Pulled-over
Last Sunday, I was for the first time pulled-over. Atleast, for the first time here in the US.
I was heading to our company dinner in Downtown San Diego. I was driving my husband’s car. I was on the phone talking to my step daughter when I heard a siren. I glanced at my rearview mirror and saw a car with weird bright lights and lighted rearview — I thought, what an odd car. Then came the realization that it was police car and I was being asked to pull-over.
I nervously hung up and slowed down. I lowered the passenger side window and waited for the police to approach me.
Totally unaware of what my violation was… I asked the policeman. He told me that I have been driving on the left-most lane for the part 3 miles at varying speed of 65-78 mph. “Ma’am did you know that the left-most lane is only a passing lane?!”
I profusedly apologized and pleaded ignorance. He asked for the car registratin (which I couldn’t find!) and then asked for driver’s license (which was still with the old address). He asked if I updated my address with DMV and left to verify my driving history…
Thankfully, he only gave me a warning saying that since I have a clean driving record, he’ll let me go without a ticket. Whew!
Finding the Sunken Garden (and losing it)
If my blog’s name didn’t give it away, I obviously have some connections with UP. No, I don’t have hot and sweaty moments in the Sunken Garden but I certainly had times well-spent in the green (sometimes dried) field. Not only was I always a casual observer to the unabashed display of public affection but I was a frequent diner of Beach House. Not even its bloodied notoriety can deter me from having barbeque and itlog na maalat (with rice, ofcourse). I spent numerous early mornings littering the slope with newspaper to spell-out happy birthday for some CSSP council members. I thought it was cool and thoughtful!
I’ve already moved twice since I came from the Philippines. First to San Francisco where I unsuccesfully connected to any Filipino communities and most recently to San Diego where I finally found UP Alumni Association San Diego. But for some weird reason (or not), the connection I was looking for was just not there.
So what was I looking for? I was hoping to find a sense of belongingness… A feeling that you DO have something in common besides your alma mater. I attended the first event but help incredibly out of place. Perhaps it was because most of the alumni were older than my college professors… and perhaps it was also because they were so unlike my college friends. I was struke with the realization that sharing the same language doesn’t necessarily give you a pass to belong to a group.
Maybe I didn’t give it enough time to grow… What I do know is that I haven’t found what I was really looking for.
