Bad Luck Comes in Threes or Fours or Fives

It was a rainy morning today so I wasn't able to jog. No biggie. Not feeling any pressure to get up, I just reached for my tablet and checked stuff online. Then, I did my usual morning stuff: emptied the kitty litter, picked up dog poo, took a bath, cooked breakfast, and planned what to do today. I resolved to have my PRC license renewed and to follow up my readmission status of my MA studies in the university. Very simple plans, eh? Too bad they didn't work out.

Around 10AM, I changed clothes: picked up a shirt, underwear, a comfy walking shorts and flip-flops. I was debating with myself if I would bring my tablet--I thought that if I did, I would have to bring a bag. I don't trust Manila area at all. So the idea of just casually carrying the gadget to be seen by people on the streets was out of the question. I thought I would carry an umbrella since it's drizzling anyway, so a bag indeed would be good to bring to Morayta. But then, I wanted to just travel light; so I brought a book and an umbrella and hailed a cab.

Along Aurora Boulevard, the traffic started becoming worse. The trip which could be taken in less than 30 minutes took more than an hour long because of the awful traffic near Morayta. I tried to ignore the traffic by reading the novel I brought with me, but I began to feel impatient seeing how slow the flow of traffic was. By the time the cab reached PRC, I was already tired; I paid the P160 fare and dodged the fixers and those who were forcing me to avail of their photography services. I was planning to get the Express ID option, which means that my photo would be taken in the PRC offices.

When I reached the end of the queue outside the gate, I was happy that the line at the entrance wasn't long. I thought, whew, at least this process wouldn't take long.  Suddenly, I noticed that the lady guard was smiling sheepishly at me. What the hell, I thought. Is my fly open? I checked. Fly's closed. Couldn't be it. Then, she started tapping the sign beside her: (paraphrasing the sign) Pinagbabawal ang pumasok sa loob ng PRC ang mga taong naka: sando, shorts, slippers.

Oh Fuck. I thought, I violated two of the three things in the dress code. What the hell was I thinking? Going to a government office in tsinelas and shorts... Argh.

Good thing I quickly found another cab. I told him where I live. He didn't say anything. The red light was on and I was just amused at how thoughtless my plan was. I didn't even research about the requirements for the license renewal. I fished my 3G enabled phone from my pocket and hoped that at least I could check-in the event through foursquare app... and eventually research what I should do to prepare better the next time I go to PRC. And just when I needed it the most, the 3G was down. Damn you, SMART. I tried going Airplane Mode, resetting my phone, turning on and off the 3G, but the damn 3G wouldn't work. Downtime, I surmised. Fine, universe, have it your way.

I went home and took a nap. It was noon. I set the alarm to ring at 1PM so that I could go straight to the UP Diliman and hopefully finish my readmission process. And still Lady Luck wasn't on my side, my alarm didn't activate because my phone battery drained. It was already 2PM. Pffft.

I wore the casual clothes I wore in the morning. Surely, UP people didn't need to see me dressed up, did they? I brought again the novel I was reading, an umbrella, and 30 minutes later, I was already at the Graduate Studies Office. There were about ten people all having their own business with the staff. The office had only three staff members, and so I waited for about 10 minutes before I was entertained.

The secretary (or the main person to talk to) gave me my documents and I was able to smile the first time the entire day. The college is welcoming me back. Yay. Then she instructed me to go to the Registrar's office to pay for the AWOL fee at the third floor. I apologized and told her that since I left for more than three years, I'm not sure where the Registrar now is currently located. She told me. So I walked to the newly constructed Registrar Building (not really sure when that building became operational).

Third floor, I was greeted by two long lines: one is shorter, about half the length of the entire floor, while the other queue was long enough to reach the other staircase at the end of the floor. I was happy to be directed to the shorter queue. Good thing there were chairs in the queue. I got my book and started reading again.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Hey, wait a minute. How come the long queue moved really quickly while I and the people on my line were stuck where we were for a quarter of an hour? When I complained, the RA (Registration Assistant) told me that the other line was for tuition fee payers. My line was for the "other" fee payers. And they only had one cashier who's doing the "other" fees. Fuckettyfuck.

I had to wait for an hour just to pay for the stupid P225 AWOL fee. Really?

The best part was when I went back to the Graduate Studies Office with the receipt. I fell in line again for about fifteen minutes. And when the secretary browsed my papers and the OR of AWOL fee, she told me, "Ay naku, kailangan mo pang kumuha ng Admission Slip bago kita mabibigyan ng Enrollment Form."

No shit. "Saan po kukuha noon?"

"Doon sa Registrar."

What the hell? I was just there! I told her.

"Nagbayad ka sa third floor, 'di ba? Sa first floor mo makukuha 'yung admission slip. Tapos balik ka sa akin."

Putangina naman... sana sinabi mo sa akin kanina yan, no? I was keeping my calm and instead replied, "Sige po. Last na po yun ha, tapos pwede na akong mag-enroll?"

"Oo."


Suddenly I felt grateful for the weather that I didn't jog in the morning; otherwise it would be too tiring for me to go back and forth to two buildings about 300-500 meters apart.


When I reached the Registrar's Building, first floor, I went to another Registration Assistant. I asked, "Dito ba kumukuha ng admission slip?"

"Opo. Dito po. Kaso po, mahaba na ang pila at pinagsabihan na kami na hindi na kami mag-i-issue ng number for waiting list. Hanggang 5PM lang kasi sila nag-i-issue ng admission slip e."

Putangina. I looked at the people on the floor waiting for their turn to be called. There were at least a hundred people anxiously waiting for their turn.

"Bukas ba kayo bukas?"

"Ay sarado po kami pag weekend. Sa Tuesday pa po kami magre-resume kasi holiday on Monday."

Pffft. Fine. Whatever.

No cab was available since there was a lot of passengers waiting for one. I bought some turon and ate merienda. I realized I haven't had lunch. I remembered fishing for my phone to at least connect to 3G and read online stuff in order to feel better about this awful day. My phone's not in my pocket! I was suddenly worried whether my phone was snatched or fell unfortunately from my shorts. Alas, I remembered that I left my phone in my room because I left it charging because it drained on me when I was taking a nap.

Oh well. When I reached home, I took a bath in order to wash away all the bad vibes. I donned sando, boxers and slippers and started to prepare stuff for cooking. I started slicing onions and garlic cloves. And just like that, the day's negative energy finally slipped away.

Until I cut my left hand's little finger off and blood gushed out like crazy. I fainted at the sight of the blood and woke up in the hospital an hour later. Naaah, I'm just fucking with you. Luigi arrived when I was about to finish my meal and we ate together. Then, we cuddled. And peace was restored again. And hopefully luck as well.




Image source:
http://www.footballqs.com/photos/o/8066-bad_luck.jpg