Future Honorary Citizen of Davis, CA

Elsin threw a BBQ at her house-sit last night, and the place is amazing. The owners decorated it with wonderful objets d'art from all over the world, and there were books everywhere that emanated a sense of, "hey, we're knowledgeable, we're curious about things that are bigger than us, and i bet you really want to be our friends." Which is true. I really do want to be their friends. The living room had an entire wall of slanted floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the channel and Douglas Island and "the flats", and there was an impressive telescope and a library nook which is a miniature version of the one in my dreams.

They also had two dogs, which somehow seemed out of place in such a cosmopolitan setting. One must have been ancient, and wobbled along on severely unsteady legs like a well-meaning kid put on circus stilts; the sight just about broke my heart. The other looked a bit daft in the head and despite all the luxuries the house had, had only a large twig and a piece of black stone to use as toys. And guard them in all his dopey glory he did.

The most exciting part of the evening occurred when I met Elsin's half-Filipina friend's mother. After talking at length about the Philippines and a bit about my (distant) relation to the ex-president, she revealed that she came to Davis, CA decades ago for graduate school in chemistry. Curious, I asked what she did for a living now. Turns out, she's the mayor. She said if I visit, she'll make me an honorary citizen of Davis. And while that won't get me the key to the city, it'd still be a pretty damn cool certificate thingy on my wall.