The Cabinet of Pinoy Curiosities

My first Google Adsense check amounted to $105.05. It will be very memorable for me but not for the reasons you're thinking. Sit tight and let me tell you why.

The Pinoy way to retire is to raise kids so they can take care of you when you're old. That would be nice, except they left out the part where you have to save up enough money for expenses.

So what happens is a spiral of financial dependence. (Parents have no money) leads to (debt) leads to (dependence on kids) leads to (kids working to pay off debt) leads to (kids having no savings left for themselves) leads to (no retirement savings for the kids) leads to (more dependence on the next generation).

<!--img src="http://digitalsolutions.ph/couchkamotereviews/images/edsa_billboard_07.jpg" alt="Billboards being dismantled along EDSA" align="left" /-->

About two years ago, typhoon Yoyong hit Manila and toppled a couple of billboards. I blogged about how at least EDSA looked neater with all the giant signs torn down, rolled up or just plain removed from sight.

For all the havoc it has brought, Milenyo blessed us with two things. First, it gave us a repeat preview of how EDSA and Manila in general could look like without billboards cluttering the sky. Second, it once again highlighted the need to tame billboard hell in Metro Manila.

Typhoons and other disasters are always an opportunity to find Pinoy curiosities. And the greater the disaster, the greater the absurdities.

For instance, we live at Ortigas Center, one of the two major business districts of the country. But it took 2.5 days before electricity came back in our home. We had to cancel work for two days because our office, which is also in Ortigas, also had no electricity. What's more ironic is we live along Meralco Ave., a city block away from the headquarters of Meralco.

Pinoy overseas anomaly (POA) refers to the observation that when seemingly undisciplined, law-breaking Filipinos go abroad, they can actually behave well. They use pedestrian lanes, drive carefully and those who work abroad actually pay their taxes. I discussed this around two years ago in (Mis)Leading by Example.

I did not have enough time to elaborate the issue further, so now I would like to continue that thread, especially since it's been taken up again in a public service ad featuring Johnny Delgado. In this ad, Delgado monologues about POA. I praise the producers of the ad for provoking discussion. What's missing though is that Delgado's ruminations merely poses the question but does not really present any concrete alternative action. Filipinos are good citizens when they go abroad -- so what?

A couple of weeks ago, I received forwarded email about one of the hottest celebrities today -- Bench model, Beer model and daughter of hero Ninoy Aquino: Kris! (tadah!)

The email recounted how a doting aunt brought her two nieces to see Kris Aquino. Since they were fervent fans finally getting a chance to meet their idol, the young people were excited, even though the only time they got was a photo opportunity. As the aunt tried to get a good shot, she asked Kris to turn slightly to favor the light. Here's what happened next: