On Planners And Remembering

...To escape the certainty of oblivion,
...This is what drives our species to diaries.
- Timepiece

Recently, I have forgotten a lot of things - birthdays, appointments, tasks, etc. And it is all because of not constantly checking a planner I got from drinking a lot of coffee. It is quite interesting though that Starbucks still believes in paper planners despite the emergence of PDAs and smartphones. A stylish old-fashionedness is definitely involved there. Anyway, what I do not like is the Starbucks planner itself. The cover, ballpen and incorporated cards are pretty commendable. But unlike a slim sturdy school planner I used to have in the past years, the Starbucks planner is really bulky and it does not have the time section. Each date only has notes section.

I can't help but recall the experience that got me started on having an organizer for myself. It began back in my college days when I was in an organization that taught catechism to kids living in poverty-stricken areas. Every Friday afternoon, the org would ride a bus going to a particular place in Fairview to visit them.

I joined the organization without the intention of teaching the kids. I signed up with the org for the sake of having an extra-curricular activity. So that for the whole semester, I was on and off when it came to teaching. On top of that, I was hanging by a thread as a student so my studies took priority over teaching. By the next semester, I decided not to teach anymore.

After about seven months, I felt that I got the hang of things already at school so I became a member of the org again. When I came back to the teaching area, I observed several changes. The place was cleaner and the kids had somewhat grown that I barely recognized each of them. When we were about to start the lesson, my co-teacher asked the kids if they still knew me. A couple of seconds passed and no one answered. Of course, who would remember or even want to remember someone who taught on and off? I started to get disappointed with myself when a little girl uttered, "Kuya Dundee!" They were the sweet words I heard in that place for that particular semester. I was really moved that somebody still remembered.

From then on, I promised to remember a person at least once a year on his or her birthday. I bought myself a planner to do that. But as it turned out later on, you have to be "comfortable" with the planner as well to remember things. Perhaps this coming December, I would be switching back to the school planner I used to have.