Transitioning from a Backpack to a Suitcase

The evolution of my travel style continues. A while ago, I wrote about how I started shifting from hostels to hotels. And later on, I wrote about how I find hotel deals and appreciate hotel rooms. Now, it goes even further, since I bought myself a new suitcase, so I am not purely a backpack traveler anymore!

Learning to Appreciate Hotels

It seems that I have been evolving my travel style when it comes to accommodation. A while ago, I wrote about how I started shifting from hostels to hotels. And then, a few months later I then wrote about how I find hotel deals. Now, it seems I also know how to appreciate them.

Finding Hotel Deals

Nowadays I have a new hobby. I am on the scout for hotel deals. You know, those types that normally would cost a bit, yet for some reason or another, they are on discount. So I make such a booking, even though I might not be sure I would actually be going to that destination. But who knows? Sometimes, I do make that trip.

Easyjet, Customer Experience, and Customer Retention

I typically don't write about my individual flights, as I have taken quite a few and they don't end up being memorable. However, this one flight I took a few weeks earlier was one such flight. We were flying back home, from Budapest to Berlin, on Easyjet. We were on the last flight of the day, leaving Budapest at 20:35 and arriving in Berlin at 22:05. At least that's the idea.

Hello People from the Falls!

What do you do if you have a multiple-entry Canadian visa, and you know that there's a concert right across the border?

Yeah, that was a rhetorical question.

The Thinker's Christmas

So Christmas has come and gone. And finally, I was able to watch the latest Glee episode, which happened to be the Christmas episode. And after watching that, I realized that wow, Christmas has evolved so much that it feels just like any secular holiday now.

I haven't celebrated the Christmas holiday since time immemorial. And I have no plans to start. But sometimes, I see other people who celebrate it and wonder whether they really celebrate what they claim to be celebrating or not.

So, traditionally, Christmas is a holiday about the birth of Jesus. Assuming that he really was born in December 25 (although there seem to be evidence pointing to the contrary: December would be a time of the year where it would be too cold for the shepherds to be staying outside, among other things), Christmas would be the day where people celebrate the birth of their God (apparently, there are people who order cakes in bakeries with decorations saying "Happy Birthday Jesus"). Christmas would feature scenes from the nativity, and everything else related to the supposedly holy event. But is that really what Christmas is about for people?

After watching the Glee episode, and after reflecting on how the people here in Buffalo interact with Christmas, it seems to be that they are celebrating something different. First, the tree. Where is it relevant in Jesus' birth that there should be a tree? Presents? Gift-giving? It seems that that is the focus of people nowadays, that they look forward to Christmas not because they want to celebrate Jesus' birth, but because it is a tradition of gift-giving and receiving. I suppose, people are more looking forward to what kind of gifts they get, but I don't think they are looking forward to the act of shopping for the gifts that they need to give. Yes, sometimes, it seems that giving gifts become more obligatory, since it is after all, tradition. Why is it the case that people just give gifts whenever they feel like it? Why do they need a date such as December 25 to give gifts?

I realized after watching the Glee episode that as much as Christmas was featured in it, never in the script was the name Jesus mentioned. I guess, if one asks a toddler what Christmas is about, this toddler would answer that it is a holiday about Santa. Yep, instead of Jesus, Santa was the one character that was frequently mentioned. Yes, boys and girls, the reality of the matter is that Christmas is about Santa, not about Jesus.

Funny, but I was in the supermarket the day after Christmas. And guess what? All the Christmas candy was gone, and instead in their place was Valentine's Day candies. That's two months away. As if Christmas has never happened. Poof, and immediately, Christmas is gone. It's Cupid's turn now, boys and girls, Santa should be heading back to the North Pole, and won't be back until next year.

So, perhaps people would wonder what this post was about. Was it a rant about Christmas? What am I trying to accomplish here? Well, contrary to popular belief, I am not advocating people to go back to the traditional way of celebrating Christmas. I could care less about whether people celebrate Christmas for Jesus or for Santa. I just like to give a wake-up call, and see to it that people actually know what they're doing. If they realize that they are celebrating Santa's trip from the North Pole instead of Jesus' alleged birth, and then decide that they should celebrate Jesus' alleged birth instead, fine with me. I just want people to think, ponder, and investigate what it is exactly they are celebrating. People should be critical and examine what they are partaking in. People should do things not because it has been the tradition in their family since time immemorial (and therefore it is the right thing to do), but because after extensive thought, they think that it is indeed the right thing to do.

