Weekend at high altitude

Holiday Rush

I am beat. I have a sore throat.  I have downed higher doses of Vitamin C to fight off the colds virus that threatens to take control.  Over the last two weeks, I think I gained four pounds, what with the nightly dinner gatherings.   I thought I planned my Christmas shopping well, having a list as early as November.  Still I find myself braving the mad rush of shoppers on weeknights (weekdays!!) because of some people that I failed to have on my list.  I can name one person I forgot to include in the list.

 

Maria.  (my boss!!!) 

 

But thankfully, I had enough time to buy and have it shipped to New York.  Thankfully (again), the Company covers shipping costs for the Christmas gifts we send off to our colleagues in different parts of the globe. (even to those who don’t observe the occasion—like Japan and Korea) Whew!!!

 

In between sneezes, I feel my ankles hurt with all the walking. I know I need a massage.  I am tired.

 

I sent my friend a message which goes – “I’d better stop this.  My last “reunion” is on the 23^rd.  And that is it! Before I forget to celebrate Reason for the Season.”

 

The past two Christmases have been tough.  It was difficult to fully celebrate.  I skipped a lot of get togethers and hardly did any shopping.  So I suppose, the excitement fueled me to make this Christmas abuzz with activities.  I met up with friends I haven’t seen over the last year.  It was wonderful.  And our company Christmas party is the best one so far.  Fun! Fun! Fun!

 

I have two topics that I should have blogged earlier on but my mind just isn’t in to it.  About the Baguio getaway and the company party. So maybe I will just post some pictures and let them speak for me. 

 

I realize just now that I will coordinate the Dec23 gathering with old friends and that I am in charge of the family celebration. +%$@!@@!!!*$@

 

Ohhhhhkay.  Yes.  I am beat.  And yes, I have come to accept the lingering sadness as part of the rest of my life.

 

I am all that.

 

But undeniably, I am excited for 2007 and truly grateful for the favors God brought my way this year.

 

Have a Merry Christmas!

  

The timely reboot

The nice thing about doing a prequel is that you learn about a character when he still wasn’t the one you have always known him to be.

 

The latest Bond movie installment Casino Royale is meant to be a reboot of the super spy’s career in the service, perfectly timed with the introduction of the new Bond,  Daniel Craig.

 

So, there was no ‘Q’ to give him some fancy gadgets and no Moneypenny to flirt with at the reception.  He only just met a recurring character, Felix Leiter of the CIA.  He still doesn’t know that he looks his best in a tuxedo, he likes dry martini and hasn’t yet realized that he actually will like his martini  ‘shaken not stirred’. 

 

He doesn’t have the dashing, drop dead gorgeous looks of Brosnan, Moore and Connery so it was perfectly fine with me to see him bloodied and dirty.  Hehehe

 

I feel like I am betraying Pierce but…I like this new James Bond.  He is scary.  He is dangerous. His physique is …well, he worked hard to get that body.   And boy, can he act!  He doesn’t have the flirtatious charm of Brosnan and Moore but well…did I mention that he has a nice body?   (lol)  He is reminiscent of Sean Connery who wasn’t coy about showing off his form.

 

There were some lines and scenes that seemed uncharacteristic of 007 but I guess the script demands it.   Except in the movie (Her Majesty’s Secret Service) where he actually got married,  I prefer to have my James Bond, distant and non committal.

 

Much as Pierce Brosnan would always be tops on my list, an icon like James Bond is bigger than the actors that portray him. So, there.  I concede. It is Daniel Craig’s turn.

 

The tie that binds

“When I visited Mama while she was resting at home, I remember her words. “

 

 “Masarap mabuhay.  Hindi ko na makikitang lumaki sina Yui and Johann.

Life is beautiful.  I will not see Yui and Johann (her grandsons, 3 and 2 years old) grow up anymore.

 

“She started to cry but recovered quickly.  I got up, went to the bathroom and cried.” 

 

These are words of my brother, Yui’s father.

