Two days have gone since we started to call her "SapSuy". We were almost laughing our lungs out to death (of course, figuratively) as we heard Shawie wrongly blabbed-out the word CHOPSUEY into SAPSUY (plus a stiff accent).
It has already been more than a week since I started sleeping over in my friend’s flat, Jofe.. and so, having Shawie, the househelper, is more than a goodie rather than a disaster. The account of the Sapsuy started when Jofe asked about what’s in-stored for lunch, and Shawie proudly said.. "SAPSUY, ma’am!". We both burst-out into tears of laughter upon hearing this from her. At age of twenty-four, one is expected be able to pronounce this word properly. Maybe, Jofe and I were just so full of talking about funny and miserable things lately that even the mispronunciation of words has already been in the list of our laughing stocks. Silly, i know.
Shawie is normally a funny person. She is an obvious extrovert and is able to express whatever she has in mind. She has a blooming lovelife, noting that she has three boy lovers (taxi drivers). She is acceptably boisterous and her ways are perfectly normal, except for the fact that she is quite a slow learner, hence, special. Honestly, I was stunned on her first day of work having to notice that she stands and sits as if she has some sort of a mental problem, plus, add her way of looking at you as if you are already facing a serial killer or something like it. Yes, I am overreacting and maybe exaggerating, but this is how I truly felt the first time. I hoped too, that one day, I shall become familiar of her so that my paranoia will somehow be erased.
Before Shawie was hired by Jofe, she has long been a food service crew of an eatery near McDonald’s Bajada/Victoria Plaza. She says, she works from seven-to-seven, overworked and underpaid– not to mention all the huge pots that she has to wash and brush, having to stand almost the entire day, and the late due to eat meals. Upon hearing this, I have felt a sudden intense of pity to this woman and thinking.. "Overworked yet underpaid? Is this because she is special and that she could no longer exercise her right to ask for a raise?". Things like this came up to my mind as I hear her stories. Shawie says, she is more than grateful of having been out of that place now. Now that she is in Jofe’s supervision– she is safe, well-fed, and only has a light work throughout each day. In short, lucky.
As I have mentioned, Shawie is normally a happy person. One day, Jofe and I were surprised in the way Shawie carried herself. She was quite slow in doing the things inside the house, abnormally quiet, and inactive. We noticed her depression and asked what is wrong with her. She says is has already broke-up with her boyfriends.. yes, her three boyfriends. She said she cried all night and all day and that is the reason why she feels so sad at that moment. Well, Jofe and I were trying to cheer her up, trying to prevent Shawie’s nervous breakdown.
Since the day that Shawie was hired, she comes along with us in Jofe’s evening shows at Shindig Bar (Orange Grove Hotel). Last Thursday, Jofe got to have a "Punyeta" (pardon me for the name, but the drink is really called in that way), which Jofe says it tastes a lot like Tequila Sunrise. "Punyeta" is a combination of a rum and four seasons with crushed iced, blended. For me, it tasted like a Cocktail Punch with a little bit of twist and more of alcohol. At the first shot, surely, you will really feel something, like an earthquake, perhaps. One shot is equivalent to two strong ice beers. Take note: "Punyeta" is served in a jar that looks like a 2000mL erlenmeyer flask. Now calculate to how many shots does the flask has to contain. *smiles* While Jofe was doing her show, Shawie and I were drinking this very alcoholic drink. Shawie already has made her way through the toilet many times that I already lost track with the exact number. Everytime she goes to the toilet or whenver she doesn’t take notice of me and the drink, I fill-in her shot glass. At Jofe’s second set, Shawie can no longer move. She was so drunk that her face felt flat on the table that night. Iced water saved her from eternal intoxication.
For the days and nights that I’ve spent with my friend Jofe, there was this one thing that is being concentrated in my mind at the moment.. and this is: Special people (I’d rather call them special rather than a retard), like Shawie is still precious in God’s eyes. They may be different in a form or another, still, they have the unique characteristics that we normals have. They can appreciate, obey, respect, love, and get drunk too. Weird.
