Hello fellow patriots!
Medyo matagal-tagal na rin since the last time na nabuksan ang fan mail ni Ate Charing sa Barrio Post Office. Eh kasi naman busy na yung mga nagbabantay sa Barrio Hall sa pangangampanya ng kani-kanilang presidentiables kaya napabayaan na ang pagbubukas ng fan mail. Hello?
Nananawagan ako sa mga tanod at tanodress ng barrio, where art thou? Sandamakmak na ang mga unread mails?
Anyway, sa mga hindi pa nakakaalam, nagbibigay din po ng payo at solusyon sa inyong mga problema si Ate Charing. Mga problemang hindi niyo masolusyunan or …

Summer na ngayon at doble ang sobrang init dito sa Barrio Siete at sa buong Pilipinas dahil na rin sa init na dala ng upcoming presidential elections. Ilang tulog na lang ‘di ba at rarampa ka na sa iyong suking polling place at boboto sa iyong suking presinto. Teka, alam mo na ba kung anong presinto ka na-assign? Well, kung hindi pa, basahin ang post na ito ni La Kapitana nang hindi ka aanga-anga sa Mayo 10. Okay?
Meanwhile, eto na naman po at ginugulo tayo ni Eklat. Nagpadala ng telegrama …

Madalas pag-usapan dito sa barrio ang nalalapit na eleksyon sa Mayo. Halos 90% na yata ng articles dito ay may kinalaman sa pulitika eh. Palagi na lang si Noynoy, Manny Villar, at Dick Gordon. Kung napag-uusapan man ang ibang kandidato sa pagka-pangulo or pangalawang-pangulo ay hindi masyado kumpara sa tatlong nabanggit ko na. Anyway, dahil diyan, nandito po ang isang open letter na aking ipinadala kay Ate Charing.
Dear Ate Charing,
Hello. Kamusta ka na Ate? Nakalabas ka na ba sa rehab? Matagal na rin kitang hindi nadadalaw sa palengke. Medyo busy …

As you all know dear readers, I wrote an e-mail to Jollibee regarding my concern on the missing special barbecue sauce that goes with my ex-favourite Jollibee Chicken Barbecue. Read it here and the Barrio Siete article here.
Guess what. I actually received an e-mail from them.
Ang saya-saya ‘di ba?
NOT!

Here’s the reply that I received from them:
On Thu Mar 16th, 2010 3:47 PM PHT jollibee care wrote:
Dear Ma’am / Sir,
We would like to acknowledge your e-mail dated March 12,2010. We are saddened by the unfortunate experience you had at Jollibee. Please …

This is an open letter to my all-time favourite food chain. Because I believe that eating should always be a worthwhile experience. Oo, big deal sa akin ito.
Dear Jollibee,
First of all, thank you for making my pamangkins happy.
They love you so much especially Zoe who insists on celebrating her birthday with you every year.
I wrote because of a very important decision you made that made me unhappy.
I love chicken. I love your Chickenjoy. Super. But ever since Jollibee Chicken Barbecue came out in the market, it has been my favourite …

A break from politics and natural disasters.
****************************
On January 8, 1974, hoping for a fresh start, the King of Rock and Roll finalized his divorce papers with Pricilla Presley on his 39th birthday.  At the same moment (but in a different time-zone) on the other side of the planet, tens (or maybe hundreds) of thousands of Filipinos gathered to commemorate another type of King, the Christ.  And as the crowd marched around the streets of Quiapo in praise of the town’s patron saint, Jesus of Nazareth, a new hope was born.  A humble and loving mother from Tondo gave …

Hello mga friendship! Kamusta na kayo? Well, if you ask me, okay lang ako at in-love. Charoooot!
Because of the good feedback we received from our first response to some of our Barrio Siete letter senders seeking for advice, we are once again opening our mailbox para matugunan ang iilang problema ng ating mga ka-barrio na nangangailangan ng payo.
This time, hindi lang si Ate Charing ang magbibigay ng payo, we have a guest ‘counselor’ to help us in solving these mind-boggling dilemmas. It’s none other than our resident critic/diva/mental patient extraordinaire …

Here in Barrio Siete, we come across different kinds of readers from all walks of life. Contributing articles through email is one aspect where readers can share their stories about their respective lives or experiences. Pero dapat matuto ka rin makipag-social climb noh kasi hindi naman lahat ng nagsa-submit ng mga articles eh napipili ng council para ipublish lalo na yung nagpopromote lang ng blog nila. Ano kayo sinuswerte? Charing!
At dahil nasa vacation pa ang La Kapitana at wala akong magawa dito sa aking kubo, pinakialaman ko na ang laman …

