Lifesongs

I read obituaries in the newspapers.  Kinda weird but I find the posts
very interesting.  Makes me wonder how the person died, how the person
lived, and who the relatives are - sort of a genealogy study there.  I’ve
informed Asawa Ko of obits where the person is part of his network (we come
from different networks, you see). 

One thing I could not figure out though, is when someone is from another
country usually the US where
relatives have to write the obit with all the details of where each member of
the family is currently located and it usually happens that everyone is in the US.  <name>
of Batangas City and Daly City, California died at the age of ___. Survived
by children: <name> of Glendale, California; <name> of New Jersey; <name> of Delano,
California; etc. etc.

This does not happen when the person who died and
the family is in the Philippines.
The obit would list all the names of members of family minus the places where
they live.  I mean, what’s the difference?  Why doesn’t it happen
when the family’s only in the Philippines?  And do people
really care that everyone in the family’s in the US?  It makes sense when it’s
the address of someone where people can send their condolences to but listing down
the towns where they live in the US just because it’s in the US? 

I wrote once in another social network blog that one weird thing about me is that I am addicted to buying books.  Not seriously addicted but probably getting there. 

Asawa ko and I came home from a family visit in California carrying the two smallest boxes on the airport carousel (compared to the balikbayan boxes for each Fil-Am family member): one contained books (mostly purchased secondhand from bookstores in Berkeley), the other his bottles of wine purchased from way back.  That’s all we needed to bring to the Philippines.  Both of us are readers by the way although his books are more serious than mine.

So when Nora invited me to join Shelfari last week, I have been able to put on my account’s shelf over a hundred books in a few days.  Books I have bought but still sitting on the bookshelf at home, books that have been partially read, books that I’ve read one time, and books that I keep going back again and again.

I used to spend a big chunk of my salary on CDs and books, now I have more for books since I download most of my music.  The stories in these books have been a comforting presence when I’m feeling low, a relaxing one when I needed to calm down, and an exciting one when I can’t travel to the places I would’ve wanted to go.  These have driven my imagination wild when everything else in my life has been so mundane.  A few shaped how I think, perceive, and analyze.

Check out Shelfari and find me there and my books.