October 10, 2008

Wet and Icky

I used to think that fingertip moisteners were one of those semi-useless office thingamajigs. They could find use in banks, perhaps, if one has to really count bills by hand. Or, in our case, the treasury department which keeps our--err--treasures.

I now take back the "semi-useless" tag.

I was at this department waiting for the clerk to check if my papers are in order. We were making small talk when suddenly he stuck out his tongue, licked his fingertip and started leafing through my documents with the finger. I was almost tempted to gag at the "unsanitariness" of it all!

As it turned out, the clerk isn't the only one with the habit. There's this woman at the office who does the same every time she thumbs through notes, books, anything. And then there's this client who, after wetting his fingertip and riffling through his papers proceeded to tap me on the shoulders.

I swear, I almost jumped! And I swear, I'm going to include fingertip moisteners in this quarter's request for supplies!

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Speaking of laway ("saliva" sounds so scientific, :P), here's an upside:

For three days last week, I had an inexplicably bum stomach. The kind that goes with sweaty palms, beads of perspiration on the forehead and the very real threat of dehydration. Loperamide didn't help, and neither did a doctor's prescription. Somebody suggested that perhaps I was the unknowing victim of someone who had "sibang" (usog in Tagalog, which doesn't really have a western translation.) And the antidote? The laway of one who has sibang!

And so it came to pass that after three days of being all-too-familiar with the toilet bowl and just about every brand of loperamide, all it took was a thin film of a friend's laway rubbed on my belly. It may be grossly unsanitary, but what do you know? It worked!

I guess it's true: there are some things that science just can't explain. :p

8 comments:

Droomvla said...

Menchie!?!?! hahahahaha Pero basta talaga may gin mamate baga kita na dili nag-aayad, we resort to trad med mahale lang an kulog.

Forever59er said...

Guess what, I have a tendency to do that .. while reading. hahaha. I should stop doing it, but habits die hard.

Drool must really be potent ha. Remember how we say pwera usog and then expect the person to put some of that potent liquid on our baby's forehead? Ganun din yata sa suhe -- people who can do something magical when we are natinik or nabigik.

Unknown said...

I've seen a lot of people do that too, especially when counting bills. I wonder though, if they realize that paper money is one of the most dirtiest paper around. :-D

As for "usog", totoo ba talaga yun?

Oh and, maybe we use the English word "Jinx", for usog? :-)

Abaniko said...

This reminds me of my staff whom I commended for a job well done during a big meeting. Later in the day, she came back to me saying she's not feeling well and that nausog ko raw sya and she wanted me to apply my saliva on her forehead. Because I'm not a believer of usog, I didn't do it and told her it's just "stress" but her mom did something to her when she got home and she became well. Totoo pala to?

Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha. Di may sibang ka na man sada kay after one day daw baga nagkakasibang an sinibang. ~~ Ina

Kayni said...

one of my coworkers does that all the time. i tend to just look away...lol.

Aristarkhos said...

whoA! :D I would look away too. Lol! Am trying not to laugh out (@ work)

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