July 29, 2008 EARTHQUAKE
It was indeed a strong shaker that hit Southern California shortly before noon today.
I was on the topmost floor of the 9-story tower of the Loma Linda University, waiting for Ampy to be discharged after an overnight hospital stay for a routine physical exam.
Suddenly the building started swaying while I was walking towards the Nurses' Station. There was this overweight blonde nurse right next to me who got excited and said: "Earthquake!.. I need to hug somebody!" I thought shewas kidding, but went ahead and put her arms around my neck, almost wrestling me to the floor. The swaying lasted for about 12 seconds. She then let go and asked: "Are you OK?" I said yes, but actually I got a little scared, not only of the quake but the fear of a heavy body landing on top of me.
I then ran to Ampy's hospital room where I found her squatting on the floor with her arms draped over her head. She said she was worried the heavy Zenith hospital TV would fall from the ceiling.
I checked the California Integrated Seismic Network website when we got home.It was a 5.4 magnitude at 11:42:15 AM with the epicenter in Chino, in San Bernardino County. It's about 30 miles from my location.
Well folks, that's life in California. Something we have to live with. An earthquake can hit anytime without warning. We'll just have to be aware and be prepared.
And avoid standing next to an overweight blonde nurse.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Ako si Antonio, dating taga Chicago
Nagsawa sa lamig at sapin-saping snow
Lumipat sa Fresno, dala ng pagkakataon
Yun pala naman ay sobra ang init doon.
"Lipat tayo sa LA..." ang sabi ko kay Ampy
Mahusay na trabaho, nasa malaking city kasi
Marami doong makikita at mapapasyalan
Magagandang tanawin, panahon ay ayos lang.
Pero...
Talaga palang Wild Wild West dito sa LA
Drive-by shooting at car chases sa freeway
Madalas na mapanood ang mga ito sa TV
Hindi movies ito, kundi tunay na nangyayari.
Narito ang Disneyland, Universal Studios at Hollywood
At iba pang mapupuntahan hanggang abutin ng pagod
Dito'y marami ding nagbabakasaling maging artista
Kasabihan nga hindi ba, kahit ipakain sa buwaya.
Sobra naman ang presyo ng real estate dito
Paano ka namang makakabili, kung maliit ang sweldo?
Baka naman nagdidildil ang iba... ng hot dog at hamburger
Para lang makabili ng bahay sa Rancho Cucamonger.
Pero...
Ayos lang dito sa Southern California
Maraming kababayan, lalo na sa West Covina
Mga tindahan ng bangus, bagoong at pandesal
Para kang nasa Pilipinas, may estatwa pa ni Rizal.
At saka...aba, teka, tila yata nahihilo ako
Bakit gumagalaw itong computer table ko?
Yumayanig itong building... naku po earthquake ito!
Diyan na muna kayo, kailangan akong tumakbo!
Ako si Antonio, dating taga Chicago
Nagsawa sa lamig at sapin-saping snow
Lumipat sa Fresno, dala ng pagkakataon
Yun pala naman ay sobra ang init doon.
"Lipat tayo sa LA..." ang sabi ko kay Ampy
Mahusay na trabaho, nasa malaking city kasi
Marami doong makikita at mapapasyalan
Magagandang tanawin, panahon ay ayos lang.
Pero...
Talaga palang Wild Wild West dito sa LA
Drive-by shooting at car chases sa freeway
Madalas na mapanood ang mga ito sa TV
Hindi movies ito, kundi tunay na nangyayari.
Narito ang Disneyland, Universal Studios at Hollywood
At iba pang mapupuntahan hanggang abutin ng pagod
Dito'y marami ding nagbabakasaling maging artista
Kasabihan nga hindi ba, kahit ipakain sa buwaya.
Sobra naman ang presyo ng real estate dito
Paano ka namang makakabili, kung maliit ang sweldo?
Baka naman nagdidildil ang iba... ng hot dog at hamburger
Para lang makabili ng bahay sa Rancho Cucamonger.
Pero...
Ayos lang dito sa Southern California
Maraming kababayan, lalo na sa West Covina
Mga tindahan ng bangus, bagoong at pandesal
Para kang nasa Pilipinas, may estatwa pa ni Rizal.
At saka...aba, teka, tila yata nahihilo ako
Bakit gumagalaw itong computer table ko?
Yumayanig itong building... naku po earthquake ito!
Diyan na muna kayo, kailangan akong tumakbo!
