The mysterious tree of ripe mangoes

I've seen mango trees for most of my life, but yesterday is probably the first time that I saw a tree filled with ripe mangoes still in its branches. Even in mango orchards, I don't recall seeing the golden yellow fruit attached to it still. Even as a kid, we would never have the patience to wait for the fruit to turn yellow before plucking it down to earth. Yet there it was, begging for some kid to climb up its branches and pick out the sickeningly sweet delight with their sticky little fingers.

So where is this mango tree that I speak of? Right in one of my client's backyard. I asked the security guards why no one bothered to pick it. He said that his boss didn't give permission and they were too embarrassed to ask. A pity, I thought, that all these ripe fruits would go to waste. Being in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of a vast industrial park, there are no kids running around to take advantage of this bounty.

I was to meet with the boss in a few minutes for an appointment. We spoke about business, some small talk and then closing the deal with a handshake. Before I walked out the door, I asked him about the mango tree and all why no one bothered to pluck any of it. Apparently, they already have, the first batch of mangoes going to the staff. This second batch is still not that ripe, he explains, but as soon as it is he will ask the groundsmen to gather them up and distribute them to his people. I resisted the urge to have a taste there and then.

So alright, I'm not a real big fan of mangoes, but I would really love to pick them. As a kid, I took pleasure in climbing up to the "alatiris" and "santol" trees in our compound and picking the ripe ones out of the branches. The pleasure that I get out of 'raping' these trees for their fruits was even better than eating all those fruits themselves. Strange.

*****

There was a big meeting at the office, apparently there is a crisis at work. Not enough sales supposedly. Gulp... don't I manage the sales department? So unsurprisingly all eyes were watching me fidget in my seat. I could only wonder what was going on behind their beady little eyes. Upper management asks for their understanding if they don't get the usual bonuses this year, nor the mid year pay that they had grown so accustomed to. Now I know how Alice felt when she shriveled down to pint sized proportions.

Okay, a moment please to defend myself? This is not my fault at all! Hahaha! Sure, they'll believe me, but it isn't really! I'll be the first to admit, I could be doing more than what I'm doing now, but sales are definitely not slipping compared to last year. If at all, they've pretty much stayed the same despite the global financial crisis. The only shortcoming that I will confess to is not having met my target SO FAR. Well, I've set a pretty high target for my team this year which explains the wide discrepancy between actual and forecasted sales. That's another matter entirely since overhead and capex weren't really adjusted according to the forecast anyway.

Stop staring at me! Okay, I'll be pretending to be out for a very important meeting right now and avoid the pitchforks... nuninuninu...

While driving to this imaginary appointment, my imaginary friend asks: "So what's wrong, anyway?" I look into his invisible eyes and tell him that nothing is wrong with sales. But should I also tell him the real story? That of where all the sales are going to? Maybe I shouldn't. After all, upper management is not pinning any blame on me, just gently poking me to pick up the slack as soon as possible. And I did agree to such a huge target, darn stupid pride!

Oh well, more work for me. Good thing is that approaching the half, business outlook is pretty darn good even for a recession. The team has been able to corral some pretty good contracts, and we've been growing our client list despite hard times. But I can't tell that to anyone unless the ink has set and dried and the receipts go flying out. Learned long ago never to count your chickens until they've hatched.

*****

Did I tell you I've lost most of my cable channels thanks to SkyCable's reformatting? Can't complain, it's an illegal connection (shhh...) so I'm stuck with the few channels that I have. Kinda reminds me of the time when I didn't have cable. The positive side of it is that I get to read more often. In fact, my reading has sort of interrupted my writing, not entirely a bad thing since I usually find myself writing nonsense anyway. This reading phase may actually be good for the brain. hehehe.

The bad thing is that is went out right smack in the middle of the playoffs. Had been following the games through nba.com instead of watching the action as it unfolds (albeit on delayed telecast). The same goes with the current formula one season, how I miss the drone of the engines as they fly past the cameras. Incidentally, I don't think the Scuderia have much of a chance this year, rats.