Guardian Angels, Prudentialife Plans

Yesterday, we were supposed to be in Prudentialife in the Galleria Corporate Center before 5 pm, but my husband came to pick me up past 4 and it was a Friday. As we drove off, I had very grave doubts we'd get there in time. The route he took had some traffic and everything seemed to be going wrong. I watched as the minutes ticked by. We made a wrong turn but were in the parking lot some 10 minutes before 5. My husband laid me on the wheelchair and we tried to look for the elevator. We were in level 2 of the basement parking lot.

We asked a group of men were the elevator was and they looked clueless. Luckily we saw a guard who however told us there was no elevator on the level we were in. he pointed to stairs. omigosh. And we had only 10 minutes to get to another adjoining building's 8th floor. My husband hastily asked the guard if he could help us negotiate the stairs. Meanwhile, there were two men by the doorway looking at us. without any prodding, one of them descended the stairs to help. So did his companion. we quickly went through the 7 or so steps and reached the next level. (I prayed that God bless all 3 men with good fortune like Lotto winnings, for example?) Any elevator in sight? Nahhh. There was an escalator though.

It was a first for us. To go up the escalator with my husband pushing my wheelchair. boog, thudded the wheelchair as he laid it down one step. I thought I heard some screws reacting there. He assured me the wheelchair was intact.

After the escalator, saw steps in the next level again but fortunately,we also saw a ramp. So to the ramp we went.

Next we looked for the elevator. As soon as we got in, I told the elevator lady, "4th floor" then hastily asked, "is it at the fourth floor where there's a tube leading to the corporate center?" She said, "3rd" and pressed number 3. But a man in corporate attire said, "4th". He smiled at us as we thanked him.

when we went out the elevator, we wondered whether we were on the right track. The elevator girl had pointed the direction to us but after her error in identifying the floor where we should go down, I was skeptical. All along, the man in a corporate get-up was behind us. He kindly asked, "where are you headed?" when we said, "Prudentialife" he said, "follow me. That's where I'm going too."

He proceeded to give us his card and asked us to call should we have any problems. he asked what we were there for and when we said we were going to get a check but weren't sure we'd still be allowed in, he reassured us we would be. My husband said, "Guardian angel ka namin".

On the eighth floor, he went out the elevator with us, pointed to the doors where we should go and stayed to wait for the elevator. Apparently it wasn't the floor he needed to go to. He was just so gracious he accompanied us. His name, Rafael U Gonzales, Division Sales Manager of Prudentialife Plans, Inc.

As we approached the guard beyond the doors, we noticed that some lights had been turned off. It was past 5 but luckily, the guard let us through. Perhaps, he noticed Mr. Gonzales's accompanying us.

Then when we reached the room where the checks were being disbursed, a lady gave us folder number 23. The person being served was number 19. We didn't have long to wait and the man disbursing the checks was very professional. Though he wasn't outrageously friendly, neither was he aloof. He was just right and doing right. When a young lady asked for her check, he asked if she had her course curriculum with her. When she said no, he firmly told her to please bring it next time as he couldn't release the check without it. when it was our turn, I asked questions which he patiently answered. What a professional!

I'm glad I decided to get a Prudentialife educational plan for my son. With people like Mr. Gonzales, Enna Catap and the man disbursing the checks yesterday, what more could I ask for?