Lunch hour....or, an hour minus the lunch.

Hello everyone. Long time no write - I apologize about that, but believe me, I'll make up for it here. I'm as frustrated as I have been in a long time. Follow along, and help me out.

I met Janel today for lunch at 12:00. We went to a local establishment with a piece of fruit as their logo (I don't want to mention any names, but it rhymes with Applecee's). We placed our order at the same time as our drinks, consisting of one appetizer, one salad, and a chicken dish. Pretty basic stuff. Our waitress, who I'm sure goes to Marist College across the street from this unnamed restaurant, seemed completely out of sorts when we ordered our drinks and food TOGETHER - because apparently, nobody in the history of restaurant dining has ever done that before. So she took the order and left.

Janel and I are engaging in conversation. She has an hour for lunch, and a meeting at 1:00 that she can't be late for. Our order is taken at 12:10 - that gives plenty of time for a small order to get in and out, and still be out of there on time. I know it does - we've done it many times in the past. During our conversation, it occurs to me that the appetizer is taking longer than usual. I look down at the time and it's 12:30. A little later it's now 12:40 - still just one root beer and a glass of water have made it to the table in what now has become 30 minutes. This includes the waitress - she never came back to check on us. The appetizer arrived at 12:42

You know how when you're in public, and you can see people getting aggravated without them causing too much of a scene? That was us. At 12:45, the manager on duty walks by and asks us how everything is. We calmly state that because my wife is there on lunch, because, you know, it's LUNCH TIME, that we need our order to go now because it has taken so long. Right after he leaves, our waitress, the Marist Mensa Member, comes over and tells us she informed the kitchen and it should be just a few more minutes. It's now 12:49.

We get our check BEFORE THE FOOD ARRIVES. Queen Intelligencia doesn't have a pen in her apron, so she has to run and get another one. I fill out the check, knowing that she's sticking around waiting for me to fill in the tip amount, which I did - to 0.00. We took our copy, took our order, which finally arrived at the table at 12:54 and left. Thankfully, Janel works right up the road, and she got back in time. I pulled out of her workplace at 12:59.

So I make it home within 10 minutes of receiving our food - and my lunch is lukewarm at best. I have half a mind to head back there later when I have to go back to that side of the bridge and making a tremendous stink about it, but I will take my complaint to the public forum first. I would never be so bold to say "Don't eat at (fruit logo themed restaurant)!", but I will warn you what to expect if you do. Expect lousy service. Expect to overhear a bartender there telling a female customer to "show her boobies" in order to obtain something (I kid you not - this was overheard during our long wait). Expect to not have anything taken off of the bill as a show of good faith for the poor service in the sheer glimmer of hope that you may go back there. Expect the waitress to watch you fill out the tip portion of the bill (which I think bothered me more than anything).

Was I wrong to not tip her? I look at it this way - she may not be the cook, but if I know my tip depends on good service, and someone else isn't holding their end of the deal up, bet your bottom dollar I'd have been in that kitchen saying "I need my order for table # whatever." So in effect, it wasn't me who stiffed her - it was herself and the kitchen that stiffed her. If the manager has a problem, let him reach into his pocket and compensate her. I'm sure he wouldn't pay for poor performance as the manager - why should I as the consumer?

Comments are welcome as always. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

7 Year Itch? Not a bit....

May 4. Seven years ago today, the date was 05/04/03, and I took the plunge and pledged myself to one person for the rest of my existence. My beautiful wife Janel and I are celebrating our anniversary today, and as we have gotten older, we have learned to just appreciate each other's company without needing to "impress" each other. We took a nice leisurely stroll along the Walkway over the Hudson today (a little bit sunburned, but that's OK), had a nice lunch together, and basically just spent the day sharing each other, reminding ourselves just why we've been able to last 7 years, which is really saying something in this day and age.

We just sat and watched our wedding video - which I recommend to anyone who has their video to do on their anniversary. We watch it every year on May 4. We also buy a bottle of champagne every year and toast each other, using our goblets from 05/04/03.

I am not an easy person to live with sometimes. I'm stubborn, moody, and can be a general pain in the ass. I'm also lucky. Janel lets me be me, including the times where I'm singing karaoke, or on stage telling jokes. I couldn't ask for a better partner, friend, soulmate, mother to my daughter, and overall person.

There's an old myth called "The 7 Year Itch" which basically says that after 7 years, you get the itch to try something new. After 7 years, the only itch I have (other than the sunburn) is the itch to have another 70 years with my wife. I love you Janel. Thank you for the last 7 years, and let's keep making it work 7 years at a time!