I am seeing red.

 

Just 30 minutes ago I got into an argument with a woman at the lotto booth. I had barely given the lotto lady my number combinations when this ill-bred louse of a woman laid her lotto card and money on the ledge alongside me. Now, in case you didn’t know, people who do not know how to fall in line do not just tick me off. They can cause me to blow my top.

 

I immediately told her, and very politely and gently at that, “Ma’am, you’re supposed to fall in line this way.” And I made a gesture behind me with my arm.

 

To which she replied, “E tapos ka naman e.”

 

This was when I began to get pissed off. I said, “I’m not done yet. Can’t you see I haven’t even gotten my stubs? I haven’t even gotten my change. You’re supposed to fall in line this way.” At this I repeated my arm gesture. And I really have to reiterate that I was still speaking mildly at this point, although I was already obviously annoyed.

 

She stood her ground and merely repeated, “Tapos ka na naman nga e.” She said that like it was a very natural thing for people to not fall in line the way civilized people are supposed to do. She even had the chutzpah to look irritated.

 

“That’s very rude of you to just lay your ticket on the ledge like that, not even bothering to fall in line.”

 

At this she very eloquently retorted, “Ang arte mo!”

 

Oh, that got me. At this I had figured out that I wasn’t getting through to this maleducated entity, so I decided to tell her in Tagalog, “Hindi ka marunong pumila. Bastos ka.”

 

She wasn’t backing off that easily either. “Ikaw ang bastos. Ang arte mo!”

 

For lack of more creative Tagalog words to throw back at this uncouth flea, I was reduced to repeating, “Hindi ka marunong pumila. Bastos ka.” Then I stormed off.

 

Holy Mother of God, I have never in my life wished that I could argue more fluently in Tagalog as badly as I do now. How I wish there was some way to put this uncivilized louse and every other person like her in their proper place which, simply put, is merely in line.

 

Just how absofugginlutely hard is it to properly fall in line!

 

Now friends, pray tell, what would have been a better way to handle a situation like this? I dislike arguing above all, especially with entities like the woman in question whom I regard as way beneath me. But sometimes you just have to give people a piece of your mind.

 

Last week, while waiting to cross Taft after buying donuts in the middle of hospital work, I happened to stand beside a 20 or so year-old neatly dressed woman. She coughed and, in broad daylight, spat a thick whitish glob of phlegm into the gutter. I looked her in the eye and said, “That’s disgusting, you know that?” I waited for her to reply, but she just looked away in shame.

 

At least she didn’t have the effrontery to justify her lack of manners.

   

Comments

[Mel]

hmmm... perhaps you should choose surgery as your residency...

i can assure you... we can broaden you vocabulary on 'Creative Tagalog words'...

just take this situation as proof of Darwin's Theory of Evolution... some people are not quite THERE yet. :-)