day 2 in the little rock office: it was tough to get up, but i managed. not a lot going on today really. the project is actually running smooth for a change. everybody made it to work today, which is good, and they're all doing their jobs...ahhh...
i guess the highlight of my day was going to el chico for lunch. i walked in and saw a waitress sitting sprawled on the waiting bench looking like she had had a rough day. shortly after being seated, my server (my 1st server) came over to take my drink order. she seemed kind of strange, like she was heavily medicated. she talked really slowly and almost had a look of confusion. she never came back.
the host came by after several minutes and asked if anyone was helping me. i told him that my server took my drink order and never came back. he took my drink order and returned promptly. the waiting waitress walked by slowly. another came to take my food order. she didn't come back. a third came to ask if i had ordered. i told her i had and she went looking for server number 2. shortly thereafter, server number 2 appeared with my meal. nothing special.
all the while there are 2 men and 2 ladies sitting at the booth next to me. apparently they're coworkers. one of the men, the youngest of the bunch, probably in his late 30s, was fairly obnoxious. he whined about his bathroom fan at home, saying it didn't work right and that it was basically a p.o.s. the example he gave was from this past sunday morning as he was showering for church. he smoothly segued into a rant about his church, specifically his pastor: "do your churches ever have sundays where the whole freakin sermon is about tithing? our preacher did that this sunday. i hate that. he starts by telling us that sometimes you have to tell people things they don't want to hear, and they have to listen. then he goes to this scripture where jesus is telling the 'apostles' that if someone sins against you seven times in one day, you have to forgive them seven times. then he goes from there into how people don't focus enough on giving. that's when it really pissed me off. they've always got to talk about money." one of the ladies responds, "well you have to realize that organizations need money in order to function. they have building and utility costs and salaries and that kind of thing." "yeah, but he's telling us that our giving is a reflection of our relationship with God. what kind of crap is that? it's not about my relationship with God. i don't want to go to church and hear that." i think the ladies were becoming a little annoyed. "does your church have bulletins that tell you what the sermon will be about?" "yeah, but i don't read it. i like the pressure of having to find the passage before the pastor starts to read from it." this went on for a while. i wanted to strike up a conversation with him, but i didn't. oh well.
server number 3 comes to refill my drink and asks if i need anything else. server number 2 comes to give me my check and says "sorry about the 1st server. she's a little out of it." i didn't ask any questions. when i walked out, the original waitress, the one taking her break when i came in, was seated on the bench outside. she was smoking a cigarette. she smiled and said "thank you." i returned the thanks. then i laughed. i don't know why i thanked her. i don't know why she thanked me. we had contributed nothing to each other.
i went back to the office and checked to make sure everything was still on the move. it was. as i walked from the warehouse to the office, i noticed a rat on the ground. i stopped and looked for a couple of seconds. it shook back and forth a little. i thought it was dead and the wind was moving it. turns out i was wrong. it was alive, but not by much. those shakes turned out to be something like hiccups. i got closer and it didn't run away. i went inside and got my camera (to exploit the dying rat of course). i thought one of the workers might be interested, so i took him outside. he was interested. the rat slowly turned around to face away from us. he didn't like the attention apparently. i thought about smacking him with a rock to put him out of his misery. i left him alone.
update: the rat's dead.
i guess the highlight of my day was going to el chico for lunch. i walked in and saw a waitress sitting sprawled on the waiting bench looking like she had had a rough day. shortly after being seated, my server (my 1st server) came over to take my drink order. she seemed kind of strange, like she was heavily medicated. she talked really slowly and almost had a look of confusion. she never came back.
the host came by after several minutes and asked if anyone was helping me. i told him that my server took my drink order and never came back. he took my drink order and returned promptly. the waiting waitress walked by slowly. another came to take my food order. she didn't come back. a third came to ask if i had ordered. i told her i had and she went looking for server number 2. shortly thereafter, server number 2 appeared with my meal. nothing special.
all the while there are 2 men and 2 ladies sitting at the booth next to me. apparently they're coworkers. one of the men, the youngest of the bunch, probably in his late 30s, was fairly obnoxious. he whined about his bathroom fan at home, saying it didn't work right and that it was basically a p.o.s. the example he gave was from this past sunday morning as he was showering for church. he smoothly segued into a rant about his church, specifically his pastor: "do your churches ever have sundays where the whole freakin sermon is about tithing? our preacher did that this sunday. i hate that. he starts by telling us that sometimes you have to tell people things they don't want to hear, and they have to listen. then he goes to this scripture where jesus is telling the 'apostles' that if someone sins against you seven times in one day, you have to forgive them seven times. then he goes from there into how people don't focus enough on giving. that's when it really pissed me off. they've always got to talk about money." one of the ladies responds, "well you have to realize that organizations need money in order to function. they have building and utility costs and salaries and that kind of thing." "yeah, but he's telling us that our giving is a reflection of our relationship with God. what kind of crap is that? it's not about my relationship with God. i don't want to go to church and hear that." i think the ladies were becoming a little annoyed. "does your church have bulletins that tell you what the sermon will be about?" "yeah, but i don't read it. i like the pressure of having to find the passage before the pastor starts to read from it." this went on for a while. i wanted to strike up a conversation with him, but i didn't. oh well.
server number 3 comes to refill my drink and asks if i need anything else. server number 2 comes to give me my check and says "sorry about the 1st server. she's a little out of it." i didn't ask any questions. when i walked out, the original waitress, the one taking her break when i came in, was seated on the bench outside. she was smoking a cigarette. she smiled and said "thank you." i returned the thanks. then i laughed. i don't know why i thanked her. i don't know why she thanked me. we had contributed nothing to each other.
i went back to the office and checked to make sure everything was still on the move. it was. as i walked from the warehouse to the office, i noticed a rat on the ground. i stopped and looked for a couple of seconds. it shook back and forth a little. i thought it was dead and the wind was moving it. turns out i was wrong. it was alive, but not by much. those shakes turned out to be something like hiccups. i got closer and it didn't run away. i went inside and got my camera (to exploit the dying rat of course). i thought one of the workers might be interested, so i took him outside. he was interested. the rat slowly turned around to face away from us. he didn't like the attention apparently. i thought about smacking him with a rock to put him out of his misery. i left him alone.
update: the rat's dead.
2 comments:
Um, weird story. But I liked it a lot. Its funny how much more stuff you notice when you're by yourself. Seriously, would you have come back to the rat if you would have been walking with somebody else? Actually, if it had been me, I would have noticed the rat from 50 feet away and would have walked so far around it. If I had not noticed it until I was as close as you and it had been in the throws of death (still alive) I would need counseling. Tramatized forever.
it is funny how much more you notice when you're alone. it's also funny how much more you're willing to write about pointless things when you're alone. sorry you had to go through that rat part.
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