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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I forget things and get angry about it

I was offended by the lady at the Cafe the other day. I was already in a highly annoyed state due to issues I cannot discuss in this blog but have got me a bit on edge this week.
Since the lady at the cafe does not read the Lazy Farmer I will explain.
I have some sort of strange issue. When I get nervous I forget things. But, sometimes I can make up amazing stories that can get me out of all sorts of traffic tickets and check bouncing issues at the bank. I never know when my special talent will kick in so most of the time I just sound confused.
The other day I called about getting some soybeans to plant. I got confused and could not say the name of the fellow who gave me the number to call. Then I could not remember the variety or day number of the beans we planted last year. I don't understand that .09 thing. We need 1-.06 day number. Then I couldn't remember who our field man was, that is because we never do business with that company, so the lady thinks I am an idiot. She is possibly correct...
When I am ordering food I often forget what I want to order even if the menu is in front of me. It is not really that I forgot, it is just that I can't remember the words to describe the item which I want. This is very embarrassing for me, so I make it into a joke.
The lady at the cafe' thinks I am just being an annoying person. I don't explain to people that I frequently have brain malfunctions or they would think I was a freak.
So, she comes up to our table and wants our order. She says she is in a hurry. She is not in a good mood. There is not waitress. The food service order guy is there which means she is anxious about money. I know all this and I am trying to remember to be quick and clear with my order. But, as soon as she tells me to hurry I go blank and I forget my order, so I make a joke about cheesy broccoli soup. She tells me to order or she will go to the next person. It instantly angers me.
I will tell you why...I think...
First the a few things about the cafe.  The food at the Amity Cafe is not bad. The menu is short and simple which is good. There are some funny and friendly waitresses who are really quite good. There is a lot of local color. The people who run it work really hard and pay way too much rent.
But, it is a touch on the greasy side, the orders are often wrong, I hate the hash browns, the hamburgers have too much water and grease and make me sick, I got food poisoning once, the coffee is terrible.
I have been taking my helper there as often as I possibly can afford and usually when I can't afford it as we are at times, the only people in there. I have spent $10 a day there, 5 days a week, all winter. It doesn't sound like much but I often don't really have the money. I always tip. I hate being bitched at... I understand she is worried but she should not be grumpy every other day and she should not yell at the waitresses. As a farmer who deals with this sort of stress I would say, and have told her, she must have a happy place or take a break or do something else. She is going to crack up.
So, we are now going to the Mexican Cafe uptown. She never has customers, she has really good coffee, and sometimes she tries to talk to me in broken english, and she brings us extra salsa.
Her husband died of a heart attack when she was like 8 months pregnant some years ago and it has been a huge struggle for her. I think I will support her for a while.
In retrospect, I am kind of an uptight person. I have been told otherwise but they were confused. I was thinking about this last night after planting for a neighbor. He was worried and I was worried about the moisture and we were both being polite with each other. So, I went home early. It was dark anyway. Last night it rained. It drives me nuts waiting for the ground to dry out.
I think I will take some vitamin D.

5 comments:

  1. People who compound their challenges with ill temper and inflict it on others, especially when that other is a paying customer!!, ought to consider how they are spending themselves. Work up a happy place, talk to a dog, play a banjo. Read ten year old issues of the Daily Strumpet.

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  2. That comment was directed at the cafe lady and her unwarranted petulance, not the fearless editor/farmer/side o the barn movie meister...

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  3. I say support the Mexican lady and spread your "wealth" around. Any real business person knows that it's not so much a product they're selling as themselves. I sounds like the first woman isn't offering a very good "line of goods"!

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  4. I can understand the forgetting. I can be terrible at people's names. Many times they just get "Hi how are ya" while I am racking my brain for their first name.
    Re: the restaurant service, its an old saying that the customer is always right. Of course we are all human and can have a bad day , short on patience etc.

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  5. Hello all,
    First, I should not have gotten annoyed. CollieGuy has good advice, even if he noted that it was not directed at me...I should have not carried my frustration to lunch with me.
    Secondly, the Mexican lady REALLY appreciates our business. Plus, I saw our former hispanic employee who took his wife and new baby to lunch and I was able buy his lunch for him. (without telling him) This boosts his status with his wife I think. Former boss still likes him kind of thing. So all went well with the switch today.
    Ralph, sorry to see you in the forget peoples names club. But I guess your blog is called Mindless Ramblings... And you subscribed to the lazy farmer so I guess I should have figured we had things in common.
    I think the cafe lady needs to do some stress management and lighten up a bit. I got so angry at the hammer mill today. The belt will not stay on and I don't have time to be messing about with Chicken feed. (Working for Chicken Feed?) I went in the house and had some ice tea and took 5,000 milligrams of Vitamin D. It is starting to help!

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