OTWOMD | Bluepanjeet.Net

It’s Monday today and the word is Amazing! And this morning I woke rather early than usual. It is because I wanted to start my week as a busy bee. I have this ritual, that Monday should be perfectly devoted to work of any kind so that the rest of the week would be productive (I’m a mild OC remember?). At about six am, I did my routine chores; watering the garden; walking my two dogs (Halle and Mielle); feeding the mutt; cleaning their kennel; herding my father’s goats (yeah we have them, those with horns, beards and everything!) and then finally taking a shower and doing what a typical bachelor would do (procrastinate in the bathroom, shave the beards and mustache, and leaving everything on my room just as I wanted them to be). After I ate my breakfast, I went to my review center for my review (of course!), and on the way to my destination, I rode the jeep because my mom, my brother in law and my sister left early with our service leaving me with no choice but to commute. On the Jeep, I had this woman on my left. She was loud in handing her payment for the ride.

Mama, bayad ho, isa lang. makikiabot naman po oh, makikisuyo na sa driver! (Mister, here’s the payment for one person, can you please pass it on to the driver)

as she stretched her arms across the breasts and chests of every man and woman on her side. Halfway to my destination, we stopped in front of SM City and almost half of the commuters got off there. I remembered that I have not paid the driver yet so I took my spare coins from my wallet and asked the same lady on my left to hand my payment..

Mrs. Makikiabot nga po ng bayad! (Madam, can you please hand the driver my payment?)

I said softly. But I guess she did not hear my voice so I repeated the same words.

Mrs. Makikiabot nga po ng bayad

but with no reply from the lady on my left except turning her head on the window instead, as if she doesn’t want to see even the tip of my hair. I pleaded for the third time, but this time with a loud voice and a firm command:

makikiabot nga ng bayad, parang awa napo, malayo lang po ako(Please kindly hand my payment to the driver, I beg you, I’m just too far from where I sit).

But the lady on my left was rendered deaf by the smoke and pollution blowing on her face as she painstakingly fitted her head on the Jeepney window just to play dumb. Therefore, instead of ruining my mood, I just crawled my way to the front while the jeep was moving and handed over my payment. On my way back to my seat, I stared at the lady and told her

ale baka ho matuluyan kayo (mabingi) (Madam, you might become what you pretend to be).

Then she look at me as if I awakend the dragon in her.

Hindi naman po pala kayo bingi eh! (you’re not deaf after all)

I added as I passed by her towards my seat. I got off the jeep laughing. I should have been annoyed but I was more in awe. The woman was so good playing deaf and dumb just so she could not hand over other’s payment where in fact hers was a concerted effort of total strangers just so she could pay. Amazing!

As I walked through the glass door of my review center, I was greeted by the information clerk-slash-secretary. I smiled back and asked her for my scheduled module for today. From 9 am to 5 pm I was in front of the center’s computer watching and listening to a lousy video lecturer who endlessly discussed the mechanism of fluids and electrolytes. Of course, in between the video lecturer’s monotonous voice, I had to pause and rewind for many times so that I could understand what she was saying. The laughter of the reviewers as they talk about politics and recent election was enough to drown the voice of the poor sore throat stricken video lecturer on my monitor as I repeatedly pause and play her every word just so I could understand what she has to convey. I did not bother to turn around and shush them up because I was busy understanding the module, but I admit I was a bit annoyed. Until the girl on my left started asking me questions regarding my application. She was new and she has no idea on how to submit her form abroad. Therefore, I told her the details on how to submit and process her application form. Until on the middle of our conversation, a girl across the room, the one with the group of peeps laughing and talking about political nonsense, and who has definitely been there (at the review center) for ages, suddenly shushed us up,

Shhhhh makikihinaan lang po (Shhhhh, tone it down).

We were not even giggling, laughing nor shouting. I said to the girl beside me,

let’s just talk about it during our break, I will gladly help you go through with your application

As I tried to get back on my concentration on the poor and abused video lecturer on the PC, I cannot help but wonder inside my head how they never heard themselves talking and distracting other people with such nonsensical conversations: Amazing!

After my review, I rode a tricycle (a three wheeled motorbike taxi) going to a restaurant were my mom would meet me. I took that local cab so that I could arrive there faster than usual because the main street was closed due to an annual sagala (may flower parade) where Kim Chiu was the main attraction (laughing inside my head right now). Three blocks away from the restaurant, the driver stopped and said

this is as far as I can get you

Why? I asked.

My trike can’t go further because of all the people crowded there

I did not anymore argue because I was really in a hurry. But if I have all the time in the world I could have spank the driver and reported him to the LTO (land Transportation Office) for taking advantage of the situation. I have not stepped further from the cab when the Trike turned around and fetch three passengers waving their hand four blocks away from where I was standing. That “A-hole” I said to myself. On my way to the restaurant (yeah I was walking) I couldn’t figure out the logic of the driver. He ditched me three blocks away from my destination so just he could fetch three more passengers four blocks away from where he left me. Amazing!

When I arrived at the restaurant, I saw throngs of people lined on the side street waiting for the Sagala to pass by. And because I’m not really that hungry for star gazing (I’m hungry for food), I went inside the resto, but the seats were full so I decided to wait for my mom outside. After a few minutes she arrived. “At last I’m starved”. 30 minutes passed, on our way out of the restaurant, the number of the people outside doubled, waiting for Kim Chiu to pass by or at least waiting for her to be hit by a bus (just like in the soap hehe). I asked my mom

will you watch this?

no, I rather go home, I’m tired from work

she said. So I took her hand and made a way for her through the crowd just so we can get to where our vehicle was parked. On our way home, my mom said that the Sagala will commence at 6 pm and it will surely take two hours more before it finally get in front of the resto. I was thinking then,

people were waiting there as early as 5:00 pm. They waited and waisted time just to get a glimpse of a soap star, where in fact most of these people don’t even spend at least a minute or so inside the church of their respective denominations, especially the Catholics: Amazing!

When we arrived home, the green rice fields and the cool summer breeze of the wind greeted us and refreshed us after a long day in the polluted metropolis. My beagle was in our terrace and he was already barking as he saw me walking towards our house. As usual I have to repeat my routine in the afternoon: water the garden, feed the dogs, walk them out, herd back the goats and take a shower.

I opened my PC to get the day’s email. As I opened my inbox, I scanned them and saw that most of the mails were forwarded by my friends. I went to my friendster account to see if something relevant came up but again, nine of the messages on my inbox were also forwarded. Last May 3, I sent a personal message to all of my 169 friends in friendster and was asking them to help me test my blog. My request was simple: go to my blog, and click everything so that I would know if there are broken links. Leave me a simple message (not comment) on my friendster on the things you like and you don’t like or you could leave comments anywhere on the blog so that I may know if there are glitches. You may accuse me of “promoting my blog” but actually, I was just test-driving it so that when I finally re-launched it, there would be no hassles. Out of my 169 close friends that I have in friendster, only four of them bothered to leave a message. Now as I write this second to the last paragraph of my post for today, I am thinking:

My experience today was ordinary but it made me exclaim: “Fantastic!” “Superb!” “Bravo!” To say the least, I am in awe with all of the things that transpired today. The thought that people are so preoccupied with themselves and don’t have anymore time nor any consideration for God and others’ needs and plea, except for their very self is truly beyond me. Amazing! Absolutely, Truly, Superbly, Undeniably Amazing!