my-letter-in-other-letters

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Dear hustle culture kids,

Over the course of our lives, we learn a lot of foreign yet familiar concepts. So, I'd like to share my favorite Aklanon word, patawhayi. It's an idea where you let things settle before deciding on your next course of action. 

In life, we shouldn't be rushing to decide on things. We should pause, take a breather, and if our decision remains the same after thinking about it for a few seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or even years, we should choose to forge ahead. The lull in between is that beautiful moment called patawhayi. It is when you allow yourself to think before you click, it's when you give yourself permission to relax before getting straight to it, and it's when you are free to decide for yourself.

Love,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Dear onion skin,

Here's the thing: the secret to not getting stressed over the congestion of discourses, be it online or in real life, is that one should remember that we have our freedom in doing what we want, appreciating what we want based on our own backgrounds or experiences for so long as it is not contrary to public policy and morals. In the same manner that in terms of consuming art and culture, we have different tastes and we may not necessarily agree with what the other is saying but we should either allow them to say it or even defend them in their right to say it. After all, it is your right to be offended but it is not your right to not be offended. If you're offended that pineapple belongs on pizza (gosh, maybe you only even hate on it simply because the media tells you otherwise) or Renoir is better than Murakami for me, then by all means voice out that you are offended but you cannot demand that I beat around the bush to protect your pride if that is my opinion on that subject matter.

Love,

Letter S (10•24•22)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Deliberate practice

I translate the line "taking small steps consistently" until a skill becomes learned or an attitude emulated as putting in the hours.

My internship requires me to clock in and clock out daily. The practice affords me a fixed schedule to learn the trade by exploring trends, researching more about the industry, and familiarizing myself with the apps used in the workplace.

At first, it felt like a different ballgame because while I had a prior background in what I was supposed to do, this was a foreign territory with a new culture. So, I had to make the most of the hours I clocked in conscientiously. And as time progressed, I progressed. Finally, I have found the growth mindset I've been looking for since the pandemic started. 

Love,

Letter S (07•01•22)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

I began to be passionate about two things in fifth grade that has carried over to this day and age: reading and the law profession. And it all started with the yellow hardbound Nancy Drew books that I began consuming almost fanatically during that period. The character's father was a criminal lawyer. I decided then and there that I wanted a similar life. So, I asked around like the child we all once were and received some answers from people who have been through it all. They warned me that it would entail a lot of reading which did not daunt me because my daily consumption of reading material is staggering.

As early as fifth grade, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and becoming one has been something that I have dedicated time and effort to develop as a career. I attended and organized international, national, and regional fora and related events to allow me to take part more effectively in decision-making activities and undertake leadership roles for my personal development. Because I knew early on that the journey to becoming a lawyer was a marathon and not a sprint, I conditioned myself to work around the limits of my stamina by setting the goal for college at the bare minimum with a qualification: to graduate on time. Now, I feel like I have made the right decision to be chill during college because I have seen similar people who have always wanted to pursue graduate studies getting burnt out as early as third-year college.

Love,

Letter S (07•01•22)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

An Ice Cream Shop Makes Me Feel Cold and not Cool

Dear me! What an experience!

Years ago, I tried ordering at an ice cream shop not knowing that the staff were deaf and mute. This has led to a major faux pas where I became impatient that the server was unresponsive.

When I realized that the staff was differently abled, cold sweat began trickling down my back. I realized that despite championing for a society that is inclusive, I did not know how to interact with them. I only knew a little bit of sign language because it was cool in elementary to talk secretly in this code. Luckily, there was a signboard in the shop itself to walk me through the process that I noticed belatedly after the server made a sign to indicate that he could not hear me.

It took me an experience in an ice cream shop to feel cold and not cool. If only I were more eager to learn and observe, then this would not have happened. This was a shameful experience but how often do we get exposed to situations like this? It is as if it is treated as an unseen epidemic.

If this were faced by others, the circumstances that happened then could be grounds for barriers and irritants in their customer experience. People tend would walk out on unresponsive servers, probably not knowing the full picture. This is because when we are in a position or positions of privilege, we sometimes cannot be bothered to learn more about how we can communicate with those in an unequal playing field.

