39,099,921

39,099,921 people online when I only need to talk to talk to one person. 

I've been trying to hold it in and keep it together. I've been successful so far though there were two instances where cracks started to show beneath the happy facade I've been presenting to people I've talked to today. 

It's been hours since the fight and I've been thinking about nothing else, but what had happened earlier. I've been brooding and I've been replaying everything in my head over and over again. I've been thinking about what I should've done differently and how things could've turned out differently.

I realize now where my mistake lies and I would do anything at this point to make amends. He doesn't want to talk to me. He doesn't want to see me. He's made it perfectly clear when he pushed me out the door.

I feel horrid and I just want to feel numb. My tears fall out of their own accord and I am tortured he still hasn't said a word to me.

Bursting My Bubble

Earlier this week, I got reminded that my cousin was in town for a week-long vacation. I took her around town and to a couple of my shopping haunts Thursday. Everything went well except for my wallet weighing less from all the pasalubong I've shopped for.

Saturday afternoon, I met up with my cousin and her friend in front of the bus station across Ben Thanh Market. We waited patiently for the 01 bus as it is the one that will take us to Cho Lon (Chinatown). After less than 10 minutes, I spotted one and we got on it quickly. My cousin and her friend settled on the seats in front of me while I made myself comfortable in the aisle seat behind them.

Not long after, a lady in decent do bo (Vietnamese pajama set), a stack of paper-thin gold bangles and rice paddy field hat stood in front of me. Knowing I'll get off almost near the end of the bus route, I scoot over to the window seat and I was met with lively gestures for her to take the window seat.

The bus was cruising the extensive stretch of Tran Hung Dao and I was pre-occupied plotting our course on my map as I was quite unsure on which bus stop me and my companions would have to alight on when the lady next to me jerked my leg using her leg. I looked up a bit annoyed as she motioned that she will get off soon. In my head I was thinking I wanted to strangle her as she made me lose my bearing but knowing how irrational I was being I put it aside and just let her pass.

Soon she got off and I'm all alone. Not too long after, I found the temple and the three of us got off. We went past the temple a little bit and we had to walk back to the temple. When we arrived there, we found it to be closed so we just took pictures of the exterior then hopped on a cab to another temple in Hong Bang Street. I opened my bag and I was in for the shock of my life when I found my wallet non-existent inside.

I was freaking out but I didn't want to ruin my cousin's trip so I had them take pictures of the temple before taking another cab to retrace our steps. We went back to where we started but there wasn't any trace of my wallet being there. We searched the immediate vicinity where we went to but nothing still. I went in and looked for a caretaker to ask if anybody saw anything but it was just frustrating as the language barrier was so strong, the girl I asked translated every English word I wrote down on my Post It on her Ipod's dictionary.

Frustrated with nothing much to do, my cousin, her friend and I just walked back to the next stop and took the next bus back to District 1. The weather was just so awful -- heavy monsoon downpour, it just completely made me even more upset. It's the third time I've lost a valuable to a pickpocket but it never gets any easier. It's the first time that something like this has happened to me since I moved to Vietnam so I still can't get my head around it.

My only saving grace is that I didn't have a lot of cash in there as I have already spent it the last couple of days and the fact that I only carry around a photocopy of my work permit and residence card in my wallet. The thing I was really worried about would be my credit cards, my Lottemart membership card as I have already amassed massive points doing my grocery shopping there regularly, my patient card at a local hospital that I use as my In Case of Emergency identification card and my key card to my apartment building. It is going to be a bitch getting them replaced and having them sent to Vietnam.

I got home through my cousin donating enough money for me to catch the shuttle bus to my area. As soon as I got to my flat, I immediately called HSBC. Sure, they were able to replace it but for Php400 they can't send it to me to Vietnam. Worse, my card is set to expire January of next year and they can't just wait until then to send me a new card. I called Citibank and I'm thankful they have the ability to send it to me to Vietnam for no extra charge. The only thing that sucks? It takes 2 - 3 weeks for arrival. Still, I'd settle for having one card than none at all.

I went to my apartment complex's customer service center today and they said I won't be able to get a new card until the 22nd of this month. Great, I'll be playing patintero with the door on the ground floor and on the basement for the next two weeks on which one will be open when I come home.

I also had a sudden realization today -- my insurance bill is charged to my HSBC card and it's going to be due by next week. Now that the card is blocked, I'm going to have to dig through my emails for a contact person in Manila I can talk to about it. I'm also going to have to ask my sister to go find the billing statement and pay it for me.

I really hate losing things specially important documents. I know it's not the worse thing in the world considering I just lost my grandfather less than a month ago but it's just the sheer inconvenience of it all since I'm here and all my accounts are stuck in Manila.

