Buwena-Mano: Sakit sa Ulo

This particular incident that I am about to tell happened only this morning -- just as I was barely awake to actually begin my day. Honestly speaking, it gave me quite a headache!


Slice of Life No. 2 -- The GRADUATES
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Girl 1: Magkano po ang pa-print ng resume?
Me: P 3.00 per sheet, plain black text, no picture.
Girl 1: Sige, pa-print po kami ng dalawa.
Me: Okay. Nasaan ang diskette n’yo?
Girl 1: Diskette po? Ay, wala po kaming diskette. ‘Di po ba pi-fill-up-an lang naman po iyong resume?
Me: Ah, baka ‘yong nabibiling Bio-data form ang sinasabi mo. Mag-type na lang kayo ng resume n’yo tapos iyon ang ipi-print.
Girl 1: Ay, gano’n po ba? Sige po.
Me: Ano? Magta-type na lang ba muna kayo?
Girl 1: Opo.

So from that answer, I went to turn on one computer but as I was waiting for it to complete its start-up…

Girl 1: Ate, dalawa po kami, ha?
Me: Ah, magtitig-isa ba kayo ng computer?
Girl 1: Opo.
Me: Okay.

And so I turned on another unit. Then, I opened the Microsoft Word program for them.

Me: Sige, p’wede na kayong mag-type.
Girl 1: Ate, ano po bang inilalagay sa resume? Hindi po kasi namin alam, eh.
Me: Gano’n ba? Teka…

Maybe in such cases, one’s instinct would be to go for the Resume Wizard. However, I somehow suspected that it will be difficult for the two girls to deal with tables, so I opened the simplest resume I have on file instead. I then deleted all the entries per line of information given to make the task much simpler and easier for them. After saving it as a new file, I accessed it through the other PC so the two girls can work on their respective resumes at the same time.

Anyway, one of the girls immediately seated herself in front of one computer while the other girl remained standing behind.

Me: O, p’wede ka na ring mag-type dito.
Girl 2: Mamaya na lang po. ‘Di po kasi ako marunong.
Me: Teka, ano’ng year n’yo na ba?
Girl 2: Graduate na po kami ng 4th year. Mag-a-apply po kami sa Jollibee.
Me: ‘Di ba me computer subject naman kayo sa school?
Girl 2: Wala po. Hindi po kami tinuruan ng computer sa school.

With that statement, I decided to shut down the other computer which I had prepared for the girl to use. (Well, with the sky-rocketing high monthly electricity bills, I have every reason to do all possible measures to save on electricity.)

Girl 1: Ate, ano po ‘yong objective? Ano po ang ilalagay ko do’n?

As my brother was just around, he tried to help explaining to the girls what an objective is using Tagalog. He even gave them an example. So I got surprised when another question was asked instantly.

Girl 1: Eh, Ate, pa’no ko sasabihin ‘yon sa English?

Well, as I have mentioned right from the start, this incident, indeed, gave me quite a headache. If you happened to be in my shoes, how do you think would you feel or react?

In this age of computer and information technology, isn’t it such a disappointment to see high school graduates who still don’t know how to use a computer? (Yes, let’s simply focus on just one thing at a time, okay?)

Well, actually, it is not my first time to encounter such type of teen-agers in the last couple of months. I have already met several, though in separate instances, with such common dilemma, and they were all products of the national high school that is situated right here in my barangay. According to them, a computer subject was not even included in any of their curricula. I may not be quite sure as to the reliability of that said statement, however, as I have personally witnessed, it is a fact that they do not know how to make use of a computer.

As a home-based online job contractor and a computer rental shop operator, I have been contemplating on the possibility of conducting free computer tutorial lessons to interested individuals in the community. I think of it as one effective way of helping out. Unfortunately, much as I am very willing to spare my time, effort and equipments, the prospect of electricity consumption expenses hinders me. (True, I might not be able to shoulder the consequences considering the present dilemma of almost everyone with regards to increasing monthly Meralco billings.) As it is often said, we can only give to charity what we can afford.