A Great Send-off

September 27, 2008

(This blog is getting to be a memorial to people I have known and worked with. This is not my intent. Nevertheless, I have to say my goodyes to these people.)

Ms. C was my Algebra and Physics teacher (and several other subjects) in high school. She’s been teaching in the same school for a loooong time before us, so she developed great patience. Which she must have sorely needed when I was her student. Let’s face it, saying that I am not good in math is an understatement. My learning curve must have dropped after subtraction. Heck, I can’t even memorize the multiplication table. I was this close to flunking Algebra in high school. Well, when Ms. C became our teacher, she would often comment to me that my grades are like waves. Up and down, up and down. She would painstakingly go over the lesons again and again til it goes thru our thick heads.But because of her constant encouragement, I managed to pass Algebra. Needless to say, she is  well loved by her students.

Two weeks ago, I learned that Ms. C succumbed to the big C. When my classmates and I went to pay our final respects, we were pleasantly surprised by Ms. C’s family’s sendoff to her.

Goodbye Ms. C… and many thanks.

The Art of Mooching

September 26, 2008

One day, I was talking with N, a friend. I was getting hungry.

Me: N, libre mo naman ako ng pineapple juice o

N: Ano ka, hilo? Ang mahal nun no? 20 pesos din yun!

Me: O sige, Refresh na lang. 5 pesos lang yun.

N: O sige, lista mo sa pangalan ko.

Me: Ayus!

I was able to use this gambit twice before N caught on to me. Time to rethink my strategies. 

 

 

Little Beggar

September 12, 2008

I was seated on a bench, under a tree, having lunch in a carenderia just outside the office. While savoring my fried fish and gulay na langka, I felt a soft tap on my knee. I looked beside and saw nobody. Hmm..I must be imagining things. I went back to eating. A few moments later, I felt the tapping again. Again, I looked beside me. No one was there. As I was turning my attention back to my lunch, I glanced down. A thin calico cat was sitting there, looking at me intently, with mild reproof on her eyes. We had a staring contest for a few moments but I lost. I gave  a piece of the fish to it and went back to my lunch. Another tap. Another piece of fish. After I had finished my lunch and I was waiting to pay, another tap. A long staring contest. “Sorry, there’s nothing anymore.”  The cat looked at me as if reprimanding me. Then it stood and turned its back and left.

 

Source: www.stockphotosofcats.com

 

Swamped

September 7, 2008

Saigon On My Mind

What I loved about Saigon is the food. Food abounds everywhere. A few steps from our hotel is an eskinita which revealed this:

  The lady on the left was selling noodles and coffee while at the end was a bakery which was having a very busy business turning out baguettes.

  Warm, soft, crispy on the outside, golden baguettes, fresh from the oven. Mmmmmm. And who can forget the banh mi? We found a cart selling banh mi a few more meters ahead.

 

Biting into the sandwich, one is startled by the crispy freshness of the vegetables added into it and the smooth, non-obstrusive taste of the meat. The sauce marries the ingredients well and the bread is the perfect foil for everything in it. Curse this travel package that provided us with all our meals.  Had we been left to forage for ourselves, I would be having this every day. Cheap too, at 8,000 dong (about 25 pesos). As it is, I only discovered this on our last night, as a late merienda.

The thing that really got me hooked and left me pining for it is the coffee.