Method to my Madness Revival

It's the new year, and it's time to plan things again. I've always been a new year's resolution fanatic. But most of my resolutions did not come to fruition. Perhaps a new year's resolutions are just like promises, which were made to be broken.

So far, I am achieving to resolutions. Quit smoking! Last cigarette was on January 1, 2 am. Go to the gym! It's been nine months. This week, I've been to the gym twice. It's a slow start, but hey, it's progress. In fact, I'm planning to go again tonight.

More resolutions. Be more patient. Be more understanding. Smile more. Sometimes, these things are very hard to do because of the country we live in. But I've learned, after having lived here for a little over a year now, that we just need to accept certain things we cannot change. Instead, we need to change ourselves, and then slowly change the people around us. So I have learned to love this country even more, but I have learned to hate it even more. There's an oxymoron for you! How can I possibly hate something more if I love it even more? Beats me. But I'm slowly discovering that myself. Thus, the title of this blog: Method to my Madness.

And through this blog, I will discover myself even more. But to discover is just half way. How do I change? How do I change the people around me? By writing things down, it's at least a start.

And with new year's resolutions, my blog is reborn. It is revived. The revival of my blog. To pour my thoughts and hopefully change the mindsets of people. It's a pretty lofty goal, but hey, I'm ready for it. I don't intend to change everyone's mindset. Just one at a time, that's all. Just one at a time.

Filipino and American Relationships

It's been a long long time. I used to have over 300 hits a day during my active days of blogging, and that was only when I first started blogging several months ago. I probably have one or two visitors a day now. Consequences, right? What happened to my blogging enthusiasm? It's called work. When work consumes you, you just forget some of the things in life. I intended for this blog to express my thoughts about the Filipino life, so that my head won't explode. It's still a constant battle, but I'm winning most of them.

One of my blog readers, Jesse, asked about writing more Filipino-American relationships. I know that there are great Filipino-American relationships out there. My cousin is married to a white guy. My aunt is married to another one. Great relationships. But then again, my sister's BF needs to go. My other cousin was dumped after eight years. Me, I dated Americans here and there. Columbians too. I never dated a Filipino. Even if I am a Filipino, there was just some cultural differences between me and other Pinays. For some odd reason, I never see eye to eye with them. Instead, I got along well with non-Filipinos. This will take volumes and pages to explain. Better leave it here.

Here in the Philippines, though, I've never seen so much white worship. Yikes! Everywhere I go, I see a Filipino or a Filipina kiss a white man's ass. So insulting. So degrading. So kawawa. I know it's about this colonial mentality this and colonial mentality that. Yes, it's historical. But there is a time when we need to rise up and let it go. It's time to hold our heads up high and know that we are all equals, regardless of color.

When I go to Havana, or any other establishments in Greenbelt, I see the poor Pinoys scrambling to ensure that the white customers are taken care of. Then I see the same poor Pinoys mistreating their "kapwa" pinoys. What a sorry sight.

CAUTION: If you're in customer service, you better treat me right. I will treat you as I want to be treated. That is, customer satisfaction. I am paying for it, and I only demand good to great service. No less. That is the same thing I would give you if you were to come to my business establishment. If I am not treated well, I will inform the manager how lousy the service is, and how I will never come back again, and how I will tell everyone else not to patron the place...unless they change their ways. Pinoys deserve good treatment too. All Pinoys.

I do not bow down to the white man. I respect them for who they are as human beings. But I do not bow down to them. I am a proud Filipino, and I need to be respected not by my color or my creed, but by the very fact that I am a decent human being.