Muffled Noise

According to the my highly unaccredited source (myself), there are only 4 reasons to correct someone’s grammar and/or spelling:

1. It is your job/responsibility to do so — and no, “It is my responsibility to society/the English language/mankind” doesn’t count.
2. You are genuinely concerned about the person and what may happen should others see the error, or should they make the same mistake in important situations (e.g. official business).
3. You want to clarify for yourself or others because the meaning could change due to the error.
4. You were asked to do so.

Otherwise, I think it’s rude especially if done publicly. Now I won’t lie, sometimes the mistakes are really funny or even ridiculous (I’m a Journalism major after all), but I just don’t think it should be a big deal if you understand what they meant anyway.

But that’s just me. Come on, I know English but my math isn’t good, for all I know that apostrophe-loving person can multiply 10x faster and more accurately than me in his sleep. Huh.

So we had two guests over from Hong Kong — they were here for 3 days on a business trip. Naturally I had to give them a few tips for their stay, tell them what’s what, at least what they really needed to know to get around. One of those days, the three of us needed to attend a whole-day meeting in Makati. These are the things I had to explain to them about getting around in Metro Manila, most of them given during that trip. Of course, most if not all of my readers know this already, but I myself never really gave any thought to these things until I had to explain them. So I’m gonna try to contribute to society by sharing them, here goes.

1. If you’re going by cab, you have to choose carefully.
   • Reason: Some of them charge extra when traffic is heavy, and some just decline when they know it’s a tough drive to your destination.
   • Tips: It’s always best to tell them where you’re going first before getting on, to avoid having to get off if they decline, and to avoid surprise charges. Also, try to pick the company-owned cabs (they’re not white — some of them are MGE, R&E, EMP and Sturdy). They generally don’t decline and don’t charge extra. If they do, try to negotiate and make sure you know when it’s too much. Sometimes, Filipinos are willing to give up to Php20 (in extreme cases, Php30) extra to cab drivers if they know traffic is really that heavy. Never agree to a no-meter run, that is NEVER allowed, no matter how they try to convince you (they sometimes do that to trick foreigners).
   • Story: The day after the meeting, they were fooled into paying Php200 for a Php100 trip, because the driver told them that he wasn’t running on a meter. In fact, he charged P250 but finally accepted Php200.
2. Cabs usually don’t give change if it’s less than Php10, maybe even Php20.
   • Reason: It’s considered a tip, whether or not you intended to give any. It’s the custom and in general, nobody complains. I guess it’s pakikisama, the Pinoy concept of getting along with others (meaning, don’t go fighting with him over Php5).
   • Tips: Just try to be reasonable. Remember the denominations — Php5, 10, 20, 50. If you have the exact fare (by exact we mean anything with an extra of not more than Php10), then pay that. If not, prepare to let go of anything under P20. Try to read his body language for a second too — if he looks like he’s reaching for change, then wait for it. If not, let it go. Ask for anything over Php20, unless you agreed on paying extra for traffic beforehand. Better yet, you can also just give a tip of around 10%, less hassle.
   • Story: One of them took a cab somewhere the day before our meeting. After paying, he was waiting for his Php16 change. The driver wondered what he was waiting for, and asked in a mean voice “Change?”. He realized the driver didn’t want to give it back so he just declined and got off.
3. In most cases, cabs don’t have receipts.
   • Reason: The system hasn’t been officially rolled out until recently (last year), and implementation will take a while.
   • Tips: If you need your fare reimbursed, just write down the plate number, taxi name and fare. Driver name if you think it’s necessary, they won’t mind. Afterwards, have it signed by the driver.
   • Story: Our guests thought all cabs had receipts, because airport taxis right now have them.
4. Jeepneys and busses can stop anywhere, sometimes even in the middle of the road.
   • Reason: One reason is that in most cases, it’s really okay to stop anywhere (as long as you move to the side). Another reason is because vehicle stops in general aren’t observed that much, except when there are traffic police around. Another is that many drivers just don’t think about the trouble they could cause others when they do that. It’s worse for busses since they’re at least three times the size of jeeps. Also, we do have bus stops, but again unless there are cops, they usually aren’t followed.
   • Tip: Just say “Para” where you want to get down. If the jeep/bus isn’t on the right side already, it’s best to say “Sa tabi lang po” which literally means “Just at the side”, but connotes something like “Please move to the side so I can get down.” Otherwise they might stop right there. You can also just tell the conductor or driver where you need to get down when you’re near. That way they can plan a “legal” stop for you. If the vehicle is stuck in traffic, it’ll most likely open the doors for anyone who wants to get down, even if you’re not at a stop. You can get off, it’s completely fine, but be careful and watch where you step — get to the sidewalk as soon as you can.
   • Story: They didn’t get to ride either of these, but they were absolutely fascinated (or confused) by this idea. Continue reading

News you may or may not know — Osama Bin Laden recently ordered an attack “far greater than the 9/11 attacks” set for the near future, according to a supposed inside source. Al-Qaida’s second-in-command Al-Zawahri recently called Obama a “house negro” and “the direct opposite of honorable black Americans”.

While you (and that little voice in my head) may be thinking “so what?”, I’m gonna share something I think is interesting. I think that everyone’s still so euphoric about Obama’s victory, that none of this really matters. Obama is now Superman, the savior, the one who’ll make the boogeymen go away. Al-Zawahri’s statement is reduced to meaningless propaganda to mar Obama’s image. Osama bin Laden’s threat isn’t even making as many headlines as you’d normally expect. Nobody’s talking about it at work, but then again you’d sooner see a dozen paper planes flying across the room than hear people talk about politics there.

Anyway, I think people have counted the years since 9/11 as a sign that Osama bin Laden is no longer relevant, or perhaps just feel such a strong sense of security that what the news says must be an exaggeration. A strange figure of speech, a misinterpretation even.

But is it really? I don’t claim to know more than average about this topic, but I am wondering why the threat seems to be downplayed. These days, you can’t even say the word “bomb” in an airport, so this to me doesn’t add up.

What about Iran? Its continued refusal to cooperate with IAEA, arguing that they won’t “succumb to bullying” and insisting that they are acting according to their rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, blah blah you all know the story — so how can they honestly expect people to believe that they have nothing to hide? Well, the sanctions seem to be doing more harm than good without actual serious penalties for non-compliance. I mean, if it were true that they were doing something fishy, I don’t think trade sanctions would stop them now that they’ve gone this far.

And yet, I can’t blame the US for taking its stance. Ahmadinejad was right when he said a preemptive (or any) attack would be a stupid move, not to mention a pain to justify (based on our experience with the Iraq invasion), and yet with Israel’s scared out of its wits, there’s a lot of pressure to do something. Now, anyone who’s been following the news knows all this, but let me get to my point (finally!).

Despite pressure from Israel, it seems that given the current situation, the US will not initiate anything other than negotiations — “unconditional” ones at that. Even though it makes sense, I am convinced that something big is gonna happen in the very near future, and if the US isn’t going to start it, the other parties will. These things don’t just happen and die down on their own, now do they? This is very similar to the situation that drove the Iraq invasion — Al-Qaeda attacks, US can’t find the terrorist so they pick on someone else. Of course, it’s pretty clear that Obama is no Bush, but I’d say that makes it more interesting. ;)

It was pretty good too, not to mention, it was the first time we’d all even heard of the brand. I was even against buying it at that time, because it seemed like an “ambiguous Chinese brand”. I was kinda joking — what irony. Oh well, too bad. :<