Sunday, April 30, 2006

mormon jazz

ever noticed na parating may basketball court sa labas ng chapel ng church of the latter day saints?

....and that it seems na wala namang naglaro sa mga basketball courts nila ever?

so what's with basketball and the mormons anyway? the only possible koneks i could make is that mormon state utah has a great basketball team in the NBA, yon ba iyon? sana istatwa na lang nila malone at stockton, pero malamang tanggalin din nila iyong kay malone dahil lumipat ng lakers sa huling hirit nila ni payton para maka isang championship ring man lang bago mag-retire.

so malamang istatwa na lang ni kirlienko ang ipalit sa istatwa ni malone katabi ng istatwa ni stockton na maikli ang shorts.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

puno ng acacia

ilang taon na kaya yong puno ng acacia sa gitna ng quadrangle ng ating elementary school? kahit nuong nag-aaral pa tayo doon eh parang ang tanda tanda na niya.

inisip ko dati merong isang super mother higad iyong puno ng acacia na kasing edad nito na pinang-gagalingan ng sangkatutak na higad na maya't maya ay nahuhulog sa nagkakatihan at nagpupulahang batok, braso at noo ng mga batang mag-aaral. kahit na hindi ako nabiktima ng mga falling higad ay nakaka-relate ako sa hirap at pagkagitla ng mga nag-ngangatihang mga bata na sasabihan ng mga titser na kanilang lalapitan bilang pangalawang magulang sa paaralan para sa kanilang suliraning kahigaran ng -> "HUWAG MONG KAMUTIN AT KAKALAT!!!"

kung hindi ako nagkakamali ay hindi lang higad ang nahuhulog mula sa acacia kundi mga dahon din. walang patid na naglalaglagang dahong dilaw, mala dilaw na mala brown, mala brown na mala orange, at kahit mga berde pa. inakala ko dati na kagagawan ng mga walang magawang mga higad ang pagkatanggal ng mga dahon sa puno at dahil sa excitement nilang magtanggal ng mga dahon ay nahuhulog ang ilan sa kanila diretso sa mga batok ng kung sino pang mga iyakin na mga bata.

inisip ko noon na bakit ang laki laki ng acacia tapos ang liit-liit naman ng mga dahon niya. ang nararapat sa ganon kalaking puno eh yong dahon ng puno ng saging di ba? kasi kapag ganon kalaki ang dahon niya eh mahihirapan na yong mga higad na tanggalin ito at kung mahulog man ay hindi siya makalat dahil hindi siya matataboy ng hangin habang winawalis ng janitor at sa totoo lang kung kasing laki nga ng dahon ng saging ang nakakalat sa quadrangle ay pupulutin na lang yon kaysa walisin.

ang hinihintay kong bumagsak mula sa acacia eh yong mga sipa na kinoconfiscate niya sa mga batang naglalaro kapag recess at lunch break, sinasalo niya ang mga ito at hindi na ibinabalik. hindi na ako nakakakita ng sipang tingga at sako tulad ng mga ginamit natin noon, siguro ay dahil bago na ang style ng mga bubong ngayon kaya hindi na pamilyar sa tingga ang mga bata dala na rin siguro nagtatanggalan ang mga yero ng bubong ng mga bahay noong panahon natin dahil sa mataas na demand ng tingga para sa sipa.

siguro bukod sa sipa ay marami pang ibang bagay na kino-confiscate ng punong acacia sa gitna ng ues noon dahil madalas-dalas ang kaganapang nagkukumpulan ang mga bata sa ilalim nito at nakatingala't may itinuturo na kung anong bagay sa mga sanga ng acacia. ang madalas na ituro at pagkaguluhan ay kapag may pusang naligaw sa mga sanga nito.

pero kahit wala namang ibang bagay sa sanga ng acacia bukod sa higad at maliliit na dahon nito ay parang milagrosang puno ito na kung anu-anong aparisyon ang nakikita ng mga bata kapag tumingala sa punong ito.

