Overdrive
"Magdadala ako ng pagkain
Burger, fries, tapsilog at siopao
Magdadadrive ako hanggang Visayas
Magdadadrive ako hanggang sa Mindanao"
-From an Eraserheads song
My love affair with driving has begun. I used to dislike driving when I lived in Quezon City. I disliked driving kahit hindi naman ako marunong mag-drive. It just seemed like an unnecessary skill set in Metro Manila. Kahit pa may risk of dying in a terrorist bombing sa MRT, I chose to be a commuter instead of getting myself a car and absorbing all sorts of negative vibes while driving in Metro Manila. Pero ngayon, uh oh. Parang gusto ko nang bumuli ng chikot.
I guess I started to enjoy driving two weeks ago when I drove C. and me home from Hugo. The I-35 wasn't busy that Saturday evening. Ang ganda pa ng extended sunset. the interstate wound through beautiful parts of Minnesota and I saw lots of lakes and ponds along the way. I enjoyed the ride so much I drove us straight home to E 7th. I was able to relax while driving and passing other cars did not feel as stressful.
***
Three days ago, Chrissy Larson (another graduate student in the Environmental Education program) and I drove from Duluth to Bloomington, Indiana so we could attend the graduate research symposium on adventure education inIndiana University. Medyo kabado ako kasi--oh my gas--we were supposed to share 12 hours of driving between us--one way! So, all in all, 24 hours of driving roundtrip. Tom Beery had bailed out the day before we were to leave and kawawa naman si Chrissy kung siya lang ang magda-drive. So, kahit na learners' permit lang ang meron ako, I committed to sharing half the driving. Little did I know that 12 hours would stretch to 14 hours on the way to Bloomington and the return trip would take 13 hours.
***
There is really nothing like a "baptism by fire" sort of experience. Not only did I drive A LOT, I also drove through a freaking thunderstorm. (Chrissy now tells me she might have seen the spout of a twister forming somewhere but thought best not to tell me.) Approaching Danville in Indiana along the I-74, the storm just got so worse that all I could see out my windshield was gray. The sky was gray and heavy with stormclouds. Rain was pouring heavily. There was fog all over from the heat on the road and the rain. I had to keep my eyes on the white road markings to make sure I was steering correctly, the faint tail lights of the large truck ahead of me and the faint lights of whatever vehicle was behind me. At one point there was also some hail. All this went on while I tried to drive above 50 miles per hour. Santa Maria Madre de Dios!
I took an exit after 2 hours of driving in the storm so Chrissy could take over. My eyes were just too tired for me to drive safely. But I felt exhilerated. Now I have driving-in-the-rain experience. I was less afraid of being behind the wheel. We arrived in Bloomington at 10 p.m. Our host, Aya Hayashi from Japan, welcomed us to a house she shared with three other girls. She had baked an Earl Grey Tea-flavored cake. Ang sarap! There were bits of tea in the cake. Somehow parang weird ano? Pero kakaibang sarap! I decided to walk around the neighborhood a bit before showering. Too much sitting had frozen the muscles on my back. I called my mom and told her about my drive. Takot sa Interstate ang nanay ko, so she was quite impressed. After that, I took a lovely hot shower, crept into my sleeping bag and promptly slept the sleep of the righteous.
***
What is it with Wisonsin and beef jerky? It seems to be a big thing at least in roadside gas station groceries. Large vacuum-packed bags of dried meat are piled in huge boxes. I've never seen so much jerky in my life. Kadalasan it's just those little finger-sized packs they sell for $1.25. But what I saw where 5 pound packs sold for $20 each. Malaki pa sa mukha mo! Who buys that much jerky?...The Jerks?..hehe..It's a rather unappetizing and unsettling site. Mukhang galing sa isang massacre. Palagay ko it's those truck drivers who buy these. Or maybe some visiting cannibals passing through.
***
Also, when driving on the Interstate, di ko mawari why everyone is driving at least 8 mph faster than the speed limit. Kapag masyado ka namang mabagal, may mga nagagalit. So sige na nga, gaya na rin ako. But you know that there are cops up ahead when vehicles in front of you suddenly slow down to the correct speed limit. Sabi na nga ba eh...Pero pag malayo na, hala, ang bilis na naman.
I was driving 7 mph above the speed limit when I noticed a patrol car lurking behind some trees (para bang bampira). Sa nerbyos ko, I stepped on the gas instead of the breaks. What??!! Oh Lord! I could see the headlines: "Philippine Children's Book Writer Deported for Speeding" or kaya "Charred remains of international student found in Interstate pile-up". But miracle of miracles, the police did not budge from their hiding place. Maybe they were busy eating donuts. Maybe there was some sex going on. I don't know. I'm just glad I didn't get a ticket. Chrissy, who was napping in the back seat, was woken up by my maniobra. "Natasha, you're starting to drive like an American!" she laughed. Ano raw? There's a Pidro joke there somewhere. I just can't find it right now.
***
Hay, kelan kaya ako makaka-bili ng kotse? Ayaw ko namang laging hiramin ang truck ni C. Pero, when I have my own car na, magda-drive ako sa Route 66 while playing and singing that Manhattan Transfer song of the same name. Magdadrive rin ako to California, o kaya to Colorado. Pwede ring magdrive to Florida, tapos magsiswimming doon sa beach :)
Isasama ko ang boyfriend ko
Isasama ko kahit sinong may gusto
Kahit may kasama siyang aso
Basta't mayroon siyang baong sariling buto...
