Filipino crabbiness Schadenfreude. That is, one Filipino cannot stand to see another Filipino more successful than they. This expression or observation of human behavior got its start. it is said, with someone watching a low-sided basket of live crabs. Each crab doesn’t really want to be in the basket … perhaps the sense their impending […]
I did something that nobody likes!
If there is one thing that virtually nobody likes, it is having to deal with government bureaucracy. That is true no matter what country you live in. In a country like the Philippines, though, where things are not so efficient, that is particularly true. But, yesterday, I had no choice, it was time to renew […]
In the Philippines, receipts are important
It has been mentioned on this site before that receipts are important in the Philippines. I can remember, when living in the States, we would often just throw away our receipts for stuff. After all, it was very rare that you would ever need the receipt for anything. Now, I am not talking about major […]
Not all invitations are good
Getting invited to an event is a honor, right? I mean, the fact that the person throwing the even thought of you as a person to invite should be a pleasure, an honor and such, don’t you think? Wait… don’t think too quickly like that. Being “invited” in the Philippines does not always have a […]
Maids through the years
I am writing something today related to the column that Bob was writing about the maid situation. We have lived here in the Philippines for almost 9 years now and yes we have some good and bad experiences with our maids. The one comment that really bothers me was: 1. Feed them good food. Not […]
SIR: The Time-Event Concept
Last week, when I wrote in my continuing series about SIR (Smooth Interpersonal Relationships), by foundation of Filipino Culture, I said that I had only one more aspect to cover, and asked if anyboyd could guess what it was. I was surprised that nobody guessed (Chris tried, but was not correct), because this is the […]