A government employee
After waitin for maver to finish changin’ from her deaconess uniform one Thursday noon, I ask’d if we could use tha side door insteada main door to exit juz fo’ tha change in routine.
“No, I wanna see how many of my sakops went”, maver went and steer'd me to tha direction of tha tarhetas.
“You are such a government employee…”, I told her.
“What?!”
“Never mind.”
“Have you lost your mind again?”
*A government employee, by ma defn’tn, through 3 months of puttin’ up wit em, is a person who veers towards tha routinary way of living. They have tha urgent need to do thangs tha normal customary way and others can’t tell em othawise fo’ it will be a mortal error fo’ em equivalent to getting’ jail’d or sumthin worse, heaven forbid. Tis applies fo’ goin to werk [8-5 @ tha O. no matter if ya hafta do werk outside tha office & ye are better able to werk bcuz tha O. lack’d O. supplies], not bendin’ tha rules even a bit fo’ a special case [no, we can’t have a photo caption releas’d to tha media becuz it is not yet approved no matter if it’s juz two sentences and we are tryin’ to beat newspapah deadlines and tha mayor ain’t nowhere to approve], and bein’ ridiculously afraid of their amos, they won’t a] speak a word of mockery pertainin to em not even in a jokey way b] grant interviews or answer harmless questions needed to give meat fo’ press releases c] give copies of harmless statistical documents fo’ fear of losin’ their jobs.
Friday, December 31
Saturday, December 25
In search for piec’d together used packs of juices
I do not know where I git ma energy to wander to for hours @ faraway places. Mebbe it’s true wut they say bout peepz who have moles on feet? Tha last day of werk before Christmas break and I was up by 4am after only 4hours of sleep. After gon to church and to work, I realized I still do not have gifts fo’ tha maternal clan which am seein tha next day. Not keen on havin to give away cash when tha kin come wishin’ me a happy holiday, I decided to go to tha place where sewn together tetra packs of juices are bein sold as bags. Only prob is I had no idea exactly where it is tho’ I know tha name of tha town [which is extensive and big.] So I hail’d a jeep and ask’d tha driver to take me there. So he took me to tha factory but they were clos’d fo’ tha day and not sellin’ anymore as tha bags I saw there were pre-order’d by some people from France. So I ask’d around fo’ otha possible Zesto bag-sellin’ places and walk’d and walk’d [no trykes or jeeps in sight] till I arrive @ a row of rundown houses wit tetrapacks hangin’ out on tha windows to dry. And I approach’d one & ask’d tha ales livin there whereelse I can buy a sewn-up Zesto bag. And they invited me in while ale1 chang’d clothes to escort me to tha seamstress of Zesto bags she knows. And while I was waitin, soiled little kids scatter’d ‘round and inspected me, starin’ @ tha grey&black-skirted stranger wit stood-on-ends hair sittin in their living room. Tho there was lotsa space in tha bench, they did not sit next to me but stood facin me and they’d giggle, hit each other and hide behind each other’s backs everytime I talk to one of em. I ask’d em wut grade level they are in and in typical kid fashion, one not only answer’d ma queschn, but volunteer’d other facts about herself as well, never mind that I did not ask her. Kid said she was in grade one -that all of them are- and that they were in section three, sounding as if being in section three makes all tha difference. Meanwhile it felt as if tha ale had forgotten bout me and gone to sleep and while I was deciding between staying and leaving, I took out tha remaining box of butterscotch bars I had baked tha previous night which was s’pos’d to be for a friend I did not see that day and handed it to tha kids. And then tha ale materialized & we all went to tha Zesto-bag maker which turn’d out to be another 50 or so miles away. Fascinating is tha fact that I was carryin’ wit me three-months’ worth of office junk while walkin. And then after buying bags, I wana buy a gift for someone not related to me. So wit tha added bulk of bags, ma personal bag, and tha big bag of office goop, I waited for hours for a MegaMall FX but no such vehicle pass’d ma way and I chatted wit tha ale in boredom of waitin & tha ale turn’d out to be waitin for a “Crossing jeepney” but no such luck either till twas getting dark already and she told me shed juz ride a “Kanto jeepney” first -which was practically tha only vehicle passin our way anyway. So she’ll git off where chances of a “Crossing jeepney” is more likely. Since I am impatient I went wit her. But after getting off @ tha kanto, she disappeard & there aint still a MegaMall FX so I rode “her” Crossing jeepney instead. And walked for miles till I reached tha Mall. And then I did not find anything interesting. So I walk’d all tha way back to tha Shangri-La mall. And that’s where I spent tha rest of ma cents on gifts. All in tha spirit of Christmas.
