Something to talk about

This morning I realized that it has been almost 3 weeks since I last posted something. Two-Tongued Poetry, my other blog, seems to have suffered the same fate. I have since recovered from the protracted episode of insomnia that I chronicled in my previous post without resorting to narcotics, thankfully. I like to think that the bananas, the warm evening baths, and glasses of hot milk finally worked their magic rather than believe that insomnia itself grew tired and released me. I (finally) put the finishing touches to projects that should have ended a long time ago but didn’t because of the remarkable slowness of some people in this big, bloated machine called the Cambodian civil service. Despite these, however, I still found myself unable to post anything. I felt like I had nothing to say. Good thing that period is over.

I spent the past weeks working on things around the house: scrutinizing the work of my hapless housekeeper to make sure she’s still doing her work the way I taught her; plotting the placement of photographs and artwork that I had framed; re-arranging furniture in the living room; inspecting shelves and cabinets–basically being a domestic control freak (as opposed to being a working control freak). I could feel my housekeeper tensing every time she sees me coming close to any furniture.

My free time allowed me to visit and hang around a friend’s new home and another’s new office, to have lunches and dinners outside, and to purchase the latest titles at my friendly neighborhood (pirated) DVD shop. I watched 5 seasons (2-6) of Will & Grace, 2 seasons of Criminal Minds, a season of Supernatural, and a bunch of new films.

I went to Saigon to shop for things that I needed to fill the ‘balikbayan box’ that I had shipped to Manila last Friday. I had bought my fill at the Russian market here in Phnom Penh. However, after 3 years, I felt that I was bringing nothing new from Cambodia. So after buying bed covers, table runners, silk bags & scarves, branded surplus shirts from Cambodia’s garment factories, silver betel nut boxes, and wooden figurines, I decided to go to Saigon for ‘new’ things.

Dave and I took the Sunday morning bus (Sept. 30) and spent Sunday afternoon and the whole of Monday shopping at Bentanh market and Saigon Square. Bentanh market is a cleaner version of Russian market; you can find everything here–from shirts, bags, home decor to food and flowers. I bought embroidered tablecloth, wooden figurines, lacquer bowls and trays, designer-label shirts and knock-off bags, things I have not brought home.

Back in Phnom Penh, the next challenge was organizing these things. Being the control freak that I am, I wanted everything labeled and listed properly so that there is no confusion should my family open the box without me (I am ambivalent towards spending Christmas in Manila this year, but that’s another story). After wrapping the fragile things properly and labeling each item, I realized that the box is still not full. I appreciated my Tita Emy, who for 20 years have continually sent 10-15 boxes a year to Manila while working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia. Her boxes were always brimming with things; and my single was nowhere near one of hers. To fill it, I put my old and unused clothes–shirts and trousers–which I had always failed to bring home because of baggage restrictions.

This weekend my friends and I organized a party–something that we used to do regularly but failed to do this past year because of hectic work schedules. The heavy rain that fell prevented many people from coming but still close to 50 people managed to attend. For the first time in months, I partied and flirted and went home late and drunk. Yey! 

Today is the first day of a 3-day holiday called ‘Pchum Ben’ where Cambodians visit pagodas (Wat) to commemorate dead relatives and ancestors. Kind of like ‘Todos Los Santos’ in the Philippines. Kimrun went with his family to Battambang, their home province. A bunch of my Filipino friends are coming over to my house for a tournament of sorts. Our master plan for the coming 3 days consists of playing Uno, Boggle, and mahjong, competing for the highest scores in karaoke singing, and eating. Some friends have pledged to bring some pasta, baked goods and drinks. I meanwhile, intend to cook Arroz Caldo, Menudo, Buffalo Chicken Wings, and Chicken Sopas. More about it next time.

Of course, I squeezed in time checking my mails, messages, and blog-hopping. I am aware of the furor among Filipinos caused by the med school remark in Desperate Housewives and another joke in Jon Stewart’s show on CNN. I have seen both videos and I don’t want to join the fray just yet. Right now I don’t see the point. If my view changes it will be reflected in this blog.

Glad to be back, dear reader.