My Ride

When I am not driving to work, I take the jeepney. For me, that's a good way to save money, save the environment and be reminded of where I used to be. 

One thing that I have always wondered about myself when taking the jeep, though, is how, when the driver seems in a hurry to get all of us passengers to our deathbeds, I could not tell him to slow down. The same can be said about those drivers that play music so loudly my ears could bleed. I know that my safety is at stake and have all the right to complain, but I just couldn't find the courage to do so. 

Once I was close to doing it, then I noticed somebody I knew on the same ride. I hesitated and let the whole thing pass. I didn't want to be embarrassed. I thought, it was not common for jeepneys to crash this side of the city, anyway, tail wagging between my legs.

I guess that's it. Fear of embarrassment stops me from speaking up for my and everybody else's safety. Truth is, sometimes I do not ask for the one-peso change anymore just so I could avoid having to yell at the driver for it. It's different with cabs, though. It's not difficult to tell cab drivers to slow down or drive safely, as either I am the only one in it or I am with friends. With complete strangers, however, I would not be able to stand the thought of them staring at me after complaining aloud as if I were some poor little thing. What if the driver ignores me? Worse, what if the driver cusses back and drives even more dangerously? With these idiots on the road, you can never really tell. I would rather have my rights as an individual be a thing for the books.

Maybe one of the reasons why I never want to stop taking the public transportation is the challenge. I posed that as a challenge to myself many years ago, to be able to comfortably stand up for my rights when the situation calls for it. I don't want to keep on ignoring this disregard for how things should be.

I am not sure if other passengers feel the same way I do or if they are just used to how these public transportations do not have any care for safety, good service or plain courtesy. I can't really say which one is better. 

Then I wonder why corruption is everywhere in government. With people, me included, not speaking up for something so important as safety, I can just imagine how many more social ills we are tolerating. 

Cruisin'

For the second year now, January is the month I consider the most expensive after December. It is when I have my car registered at LTO and its maintenance done. That is not mentioning the fact that this is also the time when I shop for gifts for those I promised presents last Christmas.

Though the car registration still gave me the same pain I have when I look at the latest pair of shoes that I have to postpone buying again, I actually remember feeling joy after the 45-minute process was over (Yes. It took me less than an hour to do that at the LTO branch along Shaw Blvd, where the old Ynares Gym used to be).

The maintenance was another story. 

I was advised by a nearby garage that I would need to cough up 14000 pesos for all the fixes. But any car owner knows that the truth of the matter is only half of what these commercial garage people are saying. So, I paid my trusted mechanic a visit instead. It turned out, the garage had asked 10000 peso more.

My mechanic does not have a decent place to work on the car. I park mine right in front of his house, and that's it, he does his thing. You can just imagine how inconvenient it is for him, for me, for his neighbors and for the people passing by. However, it seems everyone has gotten used to it. They do not mind the hassle.

I do, though. That's why I always try to go by other garages before I finally decide to go to him.

Depending on what I need to have done on my car, I wait for hours, sometimes all day. I sit at a store across from his house, as that is the only place I could wait on him. The store sells all kinds of food, so there, I could have breakfast, lunch, and thankfully, I do not go all the way to dinner.

But the last time I went there, I did something out of the ordinary. After having my power lunch at the store (Knowing that I would have to wait all day), as usual, I decided to go around the place. This was something I hadn't really done though I'd already been there several times. I had never really bothered exploring. So, this time,  I did.

I went around and found this interesting dock by the river. People cross toward the other bank, in another city, on a small boat that can sit about 20 to 30 people. Getting to the other side does not really take more than 5 minutes, and it is a very convenient and fast way of getting to that area. The sight is already stunning as it is, and I wonder how more beautiful it could have been if it were cleaner...

This dock has a shed with benches for passengers to wait on, so I stayed there the whole afternoon till sunset, listening to about 5 elderly talk about how everything used to be. One shared how he used to serenade different girls every night to woo them. He even sang to everyone listening to his story, and boy could he sing well! If not for the text message I received from my mechanic, I would have taken a late afternoon nap with that voice.

It was a great day, what with my car now well-maintained, and having spent time at that dock with people that still remember how the river used to be young. It was the only time I forgot about how expensive January is.

How the Universe Resolves Tedium

I wanted to send this to our CFO...

Hi, Eric (he is a namesake)!

I accidentally spilled some drink on my iphone and now, the backlight does not work (even after 24 hours of trying to dry it out).

Everything else but the backlight works fine . Is there some kind of voodoo magic that I can perform so I can use it again?

Desperately,

Eric

His most probable reply...

Hi, Eric!

Get the latest one that's got Siri. She can tell you all about magic.

Eric

What I am hoping he would say..

Hi, Eric!
We finally got the new iPhone for you after the long wait. As for the old one, we'll cover the cost of having it repaired and you can still keep it!

Eric


Without a doubt, Gatorade is a cursed drink. It can destroy 5 days of your life...