1. There’s heatwave. When I touched the door handle of KFC, napaso ang mga daliri ko. Until now they’re still sore. Grabe sa init. Even when I pushed the door from the inside when I was going out, nakakapaso pa rin ang init.
2.
Dozens of flights to and from the “HOT” states like Arizona and Nevada were either delayed by an hour and a half or more or canceled because of the excessive heat. The plane breaks and engine get so hot. 30 minutes after taking off or descent to and from these 110-120 degrees places were very bumpy because of the heatwave. Ganun pala, I never thought this heat would have that big of an effect on air travel.
Global warming is a serious threat to how we live.
3. I hurriedly ate a sausage, egg, cheese sandwich from Starbucks before leaving he airport. I forgot to avoid chewing with my right jaw. Ngayon tuloy ang sakit ng ipin ko or mga ipin duon. Kung kailan naman nasa byahe ako. I hope the pain doesn’t keep me awake the whole night. I need to sleep, baka tumaba ako.
4. The window shield / glass crack of our SUV gets longer everyday. I haven’t had it replaced yet because I encountered some issues with the insurance company. But soon, I just have to swallow the bitter pill and have this replaced.
No crack
With crack
5. Driving from Las Vegas to California also took us some 10 hours because we stopped for a long lunch at Red Lobster in Bakersfield. We also made a wrong turn and didn’t know where we were. We pulled over beside a stretch of orchards. But good we were near an intersection, there were Mexicans selling avocados.
A—-“Tart tanungin mo yang magtitinda ng avocado”.
The Mexican guy wasn’t sure about the directions, glad there was another car driver by a Black/American lady that pulled over. She pointed the direction right away. “5 is back there”.
6. My sister told me there would be some rain in some parts. Meron nga, when we were cruising along a portion of Highway 5, there was a sudden spray of mist on our windshield that lasted for one second. Isang wisik lang tapos wala na. “Yun na yong ulan?”
We were expecting more to wash the dust off our vehicle.
7. My husband and I started counting the number of big car carriers trucks coming and going. From Las Vegas to Livermore, there were 65 plus the 20 trucks that were empty. Car carriers are good indicators of how vibrant the car industry is. Many deliveries, many inventories, many sales.
8. This woman noticed Edmund and I standing at a corner and wondering where we were. She approached us and asked how she could be of help. She gave Edmund instructions on how to reach the freeway.
9. One would think that street people or homeless persons are only in poor countries like the Philippines. Sometimes I think it’s the choices that these people make. America has organizations, resources and some of the best facilities provided for homeless persons. Some of those living in the streets I think prefer to live that way. I say “some”. This kind of reminds me of the couple I found living on the side walk of an office in Malate, Manila. One night, we drove around this “homeless-infested area” and distributed hundreds of food packs and clothes. I got off the van and approached this couple. What I did was actually dangerous and I don’t recommend you doing that. The couple, maybe aged about 55-65 were sleeping side by side. No blanket but they had pillows. The woman opened her eyes when I walked closer. I gave her some food. I asked why they ended up sleeping on the street. She said they left their hometown in Pampanga three months ago to look for better opportunities in Manila. I do not know their circumstances in Pampanga but if you ended up living in the streets in Manila, I think you should better go back to your province. Mahirap ang buhay doon? Mas mahirap matulog sa kalsada. Pwede kayong magtanim ng talbos ng kamote, o ampalaya sa likod bahay. Kahit papaano siguro naman hindi kayo magugutom at magkakalaykay sa basurahan.
10. Every time I ride the train, there’s always some crazy person/s. Men, women, some looking decent. Some walking like a duck, talking to himself or to some imaginary creature. It’s scary because they could be unpredictable. Bakit ang daming praning dito sa America?
11. Ikea is one of our favorite pasyalan. We went to their headquarters in Emeryville. Oyen likes a particular lounge chair and she wants us to buy one and bring it home.
We went to Ikea to check out the flat packaging if it could fit inside a balikbayan box. Maybe, but there was no stock of the birch color she wanted so we didn’t buy. Something similar sells for P6,500 daw in Manila with two months lead time. The Ikea one is $79 + tax.
12. Having a return policy is good. Customers get more impulsive in bringing home items because in their minds they could return them.
But the trouble of carrying those mattresses, loading them into the back of the vehicle, driving to Ikea, unloading and carrying to the return section is so tiring. Napakabigat pa mandin ng mattress kasi dead weight. So before making the purchase, higa-higaan mo na dun sa store. Lie down side by side and start bumping around and see how it goes.
13. Part of the fun in going to Ikea is the eating.
Smoked salmon is generally tasty but this one has no taste.
Baby back ribs for Edmund.
14.
Seriously, until now I am still recovering from my disappointment that I didn’t win the $450 million lotto power ball grand price. Not even a dollar. My husband told me millions of Americans felt the same way. I had allocated the price money already. Ten of you were supposed to get a grand holiday for free to Budapest, Slovakia, Prague and Vienna with yours truly. Another 10 gets to travel to Paris, Avignon and Marseilles with me again, The other 999,980 libreng payong. Tag-ulan na sa atin ano.
I bought $2 quick pick again. Malay mo. Let’s keep our legs crossed.
