A Minor Antidote for Muzak Blues

I brought Paul Anka's Rock Swings into work today to play during opening duties. It went over quite well.

Best track was either his cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or "Eye of the Tiger."

Specials for August 10-16

Baked Tilapia with Lemon Breadcrumb Crust.
Served with rosemary roasted potatoes and field greens tossed in raspberry vinagrette.

Linguini with Smoked Salmon in Vodka-Spiked Alfredo.
Finished with fresh roma tomatoes, cracked pepper and diced scallions.

Veggie Pizza.
Hand-tossed crust topped with marinary, a four-cheese blend, and asparagus, celery and zucchini.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

So, I finally got myself a big-kid job. Found out Friday.

I moved to the Springs in November with Glowboy, who was transferred. Friends who had already moved here from Wichita assured me it would be a snap to find a new job. Glowboy and I were both pretty miserable at our jobs in KS, so it seemed like a good move. Glowboy got a transfer within his own company, with the added perk of better pay and less stress. Great! Now I just had to find a job.

So I looked...

...and looked...

...and looked...

...and took a job at L'Idiot to make ends meet while I looked....

...and looked...

...and looked...

...and finally it clicked.

I guess I knew it would pan out in the end, it's just that the end was a lot further off than I had hoped. V. excited about the new gig...it's a great company culture, I'll get to do marketing and design, and help build a department from the ground up.

I think i'll still be working some shifts at L'Idiot, just because it's always good to have a few extra bucks coming in. I don't want the student loan people to come break my kneecaps. Pluswhich, I really have gotten to love lots of the folks I work with. They were my first friends here in the Springs.

Plus, why would I give up smelling like Italian food all the time?

29 Years Old, And I Still Have Food Issues

Went to Sam's No. 3 with some long-lost friends last night..lovely comfort food and good conversation.

I'm a sucker for breakfast at any time of day, so I had the Hard Hat...eggs, bacon and pancakes. Evidently I tore through my food pretty fast, because it was mostly gone when the waitress came to check on us.

"Boy, you musta been hungry! Your momma woulda been proud."

Um, thanks? I realize that I have nothing to be ashamed of, but, dude, who says that to a grown woman? Too loaded a statement, I think. Daddy always said you never ask if a woman's pregnant unless you can actually see a baby coming out, and you also never comment on someone else's eating habits.

The waitress meant no harm, I know. It was funny. But it threw me for a loop for a minute there, when I started to think maybe I just should've had a nice ladylike salad.

But screw that. Pancakes rock.

Muzak's Revenge

Like every restaurant, L'Idiot plays music in the dining room. Since we're an Italian joint, mostly we play standards like Dean Martin and Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra and whatnot. The sort of thing you'd find on the Swingers soundtrack. Which is fine; it's good music. It gets old after a while, though. Anything would.

So in the mornings before we open, we play whatever music we like. Our sound system uses XM, so there are a ton of stations that we never use except in the early morning hours. One of the stations was playing a George Clinton track the other day. I was dancing around, doing my opening sidework, and started pondering: what if you were the one Clinton kid who had no funk? 'Cause those concerts are real family affairs. A big Parliment family reunion every night. You'd watch your P-Funk Allstar family traipse off to concerts, and you'd be stuck at home, 'cause you got no soul. That would be awful. As if the Mothership had landed, and you were drinking a Tab in the next room, watching The McLaughlin Group.

I guess we can't all tear the roof off the sucker.