Denny's: Grand Slam Service

Well, we can add another "restaurant" to the do-not-go-to list. Steph and I decided it would be a good idea to get breakfast for dinner tonight. The bad idea was going to Denny's. We entered the place, and were immediately assaulted with the odor of stale cigarette smoke. Apparently Denny's didn't get the memo that smoking in restaurants is not cool. We were seated at our table, brought our drinks by the greeter, then told "one of the girls" would be with us shortly. I guess by shortly, he meant never. At one point I was craning my head around, looking for someone actually interested in working, when I caught the eye of a waitress. I guess since I made eye contact she felt obligated to come to our aid, but she made it clear that she wasn't our server. We gave her our order, and she told us she would give it to our server to put it in. This should have set off the warning bells, but I guess I was just delirious with hunger. So we waited... and waited.......and waited. A group of men, who came in 5 minutes after us, were brought their food. We waited. My coffee was empty. We waited. Another man who came in 10 minutes after us was brought his food. At this point, we had waited about 25 minutes. In this entire time, no one even bothered approaching our table! I couldn't stand it anymore. I approached the manager, and began telling her the situation. I was halfway through my sentence when she began repeatedly asking me what table I was at. First of all, I have no freakin idea how their tables are numbered, so how am I supposed to answer that? Second, she could've at least let me finish ranting before she asked that question. I was angry to begin with, but being interrupted by this sloppily dressed McDonalds reject was enough to set me off. I turned to look at Steph, and aparently immediately after I began complaining to the manager, our "server" refilled my coffee and began actually doing his job. I sat down, our food came about 5 minutes later (on the house, yippie-freakin-doo), we ate, then left. Now I understand why the parking lot was virtually empty at 7 pm on a Saturday night. Never again.

Oh, and if you're not from the area, there's a bit of a joke in the sign pictured above. Not only are these people completely inept at their JOBS, they're also incapable of correct spelling. The street on which the other restaurant is located is Sandy Hollow.

Too. Much. Furniture.

My house is full of furniture, with no end in sight. A doll store frequented by Steph and her doll collecting Grandma Johnson is going out of business and also had some furniture items for sale. Steph picked up a couple things. Unfortunately, our space here is limited, so things are a bit crowded right now. The two cabinets she bought are nice pieces, we just need to find someplace to put them. It's a nice change to be buying furniture that isn't made from pressed wood and laminate.

Creepy, Right?

Dolls creep me out. Completely. Stephanie's Grandma Johnson has a doll collection that has no rival. An entire room in the upper level of her home is full from ceiling to floor. They've recently decided to convert her garage, which isn't really seeing any use, into a "doll museum" of sorts. Maybe eventually, if I can muster the courage, I'll shoot some pictures to share with you on this blog. This one's Stephs, and right now it's staring at me.

Favorite Shots #4: At the Game

There's a couple reasons I decided to go this route today. First, I woke up really late today after going to the dentist this morning and not getting to bed until around 11. Second, I'm sitting here watching the White Sox, and waiting to see if their pitcher, Mark Buehrle throws a no-hitter. He's currently pitched 8 innings, only walking one guy, and he picked him off first! If you're a baseball fan, I don't have to tell you how rare a no-hitter is. Hopefully I'll be able to update this post tonight with the results.

This photo was taken at Comiskey Park in Chicago. I had bought these seats on eBay, and they're probably some of the best seats I've ever had. We were in the uper deck, but we were right behind home plate in the first row. They really were great seats. I really love the reflection in the glasses showing the field.

Back to the game!

*Edit
HE DID IT!!! The first time in a Sox pitcher has thrown a no-no in 16 years!

Third Shift Annoyance #6: Never Enough Time

Having such an odd sleep schedule really puts a strain on your life. I never really know when I should do things. Should I do them when I get home in the morning or after I get up? I've been on 3rd for about 6 months now, and I still struggle with it at times. It's really rough on the weekends. It's such an unnatural situation to be sleeping during the day when every fiber of your being wants to be up and doing things. I only expect it to get worse when I'm coming home and it's 65° and sunny....

Canceled

I was recently reading a really good story linked from Digg.com about television shows that should never have been canceled. I was a little disappointed that one of my favorite canceled shows, Carnivale, was not on the list. This was a really great show that was on HBO for two seasons, then was summarily canceled because of high production costs and low ratings. It's really unfortunate, as this was one of the most creative and interesting shows I'd seen in a very long time. If you have a Netflix account or some extra cash floating around, I seriously recommend checking it out.

R2-D2 Ate My Letter!

In case you're absolutely Star Wars ignorant, this is a mailbox painted up to look like R2-D2 from the movies. I've seen photos of these mailboxes all over the web in the last couple months, but I had yet to see one of these in person. Steph and I took a trip to the local mall yesterday, and when we got out of the car, this thing was sitting outside the Sears entrance. Of course, I forgot my camera, so I actually made the 25 mile round trip back to the mall to shoot it today. It also gave me a reason to go to Chipotle for dinner.... I guess there are even Star Wars geeks working at the higher levels of the USPS. We're EVERYWHERE!