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Chinky Chink
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Conversations
- Hits: 1755
He's brought his new wife into the restaurant, and the owner has come out to meet them. She's beautiful, he's showing her off, she's perhaps my age, but there would appear to be some slight cosmetic enhancements, no one really looks that good at 45. He doesn't look so good, he's brought along his mother and she's brought along her daughter, at first I thought his mother was the new wife, but I'm introduced before I have a chance to make a rather unfortunate mistake.
And the owner goes through his schtick of telling the women how beautiful they are and going for the double kiss and quick grope, the women are hesitant, more hesitant than most, and when they've been sat and he's been introduced to the new wife, new daughter, old mother he finds out their celebrating the daughter's return, she's back indefinitely, she's been away teaching English in China.
The owner acknowledges her beauty, tries to set her up on a date with G, she's embarrassed and not terribly interested she tells him.
And from here it gets worse. She speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and the owner begins asking how she likes teaching the "Chinky chinks", and he adopts a special funny voice, but it's not funny and nobody's laughing. The new husband stares into space, the wife and the daughter simply carry on politely as if they've heard nothing. The owner repeats himself, maybe she has a chink boyfriend? and they fluff about some more, the politeness is getting strained, but he doesn't catch it, drops the chink bomb perhaps 5 or 6 more times in conversation, I'm standing by to get a drink order and they're looking increasingly uncomfortable, regretting their choice of restaurants, I want to apologize for everyone, but where to begin....
It's a scene right out of BBC's The Office, but there are lines even The Office wouldn't cross....
When finally he's left the conversation resumes on a less strained level. I talk to the daughter, she tells me she loves it, she makes the equivalent of ten thousand dollars a month on a two hour work day, I'm jealous. And she repeats it just to rub it in, but I've heard enough, I know there are much better jobs out there....
March Hares
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2023
Sunday morning, the only day off this week, in the morning sipping coffee outside, a large, well fed coyote with bush tail and a glossy pelt walks across the ridge behind the condo. Working his way east, towards the golf course, indifferent to any spectators. The cats will stay in today.
And all throughout the day there are rabbits in fields, on the sides of the road, lawns, it looks to be their year. Hawks sit on fenceposts looking for the smaller game or just hanging in the air.
The sky's an unblemished blue, perfect, gem like, it's as if it's never snowed, certainly not just a few days before, now, almost indisputably, it's spring.
Almost.
Later there are the crowds walking along the river, a cool evening, and in the night there are shimmering curtains of phosphorescence in northern sky, iridescent and changing colors, they play for an hour or two before fading to a dull glow.
IFN - AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story & The Coup
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Restaurants & Cafes
- Hits: 2462
IFN, some time to kill and so the boy and I head over to Cafe Beano on 17th Avenue. We're going to The Coup for dinner, but it doesn't open until 5:00, and so we'll kill some time with a cup of coffee.
Now it's been forever since I've had a coffee there, despite having lived in the area for almost 20 years, somehow or another it just dropped off the map. A shame, it's great, the layout, the crowd, it's a proper coffee house, what coffee houses used to be before they became the dull Starbucks clones. An excellent place to while away the time, read a book, people watch...
From here to The Coup on 17th Avenue, a vegetarian restaurant I've heard good things about. And despite us arriving at 5:05 it's already half full, and by 5:30 there's a wait for tables. A busy place.
The food is good, vegetarian, I let the waitress surprise me and it's a pleasant surprise. The ambiance is nice, food is good, reasonably priced.
And from here to The Uptown for the movie - American - The Bill Hicks Story. I found it OK, the boy liked it, if you know who Bill Hicks is or was you'll probably love it. I didn't, such is life without TV, and the boy didn't either, but he's at the age where the rebellion against the establishment is a great theme warmly received and so I suspect upon dropping him off he was searching Google for more of his comedy.
Blizzard
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2269
Morning, on what may be, what could be a day off. Finally.
And the weather the past week has been beautiful, getting ever better, the moss grows green on the paving stones outside the restaurant, tulips can be seen to bud, the sky is a clear blue, occasionally dotted with cumulus clouds, temperature reaches highs of +10, +15, and I'm looking forward to garage sales, planning my costume, lists of things to do and I sit about planning my first step.
It could be a day off.
Outside, unusually, it's getting bitterly cold - the sky a slate grey, and I rearrange my priorities - I was going to go to the garden center but maybe not today...and the Restore, to pick up some hardwood (long overdue), but ...
And as I debate these countless trivial things it begins to snow. I thought that it was done for the year, but before I have even finished the thought it's turned into a full scale blizzard. Blizzard. The Good Samaritan Rummage sale is looking a lot less appealing, 2 hours standing in bitterly cold weather, lined up in the snow and the ice....but, persevere and you may be richly rewarded...
So the restore is out today - will not be making trips to and fro with a car packed with Lumber. Nix that. But I could still hit a few thrift shops, line up some curtains and call it a day. Which might have to be it.
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