Author: Steve Cavers

I didn’t notice anything wrong until I stepped into the elevator and couldn’t operate it. I reached for my security card, but found nothing. I reached for my wallet, which wasn’t there either. Once again, I’m cardless and moneyless for the day.

Doh.

Fortunately, I think there’s a mess o’ leftover chow mein noodles in the fridge, if it hasn’t slithered away yet. Well, after this it can only get better, right? To quote Walt Kelly’s Pogo, “From here on down, it’s uphill all the way.”

I notice that the coffee vending machine now has a flavour button for “Hawaiian Islands”. This stuff is terrible — it doesn’t taste anything like ham or pineapple.

It has been suggested that I have an unusual preoccupation with McDonald’s. I have, after all, written several posts relating to McDonald’s and its foodlike products, so I think it’s time that I explained myself.

I have a terrible, terrible addiction to fast food. If it’s greasy, I’ll give it a try. And then, of course, I’ll spend hours feeling bad (both morally and physically) about what I’ve done .

So naturally, I need to assuage my guilt by calling them evil. Hypocrisy can be so useful. Really, I feel better about myself already.

An experience at a local café yesterday started me thinking about something new for the blog. I like to visit eating and drinking establishments, as everyone does. Why not post reviews on my blog? Homer Simpson did it, so why can’t I?

Up until yesterday, I would have given Coco Rico on Robson Street a good review. They have beer and wine, serve a decent cappuccino, and they have nice munchies (or if you’re trying really hard to be all classy ‘n’ stuff: “tapas”). They have a sidewalk patio and interesting decor. Their service, too, was excellent. The server was always prompt and friendly. Note the past tense.

Yesterday, however, after waiting for quite a while, I actually had to go look for a server. Inside, there was a cluster of employees chatting about the big TV they’d set up for the game. I had to go up to them and get someone’s attention. Even after that, nobody offered us a menu. No one came to the table to take orders. We were generally ignored unless we ordered from the counter from a surly bartender.

OK, I know that some places want you to place orders at the counter, but in the past, Coco Rico has had table service. Now they apparently specialize in no service at all. Why does the place have both a bartender and a waitress working, when they don’t do a bloody thing for the customers?

And the name still sounds silly. Coco Rico. Sounds like something from a bad eighties tune.

And now I’m going to sit here in my cubicle being grumpy for the rest of the day.