Music and calls

In my previous post, I narrated about a quiet ride from our house to the office.

This morning, I had a partially quiet ride.

I am again seated at the back of the Mitsubishi Adventure AUV with four other passengers. One is listening to the music, the other just watches the scenery go by. The fourth was joyfully talking on the phone.

First, she called her (presumably) female friend as asked about the number of a male friend. Then she went on talking about other stuff. Her other phone rang after that and she is now talking to the male friend. By what I hear, the guy was thinking she is using a brand new unit as she explained that the unit she uses is an old one.

All this is happening while the music-listening passenger was tapping his knee to the beat of his overly loud music that leaks out of his plugged ears.

Silent run

As always, early morning commutes are quiet. I got into the FX as the last passenger in, paid my fare and we were all set to go.

The ride was uneventful. The four of us at the back are all dozing. I did not take much notice about those up front since everybody was really quiet. Nobody knew someone so there is no reason for chitchat. All we could hear is the music coming from the stereo.

I did not notice anyone using a personal mobile audio device either. No iPods. No MP3 players. No mobile phones with MP3 player or FM radio feature.

We all rode in peace trying to get some more shut eye that we were not able to have the evening before.

It was a silent run.

Family ride

When I commute, I notice that drivers often bring members of their family with them.

At times, drivers of passenger jeepneys bring their wives with them. Their wives are the ones who collect the fare and hand out the change.

Sometimes they bring their young children along with them. These are kids about 3 to 5 years old who do nothing but sit and watch the world go by.

And more often than not, it is the whole family who come along. The wife does her thing collecting fare and giving out change while the kids sleep, play or just sit and stare.

Family members mostly ride shotgun with them. Once they do this, the two-passenger front seat becomes off limits to passengers. Other times, wives sit behind the driver holding with her the cash box.

Even though bringing their families with them means one or two passengers worth of fare removed for the duration of the trip, it makes life easier for the driver. Bringing their wives remove the need for them to collect fares and give back changes. It also give them time to bond. Talk about things and life and plans for the future. It also allows the family to be together and when the jeepney reaches the far end of its travel, they can all go malling.

Driving passenger utility vehicles is not just about earning. It is also about sharing your line of work with your family.

Quiet ride

As I went for work this morning, I noticed that the ride was quiet except for the music coming from the vehicle speakers.

I surmised that most people, especially when they travel alone, do not open a conversation with the other passengers. Even if there is a cute passenger sitting right next to them, they don't even try to muster courage to start up a conversation.

I guess everybody just want to get to the office, clock-in their report time and go about their work.

Interaction and verbal exchanges take the back seat during morning commutes.

Rice shortage

We on our way to Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya, we were discussing how the landscape looked.

We took a Helio Courier single engine propeller aircraft from the Plaridel Airport in Plaridel Bulacan for Bagabag Airport. The plane is owned and operated by the Summer Institute for Linguistics. They often lend the plane to the Department of Education for the official trips of the Secretary.



Below us, we can see the vast expanse of Central Luzon as we made our way from Bulacan, through Pangasinan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and finally, Nueva Vizcaya.

There are rice fields everywhere. There are also patches of built up areas spread all over the flat surface. There are clusters of houses, villages, towns, and cities.



The main topic of our discussions is the current rice shortage in the country.

We wonder why there is a shortage when we look at the fields, we see rice lands everywhere. Is there someone hoarding all these rice? Is there someone or some group earning from this perceived shortage? What is the government doing about it?

Well, we have a lot of ideas but we are still confident that this "virtual" shortage can be taken cared of. We hope that the President is well supported in curbing this "crisis."

If not, well, we go back to eating corn.

Commuting, Dating

On my way home yesterday, I saw a young couple sitting across me. They are sweet with each other exchanging whispers and they are young. Definitely high school.

Like me, they are on their way home. Most probably from a date (the girl was wearing make-up). And the date continues. On the jeepney.

Most young couples do this dating-rides. It helps them spend the long trip liesurely. Though, maybe, they can cut back on the sweet holds, kisses, and embraces that couples do while watching a movie, in a dark theater. And they probably think it is alright.

Lucky guy. I am sorry for the girl. I am still an uptight Christian you know. :)

Mobile communication

While on my way home tonight, I sat beside a commuter who got a call from a female friend 5 minutes after he got on the van.

They talk about a lot of things. Of life and love. Of friends and foes. And of plans for the weekend. So I minded my own business and thought about what I should do when I arrive at my stop. But still, I cannot keep myself from listening in since they were not so discreet.

At any rate, I was thinking that the guy used to be very close to the girl and that he may be looking for a way to be with her again.

He flirted.

She flirted.

He asked her out. He asked her to watch a movie with him tomorrow. But she has to pay for the tickets since, he said, he did not see her for a long while now.

In the end, we got to his stop. He got off from the van but not from the phone. He walked to the next jeepney stop, phone at hand pressed on his ear. Still flirting.

Commuting is not just sitting in the van waiting until you reach your destination. It is also a time for phone calls and catching up.

CSI on the road

Along with the high volumed discussion on religion, genealogy, and food is another high volumed discussion on a crime they may have heard or known of.

They were analyzing the crime scene on the fly. They talk about it as they have heard or seen it and are coming up with theories on what might have happened.

As I was able to discern some of them, their theories have basis and may be plausible. But I am not sure. I did not see or hear what they have seen or heard.

Maybe it's because of all these movies and TV shows they are watching that "educates" them. I'm just worried when people begin to do surgery on other people because they are avid fans of Grey's Anatomy or any other hospital-oriented TV shows. :)

Religion, geneology, and food

I overheard four ladies discussion in crisp highly audible voices about their work in the Church. They talked about what each of their contributions are, the roles they play, and the groups they are part of.

Then they began to discuss about priests, where they are assigned, where these priests were once assigned and who among those they know are members of families they are familiar with.

Genealogy is the next part of the discussions. They talked about who they know, who his/her parents were, and where they lived. Then came several "historical" accounts about the relatives of the people they know. This also includes the nicknames some of these people bear.

And they finally wandered to the topic about food. Food they cook, food they ate, and food served to them. They even talked about how best to cook certain meals and exchanged recipes on a few.