Pinadala ako ng aming kumpanya sa isang conference sa City of Industry, parte pa rin ata ito ng Los Angeles. Ang usapan namin ng kapatid kong babae na tiga-LA ay magkikita kami at sabay bibyahe papuntang San Jose to meet our two sisters. Unfortunately, ang kapatid kong tiga-LA ay kinailangang pumunta sa East Coast para magsite-inspection ng isang store na bubuksan doon.No choice but to travel alone. E sa lahat pa naman ng ayaw ko yung nag-iikot sa Amerika on my own. Ewan ko ba, I never felt at ease in America.
So punta ako sa Greyhound station sa Los Angeles. Geez, dimly lit, and the bus station, unbelievable, mas maganda pa istasyon ng Farinas. Buti pa nga ang Farinas, maganda ang kinalalagyan ng istasyon, e etong nasa LA, kabog. With the ticket which my sister bought on-line, pumasok ako sa bus station, e malas ata talaga, overbooked and since hindi ko narinig yung announcement, I was put on a bus with so many as they say LAYOVERs.
Buti na lang late night ang alis namin, pwede akong matulog. Nang tinawag na ang aming byahe, swerteng kokonti lang kami sa bus kaya nakakuha ako ng magandang pwesto. Umaandar na ang bus ng nakaramdam ako ng gutom, sa takot ko kasing mag-iikot sa loob ng istasyon, hindi ako nakabili ng pagkain tapos yung bus na sinakyan ko ay wala palang nabibiling pagkain.
Kinapa ko ang aking bag nagbabakasali baka may pagkain pero kendi lang ang nakuha ko. I was looking out in the darkness, sighing, when someone said "you want?" I turned and saw a burrito being waved at my face.
"Thanks, why are we not full?" I looked at him and saw a handsome man smiling at me. "We"ll be, later, there'll be lots in Santa Barbara then we'll be alone again after Paso Robles." I looked him over again and this guy is really a looker. Pwede mo ng sabihing lamang lang si Tom Cruise ng limang paligo. Brown eyes, ang buhok parang buhok ng mais ang kulay. Pati height ni Tom Cruise, kinuha, mga 5'8 lang siguro, maliit for an American.
"I'm Jose, my wife Maria, Joe Jr and Brian" he introduced himself and his family as he sat down besides me. "Filipino?" he asked. "Yup" as I nibbled hungrily at the burrito. "Got lots of Filipino friends at work." "Really?"
"Where are you headed?" as he offered me a bottled water. "Milpitas, my sisters live there but we'll meet in San Jose first to see some cousins. And you?" "Well, my wife and the kids get off in Paso Robles then am off to San Jose where I work." "You work in San Jose, semiconductors?" "How did you know?" "Well am a Logistic Officer in an exporting firm in the Philippines so I'm kinda familiar, our factory is quite near several chipmakers inside an economic zone." "I work with that giant company from Asia." was his reply.
"Jose, so your ancestors from Mexico?" "Yeah" as we started eating burritos. "This is good. I really don't like burritos that much but this is good." "Mama made that, she lives in San Pidro" "San Pidro? As in San Pedro, the garment area?" "Yeah, you move pretty much around amigo" "Not really, part of the industry I'm in and I saw lots of Mexican there, so I just assumed. You were born here?" "I'm a third generation American" he proudly declared.
"Uhmm, this is really good" "You can have some more" "Thanks, maybe later."He settled besides me with his younger son on his lap while his wife and Joe Jr. sat at the other side.
At Santa Barbara, I bought bottled water and waded my way back into my seat. Jose was right, we were really full that even the folded chairs at the middle were used.
"Paso Robles" the driver announced. Several people including Jose's family started to stand up. Jose alighted from the bus to make sure that his family was alright. He went back to where we were seated and opened the window.
"Take care, don't miss me too much" he cooed. "Save me your burrito, honey" his wife shouted as the bus started to leave. The bus is not even half-full as we left Paso Robles.
