Nipped

I had wanted an apple tree when I was little. I'd imagined sitting under it, with all the red apples hanging low just waiting for me to pick them. Or I could just wait for them to fall and roll next to me, and the world would be wonderful.

Milk Tea

Panic. That's probably what I'd be in if I dropped my milk tea in front of a throng of people lining up
for their bus ride. I wouldn't mind not being able to get my money's and time's worth getting it. I would worry about the pairs of eyes on me and what they could be thinking. I'd definitely hate to be this guy just now who dropped his iced milk tea, cursing, and dreading having to go back for another one.

Because I could not find a pic...

Probability

I was hurrying to my next meeting a few buildings away from our office with just five minutes to spare. I had been there before, and it only took me two, so I knew I had enough time to get there, and set up the projector. I was lost in thought when a guy grabbed me by the arm, and said, “Oy!” The face looked familiar, but I could not place it anywhere. I was beginning to get worried because one, I barely had enough time to get to the next meeting, and two, with the way he smiled, we must have been pretty close before, and it would be utterly embarrassing if I had not been not able to remember his name. I was about to shift to a customary, “Oy! Kmusta!” and pretend like I knew him and his favourite pet. Then, I remembered.

Under The Stars

For a time, I thought that being a moderate is the best way to get the best of the world. This basically meant I would not be crazy enough to try out new things and end up crashing. The first time I ignored falling was when I learned to ride a bike. I did learn how to, and was even able to stand with one foot on the saddle and another one on the stem. I could neither remember how I did nor how I got the courage to, but I did and not without eating dust and grass, and my knees smiling in the process , as my father would say. Smiling with blood, that is. The cuts were deep, and I was glad nobody thought I needed stitches. 

Pliers

The drawer is broken. It closes fine but when I try to open it, the roller falls off its track and gets stuck. I have tried several ways to fix it but nothing works. In my frustration, I yank it open almost breaking it to pieces. I have to lay off it. Fast. Or I will break it beyond repair.

Mighty Kid

We were going to launch in March, but the sponsor’s latest E-mail said June. It said that, with a lot of things considered, next month is impossible, not even the month after that. Even the steering committee was convinced. I went back to typing an E-mail about the contract I needed signed within the next three days, so the project could start. It took a few minutes for me to realize what this new mail meant, and its irrelevance. This is surprising considering that I have always considered time a river that will run dry any moment. And summer is fast approaching.

Doers

I finally got to execute a DIY project I have been planning for quite some time. It's a cupboard that I had wanted to put up at the kitchen, so I could store away everything that I don't use often and free up space. This is actually a part of a general 5s initiative that I would like to implement in the entire house that I just moved into. I am starting with the kitchen.

I hired a carpenter to do the installation. But I created the plan- how it would look like, how to cut the wood panels to ensure there is no, if not very minimal, wastage, and how I would like it installed. I got the materials- ply boards, glass, stickers, screws, hinges (there are 3 types- C1, C2, C3), glues and laminates. So basically, he only had to do the manual work, strictly following my instructions.

Entropy

I was told that the best way to scare off wakwak is to tell her her mother’s hair is on fire. My grandfather used to tell us stories about how, when he was a teenager, he would walk home at night for hours, crossing rivers, forests, rolling hills and open fields. Creatures like wakwak, then, were nothing extraordinary, but more of something to be prepared for like the occasional rains in summer. Everybody was expected to know what to do when faced with a monster with very long hair that goes through the victim’s nose and ears and eat his flesh from inside out. My grandfather was only a bit uncomfortable with the possibility. He was not scared. He knew he only had to yell the witch’s mother’s sad plight and whether true or not, she’d scramble home to save the mom.

Ants and Parades

Jack said I should be at the curb exactly after the first afternoon TV soap was over. That  is about as interesting as watching soldier ants scout for food at the kitchen counter. I couldn't sit through the entire program, so I decided to lie on our bamboo couch to pass the time.

The Art of Doing Something

I always want my day to be productive. Whenever the clock hits 4:00 p.m. and I have not done anything worthwhile (by my father's standards), I would feel like I have wasted 5 years of my life. The guilt trip starts. I would avoid passing by the living room mirror lest I'd see someone who has wantonly spent time on things that do not contribute to any form of progress. It's almost an impossible thing to do nothing.