The signs are all around me. The ATM machines are running out of cash and the waiting lines are a mile long. The mall entrances are jammed with people wanting to come in for some cold air. The outdoor bazaars are packed even at noon when the sun is at its warmest. The “cash only” parts of the paying areas in malls are infested by shoppers. And, there’s no restaurant that doesn’t have a waiting area full of people.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the high and mighty corporations of the Philippines have released this year’s Christmas bonus to their hardworking employees! What to do, what to do… spend or save? Splurge or stash? I’ll do nothing of those. I’ll just stay here suspended in time ’til it sinks in that my bonus is way too small to buy a house, a car and a litter of Siamese cats.

I’ll just dream, then. I’ll dream that my best friend did not just laughingly tell me how it is so hard to get tickets to anywhere nowadays, or how seats in planes are all reserved to people who had the foresight to plan ahead. I’ll dream that the paperwork in the office has dwindled down to waist-high and we will soon be having the week-long paid vacation leave that our boss has been promising for years now.

*dreams*

Survey Time