Friday, February 5, 2010

I want it NOW!

When I was a very small child, I had quite an appetite. I would sit in my highchair and stab my fork violently into the wooden table over and over, while screaming for mom to give me food. For as long as we kept that table, that round circle of little fork holes remained in my spot, a nostalgic memento from my childhood.
Watching food shows such as Gordon's Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef makes me realize that some people never really outgrow this behaviour. Should one feel like finding proof for Sigmund Freud's theories about the Id, Ego and Superego, one need only go to a restaurant. Waiting for food in restaurants really seems to make the Id in some people surface.
I never understood why everything has to be so fast. Like one of the judges on Master Chef said, 'We want the food good and we want it fast!' I understand the first part, since you naturally want the food to be good if you're paying for it. What I don't really get is the tremendous speed with which everything is expected to be done. If you want good food, you can wait a while longer. If you're that incredibly hungry that you can't wait 30 minutes, go to McDonald's instead. It's pathetic when you go to restaurants and watch some people behave like starving toddlers because their food hasn't arrived fast enough. Yes, there are limits to how long you should have to wait. Two hours is too long, 45 minutes is not. This is why we have wine and appetizers, and hopefully good company. Some people want instant gratification though. 'I want what I want and I want it now!!!' 'ME ME ME!!!'
High class problem indeed.

2 comments:

canadianne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
canadianne said...

totally agree. i think people have this attitude toward a lot of things, not just food. it seems these days that we're always in a hurry...always expecting instant gratification, when most good things require time and effort. when i get annoyed waiting for something, frustrated that it's taking a long time and starting to lose hope, i try to tell myself to be patient, that it's not the end of the world if i don't get what i want right this minute...you make a great point about enjoying the waiting time with great company...lately, i've been so annoyed at having to wait for friends to come back..but i should take a look around and enjoy what is here right now as well as anticipate my friends' return. same goes for our dreams i think. we may not be able to achieve them now, but if we work hard and not lose hope, chances are we'll make it some day. as the saying goes, it's the journey as well as the destination