AT THE SPEED OF NOOR

For the first time in my life today, I saw a hard labor foreign worker wearing glasses. I had to do a double take, because for over 30 years of me being alive, I've never seen a foreign construction worker wearing glasses here. It made me imagine if those among them who needed glasses had worn them... all the work they could've done or could have finished sooner... all the educational opportunities throughout their lives that they could have taken up... all the accidents they could've avoided/prevented. In case you forgot (as I usually do), short/long-sightedness is still a disability. Although these issues can be managed using glasses/contact lenses/lasik surgery, all these require money and a certain level of care that not all of us can afford. I'm so glad that the man I saw has glasses for his eyesight (I hope he has the right prescription!), but I also wish more people could get the help they need for conditions impacting their quality of life. It really is sad that

Bumped into an old friend/neighbor whom I haven't seen in a while today. I didn't notice him at first. Not long after I put down my stuff on the empty table next to him, he looked up and said hi. I think he saw the panic/confusion in my eyes because he then asked, "How's aunty and uncle?" (i.e. my parents), and then it clicked who he was. He said he'd seen me around the cafe a couple of times doing work and stuff, but I didn't recognise him at all. It feels weird to be remembered... I always feel like a blurry insignificant extra in the background of people's movie of their life. I don't think I'll ever get used to being remembered. We had a few simple exchanges like, "How's your mom?"; "Where do you live now?"; "Is your bro still living in the neighborhood?";"I miss the playground"; "We haven't seen each other since high school!"; "Yea none of us are married so we're all pretty