Noisy, Noisy Man

Welcome back!
Feel free to poke around the archives, check out my featured posts, or just send me an email. Don't forget to subscribe to my RSS Feed! It's doubleplusgood!

Friday evening found me with fellow finalist Madz and her boyfriend, rushing to get to PETA Theater on time. We were running late for the 3rd Philippine Blog Awards, and as expected traffic wasn’t cooperating with us. The bus ride to Cubao LRT took ages, and the lines in the LRT station were horrible, and when were finally able to land at Gilmore, there were no taxis around.

So we spent around 30 minutes, dressed in awards attire (well, I was going for the homeless wino look anyway so I didn’t mind), running around a gas station trying to flag a taxi. Half an hour later we went “fuck it, we’re tired” and I flagged a tricycle. Yep, going to a prestigious event in a tricycle. Good idea. What could possibly go wrong?

So we traversed the streets of New Manila in a tricycle. I was sitting behind the speed demon driver, hanging on for dear life, while Madz and her boyfriend were seated snugly inside the sidecar. When we reached PETA Theater, I jumped off the trike, sweaty and panting, for all to see. Noelle, Marcelle, Marck, and Karen stared in the other direction rather awkwardly, trying to avoid my glance as I attempted to greet them. Read the rest of this entry »

You see the vast expanse of urban decay. You see an endless road, cluttered with tricycles, jeepneys, taxis, and various vehicles. In the horizon you see an impressive skyline of buildings, and at their feet you see a pile of makeshift homes made of used tires and rusted corrugated metal. And everything is coated with a think layer of smog and cigarette smoke.

Welcome, my friend, to Metro Manila.

It may look benign from a distance, but I swear, you will get killed if you are not careful.  Metro Manila is home to various types of creatures, harmless and predatory, and you will lose your belongings (like an unviolated asshole, among other things) if you let your guard down for even just a moment. What you, need, kid, is a guide to guide you through the dirty and dangerous streets of Manila in spite of your naiveté. Read the rest of this entry »