Overdrive

Duluth to Bloomington
Originally uploaded by Almondigas18.

"Magdadala ako ng pagkain
Burger, fries, tapsilog at siopao
Magdadadrive ako hanggang Visayas
Magdadadrive ako hanggang sa Mindanao"

-From an Eraserheads song

My love affair with driving has begun. I used to dislike driving when I lived in Quezon City. I disliked driving kahit hindi naman ako marunong mag-drive. It just seemed like an unnecessary skill set in Metro Manila. Kahit pa may risk of dying in a terrorist bombing sa MRT, I chose to be a commuter instead of getting myself a car and absorbing all sorts of negative vibes while driving in Metro Manila. Pero ngayon, uh oh. Parang gusto ko nang bumuli ng chikot.

I guess I started to enjoy driving two weeks ago when I drove C. and me home from Hugo. The I-35 wasn't busy that Saturday evening. Ang ganda pa ng extended sunset. the interstate wound through beautiful parts of Minnesota and I saw lots of lakes and ponds along the way. I enjoyed the ride so much I drove us straight home to E 7th. I was able to relax while driving and passing other cars did not feel as stressful.

***

Three days ago, Chrissy Larson (another graduate student in the Environmental Education program) and I drove from Duluth to Bloomington, Indiana so we could attend the graduate research symposium on adventure education in Indiana University. Medyo kabado ako kasi--oh my gas--we were supposed to share 12 hours of driving between us--one way! So, all in all, 24 hours of driving roundtrip. Tom Beery had bailed out the day before we were to leave and kawawa naman si Chrissy kung siya lang ang magda-drive. So, kahit na learners' permit lang ang meron ako, I committed to sharing half the driving. Little did I know that 12 hours would stretch to 14 hours on the way to Bloomington and the return trip would take 13 hours.

***

There is really nothing like a "baptism by fire" sort of experience. Not only did I drive A LOT, I also drove through a freaking thunderstorm. (Chrissy now tells me she might have seen the spout of a twister forming somewhere but thought best not to tell me.) Approaching Danville in Indiana along the I-74, the storm just got so worse that all I could see out my windshield was gray. The sky was gray and heavy with stormclouds. Rain was pouring heavily. There was fog all over from the heat on the road and the rain. I had to keep my eyes on the white road markings to make sure I was steering correctly, the faint tail lights of the large truck ahead of me and the faint lights of whatever vehicle was behind me. At one point there was also some hail. All this went on while I tried to drive above 50 miles per hour. Santa Maria Madre de Dios!

I took an exit after 2 hours of driving in the storm so Chrissy could take over. My eyes were just too tired for me to drive safely. But I felt exhilerated. Now I have driving-in-the-rain experience. I was less afraid of being behind the wheel. We arrived in Bloomington at 10 p.m. Our host, Aya Hayashi from Japan, welcomed us to a house she shared with three other girls. She had baked an Earl Grey Tea-flavored cake. Ang sarap! There were bits of tea in the cake. Somehow parang weird ano? Pero kakaibang sarap! I decided to walk around the neighborhood a bit before showering. Too much sitting had frozen the muscles on my back. I called my mom and told her about my drive. Takot sa Interstate ang nanay ko, so she was quite impressed. After that, I took a lovely hot shower, crept into my sleeping bag and promptly slept the sleep of the righteous.

***

What is it with Wisonsin and beef jerky? It seems to be a big thing at least in roadside gas station groceries. Large vacuum-packed bags of dried meat are piled in huge boxes. I've never seen so much jerky in my life. Kadalasan it's just those little finger-sized packs they sell for $1.25. But what I saw where 5 pound packs sold for $20 each. Malaki pa sa mukha mo! Who buys that much jerky?...The Jerks?..hehe..It's a rather unappetizing and unsettling site. Mukhang galing sa isang massacre. Palagay ko it's those truck drivers who buy these. Or maybe some visiting cannibals passing through.

***

Also, when driving on the Interstate, di ko mawari why everyone is driving at least 8 mph faster than the speed limit. Kapag masyado ka namang mabagal, may mga nagagalit. So sige na nga, gaya na rin ako. But you know that there are cops up ahead when vehicles in front of you suddenly slow down to the correct speed limit. Sabi na nga ba eh...Pero pag malayo na, hala, ang bilis na naman.

I was driving 7 mph above the speed limit when I noticed a patrol car lurking behind some trees (para bang bampira). Sa nerbyos ko, I stepped on the gas instead of the breaks. What??!! Oh Lord! I could see the headlines: "Philippine Children's Book Writer Deported for Speeding" or kaya "Charred remains of international student found in Interstate pile-up". But miracle of miracles, the police did not budge from their hiding place. Maybe they were busy eating donuts. Maybe there was some sex going on. I don't know. I'm just glad I didn't get a ticket. Chrissy, who was napping in the back seat, was woken up by my maniobra. "Natasha, you're starting to drive like an American!" she laughed. Ano raw? There's a Pidro joke there somewhere. I just can't find it right now.

***

Hay, kelan kaya ako makaka-bili ng kotse? Ayaw ko namang laging hiramin ang truck ni C. Pero, when I have my own car na, magda-drive ako sa Route 66 while playing and singing that Manhattan Transfer song of the same name. Magdadrive rin ako to California, o kaya to Colorado. Pwede ring magdrive to Florida, tapos magsiswimming doon sa beach :)

Isasama ko ang boyfriend ko
Isasama ko kahit sinong may gusto
Kahit may kasama siyang aso
Basta't mayroon siyang baong sariling buto...

----------------------------------------------
Link: "Overdrive" by the Eraserheads
In case you were wondering

Habemus Papam!

We have a new pope! Let's all pray for Pope Benedict XVI! Sana naman he'll be good for the Catholic church like John Paul II was.

