Some random notes I had jotted down about Christmas:
Filipinos love Christmas. Filipinos are well-known for celebrating the longest Christmas season, with decorations and Christmas songs starting to become common around September. The most well-known meme around this time is about the song Christmas in our Hearts by Jose Mari Chan, which is one of the songs malls often play during the season. Many memes leading up to December or even earlier imply Jose Mari Chan preparing to strike on unsuspecting Filipinos.
All entries tagged philippines.
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Dec 2018
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The other day I was passing through the QC memorial circle (as is my wont) and I decided to walk around the tiangge/flea market that’s often there. It seemd larger than usual that day, so I figured I should finally take a look. And in the process I remembered what I dislike about local flea markets: 90% of the stalls are selling some form of clothes (which I have no interest in browsing - maybe if these stalls sold something my size for once!
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Posted on r/Philippines: Used book stores in QC?
Any recommendations? Baka lang may alam kayo na di ko pa alam lol
There’s Book Sale sa malls of course, but the selection isn’t really that good.
There’s Bookay-Ukay in Teacher’s Village, selection is a bit better than Book Sale, but parang hindi sya bukas the last time I was in that area.
There used to be a small used book store with a pretty good selection called Chapter IX in Circle C mall along Congressional Avenue, but it doesn’t seem to be there anymore.
The best one I’ve found sa Metro Manila was this pop up stall that often appeared in Greenfield near Shaw on Friday evenings. Haven’t been there for a few years, so IDK if this is still a thing, pero maganda yung selection nila madaming sci-fi/fantasy classics (I got my copy of Dune there)
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Posted on r/Philippines: Survey: Where is the best place for software developers to work in the Philippines?
Not just in terms of salary, but also work culture, learning, career progression, environment, work/life balance, and so on.
Edit: Sorry, I meant a company.
Oct 2018
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Systemic change is difficult. I’m talking about software projects/systems, but there are a lot of parallels with societal systems too, like governments or states. I’ve been in large projects with hundreds of thousands of LOC where a lot of the code was painful to read and full of code smells and so on. It happens over time as projects get maintained by different developers and teams or different enhancements or changes are made.
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Posted on r/Philippines: Baka may nakakaalam: If I have a package shipped here (Metro Manila) from US via USPS…
… madedeliver ba yun sa address ko, or masstuck sa post office and kelangan ko pa ipickup?
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I have no plans of running for elective office (though it is a running joke among some of my circles), but if I were, one of the problems I would focus on would be education. As such, I have a list of suggested additions to the High School curriculum here in the Philippines. (The first version of this list was in an FB post I wrote during the 2016 campaign period, in response to people clamoring for better Martial Law education.
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(Click to view full-size) 21 Oct 2018 1:00amView postClose I took a quick walk around the QC memorial circle the other day. There was some kind of event going on in the main plaza for the Department of Agriculture; Secretary Pinol was there giving a speech. I walked a couple of rounds around the park so I could meet my daily steps target.
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For the past few weeks or so, many in the country were consumed by a sort of lotto fever. The PCSO 6/58 Ultra Lotto had gotten up to a record high jackpot prize of more than 1 billion PHP (roughly 20M USD – I know some lotteries in the US have prizes way higher than that, but hey, we’re not the US.) Many people who normally don’t play the Lotto were participating due to the sheer size of the pot.
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Posted on r/Philippines: Quezon Memorial Shrine
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A few days ago I read this great Reddit comment about how increasing hyperpartisanship makes it easier to influence the entire population. Quoting the relevant part: Once you've done that, you have a population that's easier to manipulate. You have, say, 30% that's 100% sure on both ends, and probably another 15% on both ends that are 80% sure, and a remaining 10% that could go both ways. The more you do this, the more the 15% will be set in stone.
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Reply to 'Tips on work culture in the Philippines? I’ll be working there for a while 🙂' on /r/Philippines:
Locals will have a tendency to fawn over Westerners who come to the country, so at least at the start you might feel like you can do no wrong.
