4 Season in 48+ Hours

I was on my way to work, walking on the snow dusted pathway, slipping and sliding a bit from the frost that had formed, when I started talking to myself, asking, “Why am I living here? What am I doing in a place like this? How did I get so unlucky?” I felt so miserable going to work on a holiday, trying my best not to crack my skull or spine should I fall. Of course I didn’t mean that. I’m lucky to be here. We are!

We live in Winnipeg aka Winterpeg, Manitoba. We get snow at least half of the year and the total amount of time you can wear short-sleeved shirts and flip flops is at the very most 2 months. Horrendous, eh? Especially for us Filipinos who are from the land of four seasons: Hot, Hotter, Hottest, and Help-me-I’m-drowning. I miss the days when I can go to the mall in comfy house clothes. Really, wearing layers of jackets and pants and walking in heavy snow boots should be making me lose pounds but it proved quite contrary.

But we knew what was awaiting us from the (sometimes exaggerated, and yet frighteningly accurate) stories our sponsors, families, or friends have told us. There’s no use crying over something you should have expected and prepared for prior to arrival.

Four Seasons in 48 hours

This May Long Weekend was one of the Manitoban’s worst in years. All the torrential rain and howling winds followed by snow on the holiday itself sapped every one of the good holiday spirits.

Happy Victoria Day!

I hope you haven’t put away your winter gear yet. It ain’t over till it’s over.

We clearly have some of the weirdest weather transitions in the world. In a span of 48 hours, we’ve had the sun, wind, rain, overcast, and snow. To be honest, it’s interesting in the science perspective how this happens, and it’s a complete pain dressing for the occasion. We were warned of -50C wind chills and at least 1m of snow fall. Did I believe them? Yes I did. We brought and bought the correct garments for each season for we didn’t want to be on the news as frozen human popsicles.

Stereotype is that Canada is the land of Elsa and Anna.
Nope. The four seasons are clearly defined here but you’ll have to always check the weather forecast for the appropriate attire you’ll have for the whole day. One time, I dressed really nice for a sunny outing with friends and ended up shivering half the night. The next day, we had 10cm of snow.

New in Canada? Coming to Canada soon?

Don’t skimp on buying winter gear.

Go for the trusted brands that will keep you both warm and comfortable. Layering can help but a good winter coat can save you the stress of wearing 5 sweaters. Plus, they can last you many falls and winters. Until you have passed a winter and felt what real stone cold, ‘sagad sa butong lamig’ is, do not worry about looking frumpy and lumpy. Worry about keeping your nose, ears, fingers and toes intact. Don’t let the frostbites… bite and enjoy the new environment.

Welcome to Canada!

Latest update: It’s sunny again!!

Image from Google

Originally posted at pinoy-canada.com
Link: http://pinoy-canada.com/articles/4-seasons-48-hours/

Nosebleed

Filipinos’ English Phobia

Each of us has something we are afraid of and the only way to face them is to identify clearly what they are and accept these facts. We have to be honest to ourselves that we are vulnerable and that we may probably need another person to help ease the inner turmoil. Even the most confident of the Avengers, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark, has fears. And although he was afraid of saying it out loud, he did what he thinks was best to address the things he was most afraid to happen.

Filipinos have a very solid background of learning and living the English language in our everyday lives, tracing back to when we were babies where our family would most often than not teach the young ones “close-open” and “where’s the light?” instead of saying “bukas-sara” and “nasan ang ilaw?” Sounds awkward, right? We even talk to pets in English.

English is our medium of instruction throughout the whole education system. Sometimes, employers who interview you for job applications base your qualifications not just from what they see on your resume, but also on how good your English is in answering the questions. We practice so hard on perfecting our Fs and Vs and using words that are beyond elementary vocabulary. And Filipinos are used to watching American movies without Filipino captions proving that our listening skills are enough for a good conversation and even making a joke or two. And yet, we still are afraid of communicating with foreign people in the universal language. Why?

We are afraid of making grammatical and pronunciation mistakes. We are afraid of sounding like we don’t know the language too well. We try to sound how Americans and Canadians speak. We are afraid that our other kababayans would hear our English and think that we are not good enough. Because that’s how we see other people who are struggling with the language as. We are afraid that others will judge us the way we judge them. We know as an audience how we react to these mistakes and we are afraid being on the other side of the joke. We are used to seeing people get mocked on television for having poor English communication skills. I’m even putting myself out for writing an English article about our insecurities of the language.

