I CAN'T FIND MY ZEN!

(Or, The Day That Road Rage Won)

Everything started out fine.  I woke up, went to Yoga, had a nice early lunch, took a quick nap and then felt motivated enough to hoof it to the grocery store.  Things started going down hill from there....

I should have known not to go to the grocery store that is in the middle of a busy shopping area at 3 pm on a Sunday but what can I say?  My good sense escaped me.

I should have known they'd be out of things they normally have like ....onions??

I should have known that when I products I wanted were stocked, they'd have just a tinge of mold.  Enough that I couldn't scrape it off and feel good about myself.  

I should have known that turning left, from the left lane, onto a one way street on the way home was a bad idea and I would clearly be in the wrong.  (insert record scratching sound.....) Wait, what?!?

What ensued after I made a LEGAL turn amounted to some of the worst road rage I have experienced.  Not just in the Philippines but ever.  I won't go into all the deets but suffice it to say, instead of admitting he was wrong, this particular driver decided honking and flashing his lights and following me home....was the proper way to behave.  

I have calmed down considerably since but it got me to thinking, how SHOULD we deal with road rage, our own and others'?  So, down the Internet rabbit hole I go....

Things to remember while you're in the grips of road rage:

1. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” - Buddha
Here's a great little article from tinybuddha.com
Dealing with other people's road rage 

2. Try to imagine the other person as a human being who goes through the range of emotions and issues throughout their day.  What if the other driver had considered the frustrations that I'd already dealt with today?  What if I had known he had a sick child or dog or had been up all night?  There is no excuse for being a turdbucket but remembering that other people are ... people...can sometimes help. 

3. Laugh it off.  Because really - it's silly.  I mean, there was absolutely no reason for either of us to have gotten so angry.  What a couple of jackrabbits we must have looked like.  His honking and aggressively tailgating and my colorful language -- all pretty foolish. 

4 . Never underestimate the other driver's capacity for mayhem.  Picked up that advice from roadragers.com. 
     I've already admitted (sorta) that I exchanged some words with this gentleman.  In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have.  Turns out he's the kinda guy who not only doesn't follow road laws but also takes GREAT offense to being reminded of the laws by a woman.  When I not only turned out to be a woman but also a woman who felt like defending herself, I think things turned a corner (pun intended).  Maybe it was subconscious but I think he was embarrassed at my nerve and that embarrassment quickly turned into increased aggression.  I underestimated what would come next and his capacity for being a true jerk. 

5. If you don't have tinted windows and have no insight into number 4, maybe don't flip the other guy off.  That needs no attribution.  Consider it a free piece of advice from yours truly. 

And I guess, when all else fails, you could try this: 

Or this - although, it might go against the spirit of this post.  Still funny though..

And if that seemed inappropriate, maybe you should stop reading now.  Because let's be honest, no matter how much deep breathing I try to do or how many motivational podcasts I listen to, I will still probably wake up tomorrow and adhere more to the following than anything I have said so far.  Que sera sera.

I will try really really hard not to shake my fist or give anyone the middle finger though.  REALLY REALLY REALLY I WILL.  Until I get some tint on my windows and then it's ON! <wink>

Squirrels Be Like, "Manila Pedestrians Are Our Heroes"

I don't know how to write this without sounding like an intolerant fool.  All I can hope for is some modicum of understanding that I am doing my best to tell the truth and represent my DAILY experiences accurately. 

So, here goes...

It is my firm belief that the pedestrians in Manila are somehow related to squirrels.  Maybe not like brother/sister but perhaps a fourth cousin twice removed by marriage situation.

'sup?

Now, if you're an educated person, you know that, technically speaking, squirrels are rodents but that is NOT what I'm trying to say so you can just cease and desist with the scoffing and eye rolling.  I'm simply (and feebly) attempting to provide an analogy of my drive to and from work every day with the primary purpose of venting but also informing.  Ok Ok - this isn't REALLY meant to be educational...ya got me.  That's what is so wonderful about having a blog with 2.5 readers....very few people will hate me tomorrow so I can really just say what I want. 

