A follow-up to my blog from 07 November... This happened 08 November, merely a day after the incident.
It was almost funny... almost. But then I needed to get something and not getting that piece of paper proved the whole hour and a half spent at that place futile.
I was a the precinct earlier today to get a copy of the police report which I needed to submit to my manager for documentation purposes. It was bad enough that the day didn't feel so bright and sunny as I had hoped it would be, as I felt the need to somehow perk up from the bad experience I had last week. I was held up at knife point along with 18 other individuals, including the driver and conductor, aboard a Don Mariano bus by four foul-smelling thugs. We all lost our hard-earned cash, some even lost mobile phones and other gadgets, and we were made to write our individual accounts of the incident on pieces of bond paper. It was my own account of the incident that I needed to get a copy of today, even better if I could get the report that the police had consolidated.
I reached the precinct at about 10:30 in the morning, having walked a few hundred hundred meters from my apartment. I felt my heart skip a bit as I entered the foyer of the two-story building as I walked into an ongoing commotion... well, two if you count the one at the holding area at the next room. I spoke with a middle-aged woman who told me to take a seat at the last table at the end of the room as they tried to pacify an elderly lady who was throwing hysterics at the first officer's desk fronting the foyer.
The atmosphere was heavy with all the drama, the screaming and shouting and the curses being exchanged from on side of the room to the other. I could hardly make out the words coming from everyone who, for some reason, had so much lung power that morning to be able to carry on their shouting match. At least an hour and a half passed by with my behind glued to my seat and my heart sinking with each passing minute. I felt how dry my throat had become as I finally swallowed and lifted myself off my seat to ask the officer standing closest to where I was. He didn't even budge and even pretended not to hear me. I approached another officer to ask if he could help me, and he said, "Mamaya na, miss, kasi yung in charge andun inaayos tong gulo... Kaninang madaling araw pa to eh." Moments later, a fist fought erupted among the men, including the woman who had been screaming tirelessly all morning. I had to move away to keep myself from getting hurt in the ruckus.
In the end, I decided to leave everyone be with their shouting matches and fist fights. I wasted nearly two hours wanting to simply get a copy of a police report.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Runaway Bus
I got held up on my way home... or rather, I was among 19 people who got held up on our way home.
At about 12:30 AM, 07 November, I got on a Don Mariano bus en route to Novaliches Bayan which passes by Road 20 at Mindanao Avenue where I reside. As the bus usually speeds off as its passenger gets up the steps, I had to hop into the first vacant seat I could find which was right in front of the twin doors. I had barely maneuvered to fix my dress when the bus halted and aboard came four men - all wearing dark-colored t-shirts, short pants, flipflops and bullcaps riding so low to hide their faces. One of them went straight to the back of the bus, while another sat right behind the driver. The remaining two stayed at the doors, ignoring the bus conductor's calls for them to take a seat.
Not two minutes later, the bus made a full stop at Paramount - the intersection at which EDSA and North Avenue meet. The bus conductor walked towards the doors and tried to make his way through the two men so that he could call passengers. And then, one of the men pulled an ice pick, about a foot long, and ordered the bus conductor to take a seat. The other guy closed and barred the doors.
The bus wheeled to make the turn, abnormally slower than these buses do given that hour of night. The man behind the driver stood up, his long blade pointed at the driver's neck, and shouted orders for everyone not to panic, not to look down or at anyone, and to hand over bags and purses to the guy who, from the bag, collected them in a garbage bag. The man who had his ice pick pointed at the bus conductor began shouting as the conductor refused to give the coins he kept in a pouch made out of an old handkerchief. The ice pick was held barely an inch from the poor conductor's face, right between his eyes, as the guy screamed profanities at him to let go of the pouch.
