Random Musings

Last night, we went to a funeral parlor. That is my husband and his co-teacher did while I stayed in the car. Why? The deceased was in a second floor chapel, the funeral parlor didn't have an elevator. Why? Who knows?

Once when we condoled with a friend whose dad had died, he had to come down so I could talk to him. I wasn't particularly close to last night's bereaved relative, a co-teacher of my husband, so I stayed in the car. The parking lot was full of rocks, besides, so it would have been a bumpy trip to the funeral parlor.

Anyway, as I sat on the front seat of the car, I wondered if anyone saw me and thought I was a ghost. I mean, why would anyone stay inside a parked car in a funeral parlor? I wanted to take pictures but people might be alarmed: a flash coming from a parked car. Ghost na talaga yon.

So what did I do? I tried to pray the rosary but there were so many distractions. Fire truck sirens blared, for one. My thoughts also distracted me from prayer.

Was there any danger I'd die of asphyxiation? My husband opened the window by the driver's seat a bit so oxygen would filter into the car for me. No danger of carbon monoxide poisoning as he didn't leave the aircon on. For a while I frantically searched for my fan as I knew I could have had an asthma attack because of the heat, but thank God, I was all right. I waited some 30 minutes. It's not the first time I've done this.


PS: I think it's silly that the said funeral parlor has no elevator. This means that when they have to bring the dead up or down the stairs, manual labor is employed. Calls to mind Tito, Vic and Joey, maybe even Dolphy movies when the dead is accidentally spilled on the ground while being transported. What if someone carrying the coffin misses a step? Comedy...
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Saw Rene Saguisag in Serendra. He looked wan, lonely and sad. I guess it must be true what they've said: he really loved his wife. She who passed away in a vehicular accident some weeks back. Rene didn't look at all well.

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Two days ago, my sister marveled at an Henares boy who's based in the States and is actively participating in the Spelling Bee. When she mentioned that the Lola was a Jalbuena, it called to mind a story when I was teaching 27 years ago. You see, the said Lola was the principal's secretary and one of her tasks was to type the exam questions. The English teacher told us that whenever her prepared exam had a section where the students were supposed to correct errors in a sentence, she had to review the typed version well as the secretary would sometimes correct the errors. So this feat of her grandson comes as no surprise. It's in the genes.
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Getting a passport or government service in the Philippines is one for the books. My son embarked on getting one yesterday, but before he left for the Department of Foreign Affairs, I called up the trunk line to ask up till when applications could be made. The operator said, 2 pm.

So my husband and son left for the DFA. They were there before 2 but the guard told them, the applications were closed at 12. When I learned about this, I called DFA and this time the operator still said 2. I said, so why did they close at 12? He said, why don't you call this number and complain there? As far as I know it's 2. I scolded him saying you should know how to answer questions because it's quite a long drive from Quezon City to Roxas Boulevard. After some time, I decided to give the operator a rest and took up his suggestion to call the other number. Phone just rang and rang and rang. So I tried the other trunk line number. The operator manning the said line was better informed. He said as there were so many applicants, they closed the gates at 12. Just like that, they closed the gates at 12. Darn.

So I called Teleserv via which one can apply for a passport by phone but at 3 times the cost. Where weeks back I was told an NBI clearance was optional, the operator who answered me yesterday they were requiring it because some verifiers at DFA insisted on it. Also, where before I was told the driver's license which Teleserv needed had to be the original form, this time she said they decided a xerox copy would do. How's that for consistency?

When my husband arrived, I had him call Teleserv just so we could firm up the requirements. The one who answered his call said the NBI clearance wasn't necessary. My head was spinning from the crossed information we were getting yesterday.

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The NBI clearance. When I learned of the need for an NBI clearance, I called my son to go to city hall to get one while they were still on the road. So they went to the NBI. After some time he texted, "mama, I wasn't cleared!" I asked what crime he had committed, oh okay, what crime his namesake had committed, he said he didn't know. Crazy no? The NBI saw he had a different middle name from the lawbreaker plus a different address, but he wasn't cleared. Family name too common, he was told. So he'll have to go back to the NBI for his clearance on 14 January. Years back, when my husband applied for a police clearance, he wasn't cleared either. A namesake was listed as a criminal.

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