I had lunch yesterday with Josh W. at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Glendale that didn't have nearly as many customers as their food warranted. Our very cordial but not intrusive waiter spoke Spanish as his first language and I found myself responding to him with the few Spanish words and phrases I learned in CR last month. (Was it really that long ago?) He set our food on the table, I said "gracias," and he responded, "de nada." In CR the normal response is, "con gusto," something akin to, "with pleasure."
I felt so multicultural after that exchange.
Speaking of wait staff, I met Lyle and Shirley for dinner at Applebees last Saturday night and our young waitress was, IMO, offensive. At least eight times she stopped by our table to ask how things were going. She was always in a rush, clearly hurrying to another table, and each time quickly asked the current version of her question by abruptly interrupting our conversation, which at some points was deep and earnest. I can't think of another setting where it's considered appropriate to verbally barge into a conversation without at least pausing so they can momentarily stop talking as they notice your arrival.
To make it worse, she used smarmy terms of endearment - honey, sweety, dear - that felt especially artificial given her abruptness.
If I were a restaurant manager I'd insist my wait staff begin those table stops with, "excuse me" as a minimal token of courtesy. And unless this 1) is a rural diner and or, 2) you're a waitress at least 60 years old and 60 pounds overweight and or, 3) your customers are immediate family members, thou shalt not use terms of endearment.
Note: I'm inclined to make an exception to the last set if my waitress is under 30 and unusually attractive, but Pam gets especially irritated in that case.
A car hauler will show up sometime tomorrow morning and load up the truck. I spent pretty much all day trying to get the wiring done in anticipation of that pickup. (see what I did there?)
I installed a new aftermarket turn signal switch (not a repop) and LED tail lights, and that combination required a new and different flasher unit that has a built in resistor and a third terminal. The stock wiring harness has 9 wires going into the stock turn signal switch (now in the trash), each a different color. The aftermarket switch has 7 wires, also all different colors, and of course none of the colors match, never mind that there is a two wires difference. Hours after starting I had running lights and blinking turn signal lights at all four corners, but no brake lights. Aaargh!!
Another hour of messing around with connections and, for reasons I'm not sure I understand, I now have all the lights working like they should. Hey, I don't care if it's voodoo, so long as everything works.
(I hate auto electrics.)
I'd bet money that a decade from now the consensus will be that for all his pre-election talk about improving our standing in the international community President Obama was MIA in the foreign policy department. It's not that he has a bad policy, he doesn't seem to have one at all. What is his policy re. Syria, re. Afghanistan, re. Ukraine....
We're goig out for dinner now, our last opportunity as residents of AZ. Tomorrow evening we're meeting up with Pathway people at a yogurt shop for dessert and Friday evening I pick up the truck.
I think we'll go someplace fancy. Maybe Paradise Bakery.
Yeah, that qualifies as fancy for us 'cause they bring your sandwich out to you instead of calling your number.
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