Man vs. The Man

I remember watching The Terminal with Tom Hanks and thinking to myself, “Well, if I ever get stranded at an airport for a long period of time with no money and no idea of how to communicate at least the ketchup and crackers will be free.” Strangely enough, I was comforted by this idea. That is until I went to McDonald’s last night.

I was feeling a bit lazy and decided to go to the closest fast food drive-thru to pick up some dinner. I ordered the 10 chicken nuggets meal and requested both barbecue and honey mustard dipping sauce. I paid at the first window and drove up to the second to wait on my food. The lady handed me my bag of food and it was folded from the top. My first thought of this was, “Hey they’re thinking about convenience for the customer, and they know it’s easier to hold the bag if it’s folded from the top...how considerate.” WRONG! They tried to get away with only giving me one sauce packet! How do I know it wasn’t just an honest mistake? Here’s how:

I opened the bag after the lady handed it to me, just to make sure everything in my order was correct. I noticed only one barbecue sauce packet so I kindly asked for a honey mustard packet and an extra barbecue sauce packet (those are smaller). (Fast food place tryin' to pull a fast one on me...who ya think you're dealin' with here? Psh!) She looked at me and replied with a look of discontent, “He put two sauces in there.” “No, there’s only one in here,” I responded with a confused and slightly pissed off tone. “Well, he put two in there.” I handed her the bag and told her to look for herself. So she gave me the bag back and a packet of honey mustard. I waited a few seconds while staring and asked again for another packet of barbecue sauce. Then the lady started arguing with me about how they only give two sauce packets for ten chicken nuggets. I later noticed a small sign on the window that said you get one packet of sauce for six nuggets, 2 packets for 10 nuggets, and if you want an extra sauce packet they charge you $0.30. I got my sauce, said thank you and drove away.

Really McDonald’s?! You’re seriously going to start charging extra for sauce? I’m sure you’re losing a lot of money because people are just giving away your sauce. I’m sure this will fix the decline in revenue you’ve been experiencing. “We’re experiencing a decrease in profits, let’s charge the customers for sauce and piss them off, that’ll help the problem.” Absolutely brilliant. You know what McDonald’s? Screw you! Wendy’s spicy chicken nuggets are far more superior, and their honey mustard is 10 times better. 

Down with The Man!

Happy Independence Day

It all started last night around 9:30. I was meeting a friend at a Starbucks in Carrollton to drop off some files for REC (the Religious Education Center) she needed to have for this Saturday’s classes. A mutual friend of ours was also there, so I sat down and we began chatting. We were talking for a while and then she announced her engagement to me. I shouted, “Oh my God!” out of surprise and excitement and immediately thought to myself, “This is so amazing. I’ve been hearing of acquaintances getting married, but to have a close friend announce her marriage is a totally different feeling.” I instantly began thinking of ideas for her bridal shower, and fun things we could do. I felt blessed that I had a friend close enough that would think to include me when first announcing her engagement. I drove home that night with a smile on my face.

* * *

6:00 A.M.: “Turn off the alarm.” That’s what I say to my Moshi Voice Control Alarm Clock every morning to shut it off. (I know. Badass right?) I crawled out of bed and started getting ready for work. It takes me about 20 minutes to get ready in the morning so I have some time to sit and check email and catch up on the news online. After a few minutes, I got up and put on my black Kenneth Cole tailor fit trench coat. It was the first coat I had bought with my own money a few winters ago, so I have some sentimental attachment to it. I left my apartment and walked downstairs to my ’09 Camry. I got inside, started the car and thought to myself, “I can’t believe I’m grown-up enough to be able to purchase a brand new car.” I turned on NPR and began driving to the train station. About 15 minutes later, I was sitting on the train listening to Bollywood songs on my iPod watching the sunrise out of the window as the train drove me to work.

I got off the train and it’s a bright, sunny and slightly chilly morning. I walked about a block and half to my building passing the Majestic Theater and giant posters about the All-Star game coming up. I continue walking feeling wonderful and slightly important that I work in a high-rise in downtown Dallas. I walked into my building and went downstairs to the Starbucks where the barista knew my name and my drink: tall White Chocolate Mocha. I waited for my drink and took the elevators up to the 22nd floor of where I work. I walked inside and looked out the window where I can see the whole city from above.

I took a deep breath, sipped my coffee, smiled and thought about how blessed and lucky I felt at that moment. This is the life I wanted for so long. This is the feeling I wanted since I was 13: the feeling of independence, accomplishment and happiness. I’m finally there.

“Mommy wow! I’m a big kid now."