A helping hand

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I might have mentioned that one of the repercussions associated with my upcoming move involves the folks currently living in my basement room. The mother, who is employed as a caretaker for the property owners, will be moving into the basement of the house next door. I’ve been supplementing her meager wages with a 1000 peso ($20) a week bonus, so she will be losing out on that after I’m gone. The real impact is on her daughter, Inday, who won’t be permitted by the landlord to join her mother when she moves. Inday is in her late 20s and unemployed. Her boyfriend, who has also been staying in my basement, is minimally employed in the construction trades. Inday is also a Hasher (Cum In My Basement) and we are Facebook friends. I’ve seen her increasingly desperate posts asking for leads on affordable housing in the area. Of course, with very little income there ain’t much they can afford. Although it is not my responsibility, I do feel bad about her situation.

I also probably mentioned that my part-time helper, Gina, left my employ a couple of months ago. And when I was checking out my new digs yesterday, including what is actually a pretty nice basement maid’s room, a thought occurred to me: I could offer Inday the part-time job, pay her the P1000 a week I was giving her mother, and let her (and the boyfriend) reside in my basement. I mentioned that possibility to Inday and she seemed grateful (her English isn’t that great). I saw her mom later and she thanked me profusely. So, it looks like I am going to have another helping hand around here.

Otherwise, not much else is going on. The rain has put a, um, damper on my walking activity, or at least provided a handy excuse for my laziness. One of those. I took advantage of a break in the storm yesterday and hustled down to Cheap Charlies.

The view from my stool. Those mountains (the Kalaklan ridge) in the background will be the destination for tomorrow’s Hash. Guenter is the Hare, but to his credit, he posted a map and possible shortcuts for those not up to the challenge of climbing up to the top, then down to Olongapo, then back up and down to Barretto again. I’ll do the first climb, walk the ridgeline, then come back down on a safe and sane trail.

Anyway, it was Saturday night so I played the role of big spender–lots of lady drinks and food for the girls. That’s kind of a once-a-week undertaking for me; I’m not rich, after all. Why all that generosity last night set me back a whopping $60! Yeah, I must be crazy, I know.

This morning on the dog walk I took the boys to see their new place. They didn’t pee on anything, so I’ll take that as a good sign. I’m going to need to rearrange some furniture to get everything to fit. It should be cozy (that’s the nice way to say “cramped”, right?). It’s gonna be a bit of an adjustment, but it will be fine once I’m settled in.

This is another not from my new house view, but I will be living on that street in the foreground. Close enough, right? I just liked the way the clouds looked floating there below the mountain.

I took myself out for a French lunch today at The Pub.

A French Dip sandwich served au jus and French fried potatoes. John Kim only uses quality ingredients and the beef was outstanding. To me, the au jus makes the sandwich, and I was not disappointed in this flavorful concoction. My only quibble was the lack of cheese on the sandwich. I saw you could order a cheese of your choosing for an extra 50P, but I assumed the French Dip would automatically include the cheese. My fault for not asking.

And that’s today’s installment from the story of my life. Thanks for dropping by, and remember, don’t let those masks slip! Right Dr. Fraudci?

The truth will set you free!

6 thoughts on “A helping hand”

  1. I hope your new employee works out well and does a good job.

    Cheese on a French dip? Hmmm. A look at Wikipedia shows a variant of the traditional French dip; it has Swiss cheese (i.e., Emmenthaler). The original sandwich, though, is cheeseless.

    Good luck with the Hash!

  2. As cheeseless as I am clueless? Just shows how long it has been since I’ve had a “real” French dip. I was expecting cheese that doesn’t belong there. Damn! Like I said though, it was quite tasty and I was very satisfied. And now I need to thank John Kim for not letting me ruin the experience!

  3. Well, the cheesy version is a variant, and there’s nothing wrong with preferring your French dip a certain way. I dunk tuna melts in tomato soup, after all (or at least, I used to), and those’re super cheesy. I actually didn’t realize that you could have a French dip with cheese at all until Wikipedia set me straight. I guess the real point is that John Kim wasn’t short-changing you: he made a proper traditional French dip. And because the sandwich is so simple, you’re right that the au jus makes the sandwich.

  4. Im with Kevin on the French Dip “debate”. I always assumed a French Dip was cheeseless. With the cheese, its starts moving towards a Philly Cheesesteak. Ah well, 1st world problems for sure!!!

    Re: helping your housekeepers daughter. You are a good man. Since you know her and her living style, I assume there should be minimal disruption to you. Kudos for helping out.

  5. There’s no debate the French dip was excellent sans cheese. And The Pub also offers a Philly cheesesteak should I crave the cheesy beef. I’m blessed to have choices!

    Brian, there won’t be any disruption–the basement is actually further removed from my living space than the current one. Inday will assist my other helper with chores like the laundry, so that will be good. Inday is attractive so I need to remember my policy of not messing with the help! 🙂

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