what dinner over traffic jam taught me~

I had to work fairly late last night and ended up leaving office late and in a dire need for food to get into my stomach. As I was driving back about 9.30 at night and of all things to happen, I had to get stuck in a traffic jam.

It was bad enough I had a tough day at work, being stuck in a traffic jam with a hungry, growling stomach really does not make matters any better. Without giving it much thought I took a quick turn into Jaya One, a commercial zone with heaps of eateries. 

Quickly searching for a decent parking lot, I went to look at the eatery directory and I found myself in a state of bounded rationality. Choices, choices, choices, choices...... just too much choices of eateries! Just check out the list below.

Al-Esfan	Banana Leaf	Blk D, Unit 23-G	Palm Square	03-22834336
Al-Esfan	Indian (Mamak)	Blk D, Unit 63-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-22834336 03-79579786
BBQ Chicken	Fast Food	Blk M, Unit 12-G	Palm Square	03-79548722
Brisik	Indonesian	Blk M, Unit 10-1	Palm Square	03-79586681
Brussels Beer Café	Belgian Beer House	Blk L, Unit 20-G	Palm Square
Coffee Bean	Coffee	Blk K, Unit 2A-G	PJLA
Cubes	London Chinese	Blk L, Unit 18-1	Palm Square	03-79586616
Divino	Wine Bistro	Blk M, Unit 6-1	Palm Square	03-22878368
Duck King	Chinese	Blk M, Unit 8-G	Palm Square	03-79579819
Fireman BBQ	Steamboat & Grill	Blk C, Unit 43-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-77277432 03-78800707
Frontera	Mexican & Bar	Blk L, Unit 18-G-1	Palm Square	03-79588515
Gemini Creation	Gifts & Flowers	Blk B, Unit 21-M	Health Wellness	03-79576003
Halo Café	Café & Live Music	Blk L, Unit 16-G	Palm Square	03-89413229
Hanazen Japanese Restaurant	Japanese	Blk C, Unit 43-G	Palm Square
Headquartrs	Fun Pub	Blk C, Unit 37-LG2	Wai Sek Kai
Jaya Noodle House	Chinese	Blk C, Unit 35-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79542639
Killiney	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 55-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79585545
Kinnaree	Thai	Blk M, Unit 12-1	Palm Square	03-79573910
Kissaten		Blk L, Unit 12A-1	Palm Square	03-79541990
Kluang Station	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 11-G	Palm Square	03-79579039
Lucky Nine Bistro	Pool & Pub	Blk D, Unit 3-1	Palm Square
Nando's	Fast Food	Blk C, Unit 33-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79606555
Old Town White Coffee	Kopitiam	Blk C, Unit 31-LG1	Wai Sek Kai	03-79555321
Restaurant Oversea	Chinese	Blk J, Unit 35-LG-1	Life Learning	03-79569911
Santini	Italian & Bar	Blk D, Unit 3-G	Palm Square	03-79578866
Secret Recipe	Cakes & Café	Blk M, Unit 10-G	Palm Square	03-79606859
Simply Fusion	Local & Western	Blk D, Unit 13-G	Palm Square	03-79582291
Starbucks	Coffee	Blk M, Unit 6-G	Palm Square	03-79607224
Sun Wong	Hong Kong Café	Blk D, Unit 47/49/51-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79562911
Tappers Café	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 5-G	Palm Square	03-79583198
Tasty Treats	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 59-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79581770

After staring at the list for a long time, I gave up and just walked into the restaurant right next to the directory. I just couldn't be stuffed thinking about where to eat when my stomach was already screaming out for food. I walked into a fast food chain called Wendy's.

Took my queue, ordered my food and took a nice cushy seat. I was in no particular hurry so I took my time to enjoy my nice 3 layered beef burger. It was at that time I realised I could see a lot of activities going on around me. I found myself really taking the time to enjoy my burger and at the same time just to really observe what was going on around me. 

I was surprise to note that I really observed a lot that was going on around me. I saw a few parents trying to stop their kids from running around the restaurant, I saw a few love birds enjoying their meal together with some couples feeding each other fries, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen and how the cooks handled food with gloves, I saw two guys in a deep discussion probably over a business proposition, I also saw one guy having his hand on his partner's bum as they were walking out the open air sitting area (Hawh! Thought you were discreet right? Guess not buddy!).

Anyway, my point isn't about what I saw while at the restaurant having dinner and waiting for the traffic jam to clear. My point is about taking a break, slow the pace of your lifestyle for a while and just enjoy what the world offers. The world has heaps to offer - from a nice juicy 3 layered burger to a breath of fresh air up on a hill in say, New Zealand. 

So go on out there and see what the world has to offer and slow the pace down. Our bodies like an engine will give way if we go at doing things at high gear continuously.

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.