That also meant that we had to devote an hour or so twice a month for general cleaning where we did not only have to sweep the floor but also apply cleanser on it to make it white again. It was literally a chore I shared with my classmates.
After finishing Grade 4, however, I said goodbye to the cleanser. We had household help at home to clean the tiling on the kitchen and the bathroom. When I lived in the Cervini Residence Halls of the Ateneo de Manila, I had janitors who mopped and cleaned the grimy floor once a week. So really, it has been a long time since I held a rug.
This morning however, I woke up and saw how grimy and greasy my apartment floor was. Apart from that, my bathroom was also beginning to stink. I called the landlady and she reminded me that there was a cleaning lady who would do the dirty work for P250 a week (P1000 a month).
I considered the salary I am receiving as a beginner teacher and the fact that I was saving money for the latest (and last) Harry Potter book. After a few minutes of hardcore, agony-in-the-garden-proportion rumination, I grabbed two rugs and the cleanser and did the Grade 4 thing again.
While I am the only one living there, my apartment is actually a studio-type room good for 2-3 people so it is a relatively large room to clean. It took me almost an hour to clean the place, the bathroom included. It was tough especially since I had to re-do some of the tiles my dirty feet stepped on. But in the end, it was a good learning experience. I never knew how much seeing clean white floor could please the eyes.
Incidentally, last night, I was able to cook omelette for the very first time. It was a simple dish of two eggs and Argentina corned beef (because I finished all the Purefoods one). Next time, I will bring in tomatoes and cheese already.
The other night, I was also able to successfully cook my first fried chicken. I bought marinated chicken from the supermarket and decided to experiment on it. The ambitious person in me wanted to have paella so I tossed the rice into the frying pan and cooked it along with the chicken. Not good: the chicken was actually spicy and so the anghang spread to the rice. I finished half of my juice packet that night.
Pathetic as it seems, I proudly sent a text to my parents about my latest successes in the kitchen. My dad replied "Pag-uwi mo dito, chef ka na ng mga pinirito."
