cell phones

I don't like cell phones. I don't have one. I don't want one. They may be a neat, convenient invention but they've caused a sharp drop in the way people behave.

It annoys me to no end to be in a restaurant or some other confined area and have someone participating in a phone conversation, usually loudly, usually not far from me. Could I move? Yes, if possible. But there's no real escape. I'd still hear them or be exposed to a new conversation.

Even on the job, I'm put at a disadvantage. Many is the time a customer will drive up and already be on the phone or get on it before our business transaction can be completed. Often on these occasions I'll hand them their food without repeating their order and won't bother to give them my usual cheery "Thank You!" After all, they're on the phone and I know it's rude to interrupt a phone conversation.

"But Adam," I hear you whine, "cell phones can be a great help in an emergency!"

Yes...IF there's an emergency in the first place. I've seen large numbers of people on a college campus moving along with their phones stuck to the side of their heads or right in front of their faces. That's no emergency, that's just ugly.

And speaking of phones being in your face, it also annoys me when I'm trying to drive through a cross-walk (say, in front of a grocery store) and I can't because some damn fool is looking at his phone and has stopped moving forward. And is now holding up traffic while he tries to figure out a message from someone else.

Cell phone use has dumbed down America. I've seen a person unable to complete a 5-minute task without looking at their phone. I've sat in restaurants and suffered an endless ringtone while some woman tried to dig the thing from her purse. I've sat in a theater to see a play and heard a phone go off even after the announcement to turn them off.

Yeah, there's an emergency in America alright.

Stupidity.

Rob Zombie's "Halloween II"

Just watched it tonight. I gotta say that I was a little disappointed with it. I got the feeling Zombie was trying to fit too much into a normal viewing time. If he'd had more time to work with in order to flesh out his ideas, I think the movie would've come across better.

I'm not exactly saying I didn't like it, but it's not as good as his "Halloween" reinvention. Well, maybe he got his "Halloween" fix out of his system now and can move on to other bizarre-ness.

favorite Bukowski poem

Charles Bukowski was a writer of stories, novels, and poems. He is my very favorite writer and this is my favorite poem which is not in any of his poetry collections but in a book of letters, Living on Luck: Selected Letters 1960s-1970s Volume 2. There's no real title to it, but it was apparently written for someone named Katherine.

you are like sunlight
sunlight walking around.

you don't know how good
you are.
you play with my seriousness,
make me laugh.

when you comb your hair
all the gods come down
from the mountain
and watch

you are the woman
all women should have
been.

I ache with disbelief and
yearning

no matter how you turn
your body
or what you say
it is the perfect diamond
the perfect cut
the perfect glow

and when you get the blues
I get the blues
because I don't want you
to get the blues

in my life
I've told two other
women that I loved
them

I wouldn't say it to
you

one of those women
died
and another died
in another way

if I never see you again
I will always carry you
inside
outside

on my fingertips
and at brain edges

and in centers
centers
centers
of what I am of
what remains.

customers I have to deal with

Okay, so I said I work in this drive-thru, Warren's Hot Dogs. It's not a restaurant because there's nowhere inside to sit down. There's a walk-in lobby, the drive-thru window, and the kitchen. We sell hot dogs, subs, pizzas, apple turnovers, cheesesticks, chips and sodas. Our hot dogs are the primary money-maker. If you've been in eastern NC, you've probably paid us a visit. The work itself isn't especially hard, but it can get very busy. Unfortunately, some of our customers make the job harder than it needs to be.

Case in point: how to order our hot dogs. Our toppings include mustard, onions, a hot chili, and a mild chili. Nothing else. NOTHING else. And yet I'll often have this exchange:

Customer: Uh, yeah, I haven't been here before. What comes on your hot dogs?
Me: We have mustard, onions, a hot chili and a mild chili. Your combination.
Cust.: Do you have mayonnaise/cheese/slaw/sauerkraut?

What I want to say is, "Did I SAY we had mayonnaise/cheese/slaw/sauerkraut?" But I don't. I just shake my head and give a slight apologetic smile as if to say, "I'm sorry sir, I wish I could help you, it's the management, you know...doesn't want to expand the options." Not that I want the options expanded, that would lead to more chaos. Believe it or not, I've had customers get visibly upset when they learn they can't completely have it their way. To see and hear them, you'd think I was doing it to them personally out of spite.

Another thing is that some of our customers don't know the meaning of the word "plain." Now, I know and my co-workers know and you know that "plain" means "nothing on it." Just the bun and dog. But I'm guaranteed at least once a day to get "Yeah, I'll take one hot dog plain. Mustard and ketchup." Well now, that's not PLAIN, is it?

A lot of our clientele likes to use the word "regular." As in, "I'll take two regular hot dogs." And that's it. Then I get the pleasure of playing 20 Questions to find out what this person thinks "regular" is.

When I first started working there, I got to hear "I'll take two without." Which, of course, begged the question, "Without what?" Then I learned "without onions." Forgive me, sir, my mind-reading abilities aren't working today.

Sometimes the order will be for "the two hot dog special." Normally this isn't a problem to understand. But sometimes it turns into a guessing game: the two dog special or two specials? It could be one or the other and whichever one I think it is is the wrong one.

Most of our customers are alright. Some are difficult. Some are just flat-out dumb. Forget throwing a wrench into the works, they dump the whole toolbox in there. So please, if you swing by our establishment for a few chili dogs, keep in mind mustard, chili, and onions. Make it your mantra. We'll thank you for it and won't make fun of you.

Introduction

Hello to everyone in ComputerLand! This is my attempt at a blog. If you're reading this, thank you for checking it out and I hope you make regular visits.

A little about me: I'm in my early 40s, married, four kids, and I live in North Carolina. I grew up in Mississippi. After high school I did four years in the Marine Corps. Currently employed in a mom-and-pop drive-thru (that is to say, "fast food"). KISS is my favorite band, and Charles Bukowski is my favorite writer. I read a lot. I'll expound on these bits and more in the future.

I should point out that I was born in 1969, way back in the 20th century, so I have a certain outlook on things that many of you fine people probably don't have growing up in the 21st century. You may agree with things I write, you may disagree. That's all well and good. As long as I don't bore you. :)

What will you read about? Books. Music. Movies. Some politics and current events. Idiocy. Plenty of idiocy. Pretty much all the same things that other people post on their blogs.

Warning: It's very likely that I'll cuss a good bit on here, so if you don't like colorful language you may want to go elsewhere.

Okay, I guess that's it for now. Wish me luck and I'll wish you luck, too. Talk to y'all later.