 

This is just one of the several anecdotes he relates to me each time he calls me or sends me text messages.  His anecdotes reveal to me how he misses our parents and where he is in the grieving process.

 

His name is Red.

 

My mother used to say that my brother Red and I get along well.  I have often wondered why.  My Kuya Red and I are just okay.  Not close but we’re okay.  I usually disagree with his ideas.  We are an opinionated pair.

 

But I realize that he was a major influence in my life.  He was the one who convinced me to take accounting and not BS Chemistry.  He used to call up the radio stations to talk to the discjockeys and make song requests. (Yes, I used to call the radio stations and befriend the DJs!)   We both loved James Bond and Remington Steele.  He even bought a CD of the James Bond theme songs. Ah, I love Star Wars but his fascination for this it, I can never understand. I liked all the tv shows that he liked.  I remember him telling me to watch English shows so that I will understand the language better. 

 

He, our eldest brother and our father shared the same love for war movies, war books and world history.  I think his influence on me ended there.  I never liked war movies especially history.  I never watched Platoon, Born on the fourth of July, Saving Private Ryan and whatever war movies. (Although, the Clint Eastwood movie, The Flags of our Fathers isn’t so bad.)

 

There was a movie (or was it a book or a tv movie) that my father and brothers often talked about when I was young,  The Bridge on the River Kwai. They talked about that so loudly that I never forgot the title. I was just too happy to tell them that I almost planned on arranging a trip to the river kwai when I went to Thailand, my feeble attempt to be part of the all boys conversations.  Hahaha

 

Expectedly, my brother and I grew apart when I developed my own unique preferences.  He then became… just my brother.  But I can never recall a time when he and I ever quarreled.  Maybe that is why my mother always said “ay, ang magkasundo magkasama na naman”.

 

The family crisis over the last two years brought the two of us and the rest of my siblings closer to each other.  It was not without the usual spats but you know what they say about blood being thicker and all.

 

Now, five months after our mother died, my Kuya and I continued with our regular phone conversations.  It has become a venue to get updated on personal stuff, career stuff, future plans, etc. 

 

And on another time, he recalls,

 

“I asked my officemates to drop me off at Blumentritt (a street in Manila) as I planned to drop by the house to visit Papa and Mama.  Then I realized that they are both gone.  They are not home anymore.”

 

It was a surprise to have my brother open up to me about his feelings and frustrations.  He has never been too open to me until recently.  And it was a good feeling.  He is now not just a brother but my friend.

 

My parents often complained about how their children seem to ignore each other when inside the house. Well they would have been happy to know that their children are indeed taking care of each other even as they don’t live under the same roof anymore.

 

When everyone else goes away, indeed, there will always be family.

 

Monday High

My Monday (the 13th) morning at the office began on a high note. Although I felt an occasional sense of wariness over some announcement that I knew would come within the day, I welcomed the heartwarming news of being recognized for my efforts.

I received a company performance award for collaboration.

"...for generously sharing her expertise by initiating...... resulting in....."


"Wow, this is nice!" I smiled. It wasn't the news that I had been waiting for but it was wonderful and welcome news nonetheless.

It was well within the day when I finally got the email from Henry.


"Congratulations! You have been accepted via the 10 year rule which means that you can now directly apply as CMA member of ICMA Australia without further examination...."


I covered my mouth as I shrieked and immediately sent my reply, forgetting that I barely knew him except that he is the CMA Philippines Program Director who occassionaly drops by during our Saturday classes to make some announcements.

"Yehey!! Thanks Henry. Mwah Mwah!"

Oh yes, I sent that message.


It was great news for several reasons:

It validated my professional experience in management accounting,

It spared me from reviewing my notes (which wasn't in the mood to do) and taking an eight-hour examination,

It saved me ten thousand pesos examination fee which I had planned on personally paying for.

AND it was just simply happy news. Something to be thankful for.


