Christmas 12252015

Christmas Day this year was spent in the office, one hour shy of completing my normal shift but I had to go because I wanted to spend sometime in a church as I did last year. Except I didn't go to my peaceful sanctuary because I left later than planned so I opted for the nearer church.

We had free lunch meals ordered from Cafe Nenzo as in last year. I love the fish fillet with garlic and butter. The cheesecake was exciting at first but the heaviness of cream cheese made me just gulp down the whole thing with water. The chocolate cake was one of the best ones I've had, to think I don't even like chocolate cake. But this one had just the right sweetness and the cake itself was moist. Yummy!

While to many working on holidays suck, I welcome the opportunity because I am more productive when I am alone. I get a lot of work done and I think better when alone.

Before heading home I dropped by Booksale to claim my reserved books: Pillars of the Republic and The Journals of Lewis and Clark. The latter is something I have been wishing for but it was always priced in the P150-P250 range so now that it dropped to P50 I saw my chance of having a copy. The other book is not much of interest to me but the blurb says something about common-school development before the American Civil War. Lately I have become interested in developments of systems and institutions as opposed to my earlier obsessions on origins (that's why I took up archaeology in the first place).

Walking on major roads, one can see the ugly side of Christmas. No wonder I am always gloomy and in a bad mood at this time of the year. Metro Manila is turned into one big stinking garbage city thanks to the undisciplined people and also to the MMDA's little effort in apprehending the violators of the Anti-Littering Law.

As I was looking for my last jeepney ride, I chanced upon one empty but on the inner lane so I hopped inside. The driver asked me where I was headed to because he was about to go home already. Just so happened that he would pass by near where I live so he told me there was no need to pay even though I insisted many times. So I just wished him a Merry Christmas.