Reebit!

Re my previoius entry, the only time I managed to earn for myself is dinner time. It was a great relief to be able to leave my ever so "heavy" laptop at home and walk out to the coffee shop for a bite. As my eyes were tired from the strain of staring at the projector screen the entire day, I failed to see the tiny "open" sign dangling at the store front. Seriously. It was probably only 35 cm long and 15 cm wide. OPEN.

Well, all I saw was the lady boss seated at the entrance of her stall looking absolutely disinterested in her surroundings as her husband was wiping the counters clean. As the stainless steel work area looked really bare, I came to the conclusion that they were closing for the day.

Trying my luck (well, actually more like I was miffed that I walked all that way to find out the stall was closed) I approached the man. He was at least more interested and alert of his surroundings than his wife. I asked if they were closed for the day. He couldn't hear me the first time, so I repeated myself a little louder.

Well, I found out that his wife wasn't as clueless with regards to her surrounding as I thought. Before he could reply, his wife snapped back (loudly and in a hostile manner), "What does our sign say? Can't you see that we're open?" I swung around to stare at her and she pointed her finger above her, where the sign was. She gave me a look meant for people who have lost their brains and promptly returned to her posture of disinterest. She could very well win a competition for still mime if I hadn't irritated her. Or be framed in the London Wax Museum.

Too tired to care, I sat down to wait for my dinner. Tinkling with my handphone, navigating through movies I could watch on my mobile, I suddenly realised that I was thirsty. Looking around for a waiter, I managed to espy one that was passing me by a table a way. I waved my hand and shouted. He didn't hear. Not in the best of moods after being snapped at for no reason, I raised my voice to a Hertz level that would ensure that the waiter would hear me. As did a few others.


I returned to my mobile and while engrossed in it, someone rudely banged a glass of ice and the canned drink on my table, shouting loudly at me my order and its cost. Startled, I dived into my bag for my wallet and stuffed the money into his hands, too tired to look at him. Doesn't anybody have sympathy for this overworked single gal? Sigh.

It was as I was finishing my dinner that I realised I had been staring at a cage full of frogs in a metal cage for the past 30 min. It hadn't registered in my mind how strange this scene was until then. A cage of frogs in a coffee shop serving food and drinks... it seemed a little bizarre. Until I remembered that one of the stalls sold frog's legs as one of the dishes. Looking at the frogs again, I suddenly felt better. They deserved more sympathy than me. At least I could be sure that there is no higher being out there who would kill me for my legs. One of the frogs was curiously staring at me out of his left eye, probably wondering why I had such a look of pity on my face. I stared back. Well, what he didn't know couldn't hurt him... or maybe it could...

I got up and left the coffee shop. What a frog's life!