I have a pretty soft heart when it comes to animals, as most people do.  When I was a teenager, I can vividly remember my mom picking me up from the Sunday matinee and driving me home through the quiet roads of my home town.   It was one of those rare chilly Texas afternoons when people tend toward indoor entertainment -- so there were no children at play and not many cars on the road.  This absence of traffic (both pedestrian and vehicle) led my mom to be perhaps slightly more careless than she would have normally been.  She wasn't going all Jeff Gordon on our city streets but maybe she was driving just a little bit more careless and chatting in a tad more carefree fashion.  Anyway, we both looked up and noticed a squirrel crossing the road and I swear to bejeebus, that thing looked right back at us and I had a moment where I thought, "Thank goodness, he knows he's doing something stupid and has decided to go back from whence he came (read: the other side of the damn street)."  

But you know where this is going right?  He did not go back.  He made what appeared to be a series of ill fated but also somehow thought-out (as much as a squirrel thinks things through) turns in the road before landing himself firmly under my mom's right rear tire.  THUMP!  Tails were twitching.  Brakes were screeching (too late!).  And mom was sucking air through her teeth in the most regretful way.  
 She was also begging me not to look in the rear view mirror.  Although honestly, I'm not sure what she was thinking by asking me not to look.  Was she sparing me the tragedy of seeing a rodent cute little animal fighting for its last breath or did she somehow think I would blame her for his PISS POOR DECISION MAKING?

Which brings me to the pedestrians here in Manila.  

1. Crosswalks cannot be trusted.  I get it. 
2. Cars do what they want regardless of when and where you decide to cross the street.    -- That sucks, I know.  I REALLY know.  I have more than a few times reached out and smacked a car that nearly ran over my dog while we were walking in a CROSSWALK to get to the park. 
3. You have to get to work....no matter what.  Good.For.You. 

Look at me!  I'm important...I need to hurry up and get to my outsourced data entry position where I will sit and mostly check facebook all day. 

But here's the thing, it will not help your situation to decide to cross the street and then only make it half way.   As you stand in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Metro Manila, I'm sorry to say, destiny is not on your side.  You are now stuck on the yellow lines of a road in a place where lanes do not matter.  Please do not then prescribe to the misguided notion that eye contact or arm waving (in the typical Phil fashion) will help your case. You've made your bed....helping you figure out how to un-f*ck yourself is not my problem.  You must decide, all by your lonesome, what to do next and guess what?  The WORST possible thing you can do is go all squirrel on us by deciding to do something then changing your mind 17 times.  

This happened while I was driving to work the other day.  It was gridlock but kinda fast paced gridlock, if that makes sense, and this guy tried to cross at the WRONG time.  He was stuck in between me and the car in front of me.  Initially, I tried to let him pass but HE WOULD NOT GO.  I waited for a bit and then started to move forward at which time..... AT WHICH MOTHER GRUBBING TIME.... he decides it's time to go so what happens?  I graze him with my front bumper.  

Are you shocked??!?!  No, of course not!
 
Funny thing is, I've gotten into lots of shouting matches with drivers here (mostly with mopeds and motorcycles) who have NO situational or personal-space awareness but this guy didn't even flinch.  This tells me, in his little squirrel heart, he knew he made the wrong decision.  

So there you go.  Just felt like sharing a little bit of my world with you.  

I need a hero....

....I'm holdin out for a hero 'til the end of the night!

Or in this case, rush hour.

This guy is my hero.  Without him, I'm not sure how we'd make this u-turn every day.  We'd probably still be parked next to the curb - husbear growing a ZZ Top beard and me "showering" with wet wipes.  So, I'm declaring Officer SO and SO my new hero.

For what it's worth, I really have no idea what he's doing but if I were to hazard a guess (based on extensive research of course), I'd say he is diligently telling drivers to do what they would have done anyway....drive through a green light.  I can see no real reason why he needs to be out there, snuffing down gallons of car pollution just to tell us to go in the very direction we were already headed.  But who am I to question authoritay?!  I'm sure he and his family are just glad he has a job and judging by the super efficient way he waves people in the right direction, I'm guessing he's been doing this a long long time.

One of my favorite things about the Philippines so far is this hand waving gesture.  I guess a video would have been more appropriate here.  Anyway, it's like a come hither gesture but with the palm facing down.  To me, it looks like they're trying to catch a bug or some such thing.  I love it and am determined to perfect this particular hand signal before we depart.

Guess he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head afterall.

And the infamous "pointy finger" traffic signal.  What makes this even more ridiculous is just how many cars are in the possible crosshairs of said pointy finger.  Maybe it's meant to be more of a general pointy finger guide and necessarily intended for one vehicle?  But I gotta tell ya, it FEELS personal...like he's pointing at your SOUL!

