Priceless Tips On How To Survive Metro Manila Traffic

Commuters, D-R-I-V-E!

Hunger Games. That book series turned to movie where two representatives from different districts have to participate in an annual death match in the name of food.

The battlecry? Survival of the fittest, elimination of the unfit.

Our day to day life is indeed a survival of the fittest and elimination of the unfit. You need not read or watch Hunger Games to see that. Just try commuting in the Philippines. And it’s more fun in Metro Manila.

For those who have cars, all you have worry are the following: money for gas and toll fees, coding days, plus double, extra, super patience for the metro’s traffic.

For us commuters, what we have to worry are just two deadly things: 1) running out of bus to ride, and 2) running out of oxygen chasing buses along with other feisty and desperate-to-get home passengers.

As an experienced EDSA commuter where falling in line is a deviant practice, I urged everyone to D-R-I-V-E!

D is for Diet. Imagine a pack of tigers, only they are humans, pushing everyone around in order to get in the bus’ minimal door. No offense meant but being thinner (and flatter) is helpful in slipping inside a bus swarmed by hungry passengers. But like toothbrush that needs toothpaste for better result, diet must be coupled with exercising. I learned it the hard way. Being petite makes it easier to just slip but also it is easier for you to get off balance when the big bad guys are your competitors. Okay, time to hit the gym and put some muscle here (my triceps I mean).

R is for Run. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals on record, so the report shows. I beg to differ, ladies and gentlemen. It’s humans! Go to Ayala bus station during rush hour and you’ll see what I am talking about. Hundreds of them running like hell to approaching buses just to get in.

I did not entertain this novelty of commuting so I missed a lot of dinner at home and soon grew tired of this so I learned to play the game. I am an experienced runner now and still on training every day!

I is Ignore Good Manners. My mom brought us up with utmost respect especially to elders. So when an oldie gets on I gave way. You’re welcome. And that’s one of the reasons I get to my destinations late. I know better now. I must be objective. Who cares about the PWDs, the pregnant women, the mothers with their infants? Put your game face on! But just like drinking reminders, do it moderately.

V is Vigilance. Once I too preoccupied getting to office on time so I made my way through the crowd as quick as possible. When I finally boarded, I fished for my smartphone only to realize it was gone. Should I scream? No, I would be nuts to do that! Should I call the police? Oh God! Where are the police? Lesson? Use handphones.

Vigilance is also necessary for all sex maniacs out there who pretend to brush off your chest or butt when the bus is jam-packed or in sudden break. This is also as equally important for those conductors who do not dispense tickets and play deaf when asked for change.

Extend Patience. No matter what you do, shit happens. I wonder how many commuters out there had their relationship shattered after being late on a date or on a birthday. I wonder how many business deals were postponed and how many love letters they got from the HR giving suspension for the well-performed lates. In all these, patience my dear, patience.

I cannot pinpoint what really is the root of this problem. Is it so many people that our vehicles cannot accommodate? Or just so many undisciplined people that makes commuting an agony? On the one hand, could it be that we have so many vehicles our roads can longer accommodate or simply a lack of effective system. Might as well call MMDA…

Meanwhile, if you want to be on top of surviving, go DRIVE.


Basic Speech No. 6 (Pioneer Trailblazers Toastmasters Club)

Why do we love SELFIE!

#ATM, # Abs! Abs! Just woke up! No filter!

#ATM. My friend Payee busy with her selfie as I savour
the moment reading at the peak of Pico De Loro. 

Imagine these selfies flooding your FB, twitter and instagram accounts every couple of hour? Like me, you might be a bit annoyed. Good Lord! What is happening with the world? But what is it with selfie that more and more people get hooked to it?

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I am Aiza, and tonight, we will talk about that thing called Selfie! And when I say ‘selfie’  that does not mean giving you thousands of reasons to condemn selfie-holics but digging into the science on why do we do it.

The first selfie was taken with a mirror. So we tried to get the feel.

Selfie. The term made it to the Oxford new lexicon late of 2013.  It means  a photograph taken of oneself typically taken with a smart phone or a webcam and shares it via social media. Many thought this is a millennial thing but back in 1839, a renowned American photographer, Robert Cornelius had already taken the first selfie. And it was not until early 2000s when the term was officially mentioned during an Australian Internet Forum.

Photo from justcreative.com

As we speak, there are more or less 300 million photos tagged as selfie in Instagram alone. Add FB and other social media and you will a more overwhelming figure. But really, what is it with selfie that even after 176 years since it was first recorded, it’s still on its pinnacle to fame? Well, different social media platforms + affordable smartphones + free internet connection =  SELFIE! Upload! Like! Like! Like!

Do people take selfie merely for self-expression or vanity?

In her article Psychology of Selfies, Dr. Courtney Seiter explains that people like to take selfie as  a self-portrait and as self-expression. We want our selfies to define us. 

Another thing is that we want to feel important. A selfie with Pope for example makes you feel involved. "Hey look at me I was there when Pope was here! I participated! 

My sister Ellen and I having a blast taking selfie on a cold
morning in Baguio City.

Moreover, selfies won’t gain its fame without our support. Maybe after posting 10 selfies and you don’t get some likes and the call of courtesy comments like, “pretty!, gorgeous! Nicceee!”, you would quit. But no! As much as we fancy taking photos of faces,we also fancy  viewing photos with faces. That is because humans notice faces first. On Instagram for example, pictures with human faces  are 38% more like to receive likes and comments against those with none. 

As I peeked to comments of the selfie articles I’ve read, considered worst selfies are those taken without apparent purpose or those taking selfie for the sake of it. Interesting selfiesare those with something interesting to see.Writing this speech made me remember a friend telling me that people like to have selfies to be famous. I beg to differ because currently, we have the Kardashians, Rihanna, Paris Hilton, P Diddy acing it for the most selfies among celebrities with more or less 300 selfies on average.

Psychology says selfie is neither vanity nor a mental illness.  Selfie is one way of crafting our own identity. On the other side of the pan, selfie may pose danger as well. The number of accidents happened while having selfie is accumulating and there are also researches saying it could both boost and lower self-esteem.

We are the master of our own ships. WE have a lot of options on how to use selfie to our own advantage.  So if it makes you feel connected sharing #ATM, if it inspires you to do more to maintain those abs, if it makes you special waking up just the way you are, then take more selfies!

Life is too short to stop yourself from doing what makes you happy. But life is also too short to be a victim of the emerging technology as well. 

(Basic Speech No. 7, Pioneer Trailblazers Toastmasters Club, Makati City)