A VISA PARADOX

A decameron at least.

That is the required number of days in applying for a non-immigrant visa for Thailand.

It was chaos until finally, the online payment button was discerned by The Ironman while engaged in the apprehension of Ted Kaczynski amidst a slew of emailed correspondence.

But in lieu of a visa, 10 bottles of ice cold beer crushed an Entered Apprentice's frozen slices of salmon sashimi instead.

The decameron looms.

A champion emerged in the podium of Comparative Bid Analysis to qualify for a substance screening and an outline review. 

But the entry permit remains in limbo, an eerieness that spooked the weekly catch-ups, scary enough to resurrect a lost driver's license --- rabies-free and decorated with a refrigerated bunch of grapes and reheated litsong manok bathing in a cup of kinamatisang kalabaw and a saucer of menudo that were imbued with the gaminess of carinderia dinakdakan and kilaweng kambing. 

The Royal Thai Embassy acknowledged payment made, enough assurance for the The Phantom Biker to keep to his morning routine of clandestine disposals and provisioning for the evenings.  

A scandal of Korean nipples and butts packed printed travel documents in a 2-page note about the ritual of the First Degree.

For the first time, breakfast at the San Lorenzo Sunday Market tasted of uncertainty.

Yet we walked on along car-free Ayala Avenue where I lose my thoughts counting joggers with the sexiest outfit and those with the darkest armpits. 

It may be a tough call, chewy like the casing of New York-style hotdogs at Paseo de Roxas.

But when life is pelted with lemons, have a ramen feast and that's what we did before checking in my Philippine departure and Thai arrival cards...

BELTLESS IN BANGKOK

Bold courage in traditional combat is not enough for the man who left his strap, whose sphincter yielded, who tried to grow his waist with daily doses of the Holy Trinity and a retinue of kor moo yang, nam tok neua, pla tubtim tod, and kai jeow. 

And every morning, the Chef de Cuisine prepared breakfast for a fundraising strategy with the following ingredients:

• 125 grams of internal and external appraisal dried sticks
• 2 tablespoons funding pipeline analysis puree 
• 3 tablespoons of packed grant writing
• 1/2 sliced financial planning
• 2 chopped localization and southern leadership
• 3/4 cup of of firm gender and safe programming
• 2 lightly whisked compliance and organizational readiness

Anatalya though was a no-go.

In the fourth round, the Final 3 argued their case on how the program logic should inform a results framework to ensure a win within the premises of Room 7097.

A brave food delivery broke through the downpour under the protection of the spirit house. 

Misplaced tap keys were surrendered to a sales associate despite failing to stock on cord strings.

Thus was how the rains in Manila were smuggled --- in a loose denim that were emptied in the streets of Bangkok.

The Generalist detected a viral infection.

The Specialist diagnosed an ocular hypertension.

A pack of bruised lanzones was rushed to the emergency room for a retouch... 

POST-HABAGAT LIMERICKS

Fiery and dark, the god of wind and rain got extinguished
Dry and trampled, in the pavement of Ayala it lay vanquished

Sunday Markets applaud its extinction 

Whores came out for mass in Poblacion

Age is a fine wine but not Chava whose beauty time has ravished

The Phantom Biker purge daily wastes from the inbox

Slags, a trimestral conversation spiced with clever angst

A willowy seller, a lanky barber 

Chained, wheeled like clingy lovers

Visions of the age of AI conjured from a routine podcast  

Three champions emerged from the jungle of the fourth round

Victors of a fortnightly learning that weigh less than a pound

Bangkok booked for departures

Emails for the oculist in Melbourne

The Ironman counted hours and planted stubs all around

Charred marinated chicken devoured by a red horse in a hotdog

A final payment and the second disputed account is flogged
An extension card misspelled 

One application reactivated

Old pussy flicking the bean like a downstairs DJ on the phone 

CHEF'S RCOMMENDATIONS

TODAY'S SPECIAL

A starter of early emails and two meetings, an entree of smoked milkfish with blanched vegetable pear tops and sauteed tomatoes, the evolution of a Climate Action Week in Bangkok for dessert with either a flute of polite refusal from a premiere universal bank or a Burgundy glass of chasing a mediation 

SPECIALTY OF THE HOUSE

An elegantly platterred policy win from the ASEAN front with a plateful of an introduction to fundraising and safe programming, and a bowl of beef with mushroom gravy on the side

CATCH OF THE DAY

Vinegar-stewed milkfish marinated in morning emails with 5 dips from a selection of 27 applications seasoned with three quick calls about a deficient research outcome and topped with an eggplant omelet and stuffed meatloaf, garnished with a pork and liver stew, boxed, and signed 

DAILY SPECIAL

Kitchen trash riding on a bike, virtual work and siopao bridging breakfast and dinner, Ilocano-style sizzling pork for The Ironman in a setting of sprayed air coolers and pavement, a weekend housework of dried fish and duck stew 

FLAVOR OF THE DAY 

Clarinet lessons in cutlery finishing quickly for the unleavened wafers of spiritual cleansing, leftover sauteed mung beans paired with preserved meatloaf and aged anchovy, and chased with hot water wthout the tea  

(almost) SMOKELESS IN BANGKOK AND PHNOM PENH

The Holy Trinity

Knowledge and impact were compressed into 7 slides in under an hour to steer a parallel workshop in Singapore and break the ground in Phnom Penh where impact stories and 35 candidacies will be sown.

