It was raining hard.
Manila was flooded.
My parents weren’t exactly helpful. They weren’t willing to take me to Quezon City.
I had to commute. And yes, commute I did. I had to go on a treacherous obstacle course to find the only remaining non-inundated patches of asphalt along Taft Avenue in hopes of catching a ride to the ABS-CBN Studios.
Buses were hard to come by. As expected España Avenue was flooded and a lot of public utility vehicles were deterred from going through the low-lying areas of Manila. Luckily, an aircon bus passed by and I was able to get on board.
It was crazy.
There were at least 25 people standing in the aisle. It was probably one of the longest 90 minute stretches of my life – it was a cacophony of acerbic remarks to the driver who kept on taking more passengers, the cries of whiny young women you couldn’t get through the sea of people standing on the aisle and insensitive grunts of a manly woman shoving the crying and already upset passengers out of the bus. These painful events were fortunately interrupted with a healthy helping of humorous happenings. While the bus was making its way through the knee-deep waters of Dimasalang, the driver animatedly screamed at pedestrians and other drivers in stereotypical Visayan flair. The bus made huge waves that totally caught people eating at roadside canteens and cafeterias.
After literally speeding through the flooded streets of Manila and backing off from insanely inundated thoroughfares over half a dozen times, I finally got to my stop near the ABS-CBN studios. The people in the bus thought I was joining Wowowee (ang aga ko naman atang pumila), never did they know that I’ll be appearing on the most watched show in Phillipine history – Square Off! hosted by Twink Macaraig.
It was a unanimous decision. On the motion that this House believes that democracy has failed in the Philippines, the three adjudicators gave the win to the Polytechnic University Of The Philippines (seeded 14th) over the third seed University of Santo Tomas.
Finally, thank you to Joe for letting me sleep over at his place. Thanks man, you’re a life saver!
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Oh cool. When do we get to see the footage from your TV stint?
(Yeah, we don't have cable. Boo!)
I didn't get to see that. I don't watch TV kasi. Am sure you did well. will there be a re-run?
Buti dyan sa manila binabagyo kayo…i miss storms…wala nyan d2 sa singapore
Ah, misadventures. Buti naman at buhay ka pa. Lol. Okay, I'm exaggerating. Haha.
Remembering back on my Masci days, I actually miss these bus rides. The boredom while standing in the aisle for decades could make you think about the wildest things. Haha.
Most Watched Show in Philippine History? Haha. Sige na nga. Baka naging fans' day (or night) mo rin yun tsong.
next time benj, warn, nay, tweet us of the tv schedules. syempre we want to see you, as to the flooding experience–owwww, i remember my UST days.