Baby Eel

Where do you go to have one-on-one time with a live baby eel?

Well, tonight, the answer was simply, "Jamie's desk."

The Boss brought this little dude (you do see it, right? it's wrapped around my finger. the head is close to my nail - you can see the big ol' eye) into the office, and once he convinced me that it wasn't some sort of vermin pulled from a freshly washed bunch of greens, I was sort of taken with the little guy.

I'm not sure whether these Spanish eels are about to become a menu item or whether the Chef is just experimenting, but he served them to a VIP tonight - a glass bowl with water and some live eels used as a pedestal for a small plate of fried "Madusa" clumps of eels. I'm sure it made for a fascinating presentation, but after bonding with this little guy tonight, I think I would probably pass. This takes eating fish next to the window at Coral Reef to a whole 'nother level that I'm not 100% comfortable with.

Just after I took this picture, my little friend died. He was already pretty dried out when The Boss brought him in to me. While on my finger, he opened his mouth up, closed it, and then didn't move again. And I put him on a piece of scrap paper and threw him away... and then went and scrubbed my hands with soap and water.

Personally, I think I would prefer a death of asphyxiation to being dropped in a pot of boiling oil. Sure, it might take a little longer, but maybe it hurts a little less.

I didn't mean for this to be so morbid and sad. I just wanted to share my really cool picture. Oh well... I guess that's just the mood I'm in tonight. Sorry.