Exhausted and dust-covered

I moved! I left my Makati flat last Monday and waited at my new place in San Juan for my big pieces of furniture to arrive. I slept there. Had to make my own bed and get to know the place better. Once upon a time I lived in San Juan and loved the neighborhood. I guess that’s what made me decide to move back here to a simpler, more real life.

At night you still hear, “balut!” as the balut man peddles his wares. The balut vendor in Pasay had the best baritone. This man doesn’t have much of a voice.  During the day I hear the ice cream cart plying that song. I remember the ring of the ice cream bell when I was small. I loved orange popsicles then, sucking and licking the end until it got thin enough to bite, then I would bite it and go into rapture. One afternoon Tita Hilda asked for a lick and she bit it off. I cried so much. I think I was around three years old but I still remember.

 I miss hearing the whimsical horn of the panadero, the man who would sell bread and sweet rolls from his bike.  And the squeak of the vaciador’s bike, the man who would sharpen knives and scissors for you. They were such a great part of my childhood. Now my grandchildren don’t know them anymore.

At night you hear the barking of dogs. In Makati you would hear society dogs bark at each other in irritation while taking their daily and nightly walks. But here in San Juan the dogs bark like they’re happily gossiping.

In the morning you hear roosters crow. Not annoying to me because I’m on the 19th floor. But this afternoon I passed a row of fighting cocks I’m sure bred by the guards. That’s where the crowing comes from.

On my first night I had a drink and stared at the sky from the porch outside my bedroom. I loved the feeling of freedom it gave me just to look at the sky and see a few stars and then see the bright three-quarters moon peeping in and out of clouds. Yes, I have a porch outside my bedroom and a bigger one outside the living room. When I step out I look at the sky and the magnificent view from San Juan to Roxas Boulevard at sunset. I see three patches of Pasig River.  My view is phenomenal by day and at night. It is the novelty for me. I lived in a flat a stone’s throw away from Greenbelt 5 for three years. My apartment was dark and dusty, did not realize how dusty until I moved and saw everything so covered with dust. It’s been 10 days since my move and my description of my body is my legs hurt and I am totally dust-covered.

 Okay, so Monday we moved the big things. Tuesday we moved the smaller things. Wednesday we moved everything including my beloved plants. The movers left me with a flat full of boxes. At my request I wanted to do the unpacking myself so I could get really organized.

I had no phone. I applied for a telephone about a month before I moved hoping it would be connected and I would not miss a column.  But trust them they lost my application papers, then forgot about me. Finally two days ago they came and connected my phone, hence I have a column today.

I had no TV. They came to install it on Tuesday but my TV arrived on Wednesday.  I had told them to come back on Thursday and they said they would but they came back on Tuesday. Never mind. I can live without TV.  I have been listening to the radio instead, singing and dancing along early in the morning before my legs start to hurt again.

Armand, the main mover, gave me three weeks to return the boxes. That was eight days ago.  Sometimes I am pleased with the pace in which I fix but then we open more boxes and the place looks a mess again. Like tonight. It looks like a royal mess but I am exhausted and my feet really hurt.

I would like to thank the lady who brought me the most delicious tree-ripened mangoes.  They have kept me alive, given me something delightful to live for. Thank you so very much.

Now back to finish unpacking the boxes so I can return them and fix my home. I want it sort of minimalist for a change though I don’t know how I’m going to do that. But in the end I will.  By April 15 I should have a lovely new flat with an easel and a desk with a view on my living room porch. Then maybe I can invite friends to come over and eat off paper plates just like old times.

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