Monday, July 7, 2008
RHYMES, REASONS and RECOLLECTIONS
The Musical Side of Kamuning
(Updated 07/07/08, previously published using the by-line Harry K. Santos)
Let's start with the town's distinctive name. Kamuning was named after a tree also known as Walis-walisan. I'm glad they picked the name Kamuning over Walis-walisan. Kamuning sounds more musical. Much more musical sounding than other Quezon City district names like say, Cubao or Galas. Cubao rhymes with lubluban ng kalabaw. Who knows, maybe that's what it was in the old days. Maybe that's where the name comes from. You never know.
Galas sounds rough, provincial, rhymes with "No Class" and "nagalas", the Ilocano word for ugly. La Loma is something else. The place is synonymous with the cemetery, isn't it? Strangely enough, La Loma rhymes with Colma, the California cemetery town near San Francisco.
Speaking of which, the next Quezon City district on our mental list is San Francisco. Del Monte, that is. I'm not sure how the town got its name, but I don't think it was named after that famous city in Northern California, simply because the place doesn't look like that at all. Not even close. And I doubt it very much if Tony Bennett would ever consider leaving his heart, or any other bodily part of his, in San Francisco Del Monte.
Quirino District is... just that, a plain, characterless town with boring subdivision names Project 2, 3 and 4. Roxas District is an earlier version of Quirino. Project 1, according to Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation records.
Anyway...
A good number of musical artists hail from or have lived in Kamuning at one time or another. Quite a few of them became big time performers. Big enough to be well known in show business, or at least among friends, classmates and townfolks of Kamuning.
Joey "Pepe" Smith, front man for the Juan de la Cruz Band, became a rock star in the 1970s. A nephew of mine, obviously a fan, says Smith is considered a legend among rock music fans in Asia. Known as plain Joseph as a kid, son of an American GI Smith grew up on K-3rd Street and still lives there, again according to my nephew.
There was a group of kids in the mid-60's who spent a great deal of their time singing Beatles songs at street corners of Kamuning. It didn't take long before they started playing their own musical instruments and sounding more and more like their idols from Liverpool. They were known as Dynasonics, later became Dynasouls when they changed managers and really made it big as concert and recording artists. Drummer Walter Pennington, another American mestizo, was "more cute than Ringo Starr", die-hard girl fans insisted during the group's heyday.
Vic Valdez was an Elvis-wannabe in high school. A big fan of the King, he signed classmates' autographs as "Elvic". He did not make it in the Elvis Presley of the Philippines contest, but settled to become a finalist in the search for a Filipino Neil Sedaka conducted by the then popular Student Canteen Radio/TV noon-day show. The semi-kinky haired Vic, who took third place in the contest, "looked more like Sammy Davis, Jr." said show host Leila Benitez.
Freddie Alde, who technically was not from Kamuning (OK, he's from Roxas District) but went to QCHS and was once trained by our high school music teacher Mr. Asprec, also became a Student Canteen pseudo-Elvis teenage idol during the show's popular run.
Elvis must have been the most influential figure to many QCHS musical aspirants during our time. Caridad Santos did one of the greatest and most unique impersonations we have seen in high school. "Karing" passed away last year.
We never saw Virginia Galla sing or perform on stage, but she was also known as a female Elvis at the time.
Then there's the Penaranda Family of talented musicians and singers. Gloria Penaranda who is a member of my QCHS class (1958) performed professionally at ManilaGrand Opera House and was known to have coached Pilita Corrales in guitar techniques. Gloria now livesin the Seattle area.
Other notables who made it into the musical limelight were Nonoy Zuniga who was and still is, a well-known recording artist and Vida Revilla who sang regularly on the Tinno Lapuz show on radio DZBB and TV Channel 7 in the '60s. Not too long ago, in one canned TV show from Manila we watched, Boboy Garovillo of the relatively newer singing trio Apo Hiking Society ad-libbed "doon sa amin sa K-3rd" during a skit.
There were other countless musically inclined people from our town, not only those Hollywood copycats, but also those who were formally trained in classical music and in the more traditional musical instruments like piano and violin. Special mention also goes to those who chose to maintain and preserve the true-Filipino traditional kundiman. Among them were high school performers Jose Balce and Clemencio Mergal. Rolando Landicho, another kundiman enthusiast, still sings regularly on the radio.
Estela Salvosa-Villanueva, until recently a resident of Toronto, sang, wrote, arranged and produced religious music recordings. Estela passed away recently.
