[busy signaL]
[Friday, February 09, 2007]
it usually takes a feat of great athletic ability to successfully find a seat on an ayala-bound bus from bicutan during the morning rush hour. i myself have to risk life and limb in this manner at least once every week, when our family vehicle is prohibited from city roads due to coding rotation. often, i just start for work an hour or two later than i should, citing traffic, and arrive late, as is expected, but mercifully whole. yet even with that precaution, i only succeed in limiting the number of my opponents to a manageable level, not eliminating them altogether.
thus it was a rather unexpected occurrence this morning that a bus rolled up to the loading zone with a banner on it proclaiming a free ride, sponsored by the "freedom from debt coalition". both the driver and conductor were inviting passengers to hop on, claiming that there were no strings attached; it was a testament to the jadedness of the filipino people that out of the 50-odd people sweating in the hot bicutan sun, only ten of us had the courage to take their word for it.
i was rather suspicious that the bus was in a good physical state, with quality air-conditioning, considering that we were neither given a lecture nor asked to sign any petitions. a few passengers even attempted to pay the conductor, who was giving out tickets [perhaps for logistics' sake], but he refused good-naturedly. this, according to him, was the aforementioned organization's way of commemorating the people power revolution of '86.
it honestly felt good to have a tangible return in the name of celebration, as opposed to the usual method, which involves certain people who had nothing to do with the revolution collectively stuffing their snouts full of lechon and cake [alright, i was a bit young to have known the meaning behind the march, but i was there, i can assure you]. given this, i ended up feeling more than a bit sorry for those who hadn't budged from the bus stop, still standing in the stifling heat because they simply couldn't believe that such a thing was even possible anymore.
i'll spare you the details at this point; just read between the lines.
sige ingat.ΓΌ
posted by stani at 7:48 PM
thus it was a rather unexpected occurrence this morning that a bus rolled up to the loading zone with a banner on it proclaiming a free ride, sponsored by the "freedom from debt coalition". both the driver and conductor were inviting passengers to hop on, claiming that there were no strings attached; it was a testament to the jadedness of the filipino people that out of the 50-odd people sweating in the hot bicutan sun, only ten of us had the courage to take their word for it.
i was rather suspicious that the bus was in a good physical state, with quality air-conditioning, considering that we were neither given a lecture nor asked to sign any petitions. a few passengers even attempted to pay the conductor, who was giving out tickets [perhaps for logistics' sake], but he refused good-naturedly. this, according to him, was the aforementioned organization's way of commemorating the people power revolution of '86.
it honestly felt good to have a tangible return in the name of celebration, as opposed to the usual method, which involves certain people who had nothing to do with the revolution collectively stuffing their snouts full of lechon and cake [alright, i was a bit young to have known the meaning behind the march, but i was there, i can assure you]. given this, i ended up feeling more than a bit sorry for those who hadn't budged from the bus stop, still standing in the stifling heat because they simply couldn't believe that such a thing was even possible anymore.
i'll spare you the details at this point; just read between the lines.
sige ingat.ΓΌ
posted by stani at 7:48 PM