magical soup bowls.

may 22, 2009.

i’m getting used to working in the deli that i almost enjoy it. well, not that i immensely enjoy it. to say that would have meant having pleasure in cleaning up tables and stacking plates and noodle bowls, which i don’t imply to be a demeaning job, but i just have to be truthful that it’s not funny cleaning up after other people’s mess. it is also a fact that this job won’t bring me elsewhere. september comes, my visa will expire, and then i will have to leave this land of frodo. and so i said i enjoy the job because it proves to be a good source of money. working as a wait staff for 3 full weeks now, and as salary goes weekly down here, my bank of new zealand account is once again in healthy condition (with more than enough money for a ticket back home in any case!)

today, being friday, and tomorrow, my shift is at night. it’s not as depressing i suppose as i just live nearby and going home later in the morning will be quick, but after several days of dayshifts, i know it will be hard again for me. besides, i don’t feel quite well these days as i catch a cold or something. temperature dropped drastically it was 7C last night, and will continue to get lower as winter comes. as it’s weekend, work will be super busy later and tomorrow.

another thing that disappoints me working in the casino, apart from the bowls, is that i can not gamble anymore. well, i’m not a regular gambler, and i guess the most i lost in a single day in skycity’s casino is $15 (in fact, i’ve gambled only once hehe), but the fantasy of winning and taking home millions of dollars is forever lost while i’m with the company. we are not even allowed to touch any of the machines, so the most interaction i have with them are a few glimpses, and getting closer to them while putting empty bottles and wine glasses, which usually are marked by lipstick, in shelves.

my last post ended with things i do to quicken the time, and to lessen the boredom at work. one of the easiest and entertaining (as well) thing to do is to people-watch. i share a common feeling with my sister, which is a deep unexplicable sadness towards people eating. it’s hard to share the idea, but have you ever thought that the sight of people eating is so sorrowful? it shows how every single individual, no matter how rich or poor, or whatever his stance in the society is, would end up with a grumbling stomach. once in a while. for survival.

and so one day at work, i focused on diner’s mouth. each and every mouth opening wide to allow a spoonful or forked piece of meat. there’s an Ah-shaped (whatta adjective! say, “Ah”, so you would better visualize what i’m saying mi amigo) mouth, chewing jaws, and occasional mumbles. people of all nations and colors, seating comfortably, opening their mouths in unison, eating, devouring, entangling noodles, and chewing stringy meat. some sucking soup. some sucking drinking straws. some having trouble with chopsticks. some having trouble with a thread of beef stuck in between his molars. a premolar, and a molar. it’s strange looking at mouth after mouth and how they consume things in each and their own earnest way to their belly’s desire.

all of a sudden, it’s so annoying that i swear there must have been magic. everyone eating simultaneously finish like they have been commanded leaving behind disordered chairs. half-full soup bowls. stained plates. dirty napkins. used toothpicks, plastic cups and straws. and then it was time for work.