Locals are also a lot less… direct than Westerners and if there are problems they may dance about the issues a bit for fear of looking bad. You might need to be less direct with any criticism than you’re used to with Westerners. And some might have difficulty talking to you if they aren’t confident in their English (most Filipinos will be able to speak/understand English to some extent, but not everyone will have decent grammar etc)
And there’s a strong sense of power distance in the company, so they might be a bit afraid of you especially if you are perceived as being “higher in the food chain”.
Going out with them for meals and maybe treating them every once in a while (don’t let them get used to it) would be good ways to become accepted as part of the group. But that power distance may be difficult to breach.
All of these are generalizations of course, not all locals are like the above (I consider myself an exception - I’m quite direct even when talking to foreigners), so YMMV.
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A while back KFC had this weird cheesy spicy chicken (basically spicy chicken covered in a cheese sauce), I really liked it for some reason.
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What can we do?
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I recently watched this TedX talk by Seth Godin about the purpose of school/education: One of the best points I agree with from the talk is that majority of our educational system is geared towards generating graduates who are obedient. We teach students from a young age to follow rules and answer roll calls. We teach them standard prescribed solutions. We teach them how to take exams and how to find the right answers.
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Reply to 'PNP to state scholars: Why go against the gov't that gives you free education?' on /r/Philippines:
This is a valid question, but only if you think that the purpose of education is to generate citizens who are obedient sheep
Sep 2018
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It is not necessary. They’re just pressuring you so they get free food.
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Repost from WilliamPesek:
Duterte’s nostalgia economics will end badly for #Philippines https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Duterte-s-nostalgia-economics-will-end-badly-for-Philippines #DuterteHarry #tradewar
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I read this in his voice
Aug 2018
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It’s not like the Senate is a totally independent institution right
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How about some kind of different minimum wage brackets depending on how many employees you have (this would include subcontracting etc). Like for 1-10 employees, minimum wage is X, for 11-50 employees minimum wage is X + 100, 51-200, minimum wage is X + 200, and so on.
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Traffic na even back then
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Payag ako dito if the funds collected are required to be channelled back into public schools/hospitals
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What was the formula before this?
Jul 2018
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Reply to 'VP Leni: Ekonomiya nalang muna asikasuhin imbes insulto sakin o sa Diyos' on /r/Philippines:
As if may alam sa ekonomiya yung pangulo natin. Pagiinsulto ang specialty nyan e, so dun sya nakatutuok
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I have yet to see a compelling and detailed economic analysis as to how it will benefit each region (as in, I’d like to see a breakdown of the expected economic benefit to each region)
As for cons:
- between fascist tendencies, highly divisive political tactis, and at best a loose relationship with the truth, such a large change cannot be entrusted to this administration
- federalism creates a 2-tier taxation system (state and federal), possibly leading to more taxes
- empowers political dynasties
- costly transition without clear cost/benefit analysis
- our societal problems are largely cultural in nature, changing the system of government will do little to address that
That being said, I could see why some people might like it, and I am not against changing the charter per se (I agree that there are some problematic things with the 1987 constitution)
Jun 2018
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Call out as much as you can. Do not let them wear you out. It can be exhausting, making you feel like you’re shouting into a bottomless void and getting no response. Take a break when you need it. Come back swinging afterwards.
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Given that she’s an attack dog backed by the family that is the sworn enemy of the Aquinos, it will be a cold day in hell before she apologizes to any member of that family
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Parang kilala kita
May 2018
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Putting your picture on your resume when your appearance shouldnt have any effect on the job you’re applying for is a silly thing Pinoys do that should end. It contributes to a culture of shallowness where people judge you based on your appearance.
Aside from it being better for society, you would probably not want to work at the sort of places that expect your resume to have a picture.
That being said, if you have any sort of facebook presence, you can be sure you’re gonna get online-stalked before any intervieew.
