PRAISE TO HARVEY | Main | LIE.LIRR.BYE
November 26, 2003
Whaddya Do When...
So, after a pathetic attempt at the gym last night (too tired to do anything, left early), I dragged myself to the 9th Street CVS to buy some water. I stood on line for about 15 minutes while the guy in front of me took his time choosing a pack of lighters from behind the counter.
But do you have a multipack?
No, not that one, that one.
Do you have multipacks of Marlboros?
Too exhausted, sweaty, and dehydrated to make huffing sounds and shift obnoxiously from foot to foot, I stood pathetically behind him clutching my outrageously expensive flavored water.
When the dude finally obtained all of his tobacco-related needs, I stepped up to the counter.
As I put down my water and fished into my pocket for some cash, I looked up at the sales clerk, a young woman in probably her early twenties, garnering the required disinterested scowl and rubber banded jaw chomp of a bored, gum chewing checkout girl ready to go home. Normally, my irritation would have risen to an all time high, however as my eyes moved upward, I noticed a glaring inconsistency.
(Most of you know by now that I have the maturity level of a 12-year old boy. Perhaps it was the two years of living with Cheesebus, though I suspect that it's a direct genetic link to my father. Just thought I'd add this disclaimer, you know, for anyone new.)
The chick had a string of gum, literally eight inches long, hanging from her chin. It looked like something from Haku's face in Spirited Away, except on her chin instead of both cheeks. She obviously had no idea that it was there (the result of a large bubble pop, I'd assume). I stood there, frozen, unable to say a word for fear of bursting out into an inappropriate bout of mean-giggles.
Now, was I supposed to tell her? Could I manage to tell her without laughing directly in her face? I was stumped.
Then she told me, with a rather dramatic eye roll and crack of gum, that she didn't have enough singles to make change from my twenty. I looked at my water, than back at her goatee-like chin string of gum.
What?, I asked, irritated that I'd just waited on line for nearly twenty minutes only to find out that my thirst would not be quenched.
Fine. Thanks anyway, I said, and walked swiftly out the electronic doors.
Was I wrong here? What would you have done?
Posted by callalillie at November 26, 2003 9:14 AM | Life in the Slope
nah u were fine - although she might have thought u were a stuck up yuppie - but from a detached perspective (me), i don't think you did anything wrong. =)
Posted by: JP at November 26, 2003 10:03 AM
but i am a stuck up yuppie! oh wait. park slopers have informed me that the term is "progressive," not "yuppie."
Posted by: callalillie at November 26, 2003 10:05 AM
hmm...i would have looked around to see if i was on candid camera, then stared at it, hoping that she would catch on. maybe after that, i would have scratched my own chin.
do you think, as new yorkers, we are less likely to point out something like this?
Posted by: tien at November 26, 2003 10:47 AM
i thought about doing the chin thing...then didn't want to embarrass her, which seemed like a double edged sword, as she'd be embarrassed when she realized it, whether i told her or not. i guess i just didn't want to have to deal with her outward embarrassment, as it would make me embarrassed, too. or maybe it was just a new fad with kids these days...and i just wasn't hip.
Posted by: callalillie at November 26, 2003 10:55 AM
