Someone to rely on

Cooking is something good for hobby but it certainly can be a burden when you have to do it every day. I have learnt something by being alone in Australia that I appreciate Asti, my wife, even more for her cooking. No matter what, the show must go on and I have to cook. Buying meals everyday is undoubtedly not a financially good idea when you live in Australia. There you go, I cook. Another problem is that I am not very good at cooking. Whom do I come to when I have recipe questions? Asti is certainly one of the very first options. However, with all my respect and love to Asti, my mother sometime fits this role even better. Whenever and wherever I face cooking issue, I just dial her number and ask. She will always come with brilliant and specific answer. The good thing that I like about this ‘distance recipe’ is that my mother always says “that’s OK” whenever I said “but I don’t have that ingredient, I have only this”. With her advice, anything seems to be good enough to produce quality food.

One day I was in New Castle visiting a long-time good friend. She wanted to cook bitter melon but did not quite sure how. I called my mother on the spot and received precise advice on how to cook bitter melon with her recipe. No hesitation, no delay, no thinking. It was fast and precise. It is also the case whenever I call about how to cook liver, eel, fish etc. Isn’t it good to have someone you can rely on? My mother is the one I can rely on when it comes to cooking.

This morning, I received a call from someone important in the center where I am currently studying. It was quite early in the morning and the call was about power point presentation. I was helping him develop a presentation for a very important event this morning. There was a last minute minor correction to address, around 1.5 hours before the presentation. I am touched when he said that “there is something to revise and I rely on you to do that”. There is nothing better than a situation when your role is acknowledged in a working environment. As much as we want other people to make progress and gain more skills to finish more jobs, it is always nice when you know that you are the only one to rely on for a particular job. With this, you know you have expertise, no matter how simple it is, that is unique in your environment. You also know that for this unique expertise, you are not easily replaceable.

As much as I am happy to have someone to rely on, I feel even better when I know that I can be someone to rely on.

Author: Andi Arsana

I am a lecturer and a full-time student of the universe View all posts by Andi Arsana