Saigon Lunch Lady

I was watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations several months ago when they featured the Saigon Lunch Lady on his Vietnam episode. As he was starting to present her segment, he uttered a challenge to try Googling her and I was seriously piqued that I was able to find some information about her in a snap of a finger. Since I am, technically speaking, living in her turf, I decided to go on a quest to find her to find out for myself if her cooking is as good as they say.

Today, I finally got off my butt and acted on my not-quite-that-long-standing desire to get in on the action. I am about to run out of supplies so I thought it to be a good excuse to do my grocery shopping downtown. Besides, I have a free day today and I will definitely be indisposed by next week so there's no good a time as now to get this done.

From Dong Khoi Street, I hopped on a cab to Hoang Sa Street and soon I was on my merry way. I am so grateful that Gastronomer (www.gastronomyblog.com) had included a map in his blog and it made it easier for me to find her. I lost my bearing for a little while but after 5 minutes of backtracking my steps and letting my curiosity take over, I was able to spot the street corner where she's stationed herself. Turns out, you have to take a right turn from the main street before you can spot her.

I got there shortly after 11 am and the heat is just unbearable I was thankful there's not a lot of people yet that I was able to choose a very shady, comfortable place to sit in. I was a total spaz as soon I stood in front of her because I was so focused in finding my way that I didn't really think about what to do after. I pointed to an empty bowl and the pot of simmering stew right next to her to signal that I wanted one.

I can't speak the Vietnamese language apart from the little bits and pieces that I know like terms for food and survival cabbie dialect. I was so relieved when she asked me in English to take a seat to wait for my food. I guess I didn't have to talk because every inch of me was screaming T-O-U-R-I-S-T -- sunglasses, the non-verbal gestures and taking pictures of everything left and right ;p

I was seriously blown away because it's the first time I've ever tasted something like that. It's probably the tastiest bowl of Vietnamese noodles I've ever had. And for only VND15,000 (roughly around Php35), it was chock-full of the good stuff -- pork slices, a sliver of fish cake (kikiam), shrimp, squid, pineapples, okra and eggplant. I surprised myself because I don't normally eat okras and eggplants. The broth was so tasty, it kind of masked the natural flavor of the veggies (for me at least) that it allowed me to get over the paranoia in my head about those veggies not tasting good.

In the end, I am one happy customer. Although next time, I should maybe have a friend tag along with me to keep the transportation costs down because my meal was literally only a small fraction of how much I had to spend on cab fare to get to the Saigon Lunch Lady's bailiwick.

My meal -- Bun Mam. Locals usually like to add in freshly squeezed lime and chillis to make it extra spicy (plate on the left)

This is a close up shot of the plate on the right. This contains a mishmash of mixed greens that locals like to put in everything they eat.

Wonder what this place looks like if I had been here at the apex of the lunch hour?

A Bum No More

My name is Anna and I'm a bum no more. I'm a traveler at heart so there wasn't really any surprise to me nor to my family that my next job took me to an exciting albeit faraway place. For the past eight and a half months, I've been living in Ho Chi Minh City and life can't get any sweeter at this point.

I'm guessing that some might already be raising their eyebrows saying 'But hey, that's not far enough!" Oh well, it's a relative term. Anyways, it's the first time that I've been completely on my own so this is one major milestone.

I've decided to revive my blogging to help document what I've gone through and what I still will go through during my stay in this lovely country. Another reason why I'm also doing this is because I want to make it easier on myself in sharing my knowledge of the country that I've started to love and call as my home for the time being. Primarily, knowledge of all the good shopping spots as the shopaholic in me is going into overdrive. I've had friends asking me where I shop every time I show up for work with some serious deals, steals and booties.

Bum No More

Yes, you read it correctly. I am a bum no more.

I've been here in Vietnam for the last five days for a teaching job I applied for several weeks ago. I was fortunate enough to get it. I've managed to haul as much of my stuff as I can... err, as much as Cebu Pacific's baggage weight limit would allow.

I set off on this venture as one big adventure and it's only now that reality in its fullest has started to hit me. I'm okay with the unfamiliar food and my ho-hum living situation but I somehow just can't get over my mistake earlier today, the first day of classes.

I guess my days at the old company is still so very far behind me. I couldn't summon not-so-distant memories of my being a language teacher to Koreans. Or maybe was it because of nervousness?

I was caught unaware that I was to handle a class today and I frantically pored over the material the Center uses with what little time I had. I lingered in my hotel's restaurant after breakfast thinking the change of scenery will help me be inspired for the final push in writing the articles I am to submit to a boss I haven't even seen nor talked to over the phone; a boss that I only know by name and by e-mail address.

I was already in a lounging mood when I got word from the wifey of my geographically-close boss that I am to report to school today. I got her text message sometime 9:45 and I was expected in the Center 10:30. Thank goodness my hotel is only a 10-minute walk away; I still had the time to get a shower before I left for my first day at work.