Romeo Luz, now a Chicago resident, earned the moniker "Cugat" as a popular Kamuning neighborhood piano player and occasional night club performer. Danilo Jarquio and Tony Victoria, both US residents now, were among the many talented back-up and session musicians of our town.
The name Kamuning rhymes with the Sinatra song "Ring-a-ding-ding". The place may not be Ol' Blue Eyes' kind of town, but at the very least, it's a town with a cool sounding name. The place is a far cry from the grandeur of Nashville or Motown, but Kamuning, inspite of its diminutive image, has its own rich musical history.
The Musical Side of Kamuning
(Updated 07/07/08, previously published using the by-line Harry K. Santos)
Let's start with the town's distinctive name. Kamuning was named after a tree also known as Walis-walisan. I'm glad they picked the name Kamuning over Walis-walisan. Kamuning sounds more musical. Much more musical sounding than other Quezon City district names like say, Cubao or Galas. Cubao rhymes with lubluban ng kalabaw. Who knows, maybe that's what it was in the old days. Maybe that's where the name comes from. You never know.
Galas sounds rough, provincial, rhymes with "No Class" and "nagalas", the Ilocano word for ugly. La Loma is something else. The place is synonymous with the cemetery, isn't it? Strangely enough, La Loma rhymes with Colma, the California cemetery town near San Francisco.
Speaking of which, the next Quezon City district on our mental list is San Francisco. Del Monte, that is. I'm not sure how the town got its name, but I don't think it was named after that famous city in Northern California, simply because the place doesn't look like that at all. Not even close. And I doubt it very much if Tony Bennett would ever consider leaving his heart, or any other bodily part of his, in San Francisco Del Monte.
Quirino District is... just that, a plain, characterless town with boring subdivision names Project 2, 3 and 4. Roxas District is an earlier version of Quirino. Project 1, according to Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation records.
Anyway...
A good number of musical artists hail from or have lived in Kamuning at one time or another. Quite a few of them became big time performers. Big enough to be well known in show business, or at least among friends, classmates and townfolks of Kamuning.
Joey "Pepe" Smith, front man for the Juan de la Cruz Band, became a rock star in the 1970s. A nephew of mine, obviously a fan, says Smith is considered a legend among rock music fans in Asia. Known as plain Joseph as a kid, son of an American GI Smith grew up on K-3rd Street and still lives there, again according to my nephew.
There was a group of kids in the mid-60's who spent a great deal of their time singing Beatles songs at street corners of Kamuning. It didn't take long before they started playing their own musical instruments and sounding more and more like their idols from Liverpool. They were known as Dynasonics, later became Dynasouls when they changed managers and really made it big as concert and recording artists. Drummer Walter Pennington, another American mestizo, was "more cute than Ringo Starr", die-hard girl fans insisted during the group's heyday.
Vic Valdez was an Elvis-wannabe in high school. A big fan of the King, he signed classmates' autographs as "Elvic". He did not make it in the Elvis Presley of the Philippines contest, but settled to become a finalist in the search for a Filipino Neil Sedaka conducted by the then popular Student Canteen Radio/TV noon-day show. The semi-kinky haired Vic, who took third place in the contest, "looked more like Sammy Davis, Jr." said show host Leila Benitez.
Freddie Alde, who technically was not from Kamuning (OK, he's from Roxas District) but went to QCHS and was once trained by our high school music teacher Mr. Asprec, also became a Student Canteen pseudo-Elvis teenage idol during the show's popular run.
Elvis must have been the most influential figure to many QCHS musical aspirants during our time. Caridad Santos did one of the greatest and most unique impersonations we have seen in high school. "Karing" passed away last year.
We never saw Virginia Galla sing or perform on stage, but she was also known as a female Elvis at the time.
Then there's the Penaranda Family of talented musicians and singers. Gloria Penaranda who is a member of my QCHS class (1958) performed professionally at ManilaGrand Opera House and was known to have coached Pilita Corrales in guitar techniques. Gloria now livesin the Seattle area.
Other notables who made it into the musical limelight were Nonoy Zuniga who was and still is, a well-known recording artist and Vida Revilla who sang regularly on the Tinno Lapuz show on radio DZBB and TV Channel 7 in the '60s. Not too long ago, in one canned TV show from Manila we watched, Boboy Garovillo of the relatively newer singing trio Apo Hiking Society ad-libbed "doon sa amin sa K-3rd" during a skit.
