December 11, 2006
I'm a misfit.
Oh boy, I must be over the post-illness euphoria where you're so glad to be alive and well that everyone is a ray of sunshine in your life, because everyone at Panera is pissing me off.
I have nothing but contempt for the parking here. There are not enough spaces, and the employees all park up front, and it sucks.
There are not enough outlets here, so I can't sit in a nice booth to work. I have to sit at a little table by the windows and freeze. The people who got here early enough to nab the two booths with outlets are clearly not working on anything important and should make way for me.
I got in line behind an older woman in a white fur coat (sweet) to order my coffee. Not RIGHT UP ON HER BUMPER, but in line at a normal distance. She finished her order and started WALKING BACKWARDS into me, then veered around, looked at me, and....I'm not kidding...PINWHEELED HER ARMS trying to get away from me. Keep in mind that throughout this entire scene I didn't move a muscle. She just made a huge scene all on her own. I didn't even smile politely at her to indicate that I was sorry for whatever part I had played in her inability to step away from the counter with any grace...I glared at her until she stumbled away from me, waving her coffee around like an imbicile.
Then I asked for my skim mocha with no whipped cream made extra hot that I get EVERY TIME I come to Panera. The girl was so flummoxed by this. "Um, usually? Our mochas are made at about? 160 degrees? Which is pretty hot? How much hotter do you want yours? Like, what temperature, do you think?" Oh Jesus, come on now. Don't get me involved in this. Just bump it up a little. But no, she had to bring another coworker into the fracas. "She wants her mocha 'extra hot'...what should I do??? You know it is usually served at 160 degrees, and that seems plenty hot to me..." I decided to tune out before I started just mooing at her, or quacking like a duck, because I am clearly unable to deal with being out in society again. But she brought me back in with an urgent, "Ma'am? Ma'am? DO YOU WANT A CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE ON TOP STILL?" I'll leave that up to you, I told her, and paid my $3.50 for a drink that right now pisses me off just to look at it.
Back to work.
Posted by Amy at December 11, 2006 09:18 AM
awww you poor thing
let's beat down the people at panera
Just reading that I morphed into "Stands With A Fist"
Grrrrr!
Deep breaths, deep breaths. Not up there with global warfare or the loss of James Kim, after all.
I actually meant it kindly, Amy, because you always seem so sweet and so full of perspective about the world in general ... the kind of person that would take deep breaths to regain that perspective when stressed by the daily stuff that DOES stress us all sometimes, regardless of how good we have it compared to some of the bigger, greater struggles happening around us in the world.
I hope you feel better and less misfitty and tell-people-to-shut-uppy soon.
um, jeez. yeah, come on, amy, it's almost like you had a blog about your life the and people could choose to read it or not or something.
i'm going to continue putting sprite in my water cups at panera in your honor, amy. bite me, u pick two.
I'm happy to report that Amy's spirits have improved. Proof available below:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=d83984cd2bae51e8b4804c0G06121812
Um, jeez, yeah, come on, Lara, it's not as if the blog is out there in public and people might comment on it, after all. Or, you know, try to further explain, kindly, their comment if it initially didn't come across the way they really meant it.
I would like to thank Amy's Big Brother for the link to that elf site. I have now made dancing elves of everyone I know.
