bosses in the kitchen cause accidents

From the Audience:

I used to work at a cafe. It was fantastic, the staff were friendly and our regulars were awesome. The owner was a wonderful guy who let us do our thing without micro-managing us. Think of Cheers except with coffee.

Unfortunately, for us anyway, it was going so well that he was able to sell the cafe for a tidy sum. The new owner was… well, let’s just say I’m not sure she’s ever been in a cafe before let alone have any idea how to run one. In fact, I’m not sure she’s ever been in a kitchen.

Case in point. Instead starting her first day by watching to see how things were done. She jumped right in trying to help. This would have been great had she ever been in a kitchen before.

Halfway through the lunch rush she came over, grabbed me by the arm, to tell me what a great job I was doing (she must have read it somewhere that is it good to praise your employees). This would have been fine except at that moment, I was ladling hot soup into a to-go cup.

In hindsight, I wish my reflexes weren’t as fast. The scalding hot soup pouring over my arm would have been much less painful than having her underfoot for the rest of the shift.

Sheesh – common sense people!!

Posted in At Work, Sheer Stupidity | Tagged , | Leave a comment

let me pull your ear

Sometimes I have to wonder what people are thinking.

I know we all want out 15 minutes of fame and some people truly deserve it. Regardless whether it’s a good thing or not, their level of creativity makes them at least somewhat ‘deserving’.

This morning on my computer was the headline “Man Pulls Van with Ears“. You KNOW I had to click it just out of morbid curiosity.

So as I watch this video with rousing, upbeat music, a bunch of questions cross my mind.

The first of which is HUH?
followed closely by WHAT the hell?
the third is WHY?
the forth is HOW do you train for something like that?
the fifth is WHO was the bright bunny who said, “Hey let’s…”

So now I sit here and wonder what’s next for this enterprising young man?

I hope he can find some way to make this a transferable job skill because “Hey baby let me tow your car with my ears” doesn’t seem like much of a pick up line.

Posted in In The News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

and sometimes it’s me

One of my biggest pet peeves on transit are those inconsiderate folks who sit on the outside of the seat making it nearly impossible for others to slide in to the empty place beside them.

Especially during rush hour.

They still piss me off, but I will have a little bit more patience with those who don’t seem to do it on purpose. Namely because I was one of them the other day.

I was in the first seat in the row, which is blocked in by only a half wall in front. The tiny little woman sitting in the window seat of the train barely disturbed me in my texting frenzy as she departed. I didn’t notice she’d left until another, not so tiny, lady had to push past me to sit.

Being the polite Canadian (yes, I’m a Canadian), I immediately apologized.

Even though, she said it was alright and even smiled, it bothered me… I’d become one of ‘those people’.

20 lashes with a wet noodle for me!

Posted in On Transit | Leave a comment

walk sign is for pedestrians

Seriously!

I drive, and I drive a huge honkin truck (before you get all environmental on me I use it to cart lumber – can’t do that in a Prius). So it’s not like I don’t understand the rules of the road from the drivers point of view.

Red means stop (or at least slow down and take a look) and the walk sign means that people are WALKING.

This isn’t that hard a concept.

So I’m walking the other day, minding my own business, crossing the street AT THE SIDEWALK, while the WALK sign is on. when I’m almost plowed under by this business-ish looking guy.

This guy needed a seeing-eye dog to drive. From what I could see he wasn’t even distracted by talking on a cell so he can’t even use that as a (bad) excuse.

I’m not a small person, I’m a fan of wearing bold colours and yet I was close enough to his car that when he finally saw me I was close enough to tap my travel mug, full of coffee, on his front windshield.

He almost made me spill my coffee. So not cool!

Posted in Just Plain Rude, Sheer Stupidity | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

sure…I believe you

So I’ve done a fair bit of internet dating.

And while some of the guys have been wonderful, the vast majority have had asshole issues. There is just something about the anonymity of online that brings out the worst in people.

Case in point.

This guy and I moved from the emails on the website to MSN. While we were on MSN I noticed he’d put himself into busy mode. He didn’t want to be disturbed, odd but kinda flattering. Then, as some of the guys do, he felt the need to send me a crotch shot. (which BTW took him out of the ‘might-be-worth-meeting’ category and firmly into WTF?)

Twas fine, I admired the view (such as it was) and signed off shortly there-after.

A little while later, I was chatting with one of my friends on MSN, incidentally about the crotch shot (and not in a good way), when I noticed his little icon went busy again. How busy I soon found out. Within seconds the crotch shot appeared again… this time obviously not intended for me.

Hasn’t he heard, NOTHING is private on the internet!

Posted in Dating, Sheer Stupidity | Tagged , | Leave a comment

female empowerment

I dunno, maybe I’m just cranky tonight.

I kept running into the same couple as I was getting groceries. From overheard bits of their conversation it seemed like she was buying food to cook him a lovely meal.

They were a few lines over from me at check out and as she paid for the food, I heard her ask him where he was going?

I didn’t hear his response, but I did hear her say, “What about the food?”

This response I heard.

“I empower you to carry your own groceries.”

WHAT?!

The clerk actually took a step back to get out of the way.

I’d be empowering him all right, Empowering him to sleep on the couch, empowering him to cook his own meal and empowering him to shove that delicious looking rump roast where the sun don’t shine.

Common Courtesy people!!

Posted in Overheard | Tagged , | Leave a comment

at the swimming hole

Overheard while debating whether to brave the frigid waters of a glacial lake:

The group of young guys beside us didn’t share our reservations and went barreling into the water.

One voice shouted above the rest,

“Oh crap, it’s so cold, my outie just became an innie”

(talk about shrinkage!)

Posted in Overheard | Tagged | Leave a comment

umbrella etiquette

Umbrellas are dangerous weapons – please handle with care.

Short people – lift your umbrella high enough to NOT poke oncoming people in the eye. Better yet, if you can safely tilt your umbrella away from oncoming foot-traffic, do it.

If you are walking under an overhang, close your umbrella or at least walk on the outside, so that people without umbrellas (or who have already considerately closed theirs) don’t have to step out into the rain to pass you.

When you’re on transit, hold your dripping umbrella down… don’t drip on your fellow passengers.

Also don’t hold them like a battering ram… unless you’re approaching those groups of people I posted about on Sept 23… those ones, I give you permission to poke.

Posted in Just Plain Rude | Tagged | Leave a comment

eyes wide shut

Eyes wide shut seems to be the way people walk these days.

Doesn’t matter if you’re in the mall, on the street or on a trail in the park. People are freakin’ oblivious to others around them – and I’m not talking teenagers.

They’re bad, but it’s the adults that drive me nuts.

Group of business men in suits chatting on the sidewalk… forcing the woman with a stroller to either ask them to move or take her child out on to the road to get by.

Or the group of women walking three abreast, taking up the entire sidewalk, regardless of people walking in the other direction.

Seriously makes me want to walk with a jousting pole to make people behave.

(these are the same people BTW who complain about the teenagers… well, where the hell do you think they’re learning it?)

Posted in Just Plain Rude | Tagged , | Leave a comment