By Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–The last shingle’s in place, the dotted line has been signed and the lights are working. Time to move in! But before you do, here are a few reminders from the old folks on how to bring in good vibes into your threshold. Some might sound downright silly or absurd, but as the pragmatic might shrug, better safe…

1. Time your moving-in day on a new moon when it is waxing towards fullness. That’s supposed to bring in burgeoning luck and wealth.

2. Be sure to be in your new home before the sun rises as this signifies a bright new beginning.

3. Before bringing in your furniture and other stuff, march into your new household with the requisite symbols of plenty: rice, sugar, salt, water, oil and the Holy Family. Others say that any religious image would do as well. Some also suggest taping red envelopes with cash on the rice containers to further attract good fortune.

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By Eric S. Caruncho
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Let’s face it, kitsch ’R’ us.

We might pay lip service to Bauhaus style, or minimalism, or the Miami style, or whatever new wrinkle in interior design happens to be trendy at the moment, but deep down, we’re all the same.

Face a Pinoy with a bare wall or an empty shelf and that old horror vacui just wells up inside him. And chances are, he’ll pick the cheesiest possible piece to put there.

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By Michael Tan
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–“Namamahay” is the term we use when, while on travel — it can be Baguio or Bahrain — we are unable to sleep at night, or are dogged by a feeling of malaise and disease, including unproductive sitting in the morning. “Namamahay” is a graphic description of how the psyche, the spirit craves for home so that the Filipino, even as he boards the plane to leave the country, already wants to go back home.

Home is where the heart is, the cliché goes, and it doesn’t matter how humble the house might be. The last national census had a startling finding: the median floor area for Filipino households was 29.6 square meters. We’re not just talking about several informal settler families (read: squatters) cramped into a tiny shack; look through the classified ads and you’ll find condos with 16 square meters of space.

The Filipino adjusts to whatever’s available. I’ve seen air conditioners even in squatter areas, part of a massive recycling economy which allows Filipino households to constantly upgrade their homes. The poor have been particularly resourceful at tapping into the many junk shops for materials they can reuse, from plywood to discarded advertising tarpaulins, from sinks to commodes (kubeta).

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