sleeping-awake.net

The LRT is the Manila Light Rail Transit System. Wikipedia says it’s the first metro system in Southeast Asia. I sometimes read “LRT” as “lert”, just because. I began riding it regularly when I was in uni, and I presently use it almost daily. I like the LRT because it’s the fastest way to get around - Metro Manila has the worst traffic. Still, there are times when I’d rather not take the LRT, and here are my top ten reasons why.

10. Being in a crowded train next to someone with BO.
I don’t think this needs any further explanation.

9. Guys who sneak into the section reserved for females.
Dude, what part of “female area” don’t you understand??

8. Kids that won’t shut up.
I hate kids, especially noisy and whiny ones who I’m stuck with until I get off. Yes, I did say I hate kids. Sue me.

7. People who play music loudly with their cellphones or MP3 players.
These people seem to think that they’re doing others a favor by providing some sort of entertainment. Unfortunately, they’re just being annoying. Use earphones, people, and keep your horrible music to yourselves.

6. People who lean on you. Literally.
This has happened to me only once so far, but it was hella annoying. There I was, minding my own business, when I suddenly realized that the woman next to me was leaning on me for balance. I was supporting almost her entire body weight! What the hell. I’m not a wall, lady. So I stepped away from her and she nearly fell over. Haha!

5. People who push to get onto the train.
Don’t these people realize that pushing is just going to cause everyone to take longer to get onto the train? Why can’t we just board the train in an orderly, civilized manner?

4. People who get on the train before letting people who are getting off get off.
Also people who block the train doorway. Once I had to push a lady aside because she didn’t seem to understand that before she could get on, I had to get off first, and that she was in my way. I didn’t push her with much force, though. She easily “swung open” like a door.

3. Waiting for a train that takes forever to arrive.
Where is that train??

2. Bag checks.
Due to previous bombings, passengers are required to have their bags checked at the station entrances. I know it’s a security measure, but all it does is slow things down and create a long queue, especially for busy stations. Do the security guards even know what they’re looking for? They merely poke their sticks in your bag and give the contents a once-over. Dangerous items could be hidden at the bottom, or in other compartments, and they’d never see them. The LRT should use X-ray machines instead, just like the Shanghai Maglev Train does, but I don’t think the LRT has the budget for them.

And finally… (Drum roll, please.)

1. People who wrap themselves around the poles.
Seriously, some people can be very, very inconsiderate. I’ve seen people who make like boa constrictors and simply will not let go of the poles (for reasons I cannot come up with), even if other people are trying to hold onto “their” pole for balance. Yes, it’s theirs, and no, you don’t exist.

I just read Joni’s post and one particular sentence stood out to me.

I’ve only been working for roughly four years but I’m already sort of feeling burned out from exerting too much effort in waking up every morning.

Good grief. I haven’t been working full time for even a year and I already feel tired, more emotionally and spiritually than physically. (Though being stuck at my desk for long periods of time has already given me circulation problems.) And it’s not just from waking up early in the mornings. It’s… more than that. My heart is yearning for a change, but my mind is telling me to look before I leap.

Maybe I’m feeling this way because I get bored easily. Oh and let’s not forget that I also get stressed out very easily. Maybe there are better ways to handle things. I don’t know. I don’t even know where I’m going with this. I just felt like letting things out, but now that I’m typing away I’m not sure what to say.

Blargh. I don’t hate my job. But there’s got to be something else out there for me.

So are Anxiety, Worry, Can’t-Relax, Tension… You get the idea.

@_@

X_X

You. Are. Annoying. Don’t expect a reply.

I am done answering your nosy questions. I don’t have to and I don’t want to. Who the hell are you anyway?

And quit trying to talk to me. Stop greeting me “good morning”. There’s nothing good about my mornings, especially when you’re trying to get in my face. Creep.

I’ve gotten to the point where I just don’t care about certain things anymore. Which is bad, because these things should be important to me. Well, they still are, I guess, but it’s just easier not to care sometimes. But I don’t think I’ll stay this way forever. At least, I hope not.

Well this is just great. A few months ago, I finally found the perfect hairdresser for me - and today I find out that he’s packing/already packed his bags for Japan. x_X And I am in dire need of a haircut right now!! My hair’s so long. Okay, so it’s not even past my shoulders, but it’s already too long for me. Must… find… good hairdresser!!

I am on the verge of hysteria.

Being stuck in traffic for over two hours - when your destination is only less than an hour away - is really enough to make you go crazy. The rain came in smaller drops now. But it hadn’t stopped since I woke up this morning. And it had poured in buckets - no, giant buckets. For some reason, the traffic jam in Manila becomes worse than it already is whenever it rains.

Almost three hours now since we left the house. The rain is getting harder again.

Drip, drip, drip. Wipe. Drip, drip, drip. Wipe.

Everybody around me seems to be late, too. But I wonder if I’m the only one who’s late at our office. That would suck. And they might not believe me if I told them why I was late.

Some streets are submerged in water now - roads have become little rivers. It’s so stupid. It happens all the time here whenever it rains.

When my dad told me that I’d probably get to work at 9:30, I dismissed him and thought that he was being silly. It’s a quarter to ten now, and it’s just plain stupid to still be out here. Out here. Out the car window, people with umbrellas. People without umbrellas. Cars swimming along slooowly. Some cars going faster, making waves in the water, waves rolling towards our direction. I can feel them under my feet as they whoosh past.

- Just my thoughts this morning. I was very, very bored, so I typed away on the tiny keypad of my cell phone. I got to work at a quarter to eleven, pissed off and feeling quite hysterical.