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 Eklat!
Yes, pinagbigyan tayo ni Eklat, in fairness ang bait-bait niya grabeh! Siguro nakalaklak ng depressant ang bruha at pinagbigyan tayo. Hahaha!
Anyway, here are the letters with Ate Charing and Eklat’s advices.
Once again, all letters are condensed for clarity and space issues. Read on.

Dear Ate Charing,

Hello and good day! I’m Elvie, 32 years old, married for 10 years and I have an 8-year old son Matteo. Sumulat po ako Ate Charing because of my son. You see, I work as a PR manager for a luxury label while my husband is an manager of a 5-star hotel. My problem is this. One time when I got home, I saw my son Matteo in our room, standing in front of the mirror, face fully made-up he looked like a clown, and he was wearing my ruffled dress and my strappy heels. I was totally shocked Ate Charing, I scolded him so bad he cried the whole evening. My son is only 8 years old and I’m afraid he might be gay. Please help.

Sincerely,
Elvie

Dear Elvie,

Alam mo, I feel bad for you talaga. First of all, you should never leave your son at home with just the yaya or the househelp. Haven’t you heard of those in the news na kinikidnap ng katulong ang mga anak ng amo nila. My gosh! Hindi ka na natuto baka sabunutan kita diyan eh.
Anyway, my advice to you is this. Do not leave your make-up on the dresser. Children tend to experiment you know. Put them in a make-up kit so that they can learn the basics of putting and returning things back appropriately. You said mukha siyang clown sa make-up niya, well, it’s your fault. Teach your child about the basics of applying make-up: Less is More. Lalo na kapag daytime, use shades in the pink family or light brown so that it appears young and natural. And the outfit he was on? Ruffles? My gosh, that is so 2007. Dapat idonate mo na yan sa Ondoy victims. Trends are always changing so it’s not a wise investment to stack clothing that are just for 1 or 2 seasons. Invest in classic pieces like a little black dress or a white button down shirt, a skirt that falls right above the knee in a solid color and a pair of tailored pants. About the shoes, strappy heels are also a thing of the past. Black patent heels are always your best option if you want an all-time pair of shoes.
I hope natulungan kita Elvie.

Fashionably yours,
Ate Charing

Eklat Reacts:

I totally agree with you Ate Charing. First of all, there’s nothing wrong with dressing up so young. I started dressing up and shopping for myself at 5. Suri Cruise is a style icon already at age 3. Teach your son about fashion. You should know that because you work for a luxury label, right? Let him read fashion magazines. Subscribe to French or Italian Vogue if you can because they are more fashion forward compared to it’s American and British counterpart. Remember, fashion is a friend, don’t fight it.

XOXO,
Eklat

Dear Ate Charing,

Hi, my name is Paul. 51 years old, married and living in Alabang. My wife Stephanie is 15 years younger than me Ate Charing. We’ve been married for 5 years but we still don’t have children. I wrote to you because I’m bothered. My wife can’t drive so I hired a driver for her so that she can go wherever she wants when I’m at work and not available. The problem is, this driver is young, tall, dark, and a bit handsome. On one occasion, a friend saw them together shopping at Greenbelt 5, holding hands and kinda sweet. On another occasion, my sister saw them together at the grocery carrying canned goods to be placed in the grocery cart with our driver’s hand in my wife’s waist. I have not seen it myself Ate Charing but I don’t think my friend and my sister would make up these stories. Please advice.

Yours truly,
Paul

Dear Paul,

I feel sorry for you. With a wife that is so much younger than you your priorities are most likely to be different. Anyway, here’s what you should do. First of all, Greenbelt 5 is an expensive place to shop. If you compare the luxury items sold there and the same items online, mas makakamura ka talaga. Even in Hong Kong, malaki ang difference ng presyo nito even though it’s the same item from a specific label. It’s best to shop luxury items online or abroad kumpara dun sa binibenta sa Greenbelt 5. Hermes will be opening soon in Greenbelt 3 so I assume your wife might drop by there. Tell her to compare the prices first. Impulse buying is not a good thing you know. I bet they won’t accept returned items if you are unsatisfied with what you bought or you found a better price abroad. Visit online stores or even e-bay. Everything she needs might be there.
I hope I’ve helped you.

