Nadia My Friend (4) Nadia's Friend Sylvia




With Sylvia. After lunch in Little Italy
Sun 3/29/2015

Sunday afternoon. Sylvia drove down from LA. We met up at a restaurant in Little Italy. The restaurant was my favorite and I took Nadia once, and she loved their pesto gnocci.

Originally Luis was supposed to join us for the gathering, but unfortunately he got stuck around the border due to Semana Santa (Holy Week). We two ladies had lunch instead.

When I parked my car and walked to the restaurant, Sylvia was sitting at the terrace seat.

"Thanks for coming." We gave each other long quiet hug.

Sylvia was an ex-coworker of Nadia at an US company. Sylvia was the receptionist there. The company did not seem to treat employees well, and Sylvia got laid off right after Nadia joined the company. "The company instead hired five temp cheap staff. That's what I heard later on."

The same night of the day Sylvia left the company, Nadia called her up and told her "This is nothing to do with your capability or anything, it is because of the company's unreasonable decision." Nadia comforted Sylvia. This is how they became closer friends after Sylvia left.

On Nadia's side, the company did not support her working visa in spite of the original discussion with her. Nadia left the company eventually.


At Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista. Nadia y Sylvia.


I met Sylvia in 2009, when I quit my job and moved back to US and had some break. We met through Nadia, of course.

Around this periond, I remember Nadia was little down, maybe lost in life, and she used to attend the church in San Diego where Sylvia used to go. According to Sylvia, the day we met was the day Church's youth group gathered, so it should have been a Friday. However, my photo data says it is February 2nd, which is Monday, I do not know what day it actually was.


With Chino.
Now Chino is married to a Nicaraguan lady.

This day Nadia and I were hanging around in San Diego side, and met up with Sylvia in Old Town after her church activity. The actual intention of Nadia and Sylvia was to introduce me to Chino, who is the major church member and pro-Japan..

From Old Town we went to a Starbucks, assuming somewhere near Bonita or Chula Vista as we took 54 freeway. According to Sylvia, the church youth group used to hang out at the Starbucks on East Palomar, which is the nearest Starbuck from my current home! But the Starbucks I remember had the high ceiling and seems different from my neighbor Starbucks. I don't know.

Sylvia is an active, outgoing and pretty girl. I got very nice impression and wanted to be good friends. She called me "Mayu" and very kind to me. Besides she told me she is one-eighth Japanese. Her grandpa is Japanese. She said she did not know his Japanese name because he changed name to a Spanish one. In spite of my hoping to be good friends with Sylvia, she was more interested in hooking me up with Chino back then..

Sylvia was apparently disappointed when she learned Chino and I did not happen. Well, Chino was a nice person and he likes the Japanese "visual-kei" bands which I also like, but it cannot be helped...

We tried to see each other after that, but timing did not match. We both had another priority in life.

So Nadia went to the church for a few months and she connected with Sylvia as friends afterwards.

Sylvia was moving between San Diego, LA and her hometown Ensenada back and forth due to her work and family reason. Now she is settling in LA and she is trying to settle there in a long term.

The last time Sylvia met her was in 2012 when she still lived in Ensenada. Nadia visited her over the weekend.

Sylvia told me that she will restart her ballet lesson once she changed to the new job and her schedule is fixed. She explained how great the ballet studio in Torrance is and named some famous ballet dancers from that studio.

I told her that I wished Nadia was there with us, because Nadia was telling me about Sylvia quitting the church and restarted dancing. Nadia was happy to know she was doing what she really loves. (Nadia would hear this from Sylvia in 2012 in Ensenada.)

In Ensenada, she danced in two dance studios. Sylvia explained the first one was one of the best in town and Nadia visited there with her and met the teacher there. The teacher and Sylvia went along with Nadia when she went back to TJ after the weekend. They had to shop some ballet shoes in San Diego. So probably the teacher would remember Nadia.

Another studio Sylvia used to go was Cuban. According to her, Cuban ballet is like Soviet ballet, very strict but sophisticated dance. I learned something interesting.

Sylvia was teaching English at school and at the same time she launched a translation (English- Spanish) business. She still does the translating business on the side. She is currently doing accounting at a flower shop, but soon she will move to a trucking company, which will give her mor e fixed schedule. She was happy about it.

The weather was beautiful and it was so comfortable being outside. We were sitting at the patio seat talking nearly 3 hours. I had pappardelle pasta with salmon cream sauce, and Sylvia ordered lasagna as that was the menu she had with Nadia, but she ordered vegetarian one.

Sylvia has a younger sister with kids living in San Diego. She said she would stop by her sister before heading back to LA. Her sister has met Nadia also, and she said Nadia was a cool person.

Yes, Nadia was a cool person. We both agreed. She was easy going. She never gave people hard time saying something difficult. Sylvia said it was only Nadia who supported and understood her when she left the church.

She felt like she wasted the 10 years at the church, but she wants to believe that she accompanied Nadia at the church and helped her to get some answers she needed back then. She quietly talked.

I really appreciate Sylvia for suggesting me to go to the services. I am free from regret thanks to her. We are hoping to get together soon and this time with Luis also (with Luis' treat!!! He owes us one good meal!)

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