Cab Driver Stories

I was late this evening because our mighty van broke down again and discharged its batter while on my way to work. Funny because that keeps on happening these past few weeks and I am literally fed up with it. Maybe it is time to sell the darn thing. I don't really know what to do with that. Anyway, this article is about a cab driver. I took a cab obviously to work, and what is funny is that we managed to squeeze in his life story in 20 minutes. Weird right? Lemme tell you about it then...

I was planning to just keep mum and think about the time I have wasted because of the van incident but this cab driver suddenly uttered a word, I could not understand it because I was busy looking for change in my bag so I asked about what he said since he probably did not know where I was asking him to drive to. He knows Eastwood but it is just the way I asked him to pass through that might be the question. But surprisingly he said, "yung kaibigan kong babae kasi tinawagan yung operator ko" (My girl friend called my operator) so I said to my self "oh! this is one of those cab driver stories again" so he won't fall asleep while driving since cab drivers here in the Philippines usually do it for 24 hours straight. I asked him why and so he went on telling me about this woman she slept with, she was calling his operator so as to force him to show up everytime she needs him. He told me that he's got a wife and kids too but they were already old enough that they do not meddle with his affairs anymore. His wife was menopause already too so if he philanders or not it was okay with them too. I somehow got that idea from him but I might be mistaken. Anyway, in the 3 years they were doing these things and that girl friend of his was doing other men too, she decided to name the kid she just gave birth to after him. He even asked her about who was the real father of the kid but she begged off, in the end she still got him declared as the father in the birth certificate. Might be because he was the one who showed up in the hospital and helped her get out of it too. I was really wondering why of all people this cab driver was opening up to me that much when in fact I was only there for 20 minutes, he was a little old and we kinda drifted off to other stories aside from that. Imagine I was just sitting there and he told me his life story in a couple of minutes... that was a treat...

Well at least he is doing his job of getting me to where I needed to go... alive! That is what's important... do you have your share of cab driver stories? Let me know!

Going Back Camping

Yes you heard it right! I want to go back camping. It was about 2 years ago when I last did that. It was in ANAWANGIN Cove which is an island off the coast of ZAMBALES a province about a few hours south of Manila. Even if we only made makeshift outdoor grills that time, the food was awesome! Imagine how scrumptious the pork chops, hotdogs and salted egg with tomatoes turned out. It was a sight for sore eyes! I would really love to go back there a few weeks from now. I am planning to have my photography friends with me since they want to experience seascapes and landscapes this time. That would be the perfect destination.

Some drawbacks would probably be the amenities that are available there. They did not have decent comfort rooms I think because of the cove’s remote location. The care takers could only stay there for a while and take you from that place to the other islands in the morning. I need to plan this out as well with my peers since we would need tents to sleep in. There are no resorts or hotels there unfortunately but everywhere you look in that place is breath taking! I want to go back camping!

The question is; who’s coming?!

Reconnecting

I really love Facebook now... imagine a long lost friend saw me on another friend's profile and easily added me up. Now we got to chat a little via PM and it was an awesome opportunity to reconnect with her after all these years. I was only taking a handful of stories from her brother who happens to be one of the greatest guys I have ever met in college; but now that we are officially friends in Facebook I think we will get to have a lot of time knowing each others activities through this medium and I really like this day OH GOD THANK YOU! Ate Lay which I fondly call her liked my portfolio too so she is planning to shoot with us soon, I will hook her up with the Nocturnals so she would have all the photos she wants heheh... right guys?! ^_^

Now there are also old classmates from elementary, high school and college reconnecting with me.... this is just too good to be true! I wish we could get to meet each other soon!

I have a lot of things to thank for in this world and these are one of them. The one above knows how to make me happy. I thank him and Saint Claire for their help, a lot of things are happening now and I hope these great things do not stop. Happiness and contentment.... my family and friends... and everything else I hope falls into place.... with that I will be truly happy with my life.

Learning from the Past

It is quite saddening to see that there is a rampant increase of road rage in the country. I saw 2 of them indicated in the news paper today and if you think about it, there are even a lot men and women too that are involved in car accidents each day. It is a nightmare to manage this in Manila because of the monstrous traffic that has horrified countless human lives but I already learned to live with it. You treat it as normal as possible so you would not go insane in these conditions. You are lucky if you have motor trade insurance but not everybody is blessed with that privilege. Sometimes I understand that only the rich can afford it in this country and I hope that situation takes a different turn this year.

If there would be something I would like to change in the current structure and system in this country I would like to start seeing us complying with international standards. Maybe make the newly elected President would take action on this after the May elections. Or maybe lessen the importations of second hand cars that would endanger us and help stick with what local producers can provide; because in the long run it would be beneficial for both us drivers and the riding public. I know it is an ailing industry and the time to make necessary action to improve things is now. I would not want my kid's future be controlled by a few rich businessmen who only want to earn a buck or two when car safety is on the line.

Accidents happen but if I know how to manage finances and pay for small insurance premiums that would get my family safe then I should never worry. If ever it occurs sometime in the near future, then I would save a lot from what could make me bankrupt in an instant. Third party liability types which are required now never meant that it would obviously cover everything so we have to think big. I want to feel safe and the last thing that I would want to hear is that I need to pay for something more because insurance did not cover it. An unfortunate incident did happen to me a couple of years ago; when I got my car 50% wrecked and I really learned a lot from it. You guys should too!