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Friday, June 09, 2006
Against all odds
By Lady Ochel C. Espinosa
"WHAT do you want to be when you grow up?" asked the pre-school teacher.
"I want to be a banker", replied the young boy.
My brother was six years old then. His pre-school teacher also asked this inevitable question to all his fellow graduates. The purpose was to put together all the children with the same ambition in one group performance. While the other children of his age longed to become doctors, nurses, lawyers, dentists, pilots, and teachers, my brother, O' Echo bravely and truthfully answered what he really wanted to become.
After all these years, my brother remained true to himself. At three, he already wanted to be rich. When we would tag him along in going to the bank, he would see the manager, sitting, signing checks or papers, and so elegant looking in business attire. He went through grade school and high school still wanting to become a banker/ businessman. And now that he is in college, nothing can stop him in becoming one. It amazes me how his ambition "never changed" at all.
Most children do not really know what they want at a young age. Some of my brother's classmates in pre-school probably gave the same answer as their friends did.
Through the years, we all discover our inclination towards the social sciences, humanities, management, or science and engineering. We all have different reasons as to why we have these ambitions - fame, money or perhaps both.
Routine Check
As one finishes college, one wishes to find a decent job or build his own business. More recently, nursing graduates flock our nation in hopes of earning dollars abroad.
Another employment opportunity is the booming call center industry, that has turned into the "easy money" track for fresh graduates.
Then again, not everyone gets to choose what he or she would eventually become. Some people do not finish high school or get an opportunity to be in college. This story is not new. For some, choosing a job is choosing what is available.
In our country, to say that one has an odd job is an understatement. How can they be odd when we encounter them everyday? How can it be out of the ordinary, when everything around us in this day and age seems to be unusually common?
These testimonials will tell us why.
Seeing Dead People Without A Sixth Sense
Meet George*, an embalmer, 37 years old and married with three children. His income is a measly P2, 500 monthly salary with an additional P100 or P200 commission per dead person embalmed, depending on the type of coffin chosen by the relative of the dead person. He shares that his take home pay is in between P7, 500 to P8, 500 depending on the number of dead people he "treats" every month.
He used to be a welder then he spent half a decade of being a helper in the funeral parlor where he is working before he became a licensed embalmer. "Handom ko na gid ni sang una pa," says Johnny while laying all the instruments for embalming on top of a steel bed that looks more like an extra large dissecting pan.
Although he did not take Medicine or Biology (he didn't even reach college) in College, there are occasions wherein he is tasked to fix the face of a person who was either ran over by a vehicle or was crushed by a heavy object. When he encounters a problem like that, he implements the "cotton solution."
"Ginabutnagan ko sang algodon ang piyak nga side, tapos itupong ko sa maayos nga side. Hapos lang man," he says.
After embalming, George gives his clients a bath, puts make-up and shaves or cuts the unwanted facial hairs of his clients. In his six years of being in the business, he hasn't received any complaint from his clients, but sadly, none of them returned to his "parlor" to have another make-up job.
Getting To Know The Deepest and Darkest Secrets
Meet Lilia*, 58 years old, a widow with five children. She earns P100 to 1,000 a day from her job although she always has to use euphemism to her clients.
Lilia comes from a family of psychics and fortune tellers. She is a dressmaker by profession. On the side, she conducts fortune telling and tawas to those who visit her dress shop in the La Paz public market.
At age 15, she discovered her talent in fortune telling, at about the same time, her third eye opened. But she did not share her unusual gift to others. She was afraid of skeptics and she herself did not want to have a career in fortune telling.
When she was around 30 years old, her doctors diagnosed that she is suffering from ovarian cancer. At about the same time, her daughter was also suffering from numerous ailments - one after the other or sometimes several ailments at the same time.
She was about to give up when "he" (a figure she did not elaborate) showed up. That event became the turning point of her life.
The doctors who diagnosed her with the dreaded ovarian cancer were surprised that her disease mysteriously disappeared after several months. When her daughter got well, she promised to "him" that she will devote her life to serving others who need her help.
Always On a Night Shift
Meet balut vendor, Celia *, 59 years old a widow with two children. She buys the baluts and penoys she sells at a wholesaler near where she lives. She usually buys 50 pieces of balut (fermented duck egg) for P310 or P6.20 per piece.
She resells the balut for P10 and the penoy for P8 per piece. She buys around 20 penoys a day. "P10 and penoy nga may sabaw kag ang penoy nga wala sabaw P5 isa.", she elaborates.
Customers can choose from a "balut na may malaking sisiw" (a bigger chick means a smaller white mass inside the egg) or "balut sa puti" (balut sa puti means it has a smaller duck chick and bigger white mass) for the same price. Penoy lovers, on the other hand, can also choose from a "penoy na may sabaw" (soft-boiled penoy) or "penoy na walang sabaw (hardboiled penoy)" for the same price.
She shells out an average of P400 a day. A balut or penoy that was not bought within the day can be sold on the next day. " Wala man gid kapirdihan. Pulaw lang gid ang katapat.", she says.
It's Getting Hot In Here
"Sobra pa ako sa artista. Idol ako sang mga bata." Capt. Shakey's" mascot JR* is a freelance mascot at Shakey's and calls him every time there's a birthday party. And just like a real superhero, kids and parents gather around him.
An hourly pay of P300 may sound big, but wearing the heavy costume is really tasking. "Mainit, mabugat kag mabudlay magginawa!" he says after performing in front of the kids for almost one hour. "Halos isa ka performance lang ang masarangan ko. Duwa siguro puwede pero kilanglan may isa ka oras na pahuway man."
JR shares that sometimes his job feels like a fraternity initiation since kids think of mascots as invincible beings and "super characters" that do not get hurt. He usually gets back pains but shares that it's all worth it as long as the children are happy.
Ice Ice Baby
He is not Michael Jordan. He is not Puff Daddy. And neither is he Michael Jackson. He is Bong*, 29 years old, married with 2 children and an ice cream vendor. Although his skin color resembles more like the celebrities mentioned, there is no sign or regret of being dark skinned as this is merely a consequence of his job, being under the heat of the sun most of the time. "Papaya soap lang ang ginagamit ko, basi pa lang magputi man.", he shares.
Bong starts to peddle his ice cream using his makeshift pedal-powered ice cream cart at 8 o'clock in the morning. He earns an average of P5 for every piece of ice cream he sells.
His job is easier compared to the conventional sorbetes ice cream vendor, who has to scoop from a container every time a person buys an ice cream. He doesn't use a bell either. He uses a battery operated poly-tone siren. The melodies coming from the siren attracts more attention compared to an ordinary bell.
Ice cream is a favorite merienda treat during summer. Hotter weather means more income for Bong. Literally, the more he sweats, the more he earns. During the summer, Bong earns as much as P2000 a day.
"Kung puwede lang summer sa tanan nga oras, ok gid sa akon", he says.
To Be or Not To Be
Each of us has his or her own story - be it of failure or success. But as long as we know how to dream our ambitions will always be alive. We make our marks as little pieces of the big puzzle called life.
No matter how odd, no matter how difficult, what is important is we do it for ourselves, God and others. It is true, not everyone gets to choose what he or she would eventually become and as pitiable as it may be, for most of us, choosing a job is choosing only what is available.
Whatever we do or whatever we hope to be only we can dictate and only we can choose. Getting a good education and making good grades is a start. Nothing is impossible anyway.
So, if you have the itch to ask a six-year old the inevitable question, "What do you want to be when you grown up?". refrain from doing so.
Instead simply say, " Be what you want to be when you grow up."
(June 9, 2006 issue)
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