Smartie

There are very many things I am not confident to claim about myself. If I should list it down, it would make up my full being and that would make me feel depressed.

Despite my vanity, I am always battling with praise about my appearance. I secretly think I am beautiful all throughout, but I also secretly think I have zero aesthetic and physical market value.

Secretly, I believe and doubt that I possess innate impeccable style.

I am also unsure where I stand in the circle of my friends.

These thoughts prevent me from arguing, asserting and taking liberties, lest I hear the dreaded so-called truth.

There is one thing though, which I am very confident no one will stand to contest about. That is I am very smart.

I am that kind of smartie who fits anywhere and shuts up when everyone else starts showing off and talking shop.

Oh, and another, I make a very good comic. For a girl who has bland taste (literaly), I make laughter a daily treat.

Five minutes.

The first time I realized the actual length of a minute was during a skating game with my eldest brother.

 I don’t remember if I was eight then, but it was definitely during the popularity of roller skates. We each had our own pair of in-line skates, which I heard, was better and more modern , than the usual roller skates.

My brother and I gave each other a minute to show-off our skating moves. He went first and I was getting impatient because he seemed to take long. I complained and he replied to look at our stopwatch which we used to time ourselves. True enough, he only took a minute.

I though then, “oh. that’s how long a minute is? I thought a minute is just a minute. As quick as you say it.”

Twelve years later, in my first week in the call center, I discovered how long seconds can take.

I was itching to log-out and hoping for the dial to drop my time and there was only a few seconds left and I don’t want to get a call in my last second.

The seconds, I found out, also mattered in time keeping, especially when I’m running late.

Now, I left Ronald in Manila with a promise to return in six months. A month has flown by quickly, but looking ahead, the five months seem very far away.