Creepy picture! Damn you, Jane!
* * *
The spud took the test for her learner’s permit today. She didn’t pass, but she doesn’t seem too brokenhearted about it. Oddly, it had never even occurred to me that she wouldn’t pass. We won’t have a chance for her to take the test again before school resumes (we leave for Maine on Monday and come back the day before school starts), so it’ll be sometime in January or February before she gets the chance to try again. Hopefully she’ll take advantage of the time to STUDY, but I’m not holding my breath.
* * *
If you don’t read Fred’s journal on a daily basis, you should check out
yesterday’s entry – he got some absolutely awesome pictures of the cats.
* * *
The spud got out of school early on Friday and was home around 11:30. Since I needed to drop a bunch of stuff (including the last of the Christmas cards) off at the post office, I asked the spud if she wanted to get lunch at Applebee’s. Naturally, she did (like me, she’d probably eat every meal out if she could), and so we piled our mail into the back seat of the car and headed for the post office. We were in and out of there pretty quickly and headed for Applebee’s. The parking lot didn’t look full, but when we walked in the door, there were people waiting. I walked up to the podium and looked around for someone to take our name for the wait list.
Five minutes passed, and SIX different waiters and waitresses walked up to the podium, gazed blankly past me, ignored my tentative smile, and walked away. Fuckers. When the last one, a small black man, stood at the podium and ignored me, I said to the spud “Let’s go. WE CAN BE IGNORED SOMEWHERE ELSE.” I turned on my heel and stomped out, followed by the spud.
We went to Ruby Tuesday and were immediately seated and served. And I left a 50% tip, because I am always a very generous tipper, and I think those motherfuckers at Applebee’s should just shove their attitude where the sun don’t shine. I’m declaring a boycott of Applebee’s from this point forward. I’ll haul my generous-tipping ass elsewhere, even if I DO have to drive down a very busy highway into Huntsville.
Fuckers. I just wish I hadn’t bought my parents an Applebee’s giftcard for Christmas.
* * *
Speaking of Ruby Tuesday, that’s one restaurant that has jumped on the low-carb bandwagon
with both feet. They had a whole low-carb section of the menu as well as a small menu that sat on the table that had a list of the carbs in various menu items. They had a turkey wrap that sounded really good, but I wanted fries and so ended up getting a chicken club sandwich – which now that I think about it is stupid, since I’m sure I could have substituted fries for the pork rinds (or whatever it was) that came as a side with the low-carb stuff.
Anyway, our Ruby Tuesday dining experience was just fine, although there was a teenage boy sitting behind me who had BO that about knocked me over. Ah well. Can’t have everything, I s’pose.
* * *
After I got home from feeding the petstore kitties yesterday I ate breakfast and began cleaning the house – the downstairs portion of it, at least – and when the spud got out of bed and toddled downstairs at the crack of noon, she blinked at me and said “Why are you cleaning?”
When it’s such a noteworthy event that my child stops and stares in wonder, it’s possible I’m just not cleaning often enough, ya think?
* * *
So
Nance posted a picture of her desk
yesterday and made a comment about what a mess it was. Ha! Amateur!
(click on the picture to see the full-sized version)
And that was after I’d spent twenty minutes throwing shit away and shredding papers that have been sitting on my desk waiting to be shredded for months now.
* * *
It’s tough work, being a Bean.
Fred’s really enjoying getting right up in the cats’ faces lately.
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I’ll join you on the Applebees boycott. Every time we go there we get hideous service and their food isn’t very good either. Although I do love their deserts…
I’ll join as well, even though I’ve quit going there anyway since every single last time I’ve eaten there it’s made me ill….and Ruby Tuesday’s has a great salad bar as well (at least all the one’s I’ve been to).
Just found your website through the cat burb, and all I can say is that it’s fantastic! Love reading about other people’s cat stories and seeing pictures (all of your kitties are just too cute) and I’m glad I’m not the only one who will frequently write about her cats 😉
I used to work as a hostess for Ruby Tuesday’s. You weren’t supposed to leave the hostess stand for anything if no one was there to cover you, or you got majorly bitched out. I guess that’s the same everywhere. I’ve never been a huge Applebee’s fan myself, so I’ll join you on the boycott 😉
Sorry about Spud not passing her test–license exams are like oil & water when mixing with me. It ain’t pretty…luckily I don’t drive often. 😉
Joining in on the boycott—never liked the place anyway. They don’t serve Dr Pepper, and ever since they started giving the kids drinks in VeggieTale cups, my dh has avoided the place like the plague (VT is a Christian thing–my dh is an atheist, just to explain that little viewpoint. LOL!)
But we’ve never had much luck at Ruby Tuesdays either, so we don’t go there either. We usually stick to Friday’s or Red Robin. Yum. Now I’m hungry….*sigh*
Your desk still looks better than mine 🙁
I loved the kitty pics on Fred’s journal yesterday!
