Inhale, Exhale

you know, it's not my mother's fault you had a very bad childhood thus this towering insecurity. it's not her fault either that you've grown into this flat-nosed loser with badly-shaped legs. and it's definitely not her fault that you had to do somebody else's laundry (my family's laundry, in fact) just to get your husband in a reputable firm. if he had the balls and enough diskarte, he wouldn't let his wife be some family's errand girl for his law career to take off.

so why are you dumping all of your frustrations on my mother? oh, because perhaps she lives the life you once dreamed for yourself? but she has a daughter who got pregnant even before marriage! would you want that? she doesn't have a son who backbreakingly works abroad just to send her mother capricious gifts and you actually have! and cmon, you have more expensive vehicles! so why the hate?

i won't try to understand your purpose and your actions. i don't have time for that. i will just pray that someday, life will give me enough lemons so i can squirt them all on your eyes. hahaha. my mother will scold me for this so let me rephrase. i hope someday, you'd realize your mistake (preferably on your deathbed) and ask even just an ounce of forgiveness for everything you've done against all your enemies. ah, too angelic. let me try for the third time. i hope someday, my mother would have the strength to come up to you while you're reciting your tirades against her and blurt, "it's not my fault your life's laden with insecurities but i cannot be your dumping ground forever," then slap her hard on one cheek, so hard her head would fall off. that's more like it. hahaha.

i am sorry to be posting all this raging posts but i can't help it. i have to release all this negative vibes since i cannot go home to negros armed with a good, sharp bolo to face this monster.

Watch Out

i am proud to say that i have slowly learned to curb my anger but there are just things and situations that get to me. i just get raging mad when some people try to hurt my family - most especially my mother. that is something that i just can't let go and forget. and perhaps, if my mother is the bungangera and pakialamera type who just tries to meddle into others' business, it wouldn't be such a big deal. but she is not. my mother is not the very buotan type, no. she's feisty when need be BUT wala guid gamo not unless the issue involves her kids already. but even if she's already attacked personally, she wouldn't fight back. she wouldn't talk back. that's how peace-loving she is. so what do her daughters do when some old, ugly witch tries to stress her out, a few days after she left the hospital? no, i'll say this again, we don't do catfights.

we pray, for the soul of this soon-to-be food of termites and worms who just can't shut her mouth up. again, i am amazed at how envy can consume one's self and make her forget her dignity and self-respect. because honestly, what dignified and self-respecting woman would go from table to table and gossip about how her own car is more expensive than her officemate's?

gosh. there's no rest and peace for the envious and wicked.

Scandalized

my sister called me last saturday to report that her name was plastered in one of their school's restroom door. beside it is a not-so flattering adjective. she wasn't fuming mad when we talked, we were actually laughing so hard. we were joking that perhaps, the "suspect" doesn't have the guts to "confront" her thus, resorted to name-calling. ah ah is known to be feisty and a "terror" both in the school and in the dorm so it's quite understandable how nobody would want to collide head-on with her. isn't posting your enemy's name in the restroom CR so...1990s? hahaha.

last year, we almost sued a 19-year old single mother when she harrassed our youngest sister by texting her lewd messages. apparently, her ex-bf (the father of her baby) was texting alexis and now she thought that my sister would date him, therefore abandoning her completely. as if! he wasn't handsome to begin with so why would my sister even think of dating him? honestly. second, we don't accept recycled nor used goods. hahaha. besides, they weren't together in the first place so her anger and madness was really displaced.

the whole process of going to the police to initially report the girl and her cohorts (her friends even talked to my mother, saying really nasty things about my sister. ill-bred ones, i tell you), plus saving all those text messages, and finally meeting with the respective girls' (they were from various schools) college deans was grueling. at first, the girls thought everything was a bluff (we had a lawyer). then when face-off day finally came, they were crying and begging for forgiveness. i guess they never really thought that our family would take it seriously. but hell, the girl (let's name her I), was telling my sister that she'd go to their dorm and embarass her in front of her dormmates. nobody does that to any of us. my parents were bent on suing but our lawyer adviced that a court hearing might be traumatic for my sister as she's only 18! so we initially settled for a public apology and an affidavit from all the girls involved. in the end, they apologized to my sister and my mother and eventually, all haluballo died down.

this is not new to us. i guess that's what happens when you're pretty, smart, and happy with your life. it doesn't matter if you're rich or not. but as long as they see you are contented and has lots of friends and can afford a car and to live in an aircon room complete with a ref and all the comforts of your own room, some people turn green.

i am saying this in defense of my sisters because first and foremost, they are my sisters. i'd pull all the hair out of anybody who tries to hurt them. second, i know them. yes they can be loud, yes they can be arrogant but hey, we can afford it. my parents can afford it so i don't see any problem with that. third, i know them well enough to know that they wouldn't start anything with anybody because we are too well-bred to start a catfight. only ugly, uncivilized people do that. we have a mother who taught us good manners. fourth, they are too busy thinking of ways to extort extra funds from our nanay to do anything immoral and against the law of our parents. hahaha.

i guess we've learned which battles are worthy of a good fight. and besides, why give these envious monsters the satisfaction of getting back at them? the best revenge would be to just shrug our shoulders, pout our pretty lips and continue being dyosas. it's funny isn't it, how some people would go at great lengths to show their insecurity? writing my sister's name on the restroom cr wouldn't make you gorgeous, my dear. you're only helping her become more popular. and tough. but the next time you do it, i'll make sure i'll flush you down the toilet - from the roots of your unrebonded, dead hair to the tips of your unmanicured toes.

