A Charmed Life: Life's a Play!

Pick what your intuition tells you. be honest and frank..:-)


a. because he's simply a jerk!
b. he was undergoing some serious personal problem.
c. he put himself in a kind of trouble.
d. he has a girlfriend.
e. he was really, truly, busy.
f. he was afraid of something.
g. somebody told him to better stop meeting me for whatever reason.
h. he had a change of heart.
i. somebody died.
j. he was running for the national elections, gihihihi!
k. _________________________ (fill in the blank)
l. __________________________ (fill in the blank)



lovely!

Dear Diary. Today is Monday, the 3rd. I'll be going to Kyoto tonight. Much have happened, the past few days. Emotional stirrings. The most striking was my excursion to an old castle four days ago. I went there on a solo adventure to see the cherry blossoms but i was lost because it was not so easy to go there as I have read from the instructions. I met this guy, Ken. He was one of the people I asked directions from. My first impression of him was that he is soooo good-looking! He offered to bring me to the place. Turns out that he himself doesn't know where I wanted to go! language barrier... Anyway, we found the place and I was very disappointed because there was no castle ruin as I imagined it to be, and even more disappointed because the sakura has not bloomed in the mountains yet. But being with this guy was just so a wonderful feeling. I didn't have any strong feelings towards him though while we were touring. But he seemed to be, hmm. I can't say.. I just felt that he is so caring, kind and sincere. Then he brought me to his school and showed me around. He tried his best to communicate with me but I was not very enthusiastic because of the language barrier. I was tired talking and walking at the same time. He drove me back to the station, after a half-day tour! I thought of giving him a big hug before parting for he really deserve it, after all, he sacrificed his other appointments just to help me workout my indefinite adventure.


When the car stopped in front of the station, I didn't know what to do. I mumbled some incoherent thank yous. For some reason, he became so nervous and upset with a very gentle smile. I just know we were parked illegally and I have to get out as fast as I could. We didn't even exchange personal info, email, phone numbers, address. I think maybe he wasn't sure if it is proper for him to ask, and me too, it just didn't occur to me to ask his contacts. Yay, since that day I've been thinking about this guy Ken. It was romantic day, very, very. Unexpected, with air of mystery. We both know that I'll be leaving in 3 months though. gee..


Another occurrence is this funny Hex sent me an April fool's day message. I really like it and revised it and sent it to friends. I also sent to Zan then he emailed back saying he wants to talk to me after his job interview on wednesday (tomorrow). He mentioned he also hoped that I'll have a real boyfriend soon. Ha ha ha.. here he is, the guy i've been liking for more than a couple of months now! gee, i thought it's just 3 weeks. I think I've been giving him encouragements but i have mixed feelings now. I don't know if that is good or bad. My feelings is disappearing specially that I met Ken. I may no longer reciprocate his feelings since he doesn't really show that he is sincere. i.e. he always leaves me, he doesn't email back. Is he just shy? But why? Or too busy? If he really likes a girl he should spare a time. I'm now torn between two lovers, teehee... I'm just so glad that I'm going to Kyoto for a few days and I will have fun time there. I really don't know what the plans of the Lord for me concerning my love life. It's good that I'm still sane. Yes I am. Mathias thinks so that's why he relies on me when he has some emotional stuff going on. ha ha.


And then the other things that happened was Mathias' breakup with Leidy. Mathias too has his own love problems to deal with this times. Funny huh? Well, we are still the champion my friend :-) And there's the flirty Hex, and the desperate Chan. And the broken-hearted Mika, and the blissful Katie... How can I handle all these??? To discourage Hex, and to be cruel to Chan. And to be dreaming a hopeless dream with Ken, and to face uncertainty with Zan? Gosh, I'm really getting too involved... maybe Risa can listen? I have to sort things out. I'm really glad I'm leaving this place for a while to get out from this complexity yet emotional solitude. I hope that next time I will have a smarter decision to write here and a good conclusion too...


Zan - is my "crush"
Ken - the mystery guy I just met
Mathias - is a very close friend of mine
Leidy - is another friend of mine, Mathias' girl.
Hex - is a very funny, flirty guy who wants to make me his girl friend, he was always inviting me to his home to introduce me to his mom. yay!
Chan - is my stalker, we share very similar political views and he wants to make me his "partner." arghh...
Mika - is a friend of mine. I introduced her to Zan and she fell in love with him. But he doesn't reciprocate her feelings.
Katie - is another friend, who is in her own world. We went to Kyoto together.
Risa - is a friend of mine coming over to visit me on her way to the U.S. from the Philippines.

This update was supposed to be out last week. But when I went to check on the Final Decision last week, for some reason, it was still not decided on. I was asked to go back this week.


I went to the Trial Court with my heart beating faster than normal.


Me: (Talking to a staff) I'd like to follow-up Case no. 0370

Staff: (Smiling) Ah, about the case of the dog bite??

Me: No, no.. Nothing to do with a dog bite. It was filed under SC. No. 0370. The last hearing was held a couple of weeks ago and I was told to come today to know the final verdict. It is about ____ vs. ____ .

Staff: Oh, that one! Wasn't that Case already dismissed??

Me: Dismissed??? Are you sure?

Staff: Well, let's see...

He stood up and proceeded to another table to search through piles of folders while humming a song. Those moments, while he took his time rummaging through stack of papers, took ages. Continuously, he mumbled, "Sc. No. 0370.. No. 0370...." in between his song...


At last, I saw him pull out a folder. He walked back towards where I was standing. He laid the folder on the table, opened it slowly and leafed through the pages. In my mind I was shouting "faster!"


From the folder he pulled out a stapled document, looked at it a bit, raised a bored eyebrow, then handed it to me, finally...

