The Crazy World of Mana

I had another odd customer experience at Mana today so I decided to catalogue as many of these encounters as I can remember. I'll start with today.

A couple came in around three and after talking at me for a good chunk of time about low blood sugar the woman asked me if I was from Wisconsin. Alone I don't think this would qualify as an odd experience but this was not an isolated incident. Usually customers ask if I'm from Minnesota not Wisconsin but it's the same general idea. When I asked a man why he thought I was from Minnesota he said it's because I'm pale and have red hair. While I don't find that a very convincing argument it's better than some other reasons I've heard.
Another man said it was because I smile a lot. One man said too much. And an older woman said it was because I'm friendly. The consensus is I'm definitely not from New York. When I tell people I'm from California that opens a whole other can of worms.

On Halloween I had several customers ask me if Californians celebrate Halloween. Multiple people have launched into war stories about surviving earthquakes. And one typical New Yorker woman, she snaps her fingers at me and says things like "give me the beans" when ordering, ranted at length about the Southern California wildfires and how all those people deserved to have their homes destroyed. She never did say why exactly.

Then there's my favorite: Laura, the pink lady. She is about a million years old, dresses head to toe in bright pink, carries around a pink granny cart, eats one meal a day and is shocked that I wear earrings. One evening I was explaining to her that my friend Samantha is called Sam. She started to get very flustered and upset and finally burst out with, "Well, that's the problem with California!" I'm still not sure how to take that.

A few other memorable customers include the woman who once told me in hushed, reverent tones that she could smell dairy. Like it's her superpower. Then there is a man who goes by the name William Shakespeare and always calls me Dr Kate. That was kind of neat at first but now it's just creepy. There's also Philip who begins almost every conversation by asking if I'm still 22.
And last but not least, Penny. Penny calls in for food when she's about two blocks away from the restaurant because she's so pressed for time she can't wait the extra twenty seconds. She is also the most indecisive woman I've ever met. It often takes her ten to fifteen minutes to make up her mind about what to order. She always asks if what she ordered is low fat. It's a health food restaurant for crying out loud! Anyhow, I just order whatever I think she might like so she doesn't have to make the decision anymore.

I'm sure there's many more weird experiences but I've just blocked them out.

Kelsang Goes to India

One of my favorite people at work is leaving us to go to India for a few months and I don't want him to go! He was the one who trained me when I first started waitressing and could barely manage to carry two bowls of soup at the same time. I'm going to miss his singing along to our instrumental music, the way he just blankly stares at rude customers and how he describes all dishes as being "you know, vegetables and some tofu."

We always work together Sunday mornings when Lee cooks vegan pancakes and waffles which are surprisingly good. Especially when topped with soy margerine and tofu cream.

Wedding Photos!

I'm finally posting evidence that I went to Jeanine and Pete's wedding in Santa Fe. I forgot to re-charge the batteries in my camera and therefore didn't take any of my own photos. Thanks to Sean for sending me these!

The Bride and Groom celebrating their wedding on New Year's Eve...by dancing in silly hats.

Michaela and I ringing in the New Year with her old step-brother Colin and her new step-brother Sean.

Here is a link to the official wedding photo site, but be warned...you'll have to sort through hundreds of only slightly differentiated pictures of people sitting in a church or sitting at a table before you get to the pictures of people crazy dancing.

www.pictage.com/304928.

Urge for Going

I heard about the song Urge for Going by Joni Mitchell from one of my customers at work and I'm completely addicted! I love this song. Check it out if you get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3EofN3Flag

My favorite line is "See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow/They've got the urge for going, they've got the wings to go"