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Went to ShoeMart today. It’s the chain of malls here. We went inside the SM department store. There are a lot of employees. Imagine a Nordstrom shoe section. Then add 50 employees. My uncle Edwin says they make 250 pesos a day, which is the same as what the rice field workers earn. And it seems to be around minimum wage.
Money doesn’t make sense to me here. I had a T-bone for lunch for three bucks. It was probably about 8 ounces of meat. Fast food is cheap, but then Starbucks is the same price. As far as Starbuck goes, coffee and fraps are fine, but don’t get the cheesecake here. It tastes like cheese.
Our parents joined us later in the evening and Dan copped a barong. Four people helped find the right size and three helped at the register. Same thing happened at the bookstore. One girl on the register, one bagged, and a third smiled mostly. DanǃÙs guess is that the hundreds of employees play the role of security cameras.
By the time we came out of SM, it was foggy and overcast. If it were Seattle, I’d guess it were in the forties. But itǃÙs not Seattle, so itǃÙs overcast but I’m rocking an undershirt with a timeless accessory–pit stains. We haven’t spent much time yet in Pampanga’s sun. We got a good minute of its full effect loading the van for Baguio. It was like someone blasted me with a super soaker full of sweat. ItǃÙs probably a bit of foreshadowing for next week. Like in The Fellowship of the Ring where they see the mercenaries on the Oliphants but there’s no confrontation until The Return of the King. That minute loading the fan is Fellowship and next week’s weather will be like The Return of the King. I’ve come up with plenty of bad analogies for this blog but that’s quite a whopper.
We’re delivering invitations to various households throughout Baguio. We just visited my grandpa’s cousin, my dadǃÙs uncle. God has taken all the hate in the world and put it in his dogs. If released from their cages, I’m 100% certain that they would treat me like that cow in Jurassic Park.
I just met my second cousin. He’s the same age as me, older by twelve days. For some reason he reminds me that we’re still young. He’s a nursing student and far more polite than IǃÙll ever be. He tells me and Dan about his ex-girlfriend from California, school schedules, and playing basketball for money in the streets because the city leagues are too expensive. And it seems like the dullness of the NBA Finals is universal–he seems disgusted talking about his Cavs. Seeing how good a person he is no matter his environment helps me understand how spoiled I am. I hope some remnant of this feeling stays with me through all the hot showers and the ongoing battle of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.
If you happen to be in Baguio and your uncles tell you to jump in the 1980 Toyota Van to go to a place called The Secret Place, make up an excuse to stay at all costs. Say you want to bond with your aunties or something. Anything.