Twist!

Hokay.

This post is a bit overdue.

*ehem*

My birthday almost began badly. Monday, June 18, I wasn't able to get out of the office early. June 19 was a holiday. Despite the announcement that we were still requested to go to work, they wouldn't be able to force me. So, our boss just told me to finish some stuff, just so it could be put under QA during the holiday. I only finished at around 10:30pm.

I went home a bit spent and, as I said, my birthday almost began with me feeling not-so-good. Fortunately, I was already talking with Kei on the phone since before midnight. So, I started my birthday with a smile on my face. :)

Tuesday, June 19. My day. :) I woke up at around 9:30am. Finalized some of my plans for the morning, in my head. I got up and out to the dining room/kitchen to see the table already set.

After (a late) breakfast, I turned the PC on. Surfed and chat a bit. The monitor display was flickering. Ma says that she would go next on the PC. Pa called for me, so I momentarily switched to Ma's user account. Had a lengthy conversation with Pa. It was nice. Even before our conversation ended, Ma said that the monitor blacked-out. When I went back to the PC, I found that the monitor was indeed dead. Minor set-back. I was pondering whether to buy the LCD monitor that I had wanted to get since two weeks before. I decided that it would depend on the time I would be able to go to Metro Manila.

The dead monitor wasn't really a big deal. I began preparing to go out to buy my lunch treat. I was thinking: shorts or jeans? slippers or shoes? I settled to wearing shorts and slippers. I went out and walked to Pannie's, my current choice of barber shop (Pannie's is a beauty parlor, but they had barbers on one side. That day and time, there was only one barber, and two others were waiting in line. I had no time to waste, so I went out and walked some more heading for the BPI branch at Lopez Avenue. I withdrew some cash, not too much -- I thought that, if I would need to, I could withdraw some more when I get to Makati.

From BPI, I rode a jeep to KFC. I was surprised to see a lot of people in KFC. Lots of well-off students nowadays. I bought a Fantastic Four bucket meal, and hurriedly headed home. I got on a jeep to Bayan with hardly any passengers, so I could put the food on the seat. However, starting from LB Square, the jeep gradually picked up more passengers. I was sitting behind the driver and, eventually, the jeep was filled-up. The guy to my right kept shifting. When the jeep stopped for a while at Junction, I checked my right hip pocket for my wallet. It was still there. My cellphone and coin purse were on my left side. I was distracted, passing several passengers' fare to the driver, and their change back to them. Suddenly, the guy to my right called for the jeep to stop in front of the market, the jeep in the middle of the road, caught between changing lanes. He quickly got off -- he hadn't even paid! I was distracted once again when I had to pass someone else's fare. I shifted in my seat a bit and I noticed: my wallet was GONE! I looked on the seat, looked under the seat. Quite panicked, I also got off the jeep. I thought I saw him ride behind a motorcycle. I scanned the passing jeeps. The motorcycle I was suspicious of moved. I looked at the passenger, and it wasn't the guy I was looking for. Still, I followed the motorcycle, when it went slowly. It stopped in front of a nearby pawnshop, where the passenger went to. I stood in front of the motorcycle, looking around, but I kept looking back to the motorcycle's driver. He had a bandanna wrapped over his face, so I got more suspicious when he intentionally avoided looking in my direction. I almost wanted to confront him. I weighed my options and I finally gave up. I walked home, stomping my feet, driving my umbrella to the ground every other step.

On my way home, I tried to recall the contents of my wallet. I kept mumbling, "Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, school ID, Company ID, ..." I was simply furious!

When I got home, I called Kei. After a while, she already had my ATM account blocked, and she had already calmed me down. I will not have my day ruined any more than it was!

Fortunately, my habit of keeping money in several places kicked in earlier. Back in KFC, I placed the change for the bucket meal in another pocket. It was quite a relief! I could still meet with Kei in Makati!

My mis-adventures ends there! The rest of my day was GRRRRR-EAT! :D

Everything was Kei's treat: the expensive (but worthwhile) dinner, the tickets to Fantastic Four and the fare on our way to their place. She even loaned me some cash for the week! Well, the movie tickets were a loan, too, since we usually share expenses on our dates. :p

My birthday? It was one of the HAPPIEST EVER! :D

To quote Cel's txt greeting:

"Birthdays are healthy for you. The more you have, the longer you live. Ü"

Profound, yeah! :p