Watch Me Entertain Myself!

Sacha Guitry once said, "You can pretend to be serious, but you can't pretend to be witty." Oh yes, I'm the great pretender.
(pilot episode: 20 January 2004)

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Mother Silly

They say the great Mother Lily Monteverde could carry on multiple conversations while seated at her office desk with two landlines, a cellphone or two, and people right in front of her. (The great Irma Adlawan portrayed this brilliant talent of hers to hilarious effect in a play written and directed by her husband, Dennis Marasigan, for Tanghalang Pilipino—I just forget now the title of the play.)

But sometimes Mother Lily slips.


* * * * *

I was tweeting with R when he called me on my cellphone. As I flipped my SEZ610i open, the phone at my desk rang. I knew it was our office secretary calling because she had texted me earlier to clarify something. Because I knew her call was more urgent, I decided I’d take it first.

At this point, an art director approached me at my desk to discuss something.

Leaning into my cellphone on my left ear, I loudly told R: “Sorry I have to call you back, I have another call on the other line.” Meanwhile, I didn’t realize that I had already placed the receiver of my landline close to my right ear, so the mouthpiece picked up what I just said to R.

“Oh, okay,” said R, then click! “Ay sorry!” the secretary said, and then click!

“Wait—no! Not you!” I yelled into the landline, but too late. I was left with two phones humming dial tones on both ears, and my art director laughing his head off beside me.

8 comments:

thenomad said...

Usually, posts like this make me smile in the morning, probably during office hours.

Then again, it doesn't hurt to smile before hitting the bed.

joelmcvie said...

@THE NOMAD: Hey, I missed your cute dawg avatar!

~Carrie~ said...

it made me smile, too

Unknown said...

"Ang Buhay ay Pelikula" (3rd place Palanca) written by Dennis Marasigan, directed by Frank Rivera.

(it helps that my officemate was also a cast member of the rerun, replacing John Arcilla!)

Khan!

joelmcvie said...

@XANDER: Muchas gracias, Xander. I wonder who your officemate is. I also wonder why the need to shout out your name, Khan!

=)

cant_u_read said...

so whom did u call back first?

joelmcvie said...

@YOUR ROYAL RYENESS: Neither, I slapped my art director first to shut him up. CHOZ! Siyempre the secretary.

cant_u_read said...

ay hindi yung the boy? :-(