The Long Commute

I know I complain too much about the long commute. Maybe I don’t recite my lamentations for everyone to hear but my thoughts about commuting have spilled over to pages and pages of word documents or my phone memo pad.

Truthfully, commuting is no problem for me. It’s really the traffic that I loathe. Take away traffic from the commuting equation and I will be fine. Yes, the length of time is still a concern but through the months, I have found things to fill my idle time.

There’s Sudoku. To save on money with me buying inquirer daily just to get to play Sudoku, I bought the game book. Armed with pencil and pens (whichever is working), I try to answer a difficult puzzle in a trip. Unless the constant jolting movement of the bus makes me dizzy, finishing a puzzle or two is no problem.

There’s the mp3 player. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsor, who I will call Stranger, who took pity on me and gave me an mp3 player. Thanks so very much! Music helps calm me down and makes the trip less stressful.

If you have a bathroom book, I have a commute book or reading material as well. Reader’s Digest is high on my list. It provides a buffet of topics from health to adventure to laughter to drama.

Watching Deal or No Deal. Yup. I get to catch the news, telenovelas and fantaseryes on the trip home. Deal or No Deal is by far the most entertaining, no-brainer show on TV today. Just pure fun. At least I don’t get frazzled with the traffic while I silently cheer, “Lower, lower” for the stressed-beyond-belief contestant. You have to hand it to Kris Aquino and the mysterious banker who has a fetish for chinitas.

To escape it all, I can always catch some zs, which I do often when going to work in the wee hours of the morning. I just make sure that all my stuff is tied to my arms in hope that no one loots me off.

Commuting alone also taught me to have courage. It strengthened my belief that I can be alone, and I can be okay. I know it’s not a life-altering experience but with commuting, you set yourself out for a lot of variables beyond your control --- the unpredictable traffic, attitude of fellow commuters, the time you can get a ride, the weather and your state of mind. You only have your disposition and your judgment to get from point A to point B. It’s no picnic commuting on a rainy night when the traffic is so bad with me nursing a fever.

But you know, each night, what greets me is the night sky bursting with thousands of glittering stars. Maybe He placed me here in the suburbs because He knew I would always appreciate the awesomeness of His creation. He just needed an audience.

The long trip is worth it. The stars are worth the wait.