Guess what? Foreigners don’t really care about your grammar and pronunciation as long as they get the gist of what you are talking about and the flow of conversation is uninterrupted. Communication is successful when both parties understand the messages sent to each other. They would even wait patiently for you to gather your thoughts because they understand it is not your native language. Sure, I had some troubles understanding them at first because watching Hollywood movies is quite different from real life communicating and expressing ourselves to native English speakers.

Someone from work even complimented me for speaking clearly without an accent and said that they envy Filipinos for knowing more than one language. They are astonished at how foreign the Filipino words and other dialects to them when they overhear a group of Pinoys talking amongst themselves. And here we are, worried that we mispronounced ‘forward’ and ‘verify.’ Joke on me, I said ‘crack pot’ instead of ‘crock-pot’ the other day.

Worry not. Filipinos actually know better grammar than them as we were so very critical about it in our learning years. We learned the language, studied its structure, practiced spelling of the most difficult words, and read numerous literatures written in their language. It just happens that we are more comfortable of using it in the learning and professional environment, that when we’re thrown into the socialization part of usage, we seize up and translate everything in our head. Relax, you can do it, you’ve had at least 10 years of ammunition, so fire away with your creative ideas and express yourself. Gather your confidence and speak out, you’ll be surprised at how much easier it will become the more you talk to these kind people.

But of course, never forget our beautiful Filipino language. No matter how fluent we become in whatever language we are using as an immigrant or worker of another country, we can still express ourselves best in our mother tongue. Use our language at home for the continuation of our culture through generations.

by: bautistamacy

Article originally posted at pinoy-canada.com

Link: http://pinoy-canada.com/articles/filipinos-english-phobia-scared-of-english/

Public Apology

Let it be known that I am cleaning my blog of the stupidities I have written in the past.
If you received a ton of messages about new posts, I AM VERY SORRY. Please ignore them and remove me from your watchlist if you wish to do so.


So I made a bit of a mistake republishing some of my previous blog entries. I have no idea when they're exactly posted now. Blogger is ever changing and so I didn't know how to hide the other entries I wanted gone. Anyways, since I didn't want to start exactly on a clean state, this will mark another 'era' of my blogging as I embark on my journey as a contributor to one of the pinoy websites.

Wish me luck!

Thank you.

i still can't believe how slim i was back when we were still in high school.

now i've gotta burn these UNWANTED fat. ugh

notice the shirt. i actually begged my mom to buy me that. got it the christmas before this shot was taken, date 20 jan 2006, school family day. fun fun day.

the now covered with unwanted fat,

macy

before i pass out of dehydration

i've been ironing piles of clothes in a time span of half the transformers movie and the whole of the lord of the rings.

weyn! i swear the next time you see me wearing this skirt you gave me will be with a hanging shirt showing off my hard earned abs. (para ndi sayang effort dun sa design sa ibabaw :P) i think i'm gonna start working on that tomorrow morning.

it just came to me that this would be my first december post. DECEMBER!!

what does december mean to me?

• birthday month - a lot of my friends were born in this month.
• christmas
• CHRISTMAS BREAK!
• end of the year
• family reunion
• food
• gifts
• money
• sleep :)

i blabbed this 2:41am. but since we have poverty internet connection, i couldn't upload the pics i needed. dang.

my ironing mountain. half way done. great.

forever house elf,

macy

PseudoFangs

I went to my dentist with the boyfriend last Saturday for my braces' monthly adjustment a.k.a. HELL. He added some of those Sanrio-like rubber bands to establish my bite thus the PseudoFangs. The only thing I love about these rubbers is that it makes me look like I have sprouted fangs and whenever I talk, people usually look at me with those weird stares. Hello, I am Caroline Forbes. Ciao.

P.S.: Please forgive the crappy webcam shot photo. Too lazy to upload from my phone.

P.S.S.: I sound like shit. I haven't had a decent sleep since last week. Zzzzzz

Night Duty

Coming home at around 1:15 in the wee hours of the night, our visitor opened the door for me. Apparently, my grandmother's check-up is scheduled for today (although technically, that was yesterday already) and she and my aunt traveled from Or. Mindoro to Veterans Hospital all the way up North. I was surprised to see my aunt's face aged 10 more years compared to the last time that I saw her which was more than two months ago. Caring for an old person is hard. But add Alzheimer's disease and diabetes to the formula and you'd get the worst time of your life.

