hiking and headaches
I have a splitting headache. For days I have had sickening headaches that I suspect come after breathing smog and cigarette smoke. I have felt miserable at times for a few days. It’s somewhat like car sickness. Mack said that he felt sick and dizzy yesterday, so we went to a pharmacy for medicine to alleviate nausea and headache and he took aspirin. He has said that he’s adversely affected by breathing vehicle exhaust when he travels into the city by jeepney.
I intended to sleep later this morning after missing sleep in the previous two mornings and feeling lousy. But of course in the Philippines I can’t sleep late. The neighbors residing above us make a lot of noise on the floor. Dogs bark their heads off. My telephone sounded at 8:00 so that I’d wake in time to go to fellowship at Starbucks.
After fellowship I checked my mail box. It was empty. And I don’t think that the postal service fills the mail boxes on Saturdays, anyway. I walked all the way to the laundry store near The Red Lion Pub. En route, I sent a message to Mack to ask if anyone would like to hike with me. No reply.
Of course my laundry wasn’t ready. I took a jeepney toward home, and on the way, I sent another message. Eventually Mack replied that he’s sick today. No word of anyone else’s desire to go on a day trip. I felt a touch of motion sickness when looking at my phone to send then receive the messages.
At home I dropped off my Bible, looked at my Baguio City maps, and thought that rather than hike Mount Santo Tomas I would hike on the mountain bike trail around Camp John Hay and along Loakan Road then Session Road then return by jeepney to Tuding. So I put on my trail-running shoes and walked up to Tuding Road to get a jeepney ride to Pacdal Circle.
From the traffic circle I walked south past Baguio Country Club, turned left and walked though Baguio Country Club Village Barangay. That’s a mouthful to denote the slum behind the country club. You should see the disparity between the athletic club and the squalor behind it.
I passed into Barangay Happy Hollow, played basketball with kids briefly, then followed my feet off the paved road, hoping to find a mountain bike trail that I’d read of. I met two sisters, Andrea and Katherine May, who were surprised to see me strolling in their neck of the woods.
Katherine May had asked me to take their picture, yet they tried not to smile. Andrea even appears to be irked. But they were friendly girls. I don’t know why some kids try not to smile for photos.
Eventually I found the ‘fire break,’ creek bed and foot path around Camp John Hay. I’ve read of mountain biking that 16 km route, but I can’t afford a bike now. I thought I’d spend quiet time to ponder and pray while walking in shade of pines.
I’d have to look at a map online to try to guess my mileage today. I think that I walked about 20 km this afternoon. I came northeast along Loakan Highway to Miltary (traffic) Circle, then walked north on Session Road 2 to Upper Session Road all the way to Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral.
I prayed in the adoration chapel a while with ample noise all around, then descended the long staircase to Session Road to get a bite to eat and a beverage. After that lunch/dinner, I walked up Session Road, across to General Luna Road, up that road to the Spinners World laundry store near 50′s Diner, and again I heard that my laundry hadn’t been delivered. – typical -
I was invited to wait a few minutes for the laundry, as it was “on the way.” I sat on the offered chair because I was tired. A fter more than a few minutes, I wondered when the laundry would arrive. I asked how long I must wait. The Filipinas talked to each other, but neither would answer me. I asked again, “How long do I wait for the delivery?” Again they twittered to each other and one looked at me, but I heard no answer. I looked at her, she looked at me, I asked, “How much longer do we wait for the truck?”
She only said, “Just wait, sir.” So I pressed, “How long do I have to wait? When will the laundry arrive?” No answer; just a blank look.
I guess that Filipinos have unlimited time and unlimited patience to wait for everything in their lives. But rainfall was imminent, and I was weary and wanted to go home for aspirin and a shower. I didn’t want to stand on a street corner in the rain with dry laundry to try to hail a taxi or jeepney! I want to know how much longer I have to wait – two minutes or 50 minutes. Closing time was six o’clock. The girls may have been willing to sit listening to insipid pop music until 6:00, but I wasn’t.
I asked a fourth time, because they had refused to answer me, “How long must I wait for the laundry?” Neither teenager would answer me. The older girl telephoned the truck driver, I supposed, because she told me, “It’s on the way.” Well, I had been told that half an hour earlier, and that’s why I had sat to wait. “When will it arrive? Five minutes? Half an hour?” “Just wait, sir.”
This place is closed on Sundays, and Dominic had said that in the morning that he had nothing to wear today until I retrieved the clothes. So I thought that I must bring them home today rather than Monday. I didn’t know that this afternoon Abby would give to Dominic clean laundry that she had washed.
Eventually the laundry truck arrived. I set PhP 507.50 on the counter beside the PhP 227.50 bill. Do you think that I received 280 pesos change? One girl gave to me PhP 272.
If I had only placed PhP 500 on the counter, PhP 272.50 would be the correct change .
But I had placed a 500 peso bill then seven 1 peso coins and two 25 sentimo coins atop it. The girl had removed the bill and nine coins totaling PhP 507.50 from the counter, and she had a 5″x6″ calculator. Was she trying to skim? Did she think that I couldn’t count? I can do simple subtraction. And I wouldn’t leave a gratuity for the shoddy service and lack of cooperation there.
Dropping off dirty laundry then retrieving clean, dry laundry a day later was supposed to be painless. But Filipinos make so many things unnecessarily difficult, inefficient, dangerous or costly. And I already had a headache. †