weather conspiracy

ok, who let in the winter? daggone it, we went from like almost 80 degrees
to about 45 (temp last night, bbrrrr) in like a day or two. Whatever
happened to the seasons? Seems like we have only 2 now. And of course
this plays havoc with my less than reputable sinuses. Been hitting all the
over the counter sinus meds in the hope of finding one that seems to help
me sneeze, wheeze, and blow my nose less - Advil Cold and Sinus seems to
be the winner, helping me more for a longer period of time. Anyway, at the
same time, I have been stymied in my attempts to wash my little red
Protege 5 (lilredpro5!!). Not like he is really dirty, but he is not a spotless
candy apple red as he should always be. But everytime I begin to mosey on
down to my favorite car wash, the sun either begins to fade into the clouds,
or in one case, an actual mini-drizzle of rain actually started with the sun
out! Then the other day we got this massive rainshower to boot. My
concerned observer, Mrs. Reagan, tells me to stop thinking about washing
my Mazda, that the mere thought of going to the car wash is bringing the
rain! What is this, psychic powers in reverse? May need to consult Lisa and
Peter (the older couple I have mentioned in the past) and see what can be
done about this! By the way, they have started their own blog too, as has
Lola in Alaska, and both are using this same Blogger by Google system that
I am using....gee, I am a trendsetter....NOT! I would ask Blogger for a
commission except that it is completely free. Maybe they could swing for a
new laptop for me - is anyone at Google reading this and taking a hint?
(I prefer HP - wireless with a 15 inch screen, 1 gig of memory, 80 gig hard
drive, dvd) Hey, can't say I didn't try!

call a doc

ok, have not written anything about the restaurant the last 3 days, so time
to do a quick update. Tiffany (the one who was receiving text messages
from some harlot who supposedly stole her man) says it is over with her
and her boyfriend, but hasn't officially broken up with him. She says she
can't forgive him, even though he denies doing anything with the other
chick, he says he just went there to crash and sleep off a drunken night.
I hope she doesn't buy this story; she says she doesn't, however I did see
her wavering yesterday as she was recounting the story. We shall see.
Then we have medical reports - Brandy is sick, cold or flu or something
that promotes hacking and coughing. Tina dropped a piece of furniture
on her foot while moving it, so now she is limping around. And most
seriously of all is the situation of one of the night shift waitresses who
I will call Keisha here. Actually, I wanted to name her something else,
but as she is aware of my blog, she asked me to use Keisha, as it is a
name she has always liked! She has worked at the restaurant for over a
year, with the exception of several months that she took off for her
pregnancy. Well, now she has to take almost a month off due to a
hernia surgery (it went well, she just needs to recover now and to
stop attempting to clean her bathroom and kitchen as she is trying to
do!). Showing my medical ignorance here, as I always thought that
hernias were a male problem...oops! I do miss her when she is gone,
as she is a good waitress, and even if it doesn't look like she is moving
fast, she gets the job done. We have some 'philosophical' differences to
say the least, about practically everything (example - Keisha, who is
white, is very hip hop, on the verge of ghetto, I am just very white and
listen to '80's music!), yet we get along quite well. Miss Thang, I mean
Keisha, along with my friends and customers the Thompsons, organized
a surprise birthday party for me this past summer (my concerned
observer Mrs. Reagan was also supposed to be in on it, but had to pull
out due to ill health at the time). They caught me COMPLETELY off
guard. Keisha explained that she had to get me back for the surprise
baby shower that was held at the restaurant for her this past winter.
hhhmmm, that means now it is my turn to surprise her
again...let me think, think hard...gotta come up with something! ;)

Politics

You know, it is not enough that California, the state of fruits and nuts
as I like to call it, gave us bad spinach ( I am really harping on this
spinach thing as it is one of my husband's favorite veggies, and now
he and countless others are being deprived!), but now, a porn star is
running for governor. Apparently this is not the first time she has done
this, I thankfully missed it the other time. I mean, they already have
Ah-nold as their governor, the actor/body builder/Kennedy in-law.
To be honest, Ah-nold has done better than anyone expected. But now
a porn star wants to unseat him. Reminds me of a time when I was little,
not sure if I was in elementary or junior high, when there was a porn
star elected to the Italian parliament. Her name was Ciccolina, a blonde
Hungarian born porn star who had become famous in Italy, especially
for exposing her chest area (she was apparently very healthy!). She had
been put on the ballot basically as a joke, for the so-called 'Love' political
party if I am not mistaken. Anyway, to make a long story short, she won
a seat. On her first day in parliament, she arrived in a horse drawn
carraige, with feathers and snakes and gauzy materials and men all
strewn about. She, of course, was practically in a state of undress, and
upon taking her seat inside, called all the male members of parliament
'porchi', the Italian word for pigs! Thankfully, as the Italian multi-party
system of the time did not allow for many long-term governments, the
various coalitions would always fracture, so Ciccolina's time in office
was short-lived. But it is still a chapter 'fondly' remembered, more than
20 years later, by her fans! So now this chick in Cali is trying to make
history repeat itself, but I have news for her, there is and was only one
Ciccolina (thank goodness)! I mean, politics have never been free of
scandal (one reason I love following it so much!); there is evidence
that even some of the Founding Fathers were involved in some kind
of scandal. Then there was Lincoln and his less than mentally stable
wife, U.S. Grant and his rather unsober presidency, and Warren
Harding and his extortion cronies. Then of course we come to more
modern times - Kennedy, Clinton, and their antics with the ladies,
Reagan and whispers that his wife followed astrology, and the drug
rumors swirling around in the past about the current president. So
scandal is part of politics, one way or another. Scandal also can make
havoc on ambitions. Jerry Brown of California was unable to run for
president due to rumors of his 'preference' after he visited gay bars in
D.C.. Gary Hart was ruined by his little 'loveboat' escapade. And the
most famous case of all, Edward Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick
incident, the first and foremost reason why he never became
president as everyone thought he would be one day after the tragic
deaths of both of his brothers. Reminds me of a joke that I heard
soon after the Dick Cheney hunt and shoot incident several months
ago. It was circulated by republicans naturally - I would rather go
hunting with Dick Cheney than go on a drive with Ted Kennedy!

get a grip

that, and get real...that is what I have to say to and about Terrell Owens.
I am a HUGE Dallas Cowboy fan, but I knew...just knew...when they
signed that guy in the off season that it was a BIG mistake. He trampled
the star in Texas Stadium, danced with a cheerleader and pulled out a
Sharpie in other stadiums. His brain, soul, and ego are not on the samepage or level of other NFL players, many who are class acts. People and
the press need to STOP catering to this fruitcake, STOP reporting on
his every move and thought, he is NOT worth it, no matter how talented.
These latest headlines are nothing but another publicity stunt, a ploy to
find himself in the headlines AGAIN. Just sick of it...Dallas, please get
rid of this headache, this never would have happened in the days of
Tom Landry or even Jimmy Johnson. Get Owens out of Big D, he is
making a mockery out of what was once the class organization of the
NFL. Any other person pulling the crap he has pulled, with all the
teams he has been associated with, not just Dallas, would have been
unemployed a long time ago, maybe even hospitalized in a mental
institution. TO - simply a loser, nothing more, nothing less.

