This has been one of those days where I had to practice what I’ve been preaching. The house has been a flurry of life and love lately and suddenly I myself all alone today. So, I got dressed in something that made me feel cute and I made a mental list of my favorite things to do then headed out.

My adventure started with a donut shop I hadn’t been to before; I had my first salty chocolate doughnut. You know, it was good, but I think I’ll stick with donuts that are entirely sweet, the salt just didn’t do it for me. Then I made my way into a coffee shop and enjoyed a honey latte in a china cup. I sat for a while and soaked in the aroma of coffee and watched the steady flow of patrons.

It was so pleasant.

By this time it was getting close to lunch so I decided to take myself out! I went to an ramen house and had a delicious bowl of chicken ramen.

And this is where it got interesting…

I sat at the bar one chair over from a young lady who was also eating ramen, not surprising since we were at an ramen restaurant. When the waiter brought ramen to my table, it came with an unusually shaped spoon. Not a big deal I thought, I’ll be able to scoop up the noodles and eat them one spoonful at a time. But, after several attempts, those slippery noodles just wouldn’t cooperate. At this point, I was getting a little embarrassed, so I got up, trying to be discreet, and walked over near the counter where all of the condiments were, I was desperate for a spork. No such luck. I went back to my seat and sat staring at the bowl.

What in the world?

How was I going to eat it?

I kept eyeing the girl who was one chair over, noticing how eloquently she was managing hers; she was using chopsticks. Reluctantly, I grabbed a set from the container in front of me and pulled them out of the paper wrapping. I broke them in half at the top and tried my best to figure out how to hold them. I had no idea what I was doing. I managed to position them in my hand in such a way that I could treat them like a spear. Then I stabbed at the noodles and rolled them up so I could lift them from the bowl and shove it them into my mouth. Kinda like rolling spaghetti on a fork.

It was completely unattractive.

Borderline obnoxious.

I was desperate.

The juice from the soup was spattering my face from the dangling noodles as I tried to slurp them into my mouth. I.was doing this as quietly as I possibly could because, well, who wants to hear someone slurping their food? I kept noticing the girl one barstool down eating so effortlessly, she looked like a supermodel.

Ugh!

At one of my least proud moments I stared directly at her and watched as she managed to lift up the noodles, scoop the ones dangling from the chopsticks into the spoon, and then eat them quietly and perfectly. Brilliant idea, I thought, which I then tried my best to imitate.

It didn’t go exactly as planned.

When I tell you this was a painful meal, I’m not kidding.

Painful for my pride.

The ramen was fabulous and I have no doubt I’ll be returning. I’m thinking about buying my own package of sporks so I’ll have them in places like this. Or, I could just get serious about my chopstick ability.

Not sure which I’ll do.

Maybe both.

As the young lady left I couldn’t help but speak to her, I asked her where she learned how to use chopsticks and she was so gracious, she said “well, I don’t remember ever learning because I was born in China. I just always did it. “

Well, that explained a lot.

No wonder she was so perfect at it, she’d done it her whole life! I laughed a bit and smiled really awkwardly big and wished her a great day, to which she reciprocated.

Another lesson for me.

Don’t compare myself to others, it’s not a level playing field. You can’t compare my beginning with someone who’s had years of experience.

It’s not fair.

Note to self: “Hey Siri, put sporks on the shopping list.”