Dinner and a Show

By
It's been a couple weeks since I've come up with anything witty enough to be publicly shared. Even now, no wit is to be found between my ears. But I have to share something anyway. Tonight, however, I was walking around Portland when I stumbled on a Macaroni Grill. Yum, I thought, so I doubled back and went in. After ordering, I was settling into the page-turning USAA magazine (it's a freeby from my insurance company; just shows how pathetic I've become).

I'd cleverly thought to bring along for some 8/5x11 dinner companionship when the waitress mentioned something going on directly across the street, directly across from my window. Some guy apparently had another guy in a sleeper hold, with a good 15-20 people standing by watching. Apparently, in Portland, that's a perfectly acceptable behavior. From my vantage point, it seemed like one of the onlookers was a security guard. Also, apparently, interdiction wasn't part of his job. A few minutes later, a single cop jogs up. Then, moments later, a couple cop cars roll up, code 3. As if that wasn't enough, transit police then showed. Fast forward a few more minutes and there were about a dozen cops. Bike cop then rolls up. This was getting entertaining. All it really needed was more cops.

Salad comes.


Salad was tasty.

Next, (and I'm not making this up) a hook-and-ladder fire engine pulls up. My joke was that they needed the long ladder in order to get in close because there were so many cops. Why on earth do you need a block-long fire engine for such an event?! Few more minutes pass and then finally the ambulance shows up. That order seem a little backwards to anyone else?

For the next 20 minutes, there was all sorts of hussle outside, but the strobes got a little annoying after I started twitching nervously... :-) Not entirely sure what happened in the end, but they eventually loaded a guy into an ambulance. Couldn't see too well after the blindness settled in from those strobes.

I don't generally enjoy going out to eat alone, for obvious reasons (I have no friends). But tonight, with my trusty companion USAA magazine (yawn) and the entertainment outside, it wasn't bad. The grilled salmon was quite good, too.

Now you know.
I like to share what I learn, and I like to learn from others.

Comments

Jenn said…
That's crazy. How come macaroni grill is never that exciting for us?
October 24, 2008 at 7:04 AM
Lori said…
Haha, it at least made for a good story! I hope that dude was okay though.
October 24, 2008 at 10:34 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walmart Bingo

By
I took my 8-year old on a date tonight and she chose for her activity--wait for it--Walmart Bingo. She found bingo cards online and after our dinner, we commenced the hunt. The items on the card were mostly outrageous and not likely to find (including "bearded woman"), though not outside the realm of possibility; the "someone buying beer and diapers" came pretty close. Here, however, were some delightful finds I did manage to pick up, even if not on the bingo card: Teenage girl in PJ's Dude with "Shh, this is my hangover shirt" t-shirt Dude with one eye Dude with a mohawk and a mouth full of chew Guy buying worms Guy with a full 1-1/2" gauge in his ear, plus more jewelry on his lips.  He looked like livestock Broken bottles on the floor in the drink aisle Mormon missionaries.  Maybe they broke the drinks!  Luckily they were missing the facial jewelry.  Phew. A girl playing (successfully) with 3 hoola hoops at the same time    ^^^M...
Read more

Colorado Flood Update

By
Image
Many friends from outside the area have inquired how we've fared through the recent disaster in Colorado.  Here's an update: Our current place (rental) is fine, though the property we're building on was decimated pretty badly (it's about 2 miles from where we presently live, next to a lake on the St Vrain river).  The river is normally 20-30 feet wide and 1-2 feet deep.  I could have waded across it no problem a week ago.  It was 200-500yds wide when we saw it a few days ago (no typo there).  The shot below is our lake, but it's connected now to the river and the next lake over.  The water continues for hundreds of yards to the right side of the frame.  Utterly amazing. Here's the sign to our neighborhood.  Irony is we just changed the street name from Dougla Drive to Waterside Ln.  How appropriate. This guy tried to go around the road barriers.  Bad idea.  Fire department got their engine stuck trying...
Read more

WFH: Adjusting to the New Reality

By
Image
In the midst of the worldwide pandemic we're each now navigating, we are obviously in uncharted waters in all aspects of our lives. Professionally, nearly every one of us is now working from home (WFH) full time. Though many folks have long WFH'd one day per week or on occasion, it’s a very different thing to become a full-time remote worker. Some of you are adapting to very new ways of working that might at times feel awkward. Here's some tips from those who have been doing the WFH thing for years. Routine. As much as you can, try to maintain a normal routine. That means starting the day on time, getting ready for work as you normally would. You might not be dressing up like you would for the office, but there’s mental value to the whole “getting ready” routine. If you wake up and immediately hit the laptop to start into emails, you don’t get that important ramp-up/ramp-down time in your day. Take breaks as you normally would. It’s not uncommon to find yourself si...
Read more