Ika 3 ng Pebrero 2009: Chatterbox

On my way to work, I had second thoughts about getting off at the shuttle terminal seeing a long line of riders. I decided to get off because I have a headache and I want to sleep like a log on the way to the office. The vans came shortly. I was to take the next van. I was the last passenger to ride that van where the passengers sit facing each other, seven people on each side.

I noticed my neighbor who takes these vans occasionally seated diagonally across from me. I wanted to greet her but she didn't notice me as she was texting. I let it be.... I did not want to disturb the other riders... she was three persons away from me. Besides, I can't figure her out.....really. She would be chatty one time and snub me another time. I once rode the van and she and her husband were there. They didn't even say hello. Another thing........the few times we would talk, she would brag about her daughter who took up medicine in an expensive school, had her elementary and high school in an elitist school and that she passed the pre-med course licensure exam without review blah blah blah ....... boastful as my son would say but that's understandable because moms brag about their kids. But when she asked about my daughter who is taking the accelerated medicine program..... she would tell me that her daughter chose not to enroll in that program because ........ blah blah blah and made it appear that my daughter made a poor choice in availing the program (I am making faces as I am writing this and probably would have told her eat your heart out if I was in a fighting mood that time we talked).

My turn to brag now..... In the first place, the program my daughter is taking is invitational. One needs to be among the top 100 examinees to be invited. These 100 qualifiers will be further trimmed down to 40 after another hurdle. So you cannot choose not to enroll unless you were invited and after the passing the hurdle. I only know of two medical schools offering this program and I did not hear my neighbor say that her daughter qualified for any of these schools. Or was it that her daughter again chose not to apply in these schools. Anyway, this is not my point and it's not her daughter fault. I just don't think she has a right to imply that my daughter chose poorly.

This is also the reason why I want to avoid talking to her..... but today she chose me. I was positioning myself to sleep resting my head on the glass window when she called my name....... arrrrgh. Of course, I smiled and said hi. I asked why she is going to Makati (I wanted to kick my own ass for this) and that opened the floodgates. She would tell me about their business and her new sideline and how she wants to avoid stress because of her illness like we were beside each other. She was like delivering an extemporaneous speech as she would continue talking about her medical history, diagnosis, and management for the entire trip. I was glancing at her seatmate who was trying to sleep and scratching her ear as she chattered away. My eyes was dropping and I envied the five people in front of me who were all dozing off except for the bothered seatmate of my neighbor. I was a mere listener, only nodding to acknowledge that I understood what she was saying although I did not. I did not want the conversation to continue but she found a way to prolong it. Occasionally she asked about my kids and I only give her what she asked, nothing more hoping that would end our talk. I was actually embarrassed that we were talking when everyone was trying to sleep.

It was a relief when she got off at the first disembarkation point. I tried to get a few winks with the time left of the trip..... no luck. I can't anymore! People were getting off. As we reached the corner of Ayala and Buendia, traffic was bad. This has been the case since they rerouted public utility vehicles to turn at Buendia instead of Dela Costa. I got off and headed to my office.

So I was off to the office with a big headache. That sleep could have been used to rest my mind and I could do a whole lot more. But I cannot be a bad neighbor to a not so good neighbor. Probably, my mentholated Chinese medicine could work wonders for my head.

PS: Sa isang linggo pala ay finals week na namin sa eskwelahan. Di ko napapansin ang paglipas ng panahon. Gawaan na naman ng exam at grades. Kailangan magpursige..........