Sunday, January 13, 2008
Poor People Quotes
I think it's worth sharing the best entries to Chico and Delamar's Top Ten Poor people quotes they had last Friday. These are real experiences of real people who are less fortunate in life. Some of them I have heard from other people one time or another, while in some, I, myself, have been in the same situation.
This will not only make you grateful for your own blessings, but this will also make you understand and respect them (the less fortunate than you are) even more.
I got this from Chico Garcia's blog, by the way. (Italicized comments are mine.)
January 11, 2008 - The Top Ten Poor People Quotes
1. Kate Molds - I had a classmate in UP who was a math genius. He’d sleep during our algebra class but when our professor called him to answer a problem set, he’d just look at the numbers on d board and he’d solve it. Then one day, he just stopped going to classes. We later found out he had to go back to the province because apparently, his stipend from the DOST is not enough to pay for his dorm, transportation, and food expenses. And I remembered that once, he asked for our fishball stubs that were given away during the freshmen orientation and told us he’d use the stubs for his breakfast, lunch and dinner.
-->To think UP's tuition fee was relatively low back then. I couldn't imagined how many geniuses pa ngayon ang lalong hindi makakapasok sa UP because of the extreme increased in fees.
2. Shining - There was a janitress in our university back wen I was a student aide. She has 11 kids and I really like her 5th daughter wh0 was 0nly 6 that time. It was her bday, so my friend and I asked if she wanted to go to J0llibee w/ us, we’ll treat her. But the m0m was so nahihiya so she wouldn’t all0w the girl. Her daughter sh0uted, “sige na, para malaman ko naman ang lasa ng fried chicken!”
3. No name - A woman was giving biscuits to scavengers in Cebu. Of the 3 kids, only 2 were eating and the lone boy was not. Asked why he was not eating, one of the girls said “Nahihiya po yang kuya ko. Kasi bukas pa po siya dapat kumain. Kami po ngayon.” Turns out, they take turns eating every other day!
-->This reminds me of the the little kids we've encountered in Bohol. We were having breakfast at Jollibee and there was this little girl and her Kuya hanging outside Jollibee, begging for food from the passersby. When Chard gave them some food, the Kuya fed his little sister first. Eventually, kumakain din siya pero pa-onti-onti lang, he's basically just watching his sister eat most of the food
4. Ishi - One of my suitors asked me out on a date. Sabi ko, “Sige, meet tayo sa Starbucks!” Then he said, “Ang sosyal mo naman. Alam mo yung isang tasa ng kape diyan, one week na naming pang ulam”.
5. V54 - I always tell my wife and kids whenever a new product came into market and people we know already had it, “Kapag nagkapera tayo, bibili din tayo niyan. Luma na yung sa kanila, yung atin bagong-bago pa.”. Madalas naman di nagkakatotoo.
-->Ganito din kami minsan. :)
6. Bottomless_ink - A mom of our 18-yr. old female maid told my mom “Basta mayaman ang mapapangasawa ng anak ko, papayagan ko! Basta mayaman!”
--> One of our kasambahay also told us that her 9-year-old daughter is already dreaming of marrying a foreigner. "Ma, mag-aasawa ako ng Amerikano para makapagpagawa tayo ng malaking bahay gaya nung kapit-bahay natin."
7. Your Highness - Weeks before our elementary graduation, my poor classmate said, “Kailangan nanaman ng bagong damit. . .baka magbenta na naman ng dugo si Tatay para magkaroon kami ng pera.”
--> Selling our own blood has been an eternal joke way back in the office. Apparently, some people really do this to have money.
8. Ritzu - This is what my mom always say whenever we complain about our ulam: “Buti nga kayo palaging nakakakain ng fried chicken. Kami noon, ang isang itlog hinahalo namin sa sinaing tapos paghahatian naming lahat!” My mom has seven siblings.
--> My Dad and his family used to eat dinurog na tuyo na hinalo sa sinaing version of this.
9. Shining - I had a high school classmate who had a t0tal of 7 fr0nt teeth missing: 4 ab0ve, 3 bel0w. I asked him, “Mag-graduate na tayo, di ka pa rin nagpapagawa ng pustiso.” He said, “Ok lang yun. Di naman kami nakakakain ng pagkain na kailangan ng ipin”. He added that they usually eat lugaw everyday. A lot of the times, they even miss s0me meals in a day. He was no longer able to go to c0llege.
10. Green Arrow - When I was very young, I asked my father to help me tune the radio to the station our rich neighbor was listening to because it was playing FM songs. My father told me “Anak, component kasi yung sa kanila. Tayo transistor radio lang”. This was the time i realized that we were poor. But now that I’m all grown up and workng, I bought my parents the best sound system in town!
