Dinner with Vince

Last night I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner, having worked 60 hours in the past week. At the corner of Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces Ave.) and Montojo streets in Makati, a newly opened restaurant called Yaman Gensan caught my eye. It looked very out of place in a mostly residential community with ubiquitous sari-sari stores, carinderias, and  shirtless,  middle-aged men. When I walked in, I was very much surprised and said “Ooooh, nice….nice,” loudly and repeatedly.

 

Nope, definitely not a carinderia...

Yaman Gensan offers mostly fish dishes, priced 180 to 300 pesos. I got myself a Tuna with Ampalaya dish, and a cup of rice. The interior of the place looked really pleasing. I immediately thought of high school students I often see walking around, and that if any of them adolescent boys wants to take a girl out for dinner, this is the right place. Reasonably priced, with a rather sosy ambience. I wouldn’t mind going here on a date.

Cozy

Yeah, I know, I take terrible pictures

 

The place was empty, and I settled myself on the furthermost corner. There was a huge LCD screen where music videos of the forgotten past  were playing. Later the waiter changed it to a Rihanna concert.

 

Then I tucked in very comfortably with Vince. I took off my shoes, put my feet up on an Indian sit, with Vince on my lap. Again and again he struck me as too colorful, too smooth, and too irresistable. I knew that when I start taking in what he says, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I would just go about smiling ang nodding and feeling butterflies with every little thing that happens to him. He would break my heart with his uncanny ability to clearly explain and describe the pain he feels.

 

Incidentally, the new love of Vince’s Life is a girl named Cat, and that makes reading his new adventures a little more interesting for me.

 

I met Vince when I was a college student and I got bored in the dorm one day. I rummaged through my roommate’s magazines although I am not a magazine person, and found back issues of Seventeen. Flipping through, I saw a column called Vince’s Life, and I was instantly hooked. I’m not a fan of love stories, I have a collection of mostly gory books, but this guy got me. He has a way with words, and he was not the alpha-male I have the tendency to run away from.

 

 

I found a total of three non-consecutive Seventeen issues, and read three chapters of Vince’s Life narrating his college adventures and his love for a girl named Andrea. Later on I found out all of his columns were compiled into a book, and I spent six months searching for a copy everywhere. Sold out.

 

When I finally got a copy, I read it one sitting. I have read it many more times after that, and it never failed to send me into a rollercoaster of emotions. I love this guy, seriously, and if I’d be part of his book, I’d like to be the girl best friend (with no hidden desires) Connie. I think I can be girl best friend material.

 

So, Mr. Vince O. Teves, thank you for the wonderful times your book has given me.

 

Online World

Last year when I accepted a part-time job as a host in an events company, I was able to make two new friends, the common denominator among us was that our jobs are carried out online. I teach English online, my students situated in Korea. Bee’s job has something to do with currency exchange which I sadly failed to understand. And then there was Jenny, who was a dealer at a live online casino.

 

Jenny is about a head shorter that I am—very petite to be working in customer service–but she had a wonderful set of teeth used for smiling in front of a webcam for hours.She takes bets from gamblers playing in the comforts of their own homes, shuffles cards, and declares winnings.

 

I took interest in her job and wanted to try it out (as another part-time job, and yes, I’d probably kill myself with overwork any time soon,) but it was Jenny herself who said it can get boring. An eight-hour shift trying to shuffle cards as prettily as you can? Well, that can be tiring. But for those who enjoy playing without having to go to Vegas (or Macau, or Pasay) online casinos are simply brilliant.

 

It amuses me how many things are done online:banking, shopping, gaming, studying, gambling, meeting people and falling as I have learned the hard way, and who knows what else? In my mind, I can see myself talking to a whole class through a webcam, and the students listening to me as my face is projected on a big, white screen. If one-on-one tutorials are now being done through Skype, how long will it take for schools to actually start hiring online classroom teachers?

 

Wouldn’t it be great if I can teach those children in far away places, like in the mountains or rural areas often featured in documentaries, with just a click of a mouse?

 

Well, wait a minute. That would be great, but actually being there, with those students, would be amazing. Being able to give them a hug at the end of every class, being able to place my hands on their shoulders when they’re scared to speak in front of the class, being able to see them up close, the light in their eyes as they finally understand a tough lesson—that’s something the online world can’t give.

 

Bottom line, congratulations to my dear and terribly missed friend Jacq who has just passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers. She has now left the online teaching business and will be moving on to the happiest place I can think of right now—the classroom.

 

And Jacq, I’m taking your advice and will be moving on really, really soon.