"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28
This was actually the second day. The second day I haven't slept properly because of work. (Not that I'm complaining; but still...) And to top it all off, I have to work while on the trip because I'm pretty sure the trip's not gonna be a short one (also because our CEO called for a conference this morning).
It was not yet 9am and already I'm running low on steam. I have to figure out a way to open the tablet I borrowed (because the owner somehow forgot her password hehe) or else I won't have anything to use during the obligatory meeting. Between a spat at home, the password issue and the fact that they're already waiting for me at the bus stop, (needless to say) my nerves were fraying. Thank God they're all pumped up for the trip and were all in good spirits when I finally managed to arrived, hungry and
somehow tired already.
It was not yet 9am and already I'm running low on steam. I have to figure out a way to open the tablet I borrowed (because the owner somehow forgot her password hehe) or else I won't have anything to use during the obligatory meeting. Between a spat at home, the password issue and the fact that they're already waiting for me at the bus stop, (needless to say) my nerves were fraying. Thank God they're all pumped up for the trip and were all in good spirits when I finally managed to arrived, hungry and
somehow tired already.
SCM to Cubao
Right there on the bus stop, we started off our journey with a group prayer. And right on cue, a bus bound for Cubao was in front of us the moment we opened our eyes after the prayer. Really can't fault God with His perfect timing. :)) Oh, and we met Kuya Yael in the bus -- he's going to Manila, too.
It's almost 10am so I figured we'd be in Manila at 2pm. Plenty of time to get some work done. I've prepped my phone WiFi but it's not getting any decent signal so...patience. Good thing there's a bus WiFi but it also took a while for the tablet to get used to the intermittent signal. I still thank God though that I was able to join the online meeting albeit late.
Anyway, I spent the next hours glued to the tablet, trying to listen to what the CEO was saying and then trying to write my articles using the touchscreen keyboard. Not so much fun but it gets the job done, little by little. At least the others have the chance to take a nap... I have work to do, I must not be tempted.
Anyway, I spent the next hours glued to the tablet, trying to listen to what the CEO was saying and then trying to write my articles using the touchscreen keyboard. Not so much fun but it gets the job done, little by little. At least the others have the chance to take a nap... I have work to do, I must not be tempted.
Haven't eaten anything yet so I tried to convince myself that the cornick and nuts I was munching were as good as breakfast. When we finally arrived at the stopover I got off as fast as I could and bought cup noodles. Wasn't able to eat it though because they decided to come out and have proper lunch at the stopover instead. Oh well, cup noodles would come in handy tonight. We packed rice but somehow thought it's a good idea to just buy the dishes on the road -- totally not. It's too expensive. Lesson learned: Just pack a complete lunch or at least bring some canned food.
Back in the bus for another couple of hours of travel time and we finally arrived in Cubao. The moment we got off the bus, it hit us: It was VERY hot. And we had to walk along EDSA and cross a footbridge to get to the station of the Batangas-bound bus. Wow, imagine braving the heat in Manila at 2pm. Halfway through, we stopped by 7Eleven to refuel and cool ourselves.
As for me, I was still in some kind of work mode/trance so I was not in the mood for any friendly chat at all. I know guys, it must be frustrating and annoying so I'm really sorry. When we realized we still have 3 hours of bus time left to get to Batangas, we finished up and got to walking again.
Cubao to Batangas port
It was surprisingly nice that we didn't have any problems waiting for a bus or a seat because an empty Batangas-bound bus was there already and we just had to board. Nice. I didn't mind that it doesn't have WiFi because the signal in Manila is decent enough for me so I promptly got to work and finished two articles. Thank God! It was around 3pm when we left Cubao and we were praying we could catch the 6pm ferry.
I was surprised though when in the middle of that bus trip, I found myself wanting to throw up. There's no way I'm throwing up in this bus. The last time I felt nauseated in any vehicle was when I was in elementary! Then I realized that the jerky motions of the bus was what's causing my squeamishness so I decided to doze off to counter its effect. Our gadgets were all dead anyway so there's nothing I can do about work anymore.
