Story 1: Belgian Waffles Inspire Laughter
It seems like only yesterday I was sitting down with a quite familiar face in a favourite breakfast spot, one afternoon at The Flying Pan. Who eats breakfast in the morning anyway? This is an exceptional spot in the SoHo district where you can order omelettes, pancakes, many juices, and bottomless coffee and all for a very reasonable price. If you can even ask for more, they provide sides of grilled tomato, baked beans, green salads, or lyonaise potato. Every meal comes with two additional choices and a heavenly cup of pineapple, apple, orange, or a million other varieties I cannot recall...It is a very English spot, but they have the Latin side, the Mexican twist, the French, or the American breakfast versions with tons of syrup and lots of sides, if you wish to over-indulge. The best part of this meal was the face smiling back at me. I'd been to Flying Pan a few times, but today I could not decide on what to order. In a particular quandry - triple pancakes with the sweetness of butter or belgian waffles and ripe red strawberries? On this day just like any other, the familiar dark hair and grin across the table smirked as I asked what choice to make.
In true fashion, he made the harrowing decision to order one and I'd order the other, a share - a compromise. Right?! Only we could not decide who would get the Belgian side. It was finally agreed that I had the more desperate need to be Belgian. Two waffles for me and one pancake.He would sacrifice with two pancakes and one waffle.
Oh, my. I felt a bit selfish, (and I'm certain I was!) but blessed. I just thought, How lucky am I! It was one of those moments where you can feel the smile before it overtakes you. You realize how silly you sound. Two waffles!? You grab your sides and your body shakes with all that energy and love because someone has given you the gift of laughter. I thought I was going to burst. It seemed like God had shed some light on what I wanted so much out of in that split second - connections, real connections with those you care for, the passion for the little insignificant things like waffles and the significant things like family, all at once. A small thing can be part of a small moment. But it isn't small somehow. It is big. It means so much more. In that laughter, I felt like time stood still.
That's how I knew I was happy the one sitting across the table was my boyfriend. If you knew this character, you would agree. He may be intelligent, and funny, but the laughter and kindness in his eyes is what really gives me that enthusiasm and enjoyment. A dear friend and yet so much more.
And yes, I did eat both waffles. And I tried to eat his. He forgave me. (I think.)
Story 2: Jurassic Park
Two weeks ago, a group of us took a taxi cab to the remote greenery of Sai Kung. We woke up late on a weekend afternoon, traveled the forty-five minutes to a distant and relatively uninhabited area of the city to skewer a few pieces of meat. (Uninhabited is a word used here more as a reflection on the opposition of the great no. of people swarming Central - ah! City life.) Upon arrival in these outlying lands, the grey, thick clouds descended upon the streets and parks we saw from the cab's dinghy windows. Although there was not rain for several hours, the fog gave this nearby park an early morning dew feel. We stepped out gingerly, and the driver took off - banging down the road. He probably was excited to return to civilization. As for myself, I soaked in the climate here. The moisture was felt everywhere. With a few companions by my side, we set up our apple tea, racks of lamb, quail, steak, and enokitake mushrooms. Nick had prepared slow, pressure-cooked delicious ribs and macaroni salad, and another smart friend had remembered soft, sweet, luscious marshmallows for later!
The array of options was making my mouth water. However, the fog in the not-so-far distance was quite distracting for all of us. It made us feel we had to keep our voices quiet as we started a fire and began the barbeque. There were two words hanging in the air, as we waited for some long-distinct species to come out of the misty woods - Jurassic Park, we laughingly called it. While the photo you see here shows a rather different portrayal of a summer's day, we found ourselves in the midst of a shadowy winter day at a melancholy beach. Above the ocean water and surrounded by good friends and a small fire, we were simply focused on the food. Yummm.... It is hard to describe a good barbeque only because it is an example of such a perfect day. What if one ruins by shedding too much downcast energy on the fog? The meat was cooked with excellence and scrumptious accuracy, the friends and company were electrifying, and the fog rolled on. The clouds were more a source of comedic discussion than anything else...Who could ask for more? Well, I did!
I asked for rain and it appeared. Drip, drop. Clip, clop. A few hours after we'd polished off a few tons ribs and the macaroni salad and stuffed in those fluffy, toasty marshmallows and we were pushed into a cab with our overstuffed stomachs and greedy, yawning mouths. I took a nap on the way home. It was the best slumber I've had in months. I woke up a few days later and had a monster burger at a gourmet fast food place. I just can't get enough!!
