No more taking a cab to work

It was the lamest, most pathetic excuse. The taxi driver charged me an additional P10 even if he did not have an LTFRB sticker. I looked for the sticker. He said he did not put it on his windshield yet because it was raining.

Do I look like I'm stupid? The sticker goes on the interior, not the exterior side of the windshield. I banged the door as I got down and said: "Wala ka na ngang sticker, madaya pa metro mo." Which was true because based on a year's worth of taxi rides from Katipunan to Camp Aguinaldo, I know that it costs P60. A** hole's meter was at P67.50, and we were not stuck in traffic.

I've always rationalized taking a cab to work because at P60, all I do is sit on my ass, versus taking two tricycle rides and a train ride, while it costs between P35-P40, will require me to walk a few hundred meters. The P20 savings was not worth the sweat, I thought.

With the looming P10 increase, and the possibility of a tampered meter, I don't think P80 for a one-way trip is worth it. I can't pick a fight with a taxi driver and go to work angry every morning.

Plus, the P40 savings daily would add up to P200, more than enough for the P185 bus ride to the province.

I tip drivers who pick me up, no questions asked, especially when I’m in a hurry or when it’s raining, and when their meter is not tampered. I ask for the exact change when he tries to bargain for a “dagdag,” or blasts those god-awful, mind-numbing radio stations.

Excuse me sir, but traffic and steep oil prices is not the commuter’s fault, so don’t invoke those two and try to charge extra. You and I bear the brunt. What if I asked for a P10 discount because my salary was not substantially raised this year?

And don’t get me started on your poor excuse for air-conditioning and the public restroom stench in some cabs.

The most amazing Sunday of my life

Call me really lucky. Last Sunday, I experienced the best of Filipino music and movies.

The TV was on while I was dressing up and I caught Karylle singing the Tagalog version of Beyonce's "Irreplaceable." Substitute the lines "You must not know 'bout me/You must not know 'bout me" with "Wala kang kwentang lalake/Marami kang babae," and "I can have another you in a minute" with "Anong akala mo sa akin, marijuana?"

It was groundbreaking, cutting edge. Not since that boy band from That's Entertainment, Quamo, has any singer captured the soul of an American radio hit in Tagalog. Karylle's "Irreplaceable" is now my second favorite "Tagalized" song, after "Umbrella."

"Di ka na mababasa ng ulan/di na, di na/hinde, hinde, de, de." F***in gold!

Then, on the bus to Manila, the 90s Eddie Garcia starrer, "Mayor Latigo" was playing, and it had two full-on bed scenes featuring Sylvia Sanchez. I must say that today's sexpots have nothing on Sylvia Sanchez.

I can rave on and on about the movie. That is how movies in the action genre should be made. It provokes the intellect. It's pure genius, romanticizing the life of a Rizal town mayor who whips his subordinates in the ass to get them to obey the law.

Never mind the rain when I got down from the bus, the taxi I got had 101.1 Yes! FM blaring from huge speakers on the backseat, where I was seated. It was like a head massage.

This is the life!