parfums

Logo Central here! In one of those moods where I don't want to rant or
rave or report tacky news (although still elated a week later that Whitney
Houston is FINALLY dumping Bobby Brown, and still mad that
California has given us infected spinach!). So I have decided to talk about
perfumes, specifically the ones my husband and I usually use (we use
other brands other than the ones you see above, but these are the main 4
we indulge in). Armani's Gio is one of the best, both the male and female
versions. Not too strong or overpowering, just a nice clean scent. As for
Guerlain, I use Shalimar, have been for years, usually when I dress up.
It is a fragrance that starts off strong and very slowly fades into your outfitand skin and lasts forever; very classic and feminine. Then we come to
Davidoff - Cool Water - which like Gio, has versions for both men and
women, and both are just fantastic. Nice fresh scents, good for everyday -
it is usually what I wear to work. Last but not least, there is Hugo Boss.
Most of that firm's scents are very strong and masculine, but not to the
point of overpowering. Actually, the best perfume they ever had (in my
opinion naturally!) was the Boss Elements. I bought that by the bushel
for my husband, just an excellent scent on him. Unfortunately, I may
have been the only one buying it, as it has been discontinued, or maybe
I simply just can't find it anywhere anymore; I have checked Belk,
Hechts, and Dillards, no dice (maybe Nordstrom or Bloomingdales?
haven't checked there yet). So hubby is down to the last bottle of
Elements, unless I can scrounge some up from somewhere!

wake up phone call

uugggghhhh, still groggy from waking up with the phone (absolutely
HATE waking up that way), asking me to fill in tonight for Tina, who
seems to have hurt her foot and is limping badly. Being the kind, big-
hearted person I am ;) , I naturally said yes, so will have my version of
the weekend on Tuesday and Wednesday. Only bad thing is that
usually Mondays are not the busiest of days, so I will probably get
bored, hope I have some visitors to pass the time. Well, I will report that
Tiffany is not in jail, so she apparently did not take matters into her own
hands the other day with the boyfriend situation. I won't see her 'til
Thursday to get the real scoop. But in the meantime we are having
issues with another one of the dayshift waitresses, I will call her Doris
here. She used to work nightshift, then several months back asked to
move to dayshift when Faith got pregnant and left the restaurant. I
had kind of thought it was a bad idea, as Doris is not exactly Speedy
Gonzalez; she struggled when we were busy at night, and dayshift,
especially weekends, is a MUCH faster pace. But she was moved to
dayshift, with less than brilliant results. The other girls working with
her always have to pick up her slack, and instead of being appreciative
of that she simply gets dark and moody. Yesterday afternoon, one of
the night shift girls was running late, and I asked her to stay an extra
hour to help the other night shift girl already there (Roxanne, the
other dayshift waitress still there yesterday, had to pick up her 6 year
old, Doris' children are grown and out of state). We weren't busy,
but sometimes on Sundays I have the senior citizen crowd come in,
and they eat early, so you get a decent rush. She not only refused to
stay, but proceeded to use foul language in explaining WHY she was
NOT staying. Some serious attitude adjustment needs to be made on
Doris' part, and fast, if she wants to keep her job. Waitressing is hard
work, yes, but these girls on the weekends make about $150 - $200 a
shift, if not more sometimes, such as this past weekend. What makes
me mad is that first, Doris only works 4 days, and a girl who had to
work 6 days last week (due to the Tiffany situation) was willing to come
in to help if the other night shift girl had not shown up. Second, as she
used to work nightshift, Doris is very familiar with the sudden blitzes
we would get from the early eater crowd, and on more than one occasion
a girl from dayshift stayed to help her out then. There is no 'I' in the
word 'team', Doris, you are on very thin ice. See folks, this is the ugly
side of the restaurant biz, it isn't just adventures about fun, crazy
customers, trailor park drama, and convicted felon employees after all!

dudes and drunks

Wow, the last 2 nights, with the 2 huge concerts in town, has allowed me
to meet folks from all over the U.S. Most have been very nice, perhaps
because they have also been on the intoxicated side of things! This one
couple from Alabama came in Friday night after the concert, completely
wasted. They came in again yesterday before the concert (see, apparently
alot of people bought tickets to both shows and stayed the whole weekend)
in somewhat better shape. I asked them if they were feeling better than
the night before, and they both looked at me in disbelief - they had NO
idea they had been in the night before, or at least no memory of it! Then
this guy from Jersey came and got pizzas both nights. A jovial
wise-cracking dude (hey, he's from Jersey!), he wrote the number of the
restaurant on a napkin and asked for my name (gave him my nickname),
and said he was going to tell everyone he met at the concert and his hotel
to call, ask for me, and order pizza. Yeah yeah I thought....and yet, I ended
up getting 4 or 5 calls with folks asking for me by name, telling me about
Jersey guy, letting me know where they were from, and then ordering a
pizza or 2! Hence I met another Jersey dude, a couple from Baltimore, a
gal from Illinois, and last but not least, a sweetie from West Virginia! In
case you are not familiar with the Virginia/West Virginia situation, here
in Va. we consider folks from W.Va. hicks and bumpkins. Well, the guy
I met from West Virginia had the classic accent from there, but with just
the nicest smile! He proceeded to inform me that he still had ALL his
teeth (you see, alot of W.Va. folks don't!) and that he had NOT married
his cousin (another W.Va. legend - he did say he had nothing against
her though!)! I also had a limo driver from one of the Carolinas have
dinner in the restaurant during both concerts, then order food to go
for his clients once the concerts were close to the end, and wrap
everything in newspaper to keep it warmer. Newspapers? Guess he
thought all the hot air quoted in the papers would serve a purpose!
Last but not least, after we were already closed and the doors were
locked, these 2 guys, extremely drunk, came up, pulled on the doors,
and then pressed their faces and hands desperately against the glass,
begging for ANYTHING, even crackers or bread. It was their lucky
day, or night should I say. We had a pizza back in the kitchen, over an
hour old, that had been a mistake and the cooks were about to toss
before they cleaned the kitchen. I grabbed the pizza, asked one of the
larger cooks to escort me to the front door (better safe than sorry),
and gave it to the begging drunks. The one guy asked if I was for
real, then when he realized I was, said he loved me and gave me a
bear hug and peck on the cheek! The other guy was not as dramatic,
he just said "thank you" about 10 times. Hey, I remember a few nights
like that, during my college days, when you just needed something,
anything, to eat to absorb the booze in your system. Felt good to help
them out, even if they end up having no recollection of it today!

Anonymous

This is one of those times I wish I could figure out how to see who does
the anonymous posts to my blog. Yes, most of the time I recognize by
what they write who they are, but not yesterday. Whoever did comment
on my post yesterday - Sir or Madame - you bring up a very valid point.
The Religious Right, or as you put it, the "Religio-conservatives" do
indeed want to impose their point of view on the rest of us while taking
away our freedom to pursue individual goals. I agree whole-heartedly.
My main topic yesterday, stem cell research, is a goal that would benefit
not just one individual, but thousands, if not millions, of individuals.
The fundementalists on the extreme right, like all fundementalists of all
religions, have twisted their skewed view of their religion to suit their
agenda. It is unfortunate that they have been able to manipulate the
lemmings of the general population to follow them. I hope, Mr. or Ms.
Anonymous, that you'll post a comment again; if you choose not to,
thanks for reading and providing a spark of controversy, even if just
for one day! Now, to switch gears, from the intellectual to the NOT so
intellectual. I get to the restaurant yesterday, and the day time guy
in charge proceeded to fill me on what went on, and yes my friends,
we have more drama (like we needed anymore!)! Well, one of the
dayshift girls I have mentioned here, Tiffany (for new and/or
forgetful readers, she is the former exotic dancer about to take a
phlebotomy course) came to work in shambles, mad, crying, and
screaming. Apparently her boyfriend is having an affair, and she
found out about it from - get this - the other woman, via cell phone
text message of all things! Yes, the other woman was text messaging
Tiffany, calling her ugly (she is not by the way, actually quite attractive
for a blonde), can't keep a man 'cause she just stole him, and on and
on. (calling Jerry Springer!) Well, needless to say, a replacement was
found to fill Tiffany's shift and she was sent home, as she was in no
condition to work. We're just hoping that we don't have another waitress
end up in the local room and board with 3 squares, as Tiffany was
threatening to take matters in her own hands - something about busting
heads and/or windows, slashing tires and possibly certain body parts!
Well you get the picture, not a pretty one at all. The crazy thing is that for
the last several months, Tiffany was getting more and more disenchanted
with her boyfriend and was, on several occasions, on the verge of
dumping him. Logically, this situation provides her with the excuse to
kick him to the curb. But, as demonstrated by just some of the antics I
have written about in this blog, and a whole boatload I have not even
touched upon yet, we don't deal with a whole lot of logic at the restaurant,
so who knows what will happen! She was already scheduled off today, so
I guess we will find out tomorrow what has developed, and yes, I will
keep y'all posted, like it or not!

