Money Matters Too

Scenario 1
I ride a taxi going to mall. (For some reason, the car was not available.)
Upon reaching destination, the taxi driver stops.
Meter reads 85 pesos.
I pay 100, expecting a change of 15.
Taxi driver returns 10.
I ask why.
Taxi driver tells me I'm stingy.
I say I don't care.
Taxi driver tells me I'm stingy again.
I say I don't care again.
I still want my 5 bucks.
I wait.
After 5 minutes, taxi driver returns the money and speeds away in a huff.

Scenario 2
I see something I like in a wet market.
I ask the vendor how much it is.
She says 300.
I ask for 100.
She says 200.
I say 100.
She says 150.
I say 100.
She says 120.
I say 100.
She throws her hands up in exasperation and says it's only 20 pesos.
I still say 100.
I walk away.
She curses and mutters something about stingy people shouldn't live long.

Scenario 3
Mom asks for house tea or service tea.
Waiter brings it over.
Whole family eats breakfast.
Whole family (except me) drinks tea.
Whole family is full and happy.
Bill arrives.
I ask waiter why there is a charge of 30 pesos for the house tea.
Waiter says the restaurant does not have house tea.
Waiter also says he apologizes for the inconvenience.
I started saying it's fine.
But Waiter #2 at the side mutters it's just 30 pesos.
My eyebrows shot up.
I turn to the waiter and use my haughtiest tone and told him that it is not about the money. We will pay 30 pesos. But people should be transparent about the charges. If we ask for house tea and there's no house tea, you should say that. So that nobody will be surprised.
Waiter #2 keeps quiet but you know that he still feels that he's right.
We pay the bill, including the 30 pesos for the tea but NO tip.

***

I could go on and on. It's not just limited to these folks.

On a really, really good day, I feel generous and just proactively tell them to round up the amount due. Especially if the driver doesn't demand for a round up, I want to do it all the more. Sort of like reverse psychology.

On a normal so-so day, I'll probably just shrug it off and say that at least I'm helping somebody in need. He or she probably needs it more than I do.

However on a really bad day, my blood pressure shoots up the roof and I end up arguing over a few measly bucks.

What is it about these people? They seem to think that people who are not poor should be as free-giving as the poor. Don't they know that we also have to tighten our belts and do budgeting as any other people?

Compared to US dollars, I suppose that the peso value is so low that 5 or 10 bucks is hardly worth anything. I wonder if this is the reason why they think that short-changing us wouldn't matter as much?

There is somehow an inappropriate sense of right to charity as far as they are concerned. Sort of like a double standards of rich vs poor. That somehow, if we ask for the exact change, we are considered stingy (or called worse behind our backs, I'm sure). But if you reverse the roles, if we return 99 pesos and miss out paying back just 1 peso, we would also be called a theif or worse.

I really don't get it.

On Being Funny

Aside from being an exceptionally bright student as well as being involved in many school extra-curricular activities, my 6-year old son has a sense of humor that can rival any stand-up comedian. Interestingly enough, the funniest stuff that comes out of his mouth is when he actually did NOT mean to be funny.

Being the obsessive-compulsive parent that I am, I was able to capture some in writing. Enjoy reading!

On silent men (3 years old)
Ralph: Why does Daddy make grunting sounds whenever he talks to us? Doesn't he know how to speak English?

On shapes (4 years old)
Mommy Hailyn: Do you know the difference between oval and round?
Ralph: Yes. Mommy's face is oval and Daddy's face is round.

On firetrucks (4 years old)
Ralph: Why are firetrucks called firetrucks? Their trucks don't have fires in them.

On colleges (5 years old)
Uncle Heustein: Does anybody know where A-ma (grandmother) studied college?
Ralph: I do, I do. It's in UE.
Uncle Heustein: What does UE stand for?
Ralph: University of the ... Earth?

On music and lyrics (6 years old)
Mommy Hailyn: In the High School musical CD that's playing right now, we have some songs that are minus-one.
Ralph: What does that mean?
Mommy Hailyn: It means that they're same as regular songs but they don't have anybody singing in them.
Ralph: Oh, you mean minus-one-thing.
Mommy Hailyn: Err... right. (That sort of made sense.)

Yep, my son is a riot. Good thing he also does well in school or else I'll have to accept the fact that he'll earn his keep by cracking jokes in comedy clubs 10 years from now.

I'm still looking forward to more quips and jokes in the years to come.

Song of the Month - September 2007

She's Out Of My Life
by Josh Groban

She's out of my life
She's out of my life
And I don't know whether to laugh or cry
I don't know whether to live or die
And it cuts like a knife
She's out of my life

It's out of my hands
It's out of my hands
To think for two years she was here
And I took her for granted I was so cavalier
Now the way that It stands
She's out of my hands

So I've learned that love's not possession
And I've learned that love won't wait
Now I've learned that love needs expression
But I learned too late

She's out of my life
She's out of my life
Damned indecision and cursed pride
Kept my love for her locked deep Inside
And it cuts like a knife
She's out of my life