(Dear Ate Sienna Isyu 7, September 25, 2002)

Ola, Mamasitas y Papasitos! Kamustasa na kayong lahat? Sa mga taga-Jameyrika, belated Happy Thanksgiving. Nawa’y na-enjoy ninyo ang mga tarkey ninyo katulad ng pag-namnam namin ni Andres ko ng tarkey namin. Sa mga hindi taga-Jameyrika, aba, advance Merry Christmas na pala. Nagsimula na ba kayong mag-christmas shopping? Ito ata ang pinakamasarap na okasyon para sa akin. Wala lang, kasi very festive, ikanga nila. Kapag nakita mo na ang mga ilaw sa Ayala Avenue, parang excited na excited ka na sa Pasko. Miss ko tuloy ang Ayala Avenue… miss ko na ang Pilipinas… pero tsaka na yan. Ang pag-usapan natin eh itong mga kaibigan nating bago.

Sus, ang sarap ng feeling ng maraming nagiging bagong kaibigan sa electric mail (ikanga ni inang ko)! Nakakataba ng puso ang mga leyters ninyo. Feeling ko tuloy para akong si Ms. Charo sa “Maala-ala Mo Kaya” - wala nga lang akong nunal sa nuo. Sa lahat ng nag-aksaya ng oras para sulatan ako, maraming salamat. Sa wakas masasabi ko na sa mga kapatid kong sina Greta, Ringo at Patring na maraming tutuong sumusulat sa akin. Niloloko kasi ako ng mga lukring na sinusulatan ko lang daw ang sarili ko. Diba.. magkaroon ka ba ng mga kapatid na kasing bait nila!? Hindi daw!!!! Kaya, para sa mga kapatid ko, read nyo na lang ang mga sulat ng mga bago kong prenship bonds…

Dear Ate Sienna,

Gagayahin ko iyong mga nauna sa akin - ang ganda ng website mo, entertaining, para na rin akong nanuod ng sine, nakaka-enjoy. Pangatlong bisita ko na ngayon, ibig sabihin yata ay idol na kita. Pero, nag-aksaya yata ako ng kalahating oras sa paghahanap ng litrato mo. Iyong pagbabasa ko sa iba-ibang pages ay okey, marami akong natutunan at pinagtawanan. Pero hinanap ko pa rin ang picture mo. Wala pala. Napapunta pa nga ako doon sa “Litratos” sa Neigborhood Assn, na akala ko ay picture gallery mo.

Meron kasi akong inumpisahan na personal website ko 3 months ago, ginaya ko naman iyong isang co-worker ko. Siguro ay naka-ubos na ako ng lagpas 20 oras, lahat-lahat sa aking website. Gaya-gaya lang ako, cut and paste, umpisa hindi ako seryoso dahil blog lang muna (nung unang 2 hours, pero ngayon may puhunan na akong taym en effort kahit na panakaw ko lang ginagawa sa office). Iyon kasing isa pang co-worker ko ay nagtanong bakit madaming personal na bagay sa website ko - litrato ko, family album, trabaho ko, address ko ngayon at noon, mga paborito kong kanta at artista, atbp.

Ate Sienna, ang personal lang sa iyo ay kung binabanggit mo si Andres o iyong mga pamangkin mo halimbawa o taga-Canada ka. Wala nang malalaman pang iba. Ano sa palagay mo? Sa pagkakalarawan ko sa itaas (Naks!) , masyado bang personal ang website ko?

Rusty

Hello Rusty!

Ang cute-cute mo naman! Biruin mo, naka-tatlong balik ka na sa website ko eh yung mga kapatid ko nga naka-isang bisita lang eh ayaw nang umulit. (Pero alam ko, inggit lang yung mga yon.. wala kasing mga imajineyshen hehehe) Salamat ha.. salamat din sa sulat mo sa akin. :)

OO nga, wala akong fictyurs. Kumbaga sa director, sa likod na lang ako ng camera. At least ako ang nagmamando. …Hayaan mo at sa mga susunod na issue, marami na akong pictures na ipapakita. Mga kuha ko na, por syur!

Alam mo, ang personal website, kaya nga tinawag na personal kasi nga.. yun.. personal (ang labo ko, no?). Pero ika nga nila, dun mo nilalabas ang creativity mo. So nasa sa iyo yun kung ano ang gusto mong ilagay dun. It’s your own personal space on the web. Ako rin, nung nagsimula ako mga 6 years ago, panay kupit sa ibang website ang mga graphics ko. Pero habang nag-eevolve naman ang kaalaman mo sa internet at kung saan-saang website ka napapadpad, naiimpluwenshahan ka nun at napapaganda mo lalo ang website mo. In other words, nangangangkong ka pa rin pero disimulado na :) So go ka lang ng go sa pag-ayos ng website mo. Kung gusto mo, gibsung mo sa aking ang website url mo at nang masama ko naman sa mga links ko. O, diba.. ang cute mo.. pati ako cute na rin!