kind of sad

not sure if you all remember, but I have mentioned this older couple, well,
much older couple, who come into the restaurant alot, the Whistler and
his wife - Tom and Marion. She is, at least what I thought anyway, in the
early stages of Alzheimers. Well, last night gave me some evidence that
she is not in the early stages, but much more advanced. I was sitting and
chatting with my friend and 'concerned observer' Mrs. Reagan when Tom
and Marion walked in. I of course went up to them, hugged Marion and
shook Tom's hand. I led them to this corner table they like, and they
walked past Mrs. Reagan. After chatting with Tom for a bit, I went back
over to Mrs. Reagan, who informed me that Marion told her, as she was
walking past, that she just knew her father was crazy but he just won't tell
her. Our hearts sank, as we realized that Marion thinks Tom is her dad,
not her husband. It got worse later, when Mrs. Reagan had already left.
The daughter and son-in-law of Tom and Marion came in later on and
joined them; Marion had no recognition of her daughter. It is so sad, as
she always has a smile on her face, but beneath that smile is a sort of
blank emptiness. It brought me back to a conversation I had with them
in the past, about some place I had visited. Marion responded at that
point that she goes there alot with her mother. I kind of brushed it off,
thinking that maybe she meant she used to go there with her mother.
But now I am starting to think that in her mind, she may well indeed
think her mother is still alive and that she spends time with her. Makes
me mad that there is the possibility of maybe doing something about this
disease, as well as others, with stem cell research, yet the ultra conserva-
tives won't let it happen. I mean, I am generally a conservative too, but
not to the point that I put blinders on. Common sense takes over at some
point when the contradictions begin to pile up. Tom sure does put up a
gallant front and facade with Marion, calling her lapses "the wobblies".
He does take such good care of her, it is nice to see. And her good days
are a joy, but they seem to be fewer as time goes on. Boy, need to change
the subject and cheer up - oh, will be working with the lovely Kathy today
and tomorrow! I am sure she will share some stories of her temporary
place of residence; for instance, last week, she told us about some fellow
resident who lost her privaleges due to sneaking some kind of contraband
inside. Then she saw one of the cooks wearing a bright colored T-shirt
and asked him what on earth was he doing wearing "inmate orange"!?!
And Tina (boob job girl for those of you who don't remember, or are new
readers!) will be in tomorrow night too, so double dose of pretty girl
drama queens! Oh, speaking of queens, let me slip in a special Hello to
the Queens (and non-queens of course) of Queens! (that sentence was
an English teachers nightmare, I used the word 'queen' 4 times!)
Haven't seen our fellow girlfriend Sandra in a while, so I am assuming
she is in the Big Apple again doing another show. The local drag queen
community had their 2006 pagent a couple weeks ago, and it was covered
by the local press. That was a nice accomplishment in itself; what was
disappointing is that there were only 3 contestants, as the better known
ones didn't compete for one reason or another. Oh well, maybe next year!

odds and ends

Hey y'all! Not much going on today, but am working night shift the rest
of the week, with a couple of concerts in town over the weekend, so that
should translate to hectic and/or unusual times. Got some more of that
darn yard work out of the way today. My mentor/glutton for punishment
Mr. Thompson had come over the other day to tackle more of our mess,
trying to get as much done as possible before the good weather ends I
guess. I really can't say thank you enough, actually he has done too much,
just hope it isn't all in vain! **am laughing right now, am watching a old
Maury Povich episode that my husband recorded for me, it is one of those
lie detector/paternity test episodes - way too hilarious!**ok, so Lola is
alive and well in Alaska, she has found a job, starting next week. Her dog
is well too, and I think by now she may have a cat too, or is about to get
one. Hopefully something that can cuddle up to greyhound boy and
keep him warm soon! Lola is furnishing her apartment $5 at a time -
a unused blender, still in it's box, 5 bux, a wooden coffee table that just
needed a little paint job, 5 bux....she was going to look at a sofa too, I
would think that might be a little more expensive, maybe 25 bux?! Hey,
whatever works. And in checking out the news, at cnn.com naturally, I
see that they may have narrowed down where all the infected spinach
came from....surprise surprise....California of course! Yet another
negative headline from the left coast. In other news, Muslims are still
upset about the Pope over what he said about them last week, and yes,
Walmart is going to soon offer cheap generic drugs! I know that some
of you may think this a boon to the trailer park and boondock popula-
tions, but in the long run it could benefit everyone, in that it may force
the chain pharmacies to lower their prices too. Medicine is way more
expensive here in the U.S. than in any other country. When I lived
overseas, I found medicines for about 1/4 of the price on average. In
some cases the name is different, but if you research well, you can find
the equivalent, as it is the same companies making them over there as
here. Speaking of trailer parks, drove by one the other day where in front
of one trailer there was a deluxe edition of the latest SUV, and a satellite
dish almost as big as that SUV! It defies logic! But then so does Lola
going to Alaska, or the lovely Kathy continously taking forced vacations,
Roxanne thinking the next thug may be Mr.Right, or me doing yard
work...illogical completely! Calling Mr. Spock!

O M

hhmmm, bet your wondering what the title means - O M - operation
mastermind, overt manipulation, over medium eggs? Nah, none of the
above! It means 'Old Man' in ham radio terminology. No, have no clue
about that hobby (I am a coin collector, more correctly known as a
numismatist). But my husband, when he was still living in Europe, was
a ham radio operator and gets all excited when he meets someone here
in the U.S. who was/is into that hobby. Today he had to go to the home
of an older gentleman whose computer was giving him fits (hubby can
fix practically anything that goes wrong with a computer, my hi-tech
gizmo teddy bear!). This older man, who I will call Al here, (and who I
also know as he and his son are regular customers at the restaurant!)
used to be a ham radio operator in his younger days. Naturally, he and
my husband exchanged 'war' stories and adventures, compared notes,
talked about the people they 'met' on the radio and the countries there
were from. Al then showed off his QSL card collection. I see the raised
eyebrows now, what does that mean you're thinking? Apparently ham
radio operators send each other QSL cards, which basically look like
postcards, to confirm receipt of a transmission. It is kind of like proof that
so and so really did speak to another ham radio dude in Russia or Brazil
or the Canary Islands, or any other country for that matter. Well, lets just
say that my husband was at Al's house for just over 3 hours; fixing his
computer only took about 1/2 of that time! After exchanging call signs (a
series of letters and numbers usually about 5 figures long), my husband
called his new friend 'O M', which Al heartily acknowledged. hhhhmmm,
a hobby where you can call someone a geezer and get away with it?
interesting! But I guess it is a hobby dominated by the older generations.
Todays youth is more interested in computers, TV, and video games. I see
that even in my hobby. On the rare occasions I attend a coin show, I am
almost always the youngest person there by decades. To make matters
worse, I am usually the only woman; if you do see a female there, chances
are she is just along for the ride with her husband! Not saying you never
see a young person and/or a female, but you can usually count them on 1
hand. But that doesn't put a damper on my deep fascination with coins and
currency. See, I love history, studied it in college, even taught it for a while.
(don't yawn and cringe folks, it is the best subject ever, you just had crappy
teachers instead of someone like me!) Coins are an extension of history,
remnants of it. That 1903 Barber coin may have been in Teddy
Roosevelt's pocket! Or that Civil War currency note may have been in
Robert E. Lee's wallet! Ok, so they probably weren't, but to me, when I
see that date on a coin or bill, I just picture what was going on during
that time, and I have a piece of that era, however small, in my hand.
Kind of neat you must admit!

