Ten seconds in the Tunnel

Have you ever thought that you were uniquely weird just to turn around and see someone do the exact same weird thing exactly the way you do it? The last time this happened to me I grinned quietly to myself and decided to write this note in my blog.

I was a new commuter to San Francisco having recently moved to San Mateo. I found the 25 to 30 minute train ride was too short to solve a cross-word puzzle (stay away from me sudoku people) so I just listen to the same 12 songs on my MP3 player which I’ve been too lazy to update and let my mind wander, occasionally observing the scenery. Just before the train reaches SF city it passes a tunnel that last for a brief 10 seconds. I noticed that this was my last chance to see if my hair was still in place and my lipstick hadn’t smudged. I do this like a ritual everyday,stealing glances at the window so no one would see me take advantage the tunnel in this way. However, the other day, I just happened to catch a glimpse of the reflection of the lady in front of me and I had never seen anyone whip out lipstick and skillfully apply it faster than she did. I leaned forward and saw the guy behind me whip out a hairbrush and brush his hair in fast-forward using the same window for guidance. “Humor me” I says to me-self and I turned the other side to see another woman adjusting her neatly combed hair.

The moment the train came out of the tunnel everyone resumed position seeming perfectly normal, staring out the window looking at the scenery like they had always looked that sharp. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought that those ten seconds in that tunnel was my last chance to look presentable before I got out at SF.

A brilliant explanation of the game Cricket.

Tonga?...What?...

Ok. In all honesty, how many people do you know who are from the Kingdom of Tonga? …or shall I say, how many people think I’m a loony who dreamed up a magical place and christened it?

Well, today I went to the United Methodist Church of Tonga. I kid u not.

Ever since I knew I was going to move to Hillsdale County in San Mateo, I looked for churches that sounded familiar. Every search I did brought up only one church – The Hillsdale United Methodist Church. I was excited since it was the kind of church that sang the traditional hymns, it was also the denomination I had been attending for most of my life and was only a couple of blocks from my apartment.

This morning I set out to find the place taking nothing but my roommate’s direction which was “go to the Payless and just look around till you see it”. My first mistake was to do just that. After walking around the neighbourhood for a good half hour and asking the staff of Payless, I decided that like fresh vegetables I had tried to find in San Francisco, the church was phantom… visible only to those who already knew where it was. Half an hour later, completely convinced that not a single peron in the neighbourhood went to church (cause of their cluelessness when I asked for directions) I finally found the place, amusingly, the opposite direction of Payless! I looked at the announcement board that had the service times. It included a service in Tonga. Being forewarned of crazy churches, cults and that sort, I contemplated what “Tonga” meant. Was it Latin for “Tougue” where people spoke in tongues? (practiced mostly in Pentecostal churches) , was it a sub-denomination name? Was it a Spanish dialect?

On entering I was welcomed by really friendly people most of which had grass mats tied over their skirts and their features were very Hawaiian. The service was the regular Methodist service in English that I had grown up with except that some responses to the pastor were asked to be made in Tongan.

When I came home I researched and found out:

According to Wikipedia “The Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan for "south") is an independent archipelago in the southern Pacific Ocean. It lies south of Samoa and east of Fiji and is about a third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii.
The islands are also known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception Captain Cook received. He happened to arrive at the time of ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga and was invited to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, in reality the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but had been unable to agree on a plan.”

It was just a regular Methodist church made to serve the small population of Tongans here in the Bay Area. Can’t wait to see how they celebrate Christmas.

Graduation

Graduation

May 12th 2007

Just me

(To be sung to the tune of "Favourite things")

Tintagel and Arthur and yellowing parchment paper

Musty old classics of hard cover

Tales of brave knights and dragons with wings

These are a few of my favourite things!


Impatiently awaiting a new Harry Potter

Enid Blyton's books that are filled with adventure!

Ancient Maya History and Pharaohs and Kings

These are a few of my favourite things


When my London trip was stalled

And instead Disney land called

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favourite things and then I don't feeeel... so baaad