Here, we can see that social inequalities are reinforced in their daily lives as people walking out on them, not bothering to understand, or not being more empathetic lead to losses in income, livelihood, and social interaction. They then face chronic uncertainty as theirs is often an isang kahig, isang tuka lifestyle. Their dilemma would be if they have enough budget for even the most basic of necessities like food, water, clothing, and shelter in their day to day lives. It did not take a global pandemic to exacerbate their plight as this has been a reality before and will continue to be one after this outbreak.

But we can fight against social and gender inequalities like this by making a safer, more diverse, and gender responsive society. We need to learn about these concepts in school and beyond so that we are more aware and less insensitive. Knowing sign language should not be considered as cool but should be as accessible as an official language in order to promote a society that values inclusivity and diversity. In fact, it should not just be the provisions of spaces for marginalized identities because like us, the differently abled should be able to treat the world as their oyster because the opportunities are as abundant for them as it is for us. Thus, we need to include them in the decision-making processes in matters that involve them. Their "voices" should be heard and taken into consideration and we can start by creating one safe space at a time so much so that when we look back to what we have achieved, we'll see that these spaces are ubiquitous.

Love,

Letter S (05•02•22)

Note: I did get to order ice cream but not after my cold sweat episode when I realized how insensitive I was and how I was not as observant because of the lack of awareness in dealing with situations like this.

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Stargazing for the child in me

To the stars that listen,

Emerson in his "Introduction" in "Nature" used the stars to describe true solitude as they allowed him to perceive the "perpetual presence of the sublime". Now that I am older, this resonates with me because I realized my love for Scouting and life because of the same stars that forever hold our sense of wonder and their power to move us like children beneath the night sky. Back then, as my schedule grew more hectic and erratic, I have gradually stopped taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature which was contrary to Emerson's discussion on viewing nature with a poetical approach.

Rousseau as mentioned in the video on romanticism explained this occurrence as growing up where we, like the rest of the world, became more "rational, scientific, ...x increasingly sensible, planned, sterile, and bureaucratic". Camping in the outdoors re-allowed me to be at the seat of creativity and genius as I was able to stop, look, and listen to the "essences unchanged by man; space, the air, the river, the leaf" with peers and other age groups. There, I rediscovered the "child" in me and for that, I am grateful.

Against all the noise and the haste, I can continue to have this child-like wonder to the rest of the wonders of the world and those that are yet to be discovered --- friendship, fun, and other fascinations because of breaks in the regular action through going on camps and other nature trips. Happiness, therefore, is no abstract truth but the most practical of truths where you can be truly happy as long as you keep that twinkle in your eye as we "trust the perfection of the creation so far".

Love,

Letter S (02•19•22)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

I posted 11 times in 2021

11 posts created (100%)

0 posts reblogged (0%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.0 posts.

I added 12 tags in 2021

#marketing - 3 posts

#letter - 1 posts

#paniniwala - 1 posts

#actors - 1 posts

#microenvironment - 1 posts

#challenge - 1 posts

#information - 1 posts

#outdoors - 1 posts

#environments - 1 posts

#diyos - 1 posts

Longest Tag: 40 characters

#realization life college self identities

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Lockdown Diaries

Dear diary,

In 2019, I attended the World Scout Jamboree with 40,000 other scouts from around the world. I remember the stadium was so jam-packed that we were like sardines. While the event was already a fantasy back then, it was the ordinary human and mundane face-to-face interactions with a lot of people every single day that I miss which is anything but mundane now. Now, no matter how much we crave for human interaction, we avoid it like the plague (more like, like COVID-19). We had a device called Novus on our wrists that we would tap against another person's to get their contact information. While Novus was a novel experience, the action of tapping another's belongings on mine and leaving with a handshake now, if any is usually accompanied by excessive spraying of alcohol. Bottom-line is I miss going on camps, to the point that during the quarantine, I set up our tent in our yard to reminisce.

Let me out,

Letter S

0 notes • Posted 2021-07-12 15:06:51 GMT

#4

Anecdotes of Business Transactions

Dear reader,

This experience is very timely. I bought five pieces of N-95 facemasks from the Watsons store in Kalibo for more than P500. However, upon using one of the five masks, the ear strap broke as soon as I put it on. This meant that the mask was actually a factory defect. Generally, for products that are factory defects, one has to return it within seven (7) days for an exchange. Unfortunately, I could only go there again on the 10th day because the one-way fare from New Washington to Kalibo hiked up to more or less P70 during the pandemic and I treated the replacement as an errand that I should only do if and only if I had to buy other things from the CityMall.

