The Filipino Attitude

I always believed that Filipinos have this "opportunist" attitude. By "opportunist," I mean they always seem to be very aggressive in every circumstance that would probably be beneficial to them. Sometimes this is what I call the "this-may-be-good-for-me-therefore-I-should-grab-this-opportunity" attitude.Well anyway, who wouldn't? But what sets the Filipino apart from all the other races is the MEANS to get what they want. Some people break their moral and ethical standards, or even go as far as breaking the law just to grab that "wonderful" opportunity in front of them.

Let me give you an example. This morning on my way to work at the MRT station, there were only 2 ticket booths open. Because of the large number of people wanting to buy MRT passes, a long line started to form. Then suddenly, the third ticket booth opened. I was on my way to the third booth (tinawag ako nung babae, "Miss dito na po"), and I was about to give her my money, but there was this guy who just arrived at the station and who suddenly ran in front of me and gave his bills to the lady. What an ass. See the attitude there? He saw the small space between my bill and the ticket booth lady and grabbed the opportunity of buying first instead of me, even if it meant totally disregarding the people who have already been in line for a couple of minutes.

This morning, I finally realized why only Filipinos are like this. My answer is that, we are in a country where people are not given equal opportunities. And so with that, people find ways and means to grab every opportunity that comes their way, because they might not get that chance again. In other countries, everyone has equal opportunities. They don't have to be so aggressive and disregard their ethics because they know that they will have a fair share of what's there. When I was in the States and in Singapore, people calmly line up and wait for transportation to arrive, because they know that the next bus or the next train or the next taxi will be there in a few minutes. Here in Manila, you'd have to push your way to the swarm of people just to get in front of the line.

Hay Buhay.

Ilongga Goes to Singapore

My first day in Singapore was... a disaster! From getting to work, to meeting up with my friends, things just kept on going from bad to worse! But if there's one thing I'm really grateful for, it's the wonderful Good Samaritans of Singapore. :)

Being new in Singapore, I didn't have a clue as to how public transportation worked. I didn't know that if you have an EZ-Link Card, you just tap upon climbing the bus, and tap again upon exit. If you don't have a card, then you can drop your coins and get a receipt. So when I climbed the bus, I just sat on the nearest chair I could find... under the impression that I can pay later. When I reached my destination (Yo Chu Kang station), I asked the driver how much I needed to pay, and he told me to just tap the card. And I was like, "huh?" I didn't have cash, nor did I have coins so I gave him a $2 Singapore bill. Apparently, they don't have change for bills because their mode of payment has always been card or coins. So I told him I didn't have coins and I was almost freaking out because I haven't paid yet. Well, the driver was pretty generous and let me off the hook without paying! He told me to buy a card and pay the next time I ride a bus. What a relief!

Later that day, I had to go home to fetch my sister first then proceed to Marina Square to meet with my friends. I was SOOO confident I wouldn't make a mistake, after all, the way back should be the same with the way I went to work. Little did I know that it doesn't really work like that in Singapore. After getting off at Yo Chu Kang station, I went to ride the bus that I thought would pass our place, on the same station I got off that morning. I read the bus line guide, and I was also confident with what I was doing because the guide listed our place as one of the stops of the bus. But NO, it didn't happen that way. I was taken to the Southern part of Singapore -- much farther than where I was supposed to go! When I asked the driver, he told me that I had taken the wrong bus and I needed to take another bus to go back! Waaah... I was hysterical! What's worse, I ran out of Cellphone load and I wasn't able to send a message to my friend on what I should do!

So I tried to look for the nearest bus stop, but I couldn't find one. I was really scared! I didn't want to ride a cab because that time, I was afraid the cab would just take advantage of my getting lost. So I asked the security personnel at the nearest residential building near Sim Lim Square for directions and where I could possible find a payphone. I told him "I'm Lost, I'm Lost!" and it was a trigger for him to also ask his companions for directions. Unfortunately, he didn't know of a payphone nearby, and my friends place was too far and too complicated to reach by bus. So he told me to just take a cab going there.

I was on the verge of tears, and my voice was shaking when I told him I didn't want to take a cab because I was afraid. But he was so generous that he offered to talk to the cab driver to bring me to my place. Upon hailing the cab, he gave me SGD$20 for my fare! Wow! How generous can that be? Giving 20 bucks to someone he doesn't even know, and to someone who foolishly wailed "I'm lost, I'm lost!" just a few minutes ago? Wow.

