Fan lang ako ni Senator Sotto

Looking on the bright side, the now infamous "Blogger lang iyon!" words of Sen. Tito Sotto is giving some publicity to the blogging community.

This morning, while being squeezed in between a big guy in sando (with a healthy hair growth on his armpits) to my left and a petite lady using her cellphone as a calculator to my right inside a nice smelling FX (I just love vanilla scent), I overheard two guys at the back conversing about Tito Sen.  Their conversation was something like this:

Guy 1: Ano ba yung blogger?

Guy 2: Sa internet yun. Parang media.

Guy 1: E, bakit parang galit si Tito Sotto.

Guy 2: Ewan ko. I-Google mo kaya.

Guy 1: Mamya na, Facebook muna ko

I am not Lastikman (Hi, Bossing!) to be able to stretch my neck up and check what those young fellows are looking at but base on the other topics that I heard them talked about (there is no radio in the FX so what can I do?)--- they're doing Facebook using their mobile phones.

Deep inside, I said wow to myself (something I find funny imagining myself actually doing it). Why? For the first time in my life, since being introduced to world of blogging in 2007, it’s the first time that I heard people inside a public utility vehicle (MRT/ LRT, jeepneys, tricycle and habal-habal included) talking about the B word. Nah, I’m not talking about Blair Carabuena.

Imagine this: millions of Filipinos watch Eat Bulaga everyday then suddenly they heard one of their hosts talking about blogs and bloggers. One unaware soul might get curious and will Google or ask another person to check what the heck he is talking about.

Let’s face it, many Filipinos have little information abouth bloggers. Some who have heard about bloggers like me even have some unpleasant impressions about us--- gatecrashers, loot bag looters and trying hard wannabes who wants to get media privileges just because he/ she has the ability to write and post something online. Let’s not even forget about Mr. BigBad Blogger.

But with the Tito Sotto incident, I would like to believe that people will be interested to check out blogs a little different now. And I’m sure, people will find a gem or two with the many great bloggers in the cyberspace, and who knows in the end they might even get interested to make a site of their own.

For me, blogging is one of the best things that ever happened in my life. It’s a stress buster, online diary, gateway to new friends and contacts, a way to get for free things I have no means of buying,  a taste of good life, ticket to (instant) fame ,  a full-time/ part-time job... it’s my life!

   

I am proud to be a blogger the same way I have been a proud TVJ fan ever since I started to learn to sing and dance the Eat Bulaga theme song when I was just 5 years old.

Mahal ko po kayo, Sen. Sotto dahil ang mga tough hits nyo ang nakasama ko sa pagtawa sa mga panahong walang dahilan para magpakaligaya... pinasarap n’yo lalo ang luto ng nanay ko sa tanghalian dahil kayo ang kasama naming sa hapag-kainan... at higit sa lahat, mahal ko kayo dahil hindi LANG kayo TV host, artista o senador para sa akin. Naging bahagi na po kayo ng buhay ko!

No to TAMAD, Yes to TESDA

Most Filipinos get offended when they are branded as tamad or lazy.

You hear the word almost every day from annoyed wives to their complacent spouses...  upset parents to their easy-go-lucky children... angry bosses to their unproductive employees... and even from unsatisfied citizens to ineffective government officials.

We get offended by the word but still, we don’t do anything to improve the situation (tamad nga, eh.)

That’s why tamad is often associated to the tambays (bums) and people who finds joy spending the the whole day staring at the wall. I also came out with my own meaning for TAMAD as in Taga-abang ng Awa ng Magulang At Diyos. 

The unemployment rate in Philippines, a country with a 92-million population, was last reported at 6.9 percent in April this year.  I am not saying that all of those belonging to the statistic are lazy individuals because there are a lot of factors that led to people to being unemployed. 

Some blame it to the lack of opportunities in our country  but believe it or not, there are still tens of thousands of unfilled positions in the BPO sector alone on top of the 638,000 people already hired in the industry in 2011. 

The real issue is while many Filipinos apply for work in IT-BPO companies, at present the hiring rate is just 5 to 10%. Most applicants do not make the cut because they lack the necessary qualifications, skills, and professional expertise. Now, if you’re someone who spent months or even years looking for a job but only gets rejected in every attempt , more likely you’ll be a tambay and eventually get used to it until you get labelled as tamad.

But this should not be happening since the national government have been reaching out  the unemployed, youth and elderly and OFW sector in enhancing the skills and capability of willing individuals to be more productive and employable.  One of the forefront of such initiatives is the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), now on its 18^th year of service, which has launched innovative approaches in implementing training programs.

