A Nice Sunny Day

In a tropical country like the Philippines, sun and heat are in abundance. And while the rains do help in arresting the high temperatures, nothing beats a dry afternoon.

Take the weekend as an example. During a normal Sunday afternoon, I was sitting on a lounge chair with my trusty pooch dozing by my side.

I was in my favorite t-shirt, the one that is well-worn and full of holes to stay comfortable during the peak hours.

I had my ten year old shades on and a pitcher of fresh Mango juice, complete with a gigantic tube of ice swimming in it, all parked on a side table.

Accompanying me was a nice book and today’s paper to while the time away. As the sun began to go down, I would move my lounge chair to a spot with more shade, just to keep from being burned by the hot sun.

By the time late afternoon arrived, the silence was broken by the sound of birds going home to roost.

My dog’s ears would prick up every now and then when a bird was noisier than usual. But after peeking through the corner of a half-closed eye, he’d settle back to sleep.

And when I say sleep, I mean deep sleep. Not even the creaking of my lounge chair was enough to wake him. Now that I think about it, he’d really make lousy guard dog.

By the time dusk arrived, my pet pooch started to stir, get up, and stretch his long legs in preparation for his weekly game of fetch.

After a few stretches, punctuated by satisfying growls, he gave me the look that he was ready and that I’d better be ready when he got back. Then off he went to look for his ball or throw stick.

Given that we have both gained some weight in the past, our game of fetch was short and intense. Okay, maybe not intense, but was short.

Then after resting for half an hour, it was time for us to head on into the kitchen for dinner.

Since was a weekend, I had grilled Pork Chops with Fried Rice and Atchara on the side.

And as this darned global malaise hasn’t gone away, my pet pooch was still off his favorite dog food. But then he wasn’t complaining as he shared a bit of my pork chops during the weekend.

After dinner, both my pooch and I retreated to the living room for a little family time with the wife and kids.

Then once the fifth yawn has was exhaled, it was time to say good night to one another in before retiring for the day.

To be honest, I’m not really too fond of the heat myself. But after day after day of non-stop rain, the sun and heat was a welcome respite. And it’s on days like those that I wish all days were sunny days.