We always see him when the school supplies store just doesn’t have it, especially now that TLE III and IV require a formatted parchment paper for the subject. We have taken him for granted, and failed to appreciate how much help he gives us. So, we interviewed the man behind the counter; the person from whom we buy our parchment paper and various school supplies.
The Lopez family owns the snackbar. Their property extends up to the photocopy service, variety store, the snackbar and of course, the supply store. John Eric Lopez, the youngest in the family, has been helping with the business since he was 20. He is currently 38 so that means he has been co-running the store for 18 years. Even when he was still studying, the snackbar was already in business. John was a troublemaker back in his school days, though ironic to his physical disposition,. A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, he finished Commerce, though it was not his first choice. His zest for business was already apparent during his college years. He wrote a thesis about the family business. His two siblings were actually Claretians; Batch `79 and `77. The eldest is a Claretian Salutatorian and a UP graduate, while the middle sibling was included in the Top 20 of Claret `79 Batch and a college graduate of the Univrsity of Ateneo.
Considering the daily income, it goes very reasonable and very consistent, same amount everyday. He does get bored sometimes on his shift, especially on lonely afternoons, “five to ten percent of the time,” he says. His remedy for this is the company of cards or the TV, and the solitude of sleep. He doesn’t work full time. He hired another employee so someone will attend to the business whenever he isn’t around to manage the store. Although not evident, he is always busy. Still, he enjoys his work.
Apparently, they do not make the famous formatted parchment paper. They print it through the services rendered by Trinity Publishing in Cubao. Contrary to popular belief, the parchment paper isn’t exactly the best seller in the business. C2 is the most profitable product nowadays. Demand for parchment papers comes and goes but C2 is consistent.
We asked him if he could go back in time, what would he want to tell his self. John replies “Sana nag serysoso ako sa studies. Sana di ako puro laktwatsa.” Hope this will give notice to the cliché “Study first”. We also asked where would he be if he wasn’t the manager of the store. “Some other Business...” he said with a chuckle.
There you have it. This is the man that provides us with our every academic need.. This just goes to show that curiosity is a big way of saying thank you; a sign that we are grateful for every help given. Sometimes it’s nice to take a moment and be aware of who and what surrounds you. Life can be monotonous if we want it to be, if we make everything just a part of the background. Take notice and see how beautiful the tiniest fragments of our lives are. For our efforts, John gave us a roll of parchment paper, of course through some persuading. It’s a simple act, yet still meaningful.
