Ika 28 ng Enero 2009: Smoggy Morn

While I was dressing up for work, my helper knocked at my door and hesitated to tell me that she needs money for her ailing sister and if she could go to her..... I said ok. I gave her some money before I left for work. On my way out, I had to check the additional materials needed by the painters. I also left money for the workers to buy the needed materials. I finally left with the thought that I have done what is needed to be done.....

As we were traversing Skyway, I happened to look at the direction of where we were headed as I couldn't sleep ........ and I couldn't see a thing......... dark air envelops the urban jungle we were headed to. It wasn't cold so there's no way it was foggy this morning..... Sure, skies were overcast. But I have seen the silhouette of the cold concrete landscape even on such gloomy days before..... Now, I couldn't see a thing..... It looks like we were headed to the place of no return.....

As we were inching closer, the buildings began to emerge........hazy at first ...... then I could see it clearly. And I could only think I work in such conditions! No wonder I get headaches all the time. How we take the essential things for granted....... like the air that we breathe. Aren't our employers supposed to provide an environment conducive to working. But our employers can only do so much. In an air-conditioned office, we might be breathing carbon-dioxide laden air without knowing it. We are all equally responsible for the mess we are in.

Just last night, my friend Dayap, her hubby, another friend, and I had dinner at Som's. I must have been so enamored with the idea of authentic Thai cuisine at reasonable prices that I suggested to them that we go to the place since all of them have not tried it nor heard about it. They were game enough and were actually excited trying it once we were there. We ordered and soon had a feast of Thai food on the table ready to be devoured. Fortunately, they like it. Dayap and her hubby are no neophytes to street food having tried the stalls in Bangkok and elsewhere. Our other friend is also well-traveled and sampled such humble fare in various Asian countries. Well, I am no stranger to street food as well having acquired my amoebiasis from eating these stuff and I still have not learned....... We had an enjoyable meal and were whiling the time away talking about each other's lives.

I happened to look at the noisy group beside us and I saw this young woman blowing her cigarette smoke in our direction as she turned away from her friends. Her friends were also smoking........... a real spoiler on a nice evening. Unfortunately, that's the bane of eating al fresco..... you couldn't choose your dinnermates and you couldn't bar them from smoking. There are also no designated smoking areas which could serve as a detour to prolong the journey of the smoke in reaching non-smokers like us. Not wanting to subject our lungs to the ill effects of second-hand smoke, we left to have coffee in a more conducive place.

The above illustrates how people contribute to the unhealthy condition of the environment of the premier commercial center. Smokers might argue that their contribution would be minimal compared to smoke emissions by vehicles and factories...... but hey, you've done your part. It's too bad that we are forced to draw our selves closer to death as we need to work to earn our keep. Maybe, this explains also why some people here behave like a***s...... must be the consequence of too much exposure to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

For all its bad rap, we hardly notice the air that we breathe is so polluted. Either, we are sleeping or have grown accustomed to it that it doesn't bother us anymore. I must have seen this before but it was only today that I took a closer look. It's like working among the crooked and the corrupt, you would be so numb to do something about being among criminals. You stare them in the eye and you make nothing of it. Suddenly, it becomes the norm rather than the exception..... Doing bad becomes a good thing and you just go with the tide..... the bad air that surrounds a city becomes the air that we breathe day in and day out.

Today, I wanted to break free from the black hole that was sucking us but there was no turning back.......

PS: Isa sa mga napag-usapan naming magkakaibigan kagabi ay ang mga iba ibang pakikitungo sa mga boss namin. Lahat kami ay me mga issues na hinaharap sa pagiging mangagagawa. Malapit lapit na rin siguro kami sa pagreretiro. Pero ipinapagpaliban namin dahil sayang din ang kinikita..... lalo na ngayon me krisis na hinaharap. Pero pag ganitong mga pagkakataon, di mapigilan na pakawalan ang silakbo ng damdamin na pinipigilan isiwalat sa mga tanggapan namin. Mabuti na lang me mga kaibigan nakikinig at pwedeng mahingahan ng sama ng loob.

Nang maghihiwahiwalay na kami at sinundo na ang isang kaibigan ng asawa at anak niya, napansin ng asawa niya na maaliwalas na ang muka ng kaibigan namin. Biniro tuloy namin na dapat yata madalas ang pagkikita-kita namin. Sadyang masarap magkaroon ng mga kaibigan na nagpapagaan ng mga suliranin sa buhay.