Lisztomania: Top 5 Things I Miss About Edmonton
I was inputting contacts for my new e-mail account at work and the weirdest thing happened. When it was time to enter my close friend, Adam's data, I had to pause for a bit to make sure that I spelled his surname "Girouard" correctly. A year ago, I consistently would have the very Francophonic order of these letters committed to memory. But now? I'm uncertain of which vowel goes after the first "r".
Because of this conundrum, it hit me all of the sudden that I've been away from my North American home for far too long and naturally, you start missing some of the things that I took for granted while I was there. Here are five pieces of home that I wish I had here in the Philippines (not including family and friends, of course, which are obviously #1 in this list).
5. Hi-Definition Television
I always thought of satellite/digital cable packages as a luxury I don't need. I did watch tons of television when I was in Edmonton but all the shows I'm watching, I can catch in basic cable. Plus, the important sport games are televised and I can jack movies off the net. So when my father decided that he was getting a dish hooked up, my initial reaction was "meh". But, was I ever wrong! There was something that came along with the package that had nothing to do with the extra channels and, therefore, I didn't expect to be loving: Hi-Definition television! After watching my favorite shows and the best sports games on Hi-Def , I didn't want to go back to regular-Def. It was so addictive, in fact, that I wouldn't even watch shows that aren't in Hi-Def anymore. It's probably the reason why I don't watch as much t.v. nowadays; after seeing t.v. at its utmost potential, it's impossible to go back to t.v. at its half-assed state.
4. Wing Nights
The price of the best appetizer ever cheapened once a week, much to the delight of gluttonous carnivores. My favorite Edmontonian establishment that hosted these events is 1905, a comfortably hidden joint right below my close friend Jim's old apartment. Every Friday, we would chow down on wings dressed in an assortment of flavors, such as honey garlic, teriyaki, salt & pepper, etc., for 25 cents each. Now I'm not a heavy eater, but I've eaten 100 wings in one sitting. Just imagine what a person with a bigger stomach capacity than mine can handle.
3. Summer Camping
Beer, weed, "the holy drink", chili, Doritos breakfast (it miraculously gets better after it's heated up), raiding Lucas' pantry, ultimate frisbees, building campfires, marshmallow fights, sing-alongs, pictures, "look, guys, I'm Gambit", corn puke, Tom's rant, ice cream at Cochran, heterosexual cuddling between close friends.
I can easily coordinate a Filipino-style camping trip here--maybe on the beach or in the mountains. However, there's nothing in this archipelago that can top these camping memories.
2. Concerts
They're the apex of musical fandom, an experience where the sounds blaring from your stereo come to life. Not that they don't have concerts here in the Philippines, but an event held in a small venue like the Starlight Room (even at Ed's) is loads better than an overpriced concert at the Araneta Coliseum. You get to see the facial expressions that comes with a prolonged guitar solo and the dance moves especially practiced to fill a wordless coda. You get to observe band dynamics, you get to hear banter betwixt songs, you get to realize that your favorite vocalist is a complete dickwad. You get to rub sweaty elbows with the people you share musical tastes with and exchange pleasantries, like "so-and-so's second album isn't as good as their third EP" or "I've been listening to them way before that single leaked!".
1. Edmonton Oilers
If you live in the Philippines, you know what a Sunday morning, Pacquiao fight feels like, right? The emptiness on the streets, the pre-fight anticipation, the feeling of a whole country uniting as one, routing for a scrappy 5'6" wolverine to beat someone's living brains out. Imagine that sensation multiplied by 82 games + tbd'd number of playoff games. If you are from Edmonton, it is absolutely necessary to synchronize your free time with the Oilers' schedule, unless you want to be shunned by your co-workers at the water cooler. You talk in "we" when it comes to the Oilers, like "we passed the puck crisply tonight" or "we had to resort to our 1-3-1 trap tonight, huh?". You rejoice excessively for their triumphs and you break your heart for their losses. I miss that second-hand passion that comes from being a sports fan.
Because of this conundrum, it hit me all of the sudden that I've been away from my North American home for far too long and naturally, you start missing some of the things that I took for granted while I was there. Here are five pieces of home that I wish I had here in the Philippines (not including family and friends, of course, which are obviously #1 in this list).
5. Hi-Definition Television
I always thought of satellite/digital cable packages as a luxury I don't need. I did watch tons of television when I was in Edmonton but all the shows I'm watching, I can catch in basic cable. Plus, the important sport games are televised and I can jack movies off the net. So when my father decided that he was getting a dish hooked up, my initial reaction was "meh". But, was I ever wrong! There was something that came along with the package that had nothing to do with the extra channels and, therefore, I didn't expect to be loving: Hi-Definition television! After watching my favorite shows and the best sports games on Hi-Def , I didn't want to go back to regular-Def. It was so addictive, in fact, that I wouldn't even watch shows that aren't in Hi-Def anymore. It's probably the reason why I don't watch as much t.v. nowadays; after seeing t.v. at its utmost potential, it's impossible to go back to t.v. at its half-assed state.
4. Wing Nights
The price of the best appetizer ever cheapened once a week, much to the delight of gluttonous carnivores. My favorite Edmontonian establishment that hosted these events is 1905, a comfortably hidden joint right below my close friend Jim's old apartment. Every Friday, we would chow down on wings dressed in an assortment of flavors, such as honey garlic, teriyaki, salt & pepper, etc., for 25 cents each. Now I'm not a heavy eater, but I've eaten 100 wings in one sitting. Just imagine what a person with a bigger stomach capacity than mine can handle.
3. Summer Camping
Beer, weed, "the holy drink", chili, Doritos breakfast (it miraculously gets better after it's heated up), raiding Lucas' pantry, ultimate frisbees, building campfires, marshmallow fights, sing-alongs, pictures, "look, guys, I'm Gambit", corn puke, Tom's rant, ice cream at Cochran, heterosexual cuddling between close friends.
I can easily coordinate a Filipino-style camping trip here--maybe on the beach or in the mountains. However, there's nothing in this archipelago that can top these camping memories.
2. Concerts
They're the apex of musical fandom, an experience where the sounds blaring from your stereo come to life. Not that they don't have concerts here in the Philippines, but an event held in a small venue like the Starlight Room (even at Ed's) is loads better than an overpriced concert at the Araneta Coliseum. You get to see the facial expressions that comes with a prolonged guitar solo and the dance moves especially practiced to fill a wordless coda. You get to observe band dynamics, you get to hear banter betwixt songs, you get to realize that your favorite vocalist is a complete dickwad. You get to rub sweaty elbows with the people you share musical tastes with and exchange pleasantries, like "so-and-so's second album isn't as good as their third EP" or "I've been listening to them way before that single leaked!".
1. Edmonton Oilers
If you live in the Philippines, you know what a Sunday morning, Pacquiao fight feels like, right? The emptiness on the streets, the pre-fight anticipation, the feeling of a whole country uniting as one, routing for a scrappy 5'6" wolverine to beat someone's living brains out. Imagine that sensation multiplied by 82 games + tbd'd number of playoff games. If you are from Edmonton, it is absolutely necessary to synchronize your free time with the Oilers' schedule, unless you want to be shunned by your co-workers at the water cooler. You talk in "we" when it comes to the Oilers, like "we passed the puck crisply tonight" or "we had to resort to our 1-3-1 trap tonight, huh?". You rejoice excessively for their triumphs and you break your heart for their losses. I miss that second-hand passion that comes from being a sports fan.
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