I was so very sleepy when I went to work - so sleepy that the security guard at my office building saw me walking in (as he was leaving) and said, hey you should be happier! - and it wasn't helped by the three-hour lunch (fish and chips and sausage and breaded mushrooms and fried chicken and beer and) that we had at molly malone's. Seven of us piled into a colleague's car and we drove back to the office and in the lift coming up from the carpark we were all a little silly and giggly and smelling terribly of cigarette smoke and talking loudly about what we'd do if PS were to come in - and he did! He walked into the lift at B1! (That's the top top boss at my place.) We were all stunned into silence - we flattened against the walls of the lifts - he stood awkwardly at the back - I couldn't for the life of me stop laughing, though I tried not to do it out loud - no-one said hello, or merry christmas!, or hasn't it been raining alot lately? - the lift reached the ground floor and everyone just stared as PS walked out as quickly as he could. And then we could move and talk and it was much too late. Good time to start thinking about alternative careers.
[It really ought to be the PS, but I think he has become his role; it's his name now.]
After work I went to my aunt's place - there was a Christmas party after all - and had food and some fizzy non-alcoholic lemonadey punch and sang carols - or rather, murmured under my breath as the rest sang christmas carols in chinese. It didn't help that by the time I figured out the words - there were song sheets; my aunt is both organised and experienced - I was at least two beats behind. My aunt is my mother's sister - my grandmother had five daughters who are mostly close to one another, though the seventh one wasn't there tonight - seventh in the family, which starts with the children from my grandfather's first marriage. This aunt used to organise Christmas parties every year; I vaguely remember her stopping for a few years, or perhaps I just hadn't been going, but I must be at the time of my life when I'm beginning to appreciate large noisy parties of relatives again. Of course the sisters talked about their kids and then about food. One of the (male) cousins praised my mother's cooking (she brings the meat). Another aunt said she could cook as well - but she prefers to cook healthy food. Only natural ingredients (I think - that's what tian ran is, right?) Someone: but then there's no taste! Aunt: Taste is not the most important thing!
When we got home we marinated the turkey with sesame oil and soya sauce and oyster sauce and cumin and coriander powder and black pepper and wu xiang fen and mustard and ginger powder and this chilli-onion-garlic-ginger paste.
Happy Christmas eve eve everyone!