Saturday, April 24, 2010

Could You Please Just Go Away?

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0126 . . . OPEN:

I know that Friday and Saturday nights at work are going to be a little on the insane side. It's part of the job; I accept it. But why do people seem to think that they constantly have to redefine the meaning of "insane"?

Last night at work was one of those nights. A night when the entirety of St. Matthews seemed to think that I would die of lonlieness if there wasn't a constant stream of people coming in to keep me company.

And for the record, no, that is not the case. I am not the Maytag repairman; I can handle being left alone. In fact, there are some parts of the job that I can do only when there is so one else around.

The good news is, getting dinner was not a problem. Hale and I had enough of an overlap that I was able to walk over to Oriental House before he clocked out, placed an order, and asked them to bring it over once it was ready. The bad news is, things apparently were just as crazy at Oriental House. It was almost an hour before they brought over my order. And it took me almost two hours to eat it, because no one wanted to leave me alone long enough to eat more than one or two bites at a time.

I ordered the Hong Kong Chicken lunch special last night; I think mainly because I hadn't had it in a while. It was satisfying -- whenever I was able to get more than a couple of bites in, that is.

And of course, there was the fortune cookie. Here's what the fortune said:

"Watch out for emergencies. They are your big chance."

If an emergency at work is any crazier than the norm, I have to wonder: Big chance for what?

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0126 . . . CLOSE

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Open Sesame (Chicken), Close Hunger

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0125 . . . OPEN:


Last night at work was . . . relatively peaceful. Especially after the previous three days. I usually make comparisons to Arkham Asylum, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights went even beyond that level of insanity.

I had eaten a late lunch, and when I was finally ready to get something for dinner, I went with Oriental House. (I had already planned that, to some extent.) Of course, the tricky part is always getting the three or four minutes necessary to lock up, walk over to Oriental House, and place the order. (Yes, I could place my order by phone, but getting away for just a couple of minutes clears the head a little.) I had a couple of false starts when, just as I was placing the "be right back" sign on the door, someone else would walk up.

When I finally made it to Oriental House, I ordered the sesame chicken lunch special. No particular reason; it just sounded the best to me last night. A few minutes later, they brought it over. And much to my surprise, I managed to eat most of it while it was still fairly hot.

And of course, there was the fortune cookie at the end of the meal. This time, the fortune said this:

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0125 . . . CLOSE

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Obviously, This Was Meant For Someone Else

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0124 . . . OPEN:


Okay, now that April Fools Day is out of the way, it's back to the fortunes. (Nuclear-powered DeLorean not required.)

I got takeout from Oriental House last night. It was one of those nights when it was really the best choice. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to wait for a quiet moment to lock up and walk over to Oriental House. I probably wouldn't have been able to get over there at all. But with the way that things were on the schedule last night, I didn't have to worry. There was a couple of hours of overlap between the time I clocked in and when Hale clocked out. So, about 30 minutes or so before it was time for Hale to leave, I had him take over the register for a few minutes, and I walked over to Oriental House. I was able to place my order, and have a little bit of a stretch before going back to the insanity.

I ordered the bourbon chicken lunch special this time. Satisfying, tasty, and perfect for a night when I wasn't feeling in an adventurous mood.

I had to chuckle more than a little when I opened the fortune cookie and read the fortune:

"You become known for your generosity."

Okay, this fortune is just so not me. Yes, I may have my moments of generosity, but this particular fortune is unlike me most of the time.

I guess the fortune cookie can't get it right all the time.

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0124 . . . CLOSE

Thursday, April 1, 2010

No Fortunes Today

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0123 . . . OPEN:


Even if I had eaten Chinese every day for the past week or more, I wouldn't be writing about it today. (As it happens, I haven't, so that isn't a factor for consideration. But I digress.)

If you haven't noticed, today is April Fools Day. To my way of thinking, this is far from the best day to be writing about something like fortunes. I mean, I could write the most outlandish story imaginable about an experience at a Chinese restaurant. And even if it were the absolute, complete, and unvarnished truth, someone out there would be saying, "Yeah, right. I know what today is."

On a similar note, I my last visit to a Chinese restaurant could have yielded one of the most incredibly funny fortunes that I have ever found in a fortune cookie. And again, there would be someone questioning the veracity of my entry, just by invoking today's date. Take a look at the previous entry, for instance. Would you believe it really happened that way if I posted it on April Fools Day?

On the other hand, I could write about finding the most mundane and commonplace of fortunes in a fortune cookie, and the response would be, "You couldn't come up with something better for April Fools Day?"

There's just no pleasing some people.

So, rather than trying to do either, I will simply leave you with my own observation of the day. Ponder its lesson well, Grasshopper:

Even the most sincere and serious of trusted friends may reveal a wickedly humorous streak on April Fools Day.

I hope you haven't been tricked too bad today.

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0123 . . . CLOSE