Wednesday 19 Mar 2003

I should've known what to expect when I finally went back to Pasig. I knew it was a museum, knew that it was nothing like what I'd remember -- but I still went back anyway, nursing some vague hope that I'd see something familiar, something I could take back with me, because the memories I have now are faded and vague ( Read more... )

Tuesday, 18 Mar 2003

(in tag-lish -- the English / Tagalog patois you'll find in most of Manila)
"How much is this copy of Hero"80 pesos ( Read more... )

The graveyard is one of those old middle class European graveyards where every family has a crypt, and the crypts form a small city of white marble and somber angels. My mom points out the tombs that belong to branches of family that I'm half familiar with, and how you can almost trace the geneaology of the city by the middle and last names etched ( Read more... )

Monday, 17 Mar 2003 ( Read more... )

Monday, 17 Mar 2003

My grandfather and I are being driven down Roxas Boulevard, a palm-fringed wide road that overlooks Manila Bay, but our drive slows down as traffic increases. Soon we're at a complete halt, and my grandfather leans over to his driver and asks, "accident?"

The driver shakes his head.

( No, sir. Protest. )

My uncle Desi was the sort of man who gave up his youth reluctantly, for it was a youth spent on the sort of pursuits that might occupy a young man with a sense of adventure. He backpacked through Europe, climbed mountains, and rode a dead cool motorcycle -- he was the sort of uncle that could tell stories of hunting warthogs in Africa, skydiving ( Read more... )

Sunday, 16 Mar 2003 I woke up in midflight and found my hands pressed against the window next to my seat, forming a small pillow. My hands were warm, very warm, tropically warm, and suddenly home felt very close. I raised the window shade up, and peered out and saw the mountains of Northern Luzon scrolling underneath me -- lush, green, verdant ( Read more... )

It's 5 in the morning in Korea1, and the terminals are still largely empty. A war started while we were in the air. A young couple lies on one of the benches, watching the CNN footage, holding each other close. There are other islands clustered around the TVs. Twos and threes, sitting close by. We're all alone and we all want someone close by ( Read more... )

Over the past couple of days, as folks have asked how I was doing, my default answer was usually stressed, busy, crazy or all of the above. My work days have blurred by as I tied up loose ends and handed projects off to co-workers, and my nights have likewise sped past, occupied by last minute dinners and drinks with friends, wishing me well and ( Read more... )

Three days before Christmas, I was sitting in the golf cart with my brother, patiently waiting for the players ahead of us to finish playing through the hole.

"hey," I said, "did you know that there's a New Order boxed set out ( Read more... )