ON MY WAY HOME

I am a professional commuter. I shuttle from house to office by means of public utility vehicles like FX and jeepney. Normally, I hitch with an officemate after office and he will drop me to Tandang Sora Avenue in Quezon City. From there, I will ride a jeepney to Sangandaan-Quirino Hi-way and another ride bound home. It is a routine after office, except when my ever reliable FX fetch me from the office or I decided to go enroute to Cubao.

This night is no different. From Sangandaan-Quirino Hi-way, I took the jeep bound to Novaliches on my way home. A woman in her early 40s or 50s rode the jeep at Talipapa and sat beside me. I was already asleep that I did not notice her paying the jeepney driver. Since I am not aware of the situation, I cannot truly say if she paid P5.00 or P10.00. What woke me from my mini-slumber was the argument between the woman and the jeepney driver. The driver claimed that she only paid him P5.00. He even dropped the coin in front of the woman. But the woman insisted that she paid P10.00 and she demanded a change.

The driver, upon reaching Mindanao Avenue stopped and demanded that the woman should go and transfer to another jeep. But she did not do it. She kept on talking that the driver will do anything to earn money. Then, she even brought out an incident where she was able to return a cellphone to its owner. And she proudly said that the cellphone costs more than P10,000.00

But before I went down, I began to be turned off with the driver. An old woman paid for the transpo fare applying the Senior Citizen discount for her and the husband. Both are already in their middle-aged years, maybe 60-70. Suddenly, the driver told them that the fare is P13.00 per head not P12.00. The old woman argued with the jeepney driver, again. But the driver insisted that discount for senior citizen is only P2.00. The woman beside made a snide remark against the driver.

The argument did not last because the old woman and her husband already went down. And it was also my destination so I hurriedly went out of the jeep. It's so funny how one can find ways to earn instant money. But definitely, I won't ride the jeepney if the driver cheats...

CEBU REVISITED

I never thought that I will be able to squeeze my Cebu vacation from a very tight schedule. The purpose of going home is to mingle with my relatives whom I have seen ages ago. Fiesta of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva was commemorated last Sunday, September 20, 2009.

Day 1: September 18, 2009, Friday

We fly via Cebu Pacific at around 1:30 p.m. The promo we availed was Go-Lite. Supposedly, our schedule was 8:00 a.m. but the airlines has policy that the boarding gate closes 45 minutes before departure and passengers should have already checked-in 30 minutes prior to departure. Unluckily, we arrived at around 7:30 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 3, so we were technically late for boarding. We paid Php 17,000.00 as penalty charge. What a way to earn profit...

But with as the saying goes, "there is a purpose for everything." And how lucky we are because we bumped into Mr. Gabby Concepcion, one of the Philippine's finest actor. I never thought that Mr. Concepcion is very warm and accomodating. He even pose for a picture with my mom, sister and myself.

We took our lunch at Mr. Donut by buying their sandwich or turnovers. I grabbed a bite of Tuna turnover and bottle of mineral water. We also purchased 14 packs of Kopi Roti Coffee Bun as take home to my cousins and relatives. Well, after 6 hours of waiting, we were about to board the plane bound to Cebu.

Upon arrival we visited our cousin who owns a cellphone shop at Mandaue. Dinner time was spent by eating grilled liempo, chicken and chorizo along with pochero at Neoneo Grillery.

After the sumptuous dinner, we checked-in at Jacinta Pension House in preparation for our Bantayan Island trip the following day.

Day 2: September 19, 2009, Saturday

We woke up at around 4:00 a.m. and checked-out of the pension house. Our uncle drove us to Ceres Bus Terminal so that we can go to Hignayan Port and ride a ferry on our way to Sta. Fe Beach Club. It was a 2.5 hour trip from the terminal to the port.

We checked-in at Sta. Fe Beach Club resort. I should say, the hotel is affordable.

We rented a boat so that we can have some island hopping.

The view was really breath-taking especially when we went to the neighboring island. The island is not yet fully developed. My cousin told me that it is a Virgin Island. What a way to relax by watching the tranquility of the beach. We also had lunch by the island. It was really a feast because we had grilled liempo (pork belly), fish and crabs, plus a pot of rice to partake.

