sem break log: day 4

damn, i can't believe it took me the whole day.

sadly, it wasn't anything on my awaiting list of tasks, but i still had to allot almost all daylight hours to the activity. of course, i'm talking about getting my non-pro driver's license. at first, it started out just to replace my lost student's permit, but when loopholes and connections started coming together, i was able to replace my student's permit and apply for my driver's license all in one fell swoop. an 8-hour long fell swoop.

i first went to my dad's office, where we waited for one of his personnel to accompany me. in the meantime, i was able to transfer my pictures from the defective cd to a newly burned one, and was able to copy them all to my pc at home. anyway, kuya rick came, and we headed off to the lto. upon arriving, a few minutes of chitchatting with the guy at window 7 got me the go-ahead to directly apply for my non-pro license, with just a few snags for the replacement of my student's. while waiting for the paperwork to come through, i got a drug test across the lto compound. this took some talking too, since i didn't come with any valid id except for a notarized consent form from my dad and photocopies of his id. after some searching, we found a place that would accept my deficient credentials. a little urine, medical exam, then we're on our way back to the lto.

upon arriving, they took my picture for the students, then we waited. waited and waited. until an announcement came that the whole computer network was down nationwide. that really pissed a lot of people off, including me. thus we had no choice but to retreat and return another day. got home around 11, started transferring my pics, then at 12 i got a call from an lto official, saying that the system was back online. i contacted my dad, and we were back to the lto by 1. then came more waiting. and waiting. and some payments, and the written exam, and the "practical" exam. luckily, i brought along my wheel of time book 1 to pass the time, but the anticipation of hearing your name called over the pa system, and the disappointment of not hearing it can become taxing. at around 4, the finished product finally arrived. finally.

oh yeah, did i ever mention why i had to get my student's permit replaced? for the third time, by the way. because my stupid wallet had to get snatched, that's why. happened around mid-september, on a jeepney ride back to my condo. i had my bag just sitting beside me, while i was talking to my friends. then a weird, grimy man came with a huge duffel bag came up, sat beside me, and placed his bag beside mine. i swear i felt my instincts acting up just then, but i regretfully ignored them. it wasn't until i got home that i realized that the front pocket where my wallet should be was half-open, and that consequently, my wallet was gone. my wallet, including my school id, student's permit, 3 atm cards, my gentxt and powerbooks card, some pictures, my high school id, and some 100-odd pesos inside. it was really so bitter, actually, that the person only snatched my wallet in the hopes of high immediate cash returns, and would be disappointed finding only 100 in it. if he had only known how miserly i could get, maybe he would have strayed away and chosen a more likely target.

oh well, i've learned my lesson. there was nothing important that really couldn't be replaced, except for my high school id. and after all the disappointment and vigilance sermons i got from my dad (i could not believe the number of times he used the word 'lackadaisical' on me), that was sure to be one unfortunate experience i won't forget anytime soon.