11. Miguel Rashid - One time after work I decided to treat 4 of my workers in a famous fastfood and ordered meals w/ burgers and fries. I noticed one of my workers only ate the fries and half of his burger. I thought he was full, so I asked, “Bakit di mo inubos burger mo, sayang yan”. He answered, “Ibalot ko na lang sir, pasalubong ko sana sa anak ko kasi matagal na siyang nagpapabili sa akin nito.”
--> Anecdotes like this are especially heartbreaking for me if it involves one person sacrificing a simple luxury for his or her loved ones.
12. Pink Shrink - I have a patient who once told me when I asked where she lives: “Sa Plaza Ferguson, tapat ng Ermita church. Sa Luneta kami nagbabanyo, P5 bayad.”
13. MT - My friend was passing through an overpass and there was this street kid asking for money but my friend couldn’t give anything coz she didn’t have change. So she just ignored him. Then the kid told her, “Babaligtad din ang mundo!”
14. McSupremy - We live in a depressed area but we’re n0t as po0r as our neighb0rs. So every Christmas, we give toys and food to kids in the area. One time, I was walking d0wn the street, when I heard kids talking while passing by our h0use. One told the others, “Diyan ang bahay ni Santa Claus!”
15. Angel - In our house, we’re used to having merienda such as pasta, cakes, and ice cream. One time, my mom gave our neighbor some pasta and our neighbor blurted out, “Sinong may birthday?” Apparently they can only afford pasta or cakes during birthdays.
16. Cheyenne - There was this poor and sick old man in the hospital I’ve met years ago. I asked why up until now, he wasn’t getting any better. He told me, “Kasi iha, kulang palagi ang pambili ko ng mga gamot. Kaya hinahati ko na lang ang mga tableta at syrup na iniinom ko.”
17. Porky - A family once had a visitor and they didn’t know what food to serve for dinner. The mother decided that, “Bahala na, basta yung tilapia na ulam natin sana ngayong tanghalian, yun nalang ang ipapakain natin. Wag ka magalala anak, di naman niya mauubos yun eh. Hintayin mo yung kabila ng isda, yun ang atin”. That night, the daughter waited, and when the time came, she suddenly shouted, “Nay, binaligtad na yung isda!”
18. No name - We had a Lenten retreat last year where we had participants from different classes of society. One rich lady commented negatively on how the poor kids acted when they took 2 to 3 fruits each, when they were only supposed to get 1 each. One kid cried when she heard what the lady said and told me “Nahihiya ako kasi mahirap na nga kami, mahirap pa kami kung umasta, kaya mahirap din ang turing sa amin ng iba”.
--> :,-(
19. Paris Girl - We held an outreach in a house for abandoned children and I was assigned to do the games. I bought some hankies for the games. After the games, a lot of kids came to me asking, “Ate, puwede sa akin na lang yung panyo?” I guess for them a hankie is something of a luxury.
20. Alex - My dad underwent monthly chemotherapy way back in 1987. One time he decided to stop going to chemo and said, “Lalo lang akong hindi gagaling kung makikita ko kayong wala nang makain!” Thank GOD he’s still alive! And on January 26 of this year, its their golden wedding anniversary!
21. Loi Pogi - Another UP anecdote: I had this dorm mate who would drink three glasses of water before eating. His reason: “Para half rice at half ulam na lang kakainin ko. Mas tipid.”
--> May dormmate din akong ganito...
22. Toputs - We were so poor when I was growing up, that one Christmas morning, I reached inside my Santa socks (which was my father’s old sports socks) and got a promissory note that went, “Sorry walang gift this year kasi walang budget. Next year na lang - Santa Claus.” Until now I haven’t gotten over that sad Christmas, so I promised myself that I will never let that happen to my own son.
23. Leigh - I had spinal surgery last year in an orthopedic hospital. And because I have insurance, I was placed in medicare ward. And everyday a woman in a wheelchair would always visit us just to greet and chat with us if we’re all doing okay. When I asked her, “Manang, ilang araw na po ba kayo naka-confine dito at ano po ang sakit ninyo? She answered, “Meron akong bone cancer anak, at mag-iisang taon na ako dito. Hindi ako makalabas kasi wala kaming pambayad. Mabuti pa nga dito libre ang pagkain.”
