And just because...

I've had this song in my head every quiet moment for the last two weeks (no sh*t), I'm posting it here. You may listen to it here.

FOR GOOD

Sung on the Wicked cast album by Idina Menzel (elphaba) and Kristin Chenoweth (glinda)

elphaba:
you're the only friend i've ever had.

glinda:
and i've had so many friends. but only one-- that mattered.

i've heard it said
that people come into our lives for a reason
bringing something we must learn
and we are led
to those who help us most to grow
if we let them
and we help them in return
well, i don't know if i believe that's true
but i know i'm who i am today
because i knew you...
like a comet pulled from orbit
as it passes a sun
like a stream that meets a boulder
halfway through the wood
who can say if i've been changed for the better?
but because i knew you
i have been changed for good …

elphaba:
it well may be
that we will never meet again
in this lifetime
so let me say before we part
so much of me
is made of what i learned from you
you'll be with me
like a handprint on my heart
and now whatever way our stories end
i know you have re-written mine
by being my friend...

like a ship blown from its mooring
by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a skybird
in a distant wood
who can say if i've been changed for the better?
but because i knew you...

glinda:
because i knew you...

both:
because i knew you
i have been changed for good...

elphaba:
and just to clear the air
i ask forgiveness
for the things i've done you blame me for

glinda:
but then, i guess we know
there's blame to share

both:
and none of it seems to matter anymore

like a comet pulled from orbit
as it passes a sun
like a stream that meets a boulder
halfway through the wood

like a ship blown off its mooring
by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a bird in
the wood

who can say if i've been changed for the better?
i do believe i have been changed for the better

glinda:
and because i knew you...

elphaba:
because i knew you...

both:
because i knew you...
i have been changed for good.

San Diego

Finally, am in San Diego. Got in at 11 last night when my body clock was near 2 a.m. of today. I was tired and hungry yet I managed to smile when I discovered my sister's really pathetic attempt to creep on me while I was waiting for my luggage at the carousel. Some things never change. My sister's comic timing is still really off and THAT, I have always found funny.

My bedroom is even nicer than the one I had in Marriott, and I thought I'd write that here because so far, that is what I have found amazing in San Diego.

Will be going around the area this morning then will pick up my sister from work at lunch.

Out of Chicago

In a few hours I will be flying out of Chicago to my last stop, San Diego, California.

We had my despedida lunch at Todai, the famous Japanese buffet. My friends and I had wanted to eat at Todai for my despedida dinner in DC but never got around to doing it. The cheap but delicious Peruvian chicken was just too hard to resist that night.

Hence, the moment I heard that i would be able to try Todai today (pun intended), I was thrilled. This was my first plate:



Then my second, but shared with my cousin:



Of all my trips so far, this one is Chicago has been the most personal. By coming here I have been able to see my cousins again, one of whom I last saw 18 years ago. It has been great talking to them and reminiscing about the old times. It is true what they say, that however old we get, however the numbers just keep on adding to our age, the way we see ourselves never really change.

Here are my nephews:



And Chi-chi, the youngest (and the cutest):


I will miss the boys. And thanks Nette and Uncle Tony and Auntie Vicky, for taking days off to show me around. See you next year.

Shopping in Chicago

Spent a fruitful day scouring the mall with my cousin. I wanted to shop, yes, but unfortunately I've no more space in my luggage. And I'm still visiting my sister in California who is a certified shopping addict. All I got was one blouse. (Applause)

Right now I'm at my cousin's boyfriend's place in Alton, Illinois. They are watching poker and I am here updating, drinking Smirnoff (wild grape flavor). This drink is pretty good --- it reminds me of Royal grape soda from my childhood.

I hear we are shooting some pool tonight. Good luck to me.

Am in Chicago!

Yep, I am. It's my first day and I'm having so much fun already. Maybe mostly because I'm visiting my aunt and uncle and the cousins I grew up with in the Philippines. With cute little boys running all over the place.








We went to Millenium Park in downtown Chicago soon after I'd arrived. It was cold out (and windy - yes, see title above) but in a really nice way.

This place is where they hold concerts and where people gather to play under the sun:




Now this is a really interesting piece of bean.



See me warped, see me tiny.




I had trouble finding my own reflection under the bean. But I swear I'm there somewhere.

This is me with my cousin. Her boyfriend was the one who took the photo. She and her boyfriend have gotten together only a month ago and I asked her silently if they were gonna get married soon. She muttered "I dunno" at the same time the camera clicked, and we burst out laughing.

