This is an Nth attempt at a blog; Blogspot, Friendster, LiveJournal, Multiply…name it…I’ve been there. Hopefully, this one will find perpetuity, with more humor and less drama.
For those who know me (or check this everyday -you know who you are 
), thank you for your continued “interest”. For those who don’t, an introduction is in order…
Tonight, on my way to Shang Mall for Tony’s despedida, I was apprehended by a Traffic [Law] Enforcer by the intersection of Dona Julia Vargas and ADB Avenue. I was on the inner (translated: leftmost) lane on J. Vargas so I should have turned left to ADB Avenue. Instead, I went straight towards Megamall.
In fairness to me, I tried changing lanes (from the leftmost lane to the middle lane) early on. But being the stuck up (or “lawful”) person that I am, I did so by properly signaling. Now we all know what happens when you signal in this country, right? The other cars suddenly go faster just for the sake of giving you a hard time. Yes, in this country, other people prefer that you DO NOT signal and just shock the hell out of them by suddenly switching lanes. They actually respect you better that way! *rolls eyes*
Anyway, back to the apprehension…
I tried to reason out to him. That’s usually the first thing I do when I’m apprehended. When that doesn’t work, I accept my [Traffic Violation] Ticket because, truth be told, I really prefer not to bribe.
The Traffic Enforcer didn’t look at me once. He just went on to write my Ticket. And he was going to confiscate my [Driver's] License, he said. This worried me; I’ve been told many times that they are no longer allowed to do that. So as he was writing out my Ticket, I told him I would make a call to clarify if he had the right to confiscate my License. I rolled up my window and began to contact the MMDA.
Thankfully, I still had the MMDA hotline numbers stored on my cellphone from the time Doranne Lim blogged about her encounter with the MMDA a few years back. No one was answering the cellphone numbers but I eventually got through to “136″. I got an automated message but got through to an actual human eventually. He didn’t know much, as expected. But in fairness to him, he had enough information to tell me that based on my location I was dealing with either a Mandaluyong or Pasig Traffic Enforcer. He proceeded to give me the hotline number of “Mandaluyong Traffic”.
One ring then they answered! I was impressed! The lady on the line asked me to describe the uniform of the Traffic Enforcer who apprehended me. He kept walking away from my car and returning to it but right at that moment he was by my window. I saw a patch on his uniform that said “Lungsod ng Pasig” so the lady gave me the hotline number of “Pasig Traffic”.
Again, one ring then they answered! I was totally floored! The lady on the line transfered my call to a “supervisor” (another lady). I proceeded to ask her if the Traffic Enforcer was allowed to confiscate my License. Right when I was doing so (by this time I’d been on hazard for about 15-20 minutes), the Traffic Enforcer knocked on my window. I rolled it down slightly to tell him I was still on the phone. I lost it when he said “Paki bilisan, may trabaho pa ako”. With the lady supervisor still on the line, I started to raise my voice and told him “Sandali lang, kinaklaro ko lang kung pwede mo kunin ang Lisensya ko” to which he murmured something which I did not understand because a) my window was on its way back up; and b) nagdilim na ang paningin ko. I rolled my window back down.
Karin: “Binabayaran ng buwis ko ang sweldo mo. Sandali lang!”
PTE: “Hindi mo binabayaran ang sweldo ko!”
Karin: “Everytime na may bilhin ako dito, nagbabayad ako ng buwis at yan ang nagpapasweldo sa inyo.” (just pardon my Tagalog, please, because I was too upset to properly translate the words running through my upset mind)
PTE: “Nagbabayad din ako ng buwis kaya hindi ikaw ang nagbabayad ng sweldo ko!”
At this point I just rolled my window closed completely to continue talking to the lady supervisor who was still on the line. She asked if she could speak to the Traffic Enforcer so I called him back to my car because by this time he’d paced away again. He walked away from my car with my cellphone so I didn’t hear what he told the lady supervisor. By the time he returned the phone to me, the call had ended. I redialed immediately and was able to talk to the lady supervisor again. She was on the radio with a roving supervisor and asked him to come to my location.