O sya.. paalam por naw. Pagyamanin ang iyong homepage.. wag ka nga lang pahuhuli sa bossing mo na gumagawa ka nyan during opis awers. Patay tayo dyan!

Babushka!

Ate Sienna

dear ate sienna,

first of all, i’d like to congratulate you for having this pansitan. im cathy lee married to a taiwanese and living here in taiwan.

i just want to ask help from you, kasi my sister has a problem now her husband came from a middle class family and have their own businesses. he work in their company for a long time na. they were married now for 4 years the problem was, this past months he work very hard in their company but when the payday came his father will only tell him that they are lugi and will not give him his salary, but in the back of his mind he knew that business is doing well coz hes working their nga. my sister told me that his husband family house was so big and have their own gym too, she said that lots of money were spending in that house. luckily my sister and his husband have their house already, she said she didnt want to live with her in-laws because her mother in-law was so sosyal and want to control everybody. and this month my sister told me that her husband were totally out of their busines she said that tinanggal na daw nung father-in law nya. i cannot believed that there were parents like that she told me that her in-laws want them too have a hard life so that they will change their mind and live with them(in-laws). now my brother in-law has a job selling one product my sister told me that their hoping to find other job too coz the income is not good and they were planning to work in other country. i read that you live first in canada pls. can you give some tips and news what country now is good .i hope you wont mind and mad if i ask you how can they migrate in one country.

thank u very much and god bless.

cathy

Hi Lee,

Persopol, salamat ng marami sa sulat…

Grabe naman ang situation ng sisterhood mo. Ma-giraffe (ma-hirap) talaga kapag na ko-kontrol ng mga in-laws. Parang si Donya Delilah yan sa John en Marsha. Pero, oks na oks na hindi sila nakiki-housing sa mga in-laws nya at may trabaho ng iba ang kanyang husbander ngayon.

Pero seriously, I commend your sister and brother-in-law for standing up on their own. Mistulang para silang ginigipit ng mga in-laws nya, they stood firm. And I hope they continue to do so.

I’m sure if you look at the Canadian Embassy website or the Australian Embassy website, you can get information regarding immigrating to their country.

For immigrating to Canada, here is the website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html

For immigrating to Australia, here is the website: http://www.immi.gov.au/level2/01_migrate.htm

For immigrating to the US, here is the website: http://www.usais.org/

I know that in the Philippines, may mga agencies na pwedeng tumulong sa’yo para makarating sa mga bansang nabanggit ko. Mas lalo na sa Canada at Australia. Pwede rin silang mag-inquire sa mga ahensyang ito. Magtanong-tanong sila kung may mga kakilala silang pwedeng magbigay ng karagdagang impormasyon tungkol dito.

Sana’y nakatulong ito sa kapatid. Again, salamat sa pag-bisita sa pansitan at sa pagsulat. Salamat sa pagsulat nyo sa akin.

Yours truly,
Ate Sienna

dearest ate sienna,

Hi..hellow…graveeeeeee..gleng ganda naman ng sayt na toitz,lam mo ba nung nibigay ng frend ko tong pansitan site kahit nasa yahoo chat room ako(hilig sa chat eh..hehehe) nilalagay ko sa status ko ung “nasa Pansitan ako…visit nyo www.pansitan.com” taz lam mo…pm nila ko and they´ll ask…anong pansitan??? sabi ko kay ate sienna (na kahit ate ko nagugulat eh , kala nya may kapatid daw kami sa labas—hehehehehe).

O di ba,how bongga…may kasama pang plug ang sayt na to…sa buong sambayanan ng mga pinoy sa dyermani……saludo ako sayo and sa pancit bihon and sa palabok ni inang …shox…grabe……sarap ..mga peyborit ko un….((((.ahhmmm ……pag dami ba ni -order free na ung sarsi?? :-) awwwwwwwww……))))

More power..and schöne Grüsse aus Bonn.

