Ugly Betty..

I was addicted when it was Betty La Fea, then another came out, Betty La Mas Fea, and now, I am hooked with Ugly Betty, the latest reincarnation of the ugly duckling who has turned into a swan. I can’t help but like the latest remake, the fact that it is set in the jungles of New York City, and on the heels of “The Devil Wears Prada”, the setting is in the ultra-chic office of Meade Publications.

Vanessa Williams as the scheming Creative Director and her ally, the very Anna Wintour “Fey Sommers”, together with her gay assitant Mark, is a hilarious triumvirate. Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrera, and her boss, Daniel Meade, as well as Amanda as the receptionist and Henry, the guy from accounting, as well as Cristina from the closet department, plus the sexy Salma Hayek, who is also the executive producer of the hit TV series on ABC, play their roles to perfection. Everyone has made a cameo, from Martha Stewart to Isaac Mizahri, thus proving that Ugly Betty is really a success.

Betty’s loving family from Queens, the dad, the sister, the gay nephew named Justin, Justin’s dad, the hot latino guy, the neighborhood slut Gina, makes one forget about the going ons in one’s life. Betty’s dad run in with the immigration is something that is really moving, when he left Mexico with Betty’s mom. Jumping from Ugly Betty topic, I have to share two letters from 2 people who read my blogs, one is on my friendster’s list, while the other is not. Here they are:

Letter No. 1
Subject: As Stated

we were at a loss for words after reading your blog. i wasn't surpised at all of your your current situation. you had it coming. you've been drinking champagne on beer income. some things never change!

what do you expect from people reading your blog? sympathy? alms? you have got to be kidding me.

anyways, i'll pray for you. i hope you experience enlightenment. funny, at your lowest point you still lack humility.


Letter No. 2
Subject: Ei...

Hi Jake! Haven’t seen u attending mass at OLGC chapel for the past days, or I am soooo disconnected with my prayer life lately.

Anyways, just checkin out on you, Have read your blogs before and I know I can’t offer you anything for I have my own dilemma, but it won’t hurt if I can treat you for lunch whenever you’re around. Please don’t hesitate my office is just around the corner you can look for me either on the 20F or at the chapel. It’s just a small offer but I want to take part for someone you can consider a friend.

Good luck on your job hunting.
God bless!



These are two letters that have different tones. I have decided to omit the senders' name to protect their identities. The first one is from someone that has left the country 7 years ago as a tourist and never came back, a classic case of TNT (tago ng tago) and I can’t help but be on the defense. Being a guy from marketing, this person is reading my blogs even if he is not under my friendster’s list, thus, he is not a target market. However, his tone is something that borders on abrasiveness and callousness. This is a person that broke US immigration laws, and I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He has given up on the Philippines and I am not sure if he is comparable to an OFW, because OFWs leave the country and they regularly send remittances, thus, helping the local economy grow by leaps and bounds. I am still in the Philippines and I have no single plan to give up on this country because I know that the Philippines has still a place for me, and I will help it thru paying taxes and by pump priming the economy thru my local trips and shopping. I wish I could say the same to this person who is not here and who is busy working 3 day jobs just to be able to raise funds to pay his immigration lawyer so that his stay in the US will be finally of legal stature. Again, I am here in the Philippines and even if I am at the lowest point of my life, I can still face people and tell them that I didn’t break any law.

The second letter sender is from someone I have met thru a coffe festival 5 years ago in a mall and has been under my friendster’s list for the past 3 years. We bumped into each lately in the church since we both hear mass in the same place, on a daily basis. If you read thru the content of the letter, the writer is apologetic (typical pinoy, “nakakahiya naman sa “yo…) and yet, she offered a little cheer me up by inviting me to lunch.

Maybe leaving the country really builds character, and I cannot say if it's good or bad character. I read somewhere that California will make you soft, and New York will make you hard. Anyway, Ugly Betty is from New York and of mexican heritage trying to fit into a world where size 0 is the norm and eating cashew nuts made of 25 grams of fat per serving is considered a mortal sin in Mode (that's their take on "Vogue", the magazine that sets the standards for beauty). I can't help but feel that the first letter sender's character is that of Wilhemina, the "baddie" in Ugly Betty.

I will be really honest to all you who is reading this blog. Yes! I may be stupid, I may have brought this to myself, I may be jobless, but you don’t kick someone who is already down. I leave the judgment to all of you, I may be wrong when I took up a close friend’s advice to answer back at the first e-mail, let’s not just waste time. If anyone has nothing nice to say, I suggest they shut their mouth.

To Tenten, who is in the US and just like me is jobless now, thanks for the words of encouragment, tough times don't last, but tough people do. I hope you get better soon and we all miss you. I know you love Ugly Betty since we are both Prison Break devotees. I hope you don't get offended on my behalf for the first letter sender and please pardon me if you get offended with what I wrote about this person whom I barely see.


Now going back to Ugly Betty, the show airs on Studio 23 every Sunday at 9:15 in the evening.