Watching people in their unguarded moments is an art that I learned so well through time. I am in no way a spy nor a mentally-deranged snoop but merely an observer of human life, its natural behavior as well as its eccentricities.

I used to believe that people behave differently at certain situations but through constant scrutiny, I’m convinced that we all deal with life’s complexities in a surprisingly exact fashion.Our eyes sparkle at the sight of our beloved; we get thrilled at discovering a crisp envelope in our mailbox; we flare up when a significant other shows up one hour late for dinner and we get annoyed at finding a long queue of shoppers at a counter when all you have in hand is a toilet paper.

It’s a wonder how one can be a witness to numerous eye-opening occurrences simply by taking public transport. Commuting is another art that I undeniably excel at and which by the way I relish every single time because it gives me a glimpse of how people are.

Once on a jeepney on my way to work, I almost got into an argument with a young lady who literally squeezed her butt into the tiny space beside me.I told her there’s enough room for her on the other side but she simply ignored me. I shifted my eyes to the people behind the jeepney driver.I soon found out why this snooty coed refused to change seat.An Aeta husband and wife were feeding their children. The father was tearing a biscuit wrapper for his young son while the mother was breastfeeding her little bundle of joy. Since I could no longer move freely on my seat, I took my things and grabbed a seat beside the Aeta family. The bitch let out a sigh of relief to have gotten rid of me. There was not even a trace of remorse on her face for being rude to the katutubo. I should have given her a 5-peso coin and asked her to buy some good manners. The Aetas seemed to be content in their own little world, oblivious to the fact that they had just been a victim of an obnoxious upstart. The color of their skin certainly does not make them less human. We’re of the same race and forever it shall be.

Malls are a convenient place to observe people. Why? Obviously, for the reason that each hierarchy of the social strata is well-represented. From class ABC to the newly-coined "jologs" type.Sadly though, malls could also be a haven for prejudice.I’ve always marveled at how customers dressed to the nines get treated compared to those who are clad in worn-out jeans and faded shirt.Salesclerks are unusually pleasant to the former. From the moment these demi-god clients step into their store, the salespeople would receive them earnestly, a subtle way of telling them that they wouldn’t mind being at their disposal. Money indeed talks!

However, a few salesclerks transform into Mr. Hyde when they deal with customers who are not as well-dressed. Sure, they still lavish them with attention but with a dubious motive in mind — keep an eye on them for they might hide items down their trousers or inside a bag. Funny how some individuals judge others by the clothes they wear. Clothes are supposed to cover one’s skin not one’s character.

By the way, I have a confession to make. I’m an eavesdropper and I’m proud of it. I don’t do it intentionally though. It’s just that I can’t help myself from overhearing other people’s conversations. It’s in fact an ingenious way of delving into the psyche of unsuspecting victims.It’s a blessing that I’m a fastfood junkie. You’d be surprised at the number of interesting characters that abound in any fastfood joint. The most common breed are women who think that their pathetic lovelives are the center of the universe. There was one who kept mouthing curses against her ex-boyfriend whom she claimed left her for a slut he met in an obscure girlie bar. If curses could kill, her poor clueless boyfriend would have been dead by now.

It was also in a fastfood chain that I’ve proven my theory that most women look at their mothers-in-law as a threat to their marriage. A woman who I think was in her mid-30s was complaining to her girlfriend about how she could no longer stand her mother-in-law. She felt that everything she did is not good enough for her hubby’s mother and that she was only hanging by a thread for the sake of her husband and her children. Good thing, I don’t have to deal with that yet! Thank God!

On another occasion I overheard a female employee whining about the injustices in her workplace. It appeared as though she couldn’t get along well with her colleagues as well as with her boss. She said that her co-workers were a bunch of empty-shelled humanoids who did nothing but gossip all day.

Way before the advent of text messaging, there were phone booths in every corner. Two pesos was all you need to make a call.I was standing in line, waiting for my turn behind a dashingly attractive yuppie. The booth was partly open and I was only a few inches away so I overheard his conversation with the person on the other line.He was asking for apology because he couldn’t possibly make it to their date due to an unforeseen circumstance. After a few minutes, he ended with an I Love You and hung up. As soon as he left the booth, a pretty tisay came rushing by and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips and together they walked hand in hand. My jaw dropped! Right before my very eyes was one of life’s greatest mysteries—- philandering and cheating partners! The nerve of that guy to even call his gf when in truth he was, I assumed, going to spend the night with another woman.

There are certain facts about life that are simply not learned in school.These are the things that we learn once we explore the real world. It may present itself to us in manner we haven’t imagined in our wildest dreams but the lessons we gain from it will see us through in this lifetime.

Life in itself is a mystery. Observing, human life unfolding right before our very eyes could make a lot of difference. We may not favor everything we discover about life– the good, the bad and the ugly— but learning to accept that there are things we can’t change is a great start.. Truly, experience is the best teacher of life..