Vexations to the Spirit

you'd think that as one gets older, one gets more mature, more perceptive, more honest, and less insecure, less envious and less...evil? hahaha. apparently, this doesn't apply to all. as they say, there are bound to be exceptions.

i don't understand old people who gossip about younger people. hell, i don't even understand why they gossip in the first place when supposedly, the younger person's the inferior and less rich one. really, i find it funny that the old woman bought a new, more expensive (kuno), vehicle, just because the younger lady bought a new car. and, the old woman brags to anybody who made the mistake of talking to her that her vehicle's more mahal. as if somebody, apart from her minions, really care.

it's amusing. people who exert great effort just to prove their "superiority" and "wealth" and "status" are amusing. and she's what, in her 50s or 60s?

i tell my mother, "at your age, you shouldn't be bothered with silly things like office gossip. you had your first 25 years to deal with those. if she has a problem with you, let her be. it's envy. and the weird thing is that, what is she envious about? we are not rich. we are not famous. well, perhaps it's the fact that you're younger, glowing, happy and content. while she is old, withered and bitter. "

i guess when you're dissatisfied with how your life turned out to be, when you're unhappy with the things life has thrown your way, when your kids don't exceed your expectations, you unleash your anger on innocent bystanders.

i pity people like this old woman. instead of enjoying the remaining years of her life, she spends it on useless, pathetic things like spreading rumors and making himantay. if only she knows how foolish and funny she sounds and looks like. and that is something, my dear friends, a lot of shiny, sparkling jewelry, branded clothes nor a very expensive vehicle, cannot compensate for.

Qualification: Impeccable Customer Service

friday nights are usually reserved for dinner and nightout with friends. whenever i have to go out, i often ask if we can have it on a friday so i don't have to be a killjoy when i need to leave by 9pm since there's work the next day.

last friday was booked for K, C and M. dinner was at banana leaf, as agreed with K. it was my second time and though my first one was a disaster, to say the least, i was willing to give the new restaurant another chance. banana leaf is among the several new restaurants that opened at the ayala terraces. cuisine is asian fusion and though a bit on the pricey side, their food is yum yum. but customer service is horrible.

the first time i was there, the rotti, which is an appetizer, was served during dessert. and we had to wait for 30 minutes (after the first batch of food was served) for two of our dishes. their waitresses were not alert to refill our drinks and most of the staff weren't friendly. when i subtlely raised my concern, i was assured by one of their friendlier waitresses that it was only that day when their kitchen staff's a little slow. "karon ra gyd ni mam," was what she told me. i jokingly said that their chef might be having a bad day. we let it go because it was their first week anyway and well, there's always room for improvement.

fast forward to last friday, a month or so after my first visit, i was aghast to discovered that they still have the same unfriendly and uber slow service. we ordered three dishes. the first two, grilled squid and kangkong, were served a little after 15 minutes. we started eating because C, K's husband, still has work. 20 minutes later, we made a follow up on the third dish, clams in chili sauce, if i remember it right. we were told it would be ready in 2 minutes. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 minutes after, there's still no clams in chili sauce on our table. we then decided to cancel the order and ask for our bill. para tagam ba. K did all the talking because she was the braver one. hahaha.

the waitress appeared on our table after we called out to another staff that we want our bill. she asked if we'd cancel the order and we said, "yes." that was when she started her monologue. she requested if we can just cancel our "cancellation" and bring the dish home instead since the cost of it would be deducted from her salary. softhearted as we are, we looked at one another and tried considering our decision but medyo lisod na. we said, "no, we're done eating. we don't want it anymore."

we can sense her fear when she left our table. then she came back, with the manager in tow. the manager reiterated the request if we can just bring home the order instead of cancelling it because the waitress would have to pay for it. we were like, "what the?" K explained that we understand that it's not the waitress' fault but it's not ours, either. they didn't serve the order on time and there wasn't even an apology for it. we were expecting the manager to apologize for the service but instead, he was asking us to pay for the food we didn't, and don't want to eat anymore! the waitress almost begged, "mam, sir, please give me a chance." i was heartbroken because i understood her situation, she didn't have control over the kitchen but our point is, it's the restaurant or the management's problem. eventually we gave in and had the dish wrapped and ready for take out.

before we left, K gave the manager a big piece of her mind. you see, it wasn't the first time. and we eat out often enough to know that not all restaurants have the same lousy service as banana leaf offers to their customers. i was irritated at how the manager handled the situation. other restos would profusely apologize for the inconvenience and would even offer to give the food for free. but what did this banana leaf manager do? helped his waitress beg for us to take out the food, no explanation whatsoever. i don't think he knows the responsibility his position entails.

