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I had a corporate show for a pharmaceutical company in SM Megamall last Friday, July 3, 2009. My call time was at 2:30 p.m.

I had always hated the EDSA traffic caused by a vehicular accident, to which everyone “makes usyoso” as the motorists slowly pass by and check who’s at fault. The people involved usually get into a debate in the middle of the street until a police investigator arrives. Nagta-traffic po kayo! Hello! Caramba! Aminin naman natin na pakialamera, ma-opinion at madakdak sa mga issues ng kapwa natin na di naman natin alam ang kabuuan.

Nagmagandang loob ang special friend (special friend?! parang special halo-halo…basta, it’s complicated ang status nito) ko na samahan ako sa show gamit ang kanyang sasakyan. In fairness, bago, maganda, magara at porma kung porma ang karuh. The day before the show, I was advised not to be late for my call time because client is very particular with time.

We were in a rush so we’d beat the call time. My ICF (it’s complicated friend) particularly told the driver to stop at a gas station. I insisted to go straight to the show’s venue for fear of becoming late. Karma!  Paakyat ng  Ortigas flyover, bigla na lang kaming nag-freeze frame. Anong nangyari?

“Ma’am, tumirik po tayo. Naubusan ng gas,” say ng driver. “Huh, bakit di tayo nagpagas,” ask ni ICF na nakatulog sa traffic. “Naipit na kasi tayo ng mga kotse sa gitna, akala ko po aabot pa tayo kaya di na ako nag-abala mag pa-gas,” ang mabilis na reply ng driver. Ayun mas malaking abala ang nangyari…

We were under the heat of the sun, hanging along Ortigas flyover, heto na yun…Kitang-kita ko ang mga taong slow motion na dumadaan at nakatitig na parang sinadya naming na tumirik ang kotse. I felt we were wrongly judged for our mishap.

So this is how it feels. I have judged so many people who accidentally caused traffic. Walang gas! Walang aircon! Walang labasan sa car at nakakahiya! Walang hangin! Walang malapit na gas station…panic! At walang naniniwala sa akin na nasiraan ako sa EDSA. Never ko naman ginamit na adlib ang nasiraan ng car.

I had no choice but to go down the car and take pictures of myself in the middle of EDSA to prove my innocence.

Nakakahiya na nga ‘tong nangyaring ito. Pero parang mas nakakainsulto yung hindi sila naniniwala sa akin. What reputation do artists have? I guess, it’s because latecomers in showbiz abound. Most give lame adlibs. A few have valid reasons.

At that moment, I felt bad because it seemed like I had no word of honor. I also realized that I have to work harder to prove people wrong about this notion that artists have no discipline at all. Freeze…Why am I pointing a finger to my colleagues when the other three fingers of mine are pointing at me? Guilty.

Lately, I have been constantly late with the excuse that I have a kid. But, that’s not an excuse. It’s a weird wake-up call, amid the noisy cars honking at me. Our ever-efficient driver/feeling superman hurriedly got off the car to get gas. Ay! Akala niya malapit ito! As expected, para siyang nasirang tape na dahan-dahan nanghina papalapit sa gas station.

Good news! There are still good Samaritans in this day and age. An acquaintance of my ICF was passing by, recognized the car plates, and stopped to lend help. As expected, their help cameat the time my superman driver was still running along EDSA to reach Connecticut, Greenhills.

Pawisan akong dumating sa venue. Pawisan na sinundo ni ICF ang superman/driver ko na labas dila at piga t-shirt ng pawis. I was just on time. We rehearsed with my harassed look. I still apologized because if I were in the producers’ shoes, my excuse was still irrelevant. And my concern would just be, my artist arrive on time. Simple lessons that I seem to have forgotten and taken for granted. Lessons which I promised to abide by when I was still a striving theater artist.

The EDSA experience made me want to go back and see things that I don’t get to experience anymore, ang kalye. Heto na kami along busy Espana Avenue, when ICF suggested na kumain kami ng PARES in one of the karinderias. GO!

Ang steady ng experience. Ang mura ng pagkain. Ang simple ng presentation. Ang liit ng serving ng ulam, ang daming kanin pero may libreng sabaw. Ganun lang naman yata talaga ang kailangan ng isang tao na intake sa isang meal, e. I saw the simplicity of the place and the sincerity of the people eating. They were eating not to be seen but to really enjoy food and fill their stomach. Kasi di ba, aminin natin na merong times na we eat in a place not because we are truly hungry but because we want to see people and be seen by people.

Ang saya ng color ng plates…orange! Parang early warning device lang. Parang sinasabi sa kumakain…Heto na ang Food! Kain na!

After eating, tumambay pa kami sa kalye at pinanood namin ang mga tao sa paligid. Different people walking in different directions, some are waiting, some are simply standing, some are laughing with friends and there were also sidewalk vendors convincing passersby to buy.

Lahat ay may sari-sariling kwento. Lahat ay may pinanggalingan.. Lahat ay may pinagdadaanan. Lahat ay may gustong puntahan. Lahat ay may kanya-kanyang lakbay.

The parallelism of life and the street. Mayaman o mahirap, we all have our journeys to walk. Kaya lahat tayo ay batang kalye…(Ahhh…doon pala papunta ang blog entry na ito. Akala ko mag-e-ending ako ng wala lang…)