The School of Life and My Shoes

I arrived early for my job interview in Makati City and I still got two hours to kill before my scheduled time. Bad thing is I forgot to bring a book and the nearby mall is still closed so I think of something to do while waiting. I decided to take a short walk to buy a newspaper. 

Just outside the building, an old shoeshine man sitting on the sidewalk beside a newspaper stand caught my attention. He is carefully arranging his shoeshine paraphernalia like those were his prized possessions. He seemed nice and my shoes badly need a little makeover so I approached him to get my shoes cleaned. I noticed the man’s shoes were full of dusts. How ironic, I ponder how a shoeshine man never cleaned his shoes, yet I didn’t bother asking. He silently cleaned my shoes efficiently and with precision. I just sit there, just observing him, enjoying the elated feeling of being served and of being pampered and respected. I paid him, asked for my ten-peso change and stand up without even asking his name. I didn’t even say thank you. It’s his job anyway. 

The lady and the old shoeshine man

I still got plenty of time so I go to the magazine stand to buy a newspaper. I heard the shoeshine man asking a fortysomething corporate looking lady who were browsing some magazines to shine her shoes. The lady just smiled and declined. But the shoeshine man was persistent, almost pleading.

The smiling lady said something to the shoeshine man, and to my surprise, the shoeshine man stand up and sit down on his customers’ chair while the lady took his place.

I realized that the lady turned the table on this old man and offered to shine his dusty shoes – and pay him 500 pesos to do it. They both smiled and laughed while the man seemed to be excitedly telling his life’s story, as the lady sat on the ground at his feet and cleaned his dusty shoes. Some passersby looked at them bewildered. The newspaper vendor and some of his customers smiled too.

But I felt different. A wave of emotion hit me and for a moment I held back. I quickly returned to the building to read my newspaper but I can’t focus. The old man’s face, smiling as if nobody ever shined his shoes before, keeps flashing on my mind. Why did I deny that shoeshine man’s moment of joy?

I kept staring at my shining shoes – assailed by conflicting emotions, there was neither shame nor remorse.

"Change your heart!" said my shoes

To give importance, to treat others as an equal, to appreciate simple things, even if only for a moment which is very easy to give, was that lady’s gift that I will long remember every time I will wear my shoes.

It will always remind me that if we change our heart, then look at the world, the world would be a happy place to live.

By the way, I didn’t passed the job interview, but I learned an important life's lesson.  

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Photo Credit: Monica Jackson - Is That A Shoe?

A King-Size Bed As A Reward for Patience & Diplomacy

This event happened last November 16, 2008. I always remember this event in our Boarding House whenever I am in my room so I guess it is worth posting even if its about two months ago.
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One lazy Sunday afternoon while I was taking my luxury nap, I heard a loud hammering outside my room. Irritated because it woke me up, I grudgingly inquire what was happening, and to my horror, I found out that somebody was demolishing my room. Thanked heavens, I managed to keep my temper and diplomatically inquire as to what the hell is he doing?

I remembered that Ms. N., our new house caretaker cum mistress of the owner, informed me that my room would be demolished by the end of the month – suppose to be on the 30th of November, which gives me enough time to pack my things. The previous caretaker, the niece of the owner with a dysfunctional family, was so infuriated by the idea that the owner decided to give full control of the house to his mistress. So Mrs. L., the niece and adopted daughter of the owner, together with her husband Mr. E. – who depends on his wife to feed himself and his son and still living with his mother, was so enraged over the owner’s decision and decided to ransack the whole house. What happened next was a real chaos. They get all the things that they think was their property: from a simple cloth hanger, electric fans, furniture, light bulbs and yes including my room. They said that they installed it, so they must demolish it.

I do understand their rage because that means, now without the house, they have to work hard to earn a living. Unlike before, they will just longingly wait for the 15th and 30th of the month to collect the rent and have their regular drinking session – that is five times a week, believing that that was normal and that they are not yet alcoholic.

Out of their desperation, Mr. E. decided that end of November was too long and decided demolishing my room right at that lazy Sunday while I was taking my luxury cold afternoon nap.

Goddamn it! I know my right. I am religiously paying the monthly rent and they still have my one-month advance payment and one-month cash deposit. They cannot treat me like I am an illegal squatter. I decided to talk to both of them but Mr. E, obviously because of so much anger will not listen to reason and logic. So I insist on talking to the owner, which is by the way staying in the United States.

Anyway, I know Ms. N. is in constant communication with the owner via online webcam – making her an online mistress. So I immediately knock on her room. When she opened the door, I said Hey! Mr. E. is demolishing my room! I want to talk to the owner! To my relief, the owner Mr. J. was online at that moment and she immediately asked me to sit down in front of her webcam and talk to Mr. J. Out of the confusion Ms. N didn’t even closed those porn sites before letting me use her pc. While I was talking to the owner, I can still hear those oohhh! harder baby harder, ahhhh! – because, oh my gums! she was watching a porn video while chatting with the owner when I knocked on her room. Under the active chat window of Mr. J and me are nude pictures in action and partially hidden in the screen is the porn video with an ongoing orgy, in action like acrobats. What d’ fu*# is this girl doing in the middle of the afternoon while the crazy Mr. E is demolishing my room? It gave me terrible goosebumps, but my concern that time was some clarifications about my rights.

The owner promised me that they will install a much better room for me and asked me if I’m willing to temporarily stay in the bedspacer’s room. I agreed because I will only be staying there for two or three weeks and besides it's time that I should know the other new boarders and expand my circle of influence.

In the end, everything goes back to normal. I have a brand new room now. Very comfortable. Very convenient because they even included a small lababo inside the room. And the most important thing is that Mr. J. let me used his king sized bed just for me. Living a nice bachelor's life eh. A-huh, that's right, living single, independent and free in my own room.

