My Wingman
So, Who is your Wingman, Kuya Alex?
After working long hours at the hospital for many months, I was burnt out. I’m assigned to night shift from 11 – 7. Since I work as a shifter, I don’t have a stable unit. Each night, I would go to the HR office to see where I am assigned. You see, I’m single and I live alone, so I did not mind at all. I’ve been in the ER, ICU, Psych Unit, and the Medical-Surgical Unit. For some reason, my favorite unit was the Psych Unit. Maybe I can relate to that? Joke lang!
Not only was I working for someone else, I also work for myself. But I will get into that next time…
My best friend is a Filipino. He took a trip back to his home country – The Republic of the Philippines, two months ago; he came back with whole bunch of stories, videos, and pictures. Then, I learned that he hooked up with long time childhood friend while he was there. Congrats to him! From the many stories he told me, three stories stuck out to me.
First story: No Running Water…
Isn’t that a beauty?
He told me there was no running water in most houses in the province. The only way to get water is by using a manual pump. Instead of Well and the Bucket Concept of what us westerners are use to back in the days, these Filipinos use manual pumps. Hence, you need to physically work for your water. How do you flush the toilet, Kuya Alex? From what my friend told me, You fill up a paint bucket to the rim, you carry that bucket to the toilet, and you pour that sucker into the toilet to flush it out. But if it was a number 2, it might require two buckets.
Retrieving water for showers is the same concept, but this time you pour the bucket of water into a larger water container located inside the restroom or out-house. After filling up that large container, you then “shower” by using a bowl to wet yourself in order to lather up the soap and wash your hair. To rinse everything up, you use the bowl again. Isn’t that fun?
Second Story: People Sleep on the Floor Dude…
He told me people sleep on the floor on a piece of foam and they don’t mind at all. To me, that is very surprising since I’m sharing a queen size bed all to myself. Anyway, during sleep time, the Filipino would take out the folded foam bed and lay it out in the living room. Depending on the size of the family, they might have two or three laid out. After everyone is awake and out of the bed, the foam bed get folded up and put away somewhere else out of site. Now isn’t that cleaver? Tiny houses concept.
Third Story: People don’t wear helmets Bro…Traffic Laws are different
He and I both have our own motorcycles. To avoid tickets and a cracked skull, we make sure we wear our helmets each time we go riding on our bikes. He told me that people don’t really honor the traffic laws as much over there in the Philippines, except major cities like Manila and Cebu. Majorities of Filipinos own trikecycles, Jeepneys, and scooters instead of cars and vans. Many prefer riding scooters as their ideal transportation vehicle or just pay the fare by utilizing the local Jeepney system. In the province, many riders don’t care to wear helmets. Hence the many fatalities due to drinking and riding. Traffic law is different. In the United States, any motorized vehicles have the right away, but in the Philippines, it is the other way around. In the Philippines, pedestrians will always have the right away no matter what. He told me if you hit the someone on the road, that will be your ass. You will be paying up the medical bills, paying the family if there is death, and paying for damages to properties if any. If you drive a car and a motorcycle run into you, guess who will be at fault? The person that drive the car. Why Kuya Alex? Because the car is bigger than the motorcycle-scooter. Isn’t that a bitch?
What Else, Kuya Alex?
He promised me he would find me someone while hewass there before taking his trip since I am always working and available. I didn’t expect he took it seriously, but he did. While browsing through the many videos and pictures, I kept pointing at different girls. He would tell me “Nope, Taken”, “Nope bro, she is married”, “That’s a dude bro”…haha. Well what did I know? I didn’t know Philippines have men that dress and look like a women. I thought it is only in Thailand. After browsing through the many videos and pictures for like 3 hours, I finally pointed to someone. My friend said “She is available”. Then, He started to connect me with her through another friend. I wasn’t looking to hook up or anything. I am just curious to see where it would take me.
We shall see….
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