trained for the real world

During a commute, you see the culture, you experience the culture. Unfortunately, it’s not always a pretty sight. There are no lines when it comes to commuting. There will always be stepping on toes just to get on the train or in a jeep. Almost every commuter has to fight his way into any public utility vehicle… Much like crab mentality in a sense that people will do anything to get a seat. I’m still a little hazy on motive for crab mentality since I could delving into the concept of Filipino time where all Filipinos are always late, hence they all crowd at certain times to go to work or school at the same time. (It’s a real phenomenon, someone should study that…) This reminds me of school…

Education for me began at the nursery level. One of the first few things they taught me was to fall in line. To be in line meant that each one was supposed to follow the person in front, everyone’s mouth shut and hands clasped behind the back. This went on till kinder, to preparatory, to elementary, and even on to high school. The only perk in high school was that the teacher didn’t count one: arms forward touching the shoulders of the person in front of you; two: hands on the sides; three: arms clasped at the back and; four: mouth shut till the class reaches the destination. (Amazing, huh? I wonder if or how many other schools had that as a protocol for switching venues for class.)

Discipline, discipline, discipline! Not highly acclaiming the codes of conduct of the terror teachers out there, but hey, the practice actually proves useful when students get out of the comfort of controlled environments like the schools, school buses, or private cars.

Think I’m too harsh? Maybe obsessive compulsive? Ha! Notice pile-ups upon entrance and exits at your nearest train station, MRT or LRT. If you get off the train at Taft Avenue Station of the MRT, count how many lines there are in front of each turnstile—2, sometimes even 3! Well, at least there are lines there, but when boarding the train. Wow! There are no lines at all! There were quite a few times when old ladies try to force themselves in when they were supposed to let other passengers out first. Those old ladies lost shoes to the train tracks in the process. Well, that’s good business for vendors who sell slippers and shoes near the train stations. It’s really funny though, people walking around filthy Manila with one shoe… There was this one instance, I was on my way to school and it was human rush hour at 7 in the morning. Totally no traffic, jeeps going up north were rarer than an honest MMDA officer! There was this one jeep going down south that was empty, made a u-turn to take passengers going up north. Within seconds it was full, even overflowing with passengers who hung from the back. Not even 5 meters from where the jeep filled up, its tire exploded. Everyone was startled. It was so funny! They pushed and shoved their way in, karma… As the New Radicals once sang, “you only get what you give.”

Falling in line is one of those things rebels take as a stupid rule, like “site your sources” or “keep right”. They can save you tons of money from a lawsuit and those rules can even save lives. If people just learned to wait or if commuters didn’t wait for the last minute to leave for work, maybe there wouldn’t be crowding at entrances or exits, at the doors of jeeps or trains. No shoes falling off anyone’s feet. No black eyes from getting elbowed by fellow passengers. No chaos. However, until all commuters realize the value of falling in line, having discipline means being at the butt of it all—waiting for the people in the train or jeep to get out means letting seats or space (at least) run out, getting pushed around maybe elbowed in the face.

I hate commuting… Is it obvious? Hahaha

Just one of those days...

December 2007… Around the time of my birthday… 2nd year college, 2nd term… It was the day of submission for a research paper. Deadline—0900. I left my house early to find a hundred people waiting for jeeps at the terminal. Fortunately, there was another way. I could take a shuttle from Bicutan to school, but I had to take a jeep down to the shuttle terminal first. When I got there, the shuttle took longer than usual to fill up. Apparently, leaving at 0700 wasn’t early enough. Good thing, a friend was there and I asked her to print my stuff and have it bound.

0830… the shuttle still hadn’t left the garage yet. I was desperate. Two or three more seats till the van moved… It was 0820 when we left Bicutan. It would take about 30 to 45 minutes to arrive in school. I felt impending doom, but I kept hoping a miracle would happen. Instead of a miracle, I got traffic—not so much, but enough to delay. My stomach was turning…

0855… Finally got to the book-binding place where my friend was. 5 minutes to go… There were 3 more people before me. I practically ran out of the place to the department so I could submit. Our professor was there, right by the door collecting the research papers. She looks at me and says, “What time is it?” She looked at the clock, “09:03… I’m sorry, this is late.” I tried to explain… “I’m sorry, but we have to be strict with time blah blah blah.” Then she takes the bound papers, puts it on top of the pile, and writes a “Late 0.0 9:30” on the cover. No more buts… I just headed on out of there and sadly stepped out of the building for a smoke.

I didn’t want to fail anything anymore… I couldn’t… But seeing the professor write a 0.0 on my paper made it seem like my fate was sealed. I had failed. Not because I wasn’t capable of writing a good paper. Not because I procrastinated. Just because there were no jeeps, just because the shuttle I happened to be on had to wait to fill up, I failed… Happy birthday!!!

