calvin and hobbes

I went to get my 15-min coffee break yesterday and saw Fred in the break room engrossed in a thick novel. He noticed that I was reading a Calvin and Hobbes book and said that was a very good book. Fred is a 72-year old veteran who works part time at Hertz as a hiker. In the rare instances that I get to talk to him, I asked him why he still had to work, considering his pension which to my guesstimate would be about $1,200 a month. With my Pinoy mentality, I immediately converted that to P60,000 a month! Tangina! that's more than enough to get us by for at least 3 months in Pinas. Anyway, he told me that he couldn't afford to retire. He still has mortgage payments hanging over his head, car payments, and regular bills that just won't go away.

Fred is an example of the typical American who even in their old age need to continue working to support the only lifestyle they know. That got me to thinking, ayoko tumanda dito. I'll work my ass for as long as I need to, only to secure my kids' and my wife and my retirement. We'll go home to the Philippines and enjoy what's left of the years we're given.

Then there's the late Mang Jun, a Pinoy who tried his luck here in America. He was in my team at Hertz and passed away a day after Christmas. Mang Jun stayed in this country for 30 years. He never married and lived alone in a small studio apartment. We used to talk while working, sharing experiences and thoughts about life in general. Before he fell ill, he was ready to go back home and marry his penpal. It took him all these years to decide to go home because he said his savings was not enough. I asked him, how much money is enough? He said he was scared to go home not having enough because his relatives expect him to be loaded. Yun ang mahirap sa 'tin. Pinoys in the Philippines think na pinupulot lang ang pera dito. What they don't know is that Pinoys here have to work in the most adverse conditions to earn. Just a few weeks back, I had to work outside for 8 hours in minus 18 degree temperatures. To give you an idea how cold that is - leave a bottled water outside. After 5 minutes, you have a bottled ice, not ice water but solid ice. Anyway, my point is, Mang Jun never made it home because he just didn't have enough. He was diagnosed with diabetes and cirrhosis. Living alone, he drove himself to the hospital for his treatments. He was confined at the ICU, fell comatose, and not even a single soul came to visit except me. He died shortly after, with no family, no riches, no legacy - and only because he waited too long to save enough.

Oink oink bago lusot.

Nikki's Blog

http://filipinocutie.blogspot.com/

Living In America

I am Bikoy. I am a little boy. How are you? Fine, thank you. I'm living in America for 2 years and 3 months. I have a wife, daughter, and a son. My wife's name is Kaye. My daughter's name is Nikki. My son's name is Goji. We already got used living here in the land of milk n' honey. But we are still living a Filipino lifestyle. We eat Pinoy food all the time. We speak Tagalog in our house. We're not like other Pinoys trying to have an American accent. We have a good life here. We have a nice house and all the things we need. We can buy anything we want. I bought the best super bike, RC51 Nicky Hayden. I also have a formula kart (ferrari of go-karts) and all the big boy toys that I like, Pinoys are dreaming about. Pero nami-miss ko pa rin ang karag-karag kong motor Honda 9o, 1960's model. My wife and I have a stable job. My kids are consistent honor students in good schools. My daughter is in middle school while my son is still in elementary school. We live in a nice place, 40 minutes away from Lake Tahoe. Our place is like Camp John Hay in Baguio, Philippines. Peaceful, cold, and picturesque. One of the safest place to live. No traffic, no pollution. Wala ka nang hahanapin pa. Sobrang tahimik. We already traveled around the best places here. San Francisco, LA, Las Vegas, etc.... Pero para sa amin, mas maganda pa rin ang Pilipinas. But(ewan ko ba?) one day, we're still hoping to go back home, to the Philippines. Nasanay kami yata sa gulo at saya ng Pilipinas. Maybe it's the people, culture, food, surroundings, uncertainties, and chaos. Most of the Filipinos are dreaming to come here. But for us, it's the opposite. Pero sayang ang opportunity. And for my kids to be educated here and to be well-rounded. We all know the Filipino colonial mentality. So I want them to have the advantage. It is also our way of helping our country. We want to earn here and bring the money back to our country. Ayaw na naming makipag-agawan(baboy) sa trabaho sa Pilipinas. We have to admit that we miss our life in our country. Kahit na middle class lang kami doon. Definitely, we will go home in a few years time.

Until Next Time

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