A JEEPNEY RIDE

As we gathered around our circular table at the pantry, my colleague started telling stories about petty theft in our city.  A cup of coffee on her right hand and a piece of star-bread on her left, she shared stories of it with intense enthusiasm.  I listened closely like the others at the table, waiting eagerly to give our own inputs of the topic just opened.  But it's almost time to get back to work, and there seemed to be no more time for the rest of us to share our own collection of "theft tales" because the story-teller as of the moment was so engrossed in imparting her story it would seem rude to interrupt.  Her manner of talking had eventually drifted me off from the story.  All I was hearing was the sound of her energy, the passion in her voice and in her eyes.  When I was able to get back to her story, she was recalling of a jeepney theft incident shared to her by her neighbor.

Jeepney theft, I thought, is not surprisingly common.  That is without regarding the reasons why petty theft is widespread in the area.  With the physical structure of and the system applied to this means of transport, it is no wonder jeepney theft is a usual example of petty theft stories among the residents of the city.  

This kind of public transport popularized in the Philippines is patterned from the jeeps the Americans brought to the country during the war times more than half a century ago.  The locals modified it by lengthening the body, putting bench seats on both sides, decorating the hood with toys, and painting the body in vivid colors.  The jeepneys have open doors behind its body and wide rectangular open windows, and thus, it's so open to petty theft we were hearing about that instant at the pantry.

When it stops near a slum area, a jeweled passenger may find her necklace or earrings snatched through the window, and culprits don't even run away. They just walk away. Amazing, huh.  You will just gape in silence out of shock and amazement.  What's worse is when you sit beside a pickpocket who seems to know how to cast a spell on you so you wouldn't notice what s/he takes from your bag before  s/he  gets off the vehicle through its open doors.   It is then agreeable that for passengers of this ride, extra care must always be practiced ---that is, presence of mind and not showing any expensive belongings that can be very tempting to the strangers around, especially to those with the motive of stealing.

But to be fair to this vehicle, it is the only affordable public transport in the city because the other one is taxi. And though there's the option of taking habal-habal ( motorcyle), its fare can be unreasonably high, not to mention that it is not allowed in the main roads of the city.

So why do I ramble about this? Because that theft story at the pantry reminds me of what I posted in wattpad.com a year or two ago.  Which sums up that sometimes, we become a victim of theft because of our own negligence.  If you have a few minutes to spare, here's my own short fiction entitled A JEEPNEY RIDE. (Click here for the link.)

from inside me

connecting to:

http://neverbn2me.blog.friendster.com/

because that's how it is supposed to be.

What's In A Train Of Thought?

What could be in a train of thought?  Endless possibilities.  Just like now, I'm in a taxi and I've been thinking of making even just one entry to this blog I created several months ago, which made me think of money-making ventures online.  But then I set the thought aside because I then remember another online transaction I have that generate a little but very helpful sum of money.  Yes, money is, if not always, constantly popping in my thoughts. And money is my problem right now.  Well, not that I'm in urgent need of it, or there's some debts I need to settle ASAP, some emergency that requires a lot of it...No, not like that.  I'm thinking of money, especially now, because of my bank account problem.  On second thought, though, I don't believe that much (I'm convincing myself) that this is really a problem because there are already solutions I've seen.  The problem actually is at arriving to the one solution without causing hassles to others. Nobody wants complications.  Nobody wants to put themselves in an inconvenience.  And it can be pretty annoying if one is put in such a situation.  Maybe they would say it's okay, it's nothing to worry about, but deep deep down there, inside their innermost thoughts, are the repressed or more likely controlled and tamed annoyance somebody caused.  Now I'm on the solutions but what was with my problem? Yeah, money, bank account.  And it's so comical.  This minute dilemma I'm currently going through is something that not many people can understand completely, in a cultural sense probably.  And even in my own location, still not many will be able to relate to this since this little venture I have is not a wide practice here. And you know, little things can be very annoying.  I guess that's why I don't qualify this thing as a pure problem because to me, it's a mere and temporary interruption of comfort.  Well, this is only temporary if I act on it right away.  Now here goes the question, what should I do then?  Funny.  I've been thinking of acting on it right away, but my mind is telling me with a big and bold WAIT.  Waiting is exhausting.  I don't know if it's a matter of being so impatient or due to my kind of anti-social nature, but I dislike waiting.  To be fair to me, I dislike being waited for either.  But I really hate it when i have to wait for someone....

What I wrote above was written several months ago.  I have just re-read them, and will conclude the unfinished blabber above:  I waited and the solution came.  Or more likely, the problem settled itself.  Or more likely, I was just lucky to meet people who I need not beg for help but voluntarily offered me their generosity.  No, I didn't borrow or ask money from them, if it's what you're thinking.  But everything above was solved millions of hours ago.

My Cebuano-Bisaya Story-Telling Attempt

I'm back to my irregular hobby of writing, and this time, i made an attempt to write something in my own dialect. Even this is really new to me.  Somehow, I felt satisfied with the finished work.  And I published it in my other blog.  It's entitled ANG AKONG LAST DAY.

Strange Me

I love with all my heart;
I feel so deep in my soul;
But I can't show it at all.

I have attempts to pursue;
I put efforts, I make ways;
But I retreat when it's coming.

How could I long something so bad
Yet avoids it at the same time?
How could I fear what I love to happen?

Strange me.