The cab driver was a blessing as well. He offered his mobile phone for me to contact my friend! I was really on the verge of tears when I told him the story of how I ended up at the wrong place. And when I told him I couldn't contact my friend, he gave me his phone and told me to call my friend! Wow! Are people in Singapore really this helpful? He brought me back home to fetch my sister, and also brought me to our meeting place. And he wouldn't accept any tip! Again, wow. I'm just so thankful to have met them when I needed them most.

My Singapore adventures are just starting. But I'm sure by the end of the week, I'll have more stories to tell.

Weird...

It's weird when somebody else is wearing the exact same blouse you're wearing. This morning while on my way to work, the girl standing beside me at the MRT station was wearing the same blouse I bought on sale at Forever 21 a about a year ago. I was only a few inches away from her when I realized, "Crap, she has the same top as I have." Good thing, though, is that her blouse is colored green, and mine is colored pink, and I kinda sported the blouse better than she did. Oh well, the moment the MRT train stopped at Shaw station, I immediately went out and sprinted to the office. Lol. Napakamalas ko naman!

MRT Security Sucks

Nung isang araw, para akong baliw paikot ikot sa Guadalupe MRT Station kakahingi ng tulong sa mga gwardya dahil nanakawan ako ng celfone. Ang nakakainis lang dito kasi ni isa sa kanila, walang inoffer na tulong, at inichepwera lang ako. "Sori wala na kami magagawa dun," sabi nung isa. "Hindi pwede yun kasi baka magalit yung mga pasahero," sabi naman nung isa nung kinausap ko kung pwede i-inspect naman yung mga palabas na pasahero kasi baka isa sa kanila ang salarin. "Wala na yun, wala tayo magagawa dyan," sabi naman nung tang inang mukhang manager sa ticketing booth. Wala sila nagawa, isang biktima ng pagnanakaw ang humihingi ng tulong pero napaka-walang kwenta ng tinatawag nilang 'security'.

Ano nga ba ang ginagawa ng security system sa MRT? Taga-inspect ng mga bagahe ng mga pasaherong papasok ng waiting area? Eh chismoso at chismosa ang mga guard nila doon. Nag-iinspect kunwari pero hindi naman nakatingin sa ini-inspect nila. San sila naka-tingin? Dun sa ka-chikahan o minsan kalandi-an nilang guard (Lalo na kung babae yung guard). Kung may balak ka magdala ng bomba sa MRT, wag ka matakot kasi sigurado makakalusot ka dun.

Mga security guard din daw nagbabantay sa segregation ng lalaki at babae. Pero asan nga ba sila? Kung hindi nagche-check out sa mga babaeng naghihintay sa ladies waiting area, eh ayun nagchichika sa mga janitor na nagmo-mop ng sahig. Tang inang mga manyak yun. Ang lagkit makatingin lalo na pag may babaeng maporma at nagpapawis habang naghihintay. Kaya andami nakakasingit na lalaki sa first cart e.

Balang araw, may mabibiktima rin ulit dyan sa MRT. Sana lang may magawa na sila.

MRT Diaries... Again

Haynako, eto na naman ako nagsusulat tungkol sa MRT Mentality ng mga Pinoy. Pano ba naman, kaninang umaga male-late na ako, eh may eps pa sa harap ko na napaka-AWAT!! (Ewan ko ano sa tagalog yun, basta yung nakakainis na antagal na ewan!). Anyway, ganito kasi yun, di ba sa mga MRT station, meron mga escalator? Ano ba ang purpose nun? Hindi ba para mapabilis ang pag-akyat ng isang tao?

Nung nagpunta akong States, ang mga tao dun pag sumasakay ng escalator, umaandar din sila. Meaning, inaakyat rin nila yung hagdan ng escalator. Sa Pinas hindi ganun. Sa Pilipinas, ginagawang elevator ang mga escalator. Meaning, hindi ito isang means para mapabilis ang traffic, kundi isa itong means ng tamad para akyatin ang hagdan. Watdahell!? Oo guilty ako minsan sa ganun, pero naman, sa may gilid lang ako para kung sino gusto umakyat eh pwede makadaan.

Pero sa MRT, hindi lahat ng tao ganun!! Haynaku, kung kelan male-late na ako, putsa ang mga tao ayaw pa magpa-daan!! Sa gitna talaga sila ng escalator naka pwesto, at hindi ako maka-akyat sa steps! Grabe naman, late na ako eh. Kakainis!!! Kelan kaya maiintihan ni Juan dela Cruz na ang Escalator ay HINDI Elevator. Tsk.

