1. Went to Six Flags in Lake George, NY. The Steamin' Demon? The Boomerang? Dudes, these are serious coasters. Now when it comes to theme parks and rides, I'm like phony tough and crazy brave. In short... I've got an acute form of acrophobia. So going here was not only a waste of time but I swear it almost gave me a heart attack. I'm sticking to elevators.
2. Wore a New York Yankee Cap in Boston and (nearly) inside Fenway Park. What the F was I thinking of? To show Yankee Pride? Once I got down that bus from Chinatown and into Beantown I was in trouble. And to think those cops were just bustin' my chops. That was bleeping frightening.
3. Got into a rumble. It was Ateneo vs. UE 1990. This was Eric Reyes' last game in a Blue Eagle uniform. Had Richie Ticzon made both his free throws with almost no time left, Ateneo would have lived on to fight another day instead of getting eliminated. My best friend and I got into a fist fight with some UE supporters inside the Araneta Coliseum. Two of us against 10 of them.
4. SLEX 2001. First time in my life I witnessed a car crash like you see in movies complete with the flipping over and careening off the asphalt. We pulled up in front of the accident and I got off to help pull out the injured driver of one of the cars. Now the whole damn car was smoking badly and there was a hissing sound coming from the engine. Thank God it didn't explode.
5. I think I've watched Backdraft enough already. December 2007. Getting up on my roof and fighting a major fire with nothing more than a garden hose and some buckets of water.
6. It's raining bullets and death out here. 1989 Camp Aguinaldo. My brother and I were escorting a foreign journalist when shooting began between the coup plotters and government forces between Aguinaldo and Camp Crame. Most of the people around us were either dead or badly injured.
7. Driving from Hermosa Beach (taking the I-15) to Las Vegas (6 goddam hours with all that sucky LA traffic) with no radio and a goddam Gary Valenciano CD (we left a stack of discs from Death Cab for Cutie to Dave Matthews to the Killers in my friend's house) to keep us company. After about two hours, the CD became a frisbee. Thank God for the 24-hour Ihop in Barstow. The route is a mistake. So is it from Orange County. La Jolla and Santa Monica may be beautiful, but it's NY or bust for me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS Rick!
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