Commuting

I must admit that the past 4 weeks or so that I have been commuting between home and office has been a liberating experience. I guess it is similar to one leaving the cell phone at home and finds out that the "distractions" of having to check you cell for text messages or silencing it when an unexpected or unwelcome call is received are suddenly inexistent. It is also similar to when one leaves his watch and though at first conscious of something missing from his wrist, eventually forgets the timepiece while also being set free from checking the time every so often.

I did commute when I was in high school and then during college and grad school. I knew the peak periods particularly because I tried my best commuting when it wasn't so difficult to get a ride. These days I found that it's pretty much the same as when I last took public transport on a regular basis. I do miss the trains in Japan but riding the jeepney everyday is both an experience and an adventure. Pity those who dismiss the jeepney as a utilitarian mode. It might not be mass transit in the mold of the LRTs, MRTs and the modern bus services but it serves its purpose and may be considered safer than riding a bus these days.

There are, of course, exceptions to the jeepneys I prefer to ride. They call them the "patok" jeepneys and they seem to have thrown caution to the wind as they speed up and weave through traffic with stereo systems at full volume. Never mind that the music is incomprehensible, drowned by the unnatural bass or that the artist seemed to be screaming a demonic language. Never mind that the conductor is somewhere outside, hanging on a beam while continuously hitting the vehicle on the roof to communicate with the driver. I guess there's one application of the Morse code in modern times.