Monday, October 04, 2004
All Because Of Crispy Shrimp Fritters
I love my husband dearly. He was, in fact, so kind as to accompany my sister tina and I to a not-so-exciting meeting with our family lawyer this morning, just to make sure that we made all the right decisions. He did that for me when he could have been doing much more important things. He does things like this all the time, his way of letting me know how much he cares.
However, there are moments when petty arguments arise from nowhere and nerves break loose.
It was lunch time when we got out of that meeting, and the sight of freshly-fried okoy (crispy shrimp fritters) on the street made us girls drool like pregnant women. What made the craving so desperate was not only because of the way the fritter was cooked to a perfect golden brown and dipped out from the scalding oil. It was also because of the heartwarming childhood memories it brought back, when my sisters and cousins and I would often skip through the tete duyan (hanging bridge) while sipping gulaman or scramble, and nibbling on an okoy or day-old egg. Those were such fun times.
To relive the memory, all we wanted was a taste of that crispy, crumbly okoy.
So I asked my husband: “Gusto mo ba ng okoy?” With a longing look at the okoy.
(Translated, meant: “Gusto ko ng okoy. Bilhan mo naman ako dahil wala akong dalang barya.”)
Husband shakes his head.
(With a slightly irritated face, probably from the sweltering heat, and started to walk away from the okoy stand.)
Slightly irritated myself, I then turned to my sister. “Tina, may dala ka bang barya?”
(Translation: “Walang pakialam ang asawa ko sa feelings ko. Ikaw nalang ang makiramay.”)
Husband: (Realization slowly creeping in) “Gusto mo ba ng okoy?”
Me: “Di bale na.”
(Averting his clueless gaze with a fleeting dagger look, and proceeded to walk away from the you-know-what stand, childhood memory bubble shattered, appetite lost.)
Of course, he ended up buying the shrimp fritters -- we all had them for lunch along with rice, asado, some veggies, while having a good laugh about that PMS-y incident. But not after my husband and sisters ganged up on and mercilessly teased me about being a brat.
Like I said, there are moments when nerves break loose. But at the end of the day, I find myself thanking God for giving me such a wonderful and patient life partner. I cannot imagine any other person being the father of my son -- whose temper, unfortunately, takes after mine. But then that’s an entirely different story.
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However, there are moments when petty arguments arise from nowhere and nerves break loose.
It was lunch time when we got out of that meeting, and the sight of freshly-fried okoy (crispy shrimp fritters) on the street made us girls drool like pregnant women. What made the craving so desperate was not only because of the way the fritter was cooked to a perfect golden brown and dipped out from the scalding oil. It was also because of the heartwarming childhood memories it brought back, when my sisters and cousins and I would often skip through the tete duyan (hanging bridge) while sipping gulaman or scramble, and nibbling on an okoy or day-old egg. Those were such fun times.
To relive the memory, all we wanted was a taste of that crispy, crumbly okoy.
So I asked my husband: “Gusto mo ba ng okoy?” With a longing look at the okoy.
(Translated, meant: “Gusto ko ng okoy. Bilhan mo naman ako dahil wala akong dalang barya.”)
Husband shakes his head.
(With a slightly irritated face, probably from the sweltering heat, and started to walk away from the okoy stand.)
Slightly irritated myself, I then turned to my sister. “Tina, may dala ka bang barya?”
(Translation: “Walang pakialam ang asawa ko sa feelings ko. Ikaw nalang ang makiramay.”)
Husband: (Realization slowly creeping in) “Gusto mo ba ng okoy?”
Me: “Di bale na.”
(Averting his clueless gaze with a fleeting dagger look, and proceeded to walk away from the you-know-what stand, childhood memory bubble shattered, appetite lost.)
Of course, he ended up buying the shrimp fritters -- we all had them for lunch along with rice, asado, some veggies, while having a good laugh about that PMS-y incident. But not after my husband and sisters ganged up on and mercilessly teased me about being a brat.
Like I said, there are moments when nerves break loose. But at the end of the day, I find myself thanking God for giving me such a wonderful and patient life partner. I cannot imagine any other person being the father of my son -- whose temper, unfortunately, takes after mine. But then that’s an entirely different story.
