EDWIN CALLS FROM CELSKI BUS!

Slideshow | Day 2: J.R. Celski in the 1500m | NBC Olympics

Mom was in the middle of cleaning pig poo, washing water bottles, repacing soiled bedding, and trying to cajole me into a new type of piggie sleep-sack that I'm not really crazy about when Edwin called.

Again.

Vancouver will not sleep tonight after their short-track victories, but we knew that.

Edwin's favorite new opening to mom is: "Guess where I am?' or "Guess who I'm with?" and now there is nothing she wouldn't believe.

"I'm kinda in the middle of pig poo..."

"IM ON THE CELSKI BUS WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY! AND THEY REMEMBER ME!"

Well, back in the day when J.R. was young, a speedy little fella, we skated with his team down in Federal Way, where Apolo also got his start on ice from inline skating. Since you don't see too many Filipinos on the ice, Edwin spent lots of time talking with J.R.'s dad and family about the Philippines and speedskating and how much potential J.R. had; it was obvious even then he was special.

Apparently, they remembered Edwin and invited him onto their "Celski bus" where they all went as one big family downtown together. Vancouver EXPLODED in celebration after all the short-track gold medals Team Canada won. The Celskis wanted to invite Edwin to America House but you had to be on "the list" (read: an athlete, family, or movie star) so Edwin couldn't stay with them but it turns out J.R.'s aunt lives right down the street from Edwin in Seattle! So they talked awhile, too. J.R. has a tight-knit family, as does Edwin; Filipinos take great pride in their families, so he fit right in, just didn't have the cred to celebrate at the American Olympic House with all the A-list celebs.

Soon, the Canadians got drunk enough to start yelling nasty things about the Americans, so Edwin turned off the main drag where he ran into Lori Matsukawa ,TV News anchor for KING5 in Seattle, covering the Olympics locally for NBC! She wasn't too keen about all the anti-American sentiment brewing downtown, either.

Back when mom was a newspaper photographer covering Asian & international ethnic celebrations throughout Seattle, she photographed Lori Matsukawa at a Bon Odori Festival, and later had her photographs published in a book called, what was that book called, mom?

"I dunno. Gotta clean water bottles. Who is peeing so much? I'm running out of litter."

Mom not awake.

So Edwin walked away from the maddening crowd with Lori, and since the city will not sleep tonight, we hope he finds a safe little hidey-hole in which to sleep before catching an early bus back here. He could stay longer but he saw and experienced what he went there for, so we expect he'll be dragging his tired little carcass through the door while mom keeps her earplugs in and tells him not to wake her up.

Which means he'll wake us up to lots of yummies and play with us! Wheeeek! We like!

We don't know who else Edwin will run into or where he will spend the rest of his Olympic adventure, but it sure has been exciting having him around us piggies!

Mom asked if I could shut down (what she calls "the clamshell") laptop so she can finish getting the three of us ready for bed.

It's fun to be a guinea pig and hear stories about people adventures because in our heads we have our own Olympics but they consist more in seeing who can eat the most, the fastest! And it's usually Bear, the Beaver Pig. But silver medal is a toss-up between me and YumYum. And it's never too late to go for Gold! Especially when that next crop of home-grown wheatgrass comes in.

Sweet dreams, you beautiful world. Please love one another.

Panda Out!