Rules were made to be broken

In the Philippines, there are a lot of (ahem, arbitrary) rules.  Some are straight up nonsense.  Others are fabulous but, alas, never enforced.  And then some rules exist just for certain people - if you're rich or a local Filipino with some stature in the the community, rules don't necessarily apply.  

The most obvious area in which the rules (also loosely referred to as laws) are applied on an irregular basis (if that)?  Traffic enforcement.  It is INSANE what people get away with on the streets yet there are random laws that ARE enforced such as, certain drivers with license plates starting in certain numbers or letters are not allowed to drive on Wednesdays.  Wha?!?  This of course, does NOT apply to diplomats or people in nice cars and even if it is supposed to, I have never seen a traffic enforcement officer chase anyone down.  The most they do is try to wave you over and I gotta be honest, if it were me, I'd just press on the gas too.  

Then there's the VAT and other shopping related er....nightmares for lack of a better word.  Diplomats are VAT (value added tax) exempt here in the Philippines which sounds great but 9 times out of 10, it's not worth the hassle to get the VAT taken off your bill.  I'd have to look it up but I gotta think that the VAT exemption has been around for a loooooong time but I have only been to ONE establishment that seemed to process the exemption on a regular basis.  All others look at me as if I have 4 eyes, 3 boobs, and a big booger on my upper lip when I ask them to take off the VAT.  It's 12% though....TWELVE PERCENT!  Do you know how many shoes I could buy with the 12% I'd save if I made sure the VAT was taken off every bill?  In the Philippines....a lot of damn shoes.  It took us two months to get our VAT exemption card.  You'd think after all that waiting, the clouds would part and everyone would just understand.  You're part of the club....you have "the card".  Hear the angels singing?  Nah, me neither.  They don't sing. 

They tell you to copy and laminate your VAT card and you certainly learn that the hard way if you don't.  Picture this, I am at the ONLY check out counter in a huge store that will let you purchase CDs and movies.  There is one cashier.  When I approach the counter, no one else is getting in line so I think, give the ol' VAT a try.  I completely forgot at this store you have to "register" the first time you use your VAT - they need a copy of it for their records or some such thing.  So I show them my card and they give me the ubiquitous, "wait for a while" ma'am.  Fifteen minutes later, a woman appears with what I can only describe as the jackpot of archaeology.  Honestly, it looked like a thousand year old bible and when she opened it, there it was.  EVERY person who had registered at this store for the VAT exemption well....ever.  Handwritten of course.  "Do you have a copy of your card ma'am?" Um....no.  "Do you have a copier," I said.  At this point, she tries to take my VAT card and the ONLY ID I have with me.  I may not be an intellectual but I know better than to let a stranger run off with my IDs in the middle of the most confusing department store I've ever encountered.  

This is where I (stupidly) assume they have a copier in the store and that is why she wants to take my cards.  I tell her she can't have them but I will go with her to make copies.  She turns to stone as if she is somehow glued in place....the 4 eyes, 3 boobs, big booger look comes out but I know not why.  At this point, there are about 12 people in line behind me because, don't forget, this is the ONLY counter you can purchase the movies and CDs at (though there are about a thousand other cashier areas throughout the store).  So now I am starting to feel bad.  Like the spoiled expat who wants her tax free items.  But in my defense, I had already asked the cashier three times if she could void my transaction and help the other people.  That said, I was starting to sweat with irritation and guilt.  

They tend to wait you out here and I don't know if it is some sort of ploy to see if they can wear you down or if they truly desperately want you to have what you asked for.  In either case, they told me they couldn't void the damn transaction but after the VAT looked like a lost cause, miraculously, the void button started working.  
So here's the long story short part.  You need a copy of your VAT and your ID at the store NO MATTER WHAT.  I didn't have that.  Nothing would have changed if I'd given her my cards because they have NO DAMN COPIER.  So if there was no way that I was going to get the VAT exemption, why my dears, didn't she just effing say so!?!?!  

And just so you know, I did not get my 12% off that day - - but I did age about 5 years in that 40 minute window.

Sadly, I'm sure this is just installment one in the "Rules were made to be broken" report.  TO BE CONT....

Best Jeepney sighting yet!

Our dog is famous!
Jeepney Cassie:

Wiener Cassie:

Makati - Seen Around Town

Just another day in the life of a Texas transplant and her country boy.  We could also call this post, "crap we're not used to seein' and can't stop starin' at".