Book Signing

Just got back from a kind of neat event, a book signing, my first, I hope not
my last. A very sweet guy (with alot of help from his equally sweet wife, I
will call them Steve and Valerie here) wrote a book, a biography/comedy
nonetheless, about living life HIV positive. Steve was born a hemophiliac
and, at age 11, was given blood tainted with the HIV virus, and basically
was told he probably wouldn't see age 20. He is over 30 now, and through
a strict regimen of meds, keeps his virus under control. He and Valerie, an
ex- Miss Virginia contestant (and HIV negative), live here but travel
throughout the country, speaking at universities and organizations about
AIDS awareness. Steve started the book a while back, found a publisher,
got it printed, and after the book signing tonight, will soon start on a 9 city
book tour! I am just very happy for the both of them and wish them
nothing but success and the best of luck....and health. I must admit I
cheated a little bit though. After Steve did a reading of a passage in his
book, followed by a question and answer session, folks began lining up
to have the book signed. Well, the line was very long, as a boatload of
folks showed up, so I cut around to where Valerie was standing, scored
a copy of the book from her, and we arranged for him to sign the book
the next time they come into the restaurant! That is how I met them of
course, (they like grilled cheeses, pizza, and breakfast), heck, that is how
I met 3/4 of the folks I know! And I am glad to say, about 1/2 of my
friends are folks I met in the restaurant. Amusing sidebar to this story -
The last couple of years Steve has had a tendency to color his hair, either
purple, blue, or a nice shade of red! Well, earlier this summer, he stopped
dying it and let his natural brown color come through. His reason? Well,
to look more respectable for the book signing of course! But as the book
signing was attended by both of the local Goth bands I mentioned over a
week ago (they are pals of both Steve and Valerie), I doubt folks would
have noticed blue hair on Steve after witnessing the hair colors, tattoos,
and piercings on the Goths! But I guess we do have to think of the 9 city
tour coming up too! My husband - he was in a bit of shock I think, seeing
me go up to the various Goth band members, or others coming over to me,
shaking my hand or even hugging me - hubby is ultra-conservative and
sometimes is simply amazed at the variety of folks I befriend (or befriend
me) - octogenarians to Gen X'ers, drag queens to Goths, jocks to nerds.
Not sure if it is my personality, or simply the nature of the restaurant,
with the type of atmosphere and menu variety to attract almost everyone.
Either way, more fun and interesting life stories for me!

good news/bad news

totally mixed emotions today. I had been on cloud 9 since last night when
the Dallas Cowboys whipped up on the Washington Deadskins 27-10!
No matter how bad or inconsistent Dallas has been over the years, it is
still a good season when they beat the 'Skins. I can remember one year, I
think the '89 season, when Dallas was just terrible, and won only 1 game.
But that 1 game was against Washington, so the season was not a total
disaster! Of course, it will be icing on the cake if they beat them in the
2nd game too (being in the same division, they always play twice), but at
least this win has made this season successful so far. So that was my good
news. Bad news is completely on a personal level. My husband, as I men-
tioned yesterday, had a doctors appointment today. Well, after the doctor
was done, he informed us that as of Oct. 20, he will close his private
practice and go to work for a satellite office of one of the local hospitals
in a neighboring county. We can't understand the motivation for this
move, and I am very upset. Basically, I have seen this doctor about 1/2 of
my life, right after the pediatric doctors refused to see me more after a
certain age. I still remember the first day I met him, he looked like he
was about 12 with his baby face! He was the kind of doctor who took the
time to explain things to you in detail and to answer all your questions,
even the dumb ones, and just took his time and made you feel at ease.
I am numb, in shock. He recommended another doctor to us, but I am
not sure, want to wait and see, maybe I will just make the drive to still
see him, I don't know. My husband doesn't quite understand my distress,
as he has only been seeing him for about 4 years. I will miss his nurse
too, she has been there at least since I have been going to him, and most
definately longer than that. She looked rather distraught beneath the
smile she was forcing. I guess you don't realize how much of a personal
relationship you form with your doctor until you move or lose one. Heck,
even when I was living overseas, I still called him for advice, or for him
to call in some kind of prescription for a relative to bring to me when they
visited. Well, this definately put a damper on my day, but I guess it will
be better tomorrow, after all, as Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day!

crazy weekend

crazy and tiring that is. Our local university lost their homecoming
football game yesterday, thus cementing the fact this will be a long
season. I mean come on, most schools schedule a cream puff for their
homecoming game, in order to have a sure win in front of all the
alumni. oh well. And naturally, that meant the restaurant was still
busy afterwards, but not as busy as we get after they win. Not sure
if it is typical with other college towns, but business is always better
after a win. But maybe it was better we didn't have quite the same
volume, as last night a couple of the cooks were simply incompetant
and food was coming out slow; I even had to abandon the front and
go back there at times to put together a few subs and salads and to
drop some appetizers in the deep fryer. On other occasions Herman
had to abandon the pizza and calzone station and oven (in another part
of the kitchen) to assist the 2 bozos, thus slightly delaying his stuff too,
so I would go and make pizzas so Herman could keep helping them.
Let's just say I was not a happy camper, as the waitstaff was getting more
and more frustrated with the slowness of the food readiness, as they are
the ones who had to deal with their customers; fortunately most were
nice and understanding; a few I mollified with some discounts at the
cash register. What also frustrated me was having to take the phone off
the hook for almost 2 hours to cut out to-go orders, as the kitchen
couldn't handle it. I hate doing that. Just not a good situation, especially
after we ran out of pizzas (I blame the day shift guys for that, for not
making enough pizza dough before hand, it takes time to mix, cut, rise,
and then to form in the pans). The ice machine began to run slow too,
had to go out and buy ice from the supermarket. Had to cut lettuce as we
went in order to make salads (again I blame day shift, for not cutting
extra for night shift knowing there was a football game and the night
shift guys were NOT going to have time to do it.). Pitiful and pathetic.
Can you tell I am still fuming!???! Let me change the subject please!!
Got a crazy postcard from Lola in Alaska yesterday, detailing all the
wildlife she has seen up close and personal. Michelle and one of her
pals came in for dinner lastnight, but didn't have time to talk to her
too much, for obvious reasons listed above. I did get a chance to talk to
these 2 older sisters who come in occasionally and are very sweet. I
will call them Susan and Gina. Susan is the oldest and has had some
health issues, thus one reason I hadn't seen them in a couple of
months. Gina, the baby (so to speak!) is a very meticulous woman, the
kind who has every hair in place (with 1/2 a can of hairspray of course!)
and who aims to pay with exact change every time! They both retired
last year when a very old and wealthy aunt passed away and left them a
home and a good deal of money. The aunt had no other living relatives,
and both Susan and Gina had visited her often in the nursing home. So
now, when they aren't beset by health issues, they take trips (Myrtle
Beach, S.C. is Gina's fave place, Pigeon Forge, TN is Susan's - I think
that is some country music fan hangout!). Well, one more night, then 2
blessed days off. I know they will busy too, as hubby has a doctor's
appointment, and we also have a book signing to go to (will talk about
that sometime in the next couple of days, it's an interesting story). But at
least I won't encounter cooks that need to be hung by their fingernails!

