Route-in

May 24, 2009

*** ALARM ****

snooze…

*** ALARM ****

snooze…

*** ALARM ****

snooze…

About 5 more of these before I drag myself out of the bed.  Sigh.  I hope we win the lottery tonight.  I’ll remind myself to start buying tickets first!  Who the hell came up with office hours starting at 9am?!  I wanna kill him to death!  Oh well, on with my exciting daily routine. 

After I’ve decided to go to work and not take a sickie, I drag myself to the bathroom.  Once I’ve finished with the infamous “wisik wisik” grooming technique, I’ll dress myself up and proceed to the kitchen for a quick breakfast.  While munching on something I can prepare in less than a minute, I may kill time by checking if my movie downloads has finished, I have to stop the uploads or my monthly quota will get stuffed.  I am a parasite, I know!  I promise I will seed once I switch to TPG.  After this fast breakfast, I give my sleeping family my flying kisses and step out of the house - into the 6 degrees melbourne weather.  After I’ve shut the door behind me, I realise that I forgot something…I did not wear a second jacket!  Holy Moley!  But there’s no turning back now, I only have a few minutes before the train arrives.  Better to freeze my nipples to death than run like crazy to catch the train!  And in the few times I do run like hell, other people I pass by, who are literally talking a stroll, catch up once I get caught beneath a traffic light.  I hate you so much you stupid contraption. 

Transportation here in Australia is pretty good, and timing is everything.  Don’t arrive too early as the trains are always 2-3 mins late, but NEVER assume they will be late because those psychic trains will sense this and just to piss you off they arrive a minute early!  They have time tables here anyway so you can plan your trips.  They are available online as well so you can just type in origin, destination and the time you need to arrive.  The results will show a map, type of transport to catch (either bus, train or tram) and the time they will depart and arrive the stations.  If you do not plan your trip at all, you will end up waiting for 20 mins for your ride.  So, once I arrive at the station at just the right time, I board the 8:24am express train. 

It’s a good 20 mins ride and I need some form of entertainment while travelling.  There are times that I read a book which our Tita Ming continuously supply Trini with, and sometimes I just listen to music on my mobile phone.  I am not surprised when people sometimes stare because I have the worst mannerisms when I listen to music.  There’s the mouthing of the lyrics, which I try really hard to be subtle.  But sometimes when I’m “in the zone” I unconciously immitate John Mayer’s distorting face and it does not look good at all. 

There’s also the playing the air intruments mannerism.  I don’t think the air guitar looks too bad, so I try not to listen to any Jimi Hendrix solos.  The air drums on the other hand looks a bit strange I must admit.  I do the entire lot, the high hat on my right hand, the snare on the left and the bass on my right foot.  To make it subtle I just tap my fingers or put my hands on my pocket.  But again, when I am “in the zone”, working the drums with my hands in my pockets looks like I’m scratching things, or worse, playing with my bird.  Combine that with the John Mayer faces and it looks like I am having a very good time!

When I am not in the mood for these media, I just sit back and relax…and watch people.  I’ve been travelling in these trains for more than a year now and so I’ve decided to put names on faces I usually see.  There’s Fernando, the mexican looking guy with a moustache and curly hair.  There’s Amanda (from The Biggest Loser Australia), the festively plump woman who almost always eats either chocolate cupcakes or dimsum.  There’s Ernie and Berta, a late-thirties couple all sweet and cuddled up in their seat.  We, meaning all of the people on the carriage, can’t help but overhear the guy (who looks like Ernie) keep yammering about his fishing trips while Berta (the name just stuck and not related at all) attentively listens to her sweetheart.  There’s also Korina (Sanchez, Filipina news caster) the lady who has tourettes.  I called her this because the words “Obama”, “Global Financial Crisis”, ”France Prime Minister” often comes out when she has her episodes.  The last time I saw her, she has a mobile phone prop that she uses when she has her ticks, a pretty neat idea so people will stop staring and just think that she’s probably talking to Hillary Clinton or something.  There’s also Emo, the emo dude, there’s Jeremy who looks like my friend Jeremy Chua, Lolo Frankie, an old guy who looks and smells like Frankenstein and then there’s Mike, the guy with the hair as round and as spongy as a microphone’s.  These people I do not mind at all, but there’s the dynamic duo Bastos and Baho.  Bastos is an idiot who NEVER let’s the ladies get in the carriages first and NEVER gives his seat to those in need.  I wanna shave his mono brows with my fist.  And there’s Baho who is an angry elderly woman who always carries bags and bags of I think dirty stinky clothes.  Sigh.  The joys of watching people.  If people would also give me a name I guess it would be John-Mayer-wanna-be-with-fungi-on-his-bird-weirdo. 

2 things similar to commuters here and in the Philippines:  Everybody is crammed near the train door and high school students are the noisiest bunch of people.

2 things different?  I guess the pushing and shoving to get inside the train isn’t as bad here.  It’s probably because trains here come more frequent than the MRTs in Manila.  It’s either that or people here aren’t as ”excited” to go to work as Manilenos do.  Second thing would probably be, I dunno, people are taller?

So, the trip home would be very similar, except for one thing…the highlight of my entire day…the very reason why I get up in the morning…and soldier on with my day at work…POTATO CAKES at the station…mmmm (drool).  I just buy one piece so I won’t spoil my appetite, and it’s just enough to get me excited again for my piece tomorrow.  I’m a bit surprised the store owner still asks me what I want.  I buy almost everyday and never get anything besides those beautiful crispy mouthwatering gifts from spud heaven.  Oh potato cakes…you make my daaayaayyy…