Harakiri

(Ojie-san and a colleague from the APAC department passed by, hilariously conversing in broken Engrish for all the world to hear)

Mama Selle: "Ayan na ang mga Hapon!"

As if struck by the ghost of Conan O'Brien's fluffy red hair, Roam, Emman and I boisterously cracked up like mad people. If you were a stranger, you might have thought we're lunatics. I bet our officemates raised their eyebrows in disgust from the noise we created. We were just amused. Of ourselves. Of Mama Selle. Of that single sentence that launched a thousand bullets to Mama Selle's aging self.

It's practically an inside joke. We have always teased our batchmates who are over 25 years old as the 'elderlies'. Whenever their heads ached, muscles strained, backs hurt, we come to a unanimous conclusion: they're getting brittle. It comes with age. When we encounter old, unfamiliar things, names, shows, songs, what-have-you, we consult them. They should know, they had it during their time. This craziness is just one of the few things we love doing to escape boredom. We love making fun of ourselves (aside from, of course, mocking other people).  We do! We do!

Among our elderlies (Father Timbol, Tatang Emman, Gabriela Maan, and Mama Selle), we love teasing Mama the most just because she gives the cutest reactions. And as for her silent remark stated above, we all but thought of the same thing: the Japanese invasion during the 1940's. Words came out like flashes: MacArthur, comfort women, World War II. We told Mama to ignore her flashbacks. We advised her to duck under the table for protection, keep her cool and not panic, and camouflage herself with dayami and putik. We didn't stop laughing and talking until we ran out of breath. 

It's always a fun and crazy trip. I love my friends. :)

(Yes, this post is about our laughtrip sesh at work but the way I wrote it is plain boring. Hrrhrr. Pardon my gloomy rays of happiness.)