There are times when I wonder how it feels to drive cars. A friend says it's tiring if not boring but I still wanna drive and own a car someday. I mean, if it's without purpose then nobody would even consider having one, right? And you know what!? This, Yes this! This had me thinking maybe it's about time to do some real test driving. More than any of the rides and adventures I experienced driving was the funnest of all.



Driving back into my memory lane, I actually did some sort of pre test driving activities which included bump cars, an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and a scooter. No damage so far since my last driving activity though but thinking about how it felt driving, the adrenaline rush, the sense of power over something, it's what I may have been missing after all. It's like I never felt so free in my whole life until I got the chance to drive. That when it started to move and I realized I was driving, I felt so free it's almost like I could fly.

I honestly don't know much about cars but I think it would awesome to get a smart and sporty looking one even though I'm not really the sporty type. Yes dearie, I love irony as much as I love to surprise myself. And since I am a creative a person then a car that comes with a customization program would be a great deal too. I love customizing! Google here and there and may I present to you my ideal car.

Image Credits: Green Autoblog

A smart fortwo BRABUS electric drive car with a touch of Arrow's color palette (Black and Green) from smart brabus with electric drive and a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery. Launched just last March, it's a consolation that this car is Eco-friendly! And that my friend is my ideal car. :-)

So what's your ideal car?

I remember the first time I rode the MRT. It was remarkable because it was also my first time in Manila. In fact I was still carrying my big traveling bag that when I got inside the train everybody was looking at me like I am some kind of terrorist. Ehem. Ehem. *changes accent* 'Hey, my name is Mark and I am not a terrorist!', I shouted inside my head while staring all back at them. Anyway, that awkward moment was saved by an audio announcement about the safety precautions inside the train. The train wasn't as crowded as I expected. Everyone must be taking their lunch I thought. I stood facing the right side of the train and from the window I saw rooftops, cables, wires, houses, seemingly abandoned buildings, old apartments, there was even a school I thought, scrapped political banners from the May 2010 Presidential Elections and a billboard of Kris Aquino among many others. The view outside was so depressing that I turned my gaze on the people inside the MRT. During the first stop I took the chance to transfer to the end of the train so I could have a better view of everything and everyone. At last! After a few minutes of standing I've finally been able to sit. The train suddenly became crowded but I still managed to observe people who I thought were interesting and it sort of made me feel happy. Actually, it was fun to think of stories out of their expressions, what they're doing and whatever that has, will or may happen during our ride.



It felt like I just went inside the lives of the people around me. Assuming of course that my theories and assumptions were right. They don't have to be necessarily right though and that's best thing about it. Inside the train, was an old woman who was texting and I thought she needed some help with it. I think her phone was of the qwerty type and I bet she couldn't hardly see. Beside her were two high school students giggling over a handsome guy in front of them who I thought was gay since he's been looking at the direction of the five college students near the exit door. Or it could be that he knows someone from that group because one actually waved his hands to the handsome guy. Or it wasn't the handsome guy that one of the college students was waving to, but the girl beside the handsome guy who wore a pink shirt and was drinking a mocha frappe from Starbucks. Let's just call her Starbucks girl. If that's the case then the handsome guy (who I thought was gay) is so assuming and I guess that makes him even more gay. There's also a guy who looked like a goon from a movie ready to steal or punch anyone who gets near him. What's so peculiar about him though is that he was carrying a book that looked like a bible and all. Across him was a promo girl of some known dish washing liquid who I think is late for work because she's always checking her wristwatch. I wish I could tell her she can't stop time by just looking at her wristwatch. Honestly, it's distracting. If it were the end of the world I think nobody would even care what time it is. Anyway, behind the promo girl was a fat guy who I think was selling stuff on his messenger bag because he's been looking at nearly every direction. He was in a business man attire though, his head bald and he's wearing eye-glasses. I think the guy's searching for a potential buyer around because he appears to be checking on everyone. "Don't you dare look at my direction!" I murmured. I just hate facing persuasive salesmen. They're incessant talkers and it annoys the hell out of me. I don't know where I got this but whenever I hear too much noise and gets load of information all at the same time I get dizzy.

Anyway, there was a pregnant woman who looked problematic on her duster and her 8 years old daughter who was laughing at the old man who was asleep in front of them. I'm not really certain about their ages though. Beside the man who was sleeping was a woman who looked like Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago but in a nurse's uniform also worried that she may already be late for her shift. What's with people checking time every time? It made me feel as though one of them had set up a time bomb somewhere. On the right side was an engineering student who's been scratching his back with a T-square and I think it was his classmate who tried to cover him up for a moment. It must have been very embarrassing for the classmate. T-square? Like seriously? Hahaha. And oh, there was an annoying girl who was standing right in front of me. She looked pretty though but she keeps on giving me hurried glances which made me conscious. And I fucking hate it! Another thing that pisses me off is when people try to make their every breaths audible. It makes me eerily conscious about breathing and I sometimes end up stopping my breath.

