21 September 2006

Trekking in the urban jungle (and some questions inbetween, whose answers I may never find out)

Why does the rain strike at 5PM, just when everyone gets off work?

A couple of weekends ago (Spetember 8, to be exact), heavy rains lashed the afternoon away, dashing hopes of stranded commuters to get home early or do their shopping. The rain was so strong it turned the streets into busy streams, wending their way amongst the steady build-up of cars. I wanted to go home so I can tidy things up a bit at the pad (read: laundry!) before leaving for Baguio. And so I stood by the buidling entrance, waiting for the rain to weaken. Soon enough, the rain started to die down, along with the water flowing on the streets.
I promptly put on my jacket hood, left the sheltered crowd behind, and rode a jeepney headed for Park Square 2. It was moderate traffic. By 8PM the terminal was in sight!

Where are the jeepneys when you need them?

Because I conveniently forgot that when it rains cats and dogs, the jeepneys plying our route get lazy! The line to the jeepney stop stretched all the way to the overpass, and even made a u-turn, creating a line 3 blocks long! And the jeepneys were nowhere in sight.

I called my wife and told her about the situation. It looked hopeless. I made a beeline for the Glorietta 4 Cinema. Better watch a movie and see how things are by midnight.

Why is it that when you want to watch a movie, it's already started half an hour ago?

I sat by Wendy's and promptly took out my Sudoku puzzle book. Not bad... I solved a puzzle in less than half an hour! I glanced at my watch. 9:30. The next movie is not due for more than an hour yet.

Why does time crawl so slow when you want it to fly?

Then I decided on the inevitable: walk home! It's a mere 5 to 7 blocks away. And what's that to a trekker? I looked at my office shoes. This will do, I thought. Better walk than sit here and watch time crawl by. Shopping? Not for me.

Encouraged by this idea, I started my walk. The jeepney queue was just the way I left it. Must be lots of tired feet by now. Determined, I made my walk.

And so I walked, deftly avoiding the primordial soup of disease and bacteria that tried to reach me everytime a car passed by.
Soon enough, the pad was in sight. Then whoa! The road became a river, blocking my way to homebase! I had to wait a half hour more before the hump on the road surfaced and became passable. I dodged incoming traffic (which was quite easy, as it was on standstill most of the time).
At last! got home at 11:30! Still got time to tidy up (read: laundry!) and go to the bus terminal by 1AM!

I woke up groggily at 2AM. Why do I always sleep off my extra time?

17 comments:

  1. when it rains, it really pours!

    same old hopeless situation! been there done that! good for you to have sudoku.

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  2. napansin ko rin kahapon bumasagsak malakas na ulan bandang 6pm, ayun as usual traffic na naman, hirap umuwi, basa na traffic pa. huhu.

    siguro sobrang mabigat na ang ulap kapag hapon kaya di na makayanan sa himpapawid kaya lumalagapak. walang basihan ito, kathang isip lamang, hehe

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  3. I ask all these questions myself!!! (verbatim!) The irony of life. I guess its necessary so that bloggers like us can come up with really really interesting posts! :)

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  4. Perennial problem, Mmy Lei. At least in Baguio, the water is relatively clean!

    Cruise, siguro may kinalaman yung pagiging syuded ng isang lugar. Kasi nagiging heat source ito from the cement and the enclosed areas so it affects the weather in that region. O ha, science ito. hehehe

    Alternati, these are just some of the questions whose answers I look for, especially why I love sleeping. harhar

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  5. I think on that same night I had to park at SM San Lazaro (midway home) and wait out the downpour. Finally left SM around 8:30 pm but the rest of the roadway was like a river. Thank God my jalopy dodn't fail me in all that flooding.

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  6. Anonymous11:23 pm

    Time flies when you're having fun. I guess , that was NOT a fun day at all. Definitely an adventure from your description though.

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  7. Anonymous1:35 pm

    That's one thing I don't miss there. The heavy rains and the subsequent flooding. I still remember what it's like. It hasn't changed, eh?

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  8. dati masarap mag tampisaw sa ulan, pero sa pollution meron tayo, di na advisable magpa-ulan pagkagaling sa trabaho ;)

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  9. Senor, the worse that can happen to a driver is have his car fail him in the middle of a flood. Good thing yours was cooperative!

    Leah, make the best of a situation na lang di ba? Kesa magmukmok, mag-trek na lang! hehehe

    Niceheart, masarap pag umulan sa Baguio. Sarap matulog o kumain ng champorado. Pero dito sa Manila, mainit pa rin, baha pa! waaaaa

    Iskoo, kung anu-anong skin disease mapupulot mo :-)

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  10. "ayna apo malayos!"

    so far i'm feeling bad because my first blogpage on a blogsite was gone...

    the lesson...

    create a journal where it is sure to last long...

    blogroll me pls.!

    ellygears.blogspot.com

    thanks!

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  11. Why does it start to rain so hard right after you had your car washed?

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  12. I'm with you man; I'm more than ready for dry season! Bring it on; I lust for dust!

    I know what you mean by primordial soup of disease. For me, that's how a simple blister turned into a month-long foot infection . That, and my own hard-headedness.

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  13. Anonymous10:00 pm

    Bakit kaya kung kelan mo miss ang ulan dun naman wala?

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  14. nakakamiss na ulan sa pinas! dito daw swerte na pag umulan kahit isang beses lang.

    booohooooo!!!!

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  15. Thanks for visiting ellygears! Tinanong ko pa sa misis ko ano ibig sabihin ng malayos! hehehe

    Uy classic question yan, Abaniko!

    You waded in the cesspool of disease, Phil! My, what sore feet you have! hehehe

    Ann, nasa desert ka ba? hehehe

    Thanks for dropping by, Nostalgia!

    Chu, more pictures please!

    Mama Jenn, habang naglalakad ako, I said, Blog material! So i took photos hehehe

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  16. "malayos" napupuno ng liquid (example ang tubig) ang isang surface....

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  17. Anonymous1:38 am

    The trafik is bad, it is werry kroudy. I agree with the blogger, it has bekame a jungle. Evribody for himself.
    www.onlineaccept.com

    ReplyDelete

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