Shoppingly yours,
Ate Charing

Eklat Reacts:

Well, according to you Paul, your sister saw them at the grocery carrying canned goods? OMG, that’s definitely not okay. Processed food in cans is unhealthy compared to the ones sold in the market. Haven’t you heard of preservatives? Gosh. It’s not just unhealthy but what you are buying is just crap. All chemicals and toxicity level is high. Tell your wife to buy fresh produce from your neighbourhood palengke or supermarket. Hello? SM and Salcedo market on weekends has a lot of fresh organic produce noh without chemical sprays and it’s a sosyal place pa to make your groceries compared to the murky and filthy palengke. Not only will these fresh farm produce make you healthy, you are also helping our local farmers by patronising their products.
See?

XOXO,
Eklat

Dear Ate Charing,

Hello. My name is Vicky, 23 years old, single but dating. My boyfriend’s name is Mark and loves me so much. I wrote to you because I have a problem. I’m pregnant and it’s not Mark’s baby. It happened at my girl friend’s birthday. Mark wasn’t there because he was out of the country for three months. I got so drunk and when I woke up, I was already undressed. I did not know what exactly happened, that’s how drunk I was Ate Charing. A month after, I discovered I’m pregnant. I immediately left the country and I’m staying here in my aunt’s home in San Francisco. I wanna go back to Manila but I’m afraid Mark will leave me if he knows I’m carrying someone else’s baby. I told him I’m just here for vacation. Please help Ate Charing.

Lovingly,
Vicky

Dear Vicky,

Isa kang malanding babae. Haynaku! Anyway, nandiyan na yan, so ano pa bang magagawa natin. Wala na akong maraming masasabi pa sa’yo. My advice to you is this. When you plan to go home and you purchase a ticket, use your credit card na mayroong miles. It’s better than your normal credit card because you earn points. I have one that I use regularly in shopping and guess where it brought me. Paris, France! ‘Di ba bongga? Some airline companies have frequent flier benefits too so you might as well grab that chance because I’m sure mas dadami pa ang magiging biyahe mo now. One thing, once your baby is born, you get lots of benefits too. Airfare would be lesser because you get discount rates and you get to avail other benefits especially in the US because of your baby.
Good luck.

Jetsettingly yours,
Ate Charing

Eklat reacts:

True Ate Charing! I will also advice the same. Yaya Indira uses her credit card with frequent flier miles and it brought her to Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan for free! She was there as a volunteer for the US Army and it really made her the person that she is now. Strong-willed, diligent and very much capable of handling everything that I tell her.
Seriously, love your baby. Shower him/her with all the love that you can give. Pamper him/her. Go to Dior and Yohji Yamamoto, not Baby Gap or Gingersnaps. They have better clothes there and it’s more fashionable than other mainstream baby clothing labels.
Wishing you the best.

XOXO,
Eklat

Well, what can you say? I really hope nakatulong na naman tayo sa ating mga kababayan. Sana ay hindi kayo magsawa sa pagpapadala ng mga sulat dito sa Barrio. Just remember, love one another because we are a one big happy family.

Charing!

photo credit: teamsugar

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Mel is is the ‘gurl’ behind “The Misadventures of Mel Beckham”. ‘She’ graduated with a double major in Management and Entrepreneurship. ‘She’ grew up in the city but now lives in the bukid near barrio siete juggling work as a farm manager, office secretary, messenger, construction worker, housemaid, make-up artist and babysitter. Despite ‘her’ busy schedule, ‘she’ finds the time to blog in between work, and errands using ‘her’ primitive mobile phone. ‘She’ plans to take ‘her’ MBA soon but ‘her’ multiple jobs prevent ‘her’ from doing so unless going to school will get ‘her’ paid to pay for ‘her’ utangs. Before ‘she’ dies, ‘she’ hopes of owning a pair of Louboutins, and landing on the cover of Vogue, kahit sa Vogue India lang. Whichever comes first.