When to say no.

I admire people who knows when to say no.

Especially when they say no right at the beginning.

I am the kind of person who, when asked a yes or no question,

would keep quiet and look down,

or shrug my shoulders and wear a stupid grin.

 

Today, one of my artists resigned

after five days of work.

She can't take the workload, she says.

She reported for work on Monday

and the following Monday she was absent.

She said she had fever since the weekend.

 

I remember working overtime until I was the last one in the office.

I remember working overtime and working at home.

I remember working at home, late into the night and into the wee hours of the morning.

I remember working on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays.

I remember staying up overnight at Burger King, working.

I don't know how to say no, I only know how to have a nervous breakdown.

When tears start to fall as I try to keep up from one deadline to the other,

thats the time my whole body says no and shuts down.

 

Recently, I became mother to this creative group.

I've learned it is easier to say no

when there are others involved.

I can work endlessly and kill myself in the process,

but I can hardly say the same for them.

So thank God I have these people under me,

finally I am learning to say no.

In time, I'll learn to say no even if it's just for me.

Willie, nawiwili ka na. Or Shakespeare and other metaphors for Mr. Revillame.

All the world's a stage to Willie Revillame.

Everyone plays a character.

Emotions are made-up.

Trap-doors and smoke and mirrors,

and hiding corpses behind curtains.

The choreographed applause,

the dancing, the singing,

the crying, the drama of life unfolding.

The crush of bodies.

The sweat that flows as secrets,

held on to for so long, are revealed

on national television.

And the money, the money that flows.

A payment for every dirty underwear exposed,

for every horrible gyration, screeches, screams.

So little for more than a pound of flesh.

The humiliation, the horror.

Ok lang, may bayad naman.

Everything has a value, and that's monetary.

Who cares if the happiness is momentary?

Sorry, but you're still screwed.

It's annoying when someone tells you sorry but does it anyway.

Maybe it's part of their job:

Hitman: Sorry, but I have to kill you now.

Carnapper: Sorry, but I have to take your car and torch you too.

Gov't Official: Sorry, but my break isn't over yet.

Advertising account executive: Sorry, but we need it in an hour.