humila ka lang ng isa o dalawang walang magawang mga kaklase o kaibigan (parang marami nito nuong panahon natin) para tumayo sa ilalim ng acacia at pare-parehong tumuro sa mga sanga nito ay siguradong mag-kukumpulan na maya maya ang mga batang grade 1 at grade 2 para tingnan kung ano ang itinuturo ng unang tatlong batang walang magawa pagkatapos kumain ng baon. mga batang grade 3 at 4 ang unang makakapagsabi kung anong hinahanap ng mga batang grade 1 at 2. maya maya ay mga batang grade 5 at 6 naman ang nag-uunahang makakita at pagtalunan ng kung anumang bagay na sinasabi ng mga batang grade 3 at 4 na nasa puno ng acacia.

tiyak tuwang tuwa si super mother higad.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

tequila mockingbird

From : Lindsey Cameron
Sent : Monday, January 10, 2000 3:55 AM
Subject : Re: start the year right


hiya, Romel. My New Year's was spent with friends from undergrad at a party in Vancouver. Nothing to crazy, but good fun all the same. Otherwise, I had a great visit with the parental units and with a few other friends on the West Coast.

I did have one funny thing happen to me: Since everyone was having Christmas at our house, my father decided that it would be fun to serve oysters as appetizers. We had some leftovers because one of my uncles doesn't like shellfish, and my mum made a nice oyster soup. Anyway, as I was eating my soup, I found a pearl! This must be a good omen for the new millennium...

Happy Birthday! What will you do to celebrate?

:) Lindsey
========================================
Sent : Monday, February 7, 2000 5:48 AM
Subject : Re: the revolutionary


hiya, Romel. Glad to hear that your Dad is in a healthier climate. And hey, some of us bourgeois-types can be a lot of fun!

Any job involving responsibility is going to be tough, especially when money is on the line. Don't quit just because your co-workers are acting like assholes.

Now I am back at the office, plowing through more work than any one woman should have to do. I ran into my judge as I was coming into the building and he was going to the parking garage after having been out on the canal - at least he had the grace to look embarassed that I was working on such a beautiful day!

Had lunch with Bing last week (yummy sushi). The CHRF is doing an initial publication of our summer project next month, and a final publication in June, because it was well-received by the workshop people who met with Bing in Manila. If you promise not to make fun of it, I will send you a copy...

:) Lindsey
=======================================
Tuesday, February 29, 2000 3:09 AM
Subject : radio silence


hiya, Romel. Ottawa is going through an unseasonable warm patch. Only two weeks ago it was -40, now it is 10. So all the snow is melting and I practically have to swim to work.

I have been very busy at the office, but it all paid off on Friday when I met with the judge and he said that everything I gave him was very useful. He is such a charming man and always makes me feel like he appreciates the hours I put in! I will miss him in the fall.

;) Lindsey
=========================================
Sent : Tuesday, March 14, 2000 10:59 PM
Subject : Re: A true revolutionary is someone who is moved by the heart - che guevara


Things here are crazy as usual, and I have the additional chaos lately of a new boyfriend. His name is Joseph and he works on Parliament Hill (in Ottawa, there are only men who work on the Hill, and men who are techies...) He is fun and smart and cute, so I am pretty pleased with myself for finding him :)

My Mum is also visiting right now so I have been working weird hours so that I can spend my afternoons with her.

This Friday is St. Paddy's day, so there will be drunken mayhem I am sure. Can you tell that I have finally settled into Ottawa with a vengeance? And of course I move to Vancouver in 6 months, where I will have to make friends all over again!!

Lindsey
=====================================
Sent : Thursday, March 16, 2000 9:56 PM
Subject : Re:


My mother was just here for a four-day visit. It was great to see her but also exhausting to be entertaining for that long. Last night after she left I just vegged out on the couch reading a trashy magazine and eating junk food. I guess that part of it was MY vacation!