• Keeping an eye on street vendor wares has become a bit of an obsession for me, I'll admit.  What's even more interesting?  The crap people are buying!  For instance, who is the bigger fish in the following pond?  The guy on the left who spends all day walking in traffic selling flags and cigarettes or the guy on the right who has no reason to be in the middle of the street, is leaning on a running bus, and just bought ONE cigarette from the vendor?  Seems like the cards are stacked in favor of the guy selling feather dusters and ciggies, no?

 

• Traffic here also remains a source of great humor and fascination.  It seems, no matter how bumper to bumper the cars are, someone ALWAYS thinks they can fit through....sideways.

• They meant well I'm sure and, as always, their English is far better than my Tagalog but I couldn't help but picture a sweaty pig with lipstick and a frowny face when I saw this on the menu.  Then again, maybe I'm just reliving the Parada ng Lechon festivities.

 

•  YES!!!!  Dad would be over the moon excited about this development!  Found this little gem at a legit Starbucks in one of the nicest parts of town.  I'm sure it will come up again and again but these folks are CUHRAZY about their canned uber processed meat products. 

• Nothing says high class like rooms that are available by the hour. 

•  A bit of an oxymoron if you ask me.  Also, is it just me or does this "gaming cafe" look like no fun at all?  It's a far cry from skee ball and Ms. PacMan but who am I to judge?

• Perhaps a "you had to be there moment" but this was GRIDLOCK traffic and the guy was toolin' around barefoot.  Amazing. 

• Hey...whatever works.  It might not be Tom Cruise with his shirt off in Top Gun but they're having fun on a Sunday afternoon so I'm not judging.

• Um, yeah, that's an animal foot in a can at the S&R (the Philippines answer to CostCo).  To their credit, S&R had MANY MANY things we were ecstatic about.  Great snack selection, wine, beer, cereal, etc.  Even though it might be a tad off-putting for those of us not used to seeing it, I'm kinda glad they stay loyal to their traditional food preferences.  It'd be no fun at all if every place was just America repackaged. Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER eat some of this stuff but that doesn't mean I can't respect their filling the shelves with products they love.

 

• And I'll leave you with this.  In a country where almost no one owns a coat, there are people selling...wait for it......wait for it....coat racks.  

Cassie has always been a sucker for the bad boys

 

Can't take her anywhere

Opposite Day

Here's the thing. Do NOT ask yes or no questions in the Philippines. It will get you nowhere. In fact, if you could channel your inner child and just pretend to be playing "opposite day" every day, that would be for the best. "Egg white omelet with no cheese and very little oil" OBVIOUSLY means "Gimme the whole egg and nothing but the egg, extra cheese and lay that grease on super thick!" In case you didn't know, now ya know. 

I guess that's not the best yes/no example but surely you get my drift. If given the opportunity, and sometimes when it is DIRE that someone be honest as opposed to just aiming to please, the Filipino folks will almost always default to "yes" (or whatever it is that they think you want to hear). For instance, never say, "Is this water filtered?" Silly human! Silly silly American fool. You must state explicitly and perhaps in a written format, "I would like filtered water only." In fact, you're better off just asking for a bottle of water and calling it a day. Chances are, if you ask for filtered water, you may very well get a tall glass of filtered water but those ice cubes floating harmlessly about in your pretty little glass? NOT FILTERED ICE CUBBIES (or is that CUBIES? if I'm going to make up a word, I should at least take an honest stab at the right way to spell it)! So just forget. Assume the worst, realize you're not being insulting by asking specifically and then reconfirming...again...and again.

The taxi drivers here are pretty nice but a head nod indicating they are familiar with the area or the address you've provided is NOT enough my fair complected friend. It's an interesting dilemma. Why bother even taking a cab if you're the one who has to figure out, turn by turn, how to get there? I have two damn cars but sometimes going 4 blocks in them and trying to find parking isn't worth the hassle so dammit, I am cabbin it. There's no doubt in my mind that $2 is a decent investment when it eliminates my having to deal with the ridiculous lack of traffic enforcement in this town. But anyway, what was my point? Oh - there is nothing more disconcerting then getting in a cab, explaining where you're going, having the cabbie nod in understanding, and then getting to the moment of truth, the big turn of all turns and the cabbie turns around and says, "Right or left ma'am?" Well how the bloody hell should I know? You stopped following my cute little google maps directions 5 turns ago and now we're stuck between a shanty town and a hard place. Thanks. So, I just smile and say, "yes". Let him figure it out!