People should think, not simply believe. The same thing goes for Christmas, whether you choose to celebrate it or not.

(Cathedral Windows, from my Cusco Series)

Halloween College

It's times like these when I tell myself that I need to speed up on my research and graduate faster. It's Halloween, and people's common sense just goes out the window.

Earlier today (or rather, Friday), I saw the students in the Student Union, and apparently, there's a haunted house in the student union. And students were lining up to enter it. And once inside, I hear people screaming and laughing and screaming and laughing. Wow. You're already in your twenties, and yet you're still enjoying this? Not that I find anything wrong with it, but I just feel this disconnect and cognitive dissonance between the university as this sacred place of learning where the halls and corridors are witness to the advancement of the humanities and sciences, and yet right smack in the middle of it is this haunted house.

I am writing this post in the middle of the night, and it's already past 1:00 AM. I guess it didn't help that I had Turkish coffee as accompaniment to my dinner (there was an out-of-town guest in the department, and we took him to dinner, and to my surprise, the department paid for my dinner so that was cool). We went to a Lebanese restaurant, and the food and conversation was good.

Anyway, I cannot sleep. But I think the reason for this is less due to the Turkish coffee but more due to the fact that I live in the area of the city that has plenty of students, and there are students that are dressed up in weird costumes just walking up and down my street, and they obviously are drunk, and shouting. Some of them are dressed in bedsheets, some of them are dressed more elaborately. I saw a chain gang get out of a taxicab. There's also Elvis.

So yeah, it's a weird and crazy night. But I should try and get some sleep, as tomorrow, or rather later today, should be a fun day for an excursion. Stay tuned.

(Close-Up, from my Saqsayhuaman Series)

American Urban Anthropology

The other day, I joined two of my Japanese friends to eat out. It was July 4, and so the Americans were busy with their cookouts and stuff. The three Asians on the other hand went to an Asian restaurant and decided to eat out.

On the way to the restaurant, we noticed that the roads were empty. Wow. Where is everybody? Oh perhaps they're in their backyards, preparing the grill, cooking the burgers, and things like that. So, that would be good, so that there wouldn't be any crowds in the restaurants.

When we got there, it was actually packed. But there was still no wait for the tables. There was a large group of rather elderly-looking American men and women, and they were loud. In fact, their voices were drowning out every other noise in the establishment. Meanwhile, the two Japanese dudes and I were quietly conversing while eating our meal. After all, the Japanese people typically don't want to stand out and be heard in public.

After that, we decided to watch the fireworks. So in order to do that, we went to campus, which is actually one of the places where one can see the displays. We waited for a couple of hours, because at that point, the sun was still up, and so there wasn't any fireworks yet. Around ten pm, it started.

Now here is something that I found interesting. Fourth of July is supposed to be a political celebration: it's the celebration of one country's independence, because back in the days, King George III screwed up, and so his colonies decided to rebel against him.

Nowadays, Fourth of July seems like one big barbecue cookout. People bring out their Adirondack chairs, people pack their coolers, people put mats on the grass, and they just lounge around. Children play with these luminous sticks that you can form into various shapes and sizes. Overall, it was an interesting yet somehow hard-to-comprehend situation.

So, I suppose the lesson learned was that the older one gets, the louder one speaks, and Fourth of July gives one reason to play with luminous sticks that one would otherwise not play with if it were any other day.



(Big Bowl and Small Men, from my Moray Series)

Animalistic

As I observe and gawk at the different Christmas decorations here in Buffalo, I have noticed that sometimes the things they put on their lawns simply do not make sense.

Of course, there is the perennial Santa.

And then the candy canes. And the snowmen.

And of course, the animals.

Who would forget the reindeer? A house in my street even has a moving reindeer, the neck and head goes up and down, as if it is grazing on the house's lawn.

But there are other animals that seems to be out of place.

Animals like a polar bear (ok, I could infer a connection to this), giraffe, and here's the best one, a giant frog. I've seen decorations, blown-up balloons, and other lighted stuff featuring these animals in people's lawns this year.

Anyway, like other people have said, the Holidays has been reduced to its commerical value. If a frog can be lighted, and if it sells, then you'll see them in people's lawns.

Oh well, let me share the third picture for my Inverted Darkness Series. This is actually a picture of Hayes Hall, a building in South Campus, in the middle of the night.

The Afterhours...

I had an interesting long weekend.

