Traffic, Rain and a P1,600 phone call
I did NOT create a non-blogging hiatus, therefore, I have no choice but to backlog an entry I pre-wrote. But so far, summer has been major MADNESS. It's the kind of madness that will leave you happy thou' so I don't mind.
Just for a brief background, I am currently an intern at the Office of the Solicitor General, that's basically the law firm of the government, but the more noble purpose of the OSG is that it is the People's Tribune. Anyway, that's a tad bit digression on the point of the story. The OSG, like most awesome law firms, is located in Makati. Ergo, I have to commute to and fro via the MRT.
But today. Today of all days I forgot the following items:
So today, I went home with Cris Bernardino. She got off at Shaw so I was on my own. Usually, I get picked up from the MRT Station in Quezon Avenue since my dad comes back from Laguna. At times, I take the jeep going back. Because of my forgotten phone, it was really option jeep. This will turn out to be okay because my dad is still not home (as of writing this paragraph at 9:22 pm), avoiding SLEX traffic. Traffic was merciless today, with campaign motorcades and softdrink trucks cluttering the highways.
So anyway, when I got to the Station, it was pouring. The clouds cried down a challenge, and I took the offer. I rushed two-metres to ride the jeep and I got by with my left foot, clad in new red flats, slightly victimised by flood water. In my mind, this situation would not have been remedied by an umbrella, so I sat happily and waited for more passengers to fill up the public utility vehicle.
On the ride, I kept praying that the rain will hush so that I won't have a harder time getting home (which requires riding another tricycle). But no, the rain roared. I had my laptop with me in a hard-case and a corduroy blazer. So I used the blazer to cover my laptop bag and part of me and conquer the pouring rain. There was a raging river between me and the mall (around 10+ metres). And I had to make a run for it. This time, from a simple shower my new flats took a full blown bath in rainwater. Ew. Ew. Ew.
For the first time, I was thankful that the ugly pink castle/mall was super near our house. I immediately looked for the nearest place I could buy slippers, and it was Human. They had cute pink slippers for P100. No time to look for much cheaper alternatives, and I liked that one already. And then I went to look for a phone so I can get fetched. On the way, I saw the "Ideal" Optical Shop where I've been getting my prescriptive lenses since I was 9-years-old. I knew they had a phone so I decided, spontaneously, to get new contacts since I haven't been wearing them for a year.
I tried my prescription and it was still good and I called my mom (using the shop's telephone) to pick me up. Then they offered me a "promo" for the same contact lenses my mom's been getting me in the past (it was obviously my first time to actually go to an optical shop alone). I honestly thought P1,600 was normal for two pairs of contact lenses. So I paid out almost all the cash I had in my wallet because I didn't have a credit card. Then my mom picked me up.
She was SHOCKED when she found out I paid that much for my contact lenses. Apparently, she's been getting them for about P300 for a pair in the past, and was appalled that they were able to ask for that much from me (and that I was stupid enough to take the offer). Apparently, you have to haggle. WHAAAT??? Had I known the real price, haggling wouldn't have been a problem. But it was a frigging optical shop! They were supposed to have fixed prices! But knowing my mom, she would probably bully that sales clerk who sold me an overpriced pair of lenses. AUGH. This was such an unfair business practice and I was so gullible to bite into it. Oh, and you know why I wanted to buy contacts in the first place? I wanted to wear shades. Which is really weird when you consider the fact that it's raining like hell.
Anyway, I'm so glad that I still have parents who are willing to bail me out during misfortune. Still dreading my phone and credit card bills thou'. Good luck, to me. More blogging soon. I hope.
Just for a brief background, I am currently an intern at the Office of the Solicitor General, that's basically the law firm of the government, but the more noble purpose of the OSG is that it is the People's Tribune. Anyway, that's a tad bit digression on the point of the story. The OSG, like most awesome law firms, is located in Makati. Ergo, I have to commute to and fro via the MRT.