When I woke up, we're still on Skyway and "The Martian" was still playing on the bus TV. We're still some ways off but at least the nauseating feeling was gone. Perhaps because of what the little nap afforded me, I managed to return to my light mood for a while. The running joke this time was on how the movie constantly shows how many "sol" (a solar day in Mars) already passed while Watney's on Mars. We're keeping ourselves entertained at how he reached sol 587 at some point. Lame joke, I know. But at least it can keep us together.
The (Long) Wait Begins
Before 7pm we're able to reach the Batangas port. Remembered the last time I was here was during our team building in Puerto Galera which was around 3 years ago. Not much has changed. We immediately made a beeline for the ticket booths but there's already a long line ahead of us. I was already feeling bad because it looked like we won't make it to their place before midnight. There goes my hope of finishing my work tonight. -_-
Albert already went in line while the three of us waited on the sidelines as more and more passengers came in. I was getting worked up by the minute -- all I wanted to do at this point is to at least sleep so I won't continue to worry about my job. Went some ways off and found a fairly uncrowded spot where I could sit down and took a nap.
8pm... 8.30pm... 9pm... O_o Still nothing. Went back to sleep. 9.30pm... The already long line became even longer -- it's actually passed the entrance gate to the ticket booths. Why are we still here again? How come we haven't got a ticket already when they've been in line for hours already? ... Ugh, must go back to sleep...
10pm turned to 11pm and finally hit midnight.
Go to Day 2
Back in the bus for another couple of hours of travel time and we finally arrived in Cubao. The moment we got off the bus, it hit us: It was VERY hot. And we had to walk along EDSA and cross a footbridge to get to the station of the Batangas-bound bus. Wow, imagine braving the heat in Manila at 2pm. Halfway through, we stopped by 7Eleven to refuel and cool ourselves.
As for me, I was still in some kind of work mode/trance so I was not in the mood for any friendly chat at all. I know guys, it must be frustrating and annoying so I'm really sorry. When we realized we still have 3 hours of bus time left to get to Batangas, we finished up and got to walking again.
Cubao to Batangas port
It was surprisingly nice that we didn't have any problems waiting for a bus or a seat because an empty Batangas-bound bus was there already and we just had to board. Nice. I didn't mind that it doesn't have WiFi because the signal in Manila is decent enough for me so I promptly got to work and finished two articles. Thank God! It was around 3pm when we left Cubao and we were praying we could catch the 6pm ferry.
I was surprised though when in the middle of that bus trip, I found myself wanting to throw up. There's no way I'm throwing up in this bus. The last time I felt nauseated in any vehicle was when I was in elementary! Then I realized that the jerky motions of the bus was what's causing my squeamishness so I decided to doze off to counter its effect. Our gadgets were all dead anyway so there's nothing I can do about work anymore.
When I woke up, we're still on Skyway and "The Martian" was still playing on the bus TV. We're still some ways off but at least the nauseating feeling was gone. Perhaps because of what the little nap afforded me, I managed to return to my light mood for a while. The running joke this time was on how the movie constantly shows how many "sol" (a solar day in Mars) already passed while Watney's on Mars. We're keeping ourselves entertained at how he reached sol 587 at some point. Lame joke, I know. But at least it can keep us together.
The (Long) Wait Begins
Before 7pm we're able to reach the Batangas port. Remembered the last time I was here was during our team building in Puerto Galera which was around 3 years ago. Not much has changed. We immediately made a beeline for the ticket booths but there's already a long line ahead of us. I was already feeling bad because it looked like we won't make it to their place before midnight. There goes my hope of finishing my work tonight. -_-
Albert already went in line while the three of us waited on the sidelines as more and more passengers came in. I was getting worked up by the minute -- all I wanted to do at this point is to at least sleep so I won't continue to worry about my job. Went some ways off and found a fairly uncrowded spot where I could sit down and took a nap.
 |
| Batangas port ticketing area (multiply the number of people to around 23). Cto via Scoopnest. |
10pm turned to 11pm and finally hit midnight.
Go to Day 2
Please continue ∩﹏∩
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