The Bribe
It’s Tennis Mike’s brother’s birthday party and we’re supposed to go. I ask Mike the simple question, “What time shall we meet?”
He says, “Well I’m late for a 4pm meeting and I have to go buy a present for another friend who’s having a birthday but I can’t decide what to get him and then I have to pick up the gift for my brother and there’s another guest I have to fetch and oh no I’m late for my meeting but I’ll call you at 7 to tell you what time we’re meeting and anyway the party’s at 9 ay 4.30 na pala!”
This is actually normal behavior for my friends, so instead of hanging around the mall I go home. I do not hear from Mike. At 9 I text him. “Are we still going to Gerry’s?”
He says, “Oh no, I decided to stay home and watch tennis.”
Fortunately I am comfortably ensconced in my own house so I spare him.
Some days later I see Tennis Mike at lunch and he says, “I’m dealing with my stress. I bought a motivational book. I’ll share it with you. But I forgot it at home.”
He does offer me a bribe: the Picasso’s Nose eyeglass holder in the picture.
Here’s the scary part: In my circle of friends I’m the sane one.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
June 30th, 2009 at 09:42
The other scary part is that, more and more, we are finding it unnecessary to beg off from appointments or say sorry for missing or being late for appointments, because everybody’s schedule is insane anyway. Even my German friends here are doing “Pinoy time!”