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The Lord Woke Me Up, or Was it Jetlag?

Fri., March 17, 2006

 It's 4AM and I'm wide awake. Tried counting sheep, but no luck. Counted a few goats, still no luck. I've got my favorite "sleep music", Marston Smith's cello solos, oozing out of my Bose, usually works like Ambien, but not today. Even tried reading a book by some arcane seminary professor about the "martial culture in Early Iron Age Syro-Palestine" (literal English = characters in the book of Judges). Every previous attempt at this book left me in a semi-comatose state within minutes, but not this time. The mystical power of Jetlag.

Several years ago we had a visiting pastor from the USA who started his sermon by telling us that "the Lord woke me up at 4 this morning." While all who don't travel thought this guy was super-spiritual, I muttered under my breath, "the Lord wakes up everyone at 4AM when they travel from LA to Manila. It's called JETLAG..." It's now 5:39, and I feel like I've had a Starbucks iv (or is it "IV", no that looks like Roman #4, maybe "ivy"...) anyway, I'm up for the day and listening to the early morning sounds of the city - jeepneys, horns, and construction noise. This city never sleeps, at least not for long.

Four years ago we traded our rented house with a yard for an apartment with a view. And what a view! Looking out of our 16th floor bedroom window, we could watch the sun rise over the WWII Memorial with its 50,000 perfectly lined white crosses with massive "flame trees" towering over them as sentries on duty. Further on the horizon lies Laguna Bay, then the mountains/hills of Antipolo. We love our view. But the early morning jackhammer and bulldozer noises remind me that our beautiful view will soon be gone, replaced by another 35-storey condo. I better enjoy this sunrise while I can. This time next year I will be looking at my neighbor's laundry drying in the wind. What was that '60's song by Bob Dylan or Janis Joplin or Elvis or someone lots older than me about taking paradise and putting up another high-rise? They were singing about my view.

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