The new normal: A quick visit to Ayala

Last week , I received a chat from our team leader on my previous job and he told me that I need to go in the office to get some cheque. I thought I don't have any cheque there as I already recieved it 2 years ago. I resigned to that company 2 years ago and after that I didn't expect any back pay because I know we don't have any 😂

Since my place is far from Manila , I'll make sure to my team leader to asked the HR if it's sure that I'll be getting something from them and they confirmed it. Since it is new normal now , it's hard to travel in Manila because public bus transportation is still now operating here in our province so the only way to go in Manila is to book in carpool which may cost double of the normal fare from the public bus.

Last Monday I tried to find a carpool and by Wednesday they confirmed that the trip from Thursday is okay. The schedule of the trip is 4 in the morning and I choose it over commuting because if I will choose to commute , I need to ride 4 buses and the times for that is so consuming so I decided to choose the carpool even if it's more pricey.

I set my alarm clock at 3:00 AM and went to our meeting place which is on the town proper. I waited there until 4:00 AM and then our trip begin. We are only three in the van excluding the driver and her wife. I know that we will arrived at Manila too early because there's no traffic and it only takes 1 hour and 30 minutes and we reached the Monumento. When I am in the Bagong Barrio I am planning to ride a bus going to Ayala to consume more time because I'm so early. It's new normal now and the route also changed. You cannot ride on the bus in a place because there's a designated station for the bus. It is called the Carousel and it's not like the typical bus. If you are at Manila who will know what I mean hehe. It's like a BGC bus that you can used beep card but in my case I don't have that so I pay on the conductor.

Since it's new normal , there's an army who observed the people in the bus station. Passenger is required to wear facemask and faceshield because it's the proper protocol. The fare in the bus isn't change. I pay 45 pesos from Bagong Barrio to Ayala and the only changes is that they are not allowed to enter the Ayala and only the EDSA so I need to ride one Jeep again to be in our office. I arrived at Ayala by 6:20 AM and still to early so I decided to walked on my way to the office. As I looked the Ayala , it's seems nothing's changed except from the fact the people are not around because most of the employees are working from home. The environment is quiet. I saw people jogging and a woman who walks with the dogs, that's the typical sceneries in Ayala during mornings.

A walk slowly and captured photos. I really miss Ayala. As I walked on the sidewalk , I remember those time that I still work there. There's a lot of happy memories in that place. I remember the first time that I've been there , I was so amazed with the buildings because its so high. I am scared to talked to people when I am applying because I am not to confident. I remember when I was lost there because of too many streets and got penalized because I across the wrong way.

What a busy city it was. People who always in a hurry. Horning of the vehicles and voices of the barkers of bus and jeep telling you thier route. The rush hour that keeps you on the line so long. The fast food chain that you visited every payday and the Jollyjeep when you are out of budget. I miss those times and I am happy that I visited Ayala again.

As I reminisced those times, I didn't noticed that I am reaching the Ayala Triangle Gardens. I decided to go there and hang out. I am planning to make an article while waiting but I end up capturing photos and looking at the people in the place. I just feel the morning air , the mornings vibes. I even captured the sunrise and I loved my shot!

After a couple of minutes I leaved that place and walked again. I am looking for something to eat and I end up going on Lawson, not Mindanao not Visayas but Lawson. That was the old jokes of my team leader everytime he wants to eat there back then. I buy some cappuccino and seat in from of the store. Like I did in Ayala Triangle , I am still waiting for the time and while I do that I looked people walking in the sidewalks while sipping my coffee. It's almost 8:00 AM and I finally I can now go the office. I walked on our to way to office and captured some mirror shot outside the PBCOM building. I think it's the most high building in Ayala and the ambiance inside is superb. I onced enter that building when I applied in one of the call center in that building that is located in 27th floor.

Our office is located in the street next to Ayala. It is located in Valero street and I need to walk like one to two minutes to get there. As I am nearing the building where our office located , I felt an excitement maybe because I miss the building , our production area and the people but because of pandemic there are few employee who are in the office because most of them are working from home including my best of friends.

To be continued ...