I wasn't about to let the day go without making sure I have expressed my gratitude for the special favors that God has brought my way. And, it is always sweeter to share happy news with people around you.

"You are having a good day, aren't you?" asks a friend of mine.

"A great day...." I replied with a giggle.

Sis

“So, do you have a heartbreak song?”

 

My youngest (and my favorite) sister looked at me quizzically.  She must be thinking, I have a crazy sister. 

 

“No I don’t,” she replies and continues with her meal. She sounded and looked like she wanted to change the topic.

 

But that is the privilege of being the older sister who decides to set a lunch date with her sister because she wants to know the juicy details of a break up.

 

Let me digress a bit.

 

About a week ago, our eldest brother sent me a message telling me to talk to our bunso (meaning youngest sibling) because she and her cutiepy boyfriend broke up.  It appears that one of the concerned barkadas of my sister came over our house and while waiting for my sister to arrive home, spilled the beans to my brother.

 

“She won’t talk to me. Besides, she listens to you.” he persisted.  Of course I agreed and said I will take care of it.   All of us in the family have always been protective of her. 

 

Now back to our lunch date.

 

It took me awhile to find the segue as we were having our lunch until finally I decided to go head on.

 

While she was enjoying the chicken in pandan and bagoong rice,

 

“Did you change your number because you and Bernard broke up?”

 

She gave me an awkward grin and said, “yes”

 

Ohh lala was my reply. “No more Ely Buendia (a vocalist of a local band) look alike of a boyfriend?”

 

She laughed.

 

“You changed your number because he is bugging you and asking you for a second chance?”

 

Again she smiles and nods.

 

“And you don’t want to give him a second chance? What did he do?”

 

I knew the details but I wanted to see if she will tell me.  I smiled to myself as I watch my sister struggle to find the politically correct phrases probably in an attempt to “protect” her ex.   Or maybe because I am family and the ugly details are ”exclusive to barkada”.  I didn’t press the topic.

 

“No heartbreak song?!!” I said, incredulous.  “Let me suggest one.  You know Nina’s new album has a nice, super sad song.  It is called Someday.  Have you heard it?”

 

She shakes her head and of course I sing the chorus to her. 

 

“O di ba emote yun? Pero positive ah.  Girl power.”  This time, my sister was giggling and said.  “Ang kulit mo, Ate G!”

 

I was not finished yet. 

 

“Have you cried over him?”

 

“Yes, it is done.”

 

“Oh your girl friends are aplenty so you won’t have problems.  What did they say, “you deserve someone better?”

 

She laughs and says “You know too much, Ate G.”

 

“Hello, there are probably hundreds of books about standard words of comfort as well  books on standard excuses of a guy for fooling around.  But crying is good so, go bond with your girl friends.”

 

Then it was time for the big sister speech.

 

“It is okay I guess. I mean you have been together for two years and you are just about to graduate from college.  If you marry at 25 (God forbid), you would not have had the chance to go out with other people.  You are just exposed to a small world right now, your campus.  You will meet a lot of people after college.  You will see.  Enjoy ka lang.”

 

Then she surprised me by saying.

 

“Yeah, I thought about that. I realize that.”

 

Then she tells me about her plans to go to graduate school and asks me for suggestions on career choices.   I think she realizes that I am more the career choice guru than the love expert. Ouch.. Hehehehe.

 

My sister has really grown up.  I still distinctly remember her as a baby.  She was very chubby, cuddly, very fair skinned, Korean looking little bundle.  She was so cute.  You can barely see her eyes when she smiles.

 

Now at 5’3’ she gives her big sisters fashion tips. Oh yeah, make up tips too.  

 

And she seems to be handling her break up pretty well. 

 

I think if my younger self meets up with her, I will learn a lot from my grown up little sister.

 

(Somebody hand me a Kleenex………..)

 

Five Things

Here are five things you may not know about me.

 

1)         I used to be one of the tallest girls during my elementary school days.  One of the tallest and the biggest bully.   I didn’t seem to add any more inches after that but I am still a big bully.

