For the hotel employees and guests, we’d have to slip out of the pool and take a break from the vacation. For the contract workers out there on Highway 16, Project, finding the shade on what trees are left. Teachers would gather in the yard after a long day for some quiet time. Take what’s left of the 70 hour work week for some pichi-pichi.
Ok, so if we do this one might wonder what time would we take Merienda here. Well, if we were going to follow this Spanish tradition, we’d take our midday meal around 5:30 p.m. But that would mean we’d have to take our lunch at 2 p.m. and then have dinner at 9 p.m. That would probably cause some difficulty for the government schedule. Yet we were progressive enough to try the year-round school schedule right? We’re experimenting with adjusting work hours today. If we are going to change we might as well make it grand and sweeping. And you know what happens in the afternoon right? The siesta.
But maybe for some of us the Merienda is just that snack between meals. You know, instead of the smoke break we’d take the 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Merienda. The real interesting part is what we have for our Merienda here. In the morning it might be our favorite local style coffee, with Carnation milk and sugar to go with the Navy Biscuits. You know right? You’d take those Navy Biscuits and crush them into your coffee, and spoon it out. Just like at Nana’s house. Something good to ponder as you review the budget numbers for your department for FY 2011. Comfort food for the soul as one wonders how to make that car payment with 10 hours less of pay and no paid holidays. Yet one can go with a spicy version, like your favorite empanada or chicken kelaguen wrap in titiyas. Nothing to help you through a rough Monday morning after those softball tournaments and finishing what drinks were left in the cooler. Or before you see the next lay-off list.
We can go healthy or mainland style. A piece of fruit and yogurt (right after the Pilates class at The Palms). Or go for the Oreo cookies and milk (Miku’s favorite). We can have our favorite calming tea or Japanese Green Tea or Cha. How about that azuki with shaved ice? Or is that only for the weekend treats with the kids? Maybe that’s why those Japanese stores which sell Manjo and Anpan every day do well to keep up our Merienda needs?
Consider going Filipino-style with Merienda too. Branch out and try something different. Which place has the best hot pan de sal? Enjoy that bibingka cassava or biko with a strong cup of coffee. And if you really need that power food, consider that nice chewy set-up of Siopao. That should pull you through that cement pouring project today, or help you figure what’s the latest dispute between USCIS and Labor. I think the pancit and arroz caldo are the “power chow” which can help “guest workers” as they dig the next water line for us or await the DHS regulations. Can someone say Halo-Halo and CW form? I knew you could.
The funny thing about the Merienda is that we all seem to do it in different ways. Different flavors. Different tastes. And how much would we accomplish if we sat down and opened up our treats to share, for a few minutes. Unproductive? Maybe. Inefficient? Hardly. This is where all the work gets done, in between bites. A shared Merienda is a peace offering. To chat and share information. We actually might talk with each other instead of e-mail or text. Okay, some folks have Merienda “all day long.” But who ever had a bad work day when he or she had good Merienda? Think about that the next time you go for that next coffee run at 10 am or that cool treat in the hot afternoon. And you haven’t even gotten around to that Mangan Carabao basket that Uncle John brought over this morning.
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