Enjoying DC

Friday being a workday, and my friends being at work of course, I had 9 hours to explore DC alone. Destination was the "Mall" which apparently measures up to a thousand acres. The vastness of the place sounds really wonderful in the shopaholic sense, but the Mall isn't a shopping mall. The Mall is short for the National Mall & Memorial Parks which contain some of the oldest parks in the U.S., like the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Within the vicinity are several art museums or galleries to satisfy one's curiousity or hunger for culture and history.

I started with the National Holocaust Museum. Start with the dreary, end with the happy. I've always been interested in this dark part of history, beginning in high school when I got hold of a copy of Elie Wiesel's Nobel Peace Prize-winning book "Night".



I also went to see the National Gallery of Art, starting with the west wing, then the east wing. The west wing houses old European art from as early as the 13th century. Naturally, most of the artforms had religious references.



The east wing, on the other hand, houses modern or contemporary art.



No photos may be taken inside the west wing. And this, I guess, is for the better, lest I be accused of giving a lecture on Hum II again (you know who you are). Here are some photos though, taken from the east wing.





Some other touristy pics - of the Washington monument, the Capitol Building and the White House (the latter qualifying as a famous landmark and work of architecture - it's not about who lives in it).






I wandered around some more and reached Georgetown School of Law. My friend picked me up later on. It was only during dinner when I learned that a few blocks off Georgetown, I would have already reached no-man's-land. Lots of tourists get mugged or killed in that area, apparently. I also learned that the windows of my friend's car had twice been bashed by looters in the area. To prevent any more window bashings, my friend would no longer lock the doors of his car in the hope that the looter would just open the car and see that there was nothing valuable in it.

I'd assumed that I was in a safe place since it was DC! Apparently not. Buti na lang, I didn't wander far enough. Even so, Friday was wonderful. This is a photo on our Friday dinner, wonderfully hosted by my friends C and J:

DC is a lovely place. It has a more serious vibe and is quieter than New York.

Washington DC

It does feel like I'm on the amazing race. Only I'm doing it solo.

I reached Washington DC today. Happy to see old friends.

Had my first yosi in America tonight. One quiet yosi moment shared between the master and the student who brought the goods.

A postscript on New York and a bit on Maryland

I arrived in Maryland last Monday when it was already dark and quiet. Early Monday had been truly harassing for me, and I'm blaming the U.N. for having its international partners' meeting that same day. The police blocked off most of the main streets in mid-Manhattan bringing the traffic to a halt, and causing me to walk a total of 15 blocks in my office clothes (and shoes!) to attend client meetings. On the way to the final meeting, I passed by the public library and saw all this commotion:



Apparently, Bush or his wife Laura (not sure) was going to deliver a speech at the public library. Although I wasn't able to take a photo of the presidential car when it passed, I was able to take a good shot of this guy:



I know it doesn't compare. But I don't give a hoot about the president of the United States or his wife.

After my N.Y. business was over, I reached Maryland after a 3-hour drive. Since it was already dark, I didn't really see anything interesting, until we stopped for food at this place:



Heh heh. One restaurant employee approached me in the car to say hello. I asked him if he was Jacky Chen. He said no. Hee hee.

See the neon light on the left side of the photo. It says Rosedale and everything here seems nice and quiet.

The following day, we went to see the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the patroness of Maryland. I am familiar with St. Elizabeth, who is from the same order as the nuns that ran my high school, the Daughters of Charity. Obviously making a religious reference, my uncle told me that the weather is never harsh in Maryland. No blizzard, no hurricane. They haven't even experienced an earthquake ever since they settled down here in the early 90s.



My uncle and I heard mass at the Shrine. The dome of the altar was just so beautiful.

Later in the afternoon, we went to the National Shrine of our Lady of Lourdes.

I've often wondered whether one should be smiling when having their photo taken with a religious image as background. Would smiling be disrespectful? But not smiling would make it look like someone was taking my mug shot.

Oh, well. I decided to just smile away.

It was nice to visit and pray. I prayed for a whole lot of serious stuff, but on the side, I also prayed that I'd earn enough miles so that I could upgrade my seat to business class on my flight back. Malay mo...

This may be a good segueway to selfish matters. I also went to a retail outlet in Virginia where I got myself a Coach bag. Mahal pa din, but cheaper than buying in a department store. I was especially happy yesterday. I don't know why, really, but I think the bag may have something to do with it.

Later in the evening, we went around downtown Maryland and visited the hospital where my aunt works at, the famous Johns Hopkins Medical Center.



