STRAPPED
We have a weird salary scheme here at 141 Worldwide. Our salary comes in on the 10th and 20th of each month - or so I thought. Getting the money on the 10th is great...you feel like you have so much money to burn. You only start feeling the pinch after the 20th because you have to stretch your sweldo for almost 20 days.
And boy I really felt the pinch today. Moreso than any other day. I started with about 100+ in my pocket and I hopped in a cab with the intent of passing by an ATM and making a quick withdrawal from the salary which I expected to be there...seeing that it was supposed to be payday. Much to my dismay/chagrin/surprise/displeasure/horror, lo and behold, there was nothing in my account...well nothing withdrawable.
I hurriedly scrambled to the cab and directed it to the place where I kinda thought there was an FX terminal. Cab ride cost me P55 and a pack of yosi set me back another P26.50. When I found the terminal, I was down to P36 and the fare would cost me P35!
Thankfully, the kindess of one of my officemates (thanks Duday!) ensured that I wouldn't have just corn flakes for lunch. She lent me P70 and I ended up spending P38 for my meal. So now, I am facing the spectre of commuting home with only P33 in my pocket. This leads me to all kinds of Amazing Race-esque scenarios. If I took the MRT, it would cost me about P10 for the bus ride to the station, P17 for the train ride, P5 for a jeepney and P4 for the tricycle. Over budget,
An FX ride home would wipe me out completely and I would only get to Espana. There's the PVP bus which only costs P20 with the rest going to jeepney and tricycle fare.
Or I could wait till midnight for my salary to kick in...
*****
Speaking of being hard-up, the dad of the former love of my life came-a-calling today. He called me up just as I was heading to a presentation so we hurriedly agreed to meet at my office at 4. He got there at 4 on the dot and he was trying to sell me his prized collection of comics for about a hundred bucks a pop. Mind you, these are titles from the 80s like Batman and Teen Titans which would still fetch a handsome amount if they were being sold in the States. Unfortunately, here in the Philippines, wise buyers are offering to purchase every comic in his collection at a measly P15 per piece.
I, unfortunately gave up on comics years ago but wouldn't mind getting my hands on titles like Batman Year One or A Death in the Family. If anyone (calling Ryan Watkins!) is interested in buying the guy's stuff, you could email me privately.
