The last thing I wrote on here was a riff on how, unusually, I wrote eight entries last month. Well, here we are: my first entry for this month, a little over three weeks into the month, and with seven days to go before the end of it.
So much for record-breaking.
To be honest, I did have something to write about. I still do, I think. But you know how life gets in the way and forces you to live it, to go with it, rather than to write about it from a distance?
Yeah, I wish that was it. It sounds nice. Actually, I only just thought of that as I was writing this. First thing that came to mind, sounded somewhat writer-y, went with it. It certainly sounds better than "I got busy" or "I wasn't sure if I had something to write" or "I'm going to die soon, I just know it".
But, yeah, I got busy. I had a couple of in-person events the past couple of days. Those were the subjects of one entry I had thought of, but, well, I got busy.
And, yeah, I also wasn't sure if I had something to write. It all goes back to whether there's an audience for this or not. I've decided there isn't, and that makes the idea of writing observations about this new-ish world we're living in a little less alluring, and much more pointless.
About the last bit, well... one night last week I was very certain I was having a heart attack. Shalla's convinced we should have aspirin in the flat just in case. And she's also convinced she should learn to drive, in case I need to be rushed to the hospital.
I've thought about the logistics of that for a while now. Not necessarily about me, of course. But the building we're in is right across a hospital. It takes much longer to drive to it than to walk to it. But walking to it means crossing EDSA via a pedestrian overpass, and if I'm unconscious, perhaps flatlining, how exactly does that work out? Who carries dying me across the road?
This reminds me of an anecdote I kept away for years, back when we still could travel freely. I was in Davao for a work thing. It was my first time there, and I barely spent 24 hours, but that's beside the point. We were chatting with a local who talked about why Davaoeños think Duterte is good for the country. It essentially boils down to him having done a lot as the city's mayor. Take the city's 911 hotline. The local - she told us about how there was a health emergency involving her son, and an ambulance came within five minutes. Something about how there are a lot of dispatch centers scattered across the city, making response faster and more efficient.
They're proud of what he has done and look forward to what he could do for all of the Philippines. It's also, she said, why Davaoeños feel confident to complain about things - because they know they will get sorted out once they do.
Yes, it's a years-old anecdote, and I'm pretty sure I have lost a few points here and there. That's besides the point too. That, and this isn't supposed to be political or social commentary. It all loops back to me having a heart attack and having to get brought to the hospital. If an ambulance comes in time... the "nearest" hospital by car is fifteen minutes away, roughly, one city (and one bridge) away. All right, goodbye, I guess.
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