My trip home took more than an hour due to the congested streets in Greenhills. Luckily, Mang Rolly kept me entertained with his fascinating adventures as a truck driver for the past 11 years, and now a cab driver for MGE. He started the conversation with his observations about cab riders being picky. I told him that based on experience, people would prefer riding well-known cabs such as MGE, R&E and Dollar. Primarily because we can trust that their taxi meters have not been modified - he did confirm that some taxi drivers would change the settings and control the speed of the meter rate (a.k.a. "Batingting").

He even spoke about his family in Leyte - he has 2 daughters and a son. His 2 daughters are teachers in Tacloban, while his son is still in 2nd Yr college. All of his children are in Leyte, while he works here in Manila to pay for his son's education. He would have not worked here in Manila if only his wife was still with them. His wife passed away a year after she gave birth to their son. They lived in the province, and most people thought that she died in her sleep (bangungot or nightmare), but he later found out that it was a heart attack. It was a sudden loss, as they were not aware that she had a heart ailment. I had a nice time talking to Mang Rolly as he shared his experiences of how he supported his children's education and I hope that his kids know what their dad is sacrificing for them - living alone in Manila, working 18hours a day to ensure that all their needs will be provided.

All the time that we were travelling from Cybergate to Retiro, he talked non-stop. I was really thankful for his openness.

This entry is a few weeks early for Father's day, and I am just thankful that my dad (I call him tatay) is just a room away. Though I am guilty of not giving him the attention he needs - he is a bit talkative as well, just like Mang Rolly - and sometimes I tend to ignore what he tells me either because I am in a rush to get to work or maybe I am busy checking mails and stuff or simply because I think I can just ask him again next time. I know the material things I provide will not compensate for the quality time that I should be giving to him and my mom. :( I have been making myself busy with work and reasoning out that I need to do things - as it is our bread and butter - but at the end of the day - everything I have worked/saved for would be useless if they're no longer there. I have always been in a rush to save enough for them - - to ensure that I would be able to pay for all their medical bills in case they get sick and get them the best treatment if needed (unlike other countries, people here do not have the luxury of having affordable health cards, esp. if you are 65yrs old and above; my Mom is turning 67 in July and my dad will be 72 in Nov), provide them things they have always wanted and of course, take them on a tour or vacation outside the Philippines. I hope that I would be able to fulfill my Dad's dream to travel frequently to Australia and go fishing there. :-)

posted by celgee @ Friday, May 30, 2008

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