Digital Chain

A major difference in driver’s attitude here in the United States is the use of the vehicle’s horns.

On page 42 of the 2007 California Driver Handbook the uses of the horn are enumerated. There are 3 conditions where you can use your horns and 4 conditions when not to use the horn.

For comparison:

In California

• Honk ONLY :to avoid accidents; to alert other drivers to get “eye contact”; on narrow mountain roads, where you cannot see at least 200 feet ahead.

• DO NOT honk: if a driver is going slowly and you want him to drive faster; if slowing or stopping - use the brakes instead; to show other drivers that they made a mistake; if you are angry or upset.

In the Philippines I tap the horn

• to get the other driver to go faster;
• to show the other driver that he made a mistake;
• when approaching an intersection;
• when approaching a ped xing;
• when a car is in front of me and its a green light;
• when I give the right of way to another car;
• to thank a driver for giving me way;
• when I am angry or upset.

The only time I heard a car honk was in Las Vegas. In Bakersfield, I have yet to hear a car honk.

The Las Vegas experience can be life altering, according to Manong Roger. He tells me of an educator - a doctorate degree holder - who would rather be a cocktail waitress than be a teacher. Another, who taught advance mathematics in the Philippines who would rather be a pit-boss than teach math.

Obviously being a cocktail waitress pays more. How does $300 a night in tips only strike you? Then add her salary, you get one happy Ph.D without the pressure. The same goes for the math wizard who earns more than the waitress.

Being a former college instructor, I understand the pressure of having to prepare for the next lessons and the anticipation of interacting with students. Although, I still consider teaching as a worthwhile endeavor and has rewards on its own, I can’t blame these educators one bit.

It’s a sad fact that similar instances occur in the Philippines- for far less, if I may add. Brilliant teachers are forced to work as domestic helpers in foreign countries for a measly sum.

So, not only in Las Vegas but also in the Philippines.

April 23 - that’s my sister Sophia’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KABSAT! The whole world (since it’s posted in the internet ;)) joins us in celebrating your natal day.

About her age? Well, women do like to retain a certain air of mystery when it comes to how old they are. I’ll just let you guess how old she is.

We love you !

P.S. Thea will also turn 8 years old on April 28.

I am watching CNN for updates on the Virginia Tech Campus massacre. It is terrible and I could not even imagine the horror and trauma the VT community is undergoing right now. But what breaks my heart was when the news reporter said that a parent made a statement that his child did not make it and died in the hospital from the gunshot wounds.

It must have been very difficult to have to announce the death of a loved one- “My baby didn’t make it… “

This is just horrific.

As the mailman said in his sound bite with CNN, “No parent has to go through this…”

I miss texting or SMS as they call it in some areas. In the Philippines texting is the preferred mode of communication (over phone calls) because voice is more expensive. Here in Bakersfield calling and texting almost cost the same. So many mobile phone users just call instead of thumbing away on their keypads.

But texting has other “useful” functions. To name a few:

1. Divorce can be handed down via SMS. But Malaysia is reviewing it.
2. For political campaigns. Texting was used for the presidential campaign.
3. Sending love notes. Filipinos are better lovers because of this. Read here. But ladies still prefer the paper-based notes. Read here.
4. Sending break-up notes. A hightech way of inflicting a special pain. Read here.
5. Reporting that a politician has a mistress. But for some its a fact of life.
6. To oust a government. True or not, myth has it that former president Erap Estrada was forced to step down because of text power
7. File your income tax. Said to be the first in the world. More…
8. Cr8 a nu wri10 lngwij. chek it hEr. wnt a transl8r 4 DIS? clik hEr.
9. Can make you sicks (make you fat, senile, lead to STDs, etc.) Here.
10. We become MOCIOLOGIST.

So, like the cigarette ad once said, “…you’ve come a long way, baby…”

Got this from Time Magazine. You can read the whole article here.

“Jollibee, with more than 1,400 stores in the Philippines and 11 branches in California, makes McDonald’s look like a funeral parlor. Its mascot is a jolly bee, and the restaurants are blindingly happy, all giant, shiny yellow blocks, as if they were designed by an architect from Legoland. Even if you gave Walt Disney all the ecstasy in the world, he would not have come up with this. America, according to Jollibee, is clearly a place of childlike optimism. Jollibee’s two most popular items are called the Yumburger and the Chickenjoy. The Yumburger has a weird, plasticky dollop of French dressing in the middle. The crisped-up French fries are dry inside and taste as if they weren’t just double fried but dunked in oil four or five times. The fried chicken is halfway decent, but the inflated, happy fakeness of Jollibee makes you feel that the only American its Filipino owners have ever seen is Pamela Anderson.”

It’s official then. We now export even jolly bees. Now we wait for the next wave. What else can we send over? When are they coming to Bakersfield? We wait in suspended anticipation…

This is something I can brag about! I HAVE COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE LARGEST LIVING THING ON EARTH!

Ha! Although a lot of people have seen it, I am still proud to have been in its presence. A majestic thing it is to behold. A behemoth and towers over all of us, we can only strain our neck so far just to see how tall it is. Not only is it tall but it is wide as well. It has no covering, in a familiar sort of way, but it is clothed in earth colors. A reminder that it is a child of the earth. It is amazing to know that it is still growing and once more mother earth is nurturing it.

It has seen the birth pangs of this nation and this world. It saw the changes both good and bad. It was and still is a silent witness to what humanity has done will do to mother earth. But it is majestic even after 2,700 years.

It even has a name - General Sherman. If you want to know why click here.

And I had the pleasure of meeting the granddad of all living things with my family.

Of course, we need to thank Manong Roger D. Tolentino who took us to the scenic routes.

Big TV, originally uploaded by alvinctanicala.

There are many anecdotes about pinoys that are amusing or at times painfully true but hold special realizations. In my first week here in Bakersfield, California I have heard how pinoys are faring. Here are two :

• Did you know that most Filipinos here have poor eye sight? Because all their TVs are wide screens!

• Did you know that the fog blanketing Daly City, California is said to be attributed to Filipinos? Because they use their rice cookers all at the same time, the steam from the cookers cover much of the city!

But generally, Filipinos here in Bakersfield are cool- makes one proud to be a pinoy!

Just want to share a photo of a beautiful Bakersfield sunset.