Everyone else was quiet. The leader, the guy who held the driver at his mercy, began talking. I guess my heart was beating so fast and so loud that I could barely make out the words he was saying. As he spoke, we were driving a bit slower as three of the men began rummaging through bags and purses. They went for all the cash, not sparing a single peso they could find, took the phones they found in the bags, and carelessly through the bags and whatever else they found useless to them around the floor. The leader told the driver not to make any stops unless he was told to stop.
I stared straight ahead and had my neck resting on the cold knuckles of the woman seated behind me. I saw a red light and sure enough the bus kept on going. I never thought Congressional Avenue could feel so dark and desolate. I could not breathe though I wanted to much to scream. I could not think but the one thing that plagued my mind was my need to get home.
Before I knew it, the leader barked something at the driver. The bus made a complete stop at the red light at the corner of Mindanao Avenue and Congressional Avenue. The four men alighted, ran across the street and disappeared. The remains of their robbing spree remained at the floor of the bus.
As we turned into Mindanao Avenue, we saw a police check point and stopped there. Some of us ran down the bus and met with the police, including the woman who sat behind me and had then begun throwing hysterics. I was among five or six who remained on the bus to search for what was left of our belongings.
Climbing down the bus felt like leaving hell... I felt as if my body was so heavy that I practically slumped down on the gutter and sat there, staring at the pavement. A few others were like me, sitting there motionless and in shock. The rest, including the bus conductor, recounted what had happened over and over again to the police. Two of the police hopped onto their motorcycles and left, another called into his radio asking for back up mobile patrols to go through Congressional Avenue. For at least a whole hour, we remained there until, one by one, we decided to go home.
As I was leaving, I saw the bus driver sitting on the bare sidewalk with a towel over his neck where the blade had been pressed against. He was bleeding. Apparently, the leader of the fearsome four had already stuck the end of his blade into the poor driver's neck to keep him in check.
I walked home. I could not think but I walked, not looking back at all. I got home and I sat in front of our television staring into the empty screen. I'm not sure if I fell asleep at all. All I remember is that I went to bed after I heard my children's alarm clock go off.
My head's still reeling from the experience. I'm hoping against hope that I'll somehow forget this incident soon but it has left me broke and shaken. How badly did these people need money that they were willing to hurt people to get it? What of everyone else who lost their phones, their hard-earned money, and other belongings to these muggers?
I am out of words now. I don't even want to read through this anymore. I guess I just needed to vent off somehow. I had barely cried after that ordeal. I have not told my children or my parents about this. I have only told a few people I trust. I can barely think of what to do or what to think of right now, but if there is one thing I want to do... I want to cry.
At about 12:30 AM, 07 November, I got on a Don Mariano bus en route to Novaliches Bayan which passes by Road 20 at Mindanao Avenue where I reside. As the bus usually speeds off as its passenger gets up the steps, I had to hop into the first vacant seat I could find which was right in front of the twin doors. I had barely maneuvered to fix my dress when the bus halted and aboard came four men - all wearing dark-colored t-shirts, short pants, flipflops and bullcaps riding so low to hide their faces. One of them went straight to the back of the bus, while another sat right behind the driver. The remaining two stayed at the doors, ignoring the bus conductor's calls for them to take a seat.
Not two minutes later, the bus made a full stop at Paramount - the intersection at which EDSA and North Avenue meet. The bus conductor walked towards the doors and tried to make his way through the two men so that he could call passengers. And then, one of the men pulled an ice pick, about a foot long, and ordered the bus conductor to take a seat. The other guy closed and barred the doors.
The bus wheeled to make the turn, abnormally slower than these buses do given that hour of night. The man behind the driver stood up, his long blade pointed at the driver's neck, and shouted orders for everyone not to panic, not to look down or at anyone, and to hand over bags and purses to the guy who, from the bag, collected them in a garbage bag. The man who had his ice pick pointed at the bus conductor began shouting as the conductor refused to give the coins he kept in a pouch made out of an old handkerchief. The ice pick was held barely an inch from the poor conductor's face, right between his eyes, as the guy screamed profanities at him to let go of the pouch.
