Holy Wednesday

I remember one Holy Wednesday in 2002. I had just met Ana a year before that and it was a busy season. We were finishing off pleadings which had to be urgently filed by Holy Wednesday at the Australian Commercial Disputes Center in Sydney. There was a truckload of revisions to be done but to my surprise, all the lawyers involved in Manila decided to bug out and call it a week.

So there I was, coughing and sniffing with a slight cold brought about by overwork and the summer heat. The Australian Solicitor who was waiting on the other end was working pretty hard too. I was the only person in the whole empty office so I also operated the telephones and fax machine. We had all we could revising and re-revising our answer to the complaint filed against our client.

I remember it was very hot outside (just as hot as it is today) when I glanced at my watch (the time being 11:30) and stepped out for an invigorating bowl of ramen at a nice jap restuarant behind our building which had since closed down. The solicitor was surprised when I greeted him good morning before I went out to lunch. I had forgotten that it was 3:00 pm. for him already.

We finshed off with no trouble and I left at 4:00 pm. I remembered to say goodnight to the solicitor as it was already 7:00 p.m. for him.

I recall that the Australian lawyers worked until Maundy Thursday but took a break up to the Monday after Easter Sunday. I wish our lawyers over here showed the same commitment and industry as those solicitors I had a chance to work with, albeit, briefly in 2002.

Today, I still have a whiff of a cold but fortunately this year, there are no deadly dealines like those deadlines on that Holy Wednesday of 2002.