Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Rush Hour Epiphanies




I was waiting for a bus to pass along Buendia. I was in Makati to deliver relief to my boyfriend who will be hauling work way beyond his shift that evening. I know the bus stops in front of the Stock Exchange building. But the queue of weary commuters there stretches on forever - especially on a rush hour. So I waited on the other side of the Business District, hoping that a bus driving from Manila would stop and take me home.

It was my first attempt and that's why I asked a fellow commuter for instructions. When she cemented my intuition, I felt relieved that I might be with someone who's riding the same bus. The nice lady wasn't hailing the passing jeeps going to Guadalupe so I assumed.

Minutes had passed, and song after song being played on my music player, still, no bus showed up. The ground was damp, the sky heavy with clouds. Anytime, a water spray will fall and I was already bored with my music.

So I thought of switching to Chill Out sounds.

And just when I was shuffling my Nano, a PVP bus whizzed in front of me. It didn't slow down even when the traffic light at the intersection turned yellow. And the ladies who were there asked in a chorus why I didn't hail the bus. On my part, it took some time before I realized what I had just missed. I was still shuffling my music player even when the ladies were telling me that I could still catch the jumbo. The two succeeding ones, whose interval to the first was a mere five cars in-between didn't let me in. The commuters thought they would be returning to the terminal so they didn't stop. I doubt they were, knowing the people waiting in Ayala.

"Every thirty minutes ang dating ng bus." I heard one of them saying. 

"Ganun po ba?" I cannot afford to wait. So I walked away and crossed the avenue to ride a jeep. I will have to take the Taft route instead.



So I took the long journey. A trip covering three cities, four vehicle transfers, and two precious hours wasted on urban commuting. All because I was shuffling my Apple device when the opportune time came. If I succeeded in finding a seat at a near-empty PVP bus; if I didn't assume that someone else found the courage to wait on the other side of Makati, only a mere 30-minute nap, and probably I've reached my house.

And now that I'm approaching home, on a G-Liner, which stopped in front of me near the City Hall, I learned the price of missed opportunities. Sometimes, even second chances don't come - or people don't have patience for it. Mine was a simple bus ride going home. But when applied as life lessons, good breaks get missed simply because one failed to look when the fleeting and elusive chance finally did arrive.




8 comments:

Oscar Wilde said...

What's Baabaa?

red the mod said...

If you were narrating this afternoon, I was at that very same corner. Reading at Starbucks nearby. This coming Thursday, I'll be taking that same bus to your alma mater for my classes. Did you know that the bus stops at Filipiniana Heritage Library? The old Nelson Tower at the Ayala Triangle Park's eastern flank.

Unknown said...

Ocean Deep!

Désolé Boy said...

Gave me chills. Missed opportunities eh? What to do, what to say...

Nate said...

@kuya joms: hmm.. something to ponder on.. --- "good breaks get missed simply because one failed to look when the fleeting and elusive chance finally did arrive."

MEcoy said...

di ako maxado maalam bumiyahe haha

rei said...

Ang dami kong ganitong moments. Hehe.

Orange said...

I think there is everything happens for a reason, even missing a PVP bus, haha.... :D