I'm going back to the night shift starting tonight. I'm feeling kinda blue that our training sessions already over. I was kinda getting the hang of going home by 1pm, though waking up at 3:30 in the morning is such a burden. And what could be more akin to masochistic self-flagellation than showering at 3:30 am??? Brrrrrrrr.... I still get goosebumps when I think about it.

Which reminds me... I recall a friend of mine, a Chinoy (Chinese-Filipino), who recounted his experience Taiwan. After he turned 25, he's been goin' to Taiwan to work there for 6 months (and go home only to return after three weeks of partying here). He could do that because he has Taiwanese citizenship. Anyway, he counts himself more Filipino than Taiwanese. He has said so many times. One time during winter, he took a shower at the start of his working day. Even with the heater on, the shower still spewed cold water. He was compelled to shower though (as all Filipinos are!), so he grit his teeth and proceeded to shower, shouting a plethora of invectives in Tagalog. He ate breakfast, got dressed and went out the door as usual. While he was locking the door to the condominium unit he shared with 4 other Chinoys, the next door neighbor braved a peek out of his door and called his attention. The guy asked with only his eyes visible through the small opening if my friend was in a fight with anybody in his unit. He answered with pride, "No, I was just taking a shower."

According to my friend, the Taiwanese don't take a shower before they go to work. They only bathe the night before. Seems strange to a Filipino like me, but I guess that's how things are in their part of the world.