 

2)         My childhood dream was to be a newscaster and a beautician.  (but to this day, I do not know how to put on eyeshadow)

 

3)         When I was in fourth grade, two of my teachers had an argument over my schedule.  (campus celeb eh).  Since I was too young to make a decision, they decided for me and thought of what would give me better chances to graduate with honors.  (o diba OA, grade school pa lang).  My music teacher/school choir directress conceded.  And so on my sixth grade, I became editor in chief of our school paper but each time I see our school choir perform, I remember imagining where I would have been standing.  Now that I am grown up and can make my own decisions, please don’t make me choose between writing and music.

 

4)         My friend Jen wouldn’t believe it but I did have short and curly hair.  During high school, I kept it short but from senior year up to my first few years as a working girl, I kept it a bit longer, slightly above the nape.  When I finally decided to take advantage of the ‘advances in hair technology”, I managed to have slightly longer tresses, reaching slightly below my shoulders (just a few months ago!)

 

So what don’t you know about my hair? 

 

Until I was nine, my hair was suuupper straight. Light shade of brown, straight and shiny.  What happened?  I don’t know!!  Okay, one word.  Genes.  Of my six siblings, three have straight and black hair while the rest of us have wavy to curly brown hair.

 

And so goes my mane story

                                            

Lastly….. whew..

 

I was crazy (and still is) over Pierce Brosnan and the series that brought him fame, Remington Steele.  I had clippings of him and his co-star Stephanie Zimbalist.  I remember being disappointed to learn that he was (then) married to (the late) Cassandra Harris because I wanted Stephanie and Pierce to end up together.  I was so crazy about Remington Steele that I still know the prologue of Laura Holt (Zimbalist’s character) that serves as the ( first season ) episode opener. Try me. (I did change a word or two because what I memorized then didn’t make any sense!)

 

Those are my five things.  Sure looks like ten things to me.  Obvious bang I had fun doing this..?  =P

 

Ice Cream Day

To him, birthdays meant having ice cream.  He was never satisfied even with the most sumptuous meal, without his favorite dessert.   I can still recall how his eyes light up and his lips curve to a smile of delight when we tell him that it is just about time for the ice cream. 

 

Year after year, birthday after birthday, it is the one thing that makes his day.  Until we find ourselves establishing a tradition that meant having ice cream on everyone’s birthday.  While other families have the quintessential cake as the birthday dessert,  my family gets a kick out of digging our spoons almost instantaneously into the hard, cold slab of dairy delight, laughing when we see our poor spoons bend in defeat.

 

Last night, I thought of reminding my sister to buy one but I got so absorbed in the demands of the day that it slipped my mind. 

 

Almost.

 

I will buy ice cream tonight and share it with my housemates, I thought to myself.

 

An hour later, I get this message from my sister:

 

“It is Papa’s birthday.  We will buy ice cream.”

 

It is raining outside, the air is slightly colder than the previous days. 

 

But who cares? 

 

It is ice cream day.

 

Short-lived

As I knew it would be.  I retreat into the “darkness” that I have gotten used to. 

 

For two weeks I enjoyed the freedom of accessing web sites and checking my free webmails at every whim.

 

The network admin also activated the in-house emergency messaging system. 

 

But I found at that the company migrated to another connection, one that will give us better connectivity to the NY, Cardiff and Boston servers..yada yada yada.  Whatever.

 

But, this freedom is transitory. 

 

For fourteen days, I surfed cyberspace yet still aware of the 24-hr monitoring system that had us wary about doing too much browsing. 

 

It was also 14 days of prolonged system downtime. There were outages at any point of the day.  Birth pains expected from a supposed improved system infrastructure.

 

The operations director made sure everyone gets free merienda to motivate operations guys to extend hours as workaround to the intermittent system outages. 

 

I am not from operations, but I get to share in the free food!  System downtime didn’t affect me much.  All I knew was all blogsites were accessible!!  Oh look, I can go to blogger.com!  I can actually see my template again!  Mwah mwah. (sigh)  I missed my template.

