I am Mae German. 32 years old. Born in Mangatarem, province of Pangasinan. I was taught and trained by 
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My Trapik Layp Sumuko ako sa paglalakad.
My Trapik Layp Sumuko ako sa paglalakad. | Sumuko ako sa paglalakad. |
| Thursday, 06 November 2008 | |
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Every inch of my (lower) body is aching right now (isama pa ang dagdag na kalyo sa daliri ng paa ko). I was at the Train Station at 8am for my 10am job interview in Manhattan. Pagkahatid sa pamangkin ko sa school, ako naman ang hinatid ni Ate. Dumating ako sa New York Penn Station a little past 9am. 32nd Street near 7th Avenue ang nilabasan ko this time. My destination was in Madison Ave. near 23rd Street. Akala ko malapit lang. [ zoom-in the map here ] 7th Ave. is in West side while Madison Ave. is in East side (learned from Ate Shirley and Lolo Thor that the division of Manhattan is the 5th Avenue). On time naman ako sa interview ko and it went well. The lady who talked to me explained the job description (IT Purchasing ek ek-- it has nothing to do with programming) and she told me na the person who is going to train me for two weeks (if I get in, I will start on Monday daw) is not easy to deal with (takutin daw ba ako!). She's got an attitude daw. Oh well... May dalawang tao pa silang i-interview-hin kanina. She said she'll get in touch with my employer on Friday. Antay na lang ako. Didn't bring up the salary as it should be between the client and my employer na. I trust na di naman ako ibebenta sa mababang halaga ng employer ko. Sana... Pero sabi ko nga, basta mas hihigitan nila ang gastusin ko sa isang araw, ayus na. Pansamantala lang naman ito. Isa pa, di ba yun naman ang pangarap ko? Ang maranasang mag-trabaho ng iba naman sa linya ko. Tapos na ako sa pakay ko sa Manhattan ng mga 10:30 ng umaga but decided to take a walk... by now all of you knows how much I love walking, eh? From 23rd Street, I walked hanggang 14th Street via Madison Avenue. May nakita akong bilihan ng hot apple/peach cider for $2. I bought apple + peach (hehe paghaluhin daw ba). Weird ang taste but it's good (well, weird naman talaga minsan ang panlasa ko). Para siyang nilagang hinog na saba/saging juice. HAHAHAHAHA!!! Sarap! Naubos ko habang naglalakad ako. Sa paligid ko nanjan yung isang nigger na may kausap sa celfon na sumisigaw (F*CK YOU, MAN!). Dedma ako syempre, lakad lang ng derecho. Nanjan yung parang baliw (mga itim usually), nanjan yung may mga grupo na grabe mga salita nila (dedma lang ako, higop lang sa mainit na apple+peach cider ko). "Derechohin ko pa ba hanggang 1st Street?" asked myself while buying my hot cider sa 14th Street. Di ko na kaya. "Hmmm... ano kaya kung lakarin ko mula Madison Ave. hanggang 1st Ave.?" sabay tingin sa mapa. There was nothing much along 14th Street going to 1st Ave. Nung nasa 3rd Ave nga ako sabi ko ihinto ko na kalokohan ko eh. Pero no..... itinuloy pa rin ng paa ko ang paglalakad hanggang 1st Ave. Dagat na ang tabi ng 1st Ave. Via 14th Street, tinahak ko hanggang makarating ako sa dulo, which is the 1st Ave. Via 1st Ave (starting at 14th Street), tinahak ko hanggang 50th Ave. United Nations is at the 46th Street pero mahaba siya. Nasa 44th Street nakatapat yung Philippine Flag. Wala ako camera, napansin ko kasi na mejo kakaiba ang mga streets na napasok ko kahapon kaya di na talaga ako nagdala. Yung mga streets na tinahak ko today, hindi mga pang-turista. I wanted to walk on some place na di gano matao. Madali ako magsawa sa madaming tao. Well, yung mga nalakaran ko na may mga mukhang gago, di ko naman akalain na andun sila eh. Pero the streets are very safe. Wala akong naramdamang takot o kaba o duda sa mga tao. I walked through the 50th Street going back to 5th Ave., where St. Patrick's Cathedral is located. Yup, today I discovered a peaceful and serene place inside the cathedral na bawal ang camera and silence is being observed. Nasa likod siya ng altar and may guard siya. You need to