I always find it a little funny when I make new friends. It just seems that everything from "Hi! I'm Suet May!" to "Hey, you know her too???" is carefully planned by God to look as coincidental as possible but what if you've never talked to that person and the only thing you have in common is a couple of 100 meters shared between you.
This was exactly what happened when I drove back from Ipoh with my Uncle on Sunday after having a belated dinner with Grandpa at Overseas. I was just slowing down before the red light just at the junction to the North South Highway when I noticed a beige Camry by the name of BGT 1998 stop behind me. The 1998 caught my eye so from now on, thats what I'm going to call her.
45 minutes passed and suddenly I realised that 1998 has been behind me all this while, keeping about 200 meters behind me and its weird but suddenly on this long stretch of tar and cement, I felt like I've actually got company outside my Uncle's green Satria. It felt really, really good and I actually didn't doze off at all because I kept looking out to make sure 1998 was always somewhere nearby.
I told my uncle but all he said was "Really?". Sometimes, 1998 went ahead off me but never too far or too distant that I couldn't catch up and sometimes I was in front. That was how it was for about 200 km till I took the Damansara exit which was a little sad but hey, thats how life is.
Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go... And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.
Gloria Naylor
Hi everyone! It seems I've dissapeared into the world of coffee so much so that I have failed to do anything about my spammed tagboard. Jay and Chuen, my two bored friends obviously have nothing better else to do and decide to try their hands at spamming. Not bad you all! Hey, I might even have a new reader! Welcome, Welcome Auntie Angie!
Anyway, in the midst of spilled coffee, faked wedding bells and imaginary kickass frappucinos which I think is rather cool, I managed to fit in Actorlympics. I will make it a point though, to suggest it to my boss and maybe one day Starbucks will be selling Kickass Frappucino Blended Cream! Back to Actorlympics at Bangsar's Actor's Studio, the Malaysian version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Afdlin Shauki and Rashid Salleh were at their funniest best! Of course, Douglas Lim, Ida Nerina, Naa Murad and Reza Zainal Abidin played excellant sidekicks. Emcee of the night was the delectable (but sadly, I think he's gay) Edwin Sumun. Harith Iskandar sat at the end of the row where Nana, Chuen and I sat. We were not surprised that he was invited or volunteered to go upstage to add his share to the hilariousness.
To sum it all up, this are the ingredients to this week's wednesday:
Morning ~ Coffee beans, Caramel Drizzle, Frappucinos and Muffins
Middle ~ Turkey and Ham Panini, Lattes and Cheesecakes
Night ~ Marche's Fusilli and Actorlympics
Add them all up to get an absolutely, deliciously laugh-your-guts-out day!
I'm starting to get a hang I THINK and everyday at STARBUCKS is slowly starting to register in my brain as NORMAL. However, I'm still blur in some things and in some ways, I will always be blur. Ha ha, my poor manager must be wondering why he hired a Blur Bean.
I did my first middle shift yesterday afternoon and nearing the end of my shift, Brian asked me to take off the mats at the bar, sweep and mop that area. Everything went okay until it was time to mop. He brought out a yellow device on wheels which looked highly complicated to me. I did figure out however it was to put the mop and water. Am I smart or what! Then there was this long blue shaft sticking out of it and didn't seem to play any part of the mopping process so I concluded that it was the STEERING WHEEL!
10 minutes into mopping and pushing this yellow monster of a pail around, Khalid comes out and suddenly says,"Hey doctor(thats what they so irritatingly call me now!), don't you think the floor is a bit too soapy?". Hmm...Really?? What am I to do? I'm been pushing the mop against the drainer as hard as I could. What happened next will then become the Joke of the Day at Starbucks Ikano. Khalid promptly took the mop from my hand, twist it in the drainer and gripped my "Steering Wheel", gave it a push. Amazingly, the drainer compressed itself, producing a superbly dry mop!
Obviously, my face had already turned beetroot now and the shock forced me to voice my recent speculation of the function of the "Steering Wheel". In 5 seconds,the entire crew burst out in hilarious laughter (loud enough for every customer to put down their coffee and look our way). Sigh...What's a blur bean to do? I guess there's nothing left but to join the laughter so thats what I did, all the way home and to bed.
I did my first middle shift yesterday afternoon and nearing the end of my shift, Brian asked me to take off the mats at the bar, sweep and mop that area. Everything went okay until it was time to mop. He brought out a yellow device on wheels which looked highly complicated to me. I did figure out however it was to put the mop and water. Am I smart or what! Then there was this long blue shaft sticking out of it and didn't seem to play any part of the mopping process so I concluded that it was the STEERING WHEEL!
10 minutes into mopping and pushing this yellow monster of a pail around, Khalid comes out and suddenly says,"Hey doctor(thats what they so irritatingly call me now!), don't you think the floor is a bit too soapy?". Hmm...Really?? What am I to do? I'm been pushing the mop against the drainer as hard as I could. What happened next will then become the Joke of the Day at Starbucks Ikano. Khalid promptly took the mop from my hand, twist it in the drainer and gripped my "Steering Wheel", gave it a push. Amazingly, the drainer compressed itself, producing a superbly dry mop!