Follow up

I have decided that today I want to follow up on some of the staff and
their goings on, drama, and what have you, folks I introduced to you
soon after I began writing this blog in July but haven't gotten back to.
Tiffany, a day shift waitress (and ex-exotic dancer), had taken that
nurse's aid class. Now, I think starting October, she will be taking a
phlebotomy course - I call it the vampire course, sucking out people's
blood - so we will see how that goes. She is still with her crazy redneck
boyfriend, I don't think she is completely happy, but I think has simply
settled into a routine and is used to him. I do hope I am mistaken and
just reading that whole situation wrong, but I doubt it. Roxanne kind
of, sort of, maybe has gotten rid of her latest tormenting boyfriend,
but can't seem to find Mr. Right - but it doesn't help that she is looking
in the wrong places. Beth's wrist surgery went well, she hostessed
while doing rehab, now is waiting tables again, but as usual, her
boyfriend is drifting from job to job, all very short-term. Shaniqua
continues to please and amuse her customers, definately one of the
most popular waitresses we have - it is definately interesting when
she calls folks in their 80's "baby" and they don't even flinch! One
couple even came in with their newborn; Shaniqua held the baby,
and while the parents were eating, offered to burp it! Fortunately for
all I think, they passed! And last but certainly not least, the dapper
and suave Philip is still entertaining guests who walk in and out of
the restaurant with his fantastic British accent and ever present
handlebar mustashe; he has definately become an attraction, now
if we could only figure out how old he is! True story - one day I
asked him when he came to the U.S., he said "after the war my
dear." I of course assumed WWII, as a young man. "Oh no my dear",
he answered, "the war with General Lee!" (for you non-history
folks, he was the major figure of the U.S. Civil War in 1861-65!) So
he definately has a sense of humor about it all, and I did find out
he came here in the early 80's, and goes back to visit every 2 years
or so. One of the last of a dying breed, a true gentleman, glad he is
with us! Come to visit him, or at least call and hear him answer the
phone!

get real

checking out the headlines at CNN.com, one of my favorite websites, but
at times also the most depressing. Another school shooting, at a college
in Canada. Just don't get it, why? Can't fathom a reason for it. And then
the never-ending Iraq/Afghanistan situations, and the political games
surrounding all that. Depressing. Ann Richards, former Texas governor
died, sad to say. She definately told it like it was. And shock of shocks,
Whitney Houston has filed for divorce from Bobby Brown! I have just
one word for that headline - FINALLY! He was abusive, and if you all
noticed, her career went in a complete tailspin after she married him, plus
you heard about her drug use. Never heard about it before, in my opinion,
she probably was clean before she met that slime. Overdue, but better late
than never. Love Whitney's voice. Oh, and we now have a new bionic
woman! Apparently some woman got a very high tech prosthetic arm
after a devastating motercycle accident. They showed her with her new
arm, demonstrating all she can do with. But for me the Bionic Woman
will always be Lindsay Wagner, with her super ear and power and speed.
The 6 Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman were just so 70's, but I
guess for elementary school kids at the time, way cool! There was even
Linda Carter as Wonder Woman, with her magic bracelets deflecting
bullets as she lassoed the bad guys! Great stuff - corny, but great the
same! Then after I read CNN, I hit the Sports Illustrated website for the
headlines there, and what do I see today, a NFL player arrested for
DUI, a college quarterback arrested for assault and suspended. OK,
so no good news sportswise either, my last resort for a happy face, my
blonde joke outlet! Blonde joke of the day - What is the difference
between a smart blonde and Bigfoot? Bigboot has been sighted!

goodbye and hello (again!)

*yawn* did the opening shift today, and it was very rough getting up
so early this morning after working just nights the last 2 weeks, so
feeling a bit rough right now, plus it was rainy and gray all day. *yawn*
Well, today Warren (our former assistant night-time manager) came by
and said goodbye, he is on his way to his new life out of state. Will miss
him for sure, as he was one of the few folks at the restaurant not in and
out of court, or with immense drama in his life, and who you could
actually have an intellectual conversation with, rather than a discussion
about a new tattoo or getting busted for a DUI. So it was a sad moment,
I just wish him all the best. But there is some good news - Kathy is back
at work, out with a work release program! Her forced vacation has NOT
taken any of the sassiness out of her, and in her own words, she is as
'pretty as ever'! Hopefully she will take the work release conditions
seriously and not have it revoked. She has arranged for cabs to pick her
up and take her back and forth at the necessary times. Roxanne and
Tiffany (two other waitresses I have mentioned in the past) will ensure
that she has clothes for work and cigarettes for her breaks! Yes, it's a
group effort - just one big happy family - a highly dysfunctional family,
but a family nonetheless!

Las Vegas

No, not going to Vegas, and haven't been recently. But some friends of
mine recently got back from there, a very nice older couple I will call the
Stones here. They went for 6 days, and did the usual thing that folks who
don't gamble alot do in Vegas - go to shows, take a drive to Hoover Dam,
and a day trip to the Grand Canyon. (ok, they did the token gambling bit,
just to say they did, and naturally lost!) They saw Celene Dion live, of
which I must admit I am a bit envious! They also saw the Cirque du
Soleil show that is there, which they said, not surprisingly, was just
wonderful. And of course, they saw showgirls who, shortly after their
number began, took off their tops and revealed it all, well, most of it
anyway! They liked Hoover Dam and really were thrilled by the Grand
Canyon (where Mrs. Stone bought some turquoise and silver Indian
jewelry!) I keep kicking myself for not doing the Grand Canyon thing
when I went to Vegas; I went to Hoover Dam and Lake Meade, drove a
bit into California (Barstow, a sort of dead town in the middle of the
desert), and had an interesting day trip to St. George, Utah. It was a
cute little town, with a Mormon Church on every corner (sort of like
here in the south, with a Baptist church everywhere you turn!). Well,
we stayed for lunch there, found a nice looking restaurant, and it was
at that point that I decided to be mischievous. See, for folks who don't
know me, I am Greek Orthodox. Orthodox and Catholics were one
and the same til the Great Schism of 1054, when a bunch of priests had
a fight over some of the traditions and interpretations and the church
split into 2. Well anyway, I decided to ask our waitress where the
nearest Orthodox Church was (mind you, I had seen NOTHING but
Mormon in our drive around St. George!). The poor girl got a very
confused look on her face, and sort of panicked, claiming she had no
idea. She asked a co-worker, who seemed equally befuddled, but who
at least tried to suggest that maybe Cedar City had one (the closest big
city around). I just thanked her; I had no intention of going to Cedar
City. But I was curious after I got back home to Virginia, did Cedar
City really have an Orthodox Church? NOT! There was one Catholic,
one Episcopal, one Baptist, lots of Mormons, no Orthodox. Salt Lake
City has more than one Orthodox church, three to be exact, but that
is probably the exception in Utah. Yes, I know what you are thinking,
I should have just driven a little further and gone to the Grand Canyon
rather than torturing poor Mormon souls - maybe next time!

