The Story Teller

Archive for January, 2012

As I was cleaning up the attic, I saw some of my old stuff and among them was my old organizer. My  old wallet, however, was no longer there. Several years ago, it was stolen, rather picked from my bag by a pick pocket while I was riding the train. Well, I wasn’t actually worried about the money for it only had a few bills inside, what worried me most besides my beloved SSS ID were my credit cards. If I had rfid at the time, I shouldn’t have worried much. But since I hadn’t, I did the best thing I could, I called the credit card company to report what had happened so that they could cancel the cards. Then, after a few days, I applied for a new SSS ID.

What a mess!

Lola (Grandmother) Dora lives alone in her small house in the province. It has been years since her grandson, Edgar, went to the city and except for occasional visits to her, preferred to stay in his apartment. So, Lola Dora was surprised when he suddenly came home without prior notice.

As was her usual way of handling things, she didn’t ask, instead she waited for the right time for the problem to reveal itself. However, in Edgar’s case, it seems like she would wait in vain. So, afternoon, as Edgar was lying on the old hammock between two mango trees, she took her broomstick but instead of cleaning the backyard, she stood beside the hammock and spoke.

“So, Edgar.. What can you say about that mango tree?”

Surprised, Edgar couldn’t answer right away but managed to say..

“Uhh.. It’s big..”

“Is that all?”

“Ahhh.. yes, I guess so” Edgar answered just to end the conversation.

He knew Lola Dora was onto something, but he was just not in shape to discuss about anything much less about an old mango tree. At this time, he was just simply not into anything. He was just fired from work for violating company rules, his girlfriend broke up with him when she found out he was cheating on her, his credit card debt was way up his head in addition to other bills he left unpaid.

“Well, that’s the problem with people. They only see what their eyes can reach but never what’s beyond. That mango is, you’re right, it’s big. But it’s also tall, it’s tough, it gives us shade when the sun is at its hottest, it gives us fruit, it clutters the ground every day with its leaves, it has broken branches and if you look close enough, you will see a name carved on it by a naughty boy using an old kitchen knife.”

At this, Edgar smiled genuinely..

“That mango tree is just like us, Edgar. We grow up, we grow old, we grow tough. Along the way, we meet people whom we help, we protect and we feel responsible for. But sometimes we messed things up. We might not like it sometimes but we affect other people’s lives and we hurt them even without meaning to. Then we felt broken and bruised. Sometimes, we feel altogether worthless. And the worst part, no matter what happens to us, whether we feel good or bad, the sun will rise in the morning and will set in the afternoon regardless of our worries. Time will pass by and seasons will change and there is nothing we can do but live one day at a time.

“But unlike that mango tree that bears fruits, and sheds leaves depending on the season, we have a choice. We can choose to be productive, we can choose to be happy as much as we can choose to be a bum and be miserable all our lives. The choice is ours and only ours to make..”

After that, Lola Dora started to sweep the ground. She never spoke again about the mango tree.

The following day, Edgar spent his time watching the mango tree. Lola Dora just watched from a distance and she felt that whatever was bothering her grandson will be dealt with soon.

In the morning, Edgar packed his bag and after giving Lola Dora a passionate hug, faced the problems he left behind.

Adapt vs. Adopt

Adapt means to adjust to

Example: When you work abroad, you have to adapt to the climate.

Adopt means to take as one’s own

Example: Call center agents with clients in America adopt the American accent.

I do not consider myself a zealot or something, but when it was time to enroll my eldest daughter to college, I decided to send her to the same school I went to and graduated from. For one, I am a product of that school, so I am confident about how she will turn out, and I guess I made the right decision. My daughter is doing fine there and I guess she is happy with her school, her choice of course and her new friends.

Moreover, the school has changed a lot since my time. The classrooms are air conditioned, the transactions are done online and I wouldn’t be surprised if they would have conferencing services in the future. Doesn’t that sound very nice?

Sarah and Mina are best friends since they were young. Though they don’t always agree on things, they are always able to reconcile their differences and work things out. They have different tastes on clothes, on books, on sports, on food and even on men. Obviously, what holds them together is their faith and love to each other.

