Patience Comes to Those who Wait
This is a true story, told from my own perspective.
It was a Monday...or was it a Thursday? Either way, my first class would start at 8:30am. I got up from bed and turned to the small device on the bedside dresser that I rightfully accuse of waking me up. It was my cellphone, set to alarm at 5:00am to give me a headstart since I take at least two hours to finish my morning rituals, and at least an hour and a half to go to school. I pushed the "Stop" button, shutting the little culprit up. I know that most people would have expected me to say that I pushed the "Snooze" button, but I know that THAT is NOT a good habit.
Anyway, I turned to see my real alarm clock, which was a minute later than my cellphone's time. Yes, it was one minute later than...
...cellph...
...eyes...getting heavy...
...everything...getting dark...
...have to...
...go back to...
...sleep...
Anyway, looking back as I write this, I think it was really unnecessary for you to read that part. So I guess I'll just tell you in passing that I did wake up a minute later when my real alarm clock rang, went on with my morning rituals, got changed, and left the house at 7:00am.
I live in a village inside a golf course country club (and I don't play golf, by the way). So you can only imagine the distance I would have to travel just to get past the golf course's gate. Luckily, the fusion of brilliant minds and modern technology had given birth to the village service, which I can take to traverse the entire length in a matter of minutes.
Inside the service, I spied with my little eye a male student in a white Polo shirt and black slacks for a school uniform. Probably a student from UST (University of Santo Tomas). He was fervently reading a novel, the title of which I failed to catch. But I do remember that the novel's cover had the image of a man and a woman with their arms around each other and their smiling faces so close together that their noses touched. Now, before you start asking me why I'm telling you all this, I want to tell you ahead of time that I can't answer that question yet. Personally, I wouldn't care about such details myself but in this case, those details would be important for the story later on. Just chill for a while.
After the service unloaded us at the country club gate, I rode the jeepney that had the "Cubao" sign. That's the one that would take me to another stop, where I would have to ride another jeepney to go to school. It's a hassle, I know. But I'm used to it.
Inside the jeepney, I couldn't help but notice that the same man I saw in the service was there inside the jeepney with me. He was still absorbed in the book. The only moment his eyes looked away from its pages was the time he decided to pay the driver. Since he was too far away from the driver's seat, I had to pass his payment to the driver.
Now, as you might've guessed by now, I'm not happy with the whole idea of waking up early. So I snatch naps wherever and whenever I can - that means inside the jeep, too. The heavy traffic brought: (1) bad news - I was going to be late - and (2) good news - I got to sleep longer. Novel-guy, apparently not as sleepy as I was, seemed to take the bad news seriously. So, when we passed the first junction, where we barely moved for ten or twenty minutes (or thirty? I couldn't tell, I was half-asleep), he left the jeepney and walked away...probably to get as far in front of the traffic jam as possible, and then ride another jeepney that would take him to his destination.
I remember thinking to myself amidst my dream sequences, of which I remember nothing, how hard it would be for Novel-guy to get a ride if he really was a UST student. In order to get to UST, he would have to stop by the station of LRT (Light Rail Transit...I think) first. Now, to get to the LRT station, he would need to ride either "Cubao"-signed or "LRT"-signed Public Utility vehicles (PUV's). And from where he dropped off, it was very hard to get either. There is another way, albeit it's a more hassling and more expensive one: he would ride a "Tropical"-signed or "Sta.Lucia"-signed jeepney and drop off at Sta.Lucia Mall, from where it would be slightly easier (but only slightly) to ride "Cubao" or "LRT" PUV's. But, judging from the traffic conditions, I thought the hard way was the most likely course that he would take.
Up to this day, I am still puzzled as to how I managed to think about all that while half-asleep. But I was sure that I was asleep because I woke up later on, when the jeepney I was riding started moving faster. We passed the heavy traffic at last. The jeepney passed by Sta.Lucia Mall, where I presumed Novel-guy dropped off before getting a ride to the LRT station. When we passed by the mall, one more passenger got on board. Just one. A male student in a white Polo shirt and black slacks for a school uniform. Probably a student from UST. He was fervently reading a novel, and its cover had the image of a man and a woman with their arms around each other and their smiling faces so close together that their noses touched.
Lo and behold, it was Novel-guy.
"Bayad po." ("Here's my payment." in English), he said as he extended his hand to give his payment. Since he was too far from the driver's seat, I had to pass his payment to the driver. His eyes fell upon my face, and then his expression changed to incredulity. He looked around the jeepney and I could see the other passengers' faces, as if saying "Yes, this is the same jeepney you left earlier!"
Truly, patience comes to those who wait.
And in case you haven't noticed, the statement "patience comes to those who wait" is not only redundant, it's stupid.
And for those who noticed that it is, you've probably read through the entire story just to find out what the seemingly nonsensical statement means. Congratulations you've made it this far. The statement is actually a play on a message: If you're not a patient person, and you've made it this far just to find out the meaning of that statement, then you are now.