There were other countless musically inclined people from our town, not only those Hollywood copycats, but also those who were formally trained in classical music and in the more traditional musical instruments like piano and violin. Special mention also goes to those who chose to maintain and preserve the true-Filipino traditional kundiman. Among them were high school performers Jose Balce and Clemencio Mergal. Rolando Landicho, another kundiman enthusiast, still sings regularly on the radio.
Estela Salvosa-Villanueva, until recently a resident of Toronto, sang, wrote, arranged and produced religious music recordings. Estela passed away recently.
Romeo Luz, now a Chicago resident, earned the moniker "Cugat" as a popular Kamuning neighborhood piano player and occasional night club performer. Danilo Jarquio and Tony Victoria, both US residents now, were among the many talented back-up and session musicians of our town.
The name Kamuning rhymes with the Sinatra song "Ring-a-ding-ding". The place may not be Ol' Blue Eyes' kind of town, but at the very least, it's a town with a cool sounding name. The place is a far cry from the grandeur of Nashville or Motown, but Kamuning, inspite of its diminutive image, has its own rich musical history.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Seattle
I came back to California after spending a few days in Seattle with my college friends.
On my first day back at work, my co-worker greeted me:
"Welcome back, Tone. How's Seattle?"
"It's great, man. We enjoyed the reunion with my friends."
"Did you go to Pike Market?"
"Yes, my wife bought some stuff there."
"Did you take the Boeing tour?"
"Yes, I bought myself a nice "Future of Flight" jacket there."
My co-worker who is also an architect continued asking:
"Did you see the Seattle Library?"
"Yes. Interesting architecture." I answered.
He then asked:"Did you go see Bruce Lee's grave?"
"No, man. Why would I do that?
My co-worker who like me is also Asian, snapped back:
"Shoot, man, what kind of Asian bro are you. You went to Seattle and didn't pay your respects to Bruce Lee. His son Brandon is also buried there, next to him." He then raised his hand in mock disgust, squinted and did a quick karate stance a la Bruce Lee.
Anyway, I tried to continue working where I left off the previous week, but I could not concentrate. My mind was still in that part of the city called Tukwila, where most of us in the
group stayed. It was just great hanging out with college buddies again, many of whom I have not seen or heard from in some 44 years.
Ampy and I liked Seattle inspite of the rain. We enjoyed looking at the lush vegetation, something we don't have in our arrid location in San Bernardino. Next time we get a chance, we'd like to visit Seattle again. Hopefully we can stay longer, explore and see more places in the city and surrounding areas.
Including perhaps a Bruce Lee gravesite tour.
On my first day back at work, my co-worker greeted me:
"Welcome back, Tone. How's Seattle?"
"It's great, man. We enjoyed the reunion with my friends."
"Did you go to Pike Market?"
"Yes, my wife bought some stuff there."
"Did you take the Boeing tour?"
"Yes, I bought myself a nice "Future of Flight" jacket there."
My co-worker who is also an architect continued asking:
"Did you see the Seattle Library?"
"Yes. Interesting architecture." I answered.
He then asked:"Did you go see Bruce Lee's grave?"
"No, man. Why would I do that?
My co-worker who like me is also Asian, snapped back:
"Shoot, man, what kind of Asian bro are you. You went to Seattle and didn't pay your respects to Bruce Lee. His son Brandon is also buried there, next to him." He then raised his hand in mock disgust, squinted and did a quick karate stance a la Bruce Lee.
Anyway, I tried to continue working where I left off the previous week, but I could not concentrate. My mind was still in that part of the city called Tukwila, where most of us in the
group stayed. It was just great hanging out with college buddies again, many of whom I have not seen or heard from in some 44 years.
Ampy and I liked Seattle inspite of the rain. We enjoyed looking at the lush vegetation, something we don't have in our arrid location in San Bernardino. Next time we get a chance, we'd like to visit Seattle again. Hopefully we can stay longer, explore and see more places in the city and surrounding areas.
Including perhaps a Bruce Lee gravesite tour.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Los Banos
I considered settling down in Fresno when I was working in that Central Valley city. Fresno is not San Francisco nor San Diego or LA. Not even close, but as a latecomer to California, I assumed it's probably the most affordable city for me to get settled in. So what if it's hot? I could adjust to that, I reasoned.
But coming from the Midwest, I was surprised to find out that housing in Fresno was a lot more expensive than I thought. My high school buddy Romy Antonio has a sister who has been a Fresno resident for several years. She told me to check out Los Banos, CA, a small town in the direction of Gilroy, California's garlic capital. She said I might find that housing over there to be more affordable.
