Forgive the impertinence but I never believed when it was written that ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ Take for instance the case of work supervisors. In the past five years that I have been torturing myself in the office I have known only one supervisor who works herself to oblivion. She usually puts life and work in the same equation and is worthy of more than a lifesize molded gravel and sand in Luneta. Then came the nightmare. I was taken under the wing of a non-Filipino boss and as soon as I put that I-need-not-soften-my words-to-get-my-message-across smile it was immediately wiped off by the you’re-just-a-Filipino-staff smirk by my supervisor.
Of course it would be self-aggrandizing to claim that I worked myself to death (because i am still kicking!) in an effort to empty the well of work, so I won’t claim that heroic attempt to salvage the Filipino pride, or the hardworkers of world, for that matter. You can not salvage something which can not be killed.
Suffice to say, that even with so much effort to remain a wallflower, well, at least a useful wallflower, I can not seem to stop myself from getting into sticky situations. The tragedy is, even if we argue black and blue that the there is no such thing as a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, she would insist that the I haven’t looked that hard. Yup, digressing again. Anyway, the meaning being simply that the powerful, always defines, the powerless is defined (citation forgotten).
As a lowly employee everyone would think that I am mentally challenged, never mind that everyone knows the boss is utterly exasperating in spelling and doesn’t have an inkling of an idea when it comes to human relations. And we take this everyday in our own country – from institutions where human rights, equal opportunities are the rah-rah slogans. Everyday, I take crap from people who’d find even a way to blame adam and eve for the tiniest of mistakes, who thinks that a diploma sealed with the empty airs of some US University is worth more than a UP tracing paper bought cheaply at the shopping center. Forget that the word following has no plural form no matter how many numbers follow the colon. I am flabbergasted, disillusioned and has lost whatever faith I put in social justice and I no longer believe that the world is round. To whom much is given, much will be given more, so workers of the world unite… my apologies to unforgotten sources of these quotes.
Yup everything here is quotes. But who cares?
3 comments:
I'm not a Filipino! I'm something worse, a white American male!
No, seriously, I offer you this advice from an old newspaper friend of mine who when I told him how upsetting it was to work for editors who didn't know how to edit told me, "John, don't let the bastards get you down."
I think that's the best advice I ever got. It might help you. I hope so.
Loads of sense and humor and the thought that situations are always transitory.
yes, workers of the world unite. try reading "confessions of a lapsed standard bearer".
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