December 8, 2003
Yep! You see the title just right. You are not having a double vision and I did not make a mistake typing it. The title is the same with the date. It deserves to be the title because I will be writing the events of this day. Many things could happen in 24 hours, and today is one of the longest ones I ever had.
I arrived at the office at past ten in the morning. I was late, pero wala naman kaming time card so technically, I am not late. I was even lucky to arrive that early because I left Laguna at around 8:30AM na.
So, I was there at the gate, ringing the doorbell like I always do during Monday mornings. I heard the buzzer and I opened the door. As I approached the front porch, Dog, one of the pet dogs of our executive director, attacked me and dug his teeth into my left leg. I shouted a curse and immediately went inside the office to check my leg. I shivered at the thought. In my 22 years of existence, this was the first time I was bitten by a dog.
According to my officemates, Dog (Yan po talaga ang pangalan niya. Short and simple. Hindi masyadong halata na aso siya.) has bitten around more than 30 people. Fortunately, all of them is still alive. I am now a statistic, thanks to her. Dog is female and has recently given birth to 4 puppies. Only one is left now because one of them died and we suspect that she ate the other two. Yes, she eats her own babies. May pagka-monster talaga siya no?
I went to San Lazaro hospital for the anti-rabies vaccine. Tatlong injection agad, dalawang tetanus toxoid at isang anti-rabies. I still need to go back for the succeding vaccines on the dates indicated in my record. Bwiset dun sa San Lazaro, parang mamamatay ka lalo dahil walang ka-warmth warmth ang mga nagtatrabaho. The doctor was close to rude, the nurses were harsh, the attendants look like they want to eat you. Well, hindi ko sila masisis, ganyan yata talaga sa public hospital. Sobrang dami kasi ng pasyente nila. (Bes, don't work for a public hospital when you graduate ok? Baka kahit ako ang pasyente mo, sigawan mo na rin ako.) I was close to crying while I was waiting for my turn. I wasn't used to going to the hospital wihout my nanay. I felt so sad realizing she wasn't there beside me to take care of me. I was trying to call her but there was no answer. Later in the afternoon, when finally I was able to talk to her, I learned that her cellphone was not with her. Nakakatawa kasi nung kausap ko na siya para akong batang umiiyak. Lahat ng tapang ko nawawala basta may sakit ako or may aksidenteng nangyari sa akin. Maybe because I was used to being treated like a baby when I am sick. Asthmatic na ko since bata, kaya aminin ko man o hindi, I always got special treatment from my parents because of that.
I went to mass with Ate Lhanz (my roommate, my lunchmate. my favorite officemate:)), because incidentally, today is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Suddenly, I realized that maybe the dog bite is a wake up call for me. I have been lax in my faith for the past few months. Actually, I had taken for granted my spiritual life since I started working. Maybe, just maybe, God is calling me to strengthen my faith again and awaken the fire of spirituality in me. It's strange how He uses different kind of instruments to remind us of our "pagkukulang". In my case, it was a dog.
December 8, 2003, I am not good with remembering dates, but this one I will surely remember.
Yep! You see the title just right. You are not having a double vision and I did not make a mistake typing it. The title is the same with the date. It deserves to be the title because I will be writing the events of this day. Many things could happen in 24 hours, and today is one of the longest ones I ever had.
I arrived at the office at past ten in the morning. I was late, pero wala naman kaming time card so technically, I am not late. I was even lucky to arrive that early because I left Laguna at around 8:30AM na.
So, I was there at the gate, ringing the doorbell like I always do during Monday mornings. I heard the buzzer and I opened the door. As I approached the front porch, Dog, one of the pet dogs of our executive director, attacked me and dug his teeth into my left leg. I shouted a curse and immediately went inside the office to check my leg. I shivered at the thought. In my 22 years of existence, this was the first time I was bitten by a dog.
According to my officemates, Dog (Yan po talaga ang pangalan niya. Short and simple. Hindi masyadong halata na aso siya.) has bitten around more than 30 people. Fortunately, all of them is still alive. I am now a statistic, thanks to her. Dog is female and has recently given birth to 4 puppies. Only one is left now because one of them died and we suspect that she ate the other two. Yes, she eats her own babies. May pagka-monster talaga siya no?
I went to San Lazaro hospital for the anti-rabies vaccine. Tatlong injection agad, dalawang tetanus toxoid at isang anti-rabies. I still need to go back for the succeding vaccines on the dates indicated in my record. Bwiset dun sa San Lazaro, parang mamamatay ka lalo dahil walang ka-warmth warmth ang mga nagtatrabaho. The doctor was close to rude, the nurses were harsh, the attendants look like they want to eat you. Well, hindi ko sila masisis, ganyan yata talaga sa public hospital. Sobrang dami kasi ng pasyente nila. (Bes, don't work for a public hospital when you graduate ok? Baka kahit ako ang pasyente mo, sigawan mo na rin ako.) I was close to crying while I was waiting for my turn. I wasn't used to going to the hospital wihout my nanay. I felt so sad realizing she wasn't there beside me to take care of me. I was trying to call her but there was no answer. Later in the afternoon, when finally I was able to talk to her, I learned that her cellphone was not with her. Nakakatawa kasi nung kausap ko na siya para akong batang umiiyak. Lahat ng tapang ko nawawala basta may sakit ako or may aksidenteng nangyari sa akin. Maybe because I was used to being treated like a baby when I am sick. Asthmatic na ko since bata, kaya aminin ko man o hindi, I always got special treatment from my parents because of that.
I went to mass with Ate Lhanz (my roommate, my lunchmate. my favorite officemate:)), because incidentally, today is also the Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Suddenly, I realized that maybe the dog bite is a wake up call for me. I have been lax in my faith for the past few months. Actually, I had taken for granted my spiritual life since I started working. Maybe, just maybe, God is calling me to strengthen my faith again and awaken the fire of spirituality in me. It's strange how He uses different kind of instruments to remind us of our "pagkukulang". In my case, it was a dog.
December 8, 2003, I am not good with remembering dates, but this one I will surely remember.
