Being the first day of Lent, the presiding priest in the mass spoke about the sacrifices each needed to make to take part in the sufferings of Jesus. I thought of mine, and my brilliant idea was to give up the convenience of driving a car to and from work, two days in a week. I knew that the MRT was a tough ride, but I also thought that I could manage no matter how hard it might be. Besides, gas prices were goin' up. It was high time to get practical. :)
I took the MRT the following day, and was surprised that it wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be. The horror stories I'd been hearing from my officemates about the long queues, overly congested stations, etc. weren't that traumatic because I was at the station early. Time is the key. Get there early and ride stress-free. Get there late and endure the awful travel time.
The two-day sacrifice which I promised ended up being a daily and permanent practice. ;) Now I take the train every single day of the workweek. And I'm proud! *BIG SMILE*
There are several great things about commuting daily:
- I get to save a lot! :)) I used to spend almost 4,000 bucks a month for gas, and now I get to keep the money instead. Ain't that lovely?
- I'm no longer a slave of Edsa traffic. My legs used to be so strained, both in the morning and at night. It's never an easy travel along Edsa during weekdays.
- In connection to the previous, I now get home at an earlier time. If I used to arrive between 9:30 to 10pm before, now it's a normal thing to be home sweet home at 8:30. :)
- I'm now back to reading books! :) Books used to be part of my daily existence since I've always loved reading while in transit. But when you're driving, naturally, you should keep your eyes busy on the road. Now I feel so glad that I'm in touch with the bookworm in me again. Yaaay! :)
- There's now more bonding time between me and mommy. :) Before, our only time together was in the morning before work, and at night after I got home. Now, she also lovingly brings me to the MRT station and picks me up at Trinoma at night. :) (This was my one request to her before I decided to commute everyday. Ayoko mag-bus.)
As you would expect, there are also things that I miss about using my car.
- My car is like the extension of my room. The trunk has my shoes and bags so that I could just pick out any of them at any time of the day depending on my mood. Now I don't have that luxury anymore. I wear my comfy mary-jane Crocs in transit, and at the office is my black heels for the corporate look. I can't use whichever bag I want anymore. I'm stuck to my big sturdy shoulder bag coz it could load all the stuff that I need.
- I cannot afford to bring a lot of stuff anymore. I no longer bring home my laptop, and the magazines delivered to me in the office. What I do now is, whenever Rolly picks me up at Ecoplaza, I load in his car my pile of Cosmo's and Preview's and FHM's and whatnot.
- Sometimes, I'm caught in office meetings 'til 10pm, believe it or not. In such cases, I used to be so cool and unconcerned even if I was dead sleepy. I knew there's a car waiting for me anyway. Now, I already feel worried and bothered if it's 10 and I'm not at the train station yet. :( I heard that the last trip of the train leaves Taft at 10:30pm, and if I don't catch that, I'm dead. I don't want to go home on a bus. :(
- I terribly miss Chico & Delamar's "The Morning Rush" on RX 93.1. :(( I miss laughing about their silliness, I miss sending entries for their daily top 10. Waaaah. :(
Like all things, being a daily commuter has an upside and a downside. Good thing that I have choices, and i am free to mix and match, depending on my frame of mind on a particular day. :) For the time being, I'm happy and enjoying my daily commute, even if Rolly is against it. =P
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