Much Ado About Nothing - The Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

In about seven hours the nuptials of the latest "wedding of the century" between Kate Middleton and Prince William (who may or may not have a last name) is about to start. This line is always used to describe the union of a rich and famous couple, and being the next in line to the British throne, this ceremony certainly merits the usage of the clichéd phrase.

 Wedding photos and videos to be taken by veteran fashion photographers, cakes with too many layers and realistic looking sugar flowers, wedding rings made of welsh gold = all luscious and expensive, but nothing that can guaranty the longevity of this marriage. For all its ceremonial hype, it doesn’t stand for anything more than a momentary lapse of realty, of a commoner being married to a prince, for a period of a day before all this excitement leads to fatigue and is buried under the next breaking news of tomorrow, only to be revisited once news of a disintegrating marriage has come afloat like what happened with Diana and Charles.

I have no bone to pick with the royal couple. I am not bitter because she got the crown prince, after all there is still Harry and who would want all THAT attention anyway? A CNN correspondent mentioned that after the nuptials, Kate would be then attending 400+ other events for the rest of the year, which is actually more than the days in a year. Good luck to that.

The thing I am directly opposed to is all the waste and unmerited hype. We are celebrating a marriage ceremony not a fashion gala; after being forced to listen to the television for a few hours now since the locals in my area have started this wedding vigil, there has been no mention of the preparations for the solemn Christian rights to be performed. It’s all speculation about what the dress would look like, her hair, make-up and wedding coordination. All these preparations for a single event that will not change the world – So what if they get married, London now has its parliament. The budget for the expensive caviar could have funded the UN food aid program for a few more days.

What this wedding stands for is the disillusionment of needing a fairytale romance, and a perfect wedding ceremony to be happy. No wonder we have bridezillas at this day and age. It imposes the want, disguised as need, to find the perfect groom, the imperative to hold a million money’s worth to orchestrate the perfect day, and fuelling the dissatisfaction and depression when these ridiculous notions are not met. Some do not even get to marry because they keep on chasing after the ideal man.

What does this wedding do for the common man? More than ever, it emphasizes the harsh reality that not all men are born equal. While some children are born on the hills of Payatas, while people are living in communes and starving in North Korea, there are those who have born with a silver spoon on their mouths and are Navy Admirals before they reach even reach 30.

Weddings may be happy affairs, but they should also have been private affairs. I see no reason why there should be such a production of it.

10 Things a Driver Should Know

The MMDA has recently posted this link on its twitter account, to enable the public to protect itself from scrupulous enforcers. Take note of the following:

    1.    MMDA Enforcers are not allowed to group together while apprehending a motorist. They are not even allowed to stand together in groups of two (2) or more, except in actual times of special operations (e.g. apprehending groups of smoke-belching/colorum buses).


    2.    Swerving is not a traffic violation. It is defined as a movement wherein vehicles shift from a lane to another. However, it can constitute the offense of reckless driving if it is done without precautions (e.g. swerving in an abrupt and careless manner, swerving without the use of signals).

    3.    A driver’s license cannot be confiscated by a Traffic Enforcer during traffic apprehensions except on the following situations:
                a.    The driver was involved in a traffic accident
               b.    The driver has accumulated three (3) or more unsettled violations
               c.    The driver has been apprehended for the following violations:

    •    Allowing another person to use driver’s license
    •    Broken sealing wire
    •    Broken taximeter seal
    •    Colorum operation (cargo/passenger vehicle)
    •    Driving against traffic
    •    Fake driver’s license
    •    Fake/altered taximeter seal
    •    Fake/altered sealing wire
    •    Fast/defective/non-operational/tampered taxi meter
    •    Flagged up meter
    •    Illegal or unauthorized counter-flow
    •    Illegal transfer of plates/tags/stickers
    •    Joined/reconnected sealing wire
    •    No driver’s ID
    •    Ignoring Organized Bus Route (OBR) interval timers (for 2nd offense)
    •    Skipping or bypassing designated OBR terminals or loading bays (for 2nd offense)
    •    Operating on contractual basis
    •    Out of line operation
    •    Overcharging (with or without conductor) (for the 2nd offense)
    •    Refusal to convey passengers to destination/trip-cutting (Taxis and Public Utility Vehicles)
    •    Refusal to render service to public (Taxis and Public Utility Vehicles)
    •    Tampered sealing wire
    •    Tampered taximeter seal
    •    Tampering of OR/CR/CPC & other documents (spurious documents)
    •    Undue preference/unjust discrimination
    •    Using motor vehicle in commission of crime

The above-mentioned administrative violations also require a minimum of 2 hours seminar (for the drivers) at the Traffic Academy.

However, any driver who has committed three (3) or more unpaid violations, whether administrative or moving, shall also be subject to attending seminars, whose length shall be based on the results of the diagnostic exam (exam that will determine the contents of the seminar progress), which will be administered by the Agency.

*Note: If the license is to be confiscated, the Traffic Enforcer should inform the driver of the reason/s for the confiscation and the ticket validity.

