Are you sure?

Walking past an exhibit for a local ski resort, Max pointed out a big sign in the booth. He laughed and laughed.

There’s no ME in TEAM.

Well, said Max, there really is. M. E. Isn’t it supposed to be no I in TEAM?

Peas. Pods.

Sitting in the Wedgewood Farms Family Restaurant in Burlington, NJ the other day. We had a really good, simple meal that we thought was a great value. I was curious and looked it up when we got back. I found these reviews:

• Wedgewood has been around for 25 years, it is never really crowded so you can always get a quick seat and it’s located right off 295 and Route 541 so the located is good too. The food and service wasn’t that good on a recent visit there.
• We had not eaten at the Wedgewood in ages and after tonight my wife and I remember why. The service was extremely slow (“I almost forgot about you”), the food was poor…

So you can’t wait to hightail it up to Burlington, NJ and check it out, right? Well, bad reviews aside, their pancakes were fantastic. As good as they get.

But this is not why I brought up the restaurant. I brought it up because when our beehived waitress came over to take our drink order (2 lemonades, 1 water, 1 iced tea & 1 diet coke), she said, “Oh my goodness. Your sons look exactly the same. It’s amazing how much they look alike!” And then she smiled and kind of giggled.

So you know what I think is weird about that?

I don’t mean the hair.

Two things are really baffling.

1. Why would it be so shocking to have brothers look alike?
2. And why don’t I see it?

And by not see it, I mean I do not think my sons look all that much alike. I know they must, because I hear it constantly. But I swear to you, they do not look the same to me at all.

And why does anyone care? I can barely imagine how annoying it would be to be twins’ or triplets’ moms commenting with the same ole’ comment yet again. Whoo hoo. Smile politely.

But I digress.

My boys: Davis looks exactly like Andrew did at his age. Reed looks exactly like I did – aside from the haircut. And Max? He does have some of each. So if they look the same, does that mean Andrew and I look the same. But anyway,

Really this was an academic question. Maybe one of you knows something about ocular perception. Is there something about how each of us sees that makes us really see something different or do we just all see things with different attention to detail and depth? For instance, when you see a stranger, is the glance so superficial that you miss most? And we look so deeply at our children that we notice every pore and freckle?

And this doesn’t even touch on what I think about regarding why someone feels the need to comment on a stranger’s (or strangers’) appearance in the first place.

Lazy Sunday, part deux.

DJ Kirby did this meme as the perfect lazy Sunday type of post and then, she tagged me to play along. Sounded fun, so here goes.

Instructions:
A) Answer the questions below, do a Google Image search with your answer, take a picture from the first page of results, and do it with minimal words of explanation.
B) Tag 5 other people to do the same once you’ve finished answering every question.

1) The age you will be on your next birthday:

(It’s almost a year away!)

2. Your Favorite Place where you want to travel to:

3. Your favorite Place:

4. Your Favorite Food:

5. Your Favorite Pet:

6. Your Favorite Color Combination:

7. Your Favorite Piece of Clothing:

8. Your Favorite TV Show:

9. First Name of Your Significant Other:

10. The Town in which you Live:

11. Your First Job:

12. Your Dream Job:

13. A Bad Habit You Have:

14. Your Worst Fear:

15. What you would like to do before you die:

I tag Kristin, Liz, Lori, Ezer K, and Jay.

Food, glorious food.

Friday breakfast in Maryland. Lunch and dinner in New Jersey in my sister’s sukkah. Saturday lunch in a diner off Turnpike exit 5. Dinner tonight in Ellicott City.

It’s been a busy week and a busy weekend so far. I have some thoughts brewing and will sit down to write soon.

Customer service.

How NOT to do customer service.
Andrew had an expensive pair of Modo glasses.

They broke on August 10th. He looked online but couldn’t find the frame. So he wrote to the company.

From: Andrew
Sent: Sun 8/10/2008 1:11 PM
To: sales MODO
Subject: mens model 926 frames titanium

Do you still make these? Mine just broke

Almost a month later, the sales department sent it to customer service.

From: sales MODO
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 10:25 AM
To: Customer Service MODO
Subject: FW: mens model 926 frames titanium

6 weeks later, customer service wrote to Andrew.

From: Customer Service: MODO
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 12:29 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: RE: mens model 926 frames titanium

Hi Andrew,
Sorry, we don’t make the 926 anymore.

Have you looked at some of our newer frames?

5 seconds later, Andrew replied (a little snippy but imagine if he hadn’t had glasses all that time!)

From: Andrew
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 3:56 PM
To: Customer Service MODO
Subject: RE: mens model 926 frames titanium

Wow – it only took you two months

Too late – I already bought new frames

And suddenly, customer service can respond to emails.

On Oct 15, 2008, at 3:58 PM

ok, thank you very much. enjoy your new glasses.

The weekend in pictures.

Welcome.

The room.

The bed.

The robes.

Komi. The restaurant.

Scallops two ways. One of fourteen mezzethekia.

The first wine. (Aside from the champagne.)

Parsnip potato gelato and hanger steak tartar. Another of the fourteen.

Slow roasted kastiaki for two.

Accompaniments for the kastiaki.

Inside the fortune cookies. From the chef.

The Bottom Line.

Dupont Circle Metro. Going out to eat. Again.

Who needs words?

Cute, huh? Such tourists!

Don’t even talk to me about the helmet.

The Supreme Court. Did you know there was a basketball court in the attic?

Home again.

There’s no place like home.

Bourbon Fest

Children under 12 free.

Does anyone else think this is funny?

I’m jamming on a big project but hope to post a ‘real’ post when I take a break later on.

Feeling hot? Take the poll…

There’s a new poll on Flashfree. The poll is for women who are having menopause symptoms or are post-menopause.

Cakes.

You absolutely have to check out Cake Wrecks: when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong.

I’d sure like to think she’d put this cake in the wow category, but I don’t dare send it and find out!

(local cake-makers Melia + Karen made this for Andrew’s birthday earlier this year. Each card was a different flavor!)