Of Life & The Living

I spend most of my time after work updating one of my three blogs. As I was teetering on the brink of aloneness and loneliness, I have since few days ago been holing myself up in my room trying to find instead blogs on the net, particularly those within my WordPress community, about how to … Continue reading »

(A proem for Filipino politicians) I bloviated like politicians: Now, not anymore – no more, no less Up front I dared politicians: Bloviate no more, like I did Now, not any longer – no more, no less Mutter did a blogger, like me: Political jokes ain’t a problem; they get elected Related articles Is Philippines … Continue reading »

“It started with a simple, single pictorial post on Facebook.  But it paved a way for a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime public fame.” I am referring to one Kevin Villanueva, whose photo posted on Facebook went viral, with, as of this writing, shares bloating up to 1,760; likes numbering to at least 38,049; and comments running up … Continue reading »

“Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Today I am posting Part 4 as the concluding part of the series. Dealing with the situations of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia similar to those cited in Parts 1 to 3 of the … Continue reading »

  Part 3 of the series of articles about the harrowing experiences of Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia deals with the right to be furnished a copy of the employment contract and the unlawful reassignment. On one particular Friday (that was last week), I went with a bunch of friends to Al Ramaniya Mall – … Continue reading »

Part 2 – An Employee Under Probation More Than Once Abdul Kashif (not his real name), a Filipino Muslim, was hired as a sales coordinator in a manufacturing firm located in the First Industrial City in Dammam, Saudi Arabia but was made to work as a sales representative by his boss, Farid Moo Barrack (not … Continue reading »

“I am not OK; you’re OK.” “I am not OK; you’re not OK.” “I am OK; you’re not OK.” “I am OK; you’re OK.” According to Canadian-born psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne (May 10, 1910 – July 15, 1970), these four curt statements tell us of our life positions that refer to our general feeling about … Continue reading »

This entire month of March, I am devoting most of the Of Life and The Living spaces in featuring the variegated sorry plights of OFWs in Saudi Arabia, particularly those in the highly-urbanized cities of Al Khobar and Dammam — known as among the biggest industrial and commercial zones in the Kingdom. Part 1 – … Continue reading »

You’re so dear to me, oh my Mama – you brought the sunshine to my life, even until the day you breathed your last, and even now; promises to be nice, like the rest, with the rest, to be with them, you, too, dearly love, you told me, I should make, before and after you’re … Continue reading »