#51 mabuhay!!

thank you for flying philippine airlines!

the stewardess welcomes all passengers on board with a smile in her voice. mabuhay!! she says it with so much life befitting a word that literally translates to 'life.'  it is the local counterpart of 'viva' or 'cheers.'  you are seated in coach, ever careful not to extend your elbow too far lest it encroaches on your seatmate's space.  it is time for the safety reminders.  you have memorized the instructions but you look up and listen anyway.   you think it is rude to keep your eyes on the book you are reading while someone is talking. 

you never fly on business class. your budget does not allow you to.  you have seen one of those traveler's kits given to the privileged few in business class.  you wonder what is inside the kit until someone gives you one as a trip souvenir. 

 favorite item in the kit is the eye mask. comes in handy on your next trip.  lights are out but the one seated beside you switches his lights on.  he insists on reading the in-flight magazine from cover to cover over and over and over again.

small things most often tossed aside or discarded are rendered useful in the hands of appreciative coach travelers. when joyfully simple things turn to simple joys.   isn't that awesome?

# 44 shuteye !!

forty winks (not thirty or fifty but forty)..... nod off..... snooze.... power nap

however one calls it, a few precious minutes of sleep without the comfort of a bed is enough to perk up  a tired body.  who does not want a good night's sleep? big fluffy pillows, cushy, squashy bed, smooth (drooly) sheets!!  when all that spells comfort is momentarily a remote idea, a boat bench, a pool corner, an airport couch or a bus seat will do.  a church pew is not too bad for some.  of course, the classroom chair is an all-time favorite.  its movie house counterpart is a close second. there are people who manage to doze off while on their feet. what a feat !!   

on a dolphin-sighting adventure, tete grabs a few z's while waiting for the dolphins to make their appearance.

wawa thinks it better to take a nap with a life vest on.  the bobbing of the small boat lulls her to sleep in no time.

it is most harmful to take a dip in the pool between 10am and 4pm. gugud's daddy found a good solution for that - a shaded area of the pool away from the sun's ultraviolet rays.  away from the crowd, too.  water bed, anyone?

anything, anywhere, any which way for a shuteye.  isn't that awesome?

# 42 sign of the times!

there it stands. right in the middle of a vacant lot, overgrown grass threatening to take over its stead.

you could see the sign from a desperately-seeking-repair part of your neighborhood street.  the lot is not for sale. you have known that for the longest time. the owner does not want to sell. out of the corner of your eye, you see the phone numbers on the tarp. that got your attention.  they must be selling.  must have changed their minds.  then you see the big and bold letters telling passers-by what you have thought all along.  the lot is, indeed, not for sale.

you are as much amused as you are bemused by what the sign says.  the lot is not for sale but you can call for inquiries.  there are numbers to call.

you wonder if you should try calling those numbers (erased on purpose) and make some inquiries.  just because the sign says you may do so.

hello.... i would like to inquire why the lot is not for sale.

.... would you know of any other property for sale?

.... may i know where you had that tarpaulin sign made?

a casual sign by the road to pep you up.   isn't that awesome?

# 34 UNLI

perhaps the most overused word in recent times in our part of the world.

we like to play around with simple english words, not that we desecrate the word. no, we just have this deep-seated need to create our own term, true to our ingenious nature. there is nothing cryptic about the word as it is clearly a take-off from 'unlimited.'  it is the telecom version of the 'eat all you can' craze of the restaurant industry.

texting is big in the philippines.  very big.  raking-in the-millions kind of  ginormous for the network providers.  we rank high in a list of countries with the most number of text users.  it is said that texting is the national pastime and textology is the new subject in the curriculum.  in other countries, subscribers have plans.  in the philippines, plan holders are a minority. not too many people can afford to subscribe to monthly plans.  in an effort to broaden their network reach, telecom companies invested in the prepaid brand. this caters to a huge faction of the populace singled out as captive market.  phone credits, or load as it is referred to, are added whenever it is needed. not surprisingly, it is needed all the time. in a country where majority of the labor force are minimum wage earners, priorities can go haywire when one is a heavy cellphone (text or call) user.  students who get through each day on a daily allowance spend a huge chunk of it for load.

major telecommunication networks try to outdo each other by offering UNLI promos for as low as PHP25 or  60 cents in US money.  the promo is valid for a day. of course, the networks all claim they started this UNLI mania.

no passing fancy, this UNLI phenomenon is.  designed to cater to the prepaid subscriber base, it is now being offered to postpaid clients. 

cutthroat competition does have its advantages.  with the network war in full blast, consumers are having a field day. time was when calling someone on a cellphone was prohibitive. many a time, one would glance at her watch to surreptitiously (lest someone is looking) check  if  the one minute mark has been breached.  with 20 seconds to go, one blabbers away in a rush to get off the phone before another minute's charge starts ticking. did the other party understand what was being said?  one never knows. 

an endless text exchange, a leisurely chat with someone on the phone.... UNLI !! isn't that awesome?