Los Banos? Aba maganda siguro doon. The name obviously reminded me of the town with the same name in Laguna back home. Palm trees, banana plantation on the hillsides, lush vegetation din siguro. I'm sure there's an equivalent of Mt. Makiling over there, knowing that California's terrain is somewhat similar to Laguna and other parts of Luzon. They probably have hot springs there too, that's why they call the town Los Banos, I said to myself.
So I checked Mapquest for its location and driving directions. 71.66 miles from Fresno. Not quite a commuting distance to my place of work. So scratch the idea of moving to a home in Los Banos. Kahit na ba affordable, kung ganoon naman kalayo..."
But what if I can find employment in Los Banos? Puwede rin siguro. Maybe it's a college town like U.P. Los Banos or maybe there's something like International Rice Research Institute, knowing it's in California's farming region. Hey, I did some architectural work for U.P. LOs Banos and IRRI when I worked for Leandro Locsin in Makati. I have the experience, so it's worth checking out the town.
Armed with that enthusiasm, I drove to Los Banos one Saturday morning. It was a boring drive on flat terrain of seemingly endless farmlands, going through Madera, Chowchilla and other nondescript small towns in the Central Valley. "It should get better when I get to my destination", I assured myself.
After about an hour and a half, I finally saw the "Welcome to Los Banos" sign. Well... I was still on flat land. Tumbleweeds were rolling across the highway that windy morning. Pretty soon I was in the town's paved but dusty two lane main drag with the usual fast food places on each side... Macdonalds, Del Taco, Jack in the Box... A tower at a small Wells Fargo branch showed it was approaching 100 degrees and it was not even 11:00 in the morning. I noticed a good number of businesses selling chiminea and other Mexican style pottery on the road side. Pretty much like those you see in Tijuana. It did remind me of that Mexican border town.
That's about it. I did not see any large office buildings. No banana plantation on hillsides. In fact, no hills around. It's all flat with cactus, yucca and other desert plants. OK, I saw a few palm trees in the residential section of town. I doubt if there's any hot springs anywhere near there. The town looked so dry. Nowhere near to what I imagined it to be. Los Banos, California is a desert town, not quite like Los Banos, Laguna.
I decided to continue driving west until I reached Gilroy where I ate lunch of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. I bought a bunch of garlic and some locally grown fruits to take home with me and started driving back, not stopping at Los Banos, having lost my interest. I continued on to get back home, passing through the boring flat lands of Chowchilla, Madera and finally, back in Fresno.
Given time, Los Banos, CA will probably develop into another booming real estate area, just like othersmall towns in the state. It may happen sooner or later. Or maybe not in my lifetime. who knows...
It took a little while for me to get used to hearing people here say "Los Ba-knows" instead of "Los Ban-yos". Same thing with "Paso Rubbles" for Paso Robles, one of California's wine regions.
But coming from the Midwest, I was surprised to find out that housing in Fresno was a lot more expensive than I thought. My high school buddy Romy Antonio has a sister who has been a Fresno resident for several years. She told me to check out Los Banos, CA, a small town in the direction of Gilroy, California's garlic capital. She said I might find that housing over there to be more affordable.
Los Banos? Aba maganda siguro doon. The name obviously reminded me of the town with the same name in Laguna back home. Palm trees, banana plantation on the hillsides, lush vegetation din siguro. I'm sure there's an equivalent of Mt. Makiling over there, knowing that California's terrain is somewhat similar to Laguna and other parts of Luzon. They probably have hot springs there too, that's why they call the town Los Banos, I said to myself.
So I checked Mapquest for its location and driving directions. 71.66 miles from Fresno. Not quite a commuting distance to my place of work. So scratch the idea of moving to a home in Los Banos. Kahit na ba affordable, kung ganoon naman kalayo..."
But what if I can find employment in Los Banos? Puwede rin siguro. Maybe it's a college town like U.P. Los Banos or maybe there's something like International Rice Research Institute, knowing it's in California's farming region. Hey, I did some architectural work for U.P. LOs Banos and IRRI when I worked for Leandro Locsin in Makati. I have the experience, so it's worth checking out the town.
Armed with that enthusiasm, I drove to Los Banos one Saturday morning. It was a boring drive on flat terrain of seemingly endless farmlands, going through Madera, Chowchilla and other nondescript small towns in the Central Valley. "It should get better when I get to my destination", I assured myself.
