Why I hate Sundays

Sunday is over. Here are three reasons why I now hate Sundays:

No Pinoy telerserye to watch. I've become addicted to teleseryes the moment I became an immigrant here in Canada. I am no longer shy to admit that when I wake up in the morning, excited na agad ako sa new episodes ng mga teleseryeng sinusubaybayan ko.

Kaya parang kulang ang Sunday ko kasi nga wala akong mapanood. Boo!
 

My intellectual friends will surely laugh at me when I learn this. But I don't care. When you're living abroad, isa ang TFC sa koneksyon mo sa Pinas eh. I only watch teleseryes and news/current affairs though.


Malls and Stores close early. Hanggang ngayon, di ko pa rin matanggap na ang aga agang magsara ng mga malls dito kapag linggo. Hanggang 6pm lang ang West Edmonton Mall, yung smaller malls hanggang 5pm lang. Late din sila mag-open kaya maikli lang talaga ang mall hours. Ang sabi nila, the Canadian government put so much premium on family kaya ini-encourage nila ang mga tao na sa bahay mag-stay kapag linggo.

Picture taken from the internet (credits to the owner)

Hay, eh kaso Pinoy ako! Sundays = malling, yan ang idea ko haha!

We normally do not go to the mall anymore on Sundays. Nakakabitin lang kasi. We usually wake up at 11am-12noon, then we'll have lunch, tapos ligo at bihis, prepare pa ng gamit ni Nathan, kaya past 2pm na kami nakakaalis ng bahay. Parang naghahabol lang kami ng oras kapag nasa mall kami.

Other stores close early as well. Not that I always shop, ayaw ko lang talaga ng idea na maaga silang magsara. Feeling ko napaka-restricting. Buti na lang bukas ang Walmart at ibang supermarkets.


Ford has work the following day. Just the thought that Ford has to work the next day is enough to spoil my Sunday. Bilang na kasi ang oras ng "pahinga" ko. One week na naman akong mag-aantay para hindi lang kami ni Nathan ang magkasama the whole day. =(

Nathan kissing Dad to wake him up

Whew, Monday na naman! Ambilis ng araw.

Driving in Manila

We chanced upon Discovery Channel Canada's "Don't Drive Here" reality TV series which featured Manila as "one of the world's worst driving cities" last night.

Whatever the circumstance, it's always a thrill seeing your home country in a 'foreign' (I still consider Canada a foreign place haha!) television.

Oh, these familiar scenarios that I miss! I never thought I'd miss Manila's 'chaotic' atmosphere.

I miss those gigantic buses, those colorful jeepneys. And I miss the tons of people on the street! Nakakamiss makakita ng sangkatutak na tao sa totoo lang!

I couldn't blame the show's host Andrew Younghusband for "failing" the challenge. He was supposed to learn how to drive better than a professional driver in Manila. He was ultimately tasked to drive a jeepney and after some time, he gave up. Sobrang culture shock ang inabot niya.

Younghusband is a Canadian who's used to organized traffic, disciplined drivers, wide roads. He can never beat the survival-on-the-road skills of Pinoy drivers.

I've been driving in Manila since I was 18. I've experienced the worst, I must say. This is the reason why I am afraid to get a driver's license here in Canada. I am not confident that my driving skills are in congruent with driving in this city.  I am an aggressive driver because I was socialized that way eh. Baka puro violation tickets ang makuha ko dito.

On the other hand, parang takot na rin akong mag-drive uli sa Pilipinas pag-uwi ko. In the ten months that I've been living here (yep, ten months pa lang ha), nasanay na rin ako na dito, akmang tatawid pa lang ako ay hihinto na ang mga sasakyan para sa akin. Every place is within reach (kahit ilang daang kilometers pa yan) kasi nga walang traffic. Maluwag ang mga kalsada, functioning lahat ng traffic lights. Lahat organisado at maayos. With all the complaints and rants that I read on Facebook every day about Manila's horrendous traffic situation today (which is far worse than ten months ago), I doubt kung kakayanin ko pa talaga na magmaneho doon. Baka hanggang Bulacan na lang talaga ako.

Oh well, let's see.