New Nemsis

It's easy to hate on the Jeepneys, they are the blight of traffic for anyone not relying on Jeepney transport (which is not a very large % as many/most rely on Jeepneys so will probably not get a lot of love for my hate on Jeepneys)

Here is my latest nemesis - school girls walking home on the side walk with umbrellas. On my run tonight, I tried to stick to the sidewalk so the Jeepneys would not run me over but came upon the "umbrella wielding school girls". They walk in intimidating packs, very slowly, shoulder to shoulder, meaning they cover most of the sidewalk, and appear to be incredibly focused on being completely oblivious. I ran behind many a pack and would have to circumnavigate their gaggle - easier than trying to get them to move. But it was the one's approaching me that were the most intimidating. I would run towards the gaggle hoping they would see me and make a bit of room for me to pass by but this was not to be. They were oblivious to my approach. I can see how this could be - school is demanding in the Philippines and they were on their way home - oblivion time before they got home and had to kick it in gear to do all the school work for the next day.

The worst was that it was raining out and most of the gaggles had umbrellas. So as I approached, not only would they not move but their umbrellas were all at about eye level. To avoid another visit to the Asian Eye clinic (my eye is still red ... ) I had to do some slick moves .... jump off the sidewalk which meant jumping onto the road with Jeepneys on the prowl ... or do a duck and limited sidestep to remain on the sidewalk while avoiding a poke in the eye. Adventure running! and Why I love our world!

And to cap it all off - our yaya, Dolce, is turning out to be quite the chef. We have asked her to make some pretty simple stuff. But Alicia went out on a whim and asked if she would cook some new - Asian type dishes. the first one was Laksa - a Malay noodle soup dish with coconut based stock - it was unbelievably good - so we are excited about the potential.