I have yet to experience a lengthy bus ride I can actually sleep off, but I’m hoping my luck turns this week, since I have to get on the bus for the long haul four times: first to get from Manila to Baguio for the UP Writers Workshop (done, and as expected, I went without sleep), and then to get from Baguio to Manila (because the only date in April I could manage to reserve online to renew my passport just had to land smack in the middle of the workshop), and then another bus back to Baguio after a day at the DFA, and finally, a bus back to Manila at the end of the week. Unfortunately, in my case, tiredness doesn’t translate to sleep, and awake with nothing to do but stay put until I literally get somewhere rarely progresses to spacing out, and instead is usually spent obsessing over how much time there still is until the trip ends. I’ve come armed with a book of unforgettable journeys to amuse myself with through the hours of transit and now more than ever I wish I wasn’t stupid enough to lose my ipod last year (for some reason I can so easily slip into spacing out during ten-minute jeepney rides). Anyway, despite patterns to the contrary, I’m still banking on shut-eye to get myself through, and I hope this week it won’t be all that elusive.