Everyone else was quiet. The leader, the guy who held the driver at his mercy, began talking. I guess my heart was beating so fast and so loud that I could barely make out the words he was saying. As he spoke, we were driving a bit slower as three of the men began rummaging through bags and purses. They went for all the cash, not sparing a single peso they could find, took the phones they found in the bags, and carelessly through the bags and whatever else they found useless to them around the floor. The leader told the driver not to make any stops unless he was told to stop.
I stared straight ahead and had my neck resting on the cold knuckles of the woman seated behind me. I saw a red light and sure enough the bus kept on going. I never thought Congressional Avenue could feel so dark and desolate. I could not breathe though I wanted to much to scream. I could not think but the one thing that plagued my mind was my need to get home.
Before I knew it, the leader barked something at the driver. The bus made a complete stop at the red light at the corner of Mindanao Avenue and Congressional Avenue. The four men alighted, ran across the street and disappeared. The remains of their robbing spree remained at the floor of the bus.
As we turned into Mindanao Avenue, we saw a police check point and stopped there. Some of us ran down the bus and met with the police, including the woman who sat behind me and had then begun throwing hysterics. I was among five or six who remained on the bus to search for what was left of our belongings.
Climbing down the bus felt like leaving hell... I felt as if my body was so heavy that I practically slumped down on the gutter and sat there, staring at the pavement. A few others were like me, sitting there motionless and in shock. The rest, including the bus conductor, recounted what had happened over and over again to the police. Two of the police hopped onto their motorcycles and left, another called into his radio asking for back up mobile patrols to go through Congressional Avenue. For at least a whole hour, we remained there until, one by one, we decided to go home.
As I was leaving, I saw the bus driver sitting on the bare sidewalk with a towel over his neck where the blade had been pressed against. He was bleeding. Apparently, the leader of the fearsome four had already stuck the end of his blade into the poor driver's neck to keep him in check.
I walked home. I could not think but I walked, not looking back at all. I got home and I sat in front of our television staring into the empty screen. I'm not sure if I fell asleep at all. All I remember is that I went to bed after I heard my children's alarm clock go off.
My head's still reeling from the experience. I'm hoping against hope that I'll somehow forget this incident soon but it has left me broke and shaken. How badly did these people need money that they were willing to hurt people to get it? What of everyone else who lost their phones, their hard-earned money, and other belongings to these muggers?
I am out of words now. I don't even want to read through this anymore. I guess I just needed to vent off somehow. I had barely cried after that ordeal. I have not told my children or my parents about this. I have only told a few people I trust. I can barely think of what to do or what to think of right now, but if there is one thing I want to do... I want to cry.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
How’s Your Day?
It's been a while since I was last able to update this blog, so allow me to share this piece I wrote while at work...
There are times when a person feels that he’s on a roll… like he’s achieving so many great feats and he’s everyone’s pal. He is greeted with warm smiles when he arrives, and is bidden a sincere farewell even with just a simple pat on the back.
Then there are also times when a person feels not so good at all. Things are no longer working as good as they used to for him. He feels unappreciated and the warm smiles from his peers are gone.
Nobody is exempt from these ups and downs. Nobody is free from feeling as if the rest of the world simply doesn’t care about him or her. To say otherwise, to say that you’ve never had even a single instance when you simply feel left out by everyone else around you, is hypocritical at best.
To quote a friend who opened up to me just today, “this doesn’t just happen overnight.” In his case, the people whom he used to hang out with started leaving him out of conversations, lunches and Saturday night gimmicks. He was ranting about the situation today, saying that it’s been nearly a month since this began.
What does one do in situations like these? How does one cope when everyone else seems not to care? How does one deal with feeling left out?