So I guess it's either this:

Or this:

(That's the "minute burger", by the way. I'm guessing there's nothing minute or very burger like about it at all.)

[Here's where I offer my apologies to our country hosts. I am sorry that I am a whiny little American and I hope that my posts do not offend anyone who hails from this wonderful country. I like it here...I really do. I much prefer it to SEVERAL alternatives and I am looking forward to getting to know the Philippines. I PROMISE I will write an equal number of rave reviews...just give me time. I am on my third sinus infection and my third week of living in a dungeon. It's not your fault. I'm not being a very good neighbor or guest. Can we blame my dog or husband somehow?? Sorry Cassie/Husbear...it's a small price to pay for all the love I give right?? RIGHT?!?!]

Opposite Day

Here's the thing. Do NOT ask yes or no questions in the Philippines. It will get you nowhere. In fact, if you could channel your inner child and just pretend to be playing "opposite day" every day, that would be for the best. "Egg white omelet with no cheese and very little oil" OBVIOUSLY means "Gimme the whole egg and nothing but the egg, extra cheese and lay that grease on super thick!" In case you didn't know, now ya know.

I guess that's not the best yes/no example but surely you get my drift. If given the opportunity, and sometimes when it is DIRE that someone be honest as opposed to just aiming to please, the Filipino folks will almost always default to "yes" (or whatever it is that they think you want to hear). For instance, never say, "Is this water filtered?" Silly human! Silly silly American fool. You must state explicitly and perhaps in a written format, "I would like filtered water only." In fact, you're better off just asking for a bottle of water and calling it a day. Chances are, if you ask for filtered water, you may very well get a tall glass of filtered water but those ice cubes floating harmlessly about in your pretty little glass? NOT FILTERED ICE CUBBIES (or is that CUBIES? if I'm going to make up a word, I should at least take an honest stab at the right way to spell it)! So just forget. Assume the worst, realize you're not being insulting by asking specifically and then reconfirming...again...and again.

The taxi drivers here are pretty nice but a head nod indicating they are familiar with the area or the address you've provided is NOT enough my fair complected friend. It's an interesting dilemma. Why bother even taking a cab if you're the one who has to figure out, turn by turn, how to get there? I have two damn cars but sometimes going 4 blocks in them and trying to find parking isn't worth the hassle so dammit, I am cabbin it. There's no doubt in my mind that $2 is a decent investment when it eliminates my having to deal with the ridiculous lack of traffic enforcement in this town. But anyway, what was my point? Oh - there is nothing more disconcerting then getting in a cab, explaining where you're going, having the cabbie nod in understanding, and then getting to the moment of truth, the big turn of all turns and the cabbie turns around and says, "Right or left ma'am?" Well how the bloody hell should I know? You stopped following my cute little googles maps direction 5 turns ago and now we're stuck between a shanty town and a hard place. Thanks. So, I just smile and say, "yes". Let him figure it out!

So I guess it's either this:

Or this:

(That's the "minute burger", by the way. I'm guessing there's nothing minute or very burger like about it at all.)

[Here's where I offer my apologies to our country hosts. I am sorry that I am a whiny little American and I hope that my posts do not offend anyone who hails from this wonderful country. I like it here...I really do. I much prefer it to SEVERAL alternatives and I am looking forward to getting to know the Philippines. I PROMISE I will write an equal number of rave reviews...just give me time. I am on my third sinus infection and my third week of living in a dungeon. It's not your fault. I'm not being a very good neighbor or guest. Can we blame my dog or husband somehow?? Sorry Cassie/Husbear...it's a small price to pay for all the love I give right?? RIGHT?!?!]

Dirty peanuts, tiny squares of cut up t-shirts, trash cans, and knife sharpening -- all in a day's work for Manila's "traffic vendors"

Today and most of yesterday, I was weighing my blogging options.  There are two issues I'm inclined to write about.  One is poverty in Manila, a subject I'm fairly certain I will come back to time and time again.  The other was the laugh out loud trip home Zach and I had in traffic yesterday.  Then I realized, oddly enough, in this case I can write about both because they are related

My very brave and adventurous husband has rented a little Honda something or other to get around town until our car arrives.  Needless to say, I am NOT feeling quite so brave as yet and am starting to feel pretty sure that I will drive  little, if ever, in this town.  There are a number of reasons for this, many of which have to do with the fact that it is easier (and real real cheap) to get from our home to most places and quite honestly, I'm more than happy to cough up a little $$ to save some sanity.  But, Z is a red blooded American who does not intend to rely on someone else to get him around so I will dutifully support this caveman tendency (insert chest thumping, grunting, and honking).

