Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

Ito ay isang sirang lagusan sa loob ng Malinta Tunnel. Ang Malinta Tunnel ay isa sa mga lugar na nagpapaalala sa atin sa madilim at malagim na karanasan ng ating bayan noong Pangalawang Digmaang Pandaigdigan. Nakakaawa ang sinapit ng mga sundalo at mga sibilyang Pilipino at Amerikano na nagtago dito noong pagsibol ng digmaan at pati narin nung mga sundalong Hapon nung magtatapos na ang digmaan.

(This is a destroyed passageway inside the Malinta Tunnel. Malinta Tunnel is one of the places that reminds us of our country’s dark and ghastly experience during the Second World War. We cannot help but pity the Filipino and American soldiers and civilians who took refuge here during the start of the war and also of the Japanese soldiers when the war was ending.)

Are your clothes a tighter fit? Does it feel like one tiny prick and you’ll burst out of them? Is everyone and their cousin telling you lately that you’ve gained weight? Do you take a lot of pictures of yourself because you’re trying to take one without that fat person who keeps popping up? If you answer yes to all the questions, chances are you’re really getting fat.

A search through the Internet will get you information about different diet pills such as alli. There are even lists compiled by users and consumer watch lists on the top ten pills in the market today. However, there are some things you have to remember when taking diet pills. One is that diet pills work best with diet and exercise. Second, read the instructions carefully and note the warnings regarding its compatibility with your physical health. There are diet pills that are not compatible with other medicines you might be taking. There are also pills that should be avoided if you have diseases like diabetes, thyroid diseases, gastrointestinal problems, etc. It is best to consult your doctor before taking diet pills.

Ito ang pangalawa sa huli kong nakitang tanawin sa South Korea, ang Pandaigdigang Liparan ng Incheon. Parang naghahalong lungkot at saya ang nadarama ko nung tinititigan ko ang gusali na nakabalot sa liwanag. Nakakalungkot kasi paalis na kami sa Korea kung saan sobrang saya ang nadama namin sa sampung araw na nandun kami at nakakatuwa din at uuwi na para makapaling ang aming mga mahal sa buhay.

(This was my second to the last sight of South Korea, the Incheon International Airport. It was a bittersweet moment as I looked at the building wrapped in the glow of yellow light. I felt sad because I was leaving Korea where I spent ten fun and wonderful days but also happy because I was finally going home and be with my loved ones.)

At ito ang huling tanawin na nakita ko, ang mga kumukutitap na ilaw ng mga tahanan at gusali sa gitna nang nakabalot na kadiliman.

(And this was my last view, the twinkling lights of houses and buildings in the midst of the covering darkness.)

When I was young I used to dream about living in a big house with lots of rooms. I would have my own room, then a library with my favorite books, then a playroom complete with my favorite toys. I dreamt of having my own TV room where I can watch all the shows that I want without having to fight with my brothers where as an only girl, I usually lose because the rule was “majority rules”. Of course if I were still a little girl today I would not just dream about having my own TV room but more of a home theater with a complete state of the art home theater system. However, now that I am older I learned to appreciate the practicality of having a smaller abode. A smaller house means smaller area to clean and less expensive to maintain. Furthermore, I don’t need a TV room because I barely have time to watch TV during my free time. I could still use a personal library though.

Last Friday when I got in the jeepney I saw the jeepney driver hand P2 change to the passenger and heard him ask her if she had P.50 since her change should only be P1.50 and not P2. The passenger answered no. She was the only passenger before I came aboard. When I paid the driver I made sure that I gave the exact amount. A little while later we passed by a market where three women boarded. These three women were together and when they paid their fare, one of the women told the driver, “Ma, tawad na lang ang singkwenta ha.” The driver just smiled. Then the woman proceeded to tell her companion about her encounter with one jeepney driver who really insisted that a passenger pay the lacking P.50. Another woman boarded the jeepney a little later and I saw her pay the driver just P8.00. I guess for that journey, the driver lost P1.50 from his earnings. Good thing the driver was kind and understanding. I guess this was the opposite of the usual story wherein jeepney drivers don’t give the proper change to the passengers.

On our way home last Monday, Arnie, who was driving, Cathy and I were talking about her upcoming trip to Dubai. Cathy and I were lamenting that we would not have an alternative car service if Kuya Alvin were on leave from the office. Arnie offered the use of her car because nobody will be using it while she was away. However, neither Cathy nor I know how to drive so we cannot take her up on her offer. I jokingly asked her if her car was third party insured and she replied that it was not. I know that it is not advisable to borrow somebody’s car especially if you’re a newbie driver because if you get in an accident, the insurance won’t pay the owner anything if she does not have third party insurance.

