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You wake up exhausted...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 4308
You wake up exhausted, but unable to sleep. It's the day off. The one you've been looking forward to, the end of the holiday season, the start of the slow season, there's a lot to do. New Years Day was a day off too, but that was spent cleaning the house, preparing to bring in the New Year, today will be spent with the boy, I haven't seen him since the holidays began....
By the time he arrives I'm almost asleep again, but force myself awake. He's got to open his presents.
Now I've been busy with work and all and haven't really had time to get him a proper present. A few stocking stuffers is all, a bottle of hand cream, some pink rubber gloves, a box of kleenex. It all sounds very suspicious but, believe it or not, it isn't. Really.
And the "Big Gift", one I know he'll enjoy, the padded toilet seat.
He's speechless. I take pictures.
Osteria de Medici
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 3577
It's big news, this, at the restaurant, the Oiler's ill fated night out.
If you're not familiar, there's the news story here: http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Oilers+players+refused+massive+bill+Calgary+restaurant+owner/2397784/story.html.
The boys, they've discussed it, added the bill up and double checked the math, they're arguing that the Oiler's behaved badly, they should have just paid the bill, it all adds up.
The owner, he's thinking the Oiler's might have had some cause for complaint. I'm with him.
First of all, how did this make the news? Even in a small town like Calgary, it's definitely not news. But there's something deliciously spiteful about hating the Oiler's, that inane, childish rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton, and the press knows their audience. No, it's definitely not news, but it'll sure sell papers....
Second of all, there's a certain whiff of half truths about it all. Not that I suspect that the Oiler's are in any way paragons of virtue or good manners, I've never even considered it and would be surprised if any of them were. That's not what they're paid for. But there is something very suspicious about Maurizio Terrigno's claim that he would "donate the money to the Earthquake relief fund...". I'd like to see the receipt for that, and be reassured that the charity wasn't being run by his brother.... Note the interview charge he attempted to levy on the Globe and Mail...
Third of all, he's just alienated a very affluent clientele who not unreasonably expect some discretion and privacy when they're dining out.
Maybe that was the service charge they refused to pay. In any event, as costly as it was for them in terms of bad publicity, I suspect it will prove even more costly to the restaurant owner. Read the comments following each of the articles, others have found as well the faint whiff of sulpher in Maurizio's claims and I'll be not a little surprised if it doesn't cost him a fair measure of business, if not the business itself.
I'll end with this by Mark Twain:
"If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed."
What Celebrity are You?
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2251
There's a game that customers play when they want to ingratiate themselves to the waiter. It's the "What Celebrity do you most look like" game.
So far I've had one Benicio Del Toro, one Rupert Everett (I've had him before) and 3 Lyle Lovetts. Now Lyle Lovett isn't a celebrity that you should attribute to your waiter if you're trying to ingratiate yourself to him. Although I have to say there's a slight resemblance...SLIGHT is the operative word, perhaps more a shared expression of "What am I doing with this haircut", but that's where I'll end it. As for Rupert Everett, well, slight again, but I find him rather bland. And while I'd be the first to acknowledge that Benicio Del Toro's a very handsome man, there's absolutely no resemblance whatsoever apart from the bags under the eyes and his rather natty dress sense.
If I had more time I'd patch them all together and find the resemblance. But I don't.
Talking Shit
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Conversations
- Hits: 1116
When it slows down a bit we talk. Waiter talk, about how to win the lottery - What would you do with your share of the jackpot? Would you work the rest of Christmas, or would you just piss off? About what it would be like to have a job that gave you weekends off. About what it was like to sell cars - a lot of work, apparently, although on his best month he made $22, 000 dollars. He was the best salesman in Western Canada, if not the country. About how much money you should reasonably spend on a good bottle of wine.
Basically we're just talking shit.
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