Back when I did not have a laptop yet, my friend and I were discussing how great it would be to own one. She told me that she knew somebody who knew somebody who was selling Sony Vaio laptops at a cheaper price. I was thinking, Vaio what? Back then I was kind of ignorant about laptop brands. (Up to now actually. I just go with the recommendations of friends.) She must have heard the puzzlement in my voice because she told me that it was a great brand but kind of expensive. Even with the cheaper price, it was still beyond my range. I ended up buying a cheaper brand but I am glad to say that I do not regret my choice.
I woke up late earlier and I was already anticipating that I will be late for work. However, I decided to try to beat the clock. I opted to ride the tricycle and pay so much more so that I can take the road with lighter traffic. Unfortunately, the tricycle driver was a very slow driver. Not only that, he always managed to get stuck behind jeepneys that were letting off their passengers. I badly wanted to tell the driver to hit the pedal. When I got off the trike I was lucky that I was able to ride a Quaipo jeepney immediately or so I thought. I still could have made it but of course the driver had to stop by a gasoline station for refill. So much for making it to work on time.
Yesterday I was doing my best not to be late for work. Fate was smiling at me. Commuting was a breeze. I immediately flagged down an almost empty Megamall FX and did not wait for a Quiapo jeepney just to be sure I will be able to get to work early. Since traffic was smooth we arrived at Tektite with 20 minutes to spare. I was debating whether to walk the distance from Tektite to our office (around 10 minutes walk) or stay in the FX as it wound its way around Megamall and getting off at Medical Plaze, which is nearer our office. I decided to walk because I was afraid that the FX would get caught in traffic somewhere along the route and I did not relish being the last to get off, which is often the case. When I got off the FX I looked at its plate number to see if I will encounter in my walk. Sure enough, when I got to Medical Plaza I saw it stop in front of me while a passenger got off. Waaahhh. I could have saved myself the trouble of walking, on the other hand, it was a much needed exercise. At least I was not late for work.
I noticed when we were in Korea that they take their energy saving measures seriously. When we entered our room in Sang Nam International House, we immediately noticed the electric fan placed on top of the dresser. Uh oh…no air conditioning. But on the wall we saw a temperature control pad but even though we tried to lower the temperature it remained constant. So when we assembled in the lobby again we mentioned it to Ms. Lynn, the IACE staff in charge. We were then told that air condition was centralized and turned on only at night.
We then proceeded to eat lunch in one of the restaurants near Sang Nam. It was also kind of hot inside the restaurant. There were two electric fans to give relief to the heat. After eating, we went back to our rooms to rest. At four o’clock, we went to the Hall where registration took place. Here, there were two stand alone air condition units but these were not able to fight the heat. One of the things included in our kit was a fan. I guess, we should have taken heed of its meaning.
The next day we continued to complain about air conditioning in our room since the room temperature reflected in the thermostat was 28 or 29 degrees. We took it to mean that there was no air conditioning in our room. It was only when we started the first round of our field visits did we finally realize that it was really a policy and not just inefficiency of the hostel. The bus was almost comfortably cool but still not quite especially after a hot and sweaty tour around the institutions we visited.
It was only when we checked in in our hotel in Seoul during the last three days of our stay that we experienced honest to goodness air conditioning.
I can only admire how obedient Koreans are to such a policy even though the heat was already uncomfortable since it is summer season. They really do their best to contribute to the energy saving measures of their government. I guess it must be because they can see that in the long run it also benefits them. I believe that one of the reasons why Filipinos do not believe and seldom obey the policies of the government is because they know that only very few will benefit from these policies. The money that the Philippine government will save from energy saving measures will just add to the money that already line the pockets of corrupt politicians and government officials. So why suffer when only a few will benefit.
Waaahh!!!!!! Why can’t I upload my pictures? I’ve been trying since yesterday to upload my already very late entry to last week’s LP but there seems to be a problem. Grrrr…
One night in Busan, while walking back to the international house after dinner from one of the restaurants that honor our meal coupons, we encountered this heavily muscled guy. He looked like he invested in home gym equipment. He was wearing black-fitting sando to show off his big body. My companions remarked that the guy was gay and hiding behind a muscled physique. I do not know how they came to this conclusion but maybe it was the way he strutted while walking, like he was saying, “hey! look at my bodyâ€. I cannot really say for certain if he was gay or not. Besides, it was really none of our business. It was just unfortunate for him that he encountered us. Hehe
