Fortune Favors... the Fortunate! Duh.
Sailor's company has an annual "banquet".
I think "contrived compulsory-but-catered event" is more apt,
but less jazzy.
A man at our table, took it upon himself to engage the table.
It is not often you see a non-salesman do this.
He asked each of us about our hobbies.
Technically a good question.
Except, the obvious fact
that 'hobby' implies a lack of passion, respect, or dedication
to the activity.
And most people were politely demure about how they spend their time outside of work.
They used qualifiers...
they "just" crochet,
they "only" make cards
they "sometimes" make puzzle boxes
they "kinda" draw
they are "sorta" into woodworking.
Sailor does not qualify his 'hobby'...
probably because he knows that his work IS his [mandatory] hobby,
and his real work, is everything else he does in life.
I love this about him.
After the meal,
most people left immediately.
A catering waitress asked if I got a good fortune in my cookie.
I said I did.
"You will get something you have always wanted."
She agreed, that was a good one.
I think I said,
"All I want is more of that cheesecake, that was delicious!"
It was a pear-ginger cheesecake....
with a raspberry/honey drizzle
and it WAS... delicious.
She took it upon herself to deliver all the untouched cheesecakes.
"We have to throw them out, if no one takes them.
Do you want them?"
I sang a song aloud about having no shame,
as I piled stacks of cheesecake into a to-go box she gave me.
She also brought leftover untouched green-tea&almond tarts.
Yes.
Please.
Thank you.
All gratitude.
No shame.
She also delivered a fortune cookie,
left in its sealed wrapper.
(The Contrivance of this particular Compulsory-but-Catered Event was Chinese New Year)
"For you," she says
laying it on my weighty calorie-enriched to-go box
"I hope its another good fortune."
I am sitting here,
typing about the short-shrift given to 'hobbies'
but thinking about empathy
because of a conversation about COVID restrictions
layered with the generosity of cheesecake that currently lives in my fridge...
but I opted instead for that last unopened fortune cookie.
It said:
"If you continually give,
you will continually have."
I think "contrived compulsory-but-catered event" is more apt,
but less jazzy.
A man at our table, took it upon himself to engage the table.
It is not often you see a non-salesman do this.
He asked each of us about our hobbies.
Technically a good question.
Except, the obvious fact
that 'hobby' implies a lack of passion, respect, or dedication
to the activity.
And most people were politely demure about how they spend their time outside of work.
They used qualifiers...
they "just" crochet,
they "only" make cards
they "sometimes" make puzzle boxes
they "kinda" draw
they are "sorta" into woodworking.
Sailor does not qualify his 'hobby'...
probably because he knows that his work IS his [mandatory] hobby,
and his real work, is everything else he does in life.
I love this about him.
After the meal,
most people left immediately.
A catering waitress asked if I got a good fortune in my cookie.
I said I did.
"You will get something you have always wanted."
She agreed, that was a good one.
I think I said,
"All I want is more of that cheesecake, that was delicious!"
It was a pear-ginger cheesecake....
with a raspberry/honey drizzle
and it WAS... delicious.
She took it upon herself to deliver all the untouched cheesecakes.
"We have to throw them out, if no one takes them.
Do you want them?"
I sang a song aloud about having no shame,
as I piled stacks of cheesecake into a to-go box she gave me.
She also brought leftover untouched green-tea&almond tarts.
Yes.
Please.
Thank you.
All gratitude.
No shame.
She also delivered a fortune cookie,
left in its sealed wrapper.
(The Contrivance of this particular Compulsory-but-Catered Event was Chinese New Year)
"For you," she says
laying it on my weighty calorie-enriched to-go box
"I hope its another good fortune."
I am sitting here,
typing about the short-shrift given to 'hobbies'
but thinking about empathy
because of a conversation about COVID restrictions
layered with the generosity of cheesecake that currently lives in my fridge...
but I opted instead for that last unopened fortune cookie.
It said:
"If you continually give,
you will continually have."