Good Tidings

My calendar was filled with lunch and dinner invitations last week (yes Ems, I have an active social life). Titus hopped over briefly from Dubai and had lunch with his former office colleagues (he wasn't an office colleague really, more like an honorary member but he knew everyone in Research because of me). He told us it wasn't easy getting used to working in such a strange land where Filipinos and other third world nationals are treated like fourth-class citizens. He's earning, my gad, probably four times as much as I do. Good for him. He even went on a back-packing tour of Turkey. He's learning to cook too, even bake. Apparently, Emiratis and other Arabs don't go for pastries and cakes because he had to make do with instant mixes.

Had dinner with Jun as well, recently arrived from Paris. He handed me Mozart's piano variations. Very cultured. Spent most of his week-ends hopping from one museum to another (yes, he saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre) and attending musical soireés.

I expected him to be in crutches or with a cast. He wasn't. He looked normal, didn't notice any limp at all, although he's a size (or two) bigger. He tells me when he removes his shirt, the now pear-shaped contour of his body can be unflatteringly obvious. I can understand his enthusiasm to train for the mid-year full marathon.

Had to cancel one lunch invitation in far-away Parañaque. Have two more.