 

It was euphoria.

 

Now, I get the familiar “Not accessible” message.  I am back in my myopic world where one of the sites easily accessible is the company website. 

 

Ho hum.

 

Circumspect

The listless waters now begin to show ripples.

Each wave a wee bit stronger than the one before.

The force underneath threatens to bubble forth.

The whisper of the soft winds hovering above the water begin to stir up waves of uneasiness.

But the ripples may become waves and the

whispers of the wind may become constant echoes that float in the air

 

Mixing vanity with comfort

Impossible to do.

Especially when you are dressed to impress.

I am wearing a pair of white linen pants and an old rose floral top. The only obvious choice to complete the ensemble is my 2-inch light brown shoes.

After almost a year, I am wearing those shoes again. You see, after that near disastrous fall in October, I hurt my ankle again a few months back. It was excruciatingly more painful not to mention more embarrassing. That, while wearing a pretty sensible pair of black shoes. Okay, it was a slip on shoes. No heel support. I had to bandage the poor ankle for two days.

But for vanity’s sake, I am trying my brown shoes again and hoping I won’t step on some misplaced rock somewhere.

So help me God.

PS
Just to argue my case a little bit more, I have been wearing either boots and flats. How much more ankle support do you need that those?! Can't a girl wear uncomfy yet flattering shoes once in a while, accident-prone notwithstanding? I can almost hear the reaction: Go ahead! It's your ankle, anyway.

Terror of a boss

I think I could be one. Or have the potential of being one. Believe me, I have reached this conclusion long before I watched The Devil Wears Prada.

I am no Miranda Priestley, Meryll Streep’s character in the movie. Heavens no! But the twice a week conference calls that I go through together with some of the junior guys in the Manila operations office made me see how demanding of a boss I can be. Fortunately for the junior analysts, they don’t report to me. (hahaha)

I think I need to digress a bit.

I have no staff working under me so extra help will have to come from Jovie’s team. I get very little difficulty getting assistance because the things I do benefits Jovie’s team in the long run. It also helps that I have a very good working relationship with her. Jovie willingly ‘lends’ me some of her more experienced analysts to do overtime work. They usually volunteer, according to her, because these guys want the extra performance credit and are usually the achievers.

“Overtime pay charged to your cost center, ha?” I would often get that line from Jovie. So, after coordinating work schedules with the team managers, I have an adhoc team at my disposal.

That is when my demanding streak rears its beautiful head.

I think the analysts in Jovie’s group have gotten used to just listening during calls and leaving the talking to their managers. Let me correct that. I think they have gotten used to half listening and just waiting for instructions from their bosses after the call. I think they have gotten used to making their own offline conversations with the phone on mute when the topic does not concern them. Only when they hear the word, “what about Manila” would they stop and say, “Ano daw?!”. To which they would speak over the phone and say, “Can you repeat that, please?”

It is similar to hearing your name called in class by the teacher in the middle of a lecture because you were doodling, looking out the window or chatting with your seatmate. Then you stand up, scratch your head and try to find out what the discussion is all about.

It irritates me. (And yep, if you see the nerd who religiously takes down notes and listens intently to the teacher…that would be ME.. geeeeeky)

Okay, that is just a small part of what irritates me. It irritates me that they cannot articulate what they want to say. It irritates me that even their team managers fail to prepare before the call. Imagine me having these irritations even when I am a mere participant in a conference call. Now imagine how I feel when I get the responsibility to lead the team. Which happens to be the case at the moment.

Maybe, because I had demanding bosses. Prior to joining this company, I worked with Filipino bosses who assumed that I can handle things. I had superiors who pushed me out of my circle of confidence. I had bosses who passed on work and allowed me to work on a very steep learning curve. Ergo, I had bosses who stressed me out but gave me the confidence I need.