By the next stop, a crowd of people went inside and the girl in front of me went nearer to where I was. Suddenly, everyone became close to one another. Among the new set of people is a young man, maybe in his early twenties who looked pissed and was looking for someone. In fact, he wandered around checking people's faces. He even accidentally poured Starbucks girl's mocha frappe and I heard the girl utter "Watch it!". I didn't hear the guy say sorry though but he bowed his head down and went near the exit. That reminded me of bumping into a lady earlier who I thought was a call center agent because she looked like a zombie. I said sorry but she was kind of spaced out or something. There's circles around her eyes and she looked like she never had any decent sleep in her lifetime. Thinking of it made me realize we are actually in pre-zombie era.

Before I forget, there's my friend who's busy texting the person we will be meeting in a mall somewhere. Hahaha. I don't really know where we're going but the person I'm with is actually one of those guys who likes to hit on girls a lot. And yes, I'll accompany him to meet his textmate in a Mall somewhere. We've been friends for years but never have I been influenced by his style with girls. I guess I didn't need that because I believe life is like a movie and everyone of us has a role to play. He plays the playboy type and my role is . . .honestly, I have yet to figure that out. Perhaps, in this train ride I'm the person who likes to observe and create stories inside his head. Oh dearie, I must be retarded!

There are lot of stories one could tell out of riding an MRT. Each and every individual in that MRT is actually telling a part of their life stories. And if only I could; I would very much love to know what's gonna happen to them after the MRT ride. I mean, it's really interesting to know because life offers a lot of possibilities. Maybe, my friend's textmate was the old woman who struggled coping with technology. Maybe the guy would say sorry to the girl in pink and ask her out on a date later. Or maybe the new guy was looking for his Mom who happens to be the nurse in Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago's mask. Maybe, the salesman is actually the lookout of annoying girl in front of me who happens to be a member of a Chinese mafia. Or the handsome guy wasn't actually gay but the older brother of one of those college students. And the lady zombie might fall in love to the hoodlumy-looking guy who happens to be a clergyman. Anything can happen! And I also believe everyone is somehow connected from any other person in the MRT not through six degrees of separation but maybe on a much larger scale.

There are over 11 million people in Metro Manila and if each person's life is to be adapted into a movie then we'll have 11 million movies produced during these people's lifetime. I'm not really good in math or statistics but the thing is anyone of us could be part of each others' movie. In your film you're the protagonist, in others' you can be the villain but to whosoever films I'm in, I think I will be the narattor. The typical guy you don't normally see in the camera. A guy who's just there to observe and scare the hell out of people when he smiles at them.

Sometimes, I think life is like an MRT Ride. It starts slow and for a moment it keeps a certain speed and then slows down during stops. It's a mecha beast that is hard to escape. A place full of strangers, would-be friends and even love interests. A place where anything can happen. You know where you're headed but sometimes you have stops to make. And the time you'll get out of it, you know, you'll have more rides to take!

If you were in my shoe, the first thing you'll probably do is to plunge your hands into a soap and water solution,then try pulling the thing out of your finger. I've tried that and it didn't work for me.







Another way is to let someone pull it for you. I told my sister to pull it for me and you know what it caused me? It caused me to scream as hell that everyone damned to see what happened. And I showed everyone my red and numbing middle finger. 







After the numbing experience, I asked my Grandmother what to do. She was laughing at me and then told me to get her dressmaker's kit. I gave it to her and she handed me scissors. I asked her if she could cut it for me but she said her hands are too shaky she might cut my finger instead. So I was left with no choice and no one else are around to help me so I did it myself.







I'm carrying the fact that my grandma's scissors won't work. I went to my Grandpa thinking he knows what to do! And you know what he told me in response? "You get my tool box underneath the sink!". I hurriedly went to the sink in search for his tool box. And look what I found -a much bigger scissor. Oh I might sound silly but if I am to let my Grandpa get this thing out of my hand -then he would probably cut not just my fingers but my right hand. So what I did was I told him I didn't see the tool box and I ran away!







After my looking for something out of nothing expedition I went upstairs to disturb my Mom. Unfortunately, she's busy folding clothes.




After a while, I found myself putting my finger between an ajar door. I gently closed the door with my other hand sticking the ring between the wooded edges. Then I pulled myself back. It hurt. After three more tries my middle finger swelled up. Ohhh no!







After trying that, I went downstairs to see what or who can help me. So I turned on the computer and googled 'how to get a stuck ring out of my goddamn finger'. I just scanned a few pages and did one thing from my search and it didn't do any good. I just dipped my hand in the water until my skin went wrinkly and all. Still, it was failure.







This time -I'm even daring- I was so desperate to get the ring out of my finger that I grabbed a saw. And yes I saw it .An hour later and I gave up. It did not work.







