He asked me to log out from the phone and it's not yet my break. For most, offline time is good because it's either we'll have training or a team meeting. It's a good breather from talking but coaching is not very common for me. I have never been asked to stop taking calls in the middle of the shift because I am the team's top performer. My Team Lead always tells everyone that I have good soft skills, I am efficient, I always get the most number of commendations. So today, I wonder why I have been pulled out for coaching. I approached TL's station and he gave me a pleasant smile. That was somewhat a relief but then he motioned me to follow him to the smoking area although he knows that I have quit smoking a year ago. There was just the two of us and all I could hear was the distant chatter and honking of cars. It was still silent and a lot of questions popped out of my head and so I asked: "TL, sorry, but I really can't help but ask. Why do you have to coach me here at the smoking area? I've never seen you smoke before. I didn't realize that what I've done stressed you out a lot. I am sorry." I waited for an answer but then he started to light one stick and puffed. He looked at me as if he's about to burst out laughing. That was the first time that I have seen him like that.
"It's not because of that. Chill." he responded. He looked at me with assurance. I felt a bit relieved after that but then it didn't stop me from asking.
"Then why?"
"Well, it's like this: whenever I smoke I lose an hour of my life." TL is pretty straightforward. If your performance sucks, he'll tell you right away. If you are good, you'll get the recognition that you deserve. He tries to be subtle and I have noticed that a couple of times but every time he does, he still fails so he must have settled for keeping that tit for tat attitude towards coaching. Tonight though, I am befuddled by him. He must have noticed that I can't really figure out what he's trying to imply. "I said, every time I smoke one stick of cigarette, an hour of my life goes to waste. I puff it into nicotine cloud swirls and then it dissolves in thin air. Let's just say that I don't want an hour of my life to be wasted so instead of just smoking it out for nothing, I spend it on making someone realize that I am willing to spare my 60 minutes for their improvement"
"I still do not understand"
"Never mind. You'll see what I mean. Probably, someday. Let's go." He threw away the stick of cigarette that he just finished smoking. "What? Your place?" I felt dumbfounded and provoked at the same time. I hate it when people beat around the bush and involve me in little emotional puzzles so I stopped walking as if demanding for a black and white answer just to wipe out the gray areas inside my head. "You've just been promoted and this is our last coaching because starting next week, you'll have your own team." From being a bit agitated, I felt enervated. So that's what he wanted to tell me. I didn't mess up or anything and I've gotten what I have always wanted. Call it separation anxiety but I also felt the need to be with him after that coaching session. Next week will be a whole lot different for me and I just wish that he'll still have the time to spend a stick for me if need be.
let it go, beetcheez. the cold won't bother us anyway.
I used to hate Mo Twister because of all the things that I heard and read about him. Like, we all know how Philippine media can either destroy someone to smithereens with their alleged facts and how they can build a hero out of a college slut or a messiah out of a thief. I was one of the many people who were too quick to judge just because others told me this and that--and I am guilty of being too reckless when it comes to my blurting my opinion about something or someone. However, if there's one opinion or should I say realization (damn, it's as if I am about to write or say something life-changing) that I would be willing to bet my balls on, that would be my epiphany that Mo Twister is a great guy misunderstood by many. Let me just clarify though that even if I think of him as a wonderful person, I do not consider him as a role model for the youth nor my all-time idol. He has his imperfections as a man, as a friend, as a lover, and as a person. It just so happened that he's so open to the idea of sharing his glitches and the nonsensical things that he used to do and is still doing which, I think, is not an acceptable behavior in our pretentious society and culture of morality makeshifts. I've never met Mo, I never want to meet him and have a fangirl moment with him on Instagram and, hell, probably I will not have a chance to see him because he's living in the other side of the planet but I guess I don't really need to have a close encounter with him just to prove my claim that he's an admirable person. Need some proof so support my judgment? Here are the top 3:
*He thinks before he speaks but most people still think that he's tactless. Well, yes, he may have had his moments of too much candor and carelessness but he would still be able to save himself from his own blunders. He talks fast and he thinks fast unlike other guys that I know who would just blabber hogwash without even using their brain or noticing that their fly is open already. Mo's more on conversation which most women find sexy and most men find annoying. Well, because I am gay I am entitled to have a different insight on his talkativeness so for me, Mo's eighty-words-per-minute habit is a cute manifestation of urban erudition and practical eloquence. The gift of gab isn't something that's common. Others in showbiz claim that they are the kings and queens of talk but damn, for me all they make is noise. Empty, trashy, noise.
