my whole understanding of the value of the dollar changed. It’s like this, if you will compare 1 peso versus 1 dollar, the one peso in the Philippines cannot buy a liquid hand soap, but here in the U.S., with one dollar you can. Our 100 dollar here can go a long way as compared to the Philippines 100 pesos. So folks, hindi sya , ” one hundred dollars lang “. Hindi po siya one hundred dollar lang dahil in truth, madami na po kaming mabibili dito nyan kesa ipadala sa mga nanghihingi na ipang iinom lang dahil birthday nila.
To illustrate further, a 100 dollar can already buy or pay for :
- 10 pieces of Levi’s T-shirts at 10 dollars a piece
- or 10 boxes of Mangoes at 8.99 a box ( may sukli pa yan )
- or 10 or more different kinds of meat packages ( pwera kung tri-tip or mga prime steaks ha ? )
- or 2 months of my electric bill at $45.00 a month
- or 1 month of Cable bill at $93.00
- or 100 items from the Dollar store
and the list is endless…Before you go asking for dollars from your relatives here, try thinking if the person can manage shelling out 100 bucks, because she may also need it herself. Or better yet, ask yourself first because if you can survive not asking help from others, why bother? Kung latest model lang ng cellphone or pang bili ng bagong damit, baka naman pwedeng ipostpone mo yan. Maybe the person may not send you what you are asking for anyway, and baka mag iba pa tingin nya sayo di ba? Kung emergency okay lang. The most hurting thing for us here who send dollars to our relatives is knowing you send somebody your hard-earned money and he just spends it on a drinking spree, or on a shopping spree and they go bragging to people that they have money but it’s money that they did not work for. Ang di nila alam, yung magulang or kapatid nila dito, pinaghirapan kitain yung 100 dollars na pinadala sa kanila. Kakaawa nga ang iba dito eh, lalo na matatanda. Then sometimes the people they send money to would tell them, “one hundred dollars lang naman yon, para yon lang parang ang laki na nang pinadala mo. Kulang pa nga eh. ” That hurts huh? Imagine if one has ten siblings back in the Philippines, and she has to give 200 dollars to each one of them, and she’s not really earning that much, you think that is easy on that person to hand out more than $100? Mahirap po kitain ang dolyar dito. Kala nyo lang hindi, pero that is the truth and nothing but the truth.
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April 6th, 2008 by admin
Something I wrote last November 2006, it’s in my Friendster blog but I am reposting it here…
This is Life in America..
- 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 ..
- Ang pulubi dito ang tawag “homeless”.. sosyal ang dating di ba?
- 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…
- You have to undergo a credit check when you want to lease a house, buy a car etc..
- Cable teevee, internet and landline phone can be covered by just one company para isang bill na lang di ba?
- Kailangan may auto insurance ka just in case mabangga ka or makabangga ka. Karamihan naman meron , bihira lang dito ang walang auto insurance..
- 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 …
- 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..
- 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) “.
- 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..
- 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 …
- 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..
- 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…
- 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..
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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April 5th, 2008 by admin
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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April 4th, 2008 by admin
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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