Nothing here about TV

Or about Firefly, one of the best series ever.

Today I will tell you about how I ended up paying $32 for lunch yestserday, when I had lunch and a fine box of wine waiting at home 6 minutes away.

I do some volunteer work which is very rewarding to me in many ways.  Yesterday, however, that volunteer work was my downfall.

I have been totally whacked by something which I hope is a cold or flu, to the extent that I'm not comfortable driving my car, which we're not doing much of anyway because we're trying to live green.

I would have taken my car though because I had pamphlets and posters to carry to the post office.  I stuffed them in a capacious bag and headed off on foot for the post office.  It's an easy walk from my place---10 minutes at the most, and one that I like to take because occasionally I can see my daughter Sarah who works in the building across the street.  Since she works for a government agency, and they're underfunded, she can't always get away, but from time to time, it works.  I love to see her in a place where she's not mother/wife/sister.

By the time I got to this nearby place, I was actually reeling.  I felt like I was carrying 100 lbs of paper and walking with weighted boots.

I got my post office business over with and made my shaky way to the restaurant in Sarah's building, where I had decided to spend the next couple of days recovering.  After all, I had my e-reader.

Shock #1:  the bartender and waitstaff who know me and start pouring the Pinot Grigio as I come in the door had been replaced by people I didn't know who offered me a menu.  Usually, my friend just brings me the artichoke dip and a bunch of buns right after I'm settled.

Shock # 2:  All the seats at the bar were occupied (maybe it was a government payday or some holiday I'd never heard of) and I had to sit in a booth.  How does a restaurant that's nearly full, end up having no bar seats and several large booths available at lunch?

Shock #3:  The strange wait person expected me to order and there was no Pinot Grigio on the by-the-glass menu.  I was whacked and confused.  So I ordered something that was both completely unknown to me and the most expensive red on that menu.  Then, because I had a lunch menu, I didn't think they were serving "starters" and I had to order a burger (red wine?).  I didn't want fries and asked about the broiled vegetable side, only to find that they were served with garlic butter,  which is anathema.  Fading fast, I ordered a baked potato, which he told me would be extra.  By now, I just wanted to sleep until my food came or I could find some hidden energy that would allow me to rise up from the booth and choke him silly.  I took the baked potato, struggled to get my e-reader out of my bag and lost myself in Alice in Wonderland, the first choice on the home page.

By now I was just clear-headed enough to remember that this was the building where Sarah worked, so I called her to see if she could come down and join me for lunch.  Sarah, who as I suspected was busy, is a very intuitive person, and told me that she'd walk me home or come down right away.  Maybe it was the way I said Sharah.

I am really good at pretending to be other than I am, so I said I was already over my momentary weakness and was just going to have my lunch.  "You call me if you need me..." says Sarah.  "Ha! ha!" I say duplicitously.

Actually by the time I'd had the wine and some food, I was indeed over it, and after paying for my lunch, swept out of that place with panache.

I walked to the next bus stop and took OC Transpo the 3 stops to my corner.

I'll be at the doctor tomorrow.  He's free.  Everything evens out.