If the driver refuses to surrender his driver’s license, his plate may be detached pursuant to Section 74 & 75, MC 89-105.
    1.    Private Vehicles are not allowed to use the yellow lane except when they are about to turn - provided that they start shifting lanes upon seeing the transition lane (broken white lines painted diagonally), that you can see around 50 meters away from an intersection. However, selective apprehension of private vehicles using the yellow lane is highly prohibited.
The yellow lanes (1st and 2nd lanes in EDSA) are only for City Buses. City Buses are not allowed to go beyond the yellow lanes. If they do so, they will be apprehended for violating the yellow lane policy.
Provincial buses are also not allowed to use the yellow lane. Instead, they are encouraged to use the third lane.
    2.    Each Traffic Enforcer has his/her own written mission order issued by the MMDA Central Admin. Apprehended drivers are free to ask for the apprehending officer’s mission order, which includes his area of responsibility, time of duty, official function. It also indicates whether or not the enforcer is authorized to issue tickets.
    3.    Traffic Enforcers should issue TVR in complete uniform, with visible nameplates. Traffic Enforcers are instructed to accomplish the TVR (Traffic Violation Receipt) without any delay or argument on the road, so as to avoid traffic congestion.
    4.    The Apprehending Enforcer is allowed to issue another TVR for Towing Fee. If the owner of the impounded vehicle fails to release his vehicle after payment of fine in the stipulated date, the impounding officer shall issue a separate TVR indicating no. of days it has remained at the impounding area.
    5.    Before apprehending, the Traffic Enforcer should flag down the vehicle and lead it to the roadside where it will not obstruct the flow of traffic. Traffic Enforcers should courteously inform the driver of his violation.
    6.    Traffic Enforcers are not allowed to ask drivers to alight from their vehicles while the apprehension is taking place. Most importantly, Traffic Enforcers are not allowed to ask or receive bribe money.
    7.    During traffic apprehensions, the following can be considered as a valid driver’s license:
    •    ID Plastic Card
    •    DLR / Temporary Driver’s License
    •    TOP (Temporary Operator’s Permit)
    •    International Driver’s License
    •    Foreign License
The Traffic Enforcer should exercise extra diligence in verifying the veracity of the data or documents presented.
If you encounter any Traffic Enforcer violating any of these, get the name of the Traffic Enforcer indicated on his/her name plate, and submit a letter of complaint addressed to the Traffic Adjudication Board (TAB), MMDA Bldg. EDSA cor. Orense St. Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City, within 5 days after the apprehension.
In case you are involved in an argument with a Traffic Enforcer, call the MMDA Hotline 136, or the Metrobase at 0917-561-8711. Ask the Metrobase to send inspectors to go to the place where the argument is taking place for proper investigation.
You may also e-mail complaints against erring Traffic Enforcers to the MMDA thru email@mmda.gov.ph. Include full details of the incident (attach photos or videos if possible), so that they will be able to act promptly on the matter.

I myself have been victimized by  "officers" flagging me down for swerving, when there was even a painted arrow sign on the lane itself  - the one located at paranaque slex corner airport road, and I've seen that many others are being flagged for such every morning. Be aware, be prepared to protect yourself. It may save you at least 200 pesos or the hassle of having to file a VL just to retrieve your license. 

one year down, three to go

Classes have already ended, fully concluding my first year in law. It fills me a bit with nostalgia, and  I cannot help but look back at the things I encountered here.

Going to law school full time after a two year of break from university life threw me out of the loop.

1. Its a bit disconcerting to find classmates born in the 1990s when all this time I thought of them as kids. Its been a while since I've encountered doodles on page margins like these --->
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. It also put social life to a ground breaking halt ~ no more gimmicks or movies on payday nights, good bye to sleep-all-day-mall-till-it-closes weekends and hello to reading two reams of paper every week, and making digests/notes for each case you've read (ranges from 300-700 cases/ per subject/semester).
   
3. Sometimes I am filled with guilt about all the paper law students consume in a year (I swear when I become a hot shot lawyer I shall start contributing to Oplan Kalikasan or other tree planting organizations)
   
4. I used to go to school with just my wallet, a pocket notebook, Gtech 0.3 and a cellphone;
   Now I bought my first ever pencil case completely loaded with highlighters (replaced every week?); I have a P500 Yea! binder (most expensive ever, with 3 holes for future taking-apart and binding purposes), stapler, post-its, 3M banderitas, folders and tons of binder clips. My bag is so heavy that a boyfriend carrying it would consider it as a work-out regimen.
   
5. Time Management + Study Habits are forced to be formed.
   
6. Dealing with the relative vacuum- In relation to #2, law students are generally unaware of other things not related to law, case in point: When Chem Pavilion was burning which was across our building + Sunken Garden, we did not know about it at all until the next day because it was already on TV patrol. Sometimes you feel you haven't seen your outside world friends for two weeks so far when in reality you have been out of touch for 5 months already and then you wonder whether has it been that long really.
   
7. Drinking coffee is now Mandatory.
   
8. People only need 4 hours of sleep to function. Sometimes even less
   
9. Sedentary lifestyle. Do not bother with gym memberships, you will not go to it. Try buying a treadmill instead, one that comes with a book stand like what Sandra Bullock had in the opening of the movie, The Proposal.