HAVE you ever found yourself in a ridiculous situation that you couldn't help but laugh at? Most of you would say, including myself, Yes! And most of the time, we don't even realize it until it hits us a few minutes later, by which it’s already too late. We have nothing more to say except, I’m sorry or perhaps, laugh to lighten the moment.
One of these unexpected situations is bloopers.
Last Sunday, I went around 8th and 12th streets looking for a gas station to inflate my car tire.
At one gas station, I signaled for tire air. The gas boy replied and was saying something I couldn't understand. I asked twice. Finally, I signaled for him to come closer. I asked again, and he said it was brownout—the pressurized pump wouldn’t work. As I was about to say something, I saw the print on his uniform, “RTA.” I was so embarrassed and apologized. He said, “Ok lang, Ma’am.”
Last Friday, I was glued to my workstation when someone approached me. Since it was still before 9 AM, I thought it was Loloy asking if I wanted coffee. Automatically, I said, “Yes, Loy.” The person said, “Ma’am,” and I immediately turned because it wasn't Loloy’s voice. Oh my! It was a client. I immediately said, “Good morning, Sir.”
When I was with a telco, I met a client who was very insistent and short of demanding. I was firm in my decision, which frustrated him. He called my brother. Then I heard him say, “Pat, I met your sister and pag ka maldita.” Since then, that client has become a close friend. I can always ask for PBA tickets from him when colleagues or friends ask.
Another funny thing was a blooper involving my brother. Let’s change the names since one of them is prominent. My brother has two people with the same name in his phone book. Let’s call them David.
He typed David and then immediately listened to the ringing. The other line said hello, and my brother replied, “Hello, David.” The other line said, “Kinsa ni?” My brother, thinking it was David, his friend, said, “Hoy, tambok, unsay kinsa ni, wala naka kaila?” The other line again said, “Hello, who’s this, please?” My brother checked the name and saw that it was David, the councilor. He immediately apologized, but I can no longer recall if he identified himself or otherwise.
Life is like that, and that's how we cope and get on with our daily lives. A client told me earlier today that we Filipinos are happy people. We always find time to smile and be happy no matter what life brings us.
Bloopers are life’s way of telling us that not everything goes as planned. It’s perfectly ok to laugh and find joy in everyday mishaps.