After about an hour and a half, I finally saw the "Welcome to Los Banos" sign. Well... I was still on flat land. Tumbleweeds were rolling across the highway that windy morning. Pretty soon I was in the town's paved but dusty two lane main drag with the usual fast food places on each side... Macdonalds, Del Taco, Jack in the Box... A tower at a small Wells Fargo branch showed it was approaching 100 degrees and it was not even 11:00 in the morning. I noticed a good number of businesses selling chiminea and other Mexican style pottery on the road side. Pretty much like those you see in Tijuana. It did remind me of that Mexican border town.
That's about it. I did not see any large office buildings. No banana plantation on hillsides. In fact, no hills around. It's all flat with cactus, yucca and other desert plants. OK, I saw a few palm trees in the residential section of town. I doubt if there's any hot springs anywhere near there. The town looked so dry. Nowhere near to what I imagined it to be. Los Banos, California is a desert town, not quite like Los Banos, Laguna.
I decided to continue driving west until I reached Gilroy where I ate lunch of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. I bought a bunch of garlic and some locally grown fruits to take home with me and started driving back, not stopping at Los Banos, having lost my interest. I continued on to get back home, passing through the boring flat lands of Chowchilla, Madera and finally, back in Fresno.
Given time, Los Banos, CA will probably develop into another booming real estate area, just like othersmall towns in the state. It may happen sooner or later. Or maybe not in my lifetime. who knows...
It took a little while for me to get used to hearing people here say "Los Ba-knows" instead of "Los Ban-yos". Same thing with "Paso Rubbles" for Paso Robles, one of California's wine regions.
Life After Chicago
It was late summer in Chicago in 2003 when I decided it's time for me to seek employment again. Most of my freelance deals had dried up after more than four years as independent designer . "Time to check out the sun belt", I casually told Ampy. She liked the idea.
"Really? OK lang sa iyo kahit magkalayo tayo?" I asked her. "Look, I can stay here in Illinois and find a job here, kahit na greeter sa Walmart." sabi ko pa. Ampy was not convinced. Lalo
niya akong ipinagtulakang subukan ang job market sa West Coast. Or anywhere it's warm.
So I checked monster.com and sent my resume to a few companies out west.
A Las Vegas company responded to my inquiry. I thought I was on my way, but my deal
with them fell through after a lengthy negotiation via telephone and e-mail. Sa madali't sabi, mukhang hindi sila na-impress sa akin.
Then there was a company in California who viewed my online portfolio. After the phone interview, they arranged to fly me there to work with them for a few days. It was a "so we can check you out and you can check us out" arrangement, according to a follow-up e-mail sent by the company's HR manager. I flew to Fresno in early September.
I had such a bad trip on my way to California. I was so sick when I reached my destination, having eaten bad airport burrito during a long delay at LAX. The connecting flight to Fresno
was in one of those small commuter planes. Man, I hate those vibrating propeller aircraft
especially on turbulent flights like that night that made me really sick and scared. Sa takot ko, halos umakyat sa lalamunan ko ang aking… ang aking sikmura na tila bumaliktad dahil sa likot noong eroplano.
The company CEO himself picked me up at the Fresno-Yosemite airport and took me to a barbecue party at a private home near the airport where the rest of the staff members were gathered to meet the two new recruits – myself and another designer from Philadelphia. I was dead tired I could not even eat and enjoy the party. It ended around midnight. My body of course was telling me it's 2:00 AM Chicago time... way, way past my bedtime. They booked us at a Holiday Inn a few blocks away. Plastado ako pagpasok sa kuwarto.
I was well enough to be at the office the following day. At the reception desk was a pretty blue-eyed blonde girl who was not at the welcome party the night before.
"Good morning," I said. I'm supposed to start work today."
She smiled and asked: "Taga Pilipinas po ba kayo?"
I was shocked to hear that from her. The Tagalog accent was so perfect I could not believe it.
"Well, yes, I'm from there." I answered. "How did you learn to speak like that?"
"Ipinanganak po ako sa Pilipinas. Ang parents ko'y mga missionaries sa Northern Luzon, pero lumipat sila sa MetroManila para doon ako ipanganak sa Makati Medical center."
I still could not believe what I was hearing. Here's this attactive Caucasian girl talking to me like one of those Filipino girls back home.
"Ayos ito", I said to myself. Madali akong makakapagbolahan dito sa Kana. Hindi ko na kailangang uminggles.
