Ask anyone from the Philippines about the weather and they’d tell you that the weather here is manic. Intensely hot and sunny one moment, pouring wet the next.

Yesterday was one such day. When I got off work, I was confronted by a torrential downpour that came out of nowhere. Unfortunately for me, I wore a thin summer dress and cork-heeled wedges because in the morning, the sky deceived me into thinking that it was going to be a sunny day. I should have known better.

Luckily, I always keep a spare umbrella at the office so I decided to brave the rain rather than remain stranded. Home was only a good 7-minute walk, anyway. As I was skipping through the puddles, taking lots of care not to get my feet wet (I’m a little neurotic about saliva and germs mixing with the water), I noticed tons of wet cigarette butts scattered haphazardly across the pavement. I was disgusted.

I have nothing against smokers but I detest people who litter. Haven’t we learned from Ondoy? Has it not taught us the importance of disposing our garbage properly? I can imagine how one might think that a small cigarette butt won’t  cause much harm. It is small after all. Yesterday, however, I saw not only one but several of it floating in the puddles. I also saw several streaming with the water through the gutter. I was astounded by the number of smokers who have no regard for our law against littering. And no, it’s not about the scarcity of waste bins; more like a lack of discipline.

So please, I beg of you, if you do smoke, please dispose of your cigs properly. We are all trying to avoid another tragedy like Ondoy.

Rather than dwell on this depressing issue, I thought about the kimchi I had for lunch all the way home. (Nice segue to food, yes?) Think happy thoughts, I said to myself.

I have been craving for Kimchi since Saturday night so I knew that I had to have it. I got mine as a side dish to the Bibimbap I ordered from Song Do in El Pueblo. The Kimchi wasn’t as good as the one I had from Ye Dang – it was a bit too sour and not spicy enough – but it was good enough to satisfy my craving. I loved how the cabbage crunched as I chewed on it while the juice seeped down my throat. God, that Kimchi made me really happy! 🙂

Thank goodness for this wonderful Kimchi for saving the day! 🙂