Daily Report: A Perfect Trade

I was up again this morning at 5 a.m. There was an e-mail from my supervisor stolidly asking why I wasn't working my scheduled hours lately. Fuck.

So, I sat there actually enjoying my morning instead of getting to work. I'm still going to continue getting up nice and early: I like to get stuff done in the morning, like reading the news and writing in my blog, and the sooner I get started at those things, the sooner I finish and more I get done before starting work at 9 a.m.

At 6 a.m., the power went out... and stayed out. Fuck.

I went downstairs where Epril was still in bed and gave her a morning cuddle. She suggested we take advantage of this morning in the dark ages, and get up and take a walk. A fantastic idea. We put Tyson on the leash, and walked him through town, a mile and a half out to Mike Bird's house, getting there at about 7 a.m. Bird was still in bed, but got up when we arrived (adding his apologies for sleeping in so late). We wandered around Bird's gardens, had coffee and watched Tyson and Apple cavort... first in the water of Bird's fish pond, and then in the nearby dust: What a mess. Bird was leaving for America today, so he was happy to be getting a jump on the day... although the lack of electricity at his house meant that he couldn't print out his plane tickets.

After that, it was back to the house where the power was still out. Then, Epril and I hopped on my motorcycle and rode over to visit with Uncle Bobby and Auntie Puring. Uncle Bobby is getting his hands on some special hardwood, and is going to find somebody to carve it for me. Believe it or not, the carved wood piece is going to go on my motorcycle.

From there, Epril and I rode up to Faustina and had a swim in the cold spring water. I've purchased some plants from the folks that run Faustina to put along the road in front of my house. They are ready to be picked up as soon as we get a truck up there.

Then, in the late mid-morning, with the power still out, I went down to the grocers and did some shopping. Then came home and cooked lunch... pasta in tomato sauce. After that was a shower.

Then Randy Stirm dropped by for a visit and we chatted for a while. Then I took a nap.

Then, at the late, late hour of 1 p.m., the power finally came back on.

That's the way I'd live every day, if I could afford it... which I can't.

Oh. Here's a reason why I love living in The Philippines: Driving back from the pool, past the town square, there was this group of 5 cute teenage girls walking in front of the Catholic school in their prim and pleated lazuline school uniforms with the white pilgrim's collar, white dainty ankle socks, and black Mary Janes. As I drove slowly past, the cutest of the cute looked at Yours Truly — a 40-year-old guy whose personal opinion lays claim to no particularly outsanding lineament or physique — nudged her friends, and said, "Wow, he's so handsome."

Heheh. I'll bet (wife's presence notwithstanding) I even could have stopped and chatted those girls up and they wouldn't have run away screaming and gagging and laughing at the attempt... as any sensible American teenaged girls would have done. Ah, who needs reality?

But seriously: I know that one of you readers paid those girls to say that, and I do appreciate it. You brought (bought) a little light into my middle-aged ego.