Icarus' Birthday!!

So, my dog turned one year old yesterday. I spent the day with him (after work of course) and took him to get a new toy and tried to get him an appointment at the doggie salon, but they were closed when I got there. I just wanted to get his nails clipped and maybe give him a bath. A girlfriend of a friend works there and she gave me a discount coupon. Instead we went next door and I got him the last toy airplane they had, a football sized squeaky toy that I've had my eye on for awhile, since Icarus' namesake is the son of flight. He grabbed it immediately. Finally a toy his size... he has quite overgrown his last couple toys. Icarus turning a year is like a milestone passing, since I got him as a "Welcome to Philly" present. Now that he is a year old it means I've almost been in this great city for an entire year! What a trip.

We went to the Seger Dog park and he ran around like a crazy wild animal. The weather was amazing so there were about 25 dogs there. He always riles the whole park up when he gets there, and he runs sooo fast. Summer is the season of new puppies, and I saw a lot of those including the cutest little rhodesian ridgeback pup. What was even more interesting to me was seeing the dogs that were last years pups! I saw a female rottweiler that Rus used to play with when they were both little. (She was a bit smaller than him at the time). Now they are the same size, except she is really bulky and Icarus is still thin. He won't gain mass for another year at least. And six months to a year before he finally kicks the puppy craziness and actually calms down enough to hang out.

However, after two hours at the park, and the mile walk home, he was pretty calm for the rest of the night, chewing on his airplane toy. Even at the park he gets tired faster than he did when he was younger. My little boy is growing up!

I would have posted about this yesterday.. but i had a major problem with my computer. My fault of course. I always have bad luck with electronics! Mike had to take the whole thing apart and soak components in alcohol. He fixed it, thank God, cuz he's a genius, but not before I had major freak out session about how i had destroyed my own computer. Well, I'm going to be freakishly safe with this thing now... you don't know what you have until you face the realization that you may never have it again.

Indonesia is awesome!

Of course I'm talking about the restaurant called Indonesia in Chinatown here in Philly, which I think they should call AsianRestaurantTown because they have a lot of different kinds of cuisine packed together into one area. From Chinese to Malaysian to Vietnamese to Indonesian to Thai... and the list goes on. On this particular occasion we were in a daring mood and wanted to try something new. Having never had Indonesian food, I was told it was similar to both Thai and Filipino food.

I am a HUGE fan of Thai (it's my favorite Asian food) and grew up on Filipino food, so I was really excited, especially after hearing and reading so many great reviews on the place. And to top it off, like most AsianRestaurantTown restaurants, it was cheap too!

We chose to do the full tastings menu, which includes soup, appetizer, 10 or so sample portions of entrees, and two different desserts! What I learned is that the Indonesians took the peanut sauce a step further than the Thai, and incorporated it into many different sauces, including a sweet sesame peanut sauce which was used in a fruit dessert. Their version of Chicken Satay had the best peanut sauce I have EVER HAD. I swear, me and Mike were going to town on that stuff, drizzling heaping spoons onto our rice. The shrimp was also good, in a red chile sweet-and-sour style sauce. However when I go back, I'm going straight for my own full portion on satay (or "sate" as they spell it).

Philadelphia is so full of so many great restaurants, it's no wonder when people move here they get what I call the "Philly pudge," which comes in real handy when temperatures drop to 15 degrees and you feel like your bones are frozen. That's when that extra layer of pudge really comes in handy. It's no wonder when you live in a city famous for two types of food with the word "cheese" in the name. If I've learned anything about my beloved city it is that people in philly love to eat.

RANT: People are driving me crazy!!!

I've been doing this customer service thing for way too long. I'm convinced it leads to anti-social behaviors which ultimately lead to a general dislike for the masses.

Typical behaviors I've noticed today from people that contribute to such things:

1. Name dropping & the elitist customer:
This pertains to all those who expect preferential treatment because "I've been shopping here for ___ years" or "I know the owner" or similar statements. Most of the time they don't really know anyone, and they probably haven't spent more than a hundred dollars in your store in the last year.

2. Know it alls who know nothing.
People who unleash their multitude of useless information, which generally leads to my understanding that they really don't know anything. In a record store this would be trying to explain a track with no words and using buzz words such as "hard" or "bumpin" which could explain pretty much anything in the store.

