Around 5:30 AM the CO detector went off as my mom was preparing her breakfast and getting ready to cook her famous pansit noodles for lunch. I jumped out of bed, opened all the windows and made sure that the burners of the stove were shut off. Then I took down the darn alarm which was wailing away and I frantically yanked out its battery. After a couple of minutes of silence I snapped the battery back in place, it didn't sound an alarm but it beeped after a few seconds with the low battery indicator lighting. This went on for a while, then I decided to bother my neighbor Chong for help.
She took down her CO detector and tested it at my place. No alarm sounded. She then loaned me a new battery and that seemed to work. What a relief. Alarms are good to have but not when they work to scare the wits out of you!
Half an hour later, the place was quiet but I wasn't - I was busy in the kitchen cooking at this time, since my nephew and my cousin invited themselves to "celebrate" with me. It was supposed to be a no-fuss day but mom and I ended up preparing a simple lunch on the fly.
Quiet that didn't last very long. Suddenly I heard this burping sound coming from the hallway. Oh no, not again! We have to vacate the place or else we're going to die, I thought. I stood there watching to see if the LED lights indicate anything. Nothing. A few seconds and it hiccuped again. It was driving me crazy. I panicked and called Chong. Maybe my brain has been poisoned and I'm starting to loose it. We stared at the detector and tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. "Chirp" it croaked and Chong turned her head to her left towards the bookshelf. Duh! She gave me that is-this-a-joke? look, rolled her eyes and pointed to my cell phone sitting on the shelf. There it was - "low battery". The darn phone was faintly chirping away.
Yes, I've owned a cell phone for some time and I know how to work it! This is a new one, a replacement for the one I lost in the parking lot which I didn't recover until much later in the night and not after I have gotten a new phone. I still am not attuned to the weird sounds this one makes which explains all the confusion. And no, I don't have hearing problems yet. Perish the thought. I have some of Inang's genes and you know she's got everything intact!
But one more high-pitched sound that I hear and you'll find me in a straight jacket already! You know how they say it comes in three's. True. The third shriek came from my cousin Amor. She makes these strange sounds. Anyway, lunch was served on time, with no further equipment and auditory malfunction and our menu of:
- pansit noodles
- broiled red snapper stuffed with fresh ginger root
- roasted red, green and orange peppers
- mixed grilled vegetables bruschetta
- boiled shrimps
For dessert:
- leche flan
- buko and ube ice cream
- coffee
- roasted brown rice and green tea
We were joined by Carol & Ped, Amor and Joe, Chong and Tita Lumen. Amor brought the ice cream, Noris prepared the flan, Inang cooked the pansit and I did the rest. Ped and Carol brought me a large package of filets mignons to satisfy my primal meat urges. I'm drooling already, I love steaks but I'm not sharing. Ha Ha ha!
Another year, same cliche. Grow old gracefully. Despite the surprise fireworks on my birthday I think I handled myself pretty good. My batteries still serve me well.