---------
Another entry, though not mentioned above, was just so familiar to me that I found myself agreeing while laughing after Chico read it on air. Sabihin na nating naging "been there, done that" moment ko rin yun:
When well-off friends invited me to dine out, I'd say, "Sige, kayo na lang. Busog pa 'ko eh." :)
This will not only make you grateful for your own blessings, but this will also make you understand and respect them (the less fortunate than you are) even more.
I got this from Chico Garcia's blog, by the way. (Italicized comments are mine.)
January 11, 2008 - The Top Ten Poor People Quotes
1. Kate Molds - I had a classmate in UP who was a math genius. He’d sleep during our algebra class but when our professor called him to answer a problem set, he’d just look at the numbers on d board and he’d solve it. Then one day, he just stopped going to classes. We later found out he had to go back to the province because apparently, his stipend from the DOST is not enough to pay for his dorm, transportation, and food expenses. And I remembered that once, he asked for our fishball stubs that were given away during the freshmen orientation and told us he’d use the stubs for his breakfast, lunch and dinner.
-->To think UP's tuition fee was relatively low back then. I couldn't imagined how many geniuses pa ngayon ang lalong hindi makakapasok sa UP because of the extreme increased in fees.
2. Shining - There was a janitress in our university back wen I was a student aide. She has 11 kids and I really like her 5th daughter wh0 was 0nly 6 that time. It was her bday, so my friend and I asked if she wanted to go to J0llibee w/ us, we’ll treat her. But the m0m was so nahihiya so she wouldn’t all0w the girl. Her daughter sh0uted, “sige na, para malaman ko naman ang lasa ng fried chicken!”
3. No name - A woman was giving biscuits to scavengers in Cebu. Of the 3 kids, only 2 were eating and the lone boy was not. Asked why he was not eating, one of the girls said “Nahihiya po yang kuya ko. Kasi bukas pa po siya dapat kumain. Kami po ngayon.” Turns out, they take turns eating every other day!
-->This reminds me of the the little kids we've encountered in Bohol. We were having breakfast at Jollibee and there was this little girl and her Kuya hanging outside Jollibee, begging for food from the passersby. When Chard gave them some food, the Kuya fed his little sister first. Eventually, kumakain din siya pero pa-onti-onti lang, he's basically just watching his sister eat most of the food
4. Ishi - One of my suitors asked me out on a date. Sabi ko, “Sige, meet tayo sa Starbucks!” Then he said, “Ang sosyal mo naman. Alam mo yung isang tasa ng kape diyan, one week na naming pang ulam”.
5. V54 - I always tell my wife and kids whenever a new product came into market and people we know already had it, “Kapag nagkapera tayo, bibili din tayo niyan. Luma na yung sa kanila, yung atin bagong-bago pa.”. Madalas naman di nagkakatotoo.
-->Ganito din kami minsan. :)
6. Bottomless_ink - A mom of our 18-yr. old female maid told my mom “Basta mayaman ang mapapangasawa ng anak ko, papayagan ko! Basta mayaman!”
--> One of our kasambahay also told us that her 9-year-old daughter is already dreaming of marrying a foreigner. "Ma, mag-aasawa ako ng Amerikano para makapagpagawa tayo ng malaking bahay gaya nung kapit-bahay natin."
7. Your Highness - Weeks before our elementary graduation, my poor classmate said, “Kailangan nanaman ng bagong damit. . .baka magbenta na naman ng dugo si Tatay para magkaroon kami ng pera.”
--> Selling our own blood has been an eternal joke way back in the office. Apparently, some people really do this to have money.
8. Ritzu - This is what my mom always say whenever we complain about our ulam: “Buti nga kayo palaging nakakakain ng fried chicken. Kami noon, ang isang itlog hinahalo namin sa sinaing tapos paghahatian naming lahat!” My mom has seven siblings.
--> My Dad and his family used to eat dinurog na tuyo na hinalo sa sinaing version of this.
9. Shining - I had a high school classmate who had a t0tal of 7 fr0nt teeth missing: 4 ab0ve, 3 bel0w. I asked him, “Mag-graduate na tayo, di ka pa rin nagpapagawa ng pustiso.” He said, “Ok lang yun. Di naman kami nakakakain ng pagkain na kailangan ng ipin”. He added that they usually eat lugaw everyday. A lot of the times, they even miss s0me meals in a day. He was no longer able to go to c0llege.
10. Green Arrow - When I was very young, I asked my father to help me tune the radio to the station our rich neighbor was listening to because it was playing FM songs. My father told me “Anak, component kasi yung sa kanila. Tayo transistor radio lang”. This was the time i realized that we were poor. But now that I’m all grown up and workng, I bought my parents the best sound system in town!
