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About batjay

I am an overseas filipino worker. Now, I am part of that "babalik ka rin crowd" you see around christmas time, arriving at the NAIA in droves from all over, gold chain around their necks, in jeans and maong jacket, ray-ban shades, goatee, and baseball cap, pababa pa lang ang eroplano kinukuha na ang hand-carry luggage at nagpapalakpakan na't handang halikan ang lupa pagka-landing!

TURNING JAPANESE, PART 2

hello my love. kamusta ka na? sana ay ok ka lang diyan at di masyadong namomroblema dahil nag-iisa.

kakadating ko lang sa hotel at medyo pagod. nagpunta kami ngayon sa office ng distributor namin sa japan. nag dry run kami sa conference room nila kasama ang interpreter ko. hehehe… mahirap palang mayrong interpreter. di ka pwedeng mag-sabi ng kung ano-ano lang at siguradong mahuhuli ang pambu-bullshit mo. dapat ay puro katotohanan at every sentence ko sa english ay tina-translate sa japanese. di pwede ang style ng mga singaporeans na “etc. etc. and so on and so forth” o kaya “blah blah blah” na ginagawa nilang filler at the end of the sentence, kung di nila ma-express ang sarili nila sa english. medyo nakuha ko na ang style pag may interpreter – kailangan ay mabagal ang pagsalita mo at kailangan simple lang ang mga salitang gagamitin mo. pero yung interpreter ko ay magaling mag-english dahil laking amerika.

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TURNING JAPANESE

good morning my love.

pasensya ka na’t di ako makatawag. walang signal ang cell phone ko rito sa japan. di ko alam kung harang lang ang signal dahil sa position ng hotel room ko or wala talagang roaming sa japan. anyway, nandito na ako sa hotel after a long bus ride and a longer plane ride. malamig dito ngayon at sana nandito ka sa tabi ko.

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20 minutes before takeoff

lipad akong japan ngayong gabi. my first time to be in the land of the rising sun. i’ll be there for a week which means i won’t be here in singapore with jet for valentines day… di bale, i’ll make it up to here when i get back. kagabi, kumain naman kami sa kenny rogers… advance valentines day date. me-kenny rogers? hehehe… cheap date? treat naman iyon eh – dahil ngayon lang ulit kami nakapunta doon in 2 years.

sige, next time i write again, it’ll be in tokyo.

ALLIGATOR KING

“Alligator King”, SESAME STREET

One two three four five six seven!
Said the Alligator King to his seven sons,
“I’m feelin’ mighty down.
Whichever of you can cheer me up
Will get to wear my crown.”

His first son brought seven oyster pearls
From the bottom of the China Sea.

The second gave him seven statues of girls
With clocks where their stomachs should be.

The third son gave him seven rubies
From the sheikdom down there beneath.
The King thought the rubies were cherries,
And he broke off seven of his teeth.

The fourth son tried to cheer him up
With seven lemon drops.
The King said, “I’m sorry son,
Since that ruby episode, I just haven’t got the chops.”

The fifth son brought the King perfume
In seven fancy silver jars;
The King took a whiff, and he broke out in spots
‘Cause it smelled like cheap cigars.

The sixth son gave him seven diamond rings
To wear upon his toes.
The King snagged his foot on the royal red rug
And crumpled up his nose.

The seventh son of the Alligator King
Was a thoughtful little whelp.
He said, “Daddy, appears to me
That you could use a little help.”

Said the Alligator King to his seventh son,
“My son, you win the crown.
You didn’t bring me diamonds or rubies, but
You helped me up when I was down.
Take the crown; it’s yours, my son.
I hope you don’t mind the dents.
I got it on sale at a discount store-
Cost me all of seven cents!”
Seven!

WEEKEND WORK

nandito ako ngayon sa office… nag-iisa sa buong floor. sabado ng hapon, kasalukuyang nag-fo-format ng pc kong dadalhin sa land of the rising sun sa lunes. nandito kasi ang server namin at mas mabilis mag load ng mga program kaysa sa bahay. di ko alam kung anong oras ako matatapos… hopefully uwi ako by six.

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PAYSCALE BLUES

A SINGAPORE worker in manufacturing is paid about 14 times more than one in China and almost three times more than a Malaysian. But his wages are still competitive because he is more productive.

so says the singaporean government. the wage difference is probably true. the productiveness? perhaps true as well. wala kasing welfare dito sa singapore. ayaw ng gobyerno dahil nagiging tamad daw ang mga tao. in short, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. if you don’t get paid, nobody here will help you. if you don’t work hard, you get fired. ergo – singaporeans are productive.

unlike other western countries, where welfare takes care of the unemployed – over here, you sink or swim. considering that singapore is a nation of ONLY 3 million people – their productiveness is quite an acheivement.

Killer-litter woman

SINGAPORE: Killer-litter woman acquitted

A 50-YEAR-OLD woman who threw furniture, documents and her five cats from her ninth-floor Housing Board flat, has been let off with a warning. Ms Kaye Lea was acquitted by a magistrate’s court yesterday after the prosecution withdrew the charge against her for committing a rash act that endangered people.

She had been charged with throwing a wooden chair, a cardboard box of documents, three paperback books and a box of clothing from her Clementi Avenue 4 flat in October last year. According to newspaper reports then, she also flung out the five cats.

The former legal executive was said to have quit her job because of health problems. She was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for two weeks for an assessment.

She was subsequently released on bail.