Today at the Bank

I had a biz transaction to complete today so I made a supposedly quick trip to the bank. When I got there however, I realized that was not going to be. So I took my place at the tail of a snaking queue that was fast becoming longer than two king cobras combined.
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The line progressed slowly even as the counter space for five tellers was fully manned. It would definitely be an irritating wait if I don't do something. I began by grabbing and going through the bank's brochures. I chose to keep one that defined investment terms and returned the rest. Still a long way from the counter. I decided to just observe the people in the line with me.

The first to catch my eye was the lady in front of me. She was wearing a gray cardigan over a red turtleneck with a button clasp at the back that formed a little hole. Her hair was braided so the clasp and the hole were visible. There was a blue piece of plastic sticking out of that hole which turned out to be the cover of a ballpoint. The pen was stuck into it and was hidden under the blouse. A little later, her cardigan slid down revealing a second pen lower down the hole. Interesting, most people put it in their hair.

As the line moved, I noticed another lady. She had on a black blouse with a cut out on both sleeves surrounded by beads meant to look like small pearls. She was wearing cargo shorts in an old rose color with the straps unlocked. What really caught my eye were her tresses. They were the same color as her blouse and went down beyond her shorts. When the curving snake put me directly across her, I asked about it. She smiled and said, yes, they were all naturally hers. I'm impressed, really. I wear my hair short because I like it wash and wear, no fuss. Hair like that must use a lot of shampoo, not to mention a very long comb.

There were a lot more to be seen and occupy my time with. The lady behind me had on a pink blouse with a cluster of glittering black beads in the middle of the chest area. Further behind us was a lady clutching what seemed to me to be a formal bag because it had the design of a barong accented with sequins. There was also the couple who clung to each other; the tall tanned guy in black sando embracing the fair skinned girl wearing a white shirt.

As I looked around, I noticed that the dominant color was reds and pinks, followed by black and grays with white following a far third.  Does the color mean anything to these people? I was one of the whites because I just wanted to wear the design which was in yellow.

Whatever the reason for being there or for wearing what they did, I hope the over 30 minute wait in that line did not dampen their spirits. It really did not do that to me because with such a long line, I expected to be there longer. Anyway, . . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Of Homecomings

Last weekend, I attended my high school's annual homecoming event. This year we were supposed to be in costume based on a scifi character. There were to be prizes for best costume.

A lot of people joined the costume party (I did not, sorry). The top choice for source of inspiration was, not surprisingly the Star Wars series. The alumni association head came as Yoda. There were storm troopers and androids. I think there were a lot of queens and princesses too (meaning Amidala and Leia). Some of the girls in our batch were talking about going as Leia when he was in the camp of Jabba the Hutt.

Anyway, it's really a great time to get together with old friends and classmates. Over the years, I have attended several of these events. It's always a thrill to see old faces and catch up with everybody else.

These events are also used as a call to give back to our alma mater. We are informed of the state of the school, its concerns and maybe some wishes too. Several batches have put up projects so that these concerns and wishes will be known to more people.

Are we proud of our school? We would not be at homecomings, we would not give back if we were not.

Philippine Science High School, let's continue to search for the untarnished truth.

Reading The Twilight Zone

A friend of mine lent me two books recently. Because they were borrowed, I had to finish them fast. I was able to finish them in two weeks. Hmm, I'm catching up on my reading (wink).

The books belonged to a two volume set entitled Forgotten Gems: Scripts from The Twilight Zone. In case you don't know it yet, The Twilight Zone was a popular program in the early 1960s. I used to watch reruns of the black and white shows when I was a kid. It featured strange stories that implied you were in another dimension called -- what else -- the twilight zone. The show was sort of narrated by Rod Serling.

Back to the books.

The scripts were chosen from all the seasons of the show. Volume 1 contained the shorter scripts. They were the ones shown when the show as still only 30 minutes long. Volume 2 on the other hand contained scripts from the latter runs when the show already had a one hour time slot.

I like the choices. The ones included give a good representation of what the show was about. There were feel good stories with happy endings. Thgere were dark tales that usually ended in cliffhangers. Drama and light comedy stories were represented.

I also appreciate the inclusion of stories about the storywriters themselves. Scriptwriters are usually invisible to the audience. The book gives us a glimpse of the life of these men who create the tales we see on TV. This is of particular interest to me who also aspires to be in that circle.

All in all I like the two volumes. I would have wanted more scripts included though.

Too bad for me the books aren't mine.

lazy Summer Days

The recent release of Iron Man 3 made me go back to some things I did as a kid. During summer breaks, my siblings, my younger cousins and I were sent off to the house of our aunts for a few weeks. Every year we would review collections of comic books.

