On any given pinoy urban day, I would travel a considerable
amount of time to get to work. During these times I would encounter countless
of characters in the public.
I have my trusty iPhone and Spotify to thank
because I can keep to myself but sometimes I just can’t help but notice or hear
things that take me to the edge.
Here are 6 of those things.
Chewing with your
mouth open
 |
| moonbeamfaeries.wordpress.com |
I have a problem with people chewing with their mouths open.
There, I said it!
I would let a few moments when you have to open your mouth
because something got dislodged in there (probably) slide but doing this for
the whole meal is just something I cannot stand.
Why? It sounds gross, first of all. Food getting smushed
between your teeth and getting sticky with saliva is not an orchestra. And no one
seating across you in the table needs to see the initial process of digestion
happening.
It’s not even hard to stop this habit. Just close your mouth
when chewing. Please!
Not saying thank you
in a jeep when someone takes your fare to the driver
 |
| taroogs.wordpress.com |
It’s common practice here that when you are seated far away
from the driver in a jeepney, you ask the people beside to take it to him. It’s
a simple manifestation of Bayanihan (Helping
each other out). But for God’s sake say thank you when someone does this for
you!
That person did not live to be your slave. You are asking a
favor. The least you can say for that favor is a simple “Thank you”.
While we’re on the subject, don’t be pushing yourself in the
tightest crack between people in the end of the jeepney just so you won’t have
to take someone else’s fare to the driver. It’s a sh*t move. And last thing
about jeepneys, when elderly people ride, move to let them seat near the
“door”. Don’t let them take their old, frail bodies the length of the jeepney
just to get a seat. You’ll be old too someday.
“YUSWALI”
 |
| giphy.com |
In case you’re confused, that’s supposed to be usually, but some (most) people
pronounce it as YUSWALI. Here’s an
example:
“Ganito
ba kailangan nating gawin? YUSWALI kasi yung baligtad yung ginagawa ko” (Is
this what we should be doing? I YUSWALI
do the opposite).
See how stupid that sounds? We have our Filipino version of usually, just say KADALASAN.
Let me show you how it can used in the same example:
“Ganito
ba kailangan nating gawin? KADALASAN kasi
yung baligtad yung ginagawa ko” (Is this what we should be doing? I USUALLY do the opposite).
Please, my fellow countrymen?
Ignoring pedestrian
lanes
See those little lines painted on the road, mate? Those are
not just to make it look good. They all serve a purpose. The blocky series of
parallel lines that seem to be cutting the road (wow, I really simplified that
description)? That’s called the pedestrian lane. What is it for? It’s for
pedestrians to walk on.
Some major roads have a pedestrian overpass (or even
underpass) to make crossing the road safe. But in the lack of these, it’s the
pedestrian lane baby. What do you when you see a pedestrian crossing the street
using the pedestrian lane? You yield. When the traffic is stopped what do you
do the pedestrian lane? You steer clear of it. Don’t do this:
Caring so much about
what others people think about you (relax, you’re not living to please them!)
 |
| giphy.com |
Why? You study all this time, strive to get your degree,
work hard after and get to a point when you know you still have a lot to work
for but you are already way better than when you started. Did you do that all
to please the strangers around you? You hold back doing something you should be
doing because people are going to be hating you for your success? You will
seriously stop there to appease everybody? Seriously?
In our subdivision, kids were expected to be called men when
they can play basketball, drink a lot, and have girlfriends. Growing up I would
play basketball but not as often as everybody, drink occasionally, and never
had a girlfriend (I studied in an exclusive school for boys until I graduated
from high school). I was seen as a buluboy
(you know, a dweeb). I could have stopped right then and there and just did
all that to look cool. But I didn’t.
Now I still play basketball but with more shoes that I had
back in the day, I drink more often than before because I can afford it, and I
have a beautiful girlfriend whom I truly love. Now my mom is worried that my success will be envied by
these same people I grew up with. Why should I care about that? We all made out
choices in life. Let them live with theirs.
Recently my mom has been bugging me about driving. I work
out of two office locations: Alabang and Cubao. I come from Cainta. If I took a
car to work every day, I would be a very cranky , road-ragey bastard. Why is she bugging me about it? Because she’s
concerned of what other people might think about me not driving.
I don’t care about what they would think. Why? Because I
know for myself that I can buy a car if I wanted to and not starve just to pay
off the amortization. Let them think what they want, I’m just being practical.
Caring so much about
what others are doing (live your own life, kapatid)
 |
| womensrunning.competitor.com |
And finally, envy.
Hating people for posting their travel pictures? Hating
people for posting pictures of their food? Hating people for taking selfies
just because they look good in selfies? Hating people that bought a new pair of
shoes? The list can go on and on, but it all boils down to people being envious
of other people.
When social media wasn’t as big as it is today, and when
internet was still a precious commodity that not everyone could afford, sharing
pictures of your latest travel was actually lauded by your friends that can see
it. I certainly appreciated a friend who would post a picture of a scrumptious
meal because I would then want to visit the same place and experience it
myself.
Why would you hate on a friend who keeps posting travel
picture every weekend? If you really can’t stand it, just unfriend or unfollow.
Don’t expect your travel-junkie friend to change just for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment