Hail to Atty. Cabrera

Ang LRT at MRT. Bow!

So, I 've mentioned  here on my blog that I ride the MRT everyday to and from work.  Tuesdays and Thursdays, I ride the LRT after work to go to the university where I teach part-time.  Everyday I wish that the stations would not be so full of people and the trains are all cooperating so there won't be any delays.  Operations may halt from time to time and one's face is not too safe from being squished to oblivion as a regular occurence, but I still find that riding the LRT and MRT are convenient modes of transportation in Manila.

I remember the first time I rode the LRT, what was then used to enter the station was the very heavy tokens.   I was an excited girl, watching the view from the train's window. It was one of the most exciting rides of my life! My mother and I attended a party in Caloocan and we rode the LRT from P. Gil to Monumento. In the evening, after the party, I was nauseous and feverish in the train.  I started to have "polka dots" on my skin. Hah, german measles!

On Convenience

It's a good thing that the LRT/MRT management developed the Stored Value Tickets.  It's a prepaid card with a 100-peso value that one case use until the full amount is used up.  If the card has at least one peso remaining, that will still be good for one "bonus" ride. Convenient and a super saver, right?

I have a lot of extra SVTs for convenience

One time, the SVT that I bought from Line 2 wouldn't work at the Line 1. Upon checking, I still had P75 pesos on the card. The staff from the ticket station made me surrender my card for replacement; there was a glitch in the system, according to the guy, so my card couldn't be recognized by the computer.  I was to get my replacement (upon payment of P25 to get a new SVT since a new one is P100) at D. Jose, after five working days from that day, where I usually get on every TTH.

That's what I did for almost a month.  Surrender my receipt to the ticket booth, wait for the staff to check the records only to be told that while my request is there, there are no longer SVTs available.  "Ubos na po kapag ganitong oras," whoever is in the ticket booth would say.

So for three weeks, that what I was doing, until this morning when I tried to tweet Atty. Hernando T. Cabrera, LRT/MRT Spokesperson.   Here are our conversations:

I was surprised that he answered right away, since he was busy with another well-meaning passenger/twitter user at that time.  Here's what he said:

He would get back to me. I was expecting he would get back to me next week. Then...

If that's not efficient, snappy and uber nakakatuwa, then I don't know what to make of it! Imagine! I'm just a lowly passenger, being pissed at the system, and I was merely suggesting that they make more SVTs so the next time I pick my SVT, there would still be one left for me.  But no, he actually had my request tracked and he did something about it.  (And he didn't make me pay for P25 anymore!That's equal to two free rides! See, mababaw ang kaligayahan ko.)

A real Action Man.

Oh, I complained about the very loud buzzer.  Here's his reply.

 My love for LRT/MRT was bolstered because of Atty. Cabrera's efforts.

Ahhhhh, so there's my answer.  Passengers won't listen to the warning buzzer so it's set at high volume so that people wouldn't complain that they still try to get on/off the train because they didn't hear the warning buzzer.

Sad, I really have to cover my ears everytime the buzzer sounds.  I have pretty sensitive ears, you see.  Imagine hearing that, every stop, every LRT day... Hay. Even my kid complains, he likes the MRT but not the LRT because it's "maingay".

I can't have everything I wish for, right? But at least, I was able to confirm that thinking that the warning buzzer in the newer LRT trains is too loud is not just in my imagination.

Anyway, thank you Atty. Cabs! By the way, I love your profile picture on twitter. Pangarap kong magpapapicture sa riles ng tren, pero di kaya ng powers ko ang nakahiga.heheheh!

P.S.
Someone asked if I told Atty. Cabs that I was also a lawyer because that may have been the reason why he acted on my complaint.  I said, "Nopes, I didn't tell him. Tsaka nakakahiya, abogada ako tapos LRT/MRT Queen ako?"  I looked at his tweets first before I sent him my first message and he was really replying to all their queries. Ang saya no?

How to Keep One's Job According to My Subconscious

Photo credit: brethollander.me

Pardon my use of character from EL James' 50 Shades of Grey. See, this is part 1, where my Subconscious, my "id", justifies the things a Pinoy/Pinay does just to keep his/her job.

A lot of us complain about our jobs. The most common complaints are the following:

   1. my job doesn't pay a lot
   2.  my job sucks
   3. my boss sucks
   4. my workplace is too far from home
   5. my co-workers suck
   6. I'm being made to do work outside my job description
   7. my job makes a slave of me


A survey was conducted by the National Census showing that unemployment rate in the Philippines is at 7.2% while underemployment rate is at 18.8%.  Unemployment refers to the absence of a job, underemployment means that one has a job, but the job pays below the minimum wage as required by law.*

So, with these statistics, it is clear that it is so hard to find a job here in the Philippines.

Here are a few tips and justifications to keep a job according to my "Subconscious":

1.  Try to see the good things about your job, whether it's your job itself, the office, the co-workers, the receptionist, the pantry, the vendors you pass by on your way to the office, your cute boss or co-worker, your trendy office phone or computer or whatever.  If you feel that your work is too far from home, then bring something to do while in the bus, jeep, train, taxi or even colorum van.   Just think positive and  the negative things you see about your job may be cancelled off by the good things.

Photo Credit: funtoosh.com

2. Try to be yourself.  Don't try to please everyone.  If you become too friendly, people will find you plastic.  If you're too professional, people will find you a snob. If you're too smart, people will say you're a know-it-all.  If you do your job well, somebody would think you want to be promoted and bypass all the others who came in before you.  If you don't do your job, people will say that you're lazy.  Wherever you put yourself, there will still be people who will find fault it no. So whatever you do, there will always be someone who won't like you or your guts so try to be yourself but maintain composure and courtesy all the time.

3. If you're not doing anything, idle chitchat with your co-workers is ok. But idle chitchat the whole 8 hours in the office is NOT okay.  Try to find something else to do: find out more about your office's history, your co-workers' jobs and offer your help to them if they're swamped with work while you're not. Filipinos are well-loved when they work abroad because the employers swear that Filipinos go out of their way to do more than their call of duty.  Filipinos seldom or don't complain at all even if we are asked more than what our job entails us to do.  Doing this won't hurt you, it just might take up some extra time, but think of it this way:  you might learn a lot from helping and your superiors might notice that you have a potential.

Photo credit: cartoonstock.com

4. If you make a mistake at work (or feel that you did but a big chunk of it was the fault of someone else), admit suck mistake (no matter how tiny and that it's merely contributory), apologize and suck it up. Try not to get "national census" from everyone in the office to tally who was right and who was wrong.   It's just your ego trying to justify yourself.  Instead of getting the sympathy of everyone, clarify whatever the issue is with your superior in order to avoid doing it again.

5. Make friends.  Our offices are our second homes.  Sometimes, we even spend more than half of our waking hours in the office.  So try not to look at your co-workers are your competitors.  Look at them as your potential friends.

Photo Credit: http://www.superenlightme.com

6. So you have evil co-workers. Giving in to their wickedness would make you a wimp.  Stand up and be strong. Don't let them put you down.  I saw somewhere that there's a good saying in case your co-workers and/or your boss are the meanest of the mean: "They'll die too!"

7. If you feel that you are getting bored with your job, try to find ways to liven it up. Or maybe, you need more social activities to make up for the boring job. Ask to be transferred to a different department, if you can.  Ask your human resources department for skills training or schooling for employees so you can avail of such benefit.  If you feel that you are so overburdered with your job, ask help. Use your leave credits, if you have any. There's no law prohibiting anyone from taking a leave from work, once in a while. Otherwise, that's involuntary servitude and is against human rights.

8.  I still have a lot of suggestions in my mind, but I feel that "8" is a lucky number so this will be my last advice.  Always remember that there are a lot of Filipinos out there, who would like to work, just so they can have money to buy their daily food.   So feel lucky that you are employed and you are contributing to the government's coffers with your taxes.

Seize the day!


*http://www.nscb.gov.ph/secstat/d_labor.asp

sMiLe!!

Hand Puppets: DIY Activity for Moms and Kids

The past week/days have been very rainy and we were forced to stay indoors (no work for me and hubby and no school for the little one).


So to while away the time, my kid and I did some art project at home.

Different headwear! l-r: none, antenna, ribbon

This is a really easy activity because there's very few cutting and more 'glueing".  Just perfect for your toddler.  What's also nice is that most of the materials are old, recyclable things.  This is a chance to put to good use those socks, ribbons, thread, beads or other trinkets that you no longer use.

Materials:

Old (smelly) socks
Yarn (any color)
Plastic Eyes (can be bought from craft stores)
beads, sequins
glue (the really sticky one)

optional: ribbons, buttons, cloth, what-have-you's


1. Take a sock, glue on a pair of eyes (or more, if you want an alien-looking puppet)

   If you can't find "eyes", make one yourself. Trace a small circle on paper or white cloth, draw eyes on the circle and glue it on the sock.  Use whatever colored marker you like. Colored? Colored if you want to stick to the alien theme. It's your call, it's you puppet anyway

2.  Cut yarn/ribbons to 1-inch strips and glue on top of socks (for the hair and eyebrows)

3. Add buttons or beads for the nose and mouth (ribbons may be used for the mouth)

we used beads for the nose

4. Glue on some other things for the puppet's clothes

5. Be as creative as you can (add cheeks, neck ties, different colored hair)

we made six of them

6. Wear on hand and play!

What's really nice is that after making two (one for me and my little one), he wanted  to make more for his dad, cousins and granpa.

We delivered one to Eryx that day.  I kept on forgetting to give to Kuya Berbee his puppet. Good thing, my kid remembered to bring it to his Kuya the other day. (Oh we forgot to bring  Papa's puppet!  Next time, maybe.)

Remember: it's not important to make your puppet look uber detailed or perfect.  What's important is that you got to bond with your little one and taught him the value of arts and creativity and of course, recycling.

Enjoy!


sMiLe!