Sta. Cruz, Laguna before six in the morning

This is rather unusual for me, but it was a call that my dad and I had to do.  I'm not writing the reason of the trip but putting it on the lighter side, I was kind of happy to see Sta. Cruz, Laguna before six in the morning.

First, it was a cold, drizzly morning.  I love the cold weather, and I love it even more when it's drizzling.

The ride to town from our place was not hard to hail.  We had to wait for less than ten minutes and we were the lone passengers all throughout.

From poblacion, we needed another ride and our fellow passengers were people who I think regularly go to market in the mornings.  Our errand to the Philippine Red Cross office required us to get some ice and we were told by the Red Cross staff that we can get it from the stores around the LPH area.  But, not today.  We got it from the Mini-Stop branch in front of Kapitolyo.  So, keep this in mind.  If you needed ice so badly before six in the morning, either you make your own ice in your own ref, or go directly to the Mini-Stop store.  They're selling tube ice for Php 10.00 per kilogram.  In our case, we needed two.

In twenty minutes, the errand was done.  But if we had the ice ready, it would have taken less than 10 minutes.  I commend the efficiency of the Red Cross people, and one big Kudos for their pleasant attitude.

On my way back, I was torn between riding the jeep or walking at least up until Pedro Guevara.  But, I think it's not safe to walk so I rode.  My main purpose for walking is to take pictures.  Have you seen the Kapitolyo recently when it's dark?  Well, it was still dark before six and all I can say is "WOW!" But after the wow thing, I started spelling m-e-r-a-l-c-o.  Okay, back to the Wow thing.  There are Christmas lights that are hanging from the trees and they come in only one color, purple.  I don't really like purple so much but I will have to say it looks good hanging from the trees.  Sorry but I lost count as to how many trees have these lights hanging from them.  You just have to see them yourself.  But of course, it doesn't have to be as early as six in the morning.  Probably tonight?  Or tomorrow night?  Just go see for yourself.  Well, keep in mind that I am a shallow person and tend to admire little things.  So if you are not as 'mahangain' and as 'mababaw' as I am, it might just be a trivial thing to you.

Then, another ride from town to our home.  That was pretty tough.  I had to wait for like 15 minutes before I could get a jeep.  Looking into the bright side, I was able to observe things as they happen.  And I found out that the Sioland Branch near the public market has expanded.  They took the space that was what once had been the Times Bakery.  It think it's a good move for the convenience of their patrons, because I myself can't even last 10 minutes inside their store because I feel suffocated.

Then, here's one of my observations.  I don't really see the significance of those barkers(?) who collects payments from drivers whenever they were able to get passengers for them.  I mean, like me, I will ride because I had to.  It's not as if the barker did something to convince me to ride the jeep.  I just think that it's plain extortion from the drivers and I pity the drivers for having no choice.

Since it's just past six in the morning, I was hoping that I can have a sunrise picture.  But the sun was hiding, so I looked up and the clouds smiled at me.  I know, a lot of people are now taking pictures of clouds.  So, for this morning, I tried to frame it in a different perspective.

Cloudy, isn't it?  And muddy, too. <grins>

My day has just started.  And I have a few things noted on my diary today.  Yes, my day started unusually early, but I think the day will get as good as it gets.

Have a good Thursday, everyone!