The Fat Man Today

Everybody loves fried chicken. And in Manila, there are plenty of fried chicken options for the scintillating connoisseur. Thanks to 24-hour fast food staples like Jollibee and KFC, or dependable corner stores like Mini Stop and Family Mart, the average hungry Pinoy isn’t going to run out of that fried chicken fix at any hour of the day. And, you guessed it, the fat man is no exception. But my love for fried chicken is only matched by my hatred for the utensils that these establishments provide. Aside from KFC, none of the places serving easily accessible fried chicken seem to care about the quality of the tools for eating said chicken. Sure, you could be eating the chicken by hand, but sometimes, that isn’t an option.

I’ve never, ever participated in Movember, or No Shave November, whichever you want to call it, but not because I’m not sympathetic to the causes either of the two is trying to push. It’s more due to the fact that I have my own thing when it comes to growing facial hair. I can’t, for the life of me, stand my facial hair for very, very long; there will always come a point wherein my beard meets a pair of scissors somewhere down the line, and suddenly the true depth of my double chin is made visible. I do have a couple of habits—or seasons, if you like—when it comes to trimming my ‘stache and beard, though. Right off the bat, I can name three: The Fruits of Patience, The Threat of Balance, and The Good Man.