Those daily commutes

I made the mistake of taking the passenger seat of the fx that stopped in front of me.  Well, it was the only seat vacant at the time....!

 

Twenty minutes later, I find myself alone in the vehicle because I get off at the last stop. 

 

When I am left alone in the passenger seat (which doesn't happen very often), the driver would usually engage in some small talk to which I respond with deliberate disinterest.  This time,  Driver strikes up a conversation but it was no small talk.  It was sweet talk, a proposition, right from the get go  This guy, who is probably in his mid 40's, was downright condescending!   I responded with a scowl and a look of disbelief. 

 

The rebuff was lost on him.  I think he is used to women responding positively to such lines. 

 

"You single, right? May 25 ka na di ba?"   Under a different scenario, this would have made me smile. 

 

"Oo naman, HO, Manong!"  I said irritably.  Moments like these, I wish I was wearing something more corporate.   My business casual outfit usually shaves off a few years.  Suffice to say that during that time, I wanted to do something criminal. Especially, when his eyes swept over me from head to knee... Twice..Eewww.

 

Thankfully, his hands are kept on the steering wheel, otherwise...!!  The thing that prevented me from snapping at him was my fear that he would retaliate. (I was alone with him, remember.) I just decided to look irritated and ignored him for the next few minutes (or is it seconds..?) while i hugged my bag as if my life depended on it. He blabbered about how he saved up for the van when he was in Saudi.  Those few moments inside the moving vehicle seemed to stretch forever.

 

Drivers of public utility vehicles do this regularly, hitting on lady passengers who happen to sit next to them.  In an airconditioned vehicle,  you are helpless in case the guy decides to do something crazy especially when there is no one else with you.  I resent that there are some women who seem to show delight at the attention given to them by drivers. (Seem is the operative word, lest I be accused of being judgmental..)  I hate it that men of whatever built are generally stronger than any of us women.. And whoever came up with the idea of powerlock.....! Grr.   

 

I had to ask myself, Do i look like a naive, little girl lost in the corporate world?  I wanted to say, "Please spare me, I am not a twenty year old. So those antics won't work.  I don't care if you have saved millions while you were in Saudi!!".

 

When you are keen on getting a vacant seat in a van or FX en route to your office, you forget your list of DON'TS.  But that cannot be an excuse.  I wanted to knock myself on the head for forgetting my own reminder.   That was my third encounter in the last three months on a weekday morning. 

 

I will never ever let myself be alone in the passenger seat again.