3/30/09: Customer of the Day

Customer of the Day:

The customer walks up to me at the counter. He's in his late 60's with white hair and a baseball cap.

Customer: Hey there Smiley!  What's up?! 

Me:  Oh nothing much! How are you?

Customer: Good. Good.  Hmm. She vows never to remarry.

He's looking at some of our magazines, one of which has Jennifer Aniston on the cover.

Customer: See, it says Jennifer Aniston vows never to remarry.  What's wrong with her?  Can't she find a good man to marry?

Me: I guess not.

He then walks away.  About fifteen seconds later, he comes back up to me.

Customer: You know what?  I don't blame her.  I'm still trying to find a good woman to marry.  (He then gives me a big thumbs up and smiles and walks away.)

3/26/09: another list of 5

It's 1:23 AM right now, and I'm really bored and can't sleep.  So, here's a few lists of 5.

Last 5 Movies I've Watched (both at home and in the theater):

1.  Let The Right One In

2. Oklahoma

3. 28 Days Later

4. Ghost Town

5. Watchmen

My 5 Latest Obsessions:

1. TCM.  Turner Classic Movies.  I love this channel!  Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Paul Newman, and so many more.  The best thing about this is of course, no commercials. 

2.  knee high socks.  Ok. I've always been into them, but lately I just can't get enough of them.  I think I buy a new pair each week. I love 'em!  

3.  the gym.  I usually work out at home since I love pilates, but my friend Teresa just got a 24 hour fitness membership, so I've been going there with her.  It's a good thing I'm actually getting use out of my membership.  I'm sure my mom's happy about that.  However, I still love pilates.  I just need to find time to do both.

4.  reading.  I guess I'm always reading something since I work at a bookstore, but I'm trying to be better about it.  For a while there, I was really slacking off with the reading.  There are some really interesting books coming in right now, so I'm trying to get through as many as I can.

5.  youtube.  I've been on youtube a lot lately.  I basically look up musical performances by different groups.  Yesterday I was watching old Tom Waits videos and concerts.  Today, I was looking up some old Sondheim stuff and Radiohead music videos.  

My Top 5 TV shows right now:

1. Dollhouse: I'm really trying to get into this show since I love Joss Whedon.  Plus, Eliza Dushku is pretty bad ass.

2. The Office

3. Nip/Tuck: this show has gotten so outrageous.  I think I still watch it just to see how far they go with it.

4. 24: Jack Bauer is awesome. period.   

5. No Reservations: I love Anthony Bourdain.  He gets to travel to some awesome places.

Props to Soul Coughing

I found this in the newspaper and it made me really happy.  I had this flashback to listening to Soul Coughing at Tower Records with my dad.  It's good to know that other people appreciate them too.  They are underrated, but then again, they didn't last too long.  Oh well.  I'm just glad I was there to read this and have this flashback of some good times with my dad.  That's not to say we don't have good times now, but it was a different time in those days.  I was young and naive, where as now I am older...and still naive.  

Some More Description on the Bloody Mary

My friend Jenny and I are on a quest for the perfect bloody mary, as most of you know.  Jenny wanted to give us her input into her feelings about the qualities of an awesome bloody mary.  Together, we will tell you all about our adventures in the future and how we pretty much fail and succeed every time we go out for a bloody mary.  

Here's Jenny's blog:

Cheers to my curious friends who are in quest of such valuable information as the perfect bloody mary. You could say I’m in blood lust when it comes to bloody marys. The thicker the better, I didn’t order a bloodless mary! I think the bloody mary is a fine concoction. Funny, since all the ingredients in their separate form are not all that enticing to me. Worchester sauce, Tabasco sauce, tomato juice, vodka, various vegetables; too bland, too bitter, or too eccentric on their own, but when they are all put together it creates something quite extraordinary. It also gives me the idea that I am taking the healthy route. Major plus!

So what makes a good bloody mary? I have 5 rules. Lets start with the appearance of the drink since it is the first thing you notice, and judgement is always passed upon first appearances. When the drink comes to your table your eyes should light up a little at the wonderful sight before you, if your jaw drops a little that’s the opposite effect and I would only assume you have what appears to be a small glass of a nearly clear looking substance, in which you then hope the bartender did not water down the vodka because that’s your only hope of enjoying the rest of your night. I want my bloody mary to resemble a secret garden where shrimp, cheese, and green olives happily co-exist. The glass should be large enough to harbor these big dreams. I’ve also added a bonus appearance factor: sword toothpicks. These little toothpicks, combined with various vegetables of a rather squishy nature create endless amusement to those who like to play with their food. On guard!

Spice. It’s all about the spice. I’m grown quite fond of “kick spice”, the kind that kicks you right in the throat but then disappears right away leaving you with a sense of spiked adrenaline that has nowhere to go but into your conversation, your raging appetite, or your unquenched, now impulsive, highly addictive thirst. I’m very picky about my spice. If it’s too little, I’ll feel like I’m at grandmas house enjoying a nice glass of tomato juice freshly squeezed from her garden. Very healthy, very boring, very not what I’m looking for at a bar. If it’s too spicy I start to sweat and all orifices on my face start clearing themselves. It’s not pretty. We cry into our beers, not our bloody mary’s. Spice is edge. My bloody mary’s better know kung fu without making me cry.

Condiments! Bloody condiments! I dare say this is my favorite part of the drink. I try to take guesses what condiments will be used in my drink before it arrives. Why is every place different? I think when you order your drink you should be able to choose what condiments you would like. Fortunately for me, I’m not picky. I say the more the merrier. I want a bloody mary salad of just condiments. Little bite sized snacks you can stab with your toothpick. I envision my drink as treasure chest, big green olives, gawking celery sticks, dead sea creatures that died trying to get to this fountain of youth. Too much? I suppose. The point I’m trying to make is we all like to snack on something while we drink. Why not put the snacks IN our drinks and make it a satisfying sight to behold?

Texture. I like thick tomato juice. If I drop an olive in I want it to slowly glide to the bottom, swaying harmoniously through a dense red cloud. No Kerplunking! I don’t want to see through my drink. Watered down tomato juice is among the worst things you can consume. Blegh!

Price. Let’s face it. Most of us are broke. I want my drink to be worth it. If I’m paying more than $10 for a drink and it is not absolutely satisfying in every way then I’m going to be disappointed. I don’t want to leave my elated state of a good bloody mary when the bill comes.

Thanks Jenny!!!  Stay tuned for our Bloody Mary Adventure: Episode 2.  

I hang my head in shame

So, my coworker Alfonso was telling me about how he saw Mick Jagger at the Getty Museum, which led to a conversation about the celebrities that come into the store where we work.  For instance, I mentioned Casey Affleck, who stops by on occasion and how most of the time every employee knows which celebrity is in the store within a matter of minutes.  

Not even an hour goes by when who should walk into the store but CASEY AFFLECK.  Now, I love Casey Affleck.  I think he seems like a nice guy and I love his work, but I have never had the guts to talk to him.  He goes upstairs and does some shopping and ends up making his way to the registers downstairs.  Soon after that, another coworker of mine comes by with a book (Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States) and tells me that he wants to buy it.  She hands it to me and tells me that this is my chance to finally talk to him.  I hesitantly take the book from her and walk towards him.  

Then, what do I do?  I avoid him completely and hand the book to the cashier and run off.  I completely chickened out!!  I am ashamed.  It's pretty typical of me though, but still disappointing.  

We could have shared a moment!  We could have exchanged a few words!  I can't believe I ran away from the situation, but I guess there will always be another time to talk to a celebrity.  When you live in the Los Angeles area, opportunities like this will always creep up on you.