LoiMegs
Fashion Designer
Bonn,Germany

Hello LoiMegs,

Graveeeeeeee…. hindi ako marunong mag-Dyerman, pero ito na lang ang sasabihin ko: Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!

salamat ha! Salamat din sa lahat ng plugging mo tungkol sa pansitan.com sa mga ka-mack mo sa chat. Feeling ko tuloy para kang nag-po-promote ng sine - “Ang ganda-gandang pelikula! Ang galing-galing ni Ate Sharon! Ang gwapo ni Diether! Ever!!!!!” hehehe

Sige, minsan, pagagawa kita ng pansit bihon sa julalay kong si Bebe (aksent on the last ‘Be’) at nang masiyahan ka naman. Ang sarsi, umorder ka lang ng 2 liters, mistula ka nang nag-drink all you can (on the way to the CR).

Kamusta mo na lang ako sa mga kababayan natin dyan sa Dyermani at nawa’y lagi kang maging masaya!

Lovingly yours,
Ate Sienna

At finally, ito pa ang isa pa nating bagong prenship. Tawagin na lang daw nating Batman. (hmmm.. parang ang daming nagkalat na superheros na batman sa Saudi.. sino kaya sa kanila ang tutuo?)

Salamat sa sulat, Batman. Ikamusta mo na lang ako kay Joker at sa yaya mong si Alfred. (hindi mo pa ba pag-re-retayrin si Alfred? Matanda na sya, brother…)

Sumasa-ngiyaw mo,
Catwoman este Ate Sienna pala

hi ate sienna…u know im really impressed of ur website & u know what, my friends keep on calling to fax them a copy of ur issues kc they don’t have time to surf internet unlike me na maghapon nasa harap ng PC. Well, i attached my story here & if ever u decided to post it jaz pls. don’t name names, or batman will do. actually, nagawa ko ito kc syado ko nainip rito. i’ve been workin here since 1995 and sad to say, i’ve been w/ my family lng for about 6 months to be exact kc annaul vacation namin at 1 month lng vacation namin.

lam mo natutuwa talaga ako sa site mo at halos nabasa ko na lahat, tuwang tuwa nga mga tropa rito twing padadalhan ka ng mga issues mo.

eniweiz, mahaba na ito, hanggang sa susunod na kabanata na lang.

keep up d gud work!
batman

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “The Best Rehabilitation Center”

When I was in High School, I could not understand why my mother and my big brother keep on telling me to study hard for my future. Since my father died (I was about a year old then) my mother decided to work in Hong Kong for us to survive. At that time, I was so boastful and most of the time hanging out with friends. I wasn’t able to finish my High School as I was kicked out due to some dull reasons. I manage myself doing nothing or rather soaking myself with different “peculiar smokes” that gave me extra satisfaction in my everyday living for about two years.

Time has passed; I decided to take an acceleration test to continue to study in College. After I passed, I went to College and took up B. S. Criminology while having a part-time job in some fast-food chain. There was this friend of mine whom I often count on especially on my weary times. This kind of friendship that we had, turned into a solemn relationship that ends up to a marriage. My brother was working in Saudi Arabia then, so I decided to stop studying and asked for any work in Saudi Arabia.

At first, I was so nervous upon leaving our country without any definite knowledge in any kind of work. I was able to work at my first company in Dammam, Saudi Arabia as a Secretary. However, this kind of a haste decision turned me up into what I am now. In fact, this is already my fourth year working here and had my vacation twice.

On my start here, I did so many adjustments, since, I was raised by my grandmother with a crown on my head (We are not that rich if you’ll ask, I was just a spoiled brat then to be specific). Before, I’m just one of the persons whom they called “ISTAMBAY” on which drinking, smoking and disturbing the neighborhood are the best hobbies in everyday life.

Here in Saudi, I was able to cook my own food, wash my own dishes, wash my own clothes and clean my own place. It’s not that easy to live alone, but it gives you courage to pursue on whatever you may intend to be on your future. There’s this thing that I remember the time of my first departure going to Saudi, so many people criticize me and laugh at me. There’s somebody saying that I can only stay in Saudi for a week and come back and others saying that I don’t have the guts to do so. I guess these people draw the challenge that exerted me the strength to carry through the goal that I’m into. (Sort of!)

Here in Saudi Arabia, you cannot manage things that you used to do in our country. Since this is a Muslim territory, we have to abide on whatever rules they have specifically on their way of living (though some are eccentric!).

Guess I’m very blessed with my life for having a wonderful and loving wife and a very cute babe. Also being blessed of having our own wonderful home from where we are going to build a tremendous clan and having the courage to continue to strive for the sake of our own future.

On my experience, I may say that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is “The Best Rehabilitation Center” for the people who want to change their way of life.

SHUKRAN - AJ/1999

Hanggang sa muli mga kids… don’t porget to brush yur teeth bepor yu go to bed!

Till da neks isyu!

Ate Sienna
(Ang Joyce Jimenez ng Bahay-Mental)