A Receptionists Guide to a Good Summer

EAT HEALTHILY

I recently decided to take a healthier approach to food and my general lifestyle. I have cut down my alcohol intake to once a week, drinking 4 pints of water a day, I’m even keeping a food diary so I’ve got a record of my daily intake.

I also made the decision that from now on it will be fibre for breakfast, carbs for lunch and protein for dinner which basically means that pasta, bread, rice or potatoes are out of the question for my evening meal.

Last Saturday which was day one of my new regime, I sent a message down to chef advising him of my new dietary requirements. The response that I got back was… shall we say rather concerning.

When it came to dinner time at 6:30pm I walked into the kitchen and was hit with a look from chef similar to the look you see on the faces of parents in the 3 second build up before their toddler starts screaming it’s head off

“Em, I’m sorry, don’t kick off”
“You call yourself a chef and you can’t even come up with an idea for a low carb meal”
“Well what do you want me to do Em? Give you a nice fillet of salmon or a nice juicy steak?”
“Don’t get cocky with me Phil”
“Well the thing is Em, you know you make these drastic changes, don’t tell anyone then expect everyone to bend over backwards”
“Well I didn’t think it was a difficult request”
“Well it wouldn’t be if you’d just tell me what you want”
“I don’t know”
“Well if you don’t know I don’t know”
“Well what’s Low Carb?”
“Em… why are you on a diet where you don’t know what you can and can’t eat?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well normally if you decide go on a diet…”
“Right! Do you know what Phil? Just… Forget it! I’ll start it on Monday”
“Emma…”
“No, forget it, it doesn’t matter
“Seriously?”
“Seriously?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes”
“Right. So… what do you want to eat?”
“I don’t know. What will you make me, Can it at least be something high protein?”

I really enjoyed the tuna sandwich I had for dinner that night. It was light yet filling and just what I needed after a 3 mile walk to work earlier that afternoon.

I’m glad to say that despite that hiccup, my new lifestyle choices are going well.. I feel better, healthier, and in answer to Chefs question… No, I decided not to log the 2 bottles of wine I drank at my sisters barbecue, into my food diary, last week.


TAKE A SHOPPING TRIP

It’s always nice to have a girly day out, do a bit of shopping, try on a few things, then have a spot of lunch afterwards. Sabrina and I decided to do just that last weekend, we ended up in Debenhams and when I got to the till she told me that she was going to go downstairs to find a cash pont because they don’t accept cards at our chosen lunch haught, “spud u like”

I paid for my purchase then called her on her mobile to get an update…

“Hiya, where are you?”
“I’m downstairs in Jane Norman where are you?”
“Upstairs by the benefit counter”
“Right Ok then, I’ll see you in a minute”

So I put down the phone, jumped on the escaltor and went down to Jane Norman, no sign of Sabrina, so.. Picked up the phone again…

“Hiya. Where are you now?”
“Upstairs by the benefit counter where are you?”
“Downstairs In Jane Norman”
“Why have you gone downstairs?”
“Because I thought we were gonna have a look in Jane Norman?”
“No I said I just needed to go to the cash point then we can go to spud u like”
“For god sake!”

So I put down the phone and got back on the escaltor back upstairs to the benefit counter, no Sabrina, so… I picked up the phone again

“Where are you now?”
“On the escalator going down to Jane norman”
“FOR F**K SAKE!!!!! I’VE JUST COME BACK UPSTAIRS! WHY ARE YOU GOING BACK DOWN???”
“Because I still need to find a cash point”
“Haven’t you found one yet?”
“Well no or wouldn’t say I still needed one would I?”
“Don’t get cocky with me Sabrina”
“I won’t get cocky if you stop screaming at me”
“Jesus! Right I’m not going all the way back down there to come all the way back up to Spud U Like. I will lend you a tenner to pay for the Jacket potato”
“I don’t want you to lend me a tenner”
“Well you haven’t got much choice have you because I’m not walking all the way to that cash point”
“You are such a lazy bitch?”
“I’m a lazy bitch you’re a lazy bitch! Who’s the one out of both of us with a proper bloody job?”
“Screw you”
“Where are you now?”
“On the escalator coming upstairs”
“SABRINA I AM ON THE ESCALATOR COMING DOWN”
“WELL WHAT HAVE YOU DONE THAT FOR?”
“BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO GO TO THE CASH POINT”
“Yeah, then you said you’d lend me a tenner so I didn‘t need to go to the cash point”
“Yeah, then you said you wouldn’t take it”
“Yeah then you refused to walk to the cash point and said I don’t have a choice”
“Right, stay upstairs, don’t move. I’m coming back up, and we are going to Spud U Like for lunch”
“Jesus Christ Em”

That was a fun afternoon. Although I can’t say I was that impressed with the jacket potato. Little bit dry for my liking, but there you go, it’s an experience at the end of the day.


HAVE A PICNIC.

There’s nothing better than a girly day in the park to lift your spirits. Although I would advise using items from your cupboard as opposed to a trip to the supermarket. We had an incident at the self check out system at Morrisons where I had a bit of a rant about how impersonal the self checkout system was and how it was an excuse for the staff to be more bone idle. At that point, some middle aged, cropped haired checkout woman with a set of jail keys and a walkie talkie took that as her cue to rush over and look like she was doing something, it turned out that “something" was to humiliate me as I stood there with my salad box with no idea how to scan it through

“Is she alright? She asked Sabrina with a screwed up, over sympathetic smile that you normally only give to the elderly or mentally challenged “or does she need any help?”
“She’s fine” Sabrina replied” I’ll sort it out, but thanks for asking”

“Erm… excuse me!” I shrieked, my arms flaying about my mere 5ft 3” frame “Do you want to stop talking about me in the 3rd person like I’ve got some kind of mental illness or something?”

You can imagine, the kind of sniggering that followed that comment, Sabrina covering her face with her hands as the assistant went in search of some elderly people she could “help” Idiot!

So then we went to the park, and we did have a nice lunch, The playground experience was tarnished by that little girl who decided to hog the spinning seesaw ride that was clearly for 2 people. By the way if you do decide to go to the park you want to try and get there before the 3 o clock school rush because the intimidating stares that used to get people off the rides you want to go on doesn’t work like it did in my day. Kids are more resilient than they used to be.

But one thing that will stick in my mind is whilst Sabrina and I sat there in the sunshine, there was a bit of a silence between us that I believe you only get with people you are truly friends with. Where you’re just there and don’t need to talk because you‘re just, comfortable with each other. Then all of a sudden, Sabrina just said

“Thank you Em. Thanks for being such a good friend”

It really touched me.

Because what Sabrina doesn’t realise is that without her friendship over these last few weeks, I would have been lost. I would have been… I don’t know what. And for that, I would like to thank her, she has helped me without even realising it. Simply for being herself. And so, my last tip, on a receptionists guide to a good summer…

FIND YOURSELF A GOOD FRIEND

And don’t ever let her go.