"the daily grind"
adj 1: bitter or scornful; "the face was saturnine and swarthy, and
the sensual lips...twisted with disdain"- Oscar Wilde
2: showing a brooding ill humor; "a dark scowl"; "the
proverbially dour New England Puritan"; "a glum, hopeless
shrug"; "he sat in moody silence"; "a morose and
unsociable manner"; "a saturnine, almost misanthropic
young genius"- Bruce Bliven; "a sour temper"; "a sullen
crowd" [syn: {dark}, {dour}, {glowering}, {glum}, {moody},
{morose}, {sour}, {sullen}]
Ok, so that would seem to be the most descriptive adjective for me lately!
I think I neglected to tell the following story a couple of weeks back.
I was asked to meet with two Board members (from the museum) at a local coffee shop. This is a coffee shop which the locals adore and we loathe. We are Starbucks fans through and through. The place in question serves mediocre coffee, tries to have a variety similar to Starbucks, but although the lattes and espressos are a few cents cheaper, the taste certainly tells you that Starbucks they are not. Anyway, the people around here agree this place is top notch. The shop I was asked to meet at was one that is not nearby our home, therefore, I had not visited this one yet. Greg went along, because he was off of work and that way I didn't have to go by myself.
Before I went inside I gave him some money for his coffee, as he brought a book he intended to read on the other side of the shop while I had this ridiculous meeting. I was irritated enough over this meeting, and I had dialed the mobile number of the one board member so she knew I was on the way. Once I got inside she claimed she didn't receive my message and asked what number I dialed. I told her and she promptly told me- in her usual snooty fashion- that the number was clearly wrong. At which point I whipped out her email which I had printed and showed her... yes she did indeed give that number to me. She then proceeded to say, "Oh well I need to double check the email I sent". Honestly lady, I just showed your own email to you! People like this, I have absolutely NO patience for.
Now that I was fuming about the phone number issue, I headed over to the counter to order my mediocre coffee, and there is Greg ordering his coffee. We are chatting when the man ringing us up asked if we are together--I said, yes, we are, but I have a meeting and had previously given Greg money for his coffee. Cashier man asked if we were dating at which point we said no, we have been married...for several years, too. There was a woman behind the counter as well, who then gives us the weirdest look and says, and she really meant this----
"You're married?? I thought you were his mother."
I can only imagine the look on my face. I was thoroughly offended at this point, and made it quite clear I was not Greg's mother, and why in the world would she say such a thing? Do I really look that old??! Instead of apologising she continued to dig a hole for herself, saying how mothers are usually very short, and since I am "so short" I did look like I could be his mother. Now does this make any sense whatsoever? Of course not. It was truly one of the most bizarre things anyone has ever said to me. But I have said it a million times before and I will say it again...I AM A FREAK MAGNET.
This insane lady insinuated that Greg looked like he was 15, therefore I could be his mom. Ehm, no, I couldn't. That means at my current age I would have had a child at age 19. My mother would have killed me. Anyhow, Greg does look as though he is most definitely 30. So that would make me at least 45-50, should I be his "mother", and come on folks, I do not look that age.
On the other hand, we were talking to someone the other day and they guessed Greg to be 25 and me to be 27. Nice thought, yes, but Clare is 9. I think the conclusion to this is that people just say whatever they want, whenever they want, with no regard to how it will be perceived, etc. And they also think they can get away with it. Usually they do. But in the mood I have been in lately, those kinds of obnoxious people really need to mind themselves. There is no telling what I will say back!
Incidentally, the coffee shop lady never did give me an answer when I asked her if I truly did look that old to be Greg's mom. You can now guess that we will never ever visit any of those branches of coffee shops, no matter how desperate one might be for caffeine. If we have to go out of our way for Starbucks, so be it. We just will.
