LIFE’S LESSONS

[February 13, 2013]

When PUJ’s are off limits in the city’s downtown area, you’d see that people on this Earth are like the sands of Sahara. It is as if they’re all driven away by the wind from all directions to all directions. Some are like ants that stopped and “beso-beso” upon facing each other before proceeding to respective destinations.

I’m sorry, but until now I’m not sure what the fuss was yesterday as commuters from Jaro were again until Gaisano City. All I knew was there was re-routing once more of every a city-loop public utility jeepney. At first I quickly blamed the Chinese, thinking it was their New Year celebration again with “tikoy” with cheese, but I didn’t see a dragon parade, and any of their flamboyance or familiar charade. I don’t want to know, I don’t care. And I will not want to know what that was for either.

All I knew was I wasn’t in good mood yesterday. But only an abnormal would feel good after getting a dressing down the whole day. But no one’s to blame but I, me and myself. Worse, just when I needed it most, no one was of help. The cause: without extra pay, I felt the urge last Monday to report for duty. My reason? That the next day I could relax a bit when some pressure unloaded already. 

I was half-way to home at around six thirty P.M. then, when I received a text message from someone informing me I left our workplace fan whirring. I quickly got goosebumps right in that moment. Our internal rules are strict on such thing as it’s like committing a mortal sin.

My mind automatically imagined the next scenario of a fan overheating, then a spark and a smoke that prelude to a towering inferno of the entire building. As if unsatisfied, my imagination proceeded to the scene where I am dishonorably discharged from service, then prosecuted criminally for reckless imprudence resulting to severe damage to properties. Wow! I could see myself in handcuffs while getting a pee, with both ankles locked in chains and wearing a bright shirt with big letter “P.” 

Since in that moment I was in the bus with my two young boys both sleeping innocently, I waited till we reached home before I decided to u-turn alone once more back to the city. Although I had managed to go home again much, much later in the evening, such effort of mine was still lamentably badly taken, as I couldn’t undo anymore what had already happened.

Moral of the story: The next time you left something in an old, dilapidated building, never mind, never care, leave them all burning.