For the first part, I got to witness the interesting musical scene in churches here in Buffalo. Saturday started it. I pass two churches on my way from school to my house, and both were just playing Christmas songs in their church bells.

But the rhythm was all off.

Anyway, that was that. Good thing that the weather was balmy, and so I went for a walk Monday morning. I didn't go to my office. Instead, I walked up to South Campus and flashed my camera, aiming it to different parts of South Campus. I didn't realize that some of the buildings in South Campus can be very old, some as old as 1903. I'll post the photos soon.

That evening, I was invited to a dinner in a friend's mom's acquaintance's house. I have a friend, who in turn has a mom, who in turn has an acquaintance. This acquaintance has asked my friend's mom to watch over their gorgeous house for a couple of weeks, while they are on a cruise. My friend's mom on the other hand invited a couple of her friends (including me) to have dinner at the house that she is watching. So that was fun as well.

I have to say, no matter how old I am, that house is the perfect house for a game of hide and seek.

I finished reading my novel about women in India (I somehow find that I am quick in reading fiction nowadays.). So I borrowed a new one. This is entitled The Brief History of the Dead. I don't know what it is about yet, but, looking at the ISBN listing, it lists death, epidemics, future life, wilderness survival, and Antarctica as its topics. Sounds interesting.

The latest novel I read was interesting as well. It was about women and social classes in India. If you have a chance to read it, then by all means do.

Programma di festa

You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging every day for the past week.

Well, I am on holiday schedule.

So is the campus shuttle, which runs every 45 minutes, instead of the usual 15 minutes.

So what did you guys do this vacation?

Ben has been running again, Duke is drunk and throwing popcorn in her mouth, Dyosa is preparing for a big party, Ka Uro has been drunk and singing Auld Lang Syne, my cousin Pao flew to Bahrain and spent time with her husband, and me?

You want to ask about me?

I finished reading a book for my research. I have 2 books, 2 dissertations, and a bunch of articles to read this vacation.

As if that is a vacation.

Bleh, it is sometimes hard when you have your friends far away. My old friends are back in Manila, 8,000 miles away from here. My new friends here are either away on vacation or having fun with their families.

So, yes, one thing you need to do when you have plenty of time in your hands, is to kill it.

Linger

People are slowly going away, disappearing into darkness. While I on the other hand remains. It reminds me of the Langoliers, a movie based on a short story by Stephen King, when most of the passengers in an airliner disappear, but a handful remain. It is scarier to be among the ones that remain.

I feel the same way this Thanksgiving holidays. First of all, I do not have a concept of Thanksgiving. Why November 24? Why turkey? Obviously, I am not American. I do not have these concepts, but people have been greeting everyone "Happy Holidays" all of the time. For me, the break that I get from tomorrow till Friday is just a nice sneaky time for me to write my paper.

And then, add to that the exodus of the students. They fly to different places and seek their once-a-year vacation. Even the professors are leaving, and it is a bit depressing when they ask where you are going, and then you answer that you're staying. I do love Buffalo though, there is nothing wrong with the place. But there is a freaky feeling to be the only one not doing the deed.

Peer pressure. Yeah, I guess that's it. Everyone is doing it, so why can't we? I guess that's the title of a Cranberries album. Oh I loved that album. Their first ever album released in 1993. And their first single was Linger. The harsh anti-social tone wasn't present by that time though.

I have finished doing my data gathering for my discourse coherence paper. So I am spending the next few hours of the night, plus tomorrow, in writing the body of the paper. I've already finished writing the introduction and all the other preliminaries. Now I am delving into the hard stuff.

Well, they say that it'll snow tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. We'll see.

Laborious

Labor Day today provided me with a chance to sleep late. I was up late at night overhauling my blog, I dunno what got over me, I just wanted to change bits and pieces, which actually lead to changing the whole appearance of the site. But it is still amateur, unlike others. PureMood's site for example, is superb.

So what did I actually change? I know, I should give credit to the people I got the ideas from. After all, I am a member of the academia, and I know what plagiarism is.

I changed the brown background to a calligraphy-inspired background. I changed the stationery of the posts. I also changed the overall fonts. I changed the colors of the links.

With regard to the add-ons, I added a video, for this time, it is Garbage's first single from their newest album. I got something for female rockers, remember?

I also made a 100 Things About Me list. Everyone does it nowadays so I won't mind jumping into the bandwagon.

Oh well, why am I getting myself busy over these things when I haven't finished my readings? Enough of this. I've got two posts in one day already. Very bad.