The manager did confirm that they would have replaced the mask but the period has already lapsed. I went to my mom's office in Kalibo unfulfilled. I told my mom and she told me that I had to go back and argue my case. I had to appeal to them as well that they should cultivate goodwill because if they were to replace it, I would continue to patronize their shop. I also had to emphasize that we are in a pandemic and that they should have more consideration. This is where the optional reading came in handy because I could justify that the COVID-19 is a fortuitous event. In the end, that N-95 was replaced with my shaky negotiation skills.

Suprisingly,

Letter S 

0 notes • Posted 2021-07-12 15:04:33 GMT

#3

"This must be how God looks at me."

 Bo Sanchez

Dear whoever is still reading this,

I think one of the most striking things from our lecture in Theo 12 is the line, "This must be how God looks at me." 

This brings me back to how my parents continue to be patient with me even if I am being impossibly unbearable and moody. I find it hard to believe that there will come a time when I will go against the instinct of self-preservation (i.e. parenthood) and do something so unexpectedly loving but I see evidence of it every day  —  in the eyes of my parents. 

However, there are also instances that make me question the very fragments of our humanity.

When we encounter members of the LGBTQIA+ community, I cannot fathom how some Catholics can even hate someone that is part of God's creation. Is this the way we want them to feel how God looks at them?

Regardless of whether or not we view it as a sin, were we not taught to hate the sin but not the sinner? Moreover, one of the key standards in Catholic Social Teaching is the need to prioritize the perspective of the poor and the oppressed. These members of the community are part of the oppressed and the blatant discrimination and stigma attached to them violates their human dignity, limits their freedom, and imposes inequality which is contrary to our duty to uphold the dignity of all and protect human rights. #transrightsarehumanrights

With love,

Letter S (06•13•21)

0 notes • Posted 2021-06-23 10:38:05 GMT

#2

On the Filipiniana section

Dear literature majors/minors,

Bienvenido Lumbera in The Rugged Terrain of Vernacular Literature pointed out the irony of how the Filipiniana section in Philippine libraries were supposed to make works about the Philippines, either by Filipinos or non-Filipinos, more accessible to the general public. However, it is as if these works which deserve to be celebrated by everyone are being gatekept, consciously or otherwise. One cannot blame them as these copies are very limited and sometimes even, archaic. 

Now, I'm not sure if my experience in the Filipiniana section of Ateneo's Rizal Library should have a caveat of sorts since I was an impressionable freshman then. I was like a bird frightened by the twang of a bow when I visited there. Everyone had this "we're not here to play" vibe that was second only to the dreary ambience of the library in the Ateneo Professional Schools. I might have been able to pass myself off as one of them since I have an impeccable poker face but I gave myself away ab initio. My only tell? My footsteps. Internally, I was cringing despite my slack face. I felt like everyone could hear the ruckus of my feet and from that alone: fee-fi-fo-fum, they could hear the blood of a college freshman.

That’s it,

Letter S

1 notes • Posted 2021-09-02 06:56:10 GMT

#1

One but many; not many but much

Dear whoever is still interested in little old me,

I've always prided myself in being one but many and I felt that I was more than enough. Until my overweening pride was dashed when we had to make new friends as college freshies. One of my blockmates asked me, what my sports were so I was like Taekwondo. I was both self-confident and modest of the fact that I was a Taekwondo blackbelt as it spoke of my indomitable spirit, perseverance, and etiquette. But then he went, "And? What else?" So, I said swimming even if I wasn't that big into competitions back then. I still felt that I mastered it and having two sports was already good for me but he still said, "And?" Again. At that point, I just said, "That's it." I squinted my eyes and asked, "Why, what sports do you have?" 

Lo and behold, the little kid listed out 12-20 sports without need of prompting. He explained that he would practice the sport until he became above average and then moved on to another after noticing my utter disbelief. 

College is a funny place. You are practically in the same age range but are at different points in life. Some are little miss experienced in terms of acads, org works, and romantic entanglements while others remain clueless or are dangling their feet in the waters for the first time to attract the sharks because of their own hunger to prove themselves in this dog-eat-dog world. This has placed an unprecedented pressure on me to do more and be more. Magis. It took me two years (as now, a Junior in college) to realize that it is okay to take things slow. I do not have to force myself to keep up with the Kardashians when I am not one in the first place. I am my own person and I may not be many but I am much. Non multa, sed multum.