i don't know if i'd ever go back there. yes, the food is delicious but eating there stresses me so much. and you know what they say, that even if you serve the most tempting cuisine yet your service sucks, you're bound to go down the drain. so i say, good luck banana leaf.

trying to forget the dinner fiasco, we trooped to coffee bean and tea leaf for our nightcap. i am not allowed to have coffee but i drink decaf fraps. my absolute fave is starbucks' decaf caramel frap. i asked the CBTL's cashier upon ordering if they do decaf for their ice blended drinks. he said, "yes" so i ordered one decaf caramel ice blended drink. when i claimed my order, i double checked if it's indeed decaf. the staff answered, "ay mam sorry, we don't have decaf for the ice blended drinks." what the?? are you gonna kill me? and he didn't even sound sorry.

i took a deep breath, counted 1 to 5 and said, "okay, you should've told me earlier. the cashier said you do decaf but anyway, it's all right." i wasn't about to lose my cool on a P135 drink. but it took so much for me to resist the urge of saying something not so nice to the cashier. so i drank the coffee but knowing how much i'm gonna suffer later, i only finished 1/4 of it. i had palpitations until saturday afternoon.

establishments like banana leaf and CBTL (but it was the first time i had a bad experience there so maybe i can still forgive them) should really start working on improving their service. nowadays, people are more aware that they deserve good customer service than anything else. i used to let things like these pass by but lately, i have been more outspoken and more aggressive. we are paying customers, we deserve nothing less than impeccable service. and if you can't give us that, then we're heading off to the next restaurant. and i bet, the food there is way, way better than yours.

Scam!

this is the first time i will blog about this although this isn't the first time i got something like this through email and text. and i know, i am not among the first persons to get this "lucky" in some random, unidentified lottery.
i supposedly won 1,000,00o euro (!) in a lottery drawn in the netherlands (the neverlands, more likely. haha). they gave me reference, batch and ticket numbers. if i didn't know any better, i could have had a heart attack knowing i won that much and without even doing anything!

as i've mentioned (and i bet even some of you received these notorious text messages), several emails and text messages have victimized a good number of people already. there were text messages which state that they won this much in a raffle and they have to contact this so and so lawyer so they can claim their prize. while others would tell the winning mobile number subscriber to reply with their account number so they can immediately deposit the amount they won. at first glance, it is quite amazing. and believable. especially for somebody who's not aware that scams do happen and that there are actually people who feed on others' desperation. there are DTI permit numbers and names and contact numbers so who are you to think that it is an ugly and horrible way to steal money from somebody and not an answer to your nightly prayers?

several actually believed it and went as far as sending load to that person who informed them of their winning to keep the communication going and worse, sent a certain amount of money as "processing fee" so the prize could be deposited to their account asap. it's sad.

well, you couldn't blame the victims. they might need money and here's this surprising "blessing" that just popped out of nowhere, telling them they actually have more than enough to pay the bombay, the sari-sari store debts, and the kids' tuition. verifying the authenticity of that raffle isn't the first thing that comes to mind. it's the P500,000.00 or even P1,000,000.00 that you won! you only begin to doubt everything when this atty. so and so stops replying to your text messages and calls after you reloaded his number with P100.00.

i thought these scammers stopped already last year when most of their tactics were exposed in several news programs. apparently, there are still some who are hopeful that they can trick a few fish to their bait. tsk tsk. for the meantime, let's just all be vigilant with these raffle draws, lotteries and anonymous text messages. at this time when everyone's feeling the crunch, there are some who would take advantage of others' weakness. let's pray for the souls of these losers, and evil schemers scammers, that they all burn in hell. *evil grin*

Throwing Last Names Around, Eh?

i had never been the type to use my last name to get ahead. oh sure, there were those times when i had to mention my father's or mother's and even my grandfather's name somewhere so i could get the things i need immediately. patience is not my strongest virtue so i sometimes had to resort to namedropping. hahaha. and yes, our last name is a ticket. but my world is bigger than our hometown so i always knew that the revered last name in our hometown, is nothing when i get somewhere else. also, i believe that using your last name to take advantage, to get ahead, and most especially trick or threaten people is so cheap, so low. so...kindergarten.

whatever i had achieved now, i am proud to say, is not through my parents' name. i got where i am now through my hardwork. no namedropping just so i can pass a subject, no mentioning of last names just so i can attend a function. i am where i am now because of my own name, through being alveel or kaith, for that matter. and soon i know, i wouldn't be just alveel. i'd be raf's and andi's mom. either raf, the very intelligent boy in school or raf, the bully. and andi, the prettiest little girl in class. because before, when my nanay would visit our school, she was known as alveel's nanay. now in the office, i am the president's EA, the maldita EA, the maarte but buotan EA and well yes, ppip's wife.

so unless you're a Zobel, Madrigal or Lopez, don't go throwing your last name around. nobody wants it, especially when it stinks.

Depress-Depressan

thank you for making me feel bad. i truuuuly appreciate it. ingrata.