I’ve been reading and writing blogs since my college days and among the topics I loved reading most were those about dealing with relationships – at home, at work, at school, etc. Most writers would write about how to best care for relationships in the work place. They admit, though, that there will always be things that could get out of hand. For instance, it is beyond our control if the people we used to hang out with begin having a preference for other company. We cannot always surmise the reasons behind this. We cannot simply conclude that they don’t like being friends with you anymore, or that they dislike you.
Phil Kaeghan, a blogger from Memphis, wrote about his experience with his officemates. He wrote, “There used to be only four of us in the department. Since our group grew to six, my three friends had hardly hung out with me. They’ve been hanging out more with one of the new guys… to think that we’ve been together for almost two years before that guy came into the picture. I asked them about it and they just shrugged their shoulders and said it was nothing.”
Elisabeth Manansala, another blogger from Manila, also shared her experience with her wave mates, “Working in a call center was a dream for me. I never realized that this dream could turn sour. My wave mates and I used to be so close. However, ever since we have moved to the production floor, they have begun leaving me out. We used to hang out on Saturday nights, our last shift for the week. Now, they’d make up excuses like they don’t feel like going out or some of them need to get home right away – then I find out the following week that they had gone out anyway. It makes me feel so dumb – if they are trying to ditch me, why won’t they just say it to my face?”
Some of us don’t have the luxury of having other friends in the workplace apart from the ones we work closely with. When situations such as those mentioned above do happen, it’d have been easier if we had other friends with whom we can hang out and rant if we have to. In my case, for example, I send a quick note to my friends who happen to be in other departments. Their responses send a quick, warm smile to brighten up my day. If my teammates leave me out of conversations or gimmicks, I need not worry. There are always other friends to socialize with.
Others are not as fortunate, however. Perhaps they work in small offices where there are only few people to hang out with (and they happen to be the ones making them feel left out). Or maybe work schedules simply don’t match so they don’t get to see your friends at work. So how does one make the most of the situation? Or, better yet, how does one feel better given that situation?
One of the options is to open up. Tell your colleagues how they’re making you feel, and simply ask them why they are behaving that way. If they are unable to give you a straight answer, fear not. The worst part is over at least – getting that out of your chest should be able to let you breathe easier. If they are unable to give you a straight answer regarding their behavior towards you, then that’s their problem and not yours. Don’t make it your problem.
Another option is to let things be. No, I don’t mean put a permanent strain on your working relationship. If, for some reason, they prefer hanging out with somebody else then you ought not to let that bring you down. Sure, you used to hang out and all, but sometimes the fire in a relationship does burn out. The bond is fleeting, so to speak. Surely, however, you have much stronger bonds than that and those bonds should give you the strength to get through each day at work.
There is no need to let yourself feel down all day because you feel left out by your colleagues. As Lorraine Caparas, yet another Pinoy blogger, wrote, “My disposition has yet to be dragged down by the behavior of those around me simply because I don’t let them bring me down. As the old saying goes, you can never put a good man down. So why should I let these people bring me down?”
That is indeed a good question to ask yourself when you begin feeling this way. “Will I let this person or those people bring me down?” We must remember that, at the end of the day, we are the ones deciding how we want our day to be no matter what the circumstance. As my friend, Francis Lagasca, told me as we exchanged Typhoon Ondoy stories (we were both stranded, though in separate places), “I choose not to be affected by things that may normally bring other people down. I choose to enjoy my day, no matter what happens and no matter what others may say.”
So, how about you? How’s your day?
There are times when a person feels that he’s on a roll… like he’s achieving so many great feats and he’s everyone’s pal. He is greeted with warm smiles when he arrives, and is bidden a sincere farewell even with just a simple pat on the back.
Then there are also times when a person feels not so good at all. Things are no longer working as good as they used to for him. He feels unappreciated and the warm smiles from his peers are gone.
Nobody is exempt from these ups and downs. Nobody is free from feeling as if the rest of the world simply doesn’t care about him or her. To say otherwise, to say that you’ve never had even a single instance when you simply feel left out by everyone else around you, is hypocritical at best.
