I have said before that life in the desert is harsh; and to survive you have to do something to keep your mind and body busy, whatever that means. Joining communities' helps, what I mean by communities is by networking, meeting with other Pinoys, joining organizations, and joining gatherings like birthdays etc. When these are not enough, Pinoy overseas can splurge on phone calls to their love ones back home. And when these are not enough, the Darwinian principle comes in, i.e. natural selection, and only the fittest survives.
Way back, when I was barely two months here, I met John; he was here for nearly 15 years. What I noticed about him was that…when we talk, he would really talk himself out…as in, hehehe, he would talk non-stop about many things and about everything. He would talk like he has nobody to talk to/with for a hundred years. I had difficulty telling him, OK, let's finish this…I don’t need to know those things… why the hell are you telling me these?....so somehow, not to offend him, I let myself subjected to "oral and ear torture" listening to all his crap, whatever that means. He, sometimes, would “hijack” me for a short talk…errr for a really long winded talk, hehehe. He was, I guess, gone (slipped?) by 10%.
And there are variations of these, there are those that are seeking company and friendships, "just friendship", I suppose. Like my housemates friend, this guy would not miss to visit, just for the sake of visiting him, every Friday. The truth is, even if my house mate is not here as he would be away until end of January next year for a vacation in the Philippines, this guy, I am sure, would not miss a Friday to visit our flat – even just to sit in our living room. Why? because last year, when my housemate was away for a vacation, he did not miss a Friday visit. He was, I guess, gone (slipped?) by 5%.
Another variation I heard was that, there's this guy, who would pack his bag every Friday, and tell everyone on his barracks that he is going to take the Philtranco Bus to visit his family….duh!...and so his barracks mates would follow him and bring him back to the barracks….knowing that by Saturday…that guy would be "normal again". They call it….the Friday sickness, whatever that means, hehehehe. This one, I guess, is gone (slipped?) by 20%.
Of my nearly two years here, I have met a lot of types similar to John. I just tell myself, goodness, he is gone by 10%, or ….oh my…that guy is gone by 30%, hehehehe. The severity of the symptoms that I observed, the higher the ratings I give. I give the highest to those that can't hold or focus beyond 5 minutes on a topic or those who don't pause for a minute to say, hmmm…which for me, is a confirmation that somehow, he's condition is not yet at "emergency level".
Way back, when I was barely two months here, I met John; he was here for nearly 15 years. What I noticed about him was that…when we talk, he would really talk himself out…as in, hehehe, he would talk non-stop about many things and about everything. He would talk like he has nobody to talk to/with for a hundred years. I had difficulty telling him, OK, let's finish this…I don’t need to know those things… why the hell are you telling me these?....so somehow, not to offend him, I let myself subjected to "oral and ear torture" listening to all his crap, whatever that means. He, sometimes, would “hijack” me for a short talk…errr for a really long winded talk, hehehe. He was, I guess, gone (slipped?) by 10%.
And there are variations of these, there are those that are seeking company and friendships, "just friendship", I suppose. Like my housemates friend, this guy would not miss to visit, just for the sake of visiting him, every Friday. The truth is, even if my house mate is not here as he would be away until end of January next year for a vacation in the Philippines, this guy, I am sure, would not miss a Friday to visit our flat – even just to sit in our living room. Why? because last year, when my housemate was away for a vacation, he did not miss a Friday visit. He was, I guess, gone (slipped?) by 5%.
Another variation I heard was that, there's this guy, who would pack his bag every Friday, and tell everyone on his barracks that he is going to take the Philtranco Bus to visit his family….duh!...and so his barracks mates would follow him and bring him back to the barracks….knowing that by Saturday…that guy would be "normal again". They call it….the Friday sickness, whatever that means, hehehehe. This one, I guess, is gone (slipped?) by 20%.
Of my nearly two years here, I have met a lot of types similar to John. I just tell myself, goodness, he is gone by 10%, or ….oh my…that guy is gone by 30%, hehehehe. The severity of the symptoms that I observed, the higher the ratings I give. I give the highest to those that can't hold or focus beyond 5 minutes on a topic or those who don't pause for a minute to say, hmmm…which for me, is a confirmation that somehow, he's condition is not yet at "emergency level".
Being here for nearly two years now, I just hope I haven't gotten the Friday symptoms yet. I am glad I got a blog to spend my Friday mornings with…..hay.
=========
For those who have husbands, wife, daughter, brother or sister here…..please take care of that money they send you…..pero kong ala kayong kaluluwa, hehehehe, splurge on it, and bully them here to so send you more.
Cia….merry Christmas na lang.
=========
For those who have husbands, wife, daughter, brother or sister here…..please take care of that money they send you…..pero kong ala kayong kaluluwa, hehehehe, splurge on it, and bully them here to so send you more.
Cia….merry Christmas na lang.