birthday party

Oh well, the Dallas Cowboys lost their first game of the season by a
touchdown. But the season just started, can't panic yet. On the local
front, our university team won by a point in OT, only because the
other team blew an extra point. Ugly win, but a win nonetheless. Still
have the feeling it will be a long season, so my hopes are resting on
the Cowboys! Go Dallas! Next week they play their archrival, the
Washington Deadskins...I mean Redskins. eewww. Our long time
cook Herman is a diehard deadskin fan, so we will be picking on
each other next weekend. Then I also need to contend with Peter,
Lisa's husband. They walked into the restaurant last night just
before midnight, and he gloated a bit about the Dallas loss. ggrrr,
that's ok, next week will be different (I hope!). But Lisa and Peter
basically ended my day on a fun note, never know what topics of
conversation will come up with them, well, mostly her, he doesn't
seem to talk much usually, just smiles, nods, winks, or shakes his
head! I was telling them about the birthday party I went to, this
friend of mine, who I actually met through my concerned observer,
Mrs. Reagan. I will call this lady Nancy here. She is a nutritionist
at the local health department and a good friend, offering not only
dietary advise but also general advise and info too, just a very nice
lady. Well, she had a big birthday bash yesterday, and there were
some...well, how should I put this....'interesting' folks there. See, in
the 70's, Nancy was what you would call a very liberal person, and is
still quite progressive. Well, many of her friends who seem to be
quite similar were there, and it seems they may be actually even more
progressive. I was walking around with my way too delicious sangria
(made by Nancy's son, need that recipe, it was great!), overhearing
conversations about yoga, karma, vibes, and energy, positive and
negative energy, and what our fair city has or doesn't have (energy-
wise). Well, I simply toddled on with my sangria and went to find my
husband (who seemed to have taken refuge way to close the brownie
and cookie platter!) The party was very nice other than the energy
discussions, a wonderful spread indeed, finger foods, dips, fruits and
veggies (Nancy is, as I am sure most of her yoga pals are, a vegetarian.)
There were homemade sweets and an excellent birthday cake, lots of
wine, beer, and did I mention sangria? There were about 60 or so people
with more coming as my husband and I left (I had to go to work, and
yes, with a slight sangria buzz that wore off quickly!), so it was nice to see
that Nancy had so many people to celebrate with her. It was great to see
her so happy and to also meet some of her family, as they all live in
different states. Now if any of y'all remember, in the past, right after I
started this blog, I mentioned that Lisa had claimed that she is psychic
(while Peter said that actually she was psycho and he was bats, an
allegation she simply ignored I may add!). So I decided to ask Lisa
about this energy stuff I was hearing at the party, and she proceeded to
tell me that our city was full of it! (I assume energy???) NOW, I am not
about to touch that one with a 10 foot pole, and I suggest no one else
does either!

RED!

For those who
are restaurant
regulars, you
have seen this
(well, one
exactly like
this!) parked
in the front.
For non-
regulars,
enjoy the
view!


Don't have alot
of time today,
have a birthday
party to go to,
but will fill you
in on that and
a VERY busy
weekend
either later or
tomorrow.






Gosh, even my
days off will be
busy, husband
needs to get his
car serviced,
then a couple
of other
appointments
as well. But as
MacArthur said,
I shall return!

Cars

Haven't had a logo or shameless plug
(of a product that I like!) in a while,
so am throwing in the logo of my car
basically for the heck of it! I have the Mazda Protege 5, a red 2003 model.
He is a very sporty hatchback, bigger inside than it really looks outside.
It is the first Japanese car I have ever had, had always driven European
in the past. And the day I got this car, I had originally gone to look at a
VW Golf, a car that I had had in the past and was happy with. But they
were more expensive, less of that cash back gimmick (and yes, the cash
back and rebates, 0% promos, and all that kind of stuff are just gimmicks,
a way to lure consumers in - they get you one way or another, you just
have to look for the lesser evil.) Anyway, saw the good looking Mazda,
took it on a test-drive, was still undecided, and the salesman said for me
to take it home a couple days to try it and then decide! Well, I was shocked,
took him up on the offer, and during the 2 days I had it, researched Mazda
and the Protege 5 line online, and read nothing but good reviews and
feedback. SOLD! And almost 3 years later, I am very pleased. and have
taken care of him so that he still looks like new (although he needs to be
washed, just can't seem to get it done!) Plus I have just a shade over
15,000 miles on it, so my little boy (or Lil Red as other folks call him,
hence my blog ID!) is like new indeed! hhmmm, why is it that men call
cars girls, but women say there're boys? My cars, starting from the VW
Bug I had in high school, to the Golf, to the Seat when I was living
overseas, (Spanish version of Italy's Fiat), and the Saab I also had
overseas, my cars were always guys. And yet my husband used to call his
Alfa Romeos (Italian cars), and now calls both his car, a 2000 Mercury
Mountaineer, and my Mazda, girls. um, NOT! I have news for him - only
girl in his life is the one writing this blog at this very moment! NAH, there
is no double standard here, I can call my cars guys, but he can't call them
girls - sounds about right, wouldn't you agree women? wink wink! ;)

weekend and football

My friends, football season has arrived! Finally I have something
interesting to watch on TV again. The last time I really watched the
boob-tube was earlier this summer when the World Cup was going
on (that huge worldwide soccer tourney that occurs every 4 years).
But now I will be entertained again for the next 5 months. Am curious
to see how the Dallas Cowboys will do this season, I hope well, but am
not too sure, as there are a few questions marks at some of the key
positions. As far as the football team of the local university, well, they
already lost last week, and quite badly I may add, so this week and next
are basically must win games, as the schedule this year doesn't have many
easy ones after that. Have a feeling it will be a long season for our college
boys. But nonetheless, weekends will be busier this fall, whether there are
home games or not, as even when they play away, other events seem to
always be going on around campus. So our first football weekend is here,
curious to see how busy we will be! I hope alot, as time goes by faster, you
keep moving and suddenly 5-6 hours have gone by. I think the person who
suffers most during football season is Mrs. Reagan. She lives within walking
distance of the football stadium here, so she always keeps abreast of game
times so she can be home and have her car parked at least 2 hours before
the game starts (lots of tailgaters you know), as her street tends to fill up
FAST! Last year I managed to snag a couple of orange cones for her to put
up in front of her house, I think she uses them as a kind of buffer, or at
least I hope she does! Oh, and to completely change the subject, Lola is
alive and well in Alaska. She called me yesterday to inform me that she has
found an apartment, will move in today, and at least has a bed for right
now, maybe will get a cheap futon over the weekend. Has had a job inter-
view and filled out an application for another place too, so hopefully will
have good news on that front next week. She seems excited, especially
about seeing her first moose in the middle of a highway, and a baby bear
cub in some park too! Yes, Lola and her greyhound in the great, wild,
cold Alaska frontier!

