It takes some getting used to, after weeks of sweltering heat.
At night, from my window, twenty-four floors up the ground, the streets are glistening. It looks just a little more romantic. There was otherwise no change in the mix. The street lights are still there. The vehicles are still there, still stuck in traffic, a trail of red tail lights leading towards the new bridge. But it's raining, and that changes everything, if not a lot of things.
In theory, this means you can choose to turn on the air conditioning later, but then, in my specific case, I can't really take full advantage of the cooler weather. The benefit of cooler temperatures don't necessarily translate to cooler temperatures inside the flat. You feel less sticky, sure, but there's no rush-of-air-to-your-face kind of refreshing. Open windows mean nothing because the wind - if it is windy - is coming from the other side of the house, which means taking a shower in the middle of a thunderstorm can sound creepy.
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As I write this, I'm watching the third game of the Philippine women's football team in the World Cup in Auckland.
Now, I know little about football. I mean, I know the point is to kick the ball to the goal, and I'm pretty sure that's enough to allow me to follow what's happening, but that's it. I know little else about the gameplay. I certainly won't be an asshole about knowing (or not) the offside rule. I know nothing about the dynamic at every level of the sport, about who's good at what and the internal politics and all that. Still, knowing that the point is to kick the ball into the goal should be enough, right?
Of course I'm writing, so you know the answer is going to be "no".
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Was I going to write about the State of the Nation Address, again? Was I going to do something that I have done over the last oh-so-many years?
Frankly, I wasn't thinking about it. Don't get me wrong. I was still listening to Bongbong Marcos' second address to a joint session of Congress, outlining is legislative priorities and highlighting his supposed victories along the way. However, I was watching for the day job, with the view of writing a column more attuned to the concerns of my audience of supply chain stakeholders. I have that column bouncing around in my head now, and I don't have to really put it down in paper until Friday. I can use the time to read more analysis pieces tomorrow.
Apart from that... I wasn't really thinking about it. At least not as urgently. For one, the fact that I haven't been promoting this blog on my socials means I have stripped myself of the pressure to be able to say something as soon as possible. There's also my changing view of politics, in part because I have had a better understanding of the overlaps between what our politicians say in public and what our civil servants do in between. In a way, constantly raging on isn't all that productive to me anymore - not that there's nothing to rage about. I suppose my approach to things have changed, perhaps to the chagrin of those who hope to enlist another one to their side.
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I'm not exactly an Instagram newbie. I've been running my cat's account for the past ten months or so. But before that - way before that - I was posting on... yeah, let's not.
But, yeah, not an Instagram newbie. But it's a social media account I've been resisting for the most part because, really, do I have to be there? But now I am. Not that I intend to hang out there. I joined a couple of weeks ago and I haven't posted anything. I mostly did it because I also made an account for the Once Monthly, and while I don't know if it's doing anything for reach - all it probably did is add to my workload, but you know, the more distractions, the better.
Still, I've been adding people to my own account, at least the few that I do know are there. Starting from scratch on a social media network is a pain a 34-year-old isn't supposed to feel because, you know, you should know people now, but then, it's difficult being a bit of an unloved non-entity, only remembered when they need to fill up a headcount at an impromptu class reunion. Anyway.
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