I kept looking at the back of my car via my sideview mirror. The supervisor finally arrived but spoke to the Traffic Enforcer first before walking up to my car (which pissed me off kasi feeling ko uunahan na nya ako ikwento yung side nya). As soon as the supervisor was by my window, I explained my side. I told him that a) I was trying to change lanes but, despite signaling properly, wasn’t able to; b) [so] I know I was wrong for going straight instead of turning left since I was still on the innermost lane; c) I was fine with getting a Ticket because I was wrong; d) [but] I merely wanted to know if the Traffic Enforcer was allowed to confiscate my License; e) [which is why] I called MMDA, then Mandaluyong Traffic, then Pasig Traffic (which is why the call was taking long); f) I do not appreciate the Traffic Enforcer rushing me and arguing with me because by doing so he was disrespecting my right to clarify my rights. As soon as I was done, the supervisor asked me politely if he could answer my question. He said there was a city ordinance issued in 2004 stating that their traffic enforcement within the City (in this case, Pasig City) was no longer under the jurisdiction of “National” authority (meaning, the MMDA) therefore the Traffic Enforcer was, in fact, allowed to confiscate my License. But he went on to say “ewan ko ba dito sa mga ito, nag seminar naman sila, dapat ma-explain nila sa inyo nang maayos kung bakit pwede nila kunin ang Lisensya nyo at kung ano ang violation nyo, hindi yung sasabihin lang nila na may “sign” [kayong nilabag].” I reiterated that what upset me was the fact that the Traffic Enforcer was disrespectful and that all I wanted to know was my rights and that I had the right to find out what those are. He agreed, apologized on the Traffic Enforcer’s behalf, and returned my License to me without issuing me a Ticket. I thanked him and went on my way.
I didn’t get the name of the Traffic Enforcer (but if my slightly photographic memory serves me right, his surname was “Martinez”) nor the names of the people I was able to talk to in the MMDA, Mandaluyong Traffic, and Pasig Traffic offices, nor the name of the supervisor came to the site and politely explained the situation to me. But I would like to thank the people I encountered who were actually helpful and polite. It saddens me, however, that in this country politeness and efficiency (like the Mandaluyong Traffic and Pasig Traffic hotlines actually answering the call after just one ring!) come more as a surprise rather than these being something that are to be expected.
Thank you, Doranne, for that blog entry years ago. In return, here are more numbers that may come in handy. Everyone, please store these numbers on your cellphones.
MMDA: 136 (no need for a prefix)
Madaluyong Traffic: +632-5342993
Pasig Traffic: +632-6430000
The old (Green) Passport is still valid until expiry date, apparently. Sus! Read here.
By chance, I glanced at the date on this blog’s welcome note and realized it’s a year old today (which means that WeAreSugarfree.com turned a year old as well just a few days ago; it wasn’t the band’s official website yet back then). On the very day I decide to somewhat revive my Multiply blog (not completely abandoning this one though), you turn one year old. Tsk, tsk.
The reason I’ve started to write in Multiply again is because, in line with the welcome note’s “promise” of more humor and less drama, I do want to keep this one light. Yet, since early September, I’ve been faced with three major crossroads and arriving at decisions (plural) of which roads (plural) to take tend to get quite dramatic. For this reason, I shall henceforth segregate 
October 3, 2009…during the Ondoy aftermath. Nothing to do but indulge in DVD marathons with my babies: PeeWee (the killer Pekingese) and [Curious] Jorge (the curious Beagle).
read the journal entry here
read the journal entry here
Thanks to Ondoy (the devastating storm which hit Manila this weekend canceling countless gigs yesterday, leaving many homeless and car-less, missing or dead), I stumbled upon Episode 33 of Gabe Mercado’s videocast called “Bagong Gising” on YouTube. This led me to search and watch all episodes of the said videocast since Gabe’s commitment to capture himself on video every morning (pre-morning piss phase) started a bit over a month ago.
