Is it fair to be charged for a parcel/package in the Philippines?

Philippines' manpower export is known all over the world. In fact, it's what helps our sunken economy. Wherever you go, there would always be a Filipino working there. Entertainers, architects, engineers, nurses, domestic helpers, waiters, IT staff in companies, etc. Filipinos are known for being hard-working and dedicated to our jobs.

Most Filipinos are working hard overseas for their families back home. Our remittances are the ones helping the Philippines. And often times, we couldn't resist buying things for them and having it sent back through Balikbayan boxes, or if there are no Balikbayan boxes service just like in most cities here in China, through China post.

And just before Christmas, I sent a 53x20x37 (cm) box of my used stuff and a little something for my family back home. I paid a little over US$60 for the postal charge. And on Christmas eve, my mom received a notice from the Philippine postal office that she has a parcel to claim. And today, she indeed went there with much excitement. But to her dismay, the officer-in-charge at the post office in Lawton was charging her Php 5,000 for my parcel of used stuff! WTF?!?!

And how about the stuff that Marl ordered through the internet earlier this month and had them sent to Manila via the very reliable but expensive UPS? When they delivered it to my mom's house, the guy was charging my mom customs tax of Php 2,700 (a little over US$50). Of course, my mom didn't pay for it, why would she? Marl paid US$ 50 just for the shipping fee using UPS and now that the package reached Manila, the Philippines' custom is charging another US$60?!! Since the UPS guy didn't leave the package because my mom wouldn't want to pay for it, my mom had to go to the UPS office in Paranaque City to complain and to haggle for the US$60 charge. But they were not really releasing it. No money, no parcel. Mom had no choice but to pay for it. WHY ARE THEY SO BLOODY GREEDY?!?!

As for box that is still in the Philippine post office because my mom refused to pay Php 5,000, it will stay there until I get back home. My mom complained to the immigration officer (I don't know why he's there, instead of being in the immigration office?) that was present there and she learned that if I'll be the one to claim it, there's no charge at all. All I would need is to show my passport and visa. What the hell?!?! How about those other OFWs who cannot go back for a year or so? So they are expecting us OFWs to go back to the Philippines and claim the boxes of used stuff that we have sent from overseas by ourselves? WHERE'S THE SENSE IN THAT?!! What's next? Charging our families in the Philippines claiming for our remitted money before they can get their share of our fruits of labor?

I guess this issue has to be brought forward to other OFWs and hopefully, we can reach the ears - and hearts - of those who are in charged for this. This is an issue between Filipinos who are in the Philippines being the greedy suspects vs. Filipinos who are working overseas being poor victims. It is surely giving Philippines a bad reputation to its already-tattered reputation. I hope we can do something about this before it gets categorized under the shameful list of "Only in the Philippines".

Working on Christmas 2009

Since I started singing professionally at 13, I've been working on Christmas (and New Year) on different functions. And now that I've been singing during these festive holidays for the past 18 years (yes, that loooooong!), I've become used to it. Though there were only 2 occasions that I didn't get to perform on Christmas: When I just gave birth to mini-me in 1999 and when we had a long vacation in 2007.

So this year ain't different from those past years. But I must say, this is the most relaxed working-on-Christmas time because there weren't any big happenings in the hotel. Our sister bands and friends are situated on the other side of the city - where the city lights shine.

Anyway, here are some of URB Band's Christmas '09 photos:

My current addiction: Kinder Bueno

I've always dropped in and out of different addictions when it comes to food. I have a sweet tooth and most of the food that I'd be addicted to are mostly chocolates or something that has to do with chocolates. And my recent addiction is Kinder Bueno. Not other Kinders, just the Bueno. Love the wafer-y munch on every bite of it. Yummmm...

But as much as I love it right now, I know I need to drop out of it soon. I have a few modeling stuff to do very soon. I hope that my addiction will be transferred to being a health buff again.

And speaking of that, it just struck me that I haven't worked out for more than a month already. Oh no!

HELP!

Makeup experiment... Twilight-y!

I want to learn the right makeup for different looks during photo shoots. Though I've been painting my own face for 15 years now, I know I still have much more to learn on makeup artistry. Makeup on photo shoots is different from stage, television, day time and evening makeup. I'm willing to attend makeup workshops and lessons to further enhance my skill on makeup artistry.

And now Marl and I are taking on this road together hand in hand, he with his photography and I with my makeup artistry. If you must know, Marl has been having late nights researching on photography stuff - spending time and money just to learn more on photography. He's really getting serious in his new found part-time profession.

But it's starting to pay off because he has done a great job on my recent photo shoot which I'd like to call TWILIGHT-Y. LOL. I was experimenting on my makeup after our gig at 4 o'clock in the morning and so I asked Marl to shoot me right away. I also used my hair in a creative way.

