my day began around midnight when i arrived at the five star bus terminal in pasay. five star buses in pasay carries passengers and tourists to northern provinces like Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija), San Carlos City, Tayug, Dagupan City, Alaminos and Bolinao (Pangasinan). after getting out of the cab, i expectedly saw the swarm of travelers waiting for buses going to their respective destinations. i began to walk to see the sign board of the buses but was stopped by several DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communication) volunteers for inspection. Security was tight, they scrutinized the content of my backpack. its not the ordinary inspection i am used to because they really had it opened and saw every nooks and crannies. They even asked what are the contents of several small plastic bags inside. I answered politely knowing they are just doing jobs. Normally, i would grudgingly answer because I don’t feel like being questioned and delayed. I rather feel I don’t look like a goon. such arrogance, hahaha! although i admit, i do have the stance of a street smart ruffian and have the gait and walk of one. i can’t change my rather purposeful fast stride and unfeminine walk. a woman is more than the walk. get that! 
)
anyway, i asked the several passengers where they are heading and if they are following a line or queue. i also inquired from several guards who appeared not successful in organizing and disciplining the throng. there was no visible beginning and end of the queue they told me to line on. i can’t trust their answers because i only saw chaos. the travellers i have randomly asked were all going to either alaminos or bolinao. i therefore concluded that i have a lot of competition. they’ve been waiting several hours and being head-strong by not queuing and just hopping when the bus arrives would be unfair to them. i decided to take an alternative route when i saw two buses with Dagupan sign boards. i’ll just take two short trips. One was almost full except for the last two vacant seats at the end and one just being filled up. I hopped to the second bus and seated myself several rows away from the door. i settled then and waited for it to depart. my destination is Siesta, the stop-over in Tarlac City.
the bus reached siesta around 2:30am. i got down and immediately surveyed the signboards of the stationed buses. i only saw one going to alaminos. its a Victory Liner with bus number 1991. i entered the bus and asked the passengers who did not left to relieve themselves, buy coffee or something or exercise or stretch after several hours of traveling. i got the impression the bus is full and the chance i could get a seat was very small. i got negative answers from the passengers inside and when i go down, i saw a lot of competitors waiting for a ride also. it became apparent that several of us have the same line of thinking, i.e., to travel two short cuts.
when the driver and the bus conductor hopped in, we were informed that all seats are occupied. okeydokey, i was willing to stand on the aisle if need be anyway. we were then ushered and there i discovered i was the only gal standing, hehehe. i was ready for that and i don’t expect to be treated differently. the bus was playing videoke and there standing from 2:45am up to Mayantoc in Tarlac, i stood singing silently and going with the music. from James Ingram’s “Baby Come To Me” to April Boy Regino’s “Di ko kayang Tanggapin“, i enjoyed the travel. i arrived a little past 4am in our house. lea, my sister opened the gate and door for me. she’s awake watching her 2-yr old boy, Xi, drink his milk.
i slept a little and woke 3 hours later to several children waiting for me to open my eyes. they wanted to watch ICE AGE 2. i don’t know what’s with this movie? they have seen this movie several times (i believe more than a dozen times and i am not kidding). they have even memorized the lines. and hear me, you can’t say they don’t have a lot of DVDs to choose movies from. they have supplies of it. they just love that acorn-carrying animal in the movie.
after watching Ice Age 2 they went outside the house. i followed after having stuffed my growling stomach. our house has several hundred square meters surrounding it. enough room for several hammocks strewn in between trees that are abundantly spread. my nephews and nieces each have a stake to one and each of them have grown used to the rhythmic swinging of these assemblies. i chose one hammock and stayed there watching the children play. up ahead in my chosen hammock is a picture i have taken of tree leaves.
several meters from my vantage point, Ayn and Xi were playing with dirt. i am the caregiver and i allowed them to be with the elements after having read about what the body may benefit from dirt and to the well-being as a whole. i watched them happily and contentedly playing.
these kids do not lack toys and books. one thing that makes me happy about seeing them growing up is the thought that they are happy with the simple things. they get to play with their own live and crawling turtle; they are at home with seeing farm animals. they can play with cats and dogs. catch butterflies, dragonflies and they can search plants and trees for spiders, etc. their playground is surrounded by nature and all the curious things they see and can experiment on. i hope they grow up as appreciative of the blessings of growing up in the natural environment.
Posted by mystic828 
Posted by mystic828 
Posted by mystic828 