Obviously, my face had already turned beetroot now and the shock forced me to voice my recent speculation of the function of the "Steering Wheel". In 5 seconds,the entire crew burst out in hilarious laughter (loud enough for every customer to put down their coffee and look our way). Sigh...What's a blur bean to do? I guess there's nothing left but to join the laughter so thats what I did, all the way home and to bed.
Sigh...please take the title seriously. As of today, I'm 2 days old in the Starbucks Family and I'm happy. No other words to describe it, I'm happy! Then my logic kicks in and puts in a smart-ass word, "You're a nutcase!" She's a pessimist no doubt but in some ways, she may be right.
Its my hols right? I shouldn't be studying or maybe I should, but thats besides the point. In my entire 2 days, I have been studying like a mad cow. There's this barista file and inside are modules I've been pouring through and they're actually tons of paragraphs i've to read over and over again. The nightmare doesn't end because its followed by tons of question I have to answer in INK! Then my super patient manager painstakingly goes through each of them with me. [SIGH no.1]
Then, there are the recipes. Hot, cold, blended and these three have quite a number of kids which I have to learn how to make in *snap**snap* speed. Yes, I call my drinks kids because I made them! Heck, or because I am nuts. Right now, my speed is more like *snap*-cup floats into my hand-*snap*-brain freezes solid-*no more snaps coz the guys and customers are looking at my dumb expression and thank God, this finally leads to me making the drink, followed by the phrase the guys use. "Oh, she's new!" [Sigh no.2]
This is not the last but I must mention it. The guys which means my collegues which are all male except 2 are really people I look up to. They have every recipe in hand and they make their kids at break-neck speed with an air of pride and gaya, mutu, keunggulan (Now,I'm really nuts)...you get my point? Sadly, the newbie which means me is s...l...o...w so sometimes, their words and advice seems unintellegible to me because my brain is unable to process it as quickly. Its like I'm Pentium I and they're Pentium IV. I reserve Pentium V for my managers. [Sigh no.3]
I guess this experience is like giving birth. The labour is painful, a lot of pushing needed and I'll probably never stop sighing but when a kid comes out, there's no feeling like it. I am proud of all my kids(10 so far) and being able to make them makes me H...A...P...P...Y!
Its my hols right? I shouldn't be studying or maybe I should, but thats besides the point. In my entire 2 days, I have been studying like a mad cow. There's this barista file and inside are modules I've been pouring through and they're actually tons of paragraphs i've to read over and over again. The nightmare doesn't end because its followed by tons of question I have to answer in INK! Then my super patient manager painstakingly goes through each of them with me. [SIGH no.1]
Then, there are the recipes. Hot, cold, blended and these three have quite a number of kids which I have to learn how to make in *snap**snap* speed. Yes, I call my drinks kids because I made them! Heck, or because I am nuts. Right now, my speed is more like *snap*-cup floats into my hand-*snap*-brain freezes solid-*no more snaps coz the guys and customers are looking at my dumb expression and thank God, this finally leads to me making the drink, followed by the phrase the guys use. "Oh, she's new!" [Sigh no.2]
This is not the last but I must mention it. The guys which means my collegues which are all male except 2 are really people I look up to. They have every recipe in hand and they make their kids at break-neck speed with an air of pride and gaya, mutu, keunggulan (Now,I'm really nuts)...you get my point? Sadly, the newbie which means me is s...l...o...w so sometimes, their words and advice seems unintellegible to me because my brain is unable to process it as quickly. Its like I'm Pentium I and they're Pentium IV. I reserve Pentium V for my managers. [Sigh no.3]
I guess this experience is like giving birth. The labour is painful, a lot of pushing needed and I'll probably never stop sighing but when a kid comes out, there's no feeling like it. I am proud of all my kids(10 so far) and being able to make them makes me H...A...P...P...Y!
After parking in University's Hospital's dingy car park at the east wing, my dad and I walked towards the lift and am immediately struck by a strong antiseptic smell although I tolerate it much better now.
We took the lift to level 9 and entered into the Paedietric Intensive Care Unit and immediately on our right, lay baby Madeleine. Barely 9 months, bloated with tubes sticking into her body, breathing and pumping antibiotics into her.
As if to acknowledge our presence, she starts moving and crying but her movement is restricted by straps and sobs muffled and drowned out by the constant beeping and buzzing of machines that surround her like permanent robotic doctors.
She's not alone though and her parents labour night after night to sit by their daughter patting her to sleep, applying lotion on her dry skin, singing hymns to her and holding her tiny hand.
Madeleine is suffering from thalessaemia major and due to an unsuccesful bone marrow transplant, her liver is weakening. In spite of this, her spirit and will to live fights on, responding to her parents' labour of love.
I guess in a way, we are like Madeleine. We may not know the next bend in the road or the oncoming pothole we're going to trip on but we have a wonderful God to hold our hand whether we fall or not. I'm just really glad I know that.
I Read These Too
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