RANDOM RAMBLINGS ON MY BIRTHDAY


Some random rants and observations to end this wonderful day (since it was my birthday :-D):

A.

When you line up at the bank to deposit a cheque, etc., sometimes the teller calls out "Override, please" and a more senior person rushes over, punches a few keys on the keyboard and your transaction goes through. I've always been curious about this practice, and after some nosing around, found out that the tellers are authorized only up to a certain amount (say, PHP20,000). Beyond this figure an "override" is needed.

One day, as the new teller (who was friendly-looking and rather chubby) was punching in my cheque deposit, she called out "override, please" and someone materialized beside her in a few seconds, punched a few keys and my cheque was duly deposited.

I jokingly told the teller, "Surely after doing so many overrides over the course of a day, you know the password your colleague has been typing by now?"

She just smiled her friendly smile and remained silent.

Undaunted, i pressed on, "In fact, to save time, you could probably just punch in her password yourself. That way, there'd be no more need to call her, diba?"

She laughed and said, "Ah, sir, we are not allowed to do that!" (being new, she was probably still too green and polite to tell me, "Do you want me to go to jail, you idiot?!")

Oh well.

B.

One of my pastimes is going to the record store to check out the new local and foreign music releases. Not necessarily buying records, since at P450 a pop for a foreign CD, they are expensive. Good thing local artists' CDs are generally at P250 - 280 each; otherwise, i don't think anyone would buy them.

And i must say those listening booths with headphones at Tower Records and Music One outlets are a great invention. . .you can listen to your fave songs without buying! Haha. And i just hope these are cleaned or at least sprayed with alcohol every day. I've yet to hear of anyone who has gotten an ear infection from dirty headphones, but you never know.

Tower/Music One also plays a featured artist or band through their piped-in sound system constantly. Unfortunately, their Quezon Ave. branch seems way too enthusiastic and plays the CDs at FULL BLAST all the time. Requests to tone down the music are hardly heeded.

So, while i'm trying to listen to the enhanting Sitti (an upcoming bossa singer, who is a delight to watch live) or the Pin-up Girls (the best Pinoy indie band you've never heard of), the sound system is pumping out the likes of that wretched band Coldplay, or dreadful Nickelback; or much much worse, Chillout Sessions by Anton Ramos at full volume. Grrrrhhh!!!

C.

I made a serendipitous discovery today. We all know that shampoo, ketchup, mayonnaise, even shoe polish are sold by the sachet nowadays, but did you know that even branded perfumes can be bought by the milliliter (ml)?

Yup, that's right. Whether you prefer CK One, Drakkar Noir, Colors by Benetton, Clinique Happy, or (God forbid) Jovan Musk, all you need to do is go to the new tiangge building between Podium and SM Megamall, look for the stall with the sign "Perfume Extender" (or was it "Perfume Lengthener"??). They have some sort of laboratory test tube-type of thing where they presumably pour out your selected scent from its bottle and measure accordingly the amount you are buying.

Quite weird, yet funny, isn't it? I thought it takes things a little too far, but then again, it makes perfect sense. Buying a whole 50 ml or 100 ml bottle of perfume is a rather significant investment, given that: a) you might tire of it at some point; b) your loved one hates the scent; c) it burns a hole through your meager savings; or d) all of the above. Of course, buying by the ml is a more expensive proposition, but i doubt any young Romeo out to impress his Valentine's date in order to get to second base with her would think that far ahead.

So, i guess love is not only blind, but also prone to dizzy spells from too-strong perfume.