Cooking Rice

I'm listening to Original Pilipino Music (OPM) off a usb flashdrive on the car's audio system.  It's  a Sunday two in the afternoon and here I am sitting in my car testing a rice cooker I bought off Amazon. It's supposed to run off the cigarette plug off my car, a 4th generation Toyota Prius. For the season the weather is surprisingly pleasant at 52 degrees Fahrenheit, I get off wearing shorts, a T-shirt, flip-flops and a Jacket here in the suburbs of Chicago.

I'm reminiscing, looking at the photos of my adventures when I left almost three years ago. I was teetering on the brink of insanity when I left for a job in California in the bay area. I drove off to the west coast for three days through the northern corridor of South Dakota,  Nevada to the Golden State of California on a 2008 Honda civic with the belief in my heart that the entire Universe conspired to give me a chance at love and romance and the promise of the West Coast.

During this time three years ago I was working for Dell as an onsite warranty break fix engineer through Unisys in the City of Chicago. My day started with a tedious drive to the heart of the City  in La Salle Street at the Loop and having my steed valet parked by the Marriott Hotel. Using the app Spot Hero the service costs around twenty bucks.This daily luxury was something I could not afford had it not been a reimbursable expense. I had the option of driving half an hour to Park Forrest, leaving my car and taking the train to the city, but since it was more convenient for me to just drive all the way to the city, I  sat in traffic for an hour each morning. Handing my keys to the valet I took out my mini-Segway for a quick shower and swim at the LA fitness gym downtown before beginning my labor. Chicago in December during the winter is not something I would not recommend to my fellow Filipinos who are visiting unless they would like to experience the bone  chilling winds freeze you to the core. Without the right gear, the wind stings at your face, your nose runs uncontrollably and the wind chill freeze burns any exposed skin.

Almost a decade ago, my routine  was to  ride my Mountain bike through Ramon Magsaysay and

across Nagtahan bridge to Makati City. I was at the time taking support calls for ATT BellSouth as an off-shore outsourced employee for Convergys, in the Philippines.   I remember telling my callers; if I can, I would love to share a cup of coffee and fix your woes desk side, if I can. Today I do just that, take desk side support tickets remote technicians couldn't resolve and do what I can and get them back on their tasks. I currently work tickets as a "steady state" technician for a Mid-sized hospital in Elk Grove Village for Illinois' largest health care conglomerate.




Sick of the cold and love-struck to the eyeballs  I took a job for Burroughs ATM corporation and drove to the west coast. On my first night on my four day three night road trip I spent the night at a motel in Sioux Falls City in South Dakota. After trying to enjoy the free breakfast I spent the morning taking photos and videos of  the Sioux Falls for Posterity.

Though not as grand as the Horse shoe falls between Lake Eerie and Lake Ontario that borders the United States and Canada; Sioux falls has a charm and beauty all it's own. Spending  the night I had the urge to find a strip club in south Dakota's largest city and found to my surprise no nudity in the middle of the Mid-west's bible belt. Google Maps failed me and I was none the wiser. Growing up to the music of Miss Saigon and Leah Salongga's qoute of no kiss, no touch; most western people don't realize that the age of consent in the Philippines is thirteen. 

I tried a couple of drops of CBD oil last night and  fell asleep watching Youtube videos of a young couple roughing it out in the winter  somewhere in the mountains of Colorado. The fiberglass shell of the small 13 foot Scamp almost seemed idyllic and cozy were it not for the fact that their five gallon Jerry can filled with water was still frozen after sitting it beside their tiny wood stove. 

The gentle aroma of cooking rice wafted through my car cabin. The grains of  rice slowly absorbed the water and is slowly cooking in the pot. Half an hour has passed since I plugged it in for the first time. In my hands the cooker felt reassuringly warm. One part rice grains and two parts water with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar is the secret to my perfectly cooked white rice.

... to be continued

Segway to Old Faithful