I spent the whole day in TriNoma today. Alone. I was supposed to meet up with my Oral Comm. groupmates but Quimbo couldn't go because he was sick and Jonah's hanging out with her mom. It was really no problem for me to wait for my brother until 4pm because I bought a new book. I sat in the LandMark food court (I was trying to hide from my brother and his friends. LandMark was the safest place I could go. Hehe.) and read for 4 and 1/2 hours straight. See, I could survive in situations like this one. All I need is a good book and an endless supply of water. Or food.
Anyway, I've realized how selfish and lucky I am. There's this old man outside UERM that fixes shoes for a living. And, I couldn't fathom why my dad would always insist on bringing him our broken shoes instead of Mr. Quicky. I found out today that Manong manually sews the shoes he fixes. One time, he repaired one of my shoes and one of Yo's rubbershoes. Do you know how much he asked for both of our shoes? Freakin' 20 pesos! God. My heart was so overcomed with pity that I demanded if my dad gave him a tip or something. (My dad said he did give Manong a tip. Hehe.) I also found out today that he couldn't read and he couldn't write. I asked my dad how'd he know an information like that. He told me that whenever someone asks Manong how much they're supposed to pay him, Manong would get a notebook where some numbers were written and point at it. He couldn't say how much. He doesn't know how to read it. He just knows the numbers or the color of the money he's supposed to receive. It may seem that I'm overreacting or something but, man, my heart broke into a million pieces. My throat got tight and I felt this pity and, somehow, amazement and pride too.
I begun to realize how self-centered and how blessed and fortunate I was. Look at me, I know how to read. Some people envy my collection of books. I would ask my mom or dad to buy me a book and that's that! I could freakin' read. I don't even have to work or do extra jobs. Look at how lucky I am. And look at how ungrateful I am. I always rant. I take everything for granted. I could repay my parents by studying hard and making extra efforts in my studies. But, look at what I'm doing. God. I'm such a selfish and unappreciative bitch. I want to choke myself.
I told my parents to always give Manong a tip and on special occassions, they should give him gifts too. God, the man is working really hard. What troubles me more's the fact that some people might abuse Manong's no-read-no-write situation. They might give him less money for the job he's doing well. If that happens, I hope those motherfucking bastards rot in hell.
Anyway, I've realized how selfish and lucky I am. There's this old man outside UERM that fixes shoes for a living. And, I couldn't fathom why my dad would always insist on bringing him our broken shoes instead of Mr. Quicky. I found out today that Manong manually sews the shoes he fixes. One time, he repaired one of my shoes and one of Yo's rubbershoes. Do you know how much he asked for both of our shoes? Freakin' 20 pesos! God. My heart was so overcomed with pity that I demanded if my dad gave him a tip or something. (My dad said he did give Manong a tip. Hehe.) I also found out today that he couldn't read and he couldn't write. I asked my dad how'd he know an information like that. He told me that whenever someone asks Manong how much they're supposed to pay him, Manong would get a notebook where some numbers were written and point at it. He couldn't say how much. He doesn't know how to read it. He just knows the numbers or the color of the money he's supposed to receive. It may seem that I'm overreacting or something but, man, my heart broke into a million pieces. My throat got tight and I felt this pity and, somehow, amazement and pride too.
I begun to realize how self-centered and how blessed and fortunate I was. Look at me, I know how to read. Some people envy my collection of books. I would ask my mom or dad to buy me a book and that's that! I could freakin' read. I don't even have to work or do extra jobs. Look at how lucky I am. And look at how ungrateful I am. I always rant. I take everything for granted. I could repay my parents by studying hard and making extra efforts in my studies. But, look at what I'm doing. God. I'm such a selfish and unappreciative bitch. I want to choke myself.
I told my parents to always give Manong a tip and on special occassions, they should give him gifts too. God, the man is working really hard. What troubles me more's the fact that some people might abuse Manong's no-read-no-write situation. They might give him less money for the job he's doing well. If that happens, I hope those motherfucking bastards rot in hell.
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