ended up having a 2-hour dinner with one of my high school friends, and i dropped her off at home before going back to grove. but between her house and my destination are several stretches of lonely roads. short by other people’s standards, probably, but as a newbie driver i wasn’t thrilled. at one point, in my relief at reaching one end of a bumpy stretch and the beginning of a lonely straight one, i got distracted by a vehicle that turned off to a side road. then i realized i was getting off the road and onto the grassy sidewalk.

i know that so many things could have turned out wrong in that scenario. there could have been a passing car at the other side, or worse, one behind me that panicked when i made the drunken swerve back. there could have been a large ditch instead of the gentle grassy incline. the car could have skidded beyond control. i could have hit a tree (explaining that bump will definitely go over well). worse, i could have hit a person (although anyone who would take a stroll on a deserted road at 11pm needs his head checked).

thankfully, all i got was a heart that stopped beating for a second. and i sent up a prayer and an apology for taking too little care of myself and my responsibility.

not that i’m really giving up the commute. the slex is such an expensive drive, not to mention tiring with the recent resumption of the construction of skyway.  more importantly, i don’t have a car to call my own.  i’ll just be the lucky substitute for when my aunt and/or dad are sleepy on the drive home from the mall or the doctor.  though i’m not much better than either of them when it comes to keeping the yawns at bay.

the weird thing is that i feel a lot more confident when the instructor is there in the passenger seat. i’d taken on a green star bus from the opposite lane with a barely-comfortable margin while overtaking another vehicle. i went 60+kph on a national highway. i also kept to two restarts while crawling along to the turbina loop on slex southbound from canlubang interchange.  but today, when i pulled out our car from the rear garage and put it back after church, i got frustrated at how uncoordinated my two feet were. mehhhhhh.

two more 2-hour sessions to go. maybe after then, i can take on the traffic at crossing. and parking. cross-fingers.

i started going on the LRT because it solved the time warp problem.  like, you think traffic is moving albeit slowly, but you look at your watch and realize you’re running late?  initially, i started with the homeward journey because the LRT is way more convenient than riding a jeep.  then i eventually rode the LRT in the mornings as well, when i discovered that i was wasting too much time going to work.  hence, the trip both ways takes me under 15 minutes (barring delays between stations, or waiting out for less full coaches).  getting to the bus terminal before 6 pm has become rather common.

now, i’m lucky if i get there before  6.30.  and that’s because i took a cab.  public transport, particularly the buendia route, has become a nightmare.  i was very surprised at how i can’t seem to get a ride to LRT-buendia after 15 minutes of waiting.  it’s like getting a fluke every time i managed the feat.  and i was dumbfounded because the situation changed so drastically in just eleven months.  did the escalating gas prices force many jeepney drivers into taking shorter trips, or none at all?  is there now a shortage in jeepneys because driving them just isn’t feasible any more?

i idly asked my aunt (who is my daily trip companion) why the jeeps are all full and it seems more difficult to get on public transport nowadays.  and her answer was so simple i can’t believe i never thought about it: the gas prices forced more people to commute to work.  where my previous theory indicated a lower supply, it was actually more of an increased demand that caused the shortage.  ohhhhhhh.

i decided to show up for my weekly badminton game and managed to get to the courts almost unscathed (save for a few large drops of rain on my head).  but when my friends and i got to the locker room, we couldn’t hear each other over the noise from the rooftops.  next we heard, everybody else was stuck somewhere, because of flood or the turtle pace on the road.

i didn’t like the idea of standing around under a drizzle (at best) and spotting my bus through sheer luck (or worse, having to stand inside the bus for the 50+ kilometer stretch of the slex).  but i began to rue that (usually prudent) decision when i realized i couldn’t even hitch a ride to the bus terminal.  and when i walked a block to see what was going on, i discovered that going to the terminal might not be such a hot idea after all.  (in fact, i was getting really cold at this time.)

too many people, too little public transport.  and too much water.  sometimes the sure choice isn’t always the best.  less than 30 minutes later, i was boarding the higer bus from cubao, and i even had the whole back row to myself.  instead of getting stuck in traffic going to taft, and possibly facing a long queue for a bus that is beginning to rust.

a cup of starbucks to all the commuters who endured the wet and cold tonight because there is no other way.

there are some times that i know i can’t catch that trip, and i’d have to look for somewhere to stay.  but it’s not easy, because i can count with one hand the number of people i feel i can ask to stay with.  besides, i’d have to worry about logistics, like how to get to work or home from their place, and especially the overnight stuff i have to bring with me.  just last friday i stayed with an old officemate of mine, and i was lucky that she had a few things to lend me so that i’ll have a comfortable stay.  but i had a massive headache the next day, and i ended up delaying my trek home until late afternoon (after we wasted money and time at rockwell lol).

it’s times like these i wish i still had a place in manila.  but i guess no matter where i am, i’ll always have a last trip to contend with.

saw avenue q last saturday and it was so worth it.  and i didn’t really mind that it was raining hard (because the typhoon signals were going up apparently).  what i did mind is the water dripping from the holes on the window of the bus.  i hate hate hate hate drippings!  and i’ve lost the comfy cocoon feeling from riding the bus.  it’s become icky once again.  ewwwww.

on the upside, at least i didn’t get my feet wet.

