Make some noise

Since my flat is right smack at Austin Road in TST, I’ve never found it necessary to acquire any noise-making appliance. After all, the sound of cars skittering to and fro, trucks racing by, police car sirens passing through, and the multitude of locals chattering as they walk by, all these are enough sounds to accompany me the whole day and night.

This reminds me of the time when Roland’s flat in Amsterdam was still in Leidseplein. In the morning, I never found it necessary to turn on the television set or sound system since the sound of everyday Amsterdam was interesting enough. Thus, my life here is like “The Simple Life in Europe part 2.”

Another reason why I chose not to buy a sound system is the fact that there’s the CD player in case my ears crave for music. Yup, despite the fact that I have an iPod, I choose to go old school and carry around my CD man. Ergo, when I miss the sounds of home, it’s time for Sony to do his job.

Then, today happened.

I received a letter from my credit card company asking me to go to a certain address to receive my welcome gift. Heck, I didn’t know they had welcome gifts since we don’t usually have that in the good ole P.I. Excited at the thought of a free gift, I quickly went to Dundas Street to pick it up.

And here it is:


It’s a home theater system! (or so the box says.) Yes, I am now a proud owner of a home theater system which includes a subwoofer, 5 speakers and a DVD player (which can play audio CDs, of course.)

If my dad or brother were here, they’d be all giddy about this. Dad bought a home theater system in the U.S. and transported it to Manila last year. This was to the chagrin of my Mom who was lamenting at all the lost space and baggage allowance that’s better used for more important things like chocolates and Old Navy stuff. My brother, on the other hand, just set up a home theater system in his house in Georgia. So they’re really into these things.

As for me, they just look like little robots and a mother ship.


But feeling like MacGyver and channeling my electronic classes in High School, I proceeded to assemble my gift. It wasn’t as hard as it looked like initially. The wires were easy to figure out, and my stint as a video editor helped a lot in configuring the jacks and stuff.



Less than 20 minutes after, my new home theater system is all up and running. Right now, it’s in my living room, neatly parked near the couch. Because I have no place to put the DVD player, the box suddenly became an impromptu table. It ain’t the prettiest thing, but hey, it works.


So, beginning today, there’s a new kind of noise that will fill my flat. In addition to the sound of cars skittering to and fro, trucks racing by, police car sirens passing through, and the multitude of locals chattering as they walk by, now, I’ll also be hearing the booming voice of the Bee Gees as they sing “Jive Talking” from my new home theater system.

Let’s jive!