unclear

looking for an outfit for a themed get-together...

me to sister:  'do you have floral?'

sister:  'what floral?'

me:  'dress...  why?  what other floral would i need?'

sister:  'it could be a hanky...'

okay...  :"}

at the right time

we were set to bring someone to this restaurant then my mom suddenly suggests maybe we should just go somewhere else and save said restaurant for next month so the birthday celebrator's daughter could join.

me:  'mom, next month it's going to be <the daughter>'s birthday already, not anymore <the mom>'s.  just go someplace else next month but for now let's go to this restaurant so <the mom> would feel that the celebration is really for her.'

my mom agreed...  : )

well, she received a text message from the celebrator afterward thanking us for making her birthday "unforgettable and enjoyable."

see!

timing is important.  some things become more special because of the time element.  you do something too early or too late and you risk turning it to something ordinary.

do something for someone when it should be done, not when it's convenient.

finally

i choked (again!)...  harder than usual...  as in, my companions were saying i've turned red already...

when i finally could talk, i blurted out:  'number!'
(ahahaha...  crazy!)

my mom quickly replied:  '7!'

me:  '7?  E, F, G!  wow!  i'm so happy!'

<3 <3

big little thing

last february, i took a pic of an old lady, a wheelchair-bound beggar, with a friend's phone.  i told my friend to send me the file right away so i could have it printed.  well, i got the file only this month of may.

today i was finally able to give the old woman a copy of her pic.  she was sooo happy and kept saying 'beautiful' while looking at it.

i, too, was so happy looking at her...  : )

i actually have a 3-inch-high stack of pictures i have yet to give away to the subject.  uhm, i haven't seen them again.  these are street people, beggars, ambulant vendors, random people i meet anywhere and everywhere who i think have never had a picture in their life.

in this digital age, i don't usually have pictures printed anymore.  i make an exception for the less fortunate, however.   i make it a point to have a hard copy of their pics.

i like candid shots but in their case i ask permission first before taking a shot.  i even ask them to pose.

some readily agree.  others ask what for.

my standard reply is, 'nothing.  i just want to give you a pic.'

and then there are those who ask how much, hahaha.

i tell them it's for free.

the joy i see once i give them the pics is more than enough payment.  their joy is my joy and the feeling is priceless...  : )

thinking of you

everytime i choke, i ask for a number...  hereabouts, they say when you choke, someone thought of you.  supposedly, the letter corresponding to the number is the first letter of the name of the person who remembered you.

for years, whoever i ask, wherever i ask, the answer i get is usually 10.

and then a couple of months back, the winds of change blew.  suddenly i was getting different numbers.

and then today, i choked again.  well, the number i was given was again 10.

me:  'eh?!  10 is back?'

sister:  'multiply it by 2...'

me:  'he thought of me twice?'

; p

one-way

<toot>:  'did you call me?'

me:  'no...'

<toot>:  'were you planning to?'

me:  'no...'

<toot>:  'how come you never call me?'

me:  'i don't save your number...'

; p

relationship

young once:  'then my girlfriend arrived...'

me:  'oh...  you have a girlfriend...  aren't you married?'

young once:  'i'm a widower...'

me:  'ah, good...  oh, sorry...  i mean, at least it's not like you have a wife and also a girlfriend on the side...'

young once:  'oh...  this girl was already my girlfriend even when my wife was still alive...'

; }

accent

called a restaurant's reservations hotline...

me:  'hello...  i'd like to move my reservation, please...  this is cynthia...  maria cynthia <surname>...'

i thought i heard the agent ask:  'for one, ma'am?'

me:  'oh, no...  for two...'

agent:  'yes, ma'am...  for one?'

me:  'the reservation i made was for two people...'

agent;  'yes...  when do you want to move it, ma'am?'

me:  'oh!  for when!  i thought you said for one...'

;"p

plus and minus

about to take a seat on this bench where two other customers were already seated...

not sure which end to take so i asked:  'which way does the queue go, to the left or to the right?'

girl:  'there's a number...'

ting!

i suddenly remembered i was actually holding a queue number!

cloud:
absentminded

silver lining:
considerate still

;")

switched

so i enter the house, put my phone on the desk in my living room then walk over to my bed and put my car key there.

okay.

surf the web in bed with your car key.

