Moth on a Train

Last Saturday (and by last Saturday I mean August 3, 2013) was surprisingly busy for me spending my whole day outside. On the other hand, let’s face it, any weekend where I get out of my room for more than two hours is already out-of-routine busy, but today was especially eventful because, dun-dun-duuuun, I went to Cinemalaya!

I watched Transit, which is about a family living in Israel with their children under threat of these children being deported. I unfortunately overslept and so by the time I got to the theater, the movie was already halfway through, but the part that I was able to watch was, well, -ood. (As in I didn’t get to watch the first part, so it isn’t good. Okay, not very funny, but at least it doubles as a Doctor Who reference!)

Then afterwards, half succumbing to peer pressure from my two friends who went with me to the movies, and half in the sheer anger and frustration for having missed half of Transit, I watched Purok 7. It was about the life of two children (11-ish sister and 5-ish kid younger brother) whose mother has gone to work in China and whose father has a new wife. Their mother is on death row for drug trafficking, which is a constant source of tension in the movie. However, they manage to have light moments living life, and it’s all really rather cute and, though I hate using the word, heartwarming (*rolls eyes).

Me and the peer pressure. Photo by Albert of filipeanut

But what I really wanted to talk about was the trip on the way home. I took the LRT-1 train to SM North EDSA. By the way, my poor knowledge and laziness in exploring Manila has bitten me in the ass, cause I got down two stations away, thinking that SM was near Monumento Station (that stupid map at Vito Cruz station was inaccurate!). But anyway, LRT-1 was really full at the time, with people’s bodies touching completely. In most situations, what I was doing to the large dude in front of me could be construed as sexual harassment, and all that was going through my head was “awkwardawkwardawkwardawkward….”. Until I was entertained.

There I was, getting bored in the uncomfortable packing, when I looked up and saw a moth riding the train. I’m sure I was the only one who noticed it there, nobody else was looking up. It was near the air conditioning ducts to the side of the door. I couldn’t tell what species it was because I know next to nothing on insects, but I’m pretty sure it was a type of hawk moth (Sphingidae). I’ll try to draw what it looks like, or you can just google “hawk moth” for a better illustration.

What the moth must be thinking (If it could think, that is. I have more neurons in my optic nerve than in its whole nervous system) while lost in that train. It probably wandered in from some station, and would have been surprised by the very cool air conditioned environment and the distinctive armpitty odor of crowds. It was fun to watch as it clung there, especially since the force of inertia as the train starts up after stopping on a station makes it swing backwards, its legs frantically scrabbling so it won’t fall. But finally, it was time to me to get down two stations too early in north EDSA, and I had to part ways with the moth.

it looked something like this, but brown.

So that was one happy thing that happened yesterday. I hope that moth turns out okay, or that it had at least been successful in leaving behind offspring. It was a cute moth.

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