ONE SMALL STEP FOR CRABS ...

The apartment mate said all she wanted for her birthday was a whole crab. And one of the pictures I had drawn of a crab. So, crab picture done, whole crab purchased on Stockton Street, two stuffed animals (an emotional support octopus for the other one so Otto feels less like a freak, and a red panda, because when startled they stand up on their hind legs with their arms outstretched as if to say "I am a big creature!", which will confound the turkey vulture who insists that he isn't a little bird but a "big creature"). Plus two pottery items, charsiu pork, veggies, and rice to go along with the crab.
Plus garlic ginger dau si (豆豉) butter.
For the crab after cooking.
And cake.

Crustaceans often make Cantonese American females very happy. It's magic.

The consumption of the crab meant that the cake had to wait.
I had finished eating an hour before she did.
Crab necessarily takes time.

FRAMED CRAB

OTHER CRAB

Besides, I let her have all of it.

All I needed was the charsiu.
Plus rice and sambal.
I'm a simple man.


I like celebrating her birthday, because I already had the grim reminder that I'm older a few months ago. So that's over and done with for a while, and if I can just skoot through Christmas everything will be roses for a while.



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