To quote a friend who opened up to me just today, “this doesn’t just happen overnight.” In his case, the people whom he used to hang out with started leaving him out of conversations, lunches and Saturday night gimmicks. He was ranting about the situation today, saying that it’s been nearly a month since this began.
What does one do in situations like these? How does one cope when everyone else seems not to care? How does one deal with feeling left out?
I’ve been reading and writing blogs since my college days and among the topics I loved reading most were those about dealing with relationships – at home, at work, at school, etc. Most writers would write about how to best care for relationships in the work place. They admit, though, that there will always be things that could get out of hand. For instance, it is beyond our control if the people we used to hang out with begin having a preference for other company. We cannot always surmise the reasons behind this. We cannot simply conclude that they don’t like being friends with you anymore, or that they dislike you.
Phil Kaeghan, a blogger from Memphis, wrote about his experience with his officemates. He wrote, “There used to be only four of us in the department. Since our group grew to six, my three friends had hardly hung out with me. They’ve been hanging out more with one of the new guys… to think that we’ve been together for almost two years before that guy came into the picture. I asked them about it and they just shrugged their shoulders and said it was nothing.”
Elisabeth Manansala, another blogger from Manila, also shared her experience with her wave mates, “Working in a call center was a dream for me. I never realized that this dream could turn sour. My wave mates and I used to be so close. However, ever since we have moved to the production floor, they have begun leaving me out. We used to hang out on Saturday nights, our last shift for the week. Now, they’d make up excuses like they don’t feel like going out or some of them need to get home right away – then I find out the following week that they had gone out anyway. It makes me feel so dumb – if they are trying to ditch me, why won’t they just say it to my face?”
Some of us don’t have the luxury of having other friends in the workplace apart from the ones we work closely with. When situations such as those mentioned above do happen, it’d have been easier if we had other friends with whom we can hang out and rant if we have to. In my case, for example, I send a quick note to my friends who happen to be in other departments. Their responses send a quick, warm smile to brighten up my day. If my teammates leave me out of conversations or gimmicks, I need not worry. There are always other friends to socialize with.
Others are not as fortunate, however. Perhaps they work in small offices where there are only few people to hang out with (and they happen to be the ones making them feel left out). Or maybe work schedules simply don’t match so they don’t get to see your friends at work. So how does one make the most of the situation? Or, better yet, how does one feel better given that situation?
One of the options is to open up. Tell your colleagues how they’re making you feel, and simply ask them why they are behaving that way. If they are unable to give you a straight answer, fear not. The worst part is over at least – getting that out of your chest should be able to let you breathe easier. If they are unable to give you a straight answer regarding their behavior towards you, then that’s their problem and not yours. Don’t make it your problem.
Another option is to let things be. No, I don’t mean put a permanent strain on your working relationship. If, for some reason, they prefer hanging out with somebody else then you ought not to let that bring you down. Sure, you used to hang out and all, but sometimes the fire in a relationship does burn out. The bond is fleeting, so to speak. Surely, however, you have much stronger bonds than that and those bonds should give you the strength to get through each day at work.
There is no need to let yourself feel down all day because you feel left out by your colleagues. As Lorraine Caparas, yet another Pinoy blogger, wrote, “My disposition has yet to be dragged down by the behavior of those around me simply because I don’t let them bring me down. As the old saying goes, you can never put a good man down. So why should I let these people bring me down?”
That is indeed a good question to ask yourself when you begin feeling this way. “Will I let this person or those people bring me down?” We must remember that, at the end of the day, we are the ones deciding how we want our day to be no matter what the circumstance. As my friend, Francis Lagasca, told me as we exchanged Typhoon Ondoy stories (we were both stranded, though in separate places), “I choose not to be affected by things that may normally bring other people down. I choose to enjoy my day, no matter what happens and no matter what others may say.”
So, how about you? How’s your day?
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