;"p

let go

shirt print:

"I'd lose weight
but I hate losing."

wahaha...

sometimes losing is winning.  there is such a thing as "good riddance"...  ; p

mixed breed

family get-together...  cousin-in-law introduced her brother-in-law as "half spanish, half german shepherd."

; )

old clothes

past midnight i received a text message:

friend:  'are you still awake?'

well, i was and her next question was, 'your orange shirt, what size?'

huh?!

i call...

me:  'what orange shirt?'

friend:  'the one you posted a while ago...'

me:  'ah...  the throwback?'

friend:  'oh, is that throwback?'

me:  'yes...  that was taken 2008 yet...'

friend:  'oh...  so you don't have the shirt anymore...'

me:  'i still have it...  and i still wear it...'

;")

rain

so my laundry was already almost dry and suddenly there was a drizzle...  i couldn't go out because i was in the shower...  ugh!

anyway, allow me to digress to something that never fails to make me smile:

"The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust hath the just’s umbrella."

; )

eat it or have it

mom:  'don't post <province> pics [in facebook] anymore...  people see it and they want to go...'

me:  'just delete it...  it's your account, you can delete it...'

mom:  'but <toot> is in the pic...'

me:  'it's okay...  he has many pics...'

mom:  'the background is nice...'

me:  'it's okay, there are other pics...'

mom hems and haws...

well, some problems have very easy solutions...  you don't want to apply the solution, don't make it a problem...  ; p

all-occasion

mother's day yesterday and my facebook news feed was filled with posts about and for mothers.

then i saw one about bananas  ->  "If you eat 2 bananas per day for a month, this is what happens to your body."

it was a re-post from my sister!

me:  'haha...  everyone's posting about mothers, why are you posting about bananas?'

sister:  'i liked it so i shared it...'

march to the beat of your own drum...  ; p

do's and don'ts

it's mother's day...

"Life doesn't come with a manual.
It comes with a mother."

what you should and shouldn't do, what you should and shouldn't be, you initially and then constantly learn from your mother.

the person that i am, i chose to become because of the things i realized seeing and watching my mom.  some things serve as a model.  others, as a lesson.  i hope i was able to distinguish which is which.

loyal

ordering something over the phone...

crew:  'you have to come over, ma'am...'

me:  'huh?!  i have to go there to order and then i'll go back again to pick up?'

crew:  'yes, ma'am...'

me:  'why?  can't i just show up when i pick up?'

crew:  'you have to choose the design, ma'am...'

me:  'i already know the design...  i've ordered before...'

crew:  'you really have to come over, ma'am...  we have to see the design...'

me:  'is this <toot>?'

crew:  'yes, ma'am...'

me:  '<toot>!  i've ordered from you before...  this is cynthia...  maybe you won't remember me because you deal with so many customers...  but i'm the one who ordered <design 1> and <design 2> before...'

crew:  'ah...  ma'am cynthia!'

me:  'you remember?!  good!  don't make me go there just to place an order, please...  i'll just show up when i pick up...  please...  please...  please...'

he said yes...

i was sooo happy...  i'm sooo thankful...  : D

express

car battery dead.  i called Motolite Express Hatid.  i was told delivery will take an hour.

aw!

i called my brother.

faster...  : D

thanks, bruder!  : )

sounds like

friend changing her ISP and switching from DSL to fiber.

she requested me to keep my phone near until installation is done.

i told her i'll be leaving so just make sure to check the speed at speedtest.net before the telco guy leaves.

after a while, my phone rings...

friend:  'download, 10 mbps...'

me:  'upload?'

friend relays the question to the telco guy:  'upload?'

it's 3.

me:  'ping?'

again, friend tries to relay the question to the telco guy:  'ting?'

me:  'ping!'

friend to telco guy:  'ting!'

me:  'ping!  P!  P! not T!'

friend to telco guy:  'ping!  ping!'

hehe...  P or T, i'm sure the telco guy understood...

anyway, it's 2.

