A Day with Ulysses and Saving Sea Turtles
I just spent the whole day with my friend Ulysses. Yup, that is his real name. It always cheers me up to know that I have a friend named after one of my favorite Greek heroes (Ulysses=Odysseus). My life is all about journeys and how great is it that I have an Odysseus at my side during my journey.
One of the reasons why I like hanging out with him is that I can tell him anything. I can be direct with him and he'd appreciate it all the more. Another reason is that he brings out the crude, vulgar, blatantly tactless and honest side of me that I don't get to show to all my friends or family. I realize that what I am experiencing today is commonplace to most people. Hanging out with a friend, talking about anything by the Blue Eagle Gym waiting shed while sipping 10-peso coffee and watching girls in short shorts walk around (this is mostly him but I participated sometimes). The irony about my life is what I do everyday is something people see as uncommon while what common people do everyday is something I rarely get to do and is so special to me. Ordinary days are uncommon in my life - maybe I should stop calling them ordinary altogether. But I use the word ordinary based on the vantage point of ordinary people. An ordinary day for an ordinary person - I always wonder what that feels like. It must be boring - how absolutely glorious. I need boring right now.
I remember when I was little and I made a wish to have an adventurous, exciting life. I got my wish.
Heard of the saying be careful what you wish for? It's true.
People always wish for things without considering what they actually mean. Like adventure and excitement - you cannot have both without danger, intrigue, loss and other bad things. Adventure and excitement seems so glamorous when I was young - darn mass media.
So here I am now, spending an ordinary day with my ordinary friend, and cherishing it. I'm not going to wish for a boring life though. I'm done making wishes.
For some reason our conversation leads to sea turtles. This must be the fourth conversation I had in the week that lead to sea turtles. That's me, I won't get over something or let go of something unless I have done what I have set out to do. So, you guys will be hearing more from me about sea turtles... and I won't stop until I actually get to release one in November.
Ulysses likes asking choice questions, like, "A bucket of poo or a bucket of piss? You have to choose one." or "Someone you love so much but will never love you or someone who loves you so much but you will never love?" They are all simple two-choice questions but somehow the choices are always hard and I end up spending a lot of time thinking of how to justify my choice before I can answer. Did I mention that he's a Philosophy major.
He then asked me, "If you can save just one, a baby sea turtle or J.R.?"
Me: "J.R., humans trump animals."
Ulysses: "Loleng or sea turtle?"
Me: "Loleng."
Ulysses: "Me or a sea turtle?"
Me: "You."
Ulysses: "The last sea turtle - pregnant - or a boat full of all your friends? Who do you save?"
Me: "The very last sea turtle?"
Ulysses: "Last one in the world."
Me: "Hmmm..."
Ulysses: "..."
Me: "Last sea turtle. Sorry."
Ulysses: "Good choice. I wouldn't choose you over a pregnant sea turtle either."
One of the reasons why I like hanging out with him is that I can tell him anything. I can be direct with him and he'd appreciate it all the more. Another reason is that he brings out the crude, vulgar, blatantly tactless and honest side of me that I don't get to show to all my friends or family. I realize that what I am experiencing today is commonplace to most people. Hanging out with a friend, talking about anything by the Blue Eagle Gym waiting shed while sipping 10-peso coffee and watching girls in short shorts walk around (this is mostly him but I participated sometimes). The irony about my life is what I do everyday is something people see as uncommon while what common people do everyday is something I rarely get to do and is so special to me. Ordinary days are uncommon in my life - maybe I should stop calling them ordinary altogether. But I use the word ordinary based on the vantage point of ordinary people. An ordinary day for an ordinary person - I always wonder what that feels like. It must be boring - how absolutely glorious. I need boring right now.
I remember when I was little and I made a wish to have an adventurous, exciting life. I got my wish.
Heard of the saying be careful what you wish for? It's true.
People always wish for things without considering what they actually mean. Like adventure and excitement - you cannot have both without danger, intrigue, loss and other bad things. Adventure and excitement seems so glamorous when I was young - darn mass media.
So here I am now, spending an ordinary day with my ordinary friend, and cherishing it. I'm not going to wish for a boring life though. I'm done making wishes.
For some reason our conversation leads to sea turtles. This must be the fourth conversation I had in the week that lead to sea turtles. That's me, I won't get over something or let go of something unless I have done what I have set out to do. So, you guys will be hearing more from me about sea turtles... and I won't stop until I actually get to release one in November.
Ulysses likes asking choice questions, like, "A bucket of poo or a bucket of piss? You have to choose one." or "Someone you love so much but will never love you or someone who loves you so much but you will never love?" They are all simple two-choice questions but somehow the choices are always hard and I end up spending a lot of time thinking of how to justify my choice before I can answer. Did I mention that he's a Philosophy major.
He then asked me, "If you can save just one, a baby sea turtle or J.R.?"
Me: "J.R., humans trump animals."
Ulysses: "Loleng or sea turtle?"
Me: "Loleng."
Ulysses: "Me or a sea turtle?"
Me: "You."
Ulysses: "The last sea turtle - pregnant - or a boat full of all your friends? Who do you save?"
Me: "The very last sea turtle?"
Ulysses: "Last one in the world."
Me: "Hmmm..."
Ulysses: "..."
Me: "Last sea turtle. Sorry."
Ulysses: "Good choice. I wouldn't choose you over a pregnant sea turtle either."