Anyway, since the photos are not yet in a Flickr set, here are the individual links of the Twilight-y set - filled with comments from other photo enthusiasts & great photographers:

Sars Makeup Experiment 1

Sars Makeup Experiment 2

Sars Makeup Experiment 3

Sars Makeup Experiment 4

Sars Makeup Experiment 5

R.I.P. Brittany Murphy 1977-2009

One of the talented Hollywood actresses has died of cardiac arrest at 32 years of age, TMZ reports. Brittany Murphy was announced dead on arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. To Brittany's family, friends and fans, the whole world mourns with you.

It just shows that life is so unpredictable and too short. I know that this is the time when the people close to her need some privacy but the whole world wants to know how and why she died. Could it be coke? Could it be suicide?

2009 is a year of unexpected death - famous personalities, businesses, etc. A lot of controversial deaths happened this year, too, especially in the Philippines. I'm glad that it's gonna over soon. Hope 2010 is just the opposite of 2009. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

UPDATE: Brittany Murphy's husband, Simon Mojack, opposes autopsy, Perez Hilton reports. Is he trying to cover up on something?

'Tis the season...

Why is it that Christmas always brings a lot of mixed emotions to most of us? Some are happy and excited that they already have done their Christmas shopping in the early part of the month, while the rest of us are longing to be with our families and loved ones on this special season. Some have had a rough year and looking forward to what the year 2010 has in stored for them and some have had the best times this year that they're anxious of what will happen next. And, without a doubt, some are looking forward for their Christmas pressies.

As for me, this is the season to be grateful for what I have achieved and what I have received and experienced - be it good or bad - because they're all part of the countless blessings that are coming my way. Life is too short to fill with worries, fears, and dramas. Let those rest and have a peace of mind. And a blessed heart.

Merry Christmas to you...

My first VSS - right on Twitter

It's my first time to do VSS on Twitter. What's VSS? It's Virtual Secret Santa. It's like the Kris Kringle that we've all grown accustomed to when we were still in school. Call it what you want: Mommy-baby, Kris Kingle, or Monita-Monita.

My friend Ann @x2Msquared facilitated this on Twitter. We all had to take a photo together with our "virtual gift" and show whose it from and whose it for. The good thing about it is everything is done ONLINE - it's just VIRTUAL.

There were only a few peeps who joined this fun thing but it's a good thing for a start and we're all Filipino tweeps. I'd like to thank @ronniedare for connecting me with these cool people on Twitter. See their VSS gifts on x2Msquared's blog HERE.

Here's my share of VSS for @sofiesalvador:

And here's what I got from @KMbalo:

Target: 10,000th tweet for the New Year 2010

Been wondering what's the #sars10k tag that I've been tweeting about lately?

I have been on Twitter for quite some time now. I've gained lots of new friends and knew about them through their tweets. I've followed some celebrities on Twitter and got updates of what they do and what they think. It's really been a great ride on Twitter all this time.

Well, guess what? As of now I'm more than a hundred tweets away from my 10,000th tweet and looks like I'm gonna hit it real soon. Which is VERY easy for a Twitter addict like me.

So, I've made myself a challenge: To have my 10,000th tweet as my first tweet for the New Year 2010. Big challenge coz I usually tweet whatever I feel like to and now I only have 10-12 tweets a day to spare. OH NO! Oh well, at least it's for a good cause and it will definitely make my 10,000th tweet extra special. What's more special than greeting my tweethearts on Twitter for the New Year for my 10,000th tweet, huh?! Guess that's the best I can do. Then I can start the year 2010 with a clean slate... well sorta. :-)

Follow me on twitter.com/saritaonline and support #sars10k!

Misa de Gallo

We have this thing called "-BER" months that spark the start of Christmas in the Philippines. Although we can already hear Christmas carol and songs being played on the radio as early as SeptemBER, it's only today, December 16, that the Christmas spirit is undeniably in every corner of the Philippines.

It's the start of the "night mass" or what we call simbang gabi or Misa de Gallo in Spanish. Philippines, being one of the two predominantly Catholic countries in Asia (the other one being East Timor), celebrates Christmas as the biggest holiday of the year. Simbang gabi starts at 4 o'clock in the morning in some parishes. And attending simbang gabi for nine days consecutively until Christmas eve, will make your Christmas wish come true, as what we have believed in.

The last time I attended simbang gabi was in 1995. Wow, that was 14 years ago! What I miss about Misa de Gallo are the native delicacies being sold by vendors outside the church: bibingka and puto bumbong and having with hot native chocolate drink. That's what I'd buy for breakfast at home.

