Walk. Don't Walk.
Last night as I was weaving through people, pedicabs and produce along Taft Avenue corner EDSA, a thought crossed my mind so suddenly and naturally,as if it's been sitting there at the back of my mind waiting for me to finally notice it: I am decidedly and unabashedly pedestrian (the noun not the pejorative adjective).
I’ve always been a kid of the street – whether its treating the whole town of Bontoc as my personal playground or roaming the streets of Teacher’s Village and Sikatuna Village – I love exploring just by walking. You discover things when you’re out there walking – things like discovering the latest in street food (calamares and siomai), ukay-ukay finds (they’re like starbucks now , there’s one (or two) in every corner), wansoy is always available at this particular Quiapo street and so on and so forth.
There’s just something about being on the ground, mingling and jostling with people going about this business of living and making a living. There are times though when I feel helpless and sad about how tired-looking my fellow commuters look like especially at night – salesladies, security people, street hawkers. Life is tough for them but they forge on. Sometimes I feel a great sense of survivor’s guilt. I wasn’t born rich. If it weren’t for the perseverance of my grandparents and later on my Aunt Mayette, I won’t be here enjoying a life so many others would consider a good life. I am truly grateful for what I have now and yet when I’m walking or riding jeepneys, I sometimes wonder if I deserve what I have [don’t answer that. I know the answer :)]. Yes, walking and commuting also gives me a chance for introspective thinking.
What I’m saying I guess is that no matter how much I enjoy the convenience of riding in one’s own car or sharing a taxi cab with friends, I really prefer walking. As what Ellen, my one-time college adventures collaborator and lifelong friend (I’ve known her since I was 14!), said after meeting up in GB2 and telling her that I walked all the way from the Ayala MRT: “My God, Earnest. Mahilig ka pa ring maglakad!”
Yes, unabashedly pedestrian.
I’ve always been a kid of the street – whether its treating the whole town of Bontoc as my personal playground or roaming the streets of Teacher’s Village and Sikatuna Village – I love exploring just by walking. You discover things when you’re out there walking – things like discovering the latest in street food (calamares and siomai), ukay-ukay finds (they’re like starbucks now , there’s one (or two) in every corner), wansoy is always available at this particular Quiapo street and so on and so forth.
There’s just something about being on the ground, mingling and jostling with people going about this business of living and making a living. There are times though when I feel helpless and sad about how tired-looking my fellow commuters look like especially at night – salesladies, security people, street hawkers. Life is tough for them but they forge on. Sometimes I feel a great sense of survivor’s guilt. I wasn’t born rich. If it weren’t for the perseverance of my grandparents and later on my Aunt Mayette, I won’t be here enjoying a life so many others would consider a good life. I am truly grateful for what I have now and yet when I’m walking or riding jeepneys, I sometimes wonder if I deserve what I have [don’t answer that. I know the answer :)]. Yes, walking and commuting also gives me a chance for introspective thinking.
What I’m saying I guess is that no matter how much I enjoy the convenience of riding in one’s own car or sharing a taxi cab with friends, I really prefer walking. As what Ellen, my one-time college adventures collaborator and lifelong friend (I’ve known her since I was 14!), said after meeting up in GB2 and telling her that I walked all the way from the Ayala MRT: “My God, Earnest. Mahilig ka pa ring maglakad!”
Yes, unabashedly pedestrian.
posted by miranila at
5:25 PM
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2 Comments:
mwaaah! hi earns. miss ko na ang paglalakad with you at ang quiapo at wansoy. nag order ako ng tomyam sa isang thai restaurant dito sa may bayswater at naku, mas malasa pa ang lucky me supreme. heehee. hope you got the postcard i sent ya!
mwah! back at ya.
I got the postcard yesterday. I wish i were with you there din hahaha. I can only imagine the stimuli you're exposed to everyday. Britannia, baby.
dapat pala nagdala ka na ng mga Thai lucky me jan hahaha. Wansoy and Quiapo go together na ano? Will email you a longer reply. Take care!
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