Friday

Last Friday started weird for me.

I woke up and put my glasses on. As I was about to take a bath, as I removed my eyeglasses, it broke into half - yup, it broke right in the middle (the bridge part). Can I still call it a pair of eyeglasses or 2 pieces of eyeglass? Hehe ..

I don't really keep a spare of eyeglasses since my lens are quite expensive because I already have above 5.50 grade. I also don't have contact lens on hand since I rarely wear it. I only wear contact lens on special occasions. I tried to "Mighty Bond" my eyeglasses but it just would not hold. (By the way, it's just weird that Mighty Bond is truly effective that I can't open the cap the second time since the bond is already stuck .. that's how effective it is! I have to create a hole somewhere in the tube to make use of the bond!)

Anyway, I still had my pair of eyeglasses with a lower grade and I wore that during the day. I had a bit of headache during the day because things a bit far off are quite blurry. Good thing that I did not find it difficult driving.

So, there I was in the office in the morning typing those pleadings away. Just after lunch, my dad came back with the news that the case we were handling was settled and we were paid attorney's fees. (Yahoo! Thank you Lord!)

In the afternoon, I went to the Fiscal's office to get some documents. While waiting, 2 policemen accompanied a lady, who was covering her face, and a man, who was covering his face wearing shades and his hands were cuffed but was covered in jacket. Their group seated right beside me. I thought this was a normal occurrence in the fiscal office so I did not act differently. I could not also think of any major news recently. As I was sitting there, "uzis" were taking a peek and I was wondering who are these persons covering their faces. Are they witnesses? Celebrities? Later on, two of their police escort sat beside me and I just had to ask - it was the "uzi" in me. I asked why are those people looking towards them. One of them said "Ikaw gitan-aw ana ma'am". I replied, "Dili ui, ganina pa ko diri .. wala man ko nila ginatan-aw. Pag-abot lang man ninyo." And so they said that the lady and the man were allegedly caught in a tryst earlier that day and they were there for an inquest. Apparently, the man is a policeman. And the one who allegedly caught them, with the assistance of police, was the husband. The said husband also seated beside me earlier but later on stood outside the office until he was called. After a while, I was able to get what I needed from the Fiscal's office.

After work, I went to Ateneo to submit the grades. For the past semesters I have been teaching, I have been photocopying my class record and submit it to the office as one of the requirements and they accepted it. Apparently, the other teachers do not really submit an actual class record where you write everything but they prepare it through an Excel file, print it and submit it. Well, I do compute the grades using the Excel file but since what was required was the "class record", what I submit is the "class record." Pwede man pala yung Excel file na .. hehe .. mukha tuloy akong jologs .. haha.

As I was on my way to SM, I got a text from Kahlil that Clang and Boss Ogie are already parent! Wow! I was thinking of visiting that same night but I thought I'll wait for Allan .. hehe

I went to SM not really for the sale but to get another pair of eyeglasses. I used my old lens and bought a cheap frame so I can have a spare. I have another pair of eyeglasses made and, as expected, I had an "upgrade". Legally blind indeed! I also bought a pair of contact lens just in case. Believe me, it wasn't cheap! My lens are almost twice the cost of my frame. But it was indeed good timing that I received some attorney's fees that same day so that buying a new pair of eyeglasses would not be that heavy on my wallet. Nevertheless, it could be paid in installment with 0% interest .. ayos!

Lastly, I went to SMART with regard to my dad's phone after waiting some time I realized I forgot some required documents and decided I will come back the next day. And so I left, and it was raining cats and dogs outside! Good thing I had an umbrella and as I was slowly driving home, the rain became a drizzle. Not bad!

An interesting Friday indeed!

Good Day

Last Friday afternoon, an old man slowly opened the door and went inside the office. I asked him to sit down and asked him what I could do for him or perhaps what he needed from my father, who was still talking to another client.

He said that he lost is ATM Card and was asked by the bank to fill out an Affidavit of Loss and have it notarized.

Anyway, even if I already asked him to sit down, he first asked me "pila magpanotaryo ani?", showing me the blank Affidavit. After I told him the amount, he said that he had no money with him. So, I asked him how much does he have. He said he didn't have enough. I even reduced the "fee". He looked for some money in his pockets but there was none. He looked inside his purse and all he had was P 20 bill and some coins.

I asked him "taga-asa di ai ka nong?". He replied "taga-Times Beach. Silingan ko ni ________. Kaila ko sa papa nimo." At that time, my father was still talking to another client and it seems he can't remember our manong client.

I said it's OK and I will notarize it nevertheless. He was surprised because he didn't think I was a lawyer (I always get this reaction ... hehe). I just told him that he could drop the payment in our office the next day. But, at the back of my head, I said it is okay if he forgets to come back and pay for it.

And so, I filled out the form for him. I asked for IDs and asked the details of how his ATM got lost. And our manong client told the story with all the details and I listened earnestly. I just wrote the important details in the Affidavit, had it signed by him and notarized it myself.

Afterwhich, I gave back the form to him and remembered that it was a Friday and we may not be in the office on Saturday. He said he'll be back on Monday. Although, again, I thought he would forget it and I will just let it be.

But this morning, manong client came back and paid.

I was touched. I did not expect it. It was a happy surprise.

I know I could have just said it's for free but sometimes, you get the feeling that there are those who are appreciative of what you do for them that they are willing to pay for it if they can and it would be an insult to refuse it. It was the kind of feeling I get from manong client.

It was my sole income for today (excluding my teaching wage). But big things come in small packages and it sure did!

Yes, it was a good day!

Harry Potter

After watching the the last movie installment of the Harry Potter series, I made sure I will read all the books all over again. I actually got to read the first 6 books already before watching Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows. I finished Book 7 for the first time just the other night.

I love Harry Potter!

It's just amazing that I was still excited reading the first six books all over again. And I was still pretty excited in reading Book 7 although I have already watched all the movies.

I started reading around July and just finished the whole series the other night.

Of course, book lovers would totally agree that the books were way awesome than the movies and that there were a lot of things that were missed out in the films.

I love the books. I love how it made my imagination work. I love the thrill of turning each page even when I was sleepy so that I would just finish a chapter. I love reading the words themselves and just making my mind work.

But it doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the movies because I sure did. It's a different experience when you just sit back and relax and take everything in. I still get excited even though I already have an idea what is going to happen next.

There may have been a number of discrepancies, a number of scenes not in the movies and a number of scenes that were not present in the book.

Just the same - I love Harry Potter - the books and the movies!

My goal now is to watch the movies all over again. And it was just weird that HBO had a Harry Potter marathon yesterday of the first 6 movies. I missed the first 5 but I watched the 6th nevertheless.

My goal to watch the movies all over again remains.

Again - I just love Harry Potter .. brings out the child in me ;)

The Quiz Show - Part 2

I gave my first ever surprise quiz!

Surprise quiz in the sense that I never told them beforehand that I was supposed to give a quiz and not surprise quiz in the sense that a student had no idea there was supposed to be a quiz since he/she was apparently absent or absent-minded the last meeting when I made the announcement.

Anyway, it was a surprise quiz that was to their benefit - same coverage, cancel the lowest quiz. So, I told them there was everything to gain and nothing to lose.

That's what my student meant when she post her comment that it was already settled.

*P.S. - Nobody got perfect just the same.