Series of Unfortunate Events

It was really not a normal day, for me, last Wednesday. First, I woke up early than my normal waking hour of past 10am as I had to cover a forum at 10:30 at Abuhan Dos.

Before I came out of the house my ma texted me to inform me she admitted my younger sister to the hospital. They came there only to have her checked her asthma, which for the last several days had enjoyed its stay in my sis’ already-weak lungs, however, her doc advised her to stay for a night as there were some medical check-ups she had to undergo.

Hospital is the last place I want to spend even a single minute. If I can spend the entire day marveling at the sight of public cemeteries with their old tombstones and unattended human bones, hospital is a spirit-draining place, to me.

Well anyway, I did not go there that day, I did not have to, but even with that, still I was already feeling weak. I worry too much, that’s why.

I've actually sent some cash in case. It was actually there where I had my first encounter with Count Olaf.

I was at the ATM, where there were about 7 or so people in queue. It was already few minutes before 10 and my ma was also in hurry to get back to the hospital where she left my sis alone. So my ma appealed to those people in queue that I came next to the one who was at the booth. The power of that "emergency" word got me nearest to the ATM. And when it was my turn, for the first time in the history of my using the ATM, my card was captured! I think eveyone there was cursing under his breath.

Luckily, there were already people inside the bank. Minutes later I was still able to get my card back and withdraw some cash. Whew!

At Abuhan Dos, I was already 30 minutes late and I thought the forum, Supreme Court Appointment Watch (for the next CJ), was already started but fortunately, or should I say unfortunately, most of the panelists were still not around and apart from myself no other media person was present. But they came in horde minutes later.

It was only over an hour later when they decided to finally open it and I was already hungry then since I only had milo for breakfast. It was already almost 12nn.

In fairness, the panelists, most of whom were lawyers, were giving us substantial information regarding the selection process. At least it was not a boring coverage.

And it was during the lunch when I met Count Olaf, I think his junior.

I was excited they would serve us pochero, Abuhan’s specialty, but only after like 30 minutes of waiting (we could not just go as it was very unethical considering most of the people stayed for lunch and we were really hungry)). And it was already almost 1pm! Grrr!

I don’t know what was with that day. All I knew it was not mine. I mean not the day, not the afternoon, not even the night!

In the afternoon, I was using our copy ed's computer to check my mails in the internet as the one designated for the reporters was used by another reporter. The editors then were having a meeting when suddenly our eic appeared at my back and slapped me! Well, not really. But it was more than a slapping he gave me. He actually told me, within everyone’s earshot, why I was “there” when I shouldn’t be there! Then he left.

Two reporters, Ryan and Gary Lao, who were then in the newsroom were actually laughing. They, like most of the people there, knew that I was our eic’s most favorite person. It was the third time he did it to me, the first time I hated him, the next I cried and this latest insult I just laughed. I don’t know why he LOVES me so much. There were so many reporters using that particular computer and they never receive any LOVING insults from him. Why?!!

Back to that scene, so I stood up to leave, and bought burgers and coke outside, with Jasmin and our ever understanding and friendly copy ed about it. He, too, was actually told by no less than that loving eic why he allowed me to use his pc. This copy ed did not actually know someone was using his pc, and if he did he would not have even cared as it was open for everybody. Or the management could have advised everyone to lock up his pc to avoid other people from using it!

Eic forgotten. I was on my way to a gathering of fellow court beat reporters in Pizza Collection, in Ranudo St. (?). It was actually a send off party for GN of SSC, who was soon leaving for a better career.

I was riding a PUJ when my phone beeped. A text message from Malou Tabar read they were already there. So I replied, said: “I’m on my way.” Put the phone back to my sling bag and looked outside the jeep, which during this time had stopped to take a passenger. Then when I looked back, just a minute or less after I last touched my phone, my sling bag was already opened. I knew right then and there something was missing. And when I checked it was my 6510 cellphone. Not the latest model but the only one I got.

I saw a woman, who was then beside me now disembarked from the jeep, walking away while the jeep was increasing its speed. Although I was already resigned to the fact that my almost 2-year-old phone was lost, I still wanted to confront the suspect. So I said “para” and jumped out from the PUJ to run after that woman.

It was just a minute or so but the woman was already gone. I walked some meters searching for that woman, looked for corners where she could possibly be hiding. I even went to the extent of going to a “compound” hoping she was somewhere there hiding, but, of course, she was smarter than me. She was Count Olaf's cohort, by the way.

Hey! It was not that I wanted to have my phone back badly (well, partly as I could not, as of the moment or anymore, afford to buy a new one) but I wanted to give a “good fight” for it. I felt stupid for losing it that way (well, it’s more stupid leaving behind a phone or any valuable at a phone booth or any public place, I mean, hey!)

The only consolation I got there, or I forced myself to be consoled so I could bear the thought of being phoneless, was that that woman would have something to buy for her kids or whatever using my phone. That is if she could sell it for a thousand, which I believe is unlikely knowing that that phone was already dying. Hehehe!

Realizing that the fight was futile, actually the realization already hit me when I found out that the phone was no longer in my bag, and that I was in a place where I could get held-up any moment as it was not well-lighted (glad my wits was back at this time) so I hailed a PUJ. This is a manifestation of how poor I am. Don't worry I'm not blaming our government.

I was almost at the meeting place. I sort of knew where it was but my guardian angel was probably somewhere (definitely not beside me) when I found myself already seeing Robinson’s building when I was supposed to have alighted from the jeepney several meters away as the Pizza Collection was near Velez College. Luck at this time was having a Count Olaf-sponsored date with my guardian angel.

Needless to say, I walked several meters to that pizza resto (imagine the walk I made, from Robi to Ranud St.!).

If there was any consolation in this unforgettable event, it was the carbonara. Of course, there was pizza there, we actually had 2 orders of it, spaghetti, and other yummy pasta, and coke (I had 2 big bottles of it and everyone was really supportive) but this blog is strictly for unfortunate events.

It was already past 10 when we left the place. We were almost inside the car on our way to a wine shop when one of the resto’s waitresses holding a black jacket called our attention. It was my jacket she was holding. Glad we were seconds late or I could have lost my favorite jacket, the same night I lost my only phone. That was fortunate but everyone there was already teasing me for my you-know-what, and I felt like pulling my hair for being so.

At The Wine Shop. Well, no unfortunate event took place except that we went home at almost 3 in the morning. I actually had too much of KNR’s non-stop talk, 99 percent of which was in English, about our job, his guns, his P5K flashlight, which except for its price is nothing special (well, save for its “special” battery, which, he said, costs P500 but only lasts for an hour). He confessed being stupid anyway. But he never knows (or cares) if he’s one hell of a hambug.

So at past 3am J dropped me at my place.

All the events that took place that day were forgotten (well, temporarily) as I felt strange while I was inside our payag. My sis, with my ma, was spending a night in the hospital so I was alone in our room. And the room was what it was when I left it, very messed up! Yeah, my sis does all the cleaning/arranging that is why I never want to have my own room (as if there’s an extra one). Honestly, it is because we have to watch each other during the night, we are both asthmatic.

That night was really empty. The previous nights I could not sleep because of my sis’ constant wheezing and coughing, so I had to regularly check if she was okay and all until she fell asleep. I even made "pik-pik" to her back like what our ma usually does when we're having cough. Sweet me? I don’t think so. We are not actually close, but then she’s my sister and I care for my family members more than anything else in this world. I should be whipped for being away the entire night! But that was very seldom.

So that night I slept alone. But no longer tonight bec she’s already back!