I needed a drink at 10am… Two friends were there. I ranted and rambled about the grades and the birthday at first then we got to sharing stories. I got us maybe 3 or 4 rounds of Red Horse and San Mig Light in the process. A few hours later, it was time to go home, time to commute again. This time it was the train. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hold the liquor so I puked inside my mouth on the train. I tried to swallow most of it, but a little vomit slipped out and dripped onto my white shirt. There were no windows to open nor could I press the emergency button to stop the train and open the doors. Disgusting, I know… The jeep and tricycle rides that followed were easier. I felt better, but I still hated that I had to commute. I despised Philippine public transportation and all its quirks.

Personal Space

There’s something about commuting that violates the very nature of personal space. It’s not just countries that have boundaries, people do too. Well, if you don’t, I do haha! My theory is that every person’s boundary has four sides, each side 5-10 inches from the body. Respecting other people’s personal space means being just at the edge of that boundary unless, you’re family, a friend, or a significant other. It is breached when shaking hands or when you’re being given something which is pleasant of course. Commuting, however, is not so nice, you don’t really allow people to break that barrier they just have to because riding a jeep, a tricycle, a bus, a train, or a shuttle means squeezing yourself in because every mode of public transportation here tries to maximize the space, and I mean maximize for optimum returns in the form of fares.

Every public vehicle is a sardine can that’s ready to pop any second. Sardines don’t have much space in their cans when they’re packed. Imagine being all squeaky clean and smelling good on your way to work riding a jeep, then here comes a stinky, sweaty, and sticky person who chose to sit beside you for the whole trip. Mmmmmm… Don’t you just love it?! There’s no boundary to keep you from the stench, getting wet with his sweat, or from feeling his skin sticking to yours. You might even smell like him when you get off. Here is another scenario: You’re minding your own business, keeping your hands to yourself, and holding your bag close to avoid having it in the way of other people (and of course to keep it from thieves) getting on and off the train. This man gets on, stands in front of you and raises his arm to get a hold of the safety handrail. You’re smaller than him so you get a blast of the air conditioning along with his body odor, armpit odor to be exact. Then the train suddenly breaks, his body odor, his stench is now stuck to your face. Yeeeaaah… Well, it doesn’t really have to be that bad haha. You can get elbowed in the face or hit by a bag on someone’s way out. You could be staring at someone’s crotch when you’re sitting down and can’t look left or right because it’s too crowded.

Isn’t it just great?!

Komyut sa Pinas

Commute. n. To travel regularly between two places, especially between suburban home and place of work in a city.



Even with several modes of public transportation to choose from (bus, jeep, tricycle, pedicab, shuttle/collorum/FX, train (MRT or LRT)), commuting still isn't something to enjoy. Here are some pro's and con's of commuting.



Some things you can avoid when you're in transit are the stress you get from driving and the frustration from trying to find a parking space for your car. If you do bring a car, you also have to get gas-a commodity whose price had been drastically going up and now stabilizing at somewhat acceptable prices. Public transportation fares can’t change as often nor can they go up as much because of the government’s control over it. If you take the train, travel time is dramatically reduced. Take for instance going from Pasay City to Quezon City, considering the traffic will take you an hour or so. Riding the MRT from Taft to North Avenue will only take a matter of 20 to 30 minutes. That’s pretty much all the pro’s I can think of…



This is my favorite part… Telling all about the frustrating Philippine Public Transportation system!



You never really know what time you’ll get to your destination with the traffic we have here, which is usually heavy. In view of this circumstance, commuters have to wake up and leave really early then arrive home late. I can just imagine how much of a regular person’s life goes to commuting. It’s not just about time though; it’s health too! A person without clinically diagnosed carsickness (pardon me if there isn’t such a term) would get carsick from riding a bus or a jeep. Terrible drivers! Abrupt breaking, close calls, zigzagging, stopping anywhere and everywhere there are hailing passengers—even waiting to fill up and causing traffic, not caring whether passengers are safely aboard before they go again (I’ve seen maybe 2 old women fall off jeeps), I’m sure I missed more. Feel free to add. There’s also the danger of encountering pickpockets, snatchers, bag slashers in transit. You can stumble upon pickpockets, snatchers, bag slashers, plus muggers and get held up on your way from or to public transport terminals.

If it’s not the thieves or the drivers themselves, it’s the stench of the exhaust from all the vehicles when the vehicle isn’t air-conditioned of course. Experiencing the full blast of the heat and humidity adds to that problem. Before getting to where you have to go and doing what you have to do, you’re going to be all filthy, sweaty, stinky, and tired. Some bring big bags to carry extra clothes and shoes (especially for the women who have to wear heels). That’s not all you will experience during your commute… The punch-line is the kind of people you encounter. Some people just don’t know discipline, how to fall in line or give way to the elderly, pregnant, or those with children. There’s also this unwritten rule of “keep right,” but no!!! Some people just go left! In trains and jeeps, some passengers flood the door and push just so they can get in and get a seat. No regard for whose foot they step on or who falls or who gets the elbow in the face or in the gut… A real shame, ladies and gentlemen… A real shame…

As you can see it, as you digest the thoughts, it’s inconvenient, but it’s cheap so we continue to patronize in spite of the facts.

Well, no one can't avoid commuting unless you're super rich and will be super rich all your life so for your commuting needs http://professionalcommuter.wordpress.com/