JOYRIDE: On the Way Home

it was 7PM, my dismissal time. it was raining, but not as hard as it did when we still were having our communication class. i did not have an umbrella or a jacket with me, which i usually brought. i ran across the street from the school, and i saw the place where i go to ride a van home empty. i decided to go to SM Pala-Pala so i took a jeepney. there's another FX terminal in there but it's farther from school and i'd have to add a little amount of money for the total budget for transpo for today. i arrived at the terminal and waited, watching news in a small TV. i appreciated the news. at last, after several minutes, the FX was ready to go. i was happily seated, and even exchanged seats with a lady because i get dropped on the way earlier.

the van started moving and we were on our way. vans usually use a shortcut route, so there we are, taking up the shortcut. unfortunately, the shortcut wasn't much of a shortcut after all. a big bus, a big truck, and two others were blocking the narrow road of that shortcut. gosh, i can't believe they'd stop in the middle of the road. we passed through the first blockage using the counterflow. after that, another block. we thought it was just an ordinary wait. we clearly see in front of us a big bus exactly were the narrowest part of the road is. we didn't realize til soon that the traffic wasn't moving at all. even cars taking the counterflow couldn't get through.

well, it wasn't the end. manong driver thought of a great thing to do. he was decisive and i liked him for thinking quickly. he turned around to go back. he decided to take the normal route, just parallel the shortcut. they don't usually take that road because you have to wait a few minutes for ur turn in the island. yes, we came back to that same island and waited a few minutes.

all of a sudden, manong driver made another 'quick' decision. he sure is decisive :p. instead of turning right to the normal route, he drove forward. gosh! i thought he was about to takae alabang route! we might be going to manila! it's way farther. there was another route, but it would only lead to the first route that i think he tried to avoid.

what's going on? i was thinking. well, i calmed myself down, thinking that he knows what he's doing.

there it was, again! i was proven wrong. he did another 'quick' decision. he turned right to a stranger route that none of the passengers even know about! we were all scared. we might get lost! i just tried to think that he, again, knows what he's doing. he followed the track, made several turns and turns. in front of us was a car. inside my mind, i felt that he was just following that car. but i doubted. i was wronged, i shouldn't have doubted! the car that he was following stopped, so he got nervous. he made a ridiculous turn to nowhere. we were lost. mister manong driver still wasn't talking until the 2nd time the guy beside him asked him where we were going. he made a pretentious statement saying, 'i think this is not it!' i felt a lot of times that we were on a dead end, and there we are!

manong driver asked a few residents directions. he was planning to take the route in our school. i was going back to school right after i left it! wow, they really want me in school! we got saved by a good fellowman, a resident who helped us twice.

manong driver was really lost. he didn't even know the major highway that we were in when we got out of that subdivision-maze. he shouldn't have asked me where we were, cos we were near school that time. he continued driving and arrived at the same old route that he tried to avoid. there we are, no traffic at all, no jams.

it was already 8:15PM and i haven't arrived home yet. it was still a 45min travel. we wasted about 30minutes finding a better (ehemm, longer) route.

anyway, it didn't bother me that much. i was happy this day. my favorite class just ended and i liked the rain. it was peaceful. another thing that added to my joy was the radio program that made me laugh a lot. even the manong behind me laughed at the radio program. :p i enjoyed listening to the radio and it stopped me from complaining. i laughed instead, and reflected a lot while inside the van.

this was a nice experience for me, a joyride! haha, i won't forget it! :P