***
Lookin back at that day when ma bossy immediate superior wasn’t so bossy
She usually barks orders all day long. That day she hasn’t given me any, nor has she shouted at me or scolded me. She was at peace, serenely reading a pocketbook that was not work-related and playin games on our pc. Her fire had gone out and it’s as if she’d gone to heaven and tha person I’m wit was reduc’d to a body task’d to do normal functions like reading pocketbooks and talkin to me occasionally. She had given herself a pat on tha back that is tha assurance that from then on she will have it good by her final decision to git out of that place. I know becuz aside from “behaving”, she also pack’d her thangs into a big plastic bag @ tha end of tha day. She was also initiating conversations on our way home -askin me if I liked a certain food, etc.- like she was squeezing in topics that may connect us wit wut was left of our last moments wit each other. Her actions were clear statements that she was leaving. She had a place to go to. I diden. I was not ready to give ma’self peace tha way she did two months ago. Now I am. Tho I still have nowhere to go. So long terrible government workplace! I have struggled wit ya long enuf! I had fun fighting off yer inhabitants! It’s time to piss off other peepz!
I do not know where I git ma energy to wander to for hours @ faraway places. Mebbe it’s true wut they say bout peepz who have moles on feet? Tha last day of werk before Christmas break and I was up by 4am after only 4hours of sleep. After gon to church and to work, I realized I still do not have gifts fo’ tha maternal clan which am seein tha next day. Not keen on havin to give away cash when tha kin come wishin’ me a happy holiday, I decided to go to tha place where sewn together tetra packs of juices are bein sold as bags. Only prob is I had no idea exactly where it is tho’ I know tha name of tha town [which is extensive and big.] So I hail’d a jeep and ask’d tha driver to take me there. So he took me to tha factory but they were clos’d fo’ tha day and not sellin’ anymore as tha bags I saw there were pre-order’d by some people from France. So I ask’d around fo’ otha possible Zesto bag-sellin’ places and walk’d and walk’d [no trykes or jeeps in sight] till I arrive @ a row of rundown houses wit tetrapacks hangin’ out on tha windows to dry. And I approach’d one & ask’d tha ales livin there whereelse I can buy a sewn-up Zesto bag. And they invited me in while ale1 chang’d clothes to escort me to tha seamstress of Zesto bags she knows. And while I was waitin, soiled little kids scatter’d ‘round and inspected me, starin’ @ tha grey&black-skirted stranger wit stood-on-ends hair sittin in their living room. Tho there was lotsa space in tha bench, they did not sit next to me but stood facin me and they’d giggle, hit each other and hide behind each other’s backs everytime I talk to one of em. I ask’d em wut grade level they are in and in typical kid fashion, one not only answer’d ma queschn, but volunteer’d other facts about herself as well, never mind that I did not ask her. Kid said she was in grade one -that all of them are- and that they were in section three, sounding as if being in section three makes all tha difference. Meanwhile it felt as if tha ale had forgotten bout me and gone to sleep and while I was deciding between staying and leaving, I took out tha remaining box of butterscotch bars I had baked tha previous night which was s’pos’d to be for a friend I did not see that day and handed it to tha kids. And then tha ale materialized & we all went to tha Zesto-bag maker which turn’d out to be another 50 or so miles away. Fascinating is tha fact that I was carryin’ wit me three-months’ worth of office junk while walkin. And then after buying bags, I wana buy a gift for someone not related to me. So wit tha added bulk of bags, ma personal bag, and tha big bag of office goop, I waited for hours for a MegaMall FX but no such vehicle pass’d ma way and I chatted wit tha ale in boredom of waitin & tha ale turn’d out to be waitin for a “Crossing jeepney” but no such luck either till twas getting dark already and she told me shed juz ride a “Kanto jeepney” first -which was practically tha only vehicle passin our way anyway. So she’ll git off where chances of a “Crossing jeepney” is more likely. Since I am impatient I went wit her. But after getting off @ tha kanto, she disappeard & there aint still a MegaMall FX so I rode “her” Crossing jeepney instead. And walked for miles till I reached tha Mall. And then I did not find anything interesting. So I walk’d all tha way back to tha Shangri-La mall. And that’s where I spent tha rest of ma cents on gifts. All in tha spirit of Christmas.
***
Lookin back at that day when ma bossy immediate superior wasn’t so bossy
She usually barks orders all day long. That day she hasn’t given me any, nor has she shouted at me or scolded me. She was at peace, serenely reading a pocketbook that was not work-related and playin games on our pc. Her fire had gone out and it’s as if she’d gone to heaven and tha person I’m wit was reduc’d to a body task’d to do normal functions like reading pocketbooks and talkin to me occasionally. She had given herself a pat on tha back that is tha assurance that from then on she will have it good by her final decision to git out of that place. I know becuz aside from “behaving”, she also pack’d her thangs into a big plastic bag @ tha end of tha day. She was also initiating conversations on our way home -askin me if I liked a certain food, etc.- like she was squeezing in topics that may connect us wit wut was left of our last moments wit each other. Her actions were clear statements that she was leaving. She had a place to go to. I diden. I was not ready to give ma’self peace tha way she did two months ago. Now I am. Tho I still have nowhere to go. So long terrible government workplace! I have struggled wit ya long enuf! I had fun fighting off yer inhabitants! It’s time to piss off other peepz!
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