Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Questions and Answers and a Happy Birthday!

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all my mom blogger friends! I hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day like I had. And thank you to all who sent greetings my way, you guys are so sweet! :D

It's been crazy busy the past few days and I've missed blogging so I thought I'd do the Q&A meme that I first saw over at kj's. She has graciously provided me with five interview questions about myself. If you like this idea and would like me to ask five questions of you, let me know and I will send them to at least the first three people who respond, by way of email or blog comments.

So here goes:


1. What aspects of your work do you enjoy most?

I like finding solutions to problems and that is the aspect I enjoy most about work. I especially like working with groups of people and brainstorming ideas and making the process fun for everyone. My former colleagues used to enjoy my staff meetings so much that they looked forward to it every week.


2. If you could plan a dream vacation, what would it be and who would you include?

I've always wanted to take a tour of Europe with my husband so that would be my dream vacation. I would love to experience Europe the way a local would -- so, no quickie tours for me! I'd hate to have to be on a schedule -- two days in France, one day in Vienna, etc. Places I would linger at would be Tuscany, Hildegarde promised me a walking tour of Flanders so I can see firsthand all the awesome places in her photographs and then lots of time in Greece and Rome.

3. What is it like to live in the Philippines and how have you been influenced by Filipino culture and traditions?

I found this to be a really tough question to answer. I like living here because it's home, I've never lived anywhere else. There are a lot of things to like...the weather, the people are warm and friendly (and have no difficulty communicating in English -- just in case my blogger friends from abroad are thinking of visiting), the food and all the beautiful places and beaches to go to. The culture is a mix of Spanish and American but still retains some aspects that are purely Filipino. It's a predominantly Catholic country so most of the religious norms and traditions that I grew up with are Catholic. However, we have a very rich folklore that has seeped into our everyday lives so completely that sometimes we're not even aware of it. I believe Ces wrote a post about some of the predominant superstitious beliefs that a typical Filipino child would grow up with.

Family is held sacred and while a lot of other cultures also have this value, Filipinos take it one step further with our extended family system. It is not unusual for grandparents, siblings, in-laws, cousins to live under one roof. A child is not expected to leave the family home when he/she turns 18 and grandparents are taken care of until their dying day which means we don't have a lot of nursing homes in this country.

That being said, it is still a third world country. Corruption is rampant in all levels and basic services like hospitalization and good schooling for those who cannot afford to pay are barely adequate. More than half of the population do not get to eat three full meals a day and politicians' children go around with a police escort in luxury cars just to go to the mall. On the last election alone, millions are spent on print and tv advertising for their campaign when thousands do not have enough to eat. It's really sad but it is understandable why most of the educated population want to leave the country.

4. What do you do when you are really mad and disgusted?

I have a colorful vocabulary that gets unleashed when I'm really mad and disgusted. You wouldn't want to be in the same car with me when I'm driving and get cut by an idiot driver or stuck behind another politician's brat on their way to the mall.

5. You have just been awarded $ 2500, no strings attached except you can't save it or use it to pay bills. How will you spend/what will you do with the money?

My family and I used to travel when we were younger and I really miss the extended time together especially now that my sisters and I are busy with our own lives. I would love to treat my family to a vacation in Boracay and spend several days just being together.

If you'd like five questions from me, here's how it works:

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME:
1. Leave a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Please make sure I have your email address or I can list the questions on your blog.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


So let me know. :D

Incidentally, it is my daughter Faith's 3rd birthday today!!!!! :D

32 comments:

Keshi said...

Lovely tag Menchie :)

If Im mad, it's the same...no one wud wanna be near me hehe.

I'd love a trip to Europe too. Wanna go there badly.


Keshi.

dmmgmfm said...

Happy Mother's Day, Menchie. :)

kj said...

menchie, what a terrific way to get to know you better. i especially liked hearing about your life in the philippines. i didn't know about the brats limo-ed to the mall. and now i know how you run meetings, a skill i have too and value highly!

i hope you get to spend $ 2500 on a family vacation. it sounds like it would be worth every cent!

thanks for doing this meme. i throughly enjoyed your answers

:)

Menchie said...

keshi,
it's a good thing the hubby doesn't let me drive too much...i hate it and have such a foul temper whenever i do it.

Laurie,
i hope you had a lovely mother's day celebration. :D

kj,
i loved your questions and had a great time answering them! am planning to make that vacation happen maybe next year when things aren't too crazy.

Cazzie!!! said...

Happy Birthday lovely little Faith. Love your answers to the questions, :)

Menchie said...

Cazzie,
Thanks! I got the Dora cake! yay!

Marie said...

Great interview, Menchie. I like your idea of a dream vocation.

Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day. In England we celebrate Mother's Day in March.

Dan said...

What aspects of your work do you enjoy most?

Does the drive home count?

Menchie said...

Marie,
Am also planning to have tea with you and Caroline on my dream vacation to Europe! :D

Dan,
that's the worst thing about my work...%&@@#(*!

Point Dexter said...

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to you!

Also, see you in Europe ;) My dream vacation as well.

Anonymous said...

Europe is amazing for someone brought up in the asia pacific region, a bit of a culture shock:) I loved Paris, the art, the cemetries and the food.... Hungary was also a highlight when you get there (to europe) spend soem time in Budapest you wont regret it:)

Menchie said...

Hey Nicole,
Thanks for the MD greeting! :D

Aidan,
cemeteries give me the creeps but I am also fascinated by Budapest -- I hear it's really beautiful.

Ganesh Ranganathan said...

First time on your blog...

loved it... :)

david santos said...

It places fhoto of Madeleine in your bloggue


Missing Madeleine!
Madeleine, MeCann was abduted from Praia da Luz, Portugal on 03/03/07.

If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact Crimestoppers on 0800555111 Please Help

AiLeeN said...

interview me!!!

but can I just ctrl C, ctrl V your answer to Q3?

Happy bday to Pechay and belated Happy Mother's day!

robkroese said...

Interesting. I didn't realize the corruption and poverty was so bad. The Philippines always sounded like a new place to me.

Menchie said...

Ganesh,
Thanks! Feel free to visit anytime you want. :D

Aileen,
Will email you the questions. :D

Diesel,
That's the reality...but it's still a great place to visit. And despite everything, I still like living here.

Menchie said...

David,
my prayers are with Madeleine's parents -- they are probably going through hell right now.

Caroline said...

I loved this post. I am so intrigued to know more about extended family and how you all function together. I am fascinated by it, as it is so distant from my own family life.

Happy birthday to Faith. Oh how quickly they grow.

x

Ces Adorio said...

Menchie you are a lovely person. Reading about the Philippines always makes me mad and sad because I know exactly what you are talking about.

Happy Birthday to Faith.

Menchie said...

Caroline,
Thanks for the bday greeting to Faith.
I know the extended family is so far removed from most Western cultures. It's hard to explain how it functions but for instance, I live just a lawn away from my parent's house and my brother and sisters still live with us. My mother's aunt is with us and has been since I was four months old, my grandmother, before she passed away last year lived with us after my grandfather died.

To us, it's just how it's been since we were small and it is also typical of other families.

Ces,
I know you can relate. And it does make me mad and sad too. Just last night, I was incensed at the driver of a luxury SUV who was parked just outside the entrance to the parking area of mall where Jun and I were going to have dinner. The driver had the gall to try and cut me as I was lined up at the entrance. And of course I didn't let him -- I swear it makes me soooooo mad that some people think they have more rights than others just because of their wealth or status. And it's always like this here.

Cherry Popcorn said...

Argh.. been trying to put comments into your blog for ages! =(

Hmmm.. interesting view on how Philippines is like! =)

Menchie said...

Princess,
something wrong with your connection?

Come on over here. Irene and I will take you around. :D

K M F said...

Happy Birthday nice

Harmony said...

oh thats a nice post menchie,
i think i def. go for that interview ..ha ha.good day.

Ms. Val said...

Menchie, just don't forget to use a little bit of that $2500 for a cute travelling outfit from Zara!!!!

This was a fun read. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your post a lot. Some aspects of your country seems very similiar to living in South Africa

Menchie said...

kmf,
hey there! thanks for dropping by. :D

pankaj gupta,
thank you! :D will get to you with the questions.

Ms. Val,
You know me so well! LOL!!! I definitely will!

hel,
thank you. and yes, i think i agree that there are similarities between South Africa and the Philippines.

Ces Adorio said...

Hey Menchie, stop and smell the roses, oh never mind you might have allergies, how about take a deep breath from your busy schedule? :-) Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting post, Menchie !!
-Solving problems can give big satisfaction indeed.
-Very honored that your dream vacation would include Flanders and doing some visiting together :-)
-The extended family under one roof was a way of living in Flanders too untill both partners started working, then the whole system of living apart, day care centers for the children and nursing homes for the grandparents started to extend. Some (many ? I don't know any percentages) families such as the one I grew up in, still take a parent in the house when care is needed, or stay home/work part-time for the children.
-Corruption : must be terrible.
-Happy birthday to Faith !

Menchie said...

Hey Ces,
I will, i will. Have actually been distracted by my books so have been ignoring my laptop. :D

Hildegarde,
Thanks! I can't wait to see Flanders.

*Butterfly Princess* said...

Interview me