4: Train Poetry

Tuesday, 15 September 2009: V. Mapa -> Recto (LRT 2) / D. Jose (LRT 1) -> Blumentritt (LRT 1) -> Monumento (LRT 1) -> Baclaran (LRT 1) -> EDSA (LRT 1) / Taft (MRT 3) -> Araneta-Cubao

Day 2 of me using and abusing the LRT/MRT Flash Pass (get one for Php250/week...it's worth it if you keep on switching trains!) For the hell of it, I went down Blumentritt Station just to take photographs of the nightscene. Then, headed off to Monumento to start off the end-to-end trip. As I got to Baclaran, I went back in and went down to the EDSA station (to move to the MRT and went from end to end).

The scene in those trains I rode in was surreal. The coaches were half-empty and everyone in there were already in their own baubles, unmindful of anyone else who are stuck there with them; a direct opposite to the packed rush hour trains. And out of this experience, I was able to compose "Observations at the 7:45 PM Train" (Catch is, for you to get to know how that poem goes, you'll have to attend my gigs).

(Photos to come later on)

3: Malls are deathly boring.

Monday, 14 September 2009: Shaw Blvd - Magallanes - EDSA/Taft - Baclaran - United Nations Avenue

However you say it or package it, malls are boring places to go to. Period. This was the day that I got my LRT/MRT Flash Pass, which gives me UNLIMITED train rides for one week for only Php250 at Shaw Boulevard MRT station. Not bad for someone like me who goes to different places unexpectedly.

For quite some time now, I've passed by Magallanes on the MRT and noticed the Alphaland Southgate Mall. I was quite curious about what was in there and how it differed from other malls out there. So, I decided to make a stop there. And boy, was I disappointed. It is just like Greenhills in a smaller package and in a different place. How useless to stop by.

For a moment there, I forgot my personal mantra: MALLS ARE BORING, MALLS ARE USELESS UNLESS I NEED TO BUY STUFF. Well, so much for that.

Next stop was Taft Avenue. For a change, I thought of walking from the Taft MRT station to Baclaran LRT 1 station (yes, those two stations are actually near). The last time I was there (around the Baclaran LRT 1 station) was years back when we supposedly were to have a gig somewhere around Baclaran, got lost, and didn't end up playing the gig anyway. Unfortunately, things haven't changed a bit. Even worse, the underside of the railway has more leaks than a sinking ship, and I was walking on the road due to a non-existent pedestrian walkway that has been taken over by hawkers.

From there, I proceeded on to United Nations Avenue to surprise my girlfriend and didn't disappoint her. :)