New practice

 

Periodic trips to the mall these days, often on weekends but during work days as well (especially on those days with no online meetings), to procure dog food and groceries have also been marked by visits to the branch of this Filipino bookstore chain which has revived its old practice of selling these popular budget books after focusing for a while (i.e., post-pandemic) on just school items, and art and office supplies.  They've been having sales recently, with some books offered on a buy one, take one basis, and both for only Php 100.  Got a copy of David Sedaris' Happy-Go-Lucky which was initially priced at Php 399 prior to the sale.  Bought a pocket book version of Frank Herbert's Chapterhouse: Dune, the final volume of his famous hexalogy, for Php 99 (its original price was Php 315).  A personal version of shopping as stress management.

What comes next is either a hot Spanish latte (that's coffee with sweetened milk; so really sweet), or a hot bowl of spicy ramen coupled with a glass of red ice tea (not that great-tasting, but quite passable as a thirst quencher).  The Spanish latte would be from a stall on the third floor, while the hot ramen would be from the ramen house at the second floor.  A stall in the food court that also sells squid tako balls, has some ramen on its menu, but not quite the spicy ramen being sold by the ramen house.  The ramen from the ramen house comes with three to four strips of meat (probably pork) which are often simply left in the bowl afterwards, in light of the policy that customers are not allowed to take home any leftovers from what one had ordered and paid for.  Not even for feeding one's pet.  No matter - sipping the tasty broth and eating those noodles and boiled eggs, with the chopped onion leaves, prime the mind for those moments of inner stillness and empty gazes, when for a few minutes thought becomes detached from worries of daughters losing interest in finishing college, one's organization not having enough funds to continue its operations and thus finding oneself suddenly jobless, and a dog with damaged liver.