THE SLACK

Life is a Kapampangan buffet lunch: savory, rich, delectable.

But it was actually a nondescript bowl of soupy balao-balao --- food of both Gods and mortals -- that elevated the flavors of Saturday's sumptuous spread in what could have been bland nilagang gulay, a typical fried catfish, and even an overfried lechong kawali.  

Pretty much like a particular week in Bakal 2: tedious, monotonous, routine.

Until a contentious non-compliance was resolved and a challenging extraordinary procurement in Kuala Lumpur waived. 

Somehow, these dulled the sharp mundaneness of cancelled Monday meetings and the daily grind of sorting through electronic mails and messages, the chagrin of being reimbursed in pesos rather than dollars, and the struggle of composing a compelling farewell note. 

A surprise top-up of $140,000 for Phnom Penh and Manila hailed the fiscal year's first conversation with partners; what can possibly be the appropriate business models for sustainable housing; a cheap ryokan in Japan maybe or climate-resilient settelements around the Santuario de San Vicente de Paul Parish and Shrine of the Poor --- ideas that were bookended by the Thursday Group with the crispiness of fried tilapia and the delicate texture of estofadong pata.   

Bangkok's impact measurement training will be virtual after all. 

Reports must be submitted before the dealdine.

Thus, the Phantom Biker finally broke out of its cocoon for a take-out goto, a dine-in Jollibee breakfast, a prayer to St. Jerome, and a futile search for foreign exchange. 

The slack spawned possibilities: a trade-in for a Toyota Zenix maybe, an opportunity in the Senate perhaps, a probable 3-step reclassification? 

What's certain are the replacement stoves and and spectacles, an updated bank account, clean air coolers, and a replenished larder before Tropical Storm Ramil made landfall.