by Bob Lim

You know why I live in the Philippines? Well, it’s a place in the world where:

 1)  Dictators and misfits are toppled by sheer people power.
 2)  Patriots fought colonial masters before other Southeast Asians did
 3)  There’s no race-inspired riots unlike in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore
 4)  Chinese immigrants don’t have to localize their names unlike in Thailand
 5)  Freedom of speech is unfettered (in another country, you can’t call the king names or else . . .)
 6)  Nobody has died of starvation unlike in Africa and the Indian subcontinent
 7)  Sunset is the eighth wonder of the world
 8)  Almost every scenery is mountain green or ocean blue
 9)  Children still bless their elders
 10) Members of parliament fight with words not by fists unlike in Taiwan
 11) Workers have basic rights unlike in China
 12) There are regular electoral exercises unlike in the Middle East
 13) There are no Columbine or Virginia Tech shootings
 14) The most beautiful and passionate women in Asia are found
 15) Sales staff are courteous and patient unlike in Hongkong
 16) Artistic talent is very abundant, the best stay while the rest entertain abroad
 17) Filipino women are treated totally equal unlike in Korea and Japan
 18) There are karaoke joints in every corner
 19) Highway, street and traffic signs are in English
 20) Wit and humor is prevalent in good or bad times
 21) Everyone is just an SMS text away
 22) Everyone has a relative overseas propping up the economy and filling the skills gap of the host country
 23) There’s no leader named Bush nor functionary named Rumsfield
 24) There’s traffic jam in just one (1) city unlike in the US
 24) Religion and creed are tolerated and protected by the Constitution
 25) Muslim schoolgirls can wear headscarves unlike in France
 26) Students have access to top quality education at $ 0.10 per curricular unit in a cool mountain overlooking a lake
 27) The best cafes and bistros proliferate outside of France
 28) The living is easy during summertime, the hordes of tourists notwithstanding
 29) Time for family bonding and entertainment is longer due to domestic help
 30) The best beer in the world is imbibed practically everywhere
 31) BPO staff enrich the coffers of the multinationals
 32) Linger in huge malls without really buying anything
 33) Watch almost 100 TV channels and access the net without fear of censorship
 34) Foreign companies scramble to recruit skills not available in their home countries
 35) The profession of psychiatry is a rarity
 36) Volunteerism and community service is more profound than anywhere else except the US and Europe
 37) Travelling relatives are sent off or met in big buses
 38) Seamen move 50% of the world’s maritime commerce and trade
 39) Commercial pilots are often pirated by mostly MidEast foreign carriers to fly their planes
 40) Many residents still live in single, detached houses within the urban center rather than condos and boxes
 41) Friday and Saturday nights regularly teem with merrymakers and diners
 42) Pristine white beaches dot the islands
 42) Friends and classmate get together forever
 43) 96% of all Filipinos stay and get to enjoy their life, work and home by choice and not by necessity

 Whoever wrote or forwarded that to you must be one frustrated loser.