It has been two years since my grandmother was diagnosed of Alzheimer's disease. At first, it wasn't that much of a burden because it was rare that she forgets about anything. She is an intelligent woman. A teacher turned District Supervisor, she was wise and sharp. She even remembers every single person who has a debt from her. Anyways, as the months got by, her condition worsened. Being a diabetic, it was already too much when she wakes my aunt at least six times in the night just to go to the bathroom and afterwards ask for water. Now that she has become worse, getting even forty winks would be a miracle.

Being that, as a Nursing graduate and a granddaughter, I sympathize with my aunt and shared the load of taking care of lola tonight. This will be a long one as for the last 30minutes, my grandma has already gone to the bathroom thrice, asked for water four times and has shouted "Nay!" (my great grandmother) twice. The latter was the worst.

Tonight I want my aunt to have a decent sleep. For her sleep has been deprived from her for the last 18 months. She is also a first born like me and I feel the pain of watching your mother so helpless and now, calling out for her mother. Though it was creepy, as it sank to me the meaning of this, I feel the huge responsibility of being a daughter. One who has to take care of her parent the moment they feel that life is slowly ebbing away. Not only because it is a responsibility, but also out of respect. Out of love.

Because I Just Have To Say This

"He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though...keep up with my news...check if I'm happy..."

I finished book 3 for the nth time very early this morning and may I say that this I think is one of the best from the series. I have this contented feeling that I can't really explain. It was such a good feeling.

Unlike Harry, I have loads of godparents who swore in the name of God that they'd be there for me shall my parents are unable to. Unfortunately, all of them are overseas, unable to talk to me when they can because I never had the chance to get to know them. The fact that they were away from bothered me before because during the holidays, I was the only one who has no presents under the tree. (Ako nang kawawa) But I never really voiced this out to my parents whom I think compensates with the ang pao that they usually give me behind my siblings back. It really wasn't about the gifts though. As I've said, I really wanted to know the people my parents chose for my second parents.

I wonder how it would be like if Sirius was my godfather though. I think it would be absolutely brilliant.

Sanrio

My dentist said that the Sanrio-like rubbers he added to my braces called hell should last for around two weeks.

Here I am, orphaned by four pairs of rubbers, barely a week after said installation.

Why are those little rubber hair bands called Sanrio by the way? Is it because they're cute?

They look so effin' alike. O_____O

Shitty Dinner/Wii Night with The Gang

We are happy like this. Thank you very much.

The gang went to the house and played like crazeh. I hope my brothers don't pick up what the enraged losing players are saying.

• Shakeys pizzas
• Shakeys mojos
• Shakeys buffalo wings
• Krispy Kreme original glaze doughnuts
• Coco-cola products c/o Aling Elo's Sari-sari Store
• Sweet and sour meat balls
• Wii
• Facebook
• Talk Shit at the dining table c/o Davidson

Ang taba mo Jem. Nice meeting kay Paolo ;) See you on Saturday!! :D

The Kiss of Life

Rocco Morabito won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Spot Photography for this photograph - "The Kiss of Life."

Apprentice lineman J.D. Thompson is breathing life into the mouth of another apprentice lineman, Randall G. Champion, who hangs unconscious after receiving a jolt of high voltage.

Morabito was driving on West 26th Street in July 1967 on another assignment when he saw Champion dangling from the pole. He called an ambulance and grabbed his camera.

Champion recovered.

There's a hero~

if you look inside your heart~

It's ironic how I've just read about a dementor's kiss sucking all the life from a human.

Thank God for the time turner.

Yes. This is how affected I am with the Harry Potter series.

Chill Out

Chill out after VGang's "shit"-filled wii/dinner night here at the house. I'm excited for next week yow.

Bom is Da Bam

CL: Why did you trade Bom unnie for IU?!

Bom: What did you say about Bom unnie?

CL: Instead of having a duet with you SeungRi had it with IU!

Bom: Oh, it's fine. I had one with GD&TOP

Bom: GD&TOP is the real deal, you know?

Take That Twilight!

J.K. Rowling and David Heyman's Acceptance Speech for

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

The video says it all.