*Mo notices what most of us are hesitant to notice and tells us the naked truth about it and about us: we're all hypocrites. He has accused male celebs as gays, he may have called someone an overrated singer, or revealed dark secrets about reputable personalities and most people who are protecting the so-called morality of our media and society reacted in a violent way by trash-writing and calling Mo as an immoral jerk who seeks scads of public attention. But I wonder why people still keep on listening to him? Why despite all the negative publicity his radio shows and podcasts still has the best rankings? Well, for me it's because we are all a bunch of verbal voyeurs. We take pleasure in talking about other people's lives and we crave for more that's why we gossip with other people to validate our judgments. Like, if we suspect that someone is gay, we stalk his Facebook or Twitter account to find out the answer to our 10-million glitter question. Once we have discovered the truth, we'll start to criticize and ostracize the person because we feel like we deserve some form of reward or recognition for enlightening everyone with the truth. What we do is really much worse than what Mo is doing. Mo assumes and he doesn't really judge. He's just after knowing and realizing the truth behind other people's lives. He may sound like a dick and he may even laugh like a dickhead but after that and after his show, he won't really care whether someone's gay or whether someone's capable of performing auto-fellatio. I don't really get the idea of those celebrities who would react like they've been abused or something just because Mo made them the topic of the show. For all I know, you should even thank Mo and his cohorts for giving you free publicity. And, besides, you won't be the subject of ridicule is you do not make yourself sound and look ridiculous most of the time. I guess what I am saying in particular is if you are gay then let other people think what they want to think about you. Don't fool yourself and your fans by saying this and that about manliness and being straight while wearing three layers of MAC foundation and posting a lot of your half-naked selfies on IG and FB. Dear, only gay guys like me would have the guts to do that but because you've been telling the world that you are not homo then fine. I'll support you but I can't really assure you that Mo will do the same thing.
*Though not very obvious, Mo is a perfect gentleman striving to survive in this era where chivalry is zombified. True that he has sex videos and he labels women as bitches and whores incessantly but when it comes to protecting the women he loves, he's a champ. For example, when he was asked to name the Magic 899 DJs what he had slept with in the past, he had a hard time in namedropping mainly because he knew that although he slept with these women, they are also his friends and that what he will say might affect the quiet lives of these women. He was gentleman enough to name just one out of the three and then end of discussion. If he were a total jerk, he would have listed not just the Magic 899 DJs but also the other girl jocks from other stations and brag that he that lady jocks are all worshiping his undies and fantasizing about his hidden wealth between his thighs. He had the chance but he never did that. Salute to all misunderstood dorks.
Probably even God knows that we have our wild side, that we cuss in whispers and we accuse someone else's mother as chief whore whenever we are shocked or during an orgasm but that doesn't automatically earn us a one-way ticket to hell because we have also done a lot of good things in past. There's not one person who's extremely nefarious and in the same vein, there's not one human being who can be nominated as the newest addition to heaven's retinue of archangels. We commit mistakes, we think and say bad things about other people and that's the truth--we are just too shy to admit it. However, for some people like Mo, they don't really give a damn if they've been seen dead drunk after a party or they've been heard saying all sorts of curses. What sets Mo apart from us is his bravado to tell us and the others that we are all making ourselves fragile to our own deceptive tactics. We make ourselves believe that what is right is doing what most people think is right. Like, wake up and smell the 21st century. We have smartphones, iPhone, and the Information Superhighway and God tells us to enjoy life. I think it's the only commandment that he has: Live your life like nobody else can because that's my gift. Mo's living his life so I think we must all do the same thing, bitches.