Lindsey
======================================
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 9:54 PM
Subject : Re: Hope is the denial of reality...Raistlin the mage


hiya, Romel. Sounds like you are busy as usual. It must have been nice to have Ayi for such a long visit, are you missing her?

This past weekend was the first one spent out of the office since the end of January. So I tried to take advantage of my relative freedom, but almost didn't know what to do with myself when I wasn't working. I settled on gardening in the end: lettuce, cucumber, leeks and a ton of flowers. So hopefully next time I have a free weekend, I can spend it sitting out in the yard enjoying te fruits of my labour!! Of course, after I did all this yard work, the temperature plummeted, so I was outside last night with a flashlight checking to see if everything was surviving the cold. I'm not sure what I would have done had the answer been "no", dug it all back up again and brought it inside? hmmmm.

In addition to being busy, I have been having a miserable time of it with Joseph, which is the other reason I have been out of touch. Not enough good news to impart, I suppose. Boys, blech.

Lindsey
=====================================
Sent : Tuesday, June 13, 2000 11:45 PM
Subject : Re: surreal pillow


hiya, Romel. Sounds like you had a great vacation with Ayi and your cousins.

Thanks for the hair clip thought, but actually my hair is so short now that I'm not sure I can even wear them! I look like a boy, according to my father. Sigh.

I broke up with Joseph (of the amazing technicolour complications) and am now dating a very nice cute boy named Jason (I am going with a "J" theme in the new millenium...). He works for CIDA and is also from Vancouver.

I will probably go down to Montreal for the Jazz Festival at the beginning of July, however, because all work and no play sucks.

:) Lindsey
========================================
Sent : Thursday, July 6, 2000 9:20 PM
Subject : Re: learn the rules


good morning, Romel. I have a terrible awful horrible no-good very bad cold. Argh. But I am still planning to go to Montreal this weekend to see the Jazz Festival.

I talked to Gilbert on the phone when he was over at Bing's on the weekend and he sounds well. He doesn't mention religion very much in his conversation except to say "God bless" instead of "good-bye" so it is a funny contrast to his e-mail.

Lindsey
=======================================
Sent : Tuesday, July 25, 2000 10:33 PM
Subject : Re: bkk

Jason went to London (Ontario) with his ex- last weekend. Guess who just got dumped for her boyfriend's ex-? Definitely, no more J- boys...

======================================
Sent : Thursday, August 3, 2000 2:42 AM
Subject : Re: ian

hiya, Romel. Things here are pretty crazy - With the help of a friend, I found an apartment in Vancouver and I am moving there on Sept. 3. On Monday (Aug. 7) I am going to Madrid for a week and then to Paris for a week. I am staying with friends in both places and am looking forward to a lot of good wine, stinky cheese and yummy chocolate!

WEirdly, after being pretty pissed off for a couple of days, I am not mad about the Jason thing anymore. I went to Toronto to hang out with a friend and the whole thing just fell out of my mind. Does this mean that I am getting jaded?

:)Lindsey
====================================
Sent : Tuesday, August 29, 2000 9:35 PM
Subject : return to the 'Wa


hiya, Romel. Got back from my vacation last week and have been getting ready for my move to Vancouver ever since. I will send out my new address etc (etc) later today.

My trip was amazing - I spent a week in Madrid with a good friend from high school, Cassandra. Madrid turned out to be a perfect base for visiting a few of the surrounding cities - Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial. Then I spent four days in Reims, in Champagne) with some friends from university (where I toured all the champagne houses and drank A LOT) and a few days in Paris with my old housemate. The weather was fantastic everywhere I went, people were friendly and I enjoyed being outside and active (i.e., the opposite of my normal life in the office....).

Right now I'm staying with a friend from work since I moved all my furniture to Vancouver at the beginning of August. I leave on Sunday, move into my new apartment on Monday and start bar school on Tuesday. Argh. In mid-September, I fly back to Toronto to be in a friend's wedding - what a production. Being involved in this wedding has convinced me that I will elope.

What are you up to? Lindsey