Commute tayo

I was cleaning up my e-files and found this. I wrote it last April 5, 2005 and forgot all about it until tonight. Better late than never I guess.

All my life I’ve been a frequent commuter. Tricycles, pedicabs, jeepneys, buses, trains, Tamaraw FXs. The commute can be a hassle sometimes – the 35*C heat of summer, the icky feeling of wet feet during the rainy season, the mad scramble for a seat, the terror of dying with a cab/ jeepney driver gone amok, the shock of unruly hair at the office entrance (“mahangin sa labas?”), and the agony of bearing a raging stomach in a bus that won’t move.

Whatever the heartaches, or tummy aches for that matter, I will still commute. I probably would have turned out a different person had I not been exposed to the perils and joys (what joys?) of the commuting life. Perhaps I’m too lazy right now to elaborate or simply cheering myself up because I’m broke and unable to buy my own car.

My point, however, is that all these public transport vehicles didn’t just bring me to Project 6, UP Diliman, Makati, Divisoria, Vito Cruz, my office, and countless other places. They led me to an unexpected field trip of virtues. Patience (lots and lots of it), humor, and humility I found in the heart of Manila’s smoke belching, gut-wrenching, death-defying PUVs.

To eat or not to eat?

I had to go see a dietitian at the start of the new year for a couple of health reasons. All along I thought I was eating enough vegetables; it turns out I wasn't. In fact I was eating so little of them. Based on my weight, height, and level of activity, I'm supposed to have at least 3 exchanges of vegetables everyday. Roughly, that's 1.5 cups of vegetables. That's a lot! I still don't know how I'm supposed to do that.

As for these doughnuts, well, that's another story. I'm kidding okay? I'm a good girl now. My family wanted to try and visit this new shop that recently opened in Fort Bonifacio and so we went. It took so much self-control to stick to my guns and keep from jumping into the box. The doughnuts looked so good I wanted to cry. But I didn't. If you can't eat 'em, shoot 'em.