It was a Monday...or was it a Thursday? Either way, my first class would start at 8:30am. I got up from bed and turned to the small device on the bedside dresser that I rightfully accuse of waking me up. It was my cellphone, set to alarm at 5:00am to give me a headstart since I take at least two hours to finish my morning rituals, and at least an hour and a half to go to school. I pushed the "Stop" button, shutting the little culprit up. I know that most people would have expected me to say that I pushed the "Snooze" button, but I know that THAT is NOT a good habit.
Anyway, I turned to see my real alarm clock, which was a minute later than my cellphone's time. Yes, it was one minute later than...
...cellph...
...eyes...getting heavy...
...everything...getting dark...
...have to...
...go back to...
...sleep...
Anyway, looking back as I write this, I think it was really unnecessary for you to read that part. So I guess I'll just tell you in passing that I did wake up a minute later when my real alarm clock rang, went on with my morning rituals, got changed, and left the house at 7:00am.
I live in a village inside a golf course country club (and I don't play golf, by the way). So you can only imagine the distance I would have to travel just to get past the golf course's gate. Luckily, the fusion of brilliant minds and modern technology had given birth to the village service, which I can take to traverse the entire length in a matter of minutes.
Inside the service, I spied with my little eye a male student in a white Polo shirt and black slacks for a school uniform. Probably a student from UST (University of Santo Tomas). He was fervently reading a novel, the title of which I failed to catch. But I do remember that the novel's cover had the image of a man and a woman with their arms around each other and their smiling faces so close together that their noses touched. Now, before you start asking me why I'm telling you all this, I want to tell you ahead of time that I can't answer that question yet. Personally, I wouldn't care about such details myself but in this case, those details would be important for the story later on. Just chill for a while.
After the service unloaded us at the country club gate, I rode the jeepney that had the "Cubao" sign. That's the one that would take me to another stop, where I would have to ride another jeepney to go to school. It's a hassle, I know. But I'm used to it.
Inside the jeepney, I couldn't help but notice that the same man I saw in the service was there inside the jeepney with me. He was still absorbed in the book. The only moment his eyes looked away from its pages was the time he decided to pay the driver. Since he was too far away from the driver's seat, I had to pass his payment to the driver.
Now, as you might've guessed by now, I'm not happy with the whole idea of waking up early. So I snatch naps wherever and whenever I can - that means inside the jeep, too. The heavy traffic brought: (1) bad news - I was going to be late - and (2) good news - I got to sleep longer. Novel-guy, apparently not as sleepy as I was, seemed to take the bad news seriously. So, when we passed the first junction, where we barely moved for ten or twenty minutes (or thirty? I couldn't tell, I was half-asleep), he left the jeepney and walked away...probably to get as far in front of the traffic jam as possible, and then ride another jeepney that would take him to his destination.
I remember thinking to myself amidst my dream sequences, of which I remember nothing, how hard it would be for Novel-guy to get a ride if he really was a UST student. In order to get to UST, he would have to stop by the station of LRT (Light Rail Transit...I think) first. Now, to get to the LRT station, he would need to ride either "Cubao"-signed or "LRT"-signed Public Utility vehicles (PUV's). And from where he dropped off, it was very hard to get either. There is another way, albeit it's a more hassling and more expensive one: he would ride a "Tropical"-signed or "Sta.Lucia"-signed jeepney and drop off at Sta.Lucia Mall, from where it would be slightly easier (but only slightly) to ride "Cubao" or "LRT" PUV's. But, judging from the traffic conditions, I thought the hard way was the most likely course that he would take.
Up to this day, I am still puzzled as to how I managed to think about all that while half-asleep. But I was sure that I was asleep because I woke up later on, when the jeepney I was riding started moving faster. We passed the heavy traffic at last. The jeepney passed by Sta.Lucia Mall, where I presumed Novel-guy dropped off before getting a ride to the LRT station. When we passed by the mall, one more passenger got on board. Just one. A male student in a white Polo shirt and black slacks for a school uniform. Probably a student from UST. He was fervently reading a novel, and its cover had the image of a man and a woman with their arms around each other and their smiling faces so close together that their noses touched.
Lo and behold, it was Novel-guy.
"Bayad po." ("Here's my payment." in English), he said as he extended his hand to give his payment. Since he was too far from the driver's seat, I had to pass his payment to the driver. His eyes fell upon my face, and then his expression changed to incredulity. He looked around the jeepney and I could see the other passengers' faces, as if saying "Yes, this is the same jeepney you left earlier!"
Truly, patience comes to those who wait.
And in case you haven't noticed, the statement "patience comes to those who wait" is not only redundant, it's stupid.
And for those who noticed that it is, you've probably read through the entire story just to find out what the seemingly nonsensical statement means. Congratulations you've made it this far. The statement is actually a play on a message: If you're not a patient person, and you've made it this far just to find out the meaning of that statement, then you are now.
posted by Andre' Betita @ 10:08 PM
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