8/06/2014
For the few who dare to dare

Since my parents are out I've been driving myself to work the whole week - not that I have to, but with only me and my siblings at home, I figured I have to get home as soon as possible - not that the rains have allowed me that. Not that Monday allowed me that.

Of course, anybody who drives during rush hour knows the feeling. You don't bother mapping out your route in your head because there will be heavy traffic anywhere you go. You'll have a hard time switching lanes at Meralco; you'll have a hard time getting to the flyover along C5; you'll have to keep patient as you deal with the pointless traffic in Taguig. (Why won't everyone just keep to their lane? Why do people have to occupy the rightmost lanes just to stay straight? Does that even make sense anymore?)

But then you hit the highway and, except in those cases when traffic there is terrible too, you feel quite liberated. You're past the worst traffic. You've passed the toll gates. You've settled down in your lane, and now you're free to drive faster than 20 kilometers per hour. Not that you should drive really fast. I mean, the roads are still wet and all.

Last night I found myself in an unusually liberating situation. (Yeah, I know, I'm putting this too dramatically.) I drove past the Sucat exit, past the viaduct which they'll be closing soon for repairs, and suddenly I was on the homestretch. I only saw two cars on the three-lane road, and both of them were on one lane: this old-ish car, and my car. We were both cruising at around 80, and everything felt, err, perfect.

"Wow," I said to myself, out loud. "This actually feels amazing."

Before I could end that sentence, a third car zoomed past me. He was so fast I didn't even see him on my side mirror, nor heard its engine roar. It just zoomed so quickly. Fwrooooooooom. It was some sort of sports car, or at least it looked like it: vintage, low, dark but not matte. It was, I guess, driving at 160. The speed limit was at 100. And, in an instant, I was back in the real world, a world where speed limits are suggestions under the right circumstances, where everybody changes lanes in heavy traffic, and where following the rules is seen as a sign of weakness.

And your responses...

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