BTW, eto pala picture na nakuha ko sa MRT Station. Wala lang, astig yung kuha ko. Walang paki-alamanan!

The MRT Mentality

Sa araw-araw na ginawa ng Dyos, ang MRT ang nakasanayan kong mode of transportation kasi:

1) Mabilis - walang traffic (unless masira yung tren at stranded ka sa isang station);
2) Aircon (although minsan pag sobrang siksik na, wala ka na maramdaman);
3) mura lang - kasing presyo nya lang rin ang bus, minsan mas mura pa;
4) Simple - meaning, hindi ako maliligaw pag sinakyan ko ang MRT;
5) Exercise - antaas kasi ng kelangan mong akyatin, at minsan malayo ang lalakarin mo.

Dahil dito, mas pipiliin kong mag MRT kaysa mag bus o mag jeep o mag taxi lalo na kung nagmamadali ako. Pinaka-efficient way of transpo, at least for me.

Kaso lang, minsan nakakainis talaga ang mga tao dito. Isa-isahin ko kung bakit:

1. Sa bilihan ng ticket/card: Meron mga booth na para sa exact fare (yung express lane), at meron para sa mga hindi. Ang hindi ko maintindihan, andami pa ring tao na pumipila sa exact fare lane, eh buo naman yung pera nila. May nakalagay naman dun na "Exact Fare" lane, at may translation pa ata nito sa Tagalog. Haynaku bakit kaya hindi sila nagbabasa. Minsan ito nagiging dahilan kung bakit bumabagal yung takbo ng linya.

2. Sa pagpasok sa waiting area: Para makapasok ka sa waiting area, kelangan mo ipasok yung card/ticket mo dun sa parang swiping device. Eh syempre, meron directions kung pano gawin yun, na yung butas eh dapat nasa top left. May arrow pa nga eh. Minsan sobrang bagal ng usad ng linya dahil ang mga tao stuck sa pag-swipe ng card nila. Nakakainis na hindi nila binabasa, pasok lang ng pasok, walang paki. Pucha ganito ba ang Pinoy?

3. Sa segregation ng women and children's cart at sa men's cart: Andaming pasimpleng mga lalaki na nakiki-singit sa women's cart!! Pakshet kayo! Alam mo yung kung kelan malapit na magsara yung pinto, saka sila tatakbo sa women's cart tas isisiksik yung sarili nila sa mga babae dun. Eh pucha minsan pawis pawis pa at mabaho. Women and Children's Cart nga eh, wala ba kayong mga utak!? Wag nyo sabihing male-late kayo, kasalanan nyo yun di kayo maaga umalis ng bahay nyo.

4. Sa mga babaeng ayaw gumitna: Pakshet din tong mga to. Anluwag luwag sa gitna, ayaw pumasok dun. Nagsisiksikan at nagtutulakan tuloy ang mga bagong pasok. Bakit kamo ayaw nila pumasok? Eh para mas mabilis maka-baba. Langya, napaka-kupal naman na rason na yan. Wala pakundangan sa ibang tao, puro sarili iniiisip. Eh kung sila kaya yung isa sa mga nakikisiksik para makasakay ng tren, tas meron kups na nakaharang at ayaw gumitna? Kasi naman, konting tiis lang ayaw pa gawin. Puro paganda ng buhay ang iniisip. Ayan tuloy, umuusad ba ang bansa!?

5. Sa mga nakikisingit sa pila para mas mabilis maka-labas ng waiting area: eto kayo (,|,) !!! Takbuhan pa tong mga to eh, kala mo may apocalypse na paparating. Lalong tumatagal kasi kahit saan na lang nakikisiksik sila. Lahat naman nagmamadali eh, hindi lang naman sila. Pero napakakapal ng mukha, sisingit talaga para ma-isahan yung mga nasa likuran. Lagi talaga nilang gusto ng easy way out. Pucha, mga ganitong ugali ang dahilan kung bakit hanggang ngayon, 3rd world pa din tayo.

Bottom line is, andaming epal sa MRT!!
But the real deal is, mga ganitong tao ang nagiging dahilan kung bakit walang asenso ang bansa. Sa MRT pa nga lang ganito na eh, ano pa kaya sa ibang bagay.

Pakshet!