Living Proof

The other day Madelene and I stopped off at this restaurant and bar to have a glass of wine. I was having some sort of anxiety attack, so we stopped in just for a bit. It had to be almost dinner time and the restaurant was preparing for its normal crowd to come flooding in. We sat at the bar and decided to also have an appetizer. Maybe it's because I don't pay attention enough or maybe it's just that people sometimes annoy the hell out of me, but this man sitting near us was eating his late lunch/early dinner, but so loudly that I wanted to vomit. From slurping, to smacking his lips and even grunting while shoveling a pile of mashed potatoes into his mouth. He was also eating a lot of his food with his bare hands getting gravy all over his shirt. At the end of his dinner, he was scraping his plate so loudly that I shot him a look. It was like scratching nails on a chalkboard. I'm thinking to myself, does he even know how rude he's being or am I just overly sensi...

From the desk of Debra Pasquella: "Do I really want to write this?" There are a few things about me that some people find out the hard way. First, I don't like to be bombarded with 'forced in the corner' Q&A's or arrogant assumptions. I'm very easy to get along with, but if you push my buttons, you'll probably never see me again, or if you are somehow 'stuck' in my life for whatever reason -- I won't be around much. I'm not the type that tolerates an aggressive personality. If you talk over me, I'll stop what I'm saying and it'll remain within me. Continue on.. At that point, our conversation is over. I'm not fond of 'know it all' people. If you tell me I shouldn't be doing what my doctor (with years of schooling on his chosen profession) suggested, your words will fall upon deaf ears. If you snap at me, I'll leave. No argument guaranteed. If you feel I'm spending my time and money on somethi...

Yesterday afternoon, while my wife and I were out at the sushi bar grabbing lunch, a group of girls sat down over at a table behind the bar. The establishment has been there for years and is known for their good reputation for good quality food, but their service is a little shaky only due to the language barrier. No big deal. They simply give you a sheet you fill out for your order and voila, it’s fulfilled! Through the years of going to the same place, I have only had one bad experience with them, on a Tuesday evening ordering sushi takeout. It was flash-frozen, so the fish was soggy and wet - not ‘bad’, but not appetizing. As we were enjoying our lunch, I heard one of the girls say to the waiter, “Umm, I told you I was allergic to this.” He said, “So sorry - I’ll take it back for you and replace it with something else.” The girl kept on, “But I asked you if the crab meat in the California roll was real, and you said no. I’m allergic to crab meat!” The waiter again apologized for the...

Lately I’m finding that I’ve become much more cynical and pessimistic toward people. I’m much more leery of people. I understand that everybody has a motive for something or other in this life, but there are some people whose motives are purely taken out and taken out upon other people. Maybe it’s the sake for mere entertainment or it’s some sort of pent up aggression of some sort that mentally and physically vomits self-absorbed absurdness. Don’t get me wrong, I can be a bitch and a half, but some people’s behavior really baffles me sometimes. As I was reaching up trying to grab one of the last Saucy Susans in the grocery store (because I dowse everything in that stuff) , I overheard someone asking one of the employees what aisle their Duraflame logs were. The clerk gladly gave them the information and explained that although it’s usually in that aisle, they had ran out because they sold out quicker than expected. The woman asked if he could check the back to see if he had another ...

While grabbing a coffee at a local cafe nearby, I overheard a woman say something I knew that she would soon regret. She had reconnected with an old female coworker while waiting for her latte. By the conversation, you could tell that they’ve worked together for a long time, but when the job ended, so did their friendship. They never kept in touch after the company went out of business. It seemed like a friendly little chatter, until the woman asked her old friend, “So, when are you expecting?” You could tell the woman was shocked by this question, leaving me to believe that she wasn’t pregnant at all. Her response was, “The day you get a face lift.” She then dropped a wrapper in the garbage and quickly shuffled out of the cafe obviously insulted. The woman still left in the cafe looked over at anyone who may have overheard this appalling exchange, shot a glance at me and then slightly lifted her arms as to say, “Did I say something wrong?” Whether it was a matter of being ri...