Sincerely,

Letter S  (08•30•21)

1 notes • Posted 2021-08-31 05:07:05 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Dear Filipinos,

I have encountered all three works and/or authors back in high school and among these three, I would rank Severino Reyes' Walang Sugat as the work that I remember the most. Because when it comes to retention, his ending was the most memorable one. However, in the recesses of my memory, I only remember it as another romance story that we had to read (not watch) simply because it was written in a time we were supposedly interested in. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I was able to understand the thinly veiled allegory of the Philippines and America among their characters after watching the story this time and analysing it further in class. But just because I said that Walang Sugat was the work I remember most, does not mean that I have no recollection of Bonifacio's and Rizal's works. I do but only because the Philippine government, particularly the Department of Education has been aggressively promoting their works more than Reyes', particularly the latter's. In fact, the beauty of all three authors' works is that they are memorable enough that you have a vague concept at the back of your mind even after many years have passed. I guess the way I responded to each of the works in the form they came determined how I would retain the information/subject/message of love of country and sedition and insurrection against the Spanish regime.

Because Bonifacio wrote poems in Tagalog, this had the least consciousness in me over the years. I can hardly remember poems in general, much less poems in Tagalog which is very different from my mother tongue, Aklanon and English. Moreover, Bonifacio and I wouldn't click as he is the more aggressive, direct to the point type of writer especially in the part of Katapusang Hibik ng Pilipinas where he deliberately dropped the 300 years mark to allude to Spain. As for Rizal's novel(s), I found them too long to enjoy even if it is one of the most, if not the most, celebrated Filipino works of all time. His approach was more of an embedded subversion so you really had to dig dip and read between the lines. To be honest, I couldn't really be bothered because it's already a done deal but I liked the Bapor Tabo scene. It's not like I can sound smart if I quote Rizal since everybody quotes Rizal. Now, Severino is less well-known but relevant enough to warrant my attention. It was short enough to be easily digestible but long enough to keep me engaged. The ending, oh the ending was beautiful. The fact that Walang Sugat focused more on the romance and at the same time, personified something should you want to dig deeper which appealed to me as a teen and appeals to me now even as a young adult.

Sincerely,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Sa mga nada,

Palagay ko ang nada na tinutukoy ni Hemingway ay ang kawalan ng saysay ng buhay na siyang tilang iniiwasan ng nakatatandang serbidor. Ang karanasang ito ay inilarawan sa A Clean, Well-Lighted Place sa personipikasyon ng matandang lasinggero. Hindi na niya alam kung saan siya tutungo kung kaya't tulad ng mga monggo sa eksperimento natin noong mga bata tayo sa agham, naeenganyo siya sa liwanag. Kumakapit siya sa cafe dahil ito ay malinis, maliwanag dahil gusto niyang makawala sa kadiliman ng walang kasiguraduhan, ng kawalan ng saysay.

Masasabing naranasan ko ito sa kurso ng pandemya. Hindi ko na alam ang dahilan kung para kanino ako bumabangon. Ito siguro ang aspekto ng dehumanization ng karanasan ng nada na tinutukoy ni Hemingway. Paulit-ulit na lamang akong gumigising para sa wala na tila robot. Ang aking naging "clean, well-lighted place" noong mga panahong iyon ay ang malinis at maliwanag na Canvas Home ko. Bumabangon lamang ako para sa deadline noong mga panahong iyon at sa mga panahong hindi ko ginagawa ang aking mga takdang aralin, ang aking ginagawa ay nada. Wala. Nothing sa Ingles. Naging instrumental din naman ito sa aking katinuan. Masaya naman ang mga bahaging iyon ng nada pero ito naman ay uri ng nada na may kinaibahan sa kay Hemmingway. Ginamit ko ang mga oras ng nada na iyon para mag-ipon ng lakas para kung saka-sakaling mahanap ko na ang direksyon na gugustuhin kong tahakin, may reserba ako.

