Lucky dog me

March 30th 2009, first pay check in my new job sa Etel with new ATM sa Union Bank, excited at may ngiti sa mga labi habang nagmamadali akong pumasok sa ATM booth. Since bago lang yung card may default PIN ito na nakalagay sa information paper, I have to change the pin for security purposes of course, believing na activated na yung card (kasi naman, sabi ng HR activated na daw). So ayun, I changed the pin and discarded the information paper na pinunit ko nang pinong-pino at tinapon ko sa trash can. Kampante akong umuwi ng bahay at natulog, I was looking forward to get my first ever pay check for almost a month of training.

Morning the next day, March 31st, I've been hearing a lot of good things about sa sweldo, malaki daw dahil isang buong buwan kaming nag-training at real-time pa daw yung pay out. Kaya ako naman sumugod agad ako sa ATM booth, pumila sa napaka-habang linya ng tao, nag-hintay, at umasa only to find out na yung bagong PIN ko ay hindi pumasok and I still have to use the old one. Reason - kasi daw hindi pa daw activated yung card ko kahapon kaya balewala yung pin change ko. But the real problem was not the status of the card, it's the pin itself. Kailangan yung original at default pin ang gamitin ko to withdraw or access my account. I didn't know it, I didn't have it, tinapon ko na yun sa basurahan kagabi. Gumuho ang mundo ko, bigla akong nanlumo sa nalaman, para akong binuhusan ng malamig na tubig. Nawalan ako ng gana sa training, wala akong pera eh, yung mga kasama ko meron. I called Union Bank customer service and gave me two options: transact over the counter for the meantime, or wait till I get the replacement card. Of course I need the money na, kaya I went to the bank and discussed the options, and I learned that the bank doesn't have records for ATM pins since its confidential, so no choice talaga kelangan ko talagang palitan yung card ko. Lalo lang akong nainis, kasi puwera sa 2 weeks ang hihintayin ko to get the replacement card, eh magbabayad pa ako ng 150 pesos, tapos yung card na ipapalit eh ang pangit ng itsura tapos wala pang pangalan ko, kaasar! Dinagdagan pa ng 100 pesos na over the counter transaction charge pag magwi-withdraw ako. Haaay, its just like, I'll be waiting for 2 weeks at mababawasan pa yung pera ko ng 250 pesos. Hindi ako pumayag, pinilit kong gawan ng paraan, kahit alam kong wala na talagang iba pang paraan, ahihihi. I tried my luck to check the trash can na naka-lagay dun sa ATM booth kung saan tinapon ko yung punit-punit na transaction paper ko ang kaso malinis na. So I asked the manager about the trash, (sosyal diba? manager pa ang tinanong just for the trash) kung kelan sila naglinis at nagtapon ng basura. The manager called the maintenance personnel to get an answer, and good thing, yung basura kagabi ay hindi pa niya natatapon. I asked the manager if I could check it out malay mo naman kung andun pa yung pirapirasong papel na pinunit ko diba? Mabuti nalang at mabait yung manager pinayagan akong kalkalin yung basura. Walang hiya-hiya, nagpa-sama ako sa janitress para tingnan yung lukot-lukot na mga papel at isa-isahing tingnan ang bawat basura sa posibilidad na yun ang hinahanap ko. Nakita ko yung ibang parte ng information paper at sinusubukan kong buohin na wari'y puzzle ang mga ito. Hindi ko akalain at hindi ko sukat ma-imagine kung ano ang mararamdaman ko, dahil after around 10 minutes ng pagpapaka-baba ko sa aking pagkatao ay himalang nakita ko ang napaka-liit na piraso ng papel at nandun ang 4 na mahiwagang numero na bubuo ng araw ko - 5-0-5-4. Hindi ko alam kung ano mararamdaman ko, at kung paano ko ipapaliwanag ang nangyari, basta the only thing that I did was I tightly hugged the maintenance personnel, thanked her and rushed to the ATM booth to check, and praise God, it worked!

Nagpa-salamat ako sa bank manager, sa janitress, sa guard, at sa iba pang empleyado dun na naka-saksi sa fabulous na tagumpay ko. Nag-withdraw ako at pagkatapos pinalitan ko na din yung pin, this time for real. At least hindi na ako mag-hihintay ng 2 weeks at hindi na din ako magbabayad ng 250 pesos bank charges.

Nakaka-tuwang isipin na ang nangyari sa akin nung araw na iyon ay reflection ng buhay ko o ng buhay natin. Corny I know, pero kung iisipin mo, pwede eh. Seeing life in general with what happened, no matter how impossible the situation is, how hard it is to decide, how much the consequences will be, whether or not it's your fault, still there's always a way to get through it. There will always be options for us to choose from, there will be people who will always be willing to help us, and you always have yourself to keep you company even up to the lowest part of your journey. Sooner or later, you'll get what's intended for you.