window 2 guy, eye test, stairway to heaven, 'fixer ka ba?'
It's delightful to know that when renewing your driver's license, you can get the new one (the plastic one and not a temporary piece of paper that's to be used for a month or two till the plastic card is ready for pick-up) on the same day. But be sure to start in the morning, what with all the tests (drug test, eye exam) and all the waiting you'll be doing.
One good thing that happened when I renewed my license at the LTO on East Avenue, QC: the work hours and breaks were strategically posted on one of the windows, and when 12 noon (start of lunch break) was drawing near, people naturally started getting restless because of perceived delays in the processing of their licenses. Here's what happened:
Window 4 - at 11:50, the lady behind the glass positioned the placard that said "LUNCH BREAK" in her place, and then disappeared. "Aga naman kumain nito," I muttered. The people around became all the more anxious.
Window 2 - this is where the picture-taking is done and where I was waiting for my name to be called. A few minutes after the window 4 lady disappeared, the man taking the pictures grabbed hold of the crackling microphone. "Mic test, mic test, 123. Mic test, mic test. Sa mga nasa window 2, umupo ho kayo. Hindi ho ako mag-be-break kaya wag na kayong mag-alala. Umupo ho kayo dahil mahirap kunan ng litrato kung maraming nakatayo sa likod. Kung hindi kayo uupo, magbe-break ako." Guys lingering around the window dutifully headed for vacant spots at the benches, smiling. Then this happened:
Window 6 - "Ikaw lang hindi mag-la-lunch break. Kami mag-la-lunch break," said the lady on another mic, looking toward window 2 with a grin.
In this heat, it was a delight to know that they still had a sense of humor. But then we were the ones in the sweltering heat, trying to sit strategically between heads and bodies so that the wind from the electric fans positioned near the windows in front would somehow reach us; the people behind the glass were in an airconditioned room.
Still, it was nice of the window 2 guy to postpone his lunch; at least that spared me another hour of waiting around outdoors on a day when the rain, unfortunately, didn't come pouring and the sun was ablaze.
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I think the raving part in the preceding paragraphs just didn't shine brilliantly though that's what I was gunning for. Probably it's because despite the plastic-license-on-the-same-day delight and the window-2-nice-shutterbug treat, there was the filthy rest room at the drug testing center, the sweltering heat, the fixer-looking fixer whom I had to question with "fixer ka ba?" when he offered to help speed things up at the LTO for "P600 lang yan, sandali ka pang maghihintay" (the legitimate renewal fee was less than P300, I learned later), the sweltering heat, the demanding eye testing guy who seemed to be in a rush (it's pretty hard to read the letters on line 8 with one eye covered when someone's rushing you, and people are going about their business crammed inside that small room, and everybody's noisy so you have to ask the testing guy to repeat everything he says).
Then there was still the sweltering heat and the hours and hours of waiting while experiencing amazement and annoyance everytime some fella comes along and sits right in front of the electric fan, blocking the wind's path toward every sweaty soul behind him.
Okay, I think this is a more well-rounded account of what happened. Rants and raves about a 5-hour experience in a government office. =)
P.S. I didn't even get to mention the flat-screen TV between windows 4 and 5! There weren't enough electric fans, the customers' waiting area was quite run-down, but there WAS a flat-screen TV to provide entertainment through all the waiting. I got to watch the last few minutes of "Sis" (late morning show), then "Stairway to Heaven, uncut" (Korean telenovela), then "Eat Bulaga" (noontime show). I forgot what came on next but it wasn't that interesting because it was all "silent versions" we got--except for about half an hour during lunch break when some guy walked over to the TV and upped the volume.
One good thing that happened when I renewed my license at the LTO on East Avenue, QC: the work hours and breaks were strategically posted on one of the windows, and when 12 noon (start of lunch break) was drawing near, people naturally started getting restless because of perceived delays in the processing of their licenses. Here's what happened:
Window 4 - at 11:50, the lady behind the glass positioned the placard that said "LUNCH BREAK" in her place, and then disappeared. "Aga naman kumain nito," I muttered. The people around became all the more anxious.
Window 2 - this is where the picture-taking is done and where I was waiting for my name to be called. A few minutes after the window 4 lady disappeared, the man taking the pictures grabbed hold of the crackling microphone. "Mic test, mic test, 123. Mic test, mic test. Sa mga nasa window 2, umupo ho kayo. Hindi ho ako mag-be-break kaya wag na kayong mag-alala. Umupo ho kayo dahil mahirap kunan ng litrato kung maraming nakatayo sa likod. Kung hindi kayo uupo, magbe-break ako." Guys lingering around the window dutifully headed for vacant spots at the benches, smiling. Then this happened:
Window 6 - "Ikaw lang hindi mag-la-lunch break. Kami mag-la-lunch break," said the lady on another mic, looking toward window 2 with a grin.
In this heat, it was a delight to know that they still had a sense of humor. But then we were the ones in the sweltering heat, trying to sit strategically between heads and bodies so that the wind from the electric fans positioned near the windows in front would somehow reach us; the people behind the glass were in an airconditioned room.
Still, it was nice of the window 2 guy to postpone his lunch; at least that spared me another hour of waiting around outdoors on a day when the rain, unfortunately, didn't come pouring and the sun was ablaze.
-----------
I think the raving part in the preceding paragraphs just didn't shine brilliantly though that's what I was gunning for. Probably it's because despite the plastic-license-on-the-same-day delight and the window-2-nice-shutterbug treat, there was the filthy rest room at the drug testing center, the sweltering heat, the fixer-looking fixer whom I had to question with "fixer ka ba?" when he offered to help speed things up at the LTO for "P600 lang yan, sandali ka pang maghihintay" (the legitimate renewal fee was less than P300, I learned later), the sweltering heat, the demanding eye testing guy who seemed to be in a rush (it's pretty hard to read the letters on line 8 with one eye covered when someone's rushing you, and people are going about their business crammed inside that small room, and everybody's noisy so you have to ask the testing guy to repeat everything he says).
Then there was still the sweltering heat and the hours and hours of waiting while experiencing amazement and annoyance everytime some fella comes along and sits right in front of the electric fan, blocking the wind's path toward every sweaty soul behind him.
Okay, I think this is a more well-rounded account of what happened. Rants and raves about a 5-hour experience in a government office. =)
P.S. I didn't even get to mention the flat-screen TV between windows 4 and 5! There weren't enough electric fans, the customers' waiting area was quite run-down, but there WAS a flat-screen TV to provide entertainment through all the waiting. I got to watch the last few minutes of "Sis" (late morning show), then "Stairway to Heaven, uncut" (Korean telenovela), then "Eat Bulaga" (noontime show). I forgot what came on next but it wasn't that interesting because it was all "silent versions" we got--except for about half an hour during lunch break when some guy walked over to the TV and upped the volume.
posted by sunnyday at
5:49 PM
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