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