Don't trust the waiter!!!

Take risks in life: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose you will be wise.

- Unknown

So it's Saturday morning and there's a smell of garlic in the air. That can mean only one thing, Friday night Indian! I don't know about you but I absolutely love eating out. Maybe a good restaurant, some good pub food, an italian, whatever! There's something so social and relaxing about food. 

Last night it was the turn of the local Indian restaurant. Of all the different foods around the world I would say Indian has to be my favourite. I love indian food. There are so many different tastes and flavours, so much choice, even if I do end up ordering the same dish every time I go. But last night I was determined to try something different. 

The first challenge...the menu.

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this but there is no way that the words in an Indian menu can ever be pronounced properly by English speakers. It's always funny to hear people trying to order their meals and watching the waiters faces as they clearly get it wrong. Hilarious. So what do the majority of us do? We simply point and say "I'll have one of those please, with some of that," or we revert to plan B, order the tikka. Safe. 

As the waiter came over, I was all poised ready to order my tikka when I had a sudden rush of adventure. It was a bit like Russian Roulette with the menu. Not good in an Indian restaurant.  Chicken tikka is my favourite dish, and I know it's not even a real indian dish but I love it. The plan was to play it safe and go with tikka, but with this sudden urge of craziness I decided to go for something different. 

I turned to the waiter and told him my tastes and asked him what he suggested. The answer he gave was definitely not possible to say but I trusted him, he knew best, and I took him on his word. My instincts were telling me to stay with the tikka, but I ignored them and went with the suggested dish anyway. Now to sit back and wait for this new dish and, 10 minutes later, the dish arrived. Time to tuck in!

Now, maybe I should have paid more attention to the Green peppers that were floating on the top of the curry or the fact that I think the spoon was slowly dissolving into the curry, but this curry was hot! And I don't mean temperature hot I mean, flaming mouth hot. It was so hot I burst into sweats, my mouth literally like a furnace. This was not a good situation to be in. I needed one of those towels they give you at the end of the meal just to wipe away my sweat!

I grabbed the nearest thing I could to try and relieve me of my pain. As I tried to drink down glasses of Water, it seemed to get worse. I know I should have ordered milk, but to be honest, I had to grab the nearest thing to me and this would have to do. Anything was better than nothing. 

What a disaster! I'm pretty sure my mouth is still on fire this morning. I think that's the last time I take a gamble at an Indian. But what did I learn from this experience? Well theres 3 things really.

1. Don't always trust those who seem to know best

First error, I trusted the waiter with all his experience. He knew these dishes inside out and the result - disaster! Not what I wanted at all. What a disappointment.

2. Trust your instincts

Although I knew nothing about the majority of the indian dishes on offer, my instincts told me that this was not a dish for me. I'm starting to think the longer the name of the dish the hotter it is. Maybe thats's the trick. If I have stayed with my instinct then maybe I wouldn't have ended in this sweaty situation.

3. Stick to what you know

If I had ordered the milk that I knew I should have, then I'm sure my mouth wouldn't have been on fire for so long. But I settled for the water, ignoring what I knew. I'll remember next time!

So I end with this thought.

In life there are many times when we try something new, take a gamble, step out of the box. And that's a good thing. Life should be full of new experiences. But when you do step out and do something different, or for the first time remember:

1. Don't always trust those who seem to know best - The only person who knows you inside out is you. You know what is good for you and what isn't. Sometimes people may come across your path or give you advice who seem to know what they are talking about. But they don't always know best. Even the best professional can get it wrong. If something doesn't add up it's probably because it's not quite right.

2. Trust your instincts - If something is telling you "NO!" then maybe there is a reason for that. Yes try new things, yes do something different, yes enjoy life but when you are faced with those situations and times where something doesn't feel right, then its probably best that you leave it and move on. Likewise, if something is saying "Go for it!" then follow that one too! Our instinct is often a lot better than any advice we are given. 

Finally,

3. Stick to what you know - Don't just settle for anything or for second best, like me and the water situation, but always stick to what you know best. It will often save you from getting into tricky situations or problems. 

Life is full of new experiences. You may even take risks and do something new today. But in whatever you do remember, don't always trust those who seem to know best, trust your instincts and stick to what you know. Everything else will work itself out.

Thanks for another great week readers. The blog continues to get more and more readers everyday so thank you all! 

Have a great weekend. Blog you on Monday!

Bywyd sydd yn byw! - Just living life!

RM