Hours pass and finally it was time to step inside the classroom. I haven't felt this jittery since I graduated from my practicum classes barely a week ago. I do my best to wield control of the class but there must be something in me the kids can see or sense that I can't but just wreaks of a pushover or something akin to it. I recall the line the boss-within-my-immediate-proximity uttered about a little leeway paving the way for them to eat us alive and I'm desperately crossing my fingers that won't be the case. I struggle a bit and before I know it, it's dismissal time.

Quarter to eight as the boss-within-my-proximity and I were waiting for the co-worker to finish, he got called by the big boss and was gone for an awfully long time. Next time he reappeared in the faculty room, I got the news that two of the Korean mothers were complaining that we were too soft on their respective kids.

No names were mentioned but I really felt infinitesimally guilty because it I know it can only be me. At the back of my mind, I finally understand why Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in Asia. A nagging thought of 'no mercy' was the only thing that keeps playing over and over in my head and it only intensified with every bite of dinner that the big boss treated me, the co-worker and the boss-within-my-proximity to.

The guilt trip got even bigger seeing the disappointment on Mrs Big Boss' face and the gestures to demonstrate how huge of a headache she now has in dealing with the hard-to-please moms. The biggest guilt trip of all was when the Big Boss and the wifey good-naturedly insisted to drop me off at the hotel as it was along the route they are to take going home.

So many highly plausible rationalizations and strategizing on swift, decisive damage control were exchanged over the dinner table and generously sprinkled on the conversation throughout the entire meal but none can ever compensate in knowing how one has failed.

Fidgeting

Exactly one week ago, I went to join my mom and my sisters for grocery shopping. To pass the time while waiting for them to finish, I started fidgeting with my cellphone camera to experiment with a couple of things I saw in there.

Untitled

"A Rose In Bloom"

"Fresh"

"Tower"

"Falling"

"Falling"

"Alin, alin, alin ang naiba?"

"Rose Wannabes"

"Standing Still"

Wonderfully Sweet Surprise

I dropped by the old office earlier this week and my friend Alvin accompanied me. Whilst walking towards the building where the old office is located, I fixed my gaze on an all-too familiar spot in Ortigas Park and was pleasantly surprised – Dolce Divino’s finally opened!

It all started approximately about a year ago. There was a small area adjacent to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf that was blocked off for the longest time in plain white plywood with the Dolce Divino tarpaulin around it. I was curious about what sort of wonderful, sweet surprise they’re able to offer as their signage prominently featured very colorful and delectable gelato. There was very little progress for the longest time until late last year when the structure was finally built and all fixtures were brought in little by little.

Two very plush chairs :)

After a couple more months and I would find warm bodies moving about inside the space several times a week. I was all giggly and excited as I knew it would only be a matter of time – I once spotted the staff whipping up a couple of dishes (taste test maybe?)!

One pink slip later and here we are at the present time. Alvin and I left the old office a little after 10 and I suggested we go to Dolce Divino to grab some dessert (after all, I picked up payment for the stuff that I buy and sell). The little side trip was well worth it!!!

This is what I ordered -- Lemon Tart. The drink adjacent to it was the coffee conconction that Alvin got for himself. For some reason, I really like the taste of lemons and more tangy it is, the better. Simply put, this dessert is pure heaven for someone like me!!! Unluckily for Alvin, this doesn't really suit his taste buds :(

In the middle of enjoying the tart, Alvin started chatting up Chef Erwin Eusebio and we found out some interesting bits about the restaurant. According to Chef Erwin, what makes them unique from all the other gelato places in the metro is that all their conconctions have liquor infused with them (hint, they've a curious dish called Beer Soup**)-- especially the gelatos.

Alvin with Chef Erwin Eusebio

The restaurant's just had their soft opening 2 weeks ago after 2 years of securing all the necessary paperworks in order for them to operate. At present, they do not have any set dates yet on when their grand launch will be but they're targeting sometime this month. They've a seating capacity of 60-70 people (a dozen or so inside; the rest can be on the area adjacent to the restaurant and on the deck on their 2nd floor) and their operating hours are 9 AM to 10 PM Mondays through Saturdays.

Aside from the regular fare they offer, they are able to create specialty menus by request and they certainly welcome reservations for special functions.

I have yet to taste their gelatos due to a heavy dinner so I have no comment as of yet. Next time I'm there, I'll make sure to leave a lot of room for them... and so do for the Beer Soup!

** According to Chef Erwin, they've used beer instead of stock then had the mixture reduced to let the alcohol content evaporate.

DOLCE DIVINO is located at Ortigas Park in Emerald Avenue. Phone number is 986-8125 for inquiries.