| Ahhh...rest at last. Today was the kind of day that would have been okay had I been better- informed of the rules of electric bill payment. I woke up bright and early, planning to walk to Megamall in time for the mall's 10am opening, hoping to be first in line at the bayad center there.
Well, I set off a taaad bit after 10, and I wasn't exactly first in line when I got there (gimme a break). But I WAS just 3rd in line-- which wasn't so bad, considering. And so the happy mood continued...until...i noticed the cashier's brows furrow, indicating something was wrong. I could feel a small, gray cloud forming in the distance, threatening to darken my otherwise bright, cheery morning. True enough, her computer revealed my bill's somewhat overdue state (shame on you, bill!), and I now had to go to a Meralco branch to settle my account. Not a bank or bayad center, mind you, but at one of the real branches. Apparently, overdue bills can no longer be paid at any old payment outlet anymore. But why, I ask. I hadn't received a notice of disconnection yet. I was still in the clear. And where the heck was this Meralco branch that I had to go to? I walked from my house to Megamall, precisely because I wanted to save on cab fare, and now you're telling me I have to travel to some far-off office just to pay a stupid, P300 bill? But that's...so...inconvenient, I cried. "There's just a 4-day grace period for overdue payments, ma'am," explained the sympathy-challenged teller, comfortably ensconced behind her bullet-proof (I'm guessing), glass window. "Give me that," I said, snatching my bill back from her hand to check. Due Date: Jan 20, it said. Hmmm. What date is it today? Hmmm. So where is this branch again? Anyway, to make a long story short, I had a neck-and-shoulders massage at the Aromatherapy Clinic upstairs first before setting out to find the nearest Meralco temple to make sacrificial apology offerings to the elecric bill gods for being 14 days late on my payment! So much for my well-intentioned trek to the mall. Later in the day, I made my way to Makati for my assistant-directing gig with Tito Freddie, for a school production of First Name. As usual, it was chaotic. With around 50 students or so in the cast, how can it not be! Problem is, Tito Freddie and Junevee are both going to be out-of-town on Saturday for the Bataan and Olongapo touring shows of "Joseph the Dreamer", leaving me all alone to direct 50 kids (and a handful of teachers) for four hours. Heaven help me. |