blog and ads

So I have been noticing the last couple of weeks that the ads that Google
puts on my blog main page are basically based on the stuff I write. When
I wrote about dogs, there was stuff there about dog breeds and such.
Then when I wrote about some of my college drinking escapades, there
were ads for bar supplies and drink recipes. Now a couple of days ago I
wrote about the Goths, and yes, I have Goth ads! Mixing it up, never
know what you're going to have (I do that to keep y'all on your toes
actually - wink wink!!). Last night at the restaurant it wasn't too busy,
and much to my surprise and joy my husband joined me for dinner
and sat for a bit. Naturally I introduced him to the staff, and all the
regular customers who I chat with. Lisa and Peter were among those
folks, as was Warren, who came by to visit before he departs our fair
city. Also spoke briefly with Lilly and her HOUSEMATE Roy - I am
emphasizing housemate because as I introduced them to my hubby,
Roy said he was Lilly's housemate, but either I misunderstood or
didn't hear right, and thought he said HUSBAND...and I quickly
realized my error when I saw the look on the faces when I asked them
when they got married?!!!? So it's just housemate, make no mistake!
They were kind enough to suggest a local website for folks to add
their blog address to, which I did do today. So to any folks reading
'Not Your Everyday News' after seeing it listed on that website,
welcome and thank you....and all comments - negative, positive, or
what have you - will be greatly appreciated and even mulled over!
And for those of you familiar with the restaurant, yes, that is Tina
who is training to be the night-time hostess with the mostess (well,
the mostess of breast augmentation!). And believe it or not, despite
her past and what folks may think of her, she really is doing a great
job and will probably be ready to go solo next week. Just goes to
show that when people are given a chance to sort out their lives, a
second or even third chance, that a good side comes out and does
indeed shine. I just hope that down the road the same will happen
with Kathy (the one currently residing at the local room and board
with 3 squares); she has gotten work release and will be back at
the restaurant next week if all goes well. I would like to think that
this will be the last time Kathy will be in such a situation, but she
has to decide that and want it herself, no one else can make such life
changing alterations for her. Well heck, got all philosophical today,
I just wanted to make the point that some people just need a little
push to tap their potential; it kind of gives you a bit of satisfaction
when you witness a turnaround and know you played a role, even
if quite a minor one, in it. So come to visit Tina and soon also Kathy
at the restaurant and experience their vibrant personalities!

man or woman?

Watching Maury Povich's talk show, and today they are showing an episode
of 'Man or Woman'. He does these episodes every once in a while. where he
will parade about 10 or 12 people all dressed up and done up, and the
audience tries to guess if it is a man or woman. Of course I try to guess as
well, and I would say that I usually guess correctly about 60-70% of the
time. What is funny is that when they show someone tall or with big feet,
hands, and/or shoulders, the audience assumes that person is a man. But
I have seen enough of these Maury episodes to know that he throws in a
big woman or two to throw folks off. I mean, I have size 11 feet, have hands
big enough to grip a football or basketball, and less than petite shoulders,
so I guess if I went on the Maury show, the audience would think I was a
drag queen! But unfortunately, the drag queens are a whole lot more
dainty when they walk than I am! Oh well. So today back to work after a
couple of nice days off. Always interesting to hear what happened on the
days I missed, and trust me, staff members are quick to fill me in on the
latest! Some follow me to the office door, or strive to get my attention in
some way so that I will swing by that area of the restaurant, where they
proceed to drown my ears. There are just no secrets, everyone somehow
finds everything out and makes sure to spread the word. But heck, the
restaurant itself is an open book, as it has windows on 3 sides, so we can
see who is coming, going, indulging in public displays of affection, or
relieving themselves near a bush or small tree (that I don't understand,
we have restrooms!). And when we are not busy, the back is covered too,
usually by Herman, one of our long time cooks, or sometimes Jake too.
Never know what a cook will see when he has to go to one of the big
walk-in fridges or freezers, or the dry storage shed. And yes, I am quickly
informed of those sightings as well if they are of the scandalous sort, or
people parking illegally back there, which tends to happen alot when
athletic events or concerts are going on at one of the nearby facilities of
the local university. So who needs radio, TV, or newspapers when you
can get all your information at your cozy confines at work?!?!

each end of the spectrum

In case y'all hadn't figured it out by now, every type of person comes into
the restaurant, any kind of personality you can imagine, and then some. On
any given day there is a wide range of folks coming in, and you just never
know when, or for that matter, if and what kind of interaction there is going
to be. Case in point was Sunday night. Right in the middle of a fairly busy
evening this local Goth band appeared, in full getup, makeup, and hair. This
is one of 2 Goth bands that frequents the restaurant late night, so I know
most of them by name. But they usually do not come in full gear. Well,
apparently they had just shot a video, and were hosting another Goth band
from NY, who came in with them. Spiked colored hair, lots of leather and/or
black clothing, boots, extra piercings and tatoos (or so it seemed!). Ok, I
know what you are thinking, and to be honest, I thought it too in the past,
kind of scary. But of all the regular customers at the restaurant, these kids
are the kindest, wittiest, intelligent, and most well mannered of all of them,
or at least in the top 5 anyway. Furthermore, they always tip their waitress
at least 20%. Alot of folks less scary looking don't tip nearly as generously.
So back to my narration - they all came in, 15 of them, and yes, of course,
they got the compulsory stares and comments. Oh well. But the fun and
games didn't end there. After Goth band #1 left and their tables were
being cleaned off, these vans pulled up. I saw a host of middle aged folks
coming in, all dressed up in their Sunday best - yes, church people,
apparently hungry after a revival of some sorts. So the 12 of them had just
sat down when lo and behold, Goth band #2 walked in! They were fewer
in number than band #1, and not in full makeup or dress, but still with
the obligatory dark clothes, colored hair, piercings, and tatoos. Let's just
say that I had way too much fun watching the reactions of the church
people, who were just one booth away from the Goths - the shaking of
heads, nods, elbows, and tsk tsks. Gotta love it! And this is where my
little buddy Francesca comes in. She was with Goth band #2, as their
lead singer is her sister, who I will call Lilly here. This is a classic case
of 2 sisters being total opposites and having nothing in common, other
than both being pretty girls. Lilly is quite tall, thin, very fair skinned,
very blonde (when her hair isn't colored), and quite Goth. Francesca
is short, very dark brown hair and olive complexion, no where near
big but not nearly as slim as Lilly, and one of the most un-Goth folks
around; in the 80's Francesca would have been called a valley girl!
Obviously they dress differently and have different tastes in men.
Francesca drinks, parties, and in a flash is ready for a road trip to the
beach, while Lilly's idea of going out is coming to the restaurant for a
spinach calzone! But every once in a while, the 2 sisters come in
together (Lilly is the oldest and much more mature), and it is nice to
see that. And in closing, I will say that both dark Goth bands tipped
their waitress over 20%, while the prim and proper church folks barely
tipped 10%! See what I mean? Go figure!

way too kind

Let me just begin by saying that gardening, or any lawn maintenance, is
darn hard work! I do NOT understand why people have that as a hobby,
but obviously some folks think numismatics (coin collecting that is) is
beyond boring, so thats OK, to each his own. But let me extend a HUGE
THANK YOU to the Thompsons, who came over to our house today to
view and advise on our lawn situation. Their opinion - well, we are on
the border of pitiful, and there is a ton of work to be done. OK, I was
expecting that, but DID NOT expect them to begin using the tools that
they are letting us borrow. I figured that Mr. Thompson, gardening
guru, would just tell us what needed to be done and how, but no, he
decided to show us. Three bagfuls of debris later, and promises of more
to come. But I guess the biggest disappointment is that he suggested
that our maple tree be removed, as it is too close to the house and
blocking out all the sun, and the situation will only get worse and can be
potentially harmful to the home itself. I am not sure what we will do, as
the tree is just gorgeous, nicely shaped, very full and magnificent. I
really don't want to cut it down, probably will put it off for a year, but I
know he is right unfortunately. Oh well, at least we had a nice afternoon
and evening, enjoying a late lunch (pasta with fresh mozzarella di bufala,
fresh basil, and tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and just
a dash of garlic...yum!), and lots of great conversation. Was kind of tired
as I had a busy but entertaining evening at the restaurant last night.
Will have to introduce y'all to Francesca's sister, as well as my Goth
buddies, in my next edition. (and no, I am not Goth, far from it!)

