The People You Bump Into

#215: When You're Ugly

Always look good. Because you might run into someone you wouldn't want to see you looking like a dish rag. I had a boss who always used to tell me this. I think I should remember to follow that more often.

Case 01:
Just got off the train. Looking like a hag. Tired. Can't be bothered to look decent. I just wanted to get home. Then someone crosses my field of vision. In that brief instant, there was recognition - in my head, probably across my face as well. It was her. The one before. And she was dressed in a nice blazer and a nice pair of pants. I must've looked like such a downgrade beside her. And my boss with angel wings while holding a pitch fork appeared on my shoulder. "What did I tell you? What do I keep on telling you about looking good???"

Case 02:
I promised myself I will look better today. Just before leaving the office, I re-touched my make-up and pulled my hair back nice and tight to look a little more polished and little less like shoe polish. I'm ready to run into anyone today. ANYONE. Then there he was, standing by the elevator doors. A hint of recognition lit up in my brain but I couldn't peg where he was from. He smiled as if expecting that I would naturally know him. Then as the elevator doors opened and he motioned for me to go in first, it hit me. It was the President of the company - of the Oceania region. Elevator pitch. Who are you? What do you do? What can you leave for him to remember you? Oh shoot. "Eherm... How are you doing?"
"Good, how about you?"
"Doing great...(awkward silence)... uhm.. I.. I'm an intern." (As if he asked.)
"Really? Under which department?" (He's probably thinking, we have interns??? That's OPEX!)
"Corporate strategy...."
"I see"
"I recognized you from the company newsletter"
"(Well you should because I'm only the President of this company.)" He nods.
Then we thankfully hit the ground floor. I give him a goodbye nod. (As if I really accomplished something by looking decent and engaging in an awkward exchange.) And I walk away thinking... thinking about how handy that advice was for today. I mean, if he won't remember me for being brilliant, at least he won't remember me for being such a dog.

I will always try to look good everyday.

Try.

Walk Me Home

#213: Turning to Mush

Walking Her Home
Mark Schultz

Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

Her dad said son
Have her home on time
And promise me you'll never leave her side
He took her to a show in town
And he was ten feet off the ground

(Chorus)
He was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled it stole the breath right out of him
Down that old road
With the stars up above
He remembers where he was the night he fell in love
He was walking her home

Ten more years and a waiting room
At half past one
And the doctor said come in and meet your son

His knees went weak
When he saw his wife
She was smiling as she said he's got your eyes

And as she slept he held her tight
His mind went back to that first night

(Chorus)

He walked her through the best days of her life
Sixty years together and he never left her side

A nursing home
At eighty-five
And the doctor said it could be her last night
And the nurse said Oh
Should we tell him now
Or should he wait until the morning to find out

But when they checked her room that night
He was laying by her side

Oh he was walking her home
And holding her hand
Oh the way she smiled when he said this is not the end
And just for a while they were eighteen
And she was still more beautiful to him than anything
He was walking her home
He was walking her home

Looking back
He sees it all
It was her first date the night he came to call

Three's Company

#212: Where are the Stooges?

Let me take a break from pretending that I am productive. I’d like to think I am but given my area of work now, I don’t know how productivity is measured. My phone never rings, I never attend meetings, I don’t solve problems or tackle issues. I just sit, research, and try (maybe in vain) to make sense of all the information I’m ingesting. Sometimes, I think I need a bigger brain. But then that would require a bigger head… which is not good to have at all.

I have 3 friends here at work. (It’s my third week. Give me a break. 1 friend a week should be good enough.) One is Gabby – a Filipino, 42 years old, who has worked with Nestle for the past 5 years or so. He has four kids. How someone can have four kids in a country without maids is beyond me. He's warm and welcoming. Very enthusiastic about introducing me to other Filipinos (who always seem un-enthusiastic about having "another one" squeeze into their comfy spot in this company. Or this country.)

The other one is Janet. She’s my table-mate – the one who gets asked where the photocopier is, where the printer is, where the supplies are, if I can borrow her stapler, ruler or red pen. She’s Chinese and very patient. With me, that is. (In my life here in Sydney, I’ve gotten by with a lot of help from patient people.) She’s engaged too. I know because her left side faces me and her rock sends blinding flashes my way.

The third one is Janet. Too. It seems like the department can’t have enough Janets. She’s Chinese. Too. She’s a quirky girl who actually worked a string of odd jobs while doing her undergrad because her parents can only provide for her tuition – not for her living expenses. (What good is education if the person is dead? Well, that’s what I would have told my parents if they tried to do it that way with me too.) But I think that’s a good deal. She got to be very streetsmart and resourceful. She washed hundreds and hundreds of dishes a day at a Chinese restaurant that paid her less than minimum wage. She was then promoted to slicing veggies. I am amazed at her humility and her willingness to “sweat” for stuff. Not many people her age – or our age would want to touch anything blue collar. Now she’s one of the golden girls in Finance going through the company’s graduate traineeship program. She has tried coming to work wearing wigs and weird contacts, bubble skirts with boots – to her boss’s horror, but because of her attitude: that healthy mix of light-heartedness and perseverance, she’s one of those people you look at and say, “She’s gonna be the head of this department someday.

When the day is unproductive, the commute is draining and the future is unclear, I know that there are three good reasons to still be thankful for the workday.