But Step 3 is one salary for several timesheets, just enough for a mountain of spicy pork bone soup and  a plate of grilled fish wrap to honor the Guardian Lion.

The seeds were prepared for cultivation despite Monday's insipid khai jiao that was almost eclipsed by Tuesday's fibrous French toast, so the task force gathered at the banks of the Chao Praya River for a cruise with grilled shrimps, baked mussels, and salmon sashimi that were herded by folk dancers for the benefit of the Weaponized Leopard.

Prayers of gratitude and continuing patronage were conveyed to the Creator God Phra Phrom and Supreme God Ganesha in comemoration of a brave heart, of our own story of hope and faith, of soft-boiled eggs and stale croissants that broke the impasse on mandate and governance to conclude the Bangkok Annual Meeting.  

The response to Melbourne's inquiries sounded like the crunch of crispy fried pork and the final sigh of a steamed seabass as a bucket of strength, honor, and good fortune was poured for The Elephant. 

The Transition 

27 of the 35 survived the first reaping, two trains trailed the scent of a cold sandwich to the airport, grilled Khmer pork was etched into pale lagers as a modern wordmark.

The A Team

Personality profiles unlocked commitments and responsibilities to deliver the A Team's modus operandi, to usher the dominant crispiness of deep fried morning glory with grilled beef that relegated a Khmer-style steak into a steady second place because its accompanying prahok was not enough to infuence a parade of roaring tigers that were led by the North Star into the sillhoutte of Angkor Wat. 

I was smokeless in Bangkok until the distinct smell of kretek led me to a conclave of feminine slim from Yangon, toasted tobacco from Dhaka, and the familiar flavor of of mild filters from Manila while in Phnom Penh, the neighborhood shop still sell Mevius for 500 riel per stick that can only be lighted at a street corner food cart.

The last of these coffin nails were smoked after PR 2622 landed at the Salcedo Saturday Market before breaking our fast with failed imitations of Vietmamese noodle, 4 hours before lunching in Baloc and another 4 hours prior to the presentation of lechong paksiw for the MILFs in Bakal 2, a day before an impromptu bar celebrated 36 years of campus activism. 

THE DELEGATION

There were the usual Docusign requests and a couple of sign-offs.

The delegation to the Bretton Woods annual meeting in Bangkok was finalized but I'll be representing in September instead of October as a possible pink badge pulled me closer to Anatolya, a consolation for missing a workshop in Singapore that could have spiced up a boring regional meeting. 

The assigned collection agency was relentless but I've made my last payment and they will get nothing because Killing Eve during an Interview with the Vampire detonated Macondo.

A loan was remitted and brunch, as assigned to the boys, turned out to be chewy French lamb shank, delicate Hainanese chicken, and tender American roast beef.

Dissecting critical mineral in Singapore and performance tracking dcumentation were delegated; an updated budget, a draft contract amendment, and a self-service ticket to fix broken interactive forms were conveyed as requested; the ASEAN mission was expounded and exploratory impact stories conceived; instructions for a team building were deployed.    

Through all that, the Monday meetings were spiced with crunchy dilis that smelled like fried tilapia stuffed with boiled peaputs and litsong manok then steamed in the way of siopao, siomai, and the purging of an inbox.   

Apprently, a certain universal bank is a farce but another was able to email an assessment; old shoes were restored and a new debit card activated wth two insurance policies; digital departure and and arrival cards were inscribed in domestic chores as a reimbursement carried the Phantom Biker through the Bakal 1-3 loop into the market and a Jollibee breakfast.   

The eye and skin doctors of San Jose melted into the crowd of the Legazpi Sunday Market so we took off to offer our prayers and gratitude to our patron at Our Lady of Guadalupe's National Shrine before placing our weekly lotto bet and crawling through a flooded highway.

The Grab driver can't find the hotel lobby so I asked to be dropped off by the street, walked around with my luggage, found it and checked-in, before bearing with a bullshit 7-11 microwaved dinner for my first meal in Bangkok after a long while.

OF SOLVENCIES AND PLASTIC MONEY

My financial standing is low-medium risk [late payments to mobile carriers apparently increases the risks].

A treasury claiming to be the future of banking counter-offered [another touting of having the best costumer experience was apparently hijacked by a trickster].

So documents and requirements were conveyed to a government financial institution [an espoused depository alleged of being a premiere universal bank].

The inbox was purged  to start the week [notes on fraud risk management, fiscal oversight, case histories, and personnel matters were relayed].

There were weekly convenings [a one-on-one and a quickie, a bi-weekly and an employee experience session, a request for guidance and a one program report]. 

Stale submissions were finally liberated [reviewed contracts and survey responses were adjusted].  

Oplan Pink Badge was an  introduction to organizational preparedness [a recruitment to update timesheets for a team building exercise was advertised]. 

Two phantom rides delivered pandesal and garbage through a drizzle of banana-wrapped tilapia and bangus, spontaneous sisig, and kaldereta-topped birthday pansit [dinakdakan and adobong bibe seasoned an initiation in Baloc].

The Marauder's Map showed Pugad Baboy walking through Hogwarts without  credit cards [the college still stands, the high school is under renovation, the naked concrete man is still naked].