:Six Feet Under… and then some.

I spent the first hour of Christmas day at a funeral parlor.  My cousin Sidney was killed in a car accident early in the morning on the 24th.  He was killed while driving  home to be with his family.  So while other people were busy greeting each other "Merry Christmas!" I found myself at a loss for things to say to my bereaved tita, and said something stupid to the effect of "How are you?"
It was somewhat surreal to think that someone who was so alive the previous day was now lying in a casket.  What was more surreal were the fireworks going off from within the cemetery grounds.  When midnight rolled around and as the fireworks started going off, people started streaming out of their respective alcoves to watch the fireworks from the outside.  As pretty as the fireworks were, when it ended, I overheard someone saying out loud:
     "Yun lang yon?"
I guess people at funeral parlors are a tough audience. 
Rest in peace, Sid.

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(otherwise known as a somewhat slightly exasperated rant…)

That’s it… That’s just it. 
Some time before this year is up, I’m going to head for salt water, even if just by myself.
Give me salt water over chlorine.  Please.  My gear’s beginning to fade from chronic pool use that it isn’t funny anymore.

Anyone out there?  Any takers?

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Wow.  it’s already the 21st and I don’t feel that general "love is in the air" feeling.  Nada.

Zip.

…well, maybe during Simbang Gabi, otherwise it feels just like some unusually mild December.

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Its no secret that I’ve been somewhat despairing for this country. i used to get this  impression that we as a people are totally unable to get out collective acts together and move this country along.  However, I was given a quick lesson on the statement "The grass is greener on the other side."  Last month, while I was still in the States, I got into a conversation with one of the med students who was doing a rotation in the ICU where i was attending rounds.  It was about the time when OJ Simpson was about to publish a book about how he would have done the murders of his ex-wife and her boyfrieds "if he had done it."  Anyway, I made a general statement to the student to the effect that no one would buy a novel like that, to which she replied:  "This is America.  Its the land of trash.  Many people are going to buy that book."
While I don’t subscribe to that opinion, I guess that reaction just highlights the facts that if you live in a place long enough, all you see is the negative - all the things that are so wrong with a place, and not what’s great about it.
There are many reasons why this country still is great.  Its all out there at the moment, but I just know it deep down inside. Its got this frontier-siness to it - that although systems may not always be in place, mechanisms do exist that allow you to create your own path…
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Got the estimate for the car yesterday.  My calculations were wrong.  Unfortunately, it was a "bad" wrong.  All the valves need to be replaced, as they were damaged when the timing belt broke.  Well, since I was getting that done, I decided to just hemorrhage money once and have almost every other little busted thing fixed.  About time too, considering it was starting to feel like riding in some dilapidated taxi cab.

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Well.
This is a familiar place.
Anyway, in the week I’ve been back, I’ve managed to:
     1. Eat Baliwag Liempo
     2. Eat Pizza burger in Pampanga (among the other things we ate in pampanga)
     3. Eat Isaw
     4. Help develop the cheapest fireworks display - ever!
     5. Go swimming.  Twice (both under the guise of checking my gear out in the pool at Scubaworld) in preparation for upcoming dive trips.
     6. Get my car into the repair shop… again.  Which now kinda negates #5.  Schucks.

It’s number 6 that makes me say that this feels all familiar.  One year and 10 days ago, I was in a similar situation (just scroll down the page to that particular date for the story…)  Anyway, whereas the previous breakdown was within the village, this one was along the skyway.  The similar thing is that the 1st one required a top overhaul, and this 2nd one looks set to follow that pattern.  Sana naman hinde.  Sana, sana, sana.  The car was towed to the shop already, and I’ll be getting the full assessment by tomorrow.  Sana, sana sana.
I wonder what next December will be like?

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For most of the past month, I’ve been attending rounds in a hospital in the northern part of the city.  Part of that daily commute entails riding on the Blue-line train which goes from the city to  O’Hare  airport.  As evidenced by the large suitcases they lugged, you could tell that some passengers were headed to O’Hare and to unknown ports of call.  In a few hours, I shall once again be taking the train, but this time with my own suitcase in tow.  Will I sleep on the train this time?  Probably not.  I’ll just watch the city slip past - the winter wonderland that it has become over the past few days (at -10 centigrade, it ought to be) - and get ready to head home to 28 degree weather.
Ah… Hello centigrade scale and the metric system

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After around 12 weeks here, it was only this week that I was finally able to try a Chicago style hotdog, and Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.
The Giordano’s pizza was so thick that I was only able to eat one slice!  The "encased meat" (hotdog) sandwich was from Hot Doug’s all the way up north.  Hot Doug’s is also known for its duck-fat fried french fries - but alas, those are only available on Friday’s and Saturdays.
As good as the pizza and ‘dogs were, my palate still craves for such cardiac delights such as liempo and chicharon bulaklak.  Another thing I’m looking forward to is Shakey’s Pizza.  I know it sounds weird, but there are only around 300 Shakey’s branches worldwide, and only 50 of those are in the US - mostly in California.  The majority are - you guessed it - back home in the Philippines.  So, if I can hold my cravings for another 48 hours, I’ll be able to have my fixin’ of thin-crust pizza

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