before you talk...

i was going to my car when i passed the SUV of one of our office's high-ranking officials.  she slid down her window and i was all ears expecting to hear something work-related.  instead, what i heard was a one-liner about something personal.  (she also happens to be one of the sponsors at my wedding years back.)  i chuckled and replied also with a one-liner about something personal.  suddenly, there were shrieks from the vehicle!  yikes!!!  i did not notice from the heavily tinted windows that her car was full of passengers!  i looked in and recognized two officemates; the rest, however, i could not see.  my ninang drove away laughing and i was left a combination of amused and embarrassed



moral of the story, look before you talk  : }

stained violet shirt

it is my officemate's birthday today [happy birthday, dhess : )] and yesterday over lunch, someone suggested that we all wear the same color tomorrow.  sure, yes, go -> everyone was receptive : )



come then the question of what color to wear.  someone says red.  objection right away from someone who does not wear red.  how about green?  another objection from someone who does not have green.  how about blue?  someone prefers orange; another, yellow.  no consensus : }



i break the jovial disagreements by suggesting we just go ROYGBIV, i.e., wear the different colors of the rainbow.  they all excitedly agree.  they ask me what color i'd prefer.  i said they all choose first and whatever's left will be what i'll wear.  guess what, i was left with violet : }



i don't really have any violet outfit so, today, instead of going home to my place, i go instead to my parents' place where i have access to my mom's and my sisters' closets.  (yup, we borrow each other's clothes.  in our family albums, you'd see one outfit on my mom;  flip the page, it's on me;  another page, it's on my sister.  years back when i was still a programmer, i'd go to the office wearing my mom's manager clothes.  dress for success, ha-ha)



anyway, upon arriving, i go straight to my parents' room for the customary mano then ask my mom whether she has violet tops.  she shows me two but i find them somewhat formal for casual friday.



i check out my sisters' clothes.  so many outfits and not a single violet!  ugh!  i was resigned to wearing my mom's top when my sister arrives.  i ask her whether she has a violet top and she brings out a wrinkled, super casual violet tee i didn't see earlier because it wasn't on a hanger.  the shirt definitely has a more homey instead of office feel but it's something i'd prefer over my mom's blouse.  the thing is, i noticed it had bleach marks near the right shoulder part.  hmmm...



i think about my schedule for tomorrow.  i have a lunch invitation.  office hours, i don't really have a meeting but i'm supposed to check out something at another office at another building.  nighttime, we'd be celebrating my officemate's birthday at a karaoke place.  hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... does not sound favorable to stained tees  : }



wait, i do have long hair.  i can use that to cover the bleach marks.  hmmm... yeah, maybe i can pull it off.  i'd just try to hide my right shoulder.  in case anyone of you still sees it though (and cringes at my shirt), this blog is my explanation  ; )

good begets good

yesterday as i was leaving our office building, i overheard someone asking the lobby guard where the CR (washroom) was.  the guard told her all the CRs are inside offices.  it was past 6 pm already and regular office hours are only up to 5 pm.  the guard then directed the visitor to another building.  instead of going to the other building, which actually is not that near, the visitor just walked over to the side as if waiting for someone.



i asked the guard whether we didn't have any 'public' restrooms in the building.  the guard said no.  i thought awhile and realized that of the four buildings in the compound, ours is the only one which did not have an open restroom.  the only restrooms we had are those within office areas.



i told the guard the visitor had to relieve her bladder so kindly just allow her to use the restroom at the ground floor.  the guard declined telling me the ground floor restroom was in the restricted area.  i knew that actually : }



just then, my officemate who was supposed to ride with me arrived.  i asked her whether our office area at the second floor was still open.  she said she wasn't sure.  how about the third floor?  she did not know.  i therefore asked her to wait awhile and i proceeded to tell the guard i'd just accompany the visitor to the restroom inside the restricted area.  the guard did not object  : )



i walked over to the visitor and asked whether she'd like me to accompany her to the washroom.  the visitor said yes.  as we were walking, she told me, 'kami 'yung may dala nu'ng sasakyan [there was a vehicle idling on the driveway], kasama ko si jim...'  i went, 'ay, kilala ko si jim.  dito siya nag-o-office [at the restricted area].'  then she added, 'kapatid ako ni jo.'  i go, 'ay, hipag ka ni jim?!  kilala ko rin si jo (jim's wife).  kasama ko siya dati.'  just then i saw jim going out of his office.  he waved hi from the end of the hallway.  i asked, pointing to the visitor, 'kapatid ni jo?'  he replied yes.  i said i'd just leave her with him then.



i went out and told the guard i've left the visitor with jim.  my officemate and i then went on our way.



thinking back i felt really good about how things turned out.  i thought i was being kind to a stranger but she turns out to be closely connected to people i know after all.  the probability of this is slim as so many people work at our building and most of them i do not really know.  what more, one of the persons she has ties with, i.e., her brother-in-law jim, is someone who've extended me a helping hand a couple of times before.  we'd have problems at the office, i'll SOS jim and he readily sends his people to help.  well, looks like i unexpectedly returned his good deeds somehow.  we do reap what we sow and that is good  : )