when we got out to wait for the buses, i was expecting them to be almost full.  well, the one we got on was.  but surprisingly, it never got to the point of SRO that i’d expect for that trip.  the back row (where i sat, naturally) had only three people on, when it would have seated 6.  and so i enjoyed my mental headbanging to storm large while the bus raced through the slex.

then i go to the lrt station (because yesterday is the last time i’m riding a jeep the traffic is so bad) and the train comes in just as i got to the platform.  and it’s almost empty?  at 8.15 am?  and for the first time in a long long time i got to sit?

where have all the people gone?

the problem with traffic in the philippines is that if the driver doesn’t act like he’s king of the road, he’d end up as the whipping boy. from buses to jeepneys to the tricycles (the frailest motorized public transport in the world), each has to assert its own supremacy on the road to the detriment of the unfortunate slow car that blocked its way. regular commuters on the provincial line can only shake their heads and hold on to their seats whenever the driver weaves in and out of the obstacle course that is the slex at full speed. so last night, while i was mentally bobbing my head to foo fighters‘ five songs and a cover, i barely paid attention when the bus made that unmistakable lurch that meant it was overtaking and had to abort. after that i got a brainwave, and decided to no longer endure the cold blast from the aircon vent so i put on my blazer. then the bus stopped at the intersection, i looked up, and i knew that something was wrong.

i used to hate sitting at the back rows of the bus because i had terrible motion sickness as a kid. but now that i’ve been commuting for nine years, i found that the only thing that beats sitting at the rear is sitting at front with no seatmates. and i just happened to barely catch the bus before leaving the terminal, so i was sharing the last three-seater with another woman and her little girl. and having my earphones glued to my ears closed me off from the world, so i was like “whuh?” when i noticed the commotion at the front of the bus. and however much i listened, i really couldn’t get what was happening. after about five minutes the bus moved again, but all the people in front of me alternated between standing and peeking at the road ahead, and talking excitedly amongst themselves. i was still helplessly clueless.

the bus let off a few more passengers, and finally stopped in front of the gate of the military camp in my town. i knew something was up. i finally asked the guy in front of me what was happening. apparently, the bus tried to overtake an armored car and got into a bind, but the armored car wouldn’t budge. luckily, the oncoming vehicle from the opposite direction gave way and the bus surged ahead, but the armored car still pulled ahead of us. at the intersection, which is an unofficial bus stop, the armored car blocked our bus and some guy with a rifle came out. and everyone who was supposed to get off obviously scrambled back in fear. i heard from a different witness the even the driver sprang out of his seat after locking his window and the door. it was unclear how the standoff ended, but eventually the armored car pulled away, and the people at front memorized the plate number to tell the police. presently the bus moved again, and my suspicions were proven correct when we turned into the town proper (which the bus never does on the regular trip) and headed to the municipality police station, where the passengers at the front as well as the bus driver and conductor gave their statements. the men in the armored car were detained.

all’s well that ends well. ya think? my aunt made a comment about obnoxious armored car drivers who think they’re king. i refrained from making my own case about bus drivers who should be driving for ferrari. but the sorry state of the world is that road rage is no longer uncommon. only a few weeks ago a bus driver was shot dead from a road skirmish at edsa. this is not the biggest reason why i’m still ambivalent about driving. i have to wonder, though, why i’m still indifferent about it. i’m worried that i’ve become so apathetic that i can only summon a token amount of fear when i found out what happened. it makes me wonder if this level of egocentricity (is that even a word?) is still healthy.

i was woken up at almost 5.30 this morning, after more than 12 hours of sleep (long story), and my wonky brain was telling my uncooperative body to like, wake up, like, now?  because you know it’s monday and you have to take the bus to work?  well, a zonked-out aircon is preferable to the bus.  that’s how bad it is.

monday morning bus rides have always been a problem since even before i started working.  most people who are weekend commuters make it a point to leave the suburbs on sunday evening at the latest to avoid the massive traffic jam on monday morning.  daily commuters like me hardly have any choice.  the only possible thing is to wake up early enough so that if i had to stand in the bus for the next 50 kilometers, at least it won;t be for too long.  but the time i woke up this morning put paid to that.  and it was also too late to take my alternative, which was go to the next town (actually a city) and take the non-aircon bus going to lawton.  damn.

nevertheless, undaunted, my aunt and i headed to the unofficial bus terminal to wait for the buses.  the first one actually had several vacant seats, but we preferred the one headed to another terminal.  four buses later, we were frustrated at the situation.  all buses are full, and with not a few standing passengers.  it’s looking really bad.  which is why my aunt decided to finally take her car to work.  thank merlin.

so, today, i actually avoided another monday morning disaster. except for the tardiness part.  that’s something i’m still working on.

the bus i ride in everyday has several types of seat covers. the new kind has pseudo-leather seats that must be made of some material that repels dust. it is so repellant, in fact, that a person can fall from his seat if the bus is too fast and makes an abrupt turn. like i almost did this morning.

in fact, the rollercoaster ride i was on this morning only highlighted how much the bus seats contribute to a person’s physical and mental well-being.

because i was at the aisle spot of a three-seater and there was no handrail (which may or may not be a lucky strike) i had to plant my right leg firmly in front of me to keep from slipping. i couldn’t nap at all because of the concentration required of me, in addition to tiring my poor fat leg before it was due for a workout. my back probably winced at the awful posture i subjected it to. and my arms ached from the effort of holding onto the front handle.

at which point i finally decided to chronicle my daily battles with public transportation.

the end.