It is a common knowledge that some areas in Manila are not safe. For almost twelve years stay in Manila, nothing really bad happened to me until I experienced a traumatic life event which made me realize that the Murphy’s Law is haunting me, this time on a Tuesday evening.
Comfort is one of the reasons why I prefer to sit on the passenger seat beside the driver’s seat, at least in a public utility jeepney. Sitting beside the driver minimizes the disruption brought about by incoming and alighting passengers.
Happy Moments before the Encounter with Thieves
After much prodding and encouragement that we both meet Chef Lawrence in San Juan, Sheila finally yielded to have dinner at Café Ysabel in San Juan. Seeing Chef Lawrence Zafra and Sheila Mendoza-Ampongan over a sumptuous dinner at Café Ysabel (where Chef Lawrence works as Chef/Educator), was such a refreshing experience. After almost five years without any communication with Lawrence, I was able to track him through Tonton Manong , a student of Chef Lawrence and Jay’s brother. Immediately after exchanging few text messages and taking advantage of my short stay in Manila, we decided to meet over dinner to update ourselves about our personal and professional lives. Having bonded sometime during our New York Life days, we felt that we need to find time to discuss latest events after a protracted hiatus.
When I learned that Lawrence is a Chef/Educator, the movie Ratatouille came to my mind immediately. I anticipated seeing Lawrence wearing his Chef hat. Surprisingly, Lawrence showed-up with his Chef attire (minus the hat) with his name printed on the left side of his upper garment. Chef Lawrence looked like a growing young teenager who has an earring on his left ear lobe. He showed up wearing a smile. Lawrence still looked the same the last time we bonded together except that he lost his kinda bulging belly. He looked like a young kid in school. Lawrence has changed though. He is now married to a beautiful lady and seems to possess positive outlook in life. I would like to think that he has this unswerving faith after battling a serious attack. His experience in the hospital and his struggle refreshed my thoughts that indeed there are things in life which we do not know the recipe or the blueprint no matter how hard we try. We truly are not in control of everything.
Lawrence packed enseymada and the shy slices of thin crust pizza for me. Such gesture of Lawrence, whom we know as frugal, made him even more admirable (Sheils, you have to agree). ;-)
Impending Disaster
On my way home, I decided to drop by on my cousin’s house and proceeded back home. After sitting comfortable on the passenger seat, the driver halted the jeepney to accommodate a passenger which decided to sit beside me. Few seconds after, he pointed a six-inch long narrow but sharp knife on my knee and asked me to bring-out my phone. It was a real disaster. I can’t jump out of the jeepney because I’m sandwiched by him and the driver. The music kept on playing and the few passengers who were sitting near the rear entrance of the jeepney seemed unaware to what is exactly happening to me. Trying to play safe, I said “I don’t have a cellphone.” With my camera bulging on the right pocket of my denim jeans, the young man pointed to it using the knife and said, “Here.” Instantly, I complained “It’s not a cellphone, it’s a calculator.” He is about to believe me because the camera bulges a square figure and not a figure of a common cellphone unit but somebody right at the back sitting next to me pulled my collar and whispered “Bring it out!” I tried to negotiate and asked if they will accept money, but the guy sitting behind me pulled my collar even tighter and the other guy positioned the knife as if he is about to stab me. Realizing that I only have P250 inside my wallet, I surrendered and take my precious N70, codenamed Spencer, from the right pocket of my polo and handed it to the thief who sat beside me. That was the last time I embraced Spencer. After accepting it, he warned me not to alight which I respectfully accepted by saying "Opo" to save my life, soul, my camera, and all the contents of my wallet. Had I known that such thing will happen, I could have proceeded home without the stop over.
Comfort is one of the reasons why I prefer to sit on the passenger seat beside the driver’s seat, at least in a public utility jeepney. Sitting beside the driver minimizes the disruption brought about by incoming and alighting passengers.