I am so, so proud to be in this generation where the magic began and will forever live in the undying entertainment and literary industry.

I shall update this later. I'm still trying to focus my thoughts about how Harry Potter has become a legend.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Although it's the 15th now here in the Philippines. This goes to the rest of the world. :)

Rare Finds. Or Not Really

From Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong, to Market! Market!, Taguig, to Glorietta 4, Makati, and then back to Market! Market!, Taguig, we went for most of this day. I was with the boyfriend and had a great time with our team mates. A lot of things happened in Glorietta 4. I'd rather not divulge this one here as it is quite personal and might evoke a big discussion among the two teams.

We rode The Fort Bus back to Market! Market! and the guys let us ride the jeepney first before going to their homes. I was really happy that the jeepney that was waiting for me to cross the street was full. But happy was I not. It was full of drunk teenagers. I quite understand the nature of today's generation but I don't really get how their parents treat them when they get home drunk. Some of them were even passed out. Well anyway, as I was about to get down the jeepney after saying a very loud "Para!!!", I was surprised that most of them said, "Bye Ate! Ingat ka po." It was so nice to hear that people who don't even know you wishes you goodness, so I said, "Ingat din kayo," with a happy face "wag kayo uminom!" I was about to say had I not been able to hold my tongue. I know they're nice kids. I just hope they have their priorities set correctly.

BTW

I saw the Super Moon tonight. It has the silhouette of Tuxedo Mask.
I think I saw Sailor Venus as well.

:))

Patikim

Weyn at our job interview.

January 17, 2011

Earthquake Survival Tips

I got this from a fellow teacher who shared it on our company's group chat message.

Very, very useful especially because The Philippines has just experienced an earthquake of 5.7 magnitude at the Lubang Fault, Occidental Mindoro, WNW of Batangas.

FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI ), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

Weyn Meets The Puppies

January 17, 2011

This one looks like a kitten!! They named him Milo.

This one's the makulit one. They named him after Kenny.

They're both sick now but I've heard from Weyn that their conditions are getting good. Who's that saint for animals again? Yeah. I'm praying for them to him. :)

Oh and BTW,

Let's all support PAWS, kei? Show your support, not only by liking the page, but seriously taking part.

ASDFGHJKL;'":

I honestly don't know what to do.

I don't know what to say.

I don't even want to think.
I want to sleep.

I'm a bum right now.

I need to go back to work. But first

I need to talk to our HR first.

I love Google.

I was surprised that I didn't have to sign in coz

I'm already online on Gmail and Google+. How cool is that?

I think not. As long as I keep things private, it wouldn't be that bad.

I want to watch Transformers 3.

I need to watch HP7: DH2. But

I need moolah for that. And then

I go back to the need to go back to work.

I am not making any sense at all.

OHOHO!

May nangaaway di naman ka-level.

I love gifs like that. Kung pwede lang lahat ng gif na makita ko sa Tumblr gawan ko ng post dito. ALIW!

Politics and Potter

Hindi naman sa pumupulitika no. I just found my voice and found people who appreciates my arguments. It's been a few months since I started being REALLY active over at twitter with my personal account @missymace and my pseudo-heroic one @BatangSora. Some people still can't believe I am the user of that account, but it's true. I've been invited to join the Dead Heroes Society and has been actively participating in online discussions and, now that the NLE's done, I can now join some programs and events. Yay!

Last night I stayed up late for the Live Premier of Harry Potter DH2 in London via YouTube. I cried, okay. I LITERALLY BAWLED MY EYES OUT especially when Jo Rowling started her emotional speech.

They all look absolutely lovely btw. Except for Bonnie who was sporting her great-aunt Tessie's dress robes.

She looks ghastly IMO. Meh. Or maybe it's just the shot and the fact that the only color she has is her ginger hair and her bright blue eyes.

I mean, look at Emma. So fresh, so divine, so like a swan. loljk I'm happy she's happy. But you know how I feel about the books and the movies. I DON'T WANT THEM TO END.

I really like how humble and fun-loving she is. And I want that gown. Hindi naman masyado obvious. I wasn't able to see it very clearly last night as I have the worst Internet connection in the entire Muggle world. I had no idea it wasn't entirely a tube! And as forever tulle this gown has, she it doesn't eat her petite body. GUJAB!