My aunt's friend was surprised to learn that I was already out of college. She had thought I was, ehem, fifteen. (O sige na, she had thick glasses.) When I told her I was already 23, she thought that I was pulling her leg. Hahaha.

Seriously, when I told her my real age, I myself couldn't help but shudder. WTF??? I'm OOOOLD. What am I doing traveling??? I should be going home and living the life that is meant for me.

I'll be home in two weeks. And as my friend likes to say, bahala na si batman.

An evening at the MoMA


Last Friday, Romer and I went to the Museum of Modern Art. It was raining all over Manhattan that night but I bravely walked to MoMA, mainly to see Starry Night.
There were several installations that were on display. There was a projection on the wall of a black and white film of the Empire State Building that shows the passage of time. The film was an 8-hour recording by Andy Warhol of the building that was once the tallest in the U.S., then not, and then again (when the WTC towers collapsed), which showed the changing shade of the horizon and the flickering of the lights coming from the Empire State, from daylight into the night.

We also entered a darkroom with a film being projected on three separate panels on the wall. It showed three naked life-sized persons swimming. The audio of splashing water made it feel like the people were swimming inside an acquarium. It was terrifying and Romer had a good laugh about that. I’d like to post the video of this film here but I haven’t figured out how to do it.

(Btw, it was good that cameras were allowed inside the MoMA. The only requirement was that you don’t use the flash when you take a photo. Many times we would hear the guards shout “No Flash!” after each time a flash would go off. People usually just say sorry. It actually happened to us quite a few times, and we just burst out laughing and hurriedly got out of the security guard’s way.)

The next installation was a movie of a pretty woman in a dress, walking in slow-motion and carrying a long-stemmed orange tulip. She’d happily smile at people who passed by, and the picture-perfectness of it all made me suspect that something weird was going to happen next. I wasn’t disappointed when the woman suddenly bashed the windows and the windshields of cars parked along the street using the long-stemmed tulip. My friend who is a perv would’ve really enjoyed that one. Will show you the video next time, perv-o.

Later we went to see various designs that were either really just stupid, or really really interesting. See me under this gigantic table lamp.

Automobile body parts. Niyupi, tinupi at pinagdikit dikit. Art?



Anyway, these are some of the stuff I found really interesting:



I wonder what had caused the ceiling to collapse.



This is tricky. That’s a tv screen you’re looking at, seen through a mirror that I was holding. Notice the shoe on the right, which shows that I’m taking the photo downwards. The TV screen was on the ceiling, as all other TV screens were. Initially, I had tried craning my neck to see the shows that were being shown, until I realized (ta-dah!) there were mirrors on the benches to facilitate viewing. (Ang talino.)

This is a cute one:

I have not seen all the actual Campbell soup varieties on the wall. If any of you has, please let me know.

Now, the cutest one:

Hehe. Sorry. That’s not a brianboy pose, but I tried my best.

Now, this is the reason why I even went to the MoMA:



I was speechless for a while. Of course a photo of Starry Night with me in it was imperative.

Notice that I was hunched (more than the usual, I mean) and smiling in a strained way in this photo, because just before Romer clicked on the camera, I had noticed a red light blinking and I feared that it was the flash waiting to go off. The MoMA guards are a scary bunch.

Finally, uwian na.

Huli sa biyahe

And I mean that in its literal sense, lest you think am referring to another topic most often discussed by and between a single grown woman and her nosy, impatient relatives. My journey to New York and my side-trips to Connecticut and to Maryland were stamped with HULI SA BIYAHE all over.

My flight from Manila to New York had a stop-over in Hong Kong. When my plane reached Hong Kong, I had 50 minutes to board another plane for New York.

First, I went to the washroom. That was about 5 minutes lost. Then I went to the airline counter to see if I could get a plane seat that had a port for laptop power. Since the booth was all the way to the side of the airport, I probably lost around 10 minutes just to talk to the ticket guy who told me that no, I couldn’t be seated anywhere else. Thank you, Mr. Ticket Guy. It was a pleasure chatting with you.

I reached the departure area after 10 minutes. Because of the high level of security being enforced at the airport, I had to go through another series of security check. I put my handcarry through the x-ray machine. When the security police realized that I was bound for New York (it was September 9 then), he motioned to the lady manning the x-ray that I was late for my flight and that I should be made to go very quickly then. Well, not really. That was a dream sequence.

What the guy really did was to tell her to check my stuff a second time. She did. Tick tock tick tock. I had 15 minutes left.

X-ray machine nightmare sequence over. Then came the task of finding Gate 83. 83. You’d think that Gate 83 meant the third gate in the row of gates that follow seventy other gates. Crazy, right? Yes. Crazy right.

