Heads or Tails

Killing time at the library where the air conditioning is cold and the Wifi is free. I'm listening to Broken Social Scene's Shoreline. I do this weird thing wherein I can listen to a song on repeat for hours (My last.fm spins will prove it.) and just get lost writing.

I don't know why I do this. For some reason, a song, or songs, put me in the zone to blog. And judging by how sporadically I've been posting, I haven't had much time to listen to my iTunes!

One of the reasons I wanted to move back to the US is to go back to school. Not just the many libraries with free Wifi and fifty item checkout limit. Nor the amazing convenience of debit cards and online shopping... It was the possibility of going back to school. One of my unfinished and much lamented unchecked goals in life. I've been out of the classroom since getting pregnant at eighteen. Marriage and morning sickness made me leave university a year shy of a degree in Literature.

The past twenty years have given me an education in the School of Hard Knocks where I earned a Master's Degree. But I want the real thing now. I think in my late thirties, it's safe to say I'm done with angst and finally ready to be a grown-up.

So here are my choices:

A) Finish my degree in Literature or;
B) Get a degree in Public Relations.

The former was born out of my love for books; the latter, from eighteen years of working in communications, i.e. broadcasting, call center communications training, web content maintenance.

The US has not been kind in my job search for something similar to my experience so I figure I'll just start from scratch. In the meantime, I shall keep slugging away at the hotel. And since I just got promoted to supervisor, I have no complaints.

Let's see where this goes.

More Library Lovin'

Today I'm sitting through three levels of Photoshop. I can only crop and do basic photo alterations like playing with brightness, colors, etc., but when it comes to the more complex stuff like working with layers, brushes, etc., my eyes glaze over. Hopefully after today, I'll know what ALL the tools and tricks are. Or at least, MORE than what I know, which is very little.

We just applied for K's SSN yesterday so as soon as it arrives, I'm having her sign up for library classes too. That, and get a part-time job.

I have a feeling she'll get one sooner than me.

If that's the case, at least one of us will be working. The other one can stay at the library. Everyday.

Meeting Myself in Fifteen Years

I started taking classes at the library to curb boredom. I don't like being idle so I figured the best way to make use of my time is to take advantage of a free service. Besides, one can only take so much TV in a day.

So one day while I was surfing the library website, I found a list of classes offered at different branches. It had everything from Computer Classes to Arts & Crafts to Meet the Author guest visits. I signed up.

Yesterday was three levels of MS Excel. My love affair with spreadsheets and all things mathematical has been in need of serious rekindling, or beginning, to be more exact. I arrived early and sat outside the classroom and met a nice middle-aged woman who had also signed up for all three levels. She had an accent that sounded like she was from the Caribbean.

During the break, we walked out together, intending to eat at separate places, but she changed her mind and went with me to Burger King. While waiting in line to order, she got a phone call that sounded like it was from a loved one. I was right. It was her daughter.

She went on to say that they're very close, that she's a single parent, that her daughter just married and moved to the West Coast, that they moved to Orlando twenty-three years ago from the Caribbean, and that she is now adjusting to life without her daughter.

We spent the rest of lunch making small talk about our other countries, our daughters, and the things we're looking forward to in 2008.

I couldn't help but think that some day, I too will be in an empty house and on the phone with Kyera who is off living her own life somewhere.

I hope there will be more classes at the library by then. And maybe a young single mom who's trying to find her way around a new life that I can share lunch with.

Days 37-43: Halloween & Library Love in the Time of Stomach Flu

Greetings from a chilly Tallahassee!

The weather is starting to feel more like Baguio instead of Tagaytay and less like Manila. A light jacket is a must but I've been pretending to look like a local by not wearing any. Until Halloween. For some reason, I felt cold that day so after reassurance from the Turners that it was okay to wear a coat, I did.

It was nice to get out after a bout with stomach flu. I had intense pressure and bloating in my stomach similar to gas (insert giggles here) but nothing would make the pain go away! I had no appetite and was curled up in bed mostly for three days. I tried everything - over the counter (OTC) remedies, baking soda, a heating pad, warm water - but nothing worked. I guess all it took was for it to run its natural course.

Our neighborhood library lets you borrow up to 50 items at a time - books, audio books, music CDs, DVDs, VHS - so I was well stocked with books.


Not being able to eat well, I made up for it Halloween dinner when we went to a pizza place called Cici's Pizza. Buffet pizza spread!

We then head for the mall where stores gave away candies to kids in costume. They started at 5PM but by the time we got there at around 630-ish, many of the stores were starting to, or had already run out of goodies.


The kids did have a good time though and were tired when we called it a good haul by 830-ish.

A lot of the parents who took their kids were also in costumes. I saw Captain Jack Sparrow and medical themed families in scrubs. Most kids were in store bought costumes but I did see a handful in good old-fashioned creatively self-made outfits. (Sorry, no pictures. I'm careful about taking photos of strangers without their permission...)

Leading up to Halloween, a store called Party City put costumed reps out on their street corner to attract customers. We drove by one afternoon and I did manage to take this moving picture of Davey Jones!

I wanted to get a blonde wig but figured I wouldn't be able to use it after Halloween so I decided to go dressed as a thirty-something Asian chick with dyed brown hair instead.


Kyera and I are still waiting for her visa. Week One was only a two-day work week so no word yet. We're hoping this coming Week Two will by THE WEEK. Please pray with us.

And pray for a job opportunity I'm exploring in Orlando. Another move and another adventure just might be waiting for me there.