I think he missed his calling as a photographer!
And how the hell DID Christmas sneak upon us so fast…GEEZ!!
I was always an A+ student, so imagine my shame when I didnt pass my drivers test the first 2 times. Argh, it was hell. Finally I went with a relative that was low-key, didnt make a big deal about the whole thing, and I ended up passing. Still, I think some of the instructers just hate life and youth and fail you no matter what, since I repeated the exact same ‘mistakes’ on my final test that I did on my first. Hmm. prick.
As for Applebees, when they first opened around us they were great, but like all chains, as soon as they settle in, they cut staff, and the service gets shitty. I try not to blame the kids working there since I know what its like to work in the service industry and have personnel cut, people call off, etc. Still, if you dont complain, they’ll keep doing it.
I dont like Ruby Tuesday much either, their salad bar is great, but unless you go on a Wed. afternoon, you’ll get cold food and pissy service.
Chains are the devil 🙂
For the record, I’m not crazy about Ruby Tuesday’s – the service has always been okay the few times we’ve been there, but I’m not nuts about the menu – we just ended up there because I wanted to sit down and be waited on (ie, no fast food) and it was close.
I’ll join the Applebee’s boycott since I’ve never been in the last 8 years or so. We’re not especially fond of Ruby Tuesday’s either (love the song, though!), but they’re very kid-friendly, so we do stop in every three months or so. I give the food an “eh”.
You ain’t got nothin’ on MY desk – I can’t even see the top of it there is so much shit piled on top of it. It’s truly embarrassing.
I don’t see the SteakOut cup on your desk. Do you still have it? If I send a you a picture of my desk will you post it? Or do I need to get my own website?? HA!!!
haha – that made me laugh – the comment about the spud asking why you were cleaning. when i start cleaning, my daughter asks who is coming to vistit. i don’t think i clean often enough either.
I failed my driving test the first time but it was the parallel parking part.
I have NEVER had to parallel park in my LIFE.
I should write a letter to…someone.
On my planet, that is a neat, tidy, clean desk :p
I told Jane yesterday that the only way I can deal with Applebee’s is by drinking tequila as soon as I walk in the door. By the time the food comes, I don’t give that much of a fuck about anything. I have been to Ruby Tuesdays only once… to drink tequila after a pregnancy scare. Again, I didn’t give a fuck about much by the time we left. I don’t care for the whole chain restaurant thing. It’s kind of like organized religion. Okay, if it works for you…just don’t make me do it, too.
Thanks, Robyn!! It’s been a great day. 🙂
Yeah, Applebee’s sucks and so does Chili’s, I’ll gladly join you on the Appblebee’s boycott:)
Merry Christmas 🙂
Hey Robyn,
We’ve left GA for the cooler, snowier, confines of Manitoba for the holidays. Curiously, it’s not frigidly cold, as it was when we were here 3 years ago (we’re talking -30F … it’s a balmy 25F today.)
Anyway, I wanted to comment on your Applebees/RT experience. I’ve boycotted Applebees for the past 5 years, since contracting food poisoning AND bad service there. Also, I love the new RT low-carb menu. Last time I was there (2 weeks ago?) I *did* have the turkey wrap, and it was delish. Also, I asked them to substitute the side with the mashed cauliflower. Now, I’m not a veggie lovin’ freak, but I do like them – with the exception of cauliflower and asperagus (sp?). Anyway, that mashed cauliflower was fan-fuckin-tastic. I could have made a whole meal of it.
Have a very merry Christmas and a bitchin’ time in Maine. There’s only about 4 inches of snow on the ground up here – enough for my 3 1/2 year old to be entertained – but they’re expecting more this weekend. No sub-zero temps, however, for which I’m grateful.
Cheers,
Aly, usually in GA, but now in Manitoba, doing come Canadian Canoodling!
Both you and Nance have perfectly presentable desks- in fact, I don’t know what she’s on about that she thinks hers is messy.
Never been to either Applebee’s or any of the other chain restaurants mentioned, as they don’t have them up here in Canoodleville, but we’ve discovered there’s a general rule to how bad the service is. It’s a function of the cuteness to competence ratio in the service staff. In Vancouver, there’s two main chains that illustrate this- Moxie’s has very cute staff (models mostly) and you have to hassle them for refills, you never get anything in the right order and my friend got her hand badly burned after being handed a very hot plate to pass to someone at a large table (and the staff gave her attitude when she kept asking for more ice to put on it and actually challenged her when she left no tip “Did you not like me or something?”- my friend was completely gobsmacked). Earl’s has attractive staff, but they’re very sharp- they know the menu really well, they handle requests like dressing on the side with cheer, they have your refill for you just as you finish your drink and they do a very good job of selling their promotions or offering dessert without being intrusive or pushy about it. We think they’re all actors instead of models.