Kapwa nada,

Letrang S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Sa mga naniniwala sa mga bagay na hindi madaling unawain,

Naniniwala ako sa Maykapal at naging malaking pagbabago na mula doon. Bagamat sa aking paniniwala, tinugunan ko ang maraming bokasyon tulad ng pakikipagkapwa-tao, pagiging makakalikasan, at pagtupad ng pananagutan ko sa Diyos, bayan o komunidad, at sarili; hinamak ko rin ang mga tukso gaya ng pagsisinungaling at pagnanakaw. Bilang alagad ng Diyos, ginawa ko ang mga ito dahil naniniwala akong pandaigdig ang karunungan mula sa Sampung Utos Niya at hinding-hindi ako magkakamali kahit saan man ako sa mundo mapadpad, kung iyon ang aking susundin.

Kaya kong maniwala sa Diyos na hindi ko mauunawaan dahil may mga panahong hindi ko rin maintindihan ang aking sarili, ang aking mga magulang, at ang mga nangyayari sa aking kaligiran. Tinatanggap ko namang hindi ko maiintindihan lahat at hindi rin naman ako nagmamadaling maintindihan ang lahat, maging ang Diyos na aking sinasamba na parang mga magulang ko lamang ang relasyon naming dalawa - mayroon silang mas malawak na pag-iisip na sa ngayon, hindi ko man maintindihan, para naman sa aking ikabubuti ang kanilang ginagawa. Hindi ako nagmamadali dahil naniniwala ako sa buhay na walang hanggan kapiling ang Panginoon kaya may panahon akong alalahanin, kilalanin, at unawain Siya. Susundin ko na lang ang loob Niya dito sa lupa (tulad ng mga nangyayari sa aking buhay na hindi ko maunawaan), para ng sa langit dahil sa huli, alam kong may plano Siya para sa akin, para sa ating lahat.

Nagmamahal,

Letrang S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

To the emerging marketplace and consumer,

Filipino marketers need to tap on four distinct areas for the Filipino consumer of today, namely: curiosity, necessity, opportunity, and tendency. The first two are for the actors in the microenvironment while the last two are for the major forces in the macroenvironment. If an outdoor clothing brand were to speculate on entering food manufacturing of outdoor food packs, the company needs to consider if there is a big enough market for this. Who will be their customers? They could say that consumer markets might comprise 1.3 million registered scouts from the Boy Scouts of the Philippines alone. However, it is no guarantee that all of them will patronize the products because it is more of a question of necessity than curiosity. In considering the demographic environment of this target consumer, will the company have the opportunity to penetrate the market? Will this type of consumer have the tendency to buy since a good number of them are from Generations Z and Alpha? These generations seem to have limited spending power as they are still dependents of their parents. Marketing management and innovation management are tricky fields to play because it requires a great deal of sensitivity to trends in the environment through continued patience and understanding.

Don’t be too hard on us,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Five actors in the Marketing Microenvironment

Dear four other actors,

I am sorry but...

I would identify a company's competitors as the actor that poses the most challenge to understand and consider. This is because it takes manpower and time to monitor their activities to gain the so-called strategic advantage. These activities might even just be the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of things that contribute behind-the-scenes, i.e. trade secrets, favorable conditions, and varying circumstances. No company records is an open book.

In setting up your business, I would wager that you have already established to some extent your relationship in the micro-level. In terms of the company, things are pretty clear cut. If your marketing orientation based on your vision and mission is to think consumer, then that ties up already to another actor which is the consumers. On the other hand, you tend to work hand and hand with suppliers and market intermediaries alike to produce the product that would work best for your target audience. As for the publics, you can grasp these groups by looking them up online. A challenge that one can foresee, however, is that some information you find may be inaccurate or misleading. After all, even if we are in the age of information, we are also in the age of misinformation.

Be that as it may, I still stand by the claim of competitors being the most volatile among the microenvironment actors. Again, you can hardly predict their moves. You have no control over their actions. You cannot directly influence consumer's perception and behavior towards them. In the end, you just have to strive to make your product stand out in a saturated market.

Sincerely,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Dear marketer,

Does the five-step marketing process have to be a linear progression? Would it not be better if it followed a cycle process where instead of ending with "captur[ing] value from customer[s] to achieve profits", we go full circle by "determin[ing] needs and wants" again?

One should consider going back to the development stage by determining what consumers need and want to 1) keep the market share by staying competitive and 2) exhaust all possible clients/customers. From there, the marketer may or may not make minute changes by reshaping, revising, or rewriting their marketing strategy, programs, and customer relationships.