----------------------------------------------
Link: "Overdrive" by the Eraserheads
In case you were wondering
Burger, fries, tapsilog at siopao
Magdadadrive ako hanggang Visayas
Magdadadrive ako hanggang sa Mindanao"
-From an Eraserheads song
My love affair with driving has begun. I used to dislike driving when I lived in Quezon City. I disliked driving kahit hindi naman ako marunong mag-drive. It just seemed like an unnecessary skill set in Metro Manila. Kahit pa may risk of dying in a terrorist bombing sa MRT, I chose to be a commuter instead of getting myself a car and absorbing all sorts of negative vibes while driving in Metro Manila. Pero ngayon, uh oh. Parang gusto ko nang bumuli ng chikot.
I guess I started to enjoy driving two weeks ago when I drove C. and me home from Hugo. The I-35 wasn't busy that Saturday evening. Ang ganda pa ng extended sunset. the interstate wound through beautiful parts of Minnesota and I saw lots of lakes and ponds along the way. I enjoyed the ride so much I drove us straight home to E 7th. I was able to relax while driving and passing other cars did not feel as stressful.
***
Three days ago, Chrissy Larson (another graduate student in the Environmental Education program) and I drove from Duluth to Bloomington, Indiana so we could attend the graduate research symposium on adventure education in
***
There is really nothing like a "baptism by fire" sort of experience. Not only did I drive A LOT, I also drove through a freaking thunderstorm. (Chrissy now tells me she might have seen the spout of a twister forming somewhere but thought best not to tell me.) Approaching Danville in Indiana along the I-74, the storm just got so worse that all I could see out my windshield was gray. The sky was gray and heavy with stormclouds. Rain was pouring heavily. There was fog all over from the heat on the road and the rain. I had to keep my eyes on the white road markings to make sure I was steering correctly, the faint tail lights of the large truck ahead of me and the faint lights of whatever vehicle was behind me. At one point there was also some hail. All this went on while I tried to drive above 50 miles per hour. Santa Maria Madre de Dios!
I took an exit after 2 hours of driving in the storm so Chrissy could take over. My eyes were just too tired for me to drive safely. But I felt exhilerated. Now I have driving-in-the-rain experience. I was less afraid of being behind the wheel. We arrived in Bloomington at 10 p.m. Our host, Aya Hayashi from Japan, welcomed us to a house she shared with three other girls. She had baked an Earl Grey Tea-flavored cake. Ang sarap! There were bits of tea in the cake. Somehow parang weird ano? Pero kakaibang sarap! I decided to walk around the neighborhood a bit before showering. Too much sitting had frozen the muscles on my back. I called my mom and told her about my drive. Takot sa Interstate ang nanay ko, so she was quite impressed. After that, I took a lovely hot shower, crept into my sleeping bag and promptly slept the sleep of the righteous.
***
What is it with Wisonsin and beef jerky? It seems to be a big thing at least in roadside gas station groceries. Large vacuum-packed bags of dried meat are piled in huge boxes. I've never seen so much jerky in my life. Kadalasan it's just those little finger-sized packs they sell for $1.25. But what I saw where 5 pound packs sold for $20 each. Malaki pa sa mukha mo! Who buys that much jerky?...The Jerks?..hehe..It's a rather unappetizing and unsettling site. Mukhang galing sa isang massacre. Palagay ko it's those truck drivers who buy these. Or maybe some visiting cannibals passing through.
***
Also, when driving on the Interstate, di ko mawari why everyone is driving at least 8 mph faster than the speed limit. Kapag masyado ka namang mabagal, may mga nagagalit. So sige na nga, gaya na rin ako. But you know that there are cops up ahead when vehicles in front of you suddenly slow down to the correct speed limit. Sabi na nga ba eh...Pero pag malayo na, hala, ang bilis na naman.
I was driving 7 mph above the speed limit when I noticed a patrol car lurking behind some trees (para bang bampira). Sa nerbyos ko, I stepped on the gas instead of the breaks. What??!! Oh Lord! I could see the headlines: "Philippine Children's Book Writer Deported for Speeding" or kaya "Charred remains of international student found in Interstate pile-up". But miracle of miracles, the police did not budge from their hiding place. Maybe they were busy eating donuts. Maybe there was some sex going on. I don't know. I'm just glad I didn't get a ticket. Chrissy, who was napping in the back seat, was woken up by my maniobra. "Natasha, you're starting to drive like an American!" she laughed. Ano raw? There's a Pidro joke there somewhere. I just can't find it right now.
***
Hay, kelan kaya ako makaka-bili ng kotse? Ayaw ko namang laging hiramin ang truck ni C. Pero, when I have my own car na, magda-drive ako sa Route 66 while playing and singing that Manhattan Transfer song of the same name. Magdadrive rin ako to California, o kaya to Colorado. Pwede ring magdrive to Florida, tapos magsiswimming doon sa beach :)
Isasama ko ang boyfriend ko
Isasama ko kahit sinong may gusto
Kahit may kasama siyang aso
Basta't mayroon siyang baong sariling buto...
----------------------------------------------
Link: "Overdrive" by the Eraserheads
In case you were wondering
posted by Natasha Vizcarra at 2:45 PM
3 Comments:
congratulations on your successful baptism by storm drive!!!
dito sa maynila.. ang baptism for driving is a rountrip through edsa
pasakay naman ate! at least yung baptism mo sa pag-drive e wala masyadong traffic :)
grabe, mas marami nang sumasakay sa mrt ngayon. kaya 'di na rin maiwasang matrapik ang mrt. :)
Whaat? Pati sa MRT may traffic? Yikes! Nasanay na yata ako sa walang traffic. Nakakapangilabot my memories of riding the bus to Makati for an hour and a half noong pre-MRT years.
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