I started running to Gate 83. Before then, I had never thought that I’d be running in any airport, with bags and all, in the frantic fashion that I was doing then. The scene could have very well been from a movie where the leading lady runs after the leading man who is flying off to an unknown destination or somewhere she couldn’t ever ever follow. Like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Lebanon. Yep, it was almost like that, only the leading lady wouldn’t have to go through another security check where they make you empty the contents of your bag and put them back again. It was already 10:20 a.m. My boarding pass says the plane leaves at 10:20.

What the hell were they looking for? Liquids, gels, pastes. I had a toothpaste buried deep down inside my backpack pala. The police said, you can’t keep this. And I said, okay. He found my lip gloss and said, you can’t…. I yanked it out and placed it on the table. I said, I’m going to miss my plane. And he looked at me like he didn’t care. Hahaha. Of course he didn’t care.

Thankfully, a security officer with a handheld radio asked me if I was on the NY flight. I said yes and feebly asked her if the plane was still there. I was praying ohgad ohgad ohgad, please don’t make me miss my flight. The lady said yes. It appears that there were about 3 more passengers in the back that were still going through security check. I was relieved to know that I had not missed my plane.

As for the toothpaste, I had packed it just for the convenience of not having to get a new one in the U.S. After it was seized, I had thought, no biggie, just buy a new tube. But when I reached Duane Reade (name of a convenience store chain found in New York, wala sila 7-11 dun, Armi) and realized that a medium-sized toothpaste cost $4.00 or around 200 pesos, I told myself, &^#$, damn the Hong Kong police.

An Update

Lots of things to tell you about. For starters, sorry to disappoint you, but my tour de New York officially ended today.



After a series of meetings with clients (successful ones, I would say), I left New York in my uncle's car for Maryland. Now am getting all excited because I don't really know where to start to get to the kwento that I'm already in Maryland.

The other time, I posted a message that I was in Connecticut. Last Saturday, I stayed with Mia, who was the perfect host. Took care of me in every way: drove around town, brought me to the must-see sites in the area, cooked for me, and, of course, made me libre... This photo was taken at Cold Stone (similar to Cold Rock in Greenbelt 3) where we shared a strawberry shortcake ice cream.

The following day (Sunday) and before I left for New York, we passed by Yale University in New Haven. Yale had an impressive, mysterious, appeal to it. So, this is where Rory Gilmore went to for college, and where Dr. Bernardo took his Ph.D. (Rory is a fictional character while Dr. B. does in fact exist, and is more popularly known to me and to my college barkada as once being "The Love of My Life"). Here's to you, Dr. B.

I took the bus from New Haven for New York at one p.m. By 3 p.m., a new adventure was waiting to happen...



(more later)

A break from New York

I'm in Hartford, Connecticut.

I'm visiting a doctor friend. I got here after a 2-hour bus ride from New York City.

We toured around town in her spankingly pretty Camry, did some shoe shopping, had dinner and now am so sleepy. I return to New York tomorrow.

Food tripping

Ever since my official business here at the hotel ended, and my so-called "vacation leave" started, I've had to deal with the issue of food. Where do I eat? And when I've decided where, what do I eat? I was telling my sister the other time that I think I've lost some weight for not being able to eat right.

This issue became most pressing last night when I arrived at the hotel from watching Avenue Q. It was past ten in the evening and it was freezing cold. I regret not bringing warm-enough clothes for this stint. Before coming here, I was told it wasn't going to get really cold here in New York in September. But apparently the weather in New York is one of the most unpredictable in the U.S.

So, I walk out of the theater, both hungry and sleepy. More sleepy than hungry. And since it was very cold out (didn't I mention that it has been raining the last couple of days?), I didn't anymore try and look for food. I thought I'd be able to survive the night without having anything to eat. Operative word: "thought".

Since room service would have been too expensive, I decided to just go out for food. But there are no convenience stores or fast food chains around this block, so my choices were real restaurants. Thankfully, one of them was a pizzeria called "Patzeria" on 46th Street. They sell pizza by the slice, as big as those of Sbarro's. But the crust is thinner and the pizza tastes better. I got a pepperoni pizza for 2.50 and a bottle of water for another 2.50. Had I known that water cost that much, I'd have ordered another slice in exchange for water.



Notice the Church of Scientology beside the pizza place. The thought of Tom Cruise buying pizza after church has crossed my mind.

