The Safety Shoes

It’s 3 in the morning, the possibility of leaving the warehouse within an hour or 2 is still out of the horizon. So to keep me awake, I decided to write this note. In a warehouse operation, safety is of primary importance. The personnel are required to wear safety gears such as hard hat, reflectorized vest and safety shoes to avoid injuries in case an accident happens at the shop floor. 

credit to the owner of this picture

Safety shoes, the last time I wore one was back in my first job as a Process Engineer. After my OJT, the company immediately hired me to continue the Material and Time optimization study that I started. The data I gathered were used as standards in determining the material requirement and the daily output per section. I truly learned a lot from my first job and those learning paved the way to a better and more fulfilling career that I have now. Every time I have a recollection of my first job, it always puts a smile on my face. If you have read my previous blog "where's my shoes?" it is now time to get to know my Safety Shoes.

We graduated from the same institute, aside from that we have a lot of things in common. We love the same kind of music, like the same kind of food, enjoy watching movies, we can talk  about anything without running out of topics. We are both funny, thus we became friends and gotten real close. Things started to change when I broke up with my college boyfriend. He kept me company while I nursed my broken heart, he made sure that I’m OK. One day, the way we looked at each other suddenly felt different, his voice lingered in my head and his smile simply made my day. It was not my plan but I fell in love with my best friend.  Yes there’s nothing wrong with it, if and only if he was not in a long term relationship. I felt it was not right so I decided to avoid him but I failed to. After a long talk over the phone and a confrontation, he confessed  “the feeling is mutual,” then we kissed.

People in the office knew he was seeing somebody else, so we continued to be best friends you know the term “parang kayo pero hindi.” We exchanged notes written in small pieces of paper given in the most unique way possible, crumpled and thrown to the face. We held hands under the table during meetings. There were days he would give me chocolates with a note inside that says "para sa'yo ang ganda mo kasi ngayon... p.s. wag ka pumunta sa production line ang nipis ng suot mo." He would find all sort of excuses so he could drive me home from the office. Those were ourkilig moments. I love him but I never asked him to choose me over his then girlfriend, I knew that although we have many things in common having different faith made the situation even more complicated. I left the company, a pathetic decision I made because I wanted to move on. On my last day, before we finally said goodbye he asked me to marry him and I said no because I opt not to compromise my belief. At 23, marriage scared me because my family needs me. He told me he was ready to leave her if I said yes.  

Although I never regret turning him down, it took me 7 years to move on. My Safety shoes, it was not easy to forget you. I’m sorry I didn’t take you home. Thank you for the song and the poem you composed for me, I never felt so special in my whole life. Please know that you are always in my heart.