I was able to get a glimpse of the coral from the boat.

This is the Sugar Beach. It was named so because the sands are sugary in texture.

We also went to Ogtong Cave, also in Sta. Fe. It is a pool that is cave-like in structure. But we did not stayed long because we have to go to our cousin and have dinner with him.

Day 3: September 20, 2009, Sunday

We checked out at Sta. Fe Beach Club at around 8 a.m. But we also had a photo op inside our hotel room. Then we fetch our cousin and take the ferry bound to Hignayan Port.

From there we rented a van from the port to my mom's hometown to attend the Fiesta.

It was another feast. There is lechon, hamonado, baked macaroni, fish and shell fish. There are also some desserts served not only to us but also our guest.

We left our ancestral home at around 10 p.m. and we checked-in again at Jacinta Pension House to call it a night.

Day 4: September 21, 2009, Monday

We woke up at around 7:00 a.m. to pack and freshen up. We have to check out at around 9 a.m. to go to Magellan's Cross and the Sto. Nino Basilica.

There are so many devotees lining up to get the glimpse of the Sto. Nino.

Before boarding, we went to Park Mall and took our lunch at Joven's Grill and Seafood. The service is buffet so I was able to eat well. In fact I did not took my dinner upon arriving to Manila because I'm really full.

At around 2:00 p.m., we checked in at the Mactan International Airport. We arrived ahead of schedule @ around 5:05 p.m., 10 minutes in advance.

The Cebu experience is worth relaxing. I never regretted every single minute of it. I was about to upload some pictures and update my blog, unfortunately our computer hardware crashed therefore giving me a luxury to publish my experience only now...

AN ENCOUNTER WITH AN EPILEPTIC STRANGER

I made a trip to a mall in Pasig one weekend for some errands. While my mom and I were walking along the basement, we noticed a group of people gathering around a teenager. He was lying on the pavement surrounded by guards, janitor and curious strangers. A lady was rubbing his arms and holding his head so that it won't hit the floor.

My mom and I accompanied with our curiosity went to the crowd. We notice that saliva was dripping from his mouth. Then the lady holding him told my mom that he was epileptic. Honestly speaking, it was the first time I witnessed an epileptic. But my mom instructed the lady to remove his shoes and rub his feet. They even looked for a spoon to stick in his mouth as a precautionary measure.

I made my own research on epilepsy.

• Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system or a seizure disorder. Usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. It can also be diagnosed after one seizure if a person has a condition that places them at high risk for having another. (source: http://www.epilepsy.com/)

Honestly speaking, I was scared when I saw the teenager lying on the pavement. His companions were desperate and helpless. Most of the people just pass them by. The guard and janitors were only watching. They did not even called a doctor or nurse to give first aid. The person regained his consciousness and he doesn't want to be looked at. My mom assisted the lady in giving a first aid by massaging soles of his feet. I felt proud because we were able to help a stranger...even if I only watched from a distance because I have to admit, I'm not really knowledgable in dealing with epileptic people.

Here are some tips on how to deal with an epileptic person. Most importantly, remember to have A CLEAR MIND and LOTS OF COMMON SENSE. What to do when you encounter an epileptic person: (source: http://www.epilepsy.com/)

1. Stay calm.
2. Prevent injury. During the seizure exercise commonsense by insuring there is nothing within reach that could harm the person if struck with it.
3. Pay attention to the length of the seizure.
4. Make the person comfortable as possible
5. Keep onlookers away
6. Do not hold the person down. If the person is having seizure trashes around there is no need to restrain them. Remember to consider your own safety as well.
7. Do not put anything within the person's mouth. Contrary to popular belief , a person having a seizure is incapable of swallowing their tongue so you do not have to stick your fingers into the mouth of someone in this condition.
8. Do not give the person water, pills, or food until fully alert.
9. If the seizure continues for longer than 5 minutes, call a doctor nearest you.
10. Be sensitive and supportive, and ask others to do the same.

After the seizure the person should be placed on his/her left side because there might be a risk of post-seizure vomitting before he/she is fully alert. Person's head should be turned so any vomit will drain out of the mouth without being inhaled. Stay with the person for 5-20 minutes until he/she recovers. (source: http://www.epilepsy.com/)