just a bummer

Well, yesterday will definately not go down as one of the better days this
year. First my husband and I got to this wine festival deal, it was a bunch
of tents in the middle of an extremely muddy, puddly field (remember we
had all that rain). Call us snobs or whatever, but we were not about to hit
something that looked like a flea market and get our shoes filthy, so we
just turned right around and went to lunch! Then later at the restaurant,
I got a call from Lola. She was about 60 miles from the Alaska border. That
was the good news. The bad news is that she had a flat tire, and when she
tried to change it, some bolt or screw or something connected to putting on
the new tire broke, so she was stranded, as she put it, 'in the middle of
nowhere'. Fortunately she was near a rest area, so she went there and got
on the pay phone, found a wrecker who said he be there in a couple of
hours, but couldn't fix her car til the next day. Lola sounded just crushed
on the phone, I really hope that everything got taken care of today; she
had been planning on being in Anchorage last night. Now she was just
hoping to get there by Tuesday, as he had an appointment with someone
about an apartment there, plus Wednesday she has a job interview. Sure
hope she is able to call me tonight, will keep y'all posted on her travails!
Then the night took an even worse turn when my friends the Thompsons
came in for dinner. Things seemed to be going well, they were eating
their pasta, making nice conversation. Then at one point I had to go make
a cappuccino, so my back was to them. All of a sudden, their waitress
came over to me (Shaniqua) and told me that the lady felt bad and they
were leaving. I turned around and saw Mr. Thompson standing at the cash
register looking shaken. I asked what was wrong, apparently Mrs. Thomp-
son felt some pains and had to get up and leave. I told them to call me and
let me know what was going on; he did a couple of hours later and said
she felt somewhat better, but was disturbed to find out that this had
happened on Wednesday too, but she sort of had forgotten to mention
it to him! Well, I just told him 2 words - EMERGENCY ROOM - but it
seems our beloved Mrs. Thompson is stubborn and refused to go. So I
called them today after breakfast and she answered, sounding chipper
and as if everything was OK. I sure hope so, can't mess around with
stuff like that. Need to give Mr. Thompson some tips on putting his foot
down with folks who don't want to listen! (I know they read my blog, so
I am bound to get some kind of reaction here, but that's OK, medical
issues are serious matters). As tomorrow is a holiday and all of us will
be home, we will probably get together for lunch (and for Mr. Thompson
to give us gardening hints while my husband fixes his computer!). I do
have some good news though. Mrs. Reagan called me, told me not to
save her table, that she was going out to dinner with a mutual friend
(who I will discuss in the near future), so I was just glad she felt up to
that! The Whistler and his wife came in, Shaniqua took good care of
them, and they seemed to enjoy their visit. And another older couple I
have mentioned, the Browns (they who bring me pecans!), came in. Mr.
Brown was wearing these Mafia style sunglasses - he had cataract
surgery a few days OK and has to wear sunglasses when going out for
several days, but at least his surgery went well. Always kind of worrisome
when someone older who already has health issues has to have anesthesia.
Did I spell that right? No spell check here, and too lazy to go get my
dictionary!

sun is out!

ok, the rains from the ex-hurricane are done, moving up north, we had
enough, unfortunately some parts of Virginia got hit pretty badly, so I
guess comparitively, other than the usual power outages here, we got off
easy. Speaking of the power outages, apparently enough folks were
without electricity last night (kept getting calls inquiring if we had power),
but we were fine at the restaurant, just busy as can be with folks who
couldn't cook and had to eat out or get food to-go. We ran out of a few
menu items, including our very good lasagna, one of my personal faves!
Ran out of salads, and some of the items to make them, almost ran out
of pizzas. Sure hope we don't have a repeat tonight, but I doubt it, the
sun is out and it is just gorgeous outside. Folks might travel for the labor
day weekend afterall. (just drive carefully y'all). I think, since it is such a
nice day, that hubby and I will drive to the neighboring county where the
wine festival I won tickets to is being held. Can't drink alot, as I have to
work tonight, but it is supposed to also have alot of other things as well,
the whole thing is called 'Discover Virginia'. Having been raised in this
state and travelled through a good part of it, I don't particularly need to
discover much of anything here, but hubby, not being a native, might
enjoy it! Virginia really is a pretty state, granted I have not been to all
50, but of the 17 I have hit, I would have to rank Virginia right up there.
It is very green, something that I did miss when I lived overseas, and
something severely lacking in a few of the states I visited out west the
time I went to Las Vegas. Virginia has mountains and the ocean, so
both types of outdoorsy folks can be happy. (am more inclined to go the
ocean myself, but the mountains are pretty, and interesting for drives up
and down!) And you are not that far from Washington D.C., one of my
favorite cities. All the museums and monuments, restaurants and cafes,
just love it. To think, all the times I have been to D.C., I have still never
been able to see ALL of the Smithsonian Museum, most of it, but not all.
The Air and Space is the coolest, but the American History and Natural
History ones are great too. Now, since last year, there is an addition of
the Air and Space museum outside of Dulles Airport. My husband and I
went to see it, and it was just marvelous. There is a Concorde in there,
as well as one of the Space Shuttles. The Enola Gay is also there, as are
other planes from the two World Wars, as well as some Cold War
planes. I don't know why, but I have always been fascinated by the
history of flight, starting with the flying aces of WWI. There was this
elective class I took while pursuing my grad degree in history that I
just loved, called 'Jets and Space'. It was one of those 'gut' type classes
that you took for the easy A. Well, it turned out to be one of my fave
classes! The teacher was ridiculous, just bored to death, he gave us
some books, threw on a film or slide show, and he was done. But I
guess the subject was so interesting I didn't care, as it talked about the
evolution of the airplane and rockets/space travel. Very very cool. But
I completely digress, I was talking about discovering Virginia, but
went to trying to get y'all to discover the Air and Space Museum. Well,
if you are anywhere near D.C. and have a few hours to kill, go see it,
it is so worth the effort. Now time to go discover a few Virginia wines!

updates

ok, Roxanne did get a ticket from the cop that pulled her over the other
day, but strangely enough, not for speeding, but for a tail light being out.
You know, the way I see it, if you are going to get a ticket from the cops, it
should be for zooming, not for a dumb light bulb! Anyway....Screwy Louie
did not come in last night, and it was funny, some of the staff even talked
about him, wondering if he would be in and wanting to see the look on
his face when he saw me. But I guess the rains kept him away, (can't very
wash your car with this deluge going on, hot water or not!) it has been
non-stop for most of yesterday and so far today as well. Think it will be like
this all day unfortunately, but at least the reservoir will fill up. I did get to
see Mrs. Reagan last night, she came in for dinner looking kind of so-so,
but thankfully her spirits improved as the evening went on. Michelle also
made a brief appearence with some other pals of hers, I am sure I'll get to
see her over the weekend. That strange woman I once mentioned here,
Rose, came in for dinner, wearing these weird looking shoes, the heels
looked like they had big round rubber springs on them! I didn't dare ask
what on earth they were for, have learned my lesson about asking her
questions! No word from Lola, but probably won't hear from her until she
hits Alaska, which should be sometime over the weekend I am assuming.
In one of her last calls she did tell me about her dog not being particularly
pleased with the whole experience - poor thing, he has no idea what is
about to happen to him, a skinny bony greyhound in the middle of Alaska?
Lola may have to go bear hunting to procure for him a nice rug and blanket!
Oops, did I just offend some animal rights people? sorry - but I did see a
joke the other day that said 'vegetarian' was an old Indian word meaning
'poor hunting abilities'!