Yesterday was my birthday.

I turned 27

And in amongst an unexpected, almost fail of a day i decided to go get my favourite meal, down the road from my favourite book shop. I walked in, and decided to get a combination laksa. I was getting quite excited because hot laksa burn sickness right out of my body and thats what i wanted. To not have sickness anymore.

So i ordered and sat down. And i watched the lady at the register. She didn’t speak english great, she seemed to be very new to the job. She was clearly very nervous, very unsure, very insecure.

You know what insecure people need?

They usually need you to yell at them, and tell them how crappy they are at their job.
They need to you mumble under your breath un nice things.
They usually need you to throw your un cooked food in their face.

And i must admit, internally i said something like – i wonder why they let her work a customer service job when she can’t speak the language great.
Then as a i sat there more and more people came in and made comments about her, behind her back and to her face. Time kept ticking and i internally said – i could make a laksa in half this time, what is the chef doing. And then, out came the laksa. – No extra chili to add, a singular napkin (beards and laksa never end well)
So i sat down, seeing all the different meats and getting really excited.

First spoon…. #confused.
Second spoon… #moreconfused
third spoon….#disappointed.
It was neither hot, not spicey, not flavour filled. this laksa could easily be renamed – ‘cream of mushroom soup with meat’

A sense of injustice rose up in me. I paid money to be horribly served, a long wait for the food and when it came it wasn’t any where near what i ordered.

Now. another thought rose up in me. – The world over, we humans are imperfect. And sometimes we get into this rut of thinking, to perfect each other we need to cut each other down. – The tall poppy syndrome. Or at least sand each other with an electric sander so that we are more polished.

But you know what I think?

In that moment all that girl needed was a smile and a back pat. And encouragement to build her up. Most of the times that i have improved how i do things has been through the words of someone i know who loves me. Through tight relationship we grow. Not through strangers telling us we suck.

I came home to a card and a cake. On the cake was an orange beard and around the sides were my favourite colours – blue and orange. Luke summerell made me a caramel mudcake (my favourite) and decorated it so because he knows me and he is really good at loving people in the big things but also in the details. Luke could tell me almost anything and i would grow out of it. With Luke i am not like the laksa girl because i am secure and loved.

But how many of us really have that kind of relationship?
But how many of us make comments that chop down each others security or lack there of?

Don’t make bad laksa, but also try and enjoy mad laksa’s if it means you encourage others into a safer space.