Ahhhhh... Pasko na naman... :-)

Christmas lunch with the boss

Some of Seagulls (C&J) talents in Beijing with our boss, John Chacko

It was another fun offday for us. We had a Christmas lunch with our boss, John Chacko, together with all the 6 bands in Beijing that work for his company, Seagulls Promotions. The bands from Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kempinski Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Westin Hotel Financial Street, Hard Rock Cafe, and another new local bar, all gathered together at the Jackpot Restaurant for the first time in Beijing.

Since most of us don't eat lunch - because we wake up past lunchtime - it was a rather late lunch for our boss. We sat in 4 big round tables and ordered to our hearts' desires from the sumptuous dishes on their menu. I ordered sweet and sour pork and fried rice which I wasn't able to finish. :-p

We have asked everyone to buy something for the exchange gift. And so we drew some numbers among us that corresponded to the numbers on the gifts. Everyone was so happy with their gifts as I was happy with mine. I got a very nice small alarm clock. Thanks, Charrie! :-)

Merry Christmas everyone! =)

Happy times at the Happy Valley

It was a day that we all were looking forward to. Our friends Faye, Samanta, Ronnie, Darren & Anita, who are working in Tianjin, came to Beijing just because of that day. I was still sick but didn't want that to stop me from having fun with friends.

First, we attended our first Christmas party at the Philippine Embassy here in Beijing at noontime. There were lots of Filipinos, Filipino food and entertainment from other Filipino singers and musicians. I enjoyed my Tapsilog but didn't enjoy it 100% coz we had to eat out in the cold back garden on the embassy. And I've been coughing like hell. I even think I scared my friends away. LOL

Then at around 3PM, we headed on to Happy Valley. Boy, we thought we were late but the RMB120 ride-all-you-can ticket allowed us to have 4 fun rides until 4:30PM. Why only 4 rides? Happy Valley is a huge amusement park and the rides were located at different parts of the park. And worst, each entrance is a labyrinth-like spiral thing going up to the ride's platform. But it's all worth it after riding those rides. Why? Coz the guys I was with were all so funny.

Sarita, Darren, Samanta & Faye aboard the rollercoaster-like ride

The group was basically divided to two: the braves and the demure. The brave group, consisted of me, Anita, Samanta, Faye and Darren, were the ones who took all the thrill rides, while the other group, who preferred to be called the "demure ones" (Marlou, Aretha, and Ronnie) , were the more conservative ones or should I blatantly say - scared of the thrill rides. LOL.

Just as 4:30PM hit our watches, all rides were stopped which drove us to walk towards the exit gate of the park. We were all surprised because there was a loooooong queue outside the theater before the exit gate. And only then we found out that we are entitled for a theater show too! It was my first time to watch such kind of Chinese theater show with a little acrobatic skills. And the best part was the whole stage which moves and has ledges that moves as well. The best part of it was turning the whole stage into a waterfalls with strong flow of water. It was just amazing! The show started at 5:30PM and lasted for an hour.

The whole gang & the Heartbeat Band at the Paulaner Bar

We were all hungry and starving by the time we left Happy Valley. We decided to have a dinner at the Pizza Hut there. Although we were all tired and sleepy, we went to the Paulaner Bar in Kempinski Hotel to watch couple of sets of our sister band, The Heartbeat Band. At around 11PM, we all decided to go back to Shangri-La Hotel, where they'd all be resting for a while before going back to Tianjin first thing in the morning the next day (Monday). But instead of resting, we all ended up chit-chatting and laughing all the way until 5:30AM! LOL.

It was indeed a fun day and one of the days I will never forget. Great times, great friends, great day... I couldn't have asked for more. Thank you, guys! :-)

Chinese herbal cough syrup

I was down with a cough and high fever two weeks ago. I thought it's just but normal to be sick these days because of the weather. I just drank lots of water and used the remaining Panadols I have with me from KL. Although the fever only stayed for two days, the cough stayed on for almost two weeks now. I have faith in water therapy and so I was stubborn enough not to consult a doctor.

But the coughing worsened after being out in the cold Happy Valley amusement park with friends the whole day last Sunday. So after two weeks, finally I went for a consultation.

The doctor prescribed a herbal cough syrup that is really effective. After my first shot of it, I felt better and my breathing improved. And after a day of taking it, I felt a lot better. I still have two more days to take it.

So if any of you guys are in China and having stubborn cough, just look for this Chinese herbal medicine from any pharmacy. Then you can thank me, too, later. Get well soon!

I got featured on Sikat Ang Pinoy

I must say that I'm greatly humbled to be featured on Sikat Ang Pinoy website. This is a brand new site that features Filipinos all over the world who have helped raised the Philippine flag through their crafts, skills, and talent.

The first Filipino that was featured on their site was Arnel Penaflorida, the Filipino teacher who won the CNN Hero of the Year 2009. Who wouldn't be humbled and proud at the same for being featured next to Arnel Penaflorida? :-)

Read the article HERE. I'm sooo proud to be a Pinoy! :-)