Stacey, Jasmine, Joanne

Jasmine, looking cute as ever during our meal at Club Lucky.

I’m not sure if this is a Chinese thing, or just something with our family, but there’s always been a big rush to grab the bill. This is something that’s stemmed from back when I was a kid – and all the adults (uncles/aunts) all vied for the priviledge/honor of being the one to treat everyone else.

At first, uncles and aunts would always try to be last in line (so they could pay). Say we were at a cafeteria – there would be arguments near the rear as to who the last person would be. Not real arguments, but a lot of insisting and exclamations of “No, no, no.”

From there, it escalated to where the adults were giving their kids (my cousins) wads of cash – urging the kids to be first in line, so they could then pay for everyone else. Naturally during family gatherings, the kids always went first in any line. It got to a point where all the cousins would then be jostling for position, trying to be “first” to pay for the meal.

I’m usually pretty good about grabbing the check, particularly when someone is visiting from out of town. Chinese or not, this just seems like a general rule of thumb for me.

At the end of our meal, the waiter arrives with the check and sets it down near my sister. I ask for the bill, and she quickly hands it over. My cousin Joanne cries foul at this point, as my sister apparently didn’t let her pay for anything while she’s been visiting in Indianapolis. “Why did you just let him have the bill?” she asks.

My sister just smiles, and then tells me to open it up. I look down, and the waiter hasn’t given us the bill – he’s given my sister HER CHANGE!

As it turns out my sister (aka Sneaky McSneakerson) snuck over to the waiter under the pretext of getting a straw for my niece (so she could drink some water). At that point, she got a hold of the bill, and was able to pay.

I totally got served here. My sister bested me, in my own town. I didn’t even have a chance.

Back at my apartment, we hang out in the kitchen and just do some good ole fashioned Jasmine-watching.

With Liz’s help, Jasmine breaks into the cooking utensils and starts banging things around. I think my sister’s got the makings of a drummer on her hands!