Who is Miss Minchin?

September 19, 2007

Why the heck do I seem like the only person who doesn’t know Miss Freakin Minchin??? Or more specifically, what she looks like? Ghad!

This is what happened…

One day at the office our boss, who is real tall, VERY pretty, smart, with a voice that’s well modulated, English skills to die for, Diliman grad, and well she’s just perfect! Anyway, this one time she wore a white long-sleeved blouse to work, matched with a brown pencil skirt, heels, she had her hair in a bun, and specs (meaning spectacles) on. Whenever somebody would see her they’d jokingly say right away “Miss Minchin?” and then they’d laugh amongst themselves, my boss included. I say amongst themselves because I didn’t get it. I didn’t laugh with them. “Who the heck is Miss Minchin?”, I thought. Why did I seem to be the only one who didn’t know her? Is this some secret club thing that I wasn’t invited to? A part of an initiation rite? Is this like the “Hello, Garci” thing that I wasn’t aware of not until I went to my bestfriend’s house months after the incident—NOTE: Months. Then I couldn’t help it any longer, since we were on a meeting that time and I didn’t have access to Google I did the most horrible thing one could do in situations like these. I didn’t act like Jay Visto at that moment because at that moment I did something that I’m regretting up until now: I asked.

Yes, I felt that my brain was greatly reduced in size at that moment. All the forces in the world couldn’t seem to stop me from a grave bout of embarrassment. “Who is Miss Minchin?” I asked.

Dead silence…and then it came—“You don’t know who Miss Minchin is? You must’ve had a poor childhood!”. Even the manager’s looked at me in a mix of disbelief and pity when they found out I didn’t know who Miss Minchin was. Eventually, somebody took the liberty of enlightening me with regard to, the apparently world renowned, Miss Minchin’s identity. “It’s the head mistress from Sara ang Munting Princesa.” Whaaat? I mean, I knew there was a headmistress but how the heck could everybody know how she looked like? All I can remember is that the head mistress always wore a long black dress but that was from Sara the Little Princess or Princess Sara something. I had rented a VHS tape of that before. The little girl was cute, now HER face I can remember! But the head mistress? WTF?@#%

To redeem myself and prove them wrong, that I am not the only person who doesn’t know what Miss Minchin looks like, I ask my housemates -- ALL three of them, and they give me the answer I dread the most: Yes. Ofcourse! Why would I be the only person in the world who doesn’t know Miss Minchin?! My god, Jacki! I can't believe you! But seriously, I mean, from what I gathered she is not Miss Congeniality. She is not Paris Hilton, nor Angelina Jolie, nor Helen Keller, or Princess Diana, or Mother-freakin-Theresa. She is just some Miss Freakin Minchin for crying out loud!!!

They say it used to be shown when we were in the elementary years, like after school. What did I do after school at those times? I ask myself. I remember playing with my classmates after school and when I watch tv I remember HBO, Discovery Channel, and CNN.

Who among you DON’T KNOW Miss Minchin? Please be my friends. Be on my side. I beg you to help me redeem myself.

This is a call to all of my friends out there. Forget Miss Minchin ever existed. She is a nobody.

P.S. Poor as it may sound I did NOT have a poor childhood, excuse me. *wink* ...and I know Batibot!!!