This got me thinking of routines or habits in the morning, or in life (in general).
Much like Gabe, the very first thing I do when I wake up (in the morning, or even every time I wake up in the middle of the night) is reach for my cellphone. Then, I either go back to sleep or get up to pee.
What’s the first thing you do in the morning?
ps
I urge everyone to check out Gabe Mercado’s Bagong Gising episodes. It’s too bad he stopped (which I’m hoping is something temporary).
“SaTapat” is what I fondly called Breadbox, that resto directly across SaGuijo, because (for the longest time) I didn’t know what the joint was called. Later, I learned from Peng (the “chef”, wife to Ariel and mom to Adrian) that it started out as a panaderia, hence the name. It was my default tambayan when on Guijo, since I don’t really enjoy standing around SaGuijo unless I’m inside actually watching a performance. Countless meetings, pre-prepared dinners, Hot Chocolate with “tasty” bread, fruit shakes, and a gracious family as hosts will forever be my memory of “SaTapat”.
One time (during my early yoghurt-obsession days), I arrived early; only Adrian was there. I asked him if they happened to serve yoghurt, to which he answered “I think we have some at home.” He immediately sent the help to check, but handed a bit of money just in case there wasn’t any. Then a few minutes later came two cups of Nesvita Yoghurt they’d bought for me from the nearby store. I was surprised he even asked “Is it ok if we charge you (for the yoghurt)?” Now that is unbeatable hospitality.
I hate to admit that (twice) Adrian played the piano and (with friends, or maybe they were customers) sang to Phantom of the Opera (checking his Friendster account now, I realize it was his favorite *sob*) –which annoyed me (both times) since, again, when I was there, I was usually in the middle of important meetings. But he meant to entertain; the kid meant well.
I particularly liked Ariel. He never failed to make conversation with me about what I was doing there early, who was playing across the street that night, what bands I’ve managed, or what I should choose among the various pre-cooked viands available…
There have been so many deaths this 2009 (understatement!). But like D Jami said, there is a big difference between dying and being killed (brutally, in this case, I might add). And this family was no ordinary family. I haven’t heard a single account of anyone who’s dined at Breadbox…who heard about this unfortunate news…who’s had anything less than positive memories of their encounters with the Eguid family.
SaGuijo will never be the same without you. May you rest in peace. And may justice be served.
I was smitten by Twilight for a while (actually, I still am; watched the movie, bought the box set in paperback since I don’t like hardbounds, and can’t wait to watch the sequel in the big screen) and knew nothing about Being Human or any other vampire stories out there, until recently. As much as the two are incomparable really, for me, Twilight will always be that heart-wrenching love story while Being Human is the interesting one because of its unusual twists and turns.
Season 1 landed in my thumbdrive weeks back when D Jami promised it to Jal (until it’s transfered unto his new laptop, it stays in my 8GB). I started watching it (during my birthday weekend hibernation) a few weeks back and have been hooked on it since. It sucks that it’s only 6 hours long and that, according to D Jami, Season 2 won’t be out till early next year. BITIN!
Who wouldn’t be in love with Guy Flanagan who plays Mitchell, the Vampire? He fits the part: handsome, charming, irresistible. And who wouldn’t be amused by Russell Tovey who plays Geroge, the Werewolf? He’s so praning And who wouldn’t wanna be just like Lenora Crichlow who plays Annie, the Ghost? She’s beautiful, natural, funny (read: just right).
The character that struck me most though is Annie. Apparently, she was a victim of deceit and betrayal. She was engaged to be married when she died but didn’t learn what caused her death until later on.
To say that I can imagine what it’s like (to be betrayed by the love of one’s life) is an understatement because I know exactly what that’s like. But, unlike Annie, I’m still alive. However, at times when I feel pinned to my bed, when I have no desire to get up, eat, talk, interact (read: live)…I wonder: how different am I from Annie, really?