Well, life is really getting better. I realized that diplomacy and patience is necessary to get the most out of a terrible and confusing situation.

We should also not try to talk to those people that we know will not listen to reason. Always talk to the right person and never try to argue to the angry one.

Pink EDSA and the Cadena de Amor

When I’m stuck in heavy traffic in EDSA, which is expected as always, I usually detach myself from involving my already stressed self in the godforsaken stressful EDSA. I usually directed my focus on a book or listen to my MP3 player. This famous avenue, symbolizing unity and freedom is more famous for its angry drivers, angry passengers, overloaded and stinking buses, loud FM radio – always tuned in to “Tambalang Balasubas at Balahura,” sometimes funny and most of the time irritating, and of course, the terribly irritating and deafening blowing of horns. I don’t understand why drivers, especially bus drivers, kept on blowing their loud horns for no reason at all. I suggest that there should be a law limiting the number of horn-honking while in EDSA. Like the seatbelt law, a small wire should also be required to be connected to the drivers testicles so that when he exceeded the maximum number of horns per day, a device will blow up his balls, he he he. I’m thinking about this because, today, I’m stuck in terrible heavy traffic in EDSA, without a book to read, and I forgot to re-charge my MP3 player. Huh, bad week to start 2009.

Therefore, I have no choice but to set my system on CYM (Contemplating Yodz Mode). Then suddenly, the pink EDSA and the struggling Cadena de Amor caught my attention.

It was noticeable that MMDA is trying to paint EDSA pink - pink overpass, pink railings, pink signages, pink walls and the most noticeable are the pink and terribly stinking male urinals. And to complete the pink mood, they planted the Cadena de Amor all over EDSA. I’ve heard the “pink scheme” was Bayani Fernado’s idea. By the way, this MMDA chairperson is famous for unconventional traffic schemes, demolishing sidewalk vendors and other street regulations and he already declared his intention to run for public office. I might vote for him, only if he removed those stinking pink male urinals.

I also notice these crawling vines all over the MRT railings and its concrete posts. I think it was planted there to add some green and pleasant pink buds to the gray and angry EDSA. I’ve known this plant, which is called Cadena de Amor, because these vines are growing wild in my grandmother’s backyard during my childhood days in Mindoro. Like the persistent talahib grass, it grows even without tending. Cadena de amor always tries to reach for the top, for the highest and when it reach the top it will crown itself with pink little blossoms.

I don’t know, but its crawling vines, dry and dusty leaves, its tiny little blossoms - no longer pink due to terrible pollution, all reminds me of how hard it is to survive and adapt in the city. I’m thinking of this because, I happen to enjoy the simple life in the province. I only got here in Manila when I started college education.

I find it odd. A wild Cadena de Amor trying to fit in the busiest street in Manila. It kept on crawling higher and higher, clinging on to the highest railing. Its soft tendrils always aiming up, never minding what is happening below. It withstand the pollution, the noise, the stink of human absurdity and other elements trying to prevent it from producing those soft little pink buds.

These buds, its crown of glory and triumph over all the negative elements of life, is trying to teach me how to persevere, how to focus on things that are more important and how to love life.

I now understand that sometimes, the best way to deal with negative elements in our life is just neglecting it. We must never waste emotion and time and get involve on things that is beyond our control.

I guess this is my new year’s resolution for 2009.

To FOCUS and PERSEVERE.

Pleasures of Small Town Life

Our town in Occidental Mindoro is a quaint, charming, friendly and happy place opposite with city life. I went there last October 31, 2008 to attend my father’s 60th birthday and also in time for the holidays in observance of Todos Los Santos.

Life there is really very simple, a perfect example of barrio lifestyle. Electricity is only available at 1:00 in the afternoon until 12:00 midnight, so you really have plenty of time talking to your family or visiting friends or relatives. Average TV watching is only 1 hour per day. Really nice because I hate television by the way, which I will explain in a separate blog.

A few blocks from our house, on the east-side is a beautiful beach and on the west, just a bicycle ride away, is a really fabulous mountain river – the Calawagan Mountain Resort.

Simple pleasures, such as waking up on the sounds of chirping birds and backyard chickens and lazily wait for the water to boil in the kitchen to have some kapeng barako with tuyo for breakfast. I see how the sun rises over the mountain, how the maya and other colorful birds soar across the sky, whether it is clear or cloudy day. Then, on the afternoon, I will look for my father’s bolo to have some fresh buko juice to chill-out on a hot summer afternoon.


Before the sun sets, I will walk on the beach barefoot, play with the sand and will take a dive on the clear salty water afterwards. I will swim as far as I can, while watching the sun, dreamily setting and painting the sky with magnificent luminous hue of red, orange and blue. I will just sigh in awe, watch the setting sun and enjoy the day.




And of course, my favorite place – the Calawagan Mountain Resort. The water there is really very cold, perfect to avoid the hot summer afternoon. The water is very clean. It even got an award as the Philippines cleanest inland body of water a few years ago. On its clear water, under the solid rocks and pebbles are small marine species such various species of shrimps, snails and fishes – signs of a healthy and natural river.

The only emergency that you will hear is, after palay harvest, when there are dark clouds hanging over Mt. Calavite, signaling a coming rain. Somebody will shout “Hoy, iurong nyo na yang palay, may dilim!” Next is the frantic commotion on the street, with people holding kalaykay, pansudsod and sako to save their precious harvest from the rain. My town folks are normally using the public street for drying palay after the harvest season.

To all my kababayans, let us celebrate the simple pleasures that come from living in our town.
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More about my town on www.tarangkahan.bravehost.com , a website I made dedicated to our town.
History of our town on : http://occidentalmindorohistory.googlepages.com/historypaluan