time

Less than three weeks left of the year- how time flies! Fresh coat of paint at the restaurant surely invited a chapter of renewal. I'll be losing three out of my four workers by the end of the year, and there will be new faces showing up at SOY very soon. Fortunately Taiyo has no reservation to the newcomers. He would walk up to the job applicants with open arms, asking them (espcially Japanese girls!) to pick him up, then sits with them while they fill the application. He would hold a pen so correctly, which surprises everyone including me. I never showed him how to hold a pen, but from the beginning he was passing the pen between his hands to get a right grip. Now he would hold it with ease, then would write lines, dots, and squiggles. His favorite words today were 'car,' and 'cookie.' He loves to look at the lighted snowmen in the yard across the street. I just realized today that not wearing a watch for the past 6 months or so is probably helping the time go so fast. When the band broke on my watch half a year ago, I stopped wearing it for the first time in over 20 years. Ever since high school, I hardly left the house with a watch. Sometimes I even slept wearing one. But this time I decided not to replace it so quickly. I was already operating on mommy brain which functions on baby time zone. It was surprisingly not difficult to adopt. I found the watch with the broken band today, though, and felt that it maybe time to have it fixed. If I stare at the watch, maybe sometimes time slows down.
on december 14, 2010 @ 12:19 am [link]

Late night note

Lately, I'm a little sad to feel that running a restaurant used to be a lot more fun. Now for the longest while it feels like all about survival. As much as I want to spend a bit more time with my baby, I cannot run the business as before. This afternoon I walked around the block three times with my tired and ckanky baby, and he would not fall asleep. Finally at 4pm he fell asleep in my arms and I got my cooking time with achy arms. But this week I was delighted to see a returning customer who used to live next door. She now lives in Sydney, Australia, but she's back in town visiting. She came for lunch and dinner yesterday, and again for lunch today. That's just a reward that makes me feel I have to keep going.
on december 4, 2010 @ 01:20 am [link]

This year

Last year his weight was just about my small turkey. This year he is twice as much! We made it to the parade on Thanksgiving morning, and later we feasted at my friend Orly's. It was the first year I wasn't cooking for the holiday since I opened the restaurant eight years ago. His insatiable appetite earned a nickname: bottomless Taiyo. He dug his hand directly into a pile of turkey, and chugged anything and everything they offered him. Then he couldn't stop eating the dessert! Well, he did wake up crying in the middle of that night, perhaps with a belly-ache. Taiyo now tastes miso soup with me every morning, while sitting by the stove while I prepare to open up the restaurant. He takes orders with me with a pad and a pen in his little hands. He bows to my Japanese staff for hello (konnichiwa) and good-night (oyasuminasai). He throws kisses and sways when he plays his harmonica. When I put him in bed tonight and said oyasuminasai, he bowed and waved me with sweetest smile.
on december 3, 2010 @ 01:02 am [link]