Dear Manang,
I know now that respect is earned. I have a friend who made an appointment with me several times and she texted me when I was waiting at SM that she could not make it because she had a stomach ache. I was annoyed because I told a customer that I had somewhere to go and missed an opportunity to earn money. The second time she called me to eat lunch, I didn’t rush and thought that I would make her wait since I was packing an order. As I was about to leave the house, she texted again and said she had to pick up her daughter from school and would make up for it another time. When she called me and said we could have dinner, I excused myself because I was too busy with my online business. Do you think I should give her another chance?
Portia of Ambuklao Road, Baguio City
Dear Portia,
I cannot blame you for the reaction. I have some friends who are late but I have yet to experience one canceling the date after making me wait at most an hour. She texts to say that she will be late but never to cancel after the scheduled time. That friend of yours, I believe, has no self-respect. If she had self-respect she will not fool her friend like that. I do not see her sincerity. In effect, she is getting away with duping you. I hope she is not laughing each time that she got you to wait for her at the restaurant when she did not intend to see you anyway. People with alibis should not be trusted.
Keep away from those people,
Manang
Dear Manang,
I was so excited when I received a text message that I won $12,000 from an international company when my phone number was chosen. I thought that I was so lucky and I responded to it. They asked me for my name and my address so they could send the amount. I replied immediately. But then I remembered how I could not encash a check in the Philippines without paying charges in the bank for it. I asked if it could be changed to pesos and they immediately said yes, but required that I give a deposit of P5,000 for the processing. Only then did I feel that it was a hoax. My friends were victims in the past and the style was too familiar. I blocked the number immediately. Why do people tend to believe in such deals?
Mario of Malvar Street, Baguio City
Dear Mario,
It is explained by one word, greed. Human nature tends to be greedy in all things and if greed overpowers you, you will fall for anything. The windfall of winning something when you never joined any contest or competition should immediately send red flags. Can you win anything without personally registering your name and phone number? A few years ago when loading cellphones for usage was common, I too fell for it and wondered how I easily believed that my friend needed the load. I realized that I had volunteered the name and the person on the other end merely confirmed the name. I sent P500 worth of load to the number and later realized, why should a friend in America need the phone usage? We laughed at the expensive joke when we met again. Although my experience was that of giving, it was greed that prompted the other person to do it.
Be smart,
Manang
