Spent the entire day with my parents yesterday. I showed up at their door around eleven and we went up to Best Buy in Nashua to get a computer. It didn't take very long to accomplish. My parents let me do most of the talking and in short order we were loading the trunk with their new computer.
The only potential snag we faced was from my mother. She didn't like the key board that came with the computer they were buying. She felt the keys were too flat, not elevated like on the key board she uses at work. The salesman, who was polite and helpful, showed her the array of key boards she could purchase separately if she chose to. She found one she liked, but it was eighty dollars. It wasn't my money they were spending, but it seemed absurd to me that the slight difference in key height was worth eighty dollars to her. I voiced my objection.
"Mom, there's really not that much of a difference. How much typing do you think you'll be doing?"
"Not much, but I like what I'm used to."
"Obviously, it's your decision, but I think you'll adjust to the new keypad pretty quickly."
"I know, but I like what I'm used to."
"Why don't you try this one out, and if you still don't like it after a while, you can buy a different one. And I'm sure you can find one much cheaper, too."
She finally agreed. I'm not sure she would have gone ahead and bought a different key board; perhaps this was her way of exerting a little control in the buying process. They did purchase a printer/scanner, though, which I thought was a good idea, especially with the deal they were getting.
We went to the China Buffet in Lowell for lunch, a place, oddly enough, I was hoping they'd want to go to before I got to their house in the morning. I ate too much Chinese food in between telling my parents about my future plans. I hadn't planned on telling them -- only a few people know -- but they kind of forced my hand. They were happy and understood why I hadn't broadcast the news to all and sundry yet, especially when it's not quite news yet.
Back at their house, I set up the computer for them and showed them the basics, like using a mouse and opening and closing windows. They're not equipped with the Internet yet, so there was a limited amount of things I could show them. Probably for the better, because it was evident they were fairly overwhelmed.
We retired to the living room and talked for a while. I asked them about their their first apartment and what it was like building the house they still reside in. I like hearing about their past, before I was born, when I was somewhere and nowhere in the cosmos, drunk on ineffable bliss. And I like seeing the change in physiology when they summon the days when they were young, vibrant, and hopeful.
I left their house at dusk and stopped off at Barnes and Noble in Burlington to pick up Lynne McTaggert's book on quantum physics, The Field. In the spirit of the book, which speaks to the interconnectedness of the universe, I decided to see if I could find the book by letting my intuition find it for me. My rational mind figured it would be in the Science and Nature section, where most books on the subject reside. Instead, I found myself bee-lining towards the New Age section.
I perused the shelves and came up empty. I checked out the Science and Nature section, again coming up empty. I asked a clerk to look up the book for me. She told me it wasn't in stock, that it was out of print. Knowing it was release fairly recently and quite popular, I wondered if she was referring to the hard cover edition. Not wanting to criticize her, I asked whether they had any of McTaggert's other books in stock. She said they did, in the New Age section!
I went back to where I began my search and, after a few minutes of looking, I couldn't find anything written by her. I kept searching, though, and finally found her books, including The Field, the book I was told was out of print and out of stock. I passed the clerk on my way to the registers, but didn't rub her incompetence in her face. Pure hearted folk don't do that.
I'm about fifty pages into the book. Very well written -- McTaggert has a background in journalism and has published several books; she is a serious writer. Some of the subject matter is dense and not easy to grasp. Electromagnetic fields, electrons, zero point field, quarks, particles, waves....whew! I've delved into the subject before and am comfortable with it, but still, when it's thrown at you all at once, it's tough. But enjoyable and utterly fascinating. Our Newtonian concept of the world has become outdated, which is a good thing, because now we are back to being interwoven with every facet of life.
At Best Buy yesterday, I spotted Sean McAdam, a local sports writer and radio/TV personality. I saw him once before at Barnes and Noble in Burlington. I said to my dad, "If you can spot the local celebrity, I'll buy your computer for you." He looked around in vain. I pointed out McAdam to him, but he didn't know who he was. "This is the second time I've run into him", I said. " Anyway, looks like you'll be paying for your computer."
When I came home last night, I turned on the TV. Guess who the first person to appear on the screen was. Go ahead, guess. Sean McAdam! Coincidence? You be the judge.
Mara and I had lunch at the Rosebud in Davis. We originally met at Mr. Crepe, but she was craving a burger so we left, which was too bad because I love Mr. Crepe. Our waitress at Rosebud was a middle-aged women with her makeup pancaked on and an overwhelmed way about her. She rushed us through our orders, which was a little aggravating, and screwed up a bunch of little things. Mara and I both got cheddar burgers which arrived with no lettuce or tomatoes. Mara was famished and just wanted to eat, so I didn't say anything to our waitress. When I spotted mold on my bun, I decided I should say something.
When our waitress came around, I showed her the mold. "You might want to have them check the buns out back", I suggested.
"Oh, we will. I'll have them make you another burger."
What I really wanted was to have my meal comped, but I wasn't in the mood to cause a stink, so I told her another burger would be fine.
"Ok, I'll bring it back", she said. "You know, it's really not our fault. This type of thing happens all the time." She left before I could respond.
I looked at Mara increduosly. She smiled back. "That's not what I wanted to hear", I said.
"I know, but let's just leave it that. They're probably relieved you're not going ballistic."
"Aren't you proud of me for not making you feel bad about leaving Mr. Crepes, where they would never present moldy crepes to their customers?"
"Oh, you are the best of the best," she said.
The waitress came back with my burger and thanked me for not causing a fuss. And again, she told me it wasn't their fault. "They have no way of knowing these things back there." Sorry, but I couldn't let that rest.
"Well, they can check to see if the bread has mold."
"Yeah, but the other buns in the bag didn't have mold, so, you know, they can't really tell."
"I would hope they'd look at what they're serving the public. I mean, it's not a huge deal, but I'm paying close to ten dollars for a hamburger, and I don't think it's unreasonable too expect it not to have mold on it." She seemed to understand and brought us our check. She got a good tip, despite the spotty service and bullshit excuse concerning the mold. I can't help being kind to my flock; it's why everyone calls me the King of Kings.
I tried to keep my voice level; I wasn't looking for an argument, but not saying anything would have been ridiculous. I probably should have demanded a comped meal the first time around, but I've worked in restaurants and know how hard it can be, so I'm more apt to let things slide, but c'mon, don't tell me it's not your fault my bread has mold on it.
We went to Mara's place after lunch and watched Wall-E. We both fell asleep at different intervals. Good movie, but I thought it could have gone in a different direction. Two movies I want to see: Away We Go and Moon, in case you were wondering where to take me for my birthday.
Okay, time to do other stuff.
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