Just In: Read The Real Meaning Of Life (Page 22)
There’s a book out called The Real Meaning Of Life by David Seaman, and you will find my name on page 22. How did this happen? Well, this guy David elicited responses from readers everywhere and my contribution got in. I went to Barnes annd Noble yesterday and I was so thrilled to read my name and entry on page 22. I won’t share on this blog what I put in there. Ha ha! Silipin niyo nalang!
Notes on the tour
Had three concerts in three days in three different locations and all involving plane rides. It was Atlantic City on October 21st, Detroit on the 22nd, and Austin on the 23rd. Grabe. I am beat. We arrived in Dallas last night and will be here to do some promo work for the concert this weekend. But before the Dallas concert, we have San Antonio the night before, a 5-hours drive away. Such is the life of a group on tour. ‘Band on the run’, as pareng Paul Macartney calls it. We sleep in different rooms and the only thing that makes me feel at home is looking at the pictures in my computer. Otherwise, it’s a different bed and setting everyday. Strangely enough, I am still finding it fascinating after all these years.
Dallas is a beautiful city with lots going for it. We went to the Aija restaurant (nemed after Steely Dan’s album) at the fabulous Trammel building. This resto is owned by Dindo Orosa, a Pinoy who has made his mark in the fine dining scene in Dallas. It is not a Filipino restaurant but a mainstream one that caters to the regularh market. The food is, to say the least, marvelous! Aside from continental cuisine, Dindo serves some Filipino dishes like cassava cake and guess what? The people love it.
The fabulous entrance to the Trammel building where Ajie is located!
I hope to eat at Ajie’s again and see more of this city in the next few days.
Peddlers of Samsara!
I miss home. I miss sleep. I miss my bed. I miss my family. But at the same time, I like traveling. There isn’t a place I have been to that can bore me to death..well except perhaps casinos. These establishments that cater to greed and sensual attractions (OK, fun and excitement if you wish) are sad places. For one, it’s hard to find areas that are totally smoke free–not even in the so-called no-smoking rooms. Somehow, cigarette smoke finds its way everywhere and it sticks to your clothes, and worse, to your lungs. People who live and work and patronize these places breathe in all that pollution 24-7.
Everything in casinos is designed to lure you into gambling. One way is they put up shows to attract crowds with the hope of enticing them to games of chance when they get there. I don’t know if it’s just me but I can’t help but notice that casinos are places where you find many rich but very lonely people. They while away the time in front of slot machines for hours and hours probably lulled into some trance by the jingling sounds of the machines. More often than not, they are old, lonely people who probably have nothing else to do. Kawawa naman. Thes are places of samsara as Bhuddhists will probably call it–places where there is much suffering.
Believe it or not, I have not spent a single cent gambling since we got here. Come to think of it, I haven’t spent in any lof the previous tours. I thank God that gambling isn’t something I find attractive. I shouldn’t be complaining about casinos though since we do concerts there. My complaints are not based on any moral grounds. It’s the insidious, almost ‘militant’ shallowness of the whole thing that bothers me. I just feel that the time spent in such places can be better spent elsewhere where one is not manipulated, exploited and left lonely and broke. Except for a few lucky ones, let’s face it, nobody beats the house!
The King is Still in the Building!!
Had an overnight stay in Austin which is George Dubya’s hometown. That fact is not the big story for me since I am no fan of the US President. The big deal is staying at the Park Hotel, a small, comfortable and rather old hotel whose biggest claim to fame is that ELVIS SLEPT THERE!
I wonder if I got his room. I swear I heard someone whistling “Love Me Tender” early in the morning!
..or maybe it was just my imagination!
Goofing Off!
When musicians travel, it’s a whole lot of fun in between work. And it doesn’t have to have anything to do with music. In Dallas yesterday, Danny, Boboy, Sammy (our assistant) and I did an Abbey Road style pose on the very spot where JFK was shot. Sorry, I don’t have that picture since someone else took it. Watch out for it at the APO page one of these days. Enjoy the pics below of the group just having fun!
The band taking a pause that refreshes!
Really missing home! heh heh!
JD appreciating art!
More postings as the adventure continues!