Category: Work

Lunch break

I’m eating a plate of crab fried rice that looked unremarkable, but actually tastes quite amazing. This is a touristy dish that I pass on in Thailand because it’s usually got bits of shell in it, but it’s what they made for me today, and I’m glad they did – there’s huge chunks of crab meat hidden in the middle, and the egg was crispy with a runny yolk. Yum.

Meanwhile, there’s a guy who looks like jesuscristo floating in the huge hotel pool. If he turns it into wine, I’m calling off the afternoon lecture..

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Thanks for the D

I was in a bank the other day, holding Max and waiting for Nam to finish renewing our car insurance, when a student from a while back spotted me and came in to say hi. Then she started tearing up and thanked me repeatedly for passing her last year, and pointed down to her bulging midsection.

“I’m six months pregnant,” she said, “and I just don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t graduated yet.”

I remembered her case very well – it had been a tough call, with various problems if I chose to help her, but in the end, I passed her. I dealt with the problems. I forgot about her class and started teaching new ones… and now she was here.

I was kind of embarrassed, but I squeezed Max closer, and looked her in the eyes and told her to be a good mom.

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It’s 50,000% better to be told someone’s pregnant after you make a decision like that than before.