Exemptions

Joy and I were at the Norwegian Embassy in Manila yesterday. We were inquiring about the new requirements in preparation for her return to Norway. There was a police officer there (whose name I can't recall) who is busy assisting all the people that were in the waiting area. By all, I mean, "ALL!" And by assisting I meant ordering people around, walking to and fro, tossing himself and nosing around everybody's business thus, annoying everyone -- including me! 

I didn't know what image he wanted to project about himself. Maybe, he wanted all of us to know how much he knows about the procedures and that he was the "go-to" guy.

    "I'm 'the man' here!" 

 For some divine intervention I managed to hold back my vexation (haha!) and tolerate him for the next hour and a half. I pretended not to hear him talk and read my paper like I was the only one there. But since my wife is not good at pretending, she would repeat whatever it was he was saying and add some comments of her own -- whispering it all in my ear! I'm like,

     "How much more of this can I take?" 

 Suddenly, a cellphone rang. And boy was the police officer elated to hear that! Finally, an excuse to scold someone. He went, 

    "Ano ba 'yan... I-silent niyo yan bawal dito yan, dapat alam niyo na yan e." (Put your phone on silent mode. You should already know that.) 

That was cool. But then he had to add,

     "Buti nga dito pwede niyo pang dalhin yan e, sa American Embassy hindi talaga pwedeng dalhin yan sa loob kasi bawal. Maluwag pa nga kami dito." (You're fortunate we still allow you to bring your phones in here. They don't even allow that at the American Embassy. We are very lenient with you here.)

When he said that, that was it for me. Wow! The nerve on this guy. To me it's like he was telling all of us that he does not just know everything about the Norwegian Embassy, he knows about the American one too. In my mind I was saying,

     "Somebody shut this guy up!"

 Imagine a master shouting at his dogs and you get the picture of how he was saying all of this. (with matching "pamewang") But since I was prudent enough not to make a scene and argue with a police officer, I stood and told Joy I was going to the men's room. 

The restrooms were at the ground floor. The embassy was at the 21st floor. I just wanted to get as far away as possible from that toxic scene and cool myself down. (haha! You understand I'm exaggerating.) 

 So I told Joy I would be waiting at the coffee shop in the lobby. It was a little after 11:30 so I figured lunch break would catch up on us and we'd have to return in the afternoon to finish our inquiry. A half-hour passed and I went back to pick Joy up. To my surprise, she was smiling and she told me the story. 

While I was out, the same phone from a while back was ringing again. Much to the surprise and delight of everyone, the police officer picked up his phone and disappeared in a corner.

 The phone that was ringing all morning was his all along.