After being down in the dumps the past days (a wake, language gaps, nearly sideswiped by a decrepit jeep, claustrophobic fx taxis...), I have thankfully bounced back. I thought that dark cloud would never lift. Just like when I was in grade school, when I would not go to school for a couple of days dahil, "wala lang, I was depressed..."
It is so scary to start nitpicking at the unpleasant/ out of your control things that are happening to you and around you because, the list will never end, and you will feel worse with each irritating detail you pick. When these things happen, it is not easy to just pretend that everything's easy peasy, light and breezy. It takes serious care of the self and constant reminders of the things that are working for you right now.
At the risk of being self-indulgent -- what better soapbox to shout it from-- here are the things/ situations that make me forget my worries:
Sandwiches. I am loving gourmet sandwiches so much that I've had these for the past 2 days. Its a complete meal: tasty meat, soft cheese, veggies, carbo! The catch is, it is a bit expensive if I go on like this. If I can just make my own --making a sandwich isnt rocket science -- then maybe I can satisfy my cravings and save me some money at the same time.
Random conversations with strangers. During my lunch time, I had a quasi-conversation with a lady balikbayan from New York. Quasi because mukhang hindi naman talaga siya naghahanap ng kausap. Kinakausap niya lang ang sarili niya, at ako naman sumasagot! Hahahaha. Ako yata ang gustong chumika :P anyway, it was nice because in a way I was able to help her find a condo (via Buy & Sell), scope a bargain cellphone (take a quick taxi ride to Greenhills) and figure out why she wasn't connecting to the free wi-fi (her laptop's lobat).
Random conversations with taxi drivers. Taxi drivers are characters, all right. They come in different forms and persuasions that it is difficult to figure them out. Like when close to exasperation, I barked at a taxi driver who didnt want to bring me to my office from Roxas Boulevard, because it was traffic. Ang sabi ko sa kanya, "traffic naman sa lahat ng pwedeng daanan! Sige kung saan ka pupunta, sasabay ako." Aba, pinasakay nga ako at ibinaba sa tamang sakayan. Ng walang bayad. Free! Muriyo :P Actually, maraming beses na itong nangyayari sa akin. Madalas-dalas ko ngang gamitin para maka-save! hahahaha!!!Then, there's this other taxi driver who gave me his phone number, hanapan ko daw siya ng trabaho. Social. That's what you call networking.
Discounted parking. Aside from the prohibitive costs of fuel, another thing that is making it hard for me to bring the family car to work is the astronomic cost of Makati parking. A day's worth will cost a complete lunch in Figaro. Truly. If you find parking that is cheap, then guaranteed you would have to walk at least 10 minutes. But anyway, I discovered a wonderful scheme. Free/ discounted parking at the Ayala Center! Although I am a proud commuter these days, there must be days when I need the kuruma. When you purchase items from any Ayala Center establishment totalling P300 and above, you can exchange this for parking coupons which can get you 4 free hours and P10/hour parking after the first 4 hours! San ka pa? Winner! I know where I will be buying Christmas stuff!!!
Massage and a facial. For days when you just need to expel all the bad and breathe in the good. This is such a chi-chi item but for girls, this particular monthly/weekly ritual is a thing that is solely for oneself. No one to please but you.
A night out at Penguin. I was not a suki of this artsy Malate bar as the nightlife and me are not in good terms. Ako lang ang may gusto sa kanya, while it doesnt see me as cool enough to invite me to her goodies. Well, last Tuesday, I had a wonderful night of drinking (beer and margarita... pero di na ako uulit), good music (Radioactive Sago Project), and laughing trips. If I werent borderline hypertensive, I will do this every week! Meanwhile, I have to pace myself and maybe just be contented with just laughing trips.
Family and friends are not included in this entry as they are my constant sources of happiness (or gloom, sometimes :P).
Sigh. Writing this entry has made me happy already. Ja mata ne!
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