digital cable...
Now that I have it, I can't watch an entire television program anymore without being
distracted. Digital Cable is evil, I'm learning that I
was correct to be reluctant to allow it in the house - and probably should have said no. My wife had
ordered it originally and I gave in, thinking that if she wanted it it
couldn't possibly be a soul destroying experience... she is, after
all, far closer to a normal person than I ever wanted to be.
I'm a TLC/Discovery Channel junkie and I've now got
about 10 channels of related content... the regular ones TLC, Discovory
Channel, A&E, The History Channel... but now I have the History
Channel International, Biography Channel, Discovery - kids,
science, civilization, health... I'm dizzy from them... I
know I'm a nerd but I was flipping back and forth between James Burke's
Connections and the Biography of Isaac Newton... it was
fantastic... I actually had to tape another show on Space Exporation
and then when I got home in the evening I fluctuated between The Ultimate
Guide to Dogs and Pyramid science and during the commercials I played the
tape from earlier in the day... the sad thing about it is the fact
that I couldn't concentrate on any one of them because I was constantly
looking at the guide to see if there was anything more interesting
on... maybe this is just a "Puppy Love" relationship with my
cable box.... I'm sure I'll get over my science channel addition
eventually... God, help me!
evaluating the deli...
So last night (while I was taping the space
exploration show on Discovery Science) we went to meet with some guy named
Bob who owns a place called the High Rise Deli. Stefanie's dream is to
own her own catering business and she came across this guy who wanted to
sell one of his locations... she figured that this place would be the
type of facility that would allow her to run off-site catering events and
she invited a friend of hers to go into the business with us. I'm very
interested in making sure she gets what she wants where this is concerned
because I know how talented she is with people... She's one of those
people that never fails to impress me when it comes to dealing with the
public... she's got this incredible, outgoing personality that fits
very well into a crowd and in the spotlight... she's amazing.
So we drove up to the office building on Schrock Road
and walked up to the front door - finding it locked. One of the
cleaning crew was washing the glass door and we bolted through it - hoping
he wouldn't stop us. I'm not sure, but I think he didn't even notice
at all. We moved across the shiny brown tiles, past the - oh so
modern looking- waterfall, through the lower level until we found the
deli. I trotted up to the closed metal gate and looked for Bob.
It was empty. Bob was nowhere to be found.
I could see the disappointment on her face and hated this guy for not being
here when he said he would. She wandered around the place and tried a
few doors...
"Let me see if I can reach him..." she
pulled out the phone and dialed... I wandered the place...
The deli itself was not too bad as far as office
building cuisine was concerned. It apparently had a rather large kitchen
in the back and the front looked clean and well kept. The color scheme
was IBM blue and there were black and white photographs of skyscrapers and
skylines covering the walls. I don't know what my opinion of the place
is - even now. I think that was what struck me the most about
it... generic... it had no real charm or style. It simply
was.
But I thought about Stefanie's ability to turn things
into her own creatures... she probably wouldn't change much as far as
the decor was concerned - or she'd leave that to me (of course)... She
told me that I was the one who had to name it (if we did manage to buy the
thing). I could see her behind the counter, making change, wiping
counters, filling drinks... all of this with a secret smile on her
face... I could see the ideas she had for it, she could run the front
end of this place, put on a pretty show and, behind the scenes, put on the
parties and events she loved to run... I could see her doing this and
I liked that... I really didn't care about the generic blue of the
place. If she wanted it I would help her get it.
"I can't get reach him..." she said,
dejected. "I'm sure he forgot."
I started to get impatient. The other guy who
was going to go into this with us, a guy Stefanie always called Chef Don,
had failed to show on time as well. I was a pissed, but I wanted this
to go well, I kept my mouth shut... I wanted this to be what she expected, I
wasn't going to make it worse by being antagonistic.
We walked back to the glass doors and stood there for
a long time as people left the building (giving us a few curious glances)...
she was looking a bit more upset.
"There's Don." she said. Pointing to a
large brown van that pulled into the parking lot. I was relieved to see him because,
in the back of my head, I'd suspected that Don and Bob had met already and
were trying to keep us out of the deal. He was as upset as Stefanie
was at the fact that Bob never showed and I'm wondering now if we'll ever
get the chance to buy this place. Stefanie is planning on getting with
him to find out if the guy is really serious about selling the place.
I hope he is, I think Stefanie would be spectacular on her own... on
the way home I held her hand and played with her fingers to the music.