Sunday, September 25, 2005
We'll walk on, bit by bit
Yesterday I did my third waitressing stint in Melbourne, this time for the 10th reunion of Medical students who graduated from the old University of Singapore in 1963. It was a small gathering of 46: this number made up of both alumni, their spouses and children (and partners for some, too). So as evidenced, the alumni gathered that night was accountably small.The staff hired that night was very small too - including me, there were five namely the manager, John, Daniel and a couple. Daniel and I were the only ones who came on board on the second night. Yesterday's menu was Italian unlike the previous day's Chinese. This made serving much easier given the significant reduction in the number of courses and also the weight of each item we had to carry out.
What made this waitressing experience so memorable and significant were the people and the privilege of serving them. Daniel said something very true: when you served the diners, you establish a relationship with them. When you cook for them, like John did (and he was fantastic in his one-man-show I assure you), you are serving not just their appetites but also their well-being. Nothing connects people better than food and conversation; and behind all these are the service and the communication.
I had a good time talking to Sean, one of the waiters, who came back to Melbourne to work after returning to Malaysia for 8 years to work upon graduating from Melbourne way back then. He said he does not like it as much here as he did when he was studying, it is different. I do not doubt the change in perspectives afterall work is a different ballgame and we grow constantly, even if we are in our thirties I'm sure. We talked about working and studying here, the differences in approaches to education and lifestyle as compared to home. We shared our opinions and experiences with Aussies and how they focused more on talking than doing. hehehe but we are not too hung up on this, so relax.
John the manager is quite a personality. He was amazingly easy-going with blue eyes which emitted a warm glow of their own, and a gentle fatherly smile. He singlehandedly prepared the meals - chicken stuffed with spinach and pinenuts, trevally with a dollop of margarine and seasoning, crepes with cherries and cream, and finally that scrumptious lasagne with sundried tomatoes and ricotta cheese (which is still sitting in my fridge). It was a waste how some food went uneaten. I know I waste much good food often, but it is different when you are the one serving the food and when you knew how much effort went into preparing it. He came to Australia in 1971 from England. He began building his base in the hospitality and is now continuing his father's business. I can only contemplate how difficult and challenging it must be in this industry where the feeble and unsure are tossed out of the mix. He was the one who brought Dome to Singapore (I should really try it when I go back). It must be with a deep sense of pensiveness when he said he was married to his job. This came in reply to Daniel's comment on how happy his wife must be having a husband who could cook so well. He said he loved cooking, I told him he would have made an excellent one. I did not say that as a cheap trick to comfort. Both of us knew better.
There were inevitably many many speeches. I think they made up the bulk of what went on that night. However there was one significant part of the night's extended address where the speaker, Mr Leong (if I remembered correctly) named the individuals who could not be there with them to commemorate the years the alumni and their families have spent together, and apart. There was a one minute silence. He recalled an obituary published in the newspapers recently; the guy whom everyone "misunderstood" and was probably a great person despite what happened then; and all the people who have been mentioned in previous alumni gatherings. Then they sang 'Auld Lang Syne' a few times, the latter few with them holding hands and moving anticlockwise in a circular motion. Some of the men began running to their bags, grabbing their cameras. One of them moved out of the circle and began snapping the scene on a chair. Another placed himself on a chair in the middle of the circle and videotaped his loved ones from a vantage point.
Quietly we gazed from outside the room, singing both audibly and silently along with the 46.
They ended the night with a vote as to which place to hold the gathering next. They settled on South Island, New Zealand. This concluded the night. We remained to clean up the tables and arrange the furniture. It was with aching bodies and drowsy minds that we left the kitchen. When we do not know what a year will bring, and many whom we may or may not see again, but having a night to reminisce on nonetheless.
lux at 12:29 am
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Please hold, will speak to you shortly
I am eating Jalna's bio-dynamic apricot yoghourt and listening to Kings of Convenience and Fiona Apple now. Just chilling and cruising, after all my hols have already started and I do not harbour intentions (for now at least) of grinding the work machines. A good solid pot of tea, a tight read, a gentle warm ambience and a comfy woollen or pashmina throw... I know where this is headed: a private, obscure cafe tucked away in some small lane in Carlton. Together with a handy notebook, I will read and scribble the hours away.Ooh this entry was actually to announce my new blog template, which I had a tiresome time finding and an even more perplexing time editing. But then again the look speaks for itself, no need for this wordy add-on.
I am off for some soymilk. yummm
lux at 3:16 pm
Monday, September 05, 2005
When pain morphs into Pain
Today I walked a bit too quickly, a bit furiously. This was how I usually walked in Melbourne anyway but today was a tad different - I was on heels. There was a metal buckle on the strap of each heel which went over my toes. So as I went clicking, kicking around Melbourne's little lanes, pounding the gravel I did not know what I was doing to my feet.When I came back home I was changing into my track pants when I saw that my right foot's fourth toe was quite gruesomely bloodied. The skin had been abraised and blood had smudged itself liberally over my whole toe. The moment I saw this mess I never once intended to consciously cause, I felt pain for my little toe. It was not pain, not at all, I simply imagined and concluded (logically) that it was. Of course the reality of sensation hit me when I bathed. The first time warm water touched it I felt a jolt of pain. But that was just all because 30 seconds into my bath I was already numbed to this self-inflicted physical pain. No I am not some irrational masochist who relishes moments of striking, shocking sensations. Blood should flow when it should and not lost in some wasted manner.
However it is Pain, that which is mental and emotional, that hurts tremendously. I cannot bandage it up, apply antiseptic to it or numb it with more heat and pressure. Maybe it is because I do not want this heart and mind of mine to die as yet. If death is a non-issue I will not be in pain anymore, would I? When you know you messed up real badly, when the only one raising the stakes was you, you are in for a lot of regret. And I prayed: I need to be the one in focus, not self-righteous or selfish or confused, but doing and saying things with love, sensitivity and deep understanding. I know I have screwed things up somewhere, somehow and now I need to take care to heal the pain I have inflicted on others, and myself.
lux at 11:06 am