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By Ruel S. De Vera, Associate Editor Sunday Inquirer Magazine GETTING stuck in a vehicle in immobile traffic while the rain keeps on pouring and the water keeps on rising is truly horrific, especially if you are alone. It can trigger the most helpless feeling, being stuck in a car by yourself when the line of cars is standing still seemingly forever and the shower shows no signs of abating. There are a few ways to try and ride out the storm by yourself; reading a book, listening to a book tape, making calls on your cellphone and maybe even watching something on your iPod, laptop or (lucky) portable DVD player. But being trapped in a gridlocked vehicle with a bunch of other people -- be it school bus service, college carpool or whatnot -- adds an altogether different dimension of possibilities and options.

1. Bond: Of course this is much easier if you and the people in the vehicle can actually stand each other. You’re in luck if you are actually stuck with friends. Or maybe people you have some degree of affection for. Getting stuck in a vehicle with people you loathe will make the floodwater outside seem much more inviting than the icy atmosphere inside. Also bear in mind that the size of the vehicle is directly proportionate to the lack of privacy in your conversation. If you’re stuck in anything smaller than a sedan, everyone can hear you, so the conversation better be kosher. Warning: this is not a good time for a bull session, confession or some other emotional outpouring. At best, it can be awkward, at worst, it will be absolutely disastrous.
2. Eat: Not only does the presence of food greatly increase your ability to actually stay alive in traffic, but more foodstuff also enables the trapped denizens to actually be strong enough to do the other things. This is easy if you have one of those busmates who basically carries a sari-sari store in her bag. Otherwise, it becomes a situation where you guys scrounge around in your bags, other people’s bags and maybe even between the cushions for something to eat. Proper trapped decorum dictates that food needs to be shared evenly among the castaways, so no hoarding. If there is no food in the vehicle, then someone has to actually venture out of the vehicle to get some. This is not as bad as it seems (though the poor soul who will be chosen to wade in waist-high floodwater to find food may not agree), as I have heard one story of a bunch of friends stuck in traffic send someone out to the nearby Andok’s and spend the next hour or so stuck in traffic but happily and messily munching on litson manok and liempo. By the way, the driver needs to be fed first.
3. Play games: It can be any game, but better if it can be played by more people, so chess and backgammon are out. If you have a PSP or a DS, don’t use it because the others will get annoyed listening to you picking up a 1Up while they’re bored senseless. So the louder, funnier games are best. Since it is highly unlikely that people carry Monopoly, Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit in their cars just in case, one may have to resort to ice-breaker games. Perhaps the best would be games involving songs like “dugtungan,” (one person sings a portion of the song and then the next person has to pick up a new song using the last word). Charades is OK but you have to be creative. Truth or consequence and spin the bottle are options, but you are likely to be stymied by the limitations imposed by the current predicament. These are the times when people discover how much they miss Supertrump.
4. Study: Granted, this is a fairly desperate option, but what are you to do? Particularly good for students of any sort, the best thing about this is that pretty much everybody can engage in it at the same time. The only caveat to this is that once you decide on studying, you have to respect that other people are studying, so do not memorize lines out loud and do not bug other people or look over their shoulders because you’re done and they’re not.
5. Listen to music: One would think this is a no-brainer, but I think five people in a tiny car each listening to a different kind of music on individual iPods is the height of being anti-social, particularly as the driver cannot do the same (for safety’s sake). So the solution is community-building through communal listening. Have everyone in the car listen to the radio or CD or iPod. It’ll take a while to get going as inevitably someone will hate that song, but soon you’ll all be bobbing and singing together to old Eraserheads songs and maybe even showtunes. It’s like videoke in a tin can.
6. Give someone a makeover: Now this requires that you have a bunch of girls (or “girls”) in your vehicle. The victim doesn’t even have to be willing. It’s a great chance to give someone a new look or at least have fun trying to do so. It will also help to have an impressive selection of items inside those expandable kikay kits. Good music will help the mood, and of course, cellphone cameras are required to record the occasion for posterity.
7. Engage in crafts: Ideally, this will work for people who brings cross-stitching or knitting projects with them. You can continue that scarf. But this is also pretty good to be able to ask other people to help you while chatting or even sharing your skills by teaching them. Another perfect skill to develop is origami, as those history handouts suddenly prove useful. Hey, if juggling is your cup to revolving tea, then go to it. The wackier the better.
8. Start a business: Hey, weirder things have happened. Maybe if enough enterprise-minded individuals are trapped in the same vehicle, one can begin thinking about a small business you can all collaborate in. There’s nothing like hours spent going nowhere to get those creative juices flowing.
9. Do little chores: This is actually a pretty smart thing to do but can amount to a pretty limited amount of time. If you’re stuck, then do little chores like answer all your unanswered text messages. Rewrite your notes from class. Throw out unneeded papers and receipts. Make tomorrow’s to-do list. Write a blog entry or two or three. Rearrange your kikay kit. Clean your glove compartment.
10. Sleep: The final solution when all else is done. Just bear in mind that this solution will require a rotation for the driver as the driver must always be awake, so take turns sitting in the pilot’s seat. Also, the others who do not want to sleep need to respect the silence for those who do sleep. Don’t forget to whack on the head anyone who snores too loudly. Sleep tight.