Anyway, I wasn't able to take a photo of the pizza for posting here. Too hungry to even think about posterity. Also, ze boss was already sleeping in the room and I didn't want to make any unnecessary noise. I even worry about flushing the toilet in the middle of the night.

Today, after lunch (no breakfast) at a Chinese place (it has only been a week since I got here and yet I'm already craving for rice), I decided that I was going to get dessert. In my usual touristy walk sans any map (but I go in one straight direction to avoid getting lost). I saw this place that sells the best cheesecake on earth daw:



They sell cheesecake by the slice, at 3.00 each. I got a blueberry cheesecake in honor of my mother who would not have it any other way. Since there was no space inside for dining, I had the cheesecake wrapped. I'm now eating it as I type. It is good. Not sure if it's the best I've ever had though. Too sweet.

After I got the cheesecake, I walked around some more and chanced upon this ice cream store:





Since it's rainy and freezing here, there was no other customer in the ice cream store. I ordered myself this fatful coffee mud pie:



which cost $3.50. The serving was too big. It was almost like a pint of ice cream. Naturally, much of it had to go to waste.

I also passed by this place that sells caramel popcorn. Interesting place.



Now, the Hershey's store.




Heading back with my bag of cheesecake, I took random shots of the city. Check out the non-green Starbucks (weird, right?) and people just hustling by in their raingear.





Flowers for sale at the sidewalk. A curious ad on a streetpost.





Flowers for the single?

A walking tour

Here, they offer lots of touristy things to do for a fee. One of the most popular ways to tour New York City is by a double-decker, hop-on, hop-off guided bus tour. Since I only want to explore parts of New York City that I know would interest me, I'm not doing the bus tour.

What i want is a walking tour of the places/landmarks that were featured in the film You've Got Mail, especially that cafe where Shopgirl waits for Mr. NY152. So, one night I asked Romer if he could bring me to Cafe Lalo.

Him: Where is that?
Me: Somewhere on 83rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam.
Him: It's in the upperside. We'd have to take the subway. Why do you want to go there?
Me: (I explain movie)
Him: (With a seemingly disgusted look) Can't you just pick another movie?

My cousin may have been 11 when the movie came out. I sullenly narrated the foregoing conversation to a friend, who likes the movie too.

Friend: Your cousin won't bring you? What other New York City movies are there?
Me: (thinking)
Friend: Batman Returns?....
Me: I haven't even seen...
Friend: (interrupting) Spider Man?
Me: Batman.
Friend: I know! King Kong!

(I give up. I think my cousin meant Serendipity.)

Wicked


Before coming here, I've already had 2 attempts to know "Wicked", the musical. First, I got hold of a CD that I burned and tried putting into my Ipod. The songs got corrupted, so I didn't know the soundtrack at all. Second, I tried reading the novel itself which was the basis of the Musical. I don't remember if I even went past the first chapter. Yet I've always heard that Wicked was wonderful.

And it is.

Today, I caught the matinee show of Wicked at the Gershwin Theater.

I haven't read any reviews of Wicked. But for me, it speaks of true friendship. Despite the fact that each of the 2 main characters had real flaws, they saw something in each other that was enough for them to want to still remain friends. It had me wondering whom of those I consider friends would remain my friends even if I become "wicked", in the context of Wicked. I could count only a few, but even a few is still truly wonderful.

With Wicked's heartwarming story, humor and wonderful music, today was an afternoon and "a libre well spent".

Day Three

We took the subway tonight to Soho. Soho is the acronym for SOuth of HOuston (pronounced "how-stun") Street. This is an eclectic neighborhood in lower Manhattan that is now becoming New York City's artistic haven. Lots of cast-iron warehouses and cobblestone streets in this place. It also has side-by-side high-end shops that brag big brands some of which I've not seen back home.

They say SoHo was made for window shopping. I agree. I haven't found the courage to go inside any of the shops. Firstly because I'm certain that they will absolutely know that I definitely won't buy anything. Secondly, I went there at night, when the shops were all closed. But look closely at the photo on top. That's Chanel serving as my background. Hee hee.

Then my cousin and I had a blast taking photos of each other. Now, am warning you, these are insane shots of me in my "go-away-paparazzi" look:





Haha. Pasensiya na. Having too much fun here. I love Romer! He says if he hits it big here, he would get me as his publicist. This is us having dinner at Bistro Les Amis.

Even though that day was September 11th, it was still by pure chance that I noticed two blue beams shooting up into the sky. Apparently, they were from Ground Zero.



Afterwards, we saw a star, and Romer said we should make a wish. Silently, we did. (Although it was probably just mercury.)