MY COUSIN in New Jersey works from home, and my aunt does the nursing home stuff.
So mostly, I’m left to my own devices.
I brought some books to read, but I only finished reading one Japanese classic.
***
They got Netflix so I devoured the Netflix specials, and would sit with cousin some evenings after work to enjoy the shows that she likes to watch.
***
I had Amazon Prime Video all my streaming life.
I only had Netflix way back in the mid-2000s when they were sending out discs which you have to return by mail. Haha.
At my cousin’s, I watched a lot of standup comedy: Dave Chapelle, and the beautiful John Mulaney.
***
My cousin’s house is new. Bought only in November.
Auntie started gardening so we did a lot of trips to Home Depot, Lowe’s, and the nearby orchards.
And, of course, I helped uproot a big tree because I didn’t want them to pay $300 for the job.
***
The big “new” for me at my cousin’s was walking their Labrador.
I don’t like dogs.
I don’t like picking after dogs!
***
But I wanted to help out so I volunteered to walk the dog several times a day—as early as 6am to pee, and as late as 10pm for another piss.
To be fair, the dog likes me.
Licks me like I’m the sweetest person on the planet.
And I hate it!
***
But I like how the dog tries to be sweet and comforting.
Did she know I just “lost” my house?
That maybe I was in some way grieving?
***
Hello? I didn’t really lose my house.
I sold it!
For a freaking good price.
Much more than I expected.
***
I was really feeling good in April.
There was some anxiety about managing my money.
There was postpartum depression, but two months to the day today after selling my house, I think I’m very cool with everything.
I’m ready to go home to the Philippines, and reclaim my throne in Iloilo.
***
One of the biggest thing that happened in April was the youth meltdown I caused (again!) on social media, specifically Facebook.
***
But I was feeling moneyed, privileged, invincible.
And I was!
***
Dare I let these arrogant youth lecture me on their expectations of a person of my stature?
Hell no!
I called their bullshit, and it was amazing.
***
More and more, I have established myself as the invincible force and super influencer online.
My “quarrels” with Wattpaders, role players, smut writers, the bobos and tangas online are legendary.
They earned me the #PSNLangMalakas hashtag.
And immortalized the ‘The’ in #ThePSN, and even The Peter Solis Nery.
***
I have already shared with you some of my actual Facebook posts that caused the youth meltdown.
I have published under this column my arguments and rebuttals.
And that’s just me.
I want to share everything.
***
I feel that my opinions are good for both the newspaper, and the social media platforms.
And so, in a way, we can say that my life is really an open book.
***
I dare you to name any Ilonggo, writer or otherwise, whose life is more chronicled in public, online, and in the newspaper, than mine.
Why do you even read this diary breakdown?
And didn’t I start this confessional style of writing in the op-ed pages of the Ilonggo newspapers since September 2000 with the now defunct The News Today?
***
I got my first Pfizer vaccine shot in March.
I got it in a mass vaccination site (in Hagerstown, Maryland) which is actually in a Premium Outlet Stores.
So, with much money from the March sale of my house, I was just crazy making some compulsive shopping.
***
Hagerstown is like 2.5 hours away from my headquarters in Maryland.
It is 3 hours away from my cousin’s place in New Jersey.
So, from my cousin’s, I went to Hagerstown to get my first shot, drove back to cousin’s, went back to Hagerstown for my second shot, and went straight “home” to my headquarters in Reisterstown, Maryland.
***
What I didn’t buy during my first trip to the outlet stores, I obviously bought during my second trip.
So, let’s just say I shopped to my heart’s content, and if I don’t get to see a department or brand store in the next three or five years, I should be okay./PN
