Nog

These days, I am wearing my red touque with orange letters in Tagalog, "MGA AWSTRALYA ANG MGA ESTRELYA," alluding to space colonization and the cold and hot deserts of other worlds. These days, I talk with Greg, my religious Filipino friend, at Starbucks café. We talk about travelling, anthropology, international food, and religion. This morning, I played in the midst of dense fog in a neighbourhood grassy field. At Starbucks café, in the foggy morning, I was drinking my reddish Passion Tango iced tea, which contained hibiscus, lemongrass, cinnamon, passion fruit, pineapple, and so forth. Greg gifted me a chocolate croissant. At Starbucks café, in the grey-sky afternoon, I was drinking the seasonal Oat Nog Latte. (Incidentally, Nog is a dwarf-like Ferengi alien character in the Star Trek franchise.) Kristina, part-Inuit part-Norwegian, was my barista. She has a handsome face, and her mannerisms and style reflect some things about her Inuit ancestors. "Viktor, it's like you're part-Inuit," she told me. She knows that I am from the Philippines. At my table, I exercised with my hand grip strengthener, which I carried in my army jacket pocket. At the café, I greeted Don the alluring white man and Květa the solitary Czech lady, as I exited. It is the 4th of December of 2024.

Whilst drinking my Oat Nog Latte at Starbucks café, this grey-sky morning, I was talking to Afroz, a worker at Kin's Farm Market on Lulu Island, which I frequent to buy exotic things (to others) like lotus roots, Japanese yams, kumquats, dragonfruits, longans, jujubes, Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes, passion fruits, star fruits, etc. Afroz is what he categorizes himself as a "generic Indian Muslim." He was from Uttar Pradesh. His last city was Mumbai, before he left for BC. His daughter has been left with her grandparents in India. Afroz lives with his wife, a caregiver, in Vancouver. Afroz has an MBA from India, but he says that it is difficult to attain his dream job of doing marketing. I told him that my Auntie Vicky from the Philippines was working as a manager for Tupperware (a plastic container company) in India, as she lived in a "palace" with servants. I could not visit her at that time because I was working. (She also worked in Thailand, which I did visit.) It is the 8th of December of 2024, today.

These days, at Starbucks café, I have been addicted to Oat Nog Latte, but this morning, I decided to have Iced Gingerbread Oat Chai. I sat in the back, near the restrooms. It is a grey-sky day. I walk practically everyday to get to the café. It was extremely windy, today, though. I stopped at Yummy Slice pizzeria for a Diet Coke and Subway sandwitcheria for a Turkey Ranch "Snackwich" just before the café. Heading home, I then visited Kin's Farm fruteria. Grandma Taiwan was there at the front: "Míng sà la!" she exclaimed. The lotus roots were out of stock. The wind was ferocious, as I walked back home. The neighbourhood Tim Hortons will be opening soon. Today is the 14th of December of 2024.

I walked at night, here on Lulu Island. As I entered Starbucks café, sitting at a table with two Doritos bags of chips, one purple and one red, were Peter the redheaded Anglo and Hans the Netherlander on a motorized wheelchair, who offered to me. I took a few chips from both bags. Then, I was drinking reddish Passion Tango iced tea, then Oat Nog Latte. I was munching on crème brûlée almonds. I was exercising with my hand grip strengthener at my table. There were a regular couple with seemingly American spoken accents. The man was a handsome white-haired bear, always wearing a sports outfit. At Hans' request after he exited, Peter gave the purple Doritos bag to me and the red one to Chris the Japanese-English hybrid, who was a barista. The other barista was Jessica the petite Vietnamese. There were Filipino customers. Jessica asked me if I knew what was "lomi" (a Filipino noodle dish). I said that it was "rāmen." Homebound, walking, I accidentally tripped on a wooden board in a dark alleyway. My eyeglasses fell off. Luckily, I was not hurt. A Cantonese labourer helped me. Today is the 14th of December of 2024.

This winter has been warmer than usual, so far, without snow, here on Lulu Island. In the morning, this 27th of December of 2024, I walked twice to Tim Hortons: Firstly, I ate two hash browns with an oat milk iced coffee. Secondly, I ate a sausage egg English muffin meal, including a hash brown and oat milk iced coffee. I went to Starbucks for an oat nog latte. I missed Greg, my Filipino friend, who left just before me. Then, I went to Yummy Slice pizzeria for a red-can Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. The Filipina vendor Rose was there, so we said "Happy New Year" to each other. I passed by Kin's Farm fruteria. On my way home, in the park's alleyway, I met and talked with my ufologist friend, Michael J., a Dane-French. He amused himself with the red touque on my head, with orange letters in Tagalog: "MGA AWSTRALYA ANG MGA ESTRELYA" (The stars are Australias). I told him it was about "space colonization." There are the cold and hot deserts of other worlds. Then, I went to the house of my "auntie" neighbour, Tita Zeny, to pick up her homemade "dinuguán" or Filipino pork blood stew to bring home. Lunch at home would include Filipino chicken "adobo."

Within a wall,[…], we find vertical studs, nogs or blocking, top and bottom plates, perhaps some form of diagonal braces, and many nailed and screwed connections.

nogs and chocks are used to support the roof where waste material can not conveniently be obtained

Walpole laid a quart of nog on't He'd either make a hog or dog on't.