3. Complainers.
Those who complain about the music playing, the temperature of the store, the lack of whatever they are looking for in the store. I work here; i don't control everything. We can't please everyone!!

4. Time suckers.
People who take up all your time looking for something very specific but not being able to explain exactly what they want. They spend hours with you and end up buying nothing and leaving a mess for you to clean. I don't mind if you want to shop for hours and I don't mind helping you, but don't pretend to be the only focus of my whole day.

5. The low life.
Just wants to talk to you so he can find someway to get into your pants. Has no interest whatsoever in buying what you sell in your store.

6. The mother/father figure.
Pertains more to coffee shop work. Watches every step you do to ensure they are getting exactly what they want. Questions you on every step. Basically looks over your shoulder, asking, "is that decaf?" or "is that non-fat milk?" or similar questions. Don't tell me how to do my job, i already have a boss for that. I'm not stupid, you just heard us call the drinks out and write them on your cup!!

7. The freebie guy.
"What do you have that's free in here?"

8. The guy that expects you to be a directory for the entire city.
I can answer some questions about where certain things are, but if I don't know, these people give me an attitude. It helps to know the vicinity of where you are going, or the name of the place. I'm not 411, i'm not required to give you any information.

9. Competition inquiriers
"Do you know if _____ has what I'm looking for?"
What the hell, am I supposed to know the entire inventory of every store in the City that has similar products as us? Why don't you go there and check it out, or here's an idea: CALL THEM!!

10. Rude people.
The ones that want you to wait on them hand and foot, but still have no manners. They won't answer your greeting when they walk in. They won't make eye contact, and they won't smile. In some cases they can be overly rude with snide comments.

I think i need a desk job.

Summer

You know you're in for it when you leave the house at 5 am and you're already sweating. That was the case this morning when I mounted my bike and started toward job #1. Less than a mile away and I was already damp with sweat. People are crammed into the place demanding iced drinks and being overly crabby from the absolutely oppressive heat. I think it's hot but I don't let it affect how I treat people. I'm a chameleon... somewhat shy but able to adapt to my surroundings and blend in when I need to. The heat is honestly not as bad as I thought it would be here in the Northeast, even this week with the triple digit temperatures and humidity topping out in the high 80 percentile.

On to job #2. Gliding between cars on my bike, I can feel the heat emanating from them as I sail past. Despite the slew of bike riders in this city, drivers sure are unsympathetic to our plight. And what's the deal with honking just so we know you're there?? Don't you think we expect cars to be in the road? One guy actually slowed down to almost a halt just to tell me I should ride on the sidewalk! Hello! That's illegal!!! Often times I will resort to this criminal act rather than put up with cars. What's funny is a lot of times I make it faster to my destination than cars would, with the traffic and small streets.

The shade is the lovely haven of coolness especially when the breeze picks up, but nothing stops the humidity from overtaking me. When it feels like I'm literally going to melt into one big puddle, I finally reach my destination, 611 Records where the AC is kickin full blast but you can barely feel it... we desperately need a new one. I suppose it is better than the over-air conditioned stores. I swear some Philadelphians are desensitized from hanging out in their refrigerated boxes all day. No wonder they bitch and moan when they have to walk two blocks in the actual heat of summer. I ride in it for 20 blocks and almost get run off the road. Freakin wussies.

Climbing the charts in my all-time favorite things about Philadelphia would be the summer rain. When the humidity is so unbearable it feels like you're in a sauna you can't escape, the sky turns this eerie gray and you know what's coming. In a literally thunderous entrance, the sky crashes down, pouring all the moisture that has been building up. It is the ultimate relief. Thunder, lightning, and an absolute downpour that seems unrelenting. My favorite ones are the ones that last about 30 minutes. I don't even mind getting caught in the summer rain storms, even if it soaks me to the bone. After the storm the city seems cleaner, the streets and even the air seem cleansed. And most of all, it cools down!

Summer in Philly is a strange thing. Those who can escape to their summer homes on "The Shore" and others retreat on the weekends to the beach or to Atlantic City, or Vegas' retarded slutty sister, as I like to call it. Combining this with a large population of college students who go home to their parents for the summer, there is definitely a feeling of relative emptiness in the city. College students are the main demographic for club life, it definitely feels a lot less hoppin'. Just as well, on most nights it's so hot I'm content to sit in front of my AC and watch previously recorded programs on my tivo.