A Drop In the Bucket (part 1)

Alonzo De Torres was born to a family of 12 in Barangay Leon, Iloilo. He was the eldest son of sharecroppers in their locality.

Their area is mountainous so the farmlands aren't as flat as we know farms to be. Irrigation services are not free and comes from neighbors so that costs of mobilization is shared. He went to school in the morning and soiled his hands in the afternoon in order to bring home rootcrops as his salary.

Alonzo finished high school and came to Manila as a teenager in the 80s. He worked odd jobs and sent home a few hundreds of pesos every so often. Although he missed his family, he had a dream--to tow his family out of poverty! He finally landed a job as a salesman and earned a decent daily wage. His regular 1000-peso support to his family went a long way until his ailing father suddenly passed away. He went home to arrange a decent funeral for his father and comforted his siblings while worrying about his mom.

Alonzo was now the sole breadwinner. He encouraged his siblings to continue working on the farm as sharecroppers while attending the local schools in the hope that education might show them new opportunities. His mom tried but failed to live normally after the funeral. She followed the De Torres patriarch within two years.

Alonzo went back to Leon to arrange every single detail of the wake for dear mom. Now orphaned, Alonzo and his siblings planned their future together. They retained their ancestral home and four siblings stayed to take care of it. The others followed Alonzo to Manila to chart their own successes.

Of Second Chances and Growth

How many out there have failed in their chosen careers?

How many goes to work feeling disgusted and too tired to think of the future?

Work is never easy if one doesn't enjoy it. No, It is not a cliche. I live by this every day.

I have been in and out of work in the last two decades so I can definitely tell you what this is all about.

Let me tell you about my previous job. I saw it as a challenge and a new mountain to climb and conquer. I had to repackage myself by going back to school and adding another feather to may cap. It took me 2-1/2 yrs to finish and pass the board exam. I had to learn new things and unlearn a lot of stuff. I was rejected by at least two prospective employers and was given a green light by one other employer who turned out to be a major player in the industry.

I literally learned the ropes from the best mentors within the company. I used my people-skills to my advantage and, modesty aside, quickly learned what to do at work. I had my share of off-days and these tested my character. I had to temper my anger because if I showed my penchant for displaced aggression, my own struggle will be evident.

In another field of work, pugnacity could be a sign of machismo, and appreciated as a sign of bravery or gallantry. I had to manage may anger. And this I learned and imbibed in the last several years.

This episode in my life was another fulcrum in an otherwise humdrum life. For the first time in years, I woke up every morning with a clear purpose--go to work and share my knowledge. This experience enriched my life with a tremendous boost likened to a double-shot coffee or a jolt to my senses. My friends would twist their eyebrows and curl their lips with disbelief the moment I told them what kept me busy.

For a while, the quest for monetary rewards was just secondary to this work. I had to find ways to compensate my existence with other odd jobs.

Change takes time. Changes took time. I absorbed a lot of information and enriched myself though this whole-body experience.

Was this the second chance given to me? Not quite. This was the Nth time for a second chances as we continue to grow with a new purpose.

What about you?

Ying Ying's Cold Congee

November 27, 2011

Ying Ying Restaurant

I come to this restaurant every now and then. They serve dimsum that looks and tastes the same as Wai Ying along Benavides, also in Binondo.

Today, I decided to go back to Ying Ying along Dasmarinas Street near corner Yuchengco Street (formerly Nueva, in Binondo, Manila). I ordered wanton noodles, fish congee, fried dumplings and three or four varieties of dimsum.

I was surprised to receive a cold congee. When I told one of the food servers, a male food server came over quickly and said: “ ay, i-microwave natin yan…” and went back to the counter where the other restaurant staff just laughed when told by this male food server that : “..malaming pa itong lugaw oh..”

I waited for our order taker, a female, to come by, and then tell her that our congee was cold. She did not respond at all. I did not see her anymore until we finished our meal at around 4pm.Their food tastes good but the cold congee is definitely a turn-off!