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Ever since I came of age, I’ve exercised my right (and duty) to vote in every election that comes around. Except for Barangay/SK elections. I’ve never voted in Barangay elections. I understand that voting is a civic duty, and I have no real justification for shirking it. But the fact is that my level of awareness re: barangay-level government is very low. I have no idea what their responsibilities or jurisdiction is supposed to be.
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How do you think we can systematically close that gap?
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Posted on r/Philippines: Do you find the Barangay to be a relevant and/or useful part of government?
TBH, I don’t see the need. AFAIK other countries only have elected local officials up to the mayor level right? It just seems like another unnecessary layer of politicians
Apr 2018
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Such a deep bench
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Reply to 'Paymaya is love' on /r/Philippines:
I got sent P100 load also earlier. I created the account a month ago but have never used it haha
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What’s the source of this image? Thanks!
Mar 2018
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This sounds like someone I (used to) know haha
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Can you imagine what it was like to be the poor hapless employee who wrote this barely-recognizable-as-English text?
“Huy, teka ba’t ako? Ba’t ako magsusulat neto? Wala bang iba? Alam nyo naman mahina ang English ko? Anlaki ng budget natin, wala ba tayong marunong talaga magsulat? Teka lang, wag nyo ko madaliin, kinakabahan ako. Sige na, sige na, susubukan ko. Pano ba dapat to? Wala ba kong makokopyahan? Ngayon lang ba tayo gumawa ng ganitong id? Ano ba dapat nakasulat dito? Kasi naman, ba’t ba ako nandito, e sabi ko nung nagapply ako PCSO, hindi PCOO. Eto na, eto na, saglit lang. Ano ba English ng isaoli? May magrereview naman siguro nito ano? Kelangan pa ng pirma ni secretary e, may magsasabi naman siguro kung may mali? Walang sisihan ha, pinipilit nyo ko, e lahat ng pinapanood ko sa tv tagalog, sana pumasa ingles ko. Bakit may pulang underline ito sa Word? Ano ba ibig sabihin nun? Ok ba yun? Sige na, bahala na si Batman, send ko na lang to. May magrereview naman siguro bago iprint.”
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Lol if they want to prosecute someone for inciting others to violence there’s a government official with a position way higher than Trillianes they can go after
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Posted on r/Philippines: r/PH: What do your bookshelves look like?
I’m told that Filipinos are still reading books. When I visit other people’s houses I like looking at their bookshelves. What do yours look like?
Feb 2018
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Posted on r/Philippines: What is a positive change introduced by this administration that has directly improved your life?
Wala lang, para maiba.
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#PinoyPride
Jan 2018
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Posted on r/Philippines: r/Philippines, what’s your desktop wallpaper?
Dec 2017
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TRAIN is neutral to okay for the middle class, who get to pay less taxes. Prices will go up, but since they have some discretionary funds to spend, they can simply manage their budget accordingly.
TRAIN is bad for the poor, who weren’t paying taxes before anyway. They get no direct benefit, and yet have to suffer higher prices. They already have low discretionary funds to spend, so they have to stretch their budgets further.
TRAIN is a bit bad for the upper class (those who pay the correct taxes at least), but they have wider discretionary budget to spend so they will just pay a little more (or more will be driven to evade taxes completely)
TRAIN is good for the government, since it means more collections and less money spent on enforcement (since taxes on consumption are easier to collect/implement than personal income taxes)
Lastly, TRAIN is very bad for ROHQ employees due to the presidential veto.
Nov 2017
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AMA Request: A Jollibee customer na nakipagkwentuhan kay Trudeau
Oct 2017
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Well, if it’s true that the new jeeps are more profitable in the long run for the drivers, why do we need to enforce the phaseout? Why not let drivers choose whether to use the old models or the new ones, and let the old model die out naturally to market forces?
I mean, I get all the benefits, but these jeepney drivers don’t really earn that much. Anlaki ng cost for them nung new models, so mahihirapan talaga sila if we force them to transition.