Thursday 15 April 2010

lunch

the gloves slap onto the bench and a few steps later the hairnet comes off, i lose the blue coat and rip the shoe covers from my feet, i re-enter the world and lunch has begun.
i slice cheese onto my sourdough and shut the sandwich press, rummage for the choice bits of the weekend papers or some interesting junk mail.
a slight sizzle reminds me of my lunch, i slap it onto a plate and sit. ripping the bread into pieces allows the cheese to ooze out and i dangle strings into my mouth. inevitably somebody will make a smart remark. on a good day i will have a rapid and witty response, other days i will grin like a mad thing.
i will try to read but conversation will draw me in and i will scan the words with unseeing eyes.
if it's tuesday the man who has sold me sweets for the last seven years, who i talk to more often than some of my friends but who is known to me only as "the lolly man" will blow his novelty horn and i wander out to see what discounted chocolates he can tempt me with. for maybe the first time in six hours i will see natural light and reacquaint myself with the weather.
my return to the lunch room sees me make a coffee and gobble one of my newly acquired delicacies. again, somebody will laugh good naturedly at my predictability.
suddenly, the half hour is over. i rush to gulp my drink, to throw out my wrapper, to put the dishes in the dishwasher and wrap up any incomplete conversation.
i slip in the automatic doors in the nick of time. hat first, coat, shoes, peek through the window as if i have forgotten what my work space looks like. i push open the airlock door. another lunch over.

14 comments:

  1. Aww honey. Sounds a bit like me. I escape for 20 minutes by the river with a coffee milkshake!

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  2. you actually made it sound beautiful. very peaceful. well written!

    wv: furieso

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  3. I remember plenty of those intricately timetabled lunchbreaks, fitting in all the essentials and getting back to work with seconds to spare!

    Glad your workmates don't tease you about your predictability. I've had some teasing myself on occasion, usually for my banana addiction.

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  4. slap...rip...slap...rip....

    sounds kinda violent! LOL!

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  5. this has a wicked pace to it which i imagine that half hour is like...let the cheese dangle...i like it that way...nicely written. happy tt!

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  6. You actually made it sound not too shabby. So what kind of discounted chocolates did you get tempted with?

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  7. I hear the clock ticking

    Really nice blog for TTL
    I'm enjoying the variety
    and talent

    cheers
    Moondustwriter

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  8. 1 Hour lunches should be a law. Fun post. Happy TT

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  9. Kia ora Kylie,
    This is excellent writing my friend. To see beyond the ordinary is a gift and essential to us all. Rave on Kylie!
    Aroha,
    Robb

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  10. baino,
    yum! coffe and milkshake in one is perfection :)

    merely me,
    you're open to the public again, i see. i'll be over sometime soon

    nick,
    they tease you about bananas? who could survive without naanies!

    betsy,
    now, if i edited properly that would have said rip, slap, tear!

    brian,
    thanks!

    shifester!
    reese peanut butter cups show up sometimes, thats a treat! otherwise, any dark chocolate gets me interested

    leslie,
    thank you

    dreamhaven,
    an hour would be nice but i'll take the half if it means i get home earlier :)

    robb,
    sincere thanks, my friend

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  11. A touch of James Joyce I detect herein . . . and love it.
    : D

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  12. You have a guy who brings sweets in a truck? Cool.

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  13. I eat at my desk. On a good day, I get to surf the blogs a bit during those 30 minutes...

    Hope all is well with you, Kyles.

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  14. debbie,
    truth is i dont think i have ever read james joyce!
    actually i havent read much at all....


    pattiken,
    yeah, we do. he has a few overpriced sweets but the good deal is the chocolate that cant be sold retail becaus ethe wrappers have something wrong, or they're a little out of date.
    great to see you here, welcome!

    megs,
    i wish i could read blogs at work!

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