SixLives.sg

I feel like this lonely flower...

The mysterious sms messages I have been getting finally made sense. I did not realise she is such a big girl now. She just showed up at the wedding unannounced, after the photo taking session, and asked for me. I was alone with Norman, sorting out the photography issues.

The girl just stood there, studying me. All she said was, “Mother?”

It was so long ago. I never forgave myself for giving her away like that but I was too young to look after a child.

I feel like I have missed out on so many birthdays, so many moments. What do I do? How do I make it up to her?

Am I going to be left on the shelf like a shrink-wrapped, soon-to-expire, piece of fruit?

Maybe.
Maybe I’m too fussy.
Maybe my expectations are too high.
Maybe I’m no longer marketable.
Maybe I’m past my ‘expiry date’.

Maybe.

But.
Maybe I’m overthinking this.
Maybe I should ask him out.
Maybe he won’t be distracted by the many women in his life.
Maybe.

Good news: I found 8 floor staff for the new restaurant, and they all have plenty of  experience and give wonderful service.

Bad news: I have to send them for a course in English, because they hardly speak a word of it. We are not going to be one of those establishments that require customers to learn a new language just to understand the service staff.

Why can’t I have my cake and eat it?

This is just great. Thanks to my heroic efforts (to impress our adorable yoga instructor), I’ve twisted my ankle, and I can barely walk to the kitchen.

Thank goodness for Wi-Fi.

Speaking of which, I found a great comedy sketch about the difficulty accents can pose to clear communication. It’s also got a wonderful bit at the end  that proves knowing your Shakespeare is worth the effort, if only to annoy your teacher. I hope none of Leng’s students are as annoying as this, though.

Ok, now I am officially freaked out. Here’s what happened. So Norman came over to my place to finalise the locations for the shoot, and he was practically drooling when he saw my fridge, because now I’m up to 344 magnets… and counting. Then he gave me no. 345!

A limited edition American Civil War commemorative fridge magnet as a birthday present.
There were only ten ever made. So we had a magnetic moment… hahaha! Then there was a knock on the door and when I went to open it nobody was there! Just a card that read, “Happee Birthdae. I watches you alwayz. You 4got about me but I never 4got about you. Why did you 4got me? Don’t you love me any more?” And to make things worse, there was a photo collage of me! Taken at various locations, clearly from a distance. I was so freaked! Norman asked me to call the police but I think I’m going to wait awhile, see if I can solve this mystery by myself. Norman offered to help, he said he could follow me discreetly (like a private investigator, so exciting) and see if he could spy on the person spying on me!

I am going to strangle my supplier.

I get a call from Terry, our kitchen porter, at 6 am in the morning. He’s babbling something incoherently at the top of his lungs, and I can hear Jean-Luc screaming in the background. A lot of ‘Mon Dieu’, which I realize (with a sinking feeling) can only mean bad news. Jean-Luc is the zen master. This does not bode well.

I finally get Terry to calm down enough to pass the phone to Jean-Luc, who tells me that there are approximately 20 live snow crabs in the restaurant kitchen.

Snow crabs are large.

They are large, pale, and scary, and apparently, they have taken over my restaurant’s kitchen.

So, at 7 in the morning, I was on the phone with my seafood supplier, who insisted that we had ordered the snow crabs, and refused to take them back.

It looks like we’re having snow crab on the menu this week. And it also looks like I have to change suppliers. Wilted lettuce is one thing, but giant, creepy snow crabs (twenty of them, mind you) is too much!

I’m not stepping into that kitchen again until Jean-Luc has…disposed of those monsters. I could have sworn one of them was looking at me hungrily. Shudder. Well, at least the supplier didn’t deliver giant Japanese spider crabs. :\

Oh dear me. I’ve succumbed to the ageless, time-honoured traditional method of de-stressing: retail therapy. This time, it was thinkgeek’s range of adorable kitchen and office gizmos that had me reaching for my credit card.

Note to self: do NOT go to any sale, online or in real life, after ten hours of looking at HR and accounting reports. Ever.

On the bright side, I picked up these charming little gadgets. I think some of them will make very nifty Christmas presents.

I just had to have this… a pixelated superhero fridge magnet (on sale). How could I resist?!

And then there were these uber-cool ice cube replacements (whiskey stones) …so handy for unexpected company when your ice tray is empty..

I think Leng will love this chef’s quad-timer as well… see, it’s not just about me!

And of course, I couldn’t resist this twee little coaster.

Last of all, I found the perfect desk accessory for when those pesky suppliers get the order wrong and I have ten (living) giant snow crabs sitting in my kitchen.