When Day 32 Starts...

Chapter 18 - Hello, New York!

New York truly is the city that never sleeps. Had it not been for the dark night sky, iisipin ko na umaga (well, technically it's already morning but that's not the point) pa rin dahil sa dami ng tao. Ala-una na ng umaga pero aakalain mong kakasimula pa lang ng araw. Lights were on. People are on the street. Back at home, alas onse pa lang, halos wala nang tao sa daan.

Dahil sa iba ang timezone, medyo jetlagged pa ako. We've travelled by plane for almost 18 hours. Kaya lang, dahil bandang hapon sa oras ng Pilipinas ang dating namin sa New York, hindi pa maka-adjust ang katawan ko kahit pagod na pagod ako. Kaya siguro kahit ala una na ng umaga, nakahiga lang ako at nakatunganga sa kisame ng apartment na pansamantala kong tutuluyan for three months.

Umalis kami ng Sabado ng gabi (Philippine time zone), mga bandang alas nwebe. We arrived by Sunday (New York time zone), 1am. I still have this whole day to enjoy New York dahil magsisimula na akong magtrabaho bukas. Kahit gustong-gusto kong gumala, pagod pa ako.

I sat up and took out my laptop. Inilabas ko na rin ang mga damit ko. Isang maleta lang ang dala ko. Sabi kasi ni nanay, dito na raw ako mamili ng iba pang dami kung gusto ko. Pang tatlong linggo lang yung dala ko at yung mga damit lang na pwedeng ipag-mix and match para hindi masyadong marami.

They gave me $15000 as pocket money, half of it was from Sir Josh's own pocket. May sarili rin akong pera. Tapos binigyan pa ako ni nanay kahit anong pilit kong huwag na. The rent on the apartment was already paid for 3 months.

 As I've promised to Kent, dinala ko yung bigay nyang stuffed toy. Toby installed Skype on my laptop para daw makapag-communicate ako sa kanila kung kelan ko gusto.

I didn't adjust my wristwatch's time on purpose para alam ko pa rin kung ano ang oras sa Pilipinas. This way, hindi ko sila maaabala kung gusto ko man silang kausapin. Ala una pa lang ng hapon doon so I decided to contact them. Sinabi ko naman sa kanila kung anong oras ang posibleng dating ko. Sabi ni nanay, inform ko raw sila pagkarating na pagkarating ko ng New York.

Good thing there's wifi on the apartment. They had it prepared para kahit daw nasa bahay ako, makakapagtrabaho pa rin ako. Great. As if 8 hours was not enough. Pero ayos na rin. At least pwede kong makausap sina nanay kapag nasa bahay ako.

I waited for the Skype app to load. I had no way of contacting them. Mahal ang overseas call... kahit text nga mahal e. I checked my Facebook account while waiting. Offline si Toby. Pati sina kuya. Hindi naman kasi mahihilig sa Facebook ang mga yun.

I looked up Kent's name on the list of people online. Wala rin. I guess they all have better things to do that staying online and waiting for me to contact them.

I slumped back to bed. Maybe I need to try to sleep. Mamaya ko na lang sila ulit susubukang kontakin. I was contemplating on that thought when I heard a popping sound.

Kent just went online.

Clint Kenneth Eusebio:

--Hey

I started typing I miss you but felt that it was too soon. Baka sabihin nyang ang clingy ko. I typed Hoy instead.

Clint Kenneth Eusebio:

--How's the flight?

Jasmine Leigh Damian:

--Terrible. Dalawang beses nagka-turbulence.

Clint Kenneth Eusebio:

--Asa New York ka na?

Jasmine Leigh Damian:

--Yep

Clint Kenneth Eusebio:

--What time is it there?