3 hours later and I haven't gotten any decent meal because of my ring problem. I cried out help from my sister. And my Grandpa was right! Together with my sister, grandpa's enormous scissor helped me. It took us about 20 minutes to get the ring cut and out of my middle finger! Fuck you ring! Fuck you.

Some risks are not worth taking and that's precisely why we have to be very careful about our privacy and security online. Sometimes, what applies in real life needs to be applied in our virtual lives. The online world could be a lot more dangerous than the world itself. There are cyber-bullies, scammers, online thieves, spammers and hackers that could ruin our reputations, devastate our careers and businesses or worse, destroy our lives.

I've once been a victim of one of those online threats. In fact, even up to now that nightmare is still far from over just yet. That's why I'm eager to let others know about how they can be safe amidst all dangers that lurks in the dark corners of the internet.

So check out my 10 Internet Safety Tips!

1.) Never Share Your Personal Information - This is good rule of thumb in the times when old friends wants to reconnect with us, acquaintances who wants to get to know us more, relatives who just wants to maintain the same kind of relationship we have with them from reality to the online world and strangers who seems intrigued by our existence. The problem there is that these people may not be who we think they are. Your so acquaintances, relatives and friends may be posers who wanted to take advantage of you. That's why we have to be cautious and verify their identities as well, how much more with strangers who we barely know. I think it's a no-brainer not to share personal info such as your finances, address, contact number and above all personal conversations. This brings us to a solution in number 2.

2.) Don't Talk to Strangers - You can always verify if your relatives and friends are really the one's you're chatting to. You can call them or ask them directly if you see each other or even during chat I'm sure your instinct will know if it's really them or not. Chatting with strangers is another story though. When you were a child I'm sure your mom taught you not to talk to strangers. That's actually a good first line of defense but apparently it's not the only one. And that brings us to number 3. Again, don't talk to strangers - most especially if you really don't have a good reason to do so.

3.)  Set Up Your Privacy -  Setting you privacy will do so much in Social networks. You can filter to which set of people or specific people can you share your thoughts and activities online. This will make you feel safe from unwanted prying eyes. But not if you're in an internet shop which is the case of the next tip.

4.) Avoid Public Computers - Your computer broke down! Your life is a mess so you went to find life somewhere else. Then you're back online, but this time, in an internet shop and you're using an old public desktop computer with other people around. The dangers of using public computer does not only include the probability that people surrounding you may have bad intentions (to you) but the softwares installed on that computer may actually put your identity in danger. Public computers might be infected with spywares, malwares and even viruses that can track your activity and hack your password. This leads us to the 5th tip!

5.) Install Antivirus - You should check if an antivirus software installed on your computer is still working or if there's even one. You see, antivirus is a necessity for your online or basic computer needs. It stops viruses, spyware, and solves all the problems in the 4th tip. Well, it depends on what you mean by a 'broken down' computer and an Antivirus cannot move internet shop bystanders away from you. The next time you use a public computer always check if they have installed an antivirus.

6.) Cancel Auto-Downloads - I know most of you love torrenting movies and tv shows. But I hope you understand that when you download you have to consider that whatever it is you downloaded is a potential threat to the health of your computer. And that's gonna lead us back to number 4 and 5. There are websites though that you can trust when it comes to download but you must be aware that there are pages in the internet that automatically downloads stuff on your computer. In the event that you'll open one, your browser may prompt a dialog box about the download and be sure to cancel it.

7.) Copyright Do it Right! - This has nothing to do with the 5 previous tips but most people upload and share a lot of their original photos, thoughts in the internet and it is best to keep them within the bounds of the privacy users set. But if you post it somewhere, like a blog or your public facebook page, then you must take great caution as some people can just steal your ideas, photos and videos online. Always remember that the internet is one big public domain. And everything you have publicly posted online can be credited to search engines and stolen from you. There are some laws, however, that states we are protected by a certain copyright law which starts the moment our crafts has been created. But it's always safe that we take precautionary measures on this line by placing watermark on our photos and videos and a disclaimer about our ideas. Remember, getting Sotto-ed is a pain in the ass!

8.) SHAMELESS PLUG - This tip is as simple as reading my post about avoiding the 20 kinds of websites I hate! If you do you will not only be saved from online threats but from headaches as well.

9.) Avoid Joining Heated Public Online Debates -  This tip is actually for everyone. Behind every facebook page you like, behind every forums you join and public threads you comment on there are page administrators and moderators. These people most commonly referred to as 'admins' can be as ruthless as Hitler and when one side crosses the line harsh moves will take place and result to the other one being cyber-bullied. Exercise Freedom of Speech only when necessary!

10.) Strong Password and No Hints! - Just because you want your relationship to be strong - by showing trust - you're gonna give away the log-in details in all of your cyber accounts. That's the trend recently whenever you're in a relationship. Passwords, when discovered by others, may result for your virtual life being destroyed.

So that's it! If you don't really want something to go around the internet, don't post it! It's as simple as being responsible and I hope you are and will be after this blog post.