New place....new faces

I woke up at 2 A.M. and found myself looking at the ceiling of Tiyo Dodong's house. Now I'm leaving this noisy but happy place I've come to consider as my home for the last two months. I couldn't bring myself back to sleep and so I've decided to turn on my phone and listen to the songs I downloaded the time before I left Baybay...

Nostalgia... a feeling so inevitable for emo-type individuals. And this is just what I feel whenever I hear songs of the past...Songs that has been a part of my journey. I thought about the times I spend my weekends in the port...just talking about anything with a bottle of redhorse...I thought about my cousins in the province...how we enjoyed the summer. Hahay.

Dreaming of You revived by Lovi Poe
Can't Help falling in Love by Richard Marx
Please Remember by Leann Rimes

These are among the songs that were included in my playlist.

Another hour passed..still I couldn't make myself fall back to sleep. So I started texting my officemates...probably there's someone who, like me, has been used to waking up on graveyard. And here comes a reply from Grace...chika here and there til I wasn't able to notice that it's already 5 in the morning.

Now, I'll be packing myself up. I'll be leaving for Cubao. A place much nearer to my workplace.But first I gotta hear the mass.

The Gospel was then about Lazarus...

And here's what I got from Father Mario's homily:

Being rich was not the very reason why the rich was judged to spend his eternal life in hell. But because he did NOTHING on Lazarus. Despite the fact that in front of him was a suffering man.

Two things that we have to do to be worthy of eternal life then:

1. Do something good to your brethren. Something your brethren can NEVER REPAY.

and

2. Do it FROM THE HEART.

Whoah... from Father Mario's homily I've come to realize that I myself haven't done anything great to anyone...something that cannot be repaid of....shocks!
I guess now is really the time for me to do great things... in this new place... with new faces to meet.

"The Funny Norman"

PHOTO: seated from left are: Jazz, Grace, Norman, Steve,
Andrew, Mark, Marvin, and Ai





I went home yesterday at 2 in the afternoon. Feeling a bit tipsy and nauseated after a drink with my fellow contractuals of CIC --- a drink for Jazz despidida (She'll be leaving for Davao by Monday or Wednesday and will be staying there for a couple of months or so.

"Sir, Pasig Palengke na po tayo, saan po ba kayo bababa?". Feeling embarrassed, I turned to see where on earth I am. And consequently felt even more embarrassed to know that I was the only passenger left inside the FX. Haha. It was then my first time to catch a sleep inside a PUV in a broad daylight. Perhaps it was because of the long hours without sleep, not to mention the drink that we had, adding up to the intolerable sleepiness. Though we only took 2 cases of RH, still it was enough to bring out all the issues and concerns that we all felt about our work. Enough to know a person worthy of praise. And enough to know a person who deserves not our loath or revulsion but of our pity---pity for his soul.

Little by little, I'm coming to the point of knowing the individuals that I am working with. And I believe, this is the very essence of "Tagay". In a way, through these drinking sessions, we get to know a person more. No wonder, I was successful in the project I was into just a few months ago. Hehe. I couldn't believe I got all the information I needed in one single setting. To drink and get drunk -- That's all it took for me to get all the hidden problems, issues and concerns that the Project Implementation Unit of Bayombong had encountered.

Anyways, back to tagay...Tagay sessions somehow strengthens the bond among friends although there's always been a negative connotation of the word. But still it has been our ritual of fellowship back when I was in college. And I believe that from drinking, we tend to get more close and personal. We tend to delve into knowing the persons we are with, the people around us, and most especially, the friends we have. During tagays, we tend to disclose our every fears, pains and sorrow which often leads us into developing a deeper level of friendship.

And the people...I mean the individuals whom I now consider my "new-found friends"(I just hope they regard me as the same) of the Certeza Infosystems Corporation (CIC) is of no exemption. After about 5 bottles of RH, Marvin, and the rest of the group started talking about our bosses, their qualities and personalities... and things about them that we should beware ourselves of.

The variety of personalities found inside the office just amazed me.
I was surprised to know of the revelations about a certain individual in the office. Oh, how harmless the facade he possessed...but how uncertain and deadly the intentions of his heart are. It was just a confirmation of the fallible senses that we as human beings possess.

The silent could be fatal, and the riotous could be more tolerable.

Nothing is really certain.

Lucky are we to know a person's character in a matter of 2-3 meetings or conversations. However, some individuals are just superficial, or "plastic" as we call them to be. And this makes the matters worst. Finding it hard to know the person you're facing.

But however bad or good the people around us may seem to be, we are ought to do good to them---so great a challenge our Master has called us to take.

"Pag binato ka ng bato, batohin mo ng tinapay."
"Kung sagpaon ka sa aping, ipasagpa ang imong pikas aping."

Popular sayings, right?

But how stupid it is to be stepped on by someone. How stupid it is to be beaten with so harsh a word you could actually break the person's nose through one hard punch.
But Norman took it all. The "funny" Norman took it all just the other night.

Norman as I knew him for about a month in the office, is a person full of humor. So funny he could create a punchline from a single word you'd say. But here he is. Showing his other side. The side he's genuinely blessed with. The sign of humility.

I couldn't exactly phrase out the words he got from our Team Leader - the notorious LOven, but the very words that rang my ear were "Putang Ina mo" and "Hayop".

How could anyone pull those words out of his mouth and throw it to someone who's far more humane than him? I, myself have raised a brow from what I've heard. But still, what came through my mind was the fact the Master will judge us on how we react to things. And I was glad Norman did the right thing. And that was to remain humble.

Norman was even the first person to ask for forgiveness despite the fact that it wasn't his fault to draw a suggestion. Suggestion that the manager consequently took as a negative one. He...literally swallowed his pride and begged for forgiveness to the person who belittled him.

I believe Norman already got a 2-point passes (or more) for heaven from what he did.

For the rest of my stay in the company, I shall expect to hear a lot more of humiliation from our bosses' mouth. I'm just praying that our great Master will guide me and my new-found friends (friends whom I know I can trust) through the whole journey. That He give us the wisdom to do the right thing just as what Norman has successfully done.

To this, I'm reminded of the words of the song...


ANIMA CHRISTI

Soul of Christ
Sanctify me
Body of Christ save me
Water from the side of Christ
Wash me, Passion of Christ
Give me strength

Chorus:
Hear me Jesus
Hide me in thy wounds
That I may never leave thy side 
From all the evil that surrounds me
Defend me
and when the call of death arrives
Bid me come to thee
That I may praise thee With thy saints forever 

These we pray.

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