Isaw, fishballs, and Manggang Hilaw na may Bagoong.

After my two classes for the day (being my 1-2:30pm Stagecraft and 2:30-4pm Comparative Lit.), I decided to play the responsible student and troop to the UP Press Bookstore's Balay Kalinaw branch and buy meself a copy of Gemino Abad's A Native Clearing. It's supposed to have all the best poems written by filipinos in English, or at least the ones Prof. Abad thinks best. The Yellow-black recycle-paged book cost me around P200. I slid in the roll of drafting paper I was twirling around my fingers earlier into the crisp plastic bag the book came with.

No, this ain't about the book.

about a stone-toss away from the shop was an isaw (to the clueless:edible chicken and pig spare parts and accessories) barbeque cart, the same one for that UP kids, street folks, and the occassional few lost souls (a small crowd of med students in their crisp whites, a pair of periwinkle-blue frocked nuns, a man who carried the air of a college professor) flocked to at the stroke of 4:00 or so. The same mass of people, day in day out, for the past three-and-a-half years of my stay in UP, riding past the isaw junction in a green-roofed jeep whisking me off to PHILCOA for my trip home. Kind of odd, really, how I've managed to stay so long and not get a taste of good ol' UP street treats. And take note, the notoriously deelish isaw, enriched with all the off-road, exhaust-fume, and avian e. coli nutrients recommended daily allowance. Saan ka pa?

I indulged myself (and what my money could allow me)in a stick each of IUD (chicken intestines), Balumbalunan (chicken giblets), and Butchi (chicken larynx[?]). not bad, really, with your titbits dipped in vinegar. the IUD was sweetishly delectable, tender, chewy, just the right texture. the Butchi wasn't too bad, and the Balumbalunan became a fast favorite. Nt bad for wayside fares a two to four pesos a pop.

Fishball stands are dime-a-dozen in UP. you just can't miss 'em. So, just to have another crack at 'em, I chuck a five-peso stick and slather all ten fish-flour circles with long-missed spicy sauce. Hmm. Makes me wish I was still taking Film 100 just to get close to the fishball shrine in front of the College of Music. (They have the best fishballs, so good you can almost call 'em gourmet. Okay, amybe that was a touh too much, but really, the stand's got good stuff. Them Music Majors have it made.)

At syempre, hindi tayo mawawalan ng follow-up sa running inside joke namin ni James. (And besides, I crave good mangoes all the same. Screw Hepatitis, mamatay ka na sa sarap.) A cheek-boat of green mango boarded with spicy bagoong (sauteed shrimp/fish paste) now costs twelve paysa. Sad fact they had to go up a couple of pesos, but never mind. I scrunched away contentedly on this fruit-cheek skewered on a stick, relishing the crisp tarty-sour spicyness crunching in my mouth, rubbing my puson for good humor. Ah well...

sometimes PMSing can be pleasant, too.