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 You Buy More Than You Think In Malls

Where is your favourite mall? Imagine yourself inside it. You decided to buy a pair of running shoes. Just a pair running shoes. But with its big ON SALE sign across halls, wide array of clothes, beauty products, etc, etc.. You ended up with a number of shopping bags. Inside-- traveling pillow, bag, new headset, powerbank, new t-shirt and lastly, your running shoes. Then it hit you. Your credit card is badly hurt or worst,  you won’t be eating right for the next 2 weeks to cope up with your diminishing budget.

Good evening fellow toastmasters! Life is tricky. There are times that despite our strong will to just stick to what we need, we ended up wanting and getting things that are not supposed to be part of our list. But what is it with malls that make us disobedient shoppers?

Come let us go shopping as we uncover the science of malls!

Let us start at the very entrance. Here, there is nothing much to look at. It’s called the decompression zone. Purposely designed for you to acclimatize. Designed to allow us contemplate about proper spending mode.

And then once you are into the mode…

What scientist called scripted disorientation technique kicks in…

 Have you noticed that there are no clocks in malls? Inside we enjoy so much of the goods and bargains and the next time we know it, it’s closing time. Usually we can tell what time of day it is but inside you can’t. Unless you check your watch once in a while which is rarely. This is so because aside from having no clock inside, you can rarely have a view of the outside. Plus the lighting and color schemes. It’s  always day inside and the more we think it is still early to go home yet, the more we are vulnerable to throwing unnecessary stuff to our shopping cart. A very genius way of skewing our perception about time.

Malls. They are designed to make you spend money and sometimes you do not realize it making you vulnerable to impulse buying. Something called the invariant right is one of the culprits. You see, we grow up to walk and drive keeping right. Unconsciously, we also do so in our shopping and the retailers knowing this keep their bargains and most of their goods at the right.  So maybe next time you like to keep left? :)

And same thing is applied in supermarkets! You see, they could have put the condiments, the meat and the dairy in the same aisle for us to save time. Are they just so OC about arrangements? You buy meat and because you need ingredients in cooking it, you have to go to the condiments section. And on your journey there, a lot of discounted products caught your eye and before you get to the section you intend to, you have a bottle of shampoo in your cart.

Christmas is fast approaching. And in this season of giving, a well thought gift is well appreciated by receivers. Be it a signature bag or a simple pen, malls offer us the convenient venue to shop. But remember, malls can make or break us. It may have almost everything we need but if we won’t be cautious, we might be spending for something we don’t truly need.

Life is tricky. But as tricky as it seems, there are always ways out. One is, knowing the shop for wise SHOPPING.

Happy Holidays!

Basic Speech No. 8 (Pioneer Trailblazers Toastmasters Club)

How to Spend Leisure Hours Productively

There is no question that we get effing busy once in a while but for sure, upon tidying up one’s schedule, there is always space for leisure. As unique as people are, there are a lot of options to choose from on where we are to put our remaining time and energy either for mere pleasure or personal growth. For the past few months, here are the few things I've involved with to remedy boredom and break life’s monotony.

May and June readings.

Reading books (always). When I was a student, I vowed to graduate on time so I could work and have additional hours for my reading. However, the reverse happened. I have less time for reading because I have paper works to finish and places to travel in relation to my job. Unlike when I was still a student waiting for allowance to be wired and could skip class in exchange of a gripping book, now I am earning my own dough and cannot merely say I got to pass work for a good book. I see to it though that I am able to finish 2-3 books a month to feed my brain cells.

The alphabet.

Taking a language class. It has always been my dream to learn a foreign tongue. It is also one way of meeting new people.  There are various institutions offering foreign language lessons in Metro Manila like  Alliance Française de Manille , The Bridge, and International Language Academy Manila. There are also universities that offer foreign language classes one of which is University of Philippines-Diliman. Their Department of European Languages offers extramural language courses. Other department also offers classes in Asian languages. As I have nothing much to do on Saturdays, I decided to take a three-hour session of French. 

Toastmasters busy evaluating speeches.

Attending Toastmasters. If you want to improve your leadership and public speaking skills the fun way, then I guess, you should try visiting Toastmasters meetings. There is certainly a toastmasters club in your area where you can club hop! Here you will meet seasoned speakers who are willing to mentor and give encouraging comments on how you could improve to be a better speaker. Members came from different backgrounds and fields of expertise.