woman

rode on a half full jeepney earlier and sat comfortably when it departed. and then it parked somewhere to get more passengers.

the jeepney got full easily. and then, a woman got on and squeezed herself to sit. she sat beside me. unfortunate... only half a butt cheek can sit, i thought. it must have been very uncomfortable. i too had to squeeze for her to sit more. i'm sure the other man had to squeeze his balls as well.

but then it was her choice. she knew that this would happen. she knew that if she stayed riding on, she would have a hell of a ride. and what does she expect from the people around her? don't expect sympathy, please. she knew that it's bound to happen.

and don't give me the lame "but i'm a woman" excuse. are you supposed to put yourself in uncompromising situations and act pathetic??? hello?!?!?! men too have rights, please don't stomp on them.

the friends... (trenta y dos)

while the asean summit was scheduled and road blockages were here and there, we said "hey, why don't we get together?". wow! what a shock... nice timing...

the fateful day, Saturday the 13th--just a day after the summit opening. the fateful time, 6:30--just on time with the road blockages. the fateful place, AA banilad-- convenient for a friend and i but not to 5 others.

i fetched my friend Claudine and headed to the venue together on taxi. we arrived on time and to our surprise no one was there. after growing roots on our seats we were informed that they are still in Ayala with nowhere else to go. traffic was jammed. a change of venue was finally decided (AA USP).

Claudine and i left the area and headed for foodland or country mall and ride taxi from there. to our surprise again, traffic was jammed there too. we waited for an unoccupied cab and nothing came. cabs have vacant signs on but were occupied. wow. how would we know which to stop. whew...

we walked to country mall with hopes of finding more cabs there. shocks, we only found more passengers waiting for cabs. to our desperation, we even planned to hitch a ride to USP. we waited for some more. walked some more. waited again. changed waiting area. still nothing. a suggestion came. why don't we ride motorcycles for hire (habal-habal)? tonk...

the dilemma was between staying there waiting for an empty cab, or ride a motorcycle on which we only knew the destination but with no idea as to which roads it will take. the latter won. and so we did; convinced that it was the only way to move away from this damned place.

the air was cold, freezing. wind was at my face. my wet hair dried, and flew all over. my phone rang. oh OH... who's on the other line can surely wait. wahihihihi. the ride of our lives (exaggerated) took minutes and 40 bucks. one good thing happened with it though, my hair became perfectly done, wind blown. wahihihihi....

we ate as if there's no tomorrow, talked of past and present experiences, drank a little, stayed for a long time there, rebuilt friendships, made bonds stronger. and the rest is history.

to be continued...