back

One of the ways to torture me is to have me sit down for hours without doing anything, as in the long flight back to Manila. Time expands on a long-haul flight: you sleep and awaken rightfully expecting hours to have passed only to discover that you were asleep for only ten minutes; inflight movies become unbearably populated by Mark Ruffalo and extend forever, heedless of plot or sense; I wanted to compress time and just get home. To keep myself hopeful, I imagined the delight of at last being able to visit my barber for a shave and a haircut, plus a steam bath and a massage at my spa, plus being able to smoke myself to death in my underwear in my the comfort and privacy of my bedroom. And I kept drinking juices and water and fliching small bottles of wine whenever I walked the length of the cabin to prevent my legs from dying.

When we finally landed in Manila, we breezed through customs with our boxes via the power of a Mason and a moviestar (my father-in-law and my brother-in-law) and sped off home. Sage embraced her nanny and they both cried - I was crying too, in relief that we still had a home and a yaya (because last year, one of our helpers (fired, of course) betrayed us by selling my cell phone and inviting people over to sleep in our bed - gah). We left the work of unpacking for the next day and went happily to sleep. Truly, truly, there is no place like home.

The next day, we met up with our dear friends, passed out pasalubong, and hied off to Dampa for garlic butter prawns and inihaw na baboy, Risk: Godstorm (one of the new games I got, along with Senator, Incognito, Skull & Bones, and Colossal Arena), and a lot of catching up. I was still jetlagged and zoning out but I wanted to sleep at my normal time, so I can readjust my body clock. We spent the weekend with more friends and family, doing pretty much the same thing.

This morning, I was so excited to go to my office. When I got there at 8AM, I was surprised to see a pile of gifts and wine bottles on my desk from friends, family and suppliers. Among the wonderful presents I got were copies of Ian Casocot's books (salamat!), a large mirror for the house from my brother Ricky, copies of The Edge magazine from Ern (salamat!) where my new column debuts, and an astonishly number of quality things from clients (like this super planner from Levis). At 9AM, I get a call from the manager of the bank I bank with wishing me a belated happy birthday. Before noon, I received a mango pie from them - I was surprised and quite happy since I love mango pie.

But what really made my day was being briefed by my partner on the projects we're doing. I missed work and am glad to be back.