Last Friday, after struggling at work, I had the most amazing Japanese lunch ever… and an almost embarrassing incident.
But before we talk about that, let me bring you back to Thursday.
May 29, 2025, Thursday
On May 29, I experienced the toughest workday of my life since entering the family business. I had to take a Grab ride to a mall in the south, walk to the admin office at 11:00am, and submit three copies of work permits. All work permits must be submitted between 10:00am to 12:00pm, so I arrived on time.
But then I got some bad news: they are requesting five copies of work permits, not three.
Upon hearing that, I had to run to the nearby cafe, open my laptop, and email two more copies of my work permits to the printing shop. Thank goodness the admin office, cafe, and printing shop are all on the second floor. But I walked back and forth on the same floor 5 times, and I kept mixing up details and making mistakes along the way. After finally submitting all of the permits at 3:00pm, my knees felt like they were about to fall off, and my back hurt from all the literal heavy baggage I had been carrying almost the whole day. I wanted to go home.
I’m so sad after coming home that I skipped dinner and I turned down any interaction from anyone at home. I wanted to be alone. I just wanted to listen to my favorite songs and fall asleep.
May 30, 2025, Friday
Then the morning of May 30 came. I was still sad and frustrated and I wanted to punish myself by not eating breakfast. The only important thing I focused on that morning was submitting new work permits. To be more prepared this time, I printed all the permits while I was doing my morning rituals.
And when I arrived at the admin office, I submitted the permits with ease—no more rushing around. I felt so relieved… and hungrier than ever.
For some strange reason, after submitting my permits and becoming hungrier, all the places I passed by were restaurants. It’s like the universe is telling me to stop punishing myself and have a meal already. And it’s a good thing I kept seeing just restaurants; I don’t need to look at an interactive directory or Google.
Unfortunately, though, there was no Army Navy there—no chicken burrito with orange cheese for now. So I settled with one of my parents’ favorite Japanese restaurants: Yayoi. And boy, I ate like a king—I had tonkatsu teishoku, salmon sashimi, a cup of hot tea, and a cup of cold water. I had the same meal when I went to a Yayoi branch with my Mother, but because I skipped meals since last night, the taste and the amount of all I ate is extra heavenly.
I also decided that while I have a hearty lunch, I should listen to my Spotify playlist filled with my all-time favorite songs. Some of the songs that played during my lunch were Ghost’s “Zenith” (my favorite Ghost song), Foo Fighters’ “Long Road to Ruin” (one of my favorites from the Foos’ album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace), and Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder” (my favorite Maroon 5 song next to “Back at Your Door”).
And before I proceed with my story, let me talk quickly about…
Triple H & His Entrance
Triple H, Paul Levesque in real life, is the current Chief Content Officer of the world’s leading professional wrestling promotion, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). But before he became CCO, he was one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and a multiple-time world champion. Triple H is the abbreviation of a longer ring name, Hunter Hearst Hemsley. Some of his wrestling nicknames include “The Game”, “The King of Kings”, and my personal favorite, “The Cerebral Assassin”.
One of his theme songs is “The Game” (based on his nickname) by the legendary English heavy metal band Motörhead (one of my favorite bands of all time), and during his entrance, he angrily spits water, and it pops the crowd. (“Pop”, in wrestling terms, means a loud, positive response from the crowd.) I know that sounds strange for non-fans of pro wrestling, but you should check out the entrance video below for context.
Back to May 30, 2025, Friday
Anyway, while I was having my last few bites of tonkatsu and sipping a stomach-warming cup of hot tea, Triple H’s theme song “The Game” played, and I thought to myself, “Oh, cool. Weird lunch soundtrack, but still cool. I mean, Motörhead kicks ass, so yeah!”
And when I drank my tea one more time, it synced to the part of the song where Triple H is about to do his water-spitting pose. I looked to the front…
Inner Dewey: Dewey… what are you doing?
I looked to my left…
Inner Dewey: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
And then I bowed…
Inner Dewey: NO. STOP.
And I did stop myself. I was a second away from spitting hot tea ala-Triple H and making a fool of myself. But I had to remember that:
- I’m not Triple H.
- If I were Triple H, I should remember that I’m in a Japanese restaurant and enjoying a lovely meal, and I’m not competing in a wrestling ring.
Anyway, after not making a fool of myself in public (and almost ending up in a viral video), I had the most satisfying post-work depression meal in a long time, and I ended up walking out of Yayoi a happy man.
But I also realized that I have a few more hours to kill before I get my approved permits. Maybe I should watch Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning? I went to the movie theater, and I saw a ridiculously long line of people. Nope, I’m not going to fall in line for that, even if I have enough time for it. Instead, I walked around the mall, had a slice of coffee bread and a cold bottle at a small cafe, and returned to the mall admin office to get the approved permits. I went home with a happy heart and stomach.
And that’s a better story than me ending up on TikTok or Instagram because I emulated The Cerebral Assassin in public.
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Published on June 4, 2025 at 7:07pm. Edits were made on the same day at 7:13pm and 7:33pm. More edits were made on August 21, 2025 at 12:54pm.
The Diary of The Deranged Writer 