Moonlight Hits

Here's something you don't often hear from people who have passed the boards: unemployment sucks. 

I bum around the condo for most of the day. I only ever leave to forage for meals, and some days I just can't be bothered. "Moonlighting" gigs, or temporary doctor jobs, are abundant, but they often get snatched up very easily. 

Fortunately, I managed to snag a job last month with the clinic at Ateneo de Manila, through a friend who needed someone to fill in for her. Working at the Loyola Schools was a breeze. It's literally right across where I live, there aren't that many patients, and when there are, they're all benign. It was like coming home.

I used to cross this bridge every morning in college.

In my excitement, I arrived an hour early. Clinic was closed.

The Ateneo campus is just as beautiful as I remember.

There's now a self-care room on the second floor the Social Sciences building where you can take naps and rest. 

There really weren't that many patients so I turned to doodling to help pass the time. Guess who?

After my brief stint at LS, another friend also referred me to Medicard, where I got sent to random offices around the metro. For two weeks I would commute from Katipunan to Makati, to Taguig, to BGC, to Ortigas. And because the LRT doesn't go to Katipunan station anymore (following a fire that broke out around 3 months ago), commuting has been more hellish than usual.

But at the end of the day, I'm glad I don't have a car. Public transportation and the power of my own two feet have led me to these magical spots, which I would have otherwise missed had I been behind a steering wheel.

First passengers aboard at Cubao station, which has become the main end point of the LRT since the Anonas, Katipunan, and Santolan stations closed down. Riding the train from here has been such a breeze and there is hardly any competition for seats.

The Makati Avenue underpass is bright, clean, and adorned with whale paintings that make you question, for a split second, whether you're underground or underwater.

Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, where I spent more than an hour trying to locate the UV express terminal to take me to my P2P bus in Glorietta.

Pedestrian overpass somewhere in Makati.

The unassuming frontage of Yardstick coffee in Legazpi Village.

Gorgeous art deco style building somewhere in Makati.

Somewhere in Makati. Loved the curvy building.

Frustrated with the lines for the trains and jeeps, I walked from Kapitolyo to Robinsons Galleria, passing through these fairy-like trees beside Shang-ri La Mall.

Commuting to work has been way more stressful than the actual work itself. But somehow, despite the chaos and madness that is Metro Manila, I find pockets of peace.