XI: No Sunlight

Some people eat ice cream when they're in need of comfort food. Others eat mac 'n cheese, or chicken soup, or chocolate... or a bunch of other common delicacies when they've had a bad day.

But I eat Sinigang. Because I love Filipino food and because it makes me feel better. And God knows, after the last few days... I definitely need it. So as I type, I'm sitting at the kitchen table waiting for the ingredients to boil through - just a few more minutes until I add the Tamarind Mix that my mom sent me last week... the sour powder that makes Sinigang, well, Sinigang.

And on the television (because I unfortunately insist on saturating myself with media at all times of the day) is the news, reporting the latest information on the U.S. presidential election. The polls say Obama is slightly ahead. In just a few hours we'll know who the 44th president of the United States will be... CRAZY.

I stole this from Josh:


I've been waiting for this day since I arrived in London... and by that I mean the day(s) when everything seems to go wrong and causes me to finally hit a serious emotional low. It's just a coincidence that it's the same day as the election. So before the world as we know it changes for good, I figure it's also my last chance to be completely selfish and whine about the series of unfortunate events that I've had to deal with in the last 48 or so hours. (Though I can't promise that I'll stop being selfish about my blogs... because obviously, that would completely defeat the purpose of keeping one.)

Anyway, before I continue let me mention that there will be no pictures taken by me in this post... because... I'll get to that.

Kim came to visit from Edinburgh this weekend (she was my absolute saving grace 'cuz I probably would've had a debilitating freak-out Sunday night if I was left alone). She arrived Friday morning at 6:45 a.m., where I met her at Victoria Coach Station. It was the ROFL-fest weekend that we had been waiting for all month and it started out great. After getting back to my house, catching up a little bit and having some breakfast, we hit the town.

We began by hitting up Primark (the provider of the cheapest of European clothing and fabric-based household items like towels and bathrobes), where we both reached an important fashion milestone - the adoption of skinny jeans. Because here, you just don't wear boots unless you're wearing a skirt or skinny jeans. I vowed once never to wear skinny jeans because I thought they were ugly. I lived in California then. But after purchasing a couple pairs for £8 each on Friday, I was forever changed. Never say never... ever.



After a couple hours at Primark, and when our lack of sleep began to catch up with us, we went home for a few hours to relax. Then we went out later that evening and met up with a couple of my London friends for a mini-Halloween celebration: dinner at Cantaloupe and drinks at Corbet Place on Brick Lane.

On Saturday it rained... and rained... and rained... A LOT. We made use of this day by going to The British Museum, stopping at Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station, and then to the movies to see Burn After Reading. Somewhere along the way, in my rainy-day fluster, I lost my umbrella. I got rained on, but at least we had Mexican food for dinner. Yum.

Sunday was a much nicer day - no rain. So we did the tourist thing and went to the Tower of London - which was amazingly cool. I only wish I had pictures...

This is where things start to get lame. We met up with London friends again for dinner and another movie - Eagle Eye. Oh, Shia, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. But on the way home in the tube, I check in my pockets and realize that I've lost my cell phone... the BRAND NEW one that I just got on Thursday with a contract that gives me unlimited international calling and free skype. Ouch. I had just used it in the movie theater, soooo, I figured that it probably fell out of my pocket or my purse while watching the movie. I figured I could just go back the next morning to reclaim it.



So, in case you're not keeping track... I've so far lost my umbrella and my cell phone. (Did I also ever mention that some jerk in Worcestershire got a hold of my debit card number a few weeks ago and charged more than $400 to my account? But that's another story.)

Then, at home, I was sitting at my computer when I made a semi-joking comment to Kim. "I better upload my pictures from (The Tower of London) before I lose my camera too." And when I checked my purse for my camera... my beautiful Panasonic Lumix that made me so happy because it took the BEST pictures a point-and-shoot could ever take... it was nowhere to be found. Seriously? It made no sense. Because I've been super super super super careful with my things. And like my cell phone, I had just used it that day.

Luckily... Kim was there to keep me calm - and so sweetly said she'd accompany me the next day (Monday) to retrace our steps and find my stuff. Unfortunately, after hours of retracing our steps Monday, making a bunch of phone calls and pleading to the theater people... I still came back empty handed. The good news is, I'm getting a replacement phone sent to me tomorrow (even though it's costing me a little bit.) The pictures and camera however, gone forever.

So yeah, to recount, I've lost an umbrella, a new cell phone and a digital camera all in the course of 48 hours. And to make matters worse, after Kim went back to Edinbugh last night, my body decided to partially shut down and contract a slight fever and cold... probably because I got rained on.

It's all very sad business indeed. Which leads me to today. I've lost a whole bunch of beloved material things and while those can be replaced - I'm still very sad about losing photographs that were never uploaded. It also just made me mad at myself because apparently, I wasn't careful enough. I can't stand situations that could have been avoided... especially since I've been extra careful about my belongings since I've moved here. (Not having a car really makes you more aware of your habits...)

Besides that, it made me feel defeated for the first time while being here. I know that sounds shallow, but I can't help how I feel. It sort of started a chain reaction... losing things + having to say goodbye to Kim + getting sick + REALLY REALLY missing Fran because I couldn't be with him for Halloween + missing the rest of my family + missing friends back home = a very melancholy me. I started to crack. So I stayed home from school today.

It's been a rough day. I could use a hug, and a cigarette, and a funny conversation with my brothers on the porch. It's been a little difficult to exhale today.

Good thing for Sinigang.