My Arch Nemesis

So, as promised, I am going to share the story of how I met my arch nemesis.

Over break, I went to the Arrowhead restaurant with my grandmother for lunch. Now, this place is usually filled with old people, and everyone talks to everyone else, but they usually aren't huge assholes. As soon as we sat down, the old man sitting behind me asked me to stand up so he could read my shirt. It was an O&N shirt that says "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of the actors who pissed me off."
Apparently he didn't like that. He asked me if that was my mother I was with. I said that it was, in fact, my grandmother and he asked if she approved of my shirt. I said that she did, just to get him to shut up and go away, and he informed me that he did not approve of it.

He left me alone for a little while, until the waitress came. As she was leaving, he turned to me and said, "I thought you would have asked her for more hair." I didn't even know how to respond to that. It was a completely unprovoked bald joke from a total stranger. I gave him a kind of half smile/half grimace/half annoyed look.

He finished his meal without annoying me further, until he got up to pay. He stopped at our table and the following ensued:

Him: "So do you go to school?"
Me: "I did. I graduated from college two years ago."
Him: "So why isn't your mom here? Does she have to work to support you?"
Me: *complete shock*
My gram: ..."His mom's a school teacher, she's at school."
Me: (after recovering from my shock) "I work at a theatre in South Carolina. I'm home visitng. My mother is working...."

He then went on to talk about how his daughter is in Kentucky, but that's too far to drive in one day, so he never sees her. He then paid his bill and left. My gram turned to me after he left and asked who he was. My response? "I don't know, I thought you knew him...."

I'm still not sure what I did to provoke a strange old man to continually insult me, but I picture our next meeting as something akin to Peter and the giant chicken on Family Guy.

Let's do this.

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, but I have two posts for today. One about my new career, and one about an obnoxious old man who may be my new arch nemesis.

So while I was home, my friends Marcy, Debbie, and I were talking about jobs and moving away, and how there has to be a job that everyone can love, no matter how much they hate working. While on this topic, I began talking about how much I would love to open my own business. Possibilities discussed were a bookstore/cafe, a bakery, a catering business, and a theatre.

I've been putting serious thought into the idea of a bookstore. Since I just started a Buffy marathon, I've decided that it will be an exact replica of the Buffy high school library. Think about it, it's perfect.



The check-out desk can be where we sell coffee, smoothies, baked goods, etc. Giles's office can be where the ovens and storage are. The cage where they lock Oz up can be an office, as well as a showcase for any rare/expensive books. There's plenty of space in the center for couches, tables, chairs, etc.

I could go all the way with the Buffy theme and hire a spunky blonde girl, a brainy red-headed girl, a goofy brunette guy, and an older British man as my staff, but that might not happen. :-P

I'm not sure if I would want to go with used books, new books, or a combination. Probably a combination. I love used book stores, but I think I would also want to provide some new books, comics, and/or magazines. As for the cafe part, I don't know if I would want to delve into espresso drinks right away, but I would do at least basic coffee, tea, hot chocolate, smoothies, etc. I would have fresh muffins, cookies, sticky buns, and other baked goodies. Eventually, I could offer lunch things like paninis and sandwiches, and work my way up to espresso drinks. I can have a little corner up front to sell stuff that I make... afghans, quilts, canned goods, etc.

I'm not sure where I want to do this. I could stick close to home in PA, but I'd probably go out of business fairly quickly, as middle-of-nowhere, PA isn't the best place to open a business. I don't know that I would want a big city, though, either. I don't know... I'll have to put more thought into it.

As you can see, this is definitely going to happen. I plan on buying a store in the next few months, remodeling, building up inventory, and opening by next fall. Or... it can be a pipe dream and I'll keep applying for theatre jobs and internships. lol

I should be in bed.

So as you can tell from the title of this post, I should be in bed. I have to get up at 6AM tomorrow for a kids' show. However, I just have to take a minute to talk about stupid people. People do stupid things around me all the time. Today, though, there were several incidents that made me go OH MY GOD.

The first incident was at Subway. I had to go in to work at 4PM, so I decided to stop on the way and get a sub instead of making something at home. As I pulled into the parking lot, two other cars also pulled in. One came from the same direction as me, the other was coming towards us. Well, the car in front of me was in the middle of the lane in which cars drive through the lot. She apparently panicked at the oncoming car and decided the best course of action would be to just stop. I don't know if it was a deer in the headlights thing, if she was playing dead, or if she just did not have the coping mechanisms to deal with oncoming traffic, but she just. sat. there. I was able to just pull into a spot, but the other car was stuck. I made my way into the store and got in line. About five minutes later, a woman came in behind me. Not the one who couldn't deal with driving, but the one who was blocked. I don't know what happened to the one who couldn't drive. She may have been sitting in her car crying because driving is hard.

One might think that that was enough stupidity for one trip to Subway. Oh, no. When I got in the store, there was one other person just finishing paying. The clerk came over and took my order and it needed to be microwaved, so while it was heating, she started the other lady's order. Well, this lady wanted several subs, all with special instructions. Instead of finishing my order when it was done in the microwave, she kept at the other order. I had to stand there for about 10 minutes until this woman was satisfied with the meats and cheeses on her sandwiches. When this was finally finished, the woman looked right at me and said, "Are you waiting for something?" I said, "Yes." Between my response and the fact that the clerk had begun to wait on me again, you would think that she could figure out that I was, in fact, getting a sub. In Subway. However, she proceeded to get pissed that I had come between her and the veggies on her subs. Nevermind that I was there first, and had already waited an eternity because of her. I got the veggies and condiments on my sandwich to a chorus of her overly dramatic sighs and foot tapping. Well, Subway Bitch, if you happen to read this, I hate you.

I finally got done and went on my merry way. My day progressed smoothly until about 7:15. We had a show at 8:00, so the house opened at 7:30. Well, the artist decided at 7:15 that he didn't like the lighting that he had been rehearsing in all day. Really, buddy? You've performed countless times, and you had been informed that the lights that were on were going to be the lights on for the show. You couldn't have said something in the 3 hours that I had been sitting there doing nothing? Next time, I'm just going to set you on fire. That should provide ample light for you.