say OPEN SESAME para they will let you in.. hehe joke.. but yep, may guard siya. From 5th Ave via 50th Street, tinahak ko na pabalik sa 7th Street. Then 7th Street to 34th Street (where the Penn Station is). Grabe na sakit ng paa ko as I was wearing my leather shoes kasi nga may interview ako. Bought a wheat bagel at Dunkin' kasi gutom na ako. Kinakain ko yun habang naglalakad (pakurot-kurot hanggang maubos). Grabe ang pagod ko pagkaupo ko sa train. Nakatulog na nga ako sa byahe eh (yup! kampante na ako sa pagsakay ng train, mejo nakakabisado ko na mga train stops/station eh). Before 3pm, I was back to our train station. Inagahan ko talaga kasi sabi ko kailangan ko na may liwanag pa para makita ko yung mga streets na dadaanan ko. Naligaw pa ako kakahanap sa bus stop uli.... walked a mile yata tapos bumalik ako sa train station nung wala ako makitang bus stop. Asked someone working at a gasoline station pero as usual, wala silang alam. So ang ginawa ko, dun na lang uli ako nagpunta sa bus stop ko kahapon. When I got there, a crossing guard told me I missed the bus by 20 minutes, I should wait for about 40 minutes for the next bus to arrive. OUCH! Umaambon na. Saw another gasoline station na may convenience store and bought a Street Map for a dollar. Then pwesto na ako sa bus stop. I saw the lady crossing guard (she's probably in her 60s) seated sa isang bench and nilapitan ko. Tried to start a conversation and asked her about the buses around town. Wala siya gano alam sa mga routes but she's sure every hour yung bus patungo sa amin. Nung umambon she told me na sumilong muna ako sa covered area ng munisipyo. Which I did. Nung napagod na talaga ako, naglabas na ako ng papel na pwede ko upuan. Sumalampak na ako sa sahig kahit malamig. Ramdam ko na ang pagod ko. The crossing guard would check on me once in a while. She'd ask me a few safe questions and I'd reply naman. I asked her some questions too. She's a Korean and she's been in the United States for 38 years already. She works as a crossing guard now sa intersection na yun. Altho' everyday daw nandun siya, hindi naman whole day. Like she'll be there ng 7:30am then leave at 9:30, tapos balik siya 2:30pm, and so on and so forth. "DON'T YOU HAVE A CELFON, SO YOU CAN CALL HOME?" she asked. "NO. I HAVEN'T APPLIED FOR ONE YET," sabi ko. "OH.. YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY YET," sabi niya sabay ngiti. Nasabi ko kasi sa kanya na bago lang ako dito. "YEAH," ang ngiti ko pabalik sa kanya. Gusto ko sabihing I think I am going to be all right without a celfon. I am actually enjoying the freedom from the said gadget. Anyway, the crossing guard waited until I was able to get on my bus. She reminded me to ask the driver for a copy of their bus schedule, and ask if they have a copy of their routes. She was so nice. Nung dumating na yung bus ko andun siya inantay nya talaga ako na makasakay. I dunno but I (intentionally) did not ask for her name. If she said she's there everyday then there's a possibility na I will run in to her again. That will be the time that I will ask further questions. I was able to get off at the right bus stop this time. It's 6 or 7 blocks away from the house. Yun ang pagtitiyagaan kong lakarin pag nagi-snow na. Bagsak ako pagdating ko sa bahay. Pagtanggal ko ng shoes ko di na ako makalakad. Nahiga muna ako then tinaas ko ang mga paa ko sandali. Kakaiba ang pakiramdam ng talampakan ko ngayon. Tila napudpod yata sa paglalakad ko. Ikaw ba naman ang mag-trip maglakad sa lansangan ng halos anim na oras. Dapat talaga nagbabaon ako ng rubber shoes ko. Oh well, pahinga muna ako.  One person has commented on this article. 1. Untitled Guest, Unregistered nuyorker ka na! pero ang mga taga ny, they are not bothered to wear sneakers kahit naka business suit! so next time, wear your sneakers kung balak mong maglakad ng ganung kahaba! am so happy for you mae...:)) everything's gonna be alright my dear... Posted 2008-11-07 09:49:00 |
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