Every morning, I have to wake up at 4, prepare for work in at least one hour, and go out to commute at around 5. It seems normal, though. Since I don’t have my own car yet, I have to adjust my time because heavy traffic isn’t the only problem of commuters, but the volume of other chance passengers and the number of available jeepneys, buses, or train seats there are.
If you’re thinking I have the privilege to skip lines, uhm yes I have. But the struggle is still “real”. Summer heat is too much to handle, especially when you’re pregnant, even with the help of sunscreen and umbrella and a tumbler of nice, cold drinking water. Sobrang iba yung hirap.
But I am not writing to rant about my pregnancy. Imagine I am just one of you, guys, with flat or beer bellies, commuting to the office.
The struggle is real
This morning, I decided to go out late positively thinking Grab wouldn’t charge me too much for a 6.7km ride. So yep, I tried booking at around 8am. Pero rush hour padin pala yon, besh. I was willing to pay 400 pesos from our place to the office, but other than Grab, here are my choices:
- Taxi – contract price maybe 300-500
- Van (illegal public transpo) – 40; jeep – 8
- Jeep (2 rides) – 16
Pero besh, saka naman ayaw magbook ni Grab. I didn’t think taxis deserve to be paid such high fare. So I tried waiting for a van, pero besh di marunong magprioritize ang mga tao, and they didn’t even mind there was a pregnant woman, nag-agawan pa sila.
So I tried my luck with the jeepneys. I skipped the long line, and waited. Okay naman, people acknowledged I am pregnant and got me a seat before everybody else. The ride was okay, though stuck in heavy traffic for few more minutes, pero nung pababa na ko besh sa Magallanes, hala sya umandar si kuya bigla. I understand, he couldn’t stay/park long, I also get that maybe he was not aware I am pregnant. But well, struggles.
This experience, along many others, triggered me too writing (I mean finally I had something to write and to update my blog about) this entry. We all are aware of these even for people who aren’t pregnant.
Idagdag mo pa yung katabi mong kung makahalunkat ng bag e akala close sayo yung siko nya.
Given, the hassle and inconvenience in commuting is really a stressful part of everybody’s day. But reality check: mas nakakainis pa yung mga tao around you – from the drivers, katabi mo, kasama mo sa pila, etc.
So this is what I am gonna do
Who cares about my story anyway? As I mentioned, anyone commuting in the Philippines knows the struggle. Also, telling this story has no point or use at all. Parang aksaya lang ng panahon sa nagbabasa. So this is what I am gonna do – end this post with…
bw*sit di talaga ako marunong mag end.
