A moon-filled night.

Driving from Intramuros back home, I took Pedro Gil instead of travelling via Buendia. Pedro Gil, I still prefer to call it Herran, was a mess at five in the afternoon.  Public jeepneys, "de padyaks", and an assortment of cabs and private vehicles were fighting for what was left of the street, as other cars turning left blocked those going straight, and as commuters waited for their rides almost in the middle of the street.

As we passed St. Paul's University and U.P. Faura, I almost didn't recognize the two institutions as they looked shabby amidst the narrowed streets occupied by stores, hotels, sidewalk vendors, and slow and parked public utility vehicles.

Then on to Dart, Paco, I almost cried upon seeing the even narrower street leading to my Alma mater. To my left, I was pleased to see the facade of what used to be Bellevue Theatre, with its pillar and decor intact still.

Robert Downey, Jr as Sherlock Holmes with Noomi Rapace who played Sim, the gypsy, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

At the railroad crossing in Osmena Highway,  I heard the railroad bell and stopped right before the track. Other vehicles took their chance and raced to the other side. Then the train didn't make a move, and the rail guard didn't close down, so together with other cars, I drove quickly and passed the crossing.

Many moons ago in Weirton, West Virginia, there was a railroad crossing wherein cars waited ten minutes or so for industrial trains to pass through. This was before the new highway was built and I had to pass through old Weirton and onto University Avenue in Steubenville before reaching Sunset Boulevard where we lived.

Which led me to think more of  trains. Couple of days ago, I watched a re-run of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows where Holmes, Dr. Watson and a gypsy girl  travelled to Germany by horse and Holmes was captured by Moriarty inside his armory.

When Dr. Watson finally freed Holmes and as they fled, Moriarty's weaponry pounded them and killed most of  Holmes' company. The quad of Holmes, Watson, the gypsy girl and her aide escaped via a passing cargo train.

Which led me to think, how many movies have I seen where a passing cargo train from nowhere facilitated the escape and saved the life of the main character? Many.

A passing shadow stole the ride amidst the moon filled night. 

The Perils of Phones.

I had Vibber uploaded into my Iphone recently so my relatives in  the U.S.A can phone me and I can call them for free. I have also "facetime" and Skype. And I have "facebook" and internet connection via Iphone.

Then of course, the old reliable email adds to the connectivity to the outside world.

But the other day, one associate informed me that she was texting an important meeting which we didn't receive. The text was sent to a Nokia which we suspect had been acting strangely, meaning some texts are not being processed and received.

The sender was thinking we didn't care about the event, and we were thinking, she didn't call for a meeting.

In today's highly wired world, the technology which is expected to improve mass communication sometimes becomes the source of mis-communication.Why? Because we rely too much on it.

We think that if we email someone, s/he'd see it right away and respond. But we never think that sometimes emails go directly into a receiver's spam folder because of the filtering or privacy settings that s/he had inadvertently done to her/his program.

Or when we send an SMS to someone, we immediately think it's been sent successfully and received successfully. We do not see lag-issues, provider issues, and sometimes, "low-bat" or "no-load" issues. Some phones or providers do not process text messages when the receiver's phone has no pre-paid load, and the message is kept hanging somewhere.

Ourselves, we try to email and text at the same time for important issues and concerns we want known and taken up if we are expected to be the initiator of something.

And of course, a "live call," is always the best, because no load or with load, we can always reach someone.

I remember an old, 1984 phone commercial of AT & T, " Reach out and touch someone." Play it here.

A Street called Church.

In Toronto, there's a street called Church. It intersects Dundas and that's where you find the St. Michael's Cathedral. Nearby is George Brown College, Golden Thai, a favorite of mine, some thrift shops, and further down at Front Street is the  O'Keefe Theatre, now known as Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. In the vicinity of Front is the famous St. Lawrence Market, framed now by countless condominiums.

St. Michael's Cathedral

Church Street is roughly bounded by Gerrard Street to the south, Yonge Street to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street  to the east, with the core commercial strip located along Church Street from Wellesley south to Alexander.

Way, way up is the CN Tower, the tallest structure in Canada and if you follow John St., you'd find an array of exotic restaurants in the theatre district of Toronto where tourists and locals get to watch shows such as Les Miserables, Mama Mia, etc at the Royal Alexander, the Princess of Wales, and the other theatres.

CN Tower in Toronto.

Church Street also boasts of bums lying over exhaust openings from the subway system below. Other times, these creatures ply the traffic and offer motorists a quick window wash. One Toronto Mayor banned these "impromptu car wash boys."

Also within walking distance is Toronto's Wall Street, the Bay Street. And of course there's Yonge Street, a tourist attraction show casing restaurants, specialty shops and shows, bargain souvenir stores, tatoo boutiques, and sidewalk cafes.

