Maze

      40 minutes was what I had before closing time. There were two more people lined up ahead of me. I just need to have a form signed in that Social Security branch office and that's it. I'm done for the day. Time 4:45 p.m. I finally was able to forward it to the desk clerk and had it signed. That form I planned to present to a bank following day to open an account for my mother's pension. Just one hitch. The clerk required(among the many other documents I submitted) a postal ID card!? Isn't that something. Keep cool, I thought. So as fast as I could, I went out of  that branch and walked straight to the Post Office. 
      It's only about 100 meters away and 10 minutes to spare. Finally reached it and asked for directions where exactly to get the application for the postal ID. "Second floor", second floor it is. And several steps up the two flights of stairs, I was greeted by a closed door. People must have punched out their time cards much earlier. Rightly so because there was this notice on their glass window that says "Application forms from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. only".    
      Air was hot and humid. I was almost gasping for breath. Again, keep cool. Good I did. Kept my cool.  Their door full of handwritten instructions on some recycled worn-out cardboard. On it were more requirements on obtaining a postal ID. And boy, what I thought to be just a simple matter(social security pension) is now getting more complicated. It's like solving crossword puzzle and trying to find a way out of a maze at the same time.
      My one consolation was when I was already back home. Changed cloths, took some snacks and drank a glass full of ice cold water. Rested a bit in my room. Soon I went for a little walk to the village park. 
      I was talking with some other residents when Jongga came up to me and asked if I could help him out with his pc. I say, troubleshooting is my middle name. Why not? It took me only about half an hour to fix his relatively new machine. Jongga is just about to finish his college. He is taking Computer Science. He somehow meekly offered me a bottle of beer in exchange for the job I did. "I'll take a raincheck"- I almost was tempted to say. Really getting a pc unit up and running again is already a rewarding experience. Like a job well done. 
      So off I went back to the park. In a short while, here comes Kryzel. Their HP deskjet printer was not working. I took a look at it. Problem was driver was not installed. Good they still have the driver disk around. A matter of installing it. Everything was almost fine but then later found out that the ink cartridge was empty. I seemed to enjoy that moment anyways. Kryzel is on her second year in college. She is taking up Computer Science. They, Jongga and Kryzel, are just two of the many neighborhood kids that I find worth mentoring.
      Thinking of the difficulty and frustrations I had that afternoon working on my mother's pension, the ones on Jongga and Kryzel were really gratifying. It was like completing the crossword puzzle and finding the exit of the maze.