I Rule My World!

“I’m so sorry but I don’t have enough cash,” I helplessly explained to the cashier.

I went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. With the activities lined ahead of me that balmy Friday, I knew I had to fuel my system before I practice the organ. Forgetting my ID at home, I was fortunate to find three dollars in my pocket. That would do.

I was careful not to help myself too much with the fruits on the bar, and also got myself an egg sandwich which was for only a dollar and 29 cents and potato wedges for 45 cents.

I’m not a math genius but I know enough to at least count money, so I knew I had enough cash for the food I took. Hence my apprehension when the blinking red numbers showed on the cashier’s screen. $7.38!!! Then it dawned on me. Taxes.

The line behind me started to get long. I put on the most sorry face I could make, not on purpose though, but a natural reaction to my stupidity. I knew I was putting the cashier (who was also a student) into a predicament. I asked her if I could return some of the food (in other words, I was putting myself into more embarrassment). For a while I thought she would concede, but she decided against it instead. “Nope, you can’t do that,” and then calls out to the other cashier across her and tells her, in a very clear and articulate and quite loud voice, “Dude, this girl don’t have enough cash. What are we gonna do?” I was flustered more than ever. Right, announce it to the whole world!

The spirit of whoever invented the phrase “May the earth open up and swallow me whole,” was closely hovering on me. Death.

Now I know why they say death and taxes are the only sure things in this world.

The girl behind me clicks her heels in impatience. Everybody’s eyes are now on me and I had this sudden urge to shout, “Hey, you’re being punked!” and run out of the building real fast. Yep. That’s what I’d do.

Just then before another stupid word came out of my mouth, this angel, I mean this guy, behind the heel-clicking girl swept me off my feet by saying, “You can use my ID, I don’t mind.”

The two cashiers, the girl and I looked at him in wide amazement. He was even embarrassed and looked at his tray when he handed me his ID. Yeah, I know it’s just seven bucks, but who cares? Nobody was willing to, and he did. He was either very hungry and didn’t wanna wait till we all figured out what to do or just being super kind. I wanted to hug him but contained myself. I mustered the most grateful “thank you” I can do, and he was more embarrassed than ever.

I ate my breakfast in melancholic silence. I wonder, how in the world do I get all these humiliating moments? Often as they come, they still have the same embarrassing effect on me. Then again, I have stories to tell. And the best thing is that I meet angels along the way.

It’s normally easy to find things to complain about. I mean I can rant on and on about how unfair the world is, and that I was not given my fair share of blessings. I’ve always wondered how some people can always be spontaneous and say that they were so blessed to have this or that, and I look at my life—and ask, well, what do I have?

And then I realize, I actually have a lot of things to thank God for. While this week has been insanely crazy, I’d like to think that it’s God’s way of blessing me, though.

One of the best blessings I got this week was seeing my relatives. Being with a family in a foreign land (even for a while) is always a moment to treasure. And I haven’t seen most of them for the longest time, so it was a real treat to get together once again and strengthen the bonds.

I am also fortunate to have classmates who are in a serious pursuit to get high grades. Hence the study sessions every other night so we can be ready for next week’s midterm exams. True, 20^th century music fries my brain cells dry, but when studying is shared with someone, I can understand better and absorb things faster.

I am also thankful for the free rides my friends are offering me and for their willingness to bring me home when I ask them to. Most of the times, they are even more than willing to give me a ride and although I skip the exercise to walk home, at least I am excused from the weather which has been very unpredictably chilly and unfavorably rainy.

I taught Dr. Doukhan’s Baroque music class this week and it was a very frightening yet very fulfilling experience for me. To stand in front of people who are mostly taller and better English speakers than me could be very intimidating. Thankfully, the topic was close to my heart (Bach’s instrumental music) and so I did not have to spend many precious hours to review and practice my lecture. An extra blessing that came with this was the absence of all the graduate students in this class. Ironically, all of them seemed to have a problem with their alarm clocks that particular day, and so I only had to face the undergrads, who were always all ears while writing notes feverishly.

Then there was that perfect score I got in the listening exam for 20^th century music class, a ‘well done’on my report paper about the Yale Seminar, and a ‘good job!’ comment from my organ teacher after hearing my Lubeck piece.

I was able to ‘recruit’ piano students and taught them for the first time this week. Oh, do keep them coming! And not only am I lucky to have another good-paying job, but the piano I’m using is a high-quality Yamaha baby grand, just sitting pretty out there in the living room.

I’m meeting more music students and have been FC enough to beso-beso when I see them around the campus or even in the building. Who would’ve thought that I would have a number of friends already when just weeks ago, I was eating alone in the cafeteria, I was going home early, going to PMC alone, and spending free, as in FREE weekends. Now I hardly eat at the café without Jinah or Ting. Even Denny (who reminds me so much of Ardie—-ahemm), who I erroneously thought to be such a big head, is always ready to warm my day with his mischievous smiles and humorous puns. Then there’s Jennifer who sang to me my all-time favorite song, with John improvising on the saxophone.

To cap off the blessed week, I got a good feeding on the Lord’s word during the music department’s vespers. The dinner which preceded the service was also great, and the worship program even better. Of course, we got in the crowd the ‘best’ musicians in the campus and the sermon, which was delivered by one of the senior voice majors who retold the story of David and the prophet Nathan’s parable about the lamb.

Oh, what a good practice indeed to count blessings. Once you start counting, it’s just hard to stop.

So anyway, did I even tell you about that angel I met last week? J