Dear Uncle Jessie,
How are you my dear uncle? Don’t tell me you are okay because I know you’re not.
It’s been a while since we last saw and spoke to each other noh? Well, you know naman uncle that I’m a little popular than you now and I’ve been very busy with my newfound social life. I think the last time we spoke was a long time ago and you were a congressman pa in Davao and that was in the 90’s. OMG, so that means you’re so old already! Like …

Sa mga umaabang sa next appearance ni Eklat, lalo na sa kanyang anim na fans, eto ulet ang isang sulat mula sa kanya.
Basa na mga bruha.

Hello patriots!
Yes it’s me again, Eklat at your service.
You know I just arrived from a week of rehab, I mean, vacation in LA and the news that Yaya Indira has for me when I arrived was this controversial video of presidentiable Noynoy Aquino. Of course I have not seen the video before because tv and internet is forbidden in the ‘vacation home’. Yaya …

Mga bruhang fans ni Eklat, may sulat na naman po siya para sa atin kaya hindi ko na kayo bibitinin. Sabay-sabay nating basahin. Gooooo!

Hello my dear minions!
I know that you’re glad to see my name pop up in Barrio Siete again.

Well forgive moi to keep you waiting because I’ve been so much busy doing charity work these days. I told you what I did during the Ondoy tragedy last month and after that grueling experience, I had to detoxify myself for two weeks in sunny Bahamas.
When I got back, …

Bakit kamo?

Aba e sa chura kong to, kun naging lalaki ako e pwede ba kong mag polbo ng ilang patong matakpan lang yung mga butas na dinaanan ng mga pigsyawat sa mukha ko? pwede ba kong umarte arte para matakpan yung mga gusto kong takpan?
Nun ngang raw ipinanganak ako e hinimatay si inay, naglayas si itay, at nasampal ng lola sarili nya ng masilayan ako…. e kung sa hospital nga raw ako ipinanganak at hindi sa bahay e magkakagulo, ipipilit nila hanggang husgado na nagkamali ang ospital at naipalit ako …

Image via Wikipedia

I have a confession to make.
Opo, kuya, ate.
Isang pagtatapat mga ka-barrio. Hindi ito tungkol sa aking pagkatao dahil matagal ko nag ipinagtapat sa inyo na hindi ako isang tao. Sa mga hindi pa nakakaalam, isa po akong “diyosa”.
Hahaha! Charing lang.
Seriously (kunwari), mahirap man itong sasabihin ko ay kailangan ninyong malaman ang isang katotohanan na matagal ko nang tinatago sa sarili ko dahil mahal ko kayo mga masugid naming mambabasa. We owe you the truth and as the saying goes, “The truth will set you free”.
Hehehe. …

Mga kapatid, eto at may natanggap na naman tayong sulat dito sa Barrio Siete from our dear friend Eklat. Naging busy pala ang lola niyo sa kawanggawa kaya natagalan bago siya nakasulat sa atin. Sa mga hindi pa familiar kay Eklat, you can read her first two letters here and here.
Here is Eklat’s third letter to us.
Read on.
Hello my dear minions.

First of all, I’d like to apologise for not making paramdam these past few months.
I’ve been busy with my life. You know naman, sushal people like us has a very …

Okay class…tapos na yosi break natin. Resume na tayo:
So ayun…dumating sa punto na iniwan ko ang trabaho. Bitbit ang anak at isang dyip ng bagahe, I went back home. To live with my mother so she won’t kill herself and join my father in the after-life!
Yung 2 college, transfer sa city namin. Daily pamasahe, uwian. Si seaman bro, padala ng initial payment sa tuition. Ang succeding payments? Akin na ulit. Ang daily expenses, akin pa rin. Ang food at kuryente namin, akin pa rin. At kung anik-anik pa sa araw …

In barrio siete where I grew up,  I haven’t even gotten out of elementary school and yet the responsibilities on my shoulders were already heavy.
Heavy for a young girl. Heavy for an eldest daughter. Heavy for someone who’s supposed to be playing outside, but instead was locked-in,  on the study table, burning the midnight candle!
Kaya ayun, lumaki walang kilay!
I was that girl.
The eldest daughter.
The one who will get my family out of poverty.
The one who will send his younger brothers to college too.
Sa history ng barrio siete namin…I paved the …

