The Irony of Complaining About Expensive Onions While Overspending on Unnecessary Stuff

It's already a new year and I want to harshly greet people with a lot of debts a "Happy New Year" (read here). I'd like to write this one because of this cartoon from The Manila Times emphasizes the irony of the situation. Last Christmas season, I raised the issue of whining about inflation because of the need for lavish celebrations (read here). What do you expect from people whose spending is poorly prioritized? If you're living paycheck to paycheck then why are you wasting the paycheck? That's the question that I can irritatingly ask because of how payday traffic can be so bad. The check arrives? They shout, "YEHEY!" They start to spend here and there, and if they can't afford it, they add credit to credit!

Why do you think they're complaining about the prices of onions? The cartoon from The Manila Times would reflect the irony. The person may have been too busy buying stuff that they don't need now (like I don't need the latest iPhone or video game console), buying luxury brands, and spending for the sake of it. It's like during payday when some people decide to do a barkada (peer) blowout at a very pricey place. I can't determine the prices of the items since I hardly buy designer clothes.

What I could assume is that the person who was crying, "Ang mahal ng sibuyas!!!" ("The onions are so expensive!!!") isn't complaining about the price per se. I think the person has run out of money from buying all the unnecessary stuff. In short, by the time the person remembers he has to buy onions, he has no more money to buy onions. The cost of onions at PHP 600.00 per kilo wouldn't be so bad if the person forgone buying all the unnecessary stuff first.

I guess all the whining that happened last Christmas was because of an overspending lifestyle. The paycheck arrives and they waste the money on what they don't need. By the time they need to buy onions, they end up realizing, "I have no money to buy onions anymore!" That's why they end up whining about onions being expensive. What may even be funnier if such people are also against importation of agricultural products during times of shortage (read here).

Opening #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Nationwide Increases POGO-Related Risks (NOT FDI)

Alice Guo aka Guo Hua-Ping may be in jail now . However, I believe the saga is far from over . It reminds me that I actually wrote about how several idiots on Facebook go so far as to say, " Alice Guo should be a warning about open FDI! " Some have even gone as far as to say that POGO and Chinese spies should "justify" the Filipino First Policy . However, the harsher reality is that the Filipino First Policy may actually be encouraging dummy investors instead ! As the saga continues, I've decided to write what I might call my harshest entry yet. It's going to be Chinese New Year this year. This might be an entry that may need to be shared before the Lunar New Year! My grievances are still ongoing because some people still demand #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, no matter how destructive it will be . That's why I use Venezuela as an example, especially during Nicolas Maduro's downfall . Back to the topic, I remember writing a joke post where I said, "Wh...

Social Media Gossipers' Ad Hominems Against Actor Robin Padilla Regarding His Proposal to Remove 60-40

Make no mistake that I didn't vote for Robin Padilla. I feel like I've had enough of voting for celebrities, athletes, and those who I felt are know-nothings in the legislative. However, Padilla recently had his proposal to remove the 60-40 restrictions regarding foreign direct investments (FDIs) . Former Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo was even in favor of that amendment. I guess that's why Philippine economist Andrew James Masigan endorsed Robredo. I may have not endorsed Robredo while Masigan remains to be one of my favorite local sources. The news from GMA News Online reveals these plans by Padilla himself: Senator Robin Padilla said he wanted to revise the Constitution to scrap the 60-40 rule on foreign ownership of businesses to accelerate job creation and competition among industries . In a Monday interview, Padilla said the move would attract more foreign investments to support the country’s economic recovery. “Para sa akin mas...

Should Noynoy Aquino be a Valid Excuse to Reject Econ Cha Cha?

Philippine Star Updated January 25, 2025 This may be a touchy post. Politics is often a source of fights during parties. That's why we're told not to talk about politics during parties. Unfortunately, some people on Facebook are now using the late Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino Jr. as an excuse not to execute even economic charter change. Never mind that blatant supporter of Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo, Andrew James Masigan, supports economic charter change . The late Charles Edward P. Celdran was also an anti-Duterte critic. As I looked at some okay boomer posts, I'm not surprised at people who still use Noynoy as an excuse to shout with all their might, "No to economic charter change!" Somebody posted on Facebook the following. As always, I won't publicly shame anyone. If possible, I will only refer to them by codenames or use the name Anonymous. I want to remain as professional as possible. This person said that under N...

The Great Reversal: Democratic Philippines Became MORE Dependent on COMMUNIST Vietnam for Rice

Bao Thanh Nien On January 24, 2026, I read from the Philippine Star Facebook page that a vendor from Baseco, Tondo, is selling Vietnamese rice at PHP 20.00 per kilo. Honestly, it made me laugh over President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise. Was this rice from Vietnam a rice surplus if it wasn't premium rice? My experience with rice selling was with wholesale, and it was a very different time. What I learned in the late 2000s to 2012 may no longer be applicable today. Taking a look back at the history of Vietnam and the Philippines before Doi Moi This time, I decided to go with history because a certain someone on Facebook (as always, I will not mention names as much as possible) has actually called it that the Philippines' dependency on Vietnam for rice, despite the International Rice Research Institute being actually located in Pili Drive, Los Baños, Laguna 4031, Philippines. This guy (whom I nickname Porky due to his obesity) I just mentioned, sp...

An Interesting Mental Exercise for Chinese as Second Language Class

Back in my day, I remember we kept memorizing what was called bon toi (written as 问题, Wèntí in Mandarin) without understanding them. I hated memorizing those. I guess another reason was to parrot what one can't understand. We had the biak diam too which is Hokkien for oral recitation. Memorizing the question and answer (written as 问题和答案, Wèntí hé dá'àn in Mandarin) would actually not be so tedious if Chinese was taught as a second language. My bizarre idea is to think about having only one bon toi but there are five answers to memorize. Memorizing (and understanding) why some don't want to learn Chinese These five reasons (above) have to be memorized in both Chinese and English. The teacher (老师, Lǎoshī) would say the question, "不学中文的最大借口是什么？" (Bù xué zhōngwén de zuìdà jièkǒu shì shénme?). The question can't be answered until the student actually translated it as, "What are the top excuses not to learn Chinese?" The student will eval...

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