With love,

Letter S  (08•31•21)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

On the Filipiniana section

Dear literature majors/minors,

Bienvenido Lumbera in The Rugged Terrain of Vernacular Literature pointed out the irony of how the Filipiniana section in Philippine libraries were supposed to make works about the Philippines, either by Filipinos or non-Filipinos, more accessible to the general public. However, it is as if these works which deserve to be celebrated by everyone are being gatekept, consciously or otherwise. One cannot blame them as these copies are very limited and sometimes even, archaic. 

Now, I'm not sure if my experience in the Filipiniana section of Ateneo's Rizal Library should have a caveat of sorts since I was an impressionable freshman then. I was like a bird frightened by the twang of a bow when I visited there. Everyone had this "we're not here to play" vibe that was second only to the dreary ambience of the library in the Ateneo Professional Schools. I might have been able to pass myself off as one of them since I have an impeccable poker face but I gave myself away ab initio. My only tell? My footsteps. Internally, I was cringing despite my slack face. I felt like everyone could hear the ruckus of my feet and from that alone: fee-fi-fo-fum, they could hear the blood of a college freshman.

That’s it,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

One but many; not many but much

Dear whoever is still interested in little old me,

I've always prided myself in being one but many and I felt that I was more than enough. Until my overweening pride was dashed when we had to make new friends as college freshies. One of my blockmates asked me, what my sports were so I was like Taekwondo. I was both self-confident and modest of the fact that I was a Taekwondo blackbelt as it spoke of my indomitable spirit, perseverance, and etiquette. But then he went, "And? What else?" So, I said swimming even if I wasn't that big into competitions back then. I still felt that I mastered it and having two sports was already good for me but he still said, "And?" Again. At that point, I just said, "That's it." I squinted my eyes and asked, "Why, what sports do you have?" 

Lo and behold, the little kid listed out 12-20 sports without need of prompting. He explained that he would practice the sport until he became above average and then moved on to another after noticing my utter disbelief. 

College is a funny place. You are practically in the same age range but are at different points in life. Some are little miss experienced in terms of acads, org works, and romantic entanglements while others remain clueless or are dangling their feet in the waters for the first time to attract the sharks because of their own hunger to prove themselves in this dog-eat-dog world. This has placed an unprecedented pressure on me to do more and be more. Magis. It took me two years (as now, a Junior in college) to realize that it is okay to take things slow. I do not have to force myself to keep up with the Kardashians when I am not one in the first place. I am my own person and I may not be many but I am much. Non multa, sed multum.

Sincerely,

Letter S  (08•30•21)

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Lockdown Diaries

Dear diary,

In 2019, I attended the World Scout Jamboree with 40,000 other scouts from around the world. I remember the stadium was so jam-packed that we were like sardines. While the event was already a fantasy back then, it was the ordinary human and mundane face-to-face interactions with a lot of people every single day that I miss which is anything but mundane now. Now, no matter how much we crave for human interaction, we avoid it like the plague (more like, like COVID-19). We had a device called Novus on our wrists that we would tap against another person's to get their contact information. While Novus was a novel experience, the action of tapping another's belongings on mine and leaving with a handshake now, if any is usually accompanied by excessive spraying of alcohol. Bottom-line is I miss going on camps, to the point that during the quarantine, I set up our tent in our yard to reminisce.

Let me out,

Letter S

[my-letter-in-other-letters]

Anecdotes of Business Transactions

Dear reader,

This experience is very timely. I bought five pieces of N-95 facemasks from the Watsons store in Kalibo for more than P500. However, upon using one of the five masks, the ear strap broke as soon as I put it on. This meant that the mask was actually a factory defect. Generally, for products that are factory defects, one has to return it within seven (7) days for an exchange. Unfortunately, I could only go there again on the 10th day because the one-way fare from New Washington to Kalibo hiked up to more or less P70 during the pandemic and I treated the replacement as an errand that I should only do if and only if I had to buy other things from the CityMall.

The manager did confirm that they would have replaced the mask but the period has already lapsed. I went to my mom's office in Kalibo unfulfilled. I told my mom and she told me that I had to go back and argue my case. I had to appeal to them as well that they should cultivate goodwill because if they were to replace it, I would continue to patronize their shop. I also had to emphasize that we are in a pandemic and that they should have more consideration. This is where the optional reading came in handy because I could justify that the COVID-19 is a fortuitous event. In the end, that N-95 was replaced with my shaky negotiation skills.

Suprisingly,

Letter S