Maybe that is why I am behaving like this. Maybe I want to push these guys out of their comfort zones. They seem so complacent.

I know I am a pretty reasonable boss. But, if you let me think you understood but actually didn’t and you failed to deliver when you said you will…!

“You can be very scary, “ I remember a former teammate tell me.

“You have people but you don’t manage them. Lucky you.” That was how Gilda, my college girlfriend, described my set up. She said that after whining about the pains of handling people. She has 19 people under her.

Sigh…

So, with all the effort I can muster, I loosen up a bit. Once in a while, I drop a hint and say, “Maybe you can ask that question during the call so they’d recognize your voice.” As of this writing, they are just happy listening in. As of this writing, I let them be.

From a control freak like myself, letting them be takes a lot of willpower.

For now, it seems to be the more plausible way to go. We are working on this project until December so ……

Ask me again in four months.

LSS*

A Filipina singer revived the song and gave it a different sound but nothing beats the original. One phrase kept playing in my head and I realized how romantic that line was.

“Trace of forever lingering, drawing me closer to you..” I wish I wrote the song, or at least this line.

*Last song syndrome

Accountable

"Nobody was ever meant,
To remember or invent,
What he did with every cent."

Words from Robert Frost's The Hardship of Accounting. Certainly, every accountant wishes the poet's witty attack on bean counting were true.  

My tribute entry to my friends from my previous department on this season called the 'month end close' with another season overlapping, called the 'budget season' and another event called 'exodus'. One regional manager from the HK office is rumored to be resigning, only a month after another regional manager submitted her resignation.  Plus two new expats that recently took over the reins of the Asia business. 

Discussed over breakfast this morning with my former teammates.

 

 

 

This transient life

Pluto gets the boot!

In a landmark meeting in Prague, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of its membership in the “elite cosmic club”, downsizing the solar system from nine planets to eight, says CNN. For someone who devoured science books during elementary with the solar system listed under My Favorites, this was unwelcome news. Initially, that is.

“How could they do that? Why couldn’t they just leave the little guy in the list?” Seriously, that was my initial reaction. It is like one little brick of my basic foundation chipped away. But in our quest for knowledge, these adjustments have to be made.

Imagine those elementary kids who just learned about the solar system being told that there have been changes. Textbooks are one of the constants in a kid’s life. Yet, with this announcement, textbooks suddenly become obsolete. “Ok kids, forget about what we told you previously. Bad news for Pluto. It ain’t a planet no more.” I guess this is not how the grade school teachers would break the news.

That is the thing with what science classifies as truths. They are not absolute. We are humans, always needing constants in our lives. So we make do with what we have and make conventions when deemed necessary.

One decade's truth becomes the next decade's untruth. I know that someday, another news will come along.

++++

Interim structural changes in Asia

This was one of the headlines in our company website. Our newly installed Managing Director made twitches in the structure of one major business segment in Asia that is performing way below sales target. “Heads will roll before the end of this year,” I mused. I imagine the sales managers and directors biting their nails until they see the numbers improving. I am almost sure more organizational changes will follow.

++++

“Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes,” I tell my friend Mac who recently expressed sadness over some of his friends leaving the company for better opportunities. “It is something we will experience more and more as we advance in years.”

The older we get, the more people we meet. With each person we meet, at times we make instinctive decisions on which ones to keep. With each group of friends we have, we still decide which ones to keep for the longer haul. I suppose at some point, the hellos will cease as goodbyes become more frequent.

The thought seemed to sadden Mac a bit more, which wasn’t my intention.

“Sorry, I have just come from a place of goodbye.. Been there for a while so..….” I didn’t finish my sentence. He understood.

“So, the best thing to do is..…?” I smiled at him. “What..?” he curiously asked. I said,

“Never stop saying hello.”

Oh pompous me!

"I am allowed to have my moments of weakness in my own home!"

 

A quotable quote from one of Oprah's guest who is a fashion expert.

 

I am saying that right now (grin) but in a completely different context.

 

You see, I am gloating. 

