PASSING TIME

Tea yesterday included a pastry recommended by the counter woman, because it was fresh out of the oven (啱啱出爐 'ngaam ngaam chut lou'), and indeed totally delicious. And great with hot milk tea. A preserved duck egg yolk nestled in lotus seed goo within a flaky pastry crust: 蛋黃酥 ('wong daan sou'). I can hear your arteries creaking at the sheer wallop of cholesterol. I also had a ham and melted cheese bun (火腿芝士包 'fo tui ji si baau').


Yesterday's eating was more in the snack category than any real meal, and probably not as healthy as a medical person would desire. One of such was, in fact, at the bakery buying over a dozen pastries, probably for the graveyard shift at the hospital.
Who all would snack fattily well.

She looked like the kind of person in whose presence you watch your tongue. Which we are capable of. One of the reasons I like hanging around in Chinatown is overhearing random scraps of conversation. Our manners may be polite and acceptable, but our language is sometimes unvarnished. Veering, dare I say it, on sailor-like eloquence and point.

Don't call it vulgar. All these words have perfectly writable characters, which means they are hallowed by tradition. Even if sometimes not found in nice church-going dictionaries.
Cholesterol (膽固醇 'daam gu seun') is ruder than many other words.
As bad as speaking Mandarin or Fujianese.
Or English!



All of my medications have Foreignese names. When I list them off I sound like I'm spouting gibberish. That's one of the main reasons every discussion at the pharmacy, while it may begin in Cantonese, eventually devolves into English. Chinglish. Cantlish.

I like that bakery. Went there one day after I was released following my exploded appendix. Needed caffeine, a snack, and a smoke after that. Sadly, one cannot enjoy one's pipe in the ICU while hooked up to an intravenous bottle.

The very next time I have an appendectomy (闌尾手術 'laan mei sau seut') I'll make sure they know I want a smoking ward. It will speed up recovery and make the time pass quicker.



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