Nine morning has started today but I was too lazy to attend my used-to-be devotion. I have attended at least three Christmas parties to date. Streets were well-lit with Christmas lights and everyone is greeting me “Happy Holidays!”. Everyone must have felt the spirit of Christmas. Everyone but me.
As early as September, mendicants have turned into jeepney carolers. They start their spiel with “Sir, Ma'am, ayaw intawn mo og kahadlok. Dili mi snatcher, manaygon lang mi.” Assuring jeepney commuters that they are harmless. And then their chorus goes, “Pasko, (singko), Pasko, (cuatro), Pasko, (singko), nanaman muli..” The first time I heard the altered lyrics of the immortal Christmas Carol made me chuckle. Pinoys always find a way to humor poverty.
Before November ended, a slight commotion rocked our peaceful office. A lady, in her thirties, rushed through our Front desk. She inquired about the 200 applications submitted by her friend. She was hysterical, insistent and offensive. She only identified herself as someone who works from Citibank. The front desk in charge was clueless, hence made a call with recruitment. Inay, my officemate, picked up the call. Puzzling pieces of their conversation went like this:
Inay: You're inquiring about the 200 applications?
Lady: Ayaw'g pagtanga-tanga. Gi-haguan baya to sa akong amiga.
Inay: I'm sorry, Ma'am but I think you're barking at the wrong tree.
Lady: Unsa'y bark? Dili ko iro. Iro ra ang mo bark!
Then their argument led to the other. Then the lady ran off the office. The guard chased her all the way down to the ground floor (We're on the third floor). The chase led to a trail of ogling eyes of shoppers. Eventually she was caught right and is now banned within the mall premise. Mentally disturbed? -- Could be. Con-artist? -- Perhaps. With the Yuletide season, anyone can do anything nowadays.
Earlier this month, on his way to work, an ex-officemate of mine was riding a taxi. He felt weird looking at the unfamiliar route the driver has taken. On a dark alley near Chong Hua Hospital, the taxi stopped, poked a knife at him and declared a hold-up. He was rattled, his voice was shaking and he pleaded, “Kuya, cellphone lang sa ang kuha-a. 200 pesos ra jud ang sulod sa akong pitaka kay tingbitay. Kung gusto ka, inig petsa 15 na lang kay sweldo man namo. Ikaw bitaw nagkuha nako, so katultol jud ka sa among balay.”
With these incidents happening everyday, I guess the times are changing. If Christmas means giving in to jeepney carolers, to con-artists, taxi hold-ups, then I guess, the spirit of Christmas is already here. Afterall, Christmas is still a spirit of giving.
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