Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

Earlier, a friend and I were discussing changes she wanted to implement in her life this 2009. We talked about saving money and laying aside something for the future by continuing her Social Security payments and taking an insurance policy. Usually when talking about insurance with retirement in mind, we mean the permanent life insurance as opposed to term life insurance. Permanent life insurance programs are more expensive because these are designed to be permanent and pay death benefits. Term life insurance on the other hand, provides coverage for a limited period of time. If the insured dies within the period, his beneficiaries will be paid the death benefit. However, if not, the insured can either continue the policy and pay increasing premium or he can also drop the policy.

The Internet is a good place to find information about the different types of insurance and what would suit your lifestyle best. It is also the best place to get term life insurance rates and permanent life insurance rates. The more information you have, the higher your chances of getting the best life insurance policy there is in the market.

Sometimes it really happens that when you choose a certain path because you think it will be easier and more hassle-free, it turns out to the opposite. This is what happened to me last December. After our office party, I was scheduled to go to a get together with my former office mates at Greenhills. Since Greenhills is some distance away from UP Diliman, I left the office before the party really ended. I sacrificed my opportunity to win a flat screen TV, the grand prize of our Christmas raffle, because only those present when their names are called will be able to claim the prizes. (Turns out it wasn’t much of a sacrifice since my name wasn’t drawn.) So I left the office at past 6:00pm so that I can be at Greenhills by 7pm. When I got to Q Ave MRT station I decided to take the van to Megamall instead of going up and taking my chances with the train. It was rush hour and my bags were bulky. Besides, even if the journey will be quicker, I’d have to walk a bit to take an FX bound for Greenhills at Megamall. When I got inside the van it wasn’t long before we were on our way. The van looked new and it was very cold inside. The ride was going well until we stopped at a Petron gasoline station somewhere in Cubao. I thought the driver was just going to have gas refill but I saw him get water instead. That was fine. What wasn’t fine was that we were at the gasoline station for 20 minutes while he filled and refilled the water tank with liters and liters of water. I was already grumbling that the van’s water tank must be a bottomless pit. I wasn’t the only one getting restless. The other passengers were already fidgeting and murmuring too. Finally after 20 minutes we were on our way. Unfortunately, the driver just brought us to EDSA so that we can take the bus or taxi to Megamall. In fairness, he returned our fare in full. Since he no longer had change, it was up to us to divide the money between ourselves. We were really pissed off with the driver and the situation. Of course we can’t do anything but make the best of the situation. I and some of the other passengers caught a bus that will take us Megamall to our various destinations. This unfortunate incident turned out to be fortunate for me because I saved a lot of money from my fare. Instead of the P35 van fare, the bus ride was just P11 and I was able to get off at Ortigas and take the jeepney to Greenhills, another savings because jeepney fare costs P7.50 while FX fare from Mega to Greenhills is about P20 or P25. I still managed to arrive in Greenhills at 7:00pm.

And our get together was a great success. I guess all is well that ends well.