Unfortunately for Zach, all his prior training in the driving department is 100% moot in Manila.  There are no rules, save for some color law that restricts who can drive on Wednesdays (I'm not kidding, this is a law and yes, THAT is how bad the pollution is).  Other than that, however, it seems to me that anything goes.  Crosswalks are for sissies and lines on the road that would otherwise be interpreted as pedestrian right of ways, are apparently directing traffic to speed up and aim directly for the blonde woman with the weird looking hot dog.  There are no lanes, no signals (but hey, that's pretty much like home sweet NoVa so not much to adjust to), and no enforced speed limits.  Honking is constant and like crosswalks, is left to interpretation.  One or two honks is a cabbie looking to get you to hop in his cab (where he will have probably turned the meter off and forgotten his way around Manila) and three honks is most likely a HUGE bus that is stopping in the middle of the road or making a uturn from the far right lane.  Stop lights are negotiable but if there is movement, it's best to just go along...red light or not.  Here's an overhead video someone took.  There are LOTS of photos out there and probably twice as many blogs written about the traffic in Manila so I KNOW I'm being redundant.  Having said that, take a looky loo at this video and try and tell me you wouldn't also be inspired to say something about it:

I'm starting to think I might not get to the poverty thing afterall.   It probably deserves a more dedicated posting anyhow.

So, on with the show....

The Jeepneys.  So many blogs and posters and rants have been dedicated to the jeepneys that I probably don't even need to waste my breath.  They are FASCINATING though and have both this odd historical mystique yet remain freaking annoying as all get out.  They're loud, dirty, emit more soot than anything I've ever seen that didn't produce coal, and are the absolute WORST about following any sort of traffic law or pattern.  People are crammed in and like, the buses, get off the Jeepneys in the middle of traffic.  I may have to update this with a video someday.  I've seen so many near death experiences in two days, words don't do it justice.  There are also these tricycle, sidecar like contraptions that I swear are like clown cars.  You've never seen so many people cram into one ...er...moving thingamajig.

But what really gets me are the street vendors.  I don't know that street vendors really describes it right.  They're more like traffic vendors.  These folks are walking in the middle of all this madness trying to sell stuff and in some cases, services.  I tried to take a few pics but it really doesn't translate.  There were men selling peanuts in the middle of a main thoroughfare.  I'm not talking about a 20 mph side street.  This was THE main road in Manila and though traffic was wall to wall, there were motorcycles and cars speeding in every direction.  It seems insane that someone would risk life and limb to try and sell a few peanuts but I guess that's where the poverty and humor in this story overlap.  They do what they have to do to survive and in this guy's case, it was selling dirty peanuts.  I'm not exaggerating there.  They were DIRTY.  Everything that lines the main roads in Manila is coated with a thick layer of soot (or what looks like soot anyway) and it pretty much stays like that until monsoon season when the rain comes and washes it all away.  Needless to say, peanuts are not spared this indecency and most of his product was the same color as the side of the buildings that lined the road.  I guess technically, you don't eat the outside but still....well, you get the point.  You get the point and I don't want to think about it anymore.

There's also a man (or several men) who sharpen knives while you wait for the lights to turn green or for traffic to start moving again.  I haven't seen them yet but I'll be keeping an eye out ... and a knife handy.  :)  There are people who sell tiny tiny cut up t-shirts (I guess to clean with??), chargers, dusters, brooms, Filipino flags and trashcans.  I am not making fun - just fascinated by the wares and the thought process behind picking the products to sell on the streets.  Car charges I totally get.  Even the tiny tiny cut up shirts I can understand because who hasn't spilled a diet coke in their console and wished they had anything ... absolutely anything...to clean it up with?  But full size brooms, trash cans, and flags?  I am not following the logic.  Then again, I've only been here 5 days - maybe it'll all be clear in a few more weeks.

Oh - and there's pagpag and balut....don't get me started.  Look it up.   Mine is not the first jaw to have dropped at the sight of these things....