Although my teaching years have been officially ended, I want my last essay for this book to be about teaching. Later today I will be having lunch with my regular text mate from Iloilo, a former student of mine. Here are a few reasons for our bonding. We are both May born; our pragmatic philosophy about money is a strong factor for a meeting of minds. Our first born children (although I only have one against her six) belong to the same generation; we exchange notes on parenting. She is definitely a concerned parent as opposed to my now-hovering now-surrendered style. Neither of us is a fashion plate; we are minimalists! In my case I have stopped wearing jewelry except for my wristwatch for practicality. I don’t want to lose precious pieces again after I dropped one earring in Singapore. For a while I couldn’t forgive myself for losing the earring. After all I have been habitually checking on both ears. That year in 2007 I must have been so engrossed with the design of a Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant. I failed to check my earlobes before alighting from the cab. I suspect I must have brushed off one earring to struggle out of the seatbelt. I always get entangled. Continue reading →