We had two aunts. One collected the American comic books sent by her husband for her four boys. They included DC, Marvel and comic adaptations of classic novels. We devoured them. Then there was the second aunt who collected Tagalog comics for her teenage girls. At her house, six youngsters (including I) each claimed a corner and spent an afternoon pouring through those stories and trying to piece together a novel given in several installments.

Sometimes, we would do things as a group. We would climb the fruit trees in our family's yard and collect the treasures high up in the branches for a sumptuous late afternoon snack or an early evening story telling session. We started our climb behind the guest house or behind the big house. Then we would use the roofs to move from one tree to another and stuff the fruits in our pockets or in our mouths if we dared.

It was in the morning that laziness got tested. We had a routine. We start the day by putting away our pillows and sleeping mats. Then we got a breakfast of hot chocolate and pan de sal. Then the work began.

After putting away the dishes, we had to clean up a section or portion of the house. Somebody wiped off the dust of the glass jalousies on the windows. Somebody dusted the furniture. Another would sweep the floor. Yet another would take care of the ornate frames and door decors and vases.

When the house was done, we turned our attention to the yard. Having lots of trees around,there would definitely be  a lot of fallen leaves and over ripe fruits. We gathered them all up and made a pile. Then the bigger boys would scoop this up to be thrown to the refuse pit.

Then we had to look after the pigs. My aunt took care of a whole piggery with at least two bulls and lots of mommies and of course the growing piglets. We bathe them. We cleaned their cages. All the garbage went into the refuse pit again. that made for wonderful fertilizer eventually.

After all the hard work, it was time to rrelax. A river ran through the property. When we got rid of our tools, we would race to the river for a cool splash. We would stay there until we were called back to the house for lunch about two hours later.

Let the Games

I have been playing computer games since the late 1980s. At work, I used them to road test new machines. Games like Solitaire and Spider were also convenient means of introducing mouse operations to newbies.

At home where I had a desktop, I spent many evenings with Mario and that little game invented by a Russian. Needless to say, my electric bill doubled.

Many parents may frown at their kids spending so much time playing. To them the wasted time could have been better spent studying and doing research. I agree that excessive gaming is not a good thing and may lead to addiction. As in anything else, moderation and discipline should be applied.

However, I have to tell these parents that they should not totally rule out games. There is a lot to be said about learning from games.

• Games can help improve hand-eye coordination.

• Games can introduce kids to concepts. Kids would be more appreciative of the idea in the relaxed environment of a game.

• Games can show kids real life hazardous situations without exposing them to the actual dangers.

So will you stop gour kid from playing¿Wwhy not look for good games instead. Once in your life you were also a kid.

This is Me

Why do people insist on putting an apostrophe in my name?  Does anybody ever spell Dennis as Denni's?  Why then do people assume that Gladys should be written as Glady's

This was funny at first but sometimes it does get on my nerves.  Everybody would appreciate being identified correctly.

Thanks.

The View

I had an early morning appointment today in Intramuros.  It just so happens that the person who sent me on that appointment also lent me a car so I did not have to battle the traffic.  The car (and the driver of course but anyway . . . ) waited until I was ready to go back to Quezon City.

Because we left early, I felt sleepy on the way back.  Since I was alone in the backseat, I laid down.  I had a nice view through the windshield.  I saw the cloudy sky warning of impending rain.  I saw the tops of trees lining the roads we were passing.

Best of all, I saw the buildings.  We were after all in the walled city of Intramuros where many of the old buildings were preserved.  Since the first floor establishments were out of my sight, their signs and window displays did not distract me.  So I was able to appreciate the acrchitectural details.  There were the old bricks, the large windows, the cornice details, the stone walls, etc.

My only complaint about the view is the sight of overhead telephone and electric lines.

Maybe in the near future?

Let's Celebrate

Yesterday, we had a family reunion.  My brother who is studying abroad came home for the holidays and he brought his family over to the house for lunch.  My niece who is studying in another city was also home for the holidays.

My sister decided to cook pansit for the occassion.  It was already our midnight meal but she cooked enough to last us a few more days.  I had planned to get ice cream cake which my nephew volunteered to buy for me (he just wanted a reason to go out).  My brother brought some roasted liempo.  We also had ham, cheese and a whole chicken cooked in the turbo oven.

The highlight was the baby.  My brother's youngest turned one in September and is only beginning to run.  She is curious about a lot of things and stares to observe what is going on around her.

The wonderful thing was that she was in a good mood yesterday.  She smiled.  She laughed.  She hammed it up for the camera.

And she even danced!  When some hiphop music played on the radio, she would raise her arms and sway about.  If she was sitted, she would still raise her hands and sway her head.