Today’s the beginning of summer

Today is the beginning of the summer months. Students in classrooms across these isles have watched their homeroom door, ready to say “bye” when the final bell rings signaling their last day in class for the school year.

For some, it’s time for that long planned family vacation in the US mainland or some exotic destination. Others (students especially), it’s summer jobs. For still others, it’s business as usual–work, play, beach–and a redundancy of the same activities. Then there’s the 4th of July festivities.

It’s hardly noticeable though that summer months here is an everyday activity what with a steady summer weather all year long.
Aggravating the loss of body clock is the shift either from sunny or rainy days.
Nothing comes after these two normal weather conditions. Either you’re roasted or drenched! And we get more than our share of both conditions.
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There were memorable days though during the three-month period of summer vacation. I landed a job at a construction company with a buddy. Our daily task was to sandpaper every leaf of wooden louvers at Hopwood High in Chalan Piao.

My buddy and I would sing our day-in and day-out with Beatles songs. We’d intone “Hard Days Night” if only to confirm what the job entails. The company didn’t even give us face masks to protect our sinuses and eyes from wood and paint dust. But we were young and there weren’t OSHA regulations to employ either. Our only rights was, well, work!

When we completed the sandpaper job, I was handed my $37.50 with a brief explanation that there’s nothing else to do. In other words, I was terminated after 15 days. It was back to the farm, feeding animals, pulling grass among tall rows of sweet corn and other garden vegetables.

Those were memorable days of “Hard Days Night”. They were fun days, too!

Who is in the office on Fridays?

Over the last year, I’ve consistently called up offices to talk to some people. I usually make these calls between 2 and 4 p.m. on Fridays, pay day or otherwise. The answers you get is both interesting and frustrating.

The most famous phrase is: “I think he stepped-out for a while…he’s out on the field…he’s in a meeting…he’s gone for the day”. What receptionist doesn’t know is that I already know his boss’s whereabouts, i.e., he just pulled out of the marina for a fishing trip; unloading his golf bag like a seasoned thief running away from pursuers; shopping or starting a barbecue at the beach.

I am not complaining though it’s interesting how receptionists are trained to tell white lies through their teeth. And you hear the same redundant answers, time and again. I could even hear them mumbling “Thank God It’s Friday”. Too bad, she and the peer peons must stay back and answer (white lies) for their bosses or fellow co-indians I wonder too if these guys ever sign out leave forms before exiting their cubicles. Well, maybe they did and one need only peep into their paychecks for they receive a full day’s pay even on Fridays when they clandestinely fool taxpayers.

The group of public sector workers you can find every Friday are teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers and the “Scared Squad”. The Scared Squad are the lowest paid employees and have yet to learn the robes of telling their way through white lies. Thus, you find them in their work stations passing time until 4:30 p.m.

Well, we also played a key role in spoiling these guys what with our wonderful sense of passivity even with full knowledge that we pay for their salaries. It must the summer time mentality employed to the hilt as to make every passing day into those wonderful days of summer. Be good!