12.30.2008

penultimate

My mom complained about my dad's choice of attire for Onofre's funeral yesterday. (He had elected to wear a Reyn's Christmas shirt, which my mom found inappropriate because Christmas is over and hello, it's a funeral.) I privately cheered for the shirt, and I myself was wearing pink, because the only thing about Onofre Bolosan that I was lucky enough to know was that he was a happy person, a good person, and wanted others to be, too.

It was a beautiful Mass, with tributes given by family and church members who knew him well. And it's so cliche, almost trite, but of course I wish I had known him better. I remember the little dinner we had last year, so many years after my Confirmation in the church, a little dinner with one of my dad's friends, and Onofre. The little dinner, just the six of us, turned into a party - and I don't know why S. wasn't there but I am sorry he never got to meet him.

Have you ever finished a book or a movie and wanted to be a better person because of it? Last night was like that for me. I learned so much about this person that I spent two years' worth of Sunday mornings with when I was a teenager, and it can all be summed up with the title of a Disney song: I Want to Be Like You. I have never seen Pius X so crowded - not on Easter, not on Christmas. It was standing room only, every row crowded with people whose lives were touched by a person who will be remembered, above all, for his kindness.

10:35 p.m. - So, one of those HUGE explosives just went off somewhere relatively nearby (although, who knows?) - the kind that sets off car alarms a mile away - and I just totally bitched out S. even though he had nothing to do with it.

Him, gleefully: Did you hear that?

Me: Half the island heard that. I'm glad those guys got busted and their stash taken away. People can't keep their illegals to themselves till New Year's Eve? Good, go to jail.

I mean, it was huge. And it's far from the first this season. And I'm no wuss; I am proud of the arsenal my family has come up with every year since before I was born and I like that the families S. and I are marrying into are pyromaniacally in sync. But there is NO REASON to be blowing sh*t that loud days before New Year's Eve when everyone is trying to SLEEP.

Okay, so I was washing dishes, and the actual sleeping person was totally jazzed to be woken up by explosives, but still.

Final hike (16th?) of the year. Not a bad time, considering how long I haven't gone up. I did give myself a small handicap - stopped the watch while retying my shoelaces - but on the whole, I'm happy with the way it went.

I'm happy, in general. A nice revelation. Six months of regular physical activity, five months soda-free. I can run a mile without stopping, two without misery, and three if there's something at the end of it that I really want. I can swim 1200 m. And on my best days I can get to the tables at Kuli'ou'ou in just about 30 minutes. I actually run in my running shoes. I actually forgo sleep for cardio. I'm making us eat less rice and more tofu. I love Jazzercise, although I am still seriously outjazzed by the seniors (and Caryn). Life is good. Can't wait till the first hike of '09!

3 comments:

Dan said...

ah yes. getting woken up by explosions. the good ol' days. we used to figure out if they were incoming or outgoing and calculated the risk versus sleep ratio.

tofu?

damned_cat said...

thinking of you is how i got through the night.

um, re-phrase.

thinking of soldiers and civs in areas of actual combat, where papakolea blasts would seem, well, less than minor. there.

tofu: protein, low cholesterol, can be yummy if properly prepared.

Dan said...

not less minor. just less relevant. there's no one out there that wants to hurt you, why fret?

and tofu. bleah.