Les

May sipon ako ngayon-brought on by me allergy to-I don’t know…Actually, matagal na akong ganito. Di ko alam kung saan ako allergic: to pollens, to dust, to perfume. Who knows? Ang temperature kasi namin today dito sa Miami e mid-70s, warm na un by Miami standards kasi nga winter na. In the next few days aabot na kami sa 50s-which would be FREEZING COLD!!! Combined with rain! Anyway, malamig pagkagising ko kaninang umaga at after 2 hours ay tapos na maglaba ang nanay ko kaya kinuha ko sa dryer ung mga damit at dun na nagsimula ang aking sneezing fit. Kala ko mawawala after ko maligo pero hindi! Uminom ako ng Sudafed kaning 2pm & as you all know, lahat ng mga gamot sa sipon e may side effect na drowsiness kahit sabihin pa na "non-drowsy". Kaya kaning hapon ako ay sobrang antok na pero ayaw ko mag-siesta after 3pm kasi mahihirapan na ako matulog ngayong gabi. Nag-persist pa rin ang symptoms ko after 6 hrs kaya pwede ako uminom ulit ng tablet. Sabi ng ate ko na nurse din na dapat 2 tablets na daw ang ininom ko the 1st time that I took the tablet. Sabi ko ayaw ko kasi uminom ng 2 tablets at once kasi nga ung side effect na drowsiness & before kasi e 1 tablet lang okay na ako. I read the recommended dosage dun sa box ng gamot & sure enough for adults 2 dapat 2 tablets ang inumin. So I took another one kaya ngayong gabi, paghiga ko pa lang e nasa lala land na ako.

Close to 3 years ko na di nakikita boyfriend ko, si Mike. Immigrant na kasi ako bago pa kami magkakilala kaya alam na nya matagal na na ganito ang mangyayari. Iniwan ko sya nun sa ‘pinas & thru the years e madalas kami mag-text sa isa’t-isa, mag-usap sa phone, magsulatan. Nagtataka mga kakilala namin kung pano kami nagtagal. Bukod kasi sa mahal namin ang isa’t-isa, we are each others best friend. We can tell each other everything we think & feel without fear of rejection & judgement. Mula nang naging kami, I realized that it’s not enough that you love each other. It’s also important that you LIKE each other. Hindi ba minsan may mga ka-pamilya tayo na mahal natin sila pero di natin gusto ang ugali nila? That’s my point! Mahirap ang situation namin dahil sa daylight savings time(DST) at different time zones. Nasa Kuwait na kasi sya ngayon at dahil sa DST, they’re ahead by 8 hrs. Kaya kahit gusto ko man syang i-text ng "gud am" e ayaw ko naman sya magising ng 6am sa oras nila dahil ang oras ng bangon nya e 8am, Kuwaiti time. At the same time, di nya ako nababati ng "gud nyt". Isama mo pa dun ung oras ng mga trabaho namin. Minsan may pasok ako sa oras na off sya, at vice versa. Pero somehow, nakakahanap naman kami ng oras para makapag-usap. Weird nga lang kung pano nya mina-manage ung time nya kasi gaya kagabi, Saturday night nila e maglalaba daw sya ng hating gabi!!! Kasi daw maglilinis sya ng flat nila sa umaga at sa hapon naman nila tatawag ako. Ewan ko ba kung pano nya nagagawa un! Siguro kasi gusto nya once a week lang maglaba at hating gabi lang nagka-oras! Kaya bukas ng 7am namin e tatawag ako sa kanila kasi 3pm ng hapon nila un.

Yes, you read it right: I am a former shoplifter. It started back in grade school, sa Stella. It wasn’t really kleptomania kasi di naman sya obsession & it’s not like I couldn’t help myself. Sometimes guilt would hold me back.

The first things that I stole were form National Bookstore, specifically Archie comic books.I think there were still other stuffs that I stole-di ko lang matandaan kung ano. Sad to say, there were times that I was wearing my school uniform when I used to shoplift- and I must say, ang management ng Ali Mall at SM sa Cubao had every right na ipagbawal kami nun sa stores nila.

Was I ever caught be the management? Never! It would have been awful if I was! Kung Archie comic books ang plano ko nakawin, hahawakan ko sya, ung cover ng comics in plain view ng security cameras ( kung meron man sila nung time na un) pero sa ilalim ng comics e unti-unti ko nang tinatanggal ung sticker for the price. And always, I do it alone. Honestly, looking back now, I am impressed with myself to think that I could get away with it-and I always do!

The shoplifting must have lasted for about 1-2 years maybe but very far apart. In my recollection, Archie comic books nga lang ata ang ninakaw ko!

No,wait…May mas masama pa pala akong ginawa nun… Alam ko sinimulan ko na nga rin lang ang kwento ko abt my shoplifting years e bakit di ko pa sagarin? But there was something na ginawa ko nun that I can’t even bring myself to tell you. It was shameless of me then but now, I can’t forgive myself for it.

What got me started? What made me steal? I don’t know. I can’t even explain to myself what was my reason. I certainly was not lacking in money dahil humingi lang ako ng pera sa tatay ko e bibigyan naman nya ako ng pera.

Ha! Not true, really! Why am I even lying to you? trying to make my life seem wonderful & perfect? 

The truth is, nahihiya ako magpabili ng mga gusto ko nun kasi alam ko na tipid kami talaga sa pera. At least I think un ang dahilan kung bakit ako nagnanakaw. Di ko nga mapin-point kung ano e!

Sabi ko kanina I was never caught by the management but I WAS caught by a cousin of mine. Nung COD pa ung tindahan na ngayon ay Shopwise na sa Cubao, may nagustuhan akong red Minnie Mouse wallet. Akala ko walang nakatingin kaya binubulsa ko na sya nun sa skirt ko nung marinig ko ung boses ng pinsan ko, "HUY! Anong ginagawa mo??!!" And this brilliant idea ( I hoped it sounded brilliant) came to me at nasabi ko, "Tinitignan ko lang kung kasya sa bulsa."  Tinanggap naman nya ung sagot na un kasi I don’t recall her saying anything else about it.

I think that incident made me stop shoplifting. Basta bigla na lang tumigil ung urge na magnakaw-& thank God for that!