St. Lawrence Market, partly a farmer's market with lots of fresh veggies and fruits on Saturday and Sunday and a flea market, too

Queen's Street is another busy street in the Church street-area. That's where Old City Hall is located.

Aside from the iconic St. Mike's Cathedral, Church Street is home to the gay community in Toronto and stones' throw away from Gerrard, where St. Anne's Church stands amidst the little Chinatown and Indian town.

The crab.

It's much easier to stay silent, and sit by yourself in the imagined cubicle you erected - walls impenetrable by people who don't like to be dealt with.

When we were young, and unsure of ourselves, we preferred to remain quiet during recess at school and on class hours, we acted prim and proper and listened to our elementary school teachers with ears and eyes wide opened. We never bullied anyone, even if "slum boys" pestered our girl school mates.

But as we grew older and saw  the real world for what it was, we couldn't help but stand up noisily for that was what was required to be heard and seen.

Especially for small or short people, being heard is a hard task. With big and tall people, being heard is even harder if the meat of the message is a dung.

Politicians in the Philippines, a lot of times, don't need height nor weight to be heard, seen or get elected. They simply need to have the right network of manipulators and vote buyers. Sad but true.

In ordinary people's lives, there are manipulators, instigators, and provocateurs working behind the scenes. They are the destroyers of dreams, visions, projects and lives.

They act vile because they want to get the credit for your work, they have been paid to do the dirty job, envy you and your family, or they are just simply mean and evil ( like rude drivers who drive you crazy, thieves, hold uppers, car jackers, rapists, those with crab mentality,  and pork barrel scammers).

But in simple, community environs where proper decorum and etiquette are still required, there are still scums who ignore "hellos and hi's" and smiles and small talk as if wealth is the only yard stick for returning the greeting and the warmth.

Pets, especially dogs are man's best friend, indeed. They may have the brain of a pea, but they respond warmly to man's simple gestures of care.

TBT. Buttercup.

I thought buttercup was just a piece of muffin-like goodie,

then I heard the song "Build Me Up Buttercup' by the Foundation, over and over, in dances and karaoke sessions where people love the 60s and 70s tunes.

But no, buttercup is a kind of plant from the Ranunculacea family which produces yellow or white flowers.

And lately, buttercup became a character in Toy Story, even a princess in the Princess Bride.

But more than this, Buttercup has become a term of endearment by guys to gals, and a fave dance number throughout the years.

Nostalgia.

A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past. That's nostalgia. 

The brood of  my canary, Lucky, taken in 2009.

We pine for the good times, happy memories, excellent job, childhood years, even missed opportunities.

 

Missing Spike, the mini-pin, in one of our walks in a Toronto neighbourhood park

It's the eleventh of September today, another anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing in 2001. A dozen years have passed.  I was heavily jet-lagged when it happened, having just arrived in Toronto, from Manila.

My buddy Budgie, Tommy

This month is also the anniversary of the deadly Typhoon Ondoy which hit Manila in September 26, 2009, some four years ago. I had barely arrived from Toronto and visiting a sick mother when Ondoy sent Manila into the death chamber, killing and maiming thousands, and murdering dreams of many.

My Mom circa 1920's and just before her death in2009.

Alas, the past haunts. Like phantom childhood scars from tumbling bikes, the past sometimes suddenly seizes us and convulses us into remembering.

October 2009 trip to mountain-top Montemaria in Batangas, Home of Maria - Ina ng Dukha

The foregone could be hilarious, joyous, painful, wasted, hung. 

A story untold, or retold, ended, unfinished, being re-written, being lived. 

I miss the cat. Savannah, just few months' old in this photo, lazing under the a.m. sun.

The onion-skinned peelers.

Yesterday morning, as I peeled onions for the hamburger I was cooking, tears filled my eyes as the pungent bulb stung my tear glands. I love onions but not its tear-inducing substance, sulphur.

Onions contain amino acid sulfoxides that form sulfenic acids in the onion cells. Both the enzymes and the sulfenic acids are kept separately in the cells. When you cut the onion, the otherwise separate enzymes start mixing and produce propanethiol S-oxide, which is a volatile sulphur compound that starts wafting towards your eyes. The gas that is emitted reacts with the water of your eyes and forms sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid thus produced causes burning sensation in your eyes and this in turn leads to the tear glands secreting tears. Thus you end up with watery eyes every time you cut onions at home.There.

Guys peeling onions and protecting themselves.

I thought about the onion scene as I listened again to the Napoles pork barrel scandal over at the morning news and marveled at how those involved invoke innocence or ignorance of their participation. Hard-skinned or lacking ethics, yes, but they act onion-skinned and talk about how their good names are being tarnished and show how delicate their egos are. 

But aren't these the same guys who peel off their opponents during political campaigns and even the civil societies, the religious, and anyone who gets in their way?
 
These onion-skinned peelers. Bah.