 

Unabashedly.

 

I need a few hours more before I can wipe this, sly satisfied grin off my happy, glowing face.

 

Okay, okay!  I am gloating and basking in my egotistical glow.

 

'Nuff said.

 

 

Grieving Well

It sounds like an oxymoron.  On occasion, I get asked about my “grieving process”.  It is one of the most difficult questions to answer.  “I am doing okay “ is not in the least descriptive.

 

So am I? Grieving well, I mean?

 

Aside from weeping your pain away and releasing hitherto emotions held in check, grieving also includes gradually establishing your new routines.  A means to cope is to make room for other things. 

 

Other things would include recurring flashes of memories of the people you have loved and lost. Other things include the familiar stab inside of you each time you recall the last time you saw your parents alive. Other things means getting ready for new traditions that may hurt, but you know needs to be done.

 

It means making room for stronger feelings of pain and sadness.  It means being sad not just on certain times of the day or week.  It means accepting that the deep sadness will remain. It is a certain kind of grief that you know will remain in you for the rest of your life.

 

There are some things that I need to unlearn, too.  Like becoming tense each time I see a text message from a family member.  I am like massaging away the knots on my shoulders that kept me in pain for almost two years.  My brain has been programmed to prepare for news that gets worse by the day.  I need to fix that and learn to expect more happy news than sad. 

 

When the tears become more few and far between, you feel that you have reached the last leg of the ‘process’.  But no.  You just get used to the emotion. 

 

There are some things I have come to accept as part of living.  There are things that will never be the same again.  There are people you can never be with again in this lifetime.

 

I am still walking that road… defining, redefining, learning, unlearning, accepting, rejecting.  I know that I am progressing well towards establishing my new normal. 

 

So, am I?  Grieving well, I mean?

 

I believe I am.  But I still have a long road ahead.

Those daily commutes

I made the mistake of taking the passenger seat of the fx that stopped in front of me.  Well, it was the only seat vacant at the time....!

 

Twenty minutes later, I find myself alone in the vehicle because I get off at the last stop. 

 

When I am left alone in the passenger seat (which doesn't happen very often), the driver would usually engage in some small talk to which I respond with deliberate disinterest.  This time,  Driver strikes up a conversation but it was no small talk.  It was sweet talk, a proposition, right from the get go  This guy, who is probably in his mid 40's, was downright condescending!   I responded with a scowl and a look of disbelief. 

 

The rebuff was lost on him.  I think he is used to women responding positively to such lines. 

 

"You single, right? May 25 ka na di ba?"   Under a different scenario, this would have made me smile. 

 

"Oo naman, HO, Manong!"  I said irritably.  Moments like these, I wish I was wearing something more corporate.   My business casual outfit usually shaves off a few years.  Suffice to say that during that time, I wanted to do something criminal. Especially, when his eyes swept over me from head to knee... Twice..Eewww.

 

Thankfully, his hands are kept on the steering wheel, otherwise...!!  The thing that prevented me from snapping at him was my fear that he would retaliate. (I was alone with him, remember.) I just decided to look irritated and ignored him for the next few minutes (or is it seconds..?) while i hugged my bag as if my life depended on it. He blabbered about how he saved up for the van when he was in Saudi.  Those few moments inside the moving vehicle seemed to stretch forever.

 

Drivers of public utility vehicles do this regularly, hitting on lady passengers who happen to sit next to them.  In an airconditioned vehicle,  you are helpless in case the guy decides to do something crazy especially when there is no one else with you.  I resent that there are some women who seem to show delight at the attention given to them by drivers. (Seem is the operative word, lest I be accused of being judgmental..)  I hate it that men of whatever built are generally stronger than any of us women.. And whoever came up with the idea of powerlock.....! Grr.   

 

I had to ask myself, Do i look like a naive, little girl lost in the corporate world?  I wanted to say, "Please spare me, I am not a twenty year old. So those antics won't work.  I don't care if you have saved millions while you were in Saudi!!".