But today. Today of all days I forgot the following items:
- My mobile phone - Ang galing ko kasi!!! As in I forget my phone more often than I forget my iPod. And it happens when I'm rushing. I leave it on my bed because I use it as an alarm clock. This time I left it in the kitchen counter because I was rushing to get a cab to drop me off at the MRT station. The point is, I get by forgetting my phone. I just email my parents I forget my phone so that they won't get panicky checking on me.
- My umbrella - I'm not really an umbrella person, and I only use it when it's raining. But ever since I started commuting, I made it a point to take an effort to bring it everyday. But today, I was too lazy to open my luggage this morning and chose facebook over my umbrella. I partly blame the new airline policy that doesn't allow you to carry your payong in your carry-on. Oh well.
- My Mastercard - Again, a vice of my recent trip to Hong Kong. I brought two wallets, the one with foreign currency, and the one with Peso. I brought my Peso wallet to work, but of course, my Mastercard was in the Foreign wallet. There was a time I needed to use this, but forgetting this will soon turn into an advantage.
So today, I went home with Cris Bernardino. She got off at Shaw so I was on my own. Usually, I get picked up from the MRT Station in Quezon Avenue since my dad comes back from Laguna. At times, I take the jeep going back. Because of my forgotten phone, it was really option jeep. This will turn out to be okay because my dad is still not home (as of writing this paragraph at 9:22 pm), avoiding SLEX traffic. Traffic was merciless today, with campaign motorcades and softdrink trucks cluttering the highways.
So anyway, when I got to the Station, it was pouring. The clouds cried down a challenge, and I took the offer. I rushed two-metres to ride the jeep and I got by with my left foot, clad in new red flats, slightly victimised by flood water. In my mind, this situation would not have been remedied by an umbrella, so I sat happily and waited for more passengers to fill up the public utility vehicle.
On the ride, I kept praying that the rain will hush so that I won't have a harder time getting home (which requires riding another tricycle). But no, the rain roared. I had my laptop with me in a hard-case and a corduroy blazer. So I used the blazer to cover my laptop bag and part of me and conquer the pouring rain. There was a raging river between me and the mall (around 10+ metres). And I had to make a run for it. This time, from a simple shower my new flats took a full blown bath in rainwater. Ew. Ew. Ew.
For the first time, I was thankful that the ugly pink castle/mall was super near our house. I immediately looked for the nearest place I could buy slippers, and it was Human. They had cute pink slippers for P100. No time to look for much cheaper alternatives, and I liked that one already. And then I went to look for a phone so I can get fetched. On the way, I saw the "Ideal" Optical Shop where I've been getting my prescriptive lenses since I was 9-years-old. I knew they had a phone so I decided, spontaneously, to get new contacts since I haven't been wearing them for a year.
I tried my prescription and it was still good and I called my mom (using the shop's telephone) to pick me up. Then they offered me a "promo" for the same contact lenses my mom's been getting me in the past (it was obviously my first time to actually go to an optical shop alone). I honestly thought P1,600 was normal for two pairs of contact lenses. So I paid out almost all the cash I had in my wallet because I didn't have a credit card. Then my mom picked me up.
She was SHOCKED when she found out I paid that much for my contact lenses. Apparently, she's been getting them for about P300 for a pair in the past, and was appalled that they were able to ask for that much from me (and that I was stupid enough to take the offer). Apparently, you have to haggle. WHAAAT??? Had I known the real price, haggling wouldn't have been a problem. But it was a frigging optical shop! They were supposed to have fixed prices! But knowing my mom, she would probably bully that sales clerk who sold me an overpriced pair of lenses. AUGH. This was such an unfair business practice and I was so gullible to bite into it. Oh, and you know why I wanted to buy contacts in the first place? I wanted to wear shades. Which is really weird when you consider the fact that it's raining like hell.
Anyway, I'm so glad that I still have parents who are willing to bail me out during misfortune. Still dreading my phone and credit card bills thou'. Good luck, to me. More blogging soon. I hope.