Eat, eat, eat: saying goodbye

Mange Readers!

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing.  Nonetheless, never mind the fear, and all the aggravation because there's a better place for you and me to be (diba?).  Look for the rainbow in every storm, find out for certain, love's gonna be where you are; you'll always be someone's baby; goodbye my friend - ang dramatik naman! - ( prize to the person who can identify the 2 songs in this smash-up ).  In all seriousness, how does one say goodbye and "thank you"? Syempre, FOOD!

On Tuesday, I had my last tutoring session with Tutee B.  It was awkward to emphasize the "goodbye" so we went about it just like a regular session.  For merienda, we ate at Zecaf's; I ordered pumpkin soup and the deluxe omelette ( bacon, ham, cheese, and onion ) with toast.  For dessert, I had an avocado shake.  We recalled the beginning of it, how Tutee B noted in his planner: "Get help from PhD."  As a parting gift, I gave him the book, "The Giver" ( because of his curiosity for Marxist criticism ).

I ran my last Nite Run around the campus: high school, ISO, street leading to Gate 3, stretch of land parallel to Katipunan Avenue, and back to Blue Eagle Gym.  The brass section of the band practicing, and free hydration of Gatorade waiting to quench one's thirst.  I actually kept up with the leader ( just a second behind him ) sprinting to the end.  Later to recharge, I ordered the protein-rich meal at Kenny Rogers ( Roast Chicken, Tuna Salad, Rice, and yogurt with Kiwi for dessert ).

After my last day of class observation, I went to Gonzaga Cafeteria and had snacks: Taho, puto, and Banana Chips.  During my last day in Literature class, I ate a Fudgee Bar during break; at the end of class, I gave Prof. C a "Thank You" card.  In a strange manner, the awareness I gained from his class helped me to worry less.

We did as much as we could with Runner J's thesis.  The last part was especially difficult because I was physically tired and emotionally distracted.  Nonetheless, only a few were left for fine-tuning: adviser's comments, appendix pages, and page numbers.  I was extra glad because I was mentioned in his acknowledgments as an editor with "Eagle's eyes" ( ironic because of my glasses, lol )  Afterwards, we had dinner at Kenny Rogers; I ordered the grilled fish meal with vegetables and Java Rice.

For desserts, we ate at McDonald's McCafe; I ordered steamed milk, and Nutty Brazo (de Mercedes), and he ordered a Rocky Roads Chocolate Bar.  In the end, I realized the serendipity of beginning and ending our editing session in McDonald's, where talks of spirituality, wavelengths, etc, occurred.  As a parting gift, I gave him the Tagalog version of "The Little Prince." Hopefully, he'll have more time to read for fun, now that he'll be finishing his MAs thesis.

I arrived at my dorm, and one of my Taiwanese Roomies was still awake.  He saw me packing, and I told him my plan of moving out.  Language barrier prevented us from having a similar goodbye talk ( like Roomies L and J ).  I said goodbye to Roomie S before he left for class the next day.  I didn't bother with Kim Jong ILL ( who ate my apples ).  I checked out of My Place, and I'm glad they didn't give me trouble with my refund.

The 2nd to the last day of my internship, Director N and Secretary V took me out to Cravings for dinner.  We had unlimited salad and soup; Secretary V and I tried the free Pina Colada with Rum.  I ordered a Mango Peach Blend.  All of us ordered the Mix Grilled Seafood ( prawn, squid, Dori Fish, and Tuna a la kebab style ) with Rice.

For desserts we tried the unlimited cake ( four choices ) and coffee ( iced or hot ).  The only catch was that you had to finish your cake slice before moving on to the next slice.  If we didn't persevere, we wouldn't have a chance to try their most delicious cake in the end ( plain Chocolate cake with meringue icing, mocha cake with Dulce de Leche icing, Caramel Brownie Cake [yummy], and Vanilla cake with Leche Flan icing ).  On the last day of my internship, I had Avocado shake, Rice, Pork and Sausage Menudo, and Pinakbet.  As parting gifts, I gave Director N and Secretary V Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and Lindt's Dark Chocolate (70% Cacao).

With the family, Cousin G took me out to Starbucks, and we walked around SM Megamall and had lunch: Sago't Gulaman and Sisig Bangus.  I brought pasalubong after my pasalubong shopping trip: ube cake, chocolate truffles, Brazo de Mercedes cake, mango ice cream, and black bean hopya:   And Cousin J will sponsor the "Bon Voyage" Party on the day of my departure: spaghetti, Lumpia Shanghai, Chop Suey, chicken, Rice, Coca Cola, etc. ( if there's money left from my refund, I'll get cake from Red Ribbon ).