Caterwauling

So I’ve been needing a new coffeemaker for, like, for-ev-ah. So this weekend, I broke down and bought the red Senseo because, well, it’s red.

I know. My logic? Impeccably convoluted, but always justifiable in my mind.

I’m not sure I’m thrilled with my new bundle o’ java joy. First of all, there are two buttons for it — one for a four-ounce cup of coffee (I could snort that, people. Seriously) and another for an eight-ounce mug. But anytime I fill the water tank to eight ounces, and then hit the button for the, oh, eight-ounce brew, it only heats/uses four ounces. Not getting this.

But I do have to admit that, once every six cups, it will give me a full mug, so it’s moodier than I am. Perhaps I need to stick a Midol in the pod-holder every few cycles to get it in the mood to function again? 😉 You can buy a bigger tank but really, what’s the point?

The expense of buying those stupid pods isn’t something I thought through completely. My yuppie grocery store charges $4.69 for a bag of 16 pods. Which is cheaper than going to Starbucks for a venti dulce de leche latte, so I can’t really complain. But the selection blows.

I was shopping on the Senseo site because I really wanted the Hazelnut Waltz, but you can’t just buy a 16-pack. Oh, no, you have to buy 96 of them for $30. (Or you do the subscription plan for $3 cheaper, but I don’t see the flavored-java option for the auto-ship method.)

This works out, price-wise, but resisting temptation isn’t one of my strong points — I snarf down 96 cups of coffee in a month — especially if the machine keeps pissing out these teeny four-ounce cups at every turn!

I’m also admiring the Irish Creamery flavor, too, as no store seems to carry that, either. I got a sample of the Hazelnut and loved it, but the Irish one is untested at this point. I did try the Vanilla, which is available everywhere, and didn’t go ga-ga over it.

I’d heard reviews that the water never got hot enough with this coffeemaker. I have no complaints about that — the thing is perfect, even if I do have to trip over the cats wander into the kitchen twice as often to get as much brew as I need to be functional before I leave the house.

Now if this isn’t the most boring blog entry ever, clearly I didn’t slack try hard enough. 😉

Today’s Gemini horoscope:

“You’re filled with positive energy, and your powers of persuasion are heightened to an insane degree. You might even be able to convince yourself of something you really want to believe!”

I live in the land of Denial, so convincing myself of what I want to be true isn’t a stretch. In fact, I’m smiling at everyone who’s there in the land of make-believe with me, who thinks these projects on my desk are going to come together soon, too. *waves*

Actually, life is all about mind over matter. And it is slowly pulling me into reality, one agonizing step at a time, making me deal with lots of stuff I thought I could avoid if I pretended it didn’t exist. Some good, some bad, some I didn’t think was even worth the effort of dealing with in the first place.

In any event, the horoscope means something to me in that things I actually did try to deny, things that could be good or maybe even blow up in my face, are starting to show on my face. And I’m not sure if hiding them is, or will always be, the right way to handle them. But for now, it’s the only way I know.

On the other hand, I couldn’t lie or hide something to save my life, so at least if whatever it is escapes my tight little grasp, there will be resolution one way or another. Perhaps this is where I try to believe in the ending I want rather than the one I expect after all. …

I just don’t get the expectation that, if I walk into a restaurant and place an order to go, that I should tip. If I were getting it delivered, I’d tip the driver. If it were coming to the table, I’d tip the server. But if I’m standing around dealing with rudeness and incompetence, NO TIP FOR YOU!

Stopped in at my favorite Italian restaurant the other day. And by “favorite,” I mean the food and not the atmosphere, hence why it’s a pickup job only. The girl behind the counter disappeared in the back (as I learned later, to put in her own lunch order and chat with the cook) for five minutes. Then she came out and proceeded to stare at the walls while I stood at the register where, gee — I don’t know, I was waiting to ORDER.

Then when she somehow became aware that she wasn’t the only person in the room, she acted surprised and grudgingly helped me. (Why I waited that long, I don’t know. Probably because it was raining and I wasn’t going anywhere else.) And the brightest bulb in the box, she wasn’t, as I ordered cheese fries and a sammich, and she said, “You need fries with that?”

Was this McDonald’s? Jesus. I said, “I already ordered fries.” And she said, “Yeah, but do you want plain fries, too?”

*thunk*

The funny part of all this is that the owner came by to charge her for her lunch order. Ironically she had ordered fries for herself and he got mad at her because fries aren’t part of the deal for employees. (I wondered whether she wanted me to order them and donate them to her.)

I guess she had to pay for her lunch, and she started whining that she was working a double shift and NOT ONE PERSON had tipped her. (She looked just past my head when she said it.) Annoying, insolent little brat — is it any wonder nobody wants to give you an extra buck for your oh-so-sunshiney demeanor?

To my delight, one of the servers happily chirped, “You might want to try being nice to the customers if you want tips!”

I don’t know. I remember working those shit jobs where they tried to make you feel lucky for busting your ass for THEM. The wages sucked, the customers sucked and the management sucked even worse. I get that. Really, I do. But even though I used to go above and beyond, when I could, I never got or even expected a tip.

I could have used tips, don’t get me wrong, but it’s sort of a rite of passage to work crap jobs so you can appreciate a good one when/if it ever comes. I used to tell an old boss that I couldn’t wait to get a “real” job. That showed up on my review every year. 😉

Anyway, I’m not above tipping. I appreciate my servers, the drivers, the cabbies, the guy who hails the cab in the rain, the clerks at curbside check-in at the airport, the people who help me with my luggage. I’m not an asshole — we’re all wage slaves. But not only am I not overly compelled to tip the person who merely talks to me 20 seconds to type my order into a register, but I’m sure as HELL not going to reward you just for showing up at your job and not giving me the time of day.

I don’t expect you to remember that you’ve taken my order 20 times in the past year (in the same surly, dismissive manner). I do expect you to get my order right (which is usually hit-or-miss, truth be told) and maybe even take it in a courteous and — gasp! — friendly way.

If you can’t even manage that, and you have the nerve to complain about it in front of me, well, I’ll come back because I like the food. But I assure you, there’s never going to be anything extra in it for you … unless it’s a kick in the ass. 🙂 And there’s ALWAYS more where THAT came from!!!