: )

easy

mom tells me she whiled away the time playing sudoku on her phone while waiting for someone.

she says it has reached the point where all she tries to beat is her best time.

me:  'why don't you adjust the difficulty level?'

mom:  'i just played because i was waiting...  why should i make things hard for myself?'

; p

early

i went to this place i frequent and was surprised to see that the newly-opened store beside my destination was closed.

me to guard:  'what happened?  they closed down so soon?'

guard:  'they open at 10 a.m., ma'am...'

wahaha...  kangaroo!
->  jumping to conclusions  ;"p

sorry...  :"}

figure of speech

friend texted me saying she saw my car.  she said she misses it already.

the car?  not me?  wahaha...

there's a figure of speech for that, right?  i checked and if i understood things right then it's 'metonymy.'

i wonder whether anyone uses such word outside of english class...

be my guest

friend invited me to her mom's birthday party.

when i arrived, she greeted me with a surprised:  'you're alone?  you didn't bring anyone?'

me:  'aw...  i didn't know the invitation was for two.  i thought it was just for me.'

friend:  'you could bring a companion...'

me:  'this is a restaurant so i did not.  if it were at your house i would have asked...'

friend:  'it's just the same...'

next time...  : )

what it boils down to

asking for directions...

guy:  'you see that stoplight over there?  you turn left...'

while saying this, the guy was motioning right.

me:  'left or right?'

guy:  'oh, right...  sorry, not left...  it's right...'

you don't just listen with your ears.  you also look with your eyes.  you think with your brain.  and then you follow your heart.

eh?

whatever...  ;")

choppy

i was going out my parents' gate and was i startled when the neighbor boomed, 'HELLO!'

i greeted back with a cheerful, 'oh, hello!'

he smiled at me then continued shouting 'HELLO!  HELLO!' on his phone...

ahahahahaha...  toinks!!!  ;"p

blind

on the phone with a friend i haven't seen in yearsssss...

friend:  'how's <toot>?'

me:  'oh...  we're not together anymore...  years now...'

friend:  'i knew it wouldn't last...'

really?!

she's not the first person to tell me that...

ugh!

i was shooting for forever!

oh, well...

leave yesterday behind

so yesterday my parents were again at this restaurant they frequent.

well, my mom goes, 'guess what!'

me:  'what?'

mom:  'i was getting food and there right beside me was <my ex>!'

me:  'oh?  how did he end up there?  that's too far from his place...'

mom:  'he was having a reunion with his classmates...  there were so many of them...'

me:  'ah...'

mom:  'one of them said you're fb friends...'

me:  'who?'

mom:  '<name>...'

me:  'oh!  how did she know you?'

mom:  '<ex> introduced me to his classmates...'

really?!

hmmm...  different strokes for different folks...  if that were me, i'd just talk to my in-law but i wouldn't go to the extent of fetching her from her table and bringing her to ours to introduce her to my group.  how is it?  like, 'guys, i'd like you to meet the mom of my ex...'

nyahaha...  whatever for?  ; p

both

friend supposed to come over to my place 12 noon...  12:20 she still wasn't around...

i found it ironic considering that the night before she sent me a message with the quote:

"Punctuality is not about being on time,
it's basically about respecting your own commitments."

wahaha...  i don't really know why she sent me that.  if anything, i should be the one sending that to her, hehe.  there was a time in my life when they were inflicting tardiness on me on a regular basis.  eventually i had enough.

anyway, i decided to walk over to my parents' place as i left my phone there.  guess what, she was there!  based on the text message on my phone, she's been there since 11:55 a.m.!

imagine, i was waiting for her thinking she was late and there she was also waiting for me likewise thinking i was late.

uhm...  my place is different from my parents'.  they are very near but they are completely separate.

you have to be at the right place at the right time.

crashing

friend:  'it's fiesta at pansol...  remember we went before and there were higantes?'

me:  'when <toot> invited us?'

friend:  'yes...  i want to go again...  you want to join?'

me:  'did anyone invite you?'

friend:  'no...  oh, my officemate did...  she said she wants to go...'

uhm...  'go'?  so she's not a host...  doesn't sound like an invitation to me...

actually, if it's fiesta supposedly anyone can just show up...  still, i don't feel like going to anyone's house uninvited...  :"}