Once again, we received a letter from our imaginary P.O. Box addressed to all of us here in Barrio Siete. Kahit hindi sa akin ito naka-address ay binulatlat ko na ito dahil pakialamera naman talaga ako. This letter is from one of our avid readers, Trisha from Makati. I found her letter very appropriate with what has been going on in our country.
Here, she talks of her very painful experience in joining a beauty contest.
Read on.
Dear Ate Charing,
Itago niyo na lang po ako sa pangalang Trisha. 25 years old from …

This is an e-mail from our PO Box galing sa isa nating reader na dinala ng none other than Darna herself! Thank you Darna. Huwag kang mag-alala, papanuorin kita sa kahit sa pilot episode lang dahil Kapamilya ako. Hahaha!

photo hinarbat mula dito
Anyway, this reader  happens to have an opinion about Barrio Siete. Not everyone here love us you know. May hindi rin masaya sa pinag-gagagawa namin. Hahaha!
Read on.
 
Dear Barrio Siete people,
First of all let me introduce myself, my name is Elaine Katherine Lourdes Anna Theresa , but my friends call me Eklat. That’s my initials …

… yan ang nakasulat!
Ewan kung saan…baka kayo alam nyo?
Sabi doon sa movie na Maid in Manhattan:
“When God closes the door, He opens a window. So…jump!!“
Feel na feel ko ang mga katagang iyan sa panahong ito. Hinahanap at iniintay ko pa yung window kung saan puede akong tumalon…(not literally of course, hindi naman ako suicidal)…you know what I mean.
Ngayong umaga lang…merong nagsarang pintuan sa harapan ko. Hindi naman ito first time na nangyari sa akin. Pero hindi pa rin ako nasanay. Nalulungkot pa rin ako pag ganyan ang nangyari.
May mga bagay …

Dear Ate Charing,
Onse anyos po ako nung panahong yun at since weekend, nasa bahay si mader. Lingguhan lang namin makita ang aming ina dahil sa manila sya kumakayod para sa aming ikabubuhay at kung weekend naman sya ang lahat lahat gumagawa ng trabahong bahay, walang tigil, ni halos wala din syang time na maka bonding kami dahil gusto nyang tapusing lahat ng trabaho sa bahay na pwede nyang magawa.
Simula ng magkamalay ako, namulatan ko na syang naninigarilyo pero di naman sya heavy smoker, siguro pambawas ng stress. Siguro sa …

Dear Ate Charing,
Putok sa buho kung kami’y tawagin. Madalas alispustahin. Mababa ang tingin samen. Masakit sa damdamin. Wala akong magagawa. Anak ako sa labas. Nilunok ko na lang lahat nang pangungutya. Bakit nga ba ganun ang mentalidad naten? Bakit ako ang kelangang mag-suffer??? Eto po ang story ko…

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We love LOVE NOTES! Lumalapad ang tenga namen at mas lalo kaming nagiging creativeness. Barrio Siete is proud to have a good list of writer councilors and contributor dayong baryos. We have a very strict Barrio Council, ilang beses na akong nabulyawan. But we all here, pride ourselves as having paid our dues and get to our high point in our career and education despite the struggles and adversities we faced at nag-e-enjoy pang mag-blog. All of us here believe na habang dumarami ang ABC’s sa pangalan namen, the more …

Our Dayong Baryo writer for today is from England who’s visiting Barrio Siete who’s gonna be talking about scientifically proven herbal medicines. She started writing when she was still in High School. That time, she wrote a novel in a notebook, she just didn’t know if it’s now being sold at the Amazon hehe! She also wrote poems and some were published in “Heartbeat”, their official school publication and continued writing essays while at the University. She even won something from a literary contest to which she claims “nagkamali ata …

Dear Tita Charing,
Ang gaganda naman ng mga kuwentong barrio siete nyo. Gusto ko tuloy i-share ang aking malungkot na buhay sa aming barrio siete.
How will I start the story of my life?
Tandang tanda ko pa, Tita Charing, nagisnan ko na lang na laging nag-a-away ang aking mga magulang. Sa murang isip ako’y nag tatanong kung kelan sila titigil. Sa murang isip ako’y tinatanong ng aking ina.
“kanino ka sasama kung kami’y mag hihiwalay ng iyung ama?”.
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