Monday, February 27, 2012

The Drive Home

I've always thought there was something sort of spiritual with long road trips. So when I got off the barge bringing me across the Sibulan to Santander, I fastened my seatbelt and revved the engine of the trusty Mitsubishi Lancer lent to me for its last tour of duty.

As I pulled out the dirt road and onto the highways of South Cebu, I couldn't help but smile as my iPod blasted out "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2. You have to get that particular road trip soundtrack going. Just think Pierce Brosnan as James Bond zipping along the cliff roads with "I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields, only to be with you..." in the background. I got from 0 to 60-ish, looking out the car windows seeing the sun glint of the carpet of blue sea in the distance and just thinking, wow, what a great day, "And I still haven't found what I'm looking for..." sings along in my head.

It's a great way to think and run ideas through your head.

Like, what am I going to do now? Looking forward to further training. I laugh silently at both the notion of seemingly endless "training" I have to go through and finding myself at a crossroads akin to the one I faced almost 3 years ago. It is almost a certainty that further training lies ahead and I wish for openings, but if I have to wait, I will. In the meantime, I will most likely be doing clinics here and there, "covering", moonlighting.

I smile as I come to probably one of the most winding roads I've ever been on, and thanks to coincidence and because I loaded my iPod with songs from a bootleg copy of the Beatles' digitally remastered hits, "A Long and Winding Road," comes on.

My wind wanders off to thinking again while listening to the sound of tires whizzing along the asphalt. I laugh at the notion that Congress is trying to pass a bill that stops the portrayal of government officials as corrupt and villains in Philippine movies and television. I can't even begin to describe how dumb that sounds. From a million reasons ranging from simple creative license to how reality often breeds how we are seen on TV, I see no reason for them to actually be trying to pass this let alone come up with it. For this reason alone, I think that our officials are dumber than they appear to be. That may be a bit harsh. Maybe, it's them losing sight of what they are supposed to do, but I definitely feel dumber, just having even seen it on the news.

I zipped through Oslob, with their newfound whale shark tourism, Alcoy and their crystal clear waters, then Dalaguete, Boljoon, Argao, in whatever order they go.

A dozen thoughts come and go -- how Mike Ross is going to get away with being a lawyer in Suits, anti-heroes are the in-themes these days. How we find ourselves cheering for good bad people, is funny because we've come to the point where we think the ends justify the means. Maybe so, but one man's happy ending may not be one to someone else.

I come closer to Cebu, going through Sibonga and Carcar, and eventually found myself turning onto the SRP highway. Another Beatles' song comes on, "Here comes the sun," and I roll the windows and feel the wind in my hair. I look and see how I've gone through my bottled water and Mountain Dew, my pack of Nagaraya, and one bar of Snickers.

Hmm, weight loss, I know I can do it. The mind is willing but the body is weak.

How about that Jeremy Lin? It's amazing how Mike D'Antoni just has one go to play -- have the point guard run around the court until someone's open.

More thoughts for every mile

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