Happy Moments before the Encounter with Thieves
After much prodding and encouragement that we both meet Chef Lawrence in San Juan, Sheila finally yielded to have dinner at Café Ysabel in San Juan. Seeing Chef Lawrence Zafra and Sheila Mendoza-Ampongan over a sumptuous dinner at Café Ysabel (where Chef Lawrence works as Chef/Educator), was such a refreshing experience. After almost five years without any communication with Lawrence, I was able to track him through Tonton Manong , a student of Chef Lawrence and Jay’s brother. Immediately after exchanging few text messages and taking advantage of my short stay in Manila, we decided to meet over dinner to update ourselves about our personal and professional lives. Having bonded sometime during our New York Life days, we felt that we need to find time to discuss latest events after a protracted hiatus.
When I learned that Lawrence is a Chef/Educator, the movie Ratatouille came to my mind immediately. I anticipated seeing Lawrence wearing his Chef hat. Surprisingly, Lawrence showed-up with his Chef attire (minus the hat) with his name printed on the left side of his upper garment. Chef Lawrence looked like a growing young teenager who has an earring on his left ear lobe. He showed up wearing a smile. Lawrence still looked the same the last time we bonded together except that he lost his kinda bulging belly. He looked like a young kid in school. Lawrence has changed though. He is now married to a beautiful lady and seems to possess positive outlook in life. I would like to think that he has this unswerving faith after battling a serious attack. His experience in the hospital and his struggle refreshed my thoughts that indeed there are things in life which we do not know the recipe or the blueprint no matter how hard we try. We truly are not in control of everything.
Lawrence packed enseymada and the shy slices of thin crust pizza for me. Such gesture of Lawrence, whom we know as frugal, made him even more admirable (Sheils, you have to agree). ;-)
Impending Disaster
On my way home, I decided to drop by on my cousin’s house and proceeded back home. After sitting comfortable on the passenger seat, the driver halted the jeepney to accommodate a passenger which decided to sit beside me. Few seconds after, he pointed a six-inch long narrow but sharp knife on my knee and asked me to bring-out my phone. It was a real disaster. I can’t jump out of the jeepney because I’m sandwiched by him and the driver. The music kept on playing and the few passengers who were sitting near the rear entrance of the jeepney seemed unaware to what is exactly happening to me. Trying to play safe, I said “I don’t have a cellphone.” With my camera bulging on the right pocket of my denim jeans, the young man pointed to it using the knife and said, “Here.” Instantly, I complained “It’s not a cellphone, it’s a calculator.” He is about to believe me because the camera bulges a square figure and not a figure of a common cellphone unit but somebody right at the back sitting next to me pulled my collar and whispered “Bring it out!” I tried to negotiate and asked if they will accept money, but the guy sitting behind me pulled my collar even tighter and the other guy positioned the knife as if he is about to stab me. Realizing that I only have P250 inside my wallet, I surrendered and take my precious N70, codenamed Spencer, from the right pocket of my polo and handed it to the thief who sat beside me. That was the last time I embraced Spencer. After accepting it, he warned me not to alight which I respectfully accepted by saying "Opo" to save my life, soul, my camera, and all the contents of my wallet. Had I known that such thing will happen, I could have proceeded home without the stop over.
Expecting a New Friend
It was painful losing the mobile phone but there was no remorse. Bad things truly happen in an expected time and place. Mom cried so hard upon learning what happened. Good thing, I still have all the pictures and the camera is safe. I still use the same mobile phone number since I’m using a post paid line. The only difference is that I’m using a new handset which will not interest thieves, not at all. Globe Telecom is about to deliver my free unit. Hopefully, it will have a longer lifeline on my custody. Pray for me.
It was painful losing the mobile phone but there was no remorse. Bad things truly happen in an expected time and place. Mom cried so hard upon learning what happened. Good thing, I still have all the pictures and the camera is safe. I still use the same mobile phone number since I’m using a post paid line. The only difference is that I’m using a new handset which will not interest thieves, not at all. Globe Telecom is about to deliver my free unit. Hopefully, it will have a longer lifeline on my custody. Pray for me.
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