Elephants in NYC

Last night was the annual midnight walk of the elephants from Long Island to Madison Square Graden in Manhattan for the PT Barnum and Bailey Circus. From what I understand, the train that they come in is 1 mile long, thus can not be accomodate in any station in in Manhattan. Plus there's a problem of getting them up the escalators. So they get off in Long island City, walk through the Midtown tunnel (under the East River), and walk (trunk to tail) to the Garden. They even swing by Macy's! The video shows not only the elephants but also animal rights activists protesting. I love this city!

This American Life

I cannot say enough about This American Life, a PRI show that plays on Public Radio. I still remember the first time I heard their show in it's entirety. I was packing the antidepressants my sister Sasa had sent me to smuggle into the Philippines for my Mom. I began waiting for the shows to air then discovered Podcasting, which makes it possible for me to listen to the show anytime. This month, they spun-off a TV program from the radio program, and it was quite good. Alan showed how to set up a link so here it is: This American Life. How appropriate that the show I link features another thing Alan exposed me to: a prank by Improv Everywhere. Alan, if the tale of the bull doesn't interest you, fast forward to the second half of the show.

On mastectomies and sex

My mom had her mastectomy today. Apparently it went well, this I know from calling Marijo at 5 am (5 pm Manila time). Despite the less-than-ideal relationship I have with my mom, I'm no longer surprised by how pervading my worry is about her throughout my day. The death of my dad showed me that you never really get over your parents, no matter how much you've prepared for their loss by emotional or geographic separation.

Yet many times these past couple of days, I've had the urge to post some inane thing about life on this blog. This American Life had a great segment on people reflecting on thier relationship with their television. I had a series of photos of (yet again) Mugsy and Jakob. Yet I hesitated, knowing that other people (well, mainly family members) might read it and think how selfish of me to think about things like these at a time like this.

Of course I know I'm wrong. For one thing, none of them read this blog. Also, they're actually concerned that I'm worrying too much about her when I do call. And more importantly, I know all of them are leading their lives as before. Granted my mom takes up a lot of their time. But I think all of them, like me, continue on living: laughing at our dogs, imagining what we would like for dinner tonight, chatting nonsense with our friends. I heard this poem on the radio about this woman feeling guilty, almost immoral, about having sex right after September 11 and it definitely resonated with me. But maybe it's this spirit in us to actually keep on living in the shadow of death that is the more moral choice. As I'm reminded that my time here on earth is finite, how could I not eat, laugh, chat, fuck, and dance my way through it.

Recycling

Recycling
Originally uploaded by Mike Dec.

Little did I know that my mom's frugality and my desire to be earth-friendly would cross paths in the form of shopping bags. I now collect not only my shopping bags but even plastic bags I find at work so I can reuse them.