Passenger Talesstories about my experiences as a traveler and passenger

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.

Last Thursday I was commuting to work because as I mentioned earlier, Kuya Alvin was absent. The jeepney was full to overflowing with two men hanging out the jeepney. One of them was in his sixties. He struck a conversation with the younger man. The older man was talking about a commuting experience. He mentioned that he’s been an on and off taxi driver from 1969 to the early part of the 1990′s. I was not really listening (not very obvious..hehehe) until he said that not many people knew it but there was no Project 5 (not sure how true this is) but there are Projects 1-4 and 6-8 in Quezon City but no Project 5. He even shared a joke about how he was in Cubao and he told one dispatcher that there is a Project 5. Just add Project 2 and 3 to come up with 5. Hehe. As I’ve said a hundred times, you learn something new everyday.

I was reading Oceans of Fire by Christina Feehan in the jeepney earlier this afternoon while waiting for the jeepney to be filled up. It was a hot day and there were no conversations inside while the bored passengers waited. The silence was broken by a very unexpected sound, the squawking and flapping of wings. I was so surprised I almost dropped the book I was reading. Everybody turned to look and saw an old woman trying to calm her agitated brown chicken. Hahaha! When I saw the old woman enter the jeepney I did not notice that she was holding a chicken. While she was calming the chicken I saw that its feet were tide and it was wrapped in thin yellow plastic with its head sticking out. She succeeded in calming the chicken and I didn’t hear anything out of it after that.

Yesterday in the jeepney, the girl in front of me tore open the candy wrapper. She threw the small piece of the wrapper out the window then after eating the candy, threw the rest of the wrapper out also. Since the jeepney was moving fast, the girl beside her caught the wrapper. She was frowning then she threw the wrapper inside the jeepney. Hay. I can’t understand why people don’t just pocket these wrappers and other similar trash then just throw these when they find a trashcan.

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.

Heard from a conversation inside the jeepney:

“Di ko naman talaga sila kamaganak. Kamaganak sila ng tatay ko.” (ah ok?!?)

(“They’re not really my relatives. They’re my father’s relatives.”)

There are days when commuting really gets to me. If you are riding a jeepney, you will inhale all the air pollution from the other vehicles on the road and even those from the nearby factories before you can reach your destination. There are really times when I wish I had a car, even a small one would do. Then I start thinking, where would I get the money to buy one? What about parking? An additional car in our compound would be one car too many. Then there is the rising cost of gasoline, money needed for car maintenance and car insurance, hmmm…Commuting is easier and a lot cheaper.

I was on my to the office the other day riding the jeepney. My bottom was barely occupying one fourth of the seat and traffic was barely crawling. Aside from that, the heat was really heavy, even at 7:30 in morning. I was perspiring a lot (ladies don’t sweat like pigs, hehe), care of the heat and the paracetamol I drank earlier. As I was looking outside the jeepney and envying the people who were fortunate enough to have cars with air condition and tinted windows, I noticed this guy driving a blue Honda. He was styling his short hair. Every time the vehicles stopped because of the traffic, he’d get his comb and style his hair. His hair was so short that just one pass of a comb would have set it to right. When our jeepney came abreast with his car, I noticed that he looked like a college student. I guess that explains it. And they say girls are vain.

Yesterday on my way home from Med City where I had a check up with my doctor, I saw this guy in a small red car. I was sweating inside a jeepney at that moment while he was inside an airconditioned car with windows tinted, except for the windshield. His left hand was raised and palm wide open. I was wondering what he was doing when I saw his left pinky inside his nose. He was dialling an unreachable number. Hahahaha….

On our way to work, my mom and I rode the jeepney. I paid for the fare since she always pays for the more expensive tricycle ride but if we ride a taxi, she’s still the one to pay for the taxi. Hehehe. Anyway, when I received my change, I was disappointed that it was so little. I was expecting more but since the jeepney rates along our route are not as fixed as they should be I just let it go. However, a little while later, the driver gave me additional change. I was really surprised because I did not say anything to him. Maybe he saw my puzzled frown when I saw my change through the rearview mirror, or maybe his conscience kicked in, whatever the case, I was glad for the additional change.

Then in the afternoon on my way home in an FX, the driver just charged me P15. The fare is usually between P15-20 but drivers usually charge P20 especially during rush hour and if they make use of a barker. I was expecting the driver to charge me P20 because there was a barker calling for passengers when I rode the FX. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that my change was P5 more than I expected.

Life can really give you good surprises even if they come in small packages