The best Valentine's day yet

I think Valentine's is overrated.

It's just a day when guys shell out a lot of cash on enormous bouquets and fancy dinners. And possibly everything else that would help them get laid by the end of the day. Guys, let me tell you something: you can get laid anytime by just making her drunk. It works almost everytime.

Erm...Sorry about that. Must be the V day bitch attacking.

I see Valentine's as a big competition. Like who gets the most flowers, the most number of guys grovelling at your feet, the most number of V day cards. And the winners are usually the "in" girls.

And just so you know, I was never one of those girls.

Whatever.

I got myself one and a half invites to go on a V day date:

One was from Peter, who wanted me to go with him to a lingerie fashion show in Manhattan. Eh di ang haba ng hair ng lola nyo. As I was about to launch into my I'd-love-to-but-I-can't-because-I'm-engaged-and-have-two-kids speech, he told me that he needs me to be there because he doesn't want to talk to this girl who forced herself to be his date on Valentine's. So when the girl tries to be intimate with him, he's going to politely ignore her and have a conversation with me.

Nyek! Gamitin ba ko? Why is it so hard for guys to turn down a girl anyway? Lame.

The half invite was from Joseph who found out that I wasn't married and so proceeded to ask, "So...what are you doing on Valentine's?" (while raising one of his brows ala Mr. Suave)

So yeah, no Valentine's date for me. The offers weren't as irresistible as doing my nails.

But this is the first V day that I had two guys asking me out! Please disregard the fact that they weren't serious about it because technically, they were asking me out. Sabi ko na nga ba makamandag pa din ang alindog ko eh!

The happiest part was when Beb called me. He rarely calls because it's cheaper if I call him.

"Pwede ka bang batiin ng happy Valentine's?"
"Oo, pwede."
"Happy Valentine's Day mahal."

Ang babaw pero nakakakilig. Or maybe it was made more special by the distance between us. Whatever it was, it really made my day. Sigh.

*****
Did I tell you guys that I was fired from my job? First time. Okay lang. I am just not meant to be a receptionist. And no, I am definitely not sour-graping.

It is so hard to be an OFW. You have a lot of things to prove and the competition is fierce. Look at it this way, if I was an American employer, would I choose a Pinoy over my fellow American? And the advantage definitely goes to someone who has a US college degree and has local work experience.

Believe me, all that stuff about EOEs and D/F/M/Vs are just letters written on websites. Racism and discrimination is still a big thing here, though it is not as prevalent as a hundred years before.

Then there is also the pressure of making it big. I never really understood why people back home think that if you work in the US, big time ka na. They think that working here is the ultimate solution to everything.

I might be earning dollars but I also spend dollars on basic utilities and stuff. So to them, a hundred dollars may be P5,000 but to me, it is still a hundred. And a hundred bucks does not really go a long way here.

It is really difficult to make a mark here. Hindi kagaya sa Pinas, where going to a top university almost always paves the way for securing a good job with excellent pay. Ang laki kasi ng Amerika. And I am just one of the millions of immigrants wanting to make it big.

Here, I am a nobody.

But that does not stop me. Para saan pa at naging Pinoy ako kung susuko din lang ako di ba?

This post is brought to you by Para Sa Yo, the hit single of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. Lagi kasi pinapatugtog sa TFC eh. Leche.

*****
I read The Notebook last night (I have not seen the movie yet) and lumuha ako ng dugo.

I visited her blog and I was pleasantly surprised to know that she blogged about it too. I guess we are a couple of romantics.

I do not think I have cried that much over a book or a movie. I shed a few tears when I watched Bambi and Land Before Time (theme song pa nga nun yung If We Hold On Together) but not the hagulgol-tulo-pa-uhog cry.

Oo na, iyakin na kung iyakin.