11. Miguel Rashid - One time after work I decided to treat 4 of my workers in a famous fastfood and ordered meals w/ burgers and fries. I noticed one of my workers only ate the fries and half of his burger. I thought he was full, so I asked, “Bakit di mo inubos burger mo, sayang yan”. He answered, “Ibalot ko na lang sir, pasalubong ko sana sa anak ko kasi matagal na siyang nagpapabili sa akin nito.”
--> Anecdotes like this are especially heartbreaking for me if it involves one person sacrificing a simple luxury for his or her loved ones.
12. Pink Shrink - I have a patient who once told me when I asked where she lives: “Sa Plaza Ferguson, tapat ng Ermita church. Sa Luneta kami nagbabanyo, P5 bayad.”
13. MT - My friend was passing through an overpass and there was this street kid asking for money but my friend couldn’t give anything coz she didn’t have change. So she just ignored him. Then the kid told her, “Babaligtad din ang mundo!”
14. McSupremy - We live in a depressed area but we’re n0t as po0r as our neighb0rs. So every Christmas, we give toys and food to kids in the area. One time, I was walking d0wn the street, when I heard kids talking while passing by our h0use. One told the others, “Diyan ang bahay ni Santa Claus!”
15. Angel - In our house, we’re used to having merienda such as pasta, cakes, and ice cream. One time, my mom gave our neighbor some pasta and our neighbor blurted out, “Sinong may birthday?” Apparently they can only afford pasta or cakes during birthdays.
16. Cheyenne - There was this poor and sick old man in the hospital I’ve met years ago. I asked why up until now, he wasn’t getting any better. He told me, “Kasi iha, kulang palagi ang pambili ko ng mga gamot. Kaya hinahati ko na lang ang mga tableta at syrup na iniinom ko.”
17. Porky - A family once had a visitor and they didn’t know what food to serve for dinner. The mother decided that, “Bahala na, basta yung tilapia na ulam natin sana ngayong tanghalian, yun nalang ang ipapakain natin. Wag ka magalala anak, di naman niya mauubos yun eh. Hintayin mo yung kabila ng isda, yun ang atin”. That night, the daughter waited, and when the time came, she suddenly shouted, “Nay, binaligtad na yung isda!”
18. No name - We had a Lenten retreat last year where we had participants from different classes of society. One rich lady commented negatively on how the poor kids acted when they took 2 to 3 fruits each, when they were only supposed to get 1 each. One kid cried when she heard what the lady said and told me “Nahihiya ako kasi mahirap na nga kami, mahirap pa kami kung umasta, kaya mahirap din ang turing sa amin ng iba”.
--> :,-(
19. Paris Girl - We held an outreach in a house for abandoned children and I was assigned to do the games. I bought some hankies for the games. After the games, a lot of kids came to me asking, “Ate, puwede sa akin na lang yung panyo?” I guess for them a hankie is something of a luxury.
20. Alex - My dad underwent monthly chemotherapy way back in 1987. One time he decided to stop going to chemo and said, “Lalo lang akong hindi gagaling kung makikita ko kayong wala nang makain!” Thank GOD he’s still alive! And on January 26 of this year, its their golden wedding anniversary!
21. Loi Pogi - Another UP anecdote: I had this dorm mate who would drink three glasses of water before eating. His reason: “Para half rice at half ulam na lang kakainin ko. Mas tipid.”
--> May dormmate din akong ganito...
22. Toputs - We were so poor when I was growing up, that one Christmas morning, I reached inside my Santa socks (which was my father’s old sports socks) and got a promissory note that went, “Sorry walang gift this year kasi walang budget. Next year na lang - Santa Claus.” Until now I haven’t gotten over that sad Christmas, so I promised myself that I will never let that happen to my own son.
23. Leigh - I had spinal surgery last year in an orthopedic hospital. And because I have insurance, I was placed in medicare ward. And everyday a woman in a wheelchair would always visit us just to greet and chat with us if we’re all doing okay. When I asked her, “Manang, ilang araw na po ba kayo naka-confine dito at ano po ang sakit ninyo? She answered, “Meron akong bone cancer anak, at mag-iisang taon na ako dito. Hindi ako makalabas kasi wala kaming pambayad. Mabuti pa nga dito libre ang pagkain.”
---------
Another entry, though not mentioned above, was just so familiar to me that I found myself agreeing while laughing after Chico read it on air. Sabihin na nating naging "been there, done that" moment ko rin yun:
When well-off friends invited me to dine out, I'd say, "Sige, kayo na lang. Busog pa 'ko eh." :)
hopefully someday, i'll make a difference.
-bp