SALESMEN ON AN ISLAND

      Inilahad nanam ni Elyson Encarnacion ang kanyang inspirational story bilang bahagi ng kanyang paglalahad ng assignment sa aming theme "shoes" para sa aming 2nd SocieTEA session. Ito ay may pamagat na: "Salesmen on an Island" (samuelwirawibawa.wordpress.com)

There’s the story of two shoe salesman who were sent to an island to sell shoes. The first salesman, upon arrival, was shocked to realize that no one wore shoes. Immediately he sent a telegram to his home saying,”Will return home tomorrow. No one wears shoes.”. The 2nd salesman was thrilled by the same realization. He …wired the home office saying “Please send me 10,000 shoes. Everyone here needs them.

Shoes: Favorite Shoes

Airah Luy - Nine West Doll Shoes

Cris Bautista - any flat shoes

EK Encarnacion - Top-Siders

Frederick Fontanilla - Happy Feet Shoes

Hanna Gomez - High-Cut Chuck Taylor Shoes

Shoes: Longest Walks

Airah Luy - From Laoag to Robinsons San Nicolas

Cris Bautista - Job Application

EK Encarnacion - Church Errands

Frederick Fontanilla - From Prinza to VPHR Las Pinas

Hanna Gomez - Singapore Tour

Shoes: Photographs

Cris Bautista and Airah Luy

Frederick Fontanilla and Hanna Gomez

Hanna Gomez and Frederick Fontanilla

Cris Bautista and Airah Luy

Starbucks Espresso and Frappuccino

Shoes: Attendance and Mini-Program

Attendance
1. Airah Luy
2. Cris Bautista
3. EK Encarnacion
4. Erick Fontanilla
5. Hanna Gomez

"Shoes" Mini-Program (Photograph by EK Encarnacion)


Mini-Program
Opening Prayer - Cris Bautista
Review (Last Meeting's Topic: Coffee)
Illustrative Story: Well-Dressed Feet
Devotion: Psalms 37:23
Discussion and Sharing of Opinions
-----COFFEE AND TEA BREAK-----
Shoe-Related Articles, Stories, Poems, Songs, Photos, Videos, and Other Forms of Media
Discussion and Sharing of Opinions
Prayer Cards and Requests
Closing Prayer - Airah Luy

Coffee: Photographs

Airah Luy

Airah Luy

Airah Luy

Cris Bautista and Airah Luy

Cris Bautista, Airah Luy and EK Encarnacion

Stories Over Coffee

EK Encarnacion

EK Encarnacion

EK Encarnacion

Frederick Fontanilla and Hanna Gomez

Frederick Fontanilla and Hanna Gomez

Fred Fontanilla and Hanna Gomez

Group Picture

Wacky Group Picture

Stories

(Photographs by Cris Bautista)

Coffee: The Story of the Carrot, Egg and Coffee Beans

EK Encarnacion shared this inspirational story about FACING TRIALS:

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a gas burner. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed a carrot, in the second he placed an egg, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he got up and turned off the burners. He fished the carrot out and placed it in a bowl. He took the egg out and placed on a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her he asked. “Darling, what do you see?” “A Carrot, an egg, and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrot. She did and noted that it was soft. He then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. She asked. “What does these mean Father?” He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile from the beginning. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or coffee beans?” The father continued, " Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity wilts and becomes soft and loses strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, or a layoff have you become hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a harsh spirit and heart? Or are you like the coffee beans? The beans changed the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain. When the water becomes very hot and unforgiving, the coffee beans gave off a strong and rich aroma. If you are like the beans, when things are at their worst or in the midst of trials, you get better and make things better around you."

Coffee: Authors' Descriptions

For the author's descriptions, each of the founders were given the freedom to choose an English word that will describe them. According to Airah Luy, she is zealous--full of passion and all. Cris Bautista believes she is a cheerful person. EK Encarnacion says he is sarcastic most of the time. Simple is what Erick Fontanilla came up with that best describes him. And finally, Hanna Gomez chose huggable as one of her descriptions.


Medyo challenging naman ang naging set ng adjectives as bawat isa ay binigyan ng chance upang magsabi ng isang description para sa isang tao. Sa dulo, bibigyan ng karapatan ang taong iyon na mamili ng description na gusto niyang mailagay sa tabi ng pangalan niya. Sa mga choices ni Airah Luy, pinili niya ang binigay ni EK Encarnacion na "may tililing" yamang siya ay likas na mapagbiro at kadalasan ay eccentric. Pinili rin ni Cris Bautista ang "ambisyosa" na binigay ni EK Encarnacion dahil sa katangian niyang maging futuristic mag-isip most of the time. Pinili ni EK Encarnacion ang "gala" na sinabi ni Erick Fontanilla ngunit pinalitan ito ng "kaladkarin" na mas akmang description niya. Si Erick ay napagkasunduan ng buong grupo na "may T". Ang T ay nangangahulugang "tamad" na siya namang salitang-ugat ng katamaran--"may kaTamaran" na tinanggap naman ng buong puso ni Erick. Naging madali naman ang kay Hanna dahil agad na sinabi ni Erick na siya ay "sumpungin". "may S" ang napiling description kay Hanna yamang ito ay malapit sa "may T" ni Erick na kanyang boyfriend.


For the final one word descriptions, everyone decided to provide descriptions that end with -er. Cris Bautista was considered a feeler for sometimes being too assuming. Shock-absorber was chosen for EK Encarnacion as he becomes too numb most of the time. Erick Fontanilla was considered a risk-taker for trying out new things while Hanna Gomez was quoted to be a care-giver to counteract Erick Fontanilla's aggressive attitude. Airah Luy insisted that she wants to be described as quaint. But since the rule says that all words end in -er, the team merely added -er to quaint thus forming quainter, which in the end really makes no sense... but then who cares?


Lastly, all authors were forced to provide something fresh about them. Airah Luy was described as "paulit-ulit? unlimited paulit-ulit?" dahil sa kanyang kadaldalan at paulit-ulit na pag-iinsist sa mga bagay-bagay. "Dating umii-spaghetti" ang description ni Cris Bautista dahil dati pala siyang cheerleader. "Agad-agad?" naman ang napili kay EK Encarnacion dahil kadalasan siyang assuming at inu-unahan ang mga bagay-bagay before things are actually said and, often, done. Si Erick Fontanilla ay sinabihang "laking bonakid" bilang sarcasm sa kanyang pagiging payatot. Sa pagtatapos, napagkasunduang si Hanna ay "dating underweight, ngayon heavyweight" because she was skinny then.

SocieTEA Blog (Photographs by Cris Bautista)

Coffee: Attendance and Mini-Program

Attendance
1. Airah Luy
2. Cris Bautista
3. EK Encarnacion
4. Erick Fontanilla
5. Hanna Gomez



"Coffee" Mini-Program (Photograph by Cris Bautitsta)


Mini-Program
Opening Prayer - EK Encarnacion
Typing of Author's Descriptions
Official Launching of SoceiTEA Blog and Twitter Page
The Story of the Carrot, Egg and Coffee Beans (Part 1)
Devotion: James 1:1-12
Discussion and Sharing of Opinions
-----COFFEE AND TEA BREAK-----
Coffee-Related Articles, Stories, Poems, Songs, Photos, Videos, and Other Forms of Media
Discussion and Sharing of Opinions
Prayer Requests
Closing Prayer