My planner

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I lost my 2026 planner. It has always been my yearly tradition, since I started to work, to complete a quest offered by one of the largest coffee chains around the world. When one reaches 18 drinks, he or she is entitled to claim any of the rewards, and one of them happens to be a planner. This yearly notebook varies its design annually. For me, it’s a symbol of a fresh start as we hit reset on our buttons for the new year to come.

On the day that I finally completed that quest, I was elated. I even took pictures of me holding the unopened planner. Distracted as I was, with a million things on my mind, I went on to continue the remainder of the work that I had to do. When I saw that the clock was about 20 minutes to my next appointment, I hurriedly shoved my laptop and my bag behind my shoulder with my drink in hand. The planner was left on the seat. It was only seven hours after when I realized that I had left it there. With the string of contacts I have, I pulled them up one by one so I could get a hold of the store’s manager. To my dismay, he said that no unopened planner was turned over and that it was nowhere to be found.

My only guess is that somebody took it. It could have been a teenager or a woman like me who also enjoys the thrill of collecting stickers for a reward at the end. What I couldn’t understand is the need to take something that isn’t theirs. Unlike other nationalities, an object left behind doesn’t automatically mean “finders keepers.” It’s left there until the original owner shows up or it’s given to the store staff for safekeeping. Seldom are those who are honest on these matters, and it’s also reflective of the society that we are in.

Months into the issue of the flood-control project scandal and those in position continue to take what isn’t theirs. In the exercise of free expression, there are still those who remove the phrase “corruption kills” from the streets. It’s a disrespect to one’s right and the freedom to own creative work to show frustration and anger. We’re so good at taking from others with no transparency at all.

My disappointment will linger on. I’d like to think that what happened to me is similar to looting in the areas stricken by disaster. Hands couldn’t be kept to themselves; there’s always an urge to grab and take. My only wish is that whoever took my planner will make good use of it, as I have poured my hard-earned money into it as well. I hope that person plans his or her 2026 well, with a book stolen from another. May that lost item do its job well.