Small distraction

Corbett | July 8, 2008 12:06 AM

Monday 11:45am. I already needed to get out of the office. Everything was bugging me. My neck was bugging me from the constant looking up of badminton the day before. My computer was bugging me with it's fingerprints on the screen and lack of email excitement. The music the staff played was bugging me - not Zhang Xing Zhe again.

So I skipped out for an early lunch. I needed to find someplace new, so I ventured down Beijing Lu looking for a pleasant distraction to quell my nerves. Something different. I walked about 5 min until I saw a sign sticking out of the grass behind a wrought iron fence. "Gourmet Cafe, less than one minute >>>."

I walked about a minute north right into a nicely eco-green diner, and sat down. The staff all looked at me kind of embarrassingly. A tall laowai came up and said hi. "You're our first customer," he said.

"Yeah, I'm a little ahead of the lunch rush."

"I mean you're the first person to come in."

"I see that. So is it ok to order something?"

"Of course it's ok. What I mean is that you are our first customer ever. We just opened this restaurant today, and you're the first person to walk in."

"Wow. Cool. i guess I better order something good."

The owner, Will, and I got to talking a bit and the people started coming in. The staff looked nervous. My food arrived. It was pretty good. The first meal out of their new kitchen. I was happy for them. Things looked good from day one. There was no chaos. The waitresses wore matching black Converses. The sky was blue. A silver Porsche passed by. The iced tea was cold. I paid their first bill, and walked back to the office. The morning didn't bug me as much anymore.

Sometimes you just need a small distraction.

The Gourmet Cafe Noodle Shop

Category: Ramble

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