Life in Autumn

One day to go before classes start. How can three weeks pass so quick? I’ve been spending my free time watching Veronica Mars on dvd and I haven’t finished season 2 yet.

What I like about Veronica Mars is that it reminds me a lot of Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley that I used to read when I was in elementary. It’s like Nancy Drew meets the Wakefield twins in Orange County. As embarassing as this may sound, I actually love to watch characters going through high school stuff — prom dresses, first loves, innocence lost and all that crap. It’s probably because I have a lot of hang-ups and unsettled issues from my own high school experience.

But as much as I like watching, I never want to go through high school again. It was the worst time in my life, so far at least.

Last Sunday we were in Bamban, Tarlac for another dose of barf fest a.k.a., those annual family reunions that I really dread. I’m not very keen on attending these kind events and be judged by how you look, how fat you’ve become, how rich and successful you’ve been over the year. God, the superficiality of it all makes me wanna puke. I had to attend because my grandma and tita were there. They just came back from San Francisco.

The highlight of the event aside from the feast of roasted pork and cow (PETA surely hates us now) is the mass presided by my cousin Kuya Jay, who was recently ordained. Nanay (my lola) was teary-eyed during the mass. I’m sure she was really proud of her apo.

After the mass, someone said that the family already had a doctor, teacher, engineer and now a priest. Unfortunately there isn’t a lawyer in the family yet. It actually got me thinking. I could probably take up law in the future and be like Brian George Lindemann who blogs about lawsuits. On second thought, I could travel the world and enjoy its resplendence. That would be a blast.

I’m back. I’ve been wallowing away with my time doing nothing after the tragedies that set in– my dog Spike’s demise and Dan’s sudden death. I just felt I had to deal with everything first before going back to blogging.

Anyway, for those even remotely interested to know, I’m actually doing fine now. But sometimes I feel like my hand has been cut and I’m not even aware of it. Just last week I’ve been hit by another bout of depression, knowing that Spike wasn’t there anymore. Out of habit I guess, everytime I go home, I still glance at his little corner where he patiently waited for 15 years for my weekly dog grooming. The reality hit me hard just as the idea of Dan’s unexpected death.

Like everything else, I know, this too shall pass.

A former colleague is promoting their new restaurant. It’s called Aroma’s, located at 87 Maria Clara St., near the National Orthopedic Hospital. They serve Spanish and Continental cuisine. I haven’t been there but I’m looking forward to dine there sometime. I’m partial to Japanese food though (yum!).

Another former colleague has also moved on to culinary arts and is planning to put up a restaurant in the States.

I just wish I also have enough capital to put up my own business. Maybe, some day I could have my own little San Diego restaurant.

We’ve been running traffic stories for the past few days because there aren’t enough stories to air at 12 noon. Christmas is just around the corner so the traffic is really bad but of course Metro Manila has the worst traffic at any season.

It really gets on my nerves when I see students in Katipunan Avenue each driving their own cars. Carpooling hasn’t really taken off in the Philippines unlike in other countries. I’ve read a recent article about carpooling in Kansas. In order to encourage carpooling in the area, the commuters are entitled to a raffle promo where they can win gift checks and even theater tickets. Cool huh?

Anyhow, I won’t have to worry much about the traffic since I don’t have a car and I just live nearby my workplace, unless of course I get to buy a used car just like these San Diego cars. It would probably take me more than a few years in my job now to be able buy one.