complacency gives you a roadtrip for a detour

I debated whether I would go home or not this holy week to Cagayan de Oro after I found out that everything is as close as a frigid woman making love. (did i really have to say that?) My friend Pau and I labored over the fact that even sari-sari stores are closed and no one would be kind enough to open their doors for one measly cigarette.
What’s there to do on Holy Week?

Mitz embarrassed me by going, “I’m getting a holy week. What about you?”

“I think I’ll go home, nalang, Mitz.”

Groan. I dreaded the endless reruns of The Ten Commandments, arduous processions, and absolute silence of iPods, laptops and Tvs. My cute lola making her annual suman and mango buffet like its the social event of the century popped in my head and it cheered me a bit.

This part about booking flights from CEB-CDO was easy, thanks to Cebu Pacific’s piso fare. Going back was another thing. What can I say? Getting tickets on the last minute ON holy week was as worse as the holiday season. Not one single vehicle likely to transport people was available on FRIDAY night except for Superferry heading for Nasipit – Cagayan.

It didn’t also help that the boat was delayed and left at 2am – three hours past its scheduled ETD. Superferry docked at Nasipit at 11am the next day and I went to the counter to check on updates. Be in CDO at 6PM?! The lady at the front desk wasnt even apologetic and her manager started giving me instructions on how to get to CDO by a bus in Butuan and talked to me like I should be taking notes the whole time. Even lying about attending a wedding at 6pm didn’t stop him. Right, like I’d expect a helicopter courtesy of Superferry would come swooping me down to bring me to CDO.

I almost panicked and told myself its fine to be in CDO at 6pm. My dinner at Michelle’s would just have to be postponed a few hours. Because I heard they were giving away free meals, I defiantly headed straight to their restaurant and demanded what was due to me in exchange of this inconvenience.

The waiter did a double take after looking at my ticket and went, “Ma’am, Nasipit man yung ticket nyo. Wala ‘ho tong free meal.”

It takes three sweeps of blush on to color my cheeks usually but that moment was effortless at all. I gave a lame, “Why didn’t you say earlier?” then left was was left of my dignity back there.

So yes, I got off the boat and got on the pedicab that will take me to the bus terminal. I have heard of horror stories of people getting robbed inside buses or buses having fatal crashes on the road. Perhaps this is the time to wish that I should have brought mace and realized the only sharp thing I have with me is my eyebrow tweezer.

The first thing I noticed the moment I got the bus was the toothy man who looks like he was going to fondle me the minute I sat beside him. Lolo on my left looks harmless and so is the lady with a baby. I sat down beside the maniac — er, the lady and dodged her small talk by putting on my headphones. I somehow lost her between Gingoog and Bugo .

Making your 4 hours bus ride intolerable.