Not Really Sadako

HOW long can I go without a haircut? This is month number 5. I miss retreating from the world and just being pampered at Profiles Salon on Katipunan Street. Doon lang ako naging 99% happy and satisfied as a salon customer. I was a regular for a while at (Something) Feliciano's along Matalino Street. Kaya lang may manicurista doon na sloppy ang trabaho. After a while rin, hindi na magaling gumupit si Jhun.

Here in Duluth, I went to a place called Great Clips. And although my trim turned out OK, the woman cutting my hair had fingers that reeked of nicotine. And mukha siyang barumbadong babae na kalalabas lang sa preso. Where oh where are the gay stylists who have gentle fingers and who smell nice?

In a month or two, I'll try a salon at Fitger's called Shear Katz. Abangan na lang ang susunod na kabanata.

Online Animation

Not having cable TV at home, I have discovered ways to satisfy my cartoon cravings through online animation. Here are three of my favorites and one animation that I would not watch repeatedly but definitely understand.

homestarrunner.com
I always check Strong Bad's email responses every other Monday. His old emails are funny too. Look for that one about techno music and that one titled animal. Described as the "Internet's Best Kep Secret". I wear my "The Cheat" T-shirt with pride!

angryalien.com
My friend Chris Borela introduced me to this by sending me a link to the 30-second bunny re-enactment of The Titanic. But my personal favorite is The Pigeon Cam.

candyvenery.com
This one is very intense and somewhat depressing...but speaks truth. It won Best Animated Short Made for the Internet in the 2004 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

hoteloscartangoecholima.com
This interactive tale by Han Hoogerbrugge also won a prize in the 2004 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It's an interactive novel that is novel in the beginning but get's repetitive and aimless as you go along. Tinker with Chapters 1 to 7. It's stopped on 7 for a long time. Does that mean the novel is finished? It doesn't seem so. Napakabitin. It has a companion website at preconstruction.biz that pretends to be real. Scary! Reminds me of the Blair Witch Project. The background music sounds similar.

jibjab.com
Introduced to me by C's brother-in-law (who also by the way is a Strong Bad fan like me). It's a site that spoofs Bush. And although hindi ko talaga masikmura ang kasalukuyang presidente ng Estados Unidos, JibJab is not a site I woud visit every week. Nevertheless, it's worth a visit. JibJab is very popular is Canadia, where the deer and the antelopes play...and the wabbits!

Sunday Mass after JP2's Death

THIS morning I attended Mass at St. Benedict's Church near Arrowhead Road. I've been feeling very pensive ever since the JP2 fell ill and then passed away yesterday. He's the only Pope I've ever really known or have been familiar with, but I feel that he's the best one we have ever had. Like most Filipinos, I also feel a certain affection for JP2.

Anyhow, I just felt the need to get myself to a church. It's the first Sunday after his death and I thought it was only right to go. I wore a black long-sleaved shirt. I guess I was expecting a more visible sign of grief at the church and was hoping to pray with other people for JP2 and the election of a new pope. But when I got there, it seemed like an ordinary church day. There was no sense that someone important had just passed on. Sure, there was a period of ten Hail Marys before the Mass proper, but I didn't see signs of sadness. Even the pastor's manner was--how shall I describe this--a tad perfunctory. I felt no genuine sadness nor any sense of loss.

Sanay lang ba ako sa drama ng mga Pinoy? Hindi naman siguro. But was it right for me to expect the atmosphere outside the Vatican and in many churches in the Philippines to be duplicated here in Duluth?

When the pastor took a moment after the Homily (which also did not touch on the Pope's death) to talk a little about the Pope, I began to cry. Hindi naman maingay. Tumulo lang naman ang luha ko. I guess it was because may pakiramdam ako ng pangugulila. The pastor began to talk about how he had the chance to meet JP2 and how honored he felt that the Pope blessed him 45 or so days after he was ordained. How the Pope had blessed the vestments he was wearing today. How the Pope had blessed the medals that the parish was giving away to everyone after the mass. Lalo lang akong naiyak, dahil punyeta naman, was that the best he could come up with? Ano naman ang pakialam ko na na-bless ang damit niya? Aanhin ko naman all those plastic medals near the church entrance? And what's all this crap about peace here and peace there, eh, their country has killed so many innocent and poor people in A. and I. My stomach felt sick. I thought that coming to a Benedictine church would be better because it might somehow echo the kind of service-based faith that I was raised on. But I guess I was wrong.

Napansin ata nila akong umiiyak. Couldn't stop my shoulders from doing that quivery kind of movement kapag nagpipigil ng luha, and I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I sensed a more somber tone from the pastor and the deacon after that.

Ewan ko ba. I miss UP Chapel and I wish I were with Coro de Sta. Cecilia right now. And for the very first time, I wished it was Fr. Robert (the running priest) who was up there. Not the star-struck Rev. Richard Kunst and his special clothes.

Goodbye Winter!

After skiing at Lester Park
Originally uploaded by Diliman Moon.

Here's a photo of me after cross-country skiing and falling on my bum 6 times. Muwahahah! Tapos na ang winter, matutunaw na ang niyebe!

The Hillsider

A LOCAL community newspaper here, called "The Hillsider", has published two of my articles. One of them is the main story on the front page. It's good to have a byline again! :) Also, it has been easier to get out and walk because Spring is REALLY here. Mounds of snow have been melting. The glacier in our backyard has been receeding and I wake up to the sound of noisy birds. Hmmm...mating season.

There is also a flock of seagulls that I've seen around and about: at the lot on the corner of E. 7th St. and 20th Ave. and on the baseball field at UMD. I didn't know seagulls went that far inland. I wonder what's up.

Anyhow, here's a view of the less frozen Lake Superior from the Allete building downtown:

Lake Cam