Villanueva during the presentations of the donated buses from Genesis Transport Services, Inc. for TESDA's classroom on wheels project.
(Photo credit: www.tesda.gov.ph)

Under the leadership of Director General Joel Villanueva, TESDA has launched classrooms on wheels, TESDA Online or TOP and other programs especially created to the less privileged who can’t afford high-cost education. Villanueva envisions that his programs will bring tech-voc trainings to the grassroots by offering the flexibility of distance learning without sacrificing the quality of teaching. After the training, enrolees can go to the nearest TESDA-accredited centers nationwide to get accessed and certified. 

People can also opt to enroll in any TESDA training centers if they prefer to experience a classroom style approach and choose from different courses from automotive to caregiver training  to electronics and a lot more. You can visit www.tesda.gov.ph for the complete list of courses offered and other details.

 Now, there’s definitely no reason to be tamad because as what they say, “Sa TESDA, May Choice Ka!”  

This blog post is officially entered in the TESDA Blog Contest. I hope you can share and/or like my entry by visiting the TESDA official fan page.

The Love Letter Olympics

Since it may take another four years for Filipinos to finally get the very elusive Olympic gold medal, I thought of possible categories where us Pinoys excel aside from boxing... boxing... and boxing (unfortunately, our lone boxer in this years edition of the Games failed to advance the second round).

Unless some new innovations will be included in the 2016 Games in Rio---- like Manny Pacquiao to be given a go signal to represent the Philippines; Wushu, 9-Ball and Bowling to be included as Olympic events; or there will be a 6-feet and under Men's Basketball--- it will be looking for a needle in a haystack for us for a long time in our quest for gold.

Now here's one thing Filipinos are good at--- coming up with pick-up lines and sweet nothings. Since we are still in the middle of the Games festivities worldwide, I want to share some "romantic" and "cute" acronyms that you might want to use in the next love letter you will be sending to your love ones. I made a few lines using names of countries and mixed it with entries that I got online. Smile before you read, ha?  

AUSTRALIA - Adoring & Understanding Someone's True Reasons About Loving Intimately Always.
BURMA - Between Us, Remember Me Always
CALGARY - Caress And Love Grow Always in Relationship Yearly
CANADA - Cute And Naughty Action that Developed into Attraction
CHINA - Come Here I Need Affection
EGYPT - Everything's Great, You Pretty Thing
FRANCE - Friendships Remain And Never Can End
GERMANY - Great Emotion Really Makes Any Nerd Yell
HOLLAND - Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies
HONGKONG - Hug Only Nice Guys, Kiss Only Naughty Girls.
INDIA - I Nearly Died In Adoration
ITALY - I Trust And Love You
JAPAN - Just Always Pray At Night
KENYA - Keep Everything Nice, Yet Adoring
KOREA - Keeping Optimistic Regardless of Every Adversity
LIBYA - Love Is Beautiful; You Also
MANILA - May All Nights Inspire Love Always
NEPAL - Never Ever Part As Lovers
PHILIPPINES - Pure Hugs I Love It Please Please I Need Some
POLAND - Planning Our Love, A New Dream.
RUSSIA - Romance Under the Sky & Stars Is Intimate Always
THAILAND - Totally Happy Always In Love And Never Dull
VIETNAM - Very Intimate Emotions Towards Non-Appreciative Males

If you have better or other suggestions, please feel free to place them in the comment section. Boom!

Mark Barriga's Olympic Journey

(Photo by Murad Sezer, Reuters)

The evening of July 31 (Philippine time) marks the first step of lone Filipino boxer Mark Anthony Barriga in his quest for glory in the 2012 London Olympic.

The hope of the country where the best pound-for-pound boxer lives rest on the shoulder of this 19-year old fighter who seeks to accomplished what no Pinoy athlete has ever reached--- the elusive Olympic Gold medal.

Fighting in front of a full-house crowd that included his parents Edgar and Melita who flew in to London with the help of Procter and Gamble, Mark connected with a flurry of shots in the opening round, landing a solid straight in the last seven seconds that prompted a standing 8-count against the much taller Italian slugger Manuel Cappai. He continued his dominance en route to a 17-7 win.

Mark stepped on the ring once again on the evening of August 4 (Philippine time) to slug it out againts Birshan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan for the right to enter the Round of 8.

The young Pinoy boxer gave his all and led the match 10-8 entering the 3rd round.  But the table turns against the Philippine side when Barriga was penalized twice within the final salvo thus deducting 2 points from the judges score card.  The damage was so huge that he end up losing the bout in a close 16-17 decision.

Mark may have love his quest for gold this time but with more training and patience to achieve his dream, who knows, 2016 might be the right time for him to get another crack for glory and finally win the top prize for his country.