So we had a good conversation, but it was so weird. Napapa-English pa rin ako, panay naman ang Tagalog niya. She told me the family moved back to the States when she was a teenager.
I found out that the Fresno firm was a start up company, doing mostly speculative projects. I did accept their offer after a few days. I knew I'd miss the freelance scene, but I didn't have anything else going on in Illinois, anyway. Might as well check out what life in California is all about.
The deal was for me to work in Fresno for 3 to 6 months or possibly longer. It didn't work out for the other recruited designer. He went back home to Philadelphia after his trial period with the company.
I flew back to Chicago, gathered all my basic stuff that included a futon bed and my old 17"
Sony TV and loaded them all in my truck. I then started the long drive to California, going through the boring plains of Iowa and Nebraska, the steep mountain climb in Colorado and
\Utah (akala ko titirik ang luma kong truck) and the hot desert of Nevada. It took me three days to reach Fresno.
I lived at a Red Roof Inn for another two weeks until I found a nice apartment in Fresno'sdesirable River Park area on the city's north side. The place was near the city's edge. Beyond that are the vast farmlands of grape orchards,orange groves, figs and almond trees.
It's a short distance from picturesque Millerton Lake and an hour-and-a half drive to Yosemite.
Meanwhile, Ampy was alone in Illinois. She would call me on the phone several times day and night. Narindi ako sa tunog noong Nokia standard cell phone ring. I have since changed phone rings, but up to now, everytime I hear that Nokia sound from other cell phone users, it always
brings back memories of my first days in California.
The weather in Fresno, even in the fall was unbelievably hot. Over 100 degrees almost daily.
On one blistering record breaking hot weekend, I went to a Starbucks in River Park for iced Capuccino. I could not find a seat inside the cafe so I went out in the patio. Napaigtad ako dahil napaso ang pigi ko nang umupo ako sa wrought iron chair. I thought I heard something sizzle. I did a rump check when I got back to my apartment. Wala naman palang grill marks.
Ampy would later join me in Fresno a few weeks at a time. On weekends we would drive to the coast to escape the heat in Central Valley. Carmel was always a pleasant place to hang out, to relax and to take a walk in the white sand beach. Ampy was hoping she would see Clint Eastwood there, knowing that the actor lives in the area and was once mayor of Carmel. She
also said "Hindi ba taga rito rin si Doris Day? Hindi ba paboritong singer mo 'yon? Baka makita mo rin siya." "Yeah, right," sagot ko. "She must be 100 years old now."
Anyway, I worked in Fresno for a little over a year until I got an offer from a Southern
California design firm that produces stage sets for corporate events and the entertainment industry. That's when we moved to Monrovia, a little town near Pasadena. I stayed with the company for about a year and changed jobs a few more times.
We found a new housing development in Southern California's Inland Empire which we really like and decided that's the place for us to get settled in. It's in the small and quiet town of Verdemont, in northern San Bernardino County at the foot of SB national Forest.
At present I am a site planner for a developer in Chino Hills. OK naman so far. When will I retire? I don't know. Magtatrabaho pa rin ako hanggang kaya ko pa.
Kahit siguro kasingtanda na ako ni Doris Day.
"Really? OK lang sa iyo kahit magkalayo tayo?" I asked her. "Look, I can stay here in Illinois and find a job here, kahit na greeter sa Walmart." sabi ko pa. Ampy was not convinced. Lalo
niya akong ipinagtulakang subukan ang job market sa West Coast. Or anywhere it's warm.
So I checked monster.com and sent my resume to a few companies out west.
A Las Vegas company responded to my inquiry. I thought I was on my way, but my deal
with them fell through after a lengthy negotiation via telephone and e-mail. Sa madali't sabi, mukhang hindi sila na-impress sa akin.
Then there was a company in California who viewed my online portfolio. After the phone interview, they arranged to fly me there to work with them for a few days. It was a "so we can check you out and you can check us out" arrangement, according to a follow-up e-mail sent by the company's HR manager. I flew to Fresno in early September.
I had such a bad trip on my way to California. I was so sick when I reached my destination, having eaten bad airport burrito during a long delay at LAX. The connecting flight to Fresno
was in one of those small commuter planes. Man, I hate those vibrating propeller aircraft
especially on turbulent flights like that night that made me really sick and scared. Sa takot ko, halos umakyat sa lalamunan ko ang aking… ang aking sikmura na tila bumaliktad dahil sa likot noong eroplano.