I took it, hurriedly thanked him and went out of the room to read it in one of the benches outside.


It is a long four-paged document. My hands a bit shaking, I patiently read all through it, page by page, word by word, without skipping to the final page. The first part summarized the circumstances of my complaint and my demand, I thought I was winning. But for the second part, it summarized the response and defense of the Defendant, I thought I'm gonna lose. The third part was the Judge's take on the matter. Finally, the last part is the conclusion, or Decision. I won the Lawsuit!

Judge: (Talking to me) How much was the loan the Complainant is asking from the Defendant?

Me: ____ Php...

Judge: (Addressing the defendant) What is the defense of the Defendant?

Defendant: I did not receive any money. (firmly and defensively)

Judge: Does the Complainant have a receipt that supports her claim?

Me: No Sir.

Judge: (To me again) If you don't have a receipt of the loan what other evidences can you show to prove that the Defendant owes you money?

Me: I have a Witness with me right now and she is willing to answer questions. She also made a sworn affidavit on my favor.

Judge: (Talking to me again.) The decisive factors in lawsuits are the written evidences, documents, as well as the integrity/credibility of the parties involved.

Defendant: yesss! (relieved)

Me: (sh_t)

Judge: Will you call over the Witness to come in front.

I motioned for the witness to come in front.

Judge: (To the Witness) Are you a Witness to the transaction that occurred between Plaintiff and Defendant?

Witness: Yes Sir, I was acting as the Defendant's assistant at that time. Since I was the one overseeing her business, the Defendant who was my boss, ordered me to receive the money from the Complainant and hand it to her. The Defendant was my boss at that time and I just followed her order to receive the money from the Complainant. I received the money and personally handed it to the Defendant.


Defendant: (Addressing the Judge) Your Honor, I did not receive the said amount of money.


Then the judge again asked me if I have additional documents to submit which will support my claim. I told him that I already submitted what I could: My 3-paged statement, the sworn affidavit of my witness, and email exchanges with the defendant.

(In the last hearings, I already submitted the scanty documents I could gather to prove the legitimacy of my claim but the Judge did not have time to peruse them. The defendant likewise already submitted her evidences to deny my claims. I only submitted three documents while the defendant submitted many, I didn't know what they were that she submitted.)


Judge: Ok, the Case is now submitted for final decision based on the documents you both have turned-over to us. Session adjourned!


That's it??? Ughhh.. So disappointing. Decision will be based on submitted documents only?? I kind of expected we would finally and rigorously be cross-examined, including the Witness, so that three of us would be given the chance to state our claims and so that it will be ascertained who is lying and who is telling the truth.


Ah, this is such a game of suspense.


(Next will be the final decision as the Judge had said.)

Have you ever been to court? For a lawsuit involving yourself?


I never-ever imagined to be in court for any issue involving myself. In fact, my MA thesis is about "Alternative Dispute Resolution" which espouses what the words literally mean -- an 'alternative way of resolving disputes -- meaning, not using the legal system in redressing disputes, if at all possible. The concept of ADR is being practiced in many countries now. An advantage of the ADR method is to avoid the long, costly, dragging, and exhausting court procedures. Also, resolving disputes through other means other than the legal system is a great help in reducing the clogging of cases in government courts.


I strongly support the ADR method, and, I also never thought of myself being involved in whatever disputes that are deserving of 'court-attention' anyway. These are the 2 main reasons why I never imagined or expected to be in court.


But sometimes, the inevitable can happen, and you are not left with a better choice. You've got to do what you've got to do to remedy some imbalance.


Early this year, after 2 and a half years of a fully ripened loan, I filed a lawsuit against my previous boss. Perhaps because of either my generosity or naivety I became a victim of a liar. I learned that even her very reason in coaxing me to lend her money was based on a lie. "Please lend money to help our needy blah blah. You will be immediately paid after a month, blah blah..." And I believed her. I trusted her so much (after all she is my employer, the one who is giving me my salary) that I didn't even press for a written agreement. I didn't even think of collecting interest for the loaned money, after all, I was promised that my money will be borrowed for the short duration of a month only. I've been working for my boss for more than a year already, how can I not trust her?


Not firmly asking for a written agreement or a receipt was a big mistake. Trusting her was a big mistake. Being easy on her for the initial months -- not strongly pressing for the payback was a big mistake. Not asserting myself was a big mistake. I admit I made mistakes.


Thus the issue became bigger and nastier. I talked her into ADR, to discuss and settle the matter between us only, but she wouldn't budge. Instead, she simply continued giving me the same lies and excuses she have already told me many times before. After I filed the case in court, and as it is a part of the legal system's preliminary procedure, one of the legal mediators again tried the possibility of amicable settlement. But, just the same, the defendant wouldn't want to admit that she received any money from me. She insisted that she didn't receive the said loan and she never used my money. I'm at the losing end because I don't have any tangible evidence to prove that I loaned her money. Since we cannot come up with an agreement because the defendant stubbornly refuses to acknowledge responsibility, our case was passed-on to another branch of the court, this time it is for the judge to arbitrate.


I went on with the case for I strongly felt the urge to do something about the problem. To correct a past mistake, for the restoration of self-respect due to the lies and 'abuses' that transpired. And, certainly, I also need the money which I thought was properly "mine."


It's not a huge amount of money, but, just like any other lawsuit, I confirmed what I only knew in theory -- that legal court cases are truly time and energy consuming as well as more costly than necessary. We were asked to go to court several times only to be unheard, and case re-scheduled yet again and again. In addition, I had to go to court to follow-up on the developments as the sheriff is a little too slow in delivering the 'notices.'


to be continued ...