Morning Girls

My two closest friends are in love with two very lucky men.  Was it just a few weeks ago, mga iha, when we were pining for love and have almost resigned ourselves to a lifetime of doing just that – pining?

Do not allow your friend with a badly battered heart to dampen your happiness.  May I paraphrase a line from Ally McBeal – that celluloid symbol of perfect perplexity that has seems to have marked my generation (and single women of my profession) – love still works.  If not for me, at least for my friends.

“Napintas pay ngem…”

Yesterday afternoon, I requested Manang Vicvic and Manang Nena to include some items on my list when they dropped by a nearby grocery store. I previously met the owner in a previous meeting of the Vigan Conservation Council (VCC).  Their application for a building permit was among the matters taken up.

My two manangs arrived back at the office laughing. Apparently, the owner remembered me. Weird. He said,”Balasang pay ania? Nalaing ag-English. Napintas pay ngem [that Ilocano word I most detest] met.” [She’s still single, right? She speaks English well. She’s even pretty but chubby.]

Ay apo. I’ll have to thank him one of these days though. He has shown how a bitter pill can still taste good.