Memory gap

During a recent trip to Baguio City, I observed that the conductors of buses seem to have a good memory of who owns which luggage.

During pre-departure, the conductor receives the bags of the passengers and ask them where they are getting off. He then arranges the luggage depending of the passenger's destination. So how can he be sure that the passenger handling or taking off a luggage is the same passenger? In my observation, he commits them to memory.

As he receives a luggage, he looks at the face of the passenger and at the luggage. It is here where I believe he makes a mental note connecting the passenger to the luggage. Theft can happen when during stops, a passenger takes somebody else's luggage from the compartment. The bus companies seem to be able to avoid this by limiting access to the compartments to the conductor. The driver never opens the compartment.

If a passenger wishes to take something from their luggage, it is the conductor who opens the compartment and observes the passenger. I think during this time the conductor tries to retrieve the face-to-luggage connection he made earlier.

So far, I have not witnessed any theft of luggages during a provincial trip with Victory Liner.

Tacloban City

I went ahead the Secretary for the 33rd Founding Anniversary of DepEd Region VIII in Tacloban City. The actual venue of the celebrations is the DepEd Regional Office in Palo, Leyte.

When I arrived at the airport, I got to see the new planes used by the Philippine Airlines for their PAL Express flights. This one came from Cebu direct to Tacloban.

While in Leyte, I was booked by the regional office in Mac Arthur Park hotel now managed by the Philippine Tourism Authority.


In the evening of the first day, I was treated to dinner at the Ocho Seafood and Grill restaurant.

There they have fresh seafoods for customers to choose from. Once you pick a fish, you tell them how you want them cooked or ask them for the best way to serve your meal. I had plentiful and it was fun.

Radio ad

The ride home was, well, uneventful. Not much chit-chat from those on board. It seems as if everybody is just looking forward to getting home. It is, after all, the eve of a very long vacation.

While waiting for comments or discussions to begin, my attention was caught by the advertisement from the radio. The ad was for a leading shampoo brand.

In the ad, a guy talks to his close friend about a girl they knew in high school. This guy describes to his buddy how he remembers the time when he sees the girl, what he felt and how regretful he was he never tried to court her.

The buddy informed the day dreamer that he knows the girl and asked if he wanted to be set-up for a date. The dreamer agreed and his buddy dropped the bomb, "actually, my friend, she is married to me."

Question: if you are best buds or close friends, how come you did not know your friend married the girl of your dreams?

Vacation woes

While riding the FX to work, I heard two guys talk about this:

1. Time to report to the office
2. Where to stay during vacation

FX is a model of the Toyota Tamaraw Asian utility vehicle (AUV) primarily used as a public utility vehicle (PUV) due to its large capacity. It comes between the regular jeepney and the taxi cab.

Reporting time

It is common that people who know each other are interested in the times they get to work. This discussion usually start discussions covering other topics.

This topic is also a form of assurance for some that they are not the only ones who are late for work.

Vacation

As vacation looms, where a person spends that time forms another topic. People compare notes on their planned vacations. They talk about where to stay, what to do, and sometimes how much it costs.

Today, the other passenger will be spending his vacation in the house of one of his buddies. His buddy will be alone this Holy Week and he welcomes the company. He will spend it there with his other buddies and they will probably drink themselves to exhaustion during the four days they will be together.