Aberdeen

The train was traveling from Aberdeen to Glasgow when the derailment occurred.

On the 9th of April of 2023, my family went out for dim sum lunch in the elegant Fisherman's Terrace Seafood Restaurant in the very fancy Aberdeen Centre, here on Lulu Island. I do not often have dim sum, and this time, I really had a nice time. My family knew that I have been dreaming of a spacious atrium-like venue, and this time, there it was. After the beautiful meal, we headed to the Japanese-lifestyle boutique called Oomomo. I wanted to get a bottle of authentic Japanese "mugicha," or barley tea, but I could not think too much of more food, just then.

In the afternoon of the 28th of December of 2024, my cousin Eve's cousin Rex went with Eve and Mama to tour Lulu Island. Rex is visiting from the states. They went to Garden City Shopping Centre to have bubble tea that he has been desiring. Then, they visited Aberdeen Centre, wherein Rex bought me four packages of varied Japanese goodies: There is a small box of "ZEN Gardening Kit" amongst them. The others are snacks. Rex knows that I am a Nipponophile. I opine that Rex looks more Peruvian than Mexican. At home, they brought me a steamed pork-stuffed bun and lotus leaf-wrapped meat-stuffed sticky rice. Being highly cultured, Rex was preparing fruitcake with wine. Mama, Eve, and Rex huddled themselves at the kitchen table. In the meanwhile, in the evening, I went to Starbucks café to drink a reddish Passion Tango iced tea. The baristas were Chris the Japanese-English hybrid and Jessica the petite Vietnamese. I told Jessica about me eating out at Crab Hot Lau, a Vietnamese restaurant, the other day. She said that she has not tried it herself.

"Macau-Macau!" exclaimed Michael, the Guǎngzhōu Man, when we were thinking about Tagalog and the Philippines, as we were sitting at Lulu Island's Tim Hortons café, after 10:00, June 15, 2025. "Malaki?" I wondered if he was referring to the word for "big." I asserted: "'Lalaki' is for a man or boy, a male. 'Babae' is for a woman or girl, a female." It was déjà vu: I remembered that conversation with him from years ago. I was explaining that Tagalog words for gender alluded to size or stature. To Michael, the Philippines seems like a big Macau, the Portuguese ex-colony in the PRC, except that the Philippines is ex-Spanish. After we talked more about other subjects, Michael had to leave to pick up his kids at Sunday ESL class at posh Aberdeen Centre. At the café, Alex, my Filipino friend, reminded me about Mass times: Well before 15:00, I ventured walking in the blue-sky sunshine to the "Clam Temple," the Roman Catholic church on St. Albans Road. In the great worship hall, there were just a Filipina nun in her nun outfit and two women church co-workers at the front. I was sitting way back. Feeling the void was all that was necessary, except that one of the ladies started using a handheld vacuum cleaner to clean underneath the votive candle stands, where some candles were lit. I exited to the nice sunshine, as I sat on a bench. I'm Buddhoanimist as many Asians. The "Clam Temple" is a good ersatz for me. It was likely my 44th visit this year for me there. Ah, the void...

Nickname: the Granite City

In Aberdeen, a fishing village of 12,000 fishermen who live on more than 3,000 sampans, we were transported on a rickety sampan through the mazelike sea community; on these modest wooden boats, large families, dogs, the day's catch of drying fish and television antennas all co-exist.

Police Launch No. 32 sliced through the murky gray-green waters of Aberdeen, navigating the narrow path between fishing junks, sampan taxis and the gaudy Jumbo floating seafood restaurant.

The corpse of a newborn child was found in waters off the typhoon shelter in Aberdeen on Tuesday morning.