A Glimpse of Sad Reality Abroad at My "Caregiver" Experience

So, I watched this latest and greatest movie "Caregiver" of Sharon Cuneta last night and I wasn’t expecting very much from it because I thought I’ve seen every forsaken and battered Filipino domestic-helper-abroad kind of movie flick….. I thought, what else could be new in this one? Until I caught myself wiping my damn tears at the first part of the movie... then I said, "So, this is what's new, pussy cat!" Kleenex please.

I don't know why I easily get carried away by these kinds of Filipino drama... Although this is quite far from my own story here in the US, I know I always try to seek something personal that I can relate to in any OFW theme movies.

Few scenes I want to mention that moved me personally:
1. The scene when Sarah (Sharon's character) spent her last days with her old grandmother. I remember I spent time with my Lola Salud before I left to the US. She passed away a year or so later and sadly, I was not there in her funeral.

2. The scene where she was buying her jacket with her son. I was with my mom when I bought my winter jacket in the same ukay-ukay market.

3. When her husband welcomed her at the airport. My husband (my fiance then) also picked me up from the airport and I remember we were promising to help each other fulfill all our dreams together here in the US.

4. The scene in the laundromat and the scene where she was walking in the snowstorm. Do I need to say more?

The story of Caregiver is very factual and convincing in my own experience and point of view. And really, you don't have to be a Caregiver in London to go through this cinematic experience. It is happening to almost everyone (no matter what your job is), and everywhere abroad, even in front of my own eyes, through the colorful lives of my closest friends and some relatives ...

For example: Good mother left child behind, good wife married to a jerk, good wife fed up and left jerk, good mom takes child, good mom leaves child to babysitters so good mom can work, child turned into problem child as good mom is always working, good mom depressed and looks for second chance in love to solve her problems, good wife marries another jerk.... and the same story goes on around again. Happy?

Or let's go the complicated story, good husband left wife for abroad to provide better life to his family back home, good husband works hard abroad, good husband gets lonely, another girl gets lonely, good husband abroad lives in with lonely girl who also left good husband back home to take care of family, who also wants to provide better life for her family.... sounds familiar?

That's the sad reality of life most Filipino abroad has to go through to earn this damn dollar or pounds, or whatever. And that's the quality of life that most families have to have, as chosen by their good parents only wanting to provide better life and future for their children. That's the kind of sacrifice that inevitably most Filipinos unconsciously fantasize when they think that the Philippines is hopeless, and that they need to work or live abroad, and leave their loved ones behind.

Lastly, may I say, I have a lot of respect to all these OFWs around the world and their own heroism to their families, especially the ones in the nursing and caregiving jobs. Here's the best lines in the movie that I believe have made impact to their chosen profession:

"Some time, when you least expect it, someone will come into your life and make you feel less lonely, less alone... For me you are that person. You care for people. You give them what they've lost to life down the years, their dignity, and hope and joy and even fun... There's not very many jobs that can top that!"

My own start-up story may not be as dramatic and worthy of a movie, but I've written a blog about it before. Click here to read my Promdi In America, Lost in Transition.

My Oscar Bets! (and their birthdays!)

I picked these photos online tonight while watching the Oscars on TV, and I didn't realize that these actresses that I truly admire were the same age as me!

Angelina Jolie (born on June 4, 1975)

Kate Winslet (born October 5, 1975)

Penélope Cruz (born April 28, 1974)

Czarina Aileen Palomares (born April 19, 1975)

a.k.a. Czarina Trinidad

Me, Twilighted...

First of all, I can’t believe that it’s already December 1st! I didn't realize that until I was changing my voicemail greeting at work today. Where did my whole year go? Well, we’re not going to talk about that.

Let’s talk about what every girl is crazy about here in America…. A girl’s new fantasy… that pale-faced... waxed-eyebrow... cherry-lips... sun-glistening cold-skin... speed-flying... eye-changing colors… that gorgeous teen vampire Edward Cullen. I could go on and on about him, and I will not run out of adjectives.

Here's my reality. I never liked fantasy movies (or books), more so a series of it... like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. I can’t relate and I don’t really care, period. Speaking of Harry Potter, I saw another trailer of its upcoming 10th sequel… When is it ever going to end? I guess they won’t stop making Harry Potter movies until Harry is 99 years old (or worse, dead!), or until every child in the world is converted to witchcraft. God forbid.

So, I wanted to watch “Australia” last weekend, but my husband paid me a whole ensemble of holiday party outfits and accessories from a mannequin display at Express and a couple of new Miracle Bras from Victoria Secret, which is truely “miraculous" by the way… (what a way to bribe me!) just so I would watch this Twilight movie with him. No regrets.

Surprisingly... I got hooked! And I was “Twilighted.” In short, I kind of fell in love in the movie…Yikes! The story obviously has thrown a spell on me big time. I am now itching to read the book. Funny thing was, I kept thinking about Bella Swan’s mouth… I am convinced that Edward fell in love with her two front teeth! I mean, the poor girl seriously needs some bronzer or blush and she can’t keep her mouth shut, I mean, closed. Okay, fine. I’ll stop mocking this movie now. I guess they are supposed to look cold, and not supposed to smile a lot… weird. Just watch the movie or even better, read the book!

I just got so mesmerized with the author of this best-selling book. The author, Stephanie Meyer, earned her English degree here in Utah (BYU), and I watched her at Ellen DeGeneres show on Thanksgiving. She kind of inspired me as she only started documenting her dreams and it got so long and became a fantasy novel... and now a series of 4 books... and now became a block-buster movie all over the world with sequels to follow.

Which gave me a fabulous thought…. what if I can write something similar in a Philippine setting? Like a convoluted love affair between a "manananggal" (a self-segmenting flying viscera sucker in the Philippines) and a preacher… Hmmn, I’ll try to find my inspiration by snacking a snickers bar and watching a Shrek Christmas movie! Let's see what kind of nightmares I can recollect and turn into a best-selling novel.