Ambasing: Sungka, longest line, statue dance, and boxing

Friday, October 14, 2011

OVER the past two months, I have travelled by land going up north to Laoag and down south to Angeles, Pampanga to either speak or teach our barangay health workers, or to be on the other end of the lecture hall and be the one taught. Whenever we work or study, there are times when we just need to unwind. Surprisingly, you actually can unwind while travelling.

With all the water poured down from the heavens since June, our roads have been devastated. Road repairs have been initiated in some areas and this has led to some of our roads being hammered, thus creating pockmarks and holes that I am quite sure motorists have commented on numerous times with expletives. The funny thing is, you can actually play Sungka with your vehicle while motoring along our dilapidated highways – whether they be nature-borne or borne out of the necessity to make repairs. Think Benguet is the only province with pimpled and scarred roads from all the repairs? Think again because you also see it in the Ilocos Region all the way down to Central Luzon’s highways. Another hilarious thing about these multiple road pits is that some were already covered but in less than a month, these blotches have once more made their appearance as rains have gouged out new crevices in the asphalted and paved roads. Bohoho. All that effort to ease traffic and be kinder to cars, motorists, and commuters gone to waste. But then again, isn’t it fun playing sungka again?

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Another game you can play while traveling up and down Regions one, two, and the Cordilleras is the longest line. Just motor your way along the highway and when you reach a section of the road where half of the lane is closed necessitating one-way traffic, just stay put and wait for your line to elongate. Check how many cars are behind you and compare it with that of the opposite directions. In this game, though, the longer the line doesn’t mean victory. It means you’ve lost – lost more precious minutes in your travel.

Lastly, we have the statue dance. When traffic stops in sections where the road repair has led to a single lane in the highway, just stay put. Don’t move a muscle. Wait for the traffic light to go green that would signal your vehicle to start moving along. To win this game, you can actually doze off. But just make sure the car behind you isn’t driven by a maniacal driver as there would be an increased risk of your rear getting dented. Plus of course you’d probably get into a fist fight, which would actually be our fourth sport in this series. Box your way out of traffic?