Auto insurance provides protection for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles against losses a car owner incurs during traffic accidents and from liability incurred from such accidents. I’m not sure if it is compulsory to have your car insured here in the country but I am pretty sure that in the long run it is much cheaper to have car insurance than save some bucks on the short term by not getting insurance.

There are already lots of auto insurance providers so it would be advisable to shop around first for the best deals before deciding on one. Shop around for the best deals by looking for auto insurance quotes with the lowest prices but with the best coverage. You can ask the insurance providers near you for more information.

It’s nice to check in a hotel once in a while. Ever since I started working, I always enjoyed the times when we had the opportunity to sleep in the hotels where we conduct our seminars or workshops. Usually hotels have packages for group check-ins where there is one room free for every ten rooms used. When the venue is just within Metro Manila, we usually invite other officemates to sleep over during the last night of the event, sometimes as many as four or five of us sleep in a twin-sharing room.

I remember one time wherein I won a one-night accommodation at the Grand Boulevard Hotel. My previous officemates and I decided to use it after barhopping in Malate. There were six of us so some slept on the floor. Good thing the hotel was not very strict. Another time, my college barkada decided to get together. We checked in a hotel instead of the usual eating out and watching movies so that we can have more time to catch up on each other’s lives. There were six of us, so what we did was to put down on the floor the upper cushions of the beds and pushed them together so that nobody had to sleep on the floor.

Hotel rooms can be so expensive that’s why the more people there are to share the cost, the smaller the amount you need to chip in. Even when we went to Singapore, there were three of us sharing the room and sleeping together in the king size bed. I can also remember my officemate telling me that this was what they also did when they stayed at a vegas hotel when she visited Las Vegas for the first time. Just imagine there were ten or more of them sharing one room. I can’t quite imagine how all of them managed to squeeze in a single room. I guess Filipinos really know how to get around limited budgets.

Hmmm…Para sa akin? Patingin nga kung bago… Aba may presyo pa! Magkano kaya to?
(For me? Let me check if it’s new…There’s still a price tag! How much is this?)

Tingnan ko nga kung may alikabok.
(I’ll just check if it’s dusty.)

Dito kaya sa kabila…Umikot ka…
(Let’s see the other side…Turn, turn, turn…)

September and October are usually the months that most government agency heads dread. These are the months were in they have to submit themselves to another nerve wracking and insult-filled audience with power-hungry congressmen in order to have their budgets approved. I have never been to a budget hearing but I have heard horror stories from my friends who have been unfortunate enough to be required to attend. Heads of agencies together with their staff make a financial reporting to the members of Congress to detail how their agency spent their previous budget and then they present their budget requirements for the next fiscal year. The difficulty of getting your budget approved and the degree of humiliation you will suffer will depend on how much ass kissing your agency has done before budget season comes. However, all these activities seem to be an exercise in futility because for many years now, no new budget has been passed but only a reenactment of the previous year’s budget.

I was running late again this morning. As usual I left the house at 6:40 instead of 6:30 to ensure that I will be at our meeting place by 7:00am. We have a five minute grace period but it can still be extended if we just text ahead and ask Kuya Alvin to wait for a few more minutes. My trip started well enough. The driver kind of drove fast but unfortunately when we got to Manggahan Bridge the traffic enforcer showed favoritism in lanes. We had to wait for around five minutes before he signaled the cars in the opposite lane to stop. My co-passengers were already complaining. Then it seemed like somebody gets in and out of the jeep every fifty meters or so. Then the driver had to stop for gasoline. People were already complaining loudly. A guy even insulted the driver saying he was so slow before getting off at the gasoline station. We stopped at Caltex the first time but no gasoline boy was available. I’m sure the driver felt how restive his passengers were getting so we exited the gas station without having a refill. I thought he would continue on and just stop for gasoline once he has dispatched all the passengers. So much for that hope. A few meters away we stopped at Shell for gas. Good thing the Shell gas boys were fast. After that the jeepney flew through the highway. When I got to our meeting place I saw one of my office mates walking in front of me and when I got into the FX, we still had to wait for one more. Even though we left our meeting place a little later than usual we still arrived before 7:30 at the office.