Land Of Opportunity
12:01 p.m. - 2005-11-25


I spent the last week training Doris on my desk, but she is very nice and interesting, so though it was boring for me to have her doing all my work, I just sat next to her and read a book. She told me a lot about her life in the Philippines before she came to this country (she is Bernadette's sister), all about how they celebrate Christmas and how awful it was when Mt. Pinatubo erupted close by the family homestead. She says that on Christmas, the children go from house to house with little bags to collect a small gift from each house, usually a little money, which is very similar to our Halloween. When the volcano blew, the ash on their house was so deep they feared the whole thing would collapse, so they had to climb up there and shove it off. Their kitchen wing fell off, however. She says it is the worst thing she has ever been through. She spent almost 10 years in waiting to come to this country, giving up the possibility of marriage and family for the opportunities this country provides (marriage would foul up the immigration request). Makes me proud to be American and proud to know this new American.

Meanwhile, I did not know I was coming down with Meldina's cold so I went ahead and got the company-sponsored flu shot, which led to a week, so far, of sickness and fatigue. Although Thanksgiving was roaring up on me, the other half decided this was a good week to tear up the kitchen and do a few things to it, so I begged him to please have it done by Thursday, and he mostly did.

I made rolls, a corn casserole, spinach casserole (both containing cream cheese, butter, bacon etc, what's not to like?) pickled fruit and celery sticks with real Southern pimento cheese. I am reserving judgment on the pimento cheese but the other people seemed to like it. After a meal in which there was more food than available plate surface, we staggered home to watch Survivor, but I fell asleep before it started, having luckily set the machine up to record it.

In the family news department, apparently E & J have bought a small craftsman-style house in Tacoma and just moved in last week. I would write more about it, and may later, but right now the spouse has invited me to go see Pride and Prejudice so off we go!