A Hodgepodge of Memories

I was recently tagged by Misterhubs, and I’m supposed to do an article on my funniest childhood memory. I couldn't quite decide on writing about a particular incident, so I just listed a jumble of memories that I thought showed my personality as a kid.

How I thought some phrases meant when I was a child:

Dressed chicken- a chicken with clothes.

True-to-life story- the actor dies for real, but how come Lorna Tolentino is still alive, promoting the movie? I wondered.

Legal dictionary- I thought that all other dictionaries were “illegally printed”.

Not for Hire- akala ko Not for Here, e kung hindi yun para dito, para saan?

Reg. Phil. Pat. Off on Coca Cola bottles- I thought was someone’s name.

I learned the words Mystique, invulnerable, and sinister quite early- I collected trading cards. I would save my P5 baon by walking to school, not taking my snack, and later savoring the moment as I ripped the plastic cover of assorted trading cards. Totally worth it!

Prayed really hard so I could win the school supplies raffle (a watercolor set), and was mad at God for a week because He let somebody else win.

I thought Lilet was pretty and would watch That’s Entertainment to see fans put flowers on their favorite stars. I pitied her because her braces looked like a torture device; I swear I saw her mouth bleed once.

At around 8 years old, I lectured our 9 yr old neighbor's kid on proper manners, because she always annoys me when she comes over our house and eats our food. I put matters to my own hands, much to my mom’s dismay. I pulled the kid aside one afternoon, and in our front yard, I dramatically revealed all my grievances, Cherie Gil-style.

I thought eating balot was cruel. I pitied the tiny chick so I only ate the yolk

I would cover my eyes when there were kissing scenes on tv, but in my teens, I actually snuck inside a movie theater showing an R18 movie.

There was a fire near our house in Proj 6 when I was 7 years old and Nanay pulled my brother and me to safety. A block from our house, I trudged reluctantly because I was mad at Nanay for not giving me time to look for my slippers. I thought: how embarrassing to be walking around with no slippers!

I was afraid of Bella Flores.

I cried at this pic of mama with a sea on the background because I thought she was leaving, and I was sad.

I cried at an open forum during homeroom when I told my classmates that my bestfriend Nathan had started hanging out with other kids and he was “slipping away”.

Hmm quite the drama queen from way back when, haha! I see most bloggers have been tagged already.. I'm gonna choose Mink, Joel, and Mark, my friend & online crush hehe ; )

Ghosts

“Kei, I’m leaving.”
“What?! Are you serious?”
“I’m about to go to the 11th floor to submit my resignation letter, my badge, and my keys.” I said. I replaced the receiver and stared for a moment at my PC. My desk was clean and starkly devoid of mementos. I had placed them earlier in a paper bag- the mug that Jigger gave, my plaques, and pictures of me and my team. I was ready.

I informed my team of my decision the day before. I took them off the phones by fives, and inside the conference room, I informed them. “Boss, shocking naman. What’s wrong?” A few of the girls started crying and I was trying to control myself. “This is a great place to work”, I began, “but I feel that it’s time for me to move on.” Gosh, I never thought those clowns really cared that much about me.

My team and I have been through a lot. There were forty teams in the US Market, my team was the 39th team to be formed. After a year and a half of training and mentoring, bad shifts, and firing 32 people along the way- we finally reached top six, beating much more tenured teams. I was proud of what we have accomplished, but despite of that I had started to feel the monotony of the job. I applied for Assistant Call Center Manager, but like the 11 other applicants we were turned down. It’s either I move up or move out, I thought.

I’ve thought about it a hundred times, on whether I should leave or stick around (in fact, it was the favorite topic of my fellow managers). I was sure, I was on the right track, but as I rose from my seat and walked towards my colleagues to say my goodbyes, I felt a twinge of doubt and a tear forming in the corner of my eye.

I sent my final email to the management group, before proceeding to HR. After surrendering my badge and keys, I was free. I turned as I approached the glass doors, and looked for the last time. The entire floor was buzzing; CSRs were clapping for assistance while supervisors hurried to assist. I saw one of my friends coaching her CSR and I felt a tug at my heart- I’m going to miss all that. Coaching sessions, team buildings, breakfast with friends at Deli France.. I saw myself as a CSR, years before being promoted, and remembered the time I almost got fired. I saw my first American boss who pushed for my promotion to Team Manager, and I saw the faces of my CSRs..

With my things in hand, I took a deep breath, walked into the waiting elevator, and watched as the doors slowly closed.