The company CEO himself picked me up at the Fresno-Yosemite airport and took me to a barbecue party at a private home near the airport where the rest of the staff members were gathered to meet the two new recruits – myself and another designer from Philadelphia. I was dead tired I could not even eat and enjoy the party. It ended around midnight. My body of course was telling me it's 2:00 AM Chicago time... way, way past my bedtime. They booked us at a Holiday Inn a few blocks away. Plastado ako pagpasok sa kuwarto.
I was well enough to be at the office the following day. At the reception desk was a pretty blue-eyed blonde girl who was not at the welcome party the night before.
"Good morning," I said. I'm supposed to start work today."
She smiled and asked: "Taga Pilipinas po ba kayo?"
I was shocked to hear that from her. The Tagalog accent was so perfect I could not believe it.
"Well, yes, I'm from there." I answered. "How did you learn to speak like that?"
"Ipinanganak po ako sa Pilipinas. Ang parents ko'y mga missionaries sa Northern Luzon, pero lumipat sila sa MetroManila para doon ako ipanganak sa Makati Medical center."
I still could not believe what I was hearing. Here's this attactive Caucasian girl talking to me like one of those Filipino girls back home.
"Ayos ito", I said to myself. Madali akong makakapagbolahan dito sa Kana. Hindi ko na kailangang uminggles.
So we had a good conversation, but it was so weird. Napapa-English pa rin ako, panay naman ang Tagalog niya. She told me the family moved back to the States when she was a teenager.
I found out that the Fresno firm was a start up company, doing mostly speculative projects. I did accept their offer after a few days. I knew I'd miss the freelance scene, but I didn't have anything else going on in Illinois, anyway. Might as well check out what life in California is all about.
The deal was for me to work in Fresno for 3 to 6 months or possibly longer. It didn't work out for the other recruited designer. He went back home to Philadelphia after his trial period with the company.
I flew back to Chicago, gathered all my basic stuff that included a futon bed and my old 17"
Sony TV and loaded them all in my truck. I then started the long drive to California, going through the boring plains of Iowa and Nebraska, the steep mountain climb in Colorado and
\Utah (akala ko titirik ang luma kong truck) and the hot desert of Nevada. It took me three days to reach Fresno.
I lived at a Red Roof Inn for another two weeks until I found a nice apartment in Fresno'sdesirable River Park area on the city's north side. The place was near the city's edge. Beyond that are the vast farmlands of grape orchards,orange groves, figs and almond trees.
It's a short distance from picturesque Millerton Lake and an hour-and-a half drive to Yosemite.
Meanwhile, Ampy was alone in Illinois. She would call me on the phone several times day and night. Narindi ako sa tunog noong Nokia standard cell phone ring. I have since changed phone rings, but up to now, everytime I hear that Nokia sound from other cell phone users, it always
brings back memories of my first days in California.
The weather in Fresno, even in the fall was unbelievably hot. Over 100 degrees almost daily.
On one blistering record breaking hot weekend, I went to a Starbucks in River Park for iced Capuccino. I could not find a seat inside the cafe so I went out in the patio. Napaigtad ako dahil napaso ang pigi ko nang umupo ako sa wrought iron chair. I thought I heard something sizzle. I did a rump check when I got back to my apartment. Wala naman palang grill marks.
Ampy would later join me in Fresno a few weeks at a time. On weekends we would drive to the coast to escape the heat in Central Valley. Carmel was always a pleasant place to hang out, to relax and to take a walk in the white sand beach. Ampy was hoping she would see Clint Eastwood there, knowing that the actor lives in the area and was once mayor of Carmel. She
also said "Hindi ba taga rito rin si Doris Day? Hindi ba paboritong singer mo 'yon? Baka makita mo rin siya." "Yeah, right," sagot ko. "She must be 100 years old now."
Anyway, I worked in Fresno for a little over a year until I got an offer from a Southern
California design firm that produces stage sets for corporate events and the entertainment industry. That's when we moved to Monrovia, a little town near Pasadena. I stayed with the company for about a year and changed jobs a few more times.
We found a new housing development in Southern California's Inland Empire which we really like and decided that's the place for us to get settled in. It's in the small and quiet town of Verdemont, in northern San Bernardino County at the foot of SB national Forest.
At present I am a site planner for a developer in Chino Hills. OK naman so far. When will I retire? I don't know. Magtatrabaho pa rin ako hanggang kaya ko pa.
Kahit siguro kasingtanda na ako ni Doris Day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)