One time, they talked about meeting at the mall on weekend to watch a movie. They simply agreed on the movie they were going to watch and the time they will watch it. The week went by and as they were both busy, they didn’t talk about it anymore. The weekend came and Sarah texted Mina about their plan to watch a movie. She got no reply. She dialed her friend’s number but it was out of reach. She looked at the clock, it was only two hours before their agreed time. Sarah couldn’t decide whether to go or not. But what if Mina goes? She doesn’t want to keep her friend waiting.

Reluctantly, Sarah got ready to leave. She called Mina’s number again but it was still out of reach. What if Mina forgot about their plans and is still sleeping with her cell phone off. She would look dumb waiting for someone who wouldn’t come. But Mina has never cancelled a date nor has she stood up anyone. Sarah left and went straight to the movie house.

There were so many people at the mall. Sarah couldn’t find Mina anywhere. She felt so stupid standing by the cinema entrance and looking everywhere for her friend. She felt so dumb for thinking that Mina would show up. Sarah was hurt. What kind of friend would be so inconsiderate. Sarah took a deep breath of regret. She shouldn’t have come.

Sarah was about to leave when she heard Mina’s voice..

“Hey, where are you going?” she asked.

“You’re here..”

“Of course, I’m here, we talked about it, right?”

“But why didn’t you text me?”

“Oh.. My cell phone was snatched last night”

“Oh, sorry about that.. What are those?” Sarah pointed at the plastic bag Mina was carrying.

“Snacks. I came here early. So, while I was waiting for you, I bought our tickets and got us some snacks from the supermarket. I got your favorite chips and iced tea..” answered Mina with a satisfied grin.

“Thank you..” Sarah felt ashamed of herself for thinking badly about her friend.

“Come on. Let’s go now so we can have the best seats..”

They went inside the movie house. When the movie was about to start, Sarah asked Mina..

“Didn’t you even think I might not show up?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to think that you would let me wait for no one..”

“But what if I didn’t show up? What would you think of me?”

“I would think that something bad had befallen you and that you might need my help…”

Sarah’s tears welled up and she embraced Mina, the best friend any one could ever have..

(Original story by the blog author. Any similarities with other stories, fiction or otherwise, are purely incidental.)

Seat vs Sit

Seat is a noun which means something to sit on

Example: You may take your seat.

Sit is a verb which means to rest with the body supported by the buttocks; to be seated

Example: Please, sit down.

Lose vs Loss

Lose is verb which means to misplace.

Example: Michael and Marlon always lose their marbles.

Loss is a noun which means something that was lost.

Example: It was his loss, not mine.

In line with my plans to offer Reading Tutorial at home, one of the things I’ve been thinking of is whether to include a washroom for the kids. But considering that they will only be here for one and a half hours, do I really need to? Besides, I already have a washroom adjacent to the kitchen, so I guess I can have them use that.

Maybe it’s a good idea to replace my current kitchen sink to double bowl undermount sink with the smaller bowl for the children to wash their hands in. Oh well, I know I’m getting too excited about this, but yes, I’m very excited about all this.

Late last year, I started including Correct Usage as a regular feature in this blog. That’s in addition to my stories which I post every Sunday. I just thought that other bloggers might learn a thing or two from my posts to improve their writing. At first, I thought other bloggers may find it so arrogant of me to think that I could teach them something, but then again, this is my blog and I could write anything I want as long as I don’t hurt anybody’s feelings, which,sadly, I already did.

So, I’m thinking whether to continue or not to continue posting Correct Usage. Personally, I want to continue posting them. If no one wants to read them, the least they can do is to scroll down and read on, right?

As I mentioned in my other blogs, I am planning to offer READING  tutorial in my house. Well, it doesn’t have to be a big one, a table and a few chairs will do. But of course, I would need a nice storage cabinet to put my teaching materials, my worksheets, crayons, pencils, flash cards and so on. Since my place is just a small one, I guess one will do.

If I will push through with my plans, I know I will be needing more than I have right now, but I guess I have to be patient. If I want to start now, I will start small. But if I don’t start now, I’m not sure if I will ever start at all.

I did it!

I mailed five of my short stories to the publication today. Honestly, I’m not very optimistic about it, I just feel happy and proud that I was able to overcome my fear. And though I’m not expecting much that my stories will be accepted and published, I guess it’s not very wrong to hope that somehow they will be. In case you’re interested to know which stories I submitted, they are:

The Miraculous Spring

The Greatest Amulet

The Laborers

The Millionaire

The Road to Immortality

I really wish they get published, if not, I think I’ll just read them over and over again here in my blog