dinner adventure.

tonight i decided to try dickey's bbq based on michele's recommendation.

i had the brisket, which was fabulous, plus mac and cheese [yum!] and criss-cut fries, which are an old favorite. i wanted a pickle just based on michele's review, but i was too shy to dig into the barrel by myself. i realize that's weird, but that's just how i get sometimes. i'm not a good solo-diner, but i'm trying to get better about it. tonight was a big step for me. it was also quite the adventure.

the man who ordered right before me moved tables after i sat down... to the table directly in front of mine. then he sat so he was facing me. oh dear. so i just got out my phone and texted deepa about the awkward situation. while i was texting, he dropped off some silverware for me, and said "lady, please" in the most proper manner in what was later decided to be a british accent. i thanked him and proceeded to just pretend to be very busy on my phone for the remainder of the meal, so as not to make eye contact. still i felt like i was being watched. eek. once the british man was done eating and had left, the guy who took our orders came out to clean off the table. he looked at me and said, "i thought for sure that guy was going to ask to eat with you."
and i said, "yeah. i was kind of afraid of that myself."
and he said, "well if i were him i would have asked. [to which i thought: huh!?] he probably just chickened out or something."
and i said "yeah. who knows. did he kind of remind you of sylvester stallone?"
and he said "hmm. i'm not sure, but did you hear is accent? was it british or australian?"
we decided it was british, as i mentioned. then the guy asked me if i wanted some peach cobbler or pecan pie, on the house. well. who am i to turn down free dessert? so i now have a lovely piece of cobbler in the fridge for later tonight. i seriously ate so much though. it's going to be a while before any kind of food sounds good.

as i was finishing up some last bites, a man wearing a long fur coat, a hooded sweatshirt [hood on], sweat pants, and slippers came in and grabbed two ice cream cones and served himself some ice cream then sat down at a table by the door. dickey's gives you free ice cream with your meal. i guess this guy decided it was free ice cream period. as i was leaving [i passed on the ice cream for the record], he asked me for spare change. sigh. that's when i really knew the place was legit. michele got to see the cops, i got asked for change.

all in all, it wasn't an experience that was very encouraging of future solo-dining. still the food was good. i will definitely go back, just not alone. plus, if james would have been there, i definitely would have been brave enough to get a pickle. or at least i would have made him get one for me. :]

in other news, i went to the dentist today. good times. the hygienist asked me if i used an electric toothbrush, to which i replied no. she then told me that it looks like i do, so i much do a really good job brushing. even though i'm not 10 anymore, it was nice to hear the praise. i decided that it was cause to reward myself with a trip to the scrapbook store [treasured memories too is my new local favorite]. i picked up some of the new basic grey porcelain collection. this paper reminds me ever so slightly of one of my favorite cosmo cricket papers, but these colors and totally new and different. i was instantly in love with it. :] plus they had some new thickers. they weren't even out yet [neither was the basic grey], but i got to dig through the boxes, which made me a happy girl. i seriously enjoy digging through boxes of new product waaaay more than just pulling it off the wall. it's like a little treasure hunt. plus there is the feeling of knowing you are one of the first to have it. who doesn't like that feeling? heee.

alright. i have a date with a pile of papers that need some grading now. sounds like fun.
oh and tomorrow night is the regional science fair, alyssa. i'll say hi to mr. ochs for you. :]