*“Me?”
By ingrid
@ridingbet (66854)
Philippines
October 16, 2017 4:10am CST
We are only 3 at home. My kid brother is staying in his house at the back of our ancestral home. Because we are only three, we have to state the name or endearment if any one of us speaks to the other.
My sister calls me ‘TOL’, short for UTOL, which means sibling in Filipino (it is actually slang for sibling). My colleagues sometimes refer to my sister as ‘tol’ as well.
This morning while I was seated in front of the desktop and my son beside me with his laptop, my sister talked aloud. She did not state who she was talking to, so I did not mind her and my son too. When her voice rose to nearly a shout, I turned around and asked her, “Who are you talking to? Me?” she said “Yes”. But then later this morning, she was also telling something and I replied, “Me?”, and she said, “No, I am talking to Jef”. My son and I looked at each other and smiled.
It seems my sister wants the two of us (I and my son) to respond to her in unison; she does not want to be ignored by neither of us.
16 people like this
13 responses
@jobelbojel (35647)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
Tol, is more of a brother endearment! For sister, we call them atsi, not the che sound but pronounce as syllabicated at-si
5 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
UTOL as far as i know means sibling, any gender. but yes, utol is more for the brod or bro, and seldom the sis.
3 people like this
@Eyesclosed (162)
•
16 Oct 17
it would be funny if you answered her at the same time 
4 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
sometimes we do. but we already know the tone of voice for each of us with my son.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471468)
• Switzerland
17 Oct 17
@ridingbet 
My husband talks to his computer when he is angry because he cannot arrive to do some tasks.
My husband talks to his computer when he is angry because he cannot arrive to do some tasks.1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Oct 17
@LadyDuck talking is better than pounding on the screen of the computer. 
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
hahaha! yes, i agree. but my son sometimes does that--- he talks to his laptop when he is so engrossed watching whatever he watches in his laptop.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
16 Oct 17
When I'm in a grocery store I'm always amused at how many women turn and look when a child calls, "mom!"
3 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
hahaha! yes, i also witnessed that in a grocery store here. a young girl was somewhat lost and what she did was call out loud, "Mommy", and several women turned to look at her.
the mother was already outside the grocery, and she went back running to her kid.
3 people like this
@ilocosboy (45156)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
In here I often hear "bes" and "sister" as reply
3 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
bes is what my students call each other. there is even a bhe, so what i call them too is, BES or BHE.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
@ilocosboy okay, but TOL is the term of endearment of my sister to me.
@ilocosboy (45156)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
"tol" is more for men, and so with "dre"
3 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
that is why i often tell her to say my or my son's name when she talks to any of us.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
Your sister should be more specific. It would be funny if you would answer while she is talking to your brother or son and you reply.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Oct 17
heheh! several times i do that. and since she calls me TOL, i sometimes respond when she calls our dog THOR. you see, TOL is similar to THOR, so when i reply, she saiy in an amusing manner, "i am calling for Thor, not you".
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72281)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
She should have used 'tol' too to avoid confusion.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Oct 17
yes she should but until now, any of us 3 still answer to whoever calls us even if we are not addressed with our names.
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (51969)
• Philippines
16 Oct 17
Well, she should have mention the name before talking to some one, it's like she's talking to a blank wall or something
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
actually, we have no blank walls in ur house. there are some paintings and pictures hanging. but i agree, she should state our names before talking.
. but i agree, she should state our names before talking.
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
17 Oct 17
Then there should be a house rule that says you have to address the person first before speaking to avoid confusion
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
it should be. but like right now, she is talking to my son outside. when she talks to me, she talks aloud so i can hear her.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Oct 17
yes, and that is our universal relationship here. i think we must develop the ear for knowing if we are called, or we should ignore the call. hahaha!
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Oct 17
of course, but don't you talk to yourself too? sometimes i do, like 'thinking out loud?'
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
19 Oct 17
@Kandae11 i believe it is a natural and normal reaction of a person to think out loud.
1 person likes this