 

When you are keen on getting a vacant seat in a van or FX en route to your office, you forget your list of DON'TS.  But that cannot be an excuse.  I wanted to knock myself on the head for forgetting my own reminder.   That was my third encounter in the last three months on a weekday morning. 

 

I will never ever let myself be alone in the passenger seat again. 

Notes of a passerby

“Will…you…marry…me?”

Hmmmm…

I wrinkle my brow…

Now why would the Rustan’s Mall use four of its precious glass display windows along Ayala Avenue just to have those words splashed for all the passersby to see? I glance over the fifth window and I see a mannequin wearing a simple wedding dress. Last time I checked, June was a month ago and December is months away.
I stared at the well-lit façade of the mall and smiled. Man, if I were a guy proposing marriage to his girl. I will make sure we walk along this side of the mall, kneel down right near the pretty mannequin on the display window and pop the question. Hahahahaha jologs but c’mon, kilig pa rin.

Drifter, get a hold of yourself. Must be that time of the month or the too many late night conference calls at the office.


********

How long have you been married? Says the girl.

“Three years.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah. Time flies. Can you believe it? Three happy years.”

Girl number 2 says, “I should have listened to my mom. Early on she sensed that something is not right with my boyfriend. That I should think twice about marrying him. Now look where it got me. Buti ka pa.”

Then I make a left towards our building entrance.

I tried to catch a glimpse of the two ladies from the glass main door as they walk straight past our building. Their voices now barely audible.

(Me, eavesdropping?! They were talking so loudly, I couldn’t help it. )

Two different pictures of a young marriage. The first one is made in heaven, the other, a partnership gone awry.

Reality check on a rainy Monday morning.

Three more letters

"What did you say to Maria?” I asked, my excitement was obvious.

 

“I said no, that training is too expensive.”

 

“But why?”  I said morosely. 

 

"Smaller companies can afford it. It is not that expensive when you think about it. Why do you guys always use the NO BUDGET excuse?!" No, i didn't really say this. Hehehe

 

“Just kidding. Of course if said you needed that training. Ikaw pa.  Cost may be a bit on the high side (there it is again) but I think the gains will be worth it.”    She smiles at me. 

 

That was Jovy.  And we were talking about the request that I made to my boss.  I asked that the company sponsor my enrolment to the 8^th Certified Management Accountant (CMA)** Program.  Maria wanted Jovy's opinion.

 

I had to control my expectations although I was sure that Jovy’s endorsement is a major deal. 

 

True enough.

 

“Kathryn approved your request.” Maria told me last night   Kathryn is Maria’s boss.  “The company will pay for the cost.   You will have to sign a contract though. “

 

If only my boss could see me grinning from ear to ear.  Go ahead draft a contract.  I am getting the hang of this job anyway. 

 

Can I sing that song again?

 

“Lord Your goodness and Your love will follow me all the days of my life.  I am surrounded with the favor of the Lord always and forever.

 

 

**CMA is an internationally recognized designation that will be given by the ICMA of Australia after fulfilling all the necessary requirements which includes attending the classes, taking an exam and writing a paper.

 

NOW WHAT??

Taking inspiration from a morning radio show’s top ten, I make my own list:

 

Top ten responses to the question, Now what?

 

10)      You do what needs to be done

9)        Brace yourself and wait.

8)        Turn a page. 

7)        There are just some people you cannot get along with.  That doesn’t make you a bad person.

6)        Nothing.  You can’t control how other people think.

5)        Nothing. You don’t need to do anything all the time!

4)        Now, take care of yourself.

3)        I just want to know how life has been to you over the last few years.

2)        People forget.  They’ll forget this one so don’t be too hard on yourself.

 

And the top response to the question, now what??  is:

 

Time for plan B.

 

Words given to me, words I came up with, words that people say to other people and words I hear on tv or in the movies. It would be nice to go back to this entry once in a while.  Might come in useful again someday.