I woke up late yesterday morning.  Everyone who knows me well can attest to the fact that if there’s one thing I absolutely hate, it’d be being late for anything (work specially) – that, and the general disregard for common courtesy.

You see I’ve always been an advocate of the practice – and I even attribute most of the problems we have in our country to our lack of knowledge on how to conduct ourselves in public and the regard for the welfare of others. 

I am not demanding that people learn how to eat using a freakin’ 20-piece cutlery set or something ‘cos that’s etiquette already and I cannot claim to be a master of it nor am I urging everyone to sign themselves up for advocacy work.  However, what I do want to happen is for people to be extra aware of how their tiniest actions can actually affect others, in a big way most of the time.

I am witness to how inconsiderate people can be in their everyday dealings.  There’s always this co-passenger who refuses to pass on the fare to the driver, the frickin’ person in line who keeps on stepping on your newly-polished shoes, that person who hogs escalator space, that person who talks so loudly in his mobile and that person who refuses to give way to people who are obviously in a hurry and blocks the way.  I am not in a rock concert for crying out loud and we do not know each other so if anyone can just spare me – stop violating my personal space and start being more conscious so as not to irritate others when you are in a public place!

By this time, you must have realized that I am a neurotic jerk, and I couldn’t help it, what with all the moronic behavior people choose to display, in public!  My vexation was at its height yesterday so I guess it was just fitting that I had several epiphanies a few hours after, which consequentially, had given birth to a personal contract with myself.

Here goes:

I, Quirino John L. Calica, of legal age, a resident of Antipolo City do hereby declare under my imaginary court that:

1. I will start applying the 90-10 rule.  Yeah, yeah it’s hard to control how we react to people’s behavior but hey, it’s what we have access to, hence the thing we can freely control, right? Not really revolutionary some of you might think but hey, it took me sometime to let all these noble concepts sink in ok?
2. From now on, I will not reset my alarm and be disciplined enough to wake up on the dot.
3. I will stop being way too observant (to prevent myself from noticing other people’s flaws)
4. I will stop being too sensitive (I mean, not everything should affect me)
5. I will pray more so the holy spirit will always be there to guide me (I pray a lot but I should pray some more, I believe)
6. I will talk less, and listen more (I mean I listen, listen a lot but that’s not the point.  I am talkative and I don’t wanna be talkative anymore)
7. I will read more to broaden my perspective in life (and to increase my capacity to understand others)

These are already out of line but hey, this is my blog so anyway…

   8.  I will not be afraid to date, I will seriously exhaust all means so I could finally move on

   9.  I will love my family more (I will show it through more tangible stuff)

 10.  I will always be considerate of others’ feelings and stop expecting other people to do the same, so I could finally free myself from my neuroses.

Just recently my block mate turned best friend turned girlfriend turned twin soul turned ex-girlfriend turned prospect turned best friend (what?!? again again!) sent me an SMS asking me if I would be interested to be in a blind date with her office mate.  Here’s the rundown:  Simple girl, low-key, a cross between Asia Agcaoili and Tweetie De Leon ( I am not privy though as regards partition, is it Tweetie’s eyes and Asia’s lips? (Hmmm ;p) Or as my officemate kidded me, Asia’s face and Tweetie’s boobies? Hmmm not so good.hehehe) great smile, brainy, loves F. Sionil Jose and Jessica Zafra, masarap kausap.  Hmmm… Sounds interesting eh?

If only it wasn’t HER asking me to start dating again.  I mean, for someone who had played such big roles in my life, it baffles me how she can actually orchestrate something as ludicrously ridiculous as me dating her new found friend.

Had this thing happened a few months ago, I would have thought that she’s probably dating right now and wants to rid herself of the guilt. Or I would have felt as if she was trying to send a strong message (M-O-V-E O-N L-O-S-E-R!) because as far as I can remember, I’ve explicitly expressed my, uhmm,  ‘yearning’ to be part of the selection pool if and when she finally deems herself fit to be in another relationship again.  I am quite sure though that she had good intentions.=)

However, my reaction was borderline OC as I scoured my office files for pictures after she texted me that Tweetie/Asia wants to see me first (hmmm classy chick) before anything else.  For several minutes I poached on company time and let myself wonder where this would lead, until the usual panic set in.

Excited as I may seem, blind dates do agitate me…a lot.  More than not being liked by my date, what scares the shit out of me is that single moment between the first hello and initial eye contact wherein you feel that it will never work out, just like the previous ones.  I may babble about the social psych theories on mate selection to justify this fear, however, inconvenience is the least of my problem -whether she lives outside the radial requirement or something or that she’s absolutely vibrating on a different energy level do not really bother me. 

What saddens me is that oftentimes, in circumstances such as this, we judge people based on gut feel (given its high degree of reliability)?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just talk and get to know the other person better, sans the ‘first impressions’ looming over our heads? Impossible as it is, I bet my balls it can make a big difference.  It will definitely make the conversation more interesting and hey it’s getting obvious that I am forcing na this eh?hehehe

I’ll just update you soon…Hmmm.