TMG Cares for whom?

I am currently contemplating in having a career with the Traffic Management Group (TMG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).  I know nothing of what the people in TMG actually do and my academic attainment was not geared towards being a police, but I am truly entertaining the idea of applying for a job position with them.

Why the sudden urge to be a TMG?  Well, aside from my typical retort, “Why not?,”  two factors push me in considering this very grave career move.  One is the apparent wealth and fame that TMG people seem to get; the other is the great power they seem to possess over us common folks. 

TMG people seem to be wealthy and famous.  I am sure all of you have seen vehicles roaming the streets and highways bearing “The guardians of the Highways, 40^th Anniversary, TMG Cares” commemorative plates.  I can spot more or less five cars with such plates around the metropolis every single day.  I actually even spotted several cars bearing the same up north during the holy week.  Mind you, the cars I’ve seen are not the ordinary nor battered ones.  They were luxury vehicles ranging from Ford F150s to Isuzu Troopers! Moreover, these cars are also seen/parked in posh villages within Metro Manila!

Wow, if TMG people can afford such kind of wheels and can scare MMDA traffic enforcers to exempt them from the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), I would definitely love to sign up and immediately be one of them!

On the other hand, I would also love to wield the mighty power TMG people seem to have over us average motorists!  TMG people have control over clearances needed in sales of motor vehicles — and with the numerous vehicular sales transactions happening in this country, can you just imagine the great number of people at the mercy of TMG?

In this short span of life I’ve lived, I unfortunately had been separately tasked by my dad to facilitate ordinary transfer of ownership of two cars.  The process entailed me to secure PNP clearances from the TMG.  Said clearance is just a piece of paper — a paper that does not actually reflect the time, money, and energy I’ve spent nor the red tape, bureaucracy, incompetence, and corruption I’ve encountered in Camp Crame.  However, I merely suffered under the mercy of the TMG people in silence because I want to accomplish my tasks and not disappoint my car-deserving dad. 

Releasing/Clearing the papers of our carnap-recovered vehicle from them is another que horror story all together!

Now, if I become part of this powerful group, then I would definitely not suffer the horrifying experiences I’ve gone through with regard to car transfers anymore, right?

Wealth, fame, and power.  This elite group called the TMG really has it all.  Where can I sign up then?

First was mom…left the house when i was just entering my gradeschool life.

But grandma came to stand as our mother figure.

…She left in 1998 due to abdominal aneurysm.

Then Ron and Piper joined our family.

…However, Papa lost his battle with the big C in 2003.

…come 2004, Ron and Piper transferred; Tita Madre, on the other hand, was assigned to a 5-year mission to Botswana.

…Bro is now seeking greener pastures in L.A.

…AND THIS LITTLE BERBANO GIRL STAYED AT HOME.

ups:

1. the two stray dogs retreated.  no more piss and noise!

2. the anime series, UFO Baby, which i religiously followed has come to its end.  finally i now know the ending!

3. nearing the end of my first reading (at last).

downs:

1. the irritating dogs were replaced with construction noise coming from one house near our home and an almost-weekly birthday videoke bash (gawd, drunk sounding people singing their hearts out!) at our neighbor’s house.   

2. i’d miss looking forward to my daily dose of UFO Baby episode. (on the side, after the few episodes of encantadia, i stopped watching already.  i’d rather just go back to my books and not waste time.  but CSI, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The tonight show with Jay Leno, and the local news are still on in my t.v. viewing list)

3. gosh, i’m still studying?!!

rapide is fast mushrooming all over the metropolis.  i thought it was a great thing — us ha ving an alternative to the high cost of maintaining vehicles via our brand casa.

however, almost all the rapide centers i’ve been to rendered lousy service! i got the same reviews from friends who had their cars serviced by the same company.

1.  the admin people can be push-overs.  requesting for change oil can get costly with all the other parts they say are "needed" to be replaced.  this happens especially to girls they assume know nothing about cars!  they can be quite irritatingly persistent. happened to me.

2. a newly opened rapide branch usually advertises that they have cheap change oil promotion.  this is actually a trap!  first, the cheap rate applies to the lowest kind/grade of engine oil to be used.  second, they often say they are out of stock of the said oil and thus offer you their higher grade at a much higher cost.  third, there can be other charges added to the promo rate. happened to me.

worst case scenario:  you deposit your car for an oil change.  then, upon retrieving the same, they say they used a higher grade of engine oil and replaced this and that, thus your bill became sooo expensive.  happened to a friend of mine.

3. since when did car aircon cleaning entail a test drive?  well, in rapide they do. happened to a friend of mine.

4. steering wheel repair made the condition of the car even worse than before depositing it to them.  happened to a friend of mine.

5.  inattentive and non-informative staff.  happened to me after i refused to listen to their sales pitch of the other parts i "need" to replace with my vehicle.

6. car batteries they are consigned with (AC Delco) can be bought cheaper elsewhere.  i compared their rates with pricesmart and i ended up buying from the latter.

so there.  good luck when you will try the services of rapide.  i truly wish you’d find a branch that is kind to you and your car. 

DISCLAIMER:
i am not promoting any vehicle service stations nor am i a competitior of Rapide.  i am just saying how it was for us people who maintain vehicles and value time/money.

some of the people at the buendia branch are quite nice and helpful; but the others there aren’t and the sale pitches can be really irritating.

the damned stray dogs are back!! and back with a vengeance!

yes, they do not bark loudly anymore; but they instead started pissing on our garbage drum and thus irking polo — invasion of territorial domain and them moving freely unlike him being stuck inside our gate.

  *pic of one of the noisy dogs from my window.

Late March this year, the muffler of our Crosswind conked out for the third/fourth time since we bought it. The damage involved the severance of the muffler part at the back from the rest of the system (the damned metal at the back was left dangling and hitting humps/high pavements).

I called Isuzu (Makati; Manila; Laguna, Philippines) to inquire for repair and/or replacement of certain parts. As usual, i was told they are out of the parts we need and they even suggested that i try other muffler shops such as Nodalos.  I asked when can they service our vehicle.  Again, i was told that they are not sure because they really do not know when the parts will arrive — thus, we have to simply wait and consequently not use our vehicle to prevent further damage.  Typical Isuzu!

Frustrated with Isuzu and worried over our vehicle, I decided to to take our Crosswind to Nodalos, Makati.  The latter did an excellent repair job. 

Today, the 8th of June, I received a call from Isuzu.  I was told that the muffler part needed for our Crosswind is already available.

Three months after?!

yeah, right!

I used to love nature trips — camping, trekking.  quite recently, after a very long time, i went onto another nature trip.  i thought the whole experience would revitalize me.  however, i noticed that i seem not to enjoy such trips anymore. 

then it dawned on me.  i am now very uncomfortable being out in the natural environment.  it’s not because i am so used to the city’s noises, hustle and bustle that i don’t enjoy the serenity and calming sounds nature has to offer.  it’s rather because nature’s creatures scare me. i now always feel like i am being watched…and worse, might be followed.

i guess i haven’t come to grips sensing nor am i strong yet to ignore the weird creatures lurking around trees/mountains/waters.

A few years ago, i’ve sensed for the first time an elemental during one overnight stay by the beach with my friend and her family.  i got sooo scared that i swore off camping ever again.  gosh, the thought of encountering another supernatural being makes me crazy!

But during my stint with the AHRC, we had to undergo an immersion process in Batangas.  Unfortunately, my partner Mahls had what is commonly known as sixth sense/third eye.  With her, i almost went crazy because of the elemental that was very curious of us newcomers — mahls saw, i sensed. I even got sick with the stress the whole experience brought.  imagine: i hated the whole period from dusk ’til dawn; i carried with me a packet of salt, a swiss knife, and a flashlight all the time; and i had to tie a bandana around my head to cover my eyes while i sleep so that if i wake up in the middle of the night, i will not see anything (although some nights, i felt my bandana being removed; ditto in Palawan).

with my cowardice of supernatural beings, i guess my love for nature trips will be put on hold indefinitely.