Dude's Day Out: Friday

Dude's night out weekend started last night. Billy and I met at John McCain's new favorite restaurant, Buckingham Smokehouse. Other than the fact that they served a Republican presidential candidate, Buckingham has always been a favorite of mine. Last night did not disappoint.
The server was super fast and efficient. However, she didn't realize that it's actually a compliment to get carded for a dude in his Jesus year. She was young enough to find it a burden to be carded. When does that change? How old do you have to be when being carded becomes a compliment as opposed to an inconvenience?

Also last night (I know. The title says "Friday."), I actually watched TV. I haven't watched TV (aside from a few football games) in six weeks. What happened six weeks ago to cause this? Hmmm...

I watched pretty much anything that was funny or offensive or a little of both. Probably my favorite show, The Office, was half-way done by the time I sat down. That's OK, because I can watch the entire episode online. Although, I'm not sure that I want to watch this one. All the romantic storylines are turning it into just another crappy sitcom. Why do they ruin good shows with kissy-faces and mushy talk?

Saturday Night Live is trying to get in on The Daily Show/Colbert Report audience by showing half-hour weekend update segments as filler leading up to the election. The show has it's funny moments, but it's not Comedy Central.

(I haven't written this much about TV in a long time. Sorry. I normally despise the medium.)

After a forgettable South Park in which the boys pose as a Peruvian flute band and get shipped off to Peru in a secret plot to unleash giant guinea pigs on the world, I caught Sara Silverman's show. I like Silverman's brand of comedy. It's so over-the-top offensive that it's hard to determine whether she's really that bigoted and narcissistic or just really good at what she does. Either way, last night's episode was one of the most offensively hilarious things I've ever seen. Let me summarize...

Sara continually confuses men in beards for Osama Bin Laden and runs them over with her car, bike, or whatever mode of transportation she can get her hands on. Meanwhile, her sister is made to feel shameful for her overabundant pubic hair, a sort of tribute to her mom. Sara's gay neighbor gets a massage and confuses "full release" for defication. And that doesn't mention Sara's play in which she and her friends reenact the 9-11 tragedy. Trust me. It was funny.

Moving on to Friday as promised.

Friday has not gotten off to a great start. This is my real reason for wanting to write this post today. I have to complain about Kaldi's Coffeehouse.

I normally like Kaldi's. The coffee is good and the menu is more interesting than your typical coffee shop. They are one of the few places open downtown at 6:00 am. The people there are friendly and relatively responsive.

As I drove downtown before hitting the road for work, I figured that i could quickly get a coffee and a hardy breakfast sandwich at Kaldi's. Quick and easy.

I entered the shop at 6:40, thinking I had twenty minutes to be on the road in time to reach my destination early enough to prep for a training session. The coutner was empty as some jackass behind me was yelling into his phone about their crazy night (which I guess was just coming to an end) and how some girl was losing her driving privileges because she caused him to spill his drink all over himself.

6:45 arrived as did the first person I saw who actually worked at Kaldi's. She took my order. It was pricey ($7.60 for a bagel sandwich and large coffee, +tip), but I was paying for convenience.

Then the time passed. At about 7:00, someone finally asked me if I had been helped. I told her I was just waiting for my sandwich. She looked back and saw no sandwich ready to go. She offered me a half-pound of coffee, the day's promotion. I didn't want the coffee. I just wanted my sandwich so that I would not be late for work. She apologized.

Five minutes later, the girl behind the counter rushes out my sandwich and I hurry to my car. Upon opening the bag, I realize she had given me a crepe stuffed with egg, feta, spinach, and tomato. While this is a nice breakfast, it is not what I ordered and not that easy to eat while driving. I ate it anyway and swore to have my revenge on Kaldi's.

I reached my destination early enough to set up my training session despite the Kaldi's setback. As I closed the car door, it suddenly occured to me that my keys were still inside. This is how my Friday began.

Luckily, the locksmith unlocked my car and told me to pay later through the mail. Also, when I am done with work today, I am joining some folks on a road trip to STL for the Of Montreal show. While I am not a huge fan, I am excited to get in on the guest list as "+1." We'll meet up with Emergency Umbrella's Sinkane and Ahmed Gallab at the show. So, the day should get better. Now, my lunch period is almost up. I get back to all on the rest